"It will be fine, Squirrelflight!"

"Are you sure? I don't want them to get hurt."

"Me and the kids are going to have a quiet night in. You just worry about your new job!"

"Forward! Onward to adventure! Full speed ahead!" Lionblaze crowed beside the cat-man. Crowfeather fumbled with his phone for a minute as Bumblestripe took that as the cue to hit the gas on the rented boat. He then headed below deck to find Jayfeather playing cards with Dovewing while Hollyleaf wrote in a notebook. The ornery cat-man tossed the phone to Jayfeather, who narrowly caught it.

"Talk to your aunt," he grumbled.

"Hi, Aunt Squirrelflight."

"Hey, Jay! You're staying out of trouble, right?"

"Yeah, we're just staying in and playing cards tonight."

"Don't you dare do what you did last time."

"I won't trick Lionblaze into betting his entire allowance for a year again."

"Good. Well, remember, I love you, kiddo."

"Yeah, love you too. Bye!" He hung up and Dovewing gave him an odd look.

"How can you just lie to your aunt like that?" she asked.

"It's easier that she doesn't know we're going to a possibly dangerous location. What did you tell your granny?"

"Oh, uh… I kind of… didn't tell her anything?"

"Dovewing! You're going to make her worried sick!" The gray-tabby-haired cat-boy handed her the phone. "Call her right now and tell her you're staying with a friend for the night."

She hesitantly took the phone from him. "I dunno. It just seems… wrong."

"Trust me—having an untrue explanation for where you've gone is better than thinking you've been kidnapped. Lying: it's the responsible thing to do."

"So, I had a few ideas for what we could do on the ride over to the island," Hollyleaf told Lionblaze as he took the seat beside her. "I have a playlist of sea shanties, and a bunch of T-shirts I made to commemorate the occasion!"

He took one look at the shirt she'd handed him and rolled his eyes, tossing it over her face. She puffed out her cheeks, offended at the action as she pulled it off her head. Bumblestripe was looking straight ahead as Crowfeather charted their course and Lionblaze stood beside him to see the route. It was a curving line that wove and twisted around various noted hazards. None of it made sense, since it had them going a long way.

Of course, Sun-Drown Island was a straight shot from Catburg if not for that.

"Why are we taking this route?" he asked Crowfeather. "Wouldn't it make more sense to go in a straight line?"

"It would, but we're going this way because it's the safest. Remember, I made this trip for the first time when I was just a little older than you and your siblings."

"Really? Who went with you?"

"Your aunt, for one. And a few friends of ours, none of whom you've probably ever met."

"Hm." Crowfeather handed Bumblestripe the map, and the driver went full-speed ahead. "All right, now! We're full-speed ahead and we're going to be at Sun-Drown Island!"

"YAY!" all four of the kids cheered.

"… in about sixteen hours!"

The cheers dropped immediately.

It was going to be a long ride.

Squirrelflight fidgeted nervously with her phone after Jayfeather hung up. The kids would be fine. After all, Brightheart was there and she wouldn't let them do anything dangerous. The triplets were all Squirrelflight had in her life right now. If anything happened to them, she didn't know what she'd do. For now, she'd focus on her new job and not on the triplets or her ex who had gotten a more mature version of hot—

Bad Squirrelflight! Bad!

"Squirrelflight, is something wrong?"

She yelped as she looked up at her ex. His amber eyes were full of the gentle worry he'd had years ago that had made her melt—

You are a grown woman with three kids, not a high-schooler with a crush!

"Nothing's wrong. It's just… ever since I took in the triplets, I haven't spent a night away from them. I have to adjust."

"I get it." They stood awkwardly for a minute before Tigerstar cleared his throat and got their attention.

"If the two of you are finished, we have business to discuss," he stated.

"Sorry, Dad," Brambleclaw mumbled, walking over and taking his place to his father's right. Hawkfrost stood to Tigerstar's left. Squirrelflight sat with three other new hires—all men with nasty-looking scars who were clearly muscle. She was the brains and she suspected she'd only been hired because it would've looked bad if Tigerstar hadn't taken a cat-woman on the expedition.

"Now, you have all been hired because you're the best of the best. Or because you have knowledge that I need. Nonetheless, this journey will be a trek through dense jungle and through an ancient temple that could very well have booby traps. Any questions?"

Darkstripe eagerly raised his hand.

"No, we will most likely not be fighting anybody on this expedition. This is just to secure our excavation site and whatever treasure we can." Darkstripe lowered his hand, his face falling at the same time. "Now, before we set out, everyone come grab your ID cards." Hawkfrost stepped forward.

