Alright, I've got a giant cup of Pepsi here from Arby's and I'm ready to get cracking on this story at last. All of these cats are directly from Erin Hunter's story, so I don't own any of them.

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Chapter One: A Hopeless Battle

The sun was only just barely clearing the tops of the trees. It should have been a gorgeous day, but the forest was silent and still. Not a bird chirped or mouse stirred from the ThunderClan camp to the moors of WindClan's territory. Everything seemed to hold it's breath, waiting for the outcome of the battle taking place beneath the cool canopy of trees.

Speckletail paced the clearing restlessly, lashing her tail. It had already been too long since the rest of her Clan had left to fight the ruthless BloodClan, and with every second the elderly she-cat was getting more and more worried. What if Firestar and the others didn't come back? What if something went wrong? What if-

"Speckletail, stop fidgeting like that. I'm getting uneasy just looking at you." Smallear's rasping mew interrupted Speckletail's pacing. He was lounging outside the elder's den, his tail twitching nervously as he licked his paws and drew them over his small ears. "They'll all be fine. Any minute now they'll come over that ridge all bloodied and ragged, but victorious nonetheless."

"Don't count your prey before it's caught, Smallear." Speckletail growled. "BloodClan doesn't sound like it will be an easy opponent. We may win, but at what cost?"

Willowpelt flicked her ears from where she sat outside the nursery. "I can't even hear any fighting from here. The battle could already be over and we wouldn't know it." She mused quietly.

One of the queen's kits tumbled out of the nursery in a flurry of young energy. "I bet Firestar's already got them all beat!" The she-kit yipped excitedly. "I wish I could have been there! I'd send that Scourge back to Twolegplace all by myself!"

"Of course you would, Sorrelkit." Willowpelt licked her kit's head, purring in amusement. "Now get back inside with your brothers. I told you to stay in the nursery." Sorrelkit grumbled, but slunk back into the nursery obediently.

"Wait, I think I hear something." Speckletail raised her head and pricked her ears, straining to listen to what was happening behind the walls of the ThunderClan camp. She could only just barely make out the sounds of cats crashing through the undergrowth, heading towards camp. Could it be that BloodClan was making their way here after all? "Get ready, everyone! It sounds like we'll have company after all."

A ripple of tension went through the cats who had been left behind to defend the camp, as each got ready to flee. Speckletail knew it would be useless to try and fight the BloodClan cats; they were only kits and elders. But they would need to be ready to run for their lives if it was BloodClan coming their way. The elder sent a quick prayer to StarClan that at least some of ThunderClan had survived. She didn't think she was ready to become Specklestar just yet.

Finally a familiar cat burst into the hollow. His pelt was torn and blood seeped from countless wounds, but Speckletail recognized the tom as Firestar. She let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps things weren't as bad as they seemed.

Firestar's eyes were wild with fear, though, and he yowled, "Form up in the clearing! We only have a few minutes before they're on us!" More ThunderClan cats poured in around him, though it was only a fraction of the fighting force that had gone into battle before. Cinderpelt limped past Speckletail rapidly, heading for the medicine den, while Brightheart stumbled into the middle of the clearing blindly and collapsed not far from the elder's den. Her one eye was heavy with sorrow and it looked as if she had aged a hundred seasons since leaving the camp.

"Come on, Brightheart." Thornclaw nudged her to her feet gently. His own right eye was closed and welling with blood and one ear was torn and ragged. "We can't rest yet. They're still after us!" Brightheart heaved herself to her paws obediently and turned to face where Firestar had climbed to the top of Highrock.

"We don't have much time left." The leader was saying, his voice shaking with strain and horror. "BloodClan will be upon us in only a few minutes, and we must be ready to make one last stand. However…The chances of us winning are slim. If I give the order, we must retreat and head for Barley's farm."

"Barley is dead." Ravenpaw's yowl came from the edge of the assembled cats. He sounded worn and defeated. "It's my farm now."

"R-Right, Ravenpaw's farm…" Firestar corrected himself sadly. "What's left of the other Clans have fled to their own camps to gather their kits and elders, and will meet us at the farm as soon as possible. I didn't want it to come to this, but…" The ginger tom closed his eyes in dismay, as if he didn't know what to do. "If…If ThunderClan is to survive, we must leave the forest…For now, at least." He added as cries of dismay sounded from what was left of his Clan.

More crashes sounded from the forest as Firestar leapt down from Highrock and met Graystripe at the bottom. Quickly he began issuing orders to his cats and they formed into two lines facing the camp entrance. The elders were put at the back, so they could escape fastest, and Willowpelt was already leading her kits away from camp through the dirtplace tunnel.

"But Mama!" Sorrelkit was mewling. "I wanna stay and fight! Sandstorm already taught us how!" Willowpelt didn't answer; she only snatched Sorrelkit up in her jaws and disappeared through the small tunnel out of camp.

Just as the queen's gray tail was out of sight, a large black cat burst into the clearing. "They're here, Bone!" He cackled, leering down at the assembled ThunderClan cats. "Here's that mangy ginger tom that Scourge was fighting!"

