Chapter One: The Rules

Onyx Gambit is back! This is sort of inspired by Lolkat123's To the Death. Check it out.

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Eagleclaw narrowed his eyes at the tiny black tom crouching on the Great Oak. Cats swarmed below him, but this was not a Gathering. The clans had been defeated by the black tom's group of rogues known as The Pure Cats. They had stolen the kits for their group and utterly destroyed theClans. Now, the cat was telling them the rules of how they would live from now on.

"You must not band together," the cat yowled, his voice like claws scraping against stone. "Trust no cat. You may mate, but your mate must come to the Pure Cat's camp to kit. Then, after your kits have been trained and earned their warrior name-" at this the cat let out a spurt of mocking laughter- "they will be sent out to, well, die. You must live like this. Hunt when you are hungry. If you are old, then congratulations that you survived this long. You will probably be killed by a younger warrior. Trust no one, and you just might survive."

The cat surveyed them. "If you attack a Pure Cat, you will be brought to the Pure Cat's camp for a trial. Follow these rules, and you might survive. You have a day to leave the island and find a safe spot before there are none left. You have a day before the killing begins. I suggest you set off now."

The cats murmured things while they left, casting suspicious glances around the clearing, as if wondering if the cat next to them might be the one to kill them.

The black tom narrowed his ice-blue eyes. "Now."

Eagleclaw set off for edge of the island, slipping through the ferns until he reached the tiny river. He had originally been in RiverClan, so he could fish and swim. He slid into the water and swam strongly towards the shore. He saw many cats slipping through the reeds, or heading away.

"Eagleclaw." He turned around. A small gray-and- white she-cat was sliding out of the water next to him. He dipped his head to his former Clanmate.

"Mousewhisker. What is it?"

Mousewhisker looked at him, her yellow eyes looking shattered. "Can Night do this?"

"He did take over the Clans," Eagleclaw pointed out, his dark tabby tail twitching.

"Yes, but shouldn't we rise up? Our leaders…where are they? I lost sight of Cloudstar when Night attacked our camp, and I haven't seen any traces of Heatherstar, Moonstar, or Birchstar."

"They're being kept captive at the Pure Cat's camp. Well, at least Birchstar, Heatherstar, and Cloudstar are. I heard from Yellowfur that they killed Moonstar," Eagleclaw murmured.

"Poor Jaywing," Mousewhisker mewed. "He was at the Moonpool with Quailfeather when a Pure Cat killed them."

Eagleclaw nodded. They lapsed into a friendly silence before Eagleclaw broke it.

"You should go. I can't trust you anymore, remember?"

Mousewhisker flicked her tail, not meeting his gaze. "If we meet, Eagleclaw, I won't kill you. I promise."

Eagleclaw touched her ear with his nose. "Thank you, Mousewhisker. Hopefully it will never come to that."

Mousewhisker nodded, and got up and stretched. She dipped her head good-bye and Eagleclaw watched as she bounded down the shore, heading for the moor.

Eagleclaw heaved a deep sigh, turned around, and headed through the reeds to RiverClan's camp.

The sight that greeted him shocked him. The dens were trampled, the nests torn apart. Blood and fur littered the ground, and the stench of death was everywhere. Eagleclaw looked around and heard a tiny wail. Tensing, he snuck into the split rock that was the medicine cat's den. Peeking inside, he saw a tiny black-and- white kit.

"Mama! Where are you? Mama? I can't find you! Where are you?"

His heart sinking, Eagleclaw recognized Lakekit, who had been born a few days earlier. Her mother, Flametail, had been murdered by Night when he attacked RiverClan's camp. Eagleclaw headed over.

"It's alright, Lakekit. I'm here."

"Eagleclaw? I can't find Flametail!" the tiny kit wailed.

"She's dead, Lakekit."

Lakekit started to wail, but it broke off as a hacking cough shook her whole body. Eagleclaw's eyes widened.

"Since when did you start coughing?"

"Yesterday."

Eagleclaw curled his body around the Lakekit. She burrowed into his deep fur and gradually fell asleep. Eagleclaw was too restless to sleep. He gazed around the den. Herbs had been strewn everywhere. He saw a tuft of black-and- white fur. Lightningtail. The medicine cat had tried to fight off a Pure Cat while curing Kestrelflight, who had had greencough. Both he and Kestrelflight had been brutally slaughtered. Eagleclaw could still see tufts of light brown fur from Kestrelflight and stains of blood that could never be washed away, not if it rained for a hundred moons.

So that's technically the prologue, as when the story actually begins, Eagleclaw, Mousewhisker, and Lakekit are long dead. Lakekit died of greencough, and Mousewhisker and Eagleclaw were both killed.

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~Onyx