Author's Note: Thanks you all for the pleasant reviews! Also, a Happy Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras to everyone! Here's the latest update of TFA Warriors. If you want to read ahead, about fifteen chapters are already up at . I will update my other story, The Princess and the Spider, sometime this week...when I'm done with my two essays. Damn it. Note to those upcoming seniors, if you don't have much free time, DO NOT TAKE COLLEGE ENGLISH 101! I love the teacher, but essays on Mardi Gras? When after the class will be nursing hangovers? Seriously?xD
Anywho, enough complaining. ENJOY THE CHAPTER!
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Several seasons had long past since the Great Battle between BloodClan and the four forest Clans, and since then, the scars of that war had long since healed. Greenleaf had arrived and the forest was alive with prey. Kits had been born and warriors had been made, giving hope and strength for the future of each clan. The blood that had once covered the grass of Fourtrees had been washed away long ago, and it was once again a place for peace and truce between the rival clans.
A full moon rest above the treetops as Ultra Magnus led his cats away from the ThunderClan camp up the slope that leads towards Fourtrees. Following behind were the group of cats that the leader had chosen to come with him to the annual Gathering. The Gathering was a sacred event that took place every full moon, where all four Clans would meet at Fourtrees under a peaceful truce. The Clan leaders would bring their warriors to discuss current events and make important decisions that would affect not only their own clan, but the entire forest.
"Hurry up, apprentices! We don't have all night! Stop gossiping and get a move on it." growled Sentinel Prime, newly appointed deputy of ThunderClan, to two young toms near the back of the group.
One of them, a yellow-furred one, gave the warrior a glare and retorted back. "You know, most High and Mighty Deputy, we do have names." He tilted his head towards his twin brother, who was identical to him except for the red fur, and smirked. "Shame that our own deputy can't remember the name of his own apprentice? Hah!"
However, his twin brother wasn't laughing. "Uhh, Sideswipe?" He prodded his brother with one forepaw.
Sideswipe stopped meowing in laughter and stared at his brother. "What is it, Sunstreaker?" The smirk fell from his face at the look of fear on Sunstreaker's face. He turned his head to see what Sunstreaker was looking at and an identical look of horror spread across his face at the sight of Sentinel Prime towering over them with a dark scowl on his face.
"Oh, I remember your name alright, Sideswipe." He snarled, glaring down at the two. "I have to after having to yell it out every time you make a blunder! I'll teach the both of you how to properly respect senior warriors, especially deputies!" He lifted a threatening paw and the two apprentices squeezed their eyes shut in fear.
Suddenly a calm voice spoke out. "How about you let me deal with them, Sentinel?"
Sentinel Prime as well as the twin apprentices looked up to find another cat standing before them. It was Optimus, a skilled warrior of ThunderClan. He was strong, lithe warrior with a pelt of blue, white, and red fur. Although he and Sentinel had trained together as apprentices, their attitudes were complete opposites and both were well aware of it. Their rivalry was well known in all four clans.
The ThunderClan deputy scowled at his rival's appearance. "I believe that I know how to handle my own apprentice, Optimus."
Optimus merely blinked and calmly replied, "I have no doubt about that, Sentinel, but I do believe that Ultra Magnus might need you up front with him instead of lingering behind with rowdy apprentices." When Sentinel Prime still seemed unconvinced, he added, "I'll make sure that they learn their lesson."
Sentinel Prime's narrowed eyes flickered suspiciously from Optimus' calm face to the nervous faces of the two apprentices as if trying to detest foul play. At last, he let out snobby 'hmph' and turned his back to the three. "Make sure that you do." He meowed over his shoulder before rushing up the slope to catch up with Ultra Magnus.
The moment the tip of Sentinel Prime's tail disappeared from sight, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe looked up at Optimus with blue eyes wide.
"You're not really going to punish us, are you Optimus?" Sunstreaker asked, "My fur's shiny and beautiful to be covered in mouse bile for the elders!"
"Yeah, we were only saying what everyone else was thinking!" Sideswipe meowed, earning a paw swipe to the ear from his twin brother. "Ow!" He squeaked in pain and sent his brother a glare. "Well, it's true! Sentinel is just a big bossy, furball who thinks he's already leader!"
"Big, boss furball or not," Optimus sternly meowed, making the twins look back up. "He's still your deputy and could very well be the next leader of ThunderClan."
Twin looks of horror spread across the two brothers' faces at Optimus' words causing the warrior to let out a purr of amusement. "Yes, a scary thought indeed, but it's still possible. Plus, Sideswipe, he's still your mentor. You two should need to treat him with respect."
