Fernpaw chewed on the metal bars. "Yuk! This is nasty!" she exclaimed, looking at Graystripe. He nodded, staring at the bars that held them.
"I think I know how to get out of here," he mewed lightly. Before Fernpaw could ask questions, Graystripe ran into the side of the cage, knocking the door open. He fell to the floor, just barely landing on his feet.
"Come on!" He hissed at Fernpaw. She nodded and did the same, springing out of the cage. The two cats bolted towards the stairs. At the top, the door stood a crack open, letting in a little light. Graystripe ran up to the door and carefully sniffed the crack. He flicked his tail, signaling to Fernpaw to follow.
"There are no Twolegs out there, and I think I can smell the other warriors' scent!" Graystripe whispered excitedly. Fernpaw flicked her tail in happiness.
They walked out of the door and followed the scent out of the Twoleg nest. It led down, far into the woods and finally past the cutter's.
"What do we do now?" Fernpaw asked as they sat next to the cutter's fence. The warrior's trail let straight inside.
"We go in." Graystripe replied.
"We do what?" Fernpaw asked Graystripe.
"We go in. I can smell and hear the other warriors and Brightpaw!" He mewed and Fernpaw gulped. She and Graystripe entered with caution.
"Graystripe!" It was Dustpelt. Graystripe looked up at Dustpelt.
"Shh!" He hissed.
"Fernpaw! Fernpaw, are you there?" It was Brightpaw.
"Yes, Brightpaw, I'm here."
"You two shouldn't be here." Sandstorm said.
"Well, we are so just be quiet!" Graystripe said and the cats quieted down. Suddenly, Willowpelt cried out:
"Graystripe! Fernpaw! Look out!" The warrior and apprentice suddenly spun around. A Twoleg was barreling towards them. He stooped and scooped up Graystripe and tried to get Fernpaw, but Fernpaw rolled and dodged, like she had seen a warrior, Brackenfur, do with his sister, Cinderpelt, before Cinderpelt had been in a Thunderpath accident and was crippled.
"Good work, Fernpaw!" Graystripe said.
"Thank you!" Fernpaw said as she continued to dodge. She had only been an apprentice for less than a week, but she did know a little bit of battle technique from watching the other apprentices and warriors.
"Fernpaw, look out!" Brightpaw called, but her cry came too late. The Twoleg already had Fernpaw in his paws and had thrown her and Graystripe into a cage.
"Alright, now, we get out of here!" Graystripe said. He opened the cage the same way he had done so earlier. The others followed. The Twoleg was gone.
"Alright, is everyone here?" He asked.
"Yes, all of use but Foxtail." Longtail said sadly. Fernpaw's ears perked up at the mention of Iceear's mentor.
"Why? Where's Foxtail?" She asked.
"Foxtail joined StarClan today. He fought against the Twoleg and he killed him." Sandstorm said quietly. Dustpelt gave her a comforting lick.
"You tried your best, Sandstorm." He said.
"What?" Fernpaw asked.
"Sandstorm tried to save Foxtail, but failed." Willowpelt explained.
"Oh." said Fernpaw. The seven cats jumped onto the counter and then out of the open window.
"Now we go home!" Fernpaw whispered to Brightpaw, but everyone stopped when they saw where they were. They weren't in the forest anymore.
"I have there scent!" Iceear called. Fireheart, Lightheart, Cloudpaw, and Ravenpaw ran to her, their mouths open to catch what she had.
"They went to the tree cutter's place?" Fireheart thought out loud. Iceear nodded, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Why would they be there?
Lightheart began to run towards it, but Ravenpaw called to her to stop.
"Something's wrong," he said when she came back.
"I feel a trap," Fireheart said, looking around the forest. "There's something else in the air, I just don't know what."
"I do..." Iceear said and ran towards the cutter's place. She nimbly jumped over the fence and into their land. She could hear her companions calling to her as she fell in behind a large thorny bush. Iceear sniffed the air; she could smell the warriors from her clan, not very old, but also something else. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. Twoleg monsters from the Thunderpath!
