Chapter 4: A Fire of Resolve

Asuna sat down in the medicine cat's den beside Jayfeather, the blind tom resting as the moon slowly began to rise. Earlier today, he had started vomiting, a sure sign that he now contracted the sickness as well. Along with him, Molewhisker and Hollytuft also ended up catching it as well. There was some relief, however, as Leafpool, Whitewing, and Squirrelflight were getting stronger as the days passed.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked the tom, who scoffed.

"You know the answer to that. I'm not going to feel better this soon." He responded. "At least ThunderClan is in good paws with you and Alderheart here, but that doesn't mean I still won't try to help. I won't let this sickness stop me."

"I know you mean well, Jayfeather, but just rest for now." Asuna meowed. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard outside, causing her to jump. "That was definitely thunder." The pattering of rain slowly came afterwards, Alderheart walking back into the den.

"How bad is it, Alderheart?" Leafpool asked the tom.

"It looks bad. The lightning seemed close. Do you think we'll need to evacuate into the tunnels?" He asked the she-cat, but she shook her head.

"Bramblestar will tell us if we need to." She replied. "We might need to move Briarlight, though. It'd be better to do it now than later."

"Right, I'll get to it." Alderheart left the medicine cat's den and rushed past Lelouch, the tom looking over at him.

"Alderheart, where are you going?" He asked.

"I need some cats to help move Briarlight!" He called out as he moved farther away from the tom. Lelouch gave him a nod and looked around camp, his fur continually becoming drenched by the rain. Let's hope this isn't as bad as the landslide a moon ago. He hoped.

Fear struck the tom minutes later as he heard yowls from the nursery. The intense wind blew off a piece of the roof, leaving the top open to any water from above. Ivypool! He ran over and saw that Blossomfall and Cinderheart were at the far side of the nursery, away from the gap in the roof, while Daisy, Ivypool, Twigpaw, and Nightheart were dragging out any bedding.

"Ivypool, are you okay?" The tom quickly asked, worry in his eyes.

"I'm fine. You know, I'm not the only cat here who you should be asking that to." He looked over at the others in the nursery, a small blush on his face.

"It's okay, Lelouch. We know that you're worried about your kits, too." Cinderheart assured him with a smile. "I just hope this is as strong as the rain gets."

"Don't worry. We'll get you all out of here. The elder's den should have enough room for you all to stay in. Besides, I'm sure they'll enjoy the kits' company."

"Yay! We'll get to hear stories all day!" Eaglekit meowed in joy.

"Hold on, you all need to rest, and so do Graystripe and Millie." Blossomfall warned them, causing the tom to smile. He looked over at Twigpaw and Nightheart.

"Will you both be alright helping the queens move to the elder's den?"

"Yes, father."

"Okay, start moving them now, and I'll see if I can get one more cat to help just to speed things up." He meowed before leaving them. He then heard his daughter call out to him moments later and saw that Lucina had run over to help them. Perfect. Lelouch looked around the campground and saw that other than the cats at the nursery, it was barren. Every cat seems to be in shelter. I should go check on Briarlight and see how her and the others are doing. He walked over to the medicine cat's den and saw Alderheart being scolded by Jayfeather.

"Oh, hi Lelouch. Is something wrong?" Asuna asked.

"No. I just came to ask Alderheart where Briarlight was. Did I come in at a bad time?"

"Not necessarily. Jayfeather just needs to remember that I don't have herb-storing powers like Asuna." Alderheart said, annoyance in his meow. "C'mon, I'll show you where she and the others are." Alderheart left the den, Lelouch following behind him. "I don't know if you know this, but during the Great Storm, my father had the idea that we'd hide in these tunnels to shelter from any flooding."

"That's convenient. It'll definitely save lives." The tom meowed as they climbed up the slope towards the tunnels. At the mouth of the biggest one, they saw Briarlight, along with Ambermoon and Sorrelstripe.

"Are you three okay?" The violet-eyed tom asked them.

"We're doing just fine. How's everyone else in camp?" Ambermoon asked.

