Chapter five, Strength comes from the heart.

Fireheart rushed towards Thunderclan's camp, his mind burning itself over. He had found a trail of dead rabbits with Tigerstar's stench coating it. He obviously set it to lead back to Thunderclan, so that the dogs would destroy it.. When did he learn about the dogs? And how could one cat drive off an entire pack? He prayed to Starclan to tell him what to do. Suddenly, Shadowclan scent blasted its unruly presents, and Fireheart flinched at the familiarity. He searched for its source and in only one moment of tracking revealed Tigerstar stalking Brindleface, who was hunting a vole. Tigerstar! He was preparing a leap, using the same hunting stance as Brindleface. He was going to kill her!

Fireheart charged at him right as he jumped at Brindleface. Fireheart called a warning to her, but it too late. Tigerstar landed on top of Brindleface, digging his claws into her pelt. She thrashed madly under his grip, trying to free herself. Tigerstar's ears flicked towards Fireheart as he called out his warning. Fireheart rammed his paws into Tigerstar's side. Tigerstar was flung to the side, pulling Brindleface over with him. Fireheart bit down on Tigerstar's fore leg, and pulled it off of Brindleface. Tigerclaw hissed and took a swing at him, cutting new claw marks over an old scar on Firehearts face. But his grip loosened with the swing, and Brindleface pulled herself away, meorrowing in pain as chunks off her fur came off in his claws. She turned to face her attacker with Fireheart, but Tigerstar started to back off. Regardless of his big size and experience, he knew better than to take on two cats at once.

Fireheart took two steps towards him, snarling a warning. Tigerstar, hissing his anger, took a pace away from Fireheart, then bolted off towards Shadowclan. Fireheart watched him go, worry bobbing in his head. Why would Tigerclaw attack Brindleface alone on Thunderclan territory. Was he trying to fulfill his promise to pick of every last Thunderclan cat? He turned back to Brindleface. "Are you hurt? Can you make it back to camp?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She … curious.

"It doesn't matter. Listen. Thunderclan is in grave danger. A pack of huge savage dogs is loose in the territory. I don't know when or if they will attack camp, but you have to go back to camp and warn everyone." Brindleface gave him her undivided attention. "You might have to hide, or take the clan somewhere else, just make sure they protect themselves."

"You can count on me… Fireheart." Brindleface said. "I can take you back as far as the ravine." Fireheart said, noting her favoring one of her legs. " You think I can't get back myself?' Brindleface said, with a slight touch of humor. "Its not about getting back. Its about getting back quickly. For all we know, the dogs might be coming now." He lead the way, walking quickly without letting Brindleface fall behind. "If your so worried about speed, then why don't you deliver the message?"

"I wouldn't last a moment in camp." Fireheart said, shrugging of the comment. "Longtail should have told the clan about the dogs, though. I want you to help convince them that the threat is immanent. I found a prey trail leading from a cave they've ruined with their stay all the way back to camp. No doubt they'll follow it." Fireheart picked up to a light run, and Brindleface followed suit. "You've seen what they did to Swiftpaw and Brightpaw. We can't risk the rest of Thunderclan to end up that way."

Brindleface gave him a curt nod. Fireheart poured on more speed. Brindleface wouldn't let herself fall behind. Though Fireheart noticed her wincing in pain with running, he couldn't slow down for her. Besides, he knew she would give her all to protect her clan, and even more for her kits. She would make it.

The run seemed to stretch out somewhat, with Fireheart constantly looking back to check on Brindleface, and for Tigerstar. There was no telling what he would do if he caught them off guard. The forest also seemed unusually quiet, even for the season. It was as though the whole forest was watching, holding its breath as not to miss anything. They made it back to camp, both panting from the run, and Brindleface with a more severe limp than before. "Go Brindleface." Fireheart hoped they were there in time. "I know your hurt, but you've got to hurry!" She limped her way down the steep ravine, and Fireheart only could hope she made it down without incident.