"Monsters! Twoleg monsters have carried them off!" Iceear cried.
"What?" Cloudpaw demanded. "I'll SHRED them!" He said.
"I think I know where they've gone." Ravenpaw said.
"Where?" Lightheart asked.
"A little past the farm where I live now." Ravenpaw said.
"We have to tell Bluestar!" Fireheart said.
"Right. But what about me?" Ravenpaw asked.
"Are you willing to fight along side us, even though it means exposing that you're not dead?" Fireheart asked and Ravenpaw nodded.
"I am." He said.
"Then let's go." Lightheart said and Iceear and Cloudpaw followed them.
...oOo...
"Ravenpaw!" Everyone hissed as Iceear, Cloudpaw, Fireheart, Lightheart, and Ravenpaw entered the camp.
"Ravenpaw!" Bluestar said in surprise.
"Hello, Bluestar." Ravenpaw said.
"We thought you were dead!" Bluestar said. Ravenpaw shook his head.
"No, that was just to keep me safe. Bluestar, I need to tell you something." Ravenpaw said and Iceear and Cloudpaw left to find the other apprentices, Silverpaw, Nightpaw, Mouseear, and Sunpaw and Moonpaw. (Sunpaw and Moonpaw are identical twins).
"Iceear! Did you find the others? Fernpaw? Brightpaw?" Mouseear asked. Iceear shook her head. Nightpaw sprang to his paws.
"No!" He said. His mother, Featherwing, was also Sandstorm's mother, though Featherwing had gone to join StarClan in the ShadowClan attack with Lionheart when he was three moons old.
"Look, there's nothing we can do." Cloudpaw said.
"Oh yeah?" Nightpaw said.
"Yeah." Cloudpaw said back.
"Stop it! Cloudpaw, here comes Fireheart and Ravenpaw." Iceear said.
"Iceear, Cloudpaw, come. We are going with Ravenpaw, Lightheart, and Windnose to rescue the others." Fireheart said. Iceear and Cloudpaw nodded. Windnose padded over.
"Let's go."
...oOo...
"A WindClan patrol!" Windnose hissed to the others. They were near the WindClan border now.
"I know. But we have to go through." Fireheart said and he crossed the border.
"Is he crazy?" Cloudpaw hissed at Iceear. Iceear shrugged.
"I guess." She said and she followed Fireheart. As soon as she and the others did, WindClan warriors surrounded them. They were under attack!
"WindClan!" Fireheart shouted at the opposing warriors, "We are in times of trouble! Many of our warriors have been taken to a place out of all clan territory by Twolegs. All that we ask is to walk through your territory to reach out warriors. We will not hunt or ever look at prey while we are in it."
One of the WindClan cats came forward with her eyes silted. "How can we know to trust you?" she snarled at Fireheart. The WindClan warrior was about to attack when a tortoiseshell Queen stepped forward.
"We can trust him, Grasstail, he was the one who brought us home," Morningflower told the new warrior.
Grasstail bowed her head to the older Queen and backed off. She nodded and turned to Fireheart. "I will lead you through our land to where you journey."
"Thank you very much," Fireheart said.
The cats ran off through WindClan's territory, to Barley's farm. The scent of dogs was about the grass, not more than a night old. Carefully they padded across the grass, trying not to make a sound. The wind blew fresh scents to their noses, including that of angry dogs.
They had just crossed the front of the farm when a shrill whistle split the air. Iceear wheeled around to see two dogs running towards them and a Twoleg calling at them.
"Run!" She yelled, warning her friends. They tried to run off of the farm, but the dogs were to fast. The first one bit deep into Iceear's hind leg as the other went for Morningflower. Morningflower jumped, making the dog run headlong into a tree.
Iceear dangled from the dog's mouth, unable to reach any part of it to swat at. Cloudpaw and Fireheart bolted towards them, battering the dog with claw marks.
When Fireheart struck his underbelly, he dropped Iceear and sprinted back to his Twoleg. Iceear fell to the ground in a heap, feeling the blood come slowly from her leg.