"What you mean is that we should keep our mouths shut while he's in hearing range." Sideswipe meowed, eyes gleaming with mischief. He quickly evaded a playful blow from Optimus.
"Keep it up you two, and I'll actually keep my word to Sentinel and give you two the duty of being Ratchet's and Wheeljack's helpers for the next quarter-moon." Optimus sternly meowed.
"Did I just hear someone say my name?" rasped a gruff voice. Both apprentices jumped in surprise to see the old medicine cat, Ratchet, come padding towards them.
The two quickly glanced at each other, fear reflecting in their eyes. Out of all the cats in the forest, the twins feared Ratchet the most. He always seemed to have it out for them for some reason. Of course, it could be because of all the tricks they played on him as kits….and apprentices. But, come on, so they let loose all the ticks that they picked off the elders into the medicine den! It wasn't that bad! They had helped get them off Ratchet and Wheeljack, hadn't they? Why did the old grouch still have to carry a grudge?
"Er….gotta go!" Sunstreaker hastily meowed to Optimus. "I think I hear Mirage calling me!"
"Same here!" Sideswipe meowed. "Seeya Optimus!" Both apprentices waved a tail at Optimus and scampered off. Before they went too far ahead, Optimus heard Sideswipe mew loudly to his twin brother.
"I still think that Ultra Magnus should have made Optimus deputy!"
"Yeah," agreed his brother. "I mean, he is his son after all."
Optimus stared after them and let out a sigh at their words. His ears flickered when he heard Ratchet speak behind him.
"You know," Ratchet meowed, walking in step with Optimus as they climbed the slope. "For once, I actually believe those two. I don't know what Ultra Magnus was thinking when he made Sentinel deputy! You're the obvious choice."
The young warrior flicked his ear, embarrassed by the old medicine cat's words. "Not everyone in ThunderClan thinks so." Neither cat had to say out loud what Optimus meant. The tragic event that had taken place a few season before still haunted the minds of many in ThunderClan.
For once, Ratchet's eyes were sympathetic as he stared at the warrior. "That was a horrible accident. No one in ThunderClan can honestly place blame on you for what happened."
Optimus turned his face away from the medicine cat's gaze as they reached the top of the slope and caught up with the rest of ThunderClan. "Try convincing that to Sentinel Prime and my father."
At the top of the slope, Ultra Magnus swept his blue gaze upon all his warriors before signaling with his tail for them to descend down to Fourtrees. Past the undergrowth that grew around, the sounds of cats could be heard coming from the clearing.
"We must be the last ones to arrive." Optimus commented to Ratchet.
The ancient medicine cat gave a disgruntled grunt in response. "Hmph, who cares? The only important part is the announcements and they can't do that without Ultra Magnus."
Optimus wisely chose to remain silent instead of replying. He knew that Ratchet was probably going to be in a bad mood for the rest of this Gathering because it would be his last as a full-fledged medicine cat. The night before, Ratchet had announced that he was ready to join the elder's den and let Wheeljack take over as ThunderClan's official medicine cat. Many had been surprised to hear the fiery old cat say this and Optimus couldn't help but wonder whether a word from Ultra Magnus or Sentinel had finally convinced him to retire.
By the time ThunderClan had moved into the clearing the moon was at its highest. Cat from all the clans filled the clearing. Some were lying in the bushes, sharing tongues and gossiping with their own clanmates or others from different clans while some were trotting back and forward between the clearing, greeting warriors that they hadn't seen for a whole moon.
Optimus saw Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime instantly move away from the group and head towards the Great Rock. Ultra Magnus jumped on top of the large boulder and meowed a greeting to the ShadowClan leader, Prima, and the RiverClan leader, Rodimus Prime. For some reason, Prime Nova of WindClan wasn't up there yet even though WindClan had already arrived.
Sentinel Prime proudly sat himself down at the base of the rock, where the deputies sat. Brawn, the wiry, brown-furred deputy of RiverClan, blinked in stunned surprise at Sentinel and said nothing while Jazz, deputy of ShadowClan, meowed words of congralution.
While Ratchet padded over to where Red Alert, the medicine cat of RiverClan, and Wheeljack were already having a conversation. Optimus padded across the clearing to find a quiet place to sit for announcements.
Suddenly a small yellow and black-striped cat came dashing across the clearing yowling loudly, "Hey Bulkhead! Guess what? I'm finally a w- Oomph!" Optimus gave a startled jump when the small golden-furred cat ran into his side. Though Optimus was only fazed, the smaller cat fell on his bottom and rolled onto his stomach from the impact.
Optimus stared down at the apprentice with concern. "Are you okay? Where's your mentor?"
The tiny yellow cat shook his head and was instantly on his paws again, glaring up at Optimus. "Mentor? I don't have a mentor anymore! I'm a warrior!"