"Okay. No injuries whatsoever, other than the roof of the nursery flying off."

"Oh no! Is everyone okay?" Briarlight wondered.

"They're fine. I asked them to move to the elder's den for the time being." He assured her.

"Y'know Briarlight, Lelouch came to the medicine cat's den asking for where you were." A strong blush formed on the she-cat's face, causing him to smile.

"You didn't need to tell her that." Lelouch whispered. "I came to make sure you all were okay." He reassured them.

"Right. I'll come back and tell you all when you can return to camp." The two toms left the she-cats alone and made their way back to camp. Darkness slowly began to rise as night crept forward. As they made their way down the slope, Alderheart stumbled a few times, Lelouch needing to help him balance.

"You know, you're the one who's been a cat their entire life." He joked.

"Well I can't help it! This grass is so slippery!" Alderheart responded. When they reached the top of the slope overlooking the camp, they heard a loud crack of thunder, their surroundings briefly illuminated by the lightning accompanying it. "StarClan that one was close!" His eyes then widened in shock when an orange glow filled the sky above SkyClan. "Fire!" Disregarding the slippery slope, Alderheart dashed down to camp, Lelouch trying to catch up with him. "Bramblestar!" He called for his father. He walked out of his den and hopped down to the middle of camp to see him and Lelouch.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"There's a fire near SkyClan! They might need help!" Bramblestar looked in the direction of SkyClan's camp before going into the warriors' den. He walked out with Stormcloud and Leafshade behind him and they passed the leader as they rushed out of camp.

"They're going to see where the fire is and if any cat needs help." Bramblestar told his son. "Get some shelter, you two. You deserve it." The two nodded and watched as the leader made his way back to his den.

"Do you think SkyClan might be in trouble?" Alderheart asked the black tom.

"I can't say for sure. The last thing we need is only for there to be two Clans."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When moonhigh approached, the rain had finally cooled down to just a drizzle, and the dark sky had cleared, allowing for a small sliver of moonlight to shine onto the camp. Lucina was working alongside Nightheart, Suguha, Noctis, Twigpaw, and Finpaw to help patch up the nursery roof.

"Thank StarClan you can warp around and pick up bramble and ivy tendrils, Noctis. The roof is already almost fixed." Nightheart meowed.

"It's nothing. Just using my powers for something other than fighting, that's all." He replied. "And…done. Looks as good as new." They all stepped back from the nursery to look at their finished work.

"It does. Excellent job, everyone." Lucina said with praise. "I'll go speak with Bramblestar and see if there is anything else that needs to be done around camp." The blue-gray she-cat left the group. As she did, Suguha saw that Alderheart was walking with two unknown cats behind her.

"Did you want to go see Alderheart, Twigpaw?" The black she-cat asked.

"Sure!"

"We'll be back, Nightheart." Twigpaw and Suguha walked over to where Alderheart was. When he saw them, he greeted the two with a smile.

"Hi Suguha, hi Twigpaw. How's the nursery?"

"All patched up." Suguha meowed. "Who are these two?"

"This is Velvet, and this is Fuzzball. They're kittypets who came from the fire over there."

"Hiya!" The fuzzy ginger tabby meowed.

"Oh! We don't want to get in the way of you helping them, Alderheart. Sorry!" Suguha apologized.

"It's okay. It's great to know that the nursery's already repaired. Don't move the queens yet, though. I don't want the kits to be disturbed." He meowed. "Twigpaw, do you mind telling Ambermoon and Sorrelstripe that they can bring Briarlight back?"

"Sure!" Twigpaw darted out of the camp, Alderheart thanking her as she left. The tom looked over at Suguha.

"How are you feeling, Suguha? You're not hurt or sick or anything, right?" He asked, the she-cat shaking her head.

"I'm okay." She assured him. "I'll get out of your way for now, Alderheart. See you later."

