The Last Hope's deaths were so lame. You expect me to believe that cats who have been training for years will just lay over and die without a fight? They might lose, yes, but there's no way they would let another cat just grab their neck and kill him.

So I'm rewriting them. As low as the death count was, I'm rewriting all of them as best I can and as creatively as I can. So... enjoy!

Brokenstar's ears flattened. "No cat leaves the Dark Forest unless I say so." He unsheathed his claws. "Your loyalty is to us now."

Run! Ivypool silently begged Beetlewhisker. Run and don't look back!

Beetlewhisker paused and glanced over his shoulder. "My loyalty is to RiverClan, just as it always has been," he meowed. "You promised me that coming here would make me stronger for my Clanmates. It has, and I'm grateful, but you must have known that I'd leave eventually."

Brokenstar's eyes glinted menacingly. "You really are dumb, aren't you?"

Beetlewhisker lashed his tail. "Not as dumb as you'd hoped! I'm going, and you can't stop me."

In a flash, Brokenstar shot from the circle and blocked Beetlewhisker's path. Ivypool started to move, but Thistleclaw's tail whipped her backward.

"Stay out of this," the grey tom warned.

Applefur's tail trembled. "Don't go, Beetlewhisker. You've got friends here." Her new was straining to be cheerful but Ivypool could see fear darkening her gaze.

"Thanks, Applefur." Beetlewhisker nodded to the ShadowClan she-cat. "But I have to go. This is the right time for me to leave."

"Really?" Brokenstar's growl started low and grew louder, sharpening into a screech. The Dark Forest warrior reared up until his shadow stretched right across the clearing. Then he dived toward Beetlewhisker with his forepaws stretched out and his teeth bared.

Beetlewhisker's eyes widened in horror. Just as Ivypool thought he was about to be crushed by Brokenstar, Beetlewhisker reared back and sliced his claws across the tabby's muzzle, sending him off course so he landed a fox-length away.

Brokenstar shook his head violently, sending drops of blood flying, then hissed and spun towards Beetlewhisker. "You'll pay for that, you little rat," he growled.

Beetlewhisker's ears were flat against his head in terror as the dark warrior advanced towards him. His amber eyes darted around the circle, looking for an escape. He suddenly whirled around and sprinted for the open end of the circle.

"Stop him!" Brokenstar roared, digging his claws into the mud.

Ivypool could only watch as Beetlewhisker ran farther away from her, towards the end of the clearing. Go! she willed him silently.

Just as he reached the first trees, Beetlewhisker was brought down by Snowtuft. He leaped on Beetlewhisker's back, and the RiverClan cat's legs couldn't hold the two of them. They fell, rolling in the mud until Snowtuft was covered in brown.

Snowtuft pinned Beetlewhisker on his belly, digging his claws into the back of the tabby's neck. Beetlewhisker's legs writhed in all directions, but without his head he couldn't go anywhere.

"Bring him to me," Brokenstar demanded.

Ivypool's heart sunk as she watched Snowtuft grab Beetlewhisker by the scruff and drag him, kicking, into the centre of the clearing.

She finally looked around. The Clan cats were trembling behind a wall of Dark Forest warriors. Ivypool felt Applefur's fear even from a mouse-length away.

This isn't right, Ivypool thought. But she was powerless to stop anything. Thistleclaw was still right in front of her, watching the clearing with pricked ears. She wouldn't be able to go anywhere without him noticing.

"Close in the circle," Brokenstar ordered, staring down at a pinned Beetlewhisker like he was a piece of prey.

Dark Forest cats closed in around the two toms, forming an area that was around three fox-lengths across. The Clan cats shuffled their paws on the outside of the circle, none of them brave enough to stand up.

Ivypool desperately wanted to help Beetlewhisker, but she knew she'd be killed if she even tried to push through the ranks of warriors. There were so many of them.

She couldn't see a thing, though, so she silently padded to a tree as scaled to a low branch, staring down at the circle below.

Brokenstar nodded to Snowtuft and the white tom let Beetlewhisker's neck go, then filled in an empty space in the ring of cats.

Beetlewhisker stood slowly and shook himself off. He looked around, seemingly just noticing the circle surrounding him. The fur on his spine stood up and he turned tail from Brokenstar and ran again.

Not that way! Ivypool winced as Beetlewhisker reached the edge, only to have his nose sliced by Shredtail. She scanned the circle of cats, trying to find any kind of gap, but there was none. Beetlewhisker wouldn't get out unless he managed to jump over a cat.

Beetlewhisker tried a few times to escape, attempting different routes to the outside and freedom, but each time was knocked back. Soon his muzzle and cheeks were dripping blood onto the dirt.

Brokenstar merely stood and watched, following the terrified tom with his sharp eyes.

Beetlewhisker finally stopped, panting, his panicked eyes darting around for some exit. Ivypool looked around, too, for some way she could help him without getting herself killed.

Brokenstar's tail twitched and he took a pace forward. Beetlewhisker reeled backwards, as if that small movement scared him more than anything. "StarClan help me!" he cried.

"You think StarClan listens to what happens here?" Brokenstar hissed. He paced back and forth in front of Beetlewhisker, who was unable to move from terror. Stopping, the tip of his tail twitched. "All right." There was menace in Brokenstar's mew. "I'll make you a deal, how about that? Fight me."

Beetlewhisker's eyes widened and he shrank back.

"Fight me and win, and I will let you go. No cat will stop you.

"Lose, however..." Brokenstar's purr deepened into a rumble. "Well, we'll get there when he get there."

"Why should I have to fight you?" Beetlewhisker suddenly regained his courage. "You're no more than a coward; you won't let me leave because you're afraid I'll tell Mothwing to turn you in to StarClan!"

Ivypool winced. Bad move, Beetlewhisker. If there was one thing Brokenstar wouldn't let go, it was his pride.

"Ha!" Brokenstar crouched, readying himself to spring on the RiverClan cat. "I like your spirit!

"Now let's fight!" With that, Brokenstar let out an almighty battle screech and launched himself towards Beetlewhisker.

With only half a heartbeat to react, the light tabby had no time to get out of the way before Brokenstar was upon him. The two toms collided in a mess of hissing fur; Ivypool could barely see who was winning or even what was going on.

Soon, Beetlewhisker had Brokenstar pinned for long enough that Ivypool could get a good look. Both toms had considerable wounds, but Beetlewhisker looked considerably worse for wear. Moons of training in the Dark Forest had made him a good fighter, true, but he was no match for Brokenstar; Ivypool could see that right away. Almost immediately, Brokenstar used his weight to roll Beetlewhisker over.

You should've killed him when you had the chance. Beetlewhisker had had ample time to slice Brokenstar's throat when he was on top, but he had held back.

Now Brokenstar had Beetlewhisker pinned, and it didn't look like the RiverClan warrior was getting out of it. He twisted and struggled, but the dark tabby held him firm.

Come on! Ivypool silently urged Beetlewhisker on. Do you want to die?

But as much as he tried, the tabby-and-white tom wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Brokenstar sneered, testing his claws on Beetlewhisker's ear. The RiverClan tom winced as a nick of skin was taken out of his fragile ear. It immediately started to bleed.

"Hold him down," Brokenstar ordered to two cats at random. Darkstripe and Snowtuft stepped forward, and they pinned Beetlewhisker's paws to the ground; his soft belly was facing upwards, totally exposed.

"Watch out," Brokenstar warned, victory in his tone. "You two are in the splash zone." And with that, he raised a paw and brought it down on Beetlewhisker's stomach. Ivypool gasped and jerked her head so she stared at her paws. She could still hear it though: the horrible ripping of flesh, the squelch of organs exposed to air, and, worst of all, Beetlewhisker's ear-splitting yowl.

"That'll teach you to be a traitor," Brokenstar whispered once the scream had died down.

Ivypool slowly raised her eyes, and wished she hadn't.

A hoard of Dark Forest cats stood around Snowtuft and Darkstripe, both of whom were flecked with blood, as they stood a few paces away from Brokenstar. The tabby was staring down triumphantly. His amber gaze flicked to the lower branches of Ivypool's tree, and she pressed closer to the bark, praying that the shadows would hide her silver-and-white pelt.

Apparently they did, because Brokenstar turned and began to pad away, slowly followed by the Dark Forest warriors. Some even congratulated him.

The Clan cats looked at each other anxiously, as if deciding whether or not to do something now that they were alone. One by one, however, they closed their eyes and faded away. Ivypool watched as every single Clan cat disappeared, shocked that none of them would stay.

Once she was sure she was alone, Ivypool hopped down from the branch. Slowly, she approached the lump of fur laying in the mud.

The smell and sight sent her retching, until she got over it, narrowing her eyes at the body.

Beetlewhisker had been cut open cleanly from neck to tail; any of his white fur not covered with mud was now stained with his own blood. Where skin and fur had once been, there was now a mass of organs spilling out onto the ground, some of them cut open themselves. Every colour of liquid oozed from his cuts: red most of all, yellow, a dull green, brown, black...

Worst of all were his eyes. Ivypool tried to avoid looking at them, but their dull, lifeless gaze seemed to follow her. Look what you did to me.

This wasn't the way a cat should die. It was terribly unfair, and Ivypool's heart went out to the lump of fur, which looked so small.

"I'll keep you alive," Ivypool breathed. She would never forget him, even when his Clanmates had.