"Warrior?" Optimus couldn't keep back the surprised mew. This tiny thing was a warrior? He was small even for a WindClan cat! He looked barely older than an apprentice.
"You're a warrior, Bumblebee? That's great!" meowed a deep, rumbling voice from behind. Optimus whirled around and found him face to face with one of the largest cats that he had ever seen. He was bigger than both him and Sentinel Prime and had fur as green as the forest. However, his blue eyes glowed with friendliness and Optimus instantly felt at ease when he saw the tiny WindClan cat race over to the large RiverClan cat, blue eyes shining with excitement.
"Yeah! Isn't it awesome?" Bumblebee exclaimed, jumping into a play-crouch in front of Bulkhead. "I thought that Prime Nova was never going to let me become warrior! Ironhide's been a warrior for a moon now and I'm ten times faster than that slowpoke! Really, I'm the fastest cat in the forest!"
"Faster than Blurr?" Optimus asked. Everyone in the forest knew that Blurr's speed was legendary. Some say that he could have even beaten the ancient Windstar in a race.
Bumblebee glanced back at Optimus with a sheepish expression on his face. "Well….maybe not as fast as Blurr." His blue eyes lit up again. "but I'm going to be! Blurr was my mentor and even he said that he better watch his tail!"
Optimus couldn't suppress a purr of amusement while listening to the hyper young warrior. Even though he still seemed to have the attitude of an apprentice, this Bumblebee had the makings of a great warrior.
A murmur was surprise rippled through the gathered cats making Optimus take a quick glance up at High Rock. At first, he saw nothing unusual. Prima, Ultra Magnus, and Rodimus Prime were all in their usual places. Then his eyes caught sight of a cat with white and grey fur sitting in Prime Nova's usual spot.
"What's Longarm Prime doing in Prime Nova's spot?" Bulkhead meowed to Bumblebee, echoing Optimu's own question.
A look of sadness crossed Bumblebee's face and he looked down at the ground as he answered, "You'll know soon enough."
As if on cue, a yowl echoed across the clearing, signaling for the announcements to begin. Every cat lifted their faces towards Great Rock and settled down to hear what the leader's had to say. Optimus was about to leave to sit next to his own denmates, but both Bumblebee and Bulkhead had settled down to either side of him, casting him friendly glances. Optimus instantly warmed up to the two and settled down beside them.
"Cats of all Clans, welcome." meowed Ultra Magnus, the oldest out of all the leaders, moving towards the front of Great Rock to address the assembled cats. He glanced back at the other leaders. "Will the newest leader like to speak first for WindClan?"
Longarm Prime gave a gracious nod and took Ultra Magnus' place at the head of Great Rock. Every cats' eyes gleamed with keen interest as the new WindClan leader spoke.
"Cats of the forest," He began, gazing down at the gathered cats with sadness in his eyes. "It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that Prime Nova lost his life three nights ago due to sickness." He paused as meows of sympathy and grief murmured throughout the crowd. Prime Nova was well respected throughout the clans for his part in leading WindClan to battle the legendary BloodClan many seasons before.
"I'm sorry, Bumblebee." Optimus whispered to Bumblebee. The little cat gave Optimus a grateful nod, his eyes glazed with sadness. Bulkhead gave his friend a lick on top of the head before turning to listen to Longarm Prime again.
"As his deputy, I, Longarm Prime, have taken over leadership of WindClan. I have chosen Cheetoh as my deputy."
Optimu leaned forward to see a golden-furred tom with a pelt dappled with black spots now sitting beside Jazz. He felt Bumblebee straighten up with pride beside him and realized that Cheetoh must be the father of Bumblebee. The two looked very much alike.
"Windclan has also appointed a new warrior." Longarm continued. "Bumblebee had his warrior ceremony before Prime Nova passed away.
Yowl of congratulations broke out for the new warrior, through were a few snickers coming from some cats. Optimus was obviously not the only one that noticed Bumblebee's lack in size. However, he noticed that the snickering cats were quickly silenced by a frosty glare from the RiverClan deputy, Brawn. Optimus realized that Brawn, like Bumblebee, was smaller than most warriors.
Bumblebee's blue eyes shone with pride and happiness as Longarm finished and allowed Rodimus to take his place.
"All is well with RiverClan." Rodimus meowed. "We too have a new warrior among our ranks. Bulkhead is RiverClan's newest warrior."
Again, a chorus of congratulations broke out for the giant warrior while Bulkhead merely shuffled his paws in pleased embarrassment and dipped his head to acknowledge them. Bumblebee stared up at his friend in surprise.
"You didn't tell me Rodimus made you warrior!" He gaped.
