Hello again! This chapter might be slightly confusing at the start, but just let it flow and it should make sense by the end.

Boss' view:

A large, muscular man sat hunched at his desk scattered with papers. The draws of the ancient, wooden desk were filled with 'implements' that he used on special occasions, or at least when cats misbehaved. On the walls of the small room were pictures of the man with several large tom cats and she-cats in cages and large trophies and ribbons were stacked on the walls.

There was a rapping at the door, answered by a grunt. A woman this time, in her early twenties at most, sauntered in with a small shrivelled man tottering along behind her. She leant on his desk, waiting until the door shut behind them to speak.

"My sister brought in a new load last night. Caged 'em up an' left 'em with food an' water. When should they start?" Her voice was broken and gruff, which in some strange, unnatural way fitted her lanky frame and passive expression.

Instead of replying, the large man behind the desk banged his fist on the table, making even the lanky woman start and the short man behind her jitter nervously.

"When were the latest litters born?" Boss asked, standing and turning away from the group. He looked up at the largest of the photos in his wall. It depicted him with two cats on either side, each in a cage with ribbons tied to the handles. One was a huge golden tom with multiple scars, the most prominent being those on his face. One thick scar travelled from above where his right eyebrow would be on a human face, running down over his eye to just above the top of his cheek. On his left cheek, three thin claw marks zig-zagged across, leaving bare skin in its wake. The other cat was a gorgeous black she-cat with delicate features and a somehow deadly gleam in the depths of her green eyes. She too had multiple scars, with one on her right eye almost identical to that of her comrades but thicker and longer and the other scar running from the bridge of her nose over her lips down to her chin.

The woman glanced at the jittery man.
"Well Boss, the last birth was about…" She counted on her fingers, "Two months ago? A ginger she-cat. The kits were fathered by…. Ricco, I think."

Boss suddenly swivelled on his heels, turning towards the woman.
"Mitch, we've been over this…" His voice was runny and sickly sweet, "Every month I expect one litter of kittens. Then, when I've trained them up, the best fighters stay with me. The others are sold for plenty of money to rivalling breeders who think they're getting a five star rated fighter." He eyed Mitch dangerously, who seemed to have lost her cool and had taken a few steps back.

"Oh, er, yes sir of course! My apologies, I'll set up a breeding operation right away! Any… uh, preferences?" She bundled, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Blaze hasn't sired kits for a while now. His line is the best in the neighbourhood and I don't his kits to be carried by a mangy rat like last time!" He thundered the final words, saliva glittering on the edge of his lip. "Understood?" He said smoothly, regaining his cool immediately. "Now Mitch, as my second in command, you know where I keep the fight files. The top three she-cats will carry Blaze's kits." He rolled his eyes at Mitch's questioning expression, "Yes yes, three instead of one to make up for your latest error, you irritating fool!" He spat, thumping his fist on the desk. Mitch jumped to attention.

"Yes sir, of course sir, right away sir!" She squeaked, rushing out of the room followed closely by the jittery man.

Boss chuckled. She was such a silly character. What a shame that she made these juvenile errors, or else she would probably be less likely to lose her job. Then again, why did he care? What a silly question- of course he didn't care!

Running a hand through his crew cut hair, Boss sauntered over to the door of his office and swung around the door with a malicious grin on his face. He spotted a thick headed whale of a man sitting on a chair with his feet up on a stack of cages filled with cats. One was glaring right at him, and for a moment Boss glared straight back at the amber orbs of the she-cat. He would make sure that she was the first to enter the next big competition. Until then, he'd feed her up.

"Hey you! Yes, you, baldie! Put those cats away, bring me Blaze and the others. Then meet me in my office in… Let's say… five minutes. Now, GO!" He scowled, slamming the door again and startling everyone in a 10 metre radius. He chuckled in the privacy of his office and flopped back down onto his chair again the moment he was near enough. Tomorrow, his latest batch would be sent out and the day after he planned a small fight. Two months away was the biggest cat fight of the season, and he would be hosting it.

