Battle

Several days later, at dawn, Bone Shred launches a vicious attack on Draco's Gang, killing every cat in his path. Poisoned Sap leaves her kits in the care of Widow, a queen in Draco's Gang, while she races into action. For a moment she's unsure of what to do, but when Bone Shred commands her to fight, she pushes away her reservations and begins turning on Draco's cats.

Boone is shocked to discover Poisoned Sap has been spying all along. She insists what they have is real and she loves him, but she has to complete her mission and avenge her leader. Not wanting to fight him, she tells him to stay out of this. In initial anger at her betrayal, Boone attacks her and slashes her cheek, much to her shock. But ultimately he gives in to his emotions and lets her go.

As the fight rages on, Poisoned Sap corners Draco and prepares to deal the killing blow, thinking of Whiskey and how she will avenge him. Boone suddenly jumps in the way, begging her not to do this, as this isn't the cat she is. He tells her to think of their kits. Poisoned Sap is hurt seeing him so upset and gives in. Draco slips away and re-enters the battle, killing Roxy moments later.

A Lesson Learned

Bone Shred is stunned by the death of his mate, Roxy, and Draco's Gang declares victory. For a long while, Bone Shred is quiet and emotionless, crouched over their surviving kit, Shredded Ivy. He then turns on Poisoned Sap furiously. He snarls that it's her fault Roxy died and they lost the battle, as she was too focused on her feelings for Boone rather than power and her mission.

He hisses "Boone has manipulated and weakened you! That's what toms do to she-cats they say they love. I told you, everyone is just trying to get what they want! And now, because of his trick during the battle, we've lost, and Roxy is dead."

He yells at her for a while and Poisoned Sap realizes he's right as she feels the sting of the scratches Boone left on her cheek in battle. She believes Bone Shred now, that Boone has been manipulating her, and it resulted in Roxy's death. She should have focused on seducing him while remaining emotionless. She's frustrated with herself for falling for his lies and fake affection.

Bone Shred is set on killing Boone to avenge Roxy and orders Poisoned Sap to help by luring him into a trap. She is feeling a numbness from shock, but she's also angry. She coldly agrees to help kill Boone.

Poisoned Sap's Choice

That night, Poisoned Sap cautiously enters Draco's alleyways. Despite her betrayal, she thinks the cats might be less hostile due to her being the mother of kits in their care. For the first time, she thinks of her kits, but isn't really concerned about them. She hardly even wants to take ownership of them. They would just remind her of Boone's deceit.

Lucky for her, Boone is the one to come across her. He growls "I thought I scented you" as he steps out from the shadows to meet her. He is cold, but visibly more hurt than angry. The first thing he does is tell her that their kits are being cared for by Widow, one of the queens.

Things are quiet and awkward between them for a moment. Then Boone asks "Why..? Was anything we had real?" Poisoned Sap is privately amused at how convincing he sounds, believing now that anything involving their relationship was an act. But she can act too. She purrs "Of course, I love you. But your gang killed Whiskey. We had to try to avenge him". Boone lashes his tail in annoyance, muttering that they never killed Whiskey. Is there a single honest word that comes out of your mouth?, Poisoned Sap thinks to herself.

Boone goes on to say she should talk to Draco. He might be willing to forgive her and let her continue living with him and the kits. Poisoned Sap hesitates, knowing she must get Boone to leave the alley with her, to where Bone Shred is waiting.

She gently suggests they go for a walk, away from Draco's alley where they might be caught and interrupted. Boone agrees, and they walk side by side toward the end of the alley. Poisoned Sap begins feeling sick to her stomach as she eyes him, thinking of how much she loved and trusted this cat, but in the end, Bone Shred was right.

As they near the end of the ally, the feeling in her stomach hardens into anger. They round the corner, and Bone Shred leaps from the shadows, pinning Boone, who is completely caught off guard.

"You thought you could get away with manipulating my sister, did you?" Bone Shred sneers in his ear. Boone is in utter shock and asks what he's talking about. Poisoned Sap swipes her claws across his face and snarls "Stop playing games! I know exactly what you've been up to."

Bone Shred says "There's something I haven't told you, because I knew it would be hard for you. But I think you're strong enough to handle it now." Poisoned Sap questions him. He goes on "This fleabag reeks of lies. Boone is the cat who killed Whiskey."

Boone exclaims "What?" While Poisoned Sap is frozen in shock, her fur prickling with anger. She curses at him, and Bone Shred hisses "He killed Whiskey, used your feelings to his advantage, and wanted your kits just to look good for his gang."

Boone now realizes what is happening here. He snarls at Bone Shred to shut up and desperately pleads with Poisoned Sap to listen to him. "He's the one manipulating you! Don't you see? He's made all this up to have power over you!"

