A/N: Ok, I recently decided that I don't like how quickly I have had to have certain things happen in order to finish in the time I described, so I've been doing rewrites. See, most of the rest of my chapters, save about four, were completely Skypaw's POV, and there was quite a bit of stuff that would be much better expressed through someone else's POV. So sorry not to stick to the update schedule, and a new one will be coming soon, but now I hope you'll like the story better.

Previously, in Hunter and Prey: Sky's Story…

…Skykit was so tired she could barely lift her head. Rainstorm had spent the day showing her how to perform the many ceremonies of the eight Clans…

…"Congratulations," yawned Stormkit, padding off to bed.

Truthfully, Skykit was looking forward to joining them. After she made sure that the hunting patrol had made it in safely, she loped off towards her own nest…

…. But for now… -she yawned- …she needed some sleep.

…Only seconds later -- literally -- a cat prodded Skykit with her paw…

And now Chapter 25 of Hunter and Prey: Sky's Story

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---Skykit's POV---

"We have to get to our regular camp before sunhigh tomorrow," Moonspirit meowed. "That means we must leave now."

What?!?! thought Skypaw. She'd been up since slightly past moonhigh the previous night. She'd been introduced to almost all of the resistance cats. She'd traveled to the Mist Pool, and through the tunnels. Now she had to travel until sunhigh the next day?! She was already practically asleep on her feet! Calm down, she ordered herself. This can be…um…a test of determination. Yah, that'll work.

Owlpaw padded up to Skypaw, her tail waving softly. "Um, Skypaw? Do you know why Shadowheart is making us leave by tomorrow?"

Skypaw shrugged. "Maybe because he didn't catch us last night?"

"I guess so…but something feels so weird right now…like something is watching us." Owlpaw looked wary enough to be believable. Skypaw began to look around. And there was Shadowheart…glaring at them.

Wait a second… Shadowheart's eyes glowed yellow! "Owlpaw, WHATEVER you do, do NOT look over there!" she ordered her friend, turning away herself. Why is Shadowheart doing that now? What threat are we to him while we're leaving

Owlpaw looked strangely at Skypaw, but heeded her warning and headed towards a newly accumulated pile of fresh prey. Suddenly, Skypaw heard a voice in the bushes - Hawkstar. But who was she talking to?

---Icestream's POV---

"I can't thank you enough for coming," Hawkstar purred.

"It's my pleasure," Icestream replied warmly. In order for Skypaw's training to commence, Hawkstar had requested that Icestream travel with BirdClan…but Icestream sensed that it was something more than that. To reach their camp, BirdClan had to travel through a very highly forested area - Shadowheart had forbidden BirdClan and BirdClan alone from crossing the usual way - the way that lead around the woods. There was no real reason yet to be concerned, but Icestream decided that Hawkstar's ulterior motive must have something to do with these woods - something the leader was not telling her. But would it be smart to ask?

Hawkstar was looking around. Suddenly, her gaze stopped on something that Icestream couldn't see, and her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Icestream meowed, leaping quickly and glancing to the place where the leader's eyes rested - to be rewarded with the sight of a tree trunk and the eerie feeling of being watched. She blinked away the sensation - she'd trained all her life to handle this kind of situation, and someone probably was watching her, seeing as she was staring at a tree trunk.

Hawkstar shook her head, but Icestream was able to pick out a look of fear there before the leader regained an unnatural calm. "It was nothing. The tree trunk seemed a bit odd for a moment there. Thank you so much for agreeing to accompany BirdClan. It will be much easier for you to teach Skypaw if you are both in the same place."

"Um…you're very welcome. But tell me more about these woods that we'll be traveling through - have you traveled through them before?"

Hawkstar seemed not to hear her. "If we travel quickly, Skypaw should still get some sleep and you will be able to start training with her by sunhigh."

"Hawkstar." Icestream tried again. "The woods?"

"Woods?" Hawkstar now seemed confused. "Oh yes, the woods. What about them?"

"Is there anything…unusual about them?"

For less than a split second, horrible fear loomed in Hawkstar's gaze, but in that same second, it was reduced to a dull, blank look. "If there is anything unusual about the woods, it is that they are very thick, which makes it a good place for shelter during the night…especially…" Hawkstar stopped and looked at her paws, her expression appalled - but then, as if something were controlling her, she looked up and continued. "Especially the Sweetrock Cave. It is very habitable and if we take our time, perhaps we could spend the night there." Icestream made a mental note to stay away from the Sweetrock cave.

---NO POV---

A shimmering, sparkling oasis was just barely visible. It was a crystalline cave, with thousands of beautiful jewels inside of it. Upon closer inspection, one might notice that there was in fact only dirt in the cave, but the colors in the dirt were reflected on glasslike surfaces to resemble jewels.

Down inside the depths of the cave was a horrible prison -- and a mine. The type of mine used when someone needs materials to build a fortress. A fortress of war.

Walking into the cave, down into the depths, one might be able to glimpse warriors waiting. One might also glimpse the fires behind them that gave them the light they needed. And if one walked further, they might be taken down by Shadowheart's warriors, to face a future in the mines -- mining rocks, rolling boulders uphill, hauling them into place to create a fortress through which Shadowheart would wage his war. This wasn't just a regular Clan rivalry battle. This was a battle where more lives than one hung on the line.

If the slaves tried to escape and lost, their futures would be miserable. And the resistance would still try to save them. Of course they would That was what the resistance did. Saved people. Helped people. Were benevolent. That would be their downfall, according to Shadowheart.

Just that night, he'd pulled the BirdClan leader, Hawkstar, under his control. She'd be able to tell him who the resistance leader was supposed to be…but he suspected Skypaw. His techniques, highly refined as they were, meant nothing to her.

But if he could get his son to earn their trust…and then betray them! Then, and only then, could his plan succeed - but how to go about it was another matter. Shadedpaw's loyalty to either side was questionable, for both sides mistrusted him.

However, Shadowheart had one slight advantage. The resistance thought that all of his cronies were idiotic. And they were…but he was not. He'd known every cat that passed by the boulder. He knew who the future of the resistance was. He didn't know how they'd gotten back into the camp, but that was no matter. He was spreading them out and using ygrkipomagen to gain new spies - spies the resistance wouldn't know about until it was too late.

A/N: Ooh!!! How do you like that/Don't kill me for making Shadowheart intelligent/ PLZ R&R!! OH yah, read this and PM and email it to people, please, it's very true and very important:

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message
with an attachment entitled 'Invitation,' regardless of who sent it to
you. It is a virus which opens an Olympic Torch which 'burns' the whole
hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone
who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason
why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to
receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called 'Invitation,' even though sent to you by
a friend, do not open it. Shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered
by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.
This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the
vital information is kept.

SEND THIS E- MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND
IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US.

Remember, R&R!