"See ya'." Alderheart walked into the medicine cat's den with the two kittypets behind him. They saw that Leafpool was curled up in her nest, asleep, while Jayfeather was busy scratching at his ear with a paw, Asuna watching over him. "This is Jayfeather, Leafpool, and Asuna. They're all medicine cats, but these two have the belly sickness currently." He meowed as he introduced them.

"Hi!"

"Greetings." Velvet meowed with a bow of her head.

"Alderheart, help Asuna take these thorns out of my nest!" The blind tom snapped.

"Actually, I have a better idea." He pushed Fuzzball forward with his tail. "This is Fuzzball and I'm assigning him to be your personal assistance. Anything you need, he'll be here. Need new bedding? Ask Fuzzball. Need water? Ask Fuzzball." Asuna let out a small giggle as she stepped away from the blind tom.

"I can't believe this? You can't be serious, Alderheart." Jayfeather complained. Before he could reply, Fuzzball immediately went to work, assaulting Jayfeather with countless questions. "When I get better, I'm going to kill you…" Asuna and Alderheart both shared a laugh before focusing on Velvet.

"Asuna and I will make you a nest so you can rest after we treat your wounds."

"Later." The gray she-cat meowed. "You both seem to have your paws full. I couldn't relax knowing how much work you both have to do at the moment." The two medicine cats looked at each other. "I wasn't always a kittypet. There were times where I had to tend my own wounds, so I know a bit about herbs. I'd much rather help than just sit around and use your resources."

"I don't see why she can't." Asuna meowed, the tom nodding in agreement.

"Okay, you can help, but only after we treat your wounds." Alderheart looked over at the cream she-cat. "Asuna, do you have any burdock root?" Asuna swiped her paw down, Velvet looking at her in surprise as her inventory menu appeared.

"Just one." She tapped on the picture and when the screen disappeared, the root appeared at her paws.

"What…just happened?"

"Oh, Asuna's a special cat, and so is Suguha. They're actually not from this world. They're Twolegs back where they're from, but they were brought here as cats with some powers."

"That sounds…a bit hard to believe."

"Believe me, when I first got to this world, I felt the same way." Asuna said with a small laugh. Alderheart picked up the root and placed it in front of the she-cat.

"This is burdock root. It's great for burns, but make sure not to swallow it." Velvet sniffed the root and licked the end of it, flinching.

"It's bitter!"

"We can chew it up for you if you'd like." Asuna offered, but the amber-eyed she-cat shook her head.

"I'll do it. I'd like to learn anything new that I can." Velvet chewed up the root into a poultice and placed it on her wound. Asuna then swiped a paw down again to get the she-cat some cobwebs. Once they appeared on her paw, she gently placed them on her wound. Once her wound was fully concealed, Velvet, Asuna, and Alderheart left the medicine cat's den to tend to Cherryfall and Birchfall, who were both waiting outside. Alderheart and Velvet helped the two, while Asuna saw Sorrelstripe approaching her from the nursery.

"Asuna, do you have any more watermint? While I was in the cave…I started vomiting, and my stomach's been aching ever since."

"Of course. I'll give you some right now, and you stay in the apprentice's den with the others who are sick." Asuna swiped her paw down to reveal her inventory screen, but as she did, a loud boom was heard from above, rain again beginning to fall. "Follow me, I'll treat you in the medicine cat's den for now. We need to get out of this rain." A sudden flash of light illuminated the camp as lightning cracked through the sky. As the bright light left, the sky again was filled with an orange glow. Asuna looked in horror as unlike before, the fire was much closer, the skies above RiverClan and WindClan filled with a bright orange glow.

Lucina's eyes reflected the orange light in the sky as she gazed in the direction of the fire. This isn't good. I can't just stand here and do nothing! Lucina looked over at Bramblestar and saw that he was talking with Alderheart. She ran over to the leader, the two looking over at her.

"Bramblestar, we need to do something. Cats could die if we don't help!" She meowed. "I'd like to go out to help them."

"I know, and we're going to. Alderheart, you said Noctis and Suguha could help? Go get them!" His father commanded, the tom running around camp in search of the two cats. "Once they arrive, you can go along with them."

