Preface: The Warrior Series:

Sad to say, I have read a few of them when I was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s because it’s what they would send me in care packages along with other goodies I liked. But that was another time and story in my life I care to put behind me. So, it has been expressed to me in the past that the ending to the first series was a little weak and I agree. The whole Tigerstar getting batted aside by some little wiener cat from Twolegplace rather than getting his ASS handed to him by Firestar was kind of lame in their eyes. Neither one liked it when a new “Bad Guy” shows up right at the last second and tries to take the place of a long standing relationship with a hated arch enemy, like you’re supposed to be afraid of this guy all of the sudden. Nope.

The original Warriors series, released from 2003 to 2004, consists of six books, Into the Fire: Fire and Ice: Forest of Secrets: Rising Storm: A Dangerous Path and The Darkest Hour. Since The Darkest Hour is the last book I read in Iraq, I had to go to the library on Camp Pendleton to look over the book one more time before I started this. The top section in Italic is straight from the final battle in the 6th book, The Darkest Hour, which is my starting point for what you will read below. Anyway, not a great bit of writing on my part, especially the abrupt ending, but according to both my daughter’s, they thought it was a good attempt & agreed that if the story ended the way I put it, the next series would be worlds apart. Warriors – The Darkest Hour, Original Last Battle Beginning.

"This is Tigerstar's history," Firestar meowed urgently, turning back to Scourge. "It all shows one thing- that he'll do anything for power. If he promised you a share of the forest, don't believe him. He won't give up one pawprint, not to you or any cat." Scourge's eyes narrowed; Firestar could see that he was thinking carefully about what he had heard, and hope flared inside him like a tiny flame. "Tigerstar told me what he was planning to do with the dogs when he visited me two moons ago." The black cat turned his head so that his gaze rested on the leader of ShadowClan. "He did not tell me that his plan failed." "None of that matters now," Tigerstar broke in roughly. "We have an agreement with you, Scourge. Fight beside me now, and you'll have all I offered you." "My Clan and I fight when I choose," Scourge meowed. To Firestar he added, "I will think about what you have said. There will be no battle today." Tigerstar's fur bristled with rage and his tail lashed from side to side. His muscles bunched as he dropped into a crouch.

Warriors – My Alternate Ending

"Traitor!" he screeched, spit flying from his lips as he glared at the BloodClan leader with hatred burning hot in his eyes. "No one defies me, least of all some mangy, Two leg crowfood like you!" Tigerstar sprang at Scourge, his black claws unsheathed and glistening in the pale light as they plunged for the small cat's throat. Scourge twisted and ducked, leaving Tigerstar to land in the dust where he had been. The BloodClan leader's voice was cool as he snarled quietly, "BloodClan outnumber you forest fools two-to-one. Our claws are strengthened by the hard grounds we walk, our fangs are sharpened on the bones of our enemies, and our might is greater than that of all of you and your StarClan combined. Leave now, and you will be spared. Stay, and be slaughtered." Without another word the cats of the forest, LionClan and TigerClan together, fell upon the BloodClan intruders. Yowls and screeches of raw defiance and anger rose from the mass as claws flashed and blood sprayed. At once, Bone leaped upon the huge shoulders of Tigerstar, tackling him and wrestling with him in the dust, spitting fury. The BloodClan cats seemed stunned by the suddenness of the attack, screeching with fear and surprise as warriors from the forest crashed into their ranks and slashed with thorn-sharp claws, their eyes wide not with the cowardice they had expected, but in determination and courage.

Several of the BloodClan warriors fled immediately, disappearing into the undergrowth surrounding the Great Oaks. Firestar leaped upon the nearest enemy, a wiry brown tom with a shredded ear. He sank his claws into the cat's pelt, raking his side with furious claws. The tom arched his back, trying to dislodge Firestar, whipping his head back to snap at the ThunderClan leader. Another BloodClan cat, a stubby-legged she-cat, flung herself into Firestar, throwing him clear of the brown toms back and sending him skidding into the dust. The she-cat was immediately at Firestar's throat, sinking her small teeth into the thick fur there. Firestar jerked back, feeling the teeth pulling at his flesh, and flailed his claws wildly at the she-cat's head. As a claw tore open her cheek, the she-cat squalled and released Firestar, peeling off into the undergrowth. Firestar panted, watching the she-cat's retreat. "Firestar" Bramblepaw's voice yowled behind him, and as he turned, he saw the tabby apprentice fighting to fend off two BloodClan attackers. Firestar snarled and ran to help, but before he could reach Bramblepaw, Onewhisker slammed into one of the enemy warriors, leaving Bramblepaw to easily fight off the second. Firestar scanned the clearing quickly. He had never seen so many cats. All of the forest Clans were fighting side-by-side with this new enemy. He saw torn ThunderClan pelts, the hushed colors of the forest undergrowth. He saw the glossy coats of RiverClan cats, hanging in clumps. Dark, lean ShadowClan shapes bearing bloody gashes. The dusty, little bodies of the WindClan cats, crossed with battle scars. And surging between them all, he saw the ragged, fierce forms of the BloodClan cats.

