What's this? A new chapter for Batcat Beyond? :O

Yep.

AWESOME!

I know, it's been over a year since I last updated it... over a year and a half, to be more precise...

Who has time for being precise?

Those who try like heck to make time for being precise. Like me.

No wonder this took so long...

Can't really argue with that.

Oy... Sorry this took so long, everyone! Between college, writer's block, writing Batgirl of the Future stories, and life, it's been hectic to get this written. Ever since I requested a picture of two of the characters from the story (Bluepaw and Lightningstar) and read The Apprentice's Quest, my interest in the story was spiked once more.

Hey, shut up! I wanna read!

Okay, okay, yeesh! Read and review, please! I hope you enjoy it!

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

Upon hearing Brushstar's request, Stormpaw stepped out of the apprentice den and into the fading light of the sunset. After Tigerleap and Rabbittail's vigil, he and the other apprentices had been told to reside in the empty elders den until the apprentice den was repaired, though Bluepaw and Graystep were to stay with Brushstar and Ace for the next few days for their own safety. Stormpaw, even after a half moon, was still unable to get over his amazement at how quickly his half-sister and the large dog had bonded, nor could he believe that Brushstar had taken it upon himself to train the black and white apprentice almost every other cat hated. Even after the time between this moment and the deadly siege RiverClan had launched against ShadowClan, Stormpaw could not stop blaming himself for the deaths of Tigerleap and Rabbittail.

Yet, that was not the only thing on Stormpaw's mind.

It's surprising Rockpaw told me about the prophecy before telling Brushstar and Wolfsky, he thought. Then again, she was still fairly new to being a medicine cat and often forgot what she was meant to do.

"Today, it is time for some of the apprentices to become warriors," Brushstar meowed, pulling Stormpaw out of his thoughts. The leader took . "Brightpaw, Crowpaw, Ravenpaw, Stormpaw, come forward."

The apprentices in question stepped forward, though Stormpaw looked more surprised than the rest of his Clanmates. Even though he had trained harder than ever after his father's death, he had not expected to become a warrior so soon after.

The old tom continued. "I, Brushstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turns." He turned to Brightpaw. "Brightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," the brown and bright red she-cat mewed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Brightpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Brighttail. StarClan honors your wisdom and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Following tradition, Brushstar rested his muzzle on the new warrior's head, and Brighttail licked his shoulder. He turned to the yellow-eyed tom. "Crowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Crowpaw managed to contain his excitement. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Crowpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Crowpelt. StarClan honors your forethought and cleverness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Brushstar pressed his nose against Crowpelt's head, and the new warrior licked his shoulder. The leader then turned to Ravenpaw. "Do you, Ravenpaw, promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Ravenpaw replied.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Ravenpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Ravenwing. StarClan honors your spirit and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." The leader put his muzzle on Ravenwing's head as the she-cat licked his shoulder. He heard meows of protest start to rise as he was about to turn to Stormpaw, but they stopped when he fixed them with a glare. "Want me to hold apprentice and kit ceremonies?"

The protesting cats looked thoroughly embarrassed at the thought of being demoted from warriors and apprentices to apprentices and kits respectively. Foxpaw, whose arrogance had caused him to fail yet another assessment, was quietly fuming.

"That's what I thought. Now quit being mouse-brains and show some respect." Brushstar turned to his apprentice, not noticing smug looks from Stormpaw's support group (including his mother Flamefeather and sisters Rockpaw and Bluepaw) that were cast to the protesters. "Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Stormpaw meowed without hesitation. After Tigerleap had been killed, Stormpaw had been determined to follow the values his father had tried so hard to instill in him. I owe him that much and more, he thought.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Stormpaw, from this day forward, you will be known as Stormheart. StarClan honors your determination and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

As Brushstar said these words, the rest of the Clan began to realize that the words described the young tom well. Though Tigerleap's death had been hard on him, Stormheart had pushed onward to be the best warrior that he could be. The protesters—except for Ratwing and Foxpaw, who were either still leery of him or still jealous—finally held respect for him.

Brushstar rested his muzzle on Stormheart's shoulder, to which the young cat responded by giving his shoulder a lick.

"Brighttail! Crowpelt! Ravenwing! Stormheart!" the rest of ThunderClan chorused heartily along with Graystep of ShadowClan.

