Warriors: The New Era
Chapter Twelve: Breezepelt's Bet.
Sorry for the wait. I got sick with the fever, and was practically immovable. So That's my excuse.
This is a chapter I wanted to make for ages. Breezepelt makes a bet that he probably can't win. This is a two chapter arc, so this one carries on to the next. Enjoy!
Breezepelt sat in class, bored out of his mind. He had taken to twirling around his switchblade in the back row, as his teacher taught mathematics.
Truth be told, he didn't give a damn about this university. He came for it's secret treasures.
Parties, Illegal activities, the normal.
The Teacher dismissed them, and the class got up gathering their stuff. Breezepelt hid the knife in his jacket pocket and raced out the back door.
He had barely made it several feet when he was caught up by his once best friend.
Key word once.
"Hey buddy," Leaftail smirked, shoulder bumping Breezepelt "Haven't seen you in a while."
"I was happier that way," Breezepelt snarled, walking down the stairs.
"Ah come one bro, don't act like the adventures we got in weren't worth it," Leaftail slid down the staircase, reaching the lower platform before Breezepelt.
Breezepelt scoffed "I had fun. You took things too far. Remember the apple orchid?"
Leaftail grinned wider "My fondest memory."
"You TASED me in the ASS!" Breezepelt didn't bother looking at him, continuing down the stairs.
"You got me back, you always get me back!" Leaftail followed him.
Breezepelt curled his lip "You attacked Half Moon."
"Don't act like you care..." Leaftail smirked "You're just jealous I was taking the prize."
"DUDE! There's a line, and you seem to revel in the crossing of the line," Breezepelt glared at him "You hurt women!"
Leaftail stood in front of him "So do you."
Breezepelt shoulder checked him, walking past him "I was an asshole then. Still am, now beat it before I clock you. I got to get to class."
As the Black haired man walked down the stairs, he was called back by one sentence that Leaftail said in so quiet of a voice, it could have been a whisper.
"I guess you wouldn't care if I told you about the University's UFC."
Breezepelt widened his eyes and turned to Leaftail "The UFC?! THAT SHIT'S REAL?!"
Leaftail glared at him "Could you be any louder?!"
"Sorry," Breezepelt said, still in shock "I thought that stuff was only in Riven!"
"Nah bro, they moved here, right under our nose...literally."
Breezepelt grabbed Leaftail's by the shoulders "You have to take me there! It's been years since I've been there! Ever since-"
"Since you joined The Dunderclan and Foxleap," Leaftail crossed his eyes "I can't man. You'd be slaughtered."
"Or you're worried that I will win the whole thing!" Breezepelt shot back.
Leaftail grinned holding his hand out "Okay then. How about a wager. I'll let you in the UFC, but if you can't beat the champion, you're not allowed to go back to the UFC."
Breezepelt, still awe struck at the idea of competing, grabbed Leaftail's hand quite forcefully "IT'S A DEAL!"
Ivypool set her bags on the dining room table, free from the torture of Warriors University. Poppyfrost was busy talking on the phone.
"No just-who was on patrol that night?" Poppyfrost asked.
"Who ya talking to?" Ivypool asked.
Poppyfrost held her hand up to silence her, before getting back to the phone "Fang? Okay then...I want patrols on all streets, and I want my sleeper cells to return. God knows what the fucker has in his head now. Goodbye."
Ivypool was now fully invested, as Poppyfrost ended the call "What was that about?"
"You wouldn't like it," Poppyfrost warned.
Ivypool smirked "Try me."
"Scourge is free."
Ivypool let out a gasp, and her eyes bulged out "Oh shoot, where is he?"
"No one knows. He disappeared," Poppyfrost replied.
"Is he on his way here?" Ivypool asked.
Poppyfrost shook her head "Scourge is many things. An asshole, a rapist, but he isn't an idiot. We have Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and you. Three most powerful beings on the planet, and last time he attacked boldly, he lost. He learns from his mistakes. He doesn't look it, but he is secretly a goddamn genius."
