Chapter Two - Missing?

"What was that?" I asked.
"I don't know. Let's go check." Bumblepaw replied.
We ran to where the scream had come from, and saw some queens huddled together, one panting rapidly with worry.
"What's wrong, Kinkfur?" Russetfur, the Shadowclan deputy, was asking.
"My, my, MY KITS!" The Shadowclan queen cried. "They're gone. All three of them. Gone! I was showing the other queens how strong and healthy they were, "
"We must send out patrols to look for them, before they're completely gone." Onestar ordered.
"Good idea. Brambleclaw, you lead one patrol. Birchfall, you lead another." Firestar began organising patrols.
"Bumblepaw, come with me." Birchfall called.
"I'll come too." I told him.
"Mosspaw, I'll go with you." Poppyfrost said.
"Okay. Let's go look for those kits." Birchfall agreed.
I scented the air, and found the smallest hint of Shadowclan kits.
"I think I've picked something up!" I told the rest of the patrol.
"Okay. I can't smell anything, so where do you think the scent trail leads?" Birchfall asked.
"Um..." I checked the scent again. "I think they're somewhere near those rocks at the top of Windclan territory."
"Let's look there." Bumblepaw decided.

Chapter Three - The kits

When we came closer to the rocks, I looked around, and saw muddy ground ahead of us. The smell of mud hid the kits' scents, and I had to look to try and get a clue of which way they might have gone from here. I scanned the area.
Nothing there.

I thought. Wait! What's that?

I squited my eyes, and then realised that leading out of the muddy area, was tiny, little, pawprints, too small for even the newest of apprentices, and three sets of tracks.
"LOOK!" I cried. "It's the kits' pawprints!"
"Well done! We're back on the right track." Poppyfrost announced.
We followed the tracks all the way up to the rocks, and I smelled a scent I knew well.
"Snakes!" I warned.
"Oh, no! What if the snakes find the kits before we do? What if they die? We'll have failed

!" Bumblepaw worried.
"Don't worry. We'll find the kits, and we'll find them alive." Birchfall soothed.
"Yes, we will!" I said enthusiastically.
"Help! Help!" distant and quite, but urgent, mews sounded from one of the crevices in the rocks.
"I can hear the kits!" I cried, and bounded off without waiting for an answer.
When we reached the crevice that the kits mews were coming from, I was appalled to see that the crack was not big enough for me to slip through.
"Help us! Is anyone there?" The kits called again.
"Don't worry. We're here to save you." Poppyfrost told them.
"What's wrong, and how come you can't get out?" I asked.
"I can explain! This is what happened..." One of the three kits began to tell us how they had ended up in there.

Chapter Four - The story

"What happened, was that we saw a bright blue butterfly, and we wanted to catch it for our clan. We chased after it, and when it flew out of reach, we gave up. But we realised that we did not recognise the territory we were on, and got lost. We tried to find Kinkfur, but we got even more lost. We eneded up here, and started to explore. When we came in here, we were really thirsty, and began to drink water from a pool of water. Then, some mean snakes came in and tried to eat us! We cli,ed up to the ledge we are on right now, and when the snakes went away, we tried to get back down, but we couldn't! We had wasted all of our last strength by climbing up." the kit explained.
"How will you get out? Is this the only entrance?" I demanded.
"No. This isn't the only entrance. There's a tunnel leading out of here. If you go to the other side of this rock, you'll find the entrance to it there." another kit told us.
"Let's head over there." Birchfall decided.
As we approached the second entrance, I heard a menacing hissing noise. Fearing what I would see, I peeked around the rock.
What? Snakes? They must be trying to stop anyone going in to rescue the kits!

I realised.
"How are we going to get past the snakes?" Bumblepaw asked.
"We're going to have to fight them." Birchfall told him.
"What? Fight them?" Poppyfrost repeated.
"Yes. Just trust me. But be careful, these are poisenous snakes." Birchfall warned.
As I marched out, I came face to face with a snake. I flung myself at the snake, and the snake's eyes seemed to say:
"So, you want those kits? Never!"