Fireheart helped her to stand. "You have to go back to camp," he said simply.
"No, we have to find Fernpaw and the others! It's only a scratch!" She said, not wanting to go back when they had come this far.
Morningflower came to meet them, a length of cobwebs on her paw. She took some and pushed them against Iceear's leg, stopping the blood.
"Ready to go?" Morningflower asked. All of the cats shook their heads and began to run once more.
"Graystripe! Where do we go now?" Fernpaw asked. Graystripe scented the air.
"We're near Barley's farm. And a very, very, very faint scent of WindClan. And..." Graystripe said.
"And?" Willowpelt asked.
"ThunderClan! Come on, we have to get to WindClan!" Graystripe said.
"Right! This way!" Sandstorm called. The seven cats dashed out of the Twoleg garden and down by the Thunderpath.
"I smell Barley!" Dustpelt said. Fernpaw pressed herself to Brightpaw when Brightpaw trembled as a Twoleg monster roared past them.
"I smell WindClan and ThunderClan!" Fernpaw called happily. She raced ahead. She and her clanmates were almost home!
Meanwhile, Iceear and her companions were being escorted through WindClan by Grasstail.
"Thank you, Grasstail." Fireheart said.
"I wish you luck in finding your friends." Grasstail said and bowed his head. Lightheart and Fireheart lead the way as Ravenpaw, Cloudpaw, Iceear, and Windnose followed.
"I smell ThunderClan! I smell them!" Iceear exclaimed. She raced ahead with Cloudpaw at her heels.
"The scent's stronger now!" Fernpaw called to the others trotting behind her. She and her fellow clanmates rounded the corner and Fernpaw ran BANG! into someone. She shook off the impact and looked up, wondering if it was an attacker. To her surprise and excitement, it was Iceear!
"ICEEAR!" Fernpaw cried joyously as she pressed her pelt against Iceear's and Cloudpaw and Brightpaw did the same.
"I found them!" Iceear called back to Fireheart and Fernpaw did the same back to Graystripe. The seven missing ThunderClan cats were finally back with their Clan!
An hour later, Fireheart and Graystripe lead the way back to camp. Just as they were about to push through the ferns into the camp, Fireheart stopped. Yowls and hisses echoed through the air and the air was heavy with the stench of ShadowClan.
"ShadowClan is attacking!" Windnose cried and he leapt into the camp with his friends at his heels. Fernpaw, Iceear, Ravenpaw, and Windnose buddied together. Ravenpaw was more experienced; Fernpaw and Iceear had only had about three training sessions! They fought against two ShadowClan toms. One piled on top of Fernpaw, but Iceear and Windnose ganged up on the tom and sent him fleeing from the camp. Ravenpaw was helping Fireheart. Suddenly, a large set of claws raked Lightheart's side as she neared Iceear and Fernpaw.
"Tigerclaw!" Iceear gasped. Tigerclaw was LEADING the ShadowClan attack!
"Lightheart!" Fernpaw cried as she rushed to help her mentor. Iceear and Windnose ran to help her. Tigerclaw clawed Windnose in the face and he fell back. He hit Iceear out of the way, but his claws hadn't touched her.
"Iceear! It's Tigerclaw's fault! He lead the Twolegs here! And they killed Foxtail!" Fernpaw screamed. Iceear's eyes flashed lightning and she raced at Tigerclaw and sank her teeth into his shoulder. Tigerclaw rolled over and raked Iceear's side with his overly long claws. Iceear lay motionless on the ground. She finally gained her strength back and raced to help Fernpaw. Fireheart had joined the fight along with Graystripe and Mossypelt, a ShadowClan warrior, joined Tigerclaw with an apprentice named Marshpaw.
"Get away!" Graystripe hissed. Lightheart was dragged by Windnose to Yellowfang's den where Cinderpelt and Yellowfang went to work. Graystripe and Fireheart fought Mossypelt and Marshpaw and Tigerclaw came towards the two apprentices.
"No!" Ravenpaw cried as he crashed into Tigerclaw, sending him back. Bluestar and Fireheart slashed at Tigerclaw and backed him up against Highrock.
