#seriously he needs more than just frostbite as a mentor

[aedelia]

The Best Gifts

How do you thank someone for not only saving your friends and family’s lives, but your future too? Saying it is a good start, but Danny thinks a gift would be nice too.

               Danny was bored.  He was beyond bored actually.  Two days into Spring Break and he has nothing to do.  Sam and her family were off on a trip to somewhere in Europe. Tucker has relatives visiting and can't hang out, and Jazz has practically been living in the library to work on some big senior project that will be due when school gets back.  Even his parents were gone, some exclusive paranormal conference in New York, and they wouldn't be back until the weekend.

               Danny heaved a heavy sigh.  No ghosts had attacked for the last four days and now knowing the value of good time management, he had already managed to finish all of his schoolwork.  He listlessly tapped his fingers against the kitchen table where he was seated.  Playing Doomed solo was an option, but it's nowhere near as fun by himself, and it feels weird to play video games so early in the day.  He got up from his seat and paced for a bit.  He could go flying, but he didn't want to tempt the peace or any ghosts hanging about.  He stopped and drank a whole glass of water just for something to do. Hydration is important, right?  He resumed his pacing for several more minutes, wracking his brain for any ideas that could interest him.  He would work on a model rocket, but he had finished the one he got for Christmas over winter break.

                 He stopped in front of the fridge and glanced at the clock on the wall, it's not too early for lunch.  He grabbed a box of saltines out of the cupboard and pulled out a handful. Setting the box back on the counter he eased open the fridge door.

"Hey guys, I have a nice snack for you." he said as he checked for any loose ectoweenies.  He couldn't help the sad noise that escaped him when he saw the plate with last night's leftovers had been cleaned bare.  At least one weenie must have gotten out of the drawer.  He placed a cracker on the plate to lure the escapee from hiding.  Small, high-pitched growls greeted him as he slid the duct taped drawer open a couple of inches and sprinkled crushed saltine in the gap.  

                 The ectoweenies were kind of cute when they weren't eating his lunch. Jazz was by far the best cook in the family and he had been looking forward to enjoying the meatloaf again for lunch.  His musings were interrupted by tiny crunching sounds. "Aha!" he exclaimed as he snatched the miscreant up off of the plate.

 "You've had enough of an adventure, time to go back home," he dropped the weenie through the open gap in the drawer. "Ouch!" he yelped as it managed to bite his thumb on the way down.  Danny pouted as he stuck his thumb in his mouth to suck on the bite.  The returned weenie was growling its story to the others as he toed the drawer closed before using his free hand to reseal the duct tape.

               "For some reason, I'm not that hungry anymore..." Danny muttered as he inspected his thumb.  Thank goodness for supernatural healing, what was a bleeding cut a moment ago was already reduced to a light pink line.

                 Danny resumed his pacing for a moment before sitting back down at the table. He rested his chin on his arms as he watched the seconds tick by on the clock.

 ‘I have so much time and all I can think of doing is watching the clock tick.’  He mused on the irony of trying to make time and when he finally has some, he can hardly use it.

   ‘I wonder what Clockwork does when he isn’t pretending to try to kill me.  To think that he had planned for us to try to escape to the future to see Dan in order to set me on the path of overcoming that future.’  He frowned, ‘Even then I didn’t actually make it in time to save anyone.  It was really nice of Clockwork to not only save them, but to set me further back afterwards so that I could keep my secret and do some damage control.  I didn’t even get a chance to thank him for his help.’  He rose to his feet and started pacing once more.  “I really should thank him.  I think I remember where his lair is.  It might take an hour or two of flying if nothing interferes… Should I just show up?  That seems kind’ve rude.  Maybe I should get him a gift?  Thanks for saving my family and friends, and you know, not killing me when you could have.  Yeah I should definitely bring a gift, that would be the polite thing when just showing up at someone’s home.”  His pacing slowed as his thoughts deepened.

                 “But what gift do you give the ghost who can control time?  And also saved you and your family from terrible fates... He said time is like a parade that he watches from above but it was more like he was helping to direct the parade than just watching.”  Danny grinned in delight as inspiration struck, “I know the perfect thing!” he said as he dashed out the door at a quarter to eleven, patting his pocket to check for his wallet as he went.

                                                            -----

               A quick scooter ride later and he was at the outlet stores by the mall. He looked fondly at the video game store before parking his scooter and walking into the music store.  He browsed around the aisles, poking at one or two of the display instruments. ‘I remember when we came here so Jazz could pick an instrument in Middle School; I don’t think she’s played since then.’  

 When the lady at the desk finished with her short line of customers (mostly band kids buying reeds or random accessories), Danny popped out from the shelves to ask her, “Hey, do you guys have the kind of baton that bands use in parades?  I’m looking for a gift for a conductor I know.”

   She pursed her lips in thought before sliding her chair over to her computer next to the register.  “Hang on; let me see if we have anything like that in stock.”  Danny tried to keep from fidgeting as she spent a couple of minutes typing and clicking away at the computer.  He was trying to decide whether or not to scratch his nose when she turned back to him.

  “So we don’t have anything like that in the store right now.  You could special order one if you’d like but that would take a while and unless you wanted a gag gift, would be pretty expensive…” At his crestfallen expression she continued, “However, if you would like to get your conductor friend a conducting baton, a good quality one runes about $20-30 and we have a nice selection I can show you.”  

 Danny’s face lit up, “It’s not my first idea, but that would be just as good!”  The store clerk smiled at him and standing from her computer chair, she led him to one of the display cases by the register.

   “These are arranged by price and material.  This side is the lower end and is mostly fiberglass and cheaper wood or rubber,” she said, gesturing to Danny’s left, “and these are the nicer, more durable ones to your right.  My favorite is the rosewood style right there.”  She pointed to a medium priced baton with a nice reddish wooden bulb.

 “Tell you what, since this is for a gift, if you get one of the wooden ones I’ll engrave a name for you for free.”  

 Danny grinned at her, “That rosewood one you pointed out would be great!  For the name, could you put it as Clockwork?”

 She smiled back at him and chuckled a little, “As in, when they’re conducting everything runs like clockwork?”

 “Yeah kinda like that, it’s a nickname, so could you capitalize the C?”

 “Of course, that’ll be $25.96 after tax.”

 Danny paid her and watched as she pulled a slim case from below the counter.  She popped the end cap off and pulled out the new baton.  

 “Looks to be in perfect shape, give me a minute and I’ll have the name engraved for you.”  She picked up a small tool slightly thicker and longer than a pen and flipped a switch on the side.  A low buzzing filled Danny’s ears as she carefully engraved the name on the shaft in neat handwriting.  The tip of her tongue was sticking out of her mouth as she concentrated.   She flipped the tool off and stowed it out of sight before blowing on the engraving to help cool it and to remove any dust.  She waved it a couple of times before neatly sliding it back into the case and handing it to him.

 “There you go, one personalized baton for your friend!” she chirped.

 “Thank you so much, I’m sure he’ll like it!” Danny effused before heading out the door with a wave to the friendly salesperson. He retrieved his scooter and helmet and headed back to Fentonworks.  The whole trip only took about half an hour.

                                                           -----

Once back at home, Danny stowed his scooter and made a quick stop back in the kitchen. He slapped together a peanut butter sandwich so he wouldn’t have to deal with the ectoweenies again.  He scarfed it and washed it down with another glass of water.

“Ok!” he said, talking aloud to help psyche himself up.  “I should leave a note for Jazz somewhere in case I’m out when she gets home, and then I need to store the gift in my ghost space pocket so I don’t lose it on the trip.  I think that’s everything,” he said with his arms crossed and tapping his fingers against his elbow.  He nodded and then reached for the notepad next to the fridge to write out a quick note for his sister.

‘Hey Jazz, I’m going for a visit to see Clockwork, he’s the guy who helped me out during the CAT stuff.  Nothing is wrong.  I’m going to thank him and probably visit for a bit.  Don’t know how long it’ll take but don’t worry if I’m not home yet.’

“She’ll probably still worry and tell me that it’s her job as my big sister, but at least she’ll know I wasn’t kidnapped or something.  This should keep her from looking for me too.  She’s not going to go searching for me in the ghost zone unless I’m gone a really long time.”

He put the note in the middle of the table then grabbed the gift and lightly skipped down the stairs to the lab.  A quick flash of light and Danny tucked the slim case into the special space pocket where he normally keeps his thermos and cell phone.  Discovering that ability had made his ghost fighting a lot simpler, no more racing to his locker to grab a thermos or trying to discreetly pull it from his bag when he says he’s going to the bathroom.  He still keeps a spare in his locker and under his bed.  Sam and Tucker both keep a few too.  It never hurts to be prepared, especially when it comes to ghost fighting.

               He pulled off his glove and unlocked the portal.  It was kind’ve funny that his DNA was still recognizable to the Fenton scanner in ghost form.  After pulling his glove back on, he slipped through the portal and was on his way.

                                                            -----

Danny hummed cheerfully as he flew through the green and purple mists of the ghost zone.  He had been so bored, but he found the perfect thing to do!  Even better, since his parents weren’t home, he won’t have to worry about being locked in the zone.  

               He did a loop and waved at some cute blob ghosts before significantly increasing his speed.  ‘I might be able to shave off some of my travel time if I fly near top speed, it’ll be good exercise too.’

               Danny continued to increase his flight speed until his surroundings blurred and he weaved among the floating islands, rocks, and other debris with minute adjustments to his path.  Amazingly enough, he didn’t encounter any ghosts itching for a fight. ‘Maybe it’s because I’m in the Zone, most ghosts that come through the portal have some sort of goal.  Most in the Ghost Zone just want to be left alone.  It could also be partly the speed I’ve been going, harder for anyone to try to fight me if I’m already gone by time they notice me.’

