"What have you done?"

A voice whispered in his ear, and he gasped, spinning around. "Who's there?" He was standing on the frozen river, the ice smooth under his paws. He looked around the snowy banks, but couldn't see any other cat near him, let alone beside him.

"It's begun, Iceslide." He froze as the voice breathed in his ear again, cold as a frosty breeze. "What have you done? What have you done?" 

Iceslide backed away, his heart pounding with fear. "Where are you?" He gasped. "What did I do?"

More whispers joined in from all around him. "What have you done? What have you done?" They repeated over and over, and Iceslide cowered to the ice in terror. Stop! Go away! Somebody-

"Help! Somebody help!" 

The wail jolted him awake, and he raised his head, gasping out. For a heartbeat, he thought that the wail had been a part of the dream. But around him, cats had awoken. Did I wail in my sleep? Was it me? But his denmates paid no attention to him. Most were leaping out of their nests and hurrying into the clearing, while others just stared after them anxiously.

"Please, help us!" The voice cried from the clearing, and Iceslide rose and stumbled out of his nest, still shaken by his nightmare. 

He'd almost reached the entrance when Dipfoot pushed past him, nearly knocking him over. "Sorry!" He called over his shoulder. Iceslide gave his pelt a shake before following him out into the clearing. It was very early morning, and the sky was still dark. Fresh snow covered the ground, and heavy flurries drifted from the sky.

A small golden-brown and black tabby was standing by the entrance of the camp, breathing heavily. Blood streamed from his shoulder, and his snow speckled fur was bristling with fear. Iceslide picked up the scent of WindClan.

"Driftpaw?" Shimmerstar had just reached the apprentice, Frostedcloud and Salmonstripe following quickly. "What's-"

"You have to help us!" The WindClan apprentice cried, his amber eyes lit with terror. "Please, our camp is under attack! It's the rogues!" He was nearly tripping over his words he was speaking so fast. "We're outnumbered, it's bad! My father is already badly wounded, and my mentor, Windwhisker, is dead!"

Cats murmured anxiously, and Shimmerstar exchanged an uneasy look with Frostedcloud.

"You have to come!" Driftpaw pleaded desperately. "Please, hurry!"

"We will." Shimmerstar promised and turned quickly to her warriors, scanning the nearest cats. "Salmonstripe, Mudslip, Sunripple, Shorestep, Warmmoss, Iceslide-" She paused as more cats hurried out into the open. "Winterlight and Heronleg, you too."

As the warriors gathered, Iceslide among them, Shimmerstar turned to her deputy. "Frostedcloud, make sure the camp is guarded while we're gone," She ordered, and the white tom nodded before rushing away to a group of warriors.

Driftpaw's tail was twitching back and forth in impatience and fear as Shimmerstar turned to him. "Lead the way," She ordered, and the apprentice spun and raced out of camp, Shimmerstar and the others following.

How many rogues are there? Iceslide wondered anxiously as he ran with his clanmates through the snow. They outnumber a whole clan!

"Oh, StarClan!" He became aware of Sunripple running alongside him, his voice rich with fear. "I hope Dreamwhisper is okay!"

Iceslide didn't respond as they headed across the frozen river. He wished he could reassure him that she was, but these rogues were merciless. He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep.

***

As they neared the camp, they were surprised to find it quiet. There was no sound of screeching, snarling, or any other sounds of battle. But as they got closer, they could see that the gorse tunnel was half destroyed. The rogues had certainly been there, but the battle was over. They were too late.

Did they drive the rogues off? Iceslide wondered anxiously.

When they neared the damaged gorse tunnel, Shimmerstar hesitated, raising her tail for her cats to stop. When she decided it was safe, she led the way into the camp.

They were met by a horrible scene. There were cats loosely scattered around the clearing, most wounded. Two warriors were crouched over the body of Bouldercrash, while another wailed over the body of a golden she-cat. Beyond them, there were at least two more bodies. The sandy ground was stained with blood. 

Driftpaw let out a cry and bolted forward. "Fallenhope, no!" He ran across the clearing to the body of the tabby warrior and pressed his muzzle into his fur, sobbing. 

That must be his father. Iceslide thought, his heart filled with sorrow. I know how it feels to lose one...

Shimmerstar turned to her warriors. "Try to help the wounded if you can," She meowed quietly. "Hivepelt and Silverberry would appreciate the help."

The RiverClan warriors quickly began mingling with the WindClan cats. Iceslide saw Sunripple head straight for the nursery. I hope Dreamwhisper isn't hurt.

