"Scourge?"

Scourge twitched his ear, the myriad teeth on his collar clinking together. "What?" He opened his ice-blue eyes and sat up from where he was curled under the doorway of an abandoned Twoleg nest. There was a silver-gray cat standing hesitantly in front of him, shifting uneasily from paw to paw. The cat's eyes were dark in the glare of sun-high.

"Boulder? What do you want?"

The cat, Boulder, looked around nervously. "I want to see Hawkfeather."

Scourge blinked. "Why him?"

Boulder looked puzzled. "Because he's the clan leader, of course."

"Oh," meowed Scourge. "Why don't you talk to me? I have almost as much power as him."

"I know," snarled Boulder. "That's what I want to talk to Hawkfeather about. He leads BloodClan, not you."

Scourge felt the fur on the back of his neck rise, even though Boulder was huge compared to his still-puny size. "I will be more powerful than him," the warrior hissed. "Already many cats follow me."

"Blood and power is all you care about, Scourge," Boulder spat. "You should let the clan go on like it is supposed to be, without you putting the idea of bloodlust into every cats' head."

"Times change," Scourge meowed defiantly. "The clan needs a new leader."

"Not one like you," growled the silver warrior.

With a yowl, Scourge leapt forward and pushed Boulder onto the ground. He agilely ducked under Boulder's paws and unsheathed his claws against the bigger cat's neck. The tips shone unnaturally white; they were tipped with dog's teeth. Boulder let out a hiss and fell backwards onto the ground as the claws pressed to his throat.

"Do not challenge my leadership, Boulder. I will make BloodClan great. We will be stronger than even those forest clans." Scourge turned Boulder's head to look at the top branches of the trees just showing over the Twoleg nests. "I will rule Twolegplace and the forest."

Boulder hissed. "You're insane, Scourge. Ever since the day you came back with Leech's body, you've been different."

Scourge narrowed his eyes. "That was when I realized that I should rule BloodClan. I will be the greatest leader there ever was!"

"What did you say, Scourge?"

Boulder let out his breath as Scourge's ears flattened. The small warrior turned slowly to face the rusty brown tom glaring at him. Razor came up behind the flame colored cat, but although the golden-brown tabby was larger, he seemed pitiful compared to the tom. Boulder squirmed around and stood, then lowered his head in respect.

The tom was Hawkfeather.

The BloodClan leader was old, not as old as Mint, though. Pale red fur was starting to appear on his flame colored pelt. But Hawkfeather's amber eyes shone fiercely with determination and a longing to help his clan. For a heartbeat Scourge wasn't sure that he really should lead BloodClan.

"I-I said that I would be the greatest leader that there ever was." Scourge met Hawkfeather's gaze.

"Really," meowed the BloodClan leader calmly. "I thought that I was the leader of this clan."

"Yes," Razor snarled, finally speaking. "But Scourge seems to have forgotten that. He has gotten many of the cats to follow him and his ways already."

"And what ways are those?" Hawkfeather asked slyly.

"I have different ways in battle," mewed Scourge. "I plan to make BloodClan great, and then go into the forest and rule that, too."

Hawkfeather narrowed his eyes. "And how do you plan to do that, when I'm the leader?"

"This is how!"

Scourge felt anger and exhilaration rush through him as he yowled and leaped onto Hawkfeather, claws unsheathed. The BloodClan leader hissed and clawed at Scourge's face. A claw pierced the small warrior's nose and blood spattered into Hawkfeather's eyes. Scourge twisted around and rolled under Hawkfeather, slashing at the cat's belly with his hind paws. The BloodClan leader howled and tumbled back, swiping at Scourge's fur. The black cat jumped forwards, into Hawkfeather's side, and the tabby lost his balance. Scourge held up his paw, and the sunlight reflected off of the dog's teeth. The warrior placed the claws at the edge of Hawkfeather's neck and ripped downward, like he had done with Leech. Hawkfeather screamed in pain as his blood flowed freely onto the ground. Scourge stepped back and watched with satisfaction as the cat's spasms grew weaker and weaker, finally stopping.

Scourge blinked. All of the cats in the clearing had frozen and were staring at him. The warrior looked around for Razor, tensing in case the tabby wanted to fight him. But the golden-brown cat lay still on the ground as well. Bone was standing over the limp body, ripping off a tooth for his collar. Scourge looked back at Hawkfeather, and dug his dogteeth claws into the cat's mouth. He uprooted a fang, like Bone had done, then turned to the staring cats.

"I am your leader now," Scourge meowed. "And Bone is my deputy. I lead BloodClan." The warrior tried the words again. "I lead BloodClan!" They sounded nice.

The BloodClan cats watched their new leader for a heartbeat, then broke out in yowls of shock and admiration. No cat had ever beaten Hawkfeather in a fight before. Scourge nodded, pleased.

Bone walked up to Scourge. "What are you going to do now?"

"Hmm…" Scourge looked around, and noticed Boulder glare at him.

"I'll find a better life in the forest than I ever will here!" the gray cat spat. Bone hissed at the silvery cat, ready to chase him.

"Let him go," spat Scourge. "He's worse than a kittypet." Bone growled, and then nodded. Boulder snarled, and then ran out of the clearing.

Scourge's tail lashed the air, and the small black warrior noticed that the other cats were still staring at him.

"They need a leader," meowed Bone. "You are their leader now."

Scourge raised his head, looking first at the treetops showing over the Twoleg nests and then at the cats. "I, Scourge, am the leader of BloodClan, the greatest Clan there is." The cats howled in agreement, and Scourge continued smugly. "We rule Twolegplace, but is that enough? We must rule the forest as well!"

Cats cheered and yowled as their new leader continued. "When the time is right, we will enter the forest and destroy the other cats who live in there! Then we will be the very most powerful of all!"

The loud meows echoed in the clearing between the abandoned Twoleg nests. Scourge grinned wickedly. He would become the greatest leader there ever was.