Hello! I am Swift, and welcome to my newest project – a completely different take on the second series of Warriors – The New Prophecy.

All canon aside, this story takes place at the end of Moonrise and the beginning of Dawn. Basically, the Four that were requested on the sun-drown place journey, as well as Stormfur and Squirrelpaw (notice the paw there?) are just coming back to the Clans.

Please enjoy this prologue of my first ever AU!

–Swift

Prologue:

Dark clouds wained high above their heads as they trekked along the mountainside. The scent of water – from both the waterfall that was now long behind them to the rain sprinkling on their fur – was pungent in the air. It seemed to trail down their pelts slowly, as if it were dreading falling off and onto the ground, where it would be rendered useless. The sounds that rang through the air were the sweeping of tails, mutters and complaints, and of rocks scattering and shifting beneath the weight of their paws.

"I'm sick of this," complained a dark ginger she-cat. Her green eyes were bright against the dark shadow that fell over her as they entered an overpass.

"My paws are sorer than sore," muttered a dark gray tom. His pelt was such a shade of dark gray that it nearly looked black; it blended in well with almost everything. "Can we rest?"

"We're almost there, Crowpaw..." murmured a light gray tabby she-cat. She brushed against him, to which the said apprentice mewed something incoherent in response.

"Is Feathertail right?" the second dark gray tom asked. He walked side-by-side with a dark brown tabby tom, his yellow eyes trained on the stones and cracks ahead. "Are we close, Brambleclaw?"

The dark brown tabby flicked his ears, clearly not having been paying attention until this point. His dark amber eyes were glistening in the silver sheen of the rocks as moonlight reflected off of them. He opened his jaws, scenting the air for a moment before shutting them again and saying nothing. His only indication of confirmation on the matter was a single nod – a brisk, quick-enough-to-miss-if-you-blinked nod.

"We haven't hunted in days," the dark ginger she-cat pointed out matter-of-factly. Crowpaw and Feathertail's air shifted as they both turned and glared at her for a moment before facing the front again.

"That's because there's nothing to hunt for up here, Squirrelpaw." Brambleclaw growled, lashing his tail. Squirrelpaw opened her jaws to respond in the same annoyance, but with the sharp warning of, "Don't make him upset now," from Tawnypelt, she simply closed her muzzle and said nothing.

They traveled on in silence for quite some time, no one wanting to say something that might ruffle someone else's fur. All five pairs of eyes were trained on the stones and gray clouds ahead, the pelts of their companions in front of them; all five hearts yearned for the hope that after each bend, turn, or leap, that their home would be there instead of the same false image, over and over again.

Suddenly, Squirrelpaw's excited yowl broke through the air: "I can see it! I can see home!"

Brambleclaw felt Squirrelpaw's pelt brush against his for a moment as she bounded forward, towards the end of the ledge that jutted out from the rest of the mountain. "Squirrelpaw!" he shouted, knowing that it would be useless to try and reprimand her, yet compelled to do so. "Get away from the ledge! It's not –"

Before he could finish, the stone vanished from under Squirrelpaw. A scream of horror erupted from her lungs as she scrambled to reach the end of the stone that was still attached to the mountain. Claws hit stone as Squirrelpaw latched onto the crumbling gray surface with all of her might, her green eyes wide in fear.

"Stormfur! Brambleclaw!" she cried, clawing and gasping as her hold began to weaken. "Anyone, please! Help me!"

"Don't just stand there!" Crowpaw snarled, shoving both Brambleclaw and Stormfur roughly to get them out of their daze. "Get Squirrelpaw off that ledge before it – her – are no longer there!"

The two toms looked at one another for a moment before nodding in silent agreement. With fear bolting through him, Brambleclaw raced forward with Stormfur on his heels. His heart pounded loudly in his chest, the wind rushing through his ears as he teetered lightly on the edges of the crumbling stone. He moved quickly but slowly, not wanting to misplace a paw in any way; if he did, he'd end up in the same state as Squirrelpaw – or worse.

"Hurry!" Squirrelpaw growled in fear, her pelt bristling at the way her claws were slacking in their hold and she was beginning to slide farther and farther away from Brambleclaw.

