So Gathering Darkness is finally back. Sorry for the long break, but here's the next chapter, so enjoy.

"You can't be dead," Swishpaw mewed.

"Oh, of course we can be," the grey tom growled.

The flaming cats continued forward, the flames dying down, revealing their fur beneath.

"No," Swishpaw mewed, shaking her head. "Dead cats are dead. They don't move, they don't walk, they don't talk."

The grey tom faked an offended look.

"What, have they not told you about StarClan yet?"

"You aren't StarClan," Foxleap snarled.

"What else would we be?" the tom challenged.

"There are other ancestors," Foxleap spat. "All I know is that you're not ours."

The grey tom purred. "What if I told you I had a warrior name? An AnimalClan warrior name?"

"I wouldn't believe you," Swishpaw growled, stepping forward to stand beside Foxleap.

"Oh I don't care what you believe," the tom hissed. "You'll be dead soon enough."

Foxleap crouched, baring her teeth. "I bet your name was Foxheart."

The ginger warrior pushed off, leaping at the grey tom. He backed up, but not quickly enough, and Foxleap's claws left long scratches across his face. And then the shadow cats reached her, and Swishpaw lost sight of Foxleap in a whirl of fur, claws and a clinging scent of mould. Cats attacked from all sides, swiping and biting before retreating back. Teeth clamped down on her back leg, and Swishpaw yowled in pain, tearing herself free and whirling around to leap on her attacker. He hissed and struggled to push her off, but… Wait. Why is his fur wet? The cat pulled a paw free and slashed her chest. Reacting quickly, Swishpaw sliced his nose open and blood welled to the surface of the wound. Blood. They can be injured. Maybe that's why his fur was wet. Water beats fire. And if they can be injured… they can be killed. Swishpaw slammed a paw down on the tom's neck with all her strength, and felt something snap. He went limp under her paws and she shuddered in revulsion, thinking of how easily that could be her.

"Foxleap!" she yowled. "They can die!"

She stepped away from the tom's body before noticing that he was… fading. Normal cats do not do that. Maybe these are dead cats. Swishpaw looked up from his body to see that the shadow cats had backed up, forming a circle around her. Swishpaw spun around, seeing that there was only five cats, far less than she'd originally thought. The cats stalked closer, tightening their circle around her and leaving no easy ways to escape.

Which left her one option.

Swishpaw spun around and charged at a white tom. He crouched, ready to pounce, and time seemed to slow down. She watched his eyes track her movements and saw him tense. He seemed to push off the ground in slow motion, his paws reaching for her, the claws glinting in the moonlight. And Swishpaw leapt into action, ducking and sliding under the white cat. Her momentum carried her a fair way past him and she caught a brief glimpse of Foxleap and the grey tom wrestling before whipping around just in time to take a sharp blow to the head. She staggered back, pain shooting through her, and dimly noticed the white tom running towards her.

Swishpaw, focus! she scolded herself.

The world shifted back into focus and Swishpaw ducked the tom's blow, before rearing up and slamming him into the ground. Instantly paws were dragging her off him. Swishpaw swung around, the enemy claws ripping off chunks of fur as she tore free. Swishpaw winced in pain, suddenly all too aware of all her injuries. Fur and skin was missing from both flanks and her chest was bleeding heavily. She backed up as the five cats advanced on her, hissing and spitting. The white tom was in the centre, his fur matted with red. He was flanked by two pale brown she-cats. A grey she-cat and a black tom were creeping around to either side of her, blocking her escape in those directions. She realised with an abrupt shock that both Foxleap and the grey tom had disappeared. Surely Foxleap wouldn't just leave me? Then again, the grey tom could have won. Swishpaw shivered. What are they going to do with us? The grey tom had mentioned killing her, but the other cats could have easily done so and they hadn't. A paw slammed into her face, cutting off her thoughts.

"Wake up, Clanner," the white tom growled. "We're here."

Swishpaw growled in response, struggling to hold her now throbbing headache at bay. She looked around anyway, her eyes widening in surprise. She stood in a small clearing ringed by several trees. Nine. Cats crept around the trees, most with matted fur, and all with the clinging scent of death and decay. The grey tom stood nearby.

"Wonderful, isn't it," he said. "Have a look inside the trees."

Swishpaw stared at him blankly. Inside the trees? She looked anyway, her eyes widening as she recognised the ginger fur of Foxleap collapsed in a small hole dug out at the base of a tree. Two cats stood beside it, lips pulled back from their fangs. Swishpaw's gaze flicked across to the next tree and her breath hitched in her throat. Beetlepaw. His amber eyes stared at her from the small gap, fear and hopelessness reflected in them. His head took up the rest of the space, his ears pinned back and whiskers trembling. Help me, he mouthed. Swishpaw stared back.

"Beetle-" she started, a heavy cuff to the side of her head cutting her off.

Her fellow apprentice's eyes stared at her pleadingly, and Swishpaw turned away, unable to meet them knowing that she'd failed. Her eyes lit on a small black she-cat sitting just outside another tree washing herself calmly. She didn't smell like the other cats. She smelt like the Clans. The she-cat looked up, her yellow eyes meeting Swishpaw's. Nightpaw. This was Nightpaw. The apprentice smirked at the look on Swishpaw's face. This is where… this is where they've all gone. But how are they here? And why?

The grey tom paced in front of her. "So, you see we have all your missing warriors. Now run back to your precious Clans and tell them. I'm sure they'll be very interested."

He yawned, revealing his chipped and broken teeth.

Swishpaw met Beetlepaw's eyes one last time, before tearing her gaze away and running away. I'll be back, she promised. Don't worry, Beetlepaw, I'll come back for you.

Hope you liked it. It was a fun chapter to write and I love Swish and Beetle. I am really sorry for the super long break. I don't really have any excuses so yeah, apologies to everyone who was reading this. I think I've improved my writing ability slightly, so yay for that!

I also have another story out, Storms of Sand. It's a warriors and wings of fire crossover, so if you're interested please check it out.

Well, that's all for now.

~Skystorm