Alright, sorry about the longish wait for this. But now I have a 19-page chapter for you to enjoy! Authors note at the bottom!
9
Dad Gets Even
About a whole moon or so later, Boulder randomly walked into the den, quiet as a dead mouse, at dinner time and sat there. No warning, no scratching on the wall to let us know he was there like all the other cats in BloodClan did, no 'I'm here to bring you to battle!'. Absolutely nothing. He just walked in like he owned the place, looking around like he was an owl.
Dad was the first to notice him. He leapt to his paws and shouted "Dude, have you ever heard of letting somebody know when you walk into their den?!"
"How long have you been in here?!" I exclaimed, a bit surprised. Just a few minutes ago, we had been talking about how annoying and stupid Boulder and Tigerstar were. If he had been in here five minutes ago, he would have head every word!
"I just came in here a few seconds ago, sir," Boulder murmured, gazing at the stack of boxes.
"Very well; what6 do you want, then?" Dad asked.
"Tigerstar's ready to kill the other Clans."
"Aw, but their blood's gonna get all over my new territory!" Scourge fake-whined. He was smirking, and had that malicious glint in his eyes.
"Ah, but surely, the rain will wash it all away eventually?"
"Oh, yes; I almost forgot,"
"Scourge, do we have to talk about blood while we're eating?" Mom pleaded.
"Why not? We're drinking it right now; it's all over your face." Dad said, gesturing towards Mom's muzzle, which was soaked in blood from the bird she was eating.
"Ugh; I hate it when you're right."
"Well, we'll gather the Clan after I finish eating, Boulder. Now go away."
"Of course, sir. Sorry to disrupt you, sir." Boulder apologized.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
A few minutes later, Dad sent Bone, Flora, and I to spread the word about the upcoming battle. All we had to do was tell three cats each, and they told three cats each, until the news was spreading like wildfire. Before long, all the Clan's best fighters were gathered around the den. Scourge was pacing inside, mumbling incoherently to himself. Bone was in there with him. I could hear snatches of words, and it sounded like they were talking about battle plans.
"So if we come in from the left…" Dad muttered.
"Yes, but what if they ambush us from all directions?" Bone countered.
"True that…perhaps we should—"
"Dad? Bone?" I said warily. Sometimes, surprising Dad and Bone when they're in deep thought is like touching Mom while she's sleeping.
"What the—oh, everyone's here!" Bone said. Dad jumped a little before walking towards the stack if boxes.
"Alright, everyone, listen up!" he called out to the other cats. Everything got quiet. "Today, we go out to battle the other three Clans—"
"Actually, Sir Scourge—" Boulder interrupted.
"What?!"
"Um…RiverClan got smart and decided to join Tigerstar's cause. Now all we have to do is kill ThunderClan and WindClan."
"Oh…well, today we go out to battle the other two Clans. As far as I can tell, they're weak, defenseless idiots. So this will surely be an easy win. Prepare to march." At that note, all the cats filed out of the den. Bone, Scourge, and Boulder went up to the front of the Clan. Well, it was more like 'everyone clears the way for Dad and Bone, and closed in just so that Boulder was stuck somewhere in the middle of everyone'.
When the gray cat finally squirmed his way to the front, Bone muttered "Slowpoke," while Scourge just gave him an annoyed look.
"Lead the way, Boulder," he growled through gritted teeth in a 'next time, you better not keep me waiting or I just may "accidentally" kill you in this battle' tone of voice. Boulder flinched a bit before leading us to the forest.
Along the way, I made my way to where Skye and Concrete were walking. We chatted about stuff like parents, leadership issues, and how stupid the forest cats were until we noticed that we were in the Forest. My two friends were awestruck. I guess the first time I had been here, I'd wondered how a tree could possibly get as big as the ones here without the Twolegs noticing and slicing it down. Maybe they left this forest for some reason. Perhaps they were scared of the forest cats.
'Twolegs,' I thought 'I'll never understand them.'
Boulder lead us right into a small clearing near RiverClan territory. Nearby was a large waterfall whose waters were moving so fast spray flew into our faces.
"I'm finding another spot," Scourge muttered as his neatly-groomed fur fluffed up as he tried to keep warm.
"Tigerstar said he'll meet us here, though!" Boulder objected. Just as Scourge got up to leave, Tigerstar and two other cats that looked like guards seemed to almost form out of the mist. One of the cats was a sleek, golden-spotted tabby with thin ears, round, dark-amber eyes and a long tail. The other was a muscular, sleek-yet-bulky, humongous, white tom with dark ears, jet-black paws with six toes on the front feet, amber eyes, and a long tail.
