Here you are! THE BATTLE MUHAHAHA. Enjoy :)

Chapter 10

Serenity's POV

Serenity hardly noticed the change, not until Mountainkit's kit blue eyes had completely evolved to his adult moss green. And when she first noticed it, she was just happy for him. It brought her back to the dream she had had two moons ago, where a pathetically thin kit was dying of hunger. Now he was well fed, acting like a kit again, and growing just as any kit would, despite everything that had happened to him. She could hardly imagine being a moon old and watching her sister die and her father fade away. But if there was one thing she knew, it was that Mountainkit was going to be great. If he could push through the loss of his mother and sister, he could push through anything.

"Have you seen Mountainkit's eyes?" Serenity asked excitedly.

Sanddune nodded curtly. He quickly dug back into a thrush that he had caught earlier that day. How on earth he could have caught a bird with those paws, Serenity could hardly imagine.

"They're green!" she exclaimed, and then the sparkle in her hazel eyes faded, "They're… they're green…" Confusion filled her. "But you said-"

"Not so loud!" Sanddune snapped in a harsh whisper.

Serenity glanced at Mountainkit's sleeping form not too far away, nestled in the roots of a cedar tree. His muzzle was still dripping from drinking from the river. He might not even be asleep yet. She lowered her voice. "You said his mother's eyes were blue. I remember that."

Sanddune concentrated even more on tearing feathers from his meal.

Serenity boiled. She slashed at the thrush, sending the half-eaten carcass spinning through the dirt a few paces away. This time, she didn't laugh at her feistiness. Instead, she gave the sandy brown tom a mutinous glare.

Sanddune looked up calmly, as if he had expected it, but his eyes were hard. "You've got my attention," he stated.

"You said his mother's eyes were blue."

"I did say his mother's eyes were blue."

Serenity bristled at his mentor-like tone. "Your eyes are blue."

"My eyes are blue, yes."

"Then how could Mountainkit's be green?" Sanddune went silent. "You better answer my every question," she growled.

There was a pause. "He inherited it."

"From who?"

"His father."

"Are you his father?"

Sanddune drew in a breath so painfully slow that Serenity's dark tail flicked back and forth three times before he let it out. "No."

Even though Serenity had known his answer before it came out of his mouth, it still sent a bolt of shock through her body. "No?"

"No."

It wasn't worth asking who his father was. She wouldn't recognize any name Sanddune gave her. So she asked the question that she already knew the answer to also. "Where is his father?"

Sanddune got that look that he would often get before he left them to recover himself. His eyes seemed to flash with memories. "Dead."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Mountainkit? I'll tell him if he asks."

"And what if he doesn't?"

Sanddune answered sincerely, "Then he'll never know."

Serenity bristled. "That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair."

.

The Rainy Night, Three Moons Earlier

Sanddune's POV

Sanddune pushed the emotions away. He blocked out the sight of Watervapor in front of him, Autumnleaf's blood dripping in his claws, and the owner of that blood deathly still beside him. He forced himself to ignore the sound of Riverbend's wails. He closed his mouth against the smell of the crimson pouring from Autumnleaf's wound.

Instead, he moved quickly. His eyes caught the rustling in the ferns and he knew that Juniperpaw was heading back to her camp to tell her Clanmates that their deputy was dead. They didn't have much time.

He pushed sobbing Riverbend away from her mate and grabbed Mistkit's bloody scruff. "Take care of her!" he shouted, as if Riverbend couldn't hear a whisper in the silence that had descended over the camp. He didn't even know if the kit was alive.

"Someone get Northstar!" Sanddune ordered next. He was sure the old tom was watching from his den but was too betrayed or too weak to come into the clearing. But it wasn't quite the time to tell his leader 'I told you so.' He needed to find Tidepool first. As he left the camp, he yowled to the rest of the cats, "Prepare for battle!" There was an explosion of voices and movement.

It felt strange to be running through the forest. Once the sounds of the camp died down with distance, it felt like a normal day. The forest hadn't changed. Its undergrowth tripped him up just as constantly as it always had. Its forest floor still displayed every pawprint. Its tree trunks continued to hold every scent. The green leaves still held back the first few drops of rain.