Because he wasn't interested in dogs, or dog fights for that matter, he had never strayed into that line of business. But cats were graceful, elegant, spirited creatures. Set a wild rabid dog on a man and he's clawed to death before you can get any fun out of it. Set cats on a man, or even each other, and thing suddenly get a lot more interesting.

He was lost in thought when a shy knock at the door caught his attention.

"Come in!" The door opened and the bulky man came in carrying two crates. In one was the scarred tom from the photographs. The other crate was clearly inhabited, but he couldn't see the cat. A black tail poked out from between the bars, but that was all. Another crate waited outside. "Good, come on in before you cause too much racket, I've been busy planning a… date for these two. Come this way." Boss stood and made his way to the back of the room where a well concealed door was hiding. "Follow me."

Two long months later:

Maplepaw lay exhausted at the back of her cage. Her glowing amber eyes were dim and tired. Her paws, which had always been slightly bigger than what would be proportionate, felt raw from walking on either metal bars, stone floors and then gritty, blood stained sand that irritated and infected the scratches. Her claws were battered and her fur torn and yanked in all directions. She felt like a shell of her former self.

Over the past few moons she'd been fed hard, dry pellets in something, she had discovered, was called a bowl. The cats around her had told her it was made of metal which seeped into her water and made it taste like it had just passed through the system of a monster after a long day on the thunder paths. When she was taken out, a skinny man in white pelts poked and prodded her with different metal sticks and often put his paws over her face and tried to put them in her mouth. The last time she had left her cage was the worst time yet. Maplepaw had wailed as the twolegs held her thrashing frame down and shoved some sort of gooey dirt into her mouth which they held open. The twoleg doing this to her held them against her front teeth before pulling them out and barking something to the other twolegs. Then, the two leg in question began fiddling with her paws and forcing her claws out of their sockets only to release her paw moments later. It was all so confusing and terrifying that Maplepaw tried to forget about it without success.

Yesterday Robin and Maisy had both been taken away. She was left with Troy and a she-cat kept in a neighbouring cage. Not once, even while the twolegs man-handled the she-cat, did she say a word. The mysterious she-cat in question had striking, gorgeous green eyes that followed the movement of everyone and everything. Her fur would have been pure white had it not been for the dust, blood and the black markings on her face. Her ear tips where black and a thin black stripe ran from her forehead to between her shoulders. When she was in her cage she hardy moved unless it was to eat or drink. When the twolegs came, she allowed them to pick her up without making a fuss. However, Maplepaw felt as though the she-cat was holding back. She didn't purr at the twolegs, nor did she seem to enjoy their company at all. Her eyes were her only give away, and Maplepaw knew that the twolegs wouldn't be able to pick up on that. The brilliant green orbs shone with anger, despair and distrust constantly. Troy said that she was weak because she didn't fight back, but Maplepaw could sense something deeper than that.

Interrupting her thoughts, the twoleg dressed in white pelts rounded the corner followed by the man she'd seen on her first day. They barked at each other for a few minutes before the bigger man picked up Troy's cage before grabbing hers too. The white-pelt-man picked up the she-cat's cage.

"Troy, what's happening?" She whispered hoarsely, pushing herself unsteadily to her paws. Standing was hard in the cramped space and the massive man swung her cage as he walked.

"I don't know, but I think that our time is near." Troy's voice came from the other side of the great lump.

"We'll be made to fight?"

