The cats were fighting a losing battle. They simply did not have the numbers to survive an attack of this magnitude.

However, retreat was not an option; not with the kits open and vulnerable only just around the bend...

Stonestar stood after being bowled over by a blow. There were several light scratches in various places all across her pelt, and a deep gash above her left eye, but her worst problem was not outward, but in: the blow had stunned her so badly that she merely stood frozen as the beast with dripping red fangs bared down on her, its eyes gleaming in triumph.

"NO!" A blur of gray flew forward, landing squarely on the demon cat's muzzle, where he proceeded to rip and tear at whatever he could sink his claws into. One solid slash sliced the cougar straight in the eyes, completely blinding him. Howling like a wounded weasel, the beast blundered around haphazardly, zigging and zagging this way and that, until its path finally straightened out.

It was heading straight for the cliff.

"DUSKHEART! NO!"

But it was too late. Both cat and beast went flying off the edge, down into the never-ending abyss.

Had the world stopped? Surely everything must freeze, if only for a moment, to pay respects to this bravest of Warriors.

But the world didn't quite work like that.

There was still one cougar left, and now it was seriously pissed. Its scream echoed off the cliff walls like a chorus of ghost lions, all hell-bent on revenge.

But it was not the only one with blood-lust coursing through its veins.

"BACK! Everyone, get back!" In that split second, something in Stonestar... changed. No longer afraid, no longer in pain, she strutted forward with her head held high as all the fires of StarClan burned in her eyes.

"This one... is mine."

An insane peal of laughter echoed off the rocks, a million ghoulish voices mocking the RushClan leader. "You will not defeat me! And all by yourself too, poor little kitty-cat. What will you do, paw me to death? HA! Even your greatest fighters could do no lasting harm to me. You are like a kit walking straight into the jaws of a badger!"

"Stonestar, don't!" A tiny voice floated up from the back. Goldenpaw had arrived, and seen enough to know what was going on. "The cave! It's just around the corner! We can all be safe! Don't do this!"

"No, Goldenpaw." The leader turned for a brief moment, and even from a distance, the young apprentice, often teased for her ignorance and ditsiness, could see something different about her...

Were her eyes... glowing?

Stonestar turned her head back too quickly for Goldenpaw to be sure. "Oh, once mighty lion," she intoned, her voice like a low, tolling bell: firm, somber, and a little bit sad. "You, the ancestors to the greatest and noblest Warriors, have withered away into despair and hatred, even for your own kin. For your crimes against your own race, you must pay the ultimate price. This ends here." With that, the wounded leader sprang with a speed so fast she was nearly invisible.

"What the...!" The moutain lion had no time to react. Stonestar's weight, which should have been ineffective against such a massive body, sent the golden cougar skidding across the rocky ground. She was upon it in an instant, ripping, slashing, killing, and yet all the lion could do was wail in response. It was mostly unintelligible gibberish, except for two words:

"The eyes! The eyes!!"

It was over in a matter of seconds. For a moment Stonestar stood, tall and proud over her conquest. Then she slumped backwards, shaking her head in confusion. It was almost possible to see the fighting spirit leave her, and float away amongst the clouds.

Turning back around to her bewildered Clanmates, she quietly said, "Come. The cave is just around the corner, and we are all wounded."

It had all been so...sudden. At one moment the entire plateau was alive with the sounds of yowls and screechs of rage and pain. And then, there was silence. When Duskheart had slipped off the ledge Aspfang felt a great paw clench his heart tightly, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe. One of their clanmates...lost! Eyes narrowed he snarled defiantly at the remaining cougar, but it was already too late.

Stonestar. Ever stubborn Stonestar, was advancing on their last assailant, her entire posture screaming anger and bloodlust. "No!" Aspfang yowled, his breath catching in his throat. What if they lost their leader? How could he lead their Clan out of the mountains alone? Without the support of a true warrior? Paws skidded on the scree as the deputy ran towards his leader, but her voice stopped him.

"Oh, once mighty lion," Stonestar whispered. "You, the ancestors to the greatest and noblest Warriors, have withered away into despair and hatred, even for your own kin. For your crimes against your own race, you must pay the ultimate price. This ends here." 

Sliding to a stop Aspfang and the rest of the Clan watched incredulously as Stonestar ravaged the mountain lion's body with a strength that could only have come from Starclan. Once, thrice, twice, her claws slashed downwards and then their foe lay limp on the rock, blood streaming in bright crimson rivulets.

