Just over one moon later, everything had changed.

Thunderclan and Windclan had both rejected Tigerstar's offer to join Tigerclan, and after Tigerstar attacked Windclan to convince them that they needed to join his clan, the two other clans united to form Lionclan in order to fight back against Tigerstar.

Littlecloud had been staying at the Shadowclan camp even though most of the cats were in Riverclan so he could treat the warriors that remained to guard the camp, but his services weren't of much use since there had been no fighting between the two clans.

Tigerstar decided that the two would fight to decide who's way of running the forest was better for the clans, Firestar's or Tigerstar's, in a few days, so both sides had been preparing for that battle instead of fighting beforehand, but now the time had come, and it wasn't looking good.

"Bloodclan, attack!" Tigerstar commanded the cats he had recruited to his side from Two-leg place. Littlecloud tensed from his position behind the rest of the clan, but not one of the Bloodclan cats moved a muscle. The large tabby tom's eyes burned with fury. "Attack," he yowled. "I order you!" He looked ready to burst with rage, but still only one cat moved forward, the leader of Bloodclan, Scourge.

Tigerstar had told the clan that they would need the help of Bloodclan in order to convince Firestar to join them, but his eyes had glittered when he said it, so Littlecloud wasn't sure if it was true. It sure didn't seem that way now, with all of the arrogance and ambition in his eyes that had reminded Littlecloud of Brokenstar when he first announced that he intended to be leader of Shadowclan so long ago. But, there was no going back now. Tigerstar was their leader and all of the Shadowclan cats were ready to defend him with their lives, not that they thought he needed it.

The small black tom stepped forward slowly and calmly as he turned his attention to Firestar who had been confronting Tigerstar only moments before. "I am Scourge, the leader of Bloodclan," he said smoothly, his voice cold and quiet. "Tigerstar, my warriors are not yours to command. They will attack when I tell them, and not before." His ice-blue eyes were like daggers, slicing into Tigerstar's amber ones, but the look the Shadowclan leader gave him was just, if not more, vicious.

Firestar took that moment to pad forward, ignoring a soft hiss of, "Firestar, be careful," from Graystripe. He threw a rage-filled glare at Tigerstar, trying to express all his hatred for him in one look then turned back to the leader of the Bloodclan cats and dipped his head politely.

"Greetings, Scourge. I am Firestar, leader of Thunderclan. I wish I could say you are welcome in the forest. But you would not believe me if I did, and I have no wish to lie to you. Unlike your supposed ally here, I am a cat of honor," he meowed curtly, flicking his tail towards Tigerstar in a sharp, quick motion that tried to demonstrate all of his hatred for the large tabby tom who had once been his deputy. "If you've believed any promises he made to you, you're mistaken."

Even after all this time, no one knew why the two hated each other so viciously. Tigerstar had told his clan that it was because Firestar convinced Bluestar to drive him out of the clan because he was "too ambitious for his own good" when in reality they were just envious of his strength. He thought that Firestar was trying to get every cat on his side with kind words and false promises, but he had never proved his claims.

Scourge's eyes narrowed slightly, but his cocky demeanor didn't change. "Tigerstar told me he had enemies in the forest," the small black tom meowed coldly. "Why should I believe you instead of him?"

Firestar blinked at him, a certain determination coming over his features. He looked confident and strong even though his eyes betrayed fear. He took a deep breath and began.

"Cats of all clans!" he yowled, addressing every cat in the clearing, "and especially cats of Bloodclan, you have no need to believe or disbelieve me. Tigerstar's crimes speak for themselves."

Littlecloud held his breath. This was the moment he, and probably most of the other cats in the clearing, had been waiting for ever since Fireheart was announced as the new deputy of Thunderclan so many moons ago, Thunderclan's side of the story. He waited, his heart pounding, for Firestar to continue. What horrors was he about to reveal about Tigerstar's past?

"When he was still a warrior of Thunderclan, he murdered our deputy, Redtail, hoping to be made deputy himself. First Lionheart was chosen as deputy, but when that noble warrior died in a fight with Shadowclan, Tigerstar achieved his ambition at last."

A grim silence covered the entire clearing, no cat daring to make a sound. The warrior who killed Lionheart must have been Tangleburr, but the thought didn't really make Littlecloud feel anything, guilty or accepting, he was too focused on what Firestar was saying to worry about anything else.

Tigerstar's expression hadn't hardened from his position next to the Bloodclan leader; in fact, he looked almost pleased that Firestar was accusing him of murder. "Mew away, little kittypet. It won't change anything," he told Firestar, without interest.

He wasn't going to deny it? Littlecloud blinked at his leader in shock. Did that mean that he was guilty, or that he thought his warriors were to loyal to doubt him based on the word of one cat, but that obviously wasn't true based on the looks many of the Shadowclan cats were giving each other.

Firestar ignored him. "Being deputy wasn't enough," he continued, his voice rising with fury. "Tigerstar wanted to be leader of the clan. He set a trap for Bluestar by the Thunderpath, but my own apprentice strayed into it instead." Littlecloud tensed, sure where this was going, but too scared to face it. "That's how Cinderpelt came by her crippled leg."