"Maybe, but I think we've been chosen for something. Something like-" Troy was cut off as they entered a large room. She hadn't been in here before but the smell of fear and blood didn't give a good first impression. Her crate was dumped on a white 'table' (she'd adopted the name when Maisy explained it to her) while Troy was plonked next to the she-cat. Maplepaw backed away to the back of her small cage as more men entered. Before she had time to react, she was pulled from her cage and dumped on the table where hands came in from all sides to pin her down. Soon her mouth was being held open, but instead of the goo being put into it something new was in its place. She could feel, on her two front canines, that something was being fitted in over it. A satisfied grunt from the white-pelt-man lead to a searing pain in her jaw. He clamped two metal claws around her largest canine and twisted. Two twists and a yank later her tooth popped out. She writhed in pain and shrieked at the top of her lungs but she couldn't break free. Her own blood cascaded onto her tongue as bits of creamy fluff was pressed against the wound. The artificial cobwebs slowed the bleeding and before long the white-pelt-man held the metal claws to her mouth a second time. She shrieked and tried to pull back as the world began to go fuzzy. She felt the jaws clamp over her other large canine, pulling and twisting. It seemed to take hours for the tooth to come out as she wriggled weakly and wailed loudly. It seemed as though Troy's voice was miles away when he called to her to keep going, that things would be alright, that she could get out of this hell-hole. But she didn't want Troy, she wanted Ravenpaw. The thought of her best friend drove her on while the pain seared in her mouth and in her head. He was dead, but she wasn't, not yet!

Finally, the tooth landed on the table in front of her. She worried that the jaws would attack her again but the man came with some strange devices that filled in the gaps between her teeth. He was still fiddling with them when she passed out, exhausted.

It felt like days later when she awoke again, but when she did she discovered that she was back in her cage it had most likely only been about half an hour. Never in her life had Maplepaw expected to be grateful to be back in the claustrophobic, cramped crate but it was like a breath of fresh air compared to the dreaded table. She looked around and saw twolegs gathered around the table. The she-cats cage was empty and she raised her head to see Troy looking sadly at her.

"I told you so." He breathed, shifting closer to her cage. "I told you that you couldn't get out of here unaltered."

Maplepaw's eyes widened and she tried to say something to him but moving her jaws proved nearly impossible. In her distress she tried to stand up again only to stumble as pain shot through her paws.

"Don't try to stand, you see they've-" Again he was cut off, but this time with a shriek of terror and anger. They both turned their heads to see the white bushy tail of the she-cat sticking out of the mass of twolegs. Troy almost looked concerned about her. Again the shriek came, this time more in anger and pain that fear.

"Let me go you worthless beasts! No, no you will not turn me into that… that monster! Put me down this instant you incompetent idiots or you'll regret it!" The she-cat protested. Troy looked surprised and Maplepaw could understand why. The she-cat's voice was full of fight and hatred. It had a slight accent to it and it seemed formal, as if its owner was used to making polite comments instead of angry threats. The white-pelt-man jumped back and for a second or two both cats got a chance to see what was going on. The she-cat had bitten him when he'd tried to take her teeth! She looked slightly pleased with herself as the twoleg's blood smeared over her jaws. Troy gave a cheer and for a moment he looked slightly impressed but it was gone before anyone could notice.

Maplepaw's energy was starting to return to her and she managed a quiet meow, but her two sharpest front teeth felt hard and… metallic?

It was a long time before the wailing and shrieking stopped, and when it did the limp form of the she-cat was placed back in her cage. The twoleg began clearing the table- Troy would be next.

"Are you okay?" He asked the she-cat, who was quivering like a leaf. The she-cat turned to face them and Maplepaw's jaw dropped. In place of the she-cat's two front teeth were two metal teeth. They looked solid, not like the flimsy stuff her bowl was made off, and they protruded slightly from beneath her lip. Shaking, Maplepaw finally reached an aching paw to her own to find that she was exactly the same. She was mutated, altered, tainted. Feeling dizzy, Maplepaw looked back at the she-cat to see that in spite of everything the green orbs looked sympathetic.

"I will be fine, soon. Thank you." Her voice was crisp and concise despite her shaking. It seemed as cold as ice, yet somehow the tone felt a little bit warm. Troy looked unsure of her, his gleaming icy eyes staring at the she-cat.

"Who are you? I'm-"

"troy. I know. And she's Maplepaw. I'm not deaf you know, nor am I… how do you say… weak." A sly twinkle in the green depths of her eyes made the comment light hearted, but it didn't stop Troy's embarrassment.

