Robinclaw pushed through the dark swirling water. In his jaws he carried Hailfall's unconscious body. The other tom had been asleep when the flood hit, and the water overtook him before he could fully wake up. That's when Robinclaw and his sister, Lightstride, swept in to rescue the warrior.

"Robinclaw! This way!" Lightstride called. "I think I see Twigpaw!"

Robinclaw's eyes widened at the idea of finding his son. He swam faster, dragging Hailfall along. He wanted to shout back, but the fur in his mouth blocked any sound.

Lightstride grabbed Hailfall and helped her brother support the warrior's weight. "I'm sorry, Robinclaw... it was a false alarm. I can see why you named him Twigkit, though." She meowed before taking a portion of Hailfall's scruff in her jaws.

Robinclaw didn't find her joke funny, but he swam forward anyway. Perhaps by swimming faster and rescuing Hailfall, he could go back for his son.

The two cats reached the original path to safety, only to find it blocked by rushing, black water. Robinclaw used his sodden tail to direct Lightstride toward a small cliff. He hoped to hoist Hailfall up it and get him to safety. Luckily, Lightstride agreed with a simple nod.

Robinclaw hoisted Hailfall up onto a rock and motioned for Lightstride to climb the cliff. The golden she-cat obliged, heaving her way up to a small ledge.

"I'll pass him to you from the water. Get him on the ledge and then climb up the rest of the way. I'll pass him to you again, but this time I'll be on the ledge." Robinclaw explained, earning another nod from his sister. She crouched down on the ledge, ready to receive the blacks md white tom from her brother. Robinclaw hoisted him up into Lightstride's ready grasp. She dragged the unconscious tom to the ledge and climbed up the cliff.

"Careful, Robinclaw." She called to her brother. He nodded to her and easily scaled the cliff. Just once more, he thought to himself, lifting the black tom once more and hoisting him up to Lightstride. She received him and pulled him up to the top of the cliff.

Robinclaw purred contentedly, ready to climb up to his sister, when the tortoiseshell tom lost his footing. "Lightstride...!" He called as he fell. The water broke his fall, but drove all the air from his lungs.

"Hold on!" His sister called. He heard a splash beside him and turned to look. The black water was pulling him down, but he could see golden paws churning above him.

"Lightstride..." He meowed as his lungs filled with water. He started coughing, allowing even more water into his system. His vision started to blur as he sunk deeper and deeper. He felt teeth meet his scruff, but couldn't stay conscious long enough to see the cat that saved him.

*******
Robinclaw awoke in the camp, coughing violently. His last memories were filled with empty water and a sharp pain in his chest. It was all gone now. The tom stretched out and looked around. He wondered how long he had been asleep and if... Lightstride! He had to know if she had made it back. The warrior jumped to his paws, looking around for his golden-pelted sister. Sure enough, he found her talking with Amberstar at the edge of the clearing.

"Lightstride!" He called happily. "You made it back! Is Hailfall okay?"

The golden she-cat didn't seem to notice him. She collapsed with exhaustion, her head resting on her paws and her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh... you must be tired. I'll leave you alone." Robinclaw offered softly. She must've dragged both him and Hailfall back to camp. She deserved to rest. The tortoiseshell warrior decided instead to visit his kits. He prayed to StarClan that Twigpaw was alright.

When the tom noticed the familiar brown tabby apprentice, he smiled, approaching his son.

"Twigpaw! You're alright! Thank StarClan!" He purred.

"Hey Flashpaw..." The apprentice meowed, turning to his brother instead of his father. Robinclaw couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. The warrior rationalized that his kits were just happy to catch up. They would talk to him later.

Soon, a loud wail caught his attention. He turned to see Bramblepool and Amberstar. His mate seemed to be in shock. She wailed another time before running across the clearing to the camp entrance. Robinclaw followed her with his eyes, making out Darkflame carrying a sodden body.

"Who is that?" Robinclaw called, approaching his mate. "Hey, Bramblepool!" The she-cat didn't notice him. Instead, she threw herself at the body in Darkflame's grasp.

Robinclaw's eyes widened. The body she was crying over, the one Darkflame brought back to camp, it was his body.

"No! Bramblepool! I'm right here!" Robinclaw exclaimed. "Bramblepool...?! I'm alive! I'm right here!"

Darkflame touched his tail to Bramblepool's shoulder and pushed past the grieving she-cat. He laid Robinclaw's body in the center of the clearing. Bramblepool immediately crouched beside it, burying her face in Robinclaw's fur.

"B-But...! I'm right here...!" Robinclaw looked down at his paws and noticed a faint transparency. He could see flecks of starlight in them. "How?! Why?! StarClan! Why would you do this to me?" He moved to stand beside his mate. "Bramblepool...! I'm right here! I'm here...! Bramblepool, I'm here...! Please! Say something...!"

"Why did you go back in? I needed you here...!" The brown she-cat cried.

Robinclaw reached out to touch her, but his muzzle passed right through her cheek. "I'm sorry...! I-I thought...! I thought I could save them... everyone. I didn't think—" The tom was cut off by a small black and white shape lying down beside him.

"Why...? Why did you go back...?" The apprentice asked. Robinclaw looked down at his son. Poor Flashpaw, he thought. "Why did you leave me...?" Flashpaw cried, touching his nose to his father's body.

Robinclaw felt his heart break. His sister... his mate... his kits... he would never see Flashpaw become a warrior. He would never see Twigpaw become a medicine cat. Why did StarClan do this to him? The tortoiseshell tom touched his nose to Flashpaw's head. "I love you, Flashpaw." He meowed softly. "I'm sorry I can't be there with you physically, but I'll always be here. I'll never leave you."

As if the young tom heard him, Flashpaw stood up. He took one last look at his father's corpse and moved to the medicine den. Robinclaw followed him, seeing his second son grieving alone at the back of the den.

"Twigpaw... now I know why you didn't see me before... I'm sorry I had to leave you. I love you so much." He meowed, touching his nose to the brown tabby apprentice's head. Robinclaw took one last look at his kits before going back out to the clearing.

"Bramblepool... I'm so sorry..." He meowed, lying beside his grieving mate. "I never should've gone back... I should've stayed with you... I love you so much..."

Bramblepool closed her eyes and sat in silence beside her mate's corpse. She didn't say anything. Her muscles were tensed, and she didn't move. Robinclaw stayed beside her. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he hoped his presence was at least somewhat comforting.

"I'm sorry..." he mewed one last time. "I'll always be with you... all of you..." The tom knew he had to accept his fate. He slowly let himself fade away from the camp and reappear in StarClan. "Goodbye... my family..."

A/n: this is a short story I wrote based on BloodyR0se's command game. The characters in it are Sandleaf's characters Robinclaw and Lightstride, ZuberTheUber_SaveW's character Bramblepool, Mossleap's character Twigpaw, my character Flashpaw, BloodyR0se's character Amberstar, WarriorCats09's character Hailfall, and Bittersweet_Fortune's character Darkflame. Show all these people support! They're all amazing! This was also almost completely improved from me, but I hope you like it anyway! Let me know what you think.