A little shorter than usual, but I'm happy to finally update again! If you don't remember the previous events of this book, I recommend rereading whatever is necessary. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. And please do correct any silly mistakes I make! :)

The moon and silverpelt above were the only sources of light in the dark open Clanless territory. A strong breeze swayed the grass downward, brushing Icestar's fur in the wrong way. He stopped in his tracks, his belly pressed to the ground as he growled with frustration. Flameheart's warm pelt came beside him and pressed close, ears flattened against the wind.

"What now?" asked the warrior tom, green eyes dim and hard to make out. "Their scent washed away."

When two of them left camp, the moon was at its highest peak, and all of their Clanmates were asleep. The only cats to notice them go was Sharpfang, who knew about this mission, Redsky, who was guarding the camp entrance, and Lilyheart, who was watching the intruder. The two she-cats didn't question his departure, but nodded with silent respect as he passed by.

Now they were well past the borders where MoonClan and CloudClan met, in the direction they were hinted to go. A faint scent had been caught earlier, but it was hard to keep track of. The open land made Icestar wish he was back in camp, but he couldn't turn back for the sake of his Clanmates.

"We'll have to wait out the wind," Icestar murmured. The rogue scent was unreachable for him too. The winds had suddenly started up, interrupting their tracking, and the only thing that the two cats could smell was the stench of the nearby Twolegplace, with their disgusting monsters and mysteriously-shaped stone dens in the distance.

His eyes traveled to the outline of a few Twoleg dens, and his fur bristled with unease. These were the creatures that were digging under their territory. And somewhere nearby were the dangerous rogues that Icestar fearfully anticipated.

For a while, the two toms stood in silence, pressing close together for warmth as the winds blew. As they waited, Icestar thought about them. They were mysterious rogues, and their goals were even more mysterious. Although he only had a slight idea of what they were here for, they troubled him. The rogue prisoned in MoonClan's camp had the malicious intent of hurting his kits. Not only that, but the second rogue they came upon said something troubling . . . and Icestar couldn't stop thinking about it.

Finally, the wind died down, and Flameheart kept up, nose pointed outward as he tried to catch the scent once more.

"This way!" he said, catching it at once. He whirled and followed the sharp yet unfamiliar cat scent. Icestar dashed after his friend, careful not to step on anything pointy or loud. They ducked beneath the cover of a large patch of tall and unruly grass and darted forward.

Flameheart's rusty orange pelt disappeared in the dark grass at once as he quickly followed the scent of the rogues. The only thing to be heard was the slight rustle of the plants he trampled, but other than that, his paws treaded on the earth as light as a feather, so one would have to listen really hard to hear him quickly padding through its cover.

Icestar followed the tip of Flameheart's tail, for that was all he could see through the grass. Flameheart was going too fast. Trying to keep up, Icestar trotted quicker, but before he could call out to his friend, Flameheart disappeared completely.

Icestar stopped in his tracks, ears pointed forward, then to his sides, but he couldn't hear a single thing at all.

Very quietly, he whispered, "Flameheart?"

There was no response, and Icestar didn't want to risk calling out to him any louder. Mouse-dung, he cursed under his breath. He tried to pick up a scent. All he could smell was the tall grass. Both Flameheart's scent and the rogues' scent was masked by the strong odor of the grass, and he couldn't see a thing through this darkness. Where could he have gone?

Quietly, he pushed forward, making sure his steps were slow and cautious. The grass underneath his belly tickled him as went, and his mouth parted slightly, trying to pick up any other scent. It was still no use, for his sense of smell was blocked. How could Flameheart have disappeared so suddenly?

Frustrated, he pushed his way through the undergrowth and kept on walking forward, hoping he'd run into something, as long it was not a rogue. As he walked, impatience grew in his paws. How far does this path lead?

And more importantly, what was he going to run into? Was it something he shouldn't be seeing, or would it help him gain new information about the rogues?

He came to an abrupt stop when he heard something new. Somewhere to his right, the grass rustled, and he knew that some cat was close. He turned to the sound, ears pointed forward and jaws open as he tried to catch the scent of who it was. It could be Flameheart, but there was no telling through the thick patches of grass. Cautiously, he padded toward it as if the newcomer were a piece of prey.

"Icestar?" whispered the cat's voice.

Relief washed over his pelt as he recognized the voice of Flameheart. His friend's head poked through the weeds, the silhouette of his chin and ear-tips visible in the dim light.

"It's me!" replied Icestar quickly.

"I thought I'd lost you," his friend said breathlessly. "I turned around and you were gone! Well, that doesn't matter anymore. You won't believe what I found."

Icestar gulped. "Show me."

Flameheart nodded and sunk down into a hunter's crouch, snaking forward through the grass, this time much slower than before. He's being cautious! thought Icestar, sinking down to his belly as well. He followed close behind, his paw-steps light and his breath caught in his throat.

Whatever he was being cautious for, he knew it was dangerous. He wished to be back in camp right now, asleep under silverpelt's watchful gaze with the safe company of his Clanmates. Only Sharpfang knew that he and Flameheart had left the camp at night on this secret mission to find rogues. He wanted it to stay that way, and to keep his friends out of worry. But the thought of what he was about to find scared him, for it seemed that his worst fears were becoming true, and that this would have to involve the whole Clan.

Flameheart stopped walking and poked his head through a wall of grass. Icestar took a spot beside him and peeked through as well, ears forward and eyes alert. For a moment, all he could see was dark windswept grass, and a small empty clearing. He looked closer as the moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting light on the clearing down the slope, and he narrowed his eyes, catching a glint of fur shine.

"A rogue!" he whispered with alarm.

Flameheart shook his head. "Look closer."

