A.n: So this update is a little...eh... later than I promised. Please don't kill me for that reason, just who I kill ^^
He recognized the shadow before he even saw the cat he knew as his father, walking into the ThunderClan camp as if he had already won.
"Tigerstar," The growl traveled through the Clan like wind, and the warriors that once knew the huge dark tabby stood, turning to challenge him though they were bloody and broken from their fight before.
"ThunderClan," The former leader sniffed, his scarred nose wrinkling as if he had smelled something rotting. "I came to offer you a way of survival, but if you don't want it…" His thick tail swished through the crimson mud and dying the tip the thick brown color.
"We don't want your tricks and lies," Cloudtail snarled weakly.
Brambleclaw bristled angrily, before spitting, "Get out of our Clan."
"We'll win this battle yet," Millie warned from the body of her deceased mate, with Blossomfall and Bumblestripe standing that their mother's flank.
The younger warriors all looked terrified of the legendary Tigerstar, but they too snarled and thrashed their tails back and forth, silent but menacing.
"Fools, traitors and scum," the tabby spat, though a smile was curling his muzzle. "You do not speak for ThunderClan. Your kittypet leader does. So let him step forward."
The cats of ThunderClan glanced around, wondering where their leader was. Brambleclaw ducked away into the medicine cat den, saddened that he had to interrupt the grieving family. "Firestar?" He called tentatively, and stepped into the shadows of the medicine den, letting his eyes adjust until he could see four pairs of eyes reflecting light back at him.
"Brambleclaw, what is it?" The orange tom stood from his place beside Sandstorm. Leafpool was sleeping by their paws, and Squirrelflight looked up at her mate with despair deep in her eyes. "Has there been another attack?"
Brambleclaw couldn't hide the growl that snuck in with his words. "Tigerstar is here to talk about our terms of surrender." The tabby had to restrain himself from spitting on the ground inside the shadowy brambles, knowing that Jayfeather would have his tail for it.
Firestar's eyes darkened, and the old leader stood taller, his chest ruffling as the ginger fur bristled and smoothed. He stalked past his deputy with the grace of the legendary cats, with Sandstorm hard on his tail with one glance back at her daughter. Squirrelflight was still beside her, and Jayfeather moved to the other cats in the den; Toadstep muttered while lying on some moss, attempting to keep quiet, and Poppyfrost sat by Berrynose, who had returned sometime during the battle. The tabby turned to go, but Jayfeather's hiss stopped him.
"Help me redress Ivypool's wound," The tabby said, before showing Brambleclaw where to place his paws so that he could quickly help the silver she-cat.
"Don't you have Brightheart to do this?" Brambleclaw mewed impatiently as Jayfeather asked if Ivypool needed anything else. The blind tom rounded on him quickly, and stared him in the eyes, something that the cat that had acted as his father, and seen him flounder around in snow drifts and after leaves, would never get used to. "Don't you remember that Brightheart has kits to attend to? She gave up enough time to help me get ready, and fought with Sorreltail. Then she came back to help with the injured cats. Overall, she's been more help than you have been, Brambleclaw, so if you can keep your fur on for just a couple extra heartbeats, you can go."
The sharp words stung, and he recoiled slightly. Jayfeather was known for his acidic tongue, but he had never spoken to the deputy like that before. "Jayfeather, I'm sorry, it's just that… Tigerstar…"
"Don't you think that's why I have you in here?" The tomcat gruffly mewed before fidgeting with some herbs, splitting a leaf along it's veins with precision that made Brambleclaw awed.
"You don't want me to see him? Why not?"
"Brambleclaw, so many cats have barely gotten over your heritage. Do you really want to jeopardize that by letting your temper loose on your father?"
The dark tabby realized that the younger cat was just trying to help him in any way possible. "How long do you want me in here, then?" He settled back on his haunches, watching Ivypool slowly grow in anxiety. "When can I go too?" She blurted, eyes glowing.
"Soon, both of you. I actually do need help, Briarlight is with her family, Brightheart is with her kits, and Leafpool-" The grey tabby choked as he said the name of his old mentor.
Ivypool touched her nose to the tabby's shoulder as he paused by her, and the tom seemed to shake himself or shiver, and thanked the she-cat with a short nod. His blue eyes turned to the opening of the den, and Jayfeather froze, ears twitching before telling both the cats that they could leave.
