Kitten of the Dark Forest

Ch. 11: The Battle

(Okay, so you don't get confused, when Tigerstar becomes Tinykit's avatar, it's only his looks that make him Tigerstar. It's sort of like Tinykit has a transparent shield surrounding him. Their thoughts are shared, but Tinykit's the one that feels the pain. So when I'm talking about Tinykit and Tigerstar, I'm just going to refer to them as just Tinykit.)

Tinykit and Tigerstar laughed menacingly. The battle had just begun, and Tinykit was eager to kill. Even with all the noise, Tinykit could still hear the menacing laughter of the Dark Forest cats as it echoed around the hollow. He leapt on a cat, a golden brown tabby tom, and began to claw his ears. The cat yowled in pain and rolled out from under Tinykit. But as soon as the cat got a good look at Tinykit with an avatar of Tigerstar, ghostlike and transparent, around him, he cowered in fear. "Ha! ThunderClan cats are too mousehearted for their own good," Tinykit and Tigerstar taunted, their voice mixed together to almost make one new voice. "What are you afraid of, two murderous, bloodthirsty cats? Ahahahah!" The two cats leapt forward and slashed the golden brown tabby tom with sharp, unsheathed claws. He yowled an stumbled back, then leapt on top of Tinykit and Tigerstar to find that the avatar was solid and not an apparition. The tom's claws dug in Tigerstar's back, but he and Tinykit shook him off. They made a lunge for the tom's throat, but he dodged it, and yowled, "Mousewhisker!" Our of the chaos and fighting cats, a gray and white tom, presumably Mousewhisker, leapt to the golden brown tabby tom's aid. "I'm here Thornclaw!" he said. "Ah, finally, more of a challenge!" Tinykit and Tigerstar snarled. He lunged for Mousewhisker's tail and fastened his teeth around it. Mousewhisker howled in pain and in return clawed Tinykit's face, going for the eyes. Tinykit felt claws rake down his sides, going deep into his skin. He yowled in fury, letting go of Mousewhisker's tail. He spun around and brought his front paw hard down upon Thornclaw's head, stunning him, then raked his claws through the side of his belly. The golden brown tabby tom looked at Tinykit for a second, then made a beeline for the camp entrance. "Run outside!" he called. "We'll be better at fighting when we're not in such a tight space, and the Dark Forest cats will be in unfamiliar land!" At once, ThunderClan cats dashed for the entrance, streaming out into the night. Mousewhisker turned tail and fled, Tinykit hot on his heels. He saw Mapleshade, and ran over to her. "How's the battle going?" he asked her. Mapleshade flashed him a smirk, showing her blood-stained teeth. "It's going great!" she replied. "Your used-to-be mother, Silverpelt, is a pretty good fighter! It's great to have a challenge after spending all that time in the Dark Forest fighting cats whose weaknesses you already know. New, hard-fighting cats are an absolute joy to battle and kill!" She howled in laughter, then ran away from Tinykit after Silverpelt. As he watched her run, he tripped over another cat, landing with a 'thud' on the ground. The cat leaped up on top of him and began to shred his ears with sharp claws. Tinykit yowled in fury and stood up quickly, unbalancing the cat on his back. He tried to shake the cat, but didn't succeed. He hissed in hatred in rage and flipped over on his back, crushing the cat. He got up and faced the cat, none other then the she-cat Cinderheart. "Well, if it isn't the cat whose mate put many of my comrades to shame, and even killed the loyal Dark Forest cat known as Shredtail!" he growled. "It's time to punish Lionblaze for what he has done, an what better way to do that than killing his loving mate?" Hissing, he jumped forward and raked his claws through Cinderheart's side. She yowled and dived under him, attacking his soft underbelly. Tinykit hissed in pain as the she-cat then grabbed hold of one f his back legs, her teeth piercing his flesh. He pulled away, then grabbed the scruff or her neck and flung her off to the side. Her head hit a rock, and she was knocked out cold. "Heh, where's your family now?" he asked her mockingly. Tinykit chuckled darkly as he advanced towards his helpless prey. "Stay away from my mother!" a shrill voice yowled. Tinykit turned around in surprise as he felt teeth grip his tail and claws rake against his side. It was one of Cinderheart's kits, a she-cat named Sorrelpaw with brown fur and sky-blue eyes. It was almost cute how the apprentice, not even half his size, was trying to protect her pitiful mother. "How adorable," he said. "A little kit about to be tor apart trying to rescue it's worthless mother." He easily shook the apprentice off but before he could attack her, he heard an all-too familiar voice. "Tinykit! Stay away from her! It's us you want!" Tinykit immediately forgot Sorrelpaw, and as the apprentice ran away, he turned to face his four siblings. Fallenkit , or rather, now Fallenpaw, was the one who had spoken, her usual timed attitude nowhere to be found. She stood confidently, staring at her youngest brother, the one she had once loved. That was, until he had murdered their brother Juniperkit in cold vengeance. Behind her, were Snowpaw, Spottedpaw, and Ripplepaw. It was almost a sibling reunion. "Where's Juniper? I thought that he would want to join the party," Tinykit sneered. The Tigerstar avatar disappeared, leaving only Tinykit. "Speaking of my most hated brother, who wants to join him?" Tinykit charged toward his siblings, and they charged him. Tinykit reached Snowpaw first, jumping on her back and causing her to fall. She looked up at him in surprise. "What, just because I'm the runt, the dead runt at that, I can't be a better fighter after training nonstop in the Dark Forest?" Tinykit seethed. Tinykit then crashed into Spottedkit, tearing out clumps of fur with his fangs. The other three apprentices would go after Tinykit, but he could easily keep them at bay with his swiping claws, much sharper than those of a Clan cat. "You monster!" Tinykit heard Fallenpaw yowl as he felt teeth grip his throat, though they failed to penetrate it. Tinykit kicked his sister off him, and then pinned her don. As she struggled beneath him, Tinykit raised his right front paw, claws glistening with blood, and prepared to deal the death blow. But before he did, Tinykit had a flashback. He remembered how Fallenpaw had always stood up for him, played with him, loved him. But there was something else. He could sense it in her, something different. Something....like him. However, before Tinykit could figure out what it was, he was bowled over by his oldest brother Ripplepaw. Tinykit got up to find himself a considerable distance away from his siblings.Ripplepaw, Spottedpaw, and Snowpaw stoodin front of Fallenpaw as she got up, and the looked at Tinykit with wide, frightened eyes. But before Tinykit could attack them again, he heard something that made his blood run cold; it was a howl. And not just any howl, but the howl of a dog.

