Author's Notes: I'm back again! Here is the sixth and final installment of my Warriors fanfiction series! I'm excited to say that this book is planned to be more intense, action-packed, and filled with horror than the last five were. You thought DarkClan was bad? Get ready to meet a foe much, much worse! So sit back, grab some popcorn, and get ready for Tragedies of War!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own characters that are used in this story. Please don't steal them from me.

Are you a new reader? Then you'll want to start with book one, Warriors Descended 1: Descendant of Fire!

Prologue

A cool, spring breeze sent ripples across the lake. The water was unusually choppy tonight, but the ginger tom who padded through the pine forest couldn't care less how the lake looked. An owl hooted above his head, but he paid it no mind. Amber eyes brightened as the tom stepped out from the shadows of his forest home and reached the edge of the lake. Moonlight shone down on his pelt, setting a stark contrast between the light ginger of his fur and the darker ginger of the stripes that jutted across his back.

The ginger tom suddenly paused, his mouth open as he scented the air. Without a sound, he turned and slipped into the shadows of a bush. There he crouched, his tail wrapped securely around himself as a patrol of cats from across the border came his way. He recognized their scents as ThunderClan. In the lead was a white she-cat with a long-furred chest and tail. Her dark green eyes looked black in the night. Beside her walked a gray, black, and white she-cat and a young, gray and brown tom with a white muzzle and chest.

"I smell ShadowClan," the young tom said, his nose held high.

The gray, black, and white she-cat laughed happily. "Oh, Stoneheart. You've still got a lot to learn! I'm sure a ShadowClan patrol just went by. That's all you're smelling."

The white she-cat shook her head. "Don't discourage him, Skunkpelt. It's okay, Stoneheart. Just ignore her."

"Well, we are on our border with ShadowClan!" Skunkpelt protested. "We're bound to smell ShadowClan while we're over here!"

Stoneheart flicked his tail irritably. "You're probably right. Now, can we go? Sparrowpaw and I were going to share a thrush before bed."

"Ooo!" Skunkpelt giggled. "Stoneheart and Sparrowpaw, sitting under a tree! L-i-c-k-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes matehood, then comes a baby in the nursery!"

The white she-cat shook her head again. "Cut it out, Skunkpelt. You're going to wake the whole forest with your horrible singing."

Skunkpelt flicked her tail. "Like you could do any better, Smudgewing?"

The white she-cat was already walking away, Stoneheart close behind her.

"Hey, wait up!" Skunkpelt shouted, racing after the others.

The tom crouched in the shadows waited until the ThunderClan patrol was long gone before he slipped back out into the moonlight. He twitched his tail in irritation. Those stupid ThunderClan cats had lost him valuable time! Wrinkling his nose in digust, he padded up to the waterline. This was his least favorite part.

He slowly stepped into the water and waded out until the surface just reached his belly fur. Then, as quietly as he could, he began to wade through the water in the direction of the rolling hills on the opposite side of the lake.

A she-cat was rubbing her back on a clump of grass, trying to scratch an itch, when she heard the sounds of quiet paws coming in her direction. She flipped over and squinted through the darkness. The moonlight cast a brilliant glow on her bright, white pelt. When a shadowy figure stepped out from behind some boulders and she recognized the scent, her eyes widened and glowed blue in the night.

"Tigerflame!" The white she-cat bounded over to him.

"Sorry I'm a little late," Tigerflame said, rubbing his nose along her cheek. "I almost got caught by a ThunderClan patrol."

"Again?" the white she-cat gasped. She flicked his shoulder with her tail. "You need to be more careful, Tigerflame!"

"I know, Moonmist. I'm sorry," Tigerflame said with a sigh. His amber eyes softened. "How are the kits?"

Moonmist purred and twined her tail with his. "They're the healthiest kits around the whole lake! Redkit is growing to be just like you. He's so adventerous. I caught him trying to sneak out of camp just this morning."

Tigerflame purred loudly. "What about Rainkit?"

"She's starting to get a little gray fur on her head," Moonmist laughed.

Tigerflame flicked an ear. "Gray?"

The she-cat shrugged. "I suppose it's from my side. You know, Lola is gray."

"Your grandmother. Right," Tigerflame nodded.

Moonmist laughed again. "Come on! Let's go give a rabbit a heart attack!"

Tigerflame glanced back toward his home. The darkness of the pine trees in ShadowClan looked just the same as they always did. "I can't stay long tonight, Moonmist. Furyclaw picked me for dawn patrol."

"Oh, fox dung," Moonmist pouted. "Sometimes I wish you were confined to the nursery like I am! Then you wouldn't have to worry about staying here with me."

Tigerflame laughed. "You don't sleep all day, do you?"

She curled her tail up over her back and gave a luxurious stretch. "No. Just until sunhigh."

That made Tigerflame laugh even harder. "Well, now I do wish I was stuck in the nursery with you. It must be nice to sleep in."

Moonmist looked worried. "You have been looking awfully tired lately. Are you getting enough sleep? You visit so often, I'm starting to worry you aren't getting enough rest."

"It's not that," Tigerflame shook his head. "I don't care how tired I am the next morning after spending all night with you. It's really Furyclaw. Ever since Burrowgrass stepped down and Crimsonstar picked Furyclaw as deputy, he's been bound and determined to show his worth. Though I don't see what he has to prove. Crimsonstar must've seen something in him to have chosen him as deputy in the first place."

