Scourge fell thought the darkness, landing on his stomach in an empty field, which was, only moments before, filled with fighting cats. The leader of BloodClan scrambled to his paws looking around wildly. Just before he died he remembered a face twisted with many emotions, among them, anger stood out the most but underneath that, he had seen sorrow. This was the face of the cat who had killed him. And then an agonizing pain on his head and a pool of darkness spreading out in front of his face slowly blocking his vision. Now he was... Where?

Scourge looked around himself and suddenly realized he was not alone. A wide ring of cats surrounded him, young and old they sat facing him without moving.

A blue-gray she-cat stepped forward and yowled. "Cats of StarClan! You have been brought here today to witness the fate of this cat here," she flicked her tail at Scourge. "He has lead the cats of BloodClan to attack the cats of the forest. He killed Firestar and he kills for no reason but sport. He keeps siblings apart to assure there are no mutinies. Any elder or sick cat unable to defend itself is left to fend for itself without any help." She was interrupted by a chorus of angry yowls.

"If he has done all these things, then, why must we judge him?"

"It is obvious that he doesn't even deserve to go to the Place of No Stars!"

The Place of No Stars? StarClan? Scourge was extremely confused.

"Quiet down, all of you!" The voice of the blue cat rose above all the rest. "We will judge him because, though this is no excuse, one of our own caused him to be like this. Tigerstar almost killed him as a kit and he has carried this grudge ever since. In the twoleg place, he did good deeds for a while, until he drove our some cats that were stealing food from the starving twoleg ally-ways. Then the anger never left him because they smelled of the forest, reminding him of his battle with Tigerstar many moons later Tigerstar unknowingly was asking the cat who wanted him dead, for help. When Tigerstar attacked Scourge for control over BloodClan, Scourge found his chance to kill his archenemy. What Scourge did wrong was to try and take over the forest." Then turning to Scourge she said."Scourge, I am Bluestar former leader of ThunderClan. Before we begin I would like to know something. Did you know that Firestar, the cat who killed you, was related to you?"

"What? Y'mean that orange cat was related to me? But, we look nothing alike!" Scourge stuttered.

"What color was your father's fur? Firestar is your half-brother. Your mother had a litter of two just after you left," Bluestar meowed.

"Is that why he looked sad just before he killed me?" Scourge asked.

"No. He doesn't know anything. He looked sad because he didn't want to take a life," Bluestar 

looked at him. "You have one choice, Scourge. Your fate will be judged from this decision. You will be sent back to the forest and you will remember nothing of this conversation. You will see a kit and decide its fate. When you return here, you will either be sent to the Place of no Stars or you will be suspended in a gray void for the rest of you days. Now, step into the middle of the circle and close your eyes," Bluestar fixed him with her clear, blue gaze.

Scourge thought he had seen those eyes before, but he didn't know where, and he didn't have time to find out as an immense pull made him black out and when he woke, he was no longer in the starry forest, but in front of a small kitten. Like Bluestar had said, he had forgotten the entire conversation.

Scourge looked at the defenseless kit and knew he had two choices. On one paw he imagined raising it into a respectable cat. Looked up to by all, as an honorable warrior of a great clan. On the other, he imagined a blood-thirsty cat, who killed for joy and was nothing more than a menace to cats everywhere, maybe even to Scourge himself as he remembered how he had treated his brother and sister.

A small mew interrupted his thoughts. Was this what he had looked like when he was a kit? A small scrap of fur hungry for food? Scourge felt he needed to make his decision soon, though he didn't know why.

His mind told him to teach it to kill and maim but his heart, which had not been used in a decision for seasons, said to teach it to be fierce in battle and kind in peace, to kill only when necessary and to show compassion for the weak. Scourge closed his eyes and chose.

And he was back in the starry forest. The memories came flooding back in a wave. The battle. His decision. Bluestar. When Scourge came back to the ring of cats he immediately turned to Bluestar and stated. "You were the cat who saved me from Tigerstar back when I was a kit, weren't you?"

Bluestar blinked at Scourge as if to say 'took you long enough' and turned to the other cats. "StarClan, Scourge has decided and will go to the Place of no Stars, which, trust me," she turned to him, "is a lot better than the void. We had never sent anyone to the void in the history of the clans. When you arrive in the Place of no Stars, you will see seven paths; you must take one and follow it forever. Now, return to the center of the circle and close your eyes once more."

Scourge did as he was told and he felt the pull again. And when he blinked his eyes open he stood in a forest, lit only by the glowing mushrooms that lined a path which split into seven others, branching off into all directions. He chose the center path and walked off into the darkness.