Hey, I have another new forum topic in Sun and Snow! It's like Predictions for the actual books, but for the Sun and Snow series. Please post! I want to see what you guys think is gonna happen in Invasion and the upcoming installments!

Chapter Fifteen: Capture

"I can't believe that it was proven that fast!" Windstar said eagerly. "Most of the time, it seems like it takes us forever to prove that someone's evil!"

"Yes," Dreamcloud purred. "I'm just glad that he isn't around at all. Think of what would happen if he were around when the kits were born." She shuddered. "But I can't help thinking that it was odd for him to do it. He seemed so nice."

Windstar shrugged. "You never know."

Suddenly, that familiar clumsy crashing reached their ears.

"Run!" Windstar yowled.

"But what about you?" Dreamcloud cried, terror in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, just r-"

That's when the Twoleg was right on them, stick in hand. He bared his fangs and got brought the stick up to his shoulder, aiming...

"Dreamcloud!"

Right as the dart flew, Windstar shoved his mate out of the way, but was too late for himself. He gave a sharp cry of pain as the dart hit his side.

"No!" Dreamcloud screeched, and was relieved when her mate ran at her side. But as the two fled, Windstar's steps began to falter, 'til suddenly, he halted.

"This dart-it's weakening me," He rasped, breathing hard.

"You must go on!" Dreamcloud whispered, nosing him.

"I can't," Windstar slowly sank to the ground.

"Windstar!"

Barely concious, he looked up into her amber eyes. "Take care of our kits, Dreamcloud."

"I love you," She murmured.

"Same... here.." He sighed, before closing his eyes.

"Windstar? Windstar!" Dreamcloud desperatly nudged him, trying to get her mate up. But nothing seemed to help him. Suddenly, the sound of the Twoleg came. With one last look at Windstar, Dreamcloud rushed to hide in the nearby bushes, watching.

The Twoleg barged into the clearing at full speed, then stopped at Windstar's body. Dreamcloud let out a sharp gasp as the Twoleg took the white tom and stuffed him into a strange wire nest. Barely a nest, a trap!

Pain filled her heart as her mate was taken away. Would she ever see him again.

xxx

"C-Calicofur?" Came a voice, weak with shock. Calicofur sat up in her nest and saw a cat standing outside, bathed in the moonlight.

"Dreamcloud?" She asked. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I went to see Windstar," Dreamcloud whispered, her amber eyes showing more pain than Calicofur thought was possible. "And a Twoleg came... they stole him, Calicofur."

The medicine cat apprentice's body stiffened in shock. Windstar? But he had seemed so invincible... Sure, Calicofur didn't know him that well, but the tom was the same size as Firestar at such a young age, as strong as Tigerstar had been in his day.

"You're joking."

Fire blazed in Dreamcloud's eyes. "Do you THINK I would joke about something like that?"

"No," Calicofur admitted. What kind of cat would joke about that?

Dreamcloud laid down on the ground, staring, eyes glazed. "I don't know what to do, Calicofur," She sighed. "I want him to be here so badly... but maybe being with the Twolegs will keep him safe."

Calicofur flicked her friend's shoulder gently with her tail. "He'll be back, Dreamcloud," She decided. "He'll be back in time to see his kits be born."

xxx

Windstar opened his eyes slowly. At first, everything was blurry, but slowly, he took everything in. He was lying on cold, hard, rock-like ground, and there was mesh all around him. The place smelled like a few other cats, but mainly Twolegs. The faint sound of dogs barking sent him to his paws, fur bristling, fangs snarling.

"Hello!" Came a friendly voice. "What's your name?"

He turned to see a young tom, no older than an apprentice. He was a tuxedo colored cat with yellow eyes.

"You shouldn't feel so bad," He purred. "You're one of the lucky ones; they didn't take you to the vet."

Windstar didn't answer, watching the tom with careful eyes. The cat had to be a kittypet. What was a vet?

"You're the biggest cat I've ever seen!" The young cat suddenly exclaimed, then looked embarrassed. "Sorry. It's just, the cats I see are usually pretty small."

Windstar finally spoke. "Where am I?" He asked.

"The shelter," The tom sighed. "My name's Tux, by the way."

Tux. Yep. Kittypet.

"You still haven't told me your name," Tux reminded him. Windstar's eyes widened in disbelief. An apprentice in the camp would wait before saying something like that, get permission...

"My name is Windstar," He said slowly, deciding only to reveal that.

"That's an odd name," Tux remarked.

"That's because you're a kittypet," Windstar sighed. "I'm a Clan cat. In fact, I'm the leader of Shadowclan."

"Oh!" Tux exclaimed. "You're one of the new cats they've been dragging in!" He backed away, eyes filled with fear. "No offense, but you kind of scare me."

"None taken," Windstar answered cheerfully. He would rather be feared than thought of as weak in a new area.

"There's another wildcat over there," Tux said softly, inclining his head to a nest across from them. A mound of light brown tabby fur was in a corner. The herbal scent reached Windstar immediatly.

"Leafpool?" He asked in surprise. The small she-cat whirled around, amber eyes showing surprise.

"Windstar!" She cried. "I can't believe it!"

"Neither can I," He agreed. "Have you found any way out?"

"No," She whispered. "This is so much different from the last place I was at..."

Windstar shook his head in frustration. "Are their any other Clan cats here?"

"Yes!" Came a voice. Windstar turned his head to see Palelegs, Dreamcloud's former apprentice, and in the nest next to her, Thornclaw. Nearby, he also spotted Warmpaw and Minnowtail of Riverclan, as well as Cavepelt of Windclan.

"So," Cavepelt, not known to be the friendliest of cats, growled. "A Clan leader here. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. First of all, you're a Shadowclan cat, second, you've never showed great promise. Blackstar's son..."

"Please," Minnowtail snarled. "He's the most promising leader they've had in moons."

The black she-cat looked him in the eye. "And I really do mean that," She sighed. "For once, your clan doesn't have a traitor or a rogue leading them. And it doesn't matter what your blood is, MANY cats have proven that wrong."

"Er... thanks," Windstar replied awkwardly. Even Minnowtail's apprentice was staring at her as if she was mouse-brained. But she was always an outspoken cat.

"Minnowtail has a point," Palelegs meowed. "We need a way out of here, and finally, we have a leader. And not just any leader." The ginger and white cat looked at him hopefully. "You still walk with Starclan specially, don't you?"

"Sometimes," Windstar admitted. "But I don't know what we can do." He sighed, and measured his words carefully. "I just want to get back to my mate. She's having kits soon."

"That's terrible!" Came a voice. A few nests away, Windstar spotted a light brown tabby she-cat. She had a strange scent to her, and her pelt was streaked with mud. She was pretty, he had to admit. But she also had the unique scent of a queen with kits to her.

"My name's Brook Where Small Fish Swim," She mewed. "Brook, for short. I come from the Tribe of Rushing Water-you know, in the mountains?"

Windstar dipped his head in recognition. "Yes, I know of it," He said.

"My mate used to be a Clan cat," She purred. "Stormfur. We have a three moon old kit, a little tom, so I sympathize. His name is Moon Where Clouds Part."

Windstar dipped his head in thanks. But as the cats fell silent, he wondered if...

If he would ever see his own kits.

xxx

R and R! And please post! I want to see what YOU think'll happen...