"Darkstripe. Clawface. Brokentail. Squirrelflight." Hawkfrost gave the ginger-haired cat-woman an appraising look of approval before handing her the card. She noticed and suddenly remembered a second reason that she and Brambleclaw had broken up.

She didn't notice the glare that Brambleclaw shot his brother.

Lionblaze gazed around the seats to find that Bumblestripe was half asleep at the controls. He turned around to see his sister and Crowfeather down for the count, as well. Jayfeather, however, was squabbling with Dovewing over a trick he had tried to pull in a game of cards. He took the opportunity to shake things up a little, and to shorten their route to the island.

"That ought to make things easier," he chuckled, tapping Bumblestripe. The driver shot up and glanced back at the map, putting himself on the new course that had been drawn.

Almost immediately, they ran into a storm, a Kraken, and a giant squid, one right after the other. Crowfeather dried his hair and then redrew the route to the island. Lionblaze let out a nervous chuckle as the dark-haired man shot him a glare.

Nonetheless, they arrived on the Sun-Drown Island and Lionblaze stepped onto the sand. The island was every bit as beautiful as the stories had said, and he was anxious to find this ancient temple.

"Before we go anywhere, we have to talk to Midnight," Crowfeather told his companions. They nodded and Jayfeather hit Brightheart's name on the phone's contact list before handing it to Dovewing.

"Talk to your granny! You got this!" She yelped as she almost dropped it before holding it to her ear.

"Hi granny I'm spending the night at a friend's house so nothing is wrong!" she squeaked quickly.

"Oh. No, you don't got this."

"Unfamiliar voices," a woman called. "And Crowfeather. Come see old friend."

As if to confirm what Hollyleaf suspected, a badger-woman came out of the trees. She looked the same as she had in the portrait back at Crowfeather's mansion.

Midnight.

"Hello, Midnight," Crowfeather greeted her.

"Where are others? Other cat-people from other times?"

"They're not here. But we're here about the temple."

"Ah. Temple is old. Very old. Cat-people long gone build long ago, and new cat-people find. Now more come to take treasure."

"Well, I'm afraid that's why I'm here. I want to take the treasure back to Catburg and put it in a museum."

"Treasure to be respected. You respect treasure and will find easily. Others seek."

"Thank you for the blessing."

"Be careful. Young cat-people afraid."

"I'm not afraid!" Lionblaze snapped.

"Fear is good. Facing fear makes cat-boy brave. No fear makes him stupid."

Lionblaze blinked. Crowfeather waved goodbye to the badger-woman and headed towards the forest, the others not far behind him. Lionblaze was now deep in thought.

Facing fear makes cat-boy brave.

He'd always been the most daring of the three. Hollyleaf was too careful and Jayfeather too meticulous to take the risks that he did. He'd never been afraid to take them, either.

No fear makes him stupid.

Was he stupid? It didn't make sense that not being afraid made you stupid. If being fearless was stupidity, then he was truly stupid. He'd never been afraid of anything, and this temple was no exception.

But he was hesitant to vocalize this.

"Somebody's already here."

Tigerstar's voice sent shivers down Squirrelflight's spine. She could see the other boat by the recently-built dock and hoped that whoever was here was sensible enough not to go to the temple. But in the back of her mind, she knew that there weren't many other good reasons a person had for going to the island.

"I'm going ahead," she told the CEO. "I know the island, and I know where a temple might have been built."

"I'm not sending any of you anywhere alone," he snorted. "Take Brambleclaw with you. He knows this place, too."

Don't remind me.

"We're staying here to work out a plan. Radio us if you find it."

Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw went into the forest, the redhead taking the lead and trying to ignore her dark-haired partner. He kept up with her while keeping his distance, feeling like she deserved it if she was stuck with him. But the silence was deafening; the Squirrelflight he remembered was chatty and full of life, not quiet.

"Listen, I know you don't like this," he sighed, breaking the stillness. "But you and I are stuck with each other for now. We might as well communicate."

"Communicate? I tried to communicate with you ten years ago and you dumped me. Right when I needed you!"

"And it was a mistake. I should have stayed, but I was young and stupid. I wasn't ready to be a dad."

"I'm younger than you. You think I was ready to be a mom?"

He opened and closed his mouth. In ten years, that hadn't crossed his mind. Squirrelflight had been adamant about taking in the triplets, which had been what tore them apart. He'd assumed, all this time, that she'd done it because she was ready to start a family and her sister was gone. Now he realized it hadn't been a choice; it was an obligation.

"Maybe if you'd stayed, I wouldn't have gone to the interview. Or if I'd had the interview, you could've watched the kids while I was gone. But no. I had to leave them with Crowfeather."

"Crowfeather?"

"Yeah. They're just staying in and playing cards, but I've never spent the night away from them before."

