Chapter Ten: Retaliation

The sun cast a red glow over the craggy landscape of Highstones, giving the illusion that every last pebble was soaked with blood. Firestar felt a shiver of dread when he saw this, mounting the peak of the hill just as the sun broke over the ragged outcropping of rocks. Was this a message from StarClan, a warning of what they would find once they entered the territory? Firestar pushed the thought away and pressed on. There wasn't time to be thinking of such ominous things.

"Do you think everyone is still hiding out at Barley's farm?" Mistyfoot clambered up the rocks behind Firestar, jumping up into the sunlight a moment after him. "Or could they have gone elsewhere? I doubt BloodClan would let them be for this long."

Firestar shook his head. "Who knows? All we can do is look for them…And avoid meeting any BloodClan cats."

"I hope we do meet a BloodClan cat out all by himself!" Bramblepaw snarled, leaping up to join his mentor and Mistyfoot. "I'd love to sink my claws into one of those mangy furballs!"

The rest of the large group jumped up after Bramblepaw, squeezing together atop the cliff. Once everyone was accounted for Firestar started to pick his way down again, reaching level ground nearby where the cliff opened up into a large cave. Mothermouth, a sight Firestar felt like he hadn't seen in years. The familiar scents of the Clan cats mingled around the entrance, and Firestar guessed the surviving medicine cats had been here recently to commune with StarClan. Something was odd, though…

"Who's there?!" a scathing voice demanded from the darkness within the cliff. Firestar whirled around and found himself face-to-face with a very old looking long-haired gray cat. The tom looked underfed and his sunken eyes sported huge bags, but Firestar recognized the cat immediately.

"Graystripe!" the ginger tom exclaimed, stepping forward to press his muzzle against his friend's cheek. "Graystripe, thank StarClan you're alive. It's me, Firestar! We found the Tribe!" There was so much more that needed to be said; both would have a lot of catching up to do. But for now Firestar was just content to know that at least one cat out of all the Clans had survived.

It took a moment before recognition and relief showed in Graystripe's eyes, but then he returned Firestar's gesture with a rasping purr. "I could say the same for you, Firestar. We were sure you were dead." he rumbled. "We had to relocated here after BloodClan attacked us at the farm about a moon ago…They haven't bothered us since. Come on, I'll take you to everyone else." Graystripe flicked his tail, beckoning for Firestar and the others to follow, then dissepeared into the darkness again.

Firestar followed his deputy eagerly, not waiting to see if the others followed. His paws led him down the familiar pitch-black tunnel by scent and touch. Once this place had felt ominous and spooky to him; now it felt like home. The scents of many cats passing through this tunnel daily guided him, while behind him the sounds of many pawsteps told him that the rest of his group had followed. After a few minutes the tunnel opened up into a wide space with a hole in the ceiling, letting the early dawn light spread over the huge glittering stone in the middle. Cats lay sleeping in a single group at the far side of the cave, no longer separated by Clan boundaries.

"Everyone wake up!" Graystripe yowled when he entered the cave. "Firestar is back! Firestar is back and he brought help!" His call echoed around the walls of the stone dwelling, and cats raised their heads blearily, blinking in the daylight. After a while shouts of surprise and relief filled the area.

The first cat to run over was Sandstorm, looking emaciated and tired but just a beautiful as ever in Firestar's eyes. She raced across the cave and pressed herself against him, purring too loudly to speak and covering his face and neck with licks. No doubt she was as happy to see him as he was to see her. Following her more slowly was Cinderpelt, who was even skinnier and didn't look quite as ecstatic.

"So, you found this Tribe, huh?" the medicine cat mewed flatly, looking them over. "I suppose better late than never." She turned away and padded back over to the Moonstone, sitting by it and curling her tail around her paws.

Firestar cocked his head to one side. "What's happened to her?" Cinderpelt had always been such a fun, bubbly cat. It was unlike her to be this irritable and unwelcoming.

Graystripe and Sandstorm looked at each other, sorrow etched in every tired line of their faces. After a moment Sandstorm answered, "We've had a hard time here, in the past two moons. BloodClan attacked us again a moon ago…" She paused, her voice cracking. Taking a deep breath she continued, "They killed Thornclaw, as he fought them while everyone else escaped. A few days later…Brightheart killed herself by jumping out of a tree."

"She killed herself?" Bramblepaw wailed, his eyes wide in astonishment. "H-How…Why would she do that?"

"Thornclaw was her brother, and she loved Cloudtail." Graystripe pointed out. "With both of them gone…I guess she didn't want to live anymore."

Sandstorm hung her head sadly. "She was still alive when Dustpelt found her." She sighed. "But her injuries were too bad for Cinderpelt to treat and she died soon after. Cinderpelt's still blaming herself…"

"Poor soul." Ravia rumbled, moving up beside Firestar and swishing her bushy white-tipped tail. Her blue eyes were full of sympathy for the young medicine cat. "I should hope that once this BloodClan is gone, she will learn to put her past mistakes behind her."

Sandstorm's mouth dropped open in surprise and Graystripe's fur bristled at the sight of the fox, but Firestar cut them off before they could say anything. "This is Ravia. She and her adopted brother helped us when Ravenpaw was injured." As more cats gathered around to see why there was a fox in the cave with them, Firestar told the tale of their journey. Mistyfoot, Onewhisker, Featherpaw and Bramblepaw added their own input where Firestar forgot details. When it came to Ravenpaw's death, Firestar choked up and Mistyfoot had to take over the story completely. Once the story was finished, an uneasy silence gripped the cats in the cave as each tried to take in all that had happened.

