A.n: Aha, I am so sorry, you may crucify (sp?)me now. I've had band and tennis, so I guess that's an excuse XD But Im sitting on my butt most of today, and I want to chug out a couple of chapters of HS. I lost my notebook though, so there may be a few things that either don't make sense or don't match up with before so...Sorry!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own any of these cats, except for the idea of Hawk's Shadow (Which I hope you all figured out who that really is by now ;)) It all belongs to the Erins, who fell down dramtically in a crash and burn in the last book. I would not of crashed, I would've made a epic firework show of amazing gore and blood. And decreased the population of cats by a bit over half. ^.^

I jumped forward, following the skinny shape of my friend down into the darkness, my paws touching on the cool stone and flying down the path.

"H-heatherpaw!" Breezepaw's startled voice was echoing down the stone tunnel, the sound boucing and reflecting off the walls that had been worn to smoothness. "How can you see where you're going?" A faint scuffle barely registered in my mind. "Hey, wait up!" His clumsy paws kicked up pebbles, sending them rolling down besides me.

When I almost slid down the floor after stepping on one of the stray stones, I skidded to a halt and glanced over my shoulder at the near-invisible dark tom. "Breezepaw, hurry up." I called anxiously, and I could hear his snort as he picked his way down the gently sloping tunnel behind me. I dug my claws into the smooth rock, and listened to them scrape across the untouched surface, wondering how long it had been since someone-other than me- had been down into the tunnels. How long had Hawk's Shadow been alone for? Guilt rushed over me as I thought of the lack of interest I had given the former cat, and I peered into the gloom ahead to try to catch sight of his icy eyes or his dark tabby pelt.

I thought I saw a flash of his white belly when a whiskered muzzle prodded me from behind. "If you're going to lead, lead. I mean, you were scrambling down so quickly before…" Breezepaw had attempted to sound impatient, but I could hear his shortened breaths rasping, each jagged intake coupled with his fear-scent.

"Sorry, I thought I smelled them." I apologized, lying smoothly to cover my quick pursuit of my guide. Walking forward again, I figured that Hawk's Shadow was probably farther down the tunnel, and I only needed to get to the main cave to find him again. If not, Breezepaw and I could deal without him. We would have to, if we were to save the Clan some bloodshed.

"Do you still smell them?" Breezepaw asked, shifting his weight from side to side, brushing his fur across each of the tunnel walls so he always knew where the walls were. To prove his point, he sniffed loudly, the dank air whispering into his nose and back out.

"Just a little. You probably couldn't smell it," I covered up quickly, and took in a breath quietly again, pretending to smell something. "Yeah, that might be them. I can't be sure though." I muttered the last part softly. If we didn't find the kits… I didn't want my story to be questioned. My Clanmates could never find out about what Lionpaw and I had.

'Hawk's Shadow?' I hoped that the shadowy cat would hear my plea and return, but all I could see was the endless darkness of the tunnels.

Winding down through the passages, I could hear the roaring of water far before I could see it.

"What's that?" Breezepaw muttered, fur bristling. I wanted so much to tell him that it was just the river, but he didn't know that I had been down here before. "I don't know," I made my voice waver to match his.

Stepping out into the cavern, I couldn't believe the wave of homesickness- not for WindClan, but for the time I had with Lionpaw- that washed over me. The stars were hidden by dark clouds through the hole in the ceiling, and so the river that washed by below was as deep and dark as the lake. The current seemed faster, and the water, higher, but I didn't really notice. It was just water after all, and I had to find the kits.

"Wow," Breezepaw's voice ruffled my ear fur, and I twitched my whispers, feeling the sensitive edges scrape over the fur on his face. I didn't turn to look at him though, but while he was caught up in the mystery of this underground place, I was trying hard not to let the sadness in my heart show on my face.

A chance glimmer of moonlight seeped into the cave, lighting it up and illuminating a very familiar shape. I gasped as I saw him, though Breezepaw was unfazed. A figure stood up on the ledge I had used to play as leader, and their eyes swept the whole cavern from the vantage point.

'Hawk's Shadow!' I smiled, attempting to contact the spirit without alerting my Clanmate to his presence. 'I thought you had left us!'

The dark tabby tom turned his blue eyes to me, a bright flash of color between the ghost of his dark tabby pelt and the smooth rock that was slightly visible through his body.

"I will never leave you, Heatherpaw."He smiled, and I shivered for some reason. My fur spiked up, and I couldn't stop a shiver that ran down my back. Why would I feel this way about my friend? "I will be with you forever." His white teeth glimmered as he leapt down to greet me.

Feeling slightly uneasy at my strange reaction, I dismissed it as the fear of being caught by Breezepaw. Hawk's Shadow leapt across the river with the grace that only a cat skilled with the tunnels could achieve. He brushed past Breezepaw, who had taken a few steps down, into the slight bowl that was the floor of the cavern, who shivered and fluffed his dark grey fur. I smiled in amusement; it was a game that Hawk's Shadow enjoyed playing with the living, as we could barely sense his presence. When he got close enough, I brushed my head along the side of his face and down to his neck, feeling a phantom touch of fur as he laid his head on mine, much like I imagined that Onestar would do when he made me a warrior.

