This chapter was hard. This chapter was very very very hard to write. And to get through. And literally, I cried several times because I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this. When this story started, I made an 'anyone can die' policy. And boy, did I stick to my guns...

Stonefur couldn't move. He couldn't think. He could barely breathe. Brightheart was dead, slain by one of the mangy cats from the Twolegplace. Wildly, he looked around for the cream colored cat, but could not find him. Stonefur sheathed and unsheathed his claws in frustration. He wanted revenge. It grew in his chest until it seared his whole body, a burning revenge that made him numb to the battle around him.

Cloudtail came up beside him, every hair on his fluffy white pelt bristling in horror at the loss of his one love. Cloudtail let out a mournful howl, "Brightheart!" It echoed around the clearing, bouncing off all the trees. And for one moment, Stonefur hoped that the battle would cease, and realize that all this bloodshed was pointless. That both sides would retract their claws and all would be well. But alas, Brightheart's death seemed unnoticed by the other cats fighting. Cloudtail's desperate cry had been lost in the roaring tidal wave that was the battle.

"Brightheart," Cloudtail nosed her cheek gently, his voice soft. Suddenly, Cloudtail seemed so small, so fragile. At any moment, a BloodClan cat could sneak up behind him and then…well, then he would have shared the same fate as Brightheart, wouldn't he? "Brightheart, you have to come back to me. You're a fighter. You came back to me after those dogs attacked you. I need you here, Brightheart. You can't leave me. You can't," Cloudtail repeatedly begged the she-cat.

Stonefur saw the wild hope in the young tom's blue eyes that Brightheart would just spring up from the ground and return to the fighting. That everything would go back as it had been, before the battle started. When there had been that desperate dream that they would all magically make it out alive. There would be no pain or fear in that place either. Just the way things were supposed to go, if they were fighting another Clan.

The way things never could be.

A loud yowl drew his attention away from Brightheart. His former apprentice, Shadepelt, was trying to fight Scourge. Mouse-brain! Stonefur thought, raising his paw in anticipation should he need to race over to her side, and in the blink of an eye, the dark gray she-cat had fallen before Scourge's mighty claws. Scourge left the she-cat with a satisfied smirk, locking eyes briefly with Stonefur before disappearing into the mass of swarming cats. Stonefur padded over to his former apprentice. "Go safely to StarClan," he murmured, licking her ear gently. Her tail curled around his ears, and she opened her mouth to speak, but the words were drowned by a horrific gargling noise. She flailed and struggled to breathe before she limply fell back.

She had been such a good warrior, he thought with an angry twitch of his tail. How could her life be cut short so soon? StarClan, help us! It wasn't fair. Not in the slightest bit. Yet, he knew there would be many young warriors whose lives would be cut short from this battle. With a sigh, Stonefur threw himself back into the battle.

As he raced into the dead center of the fray, he noticed that Brightheart and Shadepelt had not been the only casualties of their side. Firestar was gently closing Morningflower's eyes, and murmuring, "You will be with your son now, Morningflower. You did your best to avenge Gorsepaw, and StarClan will honor you for it." Stonefur had only heard stories from Graystripe about when Firestar had carried Morningflower's kit across the Thunderpath, upon bringing WindClan back to their territory. Now both cats were gone; one from Tigerstar, and the other from what the massive tabby had unleashed upon the forest.

Pain flashed briefly in the ThunderClan leader's eyes, before he wheeled around and rejoined the battle, fighting with a new ferocity. So that's what it means to be a leader, Stonefur thought. Pressing on when all seems lost, hopeless even. I would never imagine that a kittypet would ever have the strength to do what a Clan leader can. Then again, that is why Bluestar chose him. The fire that is going to save the Clan. Watching his leader fight back, he wondered if Firestar knew Brightheart was dead. Would that fuel the fire in his heart, or would he just shut down?

Stonefur looked bleakly around the battle ground. Just beyond Morningflower's body, Runningnose was tending to Russetfur, who would not, and it seemed could not, move from where she lay. Stonefur tried to well up some pity for the she-cat, but find that he had none for her. She had been one of his captors, and he would never truly forgive the cats that had imprisoned him. Featherpaw was racing by the dying she-cat, before skidding to a sudden stop as Russetfur called out weakly to her. Stonefur watch a flood of emotions cross Featherpaw's face as Russetfur spoke to her, words that he could not hear. He longed to go over there, and see what was happening, but somehow he knew those words were meant for Featherpaw, and only Featherpaw.

