As the pocket closed up, we caught a good chunk of Shadowclan cats and destroyed that armored train. Now the next step before the ultimate goal of liberating Paris was to free Riverclan themselves.
August 22nd, 1944, Fifteen miles southwest of Paris, France: 21:45
Fireheart, Graystripe and Ravenpaw were sneaking along the underbrush as they were heading to the camp that Riverclan was being held in.
"Thunderclan and Riverclan landed cats in the southernmost parts of the country, Shadowclan's in full retreat as a result." Graystripe told Fireheart and the others what exactly was going on.
"Thanks for letting us know as we were able to catch a bunch of Shadowclan cats and they have no way out." Fireheart told Graystripe about it. They were approaching a wired fence that was in the middle of an outpost.
"This is where the train was supposed to stop. Right here." Ravenpaw added to the conversation. "Looks like they won't be stopping ever since Cloudpaw and Ashpaw destroyed that train a couple days ago." Ravenpaw told the group that they were heading to the right location. Graystripe approached the hole in the fence, he was glad they didn't patch it up.
"I escaped from here about ten days ago and been looking for friendly forces for a week and now that I found them. Let's do this in our friendship and get Riverclan out." Graystripe mewed. Graystripe was the first to enter the fence. "In here." Graystripe whispered to Fireheart and Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw entered next while Fireheart entered the camp last. They were going to free Riverclan.
"Okay you know the most about this camp so you lead the way." Fireheart told Graystripe that he was the most familiar with the camp. Graystripe nodded as the three of them knew they had to be quiet if they were going to not get noticed.
Goldenflower's jeep pulled up with Cloudpaw driving it. Cloudpaw, Longtail and Barley got out. Barley was holding a hatchet as the plan was to bring down Shadowclan communications from Paris so they didn't get reinforcements.
"You're getting better at driving Cloudpaw." Goldenflower began. Longtail looked for a place for him and Cloudpaw to set up in case they were going to get noticed.
"Thanks Goldenflower." Cloudpaw responded. Barley walked over to the wooden pole as he was ready to bring it down.
"Cloudpaw, over here." Longtail whispered. He motioned Cloudpaw to come over and hide himself in the brush in case a patrol came along and found them. "Goldenflower, hide the jeep. Barley, be quick about your work, we don't want you getting shot." Longtail continued to whisper. Goldenflower drove away to hide their jeep and to act as support fire if they got caught.
"I'll be thorough in my work, but we need to work quietly." Barley whispered. Longtail nodded as he, Cloudpaw and Goldenflower hid among the underbrush. Barley got out the hatchet and began chopping away at the wooden pole. They had to be quick.
"See anything?" Cloudpaw muttered. Longtail was looking out through the scope of his rifle.
"No, nothing as of yet so that is good." Longtail muttered while he kept a look out. Cloudpaw was going to be there in case Longtail needed help.
Graystripe was leading Fireheart and Ravenpaw through the camp while attempting to locate the Riverclan prisoners.
"This reminds me of that time we went into Windclan's prison with Silverstream and she ended up helping to free us. I will forever miss her." Graystripe muttered. Fireheart heard something and placed a paw around Graystripe's mouth.
"Shh." Fireheart shushed Graystripe. "Give me a boost." Fireheart wanted to see what was going on inside if he was going to get any information about this. Graystripe boosted Fireheart up as he was going to get a look around to see what was inside. Inside was Tigerstar, Blackfoot, Boulder and the rumored cat to be Sasha were all chatting away.
"We're pulling everyone back, we can't use the rivers in the fear that they will be overrun by the time we unpack and dig in. Shadowclan has been falling back faster than we could realize. We're moving everyone to the Siegfried line. Hopefully despite its reduced strength as most of the resources went into fortifying the Atlantikwall. We can keep Riverclan, Thunderclan and Windclan at bay for as long as possible." Tigerstar made his decision final.
"What about the bears approaching from the east, they destroyed multiple divisions and groups just weeks after Thunderclan and Windclan landed. There is also the potential threat that our allies are planning on turning against us. We should try finding replacements for our losses." Blackfoot mewed that the more cats they lost, they were becoming harder to replace.
"Who will we replace them with? The only replacements nowadays are kits and elders, unsuited to war." Boulder added in. Tigerstar continued to think while the situation looked bleak but it was a surefire way if Shadowclan was going to keep surviving for a little while longer.
"Our days are numbered, we're pulling everyone back to the Siegfried line and keep fighting defensively, they can wear them down that way." Tigerstar told the three of them.
"What about the replacements?" Blackfoot asked. Tigerstar knew he couldn't get to him as of now.
"I'll think about it. All I care about is getting everyone out of Riverclan safely." Tigerstar replied. "Sasha, keep spying on the front and gathering intel. I definitely want to blow those bridges to the Rhine if they get too close." Tigerstar motioned everyone to follow him as they were walking out of the building. They were going to check on the trainers and the apprentices and then they were going to leave the camp.
