"And what exactly did he say?"Maplestar mewed coolly, flicking her tail slowly as she listened to Wolfscar report about what he'd heard.

The small group of Shadow Paws had decided to follow the FalconClan patrol at a distance, and Maplestar had sent Wolfscar out to spy on a rogue they'd seen.

"He said they'd be getting revenge on the Clans and Spiderpaw."Wolfscar's voice was mildly excited, and his eyes twinkled.

"Then we must ally with this...Viperclaw.He will be of use to us."

Maplestar decreed.

"How? We can't just waltz over to Viperclaw and demand his allegiance, that's not reasonable at all."Wolfscar pointed out.

"Oh, how I hate when you do that."

Maplestar frowned, twitching her ear.

Slatescar and Shatteredfur pushed through the ferns into the small clearing, arguing and shoving each other.

"I would have caught it if you had of been quiet you big badger! It heard you miles away."Slatescar hissed irritably, settling down beside Wolfscar.

"At least I wasn't crouched wrong! You wouldn't of been able to catch that mouse even if I didn't scare it!"Shatteredfur retorted, standing beside Maplestar.

"I've got an idea."Maplestar smiled evilly, her yellow teeth gleaming. "And it involves a rogue and a Clan-kitty."

"We've got an idea.I get most of the credit."Wolfscar put in, wrapping his tail around his paws.

"Yeah, whatever,"Maplestar dismissed him with a twitch or her whiskers.

"There is a cat named Viperclaw who convinced a soft blob of flesh and blood to get revenge on his Clan, and that brat of a hair ball Spiderpaw."

Maplestar spat, her neck fur bristling.

"We team up with a rogue and a Clan cat? Crazy!"Slatescar scoffed.

"It's extra help! It'll make defeating FalconClan much easier."Maplestar sighed.

"I thought you said we didn't need help?"Shatteredfur narrowed his eyes.

"That was before.Besides, the more the deathier!"Maplestar laughed.

"That's not a wo-never mind."Wolfscar coughed. "Let's go find Viperclaw.And that little puffball."

Maplestar took the lead as the four padded through the wood, keeping eyes watchful and open for any sign of life.

"Look! A birdie.It looks ugly like Shatteredfur."Slatescar sneered, shoving the black furred tom in the side with her snout.

"Shut up! I can fly at least!"

Shatteredfur's amber eyes blazed.

"Nah nah nah!"Slatescar taunted him, nipping at his heels and racing ahead to trot beside Maplestar.

"Stop acting like kits!"Maplestar snarled, and Slatescar flattened her ears to her head.

"Sorry, Maplestar."she muttered, dropping back to walk beside Shatteredfur again, out of fright.

Maplestar smirked in satisfaction.

"Stop,"Wolfscar ordered. "I hear something.."

Everyone obeyed, freezing in their tracks.Maplestar angled her ears, listening closely.

Suddenly, Viperclaw lunged through the bushes and tackled Maplestar.

The calico was shoved roughly onto her back as Viperclaw sunk his claw slightly into her skin.

She let out a screech, wriggling just enough to make him slip off.

"We're not your enemies!"Wolfscar and Maplestar shouted at the same time.

"Uh huh, then what are you?"

Viperclaw looked doubtful.

"Shadow Paws!?"Shakenpaw's eyes were wide as he stumbled over to stand beside Viperclaw.

"Shadow Paws?"Viperclaw tried out the word. "Sounds....Evil.And I like evil."

He smirked.

"We want to help you defeat the Clan, and Spiderpaw."Maplestar explained.

"I'm in."Viperclaw nodded swiftly, turning to Shakenpaw. "We work for the Shadow Paws temporarily."

"Temporarily?"Wolfscar squinted at him.

"Just until we complete our mission.Then, Shiverpaw and I will go travel the world.Isn't that right, Shiverpaw?"he sent Shakenpaw a toothy grin.

"It's Sha- yes, Viperclaw."

Shakenpaw sighed heavily, looking up at the sky.

"It's getting dark."Viperclaw observed. "Stay the night in our den, and we'll head out in the morning."

There was a crunch in the bushes, and as all six of the Shadow Paws glanced over at the bush, there was a rustling as a four-footed animal raced away.

"Those fox-dung badgers! They're always creeping around."Slatescar snarled.

"That wasn't a badger! It was totally a moose."Shatteredfur nudged her neck, eyes lit with amusement.

"No, that was a cat."Wolfscar narrowed his eyes.

"Probably a rogue.I met this lovely she-cat named Primerose out here.She lent me some dinner while I followed Spiderpaw and his group."

Viperclaw shrugged.

"The place is infested with rogues,"Shakenpaw agreed. "I've seen at least four."

"You calling us rogues?"Shatteredfur blinked.

"No! Of course not!"Shakenpaw stumbled sideways, even though he was standing still.

Shatteredfur laughed. "I was joking! Learn to take a joke, kit."

Shakenpaw frowned.

"What's are next move going to be?"Viperclaw turned back to Maplestar.

Maplestar went to open her mouth and reply, but was cut off by Wolfscar.

"Isn't it obvious? We hurry back to the Clans, take out RavenClan, and when Spiderpaw and his friends come back to stop us, we kill them all.Then we go and kill FalconClan and HawkClan."

"But, you can't kill Birchpaw! Or Spiderpaw!"Shakenpaw pushed into the conversation.

"Why not?"Wolfscar scoffed.

"Because! I need to prove to Spiderpaw that I'm capable of doing something! So- I'm going to beat him up with my own bare paws!"Shakenpaw threateningly raised his furry paw and shook it.

"And Birdpaw?"Maplestar tilted her head.

WHY DOESN'T ANY-CAT PAY ATTENTION TO NAMES!!!!

Shakenpaw's mind screamed.

"It's Birchpaw, and, because she's very special to me."Shakenpaw answered slowly.

"Fine,"Maplestar flicked her tail. "Birchpaw and Spiderpaw remain untouched -- for a while."

"How exactly do we plan on killing an entire Clan?"Slatescar asked, slight fear in her eyes.

Shatteredfur leaned against her. "Yeah? It's not like we've got superpowers."

"I-Don't know exactly,"Maplestar gazed at Wolfscar with begging eyes.

"We'll have to find a way to lure out a patrol, kill those cats, and continue doing that till there's only a few left.Then we storm into the camp and kill the elders, queens and kits."

Wolfscar shrugged. "That's all I can think of at the moment."

"Sounds great,"Viperclaw nodded. "Now let's sleep, I'm exhausted."

The six cats clambered into Viperclaw's makeshift den, surrounded by protective brambles.

Curled up comfortably, they fell asleep.

(Word count: 1027)