Thank you all soooo much for the reviews! Usually when I put up a new fanfic, it takes a while to get reviews, but man, these came in fast!

This chapter probably isn't as good as the last one…I dunno. It tells how Rusty never came to the forest and how Tigerstar took over.

Whoever reviews gets a Tigerstar/claw plushie! Yeah! Can I get a whoot whoot? *silence* Fine, take a Sandstorm plushie. *shreds Tigerstar plushie in a shredder*

Oh, right. DISCLAIMER—I do not own Warriors. I do not own any of the thirty-four books. (There are thirty-four, right?) I am just a fan! Do not sue me! *hides under couch*

...Fire will never save the Clans…

Rusty could see the mouse. It was wriggling under some leaves.

His belly growled. Rusty licked his lips and pounced.

"Oomph!" He hit the ground and the mouse scurried away. Rusty scowled and gave chase to it.

He finally got the mouse cornered. It didn't sense his presence, which Rusty was glad for. He was careful not to move.

"Ruuuuuuuushiee…"

The mouse's ears pricked and it scampered under a rotting log.

Rusty hissed. Whoever had made that noise would have to pay.

"Ruuushieee."

Rusty felt himself being shaken, and he slowly opened his eyes to see one of his owners peering at him.

"Ruushiee…" She had one of those bad smelling bottles of liquid in her hand that always made her seem weird and talk funny. (A/N: In case you can't figure it out, she's drunk)

Rusty sighed. Sometimes when his owners drank the Bad Drinks they forgot to feed him. Usually he went to Smudge's house to eat when that happened, but now Smudge was with his owners on a vacation, and he wouldn't be coming back for three more days.

The male owner came in, and he was clutching a Bad Drink too.

Rusty headed for his food bowl, hoping it was filled. It wasn't. His stomach growled again.

Rusty padded over to the female housefolk and did his best to meow pitifully and turn her attention to his food bowl.

"Whaas Ruuushieee doin?"

Rusty hissed in frustration. "Meow," he tried.

It didn't work again.

Then he remembered his dream. Maybe he could catch a mouse to eat.

He hurried out the door and halted in the garden. The trees of the forest loomed above him, and he felt a twinge of fear.

But the hunger in his belly overwhelmed the fear in his heart, and he took a tentative step towards the oak towers of leaves and branches.

Rusty jumped on the fence and prepared to venture out into the forest. "Come on, Rusty," he meowed to himself. "You can do this."

"Ruuushieee no!"

Rusty felt a pair of hands grab him and carry him away from the forest and back into the house. Darn it! he thought.

The hands set him on the floor in front of his food bowl. It had a piece of meat in it.

Well, it was something at least. Rusty gobbled it up.

After that his owners petted him and it was perfect. Why would a cat ever want to go into the forest when he had all he needs right here? Rusty thought as he purred with happiness. He vowed he would never leave these wonderful housefolk and his wonderful friends ever.

…Fire will never save the Clans…

Tigerclaw stood proudly on the Great Rock, looking down at the Clans. This Gathering would be memorable to every cat there.

It was working. Firestar was gone, never to even look upon a Clan cat.

Now Bluestar was dead—courtesy of Tigerclaw himself. Tomorrow would be the day he got his name and his nine lives.

Ravenpaw and Graypaw had been disposed of as well, as Tigerclaw couldn't have them exposing the secret about Redtail.

He also was about to carry out his master plan.

The other four leaders sat near him—Crookedstar, old and on his last life—Nightstar, old with one life left—and Tallstar, a thin cat who would be easy to kill.

The deputies also sat nearby.

It was time. Tigerclaw flicked his tail—a signal to his followers to kill.

They crept forward, unseen by any others.

Now for the announcement.

"Cats of the Clans!" Tigerclaw yowled.

Heads turned, giving him their full attention.

"It is time for some changes around here!" Out of the corner of his eye he saw his loyal cats aiming for Nightstar first—good. He had advised them to go for the weakest first.

Excited murmurings broke out.

"You can't change anything!" one cat countered. "You haven't even become a proper leader yet!"

"That won't take long!" Tigerclaw hissed.

"AUGHHH!"

Tigerclaw smirked as Nightstar and Crookedstar's screams were abruptly cut off, and their bodies thrown on the ground.

"What's going on?" Panicked meows echoed around Fourtrees as cats tried to escape but were blocked.

"There will be no more of this 'four Clans' talk! From now on, there will be one Clan, TigerClan, ruled by me!" Tigerclaw yowled.

Tallstar's screams ended, and Tigerclaw heard the thump which meant his body had been thrown down.

One by one, the other three deputies were killed.

"I will be backed up by an army of elite cats I have trained myself!"

Tigerclaw's followers slowly crept out from behind him and glared at the Clan cats with threatening eyes.

Every cat kept quiet out of fear.

"I will get rid of this Half-Clan filth we have!" Tigerclaw leaned down to give orders to three of his followers. "Kill Mistyfoot and Stonefur."

Chaos broke out as Mistyfoot and her brother tried to escape but were overwhelmed and brought down.

"SILENCE!" Tigerclaw yowled in a fit of rage. "Tonight you will all help in making the new TigerClan camp! Kits and elders, warriors and queens, apprentices, EVERY CAT!"

One cat padded up to him and glared at him. "You're a terrible cat!" she spat.

Tigerclaw gave her a mock smile. "Well if I'm so terrible, Sandpaw, then why are you talking to me?"

Sandpaw bared her teeth. "Because I feel like something's missing in my life, and somehow—somehow I know it's your fault!" She stalked away, leaving Tigerclaw speechless.

He couldn't believe it. She knew. Sandpaw knew—maybe not in her waking life, but subconsciously, he knew she remembered him. Firestar.

Tigerclaw shook his head a few times to clear it. "I also have one more thing to say. If any cat sees a kittypet anywhere in the forest, kill it. I don't care if you don't want to, but I will kill you if you don't kill it. And…if you kill a tom with fiery orange fur, bring his body to me."

There. Surely that would guarantee that Firestar would never set paw in the forest.

Tigerclaw glanced at Sandpaw, who was glaring at the ground. He wondered if he should dispose of her…no. There was no reason to…yet. He would just have to keep a very close eye on her.

He signaled to his followers that it was time to go, and he led TigerClan away from Fourtrees. They were surrounded by the followers to ensure that no cat would try to escape.

Some of the followers went to the camps to bring the cats that had stayed behind from the Gathering.

Tigerclaw, meanwhile, was breaking away from the cats and heading to the Moonpool to receive his nine lives and the authority he deserved.

Everything was going as planned. The resistance was at a minimum, the other leaders and deputies were gone, and TigerClan was beginning.

He pushed Firestar out of his mind—for now.

…Fire will never save the Clans…

Okay, I know the cats didn't protest much, but who cares?

In case anyone's wondering, the Tigerclaw-take-over-the-Clans-thing happened near what the end of Fire and Ice would have been. I know, Tigerclaw dominated the Clans fast.

And he killed Ravenpaw AND Graypaw! *smacks the life out of Bad Tigerstar*

Please let me know how I'm doing with this!

Ciao!

~LenzieKat