"Bramblestar, I want to go!" Twigpaw pleaded as she ran up to the leader.

"Me too!" Finpaw joined the she-cat.

"Very well. Once Alderheart and the other two arrive, we'll head out." The four cats waited until Alderheart returned with the two black cats running behind him.

"Twigpaw, you and Finpaw are coming too?" Noctis asked when he saw the two apprentices.

"There's no time to talk. We have to go, now!" Bramblestar took the lead and darted out of camp, the others following behind. Before Suguha ran off, she swiped a paw down, Lucina watching as the black she-cat began to glow. Once it faded, a pale ginger she-cat with bright green eyes stood in front of her.

"Oh, this is the first time you've seen me like this, huh?" Suguha realized. "I can explain later. We need to go help!" Lucina nodded and the two caught up with the others. "While I'm like this, I'm able to use magic. I think I might be able to shield some of the cats who may be caught in the fire." She informed her as they ran through the forest towards WindClan.

"I see. I'm guessing in your other form you can't then?"

"My other form is meant for speed and fighting. I could stay like that and get there a bit faster, but I rather be able to cast spells immediately and not wait to change forms."

When the group reached the lakeshore, they noticed that the rain had calmed down to only a minimal drizzle. As they peered across the lake, they noticed that the fire was coming from RiverClan's camp. Traveling along the lakeshore, the group ran into a WindClan patrol consisting of Gorsetail, Nightcloud, and Brindlepaw. The three approached them, panting for their breath.

"Are you going to RiverClan? We'll join you." Gorsetail meowed.

The cats raced along the shore past the Horseplace and reached the end of the fallen tree bridge, they could hear the crackling of flames, along with the caterwauls of fear coming from the RiverClan cats. Pressing forward, they reached the border stream, but a fallen tree blazed with fire created a barrier between the cats and RiverClan. Through the flames, Lucina noticed the shadows of cats fleeing to safety by leaping into the lake, but there were also cats who she could see were still trapped.

"We have to get to those...Noct!" Alderheart called out as the tom ran towards the fire and flailed a transparent spear through the flames, disappearing from their sight.

"That reckless tom! I could've shielded him!" Suguha exclaimed.

"Can you use your shield on me? I might be able to get through and save some of the other cats." Lucina meowed. "Please, Suguha." The she-cat hesitated for a bit before she chanted the incantation for her Butterfly Shield spell. Lucina watched as the bright butterflies surrounded her before disappearing, a light transparent bubble now around her.

"Be careful, Lucina." Alderheart told her. Lucina turned towards the fire and took a running start before diving straight into the flames, crossing past the stream. Once she landed on her paws, she looked around for any cats who needed help escaping. There's none near here. Maybe there are some in the camp. Lucina ran into the camp and saw that there was one cat in a den. She ran over to the golden cat, who seemed to be trying to pick up some herbs.

"We need to leave, now!" The cat jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Who are you?" The golden she-cat asked.

"My name is Lucina. Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you. Can you walk?"

"I…I'm not sure." She muttered. Lucina could see the she-cat's eyes slowly beginning to close.

"We're going to make it out of here, I promise." Lucina helped her up and supported her as she looked around for a safe exit. If only I could give this barrier to her. She needs it more than I do. Her eyes scanned through the inflamed camp until she found a safe route for her. "Try to walk as fast as you can, okay? I've found an opening." Lucina slowed her pace down as she helped the she-cat escape. As they were leaving the camp, Lucina slowly began to notice the shield around her fading, the she-cat finally feeling the intense heat around her. Smoke began to fill her lungs as they trudged towards their escape route.

With the edge of the lake in sight, Lucina let out a sigh of relief as she carried the she-cat towards cats she assumed were her Clanmates.

"Mothwing!" A gray tabby she-cat approached the two and she brushed pelts with the golden she-cat. She then looked over at Lucina. "Thank you…thank you so much! Please tell me your name."

