Here's chapter 2! Thanks xxSnowfirexx, flareon200 and Chasonbird or Butterfliee for reviewing, you guys are the greatest and you get Reedstar plushies! Lol, by the way, if you've ever listened to the music from the Celtic Woman, you'll know where I got the idea of this chapter!

~Chapter 2~

It was dark by the time the cats on patrol returned. With them, was the pale gray shape of Silverpond. Her eyes held a mad look to them, as though she had gone nuts. Reedstar's eyes narrowed as he glared at the dark ground.

He padded forward, with Cinderstar and Leapordblaze close by. Apparently Leapordblaze had been her mate, and Runningmoon and Moonpaw had been their kits. Reedstar could understand her grief, but he wasn't sure why she was this crazed. Could there possibly have been something in the fresh-kill they were eating? After all, ThunderClan ate mostly mice and squirrels. Perhaps that was the reason.

As Cinderstar approached, Reedstar noticed that there was concern in her blue eyes. He shook his head, wondering how she could stand it.

If one of his cats had been like this, he might have gone insane himself. Of course, that would never happen, but it just might.

"Silverpond, where were you?" Cinderstar demanded, though her voice was gentle as she spoke. Rainshower was already upon them, stroking his tail gently over the she-cat's shoulders.

The ThunderClan warrior looked up, and the light in her eyes was brighter than ever. "They told me to follow their voices," she explained in a rasping voice.

A shocked gasp escaped from Reedstar's mouth as he stared at her. Voices? Were StarClan really following them, or had this cat really gone mad?

"Please, Silverpond, tell me what these voices were like," Leapordblaze murmured in a low whisper.

But the she-cat's eyes were already white around the edges. A moment later, and she crashed onto the ground, fast asleep. Silence filled the gathered cats. A mixture of sympathy and confusion began to spread through Reedstar as he watched the sleeping former queen.

"Should we take this seriously?" Cinderstar asked Rainshower.

The medicine cat shook his head. A confused look clouded his yellow eyes. "No," he replied. "But someone should stay and guard her," he added with a wave of his tail.

Cinderstar's eyes were clouded with sorrow. Nothing like this had happened in the Clan, except when Bluestar went mad.

Reedstar barely remembered it, but his mother had told him a story of how the former ThunderClan leader had nearly lost her mind. She gave up her kits so she could become deputy, and then leader. And she did so just to stop Thistleclaw from becoming the deputy.

As he padded away, he saw that Thornclaw was speaking quietly to Leapordblaze about the guard. The spotted golden tabby just blinked warily and padded over to his mate's side, watching her and gently licking her flanks.

The black tom had never seen such devotion. In fact, his own heart ached with loneliness. He never had a mate before, and he doubted he ever would, just because he was the leader. But he knew that his responsibilities lay in the Clan first, and them alone.

But as he curled up in his make-shift nest, next to his Clanmates, he couldn't help but feel a longing tug at his heart. And he dreamed something he would never have expected. Kits, who looked exactly like him, and an unnamed tabby she-cat, with fur the shade of brown, black and gray standing in front of them.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Morning rays of sunlight reflected off the ground's surfaces, waking Reedstar up. He blinked his eyes several times, suddenly feeling wary.

His head was filled with confusion as he stared around the clearing. The nests where his Clanmates slept were empty now. In fact, their scent were faint.

Reedstar let out a desperate yowl as he tried to call to anyone. But his cries were useless. They were returned with nothing, but an empty void that seemed to be filling the air. Lonely, confused, and afraid, he padded out of his den to find out what was happening.

The black tom's eyes were wide with amazement when he saw a vast landscape stretch before him.

It was a forest, and beyond the forest, stretched great moorland. But within the forest, Reedstar saw a river, that was larger than even the river in the old forest. It was almost...magical. And unreal. And yet, somewhere in his heart, Reedstar knew it was.

"Look to the rising sun," a voice murmured in his ears. The wind shifted, and the scent of pine made Reedstar's fur ruffle with excitement.

He blinked his eyes, and than, after a couple of moments, he found himself back in his nest. It was dawn, and most of his cats were still sleeping.

But a few were rising, including his deputy, Shellspots. He smiled when he watched her organize patrols.

He had chosen her for a reason. She was both resourceful and responsible; the perfect choice for a deputy. And she was also peaceful. She had been one of the few cats who still treated Hollystar's name with respect.

The RiverClan leader padded towards where the other leaders were gathered. Dawnstar's fur was fluffed out against a brisk wind, while Weaselstar stayed as far away from her as he could without worrying about missing words. Cinderstar kept herself close, her ears angled towards them, listening for anything important.

"Guys, I had a - " His meow was cut off by Dawnstar, who stared at him reproachfully for a few moments.

"You had a dream, you mean," she replied. "We all had it. And it said, look for the rising sun."

Cinderstar and Weaselstar nodded. There was excitement in Weaselstar's eyes. "Did you see the moorland?" he asked, his eyes stretching wide as he described exactly what Reedstar had seen.

"And there seems to be enough forest for all of us," Cinderstar added with a happy flick of her tail.

"And pine trees of ShadowClan," Dawnstar mewed. Even the ShadowClan leader couldn't keep her excited voice calm.

"So it's agreed then?" Reedstar asked as he sat down.

The three other leaders nodded, looking quite pleased with themselves. "We will begin as soon as everyone is ready," Cinderstar meowed.

"But shouldn't we wait until morning?" Weaselstar asked.

"I was already looking at the sun when I woke up," Dawnstar replied. "It was that way." She pointed her tail towards beyond the mountains, and Reedstar groaned.

So they would have to cross the mountains after all. He wondered what sort of dangers laid there. And he wondered if the Clans were ready to face them now, above all times. With a silent sigh, he prayed to StarClan that they made it out alive.