Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors. Erin Hunter does.

Summary: ThunderClan is plagued by a disease that has never been seen before. Minnowclaw, ThunderClan's medicine cat, is doing all he can to help his clan, but will ThunderClan ever break free of the plague's hold?

Idea given to me by SecretClan. Enjoy! xD

Dreadful Cough

The stars sparkled for its last time before vanishing into the slowly brightening sky. Pale streaks of pink, purple, and orange appeared on the horizon. The wind was warm and calm, promising fair weather for the day to come. I was sitting outside of my medicine den, watching the dawn's colorful approach back into the world. Dawn had always been my favorite time of the day. It signaled a start of a new day and a new beginning. That was back when all was peaceful and carefree among the forest clans.

Now, however, instead of joy and happiness, the tainted dawn relinquishes yet another nightmare to live through, another cruel fate to be delivered. The plague of the Rainbow Cough was destroying the only world I knew, the only reason I had to live. But the scariest part of all was that, as a medicine cat, I am the last line of defense for ThunderClan.

"Minnowclaw!" My ears pricked forward as I heard my name being called in a desperate wail. It was coming from the nursery. I sighed and retreated to the back of my medicine den to retrieve the herbs that were going to be required. Then, as quickly as my frail and old white legs could carry me, I rushed towards the nursery to ease the pain.

"Thank StarClan you're here," the golden brown tabby queen spoke. "Brackenkit has started coughing!" I looked down at the tiny pale kit sprawled on the moss bedding. His eyes were closed shut and breathing heavily. I bent down to sniff the kit and determine whether or not it was the dreaded rainbow cough. At that moment, however, the kit was racked by another series of coughs, and along with the cough, he spat out mucus, tinted with multiple colors. So, rainbow cough have laid its claim on this kit.

"I'm sorry, Goldenpelt, it seems that Brackenkit has contracted rainbow cough," I mewed to the queen, who was staring anxiously at the kit. "I had hoped it would have been something less... severe."

"There must be something that you can do!" wailed Goldenpelt. "You can't let him go! His life has just started!" Queens were always overprotective of their kits, but in this situation, Goldenpelt was right to fear for this kit's life. We had already lost several warriors to the plague.

"I'll do all that I can for him, Goldenpelt, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough. His fate is in StarClan's paws now," I told her sadly. Since it had been first discovered a moon ago, I have tried all the herbs that I knew of to cure this cough, but to no avail. After that, I went to the Moonstone to see if StarClan knew how to treat this disease, but it was the first time they have known of its existence. I was, entirely, on my own.

"That's all I can ask for, Minnowclaw. Thank you," Goldenpelt said and moved towards her kit. I smiled weakly at the queen and went over to where I had put my herbs down. I sorted through them until I found the tansy I was looking for. It had worked the best, even better than catmint, in the past to ease the cough and the pain. I chewed some up a small portion and gave it to the kit.

"Let me know when he starts coughing again," I said.

"Will do, Minnowclaw," Goldenpelt answered, mechanically. I picked up the rest of my herbs and walked through the clearing, pausing to take in the sight. Normally, there would have been warriors milling around, getting ready for the day's hunting and patrolling. Now, however, there were only one or two warriors preparing for the day's hunt. Border patrols were sent out once a day now, due to the lack of warriors.

I sighed and adjusted my route to make my morning rounds throughout the camp. I stopped by the warrior's den first, hoping, as always, that the remaining warriors hadn't contracted the plague. I poked my head in when I arrived and tasted the air. There were two sleeping warriors remaining in the den and both did not have the scent of disease on them. I continued my rounds through the elder's den and the leader's den and was glad to find that both dens were plague free. Thank StarClan!

My paws carried me towards the medicine den. Once there, I placed the herbs I had taken out back in their storage areas and moved to wake Nightpaw, my apprentice, up. "Nightpaw!" The apprentice shifted in position, but didn't wake. She had always been a heavy sleeper. I prodded her side more violently and, this time, she jerked awake.

"What's going on?!" she shouted, instantly alert. I chuckled at her response.

"I need you to go in the forest and look for some more tansy. You remember what they look like, don't you?" I questioned. She nodded.

"Of course. Those were the first things you showed me when I became your apprentice," Nightpaw replied, indignantly. "I'll get right to it." She turned and trotted out the den.

"Make sure you bring a warrior with you!" I shouted after her. She flicked her tail in response, signaling that she had heard. Sorting through the remaining herbs I had, I made mental notes of which other ones were low in supplies.

It was at that moment, I felt uncomfortable. My head spun uncontrollably, making me dizzy. My chest felt clogged, making it hard to breathe. I slumped down onto the ground and closed my eyes, waiting for the nausea to fade and breathing in and out slowly. When I opened them again, the world stayed still. I looked towards the entrance of my den and was surprised to see that it was late evening already. I guess I had drifted off to sleep...

I ventured out of my den and towards the gorse tunnel that lead out of the camp. I sat by the tunnel for a while, breathing in the fresh air around me. Suddenly, I heard pawsteps behind me. I turned around to see a sleek black tom approaching me. "Hello, Blackfur," I greeted.

"Greetings, Minnowclaw," he responded. "I trust that all is well? You were in your den for an unusually long time." He eyed me carefully. There were concern in his dark brown eyes.

"Of course," I replied. "I just fell asleep."

"You have been working extremely hard this past moon. I guess it finally tired you out," Blackfur mused. "I'm proud of you, you know. It's tough being a medicine cat in times like these." I nodded my thanks. "You doubt yourself, don't you?" Blackfur was ThunderClan's remaining elder, after the first wave of rainbow cough sent his den mate to StarClan, and he was also my dad, so I guess he could easily notice that something was off.

"Wouldn't you? I've watched so many cats die to this disease and I've been powerless to do anything but ease their pain," I whispered. "If I was a better medicine cat, I would have already found a cure by now." Blackfur's whiskers twitched.

"You've scoured the forest for new herbs and you've tried different combinations of known herbs to try and find the cure. There's nothing more that you could have done," Blackfur said with authority. I sighed. He wouldn't understand.

At that moment, my chest started to feel uncomfortable again, and this time, I started to cough. Blackfur stared at me, fear clouding his eyes. "You're sick! Why hadn't you said anything?"

"There was no point in worrying you," I said. "And even if I told you, could you have done anything about it? Anyways, it could just be a normal cold." Blackfur looked doubtful. At that moment, Nightpaw's scent drifted to me, and seconds later, she came to a halt in front of me with the tansy she had collected.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Blackfur announced and turned to walk back into camp. Nightpaw looked from me to Blackfur and back again.

"Is he sick?" Nightpaw asked, worried.

I shook my head. "He just wanted to talk." I said. "Anyways, thanks, Nightpaw. Go get something to eat and then get some rest." Nightpaw nodded and disappeared through the gorse tunnel. I picked up the tansy and followed her in. I went straight into the medicine cat's den and put the newly collected tansy away.

I was racked by another series of coughs and I panicked. What if I really had contracted rainbow cough? I couldn't die now. I hadn't finished Nightpaw's instruction and I hadn't found the cure to rainbow cough. My clan still needed me!

My head started to spin again and I sunk down on the ground. Another wave of coughs plagued me and sure enough, I was spitting out mucus tinted lightly with the colors of the rainbow. I tried desperately to cling on to life, but I was already starting to fade. The rainbow cough acted too fast on my frail body. There was no escaping its grasp. The last thing I smelled was the scent of tansy mixed in with the scent of Nightpaw.

My dear ThunderClan, I have failed you.

A/N: Hope you've enjoyed it! Please review if you've got time! =P