And then Featherpaw nodded slowly, licking Russetfur between the ears, a soft look passing through her bright blue eyes. Stonefur could not help but feel a jerk of surprise at Featherpaw's action, and clearly he wasn't the only one, judging by the look on Runningnose's face. A rush of pride raced through him as he looked at Featherpaw. She was a noble cat, just like her mother, and clearly a much better cat than he. Then he faintly heard Russetfur purr, before it was cut short by a several gasps. Then, her eyes closed, she sighed peacefully, and did not move again.

Blackfoot was looking sorrowfully at the dark ginger she-cat, as Littlecloud gently dragged her body out of the clearing. Why can't somebody see that this is getting us nowhere? Stonefur longed to cry out. Yet, he saw the BloodClan cats that were now littering the clearing as well. These rogue cats did not care to move their dead. They did not care about who lived and who died. For these strangers, it was survival of the fittest, and Stonefur wondered if their way of life really made them stronger than the Clan cats.

Already, the forest cats had forsaken a part of their warrior code to fight these strangers. Normally, cats would not kill each other, even in the heat of battle. But this…it was an almost necessary evil. They had to fight blood with blood. The blood will cease to flow when the mountain snows come. The prophecy rang in his ears, and Stonefur could not help stealing a look at the gray sky above them. Perhaps not all was lost. Perhaps, they could still win this fight. New energy and strength flowed into his paws, and his head began to buzz with the roar of battle around him.

Stonefur shook his head as he saw Graystripe taking on three cats at once. He raced to the side of his Clanmate, praying to StarClan that something would happen, and soon, so that the forest cats could win the right to their home. He did not know how the Clans would survive without the forest, and what would happen if the invading force won. Together, the two gray toms beat back their opponents, fighting side by side, pawstep for pawstep, as if they had been fighting together their whole lives. It was a reassuring thought; not all his ties in ThunderClan were gone with the death of Brightheart.

Then, trying to sneak away from the battle, he saw the cream colored cat. With a yowl, he launched himself across the clearing, but halfway there, he saw Featherpaw and Bramblepaw tackle the creamy tom, and tried to pin him down. When it was evident that he was too strong for Featherpaw and Bramblepaw, after the cream tom picked up Bramblepaw by the scruff of his neck and threw him up against a tree, Stonefur bunched his muscles and prepared to leap across the clearing. But there was no need. Fernpaw, Ashpaw, Tawnypaw, Dawnpaw, Cedarpaw, and Rowanpaw charged at the creamy tom, nipping at every part of him they could. Featherpaw rushed over to Bramblepaw's side, and once it was clear that he was okay, the two cats joined the other apprentices. Finally, the cream colored tom moved no more, and Stonefur could only feel the grimmest sense of satisfaction in his bones. Still, he would not be happy until all of BloodClan was driven out. Turning around, he saw Whitestorm trying to wrestle Bone, the massive black and white BloodClan deputy, and Stonefur leaped to the white warrior's side. The three cats wrestled together until Bone slipped away, glaring angrily at Whitestorm before charging into another part of the battle.

Across the battlefield, Stormpaw was fighting a she-cat who appeared to be twice his size. Bravely he tackled her, and bit down on her shoulder. She let out a howl of pain, and flailed furiously, trying to land her claws on his throat. When it was evident that she would not succeed, Stormpaw let her go, and she fled into the bushes. He had no idea whether she could go anywhere or not, and he felt a little tremor of shock that he even cared at all.

He had no time to reflect, however, as he saw the sheer force of cats that kept piling into the clearing. He let out a small mew of distress. Stormpaw longed to flop down and just give up on the entire battle, but he knew he count not, and he forced himself to move forward. These cats were counting on him to keep going, and he would fight with them until he drew his very last breath. He was aiming to be a warrior, and that's what warriors did. They protected the Clan that they made an oath to. Now that all the Clans had banded together, he was fighting to protect the forest.

A brown tom crashed into him, taking the breath away from his lungs. Claws unsheathed, Stormpaw and the tom scratched at each other. Stormpaw let out a hiss of pain as the tom's claws snagged his ear. He ducked around another scratch, clawing his attacker's muzzle. Swiftly, he slipped beneath the brown tom and scratched his underbelly. The brown tom struck out, and Stormpaw let out a loud meow of surprise as he was knocked over. A large paw was placed on his throat, and he could feel the tips of claws pressing up against his throat.

"Get your mangy claws off him, you piece of crowfood," Goldenflower snarled, knocking the brown tom off of Stormpaw. Stormpaw could only watch in amazement as Goldenflower and the brown tom went at it, clawing each other and biting each other ferociously. Unfortunately for Goldenflower, the brown tom knocked her on her side and dragged his claws across her throat. Stormpaw propelled himself forward, knocking the brown tom over and biting down on his throat.

