hhhhhh I RISE FROM THE FIERY GRIPS OF HEEEEEECK TO GIVE YOU THE ALMOST LAST CHAPTER. im so sorry it took so long i just... really wasn't in the mood to write for the longest time. bUT HERE WE ARE WITH A MONSTER OF A CHAPTER.

-break-

Fireheart felt as though his blood had turned to ice as Darkstar leapt down to stand next to the small black tom. The black tabby flashed his teeth at the SunClan cats and then turned to the collared cats—BloodClan—and spoke.

"BloodClan, attack!" The cats that had come together to form SunClan tensed and prepared for—nothing. The BloodClan cats didn't move a mouse length. Darkstar's smile slipped off his face, replaced by a confused frown.

"What are you all doing just standing there!?" Darkstar growled, becoming quickly and visibly frustrated. "Attack!" The small black tom was the one who answered.

"BloodClan answers to me and me only. They will only follow my orders." Darkstar let out an angered growl and stalked over to the black cat.

"Then you order them to attack!" Darkstar growled, fur bristling. The black tom looked away.

"I never quite realized how annoying your orders were until now." He said softly. With a roar of anger, Darkstar leaped at the small black cat, claws unsheathed when—in the blink of an eye—the smaller tom ducked underneath him and slashed upward into the smoky tabby's stomach. Fireheart recalled his nightmares and his eyes widened realizing that this could have been Tigerstar.

Darkstar fell to the ground next to the small tom who began licking his claws. The tabby's body spasmed for a moment before stilling. It then gurgled to life, but the cats around him watched in horror as he stilled again, cycling through almost life and death again nine times before finally, Darkstar was dead.

"Who…" Tigerstar began weakly, "Who are you?" Tigerstar spoke louder now, looking up into the cold icy blue eyes of the small tom.

"I am Scourge," The cat spoke, "Leader of BloodClan and the new owner of this forest." Cats recoiled at that. Scourge looked at them, and despite his size, Fireheart had the feeling that Scourge was looking down on them.

"This forest has an abundance of prey, far more than twolegplace will ever hold. So, I want this forest for my own. You have until the next half-moon to leave, and after that, my Clan will not hesitate to strike you down where you stand." Scourge waited for no reply, and gestured for his cats to follow him as he left.

Now that the threat was gone, Fireheart decided to look at the other cats' reactions. Tigerstar and Tallstar both looked tense and horrified, Leopardstar and Blackfoot both had a mixture of relief and terror in their eyes, and many cats looked restless and nervous.

"Blackfoot…" Leopardstar spoke after a moment, turning to the ShadowClan deputy, "Shall we agree to disband MoonClan?" the spotted she-cat asked softly. Blackfoot nodded wordlessly. Tallstar stepped closer to the two and their cats.

"Leopardstar, Blackfoot, as the leaders of your two Clans you understand we must fight for our land." the two cats started at his words and worried murmurs floated through the cats.

"We can't fight that!" Leopardstar yowled, fear evident in her voice, "He killed Darkstar! All nine of his lives, gone in one blow!" many affirming meows came from all of the gathered cats.

"How do we know if we don't try?" Many cats—including Fireheart—sent a look of surprise at Blackfoot. The white tom stepped forward.

"I have done many terrible things—many to the other Clans, many more to my own—and I may never atone for that. But maybe fighting for my Clan—for all the Clans—I can gain the trust of my Clan. ShadowClan has always been the Clan too easily corrupted, the Clan the was supposed to fill the others with fear, but now ShadowClan must move past its history of blood and violence, and now we all must come together to fight this abomination." Fireheart was genuinely surprised to hear such words from Blackfoot of all cats. But he was still thankful as cats started agreeing with him.

Tallstar dipped his head at the new leader, "Then at the half moon, we will all come together and fight off BloodClan. You should go to the moonstone tomorrow night to recieve your nine lives." Blackfoot nodded to Tallstar and called for his Clan to leave. Leopardstar's eyes flashed with worry as she left with her Clan.

Tallstar and Tigerstar nodded to each other, before both leaders led their Clan to their separate territories. On the walk home, Tigerstar spoke with Fireheart about the coming battle.

"ShadowClan and RiverClan we could fight, we know their techniques and have fought against them before, if separately, but these cats are an unknown besides the fact that their leader can kill a cat nine times over." Fireheart thought about this for a moment.