"Sorry about that." Maplepaw cut in, getting used to talking with her new teeth. "What's your name?" She could hear footsteps and the new that the two legs would come to take Troy soon.

"Frost." The name suited her personality, that was for sure.

Maplepaw nodded and glanced around nervously as the white-pelt-man drew near.

"Why are they doing this to us?" She looked at Frost who had probably lived here longer than she had.

"Why, to make us more efficient, of course." Frost licked a paw with a blood red tongue and swiped it over her ear delicately.

"To become more efficient at what?" Maplepaw already knew the answer as Troy's cage was picked up.

A strange emotion gleamed in Frost's green orbs as she stared unwaveringly at Maplepaw.

"Killing."

I apologise for not updating for so long, but I've been thinking hard about the plot and everything. This is the path I've decided to go down for the moment.

Quick recap for any confused friends:

'Boss' runs one of the best cat fighting rings and has made an awful lot of money from it.
Maplepaw and Troy are taken with Frost, their new comrade, to be 'adjusted'. The metal teeth will increase the damage they make on the opponent as they will be stronger, sharper and longer than normal teeth. The implant was done without anaesthetic to 'harden' the cats.
Troy has just been taken to have his teeth messed with as well. Maplepaw and the others had pronounced Ravenpaw dead as they have not heard from him since.

Ta daaaa!

Reviews:

XxBravespiritxX: AH HA HA HA HA I can imagine some random person flopping off their chair and laughing at that! That you for making me smile. You are funny XD I'll try to do the story in the next chapter (REMIND ME) since I really want to get this chapter posted NOW. Like… now. If possible. XD

Swimming Trees: I can't get over your name, I just love it. LET THE TREES SWIM! Thank you for that! Ah, the spice is there alright, but with the spice grow or wilt? *glances around* that is the question… Sorry I took so long to update; I haven't had the time to write!

FireySpirit711: Good questions! No no, don't worry, you are right! Silverstream in the original books passed away. Here, since Maplepaw has been brought back I thought that it would add to things because of her history with Crookedstar, Silver's father. It also made sense in my mind… I'll PM you and you can ask me your questions OK? I don't want to do a HUGE reply to you here and then miss my update and then…. Anyway, I'll start rambling (not that I'm not already) so I think it best that I PM you soon to talk about the questions!

Guest (Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog): I LOVE your ideas! I won't let on about your plot plan, but I think the names are very good thoughts. Perhaps I should use the name Sunbeam, and Mapletree is a wonderful name… We'll have to see! Thank you!

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog: Firstly, I love your name! So mysterious, hiding in the fog over there, wandering. I applaud you! Secondly, as I said in the post above, I love the ideas, thank you!

Flamespirit of the Storm: Thank you, you are very kind! As to what is wrong with Maplepaw, I would put it down to a number of things including insanity, Claustrophobia and annoyance. XD (I love your name too, very creative!)

TheMouseOfAwesomeness: Thank you! I hope so too, it would be tragic if he was dead and Maplepaw moved on or something…

ice888cream: Here is your chapter! Sorry for the long wait but it is here now and I hope the snazz makes up for it.

Timbermist: Ah ha ha, no problem! That is a LOT of books, but I bet by now you've finished them all XD Thank you!

Robyn Tact: I. Love. It. Thank you. XD They sound wonderful!

QUICK IMPORTANT NOTE:

I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I know that lots of authors say this, and I'm also aware that a lot of them do the routine 'I know they all say this but…. And I really mean it…. You're all the best fans/readers/reviewers/rubber duckies any author could ask for!' But in all honesty I doubt that I would continue updating if it wasn't for all the wonderful reviews! You really lift me up when I read the great reviews and I can't wait, whenever I update, to see if anyone will review and when someone does I always, ALWAYS, do a happy dance or wriggle knowing that people care enough to review. So thank you!

Soppy stuff over…

May Mapleshade be Loved again!

(P.S: Thanks to everyone who reviews and writes that. Mapleshade is loved!)