The Final Stand

ALLEGIANCES Thunderclan

Leader- Risestar, jet black tom with green eyes

Deputy- Dawnbird, pale brown she-cat with amber eyes and unusually small ears

Medicine Cat- Brackenpelt, large brown tom

Warriors-

Goldensun- golden she-cat

Apprentice- Silverpaw

Whitefoot- small white tom with blue eyes

Apprentice- Flamepaw

Blazeclaw- small, muscular black tom with pale gold eyes and very sharp claws

Apprentice- Fallenpaw

Yellowlight- pale yellow she-cat with matching yellow eyes

Apprentice- Smallpaw

Strikeclaw- tabby tom with fierce-looking amber eyes

Queens-

Trueheart- small, sleek she-cat with virtually blue fur and bright blue eyes

Elders-

Graystripe- dark gray tom, oldest cat in all clans.

BLAZECLAW

Blazeclaw glared at the tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Get off Thunderclan territory. You're not a Thunderclan cat." he hissed.

"You are right, young one. I am not. But I was once." she didn't look at all fazed by his hostiliy. Blazeclaw looked at her in surprise, then realized his stupidity. He had confronted a Starclan warrior. Not clever.

"Who are you?" he mewed softly, looking in awe at the beauty of the she-cat. She didn't come close to the beauty of his mate but she was still above average.

"I am Spottedleaf. I fell in love with your ancestor, Firestar, when he has new to the old forest." her eyes were glazed with a faraway look.

"The old forest? New? That makes no sense." he replied, confused.

"The clans were not always here, young one. Moons ago, we lived beyond the mountains, far beyond them. We were happy there, although there was much hatred. Most of it came from a tom named Tigerclaw." Blazeclaw listened intently. It was like being a kit listening to stories in the elder's den- though this was far more interesting,

"Tigerclaw had a mind full of wit and muscles full of strength and a heart full of ambition. But he craved for power too much. So much, he almost destroyed the clans. So much, he would have killed his leader." Blazeclaw gasped.

"That's pure evil! Why didn't the clans drive him out?"

"He hid his treachery with deception. The clans would have been doomed, if it were not for fire." she looked amused at his reaction.

"Fire? But fire..."

"...is feared by all the clans, yes. But this fire was is the form of a cat. A young kittypet named Rusty had lived a pampered life but the fire within his heart blazed even then. He was lead to the clans by fate, and joined them."

"A kittypet? Really?" Blazeclaw was disgusted. The thought of a pampered, fat kittypet pretending to be a warrior almost made him vomit.

"But he was not like any other kittypet. He earned the name Firepaw and trained with his friend Graypaw. But one day, their friend Ravenpaw told them of Tigerclaw's treachery. They learnt that he had killed his clanmate in battle to become deputy, but had failed." Spottedleaf went on.

"Didn't they tell the leader?"

"They tried, but she would not listen. So they went on through life. Ravenpaw was forced to hide so he would not be killed for knowing thhe truth about Tigerclaw, but the two others became warriors. Graystripe and Fireheart..."

"Graystripe!" Blazeclaw thought of the shrivelled, ancient elder who could barely chew his prey for old age.

"Yes, Graystripe. He has had a story of his own but one that must not be shared unless he is willing. So, Tigerclaw was eventually discovered when he tried to kill his leader, and Fireheart only just managed to save her. She forced the tom into exile and made Fireheart her deputy. Fireheart took on the responsibilities of a leader, as his leader Bluestar was not mentally able to. When she died, Tigerclaw joined two clan together, Shadowclan and Riverclan, and Fireheart did the same with Thunderclan and Windclan. But at the final battle between the two clans, a group of rogues called Bloodclan came. Their leader, Scourge, killed Tigerclaw, but was killed by Firestar in a final battle between the four clans and Bloodclan. Many moons later, the old forest was destroyed, and they were forced to move here. Firestar's daughter Squirrelflight took Tigerclaw's son Brambleclaw as a mate, and their kits had kits and so forth. And generations later, we are left with you and Risestar."

