Okay okay I'm sorry about the wait my dudes but a lot has happened (nothing bad like) and I have a new burst of inspiration and a plan for the next few chapters :D
Okay first thing.
Rushing me will not get the chapter out faster. New rule. Every time I'm rudely told to update, the next chapter is pushed back another week.
Second thing.
Your boi now prefers they/them pronouns
And guess what
*happy KT noises*
I have a girlfriend now! :D
Which leads me to the next point
I'm no longer writing a warning for LGBTQ+ behaviour and ships. I feel like this should be considered normal, and homophobic, racist or any other prejudice-based behaviour is horrible and any reviews will be removed from the story. I will not tolerate homophobia, nor will I stop gay ships.
If you aren't okay with that, I will say it as politely as possible. Please leave. I will ignore and remove any arguments against this.
Okidoki, rant over! On with le chappie, which I wrote instead of listening to the Hamilton soundtrack for the forty-fifth time!
No POV
Well, now you have seen two of the remaining three gangs. But you remember what Scourge and Bone told us, correct? All the way back in our second chapter.
"Now, what about the Sly Foxes?"
"The Sly Foxes have taken the attic. We will have to be careful, they have two mercenaries that work part time for them from two of the main teams."
That's right, the Sly Foxes. The third gang and their leader. And who is that?
His name is Sol.
Breezepelt's POV
"Breezepelt!"
My head shot up at the sudden shout, and as my gaze met the steady amber eyes of Tigerstar I stepped out into the light, or at least the place a bit brighter than the shadows.
"Yes sir?" I asked, nodding my head respectfully towards the gang leader.
"Brokenstar and Scourge have agreed to order a spy mission to check on the Sly Foxes. They've been way too quiet for our shared liking and now we're worried they're up to something bad." he instructed, turning towards the two silent leaders who overwatched the fighting training between a BloodClanner named Snake and some sixth-former called Birchfall. Snake appeared to be winning.
"I'm up for the task sir." I replied.
Three gangs to spy on in one...Ivypool will be jealous hehe
...no it's way more serious than this.
" 'll be working with Beetlewhisker, Brindleshade and two BloodClanners called Copper and Bronze. The BloodClanners are leading the mission, apparently they have a way to sneak in."
"Okay."
"Go armour up and then meet us in the Private Space. We'll give you the full details then."
"Yessir."
Ooh, the Private Space. The badly-named place where trainees aren't allowed. This is a special mission. And so I hardened my gaze and tried to look unbothered as I strode over to the Weaponry. The phrase "armour up" isn't really all that fitting since we don't have any type of armour whatsoever. It's just the prompt to go pick up your weapon(s).
Apparently I'm the last person to get the message, since the only person in the Weaponry (dozens of named boxes stacked on top of each other, and then more crates just behind that, so not all that impressive) is Redwillow, who shot his signature annoyed glare at me as he turned his knife over in his hands and watched me enter. He must've been getting ready for a training match. I ignored him and opened my crate, which contained a dagger of my own and then a crossbow and some tranquilizer darts. I'm only supposed to use that on kidnap missions though, which is a shame because it's much more fun than killing people. I mean, attacking them is still bad, but putting them into a temporary sleep is much better.
Dear god something's wrong with me.
Anyway.
I take the crossbow anyway, slinging it over my back with the pouch of darts strapped to my hip next to the dagger, which I deliberately blunt quickly. I'm not here to hurt today. From now on, never.
With that now done, I headed over to the Private Space, where Thistleclaw, Bone and Tigerstar stood in front of the rest of the team.
"Ah, Breezepelt, welcome." Thistleclaw announced, and the squad turned towards me for a second as I slipped into position next to Beetlewhisker.
"Great. Can we begin now?" Bone asked, slightly irritably. Tigerstar pursed his lips and nodded, taking a step forward.
"Alright then. Brindleface, Beetlewhisker, Breezepelt, Copper and Bronze. Your task is to infiltrate the Sly Foxes' base camp, which we have been informed is in the attic of the school, thanks to BloodClan."
There was a pinch of salt in his last part, and I guessed that he wasn't entirely on board with the plan to unite with the Clan who had almost managed to take him down once already. It only seemed Brokenstar who did, really.
"Today though, we're not up for a fight. We're there to get information, 'cus they've been far too quiet and off-the-radar for anyone's liking. So listen in, be watchful, and pay attention to everything they do."
"And if you find something that poses a threat to us, try to steal it or at least report it back." Bone added, directing the instruction to mainly his own Clanmates.
"Okay that's all. Do your thing. We'll be waiting."
