A/N- If you've read Light & Dark, you'll be well aware that the chapters of this story are exceedingly long, as I originally wrote them to fit a book format, before I discovered the wonders of ! Anyway, here's the prologue and first chapter of my next book in the Warriors The Next Quest saga- Life & Death!

Disclaimer- Warriors is not mine.

Prologue

A body floated along a river, bumping into rocks and boulders. It got stuck between two of these stones and lay there, bobbing in the current. Suddenly, a ginger shape slipped into the water and swam across to the body. It grabbed it by the scruff of it's neck and dragged it back to the bank. It spat out a lump of fur and nudged the body of the soaking cat with a paw. The ginger creature moved away and began to pick some things off a bush.

Just then, the wet cat stirred and the ginger rescuer rushed over to it. It was coughing and spluttering. It dragged itself to it's paws then sat down with the effort. It began to lick itself then turned to the ginger cat and meowed,

"Thank you."

"It was no problem." replied the rescuer, "I was happy to help."

The cat rose to it's feet and said,

"I'll be going now."

"I'll be out a while longer."

Both cats nodded, then the one that had not very long ago been floating, turned and stalked away, into the bushes. The ginger cat shook the water from it's fur and sat down.

"You can come out now, sister." it meowed.

A pale ginger she-cat moved into the clearing. She stalked right up infront of her brother and growled,

"How did he survive?"

"He kept his head afloat."

"What are you planning? No wait, what are you thinking? Do you want to be a traitor?"

"It's too late for me to turn back now. And anyway, I did this for you."

"But why?" asked the she-cat, shocked.

"I've seen the way you glance at that Thunderclan cat. I didn't want you to betray your clan."

"Helping a murderer isn't the way!"

"But soon he will unite the forest! Don't you understand? Either the Thunderclan cat dies or there will be no more clans, so any two cats can love each other!"

"It's sick! You're sick! And you're disobeying the will of Starclan! How could you?!"

"It's for you!"

"I don't want that!" the she-cat screeched, then turned and ran away, out of the clearing.

The ginger cat sighed, the padded after her.

A cat wailed. Tiny mews came from it's chest. A dark shape stalked towards it.

"Quiet" it ordered.

The cat howled again.

"I said be quiet!"

Suddenly, the two cats heard crashes from nearby.

"Their coming!" meowed the wailing cat.

The other cat picked up a kit. The first cat nodded. Then the other cat turned and ran, the tiny kit still dangling from its mouth.

It never stopped to look back.

A twoleg entered the area, followed by a second one. They picked up the cat and its remaining kit and walked away.

--

Chapter 1

"You'll have to go into the nursery soon."

"I know."

"It still scares you, doesn't it? I heard you mewling in the night."

"I'm not scared! It just brings back bad memories."

Orangestripe turned her back on Silverpelt, the Thunderclan warrior whom she loved. Silverpelt looked at her longingly. It pained him to see her like this; full of fear, sadness, denial and loneliness. It made him feel guilty. The only reason Orangestripe had to go into that nursery was because she was expecting his kits.

"I don't know exactly what happened before, I was injured and unconscious, but I'm sure you can get over it."

"I'll tell you what happened! They locked me up for murdering Heavyfur! Without any definitive proof! I was a prisoner! I had to live in there! I was under constant guard! Do you think, for any second, that I will ever truly get over that?! Do you think I could possibly ever not hate going back there?!"

Orangestripe had twisted round but now she was stalking away, over to the warriors den.

Silverpelt turned and began to lick his silvery fur. A shaft of warm new-leaf sunlight fell upon him, warming him to the very core. He purred quietly. Icepelt walked up to him. She had been his apprentice until not very long ago.

If you can count over a moon as not very long, Silverpelt thought.

"I really enjoyed the Gathering last night. I can't believe that Swiftstar has died."

"Yes that was tragic." replied Silverpelt. Suddenly, a voice called for Icepelt.