"What? Risestar and I are descended from Tigerclaw? And Firestar?" Blazeclaw wailed. He had the blood of a tyrannous murderer!

"Yes. The new prohecy states that..

Good and evil shall join once more,

But battle till the land shakes to the core,

What is true shall be lost but may still win

And the battle is won by united kin."

"So I am good and evil joined?"

"You must work it out for yourself. I am forbidden to directly tell you of the future. But, you one, I must tell you this. A great war is coming and you will play a great part."she mewed.

"And Spottedleaf?"

"Yes?"

"You said you loved Firestar. So his daughter Squirrelflight- she must have been your daughter. So am I related to you?" Blazeclaw wished he could take back the question when he saw Spottedleaf wince.

"No. I died young, and I am a medicine cat anyway. He mated a young warrior named Sandstorm." she whispered, and faded away. Blazeclaw cursed his stupidity. Why did he have to be so insensitive?

Risestar

He stood above the four clans, watching the cats whisper anxiously.

"... and Riverclan has a new apprentice, Volepaw." Stonestar was saying. A small brown apprentice stood proudly, his head high.

"Thankyou, Stonestar. Shadowclan has had some badgers in our territory, but our patrol drove them out. We have also found some Windclan cats hunting in our territory and will fight if this continues. Our leader, Roarstar, is still not well enough to attend gatherings but has sent his thanks to Riverclan for saving two drowning Shadowclan kits." Flowerfoot, the Shadowclan deputy spoke.

"Thunderclan has been sent a message from Starclan. I would not normally choose to share this with you but I feel it concerns all of the clans." Risestar began.

"Risestar, it is not your turn." Yellowstar hissed.

"I know, but this cannot wait. I have been sent a message from Starclan warning me of an upcoming war. It is the final stand." he announced. At that moment, there was a rush of light as an array of cats descended from the sky like a shooting star. They landing in a clearing not far from the lake. The clans fell silent.

"The time draws closer. The final battle between Starclan and the Dark forest approaches. You have seven sunups left. All the clans must meet here by that time. If we lose then we will all roam the dark forest for enernity. All cats that die will go to the Dark Forest unless we win." Bluestar announced. From the mud, another group of cats then rose. Mean looking scavengers with sharp, bloodstained claws. Risestar shuddered.

"You WILL lose. Then you will take your rightful place in the Pace of No Stars, and we shall live forever!" Tigerstar sneered.

"We shall fight then." Bluestar growled.

"So be it." with that, both groups vanisheed instantly. The clans were silent for what felt like seven sunups.

"Starclan help us." Risestar whispered, though he knew not even Starclan could do so...

Blazetail

"How are the kits, Trueheart?" he mewed fondly.

"They're great! There are four. Want to know their names?" she anwsered eagerly.

"Yeah!"

"Well, this one is Eaglekit, you see the one with big eyes?" she pointed to a pale grey tom. Blazeclaw purred.

"You're so good at coming up with names. I could only come up with Greykit, and Blackit, and Silverkit, and Redkit." he mewed.

"Well, it's lucky you won't be naming them. I will call the black she-cat Nightkit, and the silver she-cat is Streamkit."

"After the beautiful warrior Graystripe told us about?"

"No, I just quite liked the name." Trueheart licked her mate affectionately.

"Can I name the red one?"

"As long as it's not Redkit!" Trueheart told him.

"Okay, keep your fur on. I'm calling him Firekit." he said.

"Firekit? No, I was going to call him Rustkit or Poppykit..." Trueheart began, but Blazeclaw interuppted.

"POPPYKIT? FOR A TOM?" he screeched. Trueheart almost choked with laughter.

"Okay, okay! Firekit it is." the two cats looked at each other awefully.

"You know, Blazeclaw? I love you so much. If I die in the battle, look after the kits for me, won't you?" Trueheart looked serious now,

"I swear on on Starclan that no claw or fang will take the life of any of those kits, not if I can help it. But you won't die. Not till you've lived to a ripe old age and we're so old that even Graystripe will be a youngster to us." Blazeclaw promised.