               He slowed his pace down as the floating gears that fill the space near Clockwork’s lair began to appear.  ‘I wonder where all these gears come from.  He does have a lot of clocks.  Maybe he used to have more?  I can always ask him later if the visit goes well.’  Danny gently touched down in front of the large door to the lair.  He took a deep breath, thinking, ‘I hope he doesn’t mind a visit.  Of course he probably already knows I’m coming here, but still.’ and then firmly clanged the doorknocker.  

A few seconds passed and then Clockwork opened the door with a slight smile, “Daniel.  Please come in.,” he said while beckoning with his free arm.

“I hope it’s ok that I just showed up.” Danny said as he stepped into Clockwork’s lair for the second time.  

“It’s perfectly alright.  You are welcome here Daniel, I can always make time for you.” Clockwork replied as he closed the door behind them.

‘Did he just make a pun?’ Danny wondered, pausing in his surprise before following Clockwork into a lounge area that he hadn’t seen on his initial visit. ‘Not that I really had much time to look around with everything going on and Clockwork manipulating us for a better future. On the subject of that diverted timeline, I shouldn’t forget what brought me here in the first place.’

Clockwork, currently in adult form, had stopped and was now floating by a flat gear suspended at coffee table height.

“Clockwork,” Danny said, “I really want to thank you for your help with that horrible future.  I really appreciate that not only did you save my friends and family; you also gave me a second chance to fix my relationship with Mr. Lancer about the cheating thing.  He let me retake the test and actually let me study for it during detentions.  He even answered questions that I had about the material!” Danny paused to take a breath, “To show my gratitude for your help and to say thank you for giving me a chance, I got this for you.”  He rotated his arm slightly to reach into his sub-pocket and pulled out the slim case holding the engraved baton.

               As he handed it to Clockwork he said, “It’s not much but I was thinking about how you said you see time like a parade that you’re watching from above, it felt more like you were directing the parade a bit and I’m really glad you kept it from marching off a cliff…”  Danny trailed off, halting his ramblings as Clockwork opened the case and gently withdrew the baton.  He phased to his older form as he lightly ran his gloved fingers over the engraving of his name.  

“It is a lovely gift, thank you Daniel.  It is very thoughtful and especially fitting in your case.  I will cherish it.,” he said as he slid it into an invisible pocket up his sleeve.  “I am glad that you decided to come by.  Due to my actions on your behalf, I have been given charge and responsibility for you.  Think of me as your ghostly guardian, or mentor.  You should feel free to visit me anytime, whether you have questions, are looking for advice, or just want to spend time in a safe place. Cookie?” he offered as he switched to his child form.

               Danny was sure his jaw was hanging loose as Clockwork finished informing him of their new potential relationship.  Given that he was currently in ghost form, that could be a lot more literal than normal.  He was still trying to process this bombshell when his whole train of thought derailed at the sight of the cookie that Clockwork was holding out to him.

“That cookie is green.  And glowing.” he said as he cautiously reached out for it.

“Of course it is, “Clockwork replied, “The flour was soaked in raw ectoplasm before it was baked.”

Danny looked slightly repulsed but curious as he examined the cookie now in his hand, “Is it safe for me to eat?” he asked.

“Yes it is, and actually, on the subject of nutrition,” Clockwork said, phasing back to his adult form once again, “You need to increase your ectoplasm intake if you want to remain healthy while using your powers.  The easiest ways for you to do this would be to accept it into your diet, such as with these cookies,” he gestured towards the still uneaten cookie in Danny’s hand, “or you can absorb ambient energy from spending time in the Ghost Zone.”

“Wow, you’re being a lot more straight forward now than when you helped save the future.” Danny remarked.

“When I helped you, my hands were tied by my employers; they wanted me to eliminate you instead of solving the root of the problem. Now that I have responsibility for both you and the alternate phantom, I am able to directly advise you when you have a problem as opposed to the convoluted run around that was necessary to keep the Observants from interfering further.”  He shifted to his elder form and concluded with, “Maybe they wouldn’t be so shortsighted if they had two eyes instead of just one.”

               Danny smiled slightly at the dig at the pretentious eyeballs.  He had encountered them a few times while exploring the zone but hadn’t known what their jobs were at the time.  “I know I promised that I’ll never turn into Dan, and I’m planning on always keeping my promise! But, is there anything that I need to watch out for to keep everything on track?”

“Do not worry.  The actions that you have taken and the choices that you have made have decisively prevented you from ever becoming Dan.  You have committed yourself to doing what is right, and remember, Dan was not just you, he was a combination of Phantom and Plasmius.  You have nothing to worry about as long as you keep going as you have been. Eat your cookie.”

               Danny nibbled at his cookie and was surprised that it tasted really good to him.  It was a sugar cookie with a lemon-lime aftertaste that somehow worked really well.  As he finished the cookie, he realized that it satisfied a craving that he hadn’t realized he had.  Like finally scratching an itch.  Danny ate another ecto-cookie from the plate on the table as Clockwork looked on in his child form.

“So I can visit tomorrow too?” Danny asked.

“Of course you may Daniel, you are welcome here any,” he paused and smirked slightly, “…time.” he finished, shifting to adult form.

               Danny grinned at him, Clockwork liked puns too!  He floated over to the older ghost and tentatively reached for a hug. Clockwork did not hesitate in holding him tight and completing the embrace.

“You are a good and precious child; I already am anticipating your next visit.  Unfortunately, you will need to be leaving soon if you do not want your sister to form a search party.  She has finished early at the library and will be heading for home shortly.”

               Danny hid his smile against Clockwork’s chest as he felt his hair being ruffled.  The ticking of the clock under his cheek was comforting.

               “Thank you again for saving my whole world.  And thanks for the advice and the open invitation.  I’ll definitely be visiting more this week.”

Clockwork gave Danny’s head a final pat before separating, “As long as you fly the same speed or faster going home as you did coming here, you will avoid any encounters and will make it home with plenty of time to reassure your sister and to tell her about your day.” Clockwork shifted to his elder form and with his characteristic smirk, stated, “Later Gator.”

Danny beamed with delight as they floated to the door.

“After a little while, Crocodile.”

“We’re far too gharialous for a traditional parting.”

It took Danny a moment to work gharial and garrulous apart before he could shoot back, “Caiman, these puns are getting old.”

Clockwork replied by waggling his eyebrows and shifting to his child form, “Actually, you will find that they are getting younger.”

Danny laughed and waved to his new mentor as he floated out into the ghost zone proper, “I’ll see you tomorrow, bye!” he shouted as he turned and sped off towards home.

Clockwork shut the door once Danny was out of sight and moved to his time viewing room where Danny flying home showed on the main screen.  Some of the smaller screens floating off to the side showed him dropping the ecto-weenie back into the drawer in the refrigerator and eating dinner with his sister.

“There are some advantages to being the master of time, and taking care of such a wonderful and delightful child is definitely one of them.  The puns are a bonus too.” he mused with a slight lisp and fingering the baton that he’d been gifted.  He watched Danny talking to himself during his flight home.

“…and I should ask him where those gears around his lair come from tomorrow.  Oh! And if the ectoplasmic contamination in Mom’s cooking is actually a good thing for me.  I need to learn about more types of animals and things so I don’t run out of puns!” He was flying home with a huge smile.

                                                        -----

True to Clockwork’s words, Danny once again didn’t have any unfriendly encounters while he travelled.  He had even managed to shave a couple more minutes off of his flight time!  He slowed down as he approached the Fenton Portal and slipped through at normal speed. When he popped through he startled his sister where she was fiddling with some ghost hunting gadgets.  “Danny!” she yelled, dropping a Fenton Thermos and some miscellaneous inventions that didn’t actually do anything.  She threw her arms around him as he transformed back to human form.  “I read your note but I was starting to get worried!  I finished early at the library so that I could get dinner started.”

Danny gave her a quick hug back before responding, “I’m fine.  Actually, I’m way better than fine!  I’ll tell you all about it upstairs, do you think you could make meatloaf again?  An ectoweenie ate all of the leftovers.”

               His sister ruffled his wind-swept hair before tugging him towards the stairs. “Of course, little brother, I’m so glad that you had a good day and weren’t just playing video games or bored the whole time.”  They headed upstairs together and Danny started off his story, “So I was really bored this morning.  Incredibly bored.  Then I got the perfect idea…”

[thought-42]

Clone Wars fic day two

Today on the random Clone Wars modern day au: Cody and Obi-Wan stand outside in the cold and talk about Obi-Wan's relationship with academia while Anakin and Kix actually learn things. Part One is Here 

In March, Anakin texts Obi-Wan to inform him they're going to the open sciences conference at the university.

'Do I have a choice in this?' Obi-Wan responds.

'Absolutely not'. And then, 'Cody will be there. And there's a bunch of theoretical math talks.'

'I don't see how either of those things is meant to make this more appealing.'

Anakin calls him just so Obi-Wan can hear him laughing.

The following Thursday Obi-Wan meets Anakin and Kix on campus. He's a little hungover, and the clusters of students and professors in jeans and carrying coffees and laptops is making him painfully nostalgic for his own school days. He should have remained in academia, but having been absent three years he's not sure he could fit back in as comfortably as everyone around him seems to.

"Cody's just paying for parking," Kix says. He's got a printed out schedule of the conference sessions, red and blue underlining scattered across the paper.

"You should decide which talks you want to go to," Anakin tells Obi-Wan. He's only wearing a hoody, and Obi-Wan can see him shivering.

"The idea is for us to spend time together," Obi-Wan says. "I'm sure whatever you've picked out will be interesting."

"Stop making it weird!" Anakin says, frustrated.

"It's not making it weird," Obi-Wan snaps. "Honestly, Anakin, why even ask me to come if you're not interested in spending time together?"

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Mace you did your required weekly hour of mentoring," Anakin snipes back.

"You know that's not what I mean."

"This seems... productive," Cody says, jogging up.

"This is how they communicate," Kix says. "As long as there's nobody else around. Eventually I assume the urge to smash their heads together fades."