Kestrelwing could only watch in awe as their leader was taken over by some mysterious force, lending her body the strength and speed to defeat such an awesome enemy. Closing her eyes Kestrelwing dipped her head in respect when Stonestar whirled around and in a calm voice, simply uttered, "Come. The cave is just around the corner, and we are all wounded."

With a grunt Kestrelwing padded up to their leader and nosed her gently, ignoring the pain flashing in her own body. "Come see me once we get to the cave," she ordered quietly. "I must...tend to your wounds." There was an unspoken sentence between them, however. Kestrelwing wanted to know exactly what happened. "Aspfang can organized the vigil for Duskheart, no?"

The sounds of battle had faded and Windpaw stuck her nose outside of the cave cautiously, noticing that Ashwhisker had not moved a muscle. Mewing sadly she padded up to the warrior and buried her face into the she-cat's flank, too busy thinking of what had happened to notice the procession of cats slowly making their way towards them.

Stonestar knew she would not escape this one without some explanation. Her loyal Clanmates deserved that much anyways. That would have to wait, though, until they were all within the shelter of the cave. The smell of fresh blood was permeating the entire area, and one more attack, even from a tiny weasel, could mean the end of them all in this state.

Back inside the cave, Cottonpaw was standing at the entrance with a fierce, protective look in his eyes. The attack had left them all feeling vulnerable, especially Cottonpaw. This was the first time in his life he had ever had to run from a fight. He was absolutely determined that no one was going to sneak up on their little band again. He was a rock of fortitude, the eyes of an eagle! If so much as a flea creeped up on the entrance of the cave, he would know it was there. He--

"Oh, well, lookie here! Some nice young cats have come to visit!"

Every head in the cave turned toward the foreign voice. It did not come from the entrance, where everyone had been so tensely focused, but from the back.

Tanear stood and shifted sideways to form a protective barrier between the stranger and his kits. The voice didn't really sound particularly threatening though-- it just sounded old and a little batty.

The cat it belonged to had a once beautiful calico pelt (though it had dulled with age) and silver fur all around her mouth. She was severely lopsided to the left, which made it a wonder she was even able to stand and balance at all. She was smiling, but there was something strange about her face; Cottonpaw finally zeroed in on her eyes. They were a clear, milky blue, but the strange part was the pupils; they were overly large and completely circular, like a cat who had ODed on catnip.

Overall, she gave off the appearance of small, furry, loony cat-owl. Cottonpaw had to stifle his laughter behaind one of his paws.

Tanear, however, was not amused. "Who are you?" he hissed. "How did you get in here?"

"My name is Iris, darling," she purred, apparently completely immune to this stranger's hostile tone. "As for how I got in here, I should be asking you the same thing. Unless you were just zapped down from the sky like the hyppigrods! I keep telling those little creatures to keep to themselves, but no, they have to poke their noses into everything. And they have such long noses, too. Why, one time, they found a pack of tillibums, and..."

As the crazy old cat babbled on, the cats looked at each other in confusion. Hippigrods? Tillibums?

"Oh, but look at me. You aren't interested in those boring old stories, are you? You should meet my hubby." Turning towards a before unnoticed crack in the back wall, she yelled, "Oi, Maestro, you lazy bum! Come and meet our guests!"

Creeping back into the cave with her ears flat against her head Windpaw nearly missed the arrival of the new cat, so wrapped up in her own thoughts. Sitting down next to Cottonpaw she giggled quietly, eyes shining with mirth as the small she-cat babbled on randomly.

"What's go her?" she asked Cottonpaw quietly, whiskers twitching with amusement. This earned her a buffet on the head from Ashwhisker, who had just entered behind the apprentice.

"I'm sure this she-cat means well," Ashwhisker mewed in a stern voice, but there was the slightest hint of humor in the back of it.

Turning his head Aspfang stared at this newcomers, absolutely bemused by the entire situation. Somewho this batty old she-cat had managed to get into the cave from a different way and sneak up on an entire group of trained cats. Shaking his head ruefully the deputy glanced at Stonestar, wondering what she was going to do. 

--

Maestro, who had just been washing his paws in the back area of the cave, padded up to his mate and purred loudly.

"Why, hello there!" he mewed in a warm tone, oblivious to the stares the two were receiving. "You look like a sorry bunch. Why not stay and rest a while?"