Gamer4 in. Okay, I'll tell you what this is all about: for a while, I've been wanting to do a tribute to my favorite game series: Earthbound. This is a seriously underrated (or maybe just underknown) trilogy of games. However, it took me a while to decide exactly how to go about it. Finally, I decided: novelize one of them (maybe the others) in another fandom. Trying to decide which universe was difficult as well. However, after a bit of consideration, I finally decided on the world of Warriors. Two underrated series in one shot. (If you don't believe that Warriors is underrated, you don't live anywhere near where I do. Yeah, it is.) That said, I'm starting with the game that's underrated even among the few who appreciate the trilogy itself: Earthbound Zero. While its sequels are much more well-known, this one is worthy of some praise itself. So, for those of you who know both series, and clicked on this out of interest, thank you! For those of you who clicked on this because it was Warriors-related, I hope the story here will interest you. Enough opening notes: on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own either Earthbound or Warriors. This is the only time I'm going to say it.

Clanbound

Prologue

Opening

It's a well-known fact, especially in science-fiction, that great events can be triggered by smaller ones. In this case, the smaller event wasn't really small, unless in comparison to the events that it triggered. But we're getting too far ahead. For you to really understand the great events, you'll have to know the smaller events that led up to it.

It's hard to know exactly where to begin. But maybe the best place to start would be on a particular night in the forest, where the stars and full moon watched over the four clans of cats that lived there. Despite their long gaze, not even the stars could fully appreciate the world-shaking things to come, and to be fair to them, it took many moons for the events of that night to affect anything.

The clans were, as per the code that they followed with their every breath, gathering in a great hollow, wherein lay a great stone with four even greater trees surrounding it. The gathering gave no sign that that night was anything special. There were some minor quarrels among the clans, but such things were inevitable. The true events began after the clans had left.

Specifically, it was when Riverclan arrived back at camp that they noticed something strange: two among their number were missing: Whitepelt and Oaktail. The two had come to the gathering together, along with the rest of them, leaving their kits behind for a brief night. But they weren't back at camp that night. And the next day, the two still hadn't returned.

The leader, Hailstar, made several attempts to find the lost warriors, but the two were never found. Their kits had to be taken care of by other queens. But it was many moons later before any sign of them could be found, long after Riverclan had given up looking.

It was a cold morning that a group of newer warriors rushed back into camp, telling Hailstar of a strange cat at the edge of their territory. When the cat was brought back, he was recognized as none other than Oaktail himself. He had changed greatly from the cat that had vanished. Though he was welcomed back into the clan, the only ones he ever spoke with were his own kits, and even to them only scarcely. Whitepelt never returned, and Oaktail would never tell them what happened to his mate. Instead, he separated himself from the rest of the clan, muttering strange things that made no sense to the others, with only a few words repeating: "Dark Forest," and "Psi."

It was long after this that Oaktail spoke to his kits, now long apprenticed, one last time, before leaving the clan for good. The kits never told the clan what Oaktail had told them. Oaktail was never again seen in Riverclan, or in the clans at all, leaving only his kits behind to remember that either he or Whitepelt had existed at all.

But all that was many moons ago. It wasn't until many moons after Oaktail's final departure that anything more happened. By then, the clans had been forced out their own territory, and across a long journey to live next to a lake. It is many moons, after Oaktail's kits had grown up and had kits of their own, that we can finally pick the story up.

XXXX

No matter what the weather was in the mortal world, in the world above, it was dark. Tigerstar knew this because he was there: a lone member of the Dark Forest: the place the eye can't see, where cats went if they weren't worthy of Starclan. In the Dark Forest, they were condemned to wander the darkness alone, forever. Tigerstar had been able to break the wall between that forest and the mortal world before, but only for brief stretches. In this land, his strength was nothing. All was darkness, and there were none there.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out of the darkness. "Do you wish revenge?"

"Who's there?" Tigerstar asked, jumping up with his claws out.

"Calm yourself, I am not an enemy," the voice hissed.

"How can you be here?" Tigerstar asked, not letting his guard down: the forest could play tricks on the mind, and he refused to be pulled in.

"I am no illusion!" the voice said, and Tigerstar stiffened. It was like the thing could read his mind! "Indeed," the voice said. "Now that we've established that, I may as well answer your questions, if that's the only way to get you to listen. As to how I can be here, I have more power than this forest, more power even than the stars that imprisoned you here. As to who I am..." Here, the voice paused for a second, "Well, if you must have a name for me, then call me Giegue. It is not my true name, but until I am sure that we are on the same side, I must hide that name. Whether you know it or not, names have power in this part of the world."

"What do you want?" Tigerstar asked, still refusing to drop defense.

"An answer to my question would be nice," the voice said drily. "You wish revenge on Starclan, and the world below, do you not?"

"Yes," Tigerstar admitted.

"I can make it possible," Giegue said. "I can lift the barrier on this accursed forest. There are more cats in this forest than you can know. Once you can meet, you will be able to plan an attack on Starclan. Believe you me, I have no love of them either."

Tigerstar was interested, but wasn't an idiot. "What would you want in return," he asked, "and why would you do it?"

"My reasons are my own. If you don't trust me, than feel free to allow the offer to pass. As to what I would want in return, I need passage into that world. The clans have something that I greatly desire, and I need help in overthrowing them. I need you to weaken them so that I can invade and take it."

"Even if the Dark Forest could weaken them, do you intend to take them on yourself?"

"No. You see, I am not dead, and am, in a way, the leader of my own clan, though we don't call ourselves that."

"Are you from the Tribe, then?"

"No. I am from a much greater race. Surely, this is no inconvenience to you, or your comrades. You get revenge upon Starclan, and the world below, as well as freedom from this forest, and all I want in exchange is the time that you would give me by doing so. Do we have an agreement?"

