Warriors: The New Era.
Chapter Thirty Seven: Broken Men
It's what the chapter says...enjoy.
"Grand...granddaughter?!" Sparkpelt asked aloud.
"Yes...Bramblestar's children...I ordered him to execute you two when he was younger, but it turns out he deceived me. The bastard..."
"I...I thought you were..." Jayfeather started.
"Gone?" Tigerstar rasped, his voice cold and shallow. "I...was. For a time. I suffered the worst, with Scourge's mutilations..."
"Mutilations? I thought you were shanked in your cell?!" Lionblaze asked aloud.
"Yes...that's what happened. In THIS timeline after all..."
"I'm sorry, hold up," Ashtooth started, "Did he just say timeline?"
Tigerstar nodded, "Your obviously new to this shit..."
Poppyfrost gasped, "So...Scourge did this to you..."
Tigerstar nodded, getting a far away look in his eyes, "When Brokenstar ordered Scourge to kill me, he did. In a sense. He ripped my neck out."
He grabbed his neck armor, and tore it off, revealing a metallic plate welded into his skin.
"Scourge wanted my torture to last, so he had me escorted to his lair, some cells to the left of Poppyfrost's cell. Based on the screams, I have a theory what he did to you..." Tigerstar chuckled, before gasping for air. After several painful breaths, he coughed up blood, and with a sigh he continued, "Then...I wake up in the middle of nowhere. The lab was gone, and the city was...better. Cleaner...As I stumbled around the forest, organs spilling and lungs flooding with blood, I was found by an old lady in the mountain. I believe you know her?"
"Yellowfang," they all said in unison, minus Coalstrike and Ashtooth.
"It was miracle I lived long enough to get to her. My will to live kept my mind intact while my body was not. I was dead in all but name. I could think, I could move...but everything gets...foggy sometimes..."
"But...but the blood test! It was ALDERHEART'S BLOOD!" Poppyfrost sceamed.
"That boy is my grandson...technically. He has O+ blood, same as me," Tigerstar grinned, "When Yellowfang took me to an actual hospital, it was pure coincidence that my blood donor was Alderheart. It was how I found out I had grandchildren..."
Sparkpelt eyed the shotgun she dropped, while Coalstrike's hand hovered over his holstered gun.
"I suffered, beyond imagining. While your minds and soul planted themselves in your alternate bodies, I was sent body and all. For a time, there were two Tigerstars in Forrestlake. I was disappearing, everything would be like waking up in a dream...and my body would start to decay...I'm guessing because my body wasn't used to interdimensional travel...my spleen is ruptured, and my lungs suffocate with blood every four minutes. That's why I designed my mask to do the breathing for me. Every time I inhale and exhale, my lungs move, and blood starts to flood it. My mask sucked the oxygen in, and puffed the carbon dioxide out, allowing my lungs to not move, but still receive Oxygen. With this mask, I never have to breath again."
"That...actually sounds pretty cool," Fernsong admitted, and when everyone glared at him, he closed his mouth.
"I knew I was dying, so I had to find a way to stall my death. In the midst of it all, I learned that Rock went mad...and I figured it out. If Scourge could get bionic implants, I certainly could do so as well. I found Sol, who was very sympathetic to my cause. He helped me rebuild my broken body and soulless shell. But...it wasn't enough. Eventually, I figured it out. That there cannot be two Tigerstar's in the same timeline. With a little help from Sol, I picked out my arsenal and killed myself...he...never thought I'd say that."
"I sent what little of my men I had left to kill you and the triumvirate, but they all failed. So, I figured I should try for myself."
He started coughing again, and blood spat out.
Coalstrike took this opportunity to draw his gun and aim it at Tigerstar's head.
When Tigerstar was done coughing, he looked up and smirked at Coalstrike, "You...you must be the most bravest or stupidest man I've ever met."
Coalstrike snarled, pushing the barrel to Tigerstar's head.
"Coalstrike...put the gun down," Poppyfrost whispered.
Tigerstar nodded, gun still on his head, "Yeah, do as she says..."
"Why should I?" Coalstrike gritted his teeth, "He's a threat. You either reason with threats or take them out. I've always been a stickler to the take them out option."
"He knows Rock's weakness!" Poppyfrost shouted, "You kill him, and we will have nothing against Rock!"
"WHO?! THE?! FUCK?! IS?! ROCK?!" Coalstrike shouted, "AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?!"
Tigerstar smirked, "You know those kids with powers...he's the motherfucker who gave them the powers...and he has a whole shitload more of 'em to spare..."
Ashtooth gripped his friend's shoulder, "Coal...put the gun down..."