Sanddune was soaked and shivering by the time he reached the far border. It wasn't between MapleClan and OakClan but rather between OakClan and unknown, unclaimed territory. And it was territory that they couldn't possibly claim, because a ravine blocked their way.

Tidepool sat at the cliff's edge, staring down into the ravine's depths. His gray ears were bended back, although the rest of his body was rigid from trying to stay emotionless. "You thought I was a murderer," he stated in a hollow voice without looking back.

"I thought you were like your son," Sanddune meowed, "and your son is a murderer."

"Watervapor is not a murderer." His tone was more confused than angry.

"He killed Autumnleaf." Tidepool didn't move. Sanddune tried to hold the heartbroken cat's attention. "Autumnleaf is dead, Tidepool. MapleClan will be here soon."

"MapleClan?" The deputy sounded like a cat who had come back from unconsciousness.

Sanddune stepped closer to the tom. "Tidepool, Watervapor killed Autumnleaf. He's been planting prey reeking of OakClan in MapleClan's territory. He's provoked them into an attack. And now they're coming. They're coming for revenge. They are going to kill every last one of us. Are you just going to let your Clan die? You're going to let Riverbend die?"

"Riverbend doesn't care about me-"

"But you care about her."

Sanddune wasn't sure how much of his words Tidepool had heard, but he could tell the gray tom was agitated now.

"Why would my son sentence his Clan to death?"

Sanddune had been thinking that over for moons. Watervapor may look down on a lot of cats, but why would he want to destroy his own Clan? He had considered the possibilities. Maybe he had wanted to become a hero for his Clan by helping to stop MapleClan when they attacked but had misjudged how much stronger they really were. But Watervapor, being a good fighter and observer, would know how strong MapleClan was. So maybe he was a cold-hearted killer who would watch his Clan die from the perfect vantage point. But that wouldn't satisfy bloodlust. Bloodthirsty cats liked killing with their own claws, not watching it being done by others. So why? What could possibly justify this in his mind?

"I don't know."

There was silence. Sanddune wondered if Tidepool had even heard him. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something, Tidepool looked back. The sneering, superior look that was familiar in Watervapor filled his tired eyes. "The Great Sanddune doesn't know?"

Sanddune's eyes hardened. Inside, he was amused, but his logic told him that satisfying Tidepool was the only way. "Good to know you're back," he stated drily. "Are you going to defend your Clan now?"

Tidepool got to his paws and stretched his tense muscles. "Well you certainly can't." Sanddune considered retorting, but with that, the gray tom bounded past Sanddune to die as a loyal deputy to his Clan, hiding his troubled eyes.

.

Mountainkit's POV

Mountainkit's muzzle was still dripping with the water he had filled his belly with, but inside he felt empty. It was Sanddune's "Not so loud!" that had alerted him that sleep could wait. But as he listened further, he almost wished sleep had overtaken him. His mother had died when he was barely eight sunrises old and he had lived through it. His sister had died from the infection that had spread through the cuts his own claws had made, but he had pushed through it. His father may have faded away for a while, but his body was always there. And now he discovered that it wasn't even his father. His father was dead. Sanddune wasn't his father.

My father is dead. Sanddune isn't my father.

He was alone. He was three moons old and utterly alone.

.

Sanddune could feel his heart beat at the walls of his chest. His trembling paws gripped the muddy ground a few paces away from the mouth of the nursery. Riverbend, still whimpering, shakily licked her remaining kits in the larger part of the cave.

A few cats sat in the middle of the clearing, talking quietly about nothing and sharing prey. Among them was Tidepool. His gray back was turned to Sanddune, but he could tell that the tom wasn't happy about not protecting the nursery.

A few paces away from the bait, in the line of dripping ferns that surrounded the camp, others crouched in waiting. Sanddune locked gazes with Leapingflames, whose amber eyes glowed from the same spot that he had seen Autumnleaf earlier. He gave him a nod.

Next to him was Seabreeze, one of the elders that were forced to fight again. The light yellow she-cat gave him an encouraging look. She, at least, had some hope in Sanddune's baiting strategy. Even he didn't think it would work.