Tigerstar thought about it. "I suppose we do. However, I do have one more thing to say."

"What is it? I cannot linger here, so hurry."

"Why are you hiding yourself?"

"That must come to light later," Giegue said. "I must leave."

XXXX

On the fields of Starclan, the members were meeting. Bluestar, Spottedleaf, Tallstar, Barkface, Nightstar, Yellowfang, Leopardstar, and Mudfur. "What's going on, then?" Yellowfang asked.

"Have you sensed the signs?" Bluestar asked. "A storm is coming."

"This was prophecied long ago," Mudfur said quietly. "It was said that the storm we've foreseen would come, and could only be held off by three toms and one she-cat uniting against it. It was said that when they did, the clans could be in peace for good. It seems that the time has come at last."

"But it hasn't!" interjected Yellowfang. "I was aware of the prophecy, but it isn't yet time for it to be fulfilled! The cats meant to hold off the storm haven't even been kitted yet! If the storm is coming, then something has gone wrong."

"Is it possible that the stormbringer heard of the prophecy?" Tallstar suggested. "He may be attempting to strike before the cats destined to destroy him are born."

"Maybe so," Barkface said, "but it is said that those who attempt to delay prophecies often bring them about."

"If the chosen ones aren't yet born, then how can that be the case here?" Nightstar demanded. "He isn't trying to stop the chosen ones from being born, he's trying to bring the storm before they can stop him!"

"So what do we do?" Spottedleaf wondered.

"Luckily, we have other candidates," Mudfur said. "Do any of the clans remember Oaktail?"

"The cat that died in the mountains?" Bluestar asked. "Yes, we remember him, but he isn't in Starclan."

"He isn't alive now, but before he died, he discovered the very power that the heroes of the prophecy are said to have."

"What use is that to us, if he's dead?" Nightstar asked.

"None, but before he left for the mountains, he passed the power on to his kits."

"Whether he did or not, that leaves us with yet another issue," Yellowfang pointed out. "His kits are dead. His daughter was killed in a struggle between Windclan and Riverclan, and his son died of greencough last leafbare."

"Indeed, but when his daughter died, his son passed on the power to his own son, Redpaw. Therefore, Redpaw has the power to fight the coming storm."

There was silence as these words passed over the gathering. Finally, Nightstar spoke. "So we do have a chosen one."

"Indeed," Mudfur said. "Things aren't as hopeless as we supposed."

"There's still a problem, though," Bluestar said. "I don't wish to disrespect Riverclan, or the training they give their apprentices, but the original prophecy called for four cats, not one. Even with that, I don't like our chances if young Redpaw sets out to fight the Stormbringer alone."

"He won't have to," Barkface interrupted.

"Why not?" Bluestar asked, turning to him.

"When Oaktail's daughter was captured by Windclan, but before she died in battle, she was kept in our camp, as a sort of hostage. Sorry for that," he added to Leopardstar, "but that's not the point. The point is, while she was being kept, she passed the power on to a Windclan apprentice. She apparently decided that averting the oncoming storm was more important than border disputes between the two clans. That apprentice isn't herself in any shape to join a Riverclan apprentice, let alone for a journey to stop this storm, but she has passed the power on to her daughter. That brings one to two."

"That's still only half of what we need," Bluestar pointed out. "I can assure you, Thunderclan has never had any cats with special powers, outside of the three, but they are busy with their own prophecy."

"After this meeting, I must speak with you about that," Yellowfang said, "but I agree. Shadowclan hasn't had any connection to Oaktail's children either."

"Then the others will have to be outside of the clans," Tallstar said solemnly.

"What?" Nightstar said, turning on him. "Leave the fate of the clans to outsiders?"

"Would you rather leave it up to two young apprentices?" Bluestar countered. "I agree with Tallstar. If we want to have any chance of combating the storm, we will have to turn to cats outside the clans."

"How can we choose them?" Leopardstar asked.

"I think I know of one that would be a good addition," Bluestar said, gesturing at the pool at their feet. It shimmered, and a cat's image appeared there.

"No!" Nightstar objected. "Outsiders, I can handle, if just barely, but a kittypet?"

"He is stronger than his kittypet brethren," Bluestar said. "He would be a great aid to the two."

"Very well," Tallstar said, sounding reluctant all the same. "He shall be the third. But that leaves one more."

"If Shadowclan is allowed to have their say," Nightstar growled, "than I think I have the fourth." He gestured at the pool himself. On seeing the picture there, all of the other leaders turned on him.

"Are you mouse-brained, Nightstar?" Leopardstar hissed. "One of them? I am no more fond of kittypets than you are, but I would rather have all four of them be kittypets than have one of them be a member of Bloodclan!"

"It's not just any Bloodclan member," Nightstar said. "He took leadership of them after Scourge's death."

"Even worse!" Tallstar interjected. "Bloodclan has brought nothing but suffering to the clans! How could you even think of calling on their leader in a time of need?"

"He is a better leader than Scourge," Nightstar insisted. "If he had better blood, he could almost be a clan leader. He would greatly increase the four's chances."

For a while, there was an uneasy silence about the pool. Finally, it was broken. "Very well," Bluestar said. "If it must be so, then let it be so. We must alert the two that must leave home."

"I'll let Redpaw know," Mudfur said. "I was his clan's medicine cat, after all."

"Do you think this is the right thing to do, Spottedleaf?" Bluestar asked her medicine cat quietly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But given our circumstances, I think that it's the only thing we can do."

XXXX

And that's the end of the prologue. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the story as it unfolds. Please R&R, constructive criticism is awesome, being able to make the story better, flames are not nearly as helpful, Gamer4 out.