Welcome to the third installment of my Echoing Flames AU! As always, I don't own Warriors (even though I should–kidding!).

A spiky-furred gray and white tom padded through a damp, dark forest. He shook his head irritably as droplets of water splashed down onto his nose. Unlike the one he'd defended so fiercely while he was alive, there was no sunlight filtering down from the tops of the trees, no sound of birds calling or mice scurrying into their dens. Instead, there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see and a silence that was deafening in its own way.

Thistleclaw stopped at the edge of a large puddle and gazed down into it. In the swirling depths, he could just make out the shapes of Bluestar and her pathetic kit, Fireheart, as they conversed beneath the Highrock. As he watched, Bluestar meowed something before giving the ginger tom's ears a gentle lick. Even though he couldn't see her expression, Thistleclaw could easily imagine his enemy's eyes glowing with pride.

That should be me, the former ThunderClan warrior thought, feeling a wave of hatred and revulsion at the sight of his rival. I should be standing at the head of ThunderClan as its leader with Tigerclaw and Whitestorm by my side. We would be the strongest Clan in the forest then.

Thistleclaw let out a snarl, his claws sinking into the ground. He liked to imagine that they were digging into Bluestar's lifeless body. It was her fault that he had lost everything. He had lost his mate, his only son hardly ever spoke to him, he had failed to become Clan leader or even deputy, and it was all because of her. She had turned his family against him and hadn't even had the decency to give him the deputyship, choosing Redtail of all cats over him. Bluestar, a soft, weak, traitorous mother of three half-breed spawn had been given every blessing StarClan had to offer while he, a loyal, dedicated ThunderClan cat, had been relegated to nothing more than an average warrior. He deserved to be ThunderClan's leader, but Bluestar refused to see sense.

His only satisfaction came from the knowledge that he had been able to cause Bluestar a considerable amount of pain (well, more than considerable) when he stole her kit from her. However, the memory of seeing her choke up in rage and grief as she pronounced the words that sentenced him to death was tainted by the memory of her claws slashing across his throat, splattering the camp with blood. It didn't help matters that the first cat he'd seen upon his death was Snowfur. Her eyes, once warm and loving, had been cold and disdainful when she looked at him. For the first time ever, it had been easy to see that Bluestar and Snowfur were indeed sisters.

"S-Snowfur," Thistleclaw stammered, staring at his former mate. He waited for the white molly to lean forward and nuzzle his flank as she'd done so many times while they were alive, but she remained perfectly still. "I missed you."

"Save it," Snowfur hissed, and Thistleclaw had to force himself not to flinch at the cold hatred in her eyes. "You aren't even supposed to be here right now. The only reason we didn't banish you to the Dark Forest right away was that I asked Thunderstar to let me speak to you."

Thistleclaw gaped at his former mate in disbelief. What was she saying? This wasn't the Snowfur who had fallen in love with and borne their son with him. Had those treacherous StarClan cats turned her against him?

"No, they didn't turn me against you," Snowfur meowed, and Thistleclaw guessed that she had known what he was thinking. "I finally saw you for what you really are. You're nothing but a cruel, vindictive bully who tries to hurt others in order to get what he wants."

"You don't have any idea what you're saying," Thistleclaw growled, beginning to grow angry. His voice rose as he continued, "Bluestar stole everything from me! I should have been chosen as deputy. I deserved it, but she stole my role!"

"Nobody ever stole anything from you! Sunstar chose her to be his successor," the white-furred queen meowed, her blue eyes blazing. "And don't give me that heap of fox dung about deserving to be deputy. I know what you've done, Thistleclaw. I saw what you and Tigerclaw did to that kittypet, and I know all about your little trips to the Dark Forest. And I know that you never cared about being deputy, at least not for the right reasons."

"What are you talking about?" Thistleclaw demanded, outraged. "I dedicated my life towards becoming Clan deputy so that I could lead ThunderClan to greatness!"

