A/N: The prologue is pretty much a rewrite of the original, but with different cats in the original one's place. The next chapter shouldn't be a rewrite. Also in this version medicine cat's are allowed to have a mate and kits so long as it doesn't get in the way of their duties as a medicine cat.

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors!

ALLEGIANCES

THUNDERCLAN

Leader: Sunfall - bright ginger tom with gray patches on muzzle and yellow eyes

Deputy: Tigerclaw - big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws (Nightflower's and Mistcloud's brother)

Apprentice, Ravenpaw

Medicine Cat: Willowpelt - very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes (Graypaw's mother)

Warriors: (toms, and she-cats without kits)

Sweetfern - white she-cat with tortoiseshell patches and green eyes (Rosetail's sister)

Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur like a lion's mane (Goldenflower's brother)

Apprentice, Graypaw

Whitefoot - formerly Tiny; very small black tom with one white paw and ice-blue eyes

Nightflower - black she-cat with green eyes (Mistcloud's and Tigerclaw's sister)

Whitestorm - big white tom with blue eyes (Snowfur's son)

Apprentice, Sandpaw

Redtail - small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail (Sandpaw's father)

Apprentice, Dustpaw

Spottedpelt - beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dappled coat (Redtail, Willowpelt, and Patchpelt's sister)

Runningwind - lean brown tabby tom (son of Halftail and One-eye)

Mousefur - small dusky brown she-cat (daughter of Halftail and One-eye)

Darkstripe - sleek black-and-gray tabby tom

Longtail - pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

Oakheart - reddish brown tom; formerly of RiverClan (Bluefur's mate)

Apprentices: (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom (Ravenpaw's brother)

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom with a darker stripe down his back (Willowpelt's son)

Ravenpaw - small, sleek black tom with a tiny white dash on his chest and white-tipped tail (Dustpaw's brother)

Sandpaw - pale ginger she-cat (Redtail's and Brindleface's daughter)

Queens: (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Frostfur - beautiful white she-cat with dark blue eyes (mother of Cinderkit, Brackenkit, Thornkit, and Brightkit

Brindleface - pretty dappled gray tabby she-cat with green eyes (expecting Redtail's kits)

Bluefur - gray she-cat with silver tinged around her muzzle (mother of Stonekit, Mistykit, and Mosskit)

Goldenflower - pale ginger she-cat (mother of Swiftkit)

Speckletail - pale tabby she-cat; oldest nursery queen (expecting Smallear's kits)

Mistcloud - gray she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Rainkit, Sootkit, and Sorrelkit)

Kits: (toms and she-cats under six moons old)

Cinderkit - dark gray she-cat with blue eyes (daughter of Frostfur and Lionheart)

Brackenkit - golden brown tabby tom (son of Frostfur and Lionheart)

Thornkit - golden brown tabby tom (son of Frostfur and Lionheart)

Brightkit - white she-cat with ginger patches (daughter of Frostfur and Lionheart)

Stonekit - gray tom with blue eyes (son of Bluefur and Oakheart)

Mistykit - dark gray she-cat with a glossy pelt (daughter of Bluefur and Oakheart)

Mosskit - gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes (daughter of Bluefur and Oakheart)

Swiftkit - black-and-white tom (son of Goldenflower and Whitefoot)

Rainkit - dark gray tom with blue eyes (son of Mistcloud and Whitestorm)

Sootkit - lighter gray tom with amber eyes (son of Mistcloud and Whitestorm)

Sorrelkit - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat (daughter of Mistcloud and Whitestorm)

Elders: (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Halftail - big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing (Runningwind's and Mousefur's father)

Smallear - gray tom with very small ears, oldest tom in ThunderClan

Patchpelt - small black-and-white tom (Redtail, Spottedpelt, and Willowpelt's older brother)

Dappletail - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

One-eye - pale gray she-cat, oldest cat in ThunderClan. Virtually blind and deaf. (Runningwind's and Mousefur's mother)

Snowfur - white she-cat with gray-tipped ears and blue eyes (Bluefur's sister and Whitestorm's mother)

Rosetail - light ginger she-cat with a pinkish-orange tail (Sweetfern's sister)

~Prologue~

A half-moon glowed on smooth granite boulders, turning them silver. The silence was broken only by the ripple of water from the swift black river and the whisper of trees in the forest beyond.

There was a stirring in the shadows, and from all around lithe dark shapes crept stealthily over the rocks. Unsheathed claws glinted in the moonlight. Wary eyes flashed like amber. And then, as if on a silent signal, the creatures leaped at each other, and suddenly the rocks were alive with wrestling, screeching cats.

At the center of the frenzy of fur and claws, a sleek black-and gray tabby pinned a light gray tabby she-cat to the ground and drew up his head triumphantly. "Duskflower!" the sleek dark tabby growled. "How dare you hunt in our territory? The Sunningrocks belong to ThunderClan!"