Littlecloud stumbled backwards, unaware of any of the cats around him, and collapsed into the dirt, as shocked murmurs moved around the surrounding cats in waves. Tigerstar, Littlecloud's leader, had caused Cinderpelt's injury, had nearly killed her? If it weren't for Yellowfang's skills, she would be dead now, and Shadowclan would be dead as well because she wouldn't have been there to save them from the terrible disease. He would never have met her, and his life would still be empty and meaningless, and it would have been all Tigerstar's fault.

He stood up and weaved his way back to his position beside Runningnose, but his mentor hadn't even noticed his absence because of his shock and grief that was nothing compared to Littlecloud's, but strong just the same. The small tabby tom looked across the clearing to where Cinderpelt was sitting, expecting to see a she-cat who was lost in terrible memories, but she looked just as shocked as the rest of them. Had Firestar never told her what had happened?

He sat in silence, but willed Firestar to go on. What he had said already was enough to turn most cats away from Tigerstar, but Littlecloud wanted the entire forest to turn against him for what he had done to Cinderpelt. He wanted Firestar to destroy the large, dark tabby tom who Littlecloud had considered his leader up until now. He didn't want there to be anything left of Tigerstar when he was done.

"Then Tigerstar conspired with Brokentail, the former leader of Shadowclan, who was Thunderclan's prisoner," Firestar told the listening cats. "He brought a pack of rouges into Thunderclan camp, and tried to murder Bluestar with his own claws. I stopped him, and when Thunderclan had beaten off the attack, we drove him into exile. As a rouge, he slaughtered yet another of our warriors, Runningwind. Then, before we knew what he was up to, he had made himself leader of Shadowclan."

Firestar paused, waiting for the news to sink in, looking terrified and determined all at the same time. Littlecloud had to admire his courage; he could never reveal this in front of everyone. He would die of a heart attack before he even stepped forward.

"But Tigerstar still wanted revenge on Thunderclan," he continued, jolting Littlecloud out of his thoughts. He didn't think there was going to be any more. What had Tigerstar been doing while he was away from camp? Not all of his disappearances could have involved Sasha, since the clan hadn't discovered her until long after Tigerstar became leader, and Tigerstar's excursions had started the moment he gained control. Littlecloud hadn't really thought about it until now, but he could have been doing anything.

"Three moons ago, a pack of dogs got loose in the forest. Tigerstar caught prey for them, then laid a trail of dead rabbits between the dogs' lair and the Thunderclan camp to lead them to us. He murdered one of our queens, Brindleface, and left her near the camp to give the dogs a taste for cat blood. If we hadn't found out in time to escape, the whole of Thunderclan would have been torn to pieces."

"Good riddance," Tigerstar snarled, not looking the least bit ashamed of what he had done.

"As it was," Firestar continued, not even looking over at the large tom, "our leader, Bluestar, died the bravest death of any cat, saving me and her all her clan from the pack."

His speech finished, he glanced around at all of the cats in the clearing, but especially the cats of Tigerclan. It was obvious that he was hoping that they would all abandon their leader instantly, but no one moved. They were all still struck silent with shock, but Littlecloud was sure that some cats were going to refuse to fight for him when he ordered it.

Even if no one else did, he would help Thunderclan even if it meant his death. He refused to help the cat who had crushed all of Cinderpelt's dreams of being a warrior and had tried to kill her along with the rest of her clan on multiple accounts. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't heal Tigerstar's injuries so he could crush more lives, and he wouldn't heal any cat who was still willing to follow him after what he had done.

"This is Tigerstar's history," Fireheart went on after confirming that no one was going to move a muscle until someone ordered an attack. "It all shows one thing-that he'll do anything for power. If he promised you a share of the forest, don't believe him. He won't give up one pawprint, not to you or any cat."

Scourge's eyes narrowed as he thought about what Fireheart had said. "Tigerstar told me what he was planning to do with the dogs when he visited me two moons ago." He shifted his cold gaze over to Tigerstar. "He did not tell me that his plan failed."

"None of that matters now," Tigerstar broke in with a sharp hiss. "We have an agreement with you, Scourge. Fight beside me now, and you'll have all I offered you."

"My clan and I fight when I choose," Scourge told Tigerstar pointedly, turning to face Firestar without waiting to see the Shadowclan leader's reaction. "I will think about what you have said. There will be no battle today."

"Traitor!"

Tigerstar's furious hiss rang out around the clearing, and he launched himself at Scourge, prepared to rip out the small tom's throat in his rage, but the Bloodclan leader dodged his attack easily, leaping nimbly to the side. Scourge whipped around as Tigerstar landed and raked his claws that Tigerstar had said were reinforced with dogs' teeth across the large tabby's shoulder, unbalancing him. For a split second, Tigerstar's eyes shown with fear as his belly was exposed, and Scourge raked his vicious claws through his skin from his throat to his tail with a single slash.

A scream of fury and pain erupted out of Tigerstar's mouth, and the clans watched in horror as Tigerstar died, over and over and over again.

…