"Oh, please. Yes, I acknowledge that you dedicated yourself towards becoming Clan deputy, but it wasn't out of motivation to serve ThunderClan or make it great," Snowfur meowed coldly. "The only reason you wanted to become Clan deputy in the first place was that, even after all this time, you still haven't gotten over your petty need to feel as though you're superior to my sister."

Thistleclaw let out a hiss of frustration. This wasn't going at all the way he had planned, but he still held a small sliver of hope that Snowfur would come to see things from his perspective. He dug his claws into the ground as he spoke his next words.

"What about you and Whitestorm?" he demanded. "Bluestar killed you and turned my son against me! How can you defend her now?"

"Bluestar did not kill me! I died defending ThunderClan from invaders," Snowfur exclaimed. "She had nothing to do with the monster being there when it was. As for turning Whitestorm against you, I think you should look a little closer to home for that. You turned him against you all on your own, no thanks to the fact that you allowed Tigerclaw scar him for life during his second training session as an apprentice!"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few heartbeats. Thistleclaw, unsure of what else to do in the face of her fury, simply stood there and waited for her to speak again. When she finally opened her eyes, she no longer looked angry, just sad.

"I thought you were better than this," she meowed softly. "I really did. When I was alive, you meant more to me than you will ever know. And I was so proud when I found out that I was expecting your kits. But now...now I see the truth. You never loved me, did you? I was always just another plaything for you to use against Bluestar."

"That's not true," Thistleclaw argued weakly, although he knew it was hopeless. "You've got it all wrong."

"Oh, do I?" Snowfur snapped, and the anger returned to her expression full force. "Then tell me, Thistleclaw, if I'm so wrong, why did you do everything in your power to drive Bluestar away from Whitestorm?"

Thistleclaw couldn't think of anything to say in response, so he simply shook his head.

"I knew you and Bluestar never cared for each other, but I'd hoped that you could at least have enough decency to let her see her kin," she spat. "Maybe if you had, you two could have raised Whitestorm together. But I was a fool to think that. The only thing that ever mattered to you was causing my sister as much pain as possible. Everything you ever did, it was always to hurt her. Well, congratulations, because you succeeded. Because of you, Bluestar has to spend every day fearing that she'll meet Mistyfoot and Stonefur in battle someday and Mosskit is here in StarClan instead of serving her Clan as a warrior as she should have been able to do. But you couldn't just let it go, could you? No, you also had to lure Firekit away from her. You really are pathetic–you used a defenseless kit in your revenge. She's going to be grieving for moons! So well done, Thistleclaw, you got your wish. You broke my sister's heart over a petty apprentice grudge. I just hope the Dark Forest is worth it."

With that, she turned around and stormed off, her fur bristling and her tail stiff and straight. Thistleclaw could only watch as his former mate disappeared from view, the first time he'd ever seen her turn her back on him. It took him a considerable amount of time to realize that the light had followed her as well.

Thistleclaw snapped out of his thoughts, lashing his tail and letting out a hiss of frustration. He had been stuck in the Dark Forest ever since that day, unable to reach the grounds of StarClan despite moons of walking. No matter which direction he went, the darkness stretched on forever. If he hadn't seen StarClan's hunting grounds with his own eyes, he might not have believed it was real at this point.

It wasn't fair. He didn't deserve to be banished here, separated from his family. All he had ever done was try to give a traitor the comeuppance she deserved. He had never actually killed anyone or even done anything that was illegal, technically.

Perhaps they were jealous. Yes, Thistleclaw decided, that had to be the reason. They were jealous of his strength, of the superior training he had received in the Dark Forest. StarClan cats were weak, kittypet-loving fools who didn't know the true meaning of being a warrior the way his Dark Forest companions did. But they had to keep up the illusion of being all-powerful beings, so the most courageous warriors such as he were banished to this endless labyrinth of darkness.

But if Bluestar thought she was free of him, she would soon find out how wrong she was. Thistleclaw wouldn't rest until he had taken everything from her once and for all. She might have enjoyed a few moons of peace, but the power of a Dark Forest warrior was unmatched, and Thistleclaw wasn't one to let promises go unfulfilled.

Tread carefully, Bluestar. You'll soon find out that water isn't the only thing that can drown you.