Prologue

Blood soaked the ground and leaves. A gagging choke came from a ginger tom. His body gave a sharp jerk and lied still, his ninth life was gone. He came back to life and jerked again, let out a desperate yowl, his eighth life was gone. Every cat has stopped fighting. ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan cats all looked on in pure terror as he lost, yet another life.

"Firestar!" a pale ginger she-cat wailed mournfully. She fell to the ground and looked away as the one she loved died, over and over again. He was now clinging on his fourth life, painful yowls and shrikes rang trough the forest, making the leaves rattle.

Three lives left, two, and one. Finally, the ginger tom was still. It was over, a loud caterwaul rose from a small black cat.

The pale ginger she-cat cried in fear. At the black cat's paws was a mass of ginger fur, that led everyone into this battle, was now dead, by the claws of Scourge. He let out another triumph caterwaul. Every cat was in shock, the nine lives where clawed out of Firestar with the same blow that Tigerstar received. BloodClan was now the new ruler of the forest.

"Clans of the forest!" yowled a small black cat named 'Scourge', his amber eyes were now ablaze with victory. "Your leader has left this forest and now you will! BloodClan, kill them, kill them all!"

"Retreat!" a gray long-haired tom yowled. With the warning ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan dashed away from the battle with heavy hearts toward there camps. The BloodClan cats yowled in victory as the Clans rushed away.

"I can't believe it!" A white tom yowled mournfully; he was Firestar's nephew 'Cloudtail'. "He was noble, loyal, brave, and strong and he had to die like that! He saved us from so many things." His voiced lowered to a whisper and his ears lay flat on his head. "Like Brightheart." The white tom looked over at a white and ginger she-cat who limped as fast as her injured body would allow her.

The grey tom, shook his head. "I don't know what to do, Cloudtail." His mind was racing as fast as his paws. Firestar is dead, he is the new leader of ThunderClan, and they had to leave now before BloodClan came after them.

When the shreaded Clan reached their camp, Cinderpelt, a dark grey-she cat raced to her den and gathered many leaves and herbs. Graystripe ran up to Highrock and yowled. "Let all…we don't have time for this! Ashpaw and Fernpaw help Willowpelt move Sorrelkit, Sootkit, and Rainkit out of the nursery!" The two apprentices nodded and ran toward the nursery.

"Dustpelt, help Cinderpelt." The dark brown tom glared at Graystripe with pure hatred but obeyed. "Mousefur, go to RiverClan and tell them to meet us at Moonstone. Longtail you go to ShadowClan and Brakenfur go to WindClan."

"Wait," hissed the cat called 'Longtail'. "Why should RiverClan and ShadowClan come? They're the ones that followed that flea-bag, Tigerstar! We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for them!"

Many cats yowled and spat in agreement. "StarClan wouldn't want that," Graystripe hissed. "All Clans are supposed to stick together. We don't have time to argue!" The other cats muttered in agreement then, all three cats bolted out of camp without another complaint. "Thornpaw and Bramblepaw help the elders!" and with that he jumped down from Highrock and looked around for the last time at the place he called 'home'.