DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Warriors series, nor am I the three people (or so I heard) that use the pen-name Erin Hunter.

Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Much appreciated!

Allegiances

In addition to the cats in the Warriors series, the cats are:

ThunderClan

Firepaw – Flame-orange apprentice with piercing green eyes. Daughter of Brightheart and Cloudtail.

Hawkstorm – Black fur and amber eyes. Son of Dustpelt and Ferncloud.

Dawnfur – Tortoiseshell she-cat with blue-gray eyes. Firepaw's sister.

WindClan

Rainpaw – Gray with blue eyes.

Cats Outside Clans

Scratch – White (with ginger patches) tom. Has unusual gray eyes.

Mell – Black tabby she-cat with a scar down one eye. Ice blue eyes.

Sky – Gray and silver fur with a white muzzle. Blue eyes.

Scar – Has ragged white and black fur and no tail. Amber eyes. Rather big and powerful-looking.

More will be added as the story progresses.

Firepaw stared out over the moors. When will I get home? Her pelt turned to fire as the dawn rays hit her. Rainpaw sat down next to her.

"Thanks to you, I'm stuck here."

Firepaw bit back a sharp retort. Somehow, she didn't feel like arguing with Rainpaw anymore. But she certainly didn't want to be the first one to apologize. It was Rainpaw who had started the fight in the first place. When she didn't say anything, Rainpaw went back inside the barn. Firepaw followed.

Dawnfur tasted the air. WindClan. She, Squirrelflight and Dustpelt were on the WindClan border patrol. A few foxlengths across the border, Tornear, Crowfeather and Heatherpaw were patrolling their territory.

"Any sign of the missing cats?" called Tornear.

Squirrelflight shook her head. "No," she called back. Dawnfur sighed as both patrols turned back, having marked the borders.

Firepaw snapped up another mouse. Her wounds had healed well through the night, and she was fit to travel. Except she couldn't travel. Not if she and Rainpaw didn't stop arguing. When she walked by him to stretch her legs outside, he turned away from her. Firepaw rolled her eyes. ThunderClan and WindClan are probably worrying about us. And we're stuck here because of each other. Maybe I should make up with him. Just then, Rainpaw shot her a venomous look from inside the barn. Firepaw turned away. No. It's his fault.

She stiffened, spotting four shapes on the moor. Flattening herself against the ground, she tried to appear as small as possible. My orange pelt will stand out like an orange cat on the moor! Great. Looking up, she noticed the shapes loping towards her at a steady, yet fast, pace. They were far away, but getting closer. They had seen her. Firepaw jumped up and ran inside the barn, bumping into Rainpaw.

"Can't you watch–" he started crossly, but Firepaw silenced him.

"The rogues, they're coming here! They saw me!" she meowed breathlessly.

"What?" Barley was standing on a higher floor of the barn, looking down at her.

Firepaw nodded. "Where's Ravenpaw?"

"He went out to look around. Did you see him?"

"No," Firepaw answered to Rainpaw's question. "The rogues might find him."

Barley leapt down onto a hay bale, and from there to the floor. "They'll kill him. They said they would kill either of us if they saw us."

"Why didn't they come before?"

Barley turned to Firepaw. "Because we know the barn better than they do. We could sneak up on them if we're inside."

"So why are they coming now?"

"They probably saw Ravenpaw as well as you. We have to help him." Barley ran outside, Rainpaw and Firepaw following.

Firepaw, Barley, Ravenpaw and Rainpaw faced the rogues. They had gotten there just in time. For the battle that was sure to come.

"You will all die." Scratch hissed. The four rogues bared their teeth and snarled.

Barley and Ravenpaw leapt at Scratch. The three were soon a blur of fighting. Firepaw saw Rainpaw go down in a flurry of teeth and claws as Mell and Sky pounced on him. Firepaw moved to help him, but fell to the ground as something crashed into her. It was Scar. He towered over her, looking down with a sneer on his face. Firepaw lifted her hind-legs up and scratched his belly, claws unsheathed. Scar yowled but kept his grip. As he bent down to bite Firepaw's throat, she scratched at his eyes. Temporarily blinded, Scar stumbled back. Firepaw turned around and gave him a kick that sent him crashing into a rock. He blacked out.

Firepaw took the opportunity to scan the battle. Barley and Scratch were still fighting, and Barley seemed to have the upper paw. Ravenpaw was grappling with Sky, and he also looked okay. They can manage, Firepaw decided. She looked over to where Rainpaw was, and her heart caught in her throat. Rainpaw was lying on the ground. Mell was standing over him, biting into his throat. Blood pooled around Rainpaw's neck, and he was unconscious.

Sorry it's shorter than the last two chapters, but I wanted to give you a cliffy to hold on to. ;)