Coalstrike's finger rested on the trigger, growling slightly.
Tigerstar slowly grabbed the barrel of the gun, pushing it directly at his head, "Killing in cold blood isn't your style, is it?"
Coalstrike was furious, "You know nothing of me...and you never will..."
"COAL NO!" Ashtooth screamed.
Coalstrike pulled the trigger.
Click.
Nothing happened.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Nothing was in the chamber.
Coalstrike sighed, lowering the gun.
Tigerstar chuckled, as if he knew it was empty all along, "Run along now, son..."
As if he flipped a switch, Coalstrike thrusted his fist into Tigerstar's face, making the older man stumble and cough repeatedly.
Ashtooth grabbed Coalstrike's shoulder, pulling him back, "Don't you dare force me to protect this guy. Let it go..."
Coalstrike relaxed and moved behind Poppyfrost.
Jayfeather used his telekinesis to bring Alderheart down, as Tigerstar continued to spit blood up.
"Why don't you just put your mask back on?" Lionblaze asked.
Tigerstar smirked, blood coating his dry lips, "Because why bother? I don't need to hide myself from my enemies anymore...Now, Poppyfrost, we had a deal?"
Poppyfrost nodded, and sat down, legs crossed and gestured Tigerstar to do the same.
"Alright...let's talk business."
"So what'll it be Rock?"
"The choice is yours."
The tape ended, while Rock was about to blow a gasket.
"They've got him," Bone gritted his teeth.
Rock stared at the board with cold fury, "How...how did they-"
Rock took deep breaths, in order to not explode in rage. "Tell me we have some information on Sky..."
"I can't tell you that...because we don't. No blood records, DNA matches, facial recognition, the woman is practically a ghost."
"How could she know what we need Jack for?!" Rock shouted, "ONLY THREE PEOPLE ALIVE KNOW! ME, YOU, AND JAY'S WING!"
"I didn't squeal if that's what you're suggesting sir!" Bone defended himself.
"You didn't talk, I didn't talk, Jay's Wing COULDN'T have talked...so..." Rock started before a lightbulb lit in his brain.
He laughed madly.
"It's a BLUFF! They DON'T know WHAT we need him for, just that we DO! We need to know WHAT they think he's for, but they not know what he actually IS needed for! They're in the dark! They took a gamble, and lost! But...they don't know that. Perhaps we can gamble some more chips until the final deal."
"You've lost me with the poker references sir, I'm more of a chess player."
"Truth be told, so am I. That's why I like you Rock. Cruel as Scourge, but wise as Tigerstar," Rock chuckled, "What if we were doing this all wrong? Forget Sky...who is she after?"
Bone slid onto the screen videos and photos of a group of people, one kid, a pixelated picture, and four adults.
"Ashtooth from Coastclan. He's there sniper and brawler. He's the toughest of the team."
A hologram displayed over the board, showing Ashtooth dressed in full military gear, with a rifle hanging off his back.
"He currently holds a world record for longest shot. 3,500 ft."
"Impressive. Continue."
"Mallowleaf of Mudclan. She's the general, and they all take orders from her. She's been fighting against the ARS all her life. This is personal for her, not some sense of duty. She wants to make them bleed."
"No doubt. Continue."
"Dustleap of Coastclan, also known as 'Dusty'. Seventeen years old, he was a survivor on ground zero. He escaped both the school shootings, and the street shootings. Despite his survival, it can be noted that he is still young and naïve. His parents died in a housefire not long after the bombings."
"Did they really..." Rock asked, suspicious.
"Yes sir. He also has a passion for music, which has landed them all sorts of trouble."
"How so?"
"Kidnapped at a guitar thrift shop, bomb in a drum set (they were lucky they found it before he played a beat) and a long goose chase for a violin, that's actually all over social media. Wanna see it?"
"Later. Continue."
"Seashell. Sister of Ashtooth, she had a hard life. Separated from her family when she was young...'used' by the ARS Commander Garrison, and is currently in love with Coalstrike. She-"
As Bone continued, Rock inwardly growled. "I've heard that name before?! Where have I heard 'Coalstrike'?"
"-and a little on the sensitive side. But that in no means she is defenseless. She's like a wild tiger if cornered. Almost like an entirely different person."
"Continue."
"Daffodil. Ashtooth's lover. Not much is known about her, except that she has been with the resistance for years, almost as long as Mallowleaf."
"Continue."
"We don't have a positive ID on this one, but that's not due to a lack of trying. Jaywhisker, a inventor, programmer, commuter, insomniac, and mathematical genius. He's their Foxleap, essentially. Based on what we can gather, he is young, almost the same age as Dustleap."
