Yet another fast update. Sorry, I wanted to update fast because I'm going to a special dinner soon. So, off to the special notes:

flareon200 - lol you'll have to find out whether or not the Tribe sees them again. I'm honestly not sure what will happen next myself, I'm sort of writing along as I go^^

Moonstreak1 - ugh, I hate it when fanfiction doesn't let you upload chapters. I had problems like that a couple of weeks ago, so don't worry. Maybe the best thing to do is to complain to them and ask why they're not uploading.

xxSnowfire - XD it's okay. I sometimes review your stories late too, so you're not alone^^"

Willowpool - I'm flattered. Really I am, considering like I've said before, I've only been writing for two years now. You'll get better, trust me. It just takes lots of practice and patience.

~Chapter 6~

The sound of a cat's claws scraping on rock jolted Reedstar awake. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized that the Clans were not alone.

Several different cats surged around the bare mountain, making the others wake up. Rage boiled in Reedstar's ears when he saw his own Clan getting attacked. How dare these cats sneak up on them, unprovoked?

He let out a fearsome caterwaul and leaped into the fray. He came face-to-face with a large black tom, with blood-stained claws and bright yellow eyes. The black tom's eyes blazed hungrily as he glared at the RiverClan leader. Reedstar lashed his tail and swiped his claws across the black tom's nose, but he only hit him a little.

The black tom screeched and slammed a massive paw over Reedstar's head. He gasped as he felt a sharp pain lance through his whole body. Yowls exploded from every direction, as the rest of the Clans fought off the rogues.

"Get away from here!" Squirrelflight spat as one rogue, a dark ginger tom with white patches, approached. He stood menacingly over Flightpaw, whose eyes were wide with terror.

"Protect the kits!" Cinderstar cried as another rogue stepped towards Whitewing's kits. The white queen's eyes were narrowed in deep hatred as she glared at the rogue.

Reedstar hissed in annoyance as he was surrounded by several more cats. One of them had a massive scar over her eye, while another a paw that looked smaller than the others. Another cat was a skinny light brown tabby with long pointed ears.

"From now on, you'll just be part of our group," hissed the light brown tabby.

The RiverClan leader desperately tried to fight them off, but there were too many. He wanted to claw their ears and eyes off, for hurting his Clanmates and for hurting kits and apprentices. They had no right to this attack; they were just fighting for the fun of it!

His vision began to grow faint, as black dots clouded his sight. Suddenly, another paw slammed down on his head, and Reedstar fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The fresh stench of blood seeped around the air, flooding his senses, until he could no longer hear his Clanmates or smell them.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Is he alright?" murmured a voice in a gentle tone.

"I don't know, move over!" another cat whispered. "He's breathing, but barely." Reedstar felt the cat's tail lash against the ground. "Why didn't we come sooner?" she demanded.

"Because those rogues were holding us off," answered the first cat.

"Yes, did you see how many there were?" asked another cat. This time it was a tom, and his voice was surprisingly familiar.

Reedstar opened his eyes, but he only found himself back at the lake. He blinked in confusion. He didn't remember coming back here, and the lake wasn't dried out like it had been when the Clans left. Had everything been a dream?

"You're awake!" a cat cried.

The black tom blinked in surprise when he spotted a pale gray she-cat. Her blue eyes gleamed as she bounded forward and rubbed her muzzle against his. Her scent was tantalizingly familiar, and it made Reedstar's heart swell with longing.

"Feathertail!" he murmured. He went over to lick her gently, but she stepped backward, making him nearly land on the ground. Concern filled her blue eyes as she stared at him.

"You've lost a life," she mewed as she watched.

Suddenly realization dawned on him. Reedstar remembered the rogues, and the pain that had burned through him as two of them slammed their paws on his head. What happened to his Clanmates? Were they alright?

"Don't worry, they're safe," Feathertail said out loud as though she had read his mind.

"But what about the cats who gave me my nine lives? Where are they?" he asked. Questions buzzed in his mind, questions he knew only Feathertail could answer.

She tilted her head to the side, and was suddenly greeted by a dark gray cat with piercing blue eyes. Reedstar glared at the cat as he remembered him as Crowfeather, who would have been a leader had it not been for Snakeclaw.

Snakeclaw had tried to take over the Clans. He was a reincarnation of Tigerstar, and he had been out for revenge. But he did not count on the fact that StarClan had different plans. Had it not been for Hollystar, the Clans would still be fighting the murderer.

"StarClan are not with you here," Feathertail replied in a sad voice. "Different ancestors have crossed paths with them."

Shock spread through Reedstar as he stared at her. So what did that mean? Were StarClan fighting these ancestors? "Why's he here?" the black tom demanded.

"Crowfeather chose to come with me after he joined StarClan," Feathertail explained. "Our paths changed when we met." Her eyes dropped when she mentioned her love for the WindClan cat.

