Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors series!

Title: Deep Dive

Summary: In a world where ThunderClan absorbed ShadowClan seasons ago, young warrior Weaselface is tasked to rebuild the fourth Clan and take her place as leader. But how can she betray all she's ever known and loved, all on the word of one ghost with a grudge?

Chapter Title: Meet the Pa- I mean Clan

...

"ShadowClan," Weaselstar meowed, trying to push down the nerves that crept along every inch of her fur like fleas. She'd decided against hopping onto the Pinebranch to make an announcement; this wasn't a ceremony, or a decree. This was something far more personal. But it was hard to ignore the stares of her Clanmates as they bore into her skull. "This is Partridge, Ted, Ice Cube, and Pringles. They've come to live with us."

"Nice to meet you!" Ted said, sounding just a little too happy about it. He's not great at hiding his nerves either, huh?

"Happy to finally see this place on the inside," Ice Cube added, tail swishing back and forth. "Most of you've already met me."

"When you stole our prey," Dovefrost growled.

The gray and white tom tipped his head to the side, nonplussed. "I gave it back."

Weaselstar cleared her throat and gestured to the kits sitting clustered around Pringles. She didn't think she'd ever seen them this well-groomed- or this quiet. "This is Ice Cube and Pringles' litter: Picklekit, Pavementkit, Kitkatkit, and Clockkit."

"Hi," squeaked Pavementkit.

"Dear StarClan, there's more of them," Squirrelwhisker huffed. She stomped over to them with a wrinkle to her nose, as if they all smelled like a particularly bad piece of carrion. Weaselstar tensed, waiting for further insult, but she snorted and fell back into a more neutral stance. "They aren't seriously keeping those kittypet names, are they?"

"They can if they want to," Weaselstar answered, stepping between them. "They aren't raised like us, Squirrelwhisker. They choose their own names. That's special to them."

Ted awkwardly cleared his throat. "I, uh, I wouldn't mind. You know. If you want. I'd be... Tedpaw, right?"

The ginger molly pressed on as if he hadn't spoken. "And another thing; how are we supposed to train this many cats? There's barely enough of us for the adults, and it won't be long before yours and Sweetshine's litter are ready to become 'paws. You don't honestly think we can teach them everything about Clan life in two moons, do you?"

"I was thinking-" Weaselstar mewed, tail lashing, "that we could do group training sessions. They can shadow Ashpaw and Hootpaw during the day, learn about our traditions in the evening, and go on patrols in the mornings." She turned and nodded to Ted, unwilling to ignore him like Squirrelwhisker had. "Names can come later, when you're ready to be warriors. If you want your names to have Clan additions or changed completely- it's up to each of you. That's if you want them changed at all."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Pringles observed. He stood and stretched, baring his teeth in a yawn. "We should get started."

Squirrelwhisker got into his face and growled. "You'll start when our fluff-brained excuse of a leader says you'll start."

"Squirrelwhisker," Weaselstar sighed, oddly warmed that the molly seemed to even consider her word worth using as a complaint. She flicked her tail for Hootpaw and Ashpaw to come closer, craning her head down to mutter quietly to them. "Are you two comfortable with them coming with?"

Hootpaw bounced on her paws. "Of course! It'll be nice to have someone around who knows even less than we do."

Her gaze flickered to Ashpaw. His ears were flat with worry. "You don't have to say yes," she reassured him. "We'll get plenty of one-on-one training, and we can take a walk through the forest whenever you get overwhelmed."

"What if that's a lot?" he whispered.

Weaselstar shrugged. "We'll have the buffest legs in ShadowClan."

The gray tom brightened considerably, giving a brave nod.

"Alright," Weaselstar said, straightening. She jerked her head in the direction of the camp entrance. "Let's go."

Weaselstar had originally asked the older warriors to help her show the loners how Clan cats hunt, but it turned out that hunting in the forest was a lot easier than hunting in a Twolegplace, and they were picking up on it quicker than expected. There were, of course, some exceptions- Ted and Partridge, both having been kittypets, had a lot to learn before they were sneaking up on much of anything, and Pringles was going to need to work on his patience; the tomcat, declawed, would have to practically be on top of his prey to snag them in his teeth, and he tended to try running after the food instead of using his natural camouflage. While that tactic might have been useful in a world of gray bricks, it was far less successful in a place where prey had plenty of places to hide. But all in all, it was a good start.

Next came the fighting assessment, which Fogfur and Bumblestorm had eagerly volunteered for. None of the Twolegplace cats seemed particularly skilled in that area- which, Weaselstar supposed, made sense. It wasn't like loners or kittypets fought in border skirmishes. Fighting was shorter and quicker in a world where you could much more easily lose your life. But there had been no bellyaching about it, even as Ted now stumbled across the training clearing, Ashpaw clinging to his back in a leap-and-hold. She honestly couldn't tell you which one looked more terrified.

"Well, I'll be fluffed," Dovefrost mewed, bemused. "We might actually train these idiots in two moons."

Weaselstar coughed to avoid laughing. "They didn't spend their whole lives doing nothing, you know."

The snowy molly flicked her tail dismissively. "This is the easy part. Explaining our traditions and having them follow them will be the real tick in the tail." Dovefrost glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "Did you tell them about StarClan?"

"A little," she admitted. "It was more of a crash course. But I'm not expecting them to follow in our pawsteps on that if they don't want to." Dovefrost opened her mouth to argue, but Weaselstar cut her off. "They won't be any less of warriors for it. They'll still hunt and build dens and guard the camp. It's not like they're going to become medicine cats."

Dovefrost slowly shook her head. "It's not right. Clan cats not believing."

