Author's note: This is set from Tigerstar's viewpoint, at his death.
Disclaimer: If I owned Warriors, the cover for Long Shadows would be so much better. Does that answer your question?
I watched the gathered crowd of cats, all terrified at the very concept of joining our four Clans to one powerful one. They would not sway to what I thought. They - their leaders - failed to see what could happen if we joined together.
Tallstar, that elderly WindClan fool, his age was getting the better of him. Nothing I said or did could possibly convince him… so he thought. But he had no hope. My plan would kill him and all of his Clan, or drive them from the forest once and for all.
And Firestar, that mousebrain of a kittypet that eradicated my plan for ThunderClan, exiling me and ending up leader when the plan with the dogs went awry. How I hate him and that Clan of foxdung, and how I wish they were all dead. He is going down, whether he accepts the wisdom of my plan or meets me in battle.
Leopardstar was extremely wise, joining TigerClan to make RiverClan and ShadowClan strong - the most powerful in the forest. She would be my deputy, in all truth. No joint rulers shall rule this forest. I will kill or join the Clans, then kill their leaders. There is no chance that I am going to just help rule a destroyed population!
"We will not join your Clan."
"Join or I will kill you!" I seethed.
"At least I'll go to StarClan as a loyal ThunderClan cat."
My own son, betraying me. His sister was smart, coming to me. She would not be eradicated with her Clan.
The leaders would not be swayed. I had to fall back on my other plan. "BloodClan," I yowled, "Attack!"
"My Clan is not yours to command," Scourge murmured, his skinny black body emitting the stench of hostility, the dawn light glimmering on his Twoleg collar - or the studs of teeth. "They will attack only when I order them."
"BloodClan, attack!" I repeated.
No cat moved. Except Scourge.
"You will regret that choice, forest fool," Scourge hissed. He leaped at me, teeth bared and claws unsheathed.
I thought I had him pinned down. I thought that I had won, and that I could kill him and his Clan once I had taken over the forest. Easy, I had thought.
I had been so wrong! He flipped me over, betraying his small stature with his immeasurable strength. How wrong I had been.
I was lying on the dirt, dust swirling around me. Scourge lifted his paw, claws ready to swipe through me. Those sharpened claws attached to the ends would make it easy.
I could handle losing a life. I could handle that, it was not all of me.
His claws swiped from throat to tail. Blood coursed from the wound, the dust around embedding itself in the edges. The pain was unbearable. Then… it stopped.
I was in the clearing at Fourtrees, as I had been before. The faces of my ancestors were panicked with fear.
"We cannot save you!" Their voices were raised with desperation.
I saw the faces of ShadowClan, panicked; RiverClan, worried; ThunderClan and WindClan, shocked. Then they all vanished.
My lives were dissolving away faster than I could count. I was dying nine times… oh StarClan.
The Clan cat's faces were a blur, but the shock and desperation were frozen. I could not see… only a few more lives to go.
The blood was still coursing from my body, nothing was going to stop it.
It was my last life. I was losing my last life… everything was black…
"We cannot receive you," the warriors of StarClan hissed. You do not deserve to live with us."
"But…" The words would not come.
It was the Dark Forest that I was in now, where the cats that have hurt and killed more than any others. I had thought that I had done the right thing…
But I was wrong, and this would be my punishment forever.