"I know a cat. A couple cats if the first one doesn't work out." Fireheart finally said. Tigerstar relaxed slightly and smiled at Fireheart. Fireheart felt his pelt heat slightly as he continued.

"I'll go talk to them tomorrow."

-break-

"BloodClan? Oh, every cat around here knows about BloodClan." Fireheart smiled at his old friend.

"So you can tell me about them then?" Fireheart asked hopefully, but Smudge just shook his head.

"Nope. I've never met one, but a friend of mine has! She said his name was 'Erbarly' or something. What kind of a name is that, right?" Smudge purred. Fireheart blinked. 'Erbarly' must have been Barley!

"Well, even if you don't know much about BloodClan, you've given me a lead. Thanks Smudge!" Fireheart meowed, before turning and jumping off the fence the two stood on.

"No problem! Visit more! Princess is having another litter!" Fireheart blinked in surprise at the last comment, but decided to investigate it more later. He would head out to Barley's barn that night, hopefully skirting around Blackfoot.

-break-

"So would you care to enlighten me as to why we are on the path to Mothermouth?" Tigerstar asked, looking a little ruffled. Fireheart had dragged the tom out of his den and forced him to begin the trek without traveling herbs or a full night's rest.

"You'll see." Tigerstar groaned at those words.

"You do realize Blackfoot is going to get his nine lives? We won't be able to intrude on that!" Tigerstar hissed quietly. Fireheart rolled his eyes.

"We're on the path to Mothermouth but we're not actually going to Mothermouth." Fireheart meowed back. Tigerstar sighed and continued to let Fireheart guide them to their destination.

On the way the two came across a WindClan patrol made of Onewhisker, Gorsepaw, and Mudclaw. Mudclaw remained completely composed, and dipped his head at the two, but Onewhisker brightened slightly at the sight of Fireheart, and Gorsepaw fluffed up a bit in excitement. Fireheart smiled at the two and nodded back to Mudclaw before continuing onwards.

The two arrived at the barn just as the sun started to peak over the horizon. The days were getting shorter, and it wouldn't be long before all the trees would become vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows, matching Fireheart's fur for once.

As Fireheart was about to jump into the barn, he realized that Ravenpaw was in there. The Ravenpaw that Fireheart and Graystripe had hidden at Barley's barn to protect him from Tigerstar. The same Tigerstar that stood just behind him now.

"Hey, Tigerstar?" The tabby looked up at Fireheart, "do you think you could stay behind for now?" Tigerstar narrowed his eyes at Fireheart, but stood down, settling by the doorway. Fireheart walked in, pawsteps soft and soon found Ravenpaw.

"Fireheart!" The black tom smiled as he saw his old friend, and trotted over.

"How is everyone?" Fireheart quickly realized that Ravenpaw probably didn't even know that Bluestar was dead, and realized he had a lot of explaining to do first.

"Well, uh, a lot has changed since we last spoke. Bluestar lost her last life a while back… Tigerstar is leader now—he has been for a while." Ravenpaw sucked in a quick breath, his fur bristling slightly.

"And I uh, I know what you're thinking, but trust me when I say he's gotten… different." Ravenpaw blinked at Fireheart in confusion. "Different how?" Ravenpaw asked, suspicion painting his voice.

"I think leadership or maybe deputyship or something mellowed him out a little. He's a good leader. A good cat now. He's changed." Ravenpaw narrowed his eyes at Fireheart, looking for something. After a moment though, he sighed.

"Well what did you need?" Fireheart smiled at his friend. "Well I was wondering if-"

"Ravenpaw?" Fireheart flinched at the sound of Tigerstar's voice, and he whipped around, eyes wide. Ravenpaw calmly stepped up next to him.

"Congratulations on becoming leader Tigerstar." Ravenpaw's voice was flat and cold, revealing that the black tom likely knew how Tigerstar had achieved his rank. Tigerstar looked as if he had just seen a living ghost, which, admittedly, was understandable, seeing as he thought Ravenpaw long dead.

"Tigerstar I-I can explain-" "No." Surprisingly enough, it was Ravenpaw who cut Fireheart off. "If Tigerstar has any issues about this then he should say them to me." Tigerstar flinched at Ravenpaw's tone, and looked down.

"No, I understand." Tigerstar spoke softly. Fireheart blinked at the dark tabby tom.

