So this was what ThunderClan had been reduced to... a large, squirming mass of yowling cats, their furious growls and piercing yowls of pain ringing out through the forest...

Fireheart fought against this mass with all of his might. His eyes scanned the clearing in panic, looking for the bluish-gray fur that was so familiar to him. He pushed his way through painfully slowly. He could barely hear, the blood was pumping in his ears so loudly; the shrieking of the mass around him was muffled, like he had stuck his head underwater, but the sharpness of their claws ripping through his pelt wasn't. The cats around him were in complete chaos; some ThunderClan cats were even attacking each other in the confusion. He twisted and clawed at one cat, kicked at another.

The sudden weight of another cat crashed down on him, and he felt his knees buckle. He struggled to keep his footing, and it was only when the rouge started clawing at his legs that he realized what the other cat was trying to do; knock him off his feet to be trampled under the squirming group of cats. He pushed up with all his might, but the other tom was at least twice as large as he was, and he felt his legs starting to give way under the pressure.

The weight of the cat vanished suddenly, unbalancing him and nearly finishing what the rouge had started. His head whipped up in time to see Graystripe plow into the rouge. His friend called to him over his shoulder.

"Go on, I'll deal with him!" Fireheart nodded in gratitude, taking advantage of a brief gap in the battle to sprint through the rest of the way.

Fireheart still hadn't found Bluestar, and was about to leap onto the Highrock to better search for her when he heard the she-cat's furious yowl, followed by Tigerclaw's deeper voice, coming from the direction of…

Bluestar's den! Fireheart's eyes widened. If he had Bluestar trapped in her den, it would be nearly impossible for her to escape; she would have to fight, and risk her last life.

"I'm coming Bluestar." He streaked the rest of the way but froze just outside the entrance at a painful howl from his leader. He shook his head to snap himself back to the situation at hand. With one final breath, he pushed his way through the curtain of fronds…

---

Graystripe was just talking to StarClan when the rouges started retreating, leaving as suddenly as they had come. In seconds the ThunderClan camp was deserted of any rouges, but the destruction they left in their wake was seen everywhere; even the nursery and elders' den was almost completely destroyed, and the warriors' den was unrecognizable, looking like a pile of broken firewood.

Graystripe shuddered and turned away, looking for any sign of his flame-colored friend. His eyes rested on Cinderpaw, who was busy putting cobwebs on the cats' worst scratches. He limped over to her.

"Cinderpaw!" She glanced up at him.

"I'm busy right now, you'll have to wait." He could barely understand her through the bunch of cobwebs in her mouth.

"No, that's not it. Have you seen Fire-?"

Tigerclaw's yowl interrupted him. "Cats of ThunderClan! You have all fought well against the invading rouges, but it is my greatest regret to tell you how much we really sacrificed…" he trailed off here, a look of sadness on his face that Graystripe was sure was entirely fabricated. He looked up again, composing himself again.

"Cats of ThunderClan, it is my greatest regret to inform you… that our noble leader, Bluestar… is dead!"

Shocked gasps filled the clearing. Cats looked around at each other, as if to ask if it was really true.

But Tigerclaw wasn't finished there. He cleared his throat, effectively earning the attention of every cat in the camp. "And not only that! Bluestar has not, as you may believe, been killed by a rouge… She has been killed by a cat you all know, a cat she, sadly, trusted with her life, one she took in, trained, and made a warrior! Bluestar has been murdered… by none other than Fireheart!"


Ah! Cliffhangers! It's what keeps readers interested! ^-^

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