Ivypool shrugged "We can take him."
"I know, I need some fresh air," Poppyfrost responded, exiting the house by the back door.
Ivypool nodded, following her friend out the door. The two leaned against the deck, and gazed upon the mountain.
"You ever wish your life was different?" Ivypool asked "That our lives didnt revolve around war of the cults and gangs?"
"Yeah, like you could have taken your magic act down the road," Poppyfrost smirked.
Ivypool chuckled "No not like that. I mean, different choices, how we'd end up?"
"What? So we all gather around every Thanksgiving with our husbands, exchanging baby photos?" Poppyfrost shook her head, grinning. Her eyes looked up to the sky "No. Not me. I like the hand we've been dealt."
Ivypool shrugged "I was just wondering."
"Hey our lives wouldn't be as fun if they were different!" Poppyfrost pointed out.
"You sound like Breezepelt," Ivypool smirked.
"How so?" Poppyfrost asked.
Ivypool clenched her teeth, confused herself "It's just...he has this build up, you know? He likes doing things for the thrill and danger, and only realizes how much peril he is in too late to make a difference. That's why he gambles. It's safer for his health. Hes intoxicated go that life."
"So am I. Except I dont need a fix," Poppyfrost nodded "I do want to change some things...but I'm sort of happy in general. Even with all the shit that's happened to me."
Ivypool sighed "So...whatcha think we should do with tall, tan, and tough down in the foxcave?"
Poppyfrost bit her inner lip, clearly conflicted "I don't know. I came all this way for him. I trust that he can help protect us. He has the strength of Lionblaze."
"Still cant believe he has a son," Ivypool smirked "Especially one so sexy."
"Knock it off," Poppyfrost repremanded, while clearly chuckling "That's my nephew you're talking about."
"If I marry him, will you be my great aunt?"
Poppyfrost rolled her eyes "Are you seriously considering dating a guy from the future over Foxleap?"
"Foxleap and I had something special, but then he dumped me. HE dumped ME," Ivypool sighed "Although I can't be too upset. He still let's me live with him. Besides, Fernsong is handsome."
"Loving a guy because he's handsome is shallow," Poppyfrost curled her lip.
"Well then how about I get to know him? Would that be fine?" Ivypool brazenly asked.
Poppyfrost sighed "Sure..."
"You've got to be goddamn fucking with me," Breezepelt muttered.
Leaftail chuckled "Relax bro. It's nothing we aren't used to."
They were currently in a very disgusting bathroom. The place was crawling with filth, stains, and roaches.
"You mean to tell me that the entrance to The Underground Fight Club is in a piss condition bathroom?"
"Not the words I would use but yes," Leaftail smirked. He pulled the handle on the urinal, and a false wall slid back and to the side. Leaftail grinned "After you..."
"No no, you first," Breezepelt curled his lip, pushing his friend down the tunnel.
Leaftail walked in, with Breezepelt close behind. The entrance shut behind them, and the two walked in the darkness.
"Now ain't this enjoyable?" Leaftail smirked "Just like old times. The two of us, going deeper into the chaos..."
Breezepelt didn't answer.
Leaftail took out a lighter, and lit it up, pulling out a piece or rolled up paper and smoking it.
Breezepelt bulged his eyes "You got weed? Here?!"
"Yeah, want a puff?" Leaftail offered.
Breezepelt shook his head violently "No! Heathertail's got me going cold turkey. I'm breaking my addiction, and that won't help."
Leaftail smirked, and blew a puff of smoke at Breezepelt's face, who coughed and rubbed his eyes "You sure you don't want it?"
"Want's got nothing to do with it, I'm NOT going down that road again!" Breezepelt snapped.
"Suit yerself," Leaftail continued to smoke, much to Breezepel't annoyance "Well...don't you miss it?"
"Miss what?"
"The adventures we got in! You, me, Harespring! We ran the high school, and the teachers couldn't do squat! Don't you miss those days?"
"Not one bit," Breezepelt held his head high.