An even larger black and white tom loomed into the clearing, followed by at least a dozen other cats. He drew his lips back in a snarl, showing sharp yellow teeth. "You forest cats don't know when to give up, do you?" Bone rumbled. "Scourge told me I had to finish you off quickly or not come back, so why don't you all just sit still and I swear I'll make it painless."

Sandstorm curled her lip and hissed menacingly, bracing to pounce on the larger cat's shoulders, but Firestar put up his tail and held her back. "This is your last chance to get out of our territory." The leader mewed. His voice was calm and steady, with only a glimmer of fear showing in his dull green eyes.

Bone didn't reply, but a silent order seemed to pass from him to the rest of his cats. They moved as one and set in upon the weakened ThunderClan cats. The camp exploded into a flurry of fur and slashing claws as the two groups of cats threw everything they had at the other. Bone went straight for Firestar, leaping at the smaller tom with claws extended and teeth bared. But Firestar was faster and darted out of the way, watching Bone crash to the ground only a taillength away. Then the leader barreled into his dazed opponent, knocking the black and white tom onto his back.

Showing no mercy, Firestar jumped on top of the BloodClan cat, raking his claws through Bone's exposed belly fur. The fallen cat howled in pain, but still Firestar didn't let up. Though the warrior code dictates that a warrior should never kill another cat unless necessary, Firestar decided that the warrior code could be broken in BloodClan's case. After all, Firestar had seen too many of his Clan torn apart by these claws, and it was time for it to end. Without a second thought, the ginger tom buried his fangs in Bone's throat and bit down hard. He didn't release his jaws until Bone's thrashings stopped all together.

Victorious, Firestar looked around, expecting to see the rest of the BloodClan cats being driven off. To his dismay, this was not the case. As his eyes scanned the clearing, Firestar watched a white BloodClan she-cat slash her reinforced claws through Brackenfur's throat. Blood bubbled from the golden warrior's neck has his head separated cleanly from his body. A wail rose from the far side of the clearing, where Cinderpelt was dressing a wound on Frostfur's side. The medicine cat's eyes were wide in horror, and she seemed to have frozen up.

Firestar was about to pounce on the white BloodClan warrior when Graystripe stumbled to his side. The gray tom's ears were flattened in dismay as he watched his former apprentice's beheading, and he yowled to Firestar, "Firestar, we're losing! We have to give up this battle!"

Firestar's objection was cut off by another terrified caterwaul. He turned in time to see a whole new wave of BloodClan cats racing into the clearing. Standing just at the entrance to the clearing was a small black cat, his icy blue eyes glinting with malice. Scourge surveyed the destruction with a smug look as more and more of his cats streamed into the camp. Fury burned in Firestar's heart, but he knew there was no point in continuing the fight when ThunderClan was so grossly outnumbered.

"Retreat!" The ginger tom screeched reluctantly. "ThunderClan, retreat!" For a moment Firestar was afraid the BloodClan cats would try to stop their escape, but to his surprise the mangy warriors parted to let the ThunderClan cats through. They hissed scathing insults as they passed, but let their enemies escape without harm; or so Firestar thought. He thought he was the last one out, but just as he broke through the thorns out of the camp, Firestar heard an anguish squeal from behind him. He looked around and his heart sank as he recognized Fernpaw pinned beneath Scourge's claws.

The leader of BloodClan raise his eyes to peer at where Firestar stood rooted just beyond the barrier of the ThunderClan camp. His lip parted in a sneer, reveling perfect white fangs. "I'll let you go for now, forest cats." He sneered coldly. "But let this be a reminder of what will happen if you ever set foot in my forest again."

Suddenly Dustpelt was behind Firestar. "No! Fernpaw!" The dark tabby warrior screamed in fury. He tried to bound forward but Firestar pushed him back. It was useless, Firestar knew, though he hated for Dustpelt to witness what was about to happen.

Happy to have another member in his audience, Scourge unsheathed his claws, the dogs' fangs reinforcing them glinting eerily in the early sunlight. With one flick of his tiny paw, he ripped Fernpaw open from nose to tail-tip just as he had done to Tigerstar three days before. Fernpaw's jaws opened in a silent scream, but only a terrible gurgling sound escaped her. She writhed for a few heartbeats in her own pooling blood as Scourge stepped back and began lick his paws, admiring his handiwork.

"Fernpaw!!" Dustpelt screeched again, but by this time the gray apprentice had stopped moving. She lay frozen in the red-stained dirt, her legs stretched out above her stiffly like the branches of a long dead tree.

It was then that Firestar finally forced himself to move. He tore his eyes away from the horrific scene and shoved Dustpelt out into the forest. The older warrior stumbled, unsteady as a newborn kit on his heavy paws. Firestar latched his teeth in Dustpelt's scruff and dragged the distraught cat after what was left of their Clan.

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I am so sorry.

Please review. I'd like at least two reviews before I put up the next chapter. Is two that much to ask for?

Thanks.