"If you left ShadowClan and became a kittypet, would you subscribe to a giant Twoleg in the sky?"

"That's different."

"Is it?"

"Uh, Weaselstar?" Ashpaw broke in. The 'paw had escaped his demonstration fairly unscathed, panting with exertion. Bits of gray fur stuck up in odd places. Hootpaw was gleefully explaining the uses for a scruff shake to Partridge in his place. "Could we... go for one of those walks?"

"Of course." She stood and dipped her head to Dovefrost, happy for the excuse to leave their argument behind. "Take over for me, would you?"

"Sure, why not?" Dovefrost rolled her eyes. "Not like I have anything better to do."

Ignoring that, Weaselstar wrapped her tail around Ashpaw's haunches and led him away.

The brisk wind of Leaf-fall was starting to permeate the air around them, making her pelt fluff instinctively. My throat's gonna hurt like hell when Leaf-bare hits. Especially now that Beetooth added to it. "Did you want to hunt, or just talk?"

"Talk," he said, then hesitated. "If that's okay."

"Absolutely. We've got plenty of prey from our new friends as it is."

Ashpaw nodded. His paws padded steadily on the ground. He watched them as if they were the most interesting things in the world, clearly trying to decide on what to say.

"You can speak your mind, you know," she prodded, gently.

The tension left him in small increments as they passed by an old, upturned log. "I overheard Dew and Squirrelwhisker talking about you last night," he meowed softly. "About what a bad idea this was. What if they turn on us?"

Weaselstar ignored how hurt she still was about her mother siding against her. She's allowed to feel that way. I have to accept that. "I don't think they will, but if they did, I think we have them pretty well covered in fighting right now."

Ashpaw purred in agreement, but it left as soon as it came. "Mom called you a failure." The fur along the scruff of his neck rose. "It made me so angry."

"I did fail her," Weaselstar said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He paused, studying her a moment. "Is this... about that apprentice she always talks about?" he asked hesitantly. "Antpaw?"

Weaselstar felt herself beginning to tense, and actively forced herself not to. If you do this every time someone says his name, they're gonna get suspicious! "Yes."

"What... was he like?"

She worked her jaw a moment to consider. It was strange to think there were cats in her Clan who didn't know about Antpaw. It felt like his name followed her everywhere she went. "He was... a rebel. He'd always go sneaking out at night, and he used to toss acorns down on the dawn patrol when they'd tell him not to climb trees. I was pretty desperate to follow the rules at that age, so we'd go at it constantly. He left frogs and burrs in my nest a couple of times, but I used to put ants in his, so I think we're even." Weaselstar stifled a chuckle. "One time he got into the catmint supply and chased imaginary butterflies all day. Spiderstar almost cuffed his ears off."

"Huh," mewed Ashpaw, having clearly not expected that. "He would've been a good ShadowClan warrior."

Weaselstar felt a pang. She hadn't considered that. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess he would have." She found herself purring. "The kits take more and more after him every day. Featherkit has his playful energy. Elmkit has his rebellious streak. And Spottedkit-"

"You... mean Larkkit and Honeykit?"

In spite of herself, Weaselstar froze. Ashpaw was watching her reaction with a cocked head, eyes bright and trusting. "R-Right. Them." She laughed it off nervously. "Sorry, I'm just so used to lumping them all together. They've been sharing a nest since before they opened their eyes, and-"

"You don't have to explain it to me," he cut her off gently. Weaselstar couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. "Featherkit and Honeykit basically double as twins. Larkkit and Elmkit look about the same; they're just different colors." He licked his chest fur sheepishly. "We always eat together before we start training. I've noticed a few things."

"Kits all look the same at this age," she brushed it off.

Ashpaw clearly wasn't fooled. He ran his pelt along her side in a comforting manner. "Does... Does Adderpelt-"

Weaselstar sighed, cutting him off. "Of course he does. But it doesn't matter. They're his kits. He's adopted Sweetshine's too." She batted at a small stone. "Things were different. In ThunderClan. Cats born in the camp could pick whoever they wanted as their mates. ShadowClan camp kits were the ones picked. Antpaw picked Sweetshine. If Spiderstar knew..."

He dipped his head. "Did... did you love him?"

"Did I-" Weaselstar burst into surprised laughter, forcing herself to stop when she saw Ashpaw flinch. "I'm sorry. It's not you, it's me. We snuck out of camp on a dare. We had a hunting competition, then some catnip, and things just... happened." She blinked at him beseechingly. The last thing Weaselstar wanted was for her apprentice to think less of her. "I didn't love him. I... don't think I've been in love, before." With a tom, anyway.

"That sounds sad." Ashpaw hesitantly headbutted her shoulder; a silent promise between a 'paw and his mentor to keep her secret. "Are you going to tell them?"

"Soon," she lied. "I want the loners settled in first, and I think they should know some battle moves before then, just in case Spiderstar tries something."

Ashpaw's claws scraped across the ground. "I won't let him," he told her solemnly. "I- I know I'm not very strong, or brave. But I'm still a ShadowClan cat. No ThunderClan cat is gonna hurt my friends."

Weaselstar purred, touching her nose to his head. "None of that doubt stuff, okay? You're a great apprentice. ShadowClan is so lucky to have you. I'm so lucky to have you." She nodded towards the way they came. "Shall we go see how training is going?"

"Yeah," he meowed, shoulders straightening. Ashpaw was beginning to grow taller by the day. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Author's Note: I just wanna note that the reason Ashpaw could figure it out was less "10,000 iq strats" and more just. How dang obvious it is they're all half-siblings when you hang out with them constantly. The one downside to raising the two litters together, I guess.

Next chapter will have a bit more spice to it! Drama, shall we say?

-Mandaree1