But then, like a horrible cry from a badger, came a howl so powerful and strong. It spoke of the power of its owner, and his intent. It was soon joined by many more, chilling Fireheart whole body. They were coming! Fireheart knew it was too late. Considering elders, kits, queens, wounded, and the scent of them all, there was no possible way to get Thunderclan out in time…

Bluestar watched the side of her den, her twin moon gaze not focused on anything. Sandstorm had brought back news of a dog pack. A pack… just as Starclan told her, along with "Kill". There was a trail leading them straight to camp. They would tear apart Thunderclan. And there was nothing they could do about it. It was foretold by Starclan, and Bluestar knew they wouldn't help. The pack was sent to get revenge on Bluestar, and Thunderclan would be caught in the middle.

Sandstorm hadn't told Bluestar directly. Bluestar could hear her from on top of the high rock. Why was she up th… right. She was deputy. Bluestar had nearly forgotten. She could hear Sandstorm trying to work out a plan. A whole camp clear out. She wanted them to go to Sunning rocks. They… they were to climb trees and wait out the dogs. Bluestar almost chuckled at her foolishness. The dogs would follow them there, too. From experience, Bluestar knew most dogs had a great sense of smell, even better than a clans best tracker. A whole clan full of cats would leave an unmistakable trail.

Bluestar shifted in her cool bedding. What would happen now? Bluestar closed her eyes. She had figured that Tigerstar would lead a whole attack force from Shadowclan to wipe out his birth clan. She had waited expectantly, always read for him to shoulder his way in. She had been ready to fight, to go down to her last breath. If she and her warriors were going down, they would take as many Shadowclan cats with them, and leave the living ones with as many scars as possible to remember them by. But that would have been too easy.

Tigerstar and Starclan had joined together in their mutual goal to kill Bluestar. They would make sure that she went down in the most degrading way as possible. Send the pack, and guided Tigerstar to make the trail. The dogs would tear her to mouse dust like some toy. It was hardly a noble death for any cat. Then again, Thunderclan wasn't a honorable clan now anyways. All of them. Traitors. They had to be.

Two of her most trusted warriors ever had betrayed her. She had trusted both of them. Enough to make them her second in command. She had only once ever questioned Tigerclaw's aptitude as a warrior. She had seen how ruthless he could have become, under Thistleclaw's training. But he had shaped out to be a powerful and honorable warrior, the least likely to question an order. But then he turned on her. He had tried to kill her in this very den. It was only by chance that Fireheart had been here in time to save her.

And he was the other traitor, another cat who proved Thunderclan was untrustable. She had trained him personally. She had watched his growth from a pampered kittypet to a strong warrior. She had brought him into mother mouth to see the moonstone, a rare spectacle usually not given to apprentices. He was the only cat she had ever told her remaining lives to. But, he too, had crossed her. He gave her plans of attack to Windclan, the subject of the attack. He probably went back to Windclan to plot against her. But he was to late. She was already in the paws of another of her enemies.

He was the one she was most worried about. He plotted against her, but she still felt… off… about him. Why had he held back his strike? Surely he had the most dangerous threat to her. She had told him everything, relied on him for so much. She even trusted him with her darkest secrets. He was the only cat other than herself and Oakheart that had known that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were her kits. Her kits…

Maybe things would have been different had she kept them. Surly Starclan wanted her dead for abandoning them, and even her kits hated her for it. She had foolishly let becoming deputy overshadow her real duty. If she had kept them, she could have raised them to be strong warriors as her own. She could have.. But she didn't. All because she let a prophecy from a diluted medicine cat decide her fate. She could have kept them. Her kits… She could have followed them into Riverclan. There, she could have kept her kits and been with her mate. They would have trusted her, but they would have accepted them. Greystripe… Firehearts friend… had proven that. It would have been better to have been a queen of a hostel clan with her kits and the cat she loved, then the leader of a birth clan that was hostile.

Mosskit might have lived, too. She had let her die so young…

A loud howl slammed against Bluestar's head. It was loud, and announced Bluestar's final day. She tensed when she heard it, the fur along her body standing sharper with every voice that joined the first one. She felt like running. But she couldn't. If Starclan had guided the path that Tigerstar had lain, then no matter where she went, it would cut through Thunderclan and would end at her. She was ready to meet her fate.

