Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, warrior cats.
Poppywhisker: Thanks! That sounds like an… interesting… story!
Skyfur02: What's not to like about a villain?! I love writing about Frostclaw; she's awesome!
Burrfrost: Thankyou so much! About the length of this story, see the A/N at the end of the chapter!
Hollystorm woke the next morning to find the camp in what at first seemed like chaos. Cats marched across the clearing, pushing past one another, dragging branches, prey and herbs behind them whilst Bramblestar and Lionblaze strode amongst them, calling out orders clearly.
"What's going on?" I questioned the deputy, and he smiled at me, flashing white teeth.
"Battle preparations." He explained, sidestepping nimbly as Pigeonwing dragged a branch past him, almost sweeping him off his paws. There was an excited light in his eyes as he spoke, and the same energy seemed to buzz around the camp, clanmates speaking in rushed voices, no sense of panic visible in anyone's gaze. Hollystorm flinched as she saw it, but twitched her tail in acknowledgement and returned the smile, disguising her unease.
"Is there anything I can do?" she asked, and the deputy looked around, before jumping out of the way as Rosekit and Burrkit charged past him, looping around Hollystorm in a crazy swerving motion as Ashkit and Twigkit raced after them, their excited calls exploding in the air.
"I'm gonna get you Frostclaw!" Whooped the grey kit, and Rosekit glanced over her shoulder, laughing loudly.
"Never! You can't catch me Hollystorm!" Lionblaze chuckled and turned to the dusky she-cat who also attempted to stifle a giggle.
"It seems you have a tom impersonating you." the deputy stated in an amused tone of voice that sent the warrior into a fit of laughter.
"What are you two up to?" Hollystorm looked over her shoulder to see Bramblestar, the strength returned to his eyes despite having lost a life the night before.
"Just having fun," The emerald-eyed she-cat flashed a grin, doubt forgotten. "I have a tom trying to take over my presence." Amusement sparked in the tabby leader's eyes, and he glanced after the kits, who had taken to terrorising Briarheart, and were weaving amongst other cats, chasing the warrior around in mad circles.
"Anyway, Hollystorm, I wanted to speak with you." Curiosity exploded inside of the warrior, and she glanced inquisitively at the tabby tom, who gestured for her to follow him. He led her over to the side of the camp and sat down, eyes flickering side to side in anxiety.
"Hollystorm, I know you probably won't like this, but I want you to take a group of warriors and go down into the tunnels to do some battle training." The long-furred she-cat's heart pounded in her chest as she heard the mention of the tunnels. A visible shiver passed over her spine, and her fur spiked up, bristling down her back.
"I-I don't know-" Bramblestar cut her off, desperation in his warm amber eyes.
"Hollystorm, if we can't fight the Rogues in the forest, we can take the battle underground. We can win. Our victory may rely on you." The she-cat's eyes widened, and she blinked heavily, the fear flooding from her at her leader's comforting words.
"O-okay." She stammered, and rose stiffly to her paws, bounding up onto the Highledge, calling out, voice ringing out clear and resounding.
"Briarheart, Pigeonwing, Snowstorm, Dewfrost, Lilytail, Rosepetal, Cherrytail and Foxleap! Follow me!" The cats whose name she had called looked up in surprise, but followed order and padded to meet her at the camp entrance, where she addressed them, forcing her voice steady.
"We're going to the tunnels. I remember some of my battle techniques from when I was Hollyleaf, and we could use them to our advantage." A look of unease passed over the crowd, but Foxleap nodded, flicking his tail to bring the cats' attention towards him.
"Hollystorm is right. This could be to our advantage." Smiling gratefully, the dusky warrior turned and padded out of the camp entrance, stepping lightly over a clump of thorns abandoned by the side of it. She heard Rosepetal hiss in pain, and the sound of laughter as Foxleap whispered 'Mousebrain' to her. Trying to force down the fear inside of her, the warrior walked in the lead, following the familiar path she used to take along the top of the hollow in her previous life when she used to spy on the camp from far above. Searching around with her gaze, she spotted the fronds of branches that masked the entrance and swept them away with a paw, flinching at the dark void that yawned back at her, shadows swirling and spiralling into nothing.