Gladestar was sitting by the body of Windwhisker, her head bowed. When she noticed the RiverClan cats, she stood. "Shimmerstar," She rasped and padded over slowly, her eyes dull with sadness. "Thank you for coming. But I'm afraid it's too late."

As the leaders spoke, Iceslide froze when he spotted Soakedears crouched over Firetail, and immediately rushed over to his friends. "Are you guys okay?" He gasped.

Soakedears looked up at him, blood trickling from a cut in his muzzle. "I'm okay," He rasped. "Firetail is hurt badly."

"I'm fine!" Firetail lay on his side, coughing and shivering. Blood pooled under him from wounds in his shoulder and chest. "You should have seen the other guy."

"No!" A wail came from across the clearing, and Iceslide recognized Sunripple's voice. He looked up sharply and saw him half inside the nursery. 

Iceslide's stomach filled with dread, and he ran over to his side, ducking into the den. Oh no...

It was a terrible sight. Dreamwhisper lay in her nest, blood soaking into the moss under her. Her throat had been torn open, and her eyes were sightless, her mouth parted and lips curled back in a snarl. She'd been trying to protect her kits. Beyond her lay another dead queen. She had no kits, not yet anyway. It looked like she'd been expecting.

"Oh, Dreamwhisper, no!" Sunripple sobbed in grief, hanging his head.

In front of Dreamwhisper's body, the three kits were mewling and wailing in despair, huddling against their mothers body. Starkit, Blazingkit, and Petalkit.

"Why won't she wake up?" Petalkit cried while her siblings prodded Dreamwhisper's body anxiously.

Starkit let out a wail. "Dreamwhisper's hurt!"

Sunripple let out a cry and immediately started forward to comfort his kits, but a ginger tom suddenly pushed in the way, shoving him backwards. Iceslide quickly backed away.

"Get away from the nursery, fish face!" He spat. 

Sunripple stumbled back in surprise. "I was-"

"I said, get away!" The WindClan tom snarled, lashing his tail. "I won't let you touch my kits!"

That must be Weaselnose. Iceslide realized. The cat that the clan thinks is the father of Dreamwhisper's kits. The cat that HE thinks is the father. He looked aside at Sunripple uneasily.

"Your kits?" Sunripple bristled, and suddenly his eyes blazed with fury. "You let me in!" He started forward, but Weaselnose pushed him backwards with a furious snarl. Beyond him, the kits were crying against Dreamwhisper's body.

Sunripple snarled and stepped back toward him, but Iceslide shouldered him away. "No," He meowed quietly. "You can't-"

"Those are my kits!" Sunripple's fury melted into anguish as he struggled, but Iceslide forced him back. "My kits are crying. My..." His voice trailed off into a cry.

"Sunripple, it has to be this way," Iceslide's heart ached for his friend. "Weaselnose will take care of them."

The gold and yellow tabby gave up and hung his head, leaning against Iceslide. "I wish they knew the truth!" He sobbed. 

"I know," Iceslide murmured as he rested his tail around him and gently guided the sobbing tom away.

In the middle of the clearing, Shimmerstar was still speaking with Gladestar. The WindClan leader's eyes were filled with loss. "It was horrible," She rasped. "They attacked while we were asleep. Killed the guards. We were caught completely off guard."

"Were you able to learn anything about them?" The RiverClan leader asked, resting a paw on Gladestar's shoulder. "Have you seen them before, any of them?"

The golden tabby she-cat stared back at her. "Since I've become leader of WindClan, I've been trying to remain confident. But these rogues..." She swallowed.

Shimmerstar waited, and after a moment Gladestar gathered herself and continued. "Shimmerstar, these rogues are like nothing I've ever seen. The clans have never seen. And certainly not their leader."

Iceslide stared at the WindClan leader curiously. At last, we know something! Who is this leader?

"You won't believe me, I hardly believe it myself, but..." Gladestar stared at her. "Their leader wears a skull on his head."

Cold dread shot through Iceslide's veins like ice, numbing him from ears to tail tip. No... Oh, no, no.... He staggered backwards, and Sunripple turned to him, asking if he was alright, but he hardly heard. He looked around the bloody clearing at the wounded cats and felt his heart pounding and his legs trembling. 

I caused this...

***

Not long after they returned to camp, Iceslide had gone straight to twolegplace. He had to warn his friends about Bone Shred and his rogues. He didn't know if any were still lingering around there. The thought of something happening to Violet filled him with dread.

