As ready as they will ever be, the cats prepare to head out. Firestar leaves Speckletail in charge of the camp. He tells Brightheart that if they survive the battle she can move back into the warrior's den. He speaks with Whitestorm, who says he cannot imagine a better leader and speaks as if he will die in the fight.
The four clans, along with Barley and Ravenpaw, meet up and face BloodClan. Firestar refuses Scourge's offer to leave and instead offers him a chance to go. The two clans - BloodClan and LionClan - attack.
During the fight Firestar faces off against Darkstripe who had joined BloodClan. Firestar asks him if he has any honor left and Darkstripe responds that the only thing that matters is Firestar's death. Darkstripe has Firestar pinned but suddenly Graystripe is there saving him and killing Darkstripe. Graystripe sees something across the way and it takes Firestar a moment to realize it is Bone, the BloodClan deputy, killing Whitestorm. They race over and Bramblepaw and Ashpaw attack Bone. Firestar tries to save his deputy but Whitestorm tells him it is time for him to go and hunt with StarClan now and names Graystripe as his successor. Firestar speaks the words to name a new deputy and is surprised when nearby cats hear him and give their support.
Firestar knows the only way to end this fight is to find Scourge. He seeks him out and they fight. Scourge wins, and Firestar loses his first life. Bluestar is there and Firestar begs her to return him to the fight. She tells him he must wait and speaks to him, telling him how the path he chose is what lead him to be a great leader. Firestar returns to his body and seeks out Scourge again. The ruthless leader is shocked to see Firestar alive when he knows he just killed him. Firestar tells Scourge that he has been gifted nine lives from StarClan and suddenly understands what Barley was trying to tell him - that when Scourge dies it will be for good. This time Firestar defeats the small cat and once the BloodClan cats realize what has happened they flee.
After the fight Leopardstar gathers her cats to go home. ShadowClan is not coming with them, TigerClan is no more. She has offered Mistyfoot the position of deputy and she accepted. Next Blackfoot leaves, saying he needs to rebuild his clan. Firestar tells him he saw him murder Stonefur and warns him to learn from the mistakes of the leaders before him. Finally WindClan leaves with the acknowledgment that one clan has turned back into four. All the cats look forward to life returning to normal in the forest.
To me, Darkstripe's ending will always sad. He could have offered so much to his clan and instead he turned his back on everything he believed in. I suppose it is all the sadder because Dustpelt and Longtail made the right choice.
Whitestorm's death was sad, but I have to say that I don't know Graystripe is the right choice. Yes, he is Firestar's best friend and he is loyal to him, but that does not make a good deputy. Putting the clan first does, and that is something that both Firestar and Whitestorm are good at. Of course, from his choices, I don't know who would have been a better pick.
All that I had remembered from these books was that Tigerclaw was evil, Firepaw would eventually become clan leader, and, as time went by, that Whitestorm would both be his deputy and die. I am glad to have reread these books and revisit characters I had long sense forgotten. And I look forward to seeing what their next adventure is now that clan life has returned to normal - though, I imagine, not for long. Otherwise there would not be more stories to tell.
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