Author Note: This is it, guys...the end! I'd really like to say thanks SO much for braving through this thirty-chapter monstrosity of mine (that is, if you really truly honestly read ALL of it). It was super fun to write and I hope it was super fun to read!

Enjoy one last chapter of singing cats!

Chapter 30: Epilogue/Finale

Thrushclaw's chest heaved and sank like the ebb and flow of his old heart.

The pale sliver of a moon shafted through the branches of the four trees soaring above him, casting its milky light on his coarse fur. His pelt glowed like a StarClan cat's.

Thrushclaw sighed wearily and stretched his neck to gaze at the starlit sky above him. The crumbling stone that had once been his heart was aching for the daughter whose veins did not carry his blood.

As his once-illuminated amber eyes drank in the stillness of the night that surrounded him, a dim, long-ignored voice in his mind suggested that he could watch his kit from the skies if he wished.

"Alone I wait in the shadows..." Thrushclaw croaked, "...and count the moments till I can sleep. I dreamed a dream Larkheart stood by...it made her wail to know I die!"

The former convict buried his muzzle in his paws. "Alone at the end of the day...upon this peaceful night I pray. Watch my children, StarClan, please keep them safe...and show them grace."

Thurshclaw sighed yet again. "Cats up high...hear my prayer. Take me now, to your care. Where you are...let me be! Take me now, take me there. Bring me home...bring...me...home!" The old tom's shoulders heaved in a silent wail.

"Silverclaw, I bless your name."

The elderly tabby's head sprang up to face the radiant form of a she-cat. Her floaty, neatly groomed pelt shone with all the colors of the river in greenleaf sunlight.

Thrushclaw meowed in astonishment at the sight of the once again graceful she-cat, swathed in all the glittering stars of Silverpelt. The old tom blinked slowly, then bowed his weary head in respect. "I am ready, Goldenfur."

"Silverclaw, lay down your burden," Goldenfur mewed sweetly.

"...At the end of my days..." rasped Thrushclaw.

Goldenfur rested her muzzle on the tabby's head. "You raised my kit with love..."

"She's the best of my life!"

"...and you will be with us."

Suddenly, Thrushclaw's ears perked at the sound of far-off pawsteps. To both the horror and relief of the old tom, the gleaming form of Goldenfur slowly faded away.

"Father!" wailed a distant voice. A young she-cat, followed by a tom, came darting through the trees to place her muzzle in the elderly cat's fur.

"Father, I do not understand!" panted Larkheart. "Are you alright? They said you'd gone away!"

"Larkheart!" gasped Thrushclaw. "My kit...am I forgiven now? Thank StarClan, thank StarClan, I've lived to see this day!"

"It's you who must forgive a thoughtless fool," meowed Sparrowflight, dipping his head before the elder. "It's you who must forgive a thankless cat."

The young warrior looked up at Thrushclaw with pleading eyes. "It's thanks to you that I am living, and again I lay down my life at your paws!"

Turning to his mate, Sparrowflight whispered quietly in her ear. "Larkheart, your father saved my life. When they wounded me, he took me from the barricade, carried like a kit, and brought me back...to you."

Without turning her eyes away from her father, Larkheart pressed closer to Sparrowflight.

"Now you are here," mewed Thrushclaw wearily, "again beside me. Now I can die in peace, for now my life is blessed."

Larkheart's eyes widened in horror. "You will live! Father, you're going to live!"

The young she-cat curled her tail around her paws. "It's to soon, too soon to say goodbye!"

Thrushclaw sighed and shook his muzzle, reveling in his last moments with his daughter. "Yes, Larkheart," he rasped. "Forbid me now to die. I'll obey. I will...try."

After a moment's pause, the elder heaved a deep breath and gazed at his daughter with eyes that revealed all of the love and wisdom he had ever been shown. "Larkheart," he sighed, "the time has come to tell you the name of your mother."

Larkheart's ears perked, and a single glimmer of elation shone through the darkness hanging over her eyes.

"Her name was Goldenfur," Thrushclaw went on. "Your mother gave her life for you, then gave you to my keeping."

Larkheart crumbled into Sparrowflight's fur.

At that moment, a cool, gentle breeze stirred the young warriors' pelts, and the pale outlines of two she-cats emerged in a sprinkling of stars.

"Come with me..." whispered a soft voice, and Thrushclaw looked up to smile back at Goldenfur's tranquil gaze.

"...where claws will never harm you," continued Goldenfur. "All your grief...at last, at last behind you," she promised.

The she-cat raised her eyes to the star-adorned sky that draped above them. "Cats in StarClan, look down on him in mercy."

"For give me...all my trespasses..." gasped Thrushclaw. "..and take me to your glory."

Then, the sleek, lithe form of another StarClan she-cat padded forward to join Goldenfur.

"Rainsong?" meowed Thrushclaw, surprised at the sight of his Clanmate who had died too young.

"Come with me..." the two she-cats mewed serenely. "And lead me to salvation. Take my love, for love is everlasting."

Thrushclaw beamed, his strength and youth renewed by the she-cats' compassion. He felt new energy in his limbs, energy that filled him up with boundless joy and carried him up into the air.

"And remember the truth that once was spoken," Goldenfur and Rainsong purred.

Thrushclaw raised his muzzle to meow with them. "To love another cat is to walk among the stars..."

Almost instantly, a cool gust of wind surrounded the three cats, swirling and wrapping around them swifter each moment.

As the cloud grew thinner, Thrushclaw perked his ears.

He could hear voices.

"Do you hear the warriors sing, lost in the valley of the night..."

Thrushclaw's eyes widened as both new and familiar scents washed over his nose. Suddenly, through the clearing mist, the former convict made out the most astounding sight he had ever laid eyes on.

Enough cats to fill ten Clans were padding towards him, mewing in harmony as they glimmered with the reflections of every star in the sky.

Thrushclaw gasped in astonishment. His littermate was striding in his direction, followed by her radiant, healthy-looking son. Beside them trotted Thrushclaw's father, mother, and mentor.

Thrushclaw blinked steadily as he recognized his late Clanmates: Redstorm was there, looking as proud and spirited as he had during his time in ThunderClan, and he was once again happily leading his friends Sunblaze, Sagepelt, Cloudheart, Eagletail, Sorreltongue, Whitefeather, and Berryfur. Even Cloverpaw was scrambling alongside them, stretching his limbs to meet their height.

They were all purring in unity, releasing sounds that flowed over Thrushclaw's ears like warm water.

"...lost in the forests down below, it is a music of the warriors who are climbing to the light. For the wretched of the woods, there is a flame that never dies."

Thrushclaw, a noble warrior once more, parted his jaws to join his Clanmates.

"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."

. . .

They will live again in freedom

In the forests of StarClan

They will walk in endless friendship

They will put away their claws

The chain will be broken

And all cats will have their reward...

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the warriors meow?

Say, do you hear the distant yowls?

It is the future that they bring

When tomorrow comes

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the warriors meow?

Say, do you hear the distant yowls?

It is the future that they bring

When tomorrow comes...

. . .

Tomorrow comes!

. . .

Author Note: And fin!

Well, that was fun. See you soon.