A/N: Oh. My. Goodness. I'm. So. Sorry. My brother is a senior in high school, and he had a really big part in the musical, Les Miserables. I had to be there for all the shows, and it all turned to tears in the end. We had an emotional break down. Anyways, I'm so sorry that I haven't been loyal to you guys. Now that Les Mis is over, I can concentrate more. Here's chapter twenty-six!!!!! Enjoyez.

They were coming soon. And if not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. But it was definitely soon. Even Moonflower was growing restless waiting for Skyfeather's kits to come.

Unfortunately Stormstar hadn't returned with the other RainClan cats, and Skyfeather was growing more and more anxious.

"Skyfeather, you have to calm down," Tawnyspot mewed, rasping her pink tongue over the silver queen's ear. "They're all right."

"Yeah?" Skyfeather spat, pulling away from Tawnyspot. "When Icepool went out to get some more juniper berries, he couldn't even scent the others! Tawnyspot, what would be taking them so long?"

Tawnyspot shook her head and went back to grooming her smooth pelt.

Skyfeather couldn't even get to her paws, her belly was hurting her so much. She motioned with her tail for Moonflower to come over.

"What is it?" the elderly she-cat hissed.

"Do you think Stormstar and the others are okay?" Skyfeather asked tentatively.

"I think you have to stop asking me that," Moonflower meowed. She sat down and purred, "Just relax. I'm sure they're—"

And then it all happened so quickly.

A loud yowl sounded from just outside the camp when Sparrowstripe came bursting through the ferns. Skyfeather was so relieved to see the familiar brown pelt she let out a faint mew of relief.

"Skyfeather, Tawnyspot, get into the nursery now!" the RainClan deputy snarled defiantly. "The rogues are coming!"

Moonflower quickly helped Skyfeather to her paws. The three cats shuffled awkwardly into the nursery and into safety.

"No!" Skyfeather hissed angrily. "I have to see Stormstar! I have to see what's going on!"

She poked her head through the brambles to see Icepool hurrying toward the nursery with multiple juniper berries and leaves in his jaws. Sparrowstripe was jumping all over the camp, snarling little inaudible words under his breath.

Skyfeather was so pumped with excitement and anxiety that she couldn't keep still. Did this mean that Stormstar was all right? Did this mean that he was still alive?

Her answer was a loud rustling from the fern wall surrounding the camp. A piercing yowl sounded from outside when Stormstar burst through the wall, a black-and-white rogue hard on his heels.

Skyfeather immediately scrambled out of the brambles and hurried over to her mate. But she quickly decided against it when the whole clearing suddenly burst into battle.

She knew she should run back to the safety of the nursery, but she was too relieved to see her friends again. She stood where she was, paws planted in the dusty ground, as she stared around at her fierce, battling Clanmates. Gingerfoot was clawing at a dark brown tabby with scars tattooed all over his pelt. Littlerock was batting out her paws at two ferocious-looking tabby toms, one silver and the other dark, smoky grey. Bluetail and Silverwing were leaping at a massive white tom with a black ear. The tom looked at least the size of two regular-sized cats. She looked around and found Darkstep underneath a ginger she-cat.

"Darkstep!" Skyfeather yowled, ready to launch herself into battle.

"Skyfeather, don't!"

She turned around to see Tawnyspot holding a firm paw on Skyfeather's tail. With a jolt, Skyfeather realized that her claws were unsheathed.

"If you go into this battle, you and your kits will surely die," Tawnyspot growled through a clenched jaw.

Skyfeather opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. She simply nodded and followed the tortoiseshell back into the nursery.

But before the two queens made it into the brambles, a black she-cat with white paws bounded over to them and launched herself at Tawnyspot, knocking her down.

"Tawnyspot!" Skyfeather pelted forward, unsheathing her claws.

"Skyfeather, forget it!" Skyfeather heard Moonflower hiss from inside the nursery. "You need to get to safety!"

Skyfeather glanced down at the massive rogue, pinning down a thrashing Tawnyspot. "I can't just leave her!" she snarled and lunged at the rogue.

With a shriek of anger, the she-cat leaped off of Tawnyspot and batted her paws at Skyfeather as Tawnyspot escaped to the nursery, trembling with fear.

"Skyfeather, get inside!" Moonflower growled, concern layering her anxious mew.

But Skyfeather was too busy staring down the rogue. After a few silent moments, the she-cat pounced forward, knocking Skyfeather off her paws. Letting out a hiss of exasperation and determination, Skyfeather kicked as hard as she could with her hind legs and sent the rogue flying across the clearing.

As quickly as she could, Skyfeather scrabbled to her paws and darted into the nursery, hiding safely behind her mother.