"Greetings, Scourge." Tigerstar said with an ever-so-subtle bow of the head in my direction. Dad snickered, Skye nearly broke out laughing, Concrete let loose a fit of giggles, and I blushed a bit. Now I was being mistaken for Dad? He must have remembered the white paws and blue eyes.
"Um…wrong cat," I stated.
"Oops…greetings, Scourge!" Tigerstar turned and bowed to Bone instead.
'Now we're back to normal…' I thought.
"Wrong cat…again!" Bone shouted impatiently.
"Oh…which one of you guys is Scourge again?" the white cat with the black paws started giggling, and the leopard-spotted one rolled her eyes and sighed. A glare from Tigerstar made them stop what they were doing.
"I'm Scourge, since you can't seem to remember." Dad said, stepping forward. The two guards froze, and then began to laugh hysterically. It was just like what Socks and Ruby did, when Scourge threatened them. "Rrgh…!" sunlight glinted as his claws unsheathed. I had to step in front of him so he wouldn't have a 'muscle spasm' and slit their throats.
"Scourge, my friend, calm down!" Tigerstar said, miraculously finding the right cat (And even then, Dad had given him a hint). "They simply don't understand what you can do!"
"Oh, I don't think you can, either," Bone muttered.
"Rrgh…!" Dad growled.
"Well, uh…these are my other two partners; Blackfoot, my deputy," the tabby swept his tail towards the big cat with the black paws "And Leopardstar, the leader of RiverClan and my co-leader."
"G-G-Greetings," the two cats said, trying to hold back their laughter.
"…well, this is my deputy, Bone, my wife, Fang, and my son, and other deputy, Claw." Dad finally said "I believe you have met them before,"
"Yes, of course. We'll go back to camp, to assemble the rest of my warriors, before this battle." At that, the three forest cats turned around and padded off into the mist. Everyone's eyes flitted from Scourge to wherever Tigerstar disappeared off to when my Dad didn't move for a minute. I could tell Dad was fighting the urge to completely ignore the tabby, and go home altogether, because Tigerstar dared ordered him even in the slightest way. Then he shrugged and followed, the rest of us tailing after him.
The RiverClan camp was bustling with activity. Cats were everywhere, doing different things. Some of them were eating, other were tossing half-eaten food into the river. Half of the cats looked miserable. The others were gladly moving on with their day. Weirdest thing was this giant heap of pure-white, sun-bleached prey-bones.
Other than that, it was almost just like back home.
Tigerstar leaped onto the hill of bones, managing to accidentally knock a bone or two onto Bone's head, which I somehow find kind of ironic. Anyways, Leopardstar and Blackfoot sat down on the sides of the hill at Tigerstar called out "All cats of TigerClan, gather beneath the Bonehill for a Clan Meeting!" as the proud tabby lifted his chin high, the cats of the Clans ambled into place. When everyone was there, he continued. "TigerClan has made new allies! The fearsome cats of BloodClan will help those foolish WindClan and ThunderClan cats see that joining together as a single Clan is simply the best option! And if they don't, then we'll kill them all!" all the happy cats in the Clan cheered, which included Blackfoot. The miserable-looking cats gasped and looked like they didn't want to kill anyone anytime soon. Leopardstar didn't look to keen on the idea of attacking the other Clans. But, at the same time, the Bonehill seemed to give her the jitters.
"Why is the Clan so mixed up on killing the other Clans?" I hissed to my friends. Concrete shrugged.
"Didn't Boulder say RiverClan kinda-sorta joined last-minute? They might have just joined to protect themselves, and don't want to hurt the others." Skye suggested.
"Maybe," I agreed.
"Guys, I think everyone's leaving," Concrete said, gesturing towards Scourge and Bone, who were listening to Tigerstar before following him, Scourge waving his tail in a signal. My friends and I tagged along, and before long, the rest of the Clan and a few TigerClan cats followed us. We journeyed through the forest until we were in front of four of the biggest trees I had ever seen! I was here last moon, and I was still shocked at how big a tree could get if a Twoleg left it alone!
"Scourge, listen up." I heard Tigerstar order. Heads turned as we waited to Scourge's reaction. He did nothing but flick his tail as if he was annoyed. "When Blackfoot gives you the signal, then you're going to come out. Then wait for my signal to attack. Got it?"
"Hmph," Scourge muttered. At that, Tigerstar walked into the center of the trees. As soon as his figure was hidden by the bushes surrounding the trees, Scourge muttered a bad word that shouldn't be repeated.
Before too long, I scented more cats. They smelled like the ThunderClan and WindClan territory.
