Okay. So, some people have been asking me why I killed off Ravenpaw and Cinderpelt. Here is my explanation.

EXPLANATION!!!: Okay, so, since the next story is going to be told from Kite's kits' point of view, I needed to shape their future a bit. Especially Barleykit, because he is going to be one of the key characters in the next installment. Sooooo, yeah. There you have it. Ummm, if you didn't like my explanation very much, please don't rip my head off. I've had enough of that to last me the next three years.

NOTENOTENOTENOTENOTE!!!! (IMPORTANT): THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER!!! OMG!!!! Ummm…Yeah. At least, I think so. An epilogue may be in order, if I decide I'm not too lazy to write one, though I probably won't have time to do that.

Chapter 21

"What was that about?" Emberclaw asked Firestar later that night. The two of them were sitting in the leader's dark den, discussing Blackstar's meeting with him.

"Blackstar's always wanted more land for his Clan," Firestar replied, his voice low. "But I believe this time he's taken it too far. He demanded the strip of ThunderClan territory that runs from the edge of the Thunderpath to Snakerocks."

"What was his reason?" Emberclaw asked, tipping her head to one side in curiosity.

"He says that there are two rogues living near the edge of their territory that wish to join them, and the she-cat is carrying kits."

"Well, that doesn't make much of a difference," Emberclaw pointed out angrily. "He's got plenty of room on his own territory."

"That's what I tried to explain to him," Firestar replied. "But he wouldn't listen to reason. And now, I fear that there may be a fight over this land, and I'm not sure if we can win."

"ShadowClan is small," Emberclaw meowed, shaking her head. "Why send all our warriors to fight them? Just send the same number of warriors that they have. That way, it'll be even."

"That's what I'm worried about, though," Firestar mewed, sighing. "Blackstar and his deputy know how to get around, and StarClan only knows how many rogues and loners they could recruit to fight on their side."

"Firestar?" Sandstorm's voice rang out from behind the curtain of lichen. "I brought you some food."

"Thank you, Sandstorm," Firestar replied. "Come in."

"I should probably get going, then," Emberclaw meowed, rising to her paws and padding out of the den, meowing greetings to her mother as she passed.

In the nursery, five of the kits were napping. Talonkit, Birchkit, and Nightkit were all wrestling.

"I'm Blackstar," Birchkit growled playfully as he clambered on top of Talonkit, who was lying in a heap on the ground. "And I'm here to take over your Clan!"

"News spreads quickly in this Clan, doesn't it?" Emberclaw purred, bending down and picking up Birchkit by the scruff.

"Hey!" Birchkit mewled, pawing at the air as Emberclaw set him down on the ground. "We were play-fighting!"

"Where's Ferncloud?" the queen asked, surveying the nursery.

"She went to get Leaftail some food," Nightkit replied, licking one paw and drawing it over his ear. "She's worried that Leaftail might stop eating. It happens when cats get depressed."

"I don't think Leaftail is depressed, Nightkit," Emberclaw meowed. "Now, I think it's time you three got some rest as well."

Talonkit and Birchkit groaned in unison, but the three of them crawled obediently into their nests.

Emberclaw settled down, too, wondering if the battle between ShadowClan and ThunderClan could really happen.

-----------------X

A sudden yowl awoke Emberclaw. Her head snapped up, and she surveyed the nursery. All eight kits were awake and quivering by their mothers' sides. Emberclaw poked her head out of the entrance to the nursery to find cats pouring into the ThunderClan camp, silhouetted by the light of the nearly full moon. A sharp, foul stench filled the air, a stench that Emberclaw could only identify with the smell of crowfood and the Thunderpath.

"ShadowClan!" a cat screeched. Immediately, warriors poured out of their dens and into the camp, leaping onto their invaders.

"They've brought rogues!" another voice called over the din. Two large, bulky figures appeared in the entrance to the nursery, their eyes glinting with malice. Ferncloud pressed herself up against the wall, and the kits sheltered behind her, using her body as a shield.

"Can the kittens come out and play?" the larger rogue hissed sarcastically, taking a step forward. Emberclaw hissed, feeling her fur rising.

"You stay away from the kits," Ferncloud snarled angrily.

"Oh, come now," the second tom meowed. "You're going to deny your kits the chance to come live with real cats? You know they won't learn anything growing up around a bunch of kittypets."

"We're not kittypets," Ferncloud retorted.

"You're under the rule of one," the first rogue snapped back. "Are you really going to submit to that scum?"

Emberclaw snarled and leapt at the first rogue, who simply batted her away with a flick of his large paw. The ginger queen slid across the nursery floor and rammed into the wall, making a small gap in it. Gingerkit's tiny, fearful squeak could be heard from behind Ferncloud's quivering body.

"Leave her alone!" Talonkit wailed, jumping out from behind Ferncloud. Birchkit was at his heels as he darted over to the rogues, who simply stood there, their eyes laughing.

"Get back here!" Ferncloud demanded. But the tom kits didn't listen. They leapt at the rogues. Birchkit took the first one, landing on his leg with claws unsheated, and Talonkit attacked the second one, jumping high and digging his tiny claws into the rogue's neck. The large gray tom snarled angrily, shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge the kit, but Talonkit only dug his claws in deeper. The rogue yowled, flicking his neck one last time, and flung Talonkit out into the clearing.

