A/N-here you go, not the last chapter!
Dedicated to: Longtail's Loyalty, Krissy25, Charlow, Dewfrost, Riverheart, Safaricat Dawnheart, Dreamflame, and Dewflower.
Dewflower: Thanks for the tips!
Chapter 11: The Battle
The blood roared in my ears.
"Well, well, well, long time, no see, Icy," Hawkstar purred.
"Likewise," I purred back, keeping a straight face.
His blue eyes stared into mine. It was so quiet that I could hear both our hearts racing. Every time we puffed out a breath into the leaf-bare air, we could see it. Actually, we could also feel it. The air was thick with tension. Finally, Hawkstar said something.
"You know?"
"Of course, Hawky."
"Then leave."
"Never."
Hawkstar growled and swung around to the Clans. "Well! What is wrong with you! Attack them!" He backed away from us.
I gasped as BloodClan warriors, rogues, and a mixture of forest Clan warriors poured out of the hollow. Then I noticed Mooncloud, Dewflower, Dewfrost, and a few other familiar warriors joining us. Waterpaw padded to my side.
"Iceheart, how will we win this?" she murmured.
"We fight," I answered simply. I closed my eyes. StarClan, I thought, please be with us. I take back every bad thing I ever said, done, or will do. Mistyfoot, you always told me to follow my heart, so that's what I'm doing. My eyes snapped open. "Fight for your Clan!"
Both sides flung themselves into battle. Hawkstar was nowhere to be seen. But now, that didn't matter. What mattered was RiverClan's survival. What mattered was our survival. I heard yells from Clan mates, yells that were filled with doubt.
"—can't win - "
"—won't live - "
I clawed the warrior in front of me. He tried to screech, but he was silent. He whipped around and ran. I looked around for someone. He knew me, I knew him. We both wanted to finish what had been started.
"YOU!"
I turned. Ivoryclaw stood in front of me. A long scar stretched across his face. Probably from a former fight with someone.
"So... long time no see, eh?" I meowed coolly.
"Shut up! Fight me!" he growled.
"Um... don't think so."
"WHAT!"
"That's right. You fight me."
He looked utterly confused. I just sat down and waited. He snarled, ears pinned against his head. I just looked at him. Ivoryclaw glared at me.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Fight me."
Ivoryclaw straightened. He sat down, pricking his ears at me while other cats fought around us. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "I won't fight the one who has taken good care of my daughter."
Stunned, I took a step back. "Who?"
He opened one eye, then closed it. "The one you call Waterpaw is my daughter. Do you remember Roguefeather?"
"Y-yes."
"She is my mate."
But Roguefeather was a former ThunderClan cat. Ivoryclaw was a ShadowClan... And then that Brambleclaw drove them out. It was also believed that they had acquainted themselves with Goldenfur, an elderly she-cat who had been driven off when she was young because she had killed two kits.
"Well—well—well why did Waterpaw look so ill when I found her?" I asked.
"That's why we gave her to you! So you could take her back with you to RiverClan!" he meowed.
"B-but I don't think - "
He cut me off. "I won't fight you anymore. Just please take her."
I hesitated, but then I nodded. Ivoryclaw thanked me. He dashed off somewhere to find Roguefeather. I turned to fight someone. I recognized Blackclaw fighting Moonclaw. He wouldn't need my help. I swung around when I felt something touch my back.
Ferncloud.
I tried to talk to her, but she pinned me to the ground.
"Ferncloud, listen!"
"Enemy! Traitor!" she yowled.
"No, I didn't - "
"You killed him! You let him die!"
"Wait, please - "
"He was my brother! How could you do that!"
"Ashfur wasn't your brother!"
I could feel her stiffen. Her claws dug into my fur. "Liar."
"Sandstorm told me herself!"
Some of the other cats around us had stopped fighting. They were giving us strange looks as though we were crazy.
"But Brindleface... you lie!" she accused.
"No, StarClan—I have a connection with StarClan that helps me talk to them. They explain things to me that I never even thought would happen."
"Bu... I have that power too, and only Ashfur talks to me."
"Did he ever tell you Silverstream was your mother?"
"No, he... he... he lied, then?"
"No, Brindleface did. She had lost a kit to blackcough earlier, and that was Ashfur's real sister. Then she took you in and said that you were her kit."
Ferncloud was speechless. Her eyes were wide. "But how did I get green eyes instead of blue or amber?"
"Your grandmother, Greenwind, had bright leaf-green eyes. Moonclaw has green eyes, too," I explained.
"But... that means I'm your aunt?" she whispered, still not believing me.
I nodded solemnly. Ferncloud took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, turned around, opened them, and ran off to fight. I opened my mouth to say something, but something crashed into me, making me lose my concentration. I realized it was Aquadream fighting with two BloodClan warriors.
"Iceheart, help me!" she pleaded.