"Follow me." She tried to force the tremor out of her voice, and, breathing in heavily, padded into the darkness, senses snapping into order instantly. She could feel the gentle slope of the ground beneath her paws, and the walls of the tunnel arching to a tapering point above her head as the rock brushed her whiskers. She heard a whimper behind her, and could feel the fear scent of Briarheart drifting around in the stale air.
"Use your whiskers," she advised. "you have to sense not see." With that she closed her eyes, and a visualised map of the tunnel complex folded out in front of her directing her along the right path. Tilting her head in turn with the walls, she held her breath, heart pounding in her ears as she expected a thunder of rocks to crash down on her head, letting out a sigh of relief as the tunnel widened out in front of her, the darkness splintered by a narrow shaft of sunlight, glinting off the moss along the walls, jagged shadows reaching out with crooked fingers, tearing out into nothing.
"What now?" The inquiry came from Dewfrost, who's gaze flickered with fear, his pelt ruffled along his spine.
"We train." With that, Hollystorm motioned towards Foxleap, and beckoned him towards her. "In the tunnels, you fight as normal, but there is less space to move out of the way, so you need to learn to use every mousetail of space you have. For example, if Foxleap attacked me:" she blinked expectantly at the russet tom, who looked surprised, but sprung to his feet and launched himself at her. The dusky warrior weaved out of the way at the last moment and leapt at the wall, springing away from it and sailing over the tom's head, landing confidently behind him.
"Use the walls to your advantage. They won't break if you hit them." Despite the confidence in her words, she felt nervous about her statement. Were they safe? Shaking her head in a tiny movement, she spoke again.
"You can also use the walls as an offensive strategy. If you can grab them, you can hit your enemy off the walls, floor, ceiling, anything. There is no such thing as a single attack. You do whatever feels right to you. Now, get into pairs, and practice." She saw Snowstorm shoot his brother a mischievous look, claws flashing in the dark, and shot him a warning glare.
"No claws. I don't want any injuries." Flicking her tail in dismissal, she watched as the group assembled into pairs, and sat back, surveying the progress. Suddenly, darkness tugged at the edge of her vision, and she blinked heavily, panic rising up inside of her. A voice whispered beside her ear, and everything froze. Cats stood, stuck mid leap, eyes and limbs unmoving, lifeless and cold. Snapping her head around, the warrior hissed as she saw an all-too-familiar calico face, ghostly and cold against the rocks, staring back at her with vivid green eyes.
"Chasepaw." She growled, fur standing on end, tail lashing along the ground. "I thought you never wanted to see me again." The tom let out a hoarse, emotionless laugh, and fixed Hollystorm with a darkened gaze, angular features cold and harsh.
"That was before I knew." He hissed, star-speckled fur bristling along his spine. "I came to do this." Stepping forwards, he reached up and pressed his nose against Hollystorm's. the contact was cold as ice, and sent shivers down her spine as she backed away to see the tom fading before her, pelt dulling and melting away into the shadows until there was nothing left but a pair of gleaming green orbs, light blinking gradually out of them.
"I had to do it…" The voice of Chasepaw, scattered on a non-existent breeze, whispered throughout the frozen tunnel. "I had to show you I have feelings…" the last part of the tom's voice came out as a barely audible hiss, torn away in a heartbeat.
"Before it's too late…"
A/N: Yeah… a bit of a filler chapter, but meh… Chasepaw has feelings! What a surprise! Anyway, I'm really sorry to say this, but this is almost the end of Hollyleaf's second chance. After this, there will probably be about five more chapters after this one, then it'll be over… I'm so grateful to anyone who has even bothered to read this far; I never dreamed that this story would receive such a good audience. Thankyou!
Storm