"Oh, Blazeclaw. If that were true, we'd be called kittypets." laughed Trueheart, but the two cats were in low spirits at the thought,

Firestar

"That move was pathetic," Squirrelflight purred.

"Shut up, Squirrelflight." her sister snapped.

"Don't fight!" Firestar's response was automatic.

"Don't fight?" Sandstorm mewed scornfully.

"Shut up and train." Squirrelflight practised her pounce on Leafpool, who dodged out of the way. With an unexpertly aimed swipe, the medicine cat only just managed to rake her sister's belly with a sheathed paw.

"You know, claws were invented for a reason." Squirrelflight laughed. Firestar frowned.

"The reason was not to kill your sister in training." he scolded. It was the wrong thing to say.

"I'm not going to kill her! I am merely practising." at that moment, Brambleclaw rushed into the clearing of clouds they were training on.

"I have a report! Four kits, named Firekit, Nightkit, Streamkit and Eaglekit were born to Trueheart and Blazeclaw at sunup." he panted.

"Have any of them got special destinies?"

"I fear Eaglekit will become a Dark forest warrior eventually, through his own deeds."

"Is there anything we can do?" Sandstorm gasped.

"No, I am afraid not. One day he will venture from the nursery to catch a mouse, and a fox will steal him. He will be taken to Shadowclan territory by the fox, and a loud noise will scare the beast away. A Shadowclan warrior will catch him and tell him that if he wants to live, he has to kill an apprentice of Thunderclan- or the warrior will kill him for tresspassing. Once he does, he will be addicted to blood. It will be too late."

"Poor Eaglekit. Which apprentice is it? Can we send him a dream?"

"We don't know. We will never know till it happens."

Firestar sighed. Whatever happened, Tigerstar would live on.

Trueheart

She stood protectively over her kits, the sounds of battle roaring in her ears. Hidden in the nursery, she couldn't help but fear for her mate.

"Trueheart." the infamous Tigerclaw stepped forward.

"Tigerclaw." she replied calmly.

"No! I am the great Tigerstar." he roared.

"The GREAT Tigerstar?" she repeated scornfully, but her heart was pounding.

"Mother, are we in danger?" Nightkit whined.

"Yes, you are." Hawkfrost pounced. Trueheart blocked him. She fought with everything she had. More than her own strength. When strength ran out she fought with anger. When anger ran our she fought with hope. When hope ran out she fought with love. Love never ran out. The thought of her family blazed in her mind and she could have fought for them forever. Claws slashing, teeth gnashing, they were going to kill each other.

"Mother!" Firekit squeaked a warning but it was too late. Trueheart lay on the floor. Desperate, she slashed her opponent's face. Blood blinded him momentarily. Furious, he delivered a crushing blow, She returned it. Exhausted, the fighters fell to the floor. They had both won. They had both lost. All that was left was the four kits, huddled in the corner, their eyes wide open.

"Mummy, you can get up now. He's gone." Streamkit whispered, her blue eyes stretched wide.

There was no reply.

Blazeclaw

Blazeclaw raked his claws over the warrior's shoulder, but to no effect. His opponent stood over him, his fangs at his neck.

"Good riddance." he grunted. Blazeclaw braced himself for death.

"No!" a Starclan warrior burst out of nowhere, knocking the Dark forest cat away and killing him instantly. He felt joy.

Then he saw who it was.

And he knew he wanted to die.

Starclan announcement.

''It is our pleasure to report that Starclan defeated the Place Of No Stars in the Final Stand, after their leader was killed by a Thunderclan queen. However, we are devastated to say that we must report deaths.''

''Yellowwing- Windclan. Killed protecting Shadowclan kits''

''Redfur- Shadowclan. Killed in action.''

''Blacktooth- Shadowclan. Killed in action.''

''Yellowlight- Thundeclan. Killed protecting leader.''

''Trueheart- Thunderclan. Killed in action.''

''Gorseleaf- Riverlclan. Killed in action.''

''Smileheart- Riverclan. Killed protecting leader.''

''Blazeclaw- Thunderclan. Killed protecting kits.''

''All the above deaths will lead to ranks in Starclan. We would state to share our compassion for the affected family members.''