"Crowfeather…"

"Yes, I left them with Crowfeather. We've established that!"

"I'm not talking about you leaving the kids with him. Who's the only other person in Catburg experienced enough with Sun-Drown Island to explore it for the temple?"

Squirrelflight furrowed her brown, then anger crossed her face.

"I'm going to slit his throat."

"Ah-choo!"

"Gesundheit!" Dovewing called. They'd almost reached the temple.

"I suddenly fear for my life," Crowfeather remarked to Bumblestripe.

"You're an experienced and well-rounded adventurer! You know what you're doing more than the rest of us."

"Accidents happen." There was a pained tone to his voice, one that made Hollyleaf raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Did an accident make Crowfeather quit adventuring?

"I'm going in first!" announced Lionblaze.

"Wait—" Crowfeather began to protest, but it was too late. The golden-haired cat-boy was already sliding down the hill that led to the temple. "Dammit."

"Wait up!" called Hollyleaf. She and Jayfeather, never wanting to be left behind, slid after their brother. Crowfeather groaned, but felt a sense of nostalgia.

He could remember a cat-woman who had always been just as excited to join him in exploring long-abandoned temples and seldom-traveled places. If she had been there, she would already be inside the temple, calling for him to join her. If that had been the case, he would have slid down the hill and met her inside the halls. But she wasn't there.

And it's my fault.

He took a deep breath and followed the triplets down the hill, Bumblestripe and Dovewing having already joined the three. Lionblaze was standing in the entrance, watching for the others to catch up. He was joined shortly after, but he thought that he could see movement up at the top of the hill that didn't come from their group.

But he didn't care and just ran deeper inside.

"That jerk!"

"Squirrelflight, calm down—"

"Those kids are the most precious thing in my life and the only things I have left of my sister and you're telling me to calm down?!"

"Crowfeather won't let them get hurt. Besides, I need to radio my father."

"Not with my babies in there."

"Squirrelflight—"

"You can call him and wait out here for the others. I'm going after my kids."

"I'm not letting you go in there alone. I'll radio the team and then we're going inside."

Squirrelflight nodded and let Brambleclaw make the call. As soon as he was done, she pulled him along with her down the hill and they entered the temple. It was every bit as grand as she'd suspected it would be, but she couldn't find it in her to admire anything. No, she was hellbent on finding her kids and getting them out.

Unfortunately, before they got to far inside, they found out that Tigerstar and the rest of the team had closely followed behind. Tigerstar praised Squirrelflight for finding the temple so easily, and for finding the entrance. He and the others pushed her to the side, heading straight ahead and leaving her and Brambleclaw alone again.

"Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap…" she mumbled, feeling along the walls for a switch.

"We're going to find your kids," Brambleclaw promised, copying her actions. "My father won't find them."

"If he does, I'm pushing you off the boat on the way back."

"That's fair. And I'll let you do it."

His hand went into the wall and a door opened up, leading to a hidden passageway. Squirrelflight smiled and headed down the opened hallway. Brambleclaw followed after her, not wanting to see her kids hurt any more than she did. Plus, the last time he'd seen them they hadn't even been able to sit up by themselves, and he was curious as to what they looked like now.

Then Squirrelflight slipped and fell down an incline. He followed, trying to make sure she didn't get hurt as they continued falling and ended up in some sort of inner chamber.

There, they saw Lionblaze and Crowfeather looking at a large gem.

"You jerk!" Squirrelflight snarled. Both turned to face her.

"Aunt Squirrelflight?!" gasped Lionblaze. "What are you doing here?"

"My new boss hired me to help him out here. Never mind me—what are you doing here? And where are your brother and sister?"

"We got separated. Crowfeather and I were at the front and a trapdoor opened. They must be looking for us."

"And they didn't, but I did!"

They looked to see Tigerstar, a victorious expression on his face as he ran forwards to grab the gem. As he did, the chamber rumbled and water began pouring in.

It was then Squirrelflight knew that she wasn't keeping this job.

"Stop the water!"

Brambleclaw covered a hole with his hand and a second with his foot. Squirrelflight was panicking, he could tell—she was chewing her hair. Lionblaze was clinging to a treasure chest that his aunt had shoved him onto and told him to stay on. Crowfeather was doing the same as Brambleclaw and the redhaired cat-woman.

"I knew I couldn't trust you with the kids!" Squirrelflight snapped, spitting out her hair.

"This was not my fault!"

"No, this is Moon River all over again! You're innocent of doing anything wrong and it's the fault of anybody else!"

Crowfeather's blue eyes filled with something that Lionblaze recognized as… guilt?

"Stop it!" he groaned at his aunt. "It wasn't Crowfeather's idea to bring us here—it was mine. I wanted him to show us what a great adventurer he was, and he was just trying to prove himself to us."