It was only when the tom lay still that Stormpaw had realized the magnitude of what he had done. He had never meant to take the life of this other cat. Yet he could not find any sort of emotion, as he stared down at his dead enemy. He was simply numb. It wasn't until Goldenflower coughed out his name that he remembered where he was, and all that was happening around him.

Stormpaw raced over to Goldenflower, finding her alive, but struggling to breathe. "Hold on, Goldenflower," Stormpaw begged. He looked around wildly, for Cinderpelt, for any medicine cat, for any cat at that point, to come save the cat that had just saved his life. "I'll go get Cinderpelt for you. Please, just hold on, Goldenflower."

Goldenflower smiled gently at him and murmured softly, "You know, when you were born, your father brought you to ThunderClan and asked me to nurse you. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were only a few days old. Yes…I remember like it was yesterday," her voice trailed off and she stared at something Stormpaw could not see. For what seemed like a lifetime, she remained that way, and Stormpaw thought perhaps she had died in mid-speech, until she spoke again, "You were both so small then, so helpless. But not now. Certainly not now."

"Please, Goldenflower," Stormpaw mewed hoarsely, nudging the tortieshell she-cat. "You can't give up. Not now! We'll win, you'll see!" He looked around the battlefield, until he saw Cinderpelt and beckoned her over frantically with his tail. "Cinderpelt is coming now, Goldenflower," he tried to reassure Goldenflower and himself. He licked her ears gently. "You're going to be fine. You're going to be just fine. You can't give up. We need you here, we need you to fight!"

She ignored him, still staring vacantly across the battlefield, and a peaceful smile on her muzzle. "I have always been so proud of you and your sister, Stormpaw. You have become fine young warriors, and I'm sure Mossflower is delighted to call yourself her mother. And Silverstream… I'm sure she's proud of you too. She has no reason not to be. But she will tell me so when I see her."

"Don't talk like that. Please, don't talk like that," Stormpaw whispered; his voice so choked that he could barely get the words out. Part of him wondered if he had even said them at all, the echo of his words nothing more than the product of his frantic mind. He looked behind him to see Cinderpelt struggling through the battle. He lashed his tailed agitatedly, looking between Goldenflower and Cinderpelt. "Cinderpelt's almost here, she'll fix you right up!" He licked Goldenflower between the ears. "You'll be-"

The words died in his mouth as Goldenflower looked at him solemnly. He wanted to yowl his grief at the sky. He could not let her die, not when he was sitting right beside her! And yet, he was powerless to stop it. "I never knew what Tigerstar was capable of," Goldenflower whispered quietly, staring straight ahead at something Stormpaw could not see. "He never acted around the other cats like he acted around me. I always assumed it was a front he put up so that cats would never doubt his weakness. And now my children…they must hate me for what I've brought upon them. My Clan must hate me for the legacy I've left behind…"

"Tigerstar fooled everyone," Stormpaw murmured quietly, his eyes fixated on his paws. "And you raised your children right. They made their own decisions, and can grow up on their own. They are lucky to have you as a mother, and I think they know that. I think that…" Stormpaw swallowed, for the lump in his throat was becoming unbearable. "They will always appreciate you, and they will always love you. Featherpaw and I will, too. I'll make sure to tell her of all that you did for us and how you feel toward us. We'll never forget you, Goldenflower. I swear by StarClan, we won't forget you."

But his words fell on deaf ears as Goldenflower let out a sigh and slumped into the earth, her fur mixing in with the dead leaves that were scattered on the floor of the hollow. Cinderpelt scrabbled up, looking quickly from Goldenflower to Stormpaw and back again. "It's too late," Stormpaw whispered. "She's gone." He placed his muzzle on her forehead and murmured, "Don't fear what you didn't know about Tigerstar. StarClan will understand."

And Stormpaw could have sworn he saw two she-cats on the edge of the battlefield, one silver tabby and one tortieshell, looking straight added. He blinked, and they were gone, though Stormpaw felt strangely comforted. This comfort, however, did not subdue his grief. He whirled around and raced back into the battle. The gut-wrenching, stricken cries of Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw, as they stumbled upon the body of their dead mother, hit his ears with the force of a tree falling down on him, yet it seemed so far away from him, so removed. The feeling of his paws pounding against the ground was cathartic and the battle around him nothing more than a blur. He wanted run away from the forest. He wanted to be numb.

