(Cries, sobs, dies). This will be my first book completed, ever! (Not counting school projects....) Thanks guys for your support and for voting, sharing, and commenting. This book was my very first book, and if you've noticed, it's really bad, especially the beginning. I have changed multiple events in this book to make my (horrible) story plot come together. I haven't had a single soul comment and say this was a piece of crap, or none that came from any good people. I do not want people yelling at me for killing off Lion'star' and Stormheart, but again, who could bother to separate them?? She would've gotten nine lives, while he didn't even live a full one. And sometimes, the main character isn't invincible, and I think that's a good point of the story. Thank you all for reading this far, and if you voted, I think I'd wet myself with joy. (Not really....)

Now, I give you, the epilogue!

Liontail's P.OV. 

It was a mistake, she thought. She hadn't chosen Brambleclaw to lead ThunderClan. She had been foolish to think her son could do it. Give a brand new warrior leadership. What was she thinking? He had never even led his own patrol before! He didn't know anything about being a warrior, let alone a deputy, or even a leader! She hissed at herself. "He'll be fine," She murmured, her golden pelt dappling in the StarClan sun. 
"Yes, and he's here." Liontail perked her head up.
"What do you mean, he's here?" Stormheart purred at her question. 
"He has come to us through the Moonpool, to receive his nine lives." Her mate murmured. She stood up and nuzzled his neck fur, which was, as usual, all messed up and ungroomed looking. "Come on, StarClan is gathering!" He meowed, racing her past the marshes and the caves and the forests of StarClan's territory. 

Sunclaw's Point Of View

This was it. He was going to become the leader of ThunderClan, and he hadn't even been a warrior for a moon. He would mess everything up. No, I won't. My mother chose me, and she knew what she was doing. Besides, all the senior warriors agreed to help me along my path. Brambleclaw is the best deputy I could have hoped for, and I have to believe I can do it. My Clan looks up to me now. I have to show them strength. 
Sunclaw stared at the approaching paws. They weren't gray or golden like he'd hoped. They  were a fiery orange. Firestar!  Sunclaw nearly leaped to his kin when he remembered he was ThunderClan's leader. 

He smoothed his fur to look strong and peaceful, and he thought he noticed Firestar hide the amusement in his eyes. "Welcome, Sunclaw. We've been waiting..." The former ThunderClan leader whom Sunclaw had thought invincible for so long now stood in front of him, along with several other rows of StarClan cats. Their fur was glossy and kept, all for except his father's, who smiled at him from beside his mother. 

Liontail seemed a bit uneasy, but once she met her golden son's gaze it faded into wisdom and determination. He saw her murmur into Stormheart's ear quickly before his father laughed slightly and murmured something back. 
Sunclaw dipped his head to Firestar and looked around at StarClan. Lionheart, Frostfur, Speckletail, and Goldenflower were some of the cats he recognized from the battle that he had heard names of. All past warriors of ThunderClan were there. There to see him take over their beloved Clan into his paws and care. 

He blinked and realized *Exactly where the story deleted* that a she-cat was padding forward. It was definitely a cat he knew. But he never actually knew her... The silver and gray she-cat purred. "Hello, Sunclaw." Feathertail meowed, standing before him. "I give you a life to cherish every moment, no matter who it's with, from the smallest kit to the grumpiest elder," Sunclaw looked back to see Firestar's eyes shining at the mention of an elder, and he guessed that he was thinking of Sandstorm and Graystripe, who weren't the youngest. 

The pain swallowed him whole until it stopped, almost jerking him off his own paws. He hadn't noticed that he had closed his eyes during the river of pain, and when he opened them, Hollyleaf, a black she-cat that had risked her life several times for so many cats, stood before him. "I give you a life to remember that the nicest decisions aren't always right. Just because you think that it will benefit one cat, does not mean it will benefit all of the clan. But remember, your kin still need you. " This time, he saw memories flash through his mind, some his own, sitting in the nursery, another one where it was all black, and finally to when he had to announce his deputy. "Brambleclaw," He meowed, his voice almost faltering. He saw his brother look away from his gaze as cats congratulated the tabby warrior. Brambleclaw nodded as Squirrelflight purred beside her mate, and Oakleap walked away while Edgeheart and Stormriver padded over to him as he leaped off the Highledge. "You two seem happy," He purred. Stormriver smiled at him before the pair wandered off, but Oakleap padded towards him only to his, disappointment? "I understand. You aren't even ready to be leader, why would I be your second in command?" And those words nearly tore him apart. Brambleclaw appeared beside him, "I'll serve you as the most loyal cat you've known. You aren't alone; I'll help you along the way." Brambleclaw's warm gaze on him fascinated him, until he remembered he had mentioned Hollyleaf as a brave warrior that wouldn't have let her clan suffer, and that Brambleclaw must have been showing gratitude. Meanwhile, Oakleap looked broken inside as he padded away, tail dragging in the dust behind him. Then he saw Rosepetal dart after Oakleap and Sunclaw smiled a little more as the two disappeared into the warriors' den. 

Pain pierced through him like needles and lightning. It wasn't as bad as his first life, but it definitely had hurt him. He noticed Liontail had a small smile, and he flexed his muscles so he could tense for the next life and he would look stronger in front of these cats that needed him to be strong not for them, but for their own kin that lay beside the lake. 

"No." Was the only word he was able to utter as he noticed a tortoiseshell with warm amber eyes padding forward. "Wh-what? I saw you in..." He whispered in disbelief. She was the nicest she-cat in all of ThunderClan! She had been so kind. She had cared for him when his mother had gone out on patrols. She had been there for him, and he knew Brackenfur didn't deserve to lose his mate. Sorreltail smiled lightly. You shouldn't be here! You're still back home, in the nursery! StarClan, why? What has she done to deserve this?