"What do we do about the camp?" Blackfoot asked.
"We kill the prisoners and we destroy the camp. We're leaving tonight." Tigerstar replied. Blackfoot gulped at the thought of killing the Riverclan cats. However they weren't going to stay for much longer so they needed to burn the place down and flee. Fireheart was the first to enter the room, falling down on his face. Fireheart got up and pulled Ravenpaw in next. Graystripe was the last to climb in as Ravenpaw and Fireheart hauled him inside.
"Woo, we're inside, let's look around to find what can be useful." Fireheart instructed them. Ravenpaw nodded and began to look around. Fireheart and Graystripe walked forward as they noticed the map that Tigerstar was talking to his friends about.
"Yeah he wasn't kidding. Shadowclan's retreating to their border." Fireheart mewed to Graystripe.
"It will be a wild goose chase if you ask me." Graystripe replied. "We should take these maps back to Bluestar and the elders to see what they will decide next." Graystripe began rolling up the maps that were going to be used if they were going to keep going forward. He then stuffed them into Fireheart's pack for safe keeping.
"Hey, Fireheart, Graystripe." Ravenpaw called out. Fireheart and Graystripe went up to where Ravenpaw was. "Keys of the camp. There they are for the buildings but there are some for the prison and the armory. Which one should we check up on first?" Ravenpaw asked, he wondered which keys they would take to see what was inside.
"Let's check the prison first and then hit up the armory for supplies." Fireheart mewed. Ravenpaw nodded. He took the two keys labeled prison and armory. They were going to see what was inside.
Barley was hacking away at the pole for the past few minutes almost like he was cutting down a tree. Longtail, Cloudpaw and Goldenflower were hidden in some bushes just ahead to intercept any patrols that might catch Barley.
"Still nothing?"Cloudpaw whispered to Longtail.
"Yeah still nothing, don't shoot unless I tell you to." Longtail instructed Cloudpaw with the hush of his voice. Suddenly the pole came down on the road as Barley was just done chopping.
"Woo, thick piece of Oak, now all that needs to be done is cut the wires." Barley told them. He began swinging the hatchet and cutting the wires with ease. "Now Shadowclan will never be able to send their cry for reinforcements."
"Nice, get to cover." Longtail motioned Barley to get into cover. Barley scrambled over to the bush and hid himself. "We'll wait for any signs of a patrol coming to find the work that has been done.
Fireheart, Graystripe and Ravenpaw snuck into the prison to see what they could find but the small prison was mostly empty.
"Gah. This is boring, I want to see what the armory has." Ravenpaw groaned with boredom, nothing he had seen that would interest him. Suddenly a voice was heard.
"Ravenpaw, shh. I hear something." Fireheart told Ravenpaw to shush for a moment.
"Hello? Anyone there?" The voice called out, it sounded like desperation. Fireheart knew he needed to work his way to where the voice was coming from.
"Yeah someone's here. Where are you?" Fireheart muttered.
"Come to my voice. We need to get out of here." The voice sounded like a she-cat. Fireheart and the others made their way through the prison to find out who it was.
"On our way, whisper to me if you need to." Fireheart whispered as he didn't want to be loud in case they drew any attention from the guards. Finally they got to where the voice was coming from. Fireheart was surprised. "Leopardfur, what are you doing here?" Fireheart asked.
"We've been captured and we're being held here. Please tell us you've come to free us, I don't want to die tonight." Leopardfur begged if Fireheart was here to free the clan.
"Yes we are now hold on." Fireheart told Leopardfur. Fireheart got out the prison key that Ravenpaw handed him. He placed the key in the hole where the lock was and he opened it, with a soft click, the prison door became unlocked. Leopardfur hugged Fireheart with excitement while Stonefur and Mistyfoot came forth.
"Thanks for setting us free, Crookedstar has become very weak with sickness and his days of leading the resistance are numbered. If he dies, his last wish is to see Paris be free." Mistyfoot told Fireheart about what exactly was happening.
"Shadowclan is refusing the prisoners any treatment. Don't worry though, we're getting you out of this rat hole." Fireheart mewed to Mistyfoot. Crookedstar got up and weakly walked over.
"It would be much appreciated to get a good deed done." Crookedstar wheezed. "Tell Bluestar that we're coming for her."
"Great. Follow us then." Fireheart meowed to the group, and they began to follow him out of the prison.
"Well looks like we'll be free after all." Graypool told Fireheart.
Fireheart was sneaking the group through the camp as the next place to hit up was the armory, to get guns for these Riverclan prisoners to use. There was some commotion going on.