Firestar was tugged from his vision as a large pale tom sped past him, with a RiverClan warrior hard on his heels. Firestar suddenly dashed through the tangle of cats, dodging flailing claws and knots of wrestling warriors. He leapt onto the Great Rock and cast his eyes across the clearing. Where was Scourge? Almost at once he spotted the small black cat. He sat off to the side, his claws flexed but doing nothing to help as his deputy was mercilessly beat upon by Tigerstar and several of Tigerstar's rogues who had come to his aid. Firestar spat at the BloodClan leader's apathy. What kind of leader watches his warriors die? Scourge was no threat; without his warriors to stand between him and his enemies, he was nothing but a scrawny loner from Twolegplace. Firestar knew that the Clan cats were winning. As he watched Scourge, he saw as the realization of this fact crept into the BloodClan leader's eyes. The black tom's face suddenly went wild with fear, but before he could dash away into the forest, Leopardstar was upon him. The broad, golden she-cat brought furious paws crashing down upon the small frame of the BloodClan leader, her claws opening wounds that Firestar could see would never heal. Leopardstar yowled, her call filled with fury. "You will never take this forest from the Clans!" With that, she sank her fangs into Scourge's throat, snarling through the fur and shaking the black body until it was broken and limp before spitting it out onto the ground.

Horror swept over Firestar as he watched Tigerstar release the mangled body of Bone, the BloodClan deputy, and turn his amber eyes on Leopardstar. The RiverClan leader arched her back and spat at Tigerstar. "This was your great plan for the forest? To rule over it with fear and bloodshed? To share dens with these crowfood eating monsters?" The she-cat sprang, locking into furious, screeching battle with the ShadowClan leader. The flow of the battle had suddenly shifted, Clan was fighting Clan as the warriors from Twolegplace rapidly began to disperse, their leader dead and their resolve shattered. Firestar leapt immediately from the Great Rock and charged through the clearing. Brackenfur was at side, panting harshly. "Tigerstar," he choked, pointing with his muzzle towards the scene Firestar had just witnessed. "I know! Gather any ThunderClan warriors you see, quickly!" The younger tom nodded, and Firestar noticed a deep gash across his tan flank as he pelted away awkwardly. As Firestar approached, he saw Leopardstar crouching in the dust at Tigerstar's paws, her body shaking painfully but her lips drawn back in a defiant hiss. "Tigerstar," Firestar yowled, making the ShadowClan leader's head snap up. "Stop this now, Tigerstar! BloodClan has been defeated, TigerClan is no more. You're finished, and you're no longer welcome in the forest." As he spoke, Brackenfur returned to his side, bringing with him Graystripe, Whitestorm, Cloudtail, Mousefur, Dustpelt and Sandstorm. Cloudtail bristled, spitting, "We should kill him now! He was already given a chance to leave, and Brindleface died because of it!"

Whitestorm put his tail on the young warrior's back, silencing him gently. Dustpelt and Graystripe each took a step forward, hissing and baring their teeth. Tigerstar paid them no attention. His amber gaze seemed to bore into Firestar as they locked eyes, the moons of hostility between them showing openly on their faces. Tigerstar's voice cracked with rage as he snarled, almost inaudibly quiet, "Prepare to die, Firestar!" His claws tore up the earth with the power of his launch, and Firestar let out a screech as he lunged to meet him. As he did so, the clearing flashed with a light like full moon in the darkness. Firestar felt a tremor of comforting warmth sweep through his body, then piercing coldness, and then hot, blinding rage as he sailed through the air. As he met with Tigerstar, he felt as long claws sank into his flesh, then he felt the searing outrage of numerous cats course through his body to his own paws as he landed blow after blow upon the ShadowClan leader's head. A look of terrified shock suddenly glazed Tigerstar's eyes, and he tried to lurch away from Firestar. Firestar heard a collective gasp from the fighting warriors around him, and as he opened his mouth to snarl at Tigerstar, he felt the voices of all the cats of StarClan call from within him all at once.

"Tigerstar, you have dishonored the name of StarClan and all of the Clans of the forest. You do not deserve the title of 'star, nor the nine lives that come with it, and you will have no place among the ranks of StarClan!" Firestar aimed a final blow at Tigerstar, slashing at his face and sending him reeling into the dirt, where he scrabbled a moment in confusion. As he turned upon Firestar, Tigerstar's eyes suddenly opened until white rims showed around their amber centers and his fear scent nearly choked the surrounding cats. In an explosion of light, members of StarClan descended upon Tigerstar, snapping and clawing, darting around and through his body with glares of cold justice in their glowing eyes. They pulled the lives from him, tearing and ripping the very essence of life from his dark pelt. Tigerstar howled with pain and fear, writhing and twisting, but unable to escape the grasp of the StarClan warriors until finally he collapsed on the ground, panting and snarling weakly. His wild eyes darted to the apparition that now towered above him, and cats in the clearing yowled their approval as Bluestar plucked the ninth and final life from the broken body of Tigerstar. As Bluestar turned and walked away, you could faintly hear Tigerstar breathe his last breath…..

End…..

Well, what do you think? If you have read any of the Warrior Series Books, whether it be the first or the second, then you know and can relate to most of the characters throughout the story line. If you haven’t, then shame on you, your kids will love these books and will relate to specific characters with traits close to them as my daughters did. Even though there was nothing else good to read or that I haven’t read a hundred times while deployed, I got into reading them and found myself wondering, Damn, “Now what” I need the next book…..
Thank you for allowing me to share just one opinion of how a story should end. Whether you enjoyed it or not, it is but just one of many possible endings you could write to end a story such as this, especially since there are six volumes of possible ways to choose from, this one is mine….. Show more
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