"After tonight, Darkstripe, this will be just another RiverClan hunting ground!" the light gray tabby she-cat spat back.

A warning yowl came from the shore, shrill and anxious. "Look out! More RiverClan warriors are coming!"

Darkstripe turned to see sleek wet bodies sliding out of the water below the rocks. The drenched RiverClan warriors bounded silently up the shore and hurled themselves into battle without even stopping to shake the water from their fur.

The sleek dark tabby glared down at Duskflower. "You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!" He drew back his lips and showed his teeth as the cat struggled beneath him.

The desperate scream of a ThunderClan she-cat rose above the clamor. A wiry RiverClan tom had pinned the brown warrior flat on her belly. Now he lunged toward her neck with jaws still dripping from his swim across the river.

Darkstripe heard the cry and let go of Duskflower. With a mighty leap, he knocked the enemy warrior away from the she-cat. "Quick, Mousefur, run!" he ordered, before turning on the RiverClan tom who had threatened her. Mousefur scrambled to her paws, wincing from a deep gash on her shoulder, and raced away.

Behind her, Darkstripe spat with rage as the RiverClan tom sliced open his nose. Blood blinded him for an instant, but he lunged forward regardless and sank his teeth into the hind leg of his enemy. The RiverClan cat squealed and struggled free.

"Darkstripe!" The yowl came from a massive tabby warrior with unusually long front claws. "This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!"

"No, Tigerclaw. ThunderClan will never be beaten!" Darkstripe yowled back, leaping to Tigerclaw's side. "This is our territory!" Blood was welling around his broad black muzzle, and he shook his head impatiently, scattering scarlet drops onto the rocks.

"ThunderClan will honor your courage, Darkstripe, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors," Tigerclaw urged. "Sunstar would never expect his warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge this defeat." He met Darkstripe's yellow-eyed gaze steadily, then reared away and sprang onto a boulder at the edge of the trees.

"Retreat, ThunderClan! Retreat!" he yowled. At once his warriors squirmed and struggled away from their opponents. Spitting and snarling, they backed toward Tigerclaw. For a heartbeat, the RiverClan cats looked confused. Was this battle so easily won? Then Duskflower yowled a jubilant cry. As soon as they heard her, the RiverClan warriors raised their voices and joined their deputy in caterwauling their victory.

Tigerclaw looked down at his warriors. With a flick of his tail, he gave the signal and the ThunderClan cats dived down the far side of the Sunningrocks, then disappeared into the trees.

Darkstripe followed last. He hesitated at the edge of the forest and glanced back at the bloodstained battlefield. His face was grim, his eyes furious slits. Then he leaped after his Clan into the silent forest.

ZzZ

In a deserted clearing, an old fiery tom sat alone, staring up at the clear night sky. All around him in the shadows she could hear the breathing and stirrings of sleeping cats.

A pale silver she-cat emerged from a dark corner, her pawsteps quick and soundless.

The fiery cat dipped his head in greeting. "How is Mousefur?" he meowed.

"Her wounds are deep, Sunstar," answered the pale silver she-cat, settling herself on the night-cool grass. "But she is young and strong; she will heal quickly."

"And the others?"

"They will all recover, too."

Sunstar sighed. "We are lucky not to have lost any of our warriors this time. You are a gifted medicine cat, Willowpelt." He tilted his head again and studied the stars. "I am deeply troubled by tonight's defeat. ThunderClan has not been beaten in its own territory for many moons since I took Tigerclaw as my deputy," he murmured. "These are difficult times for our Clan. The season of newleaf is late, and there have been fewer kits. ThunderClan needs more warriors if it is to survive."

"But the year is only just beginning," Willowpelt pointed out calmly. "There will be more kits when greenleaf comes."

The fiery cat twitched his broad shoulders. "Perhaps. But training our young to become warriors takes time. If ThunderClan is to defend its territory, it must have new warriors as soon as possible."

"Are you asking StarClan for answers?" meowed Willowpelt gently, following Sunstar's gaze and staring up at the swath of stars glittering in the dark sky.

"It is at times like this we need the words of ancient warriors to help us. Has StarClan spoken to you?" Sunstar asked.

"Not for some moons, Sunstar."

Suddenly a shooting star blazed over the treetops. Willowpelt's tail twitched and the fur along her spine bristled.

Sunstar's ears pricked but he remained silent as Willowpelt continued to gaze upward.

After a few moments, Willowpelt lowered her head and turned to Sunstar. "It was a message from StarClan," she murmured. A distant look came into her eyes. "Fire alone can save our Clan."

"Fire?" Sunstar echoed. "But fire is feared by all the Clans! How can it save us?"

Willowpelt shook her head. "I do not know," she admitted. "But this is the message StarClan has chosen to share with me."

The ThunderClan leader fixed his yellow eyes on the medicine cat. "You have never been wrong before, Willowpelt," he meowed. "If StarClan has spoken, then it must be so. Fire will save our Clan."