"Stupid sister! I'm coming Mousewhisker! Sorry Silverpelt!" Icepelt meowed then turned and raced over to her sister.

Yes, everything was normal and the whole world seemed fine. Silverpelt was beginning to get used to the changes that had occurred just about two moons ago. He had killed Tigerpelt, the greatest threat to the forest since Tigerstar.

And yet, it seemed a hollow victory.

He had lost his sister.

Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes outside the entrance. Then two Thunderclan warriors, who had been on patrol, dragged in a cat.

The first one, a grey tom with darker grey stripes, was Greystripe. Greystripe was clan deputy, Silverpelt's so-called best friend and mate of Tawnypelt.

The other cat, Roseeyes, had been born in Shadowclan. She was a dark ginger she-cat and her apprentice name had been Bloodpaw. She had been abandoned in the Thunderclan camp by Shadowclan after an unsuccessful raid. She was now a trusted warrior and had an apprentice, Specklepaw.

They had dragged in a brown she-cat with a white belly and black splotches. Silverpelt gasped. He recognised the cat. It was Poppy, a kittypet from just outside Shadowclan territory. She had helped him get home when he had been kidnapped by twolegs. She was also Icepelt and Mousewhisker's mother.

Greystripe and Roseeyes threw Poppy down in the centre of the clearing. Icepelt tried to move forwards but her sister held her back.

Whitestar came out of the medicine cats den where he had been talking to Whitefoot, the medicine cat.

"What is going on here?" he asked.

"We found this rogue on our side of the Shadowclan border. She was trying to find one of our warriors. Silverpelt." snarled Greystripe.

All eyes turned to look at Silverpelt. He took a step backwards.

"Any reason why she would be doing this?" Whitestar asked him.

Silverpelt opened his mouth but it was Poppy who spoke.

"Oh please! You have to help me! I was only looking for that cat because I have seen him before! You have to help! My name is Poppy. My twolegs moved from their nest into another nest. But I wasn't happy because in the nest next to mine was a dog! So I ran back to my old nest. But when I got back, my old nest had been destroyed! I was all alone, so I came to find you and live in your clan. Please!"

"You have to let her!" meowed another cat, stepping forwards. It was Icepelt, she had broken free of her sister.

"And why should I do that?" asked Whitestar, turning to face his warrior.

"Because… because… because she's my mother!"

The clan gasped. Hollypaw, Specklepaw's sister, dropped the spider she had had hanging from her paw.

Whitestar looked at Icepelt curiously, then nodded.

"Very well." he meowed. "From now on, Poppy, you shall stay with us and be known as… Sandshadow."

The clan cheered, but another sound silenced them. A cat ran through the entrance.

"Mother!" it cried.

"This is my son." Sandshadow explained.

Whitestar's expression changed. It now seemed to be half be half annoyance, half resignation.

"He may join too" declared Whitestar, disdainfully. "He will be an apprentice. Nightpaw."

The black cat looked up, confused. His mother urged him over to his sisters and the crowd disbanded.

Silverpelt saw Greystripe trot over to Whitestar.

"Who will he be apprenticed to?" Silverpelt heard Greystripe meow.

"I am going to be changing apprenticeships this evening. I am too busy to train Thistlepaw and I know you are struggling with Hollypaw. He will be apprenticed then."

Silverpelt saw Greystripe nod and walk away.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here, beneath the highrock, for a clan meeting!"

Silverpelt heard the call and slunk out of the warriors den where he had been talking to Sandshadow. He had been explaining all about hunting.

"Come on." he meowed to her, "You and I can go hunting tomorrow."

Sandshadow followed him out the den and the pair sat in the group that was slowly gathering beneath the highrock.

"As most of you know," Whitestar began, "Thistlepaw and Hollypaw were appointed as mine and Greystripe's apprentices due to the shortness of warriors a moon ago. As we currently have plenty of free warriors, I am appointing them to other cats."

