Whatever It Takes, Part II [Closed]

Artemis shivered, but not against the cold. The falling flakes had little effect on him due to his thick pelt. He shouldered forwards as thoughts overtook him. There was no doubt most of Riverclan would avoid being out on a night like tonight, but he could not shake the worry. His eyes darted through the snow, searching for any hints of something against the whitened landscape. Nothing. The massive white tom's pelt blended in with the ground around him. Despite that, he felt more exposed than ever.

"Are we almost there?" He said lowly, getting closer to Nutfur.

"Almost. We just have to go down into the gorge. It requires swimming, but maybe we can lay something down for the ThunderClanners to walk across," Nutfur though out loud, stopping when they reached the path into the gorge. She had risked a look to the cave under the bridge earlier, but her vision of her adopted son was blocked by the snow and darkness. She hoped Cobwebkit was doing alright. She wondered how Hollowbranch would react if she gave him an apprentice name. But now was not the time to worry about that. She had a duty to fulfill, for the sake of honor. She was restoring things to how they should be, and just had to be careful not to get caught. Speaking of which, did the rogue have a plan for her safety? She needed to find out soon. "How exactly am I not going to get caught? Sweetheart and I will look pretty suspicious leading ThunderClan to where we're keeping Lionspark."

"Suspicious or not, you're doing the right thing," Weedblaze consoled. He was all in this now... nothing else mattered, really, except rescuing Lionspark. Of course, he was also concerned for Nutfur, but if Ivystar was willing to punish a cat for doing what was right, well, she was a veritable monster.

'Glad to know you're finally making sense,' Emberheart thought, but it wasn't the time to say that aloud. "It would be good to know if there is a plan, though, wouldn't it?" she whispered, sounding slightly on edge. She was all for improvisation, but Lionspark's life was at stake here! They had to have a plan of action!

Leafstorm squared his shoulders and nodded. "Hopefully it won't come to that." His deep voice was rougher, every movement he made was jerky- sneaking into the middle of Riverclan was drastic, and he nearly ordered Emberheart and Weedblaze to return to Thunderclan. The fluffy warrior swallowed and rolled in the snow once more, suddenly conscious of his dark pelt. If they were discovered... well, it was better to think of the positive. They were close to Lionblaze. By dawn, they would all be safe inside Thunderclan camp.
"We'll have to sneak past the guards. We can only hope that whoever's up ahead doesn't recognize our scent."

Artemis had already thought over all of this. They would have to stage it as if Sweetheart and Nutfur had discovered them. He nodded in acknowledgment of their fears. Once they finished speaking, he meowed, "I thought over this. You two will rush in and warn them of our presence. We will come in before the guards can head for back up. Nutfur, you have done enough. Now, you must fight for Riverclan. They cannot know you have helped lead us here. We will be able to hold our own." He found himself hoping that much was true. They had to be able to defeat the Riverclan cats and bring Lionspark home. Hopefully, the she-cat was in fighting enough shape to lend a paw to their efforts.

"May the ancestors be with you. Now, go. We will be behind you." The large, white tom silently nodded thanks to them. This would not have been possible without Nutfur. He then turned to the Thunderclan patrol. Artemis could not help the natural nature of leadership within him from coming out, "I'm sure you will all fight your best. But, best smart too. Our goal is to get Lionspark out, not to seriously harm any cat in the process. This may not be under the jurisdiction of Blizzard Star, yet we will fight as she would like. I am with you Thunderclan. We will get your clanmate back." His claws dug into the ground as he turned away to look at the cavern. He was ready.

Sweetheart narrowed her eyes into little amber slits. She was ready to make things right. Lionspark didn't deserve to be here. Ivystar was wrong to keep her and Honeyspark in the caverns against their will, and she was going to make sure that all the wrongs would be put right.

Hoping no one else would notice, she rose a paw to press her leg against her slightly swollen belly. She would be risking much more than just her own life if things went horribly wrong. ...No. Things would be just fine. She would make sure of it.

"Just be careful. If you fall in the water without being able to swim, you'll be carried all the way to fourtrees, if you don't hit your head on the rocks first." With that pessimistic note, Nutfur started padding over to the cavern. Her pace was rushed and obviously nervous, and she took a deep breath upon reaching to the small strip of stone that led to behind the waterfall and into the cavern. It wasn't the rushing currents below that scared her, any RiverClan warrior would be able to swim ashore. Just fear of failure stood out in her mind. What if they were discovered to have helped the enemy clan? She was loyal to RiverClan, and if anything she was helping to cleanse the clan of their sins. This wasn't going to hurt her clan in any way. But Ivystar might think that. She inhaled deeply and smiled nervously at Sweetheart, before turning back to the path they would have to take. It was time. She twisted her face into a terrified expression, let out a yowl of distress, and bolted into the cavern.
"ThunderClan's coming! And they know where this is!"