"Bluestar!" Greystripe poked his head into her den, then entered fully without waiting. His call broke Bluestar's gaze from the wall, and she let it fall on him. "There is a pack of dogs coming straight for Thunderclan! Their big, savage creatures that will tear up Thunderclan in a moment! We have to many elders and kits to just run for it, not to mention Cinderpelt, Lostface, and Slowfoot! What should we do?!" He asked franticly.

The den fell into silence as soon as he finished. The cats outside had stopped talking. All was quiet. Why don't you and the able cats just leave? Bluestar thought. Why? You have no clan loyalty. Why would you care? Then…

Does he… care? Something flicked in Bluestar's mind. If no cat had clan loyalty, why would they stand by the warrior code when it would lead them to certain death? Without the code, the clans were no better than loners or rogues. At the first sign of trouble, a loner leaves. A rogue finds self preservation. They don't try to help their elders, nor did they try to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. They don't stay with or even love their mates. They only take a mate for mutual pleasure. There was no trust, or love. There was no bond like a clan had. A bond… only held together by loyalty. That helped the whole clan to thrive.

"If we can't run, then we can certainly try hiding." Bluestar said after a moment. She felt… better. Her clan really needed her, or, maybe, just wanted her. " We can't defend against a threat like this using warriors. Get every cat you can into the most solid shelter you can." Sandstorm came in and stood next to Greystripe. She looked determined, and a little off beat. Bluestar continued. "If we can keep out of the dogs reach, then maybe we can out last them. They may leave the forest for good if they learn that they can't get to anything." She breathed her first deep breath in a while. "If they don't leave, then maybe they will die off in the coming winter. Then maybe we could use them as prey." She said, lightening up with her own humor, dry as it was.

"Fit as many cats as you can in the elders den, medicine cats den, and this den as you can. Make sure that there are warriors or elder apprentices with each group. And don't leave until we're sure that the dogs have left." Greystripe nodded, looking happier with define orders. He instantly backed out of the den, then turned back to the clan. Sandstorm stared at Bluestar for a short while, then nodded and followed Greystripe out.

Bluestar could hear Sandstorm explain the plan to the clan. She gave the orders definely. Bluestar felt a wave of sorrow pull over her. They had hope. She had given them something to hope for. They actually believed they had a chance. It was better to die hopeful than in dispare.

Sandstorm herded a group of cats into Bluestar's den, headed by Whitestorm. "Sandstorm sent us in here, Bluestar." He apologized. "We get to hide in the Leaders den!" Bramblepaw said excitedly to Twanypaw. "Shhh…" She responded. Whitestorm turned back to look at them, then back to Bluestar. "I don't know how we got stuck with all the apprentices, but please tolerate them." Whitestorm asked. Fernpaw and Ashpaw pushed in from behind Whitestorm, followed by Cloudtail. The three of them all had a worried look.

Bluestar stood, and aproch them, feeling like she would colapse. "Whitestorm, get the apprentices to the farthest corner of my den. We don't want them being snached up by an eager jaw or paw. Cloudtail, you make sure that they stay there." Cloudtail made an annoyed face. "But los…"

"Cloudtail, don't question your leader for any reason." Bluestar cut in. "We need a strong, young warrior to watch over them."

"What about Whitestorm?" Cloudtail asked.

"He and I will be here, close to the entrance." She sat in her spot, and pointed out Whitestorms on the other side. "Why not just hide in the back of the den?" Whitestorm asked.