"Greetings, Tigerstar." I heard a voice say. It was that orange cat from last moon! "Not still looking for those prisoners you lost from RiverClan territory?"
"You'll regret that days work, Firestar!" Tigerstar snarled.
"Try and make me," more TigerClan cats came out of the bushes. Tigerstar stepped forward, his head raised.
"Have you thought about my offer? I'm giving you the choice; Join me now and accept my leadership, or be destroyed."
"We reject your offer. The forest was never meant to be ruled by one Clan. Especially not one lead by a dishonorable murderer."
"Oh, but it will be. With you or without you, Firestar, it will be. By sunset today, the time of the four Clans will be over." Leopardstar's ears pricked, as did everyone else's. Firestar had just called Tigerstar a murderer, and the giant tabby hadn't even defended himself. Scourge's eyes twinkled knowingly.
"The answer is still no. ThunderClan will never submit."
"Nor will WindClan," another voice added.
"Then your courage is only matched by your stupidity," Tigerstar growled. I heard claws unsheathe as TigerClan cats crouched low and prepared for battle. Even some BloodClan cats, me included, got into a fighting stance. Signal or no signal, we wanted to rip some fur. Whose fur didn't matter.
Suddenly, there was a choke.
"Tawnypaw?!" a voice gasped.
"What's she doing there? Tigerstar did steal her!" another voice added.
"Steal her? No, not at all. Tawnypaw came to us willingly." Tigerstar replied with a purr.
"Tawnypaw! What are you doing? You're a ThunderClan cat—come back to us!" the first voice called.
"No, Bramblepaw, you come to us. Your sister made the right choice. TigerClan will rule over the whole forest, and you can share our power. What do you say? ThunderClan is finished. There is nothing there for you."
"Join you?" Bramblepaw growled. There was a pause, and for a split second I began to think he was as dramatic as the rest of his Clan. Then, louder, he said "Join you? After everything you've done? I'd rather die!"
As murmurs of approval broke out among one side of the clearing, Scourge leaned over to me and hissed "If you ever dare disobey an order by me, I'll claw your pelt off."
"Scourge," Fang murmured, a little ways away from us.
"Are you sure? I won't make the offer twice," Tigerstar hissed. "Join me now, or you will die."
"Then at least I'll go to StarClan as a loyal, ThunderClan cat," Bramblepaw retorted.
"No; you'll just die an idiot. Nobody should disrespect their father like that." Scourge muttered.
"Fool! Stay, then, and die with these other fools!" Tigerstar spat. At that note, Blackfoot raised his tail as a signal.
"Finally, this stupid soap opera's over. Enter with the action." Scourge whispered as he raised his tail and lead us out of the bushes with a rustle. He was already kinda mad about being laughed at and ordered already, so looking sinister was no problem for him.
I saw Firestar's eyes widen as we popped out of the bushes like a rabbit out of a hole. More and more of us crept out, and we formed a semicircle around TigerClan. Row after row. We out numbered everyone else in the clearing. For on forest fool, there were at least two of us…and then some. Fighting them off wouldn't be a problem.
"Well?" Tigerstar demanded silkily. "Are you still sure you want to stand and fight?"
As was quiet as the last of us came out of our little hiding spot. Every cat was frozen in shock until—
"Collars?!" a gray cat with darker flacks spat in disgust. "Look at them; they're kittypets! We won't have any trouble beating them." I saw Scourge tense at the word 'kittypet' before glaring at the cat with a dirty look.
"Keep quiet until we have the full measure of our enemy." A dark brown tabby tom warned. "We don't know anything about these cats yet."
At last, the rest of us finally came through. Bone broke the ranks and stood next to Tigerstar on the tabby's left side. Firestar looked impressed at the daunting size of our 'leader'.
"I knew it," I muttered to Concrete, who was sitting on my right. "We're gonna have another Dad-Bone mix up."
"As usual, and as expected." The silver tabby murmured in agreement as Scourge stalked light-footed from the line to stand next to Tigerstar. Firestar looked a bit confused at his appearance. The orange cat's pelt was on edge, and he looked slightly afraid for someone trying to keep a poker face.
"So, Tigerstar, do you want to tell us who your new friends are" he mewed, his voice barely hiding the fear he really had.
"This is BloodClan," Tigerstar announced.
"In the flesh!" Skye said silently.
"They come from Twolegplace. I have brought them to the forest to persuade you foolish cats to join with me. I knew you wouldn't have the sense to agree on your own."
"Remember those rouges we scented the day I was made a warrior?" Thornpaw whispered. "I bet they came from BloodClan."