Brambleclaw offered a murmur of solace as he passed back into the sunlight, wincing with each step. The broken ribs were really bothering him now, even though most of the scratches were scabbing or clotting with the blood that was drying on his fur.
"Bramblclaw!" The medicine cat called to him, and he glanced over his shoulder. "Don't think I didn't see that," He smirked, blue eyes narrowing. "You will be back in here very soon. Don't make me come out into the battle to find you."
"Nothing gets by you, Jayfeather," The deputy muttered, mock resentment apparent in his voice. The darker tabby ducked out after Ivypool before Jayfeather could make him come back or sit for longer than he really needed to.
"-ThunderClan won't give up the lake to any cat," Firestar's voice could be heard easily as the two cats re-entered the main clearing, "Especially not a couple of half-dead ones." Venom laced the orange cat's words as he addressed the semi-transparent mirror of Brambleclaw. Tigerstar, instead of looking angry or harassed, only laughed shortly, his teeth baring in a smile that looked more like a snarl.
"Yet you let StarClan run the whole forest. Can I ask you what the difference is? Have your starry warriors even come to help you? Or, in their indifference, are they really just the same as us," The scars along the deceased's body stretched as he stepped toward Firestar, and Brambleclaw stopped short a tail-length behind his leader, bristling. He didn't think that Tigerstar would be as rash as to attack the leader in the middle of the Clan, but wouldn't stand the chance. "StarClan has abandoned you all, and they can't save you now."
The deputy barged between his father and his mentor, his broad shoulders pushing against the two cats, both equally solid as the other. "Stay away from him," he growled, deep in his throat, staring into the eyes of his father. He hadn't noticed before, but he had grown to almost the size of his father. Despite his broken and bloody body, the twin tabbies stood eye to eye, with bristling pelts and narrowed amber eyes.
"Son," Tigerstar ground out, as if it were painful to say the words themselves, "Get out of the way."
"Why would you suddenly be calling me Son?" He challenged, and then spat on the ground by Tigerstar's paws.
"You're right, a fool of me to think that you had actually grown a sense of family loyalty, not after you murdered your own brother," His amber eyes shot open at the word 'murder', and Brambleclaw winced before holding himself high. Some of the cats in the clearing looked shocked, while others eyed their deputy with apprehension.
"These fools don't even know your full power, and they're never going to full accept you. And you actually think that with your heritage, with me on your shoulder, that they would accept you as their leader?" The broad-shouldered tabby licked his jaws, extremely long claws curling into the ground, dirt rising up around them, just as if he were a living cat. "Have you even told them that you have been to my Dark Forest as well?"
Murmurs broke out among his Clanmates, scorn crossed many of their faces, and the ones that stared at him in disbelief quickly turned away when their deputy didn't reject the statement. His amber eyes flickered to his father, and then fixed on the ground between his paws. His massive shoulders slumped for a second before he gathered his courage and looked around the Clan. "Tigerstar came to me in my dreams and told me that I could serve the Clan better if he taught me to fight. I left once I saw what he really was, a monster."
Tigerstar's ears flicked. "From my own kin…" he growled, tail lashing. "Never mind that, because you didn't leave until after you killed your own brother after trying to kill that kittypet," A harsh jerk toward the ginger leader signified exactly who he was talking about. "You call me a monster when you worshipped me for teaching you how to take over your Clan," The dark tabby's voice had to rise above the wails of the Clan, and cats scrambled away from Brambleclaw as if he had greencough.
"I didn't know! Hawkfrost…. He did it himself…! Please! You have to believe me!" The younger cat spun to look desperately at ThunderClan.
"You're a disgrace!"
"How could you deceive us like this?"
"Banish him!"
"He belongs in the dark forest next to the rest of his kin!"
Brambleclaw felt like a kit again, as he stood in the middle of the clearing, the cats he had grown up with staring at him with hostility and wariness.
"ThunderClan!" Firestar tried to shout above the din, but it was no use.
"You did this!" Brambleclaw spun to Tigerstar, his teeth bared in hate. "My Clan trusted me and you've ruined it!" His words turned into a soundless yowl as he leap at his father, wounds forgotten as his claws snagged in the dark fur.