There was a soft gasp of alarm from the second rogue as he found there was a significantly large gash in his neck, from which crimson blood was seeping.

Meanwhile, Birchkit clawed furiously at the other rogue's leg. The rogue simply turned and flicked him, too back out into the clearing. The two rogues nodded to each other, then turned and darted back into the clearing.

"I hope they're not hurt!" Ferncloud cried.

"Stay here," Emberclaw demanded. "I'll go and get them." With that, the she-cat rose to her paws and darted out into the clearing, which was a scene of pandemonium. Just in front of her, Ashfur and Sootfur were taking on Russetfur and a large silver she-cat with glinting amber eyes. She spotted Talonkit and Birchkit darting under the paws of rogues and ThunderClan warriors. Emberclaw hissed angrily and darted toward them.

"Get back inside," she ordered. "Now!"

"But we wanna fight!" Birchkit complained.

"There will be no fighting for the two of you," Emberclaw snapped. "Now get inside before one of you gets killed!"

Birchkit grumbled under his breath, but Talonkit tapped him on the shoulder with his tail and nodded his head toward the nursery, and the two of them darted off.

Just as they went by, a huge black tom jumped on top of Emberclaw, pinning her to the ground.

"Tell your father to surrender the land," the black tom snarled. "Or he dies tonight!"

"Firestar will never give up the land!" Emberclaw screeched, battering the tom's stomach with her hind paws. A sharp stab of fear hit her in the chest as she realized two things: she had little to no battle training at all, and the tom she was fighting could probably take her down in a heartbeat.

"You want to die, then, kittypet?" the rogue asked, his dark green eyes glinting in the moonlight. He raised his paw, claws unsheathed, and struck Emberclaw down her flank. The queen yowled in pain and writhed under the weight of the large tom. The pain stung stronger than any pain she had ever felt, even the pain of Ravenpaw's sudden and uncalled-for death.

"Stop!" she demanded, trying once more to squirm free. "I'll tell Firestar," she panted breathlessly. "I'll make him give up the land. Just let me go!"

"Alright, kittypet," the rogue meowed, letting Emberclaw stand. "But just know this, if Firestar doesn't surrender, I'll be sure to let Blackstar know who to blame." He snarled one last threatening snarl as Emberclaw turned and dashed off to Firestar's den.

"Firestar!" she called, ducking past Dustpelt and Thornclaw, who were standing guard outside the leader's den. "Firestar, you have to give up the land!"

"What?" Firestar asked, flicking his ear in shock.

"Just give Blackstar what he's asking for," Emberclaw panted. "They want to kill you, Firestar! The only way to save your life is to give ShadowClan the land they want!"

"I'd rather die nobly than live a coward," Firestar snapped. "If Blackstar wants the land so badly, he'll have to take all of my lives from me first. I'm willing to fight to protect what is mine. Now, settle down. You don't look too good. I'll have Leaftail come and take a look at you."

Firestar rose to his paws and padded out to the entrance of his den. He mewed something to Thornclaw, who darted off immediately, then settled back down.

"So you're just hiding here," Emberclaw meowed, her question more of a statement.

"We still outnumber the ShadowClan warriors," Firestar pointed out. "Even with the rogues."

"So you're just going to sit around and watch while your Clanmates fight for your life and your rights? I don't think that's very fair."

Firestar sighed. "If you want me to fight, then I will," he promised. "But I will make sure that Thornclaw and Dustpelt keep an eye on you until the battle's over."

Just then, Leaftail padded in with a small bundle of herbs in her mouth. She dropped them at Emberclaw's paws and checked her over quickly.

"Just a minor wound," she meowed after a moment. "Some marigold and cobwebs should do for now." As she spoke, she applied the herbs to her sister's wounds. "Also, I think you may be carrying another litter of kits."

"Sootfur," Emberclaw groaned. She saw her father's eyes grow wide right before he turned and padded out of the den and into the fray.

"Well, just stay in here, then," Leaftail meowed. "We don't want you hurting those kits. They should be due any time now."

"Okay," Emberclaw meowed, nodding as her sister padded away.

----------------X

Soon, the battle was over. Emberclaw managed to sneak out of Firestar's den to watch as the remaining ShadowClan warriors were fought off. As soon as the last cat scampered into the bushes, the cats of ThunderClan broke out into a hearty cheer. All eight kits rushed out of the nursery, eagerly scanning the dark, bloodstained camp for friends. Shrewpaw and Whitepaw danced around each other happily, and Cloudtail, Brightheart, Squirreltail, and Brambleclaw rejoiced, meowing to each other in loud, happy voices.

Some other warriors weren't as happy. They whispered to each other in rough, nervous, distraught voices, occasionally shooting a glance at the camp entrance, as

though anticipating the return of the rogues and ShadowClan's warriors.

Firestar leapt onto the Highrock with Graystripe at his side.

"Tonight," he yowled triumphantly. "We have defended what is rightfully ours. This battle proves that no power in the whole forest can take us away from it."

The Clan cheered in response. Emberclaw plodded sleepily off to the nursery.

"What's the matter?" Ferncloud asked as Emberclaw curled up in her nest, placing her tail over her nose.

"They'll be back," was all Emberclaw said.