"The maps and keys to the prison are gone, we got some spies." The voice sounded like Jaggedtooth who was assigned to pack the trucks and evacuate whatever supplies they needed. Fireheart motioned his paw forward, instructing them to follow him. They were now sneaking their way through the camp.
"Search the prison for clues!" Tigerstar shouted. Fireheart was getting worried as the Shadowclan cats were beginning to get suspicious. He was just a few steps ahead of them however. Finding the armory was simple. Ravenpaw placed the key inside and turned it, it unlocked with a soft click and the cats went inside. "Take what you need, we'll need it to fight." Fireheart instructed. The cats went inside and began grabbing whatever weapons were available, going with Mp40's and Gewehr 43's. Dawnpaw managed to snag a scoped Kar98k. Heavystep an Mg42. They were decked out and ready for a fight.
"Let's find something to escort the prisoners out." Graystripe mewed. They began to sneak their way back to the garage to find a truck to get these cats out in. They got to the garage while the shouting of Shadowclan cats began to panic. They looked around to see what was happening.
"Contact the Paris garrison, we need reinforcements so we can begin withdrawing!" Tigerstar shouted as the situation was falling apart. Graystripe looked around to even more shouting.
"I'm getting nothing, someone tapped with our communications!" Blackfoot shouted in desperation.
"Starclan mouse dung!" Tigerstar shouted. Graystripe hopped into a jeep as there were several of them stored in this complex.
"I couldn't find a truck but we can use these jeeps to make it back to friendly lines." Graystripe told the group.
"Okay, load up!" Fireheart called out, the cats loaded up into the jeeps as they were going to drive away in them to make it back to Bluestar. "I hope you can still drive Ravenpaw."
"You bet I can." Ravenpaw mewed with a smile. Fireheart's jeep had Crookedstar, Mistyfoot, Leopardfur and Graypool in it. Starting the jeeps up. They began to drive away from the scene.
"The prisoners have escaped and ransacked the armory, we need to go after them." Rowanpaw called out, the jeeps began to drive away from the camp with Graystripe taking the lead and Fireheart bringing up the rear. Shadowclan was ready to begin going after them.
"If they want a fight, we'll take it to them." Tigerstar called out. The chase had begun.
The three jeeps were driving back from their raid as they had the Riverclan prisoners and some intel that would be useful for Bluestar once she read it over.
"I'll tell you the raid was a success, hopefully we can make it back to friendly lines by midnight." Fireheart began.
"Let's hope, I heard Tigerstar was angry that we were a few steps ahead, hopefully we can make it back. When Tigerstar hits our lines, we'll have the entire group captured." Graystripe mewed with delight that Tigerstar's group will fall into the trap. The headlights flickered behind them as someone was coming, it was Tigerstar and his group.
"There they are! GET THEM!" Tigerstar shouted, the remaining jeeps and trucks began opening fire as they were determined to get around and eliminate them all.
"Tigerstar's catching up fast, we can't drive faster than what we are driving." Fireheart told the others that they were going as fast as the jeep was allowing them.
"We need to fight back in the hope we can take them down." Leopardfur told Fireheart that a few cats should turn and begin firing on Tigerstar in case he got too close. Fireheart thought about it for a moment.
"All right, be careful though." Fireheart told Leopardfur that her idea was bound to work. Leopardfur nodded.
"Okay everyone turn around, fire on them when they get close." Leopardfur instructed. Two Shadowclan jeeps raced forth as they wanted to take part in this operation. "Now!" Leopardfur shouted, the cats in the back began opening fire on the incoming jeeps. Tigerstar ducked for cover.
"Gah! Why are they doing this!" Tigerstar growled. He fired his Sturmgewehr away in an attempt to hit something but Fireheart was trying to drive as fast as the bullets.
"Tigerstar isn't going down without a fight, we should try our best to get out of his way." Fireheart called out. He looked up behind him to see a flare light up the nighttime sky, what could this mean?
At the rear of the column, Goldenflower was driving Longtail, Barley and Cloudpaw back to Thunderclan lines. Cloudpaw was on the machine gun, Barley shotgun and Longtail going to provide long range fire. Longtail placed the flare gun in his pocket.
"Yeah we're on Shadowclan's tail, I bet they're going after Fireheart and we need to take those cats out before they could surround them and kill them." Longtail described the situation.
"Let's see if we can provide support if necessary." Cloudpaw mewed. He flipped up the dial to the M1919A4 machine gun he had as he was going to aim down its sight. "Okay I'm ready."
"Good." Goldenflower mewed. She spotted two Shadowclan trucks filled with cats as they were going to go after. "Open fire Cloudpaw." Goldenflower gave the command. Cloudpaw nodded as he began opening on the truck closest to them. The Shadowclan cats inside began getting torn by the machine gun bullets as they had little to nothing to fight back with as Riverclan took all the best weapons. They were being torn to pieces much like how Thunderclan cats were shot up on Omaha beach months before. The jeep sped up as Barley leaned over and shot the driver of the jeep. The jeep swerved out of control until it landed into a ditch.
