Warriors: Bumblestripe's Insanity

Chapter Twenty-Three: Invaders in the Camp

So this was it then. The biggest moment of my whole life.
Things would either go perfectly smooth or horribly wrong. I had to hope that this would work.
I settled down by the thorn tunnel near moonhigh, resting my head on my paws. They had to come; they just had to.
Suddenly, someone raked their claws down my side and I let out a genuine cry of agony. Two other figures raced up the Highledge and into Bramblestar's den.
A few groggy warriors stumbled out of their dens. Ratscar let go of me as he hurried to join his Clanmates, nearly slipping as he scrambled up the Highledge. I dashed after them. "Bramblestar! I'm coming!"
I saw looks of confusion on others' faces as I ascended upwards. They apparently didn't understand. "They're trying to kill Bramblestar! Help me!"
I entered the den and hurled myself at Olivenose. The three ShadowClan warriors had the massive dark brown tabby cornered at the back of the den, with Olivenose and Dawnpelt pinning him to the ground. I targeted Olivenose since I assumed that Dawnpelt wouldn't forgive me for tackling her.
Bramblestar writhed desperately, but his eyes lit up when he realized who had come to help him. "Bumblestripe! Thank StarClan you're here."
Olivenose swiped her claws across my nose and I yowled with fury, biting her ear. We rolled across to the den entrance, exchanging blows. Other ThunderClan cats were trying to get up to help but ShadowClan's backup patrol had come, forming a tight half-circle in front of the pathway and creating a barricade that prevented the others from saving their leader.
I kicked Olivenose in the face and sent her tumbling out of the den, back down to the ground. ThunderClan cheered as they saw I had "beaten" the warrior.
I whipped my head towards Bramblestar, who remained unable to free himself as Ratscar and Dawnpelt held him to the ground. I rammed my head into Ratscar's shoulder, sending him flying, but at that moment Dawnpelt sliced her claws across Bramblestar's throat. His body convulsed a few times and then was still.
"Bramblestar!" I screamed. "No! You mangy fox-hearts!"
When Bramblestar stirred again, since unfortunately that wasn't his last life, Ratscar and I were locked in a vicious battle. Ratscar wound up with his paw firmly planted on my chest. "And now you can watch us kill your leader again!" he said.
I thrashed about. "No! Let me go! I have to save him!"
"Bumblestripe, thank you for trying," Bramblestar murmured. "Dawnpelt, you can have me. Just let him leave."
I shook my head. "Never! I will never leave you!"
Dawnpelt laughed. "Aw, how sweet. Let them say good-bye to each other before we kill Bramblestar, I suppose."
Bramblestar looked at me. "It's not your fault, Bumblestripe. You tried to save me. You were always willing to die to protect your Clanmates. I couldn't have asked for a better deputy or warrior. Thank you."
"Bramblestar, no!" I protested. "I'm not ready! Don't leave me!"
Bramblestar closed his eyes. "You were born ready."
Dawnpelt's claws raked across his throat again. I shrieked in horror as his flanks fell still.
Suddenly, Spiderleg and Lionblaze burst into the den. Apparently, they had finally broken through the wall of warriors. Lionblaze knocked Ratscar away with the force of ten warriors while Dawnpelt barely dodged out of the way of Spiderleg's attack. The two ShadowClan cats fled from the den, out into the clearing to find that their Clanmates had been driven off. They sprinted towards the thorn tunnel and vanished.
I crouched by Bramblestar's body, ostensibly wearing a look of consternation but hoping in my heart that it had been his last life. If not, my plan had failed. "Bramblestar? Please? Wake up? We chased them off now, please don't be gone. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I tried to save you!"
"How many times did he die?" A voice asked from behind me.
I whipped around to see Jayfeather. "Twice."
Jayfeather bowed his head. "That was his last life. I'm sorry."
"No!" I howled.
Yes! I silently celebrated in my heart.
His fur was groomed and the Clan honored him that night. I went to sit vigil for him along with most of the other cats, wondering who to choose as my deputy. Blossomfall was the obvious choice of course, but I didn't trust her not to just kill me. I was worried because I understood a murderer's mindset well enough to know that if I were in her situation as deputy, I would kill me. I mean, look what I just did to Bramblestar! But...I wondered, would she kill my deputies until I appointed her? Or would she reveal my crimes for breaking my promise to her?
Moonhigh came. The Clan waited expectantly in the clearing, whispering to themselves. I overheard some of the rumors and it seemed that everyone expected me to pick Blossomfall because she was my sister. Well, how'd they figure that one out so fast?
I climbed the Highledge for the first time. The view took my breath away. I could see the whole camp from here, a mass of cats clustered around one point, waiting to hear my announcement. My paws tingled with excitement. Was this how it felt to be a leader? To have the power to control...well, to control the whole world it seemed!
I focused my eyes on the moon, a bright, silver crescent that was illuminating this clearing as well as all of Silverpelt. The great StarClan warriors were merely white dots in an ocean of darkness, completely powerless to change anything. "I say these words before StarClan and the spirit of Bramblestar, that they may hear and approve of my choice." All eyes turned to Blossomfall, who puffed out her chest and lifted her head with pride. "The new deputy of ThunderClan will be Mousewhisker."
A/N: Wow :O Who expected that? Thanks again for all the comments, I really do love hearing your thoughts they help me improve my writing and they motivate me with all my laziness to write faster! Hope you enjoyed!