"Don't worry, Sunclaw. Brackenfur will cope." Sorreltail seemed to take his worried expression as fear for his old mentor. He wanted to meow something to her, but she was already speaking, "Use this life to look for acceptance. Cats will be different than they are on the outside, and you have to see them as they are inside. Big or small, a cat can make a large impact, and they aren't going to wait for someone to listen." Sunclaw thought about Ivypool, the cat who had caused former ShadowClan deputy Russetfur's death out of jealousy. He shuddered inside as Sorreltail leaned forward and rested her nose on his shoulder. 

His eyes flashed open as soon as he closed them. His paws were on a hard surface, and he looked up and saw two bright lights of a monster charging toward him. He tried to move out of the way, but his leg got caught underneath the black paws and pain seared through him. He scrunched his eyes closed in pain and when he reopened them, he was in the calm nursery, with bundles of fur at his side. And then he was back in StarClan, and his mother was standing in front of him. 

Her green eyes gleamed. "You're so brave..." She whispered, and he twitched his ears at the compliment. "I'm sorry to have put this weight on you. You're too young. You should be able to live long, and it's all my fault-" Sunclaw shook his head and covered his mother's mouth with his golden tail. "No, you did what you thought was best at the time. I won't let ThunderClan down. Brambleclaw will be at my side, guiding me. I'm not a kit anymore, I can handle myself." He meowed, resting his tail on Liontail's shoulder comfortingly. 
"ThunderClan will prevail." 
"Not only ThunderClan will need your help," She meowed.

He nodded in agreement, sensing a bit of her own father inside her, "Yes, and I understand that it is my duty to keep ThunderClan, as well as the other Clans, at peace. It's what's best for ThunderClan." Liontail seemed to have trusted her son at last because she meowed loudly for the rest of the cats to hear.

"Sunclaw, I give you this life to feel everything around you. To sense when your instincts are right, to know everything. This is a life that comes with great responsibility. You must be strong, as everything around you will need you. You will be judged, second guessed, and not just by the other Clans. ThunderClan must survive." Liontail touched her tail to his own, and despite the other, highly painful lives he had been given, this one had felt like he was standing in a stream, he suddenly felt weight that overbearingly made him feel like he was being pushed down, farther and farther into the solid ground, although his paws had not moved.

Liontail nuzzled him and padded away to stand beside Stormheart. 

The ThunderClan leader looked around for the next cat to give him a life when a small squeak erupted at his feet, a gray she-cat following with her eyes warmingly focused on the kit.  Sunclaw looked down and saw a tiny she-kit, about the size of his paw. She was a brown tabby, and her amber eyes sparkled with excitement as she stared at him with round eyes. 
Ferncloud padded to stand beside her kit. "Hollykit," She meowed, scooching her kit out of the way gently.
Sunclaw felt guilty for not helping guard the nursery once more. "I'm-"

Ferncloud didn't seem to mind what he was saying. "I'm here to give you a life, not to listen to why you could have saved me. I am happy here, and I can watch over my clanmates here." Ferncloud spoke softly, and Hollykit continued to stare at him as she shuffled her paws eagerly. "Go on, Hollykit," She murmured, ducking down to her kit. Hollykit's eyes burned with anticipation and excitement, warming Sunclaw over his body.

Sunclaw had to perk his ears to hear the tiny voice. "I give you a life to be brave and confident!" The voice squealed, and Hollykit pushed her head against his chest. Once more he felt the warmth spread through his body, but this time, it was much more intense. He felt that this tiny kit was his soul, the reason he breathed and that he needed to be alive for the single purpose of this kit. He had to do whatever it took. He had to conquer his fears. 

As long as it was, when the tiny kit and her mother walked away, he felt a loneliness pang him in the heart, like his soul had ripped out of his chest. 

Firestar had padded forward. Sunclaw's heart thumped inside his chest. This wasn't his ninth life. He had one more after this. Who would it be? 
"Sunclaw, I watched you and your littermates grow, but I don't think I ever noticed how well you would turn out. Your brother seemed the most promising. He seemed to be destined to be great, to be the best fighter, hunter, all without trying. But you worked hard, and he didn't need to, and that's what has made you stronger. I give you your eighth life for endurance. No matter what happens, you have to fight through it." Firestar's flaming pelt reached Sunclaw's golden one and pain shot through him like a wildfire. He shook on his paws, almost collapsing, despite his unmoving paws. 

He thought the pain wouldn't end, but it did. He watched as Firestar padded to stand beside Whitestorm and Lionheart and Bluestar. 
Sunclaw awaited his next life a little impatiently, so eager to know if his father would give him his last and final life.

Stormheart licked his mate's head before walking forward to stand in front of his son. "I give you a life for fair judgment. Not every cat has the same background, I hope you understand that." Sunclaw waited for pain, but none came. Instead, he saw clearer. His vision seemed almost enhanced for a few moments, and when he looked at the cats of StarClan, he saw nothing but equality. No cat stood before another, and none stood prouder than any other. 

Stormheart pulled away and went to stand beside his mate once more. Sunclaw wished he could talk with his father more, but Firestar stepped forward. "Liontail," The former leader flicked his tail at his daughter. "You were brave and loyal, and you served ThunderClan for merely a sundown. Lionstar, I believe, as the most recent leader of ThunderClan, you deserve to name your successor." Liontail dipped her head and called out, "Sunstar, Sunstar!" StarClan repeated, and Sunstar felt pride grow stronger.

He was the new leader of ThunderClan.

And he was the youngest leader in the Clans' history. 

*Not edited* 

Let me go cry my heart out right now.....

THE END.

~Liontail