Chapter Five - Fighting the snakes

I scratched the snakes eye, before darting away to avoid the snake nipping me with it's deadly, razor sharp, fangs.
I bit into the snake's neck, and it dropped dead.
Hmph! You barely tried!

I thought in triumph.
"Help!" I heard Bumblepaw squeal, and turned to see a snake slithering on top of him, ready to bite at any moment.
"Bumblepaw!" I cried, and leaped on top of the snake. I threw it into the air, and sent the snake flying. It landed with a thump on the hard stone, and lay there, dying.
"Wow! Thanks! You saved my life!" Bumblepaw thanked.
"No problem." I replied calmly.
"Okay, now the snakes are gone, let's go rescue those kits." Birchfall decided.
"Ahh!"
"What? Poppyfrost? What's wrong?" I asked my mentor.
"The snake. I think it bit me." Poppyfrost wheezed.
"What?! No!" I cried.
"Go on without me, and save those kits. They're more important than me." Poppyfrost told us.
"Poppyfrost, we can't leave you here to be in pain!" I objected.
"Please. It can't be that bad a bite." Poppyfrost insisted.
"Okay, but we'll need to take you to the medicine cats when we have found the kits." I told her.
"Come on. Those kits need our help." Birchfall said.
As I followed Birchfall and Bumblepaw into the tunnel, I glanced back at Poppyfrost.
Will she be okay? Will she even survive? Well, it's in the paws of Starclan.

Chapter Six - Saving the kits

I raced through the tunnel after Birchfall and Bumblepaw.
"Help! Are you still there?" I heard the kits crys getting louder as we became closer to them. However, I was appalled to see that, blocking our way, was a huge boulder.
"How are we going to get around that

? It's giant!" Bumblepaw asked.
"I have an idea. How about me and Bumblepaw jump over the boulder, get the kits, and jump back over, while you, Birchfall, stay guard here?" I asked.
"Good idea. Let's give it a try." Birchfall decided.
I leaped on top of the boulder, and jumped down the other side.
"Oh good. You're here. We thought you had left-" The kits mew was cut off as I grabbed it by it's scruff. The kit squirmed and struggled, and cried:
"Put me down! I can jump over that boulder myself! I'm a warrior!"
"No you aren't." I mewed as I reached the other side of the boulder and set the kit gently down on the hard, smooth, stone floor, "You're a kit."
"You'll be a great mother when you have kits of your own." Birchfall padded up to me.
"Thanks." I thanked him.
Wait! Will I have kits of my own? Who would be their father? Who would be my mate? Brambelnose is gone, and I would never be able to trust him again. What about Bumblepaw? No. I don't really love him. Oh, well. I don't have to worry about that now.

I led the way out of the tunnel, closely followed by Birchfall and Bumblepaw. I was horrified to find when I came out into the open, that Poppyfrost was lying on her side, yowling in pain.
"Poppyfrost!" I cried, "We've got to get you to a medicine cat now

!"
"What happened to her?" A curious kit asked me.
"She got bitten by a snake." I replied miserably.
"Eek! I hope they don't bite me!" It squealed.
"Don't worry. I won't let them." I soothed.