Several cats nodded within the group. The decision made sense as Whitestar and Greystripe were busy cats.

"Thistlepaw shall be appointed to Icepelt and Mousewhisker shall continue Hollypaw's training."

Many cats nodded again and some cats murmured things to each other. Whitestar waited until the whole clan was silent before he continued.

"As for the new apprentice, Nightpaw, he shall be apprenticed to Silverpelt."

The cats cheered again and Sandshadow licked Silverpelt's ear. He heard Orangestripe growl but chose to ignore it. He walked over to the young cat and touched noses with him. He gestured for the young cat to follow him and led him out of the crowd, to behind the medicine cats den.

"Are you okay?" he asked is new apprentice.

"I'm just… finding it hard to believe that everything I used to know is gone. I'm finding it hard to adjust." The apprentice gazed up at his new mentor with his big yellow eyes and whimpered.

Silverpelt licked Nightpaw's ear and said,

"You'd better get some sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!"

"Where do I sleep?" asked the young tom.

"In the apprentices den. Follow me." Silverpelt meowed.

He led the apprentice to his new den and Nightpaw went inside. Silverpelt slunk away to the warriors den and sighed. He slumped down in his nest and thought to himself,

Why does everything always have to change?

Then he fell deeply asleep.

Silverpelt surveyed the surrounding area. He knew he was in a dream and none of it was real, but it was all vaguely familiar. He could have sworn he had seen it before, but he could not remember ever coming here. He was in a small clearing, a pool of water was infront of him, over to the left. Before him on the right was a cat. He was too far away and it was too dark to see clearly, so he could only see a silhouette, but he heard the cat meow something as a small trio of kits mewed feebly. He tried to take a step closer, but couldn't. There was something holding him back. He was about to try again when a cat entered the clearing.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed at the cat lying on the ground, stopping dead in surprise. "I thought we were meeting at the border?"

"I tried to come and find you." replied the other cat calmly, "I was going to call it off. I thought they'd be safer as kittypets. I would still come, when they've grown, but I've had second thoughts about them. I don't want them living in this world."

The other cat snarled viciously and raked his claws down the side of the queen. She howled with pain. And her kits began to mew louder.

"Shut it!" snapped the angry cat, "I will not have you spoil this for me! You're all coming and that's final!"

Both cats jumped as they heard the sound of a door open some distance away and a voice yell out. The queen's ears pricked and she said,

"My twolegs are calling me! We'll have to call it off!"

"No!" screeched the other cat loudly. He snatched up a kit and ran off into the bushes, leaving the queen to wail and lick at her wounds. Silverpelt tried to rush forwards again, but once more, he was held back. It felt like torment to Silverpelt to merely sit there, while this cat was probably dying infront of him. He tried to shake his head, tell himself that he knew it was all a dream, and it was, only... it also felt like it wasn't.

Suddenly a thought struck Silverpelt. He'd been here in a dream before, only a few days ago he had been in this very same spot, the same cats had been here. Only there had only been two kits that time, and the female had already been wailing. It could almost have been a continuation of tonight's events. Then Silverpelt realised, it was a continuation of tonight's events! Suddenly, everything slipped out of focus and darkness surrounded himself. When he opened his eyes he was back in his warm cosy den, but he could still hear the cat wailing.

Silverpelt shook himself and stood up. It was already past dawn and he could hear the sounds of cats scurrying about within the camp. He left the warriors den and surveyed the camp. It was in a mess. Cats were running around screeching and carrying sticks and bedding to the dens and out of the camp. He could see Whitefoot and Brokenmoon racing from cat to cat, examining injuries. Mousewhisker and Specklepaw lay outside the medicine cats den, groaning quietly. Mousewhisker was covered in blood and still bleeding heavily and Thistlepaw's left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Silverpelt was in no doubt.

Someone or something had attacked the camp last night.