"Fuck off," Anakin tells Kix, snatching the schedule out of his hand and waving it in Obi-Wan's face. "I told you, there's math shit in here. Pick something, seriously. You paid for the tickets, the least you should get is to learn about something your interested in."

"Have you considered there's a reason I don't work in my field of study?" Obi-Wan retorts.

"Umm, because real world jobs where a BSC in mathematics is useful don't actually exist? Do not try to make this into a tragic backstory, math did not kill your parents in a back alley."

Cody looks alarmed. Obi-Wan holds up a hand. "I never knew my parents. I sincerely doubt they were murdered, in a back alley or otherwise."

"...So we'll go to our respective talks and meet up for lunch?" Cody asks, clearly trying to move the conversation along.

"Thank you!" Anakin says. "At least somebody gets how this is supposed to work."

"I'm going in," Kix says. "Anakin, put your fucking gloves on before you get frostbite. Obi-Wan, drink some goddamn water. Hi, Cody."

"Hang on," says Anakin, and, handing the schedule to Cody, he follows after Kix.

"Well," Obi-Wan says, acerbically, "if this doesn't count as enriching the youth, I don't know what does."

Cody scans the schedule. "You think they would have gone to this on their own?" he says. "Setting aside the part where you paid, university campuses aren't exactly the most welcoming space."

"I think it's lovely here," Obi-Wan says. "I'm quite jealous, actually. Uni was fun."

"You studied maths?"

"The second time around, yes. I did creative writing at Newcastle because I believed it would be widely applicable, then Maths here because it seemed very practical and it upset Qui-Gon terribly."

"And now?" Cody asks.

"Now I do the overnight shifts at one of the transitional housing residences on the East Side and take whatever shifts Starbucks is willing to give me. Luckily Qui-Gon's step-father firmly believes that all one needs to get ahead in life is to be smarter and richer than your opponents, so I haven't got any student debt."

"But you want to go back to school," Cody says. It is, uncomfortably, not a question. "Why don't you? If I can ask."

Most people could not, in fact, ask, yet Obi-Wan finds himself shrugging, burrowing his face deeper into the collar of his coat. "I want... to do something useful. Academia is lovely and valuable, but I suppose at the end of the day Qui-Gon has had the strongest influence in my life. I could easily let myself vanish into an ivory tower, get lost in debates and publishing and drinking my way through conferences across the continent. Perhaps I'd even be doing something worthwhile. It seems a very cozy, though permanently precarious life. But it also seems very... removed. Very detached. I'm certain there are plenty of academics out there who can approach their area of study from a theoretical viewpoint while not losing touch with the more human, on-the-ground aspects of it, but I don't trust myself to be one of them. Besides, I don't even know what I would study. It's the idealized aesthetics of academia I want, not the reality. Besides, I have enough friends at the universities that I never want for journal access." "And making coffee and watching over a sleeping house is making a difference?" Cody asks. In unspoken accord they start walking towards the front doors of the engineering building.

"Two nights ago I was able to keep a young person alive long enough after an unintentional overdose that the paramedics were able to get them to hospital. Three weeks ago I convinced a different person not to kill themself this month. A week before that I helped one of our residents use the office computer to set up a video call so she could talk to her daughter who lives in California. She's Deaf, and can't afford a smartphone, so it was the first time they've been able to talk this year."

Cody's gaze has dropped, and Obi-Wan frowns. "I'm not... trying to come across as some sort of... white knight," he says, a little anxious. "Qui-Gon is an excellent guide for how not to act. But... yes, perhaps it's self-indulgent and arrogant of me, but I want to do some sort of concrete good and as of the moment I feel as if I am. The coffee... well, it helps my bills and my caffeine addiction."

Cody smiles a bit at this last, as Obi-wan hoped he would, and Obi-Wan releases a mental sigh of relief. Cody holds up the schedule.

"I admit," he says, "I have no idea what half of the words on this even mean. So unlike Anakin, you can feel free to drag me along to all the mathematics talks you want with no fear that you're keeping me from something more interesting."

"You wouldn't rather be with Kix in that case?"

"I'll join him this afternoon," Cody says. "Right now he's still well-caffeinated and just thrilled to be here. By this afternoon he'll be more comfortable and ready to pick fights. Though I'm wondering if the same can be said for you."

"I haven't any idea what you're talking about," Obi-Wan says.

"Anakin I bet is just happy to meet people like him and will want to be everybody's best friend. But Kix is here to learn, and if he thinks somebody else is getting in the way of that, or is teaching something incorrectly, he won't have much patience for it. And I bet as soon as you walk through these doors your dormant academic asshole will be fully awakened."

"Kix is going to be an incredible doctor one day," Obi-Wan says. "And I wouldn't blame him for his lack of patience. He'll need a scholarship, so the more he can learn the better. And... Cody. Sometimes people are just... wrong. And it's our duty, as the more informed party, to educate them."

"You've thrown a textbook at someone, haven't you?" Cody says, resignedly.

"Absolutely not," Obi-Wan says. "...it was a computer mouse. And I may have poured a drink on a professor's head, but it was entirely justified."

Cody rubs his temples. "Come on," he says. "I'll get you a bottle of water and a shitty coffee before we get started."

[shellheadtmark2]

actually, because i’ve gotten a lot of new mcu mutuals lately, and i need to redo my 616 tony stark care manual bc i wanna tweak it and make some aesthetic changes (because i’m just Like That), things you should probably know because i am actually 616/marvel prime/main continuity-based.  i swear i’ll be serious this time.  maybe.

the original flavor tony is not going to be the same tony you’re used to from the mcu - mcu tony is actually more marvel ultimates inspired, which is a whole kettle of fish unto itself and that i have a verse for, but we’ll get to that at a later date.  instead, meet main continuity tony.

+  he started his path to iron man in a very similar way to mcu tony, in that he was injured by his own weapons (depending on where you pull from the sliding timescale, it’s everything from landmines to micromunitions) that damaged his heart and left him slowly dying.  we all know this story, right?  he built the first iron man to escape and the rest is history.

+  the difference is, main continuity was dependent upon the armor’s chestplate for a few years. the arc reactor ain’t really a thing in 616, instead we have the rt node.  similar in function, only tony could use it to do unibeams without the suit.  anyway, when tony came back, he took on iron man as an alternate identity, and told the world iron man was his bodyguard.  no one knew for a few years there that tony stark - handsome, generous, kind-hearted benefactor of the avengers who opened his home to them - and the metal-clad adventurer known as iron man was the same person.  it took a mishap with molecule man and a tiny red silk thong (no, i’m not kidding) for that little secret to come to light.

+  he was in his very early twenties when he became iron man - much younger than his mcu counterpart, and he’s very, very good at being iron man.

+  his relationship to most of the avengers - and heroes in general - is very different.  his best friend in the entire world is steve rogers - he’s had a captain america memorabilia collection since before the avengers pulled steve out of the ice (which is another thing - the avengers thawed steve, and tony has always idolized him - there’s no resentment there - and steve was not a founding member, he came in after the avengers had already formed).  his other best friend is rhodey, who was his employee-turned-military liason for stark unlimted (formerly known by many other names).  his other other best friend is pepper potts - they’ve never actually been romantically involved.  his other other other best friend was happy hogan, who died a few years back during the nightmare of civil war - which was much more us-based and much more horrific in tony’s universe.  he’s carol danvers’ aa sponsor.  he’s good friends with reed richards.  he’s been friends with stephen strange for years.  he and bucky barnes are fairly close and tony’s the one that got rid of bucky’s trigger words.  he and natasha have dated...ish, and are close.  he was never peter parker’s mentor, as his peter is a full grown adult, but peter did intern for him for a while.  and was on an avengers team with him before civil war.  he, steve, and thor are still the big three, but they have a friendship that’s been forged in the fires of really bad mistakes and they’ve come out the other side still close.  he knows the guardians of the galaxy because he was a guardian for a while during his big vacation in space.  he’s dated more avengers and x-men than you can shake a stick at.  and jarvis for him is edwin jarvis, his living, breathing, now semi-retired butler who served the avengers for many years and is part of the avengers family.

+  he was director of shield for a short time after civil war and steve rogers’ assassination.  he hated the job and he hated steve being dead and he hated what he forced himself to do so bad he literally erased that entire year out of his head.  and to get rid of the database full of superhero secret identities stored in his brain but you can’t tell me he didn’t have a more recent backup without it.

+  his first ai was named homer.  jarvis actually was pepper’s ai, for her rescue suit, and was never tony’s.  friday is and has been his main ai for years, and she has a hologram form.  she mostly runs the day to day stuff that doesn’t require tony to physically be there for the company.  which, also, tony is still ceo, he hasn’t handed that over to anyone, and pulls double fulltime duty as both a working stiff and an avenger.  his eyebags are designer.

+  he was secretary of defense for a year - he got himself elected when he found out someone in military research was reverse engineering and stealing things from the iron man.

+  he’s in his early 40s and looks younger:  being an extremis enhancile for a while and then undergoing a full-body reboot does wonders for the skin, apparently.

+  he’s canonically bisexual.

+  is known for using himself as a lab rat for incorporating experimental technology into his biology.  ask me about the suit he carried in his bones!

+  he’s 6′1 with blue eyes.  that’s, uh.  kind of important to know.  he’s tall.  he’s lanky.  and if you’re not a metahuman he might just can kick your ass, because captain america trained him in hand to hand combat (of which he’s very proud of).

+  the ten rings are literally ten alien rings used by his main archvillain, the mandarin.  they hurt.  a lot.  and he hates when he gets an up close and personal view of them smashing into his face.

+  he’s not as quippy as his mcu counterpart, and instead is more prone to bad puns and rambling awkwardly.  canonically he has depression, anxiety, and ptsd, and struggles with them regularly.  he’s also a recovering alcoholic.

