"This is crazy! We can't fight them all, Sunstar. We have to leave!" Moonfur pleaded. Sunstar stood pacing around the clearing, and shook his head violently.
"No. No one is going anywhere!" he finally hissed, rounding on Moonfur. The pale she-cat shrunk back instinctively, but narrowed her mismatched eyes at the leader all the same. Greysight stepped between the two, sensing the rising tension. "TreeClan was already nearly twice our size before LightClan and OceanClan joined in; the only reason we won that fight back then was because of Cherrynose and you know it! If she hadn't sacrificed herself, the landslide never would've-"
"Silence!" Sunstar hissed, "Both of you are speaking out of place! Learn to hold your tongue; and you," he continued, eyes narrowing at Moonfur, "You don't even have any DarkClan blood, this does not pertain to you!" Sunstar held her gaze for a moment longer before stalking away to where Roseclaw sat watching them along with the rest of the clan.
"I take it you have prepared both Mintpaw and Wetpaw for the occasion and have already made sure all necessary supplies are in order." he stated.
"Yes, Sunstar." Roseclaw replied softly, blue eyes moving to avoid his gaze.
"Good." he affirmed. The golden tom then padded back to the center of the group and moved to address the entire clan in general. "All our recent training has not been for nothing. Now, we don't have much time before Willowstar will seek us out, we must go to the border." Sunstar stated while walking to the opening of the tree tunnel.
Warpaw, Branchpaw, and Goldenpaw followed eagerly after him, excited to be going into their first real battle. Moonfur's heart fell as she watched her kits, they had no idea about the true gravity of the situation or of the immense danger that was at hand; if anything happened to them... she wasn't sure if she could take any more loss.
Darkpelt, Browneyes, Raggedear, and Thistleprick all moved to follow him as well, each tom's face holding a serious expression. Greysight had been unusually silent during the entire exchange, but even she found herself moving forward to join the clan.
Roseclaw, Wetpaw, and Mintpaw had already gathered a large supply of herbs and were prepared to bring them to the edge of the forest near the battle should any of their warriors require immediate attention. Moonfur, being as stubborn as she was, was one of the last cats to join them along with Lostheart who had been silently watching each of the cats as they went by.
With an expression as dull and unreadable as usual, Lostheart joined the group and padded up to Sunstar whose eyes immediately narrowed in disgust upon her approach. It was a look that seemed to say "this is all your fault", and the tom himself had even considered leaving the she-cat behind but had chosen not to so that they would have another set of able paws.
Lostheart was no longer bothered by the looks of disgust, anger, and fear she so often received; she was not a kit anymore, and she was not afraid of Sunstar.
"Sunstar," she meowed plainly, eyes suddenly becoming serious, "We're all going to die." her words were spoken softly so as not to disturb the apprentices, but Sunstar was able to hear her. Her voice held more emotion than it ever held before, and her eyes were practically pleading for Sunstar to listen to reason.
Sunstar looked genuinely taken aback for a second, but his expression easily reverted back to its state of hardness and he only snorted in response. "We will put an end to Willowstar's reign of terror today." Sunstar announced. "We may be outnumbered, but that has never stopped us before. If we can take down Willowstar, we can win this. A single cat cannot control three clans, I assure you, he was likely only trying to scare us. The sheer number of cats in OceanClan and LightClan combined could easily revolt against him, and it is clear that they are against his rule as well. The key is to defeat Willowstar; the tom is unnatural, and his abilities go against nature and StarClan itself. We cannot allow a cat like him to take over."
Greysight suddenly found herself hanging onto Sunstar's every word as she heard him say "abilities". Just what ability was Sunstar talking about? "Ability?" she questioned aloud, catching the attention of several other cats who had been thinking the same thing.
"Yes." Sunstar meowed gravely after a short pause. "I am sure you are all familiar with the tale of Shadestar." His words piqued an immediate interest in Darkpelt as the tom's pupils suddenly dilated dangerously for a short second. Every cat was aware that the TreeClan leader had murdered the previous DarkClan leader, but no cat knew the details of the event. It was something Sunstar had refrained from speaking of his entire life, and it was one of the few topics the golden tom never brought up. Consequently, now that the tom was suddenly mentioning it, all cats listened eagerly for what he would say next with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
"Shadestar, being the honorable tom he was, told me not to intervene." Sunstar started, his voice sounding as if speaking about the subject was difficult for him. "He wanted to be the one to take down the monster he had created; and if he failed, his hope was that Willowstar would be content in having killed him. As you can see, this was unfortunately not the case... I watched the battle, and it was there that I witnessed something truly horrifying. I had before questioned just how a cat like Willowstar could be accepted by StarClan as a leader of TreeClan, and now I realize how this has come to be."
Greysight's ear twitched at the golden tom's last statement, thoughts immediately going back to her dream with Mosspelt when the old medicine cat had told her that Willowstar had never been accepted by StarClan. Now she was listening eagerly, waiting for the answer to the question that had forever plagued the back of her mind.
"Willowstar was never granted nine lives from StarClan, but rather has chosen a darker path. Willowstar's lives are stolen."
Greysight's sightless eyes widened, 'Stolen?' "What do you mean stolen?" she asked, voice devoid of any of her usual confident temper.
"Stolen." Sunstar stated. "As in taken from others. I watched myself as Willowstar sucked the life from Shadestar's body, without so much as even a harsh wound or death blow. It is highly unnatural, surely some sort of divine error that Willowstar has been granted such a dark gift, one that will only suffer from misuse in his paws."