Chapter Seven - Return to their mother

As we reached to clearing where the competitions took place, we were first greeted by the Shadowclan queen, Kinkfur, bounding up to us.
"My kits!" She cried, and huddled her kits around her, purring in delight, "How can I ever thank you?"
"There's no need." Birchfall told her.
"How did you find them?" Firestar asked, padding up to us.
"Yes, how?" Another cat I didn't recognise demanded.
"Well, Mosspaw found the kits' tracks leading from the mud up to those rocks at the top of Windclan territory. We then found the kits in a crevice, too small for us to fit through, so we had to take a different entrance." Bumblepaw started.
"However, that entrance was guarded by snakes, who were trying to keep the kits trapped in there until the they got bored in there and tryed to come out. As a result, we had to fight the snakes off. Once in the other entrance, a narrow tunnel, we found a large boulder blocking our way. So Mosspaw came up with the idea of her and Bumblepaw jumping over it while I kept guard." Birchfall continued.
"We then rescued the kits." Bumblepaw finished.
"AAH!" Poppyfrost unexpectedly wailed.
"Poppyfrost! What happened to you?" Firestar cried.
"I, I, G, go" Poppyfrost tried to speak, but only managed to wheeze out a few words.
"A snake bit her." I told him.
"Jayfeather! Come look at Poppyfrost's snake bite." Firestar ordered.
As Jayfeather pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes grew wide.
"We need to get her back to camp imediatly!" He told Firestar.
Oh, no! It looks like it's worse than I thought! Will Poppyfrost even live to see me being made a warrior?

Chapter Eight - Through bad things, good will come...

"What sort of bite is it? How bad is it?" Sorreltail demanded.
"It looks like a rattlesnake bite to me. It will sadly kill Poppyfrost slowly and painfully." Jayfeather replied sadly.
"NO! Not after Molekit and Honeyfern!" Sorreltail wailed.
I thought about Poppyfrost's dead brother and sister, Honeyfern, who had died to save Blossompaw when I was just a kit, and Molekit, he died many seasons before I was born. I pressed my muzzle against Poppyfrost's pelt that was burning with fever, and muttered:
"Please Poppyfrost, don't go to Starclan just yet! Please! I want you to live to see me becoming a warrior!"
"D, don't worry, M, Mosspaw. I, I will." Poppyfrost whispered.
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the highledge for a clan meeting!" I heard Firestar yowl from outside the medicine den.
I was just about to go see what Firestar wanted, but I saw Poppyfrost heaving herself to her paws.
"Stay here. You need to rest." I told her gently.
"No. I'm coming too." Poppyfrost objected.
"All right then." I agreed.
"Two apprentices worked very hard today to do a good thing," Firestar was saying, "and they were successful."
Me and Bumblepaw!

I realised.
"Mosspaw and Bumblepaw, it is time you were made warriors." Firestar comtinued.
Yes! Poppyfrost will see me being made a warrior!

"Bumblepaw, Mosspaw, do you promist to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your own lives?"
"I do!" I answered breathlessly.
Bumblepaw glanced at me, before saying:
"I do."
"Then by the power of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Bumblepaw, you shall now be known as Bumblestripe. Starclan honours your bravery and determination."
I padded forward.
"Mosspaw, from this day on, you shall be known as Mosstalon. Starclan honours your strength, skill, courage, and loyalty."
What? Firestar said four things that Starclan honoured, when normally, he would say two! Why?

Suddenly, a vision flashed in front of me. I saw Firestar, padding through a dark forest, the sky above filled with stars. There was an elderly cat standing in front of him, her blue pelt sleek and shining.
"Greetings, Bluestar." Firestar greeted.
"Hello, Firestar." The old Thunderclan leader replied.
"How are you?" Firestar asked.
"I am fine." Bluestar answered. Suddenly, her eyes clouded, and her hoarse voice became soft and gentle as she said mystically:
"A kit will be born, by the name of Moss, but worth much more than Moss, and who's destiny shall be greater than any other cat's..." Her eyes went back to normal, and she shook her head as if it had just been dunked into a pool full of icy water.
"What do you mean?" Firestar asked.
"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything strange." Bluestar protested.
"You did say something strange. I think it was a prophecy." Firestar explained.
"Well, I don't know what you were talking about, but whatever I said, I think you should believe it." Bluestar suggested.
I felt as if I was falling, and found myself back in the stone hollow, surrounded by my clanmates congratulating me.
Bluestar said that Firestar should believe that prophecy. Do I really have such a great destiny?

I wondered, and then noticed Firestar looking at me.
"I feel as if you're going to be a fantastic warrior. Better than any other warrior ever." He said to me.
Wait! He knows something. The prophecy is true!

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