+  take mcu tony’s tech.  then put it on steroids.  then make it the craziest scifi thing you can imagine.  and you’ve got the barest hint of what this tony’s tech is like.  seriously.  ask me about the suit he literally carried inside of himself.  or the time he could control machines with his brain.  616 is wild.

+  he’s been homeless.  and i don’t mean rich people homeless. i mean living on the street, nearly froze to death riding out a blizzard in a doorway and almost lost fingers and toes to frostbite homeless.  tony’s a Rich Boy but one who’s had a taste of how the other half lives on more than one occasion.  he’s also worked a regular nine to five like everyone else and lived in what was...honestly...a really shitty apartment.

+  he’s adopted, and he has a(n adopted) brother named arno.  his bio mom’s a former rockstar, and his bio dad a hydra double agent.  you literally can’t make this shit up.

+  he’s incredibly self destructive and self sacrificing.  if things look hopeless he’ll be the first to offer himself for the pyre.  because he has absolutely horrid self esteem.

+  he’s a liar.  he’s sneaky.  he tends to make decisions for other people without consulting their feelings on the matter - partly because of a tony knows best attitude, but also because there are people in the world he’d do anything, and i mean anything, to keep safe, even if they hate him in the end.  it’s kind of awe inspiring and terrifying if you manage to inspire that level of devotion in tony, because really.  anything.

+  he has a playboy reputation, but he’s anything but.  you either get casual sex out of him?  or you’re married now, sorry, that’s just how it is.  he settles and nests with a vengeance.  he’s one of those people that would love to be happy and safe and loved and married and all that happy shit but doesn’t feel like he’s worthy of it.  his issues with this have issues, to be honest.

+  if you call him in the middle of the night and need an evac and you’re on his People list he will come.  twice in two days.  dropping everything to go to the middle of indiana to do it.  if you are sad and text him about it he will bring you food.  if you don’t answer his texts he will find you and check in on you.  if you feel out of place and adrift he will try to buy your baseball team and move them back to brooklyn to make you happy.  if you die and he can’t cope with your death he will buy your first avengers indenticard for 2mil at an auction because he can’t stand the thought of anyone else having it.  if you’re really special he’ll call you “beloved” and “captain handsome”.  sometimes sweetheart.  please note these things are all canon.

+  he dies a lot.  it’s okay, he gets better.

+  his irrational fears are the dark and cockroaches.  his actual fears are waking up drunk and the suit becoming a coffin.

anyway this is a Lot.  and it’s not even really scratching the surface so.  i’m gonna just drop this on the dash as is.  and you know it helps for me to make dumb lists like this from time to time to refresh things.  anyway, i know it’s a lot!  i know it’s different!  but my (broken) ims and disco (shellhead#8434) are always open for questions and plotting.  and my inbox, too, ig.  so you know.  remember we’ve got a canon multiverse.  it’s real easy for me to drop him in the mcu to make your day annoying.

[themisanthropiclycanthrope]

Coming in From the Cold

As requested by @ligayaharukadiwata, some cuddly!Merlin Merlahad fluff, with a little Merhartwin friendship thrown into the mix (:

Also on AO3

The door flew open admitting a flurry of snow, a draught of icy air, and two rather forlorn looking Kingsman agents.

“Close the fucking door!”

Merlin glared at the pair of bundled up fools until Harry obediently did as commanded. The absence of any grumbling indicated just how miserable he was.

“It’s fuckin’ freezing out there.” Eggsy’s weather report was entirely redundant, and if Merlin had indeed been in any doubt, the lad’s chattering teeth would have been evidence enough.

“You cannae say I didn’t warn you.”

Harry huffed, his hands buried deep in his pockets, scarf pulled up around his nose and mouth. “If you’d told us we were in danger of freezing our bollocks off we’d never have gone out there.”

Merlin had little sympathy. The two of them had insisted on going out for a walk but hadn’t realised that while the snow looked charming and idyllic when viewed through the window, its reality was far harsher. And bloody cold.

Dropping gracelessly to the floor, Eggsy yanked off his boots, tossed them beside the door with disgust, and grimaced down at his feet. “I can’t feel my toes.” He did manage to wiggle them, however, so Merlin was almost certain he wasn't about to lose any to frostbite. Back on his feet, Eggsy hopped about for a moment, wincing, then made for his bedroom mumbling about finding some dry socks.

Merlin rolled his eyes, watching Harry as he peeled off his damp coat. “And I thought you were the melodramatic one.”

“I don’t think you fully appreciate just how bloody cold it is out there.” Harry sounded pissed that Merlin was refusing to take his suffering seriously, his rosy-cheeked expression pitiful. “Everything’s shrivelled up.”

Merlin bit his tongue and tried to look sympathetic. “Perhaps you ought to come over here and warm up by the fire, and I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”

His suggestion prompted a bit of a recovery, but for the wrong reasons.

“Oh no, don’t get up.” Harry tried to wave Merlin back down as he made to rise. “I’ll make the drinks.”

Shooting Harry a withering gaze, Merlin carried on. “I might not yet be able to manage a walk in the snow, but I can make it to the kitchen and back.” He wasn't truly angry, not when Harry’s mothering was well-intentioned and so full of heartfelt concern, but he refused to be treated any differently to when his legs had been entirely his own. Harry sometimes forgot himself, but only because he cared. “You just sit your arse down and get warm.”

Harry relented, and when Merlin returned with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate, he was curled up on the sofa watching the flames dancing in the fireplace. Merlin set one mug on the table for when Eggsy reappeared, and handed the other to Harry before lowering himself back down beside him.

Taking a sip from his mug, Harry hummed appreciatively. “This is very good,” he said, tongue darting out to lick every trace of chocolate from his upper lip. Merlin absolutely did not watch. “But you know an even better way to generate heat?”

“We’re not having sex on the sofa, Harry.”

Harry tried to look scandalised. “Unlike yours, my mind does not reside in the gutter.” He ignored Merlin’s sceptical expression. “I was talking about cuddling.”

“Of course you were.”

While it was an admittedly rather attractive proposition, Merlin hesitated, casting a glance at the door that led to the bedrooms. Eggsy could come back any minute and he had a reputation to uphold. If word got around that he was in the habit of cuddling in front of the fire, he’d lose the air of menace that was so effective at keeping the agents in line. His thoughts were obviously plain as day to Harry.

“It’s only Eggsy.” There was plea behind Harry’s words. “And he already knows that your fearsome exterior is concealing a teddy bear.”

A fully grown man over fifty years of age should not be able to employ a puppy dog expression so effectively, and Merlin tried to tell himself Harry was being ridiculous, but they both knew he was going to give in. With a token grumble about how he was most definitely not a teddy bear, Merlin raised an arm in invitation.

Harry needed no more encouragement than that. In an instant he was curled against Merlin’s side, arms tucked snugly around his waist, cold nose nuzzled into his neck. Merlin sighed softly, long-suffering but content, his arm locking Harry in place.

A few peaceful minutes passed, then Merlin felt a telltale tug at the hem of his sweater and gave Harry a sharp jab to the ribs with his elbow. “Don’t you dare put your cold hands on me.”

“It’s your bloody country,” Harry groused. “You can suffer the consequences of your inhospitable homeland.”

Before Harry cold burrow his way to bare skin, Merlin took hold of his hand, wrapping his fingers around Harry’s own and rubbing life back into them. Harry seemed happy with this compromise, lips curving into a smile against Merlin’s neck.

A shuffling across floorboards heralded Eggsy’s return, his feet freshly clad in dry socks and a fleece blanket clutched tightly around his shoulders. True to character, he immediately homed in on the mug of chocolate, eyes lighting up for the first time since he’d trudged back indoors.

“Is that for me? Cheers, bruv!”

He wrapped his hands around the warm mug and sank into the other chair, his expression as he tasted the chocolate one of pure bliss. It was a few minutes, and half a mug, later that the rich, sweet hot drink had sufficiently revived Eggsy to the extent that he finally registered the scene on the sofa. A sly grin spread slowly across his face.

“Not a word.” Merlin’s tone carried enough of a threat to deter Eggsy from whatever no doubt hilarious comment he was about to make. In fact, the lad’s smile grew wistful as he shivered pathetically.

“But this ain’t fair. How come Harry gets to snuggle for warmth?”

Harry tucked himself a little more tightly to Merlin’s side, smug. The cat that got the cream. Eggsy scowled and pulled his blanket tighter, bottom lip protruding in a woeful pout, and Merlin couldn’t help but wonder whether he had learnt the puppy dog thing from Harry.

Christ, the things he had to put up with.

“Ach, go on, get over here.”

Eggsy’s face split into a grin and he joined them, nestling into Merlin’s other side, taking full advantage of this previously unseen aspect of Kingsman’s wizard. There wasn’t much room, but he squeezed in, tucking his feet up comfortably, content. He wasn’t so pleased, however, when Harry tugged at the corner of his blanket, trying to steal some for himself.

“Oi! Gerroff.”

“Now, Eggsy,” Harry scolded, stern mentor voice firmly in place. “If you get to share Merlin, it’s only fair you allow me a share of your blanket in return.”

Eggsy thought this over, decided he was still getting a good deal, and rearranged the blanket so it was covering all three of them before settling back down and tucking himself under Merlin’s arm.

Trapped in between the two, Merlin shook his head in mock despair. Prats they may sometimes be, but they were his prats, and he would be forever grateful they were all here: cold, perhaps, but alive.

And he could suffer anything so long as that remained the case.

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Currently feeling miserable due to tooth pain, pain that is keeping me up far later than I wanted to be. And it’s on a tooth that I’ve already had two root canals on.  You wouldn’t think it would be possible to develop a grudge against one of your own teeth, but there ya go.  Anyway, gonna try to take my mind of the pain for a bit with StrikerS episode 2, “Riot Force 6”.