The dark tabby tom launched himself forward, knowing that if he wasted a second longer, Squirrelpaw would no longer be there; feeling Stormfur's teeth lock onto his tail-tip, he quickly took Squirrelpaw's scruff in his jaws. As he began to pull the dark ginger apprentice upward, a large crack could be heard from behind him; he felt Stormfur's teeth tugging hard on his tail, and just as the ledge finally crumbled and descended downward towards the ground, Brambleclaw felt himself be squashed by Squirrelpaw's body being tossed on top of his.

The scrambling of rocks sounded in his ears as the others came rocketing towards them. Brambleclaw heaved himself to his paws and was beginning to nudge Squirrelpaw to hers when Tawnypelt nearly bowled him over, relief clear in her green eyes.

"Are you completely mouse-brained?!" she meowed, her eyes wide. She stepped away from him, rubbing her muzzle along his side as she murmured, "Thank StarClan you're all safe." A few tail-lengths away, Brambleclaw could hear Feathertail thanking their ancestors for the same thing as she pressed against Stormfur.

Turning his attention away from the others, Brambleclaw saw that Squirrelpaw was right; home was just behind this next overpass! The pine trees from ShadowClan's territory were enough to make his heart swell with joy.

"Come on!" he meowed, jerking his head in the direction of their destination. "Home's just this way – behind this overpass!" He watched as his companions scrambled to their paws and nodded, their eyes bright with relief and excitement. With a skip in their step, the six Clanners raced around the bends and weaves, over the rocks and wide expanses of nothing but abyss, and finally stormed down the side of the mountain in order to place their paws on grass for the first time since their journey back home.

But as they gazed farther and traveled longer, they realized that home was not what greeted them.

WindClan's wrecked moor greeted them first; nearly all of the lush grass that had once flourished here was reduced to dirt and the scattering of Monsters around the area. Fear clenched around Brambleclaw's heart as he and the others passed through each territory, taking in how horrible they had been treated. ShadowClan's pines were there, yes, but only a scrap few; RiverClan's stream was still flowing, but was now a murky black color. Brambleclaw could only imagine what ThunderClan's territory was like.

As they all pushed through the foliage of ThunderClan's camp, they were greeted with a shock so large it forced Squirrelpaw to race forward and bury her muzzle in the scruff of another cat – this one dead.

They were all dead; every one of them, gone – their bodies lay battered and tossed in various parts of the clearing.

"No..." Squirrelpaw's anguished cry rang out in the entire forest. "Dustpelt, no!" She nudged the dark brown body in front of her weakly, as if she had no more strength.

"You're alive!" came a raspy voice from a cluster of bushes at the far end of the clearing. A pure white she-cat, her pelt flecked all over with gray, pushed herself out into the open; a few others followed her lead, coming out to examine the newcomers. All of their eyes grew wide at the sight of them; on trembling paws and weak legs, each one of them hurried forward to greet Brambleclaw and the others.

"Where's everyone else?" Feathertail asked lightly. The silence that followed her question was enough to make the silver tabby flatten her ears and scoot closer to Stormfur, who wrapped his tail around her and pressed his muzzle to her ear in a comforting gesture.

"They're gone," Frostfur, the pure white she-cat meowed. Her blue eyes were dull with age and exhaustion.

"What do you mean, gone?" Squirrelpaw demanded; her green eyes were tired with grief as she meowed harshly, "What do you mean, gone?!"

"Calm down, Squirrelpaw," Brambleclaw soothed, taking a step forward to go and comfort her. The dark ginger apprentice simply snarled at his paws, her pelt bristling at the order.

"Left is the more proper term." Speckletail stated grimly, adding to Frostfur's claim. "The four Clans – everyone, except for the elders – have fled the forest in search of a new home."

Silence passed over them again; hurt slammed over Brambleclaw like a wave. His home; gone... his family; gone... his life; what good was it now that all four Clans had moved on without them?

He felt Tawnypelt brush against him and rest her muzzle on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Brambleclaw," she murmured, sensing his despair. "We'll find everyone; have faith in us and in StarClan... I promise we'll make it out of here alive."

Hope was what got them here – faith was what they needed more than ever now.

Quite a long prologue; but I actually really like it. :D

Review?

–Swift