I'm going to be safe by putting up a small warning. Cats are fighting in this chapter. Cats will also die in this chapter. I tried to avoid gruesome descriptions, but it is clear that everyone in the Clans is dead. If you don't like that sort of thing, you should probably skip all of this. Its all very morbid... but that is what this prompt called for. I can't write parodies so I wrote this whole fic with a serious tone. Perhaps later I'll try a parody. Any suggestions are welcome :D

~Blaze

Chapter 3

The next morning was painted with chaos.

It was the same in each Clan. When they woke to see some of their fiercest cats gone, kits stolen from the nursery and deputies and medicine cats vanished, the accusations began to fly. The amount of cats gone in each Clan was not entirely significant, about seven gone from each camp. But the cats who had left, kits, medicine cats, deputies, and Fighter offspring, were cats who were going to be seriously missed.

It left each Clan in a stalemate. Cats didn't know what to do. They argued together in large meetings. Some cats proclaimed that they had left in fear, that the cats were cowards. Other cats blamed it on the other Clans, saying that those cats had been attacked while they patrolled at night. A few guessed it right, believing that those who had left were against the fighting and disappeared as a group so they would not have to participate any longer.

Whatever the reason the Clans believed, they all agreed on one thing. Somehow, it was the fault of the other Clans, and they would need to take revenge. And so they strategized, sending messengers to their allied Clan and sending mass patrols to hunt for their last meal. Finally a day passed, and sunrise was approaching.

"This is the last time LakeClan and RockClan unjustly bother us! It is time for them to realize that this wilderness is not theirs to command!" Hawkstar yelled down to the troops of ThornClan and SwiftClan cats.

"We will not stand for this any longer! ThornClan and SwiftClan must stop pretending that the forest is theirs, and that they are the "good" Clans." Sneered Stonetar to his gathered forces.

The gathered cats marched their ways to the large grassy clearing where, ironically, the Rebels had held their meeting the night before. Any traces of the cats from two days ago had been washed away by rain; but the cats gathered there at that moment did not care about that.

It took only moments for what was supposed to be an organized, strategic warfare system to turn into absolute catastrophe. Cats from different Clans were messing up strategies, unfamiliar with their friends fighting styles. Other cats were refusing to fight alongside cats they were trying to kill days before. The vast majority, however, were thirsty for blood of the enemy and forewent strategy for brutal, frontal attack.

Cats of either side were left in disarray as the field was covered with cats that all had their own agendas. Some wanted death and vengeance, others were trying for strategy, and others still were attacking anyone and anything that moved, friend or foe.

Falconstar, ethereal and invisible, walked around the battlefield, observing the cats as they fought. It truly was like the vision he had shown Frostfire, he realized. The cats were absolutely crazed, and were abandoning every aspect of the warrior code.

Falconstar watched as a SwiftClan cat ripped the throat out of a RockClan cat only to fall prey to the sharp and unforgiving claws of a LakeClan cat. Next to him, a gray she-cat pummeled a squealing apprentice, ignoring his pleas for freedom and mercy. Blood sprayed from the belly of a small she-cat, pinned by a golden tom who cared more for the liquid coming from her wounds than whether she lived or died.

The brown StarClan leader weaved his way around those cats, looking for the ones in charge. He found them moments later standing in the middle of the battlefield, exchanging words. They seemed to be just as insane as the rest, but were holding it back just enough to throw insults at one another.

"You brought this chaos! You and your bloodthirsty RockClan cats!" Falconstar was surprised to see spittle flying from Hawkstar's mouth. The golden brown tom was usually much more civil than that. Falconstar remembered him as a little kit, back when the tom was a calm, level headed cat. Something horrible had evidently happened between that time and the present.

"RockClan, bloodthirsty? You say it as if there are no ThornClan cats ripping the throats of my warriors right now! You have equal blame for this conflict as my Clan and the rest of the Clans do. Stop pretending to be innocent!" Stonestar's hackles were raised and his claws unsheathed. Beside him, the normally passive Poolstar was seething with rage.

"ThornClan are the ones who started this! When you stole my Clan's kits, you declared war on every cat in this forest!" She yowled. Turning to Yewstar, the gray she-cat padded closer. "Yewstar, you know that Hawkstar is not to be trusted. Come to our side, and help us to remove ThornClan from the forest to bring peace."

The ginger she-cat was most changed of them all. Where previously she would have long since been at their throats (figuratively and literally), she now stood and calmly observed.