"Traitor! Get out of here!" Bluestar hissed and she swiped Tigerclaw across the face. He would have a scar near his left eye for the rest of his life. The rest of the ShadowClan warriors and apprentices fled.
"They're gone!" Skytail called triumphantly. All the other cats gave a yowl of agreement and success.
"And I think we have something else to attend to." Bluestar said, looking at Fernpaw, Iceear, Windnose, and Ravenpaw. "A naming ceremony." She announced and the other cats of ThunderClan meowed in agreement. Bluestar hopped up onto Highrock. She turned to Iceear.
"Iceear, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect your clan even at the cost of your own life?" Bluestar asked. Iceear nodded.
"I do." She said, her eyes shining.
"Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Iceear, from this moment on, you will be known as Icestorm. StarClan honors your bravery and we welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan." Bluestar said and she placed her muzzle on top of Icestorm's head. Then she jumped back onto Highrock.
"Ravenpaw, you have been missed, but we would like you to join our clan once more, if you like." Bluestar said and Ravenpaw nodded.
"Very much, Bluestar." He said.
"Very well. Ravenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect your clan, even at the cost of your own life?" Bluestar asked.
"I do." Ravenpaw answered.
"Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Ravenpaw, from this moment forth you will be known as Ravenfeather. StarClan honors your bravery and we welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan." Bluestar said and she did the same thing to Ravenfeather that she did to Icestorm. Bluestar jumped back onto Highrock.
The naming was not over.
Bluestar then turned to Fernpaw and Windnose. "Fernpaw, do you promise to protect the clan even at the cost of your life?"
"I do." Fernpaw said excitedly.
"Then from this day on you will be know as Fernwind. We welcome your quick thinking and loyalty into ThunderClan." Bluestar turned to the last apprentice before her.
"Windnose, will you defend the clan at any cost?"
"Yes," Windnose mewed.
"Then by the power of StarClan, you will now be know as Windcry from this time forth. Now, after your hurts are attended to by Yellowfang and you eat, the four of you will keep watch over the clan as the rest of us sleep."
The four new warriors beamed as they walked to Yellowfang's tunnel.
"Ahh! Fernpaw, Iceear, Ravenpaw, and Windnose!" Yellowfang said as the four warriors padded into the tunnel.
"No, Yellowfang, didn't you hear? They're warriors now!" Cinderpelt said.
"Really? Wonderful! What are your names?" Yellowfang asked.
"Ravenfeather, Fernwind, Icestorm, and Windcry."
"Nice names! I remember my apprentice name...Yellowpaw. That was so boring. But when I became the medicine cat in ShadowClan, I was given the name Yellowfang." Yellowfang said and the four warriors purred and flicked their tails in amusement.
"We need to get our injuries looked at and then stand our vigil." Ravenfeather said. Cinderpelt gave him something for his scrape on his shoulder. Then she gave Fernwind some cobwebs and Icestorm that, too. Windcry wasn't hurt as bad, bu he still got cobwebs for his face none the less.
"Hey, what about Brightpaw and Cloudpaw?" Fernwind suddenly brought up.
"Oh, poor Brightpaw had hurt her leg. Cloudpaw wouldn't leave her so they didn't fight. Besides, those two aren't ready." Yellowfang said.
"But we weren't ready! We only got about three training times!" Icestorm said. Yellowfang nodded.
"Yes, but I think that StarClan gave you your abilities because our clan needed you." She said, her eyes twinkling with a knowledge only medicine cats possessed. "By the way, before you start your vigil, Speckletail says that Vineleap has had her kits. You may want to check them out. Who knows, they may be your apprentices one day." She said. The four warriors nodded and left. After seeing Vineleap's beautiful four kits, they sat their vigil. As the newest warriors of ThunderClan sat their vigil while everyone slept, Silverpelt and StarClan shone down on their bravery. Fernwind and Icestorm weren't sure what was coming next, but they were ready.
THE END!
A/N- Thanks for viewing and please review!
-Robin