"Enjoyed your nap?" spat Tawnypelt as she walked past him, back to the nursery, "Or hadn't you noticed we were having our fur clawed off!"

Silverpelt took a step back, startled. Tawnypelt wasn't usually this hostile.

"Now two of my kits have disappeared and so has Icepelt!" she shrieked, before running back to her remaining kits.

Silverpelt took a step back again. Icepelt was missing? And two of Tawnypelt's kits?

Silverpelt felt like he was about to faint when Whitestar approached him.

"Is it true?" Silverpelt asked Whitestar.

Whitestar nodded, his expression unreadable.

"I'm afraid it is true. Icepelt is missing, as are Brindlekit and Stonekit."

"Who did this? Who attacked the camp?"

"We were attacked by a party of Shadowclan cats at moonhigh. They were led by Firestorm."

"Firestorm?!" gasped Silverpelt in disbelief. "But he's not even a clan deputy, Icestar wouldn't have chosen him to lead the attack, not after he joined Tigerpelt's rebellion!"

"Then I wonder if this was a true Shadowclan attack, or just a band of rogues who should be exiled from their clan." meowed Whitestar. After a while he decided, "I will go and speak to Icestar."

Silverpelt was about to protest when Whitestar continued.

"And I will take a group of cats with me. We may be able to recover the missing cats."

Silverpelt nodded.

"Now, Silverpelt, go and tell Greystripe of this and ask him to choose five warriors to accompany me, but not himself. He must stay here to guard the clan. Also, they must not be the five most senior warriors, as we may need to defend ourselves if there is another attack."

Silverpelt bowed his head then turned and raced over to where Greystripe stood, over by the nursery.

As he approached, Silverpelt saw the nursery was in a terrible state. Huge chunks of it had literally been clawed out and the entrance had been smashed and torn to smithereens. There was almost nothing left. Inside of it, Tawnypelt was wailing and trying to comfort her kits, who were confused and kept asking where their littermates were. Tawnypelt was clutching them close to her, and wouldn't let anyone else inside the nursery.

Silverpelt trotted over to Greystripe. Greystripe turned and asked him,

"Where were you last night?!"

"Before I tell you that I must tell you Whitestar's message." he replied.

"What is it?" Greystripe asked in a less hostile tone of voice.

"Whitestar does not believe that the attack was organised by Icestar, the Shadowclan leader, and thinks it was organised by the same band of traitorous rogues who aided Tigerpelt last time. Whitestar is going to visit Icestar to discuss the matter and rescue the missing cats. He requests that you pick five cats to go with him, excluding yourself, who must stay and run the clan. You must also not choose all five of our most senior warriors, in case we are attacked again."

Greystripe nodded, then commented,

"This is foolish, he shouldn't go risking his lives like this. If he is killed for good I would never forgive myself. I would become the leader and I can't do that job. Not yet. But if I must choose, then Roseeyes and Mousewhisker shall go, along with their apprentices. And you will have to tell Whitestar that I can only afford to send four cats with him. I would send Orangestripe as well but she is almost ready to have her kits."

Silverpelt bowed his head to his friend and deputy and scurried back to Whitestar, who was now helping the injured Blackclaw make her way over to the medicine cats den, where Brokenmoon was waiting to help her inside and treat the large gash across her left shoulder.

Silverpelt shivered as he approached.

How could such a calm and peaceful camp turn into this overnight without warning?

He walked up to Whitestar and delivered his message.

"Greystripe apologises but he can only afford to send four cats due to our... shortage and current state of health. He has chosen Roseeyes and Mousewhisker to accompany you, along with their apprentices Specklepaw and Hollypaw."

Whitestar nodded then turned and leapt up onto the highrock. He cried out,

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here, beneath the highrock, for a clan meeting!"

