Lightningflash's POV:
Lightningflash padded to join his patrol. Hawkgaze and Breezewind were waiting for him.
"Let's go," Hawkgaze meowed, heading out of the thorn tunnel.
"Where are we hunting?" Breezewind asked.
"I thought we could try near the abandoned twoleg nest," Hawkgaze called over his shoulder.
I wonder if Moorflight will be collecting catmint, Lightningflash thought. It is getting near leaf-bare. Sharptail already has whitecough.
The three warriors headed through the forest. As they neared the twoleg nest, a horrible scent rose to his nose.
"Hawkgaze, Breezewind!" Lightningflash hissed. The two senior warriors looked back at him. "I smell badger!"
The warriors parted their jaws and let scent waft in. "You're right!" Breezewind growled.
The patrol crept forward. A sight came before their eyes. Lightningflash's jaw dropped.
Milling around the twoleg nest were at least twenty badgers! Lightningflash couldn't believe the sight before him.
"What?" Hawkgaze whispered. "How is this possible?"
Lightningflash shook his head. "I don't know."
"We need to warn Dewstar!" Breezewind snarled.
One of the badgers looked toward them. It rumbled something to its fellow creatures, then all twenty-three of them lumbered toward them.
Lightningflash stood frozen with fear. "Run!" Hawkgaze yowled. "Run!"
Breezewind bolted. Lightningflash followed quickly. Hawkgaze was beside his brother, but Lightningflash heard a grunt and suddenly, Hawkgaze was no longer beside him.
Lightningflash skidded to a stop and looked around wildly for his littermate. There! Lightningflash caught a glimpse of Hawkgaze sprawled on the ground. Lightningflash ran back for him.
"No!" Hawkgaze yowled. "Run, brother, run!"
The badgers surrounded him. Lightningflash caught a glimpse of the brown warrior, heard his shriek of pain and fear abruptly cut off as a badger slammed it's large, black paws into Hawkgaze's chest, completely destroying it.
One badger stomped forward. Lightningflash shrank back as the badgers surrounded him.
"You saw what happened to your comrade," one of them rumbled. Badgers speaking cat?! What's going on?! "That is what will happen to each and every single one of your kind around the lake, unless you leave peacefully first. Otherwise, you die!"
Lightningflash raced away as the badgers parted after a growl from the badger that spoke cat, clearly the leader. He ran blindly through the forest. When he finally stopped, he realized that the badgers were not pursuing him and that he was near the camp. He took a deep breath to calm himself. It didn't work. Hawkgaze, his brother, was dead! Dead by the badgers! I'll kill you! Lightningflash vowed. I'll kill all of you! But first, I need to tell Dewstar of the badgers.
Lightningflash padded into camp. Dewstar, his deputy Treeblossom, the medicine cat Flowerstorm, and her apprentice Slashwing, Breezewind, and most of the rest of the clan was gathered beneath the Highledge, except for Dewstar and Treeblossom.
"Lightningflash!" Breezewind cried joyfully. "You're alive!" His happiness faltered when he didn't see Hawkgaze. "Where's Hawkgaze?"
"H-he's dead," Lightningflash choked out.
The clan gasped. "Breezewind told me everything he knew. How did this happen?" Dewstar asked gently. His tone was soothing.
"W-we were r-running from the badgers when he tripped," Lightningflash sobbed. He had to gulp down several gulps of air before he could speak again.
His mother, Harepelt, placed her tail on his shoulders comfortingly. Her eyes were full of sorrow, but she meowed soothingly, "Go on. Then what?"
"T-then the badgers surrounded him before he could get up," Lightningflash continued, his voice growing stronger. "Then one caved in his chest. A-and then, another of them, the biggest one, stepped forward and spoke!"
"What did the badger say?" Dewstar asked, his voice growing sharper.
"The badger said 'you saw what happened to your comrade. That is what will happen to each and every single one of your kind around the lake, unless you leave peacefully. Otherwise, you die!'"
Lightningflash suddenly wobbled, feeling weak and unsteady. The ground rushed toward him as he slipped into darkness.
Dewstar's POV:
Lightningflash suddenly toppled over. The two closest cats to him, Pebblelight and his brother Stormfire caught him and hauled the ginger warrior, grunting, to the medicine cat den. Slashwing followed them in.
"Treeblossom, Flowerstorm, Breezewind, in my den, now," Dewstar ordered. When the other three cats were inside, he continued. "Breezewind, how many were there?"
"Twenty-three," Breezewind replied, shaking slightly.
