Tigerstar opened his eyes. He was lying on the grass of Fourtrees with moonlight washing around him and the rustle of leaves above his head. For a few heartbeats he relaxed, reveling in the warm air of greenleaf.
Then he remembered where he had last been: chasing Ravenpaw away, running onto the Thunderpath, the monster.
Abruptly he sat up. He was not alone. The warriors of StarClan lined the clearing, illuminating it with the shimmer of their pelts and the gleam in their eyes. In the front rank Tigerstar could see the cats who had given him his nine lives: Bluestar, Leopardfoot, and Mistkit, Oakheart…and a newcomer, Ravenpaw, the usual haunted look in his eyes gone and with starlight glimmering in his thick fur.
"Welcome, Tigerstar," meowed the black warrior.
Tigerstar scrambled to his paws. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "I chased you off of my territory, didn't I?"
It was Bluestar who replied. "Look, Tigerstar."
Tigerstar saw there was a space beside her. At first he thought it was empty, but suddenly he realized that it was filled by the faintest outline of a dark brown tabby cat. His amber eyes glowed so pale they barely reflected the starlight that filled the hollow, but Tigerstar recognized him at once.
"You have lost your first life," Bluestar meowed bitterly. "From the monster."
A shiver ran through Tigerstar. So this was what it felt like to die. He stared in mingled curiosity and fear at the pale copy of himself in the middle of the clearing, and as his gaze locked with the ghost cat’s he suddenly saw himself, hunched with his fur ragged and bitter pain burning in his eyes.
Tigerstar wrenched his head aside to break the contact. There was no time for this. Surely the whole point of having nine lives was so that he could keep going?
"Send me back," he spat. "I don't have time for this!"
Bluestar stepped forward. "Won't you ever learn from your mistakes, Tigerstar? Your body needs a moment to recover. You will go back soon enough."
"What mistakes? Why is Ravenpaw here? Why won't you send me back?!"
The former ThunderClan leader stared at him, a cold fire in her blue eyes. "Do you see Ravenpaw here?" She flicked her tail at the black cat as he stepped forward. "He knew you had nine lives, but he decided to sacrifice his one life to try and save one of your nine." Bluestar glared at Tigerstar. "You tortured and bullied him for moons when he was your apprentice, and you attacked him just then! But he still came back for you." Ravenpaw's yellow eyes glowed with wisdom far beyond his age while she continued snarling. "That is true mercy, the life I gave you, and yet you still don't know how to use it!"
Tigerstar curled his lip. "It's not my fault he came back for me!"
"No." Bluestar gazed deep into Tigerstar's eyes. "This was all Ravenpaw's choice, and he made the right one, to save a life. He would have been a compassionate warrior."
Tigerstar’s paws worked impatiently in the grass. What was the use of a lecture? He could not tear his mind away from his original reason to leave camp; to get water for the elders and queens. I promised Tallpoppy I'd return. "Bluestar—"
The she-cat raised her tail to silence him. "Silence!" she hissed. "You have lost your chance to gain a word in this conversation. You grew up with love and support from the Clan all around you. Yes, Pinestar left. Yes, your sisters died. But the rest of us were here for you and supported you along the way! I don't know what we did wrong for you to grow into a blood-thirsty killer and a torturing leader, but we didn't raise you like that."
"Thistleclaw said ambition was everything a leader needed!" Tigerstar hissed. "And he was right—ambition led me to this. I'm not a leader because of compassion. I'm a leader because of power! Power is all I've ever needed; not love or support. Why can no cat understand that?"
A group of cats broke away from the ranks and surrounded Tigerstar and he hissed at them as they glared at him. He quickly recognised the cats who had died in the war against RiverClan: Brindleface, Crookedstar, Greypool, Runningwind, and even Stonefur.
Runningwind stepped forward. "Too much death happened over an unneeded war."
"No mercy was shown at all." Crookedstar narrowed his green eyes.
"Cats of all ages suffered," Greypool rasped.
