Warrior Cats/Recap/The Rise of Scourge

The Rise of Scourge is narrated by the eponymous character, but he wasn't always the feared leader of BloodClan - he starts his life as a runt named Tiny, bullied by his brother and sister, Socks and Ruby. Their mother, Quince, insists that the two bigger kits should play with him, but they only do so reluctantly - if they do at all. And she never says it or tries to make it obvious, but Tiny thinks that she likes his littermates better.

One day, their Twolegs take them outside to play. Tiny discovers a hole in the fence that leads to the forest, but doesn't explore. He asks his mother about the forest. She explains that her mate used to explore there, and that it's full of fierce wildcats that fight to survive, claiming that "those savages are a scourge on the name of all good cats." She looks at a picture of her mate, saying "Strange that none of them have your ginger fur... but I see your spirit in them just the same."

Frustrated after another attempt to play with his siblings, Tiny decides to explore the forest. He has a big "adventure" chasing leaves, standing on a stump, and having a crow swoop at him, but his brother and sister are less than impressed. Quince explains to the kits that soon Twolegs will come to take them to new homes. When the Twolegs come, Tiny sulks in the corner to avoid Ruby and Socks, but then Ruby taunts him by saying that unwanted kittens are thrown in the river. Despite Tiny's best attempts at making the Twolegs like him, they already have grown fond of Ruby and Socks. If the Twolegs don't want him, he'll be thrown in the river... so he decides to run to the forest before that can happen.

He runs into a ThunderClan patrol consisting of Thistleclaw, Tigerpaw, and Bluefur. Thistleclaw orders Tigerpaw to attack Tiny. Tigerpaw does, nearly killing the kit, and Bluefur stops him. Tiny realizes that he has nowhere to go except the city. City life isn't any better, since all the cats fight over any scrap of food they can get, and he's taunted for being a kittypet. An old dog gets up from a nap and loses a tooth, so Tiny tries to use the tooth to pull his collar off, only getting it stuck in the collar. He tells the other cats that it's a trophy from killing a dog, and they let him eat with them.

This tale comes back to bite him in the rear when Tiny is visted by two large cats named Bone and Brick, who tell him to live up to his word and chase away a dog that's been bothering cats, or leave the city. Since he has no other place to go, Tiny decides to stand up to the dog. The dog sees Tiny's large shadow and flees in fear. The other alley cats only saw a fleeing dog, not why it was afraid, so they praise Tiny, asking his name. He remembers his mother talking about the savage forest cats, and tells them that his name is Scourge.

After this, Scourge is treated as a bit of a leader. Cats bring him food, and come to him with their problems. One day, Bone and Brick bring him to where a group of forest cats are terrorizing the city cats. Scourge hopes to see Tigerpaw so that he can get revenge, but it's not Tigerpaw - it's a group of ShadowClan cats led by Brokentail (as the reader will recognize by his tabby pelt and bent tail). The warriors laugh at the thought of a kit challenging them, but then Scourge attacks one and rips his throat with one blow. He realizes that killing the cat gave him a cold feeling in his veins, but he welcomes it, and as he grows up, it just becomes colder and colder. No matter what, though, he still remembers Tigerpaw, and still hungers for revenge...

Cats continue to visit Scourge with their problems, bringing bone trophies. One day two of these cats are none other than Ruby and Socks, who have been abandoned by their Twolegs! He lets them eat once but refuses to give them any further hospitality, and he never sees them again.

Finally, the chance for revenge comes to Scourge. Tigerstar, leader of ShadowClan, comes to Scourge to ask for his help in defeating the other Clans, not recognizing Scourge as the kit he once tried to kill. Scourge decides not to kill him right away, but the time comes. Tigerstar attacks, Scourge slashes, and it is all over. After all that time waiting for revenge, learning that he needed to live for blood to survive, Scourge has finally won.