"You see, Firestar?" Tigerstar said with a slightly-sadistic purr. "I am even more powerful than StarClan, for I have changed the Clans in the forest from four to two. TigerClan and BloodClan will rule together."
"Sure…" Scourge muttered. Bone snickered for a split-second before flicking Scourge with his tail and getting 'serious' again. I think I was the only other person who purred.
Firestar looked horrified at Tigerstar's words. But even so, he quietly answered "No, Tigerstar. If you want to fight, let us fight. StarClan will show us who is more powerful." Like he was trying to keep the tabby sane.
"You mouse-brained fool!" Tigeratar spat at him "I was prepared to come here and talk with you today! Just remember that it was you who drove us to this. And when your Clan mates are dying around you, they will blame you with their last breath." Then he swung around to face us, his tail managing to slap Bone in the face. Judging by his face, the black and white cat wanted to bite a rather large chunk off the appendage. "BloodClan, attack!"
None of us moved, although Bone bared his teeth at the tail. We were waiting for Dad to move first, signal us, repeat the command, something. Because BloodClan accepted orders from nobody but him and Bone…and me sometimes. But my orders were passed down from Scourge or Bone. Bone was a bit preoccupied by the swishing tail slapping his face repeatedly, and I knew Dad didn't plan on moving a muscle.
Tigerstar's eyes widened in rage. Again, he screeched "Attack, I order you!"
This time, one of us moved; Dad. But not in the way Tigerstar expected. The white-pawed cat took a pace forward and glanced at Firestar. "I am Scourge, the leader of BloodClan," he mewed, his voice suddenly chilling and almost silent. Then he turned to Tigerstar. "Tigerstar, my warriors are not yours to command. They will attack when I tell them, and not before."
Tigerstar gave my father a 'you are so dead!' look. Like he couldn't believe my father was actually standing up to him, even though the tabby was almost literally three times his size. That's when Firestar decided to step forward until he was standing in front of the two leaders. Behind him, a gray cat with a darker stripe on his back (Who I just-so-happened to recognize as the cat that was attacking Mom in my dream) hissed "Firestar, be careful!"
Firestar seemed to get a bit dizzy when the teeth on our collars happened to catch his eye. But then he controlled himself and shot a scorching glance at Tigerstar before calming down. He then dipped his head towards Scourge.
Very loudly, as if my father was an old cat going deaf, he said "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."
"Then we'll make ourselves welcome," I muttered.
"Unlike your supposed ally here, I am a cat of honor." Firestar flicked his tail towards Tigerstar, an awful lot of contempt in the single gesture. "If you believed any promises he made to you, you're mistaken."
"Tigerstar told me he had enemies in the forest. Why should I believe you instead of him?" Scourge said, his eyes chips of ice.
"Oh, burn!" a cat in our clan said.
Firestar, during the meantime, took a ridiculously deep breath before speaking even louder. Scourge's ears twitched in annoyance. "Cats of all Clans, and especially cats of BloodClan, you have no need to believe or disbelieve me."
"Great; do I have to listen to this stupid speech?" Concrete asked, laying down on her stomach, pressing her ears against her head so she didn't have to listen, and began to pick the dirt from her claws.
"Tigerstar's crimes speak for themselves."
"You better preach it, pastor!" a cat from the back of our Clan shouted.
"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."
"Good for him!" I muttered sarcastically. The orange cat paused, looking around the clearing. Did he hear me?
"Mew away. Little kittypet. It won't change anything." Tigerstar rumbled.
"Being deputy wasn't enough. 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. That's how Cinderpelt came by her crippled leg." All the forest cats murmured amongst each other. Even I felt kind of bad for this Cinderpelt. But only because cripples weren't accepted in our Clan and were either killed or kicked out to survive on their own.
Of course, I wouldn't admit this in front of my friends, so instead I said "Jus wait; it probably gets 'worse'," I said.
"Then Tigerstar conspired with Brokentail, the former leader of ShadowCla, who was ThunderClan's prisoner. He brought a pack of rouges into ThunderClan camp, and tried to murder Bluestar with his own claws."
"Naw, he tried to do it with his own farts!" I saw Bone mutter. Tigerstar slapped his tail in his face, and the bulky cat bit a few tabby hairs off of it.
"I stopped him,"
"The brave and the bold!" Concrete muttered, now licking a paw.
"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." The orange cat paused again as his eyes swept the clearing. All the forest cats were horrified. All the BloodClan cats were either entertaining themselves or sleeping. "But Tigerstar wanted revenge on ThunderClan. 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, ThunderClan would have been torn to pieces." Scourge's ears pricked.
