It was painful, the feeling of reinforced claws slicing across his neck and chest. The raw agony blinded him as he faded in and out of consciousness. He couldn't breathe as his vision filled with fighting cats and bloodstained grass, before being consumed by shadows.
Firestar felt a howl tearing out of his throat as he tried to gain his bearings. Every time his awareness returned he tried to stand, but overwhelming pain caused the darkness to rush back in and make him buckle. His limbs spasming with raw agony.
He wouldn't forget the look of victory and smugness on Scourge's face.
Finally though, it began to fade, and Firestar was left with nothing but darkness.
He wasn't sure how long he lay there. Mind numb with the pain. Body heavy and fur matted with blood. But when he finally opened his eyes, it wasn't to the gory battlefield he'd been facing Scourge in. It was a peaceful starry meadow, one he recognized quickly.
StarClan.
With a pained grunt, Firestar forced his paws beneath him, struggling to sit up. Why was his body so heavy? Was losing a life always this painful?
"Firestar..." came a familiar voice ahead of him.
Glancing up with a start, he was met with the stern icy eyes of his mentor, his leader, Bluestar. He was reminded of the warrior she'd been, before Tigerstar's betrayal, at her death, and finally at his leader ceremony.
Except there was something unnerving about her expression. It was one of repressed sorrow. A carefully composed face to hide the pain she truly felt beneath.
"Bluestar?" He croaked, swallowing thickly, his throat felt dry and course. Like he'd swallowed dust. If what he remembered from Bluestar's own lost lives, he'd recover from this pain soon enough.
"So I've lost a life?" He asked, finally managing to stand on all four legs. Staring down at his fiery pelt, he saw the wound on his throat was gone, no blood stained him, and yet he felt weaker then ever.
Bluestar didn't answer, her eyes closing as if another wave of grief had passed over her, and she was trying to repress it.
He couldn't swallow the feeling that something was terribly wrong. With a terrified jolt, he realized he and Bluestar weren't the only cats here. His eyes widened as it seemed that almost the entirety of StarClan was gathered around them. Motionless as they watched him, the starry tall grass rustling against all their paws. The silence was eery and unnerving.
Runningwind, Lionheart, Stonefoot, Silverstream, Redtail, little Gorsepaw, and many many more familiar faces. All sharing similar looks of despondency and sadness.
"Bluestar what's going on?" He asked, feeling his desperation grow. He needed to get back, his clan needed him!
"Bluestar!" He cried again, louder, more urgently, and that seemed to finally snap Bluestar out of her thoughts.
"You've lost more then a life Firestar..." she said gravely, her voice even, but even he could hear the undertones of pain "You've lost nine..."
Firestar stumbled back with a gasp. His horror practically choking him as he struggled to comprehend what she just told him. All nine?! No! He couldn't die! Not like this! Not when his clan needed him!
"I can't have! I can't! My clanmates! They need me! I have to go back!" He cried, looking around desperately, stopping as his eyes caught sight of something behind him. Something he didn't recognize at first.
It was a large pool of water, as starry as the grass that rustled all around them. And in the reflection of that water, he saw a horrifying sight.
His clanmates, losing the battle. He raced forward, a wail tearing from his throat as he leaned over the edge, thrusting his face right to the water's surface.
He watched as Deadfoot was pinned to the ground, his throat ripped out by a BloodClan cat. Mousefur, screeching as she was overwhelmed by several more cats, desperately attempting to escape, only to be pulled back into battle by several reinforced claws. Leopardstar and Mistyfoot, fighting back to back, managing to hold off several BloodClan cats, but not for much longer. A WindClan cat he didn't recognize, leading several apprentices, including Stormpaw and Featherpaw, to safety.
And there, in the center of the clearing, stood a gloating and familiar figure. Scourge, his head thrown back into a victorious yowl.
Firestar's mangled corpse lying motionless beneath him.
"No!" Firestar cried, throwing himself forward, struggling to swim in the sparkling waters. Desperate to somehow reach his body. To kill scourge and save his clan, to save the clans. He struggled and thrashed as teeth dragged him furiously from the pool.