"Mrr-ow!" Before Skyfeather could let out a sigh of relief, she heard a yowl of agony come from Tawnyspot. The dappled queen was being dragged out of the brambles by the rogue.

"Tawnyspot!" But it was too late. Tawnyspot was knocked unconscious, and the she-cat was hauling her through the ferns and out of the camp.

"Tawnyspot!" Skyfeather yowled again. She was about to hurry after the rogue when she was stopped by Moonflower.

"I'm not letting you go out there," the elder growled under her breath. "You could get killed!"

"I can't let her die, Moonflower!" Skyfeather hissed, her voice shaking with fear. "Without her…I'll be…Mother, I don't what I'll do!"

Moonflower brought her tail up and whacked Skyfeather on the head. "You mouse-brained fool. If you follow her, then you both will die, and I don't know what I'd do without you!"

Skyfeather stopped struggling and stared deep into her mother's eyes. She remembered when Longstar was LightClan's deputy and had brought her mother over from LightClan as a traitor. He had said that Moonflower was more loyal to her kit than her Clan, and Stormstar had let her stay as an elder in RainClan.

It was because she loved her. And Skyfeather didn't want to take the only reason Moonflower was still alive away from her.

Regret pulling at her heart, Skyfeather settled down and crouched low in the earth, peering out of the entrance to the nursery at the spot where the rogue dragged Tawnyspot out.

She won't die, she thought silently. Oh, StarClan, please tell me she won't die.

"Skyfeather!"

Skyfeather looked out of the nursery, ears pricked to the sound of her name being called.

"Skyfeather!"

She spotted Stormstar clawing furiously at a jet-black tom right next to the nursery. "Stormstar?"

"Skyfeather, tell me you're okay!" the RainClan leader yowled, quickly silenced by a massive blow from the rogue.

"Stormstar!" Skyfeather rushed out of the brambles, ignoring Moonflower's mews of protest. She hurried up to her mate, instantly regretting it.

The black tom reared up on his hind legs, ready to launch himself at Skyfeather. But even though her belly was laden with kits, her agility hadn't faltered as she dodged the attack swiftly.

The rogue double-back for a moment, recoiling against the earthy ground of the camp. Skyfeather took the chance to drag Stormstar into the nursery and up to where Icepool was crouched, working on various typed of herb poultices.

"Stormstar?" Skyfeather mewed desperately.

"Skyfeather," the leader rasped, followed by a splutter of coughing. "I just want you to know that the reason we were so late coming home is because I lost another life. The leader of the rogues, the one I was battling, his name is Midnight. He was once a kittypet, but that doesn't mean he isn't strong. Midnight stole my seventh life when we attacked him the day they were found."

"Stormstar—"Skyfeather started, but was cut off by Stormstar.

"Skyfeather, he is the most vicious rogue I have ever met," Stormstar breathed hoarsely. "Be careful with him and his rogues. When I came back to life with my sixth life, I explained to him the ways of the warrior, and the warrior code. He became so interested in it that he told me he wanted to be a Clan leader. Skyfeather, we can't let him be a Clan leader."

"Stormstar, he isn't even part of a Clan," Icepool meowed. "How could that happen?"

"He spoke of creating another Clan, the fourth Clan of the forest where WindClan once resided," Stormstar replied with a cough. "He said that that would be a good idea, since all the rogues are light on their feet, which I recently discovered the hard way."

Stormstar suddenly grew silent as his head flopped down to the ground.

"Stormstar?" Skyfeather mewed, distress layering her trembling meow. "No, Stormstar, you can't lose another life! Then you'll only have five left!"

But it was too late. The RainClan leader breathed his last breath of his sixth life and woke up again, blinking rapidly.

He suddenly bolted to his paws and looked around anxiously. "Skyfeather, where are the rogues?"

"They're outside; they're still fighting the rest of the Clan," Skyfeather responded, still choky with the fact that her mate was only so much closer to dying forever.

"I have to help them," Stormstar meowed. "Just remember: we have to do everything to stop Midnight from becoming Clan leader."

As the dark grey leader dashed out of the nursery, Skyfeather sighed and turned to Icepool. "That's just another problem added to our to-do list."

Icepool heaved a nervous laugh. "I'm sure Snowstorm and Cherrypaw will return soon."

And Tawnyspot, Skyfeather added silently. She couldn't believe all that had happened. Snowstorm and Cherrypaw weren't back, and they most likely had the wrong cat. Stormstar had just lost two lives. The Twolegs were still destroying the forest, and now there was a blood-thirsty rogue planning on leading a Clan, and most likely the entire forest.

A/N: WOOT! I'm allowed to be proud at how far this story is progressing, right?