The cats of Thunderclan all turned at once and raced over to the ground under the large rock, except Tawnypelt, who merely slid into the entrance of the nursery to watch and listen, he kits still pressed closely to her and kept there by her tail. When all the cats had assembled, Whitestar continued,

"Under the light of recent evidence, implying that our attackers may have been the same traitorous Shadowclan cats who sided with Tigerpelt against us a moon ago, I have decided to take a group of cats to accompany me upon a mission to go and speak with Icestar, leader of Shadowclan, to discuss the attack, and to attempt to rescue the missing cats."

Some cats, including Hollypaw and Mousewhisker, shouted cries of agreement and support to the statement, whereas other cats, including Tawnypelt and Sandwhisker, cried out that this should not happen and that he couldn't do it.

"You can't just leave us to go and see Shadowclan!" yelled Tawnypelt from her nursery entrance, "Not now, when we need all our cats to help with repairs and to defend us in case of another attack. You could get yourself and the other cats killed. You can't just go and see a clan of cats who many of us still believe did this!"

Yowls of support rose up from several of the cats for Tawnypelt's statement and she raised her head in pride. When the noise died down, Whitestar replied,

"It is vital I see Icestar to find out who did this and it is vital we rescue those cats, if we wait too long they could end up dead!"

"They could be dead already!" cried Blackclaw, who had limped to the medicine cats den entrance to hear the meeting.

"Yes!" cried Tawnypelt, her mind decided that her argument was winning, "And where's your evidence that Icestar didn't order the attack?"

"I'm sure he didn't because the attack upon us was led by Firestorm. As you know, a moon ago, Tigerpelt was exiled from us and joined Shadowclan. In Shadowclan, he gathered together a band of cats and attempted to kill Icestar and take control of Shadowclan. Firestorm was one of Tigerpelt's supporters. Why would it be that Icestar would send a cat who tried to kill him to lead a mission to attack us, when he could have sent his deputy, Leopardstorm, who he trusted and who had been against Tigerpelt."

There came many nods and meows of agreement from the assembled cats, but some, like Tawnypelt, were still not entirely convinced.

"How do we know he didn't send Firestorm so we would think this was the case?" she asked jeeringly.

"Icestar is in a dangerous position." Whitestar responded, a hint of suspicion in his voice, "He cannot trust half of his clan, yet he needs them to carry out duties such as hunting and patrolling. An attack on any clan now would be a big mistake. If they were attack, say, Riverclan, and Riverclan were to attack back, then Icestar would have a problem. How would he know if his clan were going to defend him? What would he do if he was injured during battle? Would one of his cats try to finish him off to become leader and continue Tigerpelt's work? It would be a foolish action and would likely see Icestar killed once and for all. No, this is why I don't think he is responsible, but it is also why I must speak to him, to see if he knows who my have done this and where are cats may be being held."

Finally, all the cats were agreed and Whitestar could announce the details of his plan.

"I am going to be leaving immediately for Shadowclan and it may be a few days before I return. I will be taking Roseeyes, Mousewhisker, Hollypaw and Specklepaw with me."

The two apprentices who had been chosen looked up with delight, while Thistlepaw and Nightpaw looked disgruntled. Although initially nervous about life as a clan cat, after the previous night's battle and his success at fighting in it, Nightpaw's spirits were high and he was a little irritated he hadn't been chosen, even though he knew that after only a day and a night here, he couldn't really expect to be sent on such an important mission.

With the meeting dismissed, Whitestar gathered his group of cats, meowed some instructions to Greystripe and left the camp. Silverpelt watched them go, then walked over to his friend.

"What are your orders?" he asked. Greystripe looked hesitant for a moment, then he replied,

"Whitestar has instructed that Orangestripe is to go into the nursery as she is so close to kitting, and also for her protection. The remaining warriors are to do a dawn patrol, except you, and the remaining apprentices are to go hunting. The rest of us shall help with repairs to the camp."

Silverpelt nodded, then left. This was going to be a long couple of days and he wasn't fond of the thought of telling Orangestripe the nursery news.