"Firestar stop it! There's nothing you can do!" Came Bluestar's stern, yet sympathetic voice, holding Firestar down as his fighting and thrashing cane to a stop.
He lay there panting. Eyes burning with sorrow as he chit them tightly. A low moan building in his throat. Swallowing it down, he looked to Bluestar again, desperately hoping for an answer. But none would come.
"There has to be something..." he pleaded, but they fell on deaf ears as Bluestar shook her head.
"There isn't..." she sighed, her tail hanging low as she stood beside her old deputy.
He was afraid to ask, but he needed to know. Standing up once again, he forced himself to meet her gaze, to face the consequences of his failures.
"What... what happens now?" He asked, his eyes wandering back to the audience of StarClan.
Bluestar sighed "Not all our cats were killed but... they're scattering," she said, approaching the pool once again, where the battle was coming to an end. Bodies strewn across the grass below, most belonging to clan cats.
"They're in shambles now... the clans... are no more," She mewed with a sad tip of her head, lifting it once more to address not only Firestar, but the StarClan cats in attendance.
"Our clanmates are scattering, and in order to watch over them, we must do the same. Just as the clans have scattered, so too must we!" She called, trying to keep a brave face, but her voice had a slight waver.
The StarClan cats began to disperse, all walking in separate directions. Presumably following in the pawsteps of their living descendants. To watch over them and guide them in any way they could.
Firestar shook his head, this wasn't his things were supposed to be. LionClan was supposed to win! They were supposed to take back the forest!
"Bluestar! Please! Things can't end like this!" He cried, pleading as his mentor began to follow the forms of a dark ginger tom and blue grey tom. Her mate and son, Oakheart and Stonefur.
"I was supposed to be the fire that saved the clans!" He cried, his grief and shame overwhelming him. Tears welling up in his eyes as he silently begged his mentor to stay, to offer some kernel of wisdom, to tell him there was some hope for the future.
But Bluestar looked as grief stricken as him, her head dipping sadly, turning back to face him. He almost wished she didn't look so understanding. He wished she'd screech at him, hiss and bristle over his defeat. Something, anything.
"Prophecies aren't set in stone Firestar, and the only thing we can do now, is move forward and do what we can for the clanmates we have left," she said, sighing she turned forward once again, holding her tail high, as she padded forward to join her family.
Firestar let out another groan, turning to face the starry pool. The only cat left now. Staring down at the chaos, the one his failures had caused. Bowing his head as he shut his eyes.
"I'm so sorry..." he mewed softly, but there was no one left to hear him.
"I failed."
—
Wow that started off on a dark and depressing note didn't it?
This is an idea I've had planned out for a long time now and I'm finally inspired enough to start writing it. This is a sort of AU of the ending In the first arc and the second arc completely. Several things have been changed for this AU, including but not limited too...
-Firestar, in his fight with Scourge, loses all nine lives in one fell swoop
-At least 40-50% of the clans have been wiped out and scattered. BloodClan now rules the forest.
-Sandstorm is already pregnant with Squirrelkit and Leafkit.
-SkyClan does not exist. I've tried thinking of many different ways to implement it's existence but it just makes the story too long and convoluted. The clans are gonna have a hard enough time fixing themselves, let alone a whole other clan. I'm sure there are ways to do it but my brain isn't big enough to come up with them
-StarClan is scattered. The StarClan cats have separated to follow and watch over their clanmates.
These are a few of the things changed up in this AU, but that's all I'll reveal for now to avoid spoilers. New additions to this AU will be further explained in the chapters they appear in.
I wanted to explore the idea of what would happen if LionClan had lost the fight against BloodClan. Because I think prophecies should be guides and not complete predictions of the future. And what happens when you have to fix your own problems instead of relying on StarClan to spoon feed it to you. AVoS angered me a tiny bit in that regard.
Anyways! This author's note is getting too long! I hope to update this story at the end of each month. Any constructive criticism or feedback is appreciated! Have a good day!