Twenty-three? So many! Dewstar gulped, recoiling for a moment, then stood straighter. "These badgers will not defeat ThunderClan!" He looked at his deputy. "Treeblossom, gather three patrols, each with two cats in them. Send each of them to a different clan."
"But, Dewstar," Treeblossom protested. "We can deal with..."
"We cannot deal with the badgers by ourselves," Dewstar cut in sharply. "Half that amount could wipe us out! We need help."
Treeblossom hesitated. Finally, she dipped her head. "I will send the patrols."
"Good," Dewstar meowed, suddenly feeling weak and exhausted. He was the last of his clan to remember what Firestar had looked like when he was alive, before Tigerstar had killed him. Back then, Dewstar had been Dewkit. Then Dewpaw before Dewfrost, then finally Dewstar. His sisters Snowpelt and Ambergaze had both passed away from greencough.
Dewstar padded out. He would make sure Treeblossom followed his orders; it was clear on how reluctant she had been to ask for help. She would've like to go alone, with no allies. But Dewstar was no fool, even if he was old. He had lived eight of his lives serving his clan. He would gladly give away his last to protect ThunderClan. But with the badgers, he could not do that.
"Carpfur, Minnowstorm," Treeblossom was meowing. "You go to WindClan to ask for help. Tell them we have a badger invasion."
She sent Redfur and Badgerface to ShadowClan, and Morninglight and Runningstream to RiverClan.
Dewstar was satisfied. Now all he could do was send out hunting patrols and hope the other clans help ThunderClan.
Later in the day
Morninglight and Runningstream padded in. They were fuming.
"RiverClan refused?" Dewstar asked grimly, already suspecting the answer.
Runningstream nodded. "Frogstar told us 'why should RiverClan risk it's warriors' lives for ThunderClan?! RiverClan will not help you!'"
Dewstar's tail drooped. The leader of ShadowClan, Onyxstar, had snarled at the cats Treeblossom had sent to him.
Redfur had attacked Onyxstar when he had refused. Badgerface had pulled the russet warrior off the SadowClan leader, hissing at him that he had ruined their chances with ShadowClan. Then they were taken back to the border.
According to Carpfur and Minnowstorm, Runningstar of WindClan had considered their request, due to past experiences with ThunderClan. However, WindClan was weak after having to drive two badgers away, and with leaf-bare coming up, they didn't want to risk a battle. Runningstar turned them away, because he had to help his own clan first.
What will happen to us now? Dewstar thought hopelessly.
Narrator
In the end, the badgers drove the clan out of their home, after a while of attacking and killing their patrols, while StarClan watched helplessly above. ThunderClan ancestors followed them as they fled. The other clans tried to take over the now-non-clan territory, but the badgers resided throughout it, and their patrols were slaughtered mercilessly, except for a few. The other clans regretted their choice to let ThunderClan be driven away. The badgers eventually attacked ShadowClan. RiverClan and WindClan joined forces with ShadowClan and defeated the badgers.
Meanwhile, ThunderClan was chaos. Some cats felt hopeless, others determination, others just plain fury.
Dewstar felt no hope for his clan. Some of his warriors were eating kittypet food; he didn't stop them. Even though they were breaking the warrior code, it meant that his hunters didn't have to catch more food than they could.
Treeblossom and the elders were convinced that it wasn't StarClan's will to be forced out. Dewstar and the senior warriors weren't so sure.
The medicine cats could only sit there and watch their clanmates die around them, as they didn't hunt, and they could only bring a few herbs in their travels. Flowerstorm died from Greencough that her apprentice couldn't cure.
The kits complained. The queens worried for their clan and kits. Slowly, ThunderClan dwindled down to only Dewstar, Treeblossom, Slashwing, a few kits and their mother, an elder, one apprentice, and a few warriors, most of the clan becoming Kittypets or loners, or dying.
Then, when everything seemed lost, Firestar, visiting Slashwing in a dream, gave them hope.
Firestar told the black medicine cat of SkyClan, and how they could go there. Slashwing told Dewstar, and what remained of ThunderClan set off for the gorge clan.
Dewstar lost his last life after safely getting his clan there. SkyClan accepted them, and invited them into their clan, but Treeblossom, now Treestar, set up their own territory just beyond SkyClan's.
One season later, the clans sent six cats to bring back ThunderClan. When they got there, Treestar refused to return and imprisoned them, because the other clans had abandoned them in their time of need. Finally, the clans traveled to the two clans and freed their prisoners. StarClan came with them. Then, they set up their own territory there. All the clans moved to the place where SkyClan lived. And they prospered for a very long time.