Wow, I've had a long break since the last chapter! During which I started up a new story, Tanglefur's Loyalty. If you haven't read it, go read it. AND REVIEW!!

Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. Syaoran and Electra make their appearance at long last, and someone - I'm not telling who - gets captured by the BloodCats. Whoo-whee!! Syaoran's one of my favorite characters, by the way. He's so much fun to write about XD

Meh, I REALLY want to start my new story, Mirror Image, but I think I should finish at least one of my chapter stories first. (meaning this one, Tanglefur's Loyalty, and Distant Wingbeats.) Probably this one, since I just started Tanglefur's Loyalty and I'm at a stuck point with Distant Wingbeats.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Catnapped

Though she didn't want to admit it to Leavitt, Phaedra was a little nervous about meeting the last two members of the Five. Would they be hostile like Daemyn, or nice like Leavitt? Or nice at first, then backstabbing later like Chanlyeya?

However, she made no protest as Leavitt led her through the long grass toward the Five's hidden camp. She was glad that Leavitt had invited her to stay, but she didn't know whether Daemyn would agree. And wasn't he the leader of the Five?

"We're here," Leavitt announced suddenly, pulling up to a stop in a tiny, grassy hollow.

Phaedra glanced at him incredulously. "You're joking. Where?"

Leavitt pointed with his tail to a hump of grass rising in the center of the hollow. Phaedra walked closer and realized that it was, in fact, a hole just big enough for a cat to slip into. "You want me to go in there?" She had always been a little claustrophobic and didn't like tight spaces much.

"The camp is underground," Leavitt explained. "It used to be a badger set, but we made it bigger and added more dens. That way, no one can find us. No other cats live underground."

"There's a reason for that," Phaedra muttered, but she slipped into the hole anyway.

Fortunately, it opened up quickly into a large chamber, big enough for three or four cats at a time and dimly lit by the sunlight from above. Five dark holes opened off from the main burrow - Phaedra couldn't see into them. Leavitt slithered down after her, both cats blinking in the gloom. "That's my den," he said, gesturing toward one of the holes.

Phaedra sniffed the air. She could smell another cat nearby. "There's someone else..."

"That's right," Leavitt interrupted her. Turning to the den next to his, he called into the darkness, "Hey, Syaoran! C'mon out. There's someone wants to see you!"

There was brief silence - then a heavy yawn that sounded loud in the close space. Then a cat emerged from the pitch blackness of the den. He was the biggest tom Phaedra had ever seen; his paws alone were almost as large as her head. She shrank back, a little intimidated by his enormous size.

"This is Syaoran," Leavitt said calmly. He looked like a kit in front of the huge tom, who grinned lazily at Phaedra. His fur looked black, but then again, so did Leavitt's, in the dim light.

"What's up, Leavitt?" Phaedra winced as the tom biffed Leavitt playfully on the shoulder with a huge paw that almost sent him tumbling into Phaedra. "Who's your friend?" His large yellow eyes turned on Phaedra.

"Her name's Phaedra. I've invited her to stay here."

"Hi, Phaedra," Syaoran said in a friendly tone, inclining his enormous dark head to her. "Got past Daemyn, then, did you?"

"Not exactly," Phaedra muttered, but Syaoran's deep voice had a calming effect, and she couldn't help relaxing. Even her fury at Chanlyeya and Faolan softened slightly.

"Oh-ho, making decisions without the big man, are you, Leavitt?" Syaoran yawned again, opening his jaws so wide Phaedra could see every one of his sharp white teeth. "She seems nice enough...if Daemyn asks, I'll put in a word or two for her."

"Thanks, Syaoran," Leavitt said gratefully. "Where's Electra?"

"Out hunting. She said she wanted to rouse up a couple moorhens. You should find her..." another yawn "...around the hollow somewhere. I've got to get some more sleep. Later." With that, he trudged back into his den, enveloped in blackness once more.

Phaedra wasted no time in climbing out of the burrow again - the brief enclosure underground had strengthened her claustrophobia tenfold. Leavitt followed her, blinking as his silver head emerged into the sunlight. "So, what did you think of Syaoran?" he asked nonchalantly, as if the black tom were a new piece of prey Phaedra had sampled.

"Really big," Phaedra said truthfully.

Leavitt laughed. "Yeah, that's the impression I got when I first met him, too. Don't worry, Electra's a lot smaller. She should be around here somewhere." He lifted his head, scenting the air. Phaedra copied him. Sure enough, she could smell another cat, close by. "Yep. This way."

She followed him through the tall grass for a few minutes, the scent of she-cat growing stronger the whole time, until they hit upon another hollow. This one was occupied: a wiry tortoiseshell she-cat was crouched at the edge, her back to them, about to pounce on a mouse nibbling on some seeds. When Phaedra and Leavitt entered the hollow, the mouse fled - the she-cat sprang and missed. "Bloody StarClan!"

"Sorry," Leavitt apologized as the she-cat turned and glared at them with the brightest gold eyes Phaedra had ever seen on anything other than a hawk.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," the she-cat hissed, her tail flicking angrily. "Do you know how much prey it takes to feed that big tank? I could be out here for another moon trying to catch enough fresh-kill!"

"By 'big tank,' I suppose you mean Syaoran?"

"No, the water monster that lives in the Eye of the Moon," the she-cat retorted sarcastically. Then she caught sight of Phaedra, standing behind Leavitt, and her eyes widened and softened simultaneously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Phaedra," Phaedra introduced herself, stepping out from behind Leavitt. She glanced in the direction the mouse had fled. "Sorry about that."

"It's all right. It was Leavitt, not you. He's noisier than Syaoran when you wake him up from a nap. I'm Electra, by the way. Excuse me for asking, but...what are you doing here? Daemyn hardly welcomes visitors. I suppose you could tell, from the location of our camp." The she-cat talked very fast; Phaedra took a moment to process what she had said before opening her mouth to answer. Leavitt cut her off.

"I've invited her to stay with us. She hasn't claimed territory yet."

"Mouse-brain," Electra hissed, catching Phaedra by surprise. "Daemyn won't like you making decisions without him. And the Five fight alone - you know that."

"Maybe that's why we keep losing our fights," Leavitt pointed out, his tail beginning to lash. Leaning closer to Phaedra, he muttered in her ear, "Don't worry about Electra. Her tongue is sharper than her claws."

Overhearing, Electra unsheathed her claws. "Say that again, and I'll show you just how sharp my - "

She was cut off by the loud arrival of another cat. With an enormous crackle of dry grass, Daemyn crashed into the hollow. His green eyes were wide with an anguish that clearly surprised both Leavitt and Electra, both of which took a step back. Uncertainly, Leavitt asked, "Daemyn, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Daemyn said hastily, "but that doesn't matter. Chanlyeya's been taken prisoner!"

Lolz, cliffhanger. I'll leave you guys hanging until the next chapter.