"I thought… I don't know… but I was a threat to you, and Fireheart knew that. He did the right thing. Something I now see." Tigerstar meowed softly. Ravenpaw stared quietly at him for a few heartbeats before turning back to Fireheart

"So, you came here for a reason other than Tigerclaw-er Tigerstar, right?" Fireheart nodded.

"I was hoping to speak with Barley about something." Ravenpaw turned and called out to his barnmate. The black and white tom returned the call with a tired groan. Fireheart walked over to Barley, tentatively leaving Ravenpaw with Tigerstar who looked very uncomfortable.

The plump tom grumbled when Fireheart walked over, but looked up at him nonetheless.

"So, what did you need from me?" Fireheart shuffled his paws a little, almost afraid to answer.

"Were you part of BloodClan?" Fireheart asked bluntly after a moment. Barley tensed slightly, eyes widening.

"How do you know about BloodClan?" Barley said, sitting up.

"BloodClan has come to the forest and is threatening to take it for their own and kill any cat who defies their wishes." Fireheart said, trying not to let the immense fear he felt leak into his voice. Barley was silent for a moment.

"BloodClan… is ruthless… but their weakness is that they are united by their fear of Scourge, not by shared faith in each other and in their ancestors. Without Scourge, they will fall, and Scourge will fall because the only thing he will ever believe in is his own claws and teeth. But that is all I can say on the matter." Fireheart nodded, thankful for what little Barley could tell. The two headed back towards Tigerstar and Ravenpaw.

As the leader and deputy prepared to leave, Tigerstar paused. "Ravenpaw, would you like to return home?" Ravenpaw blinked at Tigerstar, and Fireheart turned a confused gaze to his leader. "You may have left, and your friends and family may think you're dead, but they're still there and would accept you. Barley could join as well if he wished." Ravenpaw gave Tigerstar a stern look before replying.

"I am home. Going back to ThunderClan would only open up old wounds. That and I would be an outcast. I knew what would happen should I leave." Tigerstar seemed almost dejected for a moment, but straightened and turned away. Fireheart gave one last glance at the two, before following suit.

-break-

Tonight was the night. The moon was perfectly halved by shadows, and Tigerstar was gathering warriors. Snowpaw would stay behind with the elders and with Mousefur who had revealed to her clanmates not long ago that she was pregnant with Longtail's kits—making the tom almost jump with joy—and would be kitting any day now.

Yellowfang decided to return to duty for this battle, much to Fireheart's worry. Willowpelt had left her kits in the care of Mousefur, and every other warrior had come to join the fight.

And now, Fireheart stood watching as the four leaders of the four Clans plotted out how they intended to send in their warriors. Fireheart felt a tug of worry hearing he would be fighting a ways away from Tigerstar, and as cats started to split up, Fireheart wondered for a moment if this would be the last battle the Clans ever faced. Fireheart blinked as Tigerstar approached him, and as seconds passed, the two simply stood there, both looking nervously at the other.

"Good luck out there. And, uh… In case one of us dies out there… I'd like you to know-" Tigerstar paused, seemingly fumbling for words. Fireheart felt his heart twist tighter with each passing moment as Tigerstar remained silent. "Fireheart, I-"

"I love you." Fireheart spoke softly, and Tigerstar started slightly, but before anything else could be said, Fireheart had turned and dashed off to where his group was already separating from the rest.

Fireheart stood near the front as one of the higher ranking cats in his group, and thus had a good view of the four leaders as they approached Scourge. He could not hear their words, but he did hear the call to attack.

And then everything started phasing together. Fireheart leapt into a fray of screaming cats and tore at a silver she-cat's throat and she was dead. Fireheart fought side by side with Stonefur and watched as a heavy black and white tom got the better of RiverClan's deputy.

Fireheart felt rage swell in him and he clawed at this cat, and suddenly his former apprentice and nephew was next to him, and the two brought down this hulking cat. When the tom ceased moving, a couple BloodClan cats noticed and turned to flee. Fireheart blinked in surprise before realizing this was a cat that he had always seen standing by Scourge, so he must be high-ranked or something similar.

Fireheart looked around, the haze of battle still muddling his thoughts, when he saw a lithe tabby she-cat standing over Bramblepaw, claws poised to kill. Fireheart felt panic swell in him, and his paws were moving before he could force them to. He hurtled into the she-cat and knocked the breath out of both of them.