"I see the cats of every Clan fighting in this battle right now. This is an uncontrolled, irrepressible attack, and it will only end when there is only one Clan standing. As it is, I have lumped my forces with Hawkstars' only because I simply do not like your Clans. I can assure you that mine will be the last one standing."

Falconstar was curious. Why were they speaking to each other rather than fighting? The four of them were all to blame, he thought that was obvious. Why sling accusations and try to change allegiances now of all times?

The answer came to him as he observed their faces.

They had all gone mad.

Falconstar could see the looks on their faces, how their red-tinged eyes filled with pain, anger, and fire had something more hidden beneath. They were all trying desperately to cover their fear.

That was the answer!

Fear was causing this fight; fear made them act irrationally and stupidly; fear was what prevented them from joining the fight. Fear of death, of loss of their Clans, loss of their power and homes.

And yet the awakening caused Falconstar to sigh. Had they been like the rebels, had they been stronger, more stable cats, they would be able to deal with that properly. This fight would not have needed to happen, nor would previous events if only they knew how to control themselves. But they couldn't.

So now here they were.

"Are you ready?" He asked Spottedstar for the last time. For the first time since that evening so long ago, he saw a look of regret flash briefly across her face.

"This needs to happen now."

The two StarClan cats spared a last moment for a long, thorough look at the unruly, unnecessary fighting. Then, together, they vanished.

Moments later, the deep, chilling rumble began. It vibrated through the ground, originating from deep within the Earth, heading straight for the clearing the cats were in.

It said something about their poisoned minds that it took a few loud rumbles to catch every cat's attention. Many seemed only slightly distracted, looking up only because others looked up. Others looked vaguely alarmed.

It wasn't until the RockClan cats stood and began yowling in alarm that the other cats truly knew something was wrong.

"I thought the volcano was dead! It hasn't ever erupted! StarClan, save us!" Yewstar's yowling caused the other leaders to gasp.

"What is a volcano? What does it do?"

"It shoots molten lava at StarClan. We think it was made by the Dark Forest to attack the Clans." Every cat within hearing distance was suitably alarmed.

But it was too late.

Cats began frantically darting from the clearing as yellow began shooting down from the sky. Large chunks of rock slammed into the ground and crushed those that were unfortunate enough to be trapped beneath them.

"Watch out!" One cat yelled before succumbing to the deadly droplets of molten lava.

Some cats managed to get to the edges of the clearing before they were covered in any substance. Unfortunately for them, the flying bits of lava were able to reach them, and some ended up frozen in place as the lava on their pelts and bodies glued them to the ground. Those cats, unable to move and cruelly spared from death, were forced to watch their friends suffer, and were forced to suffer themselves.

"It's coming!" A RockClan cat yelled, pointing with her tail. Even the non-RockClan cats could recognize the danger presented by the steady flow of red and yellow. It was pouring thickly from the volcano's entrance, advancing rapidly upon the helpless Clans.

Cats furthest from the clearing could hear the horrified screams from within their camps. RockClan had already been taken, the lava steadily engulfing the cats who had remained behind.

Yet still the lava flowed, the greedy fire wanting more than it had already consumed. It burst into the clearing with steam and heat, raining down upon its helpless prey and engulfing tree, animal, and anything else in its path.

Falconstar appeared amidst the chaos, perched on a tree furthest from the approaching lava. He observed as the molten rock covered everything and everyone mercilessly, burning and choking its victims and leaving nothing untouched.

It was cleansing, in a way. The flow raged, touching every part of the territories and covering all of the grass that had once been covered in blood. It burned through the past, erasing memories and removing the stain that the Clans had left in the ground. Yes, it replaced life with death, but was it not better to go now, all at once, with only brief moments of pain?

Falconstar wondered what the cats would do. The vast majority of them were going to StarClan, and it would not be hard for them to discover who had started the fires. Would they try to begin a new war? Perhaps they would simply stop caring just as so many of the ancient cats there stopped believing in the fight. Maybe the animosity would leave, and the cats would be left like so many others, thinking of their former foolishness and how their actions were for naught.

As the last few cats in the clearing were covered and the lasts of the lava began finally cooling from the air, Falconstar sent a final look down at what remained of the Clans.

Everything was red, yellow, and black. Thick gray steam rose from the steadily cooling rock. What were previously different areas were now all homogenous; endless hills of black. Individual bodies could not be made out; all the Clans had been buried unanimously under the same, unforgiving flow. Trees were still in the process of falling, some poking out as thick, dead stumps, and others being eaten away as their lower trunks were consumed by flame.

Falconstar closed his eyes and refused to look back. He focused on the one cat he needed to guide and jumped. He was gone moments before his paws could touch the fire.