The clan fell silent, looks of shock written across their faces. "That's impossible..." Roseclaw whispered, blue eyes widening fearfully. Her mind suddenly strayed toward the frail images of Brisingstar and Morningstar and she suddenly began to feel sick to her stomach.
"Just how many..." she began.
"I don't know." Sunstar replied. "But I will make sure that Willowstar will never harm DarkClan again."
Greysight felt her blood run cold as she and the others followed Sunstar as he turned and padded into the tree tunnel. Lostheart and Moonfur walked on either side of her, each caught up in their own thoughts. The toms followed behind, but they had remained quiet. Raggedear knew that a cat like Willowstar had to be defeated if they would ever be able to live in peace; he had no idea why the tom was so fixed on DarkClan, but in reality it would probably be best for all cats if he was defeated. The tortoiseshell had previously been able to pick up on his brother's fear scent, but as they now moved through the forest and toward the battle, Raggedear could see it had diminished slightly. Raggedear himself couldn't deny the fear he was experiencing, and he only thought it natural after all. His mind began to wander and he immediately shook himself back into focus, he couldn't afford to let his mind wander at a time like this when he needed to stay focused the most.
Browneyes had been shocked by the revelation as well; and he could already tell it had affected Darkpelt greatly. The large white tom's steps had become short and hurried; Browneyes had no doubt that his brother was feeling enraged after learning what Willowstar had done. Even he had to admit the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he himself felt a strong hate for Willowstar. The tom was responsible for their mother's death and the constant threats to Darkclan; and now, they had discovered that their father's murderer had also stolen his life and was now using it for himself.
Lostheart said nothing as the end of the trees came into view and she could see the familiar swaying grasses of the fields, a place she had spent much time during her life; and she couldn't help remembering everything that had occurred here. Above them, the trees shook in the wind and blew a few leaves through the air. She followed Sunstar and the others out into the field, but they were the only cats there. Sunstar gave a slight nod to Roseclaw and the she-cat moved back with her apprentices behind a fallen log in the trees. Sunstar stepped forward, looking across the field and river to the line of TreeClan's trees ahead for any sign of movement.
From where she stood behind him, Lostheart looked up at the black sky; it was the darkest she had ever seen and its shadow already lay across the ground making everything look at least a shade darker than usual. A light thunder rumbled in the sky, but any sign of actual rain had yet to come.
Lostheart blinked when Greysight suddenly turned to look down the plane of grass opposite the cliffs and river. Sunstar and the others soon followed her movements and stood watching as a dark moving line approached them. They moved into a line themselves with Sunstar at their head standing proudly in the grass, waiting for the approach of Willowstar's forces.
A few cats stiffened as they realized the sheer size of the group. Greysight herself had hardened her expression into a thin line as she felt the thundering pawsteps. Willowstar must have brought every warrior in Ocean, Light, and TreeClan.
The large group of cats stopped a good distance away from the small line of DarkClan warriors and apprentices and a single cat stepped forward from it's ranks, his form towering over the other cats surrounding him. Both Sunstar and Willowstar moved to stand farther away from their clanmates and faced each other from opposite sides.
"Willowstar!" Sunstar roared.
The great warrior let out a chuckle as his eyes flickered to the pitiful amount of cats standing behind Sunstar. "Oh? Is this pathetic bundle your entire clan, Sunstar? To think DarkClan has come so low." he crooned, eyes drifting over Lostheart, Greysight, and the others briefly. "You are smart to come and meet your destruction; trying to escape would be meaningless."
Sunstar's eyes narrowed at his brother. "You're a smart tom Willowstar, and I know that you are always one to listen to a deal."
Willowstar's whiskers twitched lightly and the tom's familiar toothy grin made its way across his face. "Oh, so you have a proposition for me do you?" he questioned, eyes glinting. From behind Sunstar, the DarkClan cats glanced at each other in confusion; Sunstar hadn't said anything about this.
Sunstar's face remained stonily set in place. "You and me, a fight of leaders one-on-one. If I win, you have to leave this forest and never return. If you win, you may take my life and in return spare my clan; I know its me you want!"
"Hmmm." Willowstar mused coyly. "Alright brother, I'll play your game." The situation felt increasingly familiar to the two toms as they set the terms to their match.
Sunstar growled at the term brother only increasing Willowstar's amusement. The wind blew strongly around them causing Willowstar's already untamed pelt to grow even more wild.
Greysight's eyes widened in surprise as did many of the DarkClan cats', they hadn't been expecting something like this at all; and now they could only stare in shock at their leader. Willowstar turned and gave a large swish of his tail toward the massive army behind him; and as he did, the cats began to move around the area, forming a large circle around the two leaders.
Sunstar watched them move from narrowed eyes and signaled for his own clanmates to step back as well. Willowstar shook of his pelt and circled around his side of the makeshift circle for a moment as if to stretch his muscles. The DarkClan cats watched from the sidelines anxiously; no cat had actually seen the TreeClan leader in a fight before, but they couldn't deny the tom was massive. Willowstar was nearly twice Sunstar's size, and the tom's powerful muscles could be seen evidently in his legs. His thick, wild fur concealed the muscle on his upper body, but succeeded in giving him an even more intimidating appearance.
Sunstar rose to all fours as well and unsheathed his claws from where he stood across from his brother, and Willowstar eventually moved to stand across from him as well. The tom's expression had suddenly hardened, becoming serious as massive, white claws were unsheathed.