"It didn't seem very important. Plus you were all excited about your warrior ceremony." Bulkhead modestly said.
"Mousebrain." Bumblebee good-naturely meowed. He butted his friend's shoulder and meowed, "Congratulations buddy."
"Yes, congratulations." Optimus warmly added. He remembered how exciting it was when he was first made warrior of ThunderClan. Both Bumblebee and Bulkhead must feel the same way.
"ShadowClan is also thriving well." Prima yowled, taking Rodimus' place. "Both Jazz and Prowl chased off a fox that made a nest in our hunting grounds."
"ShadowClan will be seeing the last of it." Jazz coolly commented from the rock's base. A couple of cats gave amused and pleased purrs. Jazz, unlike many ShadowClan cats, was generally well-liked and popular through most of the clans.
Prima gave a nod for Ultra Magnus to finish the gathering off. The ThunderClan leader strolled forward and began to address the assembled cats.
"All is well in ThunderClan." He began looking down at the cats. "Our deputy, Beta, has decided to retire to the elder's den and I have chosen Sentinel Prime to take over as deputy of ThunderClan."
For a moment, stunned silence filled the crowd until Bumblebee yowled out, "What? You mean that big bossy furball with the big chin?"
"Hah! Told ya, it's what everyone was thinking!" meowed a voice from the back of the crowd.
"Shhh! Shut up, Sideswipes!"
Sentinel Prime send a death glare towards the back of the crowd while the gathered cats slowly began to murmur and yowl out congratulations towards the new deputy. Sentinel looked ready to burst with pride though he didn't notice that many of the cats sent confused glances over towards Optimus. Many expected him to be made deputy since Ultra Magnus was his father. None of them beside the ThunderClan warriors knew of the haunting incident that had taken place only a couple seasons before.
"Ratchet, our medicine cat, has also decided to retire to the elder's den and make Wheeljack the official medicine cat of ThunderClan."
Yowl of appreciation went up for Ratchet and Wheeljack, though many of the ThunderClan warriors glanced at each other nervously. Even though Wheeljack was a great medicine cat, he was prone to trying to invent new types of remedies that usually never came out very well. Red Alert, Grapple, the ShadowClan medicine cat, and Perceptor, the medicine cat of Windclan, gathered around Wheeljack and Ratchet to say some words.
"If that is all that need to be said," Prima meowed, "Then I call this Gathering to a…" Her words were drowned out by a cat's wailing.
"StarClan is falling!" wailed a warrior. Gasps and murmurs of confusion and shock flowed throughout the clearing like a ripple in a puddle of rainwater. Cats sat on their haunches and jerked around to see who had yowled out.
"Who said that?" Bumblebee asked Optimus and Bulkhead. Optimus couldn't see, but Bulkhead was able to answer him.
"It's Wheelie. He's an apprentice from my clan." Bulkhead meowed. "He looks spooked…." Suddenly another cat yowled out. It was Goldbug from WindClan.
"He's right! Look at the sky!" she cried, blue eyes wide. Instantly, every cat looked up and stared at the dark, star-filled sky. Gasps of shock filled the air as well as yowls of despair.
"I can't believe it!"
"StarClan help us all!"
Optimus stared up at the night sky, blue eyes wide with realization. "A star….a star is falling!"
As every cat watched from below, a single streak of light, brighter than all the stars combined, shot down from the skies, filling the dark, night sky with a brilliant, beautiful light. Blue-white flames seemed to spark and shimmer from the falling star. Each cats' blue eyes reflected its brilliance as they stare upward, both horrified and captivated by the strange event. They watched as it fell from the heavens and disappeared behind the treetops, returning the night to its inky blackness once again.
For the second time that night, a stunned silence fell over them all. This time, it wasn't from confusion, but from the horror and wariness of what they had all just seen. Optimus felt a prickle of fear spread through his body, from tail to nose tip, making his fur bristle with unease. Not even the talkative Bumblebee could find the words to speak, but only stared up at the sky with his mouth wide open in shock.
At last, a single voice rang out.
"The prophecy…" Slowly, every head and gaze turned to face Ratchet who, alone, stood with a calm expression on his face, though his eyes betrayed the same fear as the rest of them.
"StarClan's prophecy for the fate of the Clans has finally begun."
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Note to those who don't know, pictures of the gang as warrior cats are all up on my Devianart account. Just go to my profile and there'll be a link. I'm sorry if you guys don't like the clans I put the cats in, but really, Bumblebee was made for WindClan just like Optimus is all ThunderClan. Bulkhead is large like RiverClan cats and do I really need to explain why Prowl is in ShadowClan?
Anywho, thanks for reading! Please review!^^