Sweetheart took in a nervous breath as well before following her Clanmate, looking just as scared. "They're here! We have to stop them!"

Minnowslip was minding her own business, pawing at a moss-covered stone from behind the waterfall when she heard a faint cry of Sweetheart and Nutfur. Her first instinct was to roll her eyes, assuming they were probably bickering with one of their clanmates about Lionspark being returned or whatever, but then she made out what they were saying. As Ivystar guessed, ThunderClan had come for their warrior.

"StarClan save us, I'll check what they're saying is true, Viperstorm." Softly cursing, the warrior pounced out of the wall of water, shaking herself off as she stood on the riverbed, half her body submerged as she looked to see where their voices were coming from.

"You better not be joking... Are you sure they know the way? Only a RiverClanner would know where to swim to avoid the currents." Minnowslip meowed with increasing urgency, she wasn't ready to face a patrol with only four warriors. "You didn't lead them here by running to warn us, did you? You made sure to backtrack, right?"

Viperstorm let out a small curse. Of course Thunderclan would rescue Lionspark... Those fish brains didn't know when to stop. The gray blue warrior stood up, her fur fluffing up a little bit, claws extended ready for a fight. "Stay behind me Lionspark, I won't let them take you back." The she-cat knew the Thunderclan warrior was happy here.. At least she was pretty sure. Besides she was wanting to teach the warrior how to fish tomorrow..

The tom charged after the she-cats without a moment's hesitation. As soon as Minnowslip emerged, he launched himself at Sweetheart. A yowl escaped Artemis' maw as he led the charge. Once they managed to take out all of the Riverclan cats, Sweetheart and Nutfur included, they would be able to take Lionspark home. Even if the pair of warriors had led them here, they could not let it appear like that was the case. Artemis skirted the edges of all clan territories enough to use that as an excuse. His ear had merely twitched at Minnowslip's words. Regardless of how they had gotten here, they were here now, and they would be taking back the Thunderclan warrior.

As he landed on the she-cat's back, he dug his claws into her fur, but not hard enough to do any real damage. It was in his own personal code of honor to not severely harm another, just as he had fought at the battle of the rocks. Just as he had fought in any territorial dispute since coming to the forest. Cats did not need to maim or kill to win a battle, no matter what the Riverclan seemed to think. The Oasis tom kept a tight grip on the she-cat who had helped them find this place. There was no time to honor her with praise, or with an easy fight. Sweetheart needed to be the enemy now. Artemis let out a low hiss as he glanced over at Minnowslip from his place on her clanmate's back, "You could make this easier by just giving us the Thunderclan cat. Or, we will remove her by force."

Artemis used leap and hold on Sweetheart, dealing 11 damage and using 10 stamina. Sweetheart is held for 2 turns.

Sweetheart
49/60
100/100

Artemis
55/55
160/170

OCC: I'm assuming the implication in your earlier post was that Sweetheart is preggers so I gave her queen stats here

The member 'Grandaddy Ripped' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

Sweetheart yowled in surprise and pain as she was pinned. She struggled underneath her attacker, blinded by panic and rage, but she forced herself to clear her mind and take in who had attacked her. It was Artemis. She knew that she had to pretend that she hadn't just helped Nutfur lead him and the other ThunderClan cats into RiverClan territory, so she couldn't give away any notifications that they knew each other. She still hoped the loner wouldn't hurt her too badly that he would affect the bundle she carried in her belly.

(OOC: I didn't even think of that. Thanks! XD)

Minnowslip looked on in a mixture of horror and disgust as that filthy which had assisted ThunderClan last time led the charge. She swiftly moved through the water, taking advantage of her comfort in the aquatic terrain to lash out at the warrior known as Leafstorm. She recognised him as he was the father of the apprentice that Otterleap killed.

"Are you that eager to lose another ThunderClanner, Leafstorm?" Minnowslip called out, running over and tackling the tom into the river.

Minnowslip used Run and Tackle. Bonus damage as Leafstorm wasn't paying attention.
-9 HP
-5 HP
-10 SP

Minnowslip:
45/45 HP
150/160 SP

Leafstorm:
80/80 HP
240/240 SP