"Dogs are capable diggers. Even if my den is under the Highrock, the floor is still made of dirt. If they do find us, they will probably try to root us out. If we all hid in the back, then not only would that make us a bigger targets as a whole, but they know where to reach to. With me and you and the edges, the won't see us, and we can claw whatever they send in after us. They most likely won't use vision, rather feel and smell. We want to make it seem as though this place is as hostle as possible, not as though a bunch of cats are trying to defend themselves." She concluded

Bluestar heard a low, stormy sound in the distance. She knew it was the dogs hot on the trail to Thunderclan. "What about the cats hiding in the elders den. And the medicine cats den? How will they know this?" asked Fernpaw from behind Ashpaw. Ashpaw and Bramblepaw had taken up defencive positions in front of their sisters, and Twanypaw was scolding Bramblepaw, saying she could take care of herself. "We'll just have to hope that they are not found, or have a way to defend themselves as well." Bluestar answered. She poked her head outside the enterance of her den. She wondered if she could spot them through the thin Thunderclan camp wall. Movement caught the corner of her eye, and she looked at the gorse tunnel.

Brindleface came limping in to camp, out of breath and covered in hits and scratches. She looked around at the now desolate camp, and her face pulled back in anguish. "Brindleface? Brindleface!" Bluestar called out to her. "Get in here!" Brindleface saw her leader, and, letting out a huge sigh, started limping over to the den.

"She's hurt!" Cloudpaw said from his spot next to Ashpaw. He left the den, running over to support his foster-mother. Whitestorm moved to stop him, but bluestar shook her head. Whitestorm sat down and allowed the new warrior to pass. Cloudtail braced himself against Brindleface's limp shoulder, allowing her to put the weight on him, and she licked the top of his head to thank him. Ashpaw and Fernpaw shifted, moving to go help their mother. "I think Cloudtail can do this alone, you two." Whitestorm said. "But…" Fernpaw protested. "If you all went to help, we would be risking…" A sharp bark told Bluestar that the pack wasn't far off. "Just stay there!" Bluestar finished.

Brindleface and Cloudtail continued towards the den. Even with the added support, Brindleface could only go so fast. Excited yelps sounded out over camp. Whitestorm crouched down, and Bluestar could see every hair along his back rise. She knew she was done for, and stayed relatively calm. What could she do? Panic in the face of the enevatable? Even if the dogs left, they would steal all the prey, especially in the coming winter. If they didn't kill the clan now, it would starve to death.

Brindleface finally made it to the den, and Cloudtail lead her to the far side of the cave. He maneuvered her next to Ashpaw and Fernpaw, who crowded around their mother, purring wildly and licking over some of her cuts. "Put her in my nest. Cloudtail" Bluestar motioned to her bedding in the corner next to them "I don't know what happened to her, but either way, she'll need to rest." Cloudtail nodded, and, with Ashpaw's help, put her gentaly into the moss.

Bluestar looked back out across camp. She could see them. She could see the dogs, running towards camp. They were as terrible looking as they sounded, with huge heads and mouths that could swollow a kit whole. They would be here in a moment. Bluestar was ready. She would finally meet Oakheart and Mosskit again. They would come see her, even if she wasn't allowed into Starclan. She…

"I won't let you destroy my clan!" The shout was clear and defenant. Bluestar blinked her eyes into focus. A bright ginger figure blasted out of a bush, and clawed the lead dogs face. In the confusion, the dog stumbled and fell. The dogs imeteatly behind it ran right into it, and fell on top of one another. The dogs further back were able to stop in time growling savagely at the delay. "Who!…" Bluestar blurted. She stared at the cat, the briliant ginger cat. He looked… fire… Fireheart? He was here? What was he doing?!

Fireheart hissed a threat to the dogs. In less than a moment, the dogs that stumbled regained their footing. They turned on Fireheart, their barks severing the air. They rushed him. In a split moment, he turned around, and ran. What was that fool doing? He was… leading them away. Where? Why was he doing this?! Bluestar faltered.

"Whitestorm, stay here. Make sure that no one leaves camp!" She ordered. "But what are you…!" Bluestar didn't wait. She was off. She was after the dogs. Fireheart wouldn't be able to take them all out. He wouldn't be able to run forever. He was getting her help, regardless of if he wanted it or needed it. She would not let the dogs destroy her clan! Not any of it!

Important notice

If anyone has noticed, there is an obvious inconsistency somewhere along a line. This is because I am completely re-writing this story. As of 11/23/12, this is the most current chapter to be re-written.