Stormheart was grateful for the old tom's support in spite of being from different Clans. In the weeks that had followed ShadowClan's destruction, Graystep and Stormheart had grown to respect each other, primarily since they both cared about Bluepaw. Graystep had become the young she-cat's mentor, as Brushstar requested while his old friend stayed with ThunderClan. Secretly, Stormheart was worried that Bluepaw would go with Graystep once it was time to rebuild ShadowClan. But perhaps it would be for the best, considering how few cats here like her.

~!~

Early the following morning, Stormheart, Ravenwing, Brighttail and Crowpelt padded into the warriors' den to sleep. They had held a silent vigil that night, as was customary for newly made warriors, and had to stay awake the entire time. Although his fellow denmates fell asleep almost immediately, Stormheart had a hard time falling asleep.

I wish Tigerleap had been here to see my ceremony, he thought sadly. I know he was watching from StarClan, but... He padded outside and bowed his head solemnly. It's not the same.

The young tom heard gentle paw steps and a yawn behind him. "Stormheart? What's wrong?" a voice mewed.

"Nothing, Ravenwing," Stormheart lied, though it hurt to do so. At the same time, he did not want to burden Ravenwing with his troubles. He turned his head to look at her. "Go back to sleep."

However, Ravenwing sat beside him. "You're thinking about Tigerleap again," she noted gently.

Stormheart sighed. "Yeah." He looked away. "I should've been there: I could've helped him. I would've done something!"

"No," Ravenwing mewed.

"Yes!" he suddenly exclaimed. "We could've fought them off, me and Dad. We could've fought—" Stormheart sighed again as tears filled his eyes. "I yelled at him, Ravenwing," he meowed sadly. "He gave me an order, and I wouldn't listen. The things I said..." His shoulders sagged as grief hit him harder. "I'm such a piece of fox-dung."

Ravenwing sympathetically pressed her muzzle against his flank. She felt guilty for secretly wanting him to disobey Tigerleap to spend time with her, but wished that things had been better between the father and son. At the same time, she was glad that Stormheart had stayed behind. As Bluepaw had stated many times before, Stormheart himself would have gotten killed had he been there. Still, it's painful to see him so sad. I wish I knew what to say or do to make him feel better.

No sooner had she thought that did words come out of her mouth. "No, you're not," she told him assertively. "At least not anymore. You've put what Tigerleap taught you to good use, and now you're a warrior! No matter how irritated you were at each other then, I'm certain that he's proud of what you've become. As am I." She turned to go into the warriors' den. "Let's get some sleep. I'm certain that the hunting patrols will be wanting us to be alert tomorrow."

Stormheart looked at her in shock, her words surprising him. However, he shook his head. "You go. I'll be there in a bit. I need to clear my head first."

"Okay," Ravenwing mewed, padding into the den once more.

Once she had disappeared from sight, Stormheart padded across the camp in silence. I guess Ravenwing's right, he thought. But I still feel like I haven't done enough to honor Tigerleap. Perhaps Brushstar or Graystep will know what to do. I doubt they're awake right now, but I'll check. If they're asleep, I'll wait until morning.

He came to a stop outside of Brushstar's den, then poked his head inside. To his surprise, there were only Bluepaw and Ace, who were both curled up in their nests. Where are Graystep and Brushstar? Stormheart wondered. He padded softly into the den to avoid waking the sleeping occupants. The freshest scents of the toms he was looking for led him to a hole covered by branches. Pushing them aside, he quietly stepped into the hole, which had become a tunnel. He was silently grateful that it was only one tunnel instead of multiple like he had heard from stories of a battle between ThunderClan and ShadowClan shortly before the great Firestar's death. I can't even see my own nose!

A small light ahead gave Stormheart a bit of hope as he drew closer. Well, they had to have come out here, he thought, though he was more relieved to get out of the darkness. He had not, however, anticipated what he saw as he emerged. "Whoa," he breathed out in awe.

It was an abandoned, underground Two-leg den with strange boxes with bright pictures and a large box with small buttons, lights, and scribbles that Stormheart could not make sense of. He opened his jaws and breathed in multiple smells that made him gag. A large, clear container lit up, causing him to turn with his fur bristling, anticipating a fight. He soon realized that it was not alive, as it had not moved. There were a row of cat-like shapes in the glass, though they were not really cats. It hit him hard as he realized what they were. The covers of the legendary Batcat and his companions!

Stormheart immediately recalled when Brushstar had helped fight against the Jokerz, and once again had a startling revelation. "Geez, no wonder he could fight." My leader, not to mention former mentor... was Batcat!