"Good riddance," Tigerstar growled, rolling his eyes.
"As it was," Firestar was struggling to go on. "Our leader, Bluestar, died the bravest death of any cat, saving me and all her Clan from the pack." He paused, and was greeted by grim silence.
'That was a stupid sacrifice; this Bluestar chick should have saved herself and let this idiot die.' I thought. Meanwhile, Firestar turned to face Dad.
"This is Tigerstar's history. 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 a single pawprint; not to you or any cat."
"Is the speech over?" Skye asked groggily, waking up from his short nap.
"Yeah; it's Dad's turn." I murmured.
"Cool; lets see some gore."
Dad's eyes narrowed. He was thinking carefully about the speech he had barely been listening to. Then he said "Tigerstar told me what he was planning to do with the dogs when he visited me two moons ago." The black cat turned towards Tigerstar. "He did not tell me that his plan had failed, however."
"None of that matters now," the tabby said roughly. "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 said. Turning to Firestar, he added "I will think about what you have said. There will be no battle today."
Firestar sighed and relaxed a bit, for he had been tense ever since he finished his speech. But Tigerstar's fur bristled with rage and his tail lashed side to side, constantly slapping Bone in the face. He dropped into a crouch. "Traitor!" he screeched.
"Fight! Fight!" I began to chant. As Tigerstar leapt, claws extended, all of BloodClan and TigerClan began to chant. Firestar looked horrified, and actually kinda scared for my Dad's safety. At the same time, though, he looked like he needed to faint.
At the last second Scourge whipped to the side so Tigerstar's claws ripped at the air and not him. When the tabby turned around, Bone was *this* close to killing him on his own for constantly slapping him. Then he decided to let Scourge finish his battle. Whether the deputy knew how personal this fight really was, I don't know.
Anyways, when Tigerstar turned around, Dad's claws glinted in the sun as they scored his shoulder. Firestar was *this* close to fainting for real when he saw our claws.
As he was hit, Tigerstar lost his balance and fell to his side, exposing his belly. Scourge whirled around and ran over.
"He's gonna do a Terror!" I said to Concrete and Skye. They all smirked. Meanwhile, Scourge stabbed his claws into Tigerstar's throat and ripped him neck-to-tail with a single slash.
Tigerstar screamed in fury (Something he seemed to be doing a lot, lately) before choking. He jerked and flailed and fell still. Then he began to move again. Scourge lifted an eyebrow and stepped back. The tabby's blood pooled on the ground in an endless stream. As he screamed, Firestar winced and his ears flattened to his head. Then the tabby fell still again. But then he came back to life. His claws tore up clumps of grass in a fenzy, and his screams changed from fury to terror. Firestar's eyes widened in shock.
"He's dying nine times!" a cat from TigerClan wailed. Immediately, horrified yowling arose and several cats pushed past the three in order to escape the clearing in a mad haste.
"Hold the line!" another voice ordered, somewhere amongst the mass of panicking cats. Immediately, some of the cats calmed down.
Firestar was frozen t the spot as Scourge walked over and knelt down by Tigerstar and hissed "I didn't forget, Tigerpaw." Into his ears. The orange cat caught Tigerstar's eyes, which were filled with pain, fear, and hatred before they glazed over, the tabby gave one last jerk, and lay still…and never moved again. He just stared at the body in disbelief before looking up at Dad. He looked unmoved, but I knew that inside he was dancing on Tigerstar's body.
Brick and a few other cats began to move forward in attack, and Firestar glanced back at the rest of his Clan before bracing himself to leap. Then Scourge raised one, blood-soaked paw as a signal to stop. We obeyed immediately.
"You see what happens to cats who defy BloodClan," he warned quietly. "Your friend here thought he could control us. He was wrong." Dad flicked his tail towards the body of Tigerstar.
"We don't want to control you. All we want is to lead our lives in peace. We're sorry that Tigerstar brought you here with lies. Please feel free to hunt before you go home." Firestar rasped.
He was kidding, right? We were taken all the way from Twolegplace, whose center is actually a bit farther away from the forest than he really thought. Cats were starving at home because we relied on Twoleg waste for our food. And he wanted us to go home and bring a measly mouse for our families, if we didn't end up eating it along the way because we're just that hungry?!
Apparently, Dad was thinking the same thing. His eyes widened in scornful disbelief as he hissed "Go home? We're not going anywhere, forest fool! In the town where we come from, there are many, many cats, and live prey is scarce. Here in the forest we won't need to depend on Twoleg rubbish for our food." He looked past Firestar and at the leftover cats that were ready for battle.