"I remember a certain red-haired annoyance doing the same thing when she was a teenager," Brambleclaw told her. She blinked and relented, but the spark of adventurous spirit that had lain dormant within her for ten years was relit.

Suddenly, a door opened and Jayfeather appeared.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" he asked his brother. It was then that he noticed Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. "Why is Aunt Squirrelflight here?"

"Long story that I don't have time to tell," she said, straightening up and tying her hair back in a ponytail. "Let's get out of here!"

The four from inside the treasure room began to swim for the door, the water draining through it. Lionblaze gave one last look to the treasure chest and kicked it over, breaking the rusted lock and revealing a glowing white stone.

"Whoa," he whispered, grabbing it. He ran out of the room after the others, only to find his sister, Dovewing, and Bumblestripe fighting a trio of men. Tigerstar was nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you for the help, gentlemen," Tigerstar said over Brambleclaw's radio. "I'm afraid I'll be going now. Good luck getting off the island."

"Let's go," Crowfeather sighed. "It's not like we found anything, anyway."

"Actually…" Lionblaze held up the stone he'd found.

"Scratch that—let's get the hell back to Catburg and get this to a museum."

They all headed for the boat, Tigerstar's crew following out of fear of being stranded. The three men who'd been hired stayed out on the deck, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw joining the others inside.

"So, Tigerstar hired you to help him on the island?" asked Hollyleaf.

"Exactly. Well, actually, Brambleclaw here hired me," she replied.

"And how does he know you?"

"We… er…"

"We used to date," Brambleclaw finished. "We broke up a long time ago. Last time I saw you three, you couldn't even sit up by yourselves. And now you're going on adventures like we did."

"I can't believe I'm meeting the Squirrelflight!" squealed Dovewing, kicking her feet excitedly. "And Brambleclaw, too?! This is the greatest day of my life!"

"We're not that great, kid," Squirrelflight told her. "We just got lucky a few times. Your grandmother is more awesome than we are—she survived the Catburg dog attacks. And she has an awesome story to tell because of it."

"Oh, speaking of Granny… I'm going to be in so much trouble…"

They landed at the docks, reporters eagerly talking to Tigerstar until they saw Crowfeather get off the boat with the stone. Then they all went over to him.

"Crowfeather, is this your return to the world of adventurers, and if so, will your old companions join you?" asked a reporter named Sorreltail.

"Yes," he replied. "If they'll have me. As for the Moonstone, it's going straight to the Catburg City Museum, where it will stay."

"Dovewing!" a voice called. Brightheart came down the docks, several people shrinking at the sight of her face.

"H-hi, Granny. How long did you know?"

"I knew the entire time. You didn't honestly think Crowfeather wouldn't tell me he was taking my only granddaughter out on an adventure, did you?"

"Are you mad?"

"My dear, you are safer in a temple loaded with traps with Crowfeather than you'd be in a bank vault. If you have to go adventuring, then go with him."

Squirrelflight smiled.

"Crowfeather, thank you for keeping an eye on the kids," she told the cat-man. "I'm sorry for getting angry."

"It's in the past. And… I'd love to see them more, if you'll let me."

"I'll be sure to let them visit when—"

BOOM!

An explosion shook the marina. Squirrelflight turned to see her houseboat on fire, and she groaned. Lionblaze had left the engine running, just like she'd always warned him not to do.

She was having a really bad day…

Hollyleaf set down a box in front of a painting. Part of it was torn and folded over, obscuring the other person in the painting, but the part she could see had Crowfeather smiling. She and the others had offered to help clean up the garage a bit, and the others had already gone to settle in.

Curiosity got the better of her and she folded it back.

It was a picture painted of Crowfeather, wearing a black suit and tie, tipping a top hat. Standing next to him was a pretty young cat-woman with long, light brown hair and amber eyes, wearing a leaf-green dress that went down to her knees. The woman was holding Crowfeather's free hand, smiling just as brightly with a joy that reached her eyes.

Hollyleaf recognized those eyes. They were the same amber that Lionblaze had, and her slim frame was similar to Jayfeather's. The shape of Hollyleaf's face was the same, too. And she'd seen this woman before—in photographs shown to her by Squirrelflight of a person she'd never known.

"Mom?"

And the first part of the story wraps up.

Now, I would like to point out that this story is not going to follow the series. That would be stupid, pointless, and redundant. Instead, I'm putting more of a focus on the Leafpool plotline (who, if you haven't guessed, is playing the role of Della). Also, her disappearance was a little more tragic, but I'll explain down the line.

Next time, we'll meet a new character who I think you all know is coming!

So long and thanks for all the fish!