Fading Echoes/Chapter 24

==Chapter description==
:Lionblaze noses his apprentice, Dovepaw, up the tree trunk, and whirls to face ShadowClan's attack. Determined, he tells himself Brambleclaw's idea has to work, since the battle in the clearing isn't going well so far. The ThunderClan warriors aren't able to keep their grip in the short, smooth grass, so they are forced to head somewhere they have the advantage. Blackstar bursts from the brambles, and demands to know why he can't respect the border. Lionblaze unsheathes his claws, and feels triumphant when the ShadowClan leader is confused, asking where his Clanmates are. He feels power pulse through his paws, and the ShadowClan warriors stream from the trees, yowling with fury. 
:Thornclaw calls the signal, and the ThunderClan cats swoop down from the trees right onto their enemies. The enemy warriors' anger quickly turns into bewilderment, and the fight explodes around Lionblaze. He catches a glimpse of a gray pelt, and recognizes it as Scorchfur. The ShadowClan tom rams into the golden warrior, and Lionblaze digs his hind claws into the pine needles. Scorchfur's face is masked with rage, as though he is wronged by the battle. Lionblaze freezes, doubtful for a few moments, then shakes it away, because Ivypaw is Dovepaw's sister, and that is enough.
:His opponent claws at Lionblaze's ear, but he barely feels the pain. Power stirs inside him, along with strength, and the feeling flows to each muscle. The battle seems to slow around him, and he sees Rosepetal facing Snowbird; the ShadowClan she-cat's green gaze betrays her every thought. Lionblaze knows that this is too easy, as he strides forward, flipping Owlclaw away, and knocks Redwillow backwards. Rowanclaw's gaze fixes on the tabby warrior, and Lionblaze sees the breath gasp from his mouth. He feels the rush of air as the ginger tom jumps for him, teeth bared, but Lionblaze only swipes and bats him away from him. 
:He hears a yowl, and spins around. The golden tom sees Firestar, struggling with Russetfur. The ShadowClan deputy has her teeth sunken into the ginger tom's neck, yet she allows her body to be thrashed back and forth, but still doesn't release Firestar. The dark ginger tom staggers, his paws sliding in his own blood. Lionblaze lunges for Russetfur, and rakes her side with his paw, claws only half-unsheathed. He only wants the ShadowClan warrior to release Firestar, but Russetfur manages to twist around and lash out. 
:The whites around his leader's eyes show now, and the tabby sinks to the ground. Lionblaze grows desperate, and wraps his paws around Russetfur's throat, hauling her off. As the deputy lets go of Firestar, the ThunderClan warrior lurches backward, paws still gripping her neck, and lands on the ground. Russetfur collapses on him like a deadweight, and the sound of battle floods his ears. Owlclaw's wail rips the air, saying that Lionblaze killed Russetfur. He scrambles to his paws, and the dark ginger she-cat flops down, her eyes wide, but clouded with death. Lionblaze panics, his breath coming short, protesting that he didn't do anything, and wonders how she could be dead. Blackstar barges past the ThunderClan cat, and crouches over his deputy's body, calling her name. 
:Brambleclaw shakes Ratscar off his back, and declares the battle as over, and challenges Blackstar if he's going to fight again. The white leader throws him a look of hatred, hissing for them to keep it, as it isn't worth the blood spilled. Around the cats, the battle falters, and stops. Confusion fills the air as Lionblaze stands, frozen, until Sorreltail shrieks Firestar's name. He turns, dazed, and sees the leader laying on the ground, his flanks falling still. With a start, Lionblaze realizes Firestar is losing a life, and the ground lurches below his paws. 
:The ShadowClan warriors are crowding around Russetfur, pressing forward to lick her ginger fur, which is cooling fast. Lionblaze backs away, and Sorreltail crouches over Firestar as Sandstorm appears from the trees. She rushes over, and questions what happened, then crouches over the leader. Sorreltail reports to the orange she-cat that her mate is losing a life, and Lionblaze asks what battle this is. StarClan wouldn't have dreamed of sending the two opposing Clans into a fight as deadly as this, and a thought flickers in his mind. His fur, sticky with the blood of other warriors, grows cold, and a dark, sucking hollow opens in Lionblaze's stomach. He contemplates if the dream was sent by StarClan, then thinks of the Dark Forest, and if it was delivered through them.
:Two senior warriors are dead- one who wouldn't recover- and many more cats are injured. Both Clans would be weakened by the terrible clash, and right at the dawning of leaf-bare. Lionblaze is certain that StarClan wouldn't have wanted them to fight over a useless strip of grass, and he stares in silence at Russetfur's, and Firestar's unmoving bodies. Warriors file past him, dazed, and gather beside the two dead cats. The golden warrior knows that this battle shouldn't have been fought.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
==Important events==
===Deaths===
*Russetfur- Killed by Lionblaze.
*Firestar- Lost one life due to Russetfur. 
==Errors==
*In the original version of Fading Echoes, the chapter header is of the cat looking over its shoulder, a repeat from the previous chapter, when it should be the cat licking its paw, the next in sequence.
*At the end of this chapter, Thornclaw approaches Blackstar at the end of the battle. However, Brambleclaw replaces him in chapter one of Night Whispers. This is fixed in the reprinted version.Revealed in the reprinted version of Fading Echoes, page 295
==Notes and references==
fr:Un écho lointain/Chapitre 24
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Omen of the Stars arc
Category:Fading Echoes