Chasm stepped forward boldly and all eyes turned to him. "The Tribe of Rushing Water is ready for battle whenever the Clans see fit to begin." he announced, his booming voice echoing eerily around the stone walls of the cave. "We are at your disposal."

An uncharacteristically twisted grin wound its way across Firestar's muzzle. "Then I think it's about time LionClan struck back."

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"They've all taken up residence at Fourtrees. It's like their main camp." Graystripe hissed, slinking through WindClan territory alongside Firestar. Behind them crept every living Clan cat, warrior and apprentice, alongside the Tribe cats. With the Tribe cats, their ranks had swelled to over fifty cats, along with Ravia, who could be counted as perhaps two cats by herself.

As they approached the hollow where the Clans had once met at the full moon, the stench of blood and crowfood reached Firestar's nose. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Even in leaf-bare the forest was more abundant with food than the city, and yet BloodClan still managed to be unhealthy crowfood-eating cowards. They didn't deserve to even set foot in the forest StarClan had provided for the Clans.

Reaching the edge of the hollow, Firestar crouched low under a bush and peered over the edge at the BloodClan cats. Most of them were still asleep, though it was almost sunhigh, while those who were up were lazily sharing tongues around the clearing. Scourge was nowhere to bee seen. The BloodClan cats looked confident and at home in the territory that didn't belong to them.

Firestar forced down a snarl rising in his throat and waited for the rest of his cats to gather around him. He gave a short nod to Sandstorm, who started to lead the cats around to encircle the clearing. They'd spent the whole morning planning a strategy; they would surround the BloodClan cats and attack in two waves. First the frontline would attack, a patrol of about twenty-five Tribe and Clan cats. At Firestar's cue the first wave would drop back if needed, and at another order the second wave would spring forward. With StarClan at their side, the Clans couldn't lose.

"LionClan, attack!" Firestar screeched once the hollow was surrounded. He burst out of the bushes and raced into the clearing, throwing himself at the nearest BloodClan cat he could find. Around him the rest of the first wave leapt at their opponents with ferocious cries. In a matter of seconds Fourtrees was filled with a raging battle.

The cat Firestar's claws had found was a scrawny brown tom, who had been asleep until Firestar pounced on him. He yowled in surprise and pain as Firestar sunk his claws into his shoulders. Before he could even figure out what was going on, Firestar had flipped him onto his back and ripped his teeth into his neck. The tom made a harsh gurgling sound, and then lay still. Firestar licked his blood-stained muzzle. There was no mercy left in him for cats like these.

Reinforced claws ripped into Firestar's side and he whipped around, lashing out with both front paws instinctively. His claws slashed through the nose of a bulky bicolor she-cat, and she stumbled back with a wail. With a snarl of pure rage Firestar lunged at her again and again, his claws scoring deep gashes across her face and neck until finally she collapsed. "Show no mercy!" Firestar yowled to the rest of his cats. "They'll show you none! Kill every cat you can!"

For the time being he was without an opponent, so Firestar looked around to see how the rest of the cats were faring. He saw Onewhisker and Tornear fighting side-by-side against two skinny toms, racing in circles around the BloodClan cats and tearing at their pelts whenever they could get close. Nearby Rowanheart, the incredibly young deputy of ShadowClan ripped out the throat of a cat nearly twice her size. Turning the other way, Firestar saw Bramblepaw and Mistyfoot clawing at a black she-cat's retreating haunches.

Just then a massive weight crashed onto Firestar's back, crushing him to the ground and knocked the wind from his lungs. Thorn-sharp claws raked through his sides and he felt his attacker latch their teeth in his scruff. Pinned to the blood-soaked ground, there was nothing Firestar could do but scream in fury.

Soon the weight was lifted again, the BloodClan cat's claws ripped forcefully out of his pelt. Staggering to his feet, Firestar looked around and recognized Ravia, her dark red pelt looking like a splash of blood against her surroundings. The fox plunged her teeth into the neck of the cat that had attacked Firestar, and in an instant the BloodClan cat was dead.

"Thanks, I owe you one." Firestar sighed gratefully, his sides stinging where the tom's claws had cut him.

Ravia blinked serenely at him. "You don't owe anyone anything." she replied loftily. "As long as you live to lead your Clan another day, all debts are repaid." With that she turned and dissepeared behind a group of to-bes fighting two huge BloodClan toms.

Firestar stood rooted to the spot for a moment, staring after the fox. What had she meant by that? How could she know that he had only returned to lead his Clan because of a debt he felt he had to all these cats? He shook his head angrily. Why was everything suddenly so complicated?!

A yowl sounded from the top of the hollow and more cats flooded the clearing. The second wave was entering the hollow, though Firestar hadn't given them any signal. He was about to call for them to halt, but he noticed they were being chased. More BloodClan cats had come from somewhere and were fighting with the second wave even as they ran down the sides of the hollow. Though Firestar's 'LionClan' still outnumbered BloodClan, it was now only by very little.

But what caught Firestar's eye was not the new flood of cats, but the one cat now standing proudly atop Highrock:

Scourge.

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Actiony action action.

Yeah, so it's been a while since my last update…I'm trying. XP

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