The dark brown tabby smiled. This was the fight. If anything, ThunderClan was going to pay. Pay for its injustices against his clan. Four clans. Phht. The dark brown cat climbed up to the top of the dead oak, looking his own cats in their eyes. They all gleamed like the moon was in them. The tom, whose own green eyes shimmered, cleared his throat. "All of FlameClan." He began.

The cats stopped but looked as though they weren't listening. That was good. Never appear too attentive. "I want to tell you one thing before we light our torches."

The cats again, flicked their ears, but this time stared right back at their leader. "ThunderClan is a clan unlike any other. Rogues, kittypets, loners, the clan is full of them. Half of their warriors live their lives in their own nursery, and more than anything, they have done nothing to disapprove of our clan." He paused. "Fallentail." He snarled.

"Yes, my leader?" The white she-cat said, putting a paw to her ear.

"Remember Oakwhisker? Remember what happened to him?" The leader's black feet shuffled on the cold stone.

"ThunderClan killed him." His deputy spat. "And you say they're weak."

The tom nodded. "They are far weaker than you imagine. When we burn down everything that we are, and I mean everything, then they will learn to respect the clan of fire. They will learn to understand that we are not to be fucked around with. And they will never look at a single one of their oh-so-precious trees and think how lucky hey are to be of their clan."

"No!" An apprentice, Coldpaw, shouted. His blue eyes shone just like his sister's. ThunderClan killed Icepaw too.

"Oh no, Coldpaw. They will realize that they have no rights at all to help the other clans. They will realize they're the weakest link of the five clans. Not four, five." He sneered, curling his lips at the half moon that shone overhead. "And tonight, FlameClan, will be the best time to attack. For now, there will be no medicine cats to help them."

There was silence for a moment in the abandoned camp, and then one voice started to call. It was quiet in the beginning, but then the rest of the clan seemed to catch on. The cats, young and old, all began to look at eachother. "Fangstar, Fangstar!" They shouted, the sounds getting louder and louder between the clan. Then there was silence once more. The clan was one mind, and one giant weapon. The crackle of a flame starting, the ritual of lighting the torch, was starting.

"FlameClan!" Fangstar shouted, baring the teeth for which he was named. Sharper than claws, they were visible even when his mouth was closed.

The clan followed suit. "FlameClan!"

Moondust... What a lovely name. The brand new warrior took a greedy glance at a vole, but didn't dare eat it. It would be better for the queens and elders to have it. She hopped up onto the camp, remembering what Ivystar had said. Tell her if any cats are seen. Times were tense these days, even with all the clans. ShadowClan still held a grudge, even though the last time they had helped one another was back in the time of Bramblestar. With Windclan, Crowstar, though an old leader, was still finding his way into the new ranks behind the pawsteps of Ashstar, and as a result was far more aggressive than any cat she had heard of. And for Riverclan, the new Hawkstar was keeping to his own, and was seeming to strike a very fine alliance for the leader of ShadowClan, Dawnstar.

Nonetheless, the she-cat looked on. In th half-moon light, she saw nearly nothing in the dark. It frightened her. Her black fur bristled, highlighted by cool moonlight. Her silver tailtip twitched. The stick of fallen warriors, more scratched on in the last few moons than when she was a kit, lay in the center of camp. Cats were all fine and asleep, content in whatever dreams they were keeping.

A new apprentice, Coffee, was watching her intently. Moondust stiffened under the cat's bright green gaze, but then heard the ex-kittypet's footsteps into the apprentice den.

Moondust still looked around. She shuffled around uncomfortably, and then started to circle the outside of the camp. She couldn't speak. This was her warrior's vigil, and she needed to keep watch. Protect her clan. Just this one night. ThunderClan would be safe under her gaze.

She felt little prickles of pride in that. She, Moondust of ThunderClan, was the only cat keeping watch over the camp. If only greencough hadn't taken away Sparrowpaw and Stonepaw, then she would be able to sit with her siblings during the vigil. She took a look at the sky, dappled in shimmering stars. Maybe they'd be happy in StarClan.

A crack of a twig. Moondust swiveled her head. Nobody was there. Then she heard the sounds of crackling. She didn't know what it was. She'd never heard it before. She saw bright lights flickering red, orange, and yellow. There was green starting to form in the heat of the light. Burning heat started emanating from it. Moondust started to sweat. Her blue eyes started to reflect the substance that danced its way down the trail, and then she saw the eyes. They were lit brightly, glaring down Moondust. She heard a cat laugh, and Moondust shrank in her black pelt.

"Flames, flames, fire..." They started to chant. She heard their pawsteps, and then more coming from all directions. Then she remembered. Ivystar. Moondust started running down in the shadows of the night, hoping that the cats hadn't seen her. No cat used that. It wasn't in StarClan's ways. Then she remembered what the light was. Fire. Moondust looked into the den. "Ivystar!" She whispered. "It's the camp. We're being attacked by cats with fire!"

There was a yowl. "FlameClan, attack!"

More cats yowled from all directions. They were surrounded.

It seemed the camp left its sleepy stupor. Cats were getting out of their dens, eyes wider than the lake itself. Then there were returning yowls from the rest of the ThunderClanners. Moondust looked at Ivystar, whose eyes were opening. She leaped to her feet, and the white and grey cat ran out of her den. "ThunderClan!" She shouted, blue eyes blazing.

Moondust started running out of the camp, looking around for her mother, the only cat dear to her now. She saw her mother, Amberstorm, being dragged off by a dark brown tabby with a flaming branch in his jaws. She fought fiercely, yowling as she clawed and scratched at his face, but the large tom didn't seem to be phased. He dropped his stick for a moment. "Warriors, prepare the sticks." He said, calmly, coolly. He picked his fire-stick up again, and dropped Amberstorm. She tried running away, but was pinned down by the tom. Amberstorm stared, wide-eyed.

Moondust shook the bystander effect off. She started padding on, trying to keep the idea in her mind. She was fighting for her mother. Moondust leaped, grabbing the tom by his scruff. The yowls of fighting cats rang in her ears, and then she saw a horrible sight. An elder, Icecloud, shouted loudly. The white cat was no longer recognizable. She was a ball of screaming flame with nothing to douse her. She then collapsed, screaming until there was no more.

The tom shook her off, and Moondust stayed still in her shock. She couldn't even think. These cats burned others alive. Icecloud, the cat who told stories to her since she was a kit, was now a pile of ash.

"You, are going to stay alive. Coldpaw, keep her down." He said cooly. "And for you, I can tell that that's your mother. Well, just for that, I want you alive." Moondust felt a paw over her head, and then blackness. The sounds of horrific battle died away, and then she had no thoughts.