Tigerclaw

Tigerclaw had seen Clans. He had even seen all of the Clans united during a Gathering. He had witnessed some of the strongest patrols to ever set foot in the forest. But all of those combined were nothing compared to the army that Tiny had gathered.

Behind the foodplace was much to small to hold all of them, and even when they found an empty space five times that size the cats were still overflowing onto the street. The sound of a million whispers was deafening. Even Tiny seemed surprised.

"I must admit, Tigerclaw," he murmured from the corner of his mouth, "I thought that only a couple dozen would show up. This is at least half of all the street cats in the city!"

Princess nodded, "Shredder isn't very popular."

"So what do we do?" Sasha interrupted, "Just keep speaking?"

"That may be wise," Tigerclaw mewed, "We don't want them to make a decision like this on the spur of the moment."

Sasha snorted, "The only reason that they're here is because of the spur of the moment. Any minute they'll start to leave."

"You're right," Tiny agreed, "It's time to make our move."

Tigerclaw and Tiny leapt up onto a large box. It took a few moments, but the cats before them quieted down and turned their eyes to their young leader. In the ensuing silence, a falling feather would have been heard.

"My friends," Tiny began, "My fellow cats. We have all felt the wrath of Shredder. His mindless rages. His pointless laws. Shredder is growing older, and his sanity is growing ever smaller. We cannot let this cat rule!"

Cheers resounded from the crowd.

Tiny continued, "Should we sit by and watch as this happen?"

"NO!"

"Should we wait for another cat to save us?"

"NO!"

"WILL WE TAKE WHAT IS OURS!"

"YES!"

Tiny threw his head up towards the sky and yowled, "FOLLOW ME!" Then he bounded down from the box and bolted through the crowd, Tigerlaw close behind him. As they reached, they slowed to a walk to allow the cats behind to keep a steady pace.

As they padded over the asphalt, Tiny turned to Tigerclaw, "Do you think I can beat Shredder?"

Tigerclaw paused, then answered, "I've never met him… But I think you could take most cats on these streets."

"I've been practicing." Tiny sounded like he was reassuring himself more than informing Tigerclaw.

Tigerclaw was no stranger to the pre battle jitters, "Just relax. Remember your training. This Shredder will probably be out of practice. Cocky. Your size will throw him off. Don't mess around. Don't be dramatic. Just go for the kill."

Tiny narrowed his eyes, "I'll try. But Shredder's go a reputation…"

"Reputations are often magnified. Only trust what you've seen. I always expect the best. And I hardly ever meet it. Never underestimate an opponent."

Tiny nodded, "Cats have underestimated me all the time. I won't make that mistake."

Tigerclaw felt another pang of sadness. The streets were so much colder than the forest.

It didn't take long for them to reach Shredder in the heart of the twoleg place. It was an abandoned twoleg nest, big enough to house every cat they had brought with them. Tough looking cats eyed the newcomers with hungry eyes. One big, brown cat stepped in Tiny's way.

"Get lost, kit. There's no place for you here." He growled.

Tiny eyed the bigger rogue, "I'm here to challenge Shredder." His mew was loud and clear. Multiple heads turned. Shredder's cats began to rise to their paws, murmuring excitedly to each other.

The big cat only purred, "That's a joke, right? You wouldn't even be a snack for Shredder. Like I said before. Get. Lost."

Tiny's paw flashed briefly through the air, and the brown rogue collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide in shock, as blood pumped from his throat. Tiny merely stepped over his body and continued to pad towards the twoleg nest. Tigerclaw spotted Fox glaring at Tiny and his horde with hate filled eyes. We've stolen his thunder.

Before they could reach the nest, Tiny raised his tail, ordering the cats to stop.

"SHREDDER!" He yowled, "I CHALLENGE YOU!" There was no reply.

"SHREDDER!" Tiny roared, "ARE YOU TOO SCARED TO EXCEPT MY CHALLENGE? HIDING BEHIND YOUR PATHETIC GUARDS?"

Murmurs of surprise rippled through the surrounding cats. Was Shredder going to back down before the fight even started?

Just when Tigerclaw was about to sigh in relief, a huge, jet black tom emerged from the shadows. A collar of dog teeth shone around his neck. The fur around his muzzle was graying, but that did nothing to damp the ferocity in his eyes, "A kit? A kit is challenging me? Out of all of your fighters, only the kit has the guts to stand up. Pathetic."

Then Shredder charged. The sudden move caught Tiny by surprise, and it was only his speed that saved him. The small cat ducked under a vicious swipe, dancing back out of range. Shredder attacked again, and Tiny dodged again, this time managing to rake his claws across Shredders side. Unfazed, Shredder struck again, forcing Tiny to go on the defensive.

Tigerclaw noticed that Shredder's claws were long. Unnaturally long. He quickly realized that Shredder was wearing a huge pair of claws over his own. The odds were stacked. One hit from those would end the fight.

Tiny narrowly dodged another blow and landed one of his own, striking Shredder across the eye. The Lord of the Street staggered backwards, growling in pain and anger. Then Tiny dove forward, biting down onto the base of Shredder's spine. Shredder was dead before his bloodied fur touched the asphalt.

There was a moment of dead silence. Tiny stood panting, blood dripping from his muzzle. Shredder's half open eyes stared out at nothing.

Then, from deep within the crowd, a cat mewed, "He's… he's a scourge!"

Like water from a raging river, sound flooded back into the camp, "SCOURGE! SCOURGE! SCOURGE! SCOURGE!"

Amid the wild chants, Tiny bent down and eased the bone collar off of Shredder's neck with one claw. He slipped his own head into it, his eyes shining with victory.

"SCOURGE! SCOURGE! SCOURGE! SCOURGE!"