Both cats tumbled to the ground and rolled across the clearing, cats moving to let them through, but not one lifting a paw to help their traitorous deputy. Eventually they stopped, and Brambleclaw ended up on top, one paw poised to deal the death blow.
Tigerstar had a happy smirk on his face, and stared at his son with burning orange eyes. "Do you really think that you have the power to kill me, Brambleclaw?"
The deputy of ThunderClan hesitated, and stared down at his father, who wasn't even attempting to defend himself. He wanted nothing more than to rid the forest of his presence forever, and only nodded slowly before striking downward.
"Attack!" The howl split the forest and before any cat could move, more Dark Forest cats spilled through the barrier, swamping the ThunderClan population. Tigerstar stared gleefully up at Brambleclaw as a shadow covered both of them. The younger tom had enough time to look up and spot a pair of icy eyes before he was thrown back, sliding when he hit the muddy ground.
"How dare you go against our father! If you had only listened to him, your precious Clan could have survived!" Hawkfrost hissed as he advanced on his fallen brother.
"I will always be loyal to the forest cats first, and above them, my Clan!" Brambleclaw snarled, leaping to his feet in time to dodge a swipe from the white-chested tom.
"Then you're a fool! And you will die for the cats you've betrayed, and the dream that you shattered! Our dream!"
The two cats leapt at each other, and there was a flurry of claws and muscle. Teeth snapped so close to Brambleclaw's neck that he felt his fur catch and pull before ripping out of his skin. He retaliated with a blow that made a hollow noise as it slammed into Hawkfrost's stomach. The tom went flying, but landed neatly on all his paws. He smirked before glancing at the cats that had made a ring around them. Some were his clanmates, others were Dark Forest cats as they watched the two brothers fight. Also in this clearing, Tigerstar and Firestar rolled until both their pelts were covered in dried mud, and the foes were only recognizable by their eye colors.
Hawkfrost let his brother watch the battle, eyes bright with malice as he watched Brambleclaw tense to leap to his leader's side. "Not so fast,"
The dark tom landed on top of the deputy, pulling him onto his side and slithering around to pin him to the mud. Amber eyes glared up at him, but the words that he attempted to say were lost in the howling of the cats around them. Together, they turned their attention to the long-time enemies that ripped at each other with the ferocity of the ancient cats of legend.
Firestar slapped his paw against Tigerstar's muzzle, unbalancing the huge cat while scraping thorn-sharp claws along his flank, where the fur fell away to show a ghastly wound. The tabby returned in kind, turning his head to catch Firestar's paw and crunching it between his massive jaws. A yowl came from the ginger leader as he leapt onto Tigerstar's back and dug his hind claws in before raking them repeatedly over the spine of his enemy. The dark tabby rolled onto the ground, squashing the ThunderClan cat and pressing his shoulders back into the dirt, a muffled snarl could barely be heard. When the Dark Forest leader leapt to his paws and spun to face his nemesis, he stared down at a coughing pile of muddy fur. With a huge leap, he bowled the smaller tom onto his back, growled a quietly in his year, then took his time biting down on the leader's jugular vein.
"No!" Brambleclaw writhed out from under his brother and rushed across the empty space the other cats had cleared. "You can't kill him!" He flung his whole body onto his father, and in the process, dislodged Tigerstar's teeth from his beloved leader's neck.
His father rolled twice before getting to his paws, laughing quietly. "This looks so familiar, doesn't it Brambleclaw?" He growled seductively, his voice nothing if not like the low roll of thunder signaling the oncoming of a hurricane. "You can choose us, and we might spare you. Or you could choose your Clan and you will die."
The young deputy wasn't an inexperienced warrior, pining for his leader's attention anymore. If the Clan didn't forgive him, fine. But he would prove his worth to them. "I rather die than stand beside you!" He hissed, taking a pace forward. Tigerstar looked nonchalantly past Brambleclaw, and nodded coolly. The tabby turned in time to see his brother plunge his claws into Firestar's throat. The blood pooled up and around his paw as the leader struggled to breath, mouth gaping before dying with a hoarse groan.
A.N: -dancing on Firestar's grave- he's dead! YEA! Properly, without lightening, or discharged with honors, or whatever! He's MORTAL! And now Tigerstar gets to kick his body around for another chapter!
ps, what do you think will happen to ThunderClan now that Firestar's gone? D