Tripping over a tail of another cat derailed him from his thoughts. Looking at the body at his paws, Stormpaw longed to scream, but do nothing but stare in horror. He could recognize that fur anywhere; it was Leopardstar's. She was dead, killed by the force that she had nearly sided with. And he, nor his sister or Stonefur, had gotten he chance to say that they had forgiven her. He hoped that StarClan would judge her fairly. Quickly, Stormpaw bowed his head and sent a quick prayer for her.

"StarClan help us," Stonefur came up beside his apprentice, his blue eyes reflecting the shock in Stormpaw's entire posture. He walked over and licked their former leader's eyes shut. The poor gray scrap looked at his mentor miserably, and Stonefur responded, "Courage, Stormpaw. Your sister is still here; your father is still here. Your friends are still here. Move forward and keep fighting. Don't give up. Nobody else has, so you shouldn't either."

Stormpaw nodded quietly, and wheeled around and charged back into the battle. A fierce rush of pride lanced Stonefur, and he watched his apprentice go, fighting with all the strength of LionClan. Stonefur looked sorrowfully down at his former leader. "I forgive you," he whispered quietly. "Mistyfoot will forgive you."

He then did a quick surveillance of the area around him. While the fighting had surely slowed, both sides were taking heavy hits, and it was obvious that the forest cats were losing steam. They were giving it all they had to give, yet more and more cats from BloodClan were pounding into the hollow. He couldn't blame his apprentice's hopelessness, yet there was no way he could condone it.

"Stonefur!" Firestar yowled. Stonefur darted over to his leader's side; his ears pricked and prepared to follow orders. In a low voice, Firestar murmured, "I saw you standing by Leopardstar's body. Is she dead?" Momentarily overwhelmed with grief, Stonefur could not speak, and simply nodded. Leopardstar had been a fine leader, and he had been proud to serve as her deputy for the time that it was. It was only her ambition that had truly been the end of her, and his heart broke in his chest to think that it needed to end that way.

Then Firestar asked the question that threw Stonefur off guard. "So are you RiverClan's leader now? Will you go back to them?" He seemed very anxious to hear Stonefur's decision. And even despite this anxiety, he still held a semblance of composition, making him seem like a true leader of the forest. And Firestar had stood by his convictions, unlike Leopardstar, who had given her Clan and her life away from a sliver of power.

"No," Stonefur found his voice after a minute. "Heavystep is their leader now, and despite all that happened I will never go back to RiverClan. ThunderClan is my home now, and I'll die fighting to protect it. You can appreciate that, can't you Firestar? You were not born in this forest, but you're sacrificing all your lives to save it."

Firestar nodded and looked at Stonefur thoughtfully. "Can this day be won?" he asked. Stonefur felt a rush of gratitude within him. Firestar was consulting him, as a ThunderClan senior warrior. As if he had been a part of the Clan his entire life.

"Not unless Scourge is dead," Stonefur mewed grimly. He did not mention the prophecy. He did not want Firestar to hinge all of his hopes on the prophecy, and StarClan forbid if he was wrong. He did not want to be wrong, in fact, he prayed to StarClan that he was right, but until then, he felt uncomfortable sharing this prophecy with Firestar. "These cats don't really seem to function as a unit. They just seem to be working together out of fear or admiration of him." Both cats nearly jumped as a loud yowl interrupted their conversation.

Speckletail and Whitestorm were both trying to fight off Jaggedtooth, who had joined BloodClan at some point during the batttle. He knocked Speckletail away with the easiest of blows. Rage at the former ShadowClan warrior gave speed to his paws, and Stonefur bolted across the battlefield, and picked up the elderly she-cat in his jaws. "What are you doing?" she rasped. "I need to fight! I'm not some old, worn out that can't handle herself."

"I'm sure you can handle yourself just fine, but right now, I'm saving your life," Stonefur responded through a mouth full of fur. Speckletail let out a rumbling purr and shook her head, comfortably letting herself be pulled along toward Fernpaw, who was helping Cinderpelt with the cats who had been wounded in the battle. "Fernpaw, where's Cinderpelt?" he asked, fearing that she had been slain.

"I'm right here," Cinderpelt mewed roughly, hobbling toward them. "Go ahead, Fernpaw," she excused the apprentice. "They need all the claws they can get out there." Fernpaw gave the medicine cat a questioning look, and Cinderpelt flicked her tail toward the battlefield. After Fernpaw had left, Cinderpelt turned to Stonefur. "She's dead," she murmured, gesturing to Speckletail quietly. Speckletail had died from being knocked around, both by Bone and when Stonefur had tried to drag her to safety.