* Awkwardness ensues when Subaru finds herself having to think of an explanation for naming one of her attacks after one of Nanoha’s.  Even if Nanoha doesn’t mind.

* So Nanoha and Fate were only on hand to make the rescue effort all those years ago because they happened to be in the area visiting.  Man, superheroes never actually get vacations, do they?

* Flashing back once again to the airport fire.  I really have to wonder how badly things were bungled if EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE!!! was supposed to be a smuggling job as those are typically, you know, low key affairs.

* And apparently all that fire was before it spread to the gas tanks. Worst.  Smugglers.  Ever.

* While it was nice of Subaru’s sister to put the other trapped people in a barrier before heading off to try and rescue her sis, I have to wonder if her leaving the area meant that Fate had to forcibly destroy her barrier before flying the civilians out. If so that wasn’t a very responsible move on her part.  Not that I’m gonna blame her too much for that, what with her being a kid in a place where everything is on fire.  I doubt she had disaster response training.

* So the sister’s name is Ginga, and she was trying to enlist in the TSAB at the time.

* The TSAB has to completely evacuate an area before Hayate can safely cast a spell just to suppress the fire.  You don’t mess with Hayate.

* And even with the warning, the messengers still almost wind up with frostbite.  Hayate would like to know what she should turn down for.

* The next morning finds the trio completely crashed, with Nanoha being the only one to take the time to remove her skirt before falling into bed.

* Even completely zonked out on a pillow, Rein manages to be adorable.

* Hayate does not like that the other mages in the ground battalion got the credit, nor how long it took for them to get there.  She wants her own battalion, one that’ll be better!  With blackjack!  And hookers!

* Even Rein’s eyecatches are max adorbs.

* They’re explaining this to Subaru and Tea because they want them to join the new battalion, Riot Force 6.  They’re mission will be to act as the first line countermeasure against any and all crimes involving Lost Logia.  Subaru… has no idea what those are.  Seriously? I’d think the concept would probably be pretty well known, even if specifics aren’t.

* Fate shrewdly presents the carrot of personal lessons from Nanoha for Subaru, and one-on-one officer mentoring for Tea.

* Nanoha swings by with the test results!  You both fail!  Specifically, they showed decent skill, but got dinged for nearly getting themselves killed, bending the rules of the exam, and poor communication (I can only assume this is the “as you know” and emotionally charged conversations during a timed mission).

* But they don’t like the thought of leaving them in a lower classification either, so they’re being enrolled in a 3-day crash course on safety procedures and not-being-an-idiot-in-the-field before being allowed to retake the exam.

* After the meeting Tea is wondering if she’d really fit in, resulting in some teasing from Subaru. Unfortunately Subaru has yet to learn not to invoke the wrath of the tsundere.

* Nanoha and Hayate watch the tsundere “It’s not like I want to mate with you or anything, b-baka!” display, and it’s revealed there are two more candidates coming.

* Fate fusses over Nanoha’s health, despite Nanoha insisting she’s fine.  Yes Fate, we’re all sure you worry because you’re a “friend”.

* There’s a blink and you’ll miss it shot of a couple of random familiars in an airport.  It’s interesting to see them walking about openly in their mostly-human-except-for-tails-and-ears forms. Midchilda really is a different world.

* Signum arrives to pick up the red haired boy Erio from the airport.  Come to think of it, how exactly would interplanetary airports work? Like, do they share space with intraplanet aircraft, or do they need their own facilities?

* OK, I’ve heard that a lot of the non-Earthican characters are named after cars, so could somebody please answer a question for me as I know next to nothing about those.  Is Fate’s car here a recognizable model, or is that thing pure fiction?

* Fate, you are one of the last people who should worry about the capabilities of somebody because they’re a kid.  On the other hand, fussy momma’s gonna fuss.

* I really have to wonder why Caro is dressed like a Final Fantasy white mage.  Actually, I suppose I should be wondering what the inspiration for the Final Fantasy white mage look is.  I mean, it’s not entirely inappropriate for her, as that series has certainly put the white mage and summoner classes together before, and Caro’s two specialties are buffs and summoning.

* Erio’s device calling out “Sonic Move” sounds oddly close to a Street Fighter “Sonic Boom”.  Also, I wonder what kind of restrictions there are against super speed in public places, as I know I’d probably be startled and then upset by some kid suddenly bouncing past me that quickly.

* You know what I really appreciate?  Erio accidentally copes a feel (nevermind that Caro is too young to have developed anything) when he and Caro fall over after his rescue.  In most anime, this would be the cue for an accusation of being a pervert and a slap.  Here Caro recognizes unfortunate circumstance and there’s just some awkward apologizing from both parties.  These two kids are more mature about this sort of thing than 95% of other anime characters.

* It’s probably for the best Caro didn’t fly United, her baby dragon Friedrich probably wouldn’t have survived the trip.

* Elsewhere, things are serious with the other members of the Wolkenritter busting combat droids, and feeling apprehensive to entrusting that duty to the newbie’s they’re gonna get in Riot Force 6.

 This episode was mostly set up, with not really much to it.  Not a bad episode, and like I said I really appreciate the interaction in Erio and Caro’s awkward first meeting.  But other than exposition and set up there’s not really much to this one.

[doritopaw101]

Arc1, book 2: Chapter 9

Icebelly barely moved as the snow fell onto his fur. The hole needed to be fixed.

Most of his kits suckling fiercely at his belly for all the milk he had to give. He and Chestnutclaw actually came up with names for the other five kits:

Bearkit, for her fur and her short tail and Violetkit, for her piercing purple eyes. Better than thinking about how much the two looked just like Brokenstar.

Cherrykit, after her aunt who immediately offered to mentor her niece.

Sunnykit, for the fiery ginger patches on her pelt looking like the sun. Also better than seeing Dewflare in this kit.

Flamekit, for her ginger pelt.

Shrikekit had been Raveneye's idea. Apparently Robinwing came from a group called where they named at least one kit after a bird.

Chestnutclaw approved since Icebelly refused to name one of his daughters, Robinkit. He also made sure Chestnutclaw knew that he couldn't bar Raveneye or Fuzzypelt from seeing the kits just like he was stuck with Robinwing:

-Flashback-

"Ummm I..Icebelly?" Fuzzypelt's voice was small and hesitant as he stood at the entrance of the nursery

He turned his head away from Flamekit "Yeah, what's up?"

"How a..are they? The kits I m..mean"

"Doing well all things considered, Chestnutclaw's dependable when he shows up, at least I have Cherrycloud and Raveneye if needed"

"And R...R..Robinwing?"

"What about her?"

"Is s..she allowed w..with the k..kits?"

"She's the the nursery with me so I can't bar her and Chestnutclaw wouldn't shut up if I did, he likes to think he can stop Raveneye from seeing him" he flexed a claw "mistake on his part"

Fuzzypelt shifted his paws a bit "M...may I s..see them?"

'My god you're just like Raveneye but with fluff' Icebelly thought "Of course, better than the two grandmothers they have"

Fuzzypelt smiled widely "Oh thank you"

Icebelly nudged the kits closer so Fuzzypelt could have a good look at them

"What's their names?"

"Cloudkit, Rosekit, Bearkit, Violetkit, Sunnykit, Cherrykit, and Shrikekit" he purred

"Beautiful darlings" the kittens padded over to, small tails high and mewing softly.

"What in the name of Thunderstar's pride are you doing here?" Chestnutclaw's fierce growl made the kitten jump

Fuzzypelt shrunk into himself, he looked so small like that.

"What made you think you could be near my kits?"

"They're my kits too Chestnutclaw" Icebelly growled "And I say Fuzzypelt can see his grandkits whenever he wants"

"He'll make them weak!"

"Why just cause Robinwing says so?" Icebelly countered "I have to deal with her, I'm sure you can deal with a few minutes with your father"

"I have no father"

Fuzzypelt didn't even wince

"You're right, a father would be ashamed to call you his son"

-Flashback ends-

Cloudkit and Rosekit were being nursed by Brindleface at the moment to give him some air to breath since between seven kits, his milk drained fast and leaf0bare wasn't over. They were growing close with Ashkit, Fernkit, and Tulipkit as a result, not a bad thing honestly glad that being nursed by another royal gained them something. Chestnutclaw visited when he felt like it, though it was obvious to Icebelly that Rosekit was his favorite, she was also Robinwing's favorite aside from her own daughter Chivekit.

It was honestly amusing to see Chestnutclaw subtly be jealous of Chivekit for Robinwing's affection. It took all of Icebelly's self control and respect for Raveneye to not yell at him for even wanting Robinwing's love. He didn't see how Raveneye could still love her, he really couldn't, he hated Dewflare for all he had it only increased when she helped no convinced Brokenstar to rape him.

"Kick him Hawk-kit" Robinwing ordered

He felt Goldenflower huddle close against him, her golden tail pulling her newborn kits close. He felt her shivering against him.

Icebelly opened one eye to watch Hawk-kit, Chivekit, and Stagkit fighting each other. Dustpelt had screeched in anguish when Shrewkit died in his paws, Robinwing didn't seem all that bothered. She still had her three other kits and her third litter on the way, Featherears siring them. It brought him back to how Bloodclan kits trained as well, he wondered if blood would spill as much as it did in the city.

"Chivekit go for legs" Robinwing ordered "Bite the joints"

"This a Thunderclan thing or a Robinwing thing?" he drawled

"Both" Mossthorn replied, tone forced calmness. Palepaw seemed at the edge of death with her battle with greencough. His brother was honestly emotionless and drove in his work and Mossthorn was just barely keeping it together. Marigoldpaw gave a small scare but was recovering well, her mentor and adopted father Nettlemist was also relived.

"Don't act like what you and the others pulled yesterday didn't happen" Embereyes mewed

"In my defense, Smokepaw started it and thought she could end it" Lichenpaw, Cinderpaw, Smokepaw, Brackenpaw, Swiftpaw, and Lynxpaw had gotten into a fight for dominance the other day, Cinderpaw and Lichenpaw made it out victorious. Much to Icebelly's delight for his apprentice. Thymeroot was not amused, Yellowfang thought it was fucking hilarious.