"Man we were so different, yet we got along so well..." Leaftail reminisced.
"Harespring was always the kindest of us all. You were the most vile."
"And you lead us to glory," Leaftail reminded "You mean to tell me you don't miss what we had? The food, the drinks, the sex, the POWER! You don't miss any of that?!"
Breezepelt went silent for a while, before responding "Sometimes. Sometimes I do miss the feeling of some scrawny kid's neck in my hand. I miss the drugs that we all spent collecting and using. The fucking ourselves silly, yeah I do miss that, I'm not gonna lie. But I've grown up. There's no place for that in my life, not anymore. I don't need it. I got a family, who will always be there for me, I got a girlfriend who loves me and I love her, I got a home and hearth. That's the true treasure, Leaftail. Home and love. Not gold and power."
Leaftail scoffed "Well don't that bring tears to my eyes...NOT! The only way to get by in this place is to get ourselves some respect."
"You mistake respect with rage," Breezepelt corrected "No one respects you. They all hate you."
"They FEAR me and what I can do," Leaftail responded, cackling "Fear and Respect are one and the same."
"No they're not," Breezepelt snarled and was about to respond with more sanctimonious advice, when they came to the end of the tunnel.
They noise was deafening! Crowds of university students were gathering, watching two men in what looked like no rules match. Strobe lights and electric music was blaring and echoing throughout the underground stadium.
"Wouldn't the university hear us?"
"WHAT?!" Leaftail screamed, having trouble hearing him.
"WON'T THE UNIVERSITY HEAR US?!"
"NO! THIS PLACE IS TWO HUNDRED FEET UNDERGROUND! THAT'S THE SIZE OF A NORMAL SKYSCRAPER!" Leaftail hollered back.
One of the fighter's delivered a huge hook to the other fighter, who crashed to the floor with a thud. Before he could get back up, the other man pummeled him to the ground, giving him a savage beating to the forehead, watching the man's head bob up and down.
The applause was deafening, and Breezepelt covered his ears, watching the referee pull them apart.
"HEY LEAFTAIL! WHEN DO I-" He was about to ask when he would fight, but found his once best friend gone.
And then the floodlight's blazed in his face, blinding him.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OH WHO AM I KIDDING? NO ONE HERE IS A GENTLEMAN!" Leaftail's voice rang out on a giant speaker "WE HAVE OUR NEW CONTESTANT! IT'S HIS FIRST DAY! AND QUITE POSSIBLY HIS LAST!"
Breezepelt looked around for Leaftail, as the crowd moved out of the way, clearing him a path to the ring. Breezepelt puffed his chest out, walking through the cheering and booing crowd. He slipped into the ring, as some men carried the loser of the previous match out on a stretcher.
If the applause was deafening, this was headsplitting. The noise was so loud, his skin vibrated with the soundwaves.
"IN THE RING, WE HAVE NEWBIE, BREEZEPELT!"
Breezepelt felt his old self returning. The self that craved attention. That needed a fight. The man who loved the thrill and chase, the feeling of blood pumping with hints of adrenaline all throughout the course of his body.
The old Breezepelt.
He lifted his hands and roared, flexing for the crowd, as they cheered for him.
The lights went dark.
The stadium went wild. They knew what this meant. But Breezepelt had not a clue.
"AND HIS OPPONENT! YOU LOVE HIM! YOU HATE HIM! YOU LOVE TO HATE HIM, OR YOU HATE TO LOVE HIM! THE CHAMPION, OF THE UFC! TODAY, BREEZEPELT FIGHTS..."
The light's went on, and they shone on Breezepelt's contestant.
All the bravado and brashness left Breezepelt in a heartbeat. It was replaced with horror and fear.
"I have to get out of here..." Breezepelt muttered.
The man had long gray hair, tied into a ponytail. With bright blue eyes.
"THE CHAMPION. JAYFEATHER!"
And that's all you get. And be grateful you do!
Next chapter, Breezepelt vs Jayfeather, is coming up soon.
Adios.