Winded, Fireheart lay prone on top of the she-cat for a few heartbeats, and it was then that he smelled something on her. It was… milk? Fireheart jolted slightly and was kicked off. He stood on shaky paws, trying to regain his footing, as the tabby she-cat hissed violently at him.

Now that he had a moment of peace, Fireheart realized this she-cat was scarred and thin. He hesitated in fighting against her—a queen—and she took that advantage readily, launching herself at him, claws unsheathed. The two kicked and scratched at each other until Fireheart got the better of her, pinning her underneath him. He also realized where they were, which was near the edge of fourtrees, by the forest.

"Go." Fireheart hissed at her, and the she-cat looked puzzled as he let her up. "There's a tunnel under the Thunderpath that way, hide there and if I don't come find you by morning, run. Now go!" The she-cat scrambled off into the trees, looking scared and nervous. Fireheart could only hope now that he would live to find that she-cat.

Fireheart's thoughts were cut off by an anguished wail. That was Tawnypaw! Fireheart looked around frantically for his apprentice, when his gaze came to an abrupt stop on Tigerstar. Tigerstar's fallen body, and Scourge standing triumphantly over it. No. Anger and an agonizing feeling of sadness pushed away the logical thought that Tigerstar could just get back up, and Fireheart pushed through the throng of battling cats, towards one cat in particular and Fireheart threw himself at the small black tom with one white paw.

Scourge looked briefly surprised and was then tackled to the ground where Fireheart clawed at his face. Scourge pushed against Fireheart, but the problem with being small is that once you were pinned by a bigger cat, it was tough to get back up. And Fireheart did not hesitate, going straight for Scourge's neck.

As Fireheart bit into the small tom's neck, a strange sensation washed through him. He felt a stinging pain in his stomach, which was quickly washed away by numbness, and suddenly Fireheart was on the ground and it was so… So… Quiet? Fireheart didn't want to think about why that shouldn't be, though. He was… just… so… tired.

-break-

Fireheart blinked. He couldn't seem to recall what he'd just been doing, and that shook him. It was important, and terribly so, but he just couldn't quite think of what that was…

"Fireheart." The orange tom looked up to see Bluestar! He rushed forward, and suddenly realized something was wrong. He felt wrong. Too light, too energized, too… young. He looked at Bluestar, confusion and fear creeping through his being, when everything suddenly came back to him.

And almost as if a monster had just run him over, Fireheart realized what had happened; He was dead. Bluestar, though, smiled warmly, as though she knew something he did not.

"Fireheart," Bluestar spoke again, "I believe you know what just happened." Fireheart felt his throat constrict—he didn't want to die, he couldn't die, he couldn't—"And I want you to know, we didn't expect this to happen." Fireheart tilted his head in confusion.

"You see, Fireheart, time isn't just a straight path, or not really. It is a branch, like a tree's. And just like a tree has many branches, so does time. But just like all branches have the same leaves, So does each branch of time hold the same cats. And you, Fireheart, are an important cat, no matter the branch. And so, we cannot lose you in this one." Fireheart only found himself more confused at this talk of time and trees.

"What does this have to do with me being dead?" Fireheart asked. Bluestar's smile widened, and she pressed her nose to Fireheart's forehead. Suddenly it felt as though Fireheart had been plunged into a frosted river, and life rushed through his veins.

"The Clans cannot afford to lose you. And so, with this life, I give you the strength to keep pushing until the Clans need not your leadership anymore." And Fireheart woke up.

-break-

Fireheart rolled with his fall and realized that the gaping wound on his stomach was simply gone. Scourge started—shocked that a cat he had very clearly just felled was now standing again. Fireheart took that shock and leapt forth, catching Scourge's neck in between his teeth and biting down. A simple snap and Scourge fell limp—dead.

Fireheart looked up and realized he was just below the Great Rock. He clawed his way up, and once he was at the top, he yowled out below, "Scourge is dead!" Many cats of BloodClan turned to his voice and some fled immediately at the realization. Others looked for their leader, and upon finding that Fireheart spoke the truth, fled with their Clanmates.

The remaining few were either killed or fled knowing they could not win this battle. Fireheart slipped down as cats all around cheered and celebrated together—cats from all clans and all corners of Clan life rejoicing in this shared victory. For, for the first time in a long time, the Clans had won together.

-break-

i'm gonna save the tear-stained last message for the actual final chapter which should be out tomorrow if i don't fuck up, but we'll see.