"It's part of growing up Ember, I wish I had others to fight with during my apprentice days" Mossthorn sighed "I wish Buzzkit lived, he showed promise"

"How'd he die?" Icebelly asked

"Greencough from what Bluestar told me" Mossthorn replied

"I still remember Frostbite handing my tail to me in training for her golden tooth" Brindleface shuddered "I thought my paw would break"

[I would've gotten mine earlier if it wasn't for Tiger] Frostbite signed [He's lucky he's attractive]

[You're knocked up with his kits so obviously you fell for the brute] Brindleface signed [When Lionheart is right there]

"Brute?" Icebelly asked

"I don't know what your deal with Tiger-roar is Brindleface" Robinwing mewed "He's strong, a good mentor, great father and an excellent example of the model warrior of Thunderclan, he's on his way to deputy"

"He's too violent for my taste and Redtail isn't going any where Robinwing" Brindleface replied cooly "He's healthy and strong as well and he was a smithstone"

"Like that role holds anything at this stage" Robinwing said "Smithstones and Pelt-makers have value in the clan however in a grand scheme of things doesn't work well when it comes to leadership roles such as leader and deputy"

"Wasn't it Featherears who made your bands?" Embereyes mewed trying to steer the conversation "He did a great job"

Robinwing smirked "I deserved the very best for my achievements, he did wonderfully" she gazed at her kits who were staring up at her "I didn't tell you three to stop, Chivekit Hawk-kit double team on Stagkit"

"How's Yellowpaw doing?" Brindleface asked, looking at Frostbite and Mossthorn

"From what Leopardstorm told me, she's doing well, learns quick from her mistakes" Mossthorn replied "I expect no less from her in battle training, my kin tend to have advantages with fighting rather than hunting and it shows in Cinderpaw and Smokepaw" Mossthorn got any info on Yellowpaw from Leopardstorm since honestly Lionheart and them can't be around each other without getting hostile, with good reasons.

-Flashback-

"Move faster Cinderpaw" Icebelly ordered, tail lashing "Light on your paws"

"Bite them in the leg Lichenpaw" Sandstorm hissed "Get the joints"

The two apprentices went at each other like crows to a corpse. Ripping into each other at a good pace. The Sandy Hollow was lively with the apprentice activity. The elders were watching with interest on a perch. Why they were here, Icebelly had no idea.

They didn't appear in his training. He had Lionheart yelling at him for being rough with Graystripe and being harassed for his bloodline. At least Tiger-roar took him seriously and trained them well. Tiger-roar did well with mentoring him, he was doing the same great job with Smokypaw.

He glanced at Cherrycloud "What's with the elders?"

"Judging skills and abilities for mateship qualities and if they deserve their warrior name" The pointed ginger replied, their darker ginger tail-tip twitching

"They didn't do this for us" they countered

"It was before you got here" she replied nonchalantly "Smallear told me I had good hips for kits"

"He's your grandfather!" Icebelly fluffed up his fur but forced it flat as he told Cinderpaw to fix their posture "Was this in private or in front of Nightshade?"

"He spoke with me and Robinwing"

"Why am I not surprised?" Icebelly scoffed "Uppy bitch, I'm surprised she's not sucking Smallear and went for Featherears"

"Gingerblaze doesn't get it either but the heart wants what the heart wants"

"Or maybe Featherears has awful taste" Icebelly muttered "No offense to him but seriously?"

Cherrycloud cocked her head "Taste what?"

Icebelly shook his head "Nothing"

"Me and Thymeroot would make great kits is what Robinwing said"

"Does Thyme-"

"She was there too" Cherrycloud cut in "Brackenpaw, dodge then swipe"

"Got it" the apprentice replied as they followed the command, hitting Marigoldpaw dead on

"Cinderpaw grip her with your paws, use your upper body strength" he ordered

Cinderpaw did exactly that and tossed Lichenpaw to the side.

Icebelly turned and motioned his paw for Cherrycloud to continue

"I was going to wait til Brackenpaw became a warrior however, things don't go as planned though it's not like Dustpelt is much better"

"You're both expecting?"

"Dustpelt I'm not to sure on, Thymeroot checked me over herself, we're going to be parents"

"..."

"Not like you can judge, the nursery is packed with your seven hounds"

"Hounds? Was that the best shot you could do?"

Cherrycloud hummed in response

Cinderpaw let out a short yell as Lichenpaw bit into their back "Not too much bloodshed please" Leopardstorm called "I doubt Thymeroot will be pleased with wasting the herbs"

"I'll gather more marigold for her on our way back" Icebelly replied "Though Raveneye's gathering marigold and horsetail right now"

"I say hit harder" Smallear drawled "Thunderclan is known for strength, if you can't do that you're worthless"

"Smallear" White-eye warned

"It's true" the gray tom retorted

"Does it always have to be about fighting?" Brackenpaw asked, his shoulder bleeding from Marigoldpaw's quick swipe.

"You want to run away like a mouse Brackenpaw?" Chestnutclaw sneered "Thunderclan doesn't tolerate weakness"

"Well said my son" Robinwing purred

"Shut up" Brackenpaw hissed lowly

"Weakness is what Pinestar was, the spineless mouse-heart" Smallear added

"Say it louder" Nightshade called "Kittypet scum"

"Enough" Redtail called, his ginger tail held high "Enough about Pinestar, back to training"

"Anyone seen Lionheart and Yellowpaw?" Mossthorn called

"That's what I'd like to know" Redtail added

"Yellowpaw botched a hunting mission" Smallear drawled

"When did this happen?" Nightshade asked "Never heard anything"

"Yesterday" Robinwing replied "Disgraceful little runt"

"Horrible" Larkpaw added

"Excuse me?" Mossthorn growled

"I missed a good catch cause of her" Seedpaw spat "Nearly twisted my paw off trying to snag that squirrel"

Lionheart padded into the clearing, Yellowpaw followed behind covered in cuts and claw marks.

"Starclan why" Leopardstorm groaned

"Blood will be shed afterall" Sandstorm murmured, her gaze drifting to Mossthorn and Frostbite

"That's the way to teach em" Smallear praised to which White-eye hit him upside the head

Icebelly could see Frostbite fighting her temper however Mossthorn was no such cat. Mossthorn came at Lionheart like an hawk to a mouse. The two cats hissed and claws each other with the define intent to maim.

Icebelly stood to help but Sandstorm and Cherrycloud placed paws infront of him

"Don't" Cherrycloud advised

"Yeah kitty" Sandstorm smirked "Watch the chaos"

-Flashback ends-

Volekit had returned, strong and tall. He quickly got into training under Graystripe, Yewkit followed not to long after and got apprenticed to Fuzzypelt. From what Volepaw said Doekit was fine just needed more time to recover.

"Certainly" Embereyes drawled, grooming Aspenkit's ears "Strength is everything" Her tone made Icebelly suspect that something happen between her and Mossthorn. He glanced at Nettlemist but the pointed tom looked just as confused.

"You know that's not what I meant Ember" Mossthorn mewed

"What's going on?" Icebelly asked

"A disagreement" Embereyes replied

"That's all" Mossthorn mewed

"Looks more like a disagreement to me" Icebelly stated "Looks more like you two had a fight and are letting it grow rather than talking about it"

Both cats looked away from each other.

"Let them be" Brindleface mewed in his ear "They are both very stubborn"

"And don't like admitting when they are wrong" Frostbite added "Remind me of a certain relative of theirs"

Icebelly and Brindleface snorted.

A loud cough made them all silent.

"Who coughed?" Robinwing hissed, she rounded on her litter "Was it one of you? Are you trying to kill us all?"

"No!" Chivekit and Stagkit whined

"I didn't cough mama" Hawk-kit mewed

Another cough sounded, louder than before. Icebelly looked down towards their own kits, Bearkit was sniffiling a lot.

"Take it away" Robinwing hisses, pulling her kits away "Now!"

"Don't call her an 'it'" Icebelly snarled

"Whatever take it out before it gets the other kits sick or worse ends up with a leg like yours"

Icebelly growled but did agree with that front about illness.

His leg wasn't that bad, was it? He managed fine for the most part.

"I'll watch them" Brindleface mewed softly, pulling the rest of his litter close to their belly.

"I know" they mewed "I don't trust the vixen that shares a den with us" He gently picked up Bearkit and headed for the medicine den. No cats were in the clearing, inside their dens huddling for warmth. He ignored the stale smell of vomit as he walked inside the healer's den.

He glanced at the tunnel that led to where Thunderclan's healers slept.

"Thymeroot? Are you here?"

"She's not the only one who's here, Raveneye's waiting til Ebonypaw's a warrior to move in" Yellowfang grumbled "What's wrong?"

"Bearkit's coughing"

"Frog-dung" Yellowfang hissed

"Smoke?" Icebelly wasn't surprised to see Bluestar beside Yellowfang "What's going on?" The two mollies became official not to long ago, fully cementing it when they got mateship bands since Yellowfang's ears were too cut up for rings, one to match the others eyes.

"Icebelly" the dark gray molly turned her head "Bring the kit over" she moved around some into soft bedding quickly as Icebelly placed his daughter down

"Will she be okay?"

"We caught it early" was Yellowfang's response to his question. Thymeroot was silent due to just being woken up.

Icebelly's stomach twisted with worry and fear. He felt Bluestar sit beside him and curl her tail around him.

"How come you two aren't sleeping in the leader's den?" they asked "Did any of the kits get sick?"

"Maplekit's ill" Yellowfang mewed, she started mashing a mixture in a cup "Visiting Quince earlier today proved that" he heard Yellowfang mutter

'Quince, Scourge's mother?' He shook it off, he'll ask later.