There was a chorus of "Yessir." and then we turned around and walked away. The trip back through the aptly named Dark Forest was quiet, and a determined air surrounded me. Everyone's eyes were narrow and watchful, their steps quiet and brisk, and Brindleshade was constantly checking behind us. The BloodClan twins had taken the lead since they knew the way to get in, and they took us through our hidden entrance and then quietly through the halls of the school. It was eerie seeing the school so quiet and dark, the halls completely empty as opposed to the usual stream of students passing through and shouting over the noise in the corridors. The long lights that were sometimes on overhead at times like early morning and dusk had been switched off, but at this time there was no sunlight to reflect off the pristine glass in the windows. Instead shadows had swallowed up all of the lifeless building, only the pale, silver moonlight illuminating tiny particles of dust.
I stifled a shiver as we pressed on through the halls, the hard floor making it harder to move silently. Due to this, Copper and Bronze kept us to the side, and everyone immediately flipped the hoods of their jackets up. I didn't see how this would work entirely, seeing as if we were caught we would just look even more suspicious, but I rolled with it anyway. I guess it added to the stealth factor.
The elevator's power was off that late at night, and besides that wouldn't really be the most clever option anyway, so instead the twins led us along complex paths of climbing up lockers and into dusty vents on our hands and knees that contained only the slightest trails of others crawling through them. The school is quite the labyrinth when you read in between the lines. Or is maze the correct term? I'm not too sure, to be honest.
I guess labyrinth, because it all leads back to boring lessons or violent gangs.
I tried not to cough or sneeze as we dragged ourselves through the tight spaces, but it was hard when it felt like the dust was filling my lungs and choking me. I knew Foxleap ran a secret club or something in them, mainly because Ivypool was involved, with a couple of the prankster and agile students, and did not at all know how they coped quite gladly in the claustrophobic vents.
It took about half an hour in total for us to reach the place below where we would enter the attic. It was, in fact, another vent.
Why are they so dusty anyway? Isn't their whole purpose to filter air through or something?
Well that's probably hindered by the Vent Runners. Oh well.
"Alright, this is the entrance." Copper whispered, the first time someone had uttered a word since we'd set off. His voice was barely audible, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Beetlewhisker straining to catch it.
"Are you sure?" Brindleface asked in a similarly low tone, "We've checked around here before, and the vent led to a dead end."
The twins smiled cunningly, and it was Bronze who spoke for them. "Oh yes, the Sly Foxes made sure it did. They aren't called "Sly" for nothing. But when you know how to outfox a fox, you can get past any of Sol's precautions."
The BloodClanners opened the vent carefully, turned to us and placed their fingers on their lips, then turned back around again and crept into the system.
It was possibly the widest of the vents in school, large enough to fit two people in side-by-side as we moved through. The twins were obviously together, still scarily in sync, and I ended up sliding in next to Brindleshade, Beetlewhisker watching our backs. The crawl was short, but at one point there was a part that ran straight up for some reason. Bronze boosted Copper up and then Copper hauled him up, then the rest of us as well. Soon, we had reached what Brindleshade's patrol had reported as a dead end. Bronze pushed the bottom of the wall, and to my surprise a sheet of metal fell forwards, which the BloodClanner caught before it caused any noise, revealing the attic.
Or Sol's base, as it looked more like now.
The dust had been completely cleaned, and the leaks in the roof completely mended, revealing a pristine environment. All of the boxes of old books and past student's work had been pushed back into the corner, and instead a table had managed to get its way upstairs, as well as many actually-comfortable-looking chairs surrounding it. About...twelve to fifteen of them. It looked a bit like the teacher's office that was used for discussions, with the paperwork scattered across it as well. Apart from us in the vents, however, it was devoid of people.
"Huh," Brindleshade commented, peering over Copper's shoulder, "I know the Sly Foxes were more peaceful in their ways than us, but I didn't realise their base was just a council room."
Copper shrugged. "They're kinda just here to vote about stuff and plan some manipulation and discuss tactics, I think. Not too sure why Boss' so worried about them."
"I thought they just got expelled for attempting to convert everyone to atheism and are just kinda trying to sweet-talk their way back into the school." I contributed, also genuinely confused, "I didn't realise they were a threat."
"I, uh...I...may have accidentally overheard Tigerstar and Brokenstar talking a while ago about how they caught spies on us?" Beetlewhisker piped up suddenly, attracting everyone's attention, "And...well the spies fled but they said they said that Sol is more powerful than they think, I think?"
There was a thoughtful silence.
"But Sol, though?" Bronze broke the pause, "Really?"
"That's, uh, what I heard I...Imightbewrongor-"
"Well, maybe he is more powerful than we think. Maybe that's why they're worried."
"Quite possib-"
"SSSHHH!"