'Please don't send us to attack,' I finally found myself thinking. If he did, it might end up becoming the battle from my dream, and Scourge might not leave this forest alive.
"We are taking over this territory now. I shall rule the forest as well as the town. But I understand that you may need some time to reflect on this. You have three days to leave—or meet my Clan in battle. I shall wait for your decision at dawn on the fourth day."
Yes! It's a miracle! StarClan was letting me keep my father for another three days…unless the dream was just an over-reactive nightmare and the forest cats decided to turn tail and run away. All I know is that I can protect him, now.
Firestar was speechless as Scourge made his way through us and led us through the bushes and out of the hollow until we were away from the clearing. Then, my father turned to my friends and I.
"Keep an eye on those forest cats. Find out what those other two Clans are planning, then meet up with the rest of us. We'll be attacking the ShadowClan camp so we'll have a place to stay until the rest of the forest is ours. Claw, you remember where their camp is, correct?"
"Yes, sir." I said, dipping my head. I signaled for my friends to follow me back to the clearing.
Before long, we were back in the bushes by Fourtrees. Firestar was talking to a black and white tom with a long, thin tail, powerful shoulders, and amber eyes.
"I can't believe what I've just seen," the black cat said. "Nine lives gone—just like that."
"Nine lives? What does he mean?" Concrete asked in a whisper. "I thought cats only had one life."
"I wouldn't know." I replied.
"No cat would blame you if you took your Clan and left the forest to find another place to live." Firestar said. The black and white cat's fur bristled.
"WindClan was driven from the forest once. Never again. Our territory is ours, and we'll fight for it." He hissed. "Is ThunderClan with us?"
"He's an idiot," Skye muttered, his claws sliding out of his paws. "He knows he cant win."
"We'll fight," the orange cat said. "And we'll be proud to stand side by side with WindClan."
"That makes two idiots!" I said.
"We'll go now to prepare ourselves, and we'll meet you here again in three days, at dawn." The black and white cat said.
"At dawn, and may StarClan be with us all." Firestar murmured.
"StarClan?" Concrete asked.
"Some religion they have. Dad doesn't believe in it. Socks, Ruby, and I do. Don't tell."
"Of course."
"I'm proud of you all. If any cats can drive out BloodClan, you can." Firestar said, now facing his own warriors.
"Or they'll die trying."
"With you to lead us, we'll do anything." A pale ginger she-cat said, her muzzle pressed against Firestar's shoulder. Skye pretended to gag.
"Lets go back to camp. We've a lot to do. Graystripe, Cloudtail, scout ahead. I wouldn't put it past Scourge to lay an ambush for us." Firestar said.
"Man, we should totally ambush them!" Skye hissed, turning around to face us with a gleam in his eyes.
"No, we have to follow Dad's orders." I objected.
"Aw, but Dad taught me a surprise attack move a few days ago, and I want to try it out!"
"We're gonna ambush ShadowClan, remember?" I said, nudging him. As the gray cat and the white cat from my dream left the group, Concrete stalked around the bushes after them without me noticing. A few moments later, Firestar and the others began to leave. "Alright, lets go, guys."
"Didn't you send Concrete out?"
"No…where is she?"
"She followed the two cats who left early."
"Oh, dear StarClan. Lets go get her before she gets herself killed." I muttered, skirting the bushes and following the ThunderClan cats. Skye followed behind me.
Not more than a minute later, we ended up bumping into Concrete by the Owl Tree. She smiled sheepishly as I glared at her.
"Concrete, you're supposed to be the sensible one in the group!" I hissed, cuffing her upside the head with a paw. But gently, so my claws wouldn't hurt her.
"Sorry! I couldn't help myself! I wanted to try out my tracking skills…" she said, avoiding my eyes.
"No matter. Lets head on over to ShadowClan territory. We don't want to keep Dad waiting too long; he might start fighting without us."
"Plus, he's still Scourge, after all." Skye agreed.
"Race you there!" Concrete exclaimed, shooting forward. Immediately, we began to run through the forest, with me in the lead so I could lead the way. Soon, we were at the Thunderpath. Concrete and I stopped running, but Skye raced right past us before skidding to a stop in the middle of the Thunderpath.
"Why'd you stop, guys? It's just a road," the blue cat said, quizzical. Or course, this is coming from someone whose den was by a street that wasn't very busy.
"Skye! Watch out!" Concrete exclaimed as a red car barreled down the street. Skye turned around and squeaked in fear as the car loomed closer to him. He was frozen to the spot until at the last second he crouched down, and the car ran over him.