"The warrior code was broken." Stonefur, whose face had been so ravaged before death, looked normal again, his blue eyes glowing with wisdom.
Brindleface stepped forward, her soft green eyes wide with anguish. "You've turned my son into a monster," she whispered. "You made him murder a cat at six moons old! You've turned him into you..."
A voice spoke—not an individual cat this time, but an echo vibrating inside Tigerstar's head as if all five cats were speaking to him at once. "Tigerstar, cats will be coming. Cats who are known to you but unknown to the Clan."
As Tigerstar stared, rigid with shock, the voice went on: "Make the right choice; amend yourself."
Tigerstar watched as Ravenpaw padded forward. "If you see Barley, tell him what happened to me." The black tom had a look of grief in his gaze. "I told him I'd be back by sundown.."
The shapes of the StarClan warriors seemed to dissolve into light. Tigerstar felt their strength flooding through him as water soaked into the thirsty ground, and he knew the courage that came with faith restored.
"He's waking up." A gruff but familar voice seemed to echo in the darkness and the scent of crow-food reached Tigerstar's tongue.
He blinked open his eyes, groaning as an aching spread through his muscles. He saw four jet black paws beside him and flinched as a white head bent down towards him.
"Is he okay?" A second anxious mew sounded beside him.
"I don't know." The first cat sniffed his head. "He seems pretty out of it."
As his head eventually stopped pounding, Tigerstar recognised the cat in front of him. "Blackfoot?" He croaked.
Blackfoot blinked. "You're okay!"
A ginger tabby cat padded up next to Blackfoot. "I could have sworn he wasn't breathing!"
A grey-and-brown cat rolled her eyes. "Snag, you fog-brain! He's Clan leader now; he has nine lives!" She turned to look at Tigerstar. "We thought you'd forgotten about us," she purred in amusant.
Tigerstar grunted as he attempted to move. "I could never forget about you, Tangleburr."
"We were passing through ShadowClan when were just saw you and another cat lying on the Thunderpath." Tigerstar recognised Mowgli's voice.
Blackfoot blinked slowly at him. "Your friend wasn't as lucky as you." He glanced at the ruffled black fur of Ravenpaw lying a few fox-lengths away.
Tigerstar raised his head feebly. "He's not my friend," he grunted. "My enemy, actually."
Snag exchanged a glance with Tangleburr. "Can you get up?"
"Of course I can!" He snapped, already pressing himself up onto his forepaws. He stood up and swayed as the forest spun around him. Blackfoot hurried forward and pressed against his side to steady him. Tigerstar didn't complain as he felt his legs buckling beneath him and he collapsed back onto the floor.
"You need a medicine cat." Tangleburr pressed her nose gently onto his flank and he winced. She looked up in shock. "Surely that didn't hurt!"
"It felt like it!" Tigerstar snapped.
Mowgli looked into ThunderClan territory. "I could go and get one." He suggested.
Tigerstar snorted. "And my camp full of warriors would chase you out and we'd still be stuck here. What a great plan!" He meowed sarcastically.
"You're lucky we didn't leave you lying on the Thunderpath!" Mowgli snapped, lashing his tail angrily. "Stop acting like a spoiled kit and think of a better plan if mine is so bad!"
He narrowed his amber eyes and sniffed. "We just need to wait for the evening patrol and they'll find us." He rested his head on his paws, feeling battered and bruised.
Mowgli shrugged and sat down, pricking his ears as he stared into the forest, his posture tall and tense as he listened out for cats.
The day seemed to drag on as slow as a snail and the heat beared down onto Tigerstar. He panted, blinking blearily up at the sun. Blackfoot followed his gaze. "Should we move to the shade?" He suggested. "You'll get heatstroke if you stay here."
Tigerstar nodded wearily and braced himself to stand. He staggered to his paws and Snag and Blackfoot quickly pressed against his sides to support him. As they reached the trees, he flopped onto the floor, gasping from the effort. Why am I so weak?
There was a rustling of bushes and a ferocious hiss sounded out.
"Get away from our leader!"