"Nice shot Barley." Longtail mewed. Barley nodded with approval. Tigerstar looked behind him as one of his trucks had fallen into a ditch.
"Someone's behind us!" Tigerstar shouted. The guns began to turn and fire on the jeep. One of the Shadowclan jeeps ahead lost control and fell off the road.
"Tigerstar's distracted, let's see if we can lure him into the ambush." Fireheart told the group. They continued to drive away to give the Shadowclan cats something to follow all the while Cloudpaw and the others were shooting up the Shadowclan cats. Another flare was fired into the sky as the second truck had been taken out.
"Last of the trucks, we need to take out the jeeps next." Longtail mewed. Cloudpaw nodded before he kept firing away with the machine gun. Bluestar and the group was just up ahead as they were waiting for Fireheart and Cloudpaw's raiding party to return from their mission. She was looking out through the binoculars, wondering if they were coming.
"There they are, they're coming. Be prepared to fire." Bluestar mewed. The others nodded as the chaotic vehicle fighting was still happening. Tigerstar looked out ahead as the second jeep ahead was taken out.
"That's it." Tigerstar growled. He picked up a Panzerfaust tube and was ready to fire it. He hastily set up the tube and aimed it at Fireheart's jeep. "Say goodbye kittypet." Tigerstar called out. He fired the Panzerfaust tube straight at Fireheart's jeep. The jeep exploded as the rear came apart/ Fireheart and the others flew through the air.
"Brace for impact!" Fireheart shouted. The five cats landed as Fireheart and Mistyfoot landed in the grass. Leopardfur, Crookedstar and Graypool on the road. Pieces of the wrecked jeep were thrown all over the place. Tigerstar and his group pulled a one eighty and drove away from the scene. Cloudpaw turned the machine gun and fired a few shots at Tigerstar and the group and missed. There was going to be no pursuit.
Fireheart got up from the crash landing. He was pretty beaten up as a result but mostly fine.
"That was a hard landing we took." Fireheart muttered to himself. He turned to see Mistyfoot who got up with a moan.
"Ow." Mistyfoot moaned. She was battered much like Fireheart though she too escaped serious injuries. They turned and began walking up the road to see if the others were alright. Leopardfur was beaten up though she received a few cuts on her legs. Crookedstar had a hole in his side that Cinderpelt was patching up. Mudfur however was checking on Graypool who was limp and not responding. She had several cuts that she was bleeding from as well as a couple of bullet holes.
"Graypool! Speak to me!" Mudfur called out. Graypool didn't respond. Cinderpelt came over to check on Graypool but she too wasn't getting any response.
"Come on Graypool, stay with us! Riverclan needs you!" Cinderpelt shouted with tears in her eyes. Still, no response. Cinderpelt placed Graypool's limp body onto the ground as she knew there was only one conclusion. "Graypool's already gone to Starclan, she's dead." Cinderpelt muttered.
"She was like a mother to us, even if Bluestar was our parent herself." Stonefur told Cinderpelt that he was horrified by this death. Bluestar walked forward to talk with Stonefur.
"She was such a good friend too and a good leader behind Crookedstar. Fireheart managed to help Thunderclan and Riverclan bridge the relationship together to avoid unnecessary conflict." Bluestar mewed as she went to pay her respects to Graypool. Cloudpaw walked forward and hugged Graypool. He was beginning to water up.
"Those miserable killers will have something coming for them. You will be avenged." Cloudpaw mewed to Graypool's corpse. "We have to keep going." Cloudpaw concluded.
"Cloudpaw is correct on that, if we keep going, we can take Paris. We just hope Shadowclan hasn't fortified the city." Bluestar mewed.
"They most likely aren't." Fireheart told Bluestar. He handed Bluestar a map they took from the camp. Bluestar looked over it to see what this told them about.
"Shadowclan's pulling everyone back to their border as they are setting up a defensive line. We still need to take Paris if we're going to make any progress. Freeing Riverclan was step one. The journey will still be dangerous." Bluestar told the group. She began to walk away leaving the others to help say their goodbyes to Graypool.
"Goodbye Graypool." Cloudpaw mewed, he released Graypool's corpse as the others walked away to say their goodbyes to Graypool. They walked away to continue the operation. Paris was in their grasp.
[A/N]: Riverclan has been freed through the loss of one cat which was a hammer blow to the group. They must keep going to Paris if they are going to free the others and give Crookedstar his wish Next chapter will not be much combat but more of an infiltration if they were going to free the city of lights. Hopefully I can finish this fanfic as fast as possible. Anyway let's get more reviews and keep this story going, what concepts do you want to see is the question?