"Skye! No!" I wailed at his body. After I checked to make sure no more cars were coming, I ran over to him. I didn't see any blood, so I had automatically assumed that the car had broken his neck, or his spine, or both. No wonder the forest cats called those things monsters!
As Concrete came over, Skye suddenly leaped onto his feet and shouted "Boo!" I screamed and backed away before laughing, while Concrete ran back to the other side of the road with a squeak.
"Claw, don't scare me like that!" I said, nudging him with my shoulder.
"What can I say? Pranking is kinda-sorta hereditary in my family. Plus, my Dad also taught me how to avoid getting hit by a car last week."
"Well, since you're alive, lets got to ShadowClan camp now." At that, we finished crossing the street and arrived in ShadowClan territory. Immediately, Concrete opened her mouth to take in some air.
"I can smell your father, Claw." She said.
"Really? I don't see him…"
"I smell him too, Claw. Maybe he's gonna—"
"Boo!" a voice suddenly exclaimed as a black blur leaped down from the air and landed in the middle of us. Immediately, we all scattered until I recognized my Dad's laughter. Focusing a bit more, I realized that it was Dad who had leaped down from the tree. He was doubled over in laughter.
"Dad?!" I exclaimed.
"You guys are too easy to scare for your own good!" he said before getting into a more serious mode, his ears still twitching. "News on the other Clans?"
"Well, ThunderClan and WindClan are both scared of you," Skye said, coming back from the tree he had climbed up.
"But they still plan to fight." Concrete added.
"And they went back to their camps to train." I concluded "Scared that you would lay ambush on them."
"Did you ambush them?" Scourge asked.
"…no."
"See?! I told you we should've ambushed them!" Skye exclaimed.
"I wanted to get back so we can do a bit of training of our own." I admitted.
"Very well. Now, lets go; I don't know how impatient Bone might be by now." We all followed Scourge to an area around the ShadowClan camp, where Bone was waiting for us.
"You're back," he stated.
"No, we're just leaving!" Scourge said sarcastically. Then he turned to the rest of his troops. "Alright, its obvious that we're gonna need a place to stay before we take over the forest. So we're gonna take over this camp. Here's the plan…"
"Blackfoot!" I shouted as I walked into the camp. ShadowClan cats took one look at me and made a clear berth for me to walk. The ShadowClan deputy looked up from the mouse he had been eating mournfully and froze in shock. And fear. Oh, the benefits of looking almost exactly like a cat everyone fears.
"Y-Y-Yes, Scourge?" he stammered, beginning to back away with his ears flat.
"I understand that, since that fool of a tabby Tigerstar's dead, you are the leader of ShadowClan,"
"Y-Yes. Why are you…?"
"Good to know. Now, then, we're taking over this camp. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
"Wait a second! You're not Scourge; you're his—"
"You killed my father!" I heard someone sob. I turned around to see a pale tortoiseshell she-cat leaping at me. I batted her away, but not before she could rake her claws down my shoulder.
"Did not!" I screeched at her. Then, loud enough for anyone outside of the camp to hear me, I shouted "BloodClan, attack!"
Panic automatically ensued. Scourge and Bone lead the rest of the Clan into the camp, and began to attack. I dealt with the tortoiseshell cat who had attacked me, just not enough to hurt her. She was still rather young; younger than me. I refused to hurt a cat younger than me so badly they would die from my claws. If their wounds got infected, it wasn't my fault.
After she turned tail and ran, I ran over to help Concrete, who was taking on two warriors nearly twice her age. While they were focused on her, I snuck behind them and bit one of their tails. The warrior screeched in pain before turning around and swiping his claws at me. I rolled over to avoid it before swiping at his muzzle, my claws a whisker away from his eyes. Concrete, during the meantime, scored her claws down the other warrior's side. That cat ran away with his tail between his legs.
Everything seemed to be going fine. Dad was currently riding on Blackfoot's back with his claws dug deep into his skin. Bone was tussling with a small brown tom, constantly biting on his tail and slicing at his back while the tom struggled to free himself.
Suddenly, a dark ginger she-cat grabbed Scourge by the scruff and peeled him off of Blackfoot. My father turned around with a hiss filled with hatred until he froze, eyes wide in shock. "Red?!" he gasped.
"Scourge," the cat acknowledged bitterly "My name is Russetfur now."
"So you really did join these filthy forest fools. I almost didn't believe it when Marmalade told me moons ago. But it doesn't matter; you'll be treated the same as all these other idiots you live with. Prepare to die." But Dad didn't carry out his promise…on his own. He called me over to him.
"Yes?" I said, padding over.
