Bweep. Yeah...sorry I'm not updating quite as frequently anymore, I've got a lot on my plate pertaining to fanfiction. First of all, I've got four chappie stories going, and I'm working on a one-shot request for Riverlee, and I'm betareading for The Forgotten Phoenix's story The Origin's of Bloodpool, etc., etc., etc. Also co-authoring for Stolden Hope.

Chapter TwentyThree: Mission

Phaedra stood frozen to the spot, different emotions battling in her mind like warring Clans. Yes, she hated Chanlyeya and didn't care one way or another if she was captured. But, at the same time, guilt pierced her to the core. Would she really let a cat die because of a grudge?

She was still trying to decide when Leavitt burst out in a shocked tone, "What? What are you talking about, Daemyn?"

She glanced sideways at him and saw the panic in his blue eyes. That decided it for her. She would do it for Leavitt, not Chanlyeya. He had saved her life twice; it was the least she could do.

"The BloodCats," Daemyn panted. His dark tabby fur was ruffled, and his pads were oozing blood - probably from thorns. "There were too many of them, and I didn't know any of their names. I couldn't do anything. They took her."

Electra stepped forward, her golden eyes glinting. "Do you know where they took her? We've got to rescue her."

"I don't know. North - that's all I know."

Leavitt and Electra stiffened. Phaedra could smell the fear-scent coming off both cats. "You mean the Ashlands?" Leavitt whispered.

Phaedra stepped forward, puzzled. "What are the Ashlands?"

Electra's eyes were still narrowed in shock and her claws dug into the earth, but she turned to Phaedra and managed to mew, "You honestly don't know what the Ashlands are?"

"They're fire mountains," Leavitt explained. "A chain of them, surrounding a valley. The ground is covered in ash - no cat can live there, with the poisonous smoke from the mountains."

"But the BloodCats manage it," Electra hissed. "That's no surprise, seeing as they're barely alive, anyway."

Phaedra turned to face Daemyn. She forced aside her dislike for the dark tabby tom; they were in this together, like it or not. "Do you think that's where they've brought Chan? The Ashlands?"

Daemyn nodded slowly.

"Well, then," Phaedra said with an air of finality, turning to face Electra and Leavitt once more. "That's where we're going."

- - -

"So, let me get this straight. This is our plan. We get Daemyn to stop the fire mountains from erupting, first of all, so we can get through the Smoky Pass. Then Leavitt freezes the ground so we can walk over the ash without suffocating. Is that it?"

"That's it," Phaedra confirmed, glancing at Daemyn, who remained silent. She wasn't sure why the dark tabby tom was so unhappy with their plan. It should be easy to complete, since Daemyn and Leavitt had elemental powers, and since they weren't battling living beings, they wouldn't have to know any names.

"Sounds simple," Electra commented. Then she asked the question Phaedra knew she had been dying to ask ever since they had come up with the plan. "And what're we going to do once we get through the Pass?"

"I don't know," Phaedra mewed wearily. "It's touch-and-go from there."

"Great. We're just going to wing it." A brief pause, and then Electra added, "We're dead."

Syaoran gave her a comforting nudge that almost knocked her off her paws. "Maybe not. I have complete faith in Daemyn and Leavitt. They'll get us through."

Leavitt beamed, but on Phaedra's left, Daemyn gave an uncomfortable twitch. Again she wondered why he was so reluctant to go along with the plan.

After formulating the plan, Electra had gone to fetch Syaoran while Leavitt prepared traveling herbs. He was no medicine cat, but he had learned a few things from his sister, and the traveling herbs had worked well enough. Phaedra twitched her whiskers, trying to get rid of the bitter taste. She wanted some fresh-kill, but she wouldn't hold up the group just so she could hunt.

According to Syaoran, the only member of the group who had ever been to the Ashlands, it would be a two-day trip if they traveled quickly and retired for a few hours of rest each night. The BloodCats would be far away by now, but they were still in danger from rogues, so a guard would be posted while the rest of the group rested. Phaedra had agreed to take the first watch, and Leavitt had claimed the second.

Her hungry stomach was appeased soon enough when Daemyn called a hunting break. As of yet, he was leading the group, which was no surprise. Phaedra had come up with the original plan, but she hadn't expected to lead. She was barely even a member of the Five. The Six, she thought inwardly, but she hadn't suggested changing the name to the other cats.

She managed to catch a hare, using a hunting technique she had learned from Faolan. A twist of anger seized her stomach as she thought of the black tom. Was he going to rescue Chanlyeya as well? Did he even know that the BloodCats had captured her? If so, did he know that it was his fault, for giving her the amulet in the first place?

She tried to pretend that she didn't care, but eventually she had to admit to herself that she did. Now that the initial anger had passed, she could freely admit that she had been half in love with him all along. Not anymore.

"Phaedra? Are you all right?"

She had wandered away from the group after finishing her hare, and Leavitt's pale blue eyes shone with concern as he followed her. "I'm fine," she assured him, forcing her paws to follow him back to the rest of the Five, who were still eating.

"Are you sure? You've seemed kind of...out of it." She was aware of his intense stare as she purposefully looked away, pretending to watch Electra stalking a mouse. "Is something wrong?"

"No, there's nothing..." She trailed off as a familiar scent drifted on the wind. Was she imagining it, since its owner was really the only cat she could think about now? Or was it real?

Her question was answered for her as Leavitt's muzzle tilted to taste the air. The silver tom leaped to his paws and exclaimed, "Faolan!"