Bumblestar POV

Rowanstar thrashed about beneath my grasp. "You're a sorry excuse for a cat, Bumblestar. You're a disgrace to every warrior that has ever experienced this life."

"And you're too weak, Rowanstar," I hissed. "In the end, the strongest always end up on top."

Rowanstar continued to struggle. "That's wrong."

"I'm sorry?"

Rowanstar made a futile attempt to try to throw me off. "I said, 'That's wrong.' It's not the strongest who end up on top. It's the bravest."

"Well, you, my dear, are neither of those things. You're neither strong nor brave." I chuckled evilly and without hesitation, performed the death blow on Rowanstar. "HELLO, SHADOWCLAN! Have you even noticed that your leader is dead?"

The cats that heard, from all the Clans, froze in surprise and turned to face me. The news was quickly relayed to the ones that hadn't, and the battle came to an abrupt halt. Mistystar stepped away from where she had my mysterious ally who looked like Ashfoot pinned and glared at me. My ally rose slowly to her paws, blood dripping from scratches on her left side, and stared emotionlessly at Rowanstar's lifeless form.

I traced a claw across the ShadowClan leader's neck, watching another thin line of blood appear. "Now. ShadowClan and RiverClan both leave now, or Rowanstar...uh, goes away. For good."

"You're a traitorous fleabag, Bumblestar. You're a menace to this forest!" Mistystar snarled.

I yawned. "So you're leaving?"

I was suddenly knocked away from Rowanstar's body by a familiar tom who reeked of ShadowClan. "Not today, you mangy fox-heart!" Ratscar sneered.

The fighting resumed around the clearing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mistystar and the cat who looked like Ashfoot locked into a vicious battle. The pair rolled across the hollow, exchanging blows and hissing at each other.

"It's you again!" I exclaimed with false cheerfulness. "It's good to see you again! How are you doing?"

I winced as Ratscar swiped his claws across my nose. I ducked under his next attack and lunged for his neck. He leapt straight up into the air and I yelped as I was flattened beneath him.

I rolled onto my back and kicked upwards with my hindlegs, pushing him off of me. We both scrambled to our feet and faced each other. My legs ached and my ear throbbed where Rowanstar had torn it. I was exhausted, and wanted nothing other than to curl up in my nest to sleep for the rest of the day.

Yes, I loved wars and bloodshed, but I preferred battles that I controlled the outcome of and the slaughter of helpless victims. I liked to be the hunter, not the prey. I didn't so much enjoy the sight of blood as the light of terror in their eyes as they realized their death was imminent. It made me feel invincible, and the rush of adrenaline was soothing. The feeling of power, true power, was incomparable. Also, it was a reminder, of how it had all started. I would recall, if only for a few heartbeats, a different set of eyes. Gorgeous green eyes that shone with horror as I shoved her into a thorn bush. I think she saw something that day. A glimpse of what was to come.

What would she have said if she had known? She would've been disappointed with me. Some days, I was disappointed with me.

I shook my head to clear it. How had I managed to think of Dovewing again even in the midst of this war? It had been so many moons that I should most certainly not still care about that pathetic, dishonest traitor! She should have been long forgotten by now!

I wore a mask of cruelty and hatred, yes, and I used a facade of anger and indifference to veil my emotions. But inside, I was just bitter, and above all else, lonely. There was an emptiness inside, a gap in my heart that couldn't be filled. It could only be ignored.

But I was done hiding it. I embraced the insanity, allowed it to twist my view. Ratscar melted into Tigerheart, his eyes transitioning to a brighter shade of amber, his pelt darkening. I unleashed my rage. There was no need to restrain myself now.

I screeched with fury as I launched myself at him. I slashed my claws towards his throat, and he barely sidestepped in time. I barreled into his side, and clawed at his stomach repeatedly. I relished his screams and focused on him, as he was writhing in agony. A red haze clouded my vision as the pure anger possessed me.

He heaved himself upward desperately, which sent me flying, and staggered weakly towards the camp entrance. He hurriedly limped out of the thorn tunnel, shouting, "Rowanstar is safe now! ShadowClan, retreat!"

Rowanstar is safe? What did...those sneaky little snake-hearted cowards! Ratscar had been a distraction! While I had been occupied shredding the dark brown warrior, some ShadowClan cats had carried Rowanstar's body away to safety. Apparently, Ratscar had been clever enough to realize that I would not have spared Rowanstar, regardless of what ShadowClan and/or RiverClan did or did not do.

The ShadowClan cats fled from the stone hollow, and the RiverClan cats followed closely behind them. I breathed a sigh of satisfaction as I noted their pelts were all stained with blood.

"Run, Ratscar, run! You always run, you coward! Everyone runs away!" I spat, watching Mistystar glance hesitantly over her shoulder. I then realized the implication of my words, and added wearily, "Until you realize you can never run far enough."

A/N: What did you guys think? :D I hope you guys enjoyed this!

Bumble may be a total lunatic, but he was right about running away. I think we all try to run away from things we don't want to deal with, but eventually they catch up to us anyways. Anyhow, I'm getting too philosophical here. I love you guys, you're the best! I love every single one of you!