Icestar's vision strained against the darkness, and he spotted a body right next to the first rogue, both sprawled in sleep. Then, on the other side of the clearing, another stirred within a small hole in the ground, and a fourth was curled up underneath a bush budding with fresh leaves.

"Four of them," he growled silently, trying to find more.

"Five," hissed Flameheart, pointing with his nose. Behind the small rock in the center of the clearing, he could see a shape of a cat stalking around its base, tail flicking and ears alert probably for intruders. Though his pelt was hard to see, he could recognize his large white paws and his light, almost playful, stance.

"That's—that's Jinx!" Icestar couldn't contain the shock, and his voice came out a little too loud.

Jinx's ears pricked, and the two toms slunk back into the cover of the undergrowth, hoping that they wouldn't be spotted. They listened to his light pawsteps slow to a halt.

There's bound to be more, Icestar thought with alarm, thinking that this group was too small to be true. I know there are!

Not a sound could be heard, and Icestar wondered what was going on. After a few heartbeats, he peeked through the grass again and spotted Jinx once more, standing on top of the rock with his eyes glaring straight up at the wall of grass. Then, for a long moment, their eyes met. He'd been spotted! The leader's pelt bristled with alarm.

"Fang, Rowan!" Jinx said loudly, "wake up! Intruders!"

"Fox-dung," snarled Icestar, and looked at Flameheart. "Don't run unless they show harm," he hissed, and shot his gaze back down to the clearing. Then he shouted, "We don't want to fight!"

I can't leave with just knowing their rankings, he decided. I must know more! He knew that if he was with a different Clanmate, they wouldn't agree to the danger of staying. Luckily, Flameheart was just as inclined to danger as Icestar was.

Jinx snarled. "Then why are you watching us in our sleep?" he demanded.

"We . . . we're Clan cats," Icestar said, fully emerging from the grass. Flameheart followed right after, taking his place beside the leader. "You rogues entered our territory and threatened one of our cats!"

"You mean that pretty ginger she-cat?" Jinx said, his tail flicking. "I only gave her a warning. Consider it helpful that I told her about the dangers that await. If anything, I could be saving her life!"

Flameheart growled. "There's no life-saving needed around here!"

"Oh yeah?" snarled a white tom cat, taking his place beside Jinx. "Your lives will need saving after we're through with you!"

Both the tom's and Flameheart's pelts bristled, and their claws unsheathed.

Icestar stepped in front of his friend. "We won't risk battle here," he warned with a low growl. "Don't let their taunts provoke you. When it comes to it, we run. Not fight."

Flameheart's claws sheathed, but his pelt didn't smoothen. He seemed to be more bothered by the rogues than Icestar. The MoonClan leader decided to trust that his friend wouldn't get them into trouble, and stepped away from him, looking back down onto the rogues.

"What's the matter, Clan-kitty? Too scared for a fight?" snarled the white tom once more.

Flameheart held his ground, lifting his chin proudly into the air, but his eyes sparked with annoyance.

"We're here to find out who you are," Icestar said truthfully. "Not to fight."

"And where we come from, so that you could abandon your dying forest to take over ours," another cat growled. She was a young she-cat. The color of her pelt was hard to tell in the lighting, but her form was small. Perhaps if she were a Clan cat, she'd still be an apprentice. "You're probably the cat who's going to destroy us!"

The white tom's fur bristled. "Sunshine's right! We can't trust you!"

Icestar's fur bristled with unease and he stiffened. "You're wrong! There's no such thing!" He hoped that they didn't notice his discomfort, but the prophecy haunted his mind. He was the cat who destroyed, but he already played his role. That was supposed to be long gone now! And how do these cats even know about the prophecy? Has StarClan betrayed him, visiting a stranger's dream, putting the Clans in danger?

"How can you be so sure?" snarled a new cat, emerging from behind white tom. By the way they stepped out of his path, dipping their heads with respect, he must be some form of a leader to them.

"Because perhaps . . . we can help you," Flameheart suddenly said.

Icestar was caught by surprise. What was Flameheart doing?

"And why would you do that?" the leader snarled. "If anything, any one of you could be our enemy!"

"We'd only help you because we don't want involvement," Flameheart snarled. "We especially don't want more trouble for our Clan. So we'll help you find your cat, if he even exists, and you can be on your way."

The leader's eyes narrowed. From up on the slope, Icestar could see him shift from paw to paw, interested yet undecided. "We won't accept your help so easily, Clan cats. We don't trust you."

A snarl emerged in Flameheart's throat, and Icestar grew even more uneasy.

"Then stay away from us!" Icestar said, his voice loud and clear. "We don't want trouble, but if it comes to it, we will fight you. Our Clan outranks your numbers!"

"And our forest cats outrank your Clan!" the white tom threatened.

"Hush, Fang," snarled the leader. The white tom, Fang, dipped his head in respect, and their tabby leader met Icestar's eyes with a harsh fire burning in them. "We will stay here as long as we need to, Clan cats. Our mission is much more important than the borders of your territory. We are not interested in your dying forest, either. We have one goal, and won't leave until we must!"

Icestar narrowed his eyes. "Then take this warning! If we find another rogue on our territory, they won't leave without a fight."

"Then so be it," he snarled in return. "Forest cats, attack!"

At their leader's cue, three of them charged up the slope, their claws outstretched and their teeth bared. Icestar's eyes widened. "Flameheart, run!"

He whirled around and shot through the tall grass, his heart pounding madly in his chest. Flameheart was by his side, and the two of them pelted through the long and unruly grass. The rogues hared after them, close behind their tails, ready for a fight.

Dear StarClan, these cats are dangerous! Icestar thought with horror as he ran from their bloodthirsty claws.