Bone Shred digs his claws into Boone's shoulders and hisses "More lies! Kill him, Poisoned Sap."

"Think of the life we'll have together, with the kits!" Boone begs. "Don't take the wrong path."

Bone Shred snarls "Who are you going to believe? This piece of dung or your own brother?"

Poisoned Sap is torn for a moment, Boone's words tugging on what remains of her heart. But she also loves and trusts Bone Shred, her best friend and brother, with her life. She believes he would never manipulate her. She chooses Bone Shred and dismisses Boone's words as more lies and deceit.

She slashes Boone's throat, and he lies dead in a pool of blood.

Poisoned Sap steps back. She expects some sense of heartache and remorse, but instead she finds it the most thrilling kill she's ever done. She thinks he deserved to die, and she is now free from his tricks.

Bone Shred praises her. He comments "You're growing stronger. No tom will ever trick you again. But now you know their weaknesses. Use it to your advantage."

The Final Battle

The next day, Bone Shred launches an attack on Draco's camp. Draco's cats are completely unprepared for another attack so soon, many cats from both sides still injured, but Bone Shred is angry and has many new recruits from around twolegplace on his side.

Poisoned Sap thrives in this battle, still feeling a high from killing Boone. She fights viciously and mercilessly, killing multiple cats: Puddle, Bell, and Boone's brother, Clay. Bone Shred kills Slang and Ace.

During the fight, Poisoned Sap spots her kits in the nursery, still very tiny and watching in terror as Widow protects them. For a heartbeat, she thinks of taking her kits. She doesn't care for being a mother, but thinking strategically, knows the kits would grow to benefit Bone Shred's Gang. She could raise them to be strong and vicious.

She races for the nursery, but Draco canons into her. He snarls at her to stay away from the kits, that they belong to his gang now. Poisoned Sap attacks him, and the battle goes on until Draco and his cats realize there's no way for them to win this, especially when Bone Shred has recruited so many cats.

Bone Shred orders Draco to leave their home, or every one of them will be killed. Draco angrily submits, calling on his cats to retreat. As they leave, Bone Shred's cats sneer at them and taunt them, even though elders and queens are among them, wounded and now homeless.

Poisoned Sap sees Widow and a couple other cats carrying her kits away with them. But she decides not to go after them, thinking to herself "If they have Boone's blood, they'll be weak and useless anyway".

Epilogue

Bone Shred takes over Draco's alleys, and Poisoned Sap grows colder than ever. She's seen the world for what it is and will keep in mind what she's learned about toms, manipulation, and weaknesses. She will continue standing by her brother as he leads the gang to further greatness.

Draco's Gang retreats to a neighboring town, wanting to be nowhere near Bone Shred's Gang. As they enter new alleyways, Draco declares that from this point on, they will not attempt peace with any new groups they encounter. If they had not formed a friendship with Whiskey, none of this would have happened. They will only look after themselves.

Thinking of how Bone Shred used the fox skull to intimidate others, Draco comes across some dog teeth in an alleyway. He sticks them in his collar and turns to his cats, declaring that from this moment on, they will be known as BloodClan. And they will become the toughest cats in the city.

End Notes

Widow raises Poisoned Sap's kits to be fierce and loyal BloodClan cats. She names them Smoky, Sniper, and Ginger. These cats were actually created back in 2012 as part of a BloodClan story I wrote! It might get a rewrite or fresh summary someday. Smoky grows up to be cold and tough, and very similar to his mother, he uses a she-cat named Swirl to have two kits born to serve BloodClan: Twizler and Streetlight.

Oh, and one more thing. Bone Shred is the one who killed Whiskey. He grew increasingly frustrated about Whiskey's alliance with Draco and felt combining their gangs was a ridiculous idea and a mistake that would lead to Draco taking over completely. He killed Whiskey that night after the celebration and pinned the blame on Draco's Gang to ensure the gangs stayed rivals, and to get rid of Draco once and for all. He knew he would have the support of the rest of the gang in avenging Whiskey, a beloved and respected leader. Only Bone Shred has ever known the truth, and it's a secret he took to the grave.

If Poisoned Sap had fallen in love with a cat in Whiskey's Gang, Bone Shred wouldn't have cared. It was the fact that it was a cat in Draco's Gang that made Bone Shred disapprove. Poisoned Sap had always been there for him, and as he rose to leader, he wanted to make sure she continued being loyal to him. Believe it or not, a tiny part of Bone Shred found comfort in Poisoned Sap's presence, as they'd been together since kithood. He was going to do whatever it took to keep her at his side, even if it meant convincing her that all toms were manipulative and to stop seeking romance. If she had decided to join Draco's Gang to be with Boone, he would have lost her forever.