What does Leafpool think of that? Reedstar wondered as he thought of the former medicine cat. Leafpool had also run off with Crowfeather, though she had chosen to come back to serve her Clan. It must have been awkward for Leafpool, Feathertail and Nightcloud.

"What about the Clans?" Reedstar demanded as they spoke no more.

But their images were slowly fading away with the breeze, and Reedstar found himself in a cavern. He let out a yowl of frustration, which was cut off as he felt a sharp pain lance through his whole body.

"Sit still mouse-brain!" a cat - the one before Feathertail showed up - hissed. "You'll lose all of your blood if you don't."

Reedstar opened his eyes and saw that a sleek gray tabby she-cat was standing over him. White fur clouded her belly, and her soft amber eyes looked hardened. She had white paws, and black ear tips. And she had dark stripes along her spine.

"Where am I?" he mumbled as he fought the urge to ask who she was.

"You're in the Healer's den," the she-cat replied. "And you're lucky we came. They would have taken more lives."

It took Reedstar a couple of moments to register the they part, and the fact that they would have taken more lives. "Whose dead?" he demanded, struggling hard not to fight her off as she placed herbs on a wound.

"No one is, but they're captives now," the she-cat replied calmly. "Now will you please hold still," she grumbled.

Reedstar obeyed, though he hated getting ordered around like a defenseless kit. As his vision grew used to the darkness, he saw that they were in a large, dark cavern. But there was a hole in the middle of it, where faint moonlight poured into a small pool. Rocks jutted from the side, and the jutted out of the ceiling of the cave as well.

He could taste the cool, damp air over the bitter tang of herbs. It was as though they were in another world; a world of rocks and darkness.

"There!" The she-cat sat down and began to lick her paw, which was covered in a poultice. "Now you can go and see your friends, but I would return to the Cave of Pointed Teeth before the moon gets too high."

She padded towards the pool and started to look into the water. Thinking she was rather mad, Reedstar slinked away until he found himself in an even bigger cave. This one was more open, and beside the cave was a large waterfall, where several cats from RiverClan were gathered.

He looked around until he spotted Cinderstar, speaking quietly to Leapordblaze and Thornclaw. Silverpond was sleeping near another cave entrance. Peppermint and Mousewhisker were sharing tongues, while Shellspots shared a word with Duskfur.

There were so few! But as he looked around, he saw that all of the kits and queens were safe. With a sigh of relief, he padded over to his own Clan. Shock spread across his face when he saw a dark gray tom sitting among them.

Beechfur let out a purr as he spoke to the tom, while Mosspelt crooned over him like he was a lost kit. Reedstar let out a purr of recognition and bounded over to Stormfur's side.

"They told me you were their leader," Stormfur meowed when their greeting, which was joyful, ended.

"Yes," Reedstar replied. His eyes were gleaming with triumph, but than sorrow clouded them. "But I haven't been a very good leader." He sighed and shook his head as he thought of what might have happened to the cats who were stolen.

He realized that Dawnstar was not among the ShadowClan cats, and neither were Tigerheart, Snowbird and Shrewfoot. Willowclaw, Heathertail and Hawkclaw were also missing.

"I heard about the rogues," Stormfur murmured as he looked at the waterfall. "They've gotten worse over the last couple of moons, but we're doing everything we can to stop them from taking over the Tribe. Thanks to Storm of Burning Pride, we've been able to keep them at bay."

Reedstar tilted his head in confusion. That must be the cat who had healed him. He thought back to the way she looked, and he thought the name suited her.

"So Stoneteller is dead?" Reedstar asked.

"Yes, but he died peacefully, rest his soul," Stormfur replied. "We've been discussing what to do about the cats who are missing," he added. "Brook and I learned that some of the Tribe have gone missing as well."

So these cats are more dangerous than they look, Reedstar thought with a shake of his head. They had not only stolen cats from the Clans, but they took cats from the Tribe as well. In a dark way, he was almost impressed by their strength.

"You're RiverClan, right?" a small mew sounded from behind them.

"Yes," Reedstar replied in surprise. He was surprised that a Tribe cat would know about them.

But than, this young cat looked strangely familiar. She had light tortoiseshell fur, and gray eyes. Like someone who was from the Tribe. "You're Stormfur's kit!" he gasped when it hit him.

"Yes," she mewed, shuffling her paws on the ground in embarrassment. "My name's Ember who Clings To Fur." Ember looked at him with an expectant gaze.

"Look, Reedstar, we're going to help you stop the rogues, once and for all," Stormfur suddenly meowed.

Surprise flashed through all the cats around him. "Are you sure it's a good idea?" Reedstar quarried. If something happened to the Tribe, he felt like they might blame the Clans.

"Yes," Stormfur replied instantly. "It's the only way they'll leave us alone for good. I'm sorry, but even StormPride was getting tired of them."

Reedstar dipped his head as they started planning on what to do about these cats. And as they did so, the cats who hid themselves were also planning a massive attack. One that could lead into disaster.