"Lucina. I wish I could stay, but your other Clanmates may still need help." She slowly moved Mothwing so that she was now supported by the gray she-cat. She looked over at the other side of the lake and saw that the ThunderClan and WindClan cats were able to form a log bridge for the rest of the RiverClan cats. She then saw Twigpaw on the opposite side of the log, a wall of fire in front of her. Oh no! Lucina's heart raced as she watched Twigpaw leap over the fire. She landed on the log for a brief second before she plunged into the water. Twigpaw! As she was falling, Lucina watched as a black blur caught her in the air, rolling once they collided with the grass on the other side of the stream. Oh thank the gods you're here, Noctis. The she-cat took a breather as she now waited for the roaring flames to slowly die out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Lucina! Hey!" The blue-gray she-cat turned around and saw that it was Violetshine. "I heard you saved Mothwing. How'd you even make it over here? Your fur should definitely look way worse if you ran through the fire."

"Suguha helped me." She meowed. "How's SkyClan?"

"We're okay. We saw the fire and we couldn't just sit around and do nothing…but it seems like we were a bit late."

"I'm sure Mistystar will still appreciate the thought." Lucina responded. She saw the she-cat's father approaching, Lucina greeting him with a bow. "Hello, Hawkwing."

"Hello, Lucina. Everyone over there is talking about how you saved Mothwing. You're definitely a hero, that's for sure."

"Thank you. I'm just glad I was here to be able to save her." She meowed. Lucina looked over at the border stream and saw that the flames had finally died down, allowing the RiverClan cats to rejoin with their comrades. They all ran towards the stream, Lucina joining Hawkwing's patrol as they followed. When they got close, Violetshine noticed Twigpaw on the opposite side of the stream with Noctis, Alderheart, and Suguha. She broke into a run to see her, Lucina and Hawkwing padding behind.

"Thank StarClan you're okay! What happened to you?" Her sister asked, worry in her voice.

"Twigpaw's a hero. She saved Softpaw from the fire." Alderheart told her. "Luckily Noct was there to catch her before she fell in the water."

"I'm so proud of you, Twigpaw." Hawkwing meowed. He then looked over at Noctis. "Thank you for helping Twigpaw, Noctis."

"I promised that I'd watch over her, didn't I?" He replied humbly. "I was lucky to be in the right place, too."

"Yeah, but you did dive into the fire recklessly. I'll need to look over you and Twigpaw when we get back to camp." Alderheart stated. "Lucina, I might need to look over you as well."

"You didn't get hurt badly, did you?" Suguha wondered anxiously. "I hope my shield didn't run out too soon. It may have gotten weaker with the more cats I needed to protect." Lucina shook her head.

"It helped enough for me to save Mothwing. She looked like she was trying to salvage some herbs from the fire."

"That's amazing. Thank StarClan you were there to save her." Alderheart said. As they continued talking, Bramblestar approached the group.

"Lucina, it's good to see that you're alright. Reedwhisker told Mistystar and I about how you saved Mothwing. Without you, she might not be alive right now." The leader then looked over at Hawkwing. "Do you mind gathering your patrol to speak with Mistystar and I? We need to discuss what is going to happen with RiverClan."

"Sure." Hawkwing motioned his patrol over towards the RiverClan leader, the ThunderClan and WindClan cats also joining. Once they were all gathered, Bramblestar stepped forward.

"We've come up with the idea to divide RiverClan into two so that some can be cared for in WindClan, while the others can be cared for in ThunderClan." Tawnypelt looked over at her brother in concern.

"That's mouse-brained! You should just keep them together and let them stay in ShadowClan's old camp. It has—." The she-cat stopped when she noticed Hawkwing glance over at her.

"Actually, that isn't a bad idea. You may stay there until your camp is repaired, that is, if Leafstar agrees."

Mistystar bowed her head in thanks. "RiverClan will never forget this day." Lucina looked over at the RiverClan cats in joy. It seems like RiverClan might be ready to rejoin the Clans. That still leaves ShadowClan. Once Tawnypelt decides to lead, all five Clans will finally thrive together again.