"This cat is a traitor. Kill her." He ordered. "After you're finished, I want you to raid the nursery; I'll get rid of the guards."
"Yes, father." I said. At that note, I turned towards the she-cat in front of me. I recognized her; she had left around the same time as Bone. It was easy to believe they had left together. Which meant she would get the traitor treatment.
Leaping into action, I prepared to score down her back with my sharpened claws, but she ducked low so I passed over her. When I landed, she turned around and sliced the tip of my ear so there was a small nick in it. Any other time, I would have been screeching with pain. But i was too busy to show weakness. So I reared onto my hind-feet and began to batter her head with blows. When I least expected it, a weight 'magically' appeared on my back that threw me off balance and sent me tumbling to the ground. Turned around to see Blackfoot preparing to clamp onto the scruff of my neck.
"You're not gonna hurt Russetfur!" he growled through my neck-fur. "But you're young, and strong. I won't kill you."
"Your mercy is your weakness!" I snarled, scratching his leg. Wincing, he let go of my neck and dropped me to the ground. "Your stupid warrior code keeps you from killing me when you had the chance. But we have no code to follow! We have no weakness!" at that, we began to tussle. Before long, I had him pressed to the ground with my front paws on his shoulders and a hind paw planted firmly on his tail. To my surprise, Russetfur began to laugh at her Clan mate's predicament. "Hey! Whats so funny?!"
"Oh, nothing," she said, giggling.
"Spit it out already!" had I not been distracted, I would have realized that Blackfoot was chuckling too. I didn't notice, though, until his body shifted just a bit before he sprung onto his feet and threw me off his back. I went flying into the air until I crash-landed into my father a few feet away, battling with a guard.
"Ow! Claw, what the heck?!" he hissed, shoving me off of him.
"Sorry! Blackfoot kinda-sorta threw me over here."
"As in…?"
"Remember that time when I was a kit and I woke you up and you kinda threw me into a trashcan?"
"…yeah."
"Like that."
"Beat these guards into a pulp; I'll finish him off." He said, stalking away.
The guards were easy to beat. They were already traumatized by seeing Scourge, and Dad had weakened them enough so I just had to scratch them once or twice and they fainted. With a chuckle, I padded into the den, where a long-legged, light brown tabby she-cat lay with two kits. The queen screamed, and the kits wailed.
'Do they think I'm Scourge?' I had to wonder as the queen trembled in fear. 'I'll use that to my advantage,'
"Alright, forest fools, listen up!" I hissed, pacing back and forth near the entrance of the den. "This camp is now under the authority of BloodClan! You have three options! You can join our Clan and survive the battle later to come, you can leave with your Clan mates and never come back, or leave with your Clan mates and die in battle three days from now. Which would you prefer?"
"S-Scourge?" a mottled brown kit asked.
"What?" I asked impatiently.
"If we all leave, can you tell your friends not to attack us?" a dark brown tom added. I sighed.
"I'll try my best," at that, I poked my head out of the nursery den and looked at 'my' Clan, who had the warriors and apprentices underneath their claws and the elders backed against the side of the camp. "Alright, guys! The queens and kits of ShadowClan want to leave the camp. Do not attack them, or I will personally slit your throat."
"What if I attack them?" Scourge teased "Or your mother?"
"…please don't attack them, guys." I said. At that, I shoved the kits out of the den, the tabby she-cat rushing out after them. Nobody moved a muscle until they left the camp. Then everyone else begged for mercy and asked to leave. Before long, all if ShadowClan had left the camp but a huge tabby tom. Scourge took a threatening step towards him, and he bowed in surrender.
"Scourge of BloodClan, I would be honored to fight alongside you in battle if you would allow it. I would like to join your Clan." He said.
"…alright. You can stay, I guess. But step out of line and I'll claw your throat to bits." Dad said.
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, guys, I've gotten word from some spies that two of the other Clans still plan to fight us in three days. We may have to do a bit of training before the battle, but I'm not too worried. Look at how easy it was to beat these punks. Lets eat some fresh kill!" at that note, we all feasted on the prey that ShadowClan had so kindly left for us.
Okay, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now here's my authors note.
I now have an Instagram account. Its anipwrites, like my account on here. I post pictures of my dog, drawings I have in my sketchbook, and snapshots of things I see on walks. So if you like me, follow me on Instagram (if you have one.)
Also, this story might be a bit of a long one, but I doubt it'll reach the 50+ chapter point. I seriously think the only stories that'll manage that would be Ask the Warriors, Daring Scourge, and any other reader-request stories I start.
Alright, bye!
~~anipwrites~~