"Where'd you get that Yellowfang?" Thymeroot yawned, shaking her head fur

"Made it, don't know why you Thunders don't have cups, makes it easier to give it to patients" Yellowfang explained "Or why ya'll don't have much knifes, herbs gathering would be much easier"

"That's mostly for the pelt-makers when they're making stuff" Bluestar mewed

"Still Weird" Yellowfang replied "Here kit, drink up" she gently lifted the cup and let Bearkit drink it slowly. Icebelly laid his tail gently on his kit.

"How's Chestnutclaw with this whole father thing?" Thymeroot asked

"Alright, he's attached to Rosekit"

"At least it's the kit that's his" Yellowfang added gruffly

Icebelly stiffened a bit "What are you on about?" he said trying to keep himself from shaking.

"I birthed him, I can recognize a kit with his blood Icebelly"

"What?" Bluestar said, her hiss was sudden and harsh "When was this?"

Icebelly started to back away "I..I..."

"Icebelly you're shaking" Thymeroot took a step towards him but he flinched away

Bluestar's eyes became soft again "I'm sorry I hissed" she laid her tail on his back

It was calm once again. Bearkit's breathing was soft and less ragged.

"Icebelly?" Thymeroot asked

"Cloudkit, Bearkit, Violetkit, and Flamekit are Brokenstar's, I didn't choose him to sire them, like I had any choice in any of that"

"When did this happen?"

"When me and Sandstorm were taken by Shadowclan, it's awful in the camp"

"How bad?" Yellowfang asked

"How much do you know Yellowfang?"

"As much as what I saw before I was exiled and from the exiled elders told me, training apprentices at 3 or 4 moons and increasing battle training"

Icebelly laughed harshly "That ain't shit to what me and Sandstorm went through, we were raped til we passed out, kits and apprentices were beaten and raped as well"

"Why didn't you or Sandstorm say anything?"

"We wanted to forget" Sandstorm's voice was dry "Wanted to forget weakness"

"It's not weakness" Thymeroot mewed, trying to get her sister to meet her eyes "We could've done something" she raised a paw trying to touch her sister

"Good luck with that" Sandstorm laughed without humor as she batted away Thymeroot's paw "Brokenstar's has his elite and the rest will be scared little mice and will follow him, we are one clan fighting another, what are we going to do?"

"I have an idea" Bluestar mewed briskly "I have an idea, get some rest all you" she walked past Sandstorm

"Where are you going?"

"Calling on a favor"

/

The rain continued through the night and into the next morning. But by sunhigh, the clouds began to clear. A somber air hung over the clearing as the clan waited for news of their leader.

Yellowfang had told him last night that Bluestar had gotten whitecough, she must've caught it during her journey to Windclan.

Though their were other things for him to worry about: No one's having a good time. Tensions are starting to rise. Bearkit was getting better thank Starclan as well as Pouncepaw.

Robinwing has been pushing that Larkpaw and Seedpaw should get their warrior names already. Gingerblaze hissed at her that Palepaw would improve and to not strike her down, Featherears wasn't improving either.

He did offer his comfort for his brother and Larkpaw, they in turn were spending time with his kits. Trying to keep calm.

Icebelly crept out from the patch of brambles by the boundary well, where he'd sheltered since dawn, He padded over to Bluestar's den in the side of the highrock. He noticed the slight outline of a pointed white molly that reminded him of Leopardstorm. No sound from Bluestar came from inside. As he turned away, he ran into Willowpelt carrying some food to the nursery. She tipped her head questioningly to one side.

Icebelly knew the pale gray molly was hoping for news on her leader. "Nothing to report, I'm afraid" he shrugged. He saw Willowpelt lower her head in sadness, he laid his tail on her back "It's Bluestar it'll take more than this to take her down"

Willowpelt laughed sadly "She's the toughest cat I know, I'll always be glad to have her in my life. She mentored me for a bit actually, I've learned greatly from her"

Icebelly had given Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw a day's rest from training. They both had been working hard to bring prey and help defend the clan and he didn't want them to overdue it. Swiftpaw and Lynxpaw had been given a day off as well since they had been some recent fights with Shadowclan and had brought ten scrawny but good pieces of prey. Seedpaw, Volepaw, Ebonypaw, Owlpaw, and Petalpaw were on a hunting assessment, Smokypaw, Marigoldpaw, and Sleetpaw were battle training.

Suddenly the lichen at Bluestar's den twitched and Frostbite and Mossthorn burst through. The mollies raced across the clearing to the medicine den and reappeared within a few moments with Yellowfang behind her. Mossthorn stopped half-way, she looked terrified and was breathing heavily.

Icebelly saw his clanmates stare after them, concern was stuck on their faces, concern for their leader. Lionheart, Redtail, and Tiger-roar were on patrols and the medicine cats were busy, someone needed to reassure the clan.

"Everyone continue your duties, have faith in your healers" He mewed simply, he padded over and covered Frostbite's neck with his tail, Embereyes had begrudgingly told him it's calming (she and Mossthorn were still in their mood), he then pulled Frostbite into a hug. Frostbite seemed to relax after a few moments. She touched his nose with her muzzle [Thank you] she signed [Needed that] She quickly padded to Bluestar's den.

His clanmates seemed to work with his attempt at making them feel better and continued what they were doing.

Icebelly bounded over to Bluestar's den just as Frostbite and Yellowfang pushed through the hanging lichen. He stopped and sat down, his heart racing. Frostbite peered out.

He signed [What's was wrong?]

Frostbite signed back [Greencough, stand back, let no one in]. The white molly ducked back inside.

Icebelly sat somewhat motionless as shock flooded through him. 'Greencough! great just what we needed', Bluestar would most likely lose another life.

He was surprised when he was shoved "The fuck?"

"You didn't respond when I called you mouse-brain" Sandstorm sneered

"What do you want?"

"What's with the medicine cats in Bluestar's den?" Sandstorm questioned

"She's got greencough"

Sandstorm was still "What?"

"Greencough"

"How does someone like her get greencough?" Sandstorm muttered

"She's not immune to greencough just because she's leader" he retorted

Icebelly watched the medicine cats pool out. "There's nothing we can do now, Starclan decides her fate now" Yellowfang mewed

"Go sit with her she was asking for you two" Thymeroot added, laying her tail on his shoulder before following Yellowfang.

He padded inside with Sandstorm close behind, pushing his worry down. Goldenflower and Frostbite were inside, the white molly's plump belly visible. Icebelly could make out her blue eyes shining in the gloom, and the blue-gray fur of Bluestar lying curled in her nest. Goldenflower leaned forward and gently licked Bluestar's head to cool it.

"Yellowfang has given her catnip and feverfew" Goldenflower murmured to Icebelly "We can only watch and wait now" She got to her paws and touched Icebelly's nose to her muzzle "Will you two be okay to sit with her?" she asked gently. Icebelly nodded and Goldenflower and Frostbite padded softly out of the den.

Icebelly lowered himself onto his belly, stretching his forepaws in front of him so that they just touched his leader's face. Sandstorm sat close to Bluestar's back, her tail wrapping around her paws. He lay very still, his eyes fixed on Bluestar's limp body. He never saw her look so weak and helpless since the rat attack, she didn't even have the strength to cough. Icebelly could her hear breathing in the darkness, shallow and rasping, and listened to the faltering rhythm as the night slowly passed.

Her breathing stopped just before dawn. Icebelly had almost dozed off when he realized the cave was silent. There was no noise from the camp outside either, just a deathly hush, as if the whole clan were holding its breath.

Bluestar was completely still. Icebelly knew she was with Starclan, preparing her for her next life. He had watched Bluestar lose a life before. He felt his fur prickle at the eerie peace that seemed to enfold her body, but there was nothing they could do, so he waited.

Sandstorm looked just as resigned. Her green eyes usually blazing wore a nervous yet calm glow.

Suddenly Bluestar gasped "Icebelly, Sandstorm, is that you?" she mewed in a croaky voice

"Yes, Bluestar" Icebelly murmured "I'm here"

Sandstorm hummed as a response

"I may have lost a life but I have gained something else, knowledge and strength" Bluestar started to stand but Icebelly stopped her.

"You should rest" he mewed "You've just lost a life"

"The more I rest the more Brokenstar's rule reigns over"

"Like I said, what can we do?" Sandstorm said gruffly

"I went to Windclan"

"By went you mean forced your way through" Sandstorm corrected

"Cheeky" Bluestar teased

"They agreed to help?" Icebelly asked

"Indeed, easier for them to agree than Riverclan honestly" she shook her fur "Losing a life doesn't get easier"

"You have plenty left" Icebelly commented "You'll continue to lead Thunderclan well and raise your kits"

Bluestar sighed "Not really, I lied when I said I lost my fifth then, that was my sixth"

"You have two more lives left then" Sandstorm concluded

Bluestar unsheathed her claws "Unfortunately not"

Icebelly's eyes widen "What do you mean?"

"I'm honestly glad I found out about what Brokenstar did to you teo"

Icebelly and Sandstorm were silent

"I had been on my way back from Windclan near the Thunderpath, Brokenstar was there. He told me about how you two had a lover affair and wanted some or all of his kits"

"Over my dead body" Icebelly hissed

"Exactly what I said" Bluestar continued "I calculated he wasn't alone but not how many he had with him. I lost a life as a warning"

Icebelly didn't know what to say for a moment before the world caught up back to him "Bluestar, I'm so-"

"Don't Icebelly" Bluestar cut him off "I chose this and I'm damn well sticking to it" she looked up at him "I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you two"

"Don't, you didn't know" Sandstorm stated

Icebelly buried his head in the taller molly's neck

"You and Sandstorm are more similar than you realize" Bluestar muttered as she wrapped her tail around him "Come here Sandy"

"Bluestar" Sandstorm whined "He's here"

"Sandy?" he chuckled

"That nickname leaves this den and I will toss you in snakerocks" Sandstorm warned "I swear-" she was cut off when Bluestar pulled her in

"Hush you"

"Bluestar!"