'You said you knew where the kits are?' I didn't bother whispering, the sounds bounced off the rocks easily, and Hawk's Shadow and I had no problem communicating this way.

"Yes, here, I'll show you." Hawk's Shadow looked troubled though, and he slipped away from my side on hesitant paws. Leaping back across the river, he padded to a tunnel that was a little wider than a cat, one that I would've mistaken as a fissure in the rock. "I can sense that they came this way… but the scent is fading quickly. Hurry Heatherpaw." The apparition urged before vanishing down the thin passage.

I turned to the other tomcat, who was casting for scents at the edge of each tunnel. "Breezepaw, I-"

Before I could continue, there was a whisper, and the slightest hint of a familiar scent.

"What is it Heatherpaw?" His amber eyes cut to me quickly, a distraction from attempting to probe the dark shadows just inside each branch. 'Should I tell him? What would he suspect?' "Nothing." I finished lamely, and slipped down from the slight rise that held the tunnel back to the moors.

"-too dark to see…"

"…cave ahead…"

"…probably know already."

The whispered persisted, and I didn't even bother attempting to look for the source of the sound. Lionpaw and I had played that game; it was nearly impossible to find the origin of anything in this huge, echoing chamber.

A rustle of fur did make me spin around though, and the soft call of "Heatherpaw" made my ears prick up to attention. I couldn't tell if it came from the soft outline of Hawk's Shadow at the entrance he wanted us to take, or the familiar golden tomcat that stood in the shadows.

"I've lost their scent," Breezepaw murmured behind me, but I was a little distracted by the appearance of the other cats.

I couldn't help but admire his broad shoulders and fierce eyes, even though they were dark with sadness. He stood in front of his two littermates, the black she-cat who looked around inquisitively, and Jaypaw, the ungrateful medicine cat apprentice. Already he had moved between his siblings and me, as if I was the threat. Which, according to how he had chosen, was exactly what he thought.

"Lionpaw!" I hated the way my voice peaked with excitement, and hoped the other cats took it as surprise. I hadn't really thought of seeing him down here again… this was a WindClan rescue, ThunderClan wasn't part of this at all.

Which is apparently what Breezepaw thought. He spun around, a snarl already lifting his muzzle from the passive tomcat he had been a minute ago, when he was alone with me.

"H-how did you know about this place?" I glanced at Breezepaw to make sure he wouldn't attack the ThunderClanners, and my heart plummeted as I thought of having to choose sides between Lionpaw and my Clanmate. The only way to avoid conflict… was to pretend that I had never seen him here. It ripped at something inside me to behave like we were nothing more than cats from rival Clans, but no one could know.

I could see the hurt flash in his eyes too, probably a mirror of my own. "I found it a few days ago by accident, I was chasing a rabbit and it led me down a hole and I ended up here." The other two cats with him crept out, Jaypaw staring vacantly at the river, the only source of constant noise. A shot of fear bolted up my spine and made my fur fluff. What if he fell in? The water was too fast for any cat to swim, and he would be swept away by the current and into the hole where the water disappeared, farther into the underground. 'I will not let that happen.' I vowed quickly, taking a few steps forward as Breezepaw looked at the intruders with a shrewd intelligence.

"These tunnels lead into ThunderClan territory as well?" His pelt was bristling, but with excitement, not fear. His eyes were dark with battle lust. I sighed quietly, and attempted to repress the sound after it already had escaped my lips. All Breezepaw ever thought about was attacking other Clans and battles. It wasn't that he wanted to kill other cats-the Warrior Code said not to- but I could see that he wanted to be admired by the Clan. Crowfeather was always so distant and snappy, and Breezepaw only wanted his attention. He'd told me once after a training session with our mentors, and it was one rare time that I had seen another side of Breezepaw.

I hadn't realized that Lionpaw and Breezepaw were looking at me, and I feigned confusion quickly. "I didn't realize. I've only been as far as this cave before." I made my eyes wide, and had to repress the sudden urge to laugh. This reminded me of all those times in the nursery when Harepaw and I had pretended not to know where the heather for the bedding had gone. Of course, we were two little troublemakers, and hid it all behind the apprentice den.

"…did you know there was another entrance in WindClan territory?" Breezepaw challenged as I paid attention again.

"It was just a guess," Lionpaw rolled his massive shoulders, but the action held no emotion. It was more of a threat than a shrug. "There are so many tunnels. They might lead to ShadowClan territory as far as I know."

There was a silence that hung thickly in the air while the two tomcats stared each other down. My tail twitched nervously when Breezepaw finally broke the heavy silence. "Is there any scent of the kits in your tunnel?"

"no," th black she-cat stepped up, her voice cool and controlled.

"We followed the trail here, but it's disappeared," I burst out, ignoring the reprimanding glare from Breezepaw. If the ThunderClan cats were here, they could help. But as I shared a glance with Lionpaw, I knew that this would be harder than anything we had done yet.

Ugh, it was getting too long so I had to cut it off. I'm so sorry D: Im working on the next part right now.

R&Rs make my day 8D