"Sure!" I answered, flinging one of the warriors off her into the snow.
Snow. Perfect!
"Aquadream, watch me!" I buried myself into a large pack of snow, just barely poking my head out to watch outside. A paw set itself in front of me. I leaped out at it, knocking whoever it was off their paws.
"Okay! I'll pass it on!" Aquadream called.
Claws raked my belly. Oh, now that was too far. I lost it. My opponent cowered when I bit into his throat, blood spewing onto the ground and into my face.
"Let me go!" the warrior gasped.
I obliged. The tom ran, scattering blood drops around us. "Next time," I panted, "stay away from me if you want to live."
"Hey, Icy! Turn and face me!"
I knew who it was. Hawkstar. "Alright. But you won't like it." I whirled on him. My tail brushed his chin. He flicked it away with his.
"For you information - "
"—I have a mate." I smiled. He glared.
"And my mate has - "
"—already mated with me."
His tail flicked irritably, but he still smiled. "I don't care about your wit. I care about you fighting with me."
I thought about it for a moment. "Hmm... My kits are still unborn. I think it would damage them if I fought you."
Hawkstar growled deep in his throat. "Now!"
I narrowed my eyes at him. I sized him up carefully. Where was inner Scourge when I needed him? Oh, yeah, now I remembered. "I know what you know. Your ever-so-perfect plan failed!" I spat.
Now I had made him mad. "I never said it would work! That stupid Moonpool gave me eight lives instead of nine! Scourge said it was because of my "non-faith" in StarClan. My father said it was because of my heritage."
"It was both of that!" With one swipe of my paw, he was on the ground, belly exposed, staring up at me. "And I intend to fix all of it!"
I pressed one paw to his throat. Then in one swift movement, my unsheathed claws raked all the way down to his hindleg.
A desperate scream of fury erupted from Hawkstar, broken off by a ghastly choking sound. His entire body convulsed, limbs jerking and tail flailing. I stood back to watch coldly as Hawkstar's eight lives were taken away from him.
One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... then a pause on his last life. He managed to choke out his final words before letting death take him.
"You w-weren't born for... nothing..."
The light left his eyes; but I could still see his pain and fear and hatred in them. They glazed over. I knew what he meant. But there was no time for that now. RiverClan, ThunderClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan needed me.
A BloodClan warrior noticed Hawkstar's dead body. "He's dead! Hawkstar is dead!"
Other cats began to notice as well. Including Swallowtail, Blackclaw, and Mothwing.
"No!"
"He's gone!"
"I don't believe it!"
"She killed him!"
I noticed all ofmy friends and other cats were missing from the battle. Firestar, Onestar, Blackstar, Moonclaw, Waterpaw, Cedarheart, Rowanclaw, Creekpool, Aquadream, Cometfire and Dewfrost. I immediately began to look for them.
Most of the rebel cats had run or had been driven away. Some were dead in the now empty hollow. Red snow glistened brightly in the fading sunlight. Yet I paid no attention.
"Hey, Iceheart!" a voice called.
I turned. "Oh, hey, Crystalfire! Have you seen Firestar or Onestar?"
Crystalfire skidded to a halt. Her face fell. "You didn't hear? Firestar, Onestar and Blackstar died of starvation. It was horrible watching them suffer."
My eyes widened. They were dead? "What about the ShadowClan warriors Cedarheart and Rowanclaw?"
The she-cat nodded gravely. "Dead too."
"Creekpool?"
"She has blackcough."
"Oh."
I didn't need to ask about my friends. All of them appeared at the edge of the clearing with Dewfrost. They trotted dow over to me.
"I'm thinking about staying with WindClan now. Aquadream has decided to come with me. WindClan says they need me now," Moonclaw explained softly.
Cometfire turned to me. "I get to choose between ThunderClan and RiverClan."
My voice wavered as I mewed, "I don't want to come between you and your family and home."
He nodded, then pressed his muzzle against mine. "I'll always love you."
I nodded as well. Waterpaw called for me. I pulled away from my mate and padded over to her and Dewfrost.
"Well, Iceheart," Dewfrost began, shaking blood from her whiskers, "it looks like RiverClan is in need of a new leader. The elders will explain everything to us at sunset."
I nodded.
Waterpaw murmured, "Iceheart, when can I be a warrior?"
I smiled. "Well, since you proved yourself so well after this fight - " I hinted to the scratches and cuts on her " - I will make sure you become a warrior as soon as possible."
Waterpaw nodded and smiled too. We all padded off to the rest of the Clans to appoint leaders.
O.O.O.O.O.O
A/N-this is not the last chapter.
Iceheart: I like this chapter.
Moonclaw: It's okay.
Waterpaw: I get to become a warrior in the next chapter!
Cometfire: And I get to become a leader.
Aquadream: So does Moonclaw and Iceheart!
Me: Don't forget to review! Five at least before last chapter!