All day his mind had been racing with a million thoughts and feelings. He was stunned by the fact that Bone Shred's cats had been terrorizing the clans, but also by his own stupidity. I led a group of bloodthirsty rogues straight to the clans... I told them everything they needed to know in order to attack... What was I thinking? How could I have fallen for it?

Snow was falling heavily to the ground. He ducked through the gap in the fence and stepped into Juicy's yard, looking around. But he saw no sign of his friend. "Juicy?" He called as he padded through the snow. "Juicy, are you out?" When he was answered by silence, he sighed and hurried onward along the side of the nest. One of them has to be around here!

"Violet! Princess! Parrot!" Iceslide called as he reached the front yard, scanning his surroundings. Are they all inside? He was about to try calling them again when he spotted Parrot. The small kittypet was laying on the top step of a twoleg nest, his chin on his paws.

"Parrot!" Iceslide ran over and padded up the steps.

The kittypet's eyes flicked up to him, and he was surprised to see how sad he looked. "Iceslide. Hi."

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, sitting beside him. Parrot was the most cheerful, funny cat he knew. It was unlike him to be upset. "Are you okay?"

Parrot was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke. "It's terrible... Those rogues, the shady looking ones you were with earlier this moon? A bunch of them came back."

No! Iceslide's stomach churned anxiously. "What happened?" He rasped.

"They killed Juicy..." Parrot said quietly. "T-they split his stomach open..." His voice cracked. "And then Princess... They wounded her so badly. Her housefolk took her to the vet, but it was too late. She had to be put down." He dropped his gaze.

No, no, no... Iceslide let out a sob of grief and hung his head. "I'm so sorry..." He rasped.

"Iceslide, they... They told us they did it to... thank you for your help..." Parrot slowly looked up at him, his green eyes filled with sadness. "What did you do...? Why would you help them?"

He hung his head, shame and sorrow flooding through him. "I-I didn't mean to..."

Parrot stared at him numbly. "There's more... After that, they took Dime and Truffle as prisoners. I don't know why." The little tom moaned. "Oh, it's a nightmare here. Things used to be so peaceful, and now..."

"I'm so sorry, Parrot..." Iceslide gave him a lick on the head, his heart throbbing with grief and guilt. "I'm sorry..." He swallowed. "Violet...?"

"Violet's okay." The kittypet said to his relief. "She stays inside a lot, but her housefolk let her out now and then. She's been wanting to see you."

After saying goodbye to Parrot, Iceslide began heading for Violet's nest. He couldn't believe what the rogues had done in twolegplace. And it was all his fault. He was anxious about Truffle and Dime. I have to get to them. I won't let them die too. 

When he reached Violet's home, he jumped onto the windowsill and peered inside hopefully. He spotted her on the couch and scratched at the window. She raised her head and padded over, jumping up to see him. "Hello, Iceslide." She meowed quietly.

"Violet, are you okay?" He stared at her through the glass. "I'm so sorry about Juicy and Princess."

She nodded, her blue eyes filled with sadness. "I'll be okay. Iceslide, I..." She stared at him. "My housefolk have decided to keep me inside permanently. With the deaths of other kittypets in the neighborhood, they're afraid to let me out."

Iceslide grew uneasy. "What are you saying?"

"We can't see each other anymore." Violet's eyes were filled with sorrow. "The world is too dangerous out there for me. In here, I'm safe and warm and cared for."

"No!" Iceslide stared at her desperately, his heart aching. "There has to be a way!"

"Stay with me," Violet meowed, her eyes pleading. "You could live out the rest of your days in peace. We could be together all the time, and you'd be safe."

His heart was screaming at him to say yes. But to live out the rest of his days trapped in a twoleg nest would be a nightmare, even if Violet was with him. He'd miss everything about being outside and free. He could never explore ever again.

He met her gaze numbly. "I can't." His voice cracked, and he swore his heart did too. "I'm so sorry..."

Violet's eyes flooded with sadness. "Then... I guess this is goodbye..." 

Oh, Violet... Iceslide stared at her, wishing there wasn't a window between them. He longed to nuzzle her and feel her against him one last time. But that would never happen again now. "Violet, I... I love you."

"I love you too, Iceslide. Please take care." Violet's eyes glistened, and they stared at each other for a long moment, reluctant to look away.

After what felt like moons, Iceslide forced himself to turn away. He leaped down from the windowsill and slowly padded through the snow, his heart broken as he left the cat he loved forever.