Everyone suddenly silenced, and I quickly realised the reason why. The door opened with a click, and everyone shrunk backwards out of sight. Into the room came Sol, and a bunch of other Sly Foxes who I didn't really know. Sol carried himself quite regally, with his strangely-mottled hair tied back into a ponytail, his usual thin smile on his face and amber eyes betraying no emotion. He was probably the only person alive who could put on a simple T-shirt and still manage to look pretty formal. The rest of the group were quiet, smiling contentedly and taking seats around the table. Sol sat at the head.
"It's amazing," I whispered, incredibly quietly, to Brindleshade, "how he's only seventeen and has the political mind of a thirty-year-old."
She nodded. "He's a contender for Leader of the Five Islands, if he ever gets back into the beliefs."
"Psst, brown-haired-boy!" Bronze suddenly hissed, twisting backwards, "Go to the door and wait nearby it for when they leave again. When they do, get the key to the room from Sol!"
"What? How?"
"Just snag the keychain and get back into the shadows! He's always the last to leave, and if you're light enough he never notices for ages. I've done it on him before, with the key to their last base, trust me it works."
"U-um, o-okay…"
With that, Beetlewhisker pushed himself backwards, managing to guide himself out of the vent, I guess. There wasn't really an official door to the attic, I think everyone just uses the one on the fire exit that leads to the rooftop as well.
Sol suddenly cleared his throat to speak, and we turned back to look at the room.
"Thank you all for coming today, my good friends." he began, regarding everyone with a respectful nod, "I know it is a late meeting for you all, and -especially during these cold and dark Winter months- the last thing you want to be doing is staying up to talk business."
"Business." Brindleshade echoed.
"As you may or may not know, BloodClan and the Dark Forest have...united for their takeover of the school. Their intentions remain unclear, both when unified and separate, but we do know one thing for sure. They must be stopped."
I felt the tension levels in the vent rise as Copper and Bronze clenched their fists.
"You might be wondering, how will we do this? How will we accomplish this feat when our enemies are so brutal, honourless and bloodthirsty? Well, fear not, my friends, for I have a solution."
"Just get on with it." Brindleshade hissed.
But as Sol opened his mouth to speak, there was a bang against the door. Immediately, the table sprung to their seats, looking about in a bit of a panic.
"Scatter!" Sol suddenly cried, and the various different Sly Foxes began to take hiding places around the room. I sighed as I connected the dots in my head.
Oh Beetlewhisker, what have you done?
Suddenly one of the Foxes hauled himself into the vent we were in, and looked up quickly, alarmed to see all of us. His eyes focused on the dog-tooth collars that Copper and Bronze wore and his skin paled drastically. I realised it was only a matter of time before they attacked him, and -thinking quick- I whipped one of the tranquilizer darts out of my pouch and stabbed it into his hand. He let out a small cry and struggled backwards, before he fell into the sleep it induced and collapsed out of the vent.
"We're under attack!" someone cried.
"OUT!" came the unmistakable voice of Sol, and just like that everyone flocked out of the room, only one person dashing over to frantically scoop up the person I'd put under before exiting again.
Well.
That could've gone much better.
At least nobody got hurt.
But it was easy to tell that the BloodClanners were mad. With stormy faces, they signalled for me and Brindleshade to twist around and exit the vent. As we slid out again and stood up properly (which was a huge relief for me), we could hear the Sly Foxes hurrying down the fire escape stairs, and then the sad little trudge of Beetlewhisker's footsteps as he headed back towards us. He rounded the corner, eyes wide with fear and guilt as he took in the (from the Blood Clannners) disapproving and (from us) sad expressions.
"Well," Copper said, not really bothering to hide his voice that much anymore and clapping his hands together, "now that that's been completely screwed up," he shot a deadly glare at Beetlewhisker, "we might as well go back to the 'Forest."
"Did you even get the keys?" Bronze asked, crossing his arms.
Beetlewhisker stared at the ground and shook his head slightly. The BloodClanners let out a disappointed sigh.
"Well then. We'll just have to report you to Brokenstar and Scourge. Come on then, back we go."
And like all suspicions and stealth wasn't important anymore, the twins led us down the stairs and back out the back door to the Dark Forest. The journey was, of course, quiet, and the tension could practically be cut with a knife. I could see a similar fear for poor Beetlewhisker in Brindleshade's gaze whenever our eyes met.
Maybe if I'd have known that that was the last time I ever saw Beetlewhisker, I'd have given him a little sympathy.
Maybe a pat on the back or some reassurance.
But no,
Just silence.
I didn't see him around school the next day. Or the day after that.
Stars I was terrified.
I could only hope to all the stars in the sky and the spirits of our ancestors he was only in hiding.
He's not dead. I couldn't kill him off like in the books. I can't. I'm sorry.
XD
~KT