Moonmist draped her tail over his shoulders. "I'm sorry. It sounds rough for you at the moment. Maybe you shouldn't visit for a few days. You need to catch up on some sleep."

He touched his forehead to hers. "But I'd miss you too much."

She batted his ear with a sheathed paw. "You mouse-brain." She laughed and then purred. "I'd miss you, too. But really, you honestly need to get some sleep. Otherwise someone might start questioning why you've been so tired lately."

Tigerflame snorted. "No, not really. Not with the way Furyclaw works everyone to the breaking point lately. Honestly, there's only so much prey you can catch when you send out four different hunting parties at once. Sometimes I wish he hadn't been chosen as deputy."

Moonmist's eyes widened. "Tigerflame, you can't mean that. He's your father! You should be happy for him. Even if he does work you really hard."

Tigerflame sighed. "Yeah. I guess I am happy for him. Though it's hard to be happy for him when he's shouting orders at me every second of every day."

"I'm sure he'll calm down eventually," Moonmist told him. She slapped his ears with her tail. "Come on! Just one rabbit? It'll help you to relax!"

Tigerflame laughed again. "Okay. One rabbit. But then I have to get going." The ginger tom found a clump of bracken and rolled around in it to help mask his ShadowClan scent. "Okay. Ready. Where to?"

Moonmist giggled and took off. Tigerflame rolled his eyes and went after her. With a pelt whiter than snow, she stood out even on the darkest of nights. He chased after her, admiring her speed and gracefulness. She always made him feel clumsy and unsure of himself whenever they went chasing her favorite prey.

A blur shot out of nowhere right in front of Tigerflame. He realized it was a rabbit a split second later as it dodged behind a pile of small boulders. Moonmist had already turned around and was leaping over the boulders to give chase. Tigerflame changed course, his paws slipping on some grass for a moment. He raced after Moonmist and the rabbit. She was catching up to the prey much faster than he was. With admiration, he watched Moonmist swipe a paw at the rabbit. Suddenly, the rabbit was gone.

Moonmist slowed to a stop, but Tigerflame didn't expect the sudden stop and tripped over his own paws to sprawl in the dirt. Standing beside him, Moonmist laughed. She flopped down beside him, her sides moving in and out as she panted from the excursion.

"Are you okay?" Moonmist whispered.

Tigerflame stood and shook himself. "Yeah. I'm great. What happened to the rabbit?" He glanced back to see nothing but shadows.

The WindClan she-cat giggled. "It found a hole to hide in."

Tigerflame shook his head. "I never thought it would be that hard to catch a rabbit. I'm glad I live in the forest. There isn't so much open space for prey to run through."

Moonmist twisted her ears back. "Yes. Well, I'm glad I live on the moor. I can't imagine having trees over my head, blocking out the beautiful, blue sky."

The ginger tom ducked his head. "I'm sorry, Moonmist. I shouldn't have said that."

She shook her head. "Forget about it, Tigerflame. I'm just happy that you're able to visit. I really wish you could see your kits. They're both growing up so fast."

Tigerflame sat down and stared at his paws. "Do they...ask about me?"

Moonmist sat up and leaned her shoulder against his. "No. Not yet."

He looked up at her. "Do you know what you're going to say to them when they do ask?"

The she-cat looked up at the twinkling stars above. It took her so long to answer his question, Tigerflame almost thought she wasn't going to.

"I think about it all the time, Tigerflame. I'm already noticing the looks the kits get. My Clanmates are so wrapped up in the mystery of who the father is, they don't take the time to stop and realize that Redkit and Rainkit are part of WindClan. But when they do finally ask, I'll tell them that he was a strong tom with more courage than all the cats of WindClan combined."

Tigerflame grew hot under his pelt. Moonmist was really too good to him. He licked her cheek. "I wish I could see them. Do you think...no, never mind." He shook his head.

"What? What is it?" Moonmist looked at him, curious.

He shook his head. "It would be too dangerous."

She frowned at him. "Come on, tell me!"

"I just thought...maybe you could bring the kits with you," Tigerflame murmured.

Moonmist was silent. He glanced at her to see she was looking up at the stars again.

"I don't know, Tigerflame. It would be very risky. Perhaps when they're older and understand that your identity has to be kept a secret from everyone." Moonmist looked at him again. "Until then, you'll just have to be content hearing stories about them."

"Of course, Moonmist," Tigerflame whispered. He stood again and stretched. "I should get going. I don't want to be out too long. Not with a dawn patrol in the morning."

Moonmist tucked her nose under his chin. "Will you be here again soon?"

"I'll come back two nights from now," Tigerflame replied, licking her cheek again. He turned away to leave.

"Tigerflame," Moonmist called softly.

He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "Yeah?"

"Try to get some sleep, okay? I hate seeing you so tired," Moonmist said.

He smiled at her. "Of course. I'll see you in two nights, Moonmist."

The white she-cat watched her mate walk away into the shadows before she turned and headed back to WindClan's camp. When she reached the nursery, she paused outside to look up at the stars one last time before slipping inside. Curled up in her nest were two kits, one a brilliant white and the other a ginger. She spread out beside them, a quiet purr in her chest.

"You don't know how lucky you kits are," Moonmist whispered, licking each one on the head once before lying her head down to slip back into a deep, dreamless slumber.

End of Prologue

Author's Notes: Didn't expect that did you? Okay, so maybe some of you did! Sounds like two of our main characters have been getting themselves into a bit of forbidden trouble, huh?