"And last but not least..." Rock grinned.
The hologram showed Coalstrike, to which Rock grinned.
"You...this is turning out even better then I hoped!" Rock smirked.
"You know him?"
Rock turned to Bone in sadistic joy, "Tell me more about him."
"Coalstrike of Coastclan. He...oh God, that is quite the list."
"Go on!" Rock roared.
"His parents were killed in a housefire, and Coalstrike was the only survivor at age nine. Member of the foster system for eight years, and was a runaway for seven of them. Arrested for assault, aggravated assault, grand theft auto, feeling from the scene, and robbery. It can be noted he was bailed out on ALL charges, and no trial ever commenced."
"Because every judge and lawyer taking the boy's case was being slaughtered," Rock informed. "He's the victim of a madman who can put Scourge to shame. He's had a fascination with him and his sister for years, INSISTENT on finishing the job. And if the boy goes to prison, he'd NEVER get him or his sister.
"His sister was confirmed dead in a house fire," Bone pointed out.
"But not the same one that killed his parents," Rock informed. After many years of getting caught, sent back to the foster system, and miraculously escaping the next day, he was given to a family that wouldn't you know it, had his sister living with them an easy life. Coalstrike and his sister Ambercloud were overjoyed with reunion. Coalstrike didn't run for two years, and became the uncle of Dustleap. Unfortunately, not long after the bombings, they were killed in a housefire."
Rock nodded, looking at mugshots and pictures.
"So these are who they want?"
"Yes sir."
"Well...I want you to personally go to them and bring them an olive branch."
"What, an actual branch?!" Bone asked.
"Yes, why not?"
"No one does that anymore."
"Something tells me she will understand. But I need Jack. Bone, do whatever you can to locate Jack. Meanwhile, I will try to negotiate with The ARS, personally."
Bone bowed his head, "Yes sir."
Poppyfrost watched Tigerstar sink to the ground sitting down with her.
"You promised we'd talk after I won, and I did."
Tigerstar growled, hand already going for his gun, "You did not-"
Jayfeather grabbed the gun with telekinesis, having it fly away from Tigerstar as he sighed.
"Look at you Tigerstar. You're beaten. We've stopped all who you sent at us, and we took them down. Now, Rock weakness."
Tigerstar looked around the room and grinned.
"He's a egotistical maniac with no regard for life at all."
"Not unlike yourself."
"No, WHAT HE'S DOING, is trying to eradicate us all. I just want revenge. And honestly, I've gotten it. My killer is dead, the bitch who tortured my Grandson is dead, and Brokenstar is kidnapped by Rock. I'm content with dying just now anyway."
Before Coalstrike could reload, Ashtooth gripped his shoulder, and Coalstrike relaxed on contact.
"His weakness, Tigerstar. Tell us now!" Poppyfrost growled.
"His power is unlimited. But...the moonstone. It can erase his powers for good. That's his weakness."
Poppyfrost twitched an eye "You're telling us what we already know."
"Yes, I am. Do you also know that he holds ALL of the moonstones?"
"WHAT?!" They all screamed minus the two soldiers.
"What's a moonstone?" Ashtooth asked.
"A stone with powers of magic and shit," Lionblaze shrugged.
"So, if you want to stop Rock badly, you need a moonstone, which you won't get."
Fernsong smirked, outstretching his arm.
"Actually, we already have one," He curtly smirked.
Tigerstar gasped in surprise, "A...another?"
Fernsong grinned. "Sort of."
Poppyfrost nodded, and glared at Tigerstar, "That's it?! No, secret kryptonite, or magic javelin we can use?"
"That's it," Tigerstar nodded.
Poppyfrost nodded and stood up.
"Coalstrike, Ki-"
Before the order was finished, Tigerstar shot up and grabbed a grenade off his belt.
Everyone froze and tensed up, and before Ashtooth could draw his gun, Tigerstar dropped the grenade, and a thick smoke enveloped the area.
Jayfeather used his telekinesis to make the smoke disappear, but the damage was done.
Tigerstar was gone.
"You'll be seeing me later..." Tigerstar's voice echoed throughout the warehouse, along with a deep cackling laugh.
That unnerved the group.
And so ends the Assassin's Arc.
Originally, he was going to die here and now, but then I figured, nah, I just officially brought him back. I wonder what else I can use him for.
You have some detail on the Resistance from ResX's story. If you don't know who they are, go check them out. They fit in the same time and place as my story, so I guess you could call it a Miniverse. You'd enjoy it!
Adios.