They both stood in complete silence for a minute. Poor, brave Speckletail, who had wanted nothing more than to defend her Clan, not wanting to admit that she was too old for this fight. Stonefur felt a tremor of guilt pass through him. He had been indirectly responsible for her death. "We can't go on much more like this," she whispered. "There's a lot of them, and there's a significant lack of us."

"I know but we have to try," Stonefur responded, resting his tail on her shoulder. "We can't just be driven from our homes. WindClan was already sent away from the forest once…they wouldn't let themselves be driven out again."

"Look around you, Stonefur!" Cinderpelt snapped. "We've already lost Goldenflower, Speckletail and Brightheart from our own Clan. Leopardstar is dead, Tigerstar had been killed before the battle, Deadstar has already lost some lives, and so has Firestar. Russetfur is dead, Shadepelt is dead, and Morningflower is dead…" She paused as the enormity of lives lost hit her. Stonefur pressed his nose comfortingly in her fur. "How much longer can we go on like this?"

"Until they leave or until the last cat of the Clans falls," Stonefur responded resolutely. His heart was pounding in chest. What exactly was Cinderpelt trying to say?

"And what about the kits? What about the elders?" Cinderpelt asked quietly. Stonefur had not thought about that. "Who will take care of them when we're all dead?" she prompted him. "I don't want to give up, trust me, Stonefur. But…no one has seemed to really think it through on what happens because of it."

He could not answer her question, because he couldn't think of a reasonable answer. If they managed to win the day, then it would all be worth it, that much was obvious. If they all failed and died, then the kits and the elders were dead as well. But, if they lived and failed, would it be a world that the elders and kits could live in?

Stonefur opened his mouth to say something comforting, but only could follow Cinderpelt's gaze as she stared in abject horror across the hollow. Brackenfur and Thornclaw were fighting side by side over a mound of white fur. It was then he realized the white mound of fur was Frostfur, and that she had been killed by BloodClan warriors. "We won't let it end this way," he promised Cinderpelt, licking her muzzle comfortingly. "We'll win the day…you'll see." Then he walked over to Speckletail, and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

He looked up, and saw Jaggedtooth strike down Whitestorm with a triumphant cry. The white warrior would not stir, and Jaggedtooth smirked as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow. "Coward!" Stonefur yowled and sprang toward Jaggedtooth, knocking the other cat over.

The two cats claws and screeched at each other for a few moments, until a silver blur knocked into Jaggedtooth. It was Fatherpaw. She touched her nose to Stonefur's flank and mewed, "Go see to Whitestorm, I'll deal with him." Stormpaw, Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw all joined Featherpaw in her fight against Jaggedtooth, and Stonefur went over to Whitestorm, satisfied that the four apprentices could handle anything as long as they were together.

"You look just like your mother," Whitestorm mewed softly, barely picking up his head to look at Stonefur. "Did you know that your mother and my mother were sisters? So that makes us like brothers, in a sense…" Stonefur merely nodded, unable to say anything. In the time that he had spent in ThunderClan, he had come to respect Whitestorm more than he could possibly could say.

"So it does," Stonefur mewed softly. "So it does."

"Whitestorm!" Firestar and Graystripe had just joined them. "Hold on, Whitestorm! You can't die! The Clan needs you here! I need you here! Who will help me lead the Clan if you're not here?"

Whitestorm smiled softly and murmured quietly, "You know who you want to help you lead the Clan. He's been here long enough. You won't have to worry about anyone's judgment. They'll understand, Firestar…I promise they'll understand."

"Whitestorm…" Firestar whispered in an anguished voice. "No. You're my deputy. You can't leave me just yet. Don't go…"

"I'll send your love to Spottedleaf, then?" Whitestorm murmured. The light flickered in his yellow eyes for a moment before it died out.

Firestar sat for a moment, shoulders hunched, looking at the ground. Then, looking up at the sky, he spoke, so loudly that everyone in the clearing could hear him. "I say these words before the body of Whitestorm, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice." He paused for a long moment, making sure that his warrior ancestors were listening.

"Stonefur will be the new deputy of ThunderClan." Firestar's green eyes were on him, filled with respect and trust. Graystripe eagerly nodded; the acceptance and approval was written all over his face. Stormpaw and Featherpaw looked at him with shining eyes, stopping only for a moment in their battle with Jaggedtooth.

But nothing warmed Stonefur's heart more than the yowls of approval that came from the ThunderClan cats that were scattered throughout the battlefield.

...so that happened. Next chapter is worse. And if you're sitting there wondering how it can possibly get worse, just you wait.

Also, there's foreshadowing in here for Life and Death. I won't tell you where, but it's there.