All three cats turned their heads to a bleeding Cranewing.

"Cranewing, what's happened?"

"Palepaw's been killed"

"What!?"

"My apprentice has been killed mother" Mossthorn's voice was cracked "She was just getting better and catching up to her sister"

"Who?"

"Larkpaw told us it was Brokenstar" Cranewing said "Gave Lichenpaw a good scar to remember him by"

Bluestar let out a yowl of frustration "Anything else?"

Mossthorn locked eyes with their mother "He said 'Make your move'"

/

The journey to fourtress was tense, Icebelly could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He felt Sandstorm brush against him "Clawface dies today"

"Count on that" he replied "I'll help you take him down" 'I hope Spottedleaf approves, she hasn't talked me since her death'

Bluestar halted the group when Duskstar's group came into view as well as Yellowfang with a group of Shadowclanners.

"What are they doing here?" Seedpaw hissed

"That's what I'd like to know" Deadfoot growled

"Save your claws for Brokenstar's supporters, these cats want nothing to do with him and will fight for the cause" Yellowfang stated "Things in Shadowclan have been horrid from what Icebelly and Sandstorm have shared."

"What's happening in there then?" Mudclaw said boldly

"Torture for starters" Sandstorm hissed "The murder of my aunt, Spottedleaf, a seer"

"That's against the code" Tawnypaw gasped "They basically declared war on the stars"

"Kits, Apprentices and queens are raped and forced to breed." Icebelly added, forcing his paws forward. Many cats gaped in horror at his words.

"How do you two know about that?" Thrushwing questioned "How do we take your word?"

Icebelly felt his paw shake a bit, Sandstorm didn't look much better beside him.

"My daughter doesn't have to explain fox-dung to you" Redtail growled

"Neither does Icebelly" Bluestar added, her hiss blazed with venom

"We were raped" Icebelly forced out, his chest felt tight "I fell pregnant with Brokenstar's kits and four out of my seven kits are his"

Robinwing looked like she wanted to snap 'I knew it' but knew better in a public setting.

"That enough for you all to fight?" Bluestar asked sarcastically

"I'm ready to get rid of Brokenstar once and for all" Morningflower declared "He lead the attack that killed my mother and brother"

"We want to end my brother reign" Marshshadow added

"We will end it" Blazefang finished, determination in her voice.

"Less talking and more fighting" Bluestar declared "Lead us to your territory"

"Follow us" Marshshadow mewed, leading the clans to her camp.

The trip to the Shadowclan was swift with everyone keeping pace only stopping when crossing the Thunderpath.

"Yuck, how do you all mange the smell?" Owlpaw spat

"It's awful" Seedpaw hissed

"When you live here your whole life you're not really bothered by it" Wetfoot replied "Patrol's aren't around much under Brokenstar so we're good"

They neared the camp where Bluestar raised her tail for them to stop. "On my mark"

They waited a few moments, preparing for the battle.

"Now!"

Without hesitating, the cats sprang and raced through the entrance. It was a frenzy of chaos. Two clans against one shouldn't last too long but Brokenstar had many cats who followed under him. Shadowclan may be small but they made up for it in their sneaky battle tactics.

Icebelly hooked his claws into Mossclaw. Slashing his shoulder and back. Mossclaw yowled with fury managing to dislodge him and ran off. He was knocked over by Toadpelt, he Lionheart was not to far off so he must've flung him.

The brown tom started swiping at him

"Lion-" he was cut off when Toadpelt hit him over the head

"Who's weak now runt?" Toadpelt mocked

Lionheart had disappeared but Icebelly's rage hadn't. 'He didn't help me the first time with Clawface, why did I think he would help me now with his son?' Icebelly thought, rage flooding him.

He bite harshly into Toadpelt's leg making him stumble but he felt another weight pull him back. "Icebelly, let me deal with my brother" Cinderfur's raspy voice while soft carried the anger it needed.

"Traitor!" Toadpelt spat, the two littermates were locked in a battle to the death.

It was a flurry of pelts, fangs, and blood. Cats going at each other at any costs. He zipped through the crowd trying to find Clawface. He saw the wicked tom, Sandstorm and him were in a hissing match.

He saw Redtail and Jaggedtooth locked in a brawl with Nightshade and Muddywater fighting not too far.

Icebelly felt his head buzz so much that nothing seemed to be there, Dewflare must've hit his head harder than he thought.

He's mind seemed to slow down when he saw Clawface with Sandstorm on his back. He didn't think about himself, all he thought about was Spottedleaf and how she was killed in cold blood.

Icebelly rushed forward, claws unsheathed and the need to spill blood blazing through his veins.

Sandstorm held tight to Clawface's back as the scared up warrior tried twisting and turning, trying to fling Sandstorm off of him while also trying to attack Icebelly.

Icebelly dodged blow after blow, and leaping to the side when Sandstorm was flung from her spot. It didn't take too long for Sandstorm to rush forward once more, latching herself to Clawface's side, biting into where the shoulder met the body, forcing her body weight on the tom.

Icebelly rushed forward and tore into Clawface's belly, smirking as he watched blood pool.

'Bleed you vile piece of shit' he thought with pride

The large warrior fell, coughing as his life force was being drained out.

Icebelly felt teeth biting into his scruff, they also pushed Sandstorm away as well, he felt enraged. He was ready to kill whoever pulled him away. It was Dewflare, that bitch.

"Naughty little kit" she sneered

Icebelly didn't hesitate to strike upwards scoring a hit on Dewflare's eye. He swiped again, cutting into her ear.

"Nice shot" Sandstorm drawled "Your kits should be proud"

He raised a claw towards her throat when Dewflare was barreled over by Leopardstorm.

Leopardstorm looked at them with narrowed eyes "Warriors do not need to kill to win battles, you've done enough with Clawface, focus on driving them out" he growled

He and Sandstorm shared a glance as the light's went out of Clawface's eyes. Blood red eyes met forest green, an understanding clear: Spottedleaf had been avenged.

Icebelly's ears twitched "Duck"

Sandstorm obeyed and watched Mossclaw tumble and land on his face. Sandstorm nodded to him, flicking her tail.

It was only then that they realized the fighting was dying down, cats growing too weak to fight.

'Where was Brokenstar?' Icebelly rushed quickly towards the center ignoring Sandstorm's call.

He saw Brokenstar, he held Whitethroat beneath him.

"Your reign is over Brokenstar, step down or die where you stand" Leopardstorm hissed

"You think you scare me, I've shared tongues with Starclan, do you really think you could take me on? You'll have to kill me nine times" his claws digging more into Whitethroat's chest

"Less than that actually" Palecloud sniffed "A seer always knows and you've been rather reckless with your lives Brokenstar"

Yellowfang padded forward "or maybe you didn't receive all nine from the stars my son, leave now"

Brokenstar snarled "All of you will go down with me" he glanced down at Whitethroat "Starting with you"

Icebelly didn't give Brokenstar the chance when he dashed faster than he ever thought possible. He launched himself at Brokenstar's face, more specifically his horrid eyes. Brokenstar screeched and Whitethroat ran for it.

"Let go me, cursed flame" Brokenstar thrashed his head and tried to fling him off but Icebelly held on long enough to perfectly blind Brokenstar. He didn't even realize the leader cut into his arm until he leaped away. He crashed to the side, gasping as the pain in his arm set in. It felt sharper than when the car hit him.

"I can't see I can't see" Brokenstar wailed

"Run for it!" Lizardstripe screeched as she ran through the entrance of camp, Mudfoot, Clawface, Jaggedtooth, and a couple others followed her. "This isn't over Splinter!" Dewflare called as she ran.

"Should we go after them?" Dawncloud asked, barely noticing her bleeding ear

"No" Leopardstorm mewed "They know it's death to come back"

"As it should" Appletooth added

"Exactly" Marshshadow stepped forward "Thank you Thunderclan and Windclan for your assistance, things in Shadowclan will change for the better now"

Bluestar nodded "I'll give you a moon of peace, seems to me you'll need it"

"I'll do the same however, what will you do with him?" Duskstar's gaze was locked on the bleeding Brokenstar

Icebelly was trying to catch his breath when he felt a strike against his back "I'll never go down, I should've kept you under wraps like the bitch you are"

Icebelly didn't know if it was a reflex from his suffering or rage but it didn't matter. He turned around and shoved Brokenstar away, he leaped forward his claws unsheathed at the area under the jaw, he smirked as they hit their mark. Brokenstar screeched as he tried to grip Icebelly but Icebelly ignored the pain and kept his claws firmly in Brokenstar's throat, he sank his teeth in for good measure. He was on top of the dark tabby and didn't let go until Brokenstar stopped moving altogether.

It felt amazing feeling the blood of this monster on his paws and fur, he licked the blood against his mouth and his tail twitched with delight.

Icebelly felt Bluestar's nose against his shoulder "It's over"

Icebelly laughed "You're wrong" he slowly got off and ran up and onto a tree stump "Those traitors don't deserve to live" he yowled, his heart pounding "They deserve death for their crimes, yowl if you agree with me"

Yowls sounded throughout the camp.

"The fire is back in you" he heard Bluestar mutter

"It's been fueled once more" Goosefeather added

"Well then, don't just stand there after them!" Cinderpaw called rushing out of camp, several cats following them.

"Cinderpaw!" Icebelly ran after them. He did his best to keep pace, he just wanted to collapse in his nest. He heard hissing but he heard a car skidding and a screech. Icebelly sped up but skidded to a halt when he reached the Thunderpath. He saw Shadepaw staring at something, she was still as a rock.

"What's wrong, Shadepaw?"

Shadepaw pointed with her paw. Icebelly looked where she was pointing and his heart suddenly dropped. He saw something beside the ash, a dark shape on the thin stripe of grass.

It was Cinderpaw.