Mapleshade fought Silverpelt with all she had, hatred, rage, and fury poured into every attack. She hated this she-cat. She was a terrible mother for Tinykit, who couldn't embrace her son for who he was. And for that, she deserved to die. Silverpelt was backed up against a large, smooth rock, with no possibility of jumping over it. The worthless she-cat would have to fight her way out of it. "How dare you treat Tinykit so horribly!" Mapleshade yowled. "He was the best kit a mother could ask for, and you denied him! The beautiful revenge he got when he killed his no-good brother, that is the vengeance a mother should love!" As she fought, Mapleshade could see Silverpelt's horrified, shocked expression. "That's what you think a good son is like?!" the silver she-cat replied. "He was a monster! He killed his brother! I had to let him die, I couldn't let any more of my kits be harmed by him!" The two cats continued to fight, their strength fueled by their memories of Tinykit, Mapleshade's love for him, and Silverpelt's knowledge that Tinykit had become corrupted by cats like Mapleshade. She wanted revenge on the evil cats who had taken her son away from her. But then they heard the barking. Mapleshade turned to see a huge, savage dog bounding towards them. It was the only one, but Mapleshade could tell by it's size that it was a formidable enemy. Then Mapleshade remembered Tinykit's dream. "No," she whispered in despair as she and Silverpelt were backed up against the rock with no chance of escape, as the dog stood over them, ready to kill.

Tinykit froze as he saw the dog in front of Mapleshade and Silverpelt. His heart sank to his stomach, and he tried to move, but failed. His dream was coming true. He couldn't let them die. The two she-cats were important to him, for even though Silverpelt, his real mother, had abandoned him after Tinykit had revealed his true side, he still loved her, and he knew she still loved him. She was the cat who had raised him. And Mapleshade took care of him after he died. She protected him, stood by his side, and loved him as much as any loving mother would. As Tinykit realized what he had to do, an eerie calm came over him. "Tigerstar," he said. "I need you again, but just for the claws." "Okay," Tigerstar replied. "But what are you planning to do?" A single tear ran down Tinykit's face, and he smiled, just a bit. "You'll see." Tinykit ran towards the dog, which was getting ready to clamp it's jaws on either Mapleshade or Silverpelt. Tinykit unsheathed his claws as he ran, long and covered in blood. He leaped onto the side of the dog, clawing it as Mapleshade and Silverpelt were frozen to the ground. The dog roared as it's slavering jaws grabbed hold of Tinykit. The kit could hear his bones crunch, and he was flung aside. But before the dog had released him, Tinykit unsheathed his claws again, and tore the dog's throat out. He crashed against a tree, and pain flooded through him. He could hear the dog collapse, but also something else; the anguished yowling of two she-cats. Blood trickled into Tinykit's eyes, and he smiled. He had saved the two she-cats he loved, but at a price. He coughed once, then closed his eyes as darkness overcame him and he could feel no longer.