Chapter 36

HOWSITGOINBROS

So, we finally did it! We reached 50 reviews before the story ended! As you could probably tell by the last chapter, the climax is beginning to rise up! Who knows what will happen next?

The rest of the Clans broke out in shock and anger. WindClan automatically joined together, with the warriors facing the outside. I got into a crouch, just in case anyone tried to attack us. Firestar was staring over the crowd, rage burning like fire in his emerald eyes. Onestar looked shocked, and wasn't able to gather himself for a few seconds.

"What is this nonsense? We have done nothing aggressive!" Onestar yowled in protest. "I would never send my warriors without good reason!"

"Well, there must have been a pretty good reason," Firestar snarled. "Four of my warriors were ambushed at the border by a battle patrol from WindClan. They almost didn't make it, I was told."

It was then that Brambleclaw spoke up. "They threatened us with death, Onestar. That doesn't sound like a normal raiding party."

Onestar swung his head at Brambleclaw with anger smoking in his eyes. "I'm telling you, I sent no such patrol! I wouldn't want to instigate another fight after our last one."
Suddenly, something struck in my head. I remembered the night of the Great Battle, clear as day. I remembered the raid on our camp... and Onestar had shown up. He said he wanted to send a message. I began to think that maybe Onestar wasn't behind this at all. I looked back at the clump of WindClan warriors. I saw most of them looking frightened and confused, but a few, like Crowfeather and Antpelt, were looking down at the ground.

I rose up. "Firestar!"

I watched as the two leaders stared each other down on the oak. Mistystar and Blackstar were too startled to do anything but watch.

"Hey!" I shouted, just as a cloud covered the moon. Suddenly, everyone went silent, with one cat whimpering, "StarClan is angry!"

"Firestar," I said, bounding up towards the Great Oak. "I think Onestar is telling the truth."

Firestar looked down in disbelief. "But you were there! Your wounds-"

"What I'm saying," I said, interrupting Firestar,, "Is that Onestar never sent a raiding party." I turned to the WindClan leader. "You may not believe our tale of the battle, but look to your own warriors for clues," I pointed my tail at the huddled group. "Inspect them; you will find wounded."

Onestar looked down at me, then sniffed angrily. "Alright, warrior. We'll see who's right." He leaped off the branch and went over to his Clan. The entire forest seemed to hold its breath waiting for the verdict.

I watched as Onestar moved among the warriors. Suddenly, he went stiff. I saw that he was looking directly at the apprentice I had thrown in the river.

I saw him hunch over him, and I had to strain to hear his voice.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Onestar stalked back to the oak without waiting for an answer. he scrambled up the trunk and turned to face Firestar. "I believe we were both correct, Firestar. I did not order a raid, but one was indeed carried out. I assure you, the warriors who participated will be disciplined. Strictly disciplined."

"But what could have driven them to do it?" Firestar asked, bewildered at the latest discovery.

"I do not know, but I will find out," Onestar snarled, looking at his warriors with disgust and anger. "I believe this Gathering is over."

I watched in shock as the WindClan warriors filed out of the clearing slowly, shuffling between the other Clans, who pulled away from them in confusion and revulsion. I myself was quite shocked that my approach had worked. However, I was worried about why the WindClan warriors had even decided to attack us in the first place. We hadn't done anything to anger them since the Great Battle. There was no reason to be hostile or aggressive.

"ThunderClan, let's go home," Firestar called. The Clan gathered in front of the fallen tree bridge, waiting for their leader. I myself walked up beside Firestar. He looked over at me and then signaled for Brambleclaw and Graystripe to come over as well.

"I'm worried about what happened," Firestar confided in us. "I think that Onestar may have an uprising on his paws."

I looked over. "Are you sure? I think most of Onestar's warriors are still loyal to him. I think he'd be able to handle an uprising."

"I agree, Jaggedscar," Firestar said. "But I don't know if Onestar would be able to handle it personally. He'd take it almost as an insult to his leadership. You saw how he looked at the warriors who attacked you."

"I think we should keep a close eye on WindClan," Graystripe put in. "We might want to keep the borders as secure as possible until we figure this out."

"I think Graystripe's right," Brambleclaw said. "At this point, there's no telling what WindClan's warriors will do, regardless of what Onestar says."

"Okay," Firestar said. "Then it's settled. I'll have another patrol along WindClans' borders. I don't want anymore injured cats."

Firestar walked ahead of the group, leading us through the forest. Graystripe and Brambleclaw nodded at each other before splitting up, one warrior on either side of the group of cats. I sighed. Being a warrior was much more chaotic than I would have anticipated. We had a serious situation on our hands, and no way to know what was going on on the other side of the hill that separated ThunderClan and WindClan. I wasn't sure we could handle it, and when I looked up at the sky, I saw that the moon was shrouded behind the clouds. It seemed that StarClan wasn't pleased.

"What's eating you?" I turned to see Hollyleaf standing beside me. I shook my head.

"Everything's going wrong," I sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out," Hollyleaf said. "We always have before." She nuzzled in beside me as we made our way back to camp.

I know, I thought to myself. I know what's supposed to happen, and this isn't it. Did I do something wrong? What could I have done to throw off this timeline so badly?