I ran back to the battlefield, and most of the Sun Cats ran away, fought until death, or have been defeated. The foxes started digging tunnels for the wounded on our side, and the others who weren't fighting. Yuna tended to the wounds the Night Cats and the rebels received. The dogs started fighting Ace, and they were also dragging unconscious cats off of the battlefield.
I rushed into one of the tunnels, and saw Yuna quickly finishing up with one of the cats. I said, "You're doing a good job." She smiled at me and said, "Thanks dad." Then I heard Salt shout, "We're going to die!" Not too long after he said that, there was a huge explosion. I peeked out of the hole, and I saw a large black mark on the ground covered in blood and fur.
Some of the cats got blown up, and some were severely wounded. Crow shouted, "You hurt your own people! You don't deserve to live!" Three cats ran out to deliver the wounded, and Ace said, "Then come and kill me, you coward!" Crow didn't hesitate. He rushed over to Ace, and they started fighting. No weapons, no claws or teeth, just pure brute force.
Ace punched Crow in the gