The tension in the battle patrol was unmatched as Russetstripe stood next to Scorchstar, watching with her breath hitched as she waited for RiverClan to approach beneath them. Her claws flexed – this was a reason worth fighting. Swiftstar led them into unnecessary fights, but when RiverClan threatened the cats she loved, Russetstripe refused to back down. Brambledusk stood on Scorchstar's other side, his amber eyes hard with the light of battle, and the strength of the warriors they had with them numbered in the hundreds.

The scent of RiverClan grew stronger and stronger, and Russetstripe could see them approach. At the head of the RiverClan patrol was Dapplestar – there was no mistaking her thick, tortoiseshell-and-white pelt and her green eyes that glowed with egotism and audacity. At her side was her deputy Shimmerwing, and on her other was the ginger-and-white tabby Runningflame. Russetstripe recognized the tom from so many moons ago – he had been the one to convince her not to leave WindClan, but now, he was an enemy, planning on harming the cats Russetstripe loved. If Russetstripe needed to rake her claws against him… she'd be just fine doing that.

Dapplestar's patrol edged closer to them, taking more ground in every stride as their walk slowly began to turn into a run. Just as Russetstripe could feel the ground shaking with their heavy paws, Dapplestar yowled out, "I am the leader of RiverClan, Dapplestar, who pales before no god or StarClan warrior. And I say… RiverClan, attack!" Then, with that command, the RiverClan patrol crashed into the WindClan line.

Russetstripe lunged at a gray tabby tom, recognizing him as Rippleheart from the meeting Swiftstar had with Dapplestar. She raked her long claws in his thick pelt, tearing out chunks of fur until she could see tufts that were tinged with blood. Rippleheart hissed furiously at her and turned on his heel, but Russetstripe ducked underneath his belly and clawed at the sensitive skin there. Rippleheart's blue eyes blazed with fire, and from the swiftness of his paws and the tautness in his muscles, Russetstripe realized he wouldn't be an easy opponent to defeat.

But she would be damned if she didn't try. Even though Rippleheart was strong… so was Russetstripe. She would have to use her strengths to her advantage, and turn Rippleheart's strengths into a weakness. Russetstripe leaped over Rippleheart's wide back and raked her claws against his side. Rippleheart lunged his jaws to bite at her neck, but Russetstripe was faster than him, and easily avoided his blow. She appeared on his other side, aiming for his own throat. Rippleheart drew both his paws down her head, sending her crashing to the ground. For a moment, Russetstripe's world spun as a throbbing pain battered through her head. Rippleheart's pelt was a blur of gray as he left her on the ground and turned to take on another enemy.

"Are you okay?" Blackdove's voice was rigid with worry as her jet-black pelt hovered above Russetstripe. She grabbed Russetstripe's scruff and helped her up. Russetstripe spit blood out of her mouth as the sound of battle shook the world to its core. She gave Blackdove a nod, and when Blackdove was about to reply, she was pinned to the ground by a mass of ginger-and-white tabby fur. Russetstripe knew who it was immediately. Runningflame!

"Get off her!" Russetstripe yowled as she jumped on Runningflame's back. Her dizziness evaporated like morning dew as fury gave her strength. Her front claws dug into Runningflame's shoulders and her back claws stuck into his haunches. Runningflame jumped off Blackdove, trying to shake Russetstripe off, but Russetstripe's grip was unmatched.

"Oh, you're a strong one, aren't you, lass?" The laughter in Runningflame's voice just made Russetstripe even more angry as she clung onto him. Who laughs in a battle? "Is this what you stayed in WindClan for?"

"If it means defeating arrogant weasel-hearts like you, then of course!" Russetstripe tightened her grip on her front claws while she loosened her back claws to score them down Runningflame's spine. Runningflame flipped himself over, hitting the ground and crushing Russetstripe with his greater weight. Russetstripe's grip loosened as Runningflame smothered her to the ground. She grabbed Runningflame's scruff with her teeth, sinking her teeth in as tight as she could. The tom grunted and his body visibly tensed with pain, and although he tried to escape Russetstripe's grip one more, her hold on him was iron clad.

The cry that would change the future of WindClan and RiverClan tolled through the battlefield.

"ShadowClan has betrayed us!"

Who did that come from?! Russetstripe tried to peer to see, but all she could see was Runningflame's striped orange back. Runningflame jumped off her, shaking out his blood-stained fur. Russetstripe pulled herself to her paws and searched desperately for the ShadowClan cats. She looked over her shoulder to see the ShadowClan warriors, their pelts rich with the scent of pine and darkness slamming themselves into the sleek-furred RiverClan cats.

"Damn!" Runningflame cursed loudly. He bounded away from Russetstripe, clearly not interested in continuing the fight. Russetstripe watched him go, puzzled as she watched the ShadowClan cats penetrate the RiverClan line with ease. She watched as Runningflame cut down cat after cat until he reached the blood-splattered pelt of Dapplestar in the middle of the battling cats.

Talonstar's thick tabby pelt was prominent in the mix of RiverClan and WindClan cats, and Russetstripe could see him raking his claws down the warrior Whitefeather's spine. So ShadowClan didn't betray us, she thought with a sigh of relief. She turned her head to see the other WindClan patrol, led by Lightningtalon, plunging themselves down the hill to join the battle. The tides had turned. RiverClan was now cornered on all sides by WindClan and ShadowClan.

The RiverClan cats continued to fight fiercely, and the sight of their stubbornness sent more strength into Russetstripe as she hoped they would just retreat. Russetstripe flung herself onto a cat she didn't recognize, and she prayed quietly that it was a RiverClan cat. Just as the cat turned to look at her, Russetstripe scored her claws down his face. The cat hissed with anger and brought his paws down on her ears, tearing both of them. Russetstripe clenched her jaw to stop a cry of pain, and she sank her teeth into the tom's throat. The tom flailed underneath her, and when he kicked her in her stomach, she let go of the warrior and watched him run away.

Suddenly, the number of RiverClan cats started to dwindle. Russetstripe lifted her head to see the tortoiseshell-and-white pelt of Dapplestar turning away from the crowd, and starting to run into the opposite direction towards RiverClan's camp. She's retreating! Russetstripe thought, watching several more RiverClan warriors follow her. But not all the warriors followed. Still, a handful of RiverClan warriors stood their ground, and Russetstripe could recognize Shimmerwing and Runningflame in the mix. You've got to be kidding me.

"After them!" Scorchstar yowled, and Russetstripe guessed it was delivered towards Dapplestar.

"Not on my watch!" snarled another cat.

"You'll have to get through us first!" Shimmerwing howled, throwing herself onto Scorchstar.

For a moment, admiration flashed through Russetstripe at the stubbornness of the RiverClan cats to save their leader. But it was replaced with a cold, hard fury as she realized that they were just prolonging their own defeat and putting their cats in more danger than they would be if they had just simply retreated all together. Do they all want to die? Because that's what's going to happen!

Scorchstar had ordered the WindClan cats to pursue the retreating army, and that was what they were doing. But they were being stopped by the remaining RiverClan cats that were in the way. Russetstripe examined a route around the rear guard that was staying to fight and started to follow it. She would teach Dapplestar a lesson for hurting the cats that meant the world to her.

But just as Russetstripe reached the streaming tail of the last cat in the RiverClan patrol, a heavy weight crashed into her and sent her to the ground. A tom with dappled gray fur sank his claws into her belly and flipped her over, his blue eyes blazing with fire. Russetstripe kicked him sharply in his abdomen and clawed him across the muzzle, but even as blood gushed from his new wounds, the tom didn't falter. With vicious, hardened paws, the tom slashed his claws against Russetstripe's chest. Russetstripe winced at the sudden jolt of agony that burned against her chest as his claws sank into her, and she pulled back, gasping with pain. The tom gave her one last kick in her stomach, sending her to the ground, and then raced away from her.

Russetstripe's wounds were flaring with pain. Even though WindClan and ShadowClan were faring well against the group of RiverClan cats, they still fought as if they were going to die – and, if they didn't retreat, perhaps they would. This is their final stand, Russetstripe realized. This is why they are fighting so hard. She pulled herself to her paws, seeing her own blood stain the marsh beneath her. Russetstripe looked over her shoulder to see Shimmerwing and a group of cats running away from the battlefield, but on her heels was Brambledusk and several other WindClan warriors. The gray tom who had attacked Russetstripe was also fleeing with more of his warriors, and he too was being pursued by more WindClan warriors.

The clearing fell silent as the RiverClan cats retreated, surely to be destroyed by the WindClan cats following them. Russetstripe grunted with pain as she dragged herself towards the edge of the battlefield where Scorchstar stood, panting heavily. Talonstar approached Scorchstar, just as injured as he was. But victory gleamed in Talonstar's amber eyes, and when Scorchstar looked up to face his gaze, he nodded.

"Thank you, Talonstar," Scorchstar said. "For the warning, and for fighting with us."

"The expression on Dapplestar's face was something I'll never forget," Hawkflight added from next to Talonstar.

Talonstar's amber eyes were hard. "Yes, but I'm sure this means she will swear vengeance. Scorchstar, take your Clan home. Go rest. And prepare yourselves. Because Dapplestar will be back."

"I'm sure she will," Scorchstar said. "But if she attacks again, can I trust that you'll be on my side?"

Talonstar nodded. "Yes. The next time she attacks, we will destroy her for good."

Scorchstar let out a sigh of relief. "I can't believe they all didn't retreat. Dapplestar left some of her own cats behind to guard her own tail. It's like she didn't even care if they died."

"Dying for your leader is not a bad thing," Shrewfur meowed from where he limped up behind Talonstar.

"It is if you don't care about your own cats and force them to stay behind," Scorchstar said darkly. His amber eyes examined the battlefield, and then they widened in shock. "Hey, why is half my Clan missing?"

"They were chasing after the RiverClan cats," Talonstar replied. "Hopefully they'll crush them and we'll have less cats to worry about." He dipped his head to Scorchstar. "I will be taking my Clan home, now. Let me know if you need me to send my sister to you."

"Your sister?" Scorchstar echoed.

"Birdflight." Talonstar's tail flicked. "Our medicine cat."

"Oh." Scorchstar lifted his head. "Thanks for the offer, but Violetheart can treat us just fine."

"If you insist," Talonstar meowed, shaking out his blood-stained pelt. He flicked his tail towards Shrewfur and Hawkflight, and the two cats followed their dark tabby leader as he gathered his Clan and started to lead them away from the battlefield. Russetstripe swallowed a lump in her throat as she saw a mottled tom pick up the limp body of a she-cat and haul it on his Clanmate's back.

Scorchstar licked the blood from his wounds, exhaustion glazing his eyes, and Russetstripe limped over to him. Scorchstar looked up to stare at Russetstripe, and his ears flattened. "Are you all right, Russetstripe?" he asked, worry stretching his eyes.

"I'm fine," Russetstripe replied, although the loss of blood was making her stagger to one side. "Just… tired."

"We need to go home," Scorchstar said, dismayed. "I'm glad ShadowClan joined us – it would have been hard to defeat RiverClan without them – but the cats that stayed behind inflicted some really bad wounds. I sent Blackdove to carry Buzzardwing back home before the rest of us. But I can't find so many of our cats."

"They'll probably meet us in camp," Russetstripe said, forcing herself to sit down. The throbbing heat that spread through her wounds was making it hard to breathe. "You're right. We need to go home." As she looked over her brother, she realized he was just as wounded as she was. Multiple gash wounds scored his stomach, and there was a massive wound on his throat, as if it had come from a cat who intended to kill him. "Scorchstar, did you—"

"No." Scorchstar shook his head, as if already anticipating her question. "But they definitely tried."

"Thank the gods," Russetstripe breathed out.

"So, you think we should go home?" Scorchstar asked.

"Yeah." Russetstripe nodded. "Our Clanmates will meet us back at camp."

"Okay." Scorchstar brushed his muzzle against Russetstripe's cheek. He turned over his shoulder and yowled on the battlefield, "Any cat who is here, please follow me to camp!"

The marshland was stained with blood and dappled with torn fur. The scent of copper hung ominously in the air and the fear scent from RiverClan was rancid, and Russetstripe could catch the scent of the ShadowClan cats, triumphant and true. I wonder what would've happened if they hadn't come, she thought to herself as she followed her brother through the marshland and back towards camp. Behind them, Dovewillow and Lilystream were the only cats following. The rest of our warriors really chased all those RiverClan warriors away?

Just as Scorchstar and Russetstripe approached camp, their pace much slower than usual thanks to their wounds, with every movement of Russetstripe's making her muscles scream, anxiety was beginning to get the best of her. The rest of the warriors were still not back. Her fears were reflected on Scorchstar's face, and Russetstripe could see him swallow the lump of worry in his throat.

Russetstripe slowly picked her way down the hollow – any wrong move made her wound grow slightly larger and the nerves in her body crackle – and when she finally reached the clearing, she let out a sigh of relief. She looked down at her paws, seeing her toes tufted with the fur of the cats she had fought, and blood stain her underbelly. She forced her head up to examine camp. The oldest kits in the nursery, Sedgekit and Skykit, were watching the cats approach. Skykit's eyes were wide with fear, while Sedgekit's face was unreadable. Waspberry poked her head out, her blue eyes shadowed with concern when she didn't see Lightningtalon in the fray. Russetstripe wondered where Wildheart was. Surely her kits were too young to be away from her, even for a second. I still haven't seen them yet. I wonder what they look like.

Just as Russetstripe approached Violetheart's den, with Dovewillow and Lilystream behind her, she spotted the medicine cat already outside the den, her face fraught with worry. Violetheart examined the three cats, her gaze scanning them up and down, and then she looked behind them, her ears twitching in shock.

"Where's the rest of you?" Violetheart demanded.

"No idea." Russetstripe shook her head, feeling her consciousness gradually threatening to give way. Violetheart's eyes widened and she nudged Russetstripe into the medicine den. Just as Russetstripe collapsed in the closest nest, Violetheart grabbed a few cobwebs from her storage of herbs and started to press them on Russetstripe's most grievous wounds.

"Violetheart?" Russetstripe asked.

"Yes?" Violetheart asked.

"What do we fight for?" Russetstripe inquired, dots of black starting to appear in the corner of her vision.

"I don't know." Violetheart shrugged. "Peace, I guess. Or a new world."

"A new world…" Russetstripe echoed. "One time, my father said to me, that he wanted to make a great land. Safe from any intruder. He didn't think he could, and he didn't know any other cat who could."

Violetheart shook her head sorrowfully. "A great land would be great, but how many wounds must we inflict, how much more blood must we shed, to bring that land? Will it end the wars?"

"I don't know." Russetstripe shut her eyes. "I'm tired…"

"Don't go to sleep, Russetstripe," Violetheart urged the ginger she-cat. "If you do, you won't wake up."

What…? Violetheart's face was blurry as the WindClan warrior studied the medicine cat's face. Won't wake up…? Russetstripe craned her head to look at herself, and she realized that her blood was soaking through the nest made of wool and moss. Oh… it really is that bad… hah… but I'm so tired…

"I'll get Runningflame back for this, I swear," Russetstripe muttered. "Curse him."

"That's right," Violetheart said. "Keep talking like that. Don't close your eyes. Curse every RiverClan warrior, but stay awake until I tell you it's okay to sleep."

"Right." Curse that gray tom, curse Rippleheart, but especially curse Runningflame. Russetstripe looked up at the ceiling of the medicine den, her vision swimming. What happened to the other warriors? Are they all right?

And will we have to fight another battle like this, too?