Chapter #17 The Battle -

"How dare you hurt my daughter!" Blackrose spat to the dark heap. It continued to lie there, looking at the stars. Blackrose fell to her side. "How dare you hurt my family!" She thought on Sootfur and jumped on the bundle of fur and scratched his neck, missing the cord and losing her balance she fell a top him. He snickered.

"What's so funny?"

He coughed up some blood and started laughing madly. Blackrose tried to get away but he pulled her back.

"Isn't killing, soooooooo much fun?" He purred. She screamed as his claws stripped open her old scars. She leaped away, hitting into a tree stump, she got back up, swaying around till she found her balance.

"You bastard!" She leaped at him again, the plunged her claws into his head, then bit his throat open.

"Gah!" He spat, "StarClan has sent me to kill, Kill all the cats of the forest, I must, I.. Must also kill the flowers of the forest, it's you and your kits! They have dirty blood! I must... kill..." He rasped out the last sentence before falling dead to Blackrose's paws. Brakenfur and Sandstorm entered the shadows as Blackrose fell. Brakenfur picked her up while Sandstorm spat at Smokeshades pelt. His eyes continuing to look at the sun.

"Dirty blood. Dirty blood! How dare he!" Sandstorm growled. Brakenfur walked to the camp, Blackrose's limp body in his mouth, she slightly breathed in and out. He made way for Cinderpelt's den, saw Fogpaw and gasped, he put down the dark queen and walked over to the small apprentice. She was in a nest of leaves and moss, He saw her bloody leg, a stick rapped around it with long leaves and cobwebs to stop the bleeding. He sighed as Cinderpelt told him that she would be Okay and he placed Blackrose in the nest next to it. Fogpaw opened a eye looked at her mother, wide-eyed, trying to get up but fell. Thornclaw walked over to her and licked her head.

"She will be Okay, you need to get some sleep to heal your leg."

Fogpaw nodded and Thornclaw gave her on last lick before leaving and sitting below High Rock for a Clan meeting.

"All Cats of ThunderClan, we are not in danger of Smokeshade anymore, he has been killed by Blackrose!"

A chanting yowl of relief went up. Thornclaw stood up and so did Spiderfang.

"Wasn't she the one who didn't want to kill him?" Spiderfang asked.

"Yes, and where is she."

"Smokeshade attacked Fogpaw and broke her leg. Blackrose is badly wounded in Cinderpelt's den." There was a rumble from the entrance tunnel after Brakenfur made his small speech. Flowerpaw, Luxpaw, Ravenwing, Brightheart, Cloudtail, and finally Stormpaw came into the clearing. Stormpaw went back to get them. Rainwhisker and Dewpaw came in last.

"We saw a trail of blood and we saw Smokeshade's dead body!"

"Where is mother?" Flowerpaw asked, "And Fogpaw!" Luxpaw piped in.

"Cinderpelt's den, they are badly wounded." The family of cats ran to the den.

"Is she dead?" Mousefur said poking her head out of the nursery, Creamkit looking around with awe.

Ravenwing shook his head from the stone den, "No, StarClan spared us this time."

Blackrose's head shot up. "FOGPAW! FOGPAW! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Mother I'm here."

Blackrose looked to her left and saw her daughter, the almost exact version of herself when Blackrose was a kit. She licked her daughter till all the blood was gone and sighed. The rest of the cats gathered around.

"So it was Smokeshade."

"No, it wasn't." A mummer went up from the cats, "There was something wrong with him, a mental problem, it took over, but, I ended his misery, I didn't murder him, I helped him..." She nodded to herself and fell asleep and the other cats left to sleep and tell Firestar what they heard.