AN: This chapter is just plain short. Sorry about that, but I wasn't sure to go with it /= Battle scenes are definitely not my thing. But hopefully there's enough excitement in it to keep the reader interested. Thanks everyone for your reviews, and sorry it took so long to update!
-Chapter 48-
Yowls of alarm sounded around Dovestar as she faced her first opponent. It was a large silver tabby tom with dark stripes and yellow eyes. His face was already torn with battle scars, telling Dovestar that he was an experienced fighter. Her claws unsheathed as she raked them across his muzzle, stepping back before he could retaliate. The tom let out a snarl of defiance and jumped forward, pinning her to the ground. Dovestar yelped in surprise at the sudden weight as his paws were placed around her neck.
"Pathetic excuse for a warrior!" he spat.
Dovestar used every ounce of strength her back legs had. She pushed forward with them until the tom was thrown off. Once the weight was lifted she whirled around and dove forward, nipping at the tom's flank as he recovered from the shock.
The tom was soon on his paws once more as he sprang forward to rake his claws across her face. Dovestar dodged to the side, avoiding several cats as they tussled with one another. She swiped her claws across the muzzle of a tortoiseshell she-cat with patches of ragged looking fur. The tortoiseshell snarled in fury and was about to move forward when Smokefur rushed forward. The dark gray tom's lips were twisted in a snarl of rage when he toppled the tortoiseshell over.
Seeing that her opponent was taken care of, Dovestar searched for Lightning or Minnowtail. If either one of those cats went down the rest of the battle would end. The rogues would panic and flee after realizing that their faithful leaders had fallen.
Sure enough Minnowtail was grappling with Honeylight. The brown and white she-cat looked like she could use a paw. Minnowtail had pinned Honeylight to the ground and bared her teeth over her throat. Dovestar let out a caterwaul and lunged forward, tackling Minnowtail off of Honeylight. The young warrior blinked at her gratefully before rushing off to fight another rogue.
"Minnowtail, this has to stop!" Dovestar spat as she held the writhing she-cat to the ground. "Cats are going to die because of you! Do you want to be remembered as a cold-blooded murderer?"
The dark gray she-cat's face twisted in a sneer as she glared at Dovestar.
"I will be remembered as a true warrior!" she snarled. Without warning she kicked Dovestar in the chest with her back legs.
Dovestar gasped at the sudden impact and was thrown off. She staggered back just in time to see Minnowtail's teeth flashing towards her. Dovestar let out a yowl of surprise when Minnowtail lurched back. The dark gray she-cat had been pulled back by Hollyleaf. The deputy's eyes blazed with anger when she pummeled Minnowtail's backside with her claws. Seeing that Minnowtail was taken care of, Dovestar searched for the one cat who could end this battle.
Her eyes quickly found her target. Lightning was battling two cats at once - Flashwind and Crookedstripe. Crookedstripe had been injured during a patrol a couple of days ago, but he had refused to stay behind and let his brother fight. Pineheart fought alongside Snowfire, keeping their enemy at bay with a whirl of claws and teeth.
A screech of pain suddenly erupted from Crookedstripe, and Dovestar's eyes widened in horror. Lightning had managed to knock Flashwind unconscious while pinning Crookedstripe to the ground. The mottled brown tom's teeth were bared in a snarl as he leaned forward.
"You should have fled with your coward of a mother," he sneered. Dovestar leapt forward before he could give Crookedstripe a killing blow.
Fury coursed through Dovestar when she landed between them. Uncontrollable rage washed over her when Lightning glared at her. Dovestar's body trembled as she swiped a claw across Lightning's muzzle. The rogue let out a screech of anger as he retaliated with his own strike. His paw landed on her shoulder just as Dovestar moved aside. She lunged forward once more when Lightning tried to catch his breath. She took advantage of the time it took and grasped his ear with her teeth.
Lightning hissed in pain when Dovestar managed to tear at the fur. The rogue's claws scraped against the ground as he managed to push her away. Dovestar leaped out of the way just in time as he tried to pin her down like he had with Crookedstripe. She wasn't about to let him take advantage of her smaller size.
"Tell me how you received your nine lives!" Dovestar hissed when Lightning began to look exhausted. The rogue looked up at her warily, but she could tell that he was getting too tired to continue. She had him cornered, and now was the best time to ask what had really happened.
"I did get nine lives," Lightning managed to speak after catching his breath. "But they weren't from StarClan, or whatever it is you call your ancestors." Dovestar flicked her tail for Crookedstripe and Flashwind to get away while they could. Both young cats looked like they were about to argue, than thought better of it. "Some cat named Hawkfrost gave me my first life, and he told me to do whatever it took to get rid of LakeClan."
Hawkfrost! The name sent thrills of hate through Dovestar. Hawkfrost was the cat that had killed her sister in battle. He was the one who made Ivypool believe she needed his training. He had ruined everything for them, and now he had given Lightning nine lives somehow.
"You won't succeed," she snarled. She managed to tackle Lightning to the ground before he made sense of what was happening. She drew a claw across his neck, ready in case he or his rogues tried to protect him. "The Clans have always survived, be it four, five, or even one. I will ensure the Clan's survival, no matter what happens!"
"Yes, the Clans will survive through Minnowtail," Lightning stuttered. He was choking now as she pressed her paw harder against his neck. "Hawkfrost chose her to save the Clans. She is the savior!"
Dovestar's teeth ground with anger as she struggled to keep herself from killing him. Minnowtail was behind all of this, as usual. The dark gray she-cat should have died during the battle against the Dark Forest. Yet somehow she had survived and now was trying to take over the lake territory.
"This needs to end now," she suddenly growled in a more serious voice. "I will let you live if you stop attacking our patrols, and leave the lake." She studied her opponent's expression calmly, praying that he would agree. If he decided to leave the lake than this fighting could finally end.
Suddenly Lightning's eyes blazed with anger. Dovestar was taken aback by the hatred that gleamed within them. Without warning he kicked her off, using his powerful back legs to send her flying. Dovestar let out a yowl of shock when she landed on the ground in a painful thud. Her teeth clacked together at the force of the impact, and suddenly the world began to blur.
"This ends with your blood on my claws!" Lightning crowed.
AN: Bwahaha! Yet another cliffie, don't you just hate 'em? Two more chapters left before the story's over! Hard to believe it has been almost a year since I started it. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of this :)