And where was Watervapor? Sanddune squinted against the pouring rain, trying to find him in the misty vapor. No one knew what to do with him. Yes, he was a murderer, but he was also a good fighter who could help give OakClan a chance.

"Sanddune?"

Sanddune turned, temporarily distracted from his search, and saw defeat mirrored in Northstar's dark blue eyes.

"I didn't listen to you… I should've listened to you. This is all my fault. This is… this is all my fault."

Sanddune shook his head. "Don't think that. Please don't think-"

"I'm so sorry, Sanddune. You would've made a much better deputy."

"No," Sanddune murmured. He could tell that Northstar was pettily trying to make up for his mistake with flattery. "No. StarClan shouldn't waste nine lives on someone like me if I became leader."

Northstar shook his head. "Skills aren't everything, Sanddune. You taught me that."

Sanddune was completely shocked. His leader respected him. His leader respected him. Sanddune should've been overjoyed. His leader respected him! He should have reveling in it, but for some reason, the words "Are you fricken kidding me?" came to his mind. Seconds before their Clan was going to be ripped apart, and Northstar finally respected him. How many seasons had it been? Yet he chose now to change his mind. Right before their Clan's destruction. Are you fricken kidding me?

And right as his mouth began to form the first word, a MapleClan cat entered camp. Sanddune's gaze was ripped away by the silent movement. The first was followed by another… and another and another. They streamed directly into Sanddune's trap, their judgment clouded with the taste of revenge. Sanddune couldn't believe the amount of cats. It seemed like a river of creams and gingers, grays and browns. Not even half of them were inside by the time they had reached the bait.

At first, Sanddune could only hear the thumping of his heart, beating in time with the seemingly silent pawsteps.

Sanddune watched as the first MapleClan cat reached Tidepool. Imagine the cat's surprise as her unexpected leap attack was blocked by a fully prepared tom. Tidepool smashed an unsheathed paw onto the side of her head, sending it splattering into the mud.

Then a battle cry split the air. The rain roared. The paws thundered.

The MapleClan cats that had been streaming in suddenly felt claws meet their backs as the cats in waiting braved the river. From there, Sanddune couldn't keep track of what happened. The clearing was engulfed in chaos. There were snarls, growls, hisses, yowls, screeches… All of them melded together into the glorious sound of battle. It echoed around the cliff walls and filled the caves. It overcame every emotion, every thought, until the only thing left was three words.

I must survive.

It was no longer about defending the Clan. It was about survival.

Sanddune thought he saw Leapingflames fighting ferociously with a single MapleClan tom. A few paces away was Seabreeze, struggling against two she-cats. One of her ears consisted of limp, bleeding shreds. Blood seeped from her scarred side. She was knocked onto her back by a lunge from one of the she-cats and claws were ripped down her exposed belly. Leapingflames could see it all. He could try to help his Clanmate. He should try to help his Clanmate. But the sound of battle was roaring in his ears.

I must survive.

And so the second she-cat dove for Seabreeze's throat and ripped her life away. Seconds later, the two she-cats joined the tom and quickly overwhelmed Leapingflames. Sanddune watched his friend's amber eyes grow dull before his head even hit the mud.

"Sanddune."

Sanddune couldn't breathe.

"Sanddune, please," the voice of his sister repeated.

He turned, his eyes wide and wet.

"Sanddune, you have to take them."

He stared blankly at her.

"Sanddune, you have to take Mountainkit and Dewkit. You have to save them."

Sanddune couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Wh-? No. I can't-"

"They don't deserve to die because of their parents' mistakes. They deserve a life."

"I can't-"

"Sanddune!" Riverbend whispered desperately, barely controlling her voice, "Take them. No one will know. They can grow up. They can have a life! They deserve a life!"

Sanddune nodded, clenching his jaw. His breath came in short clips. He barely kept back a sob as he reached down to pick up Dewkit in his jaws. Riverbend set Mountainkit gently on his back.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking deeply into Sanddune's eyes. "I know I've made a lot of mistakes, Sanddune, but the most amazing things…? Well, they can come from some terrible lies." She took a shaky step back. "Promise me you'll keep them safe."

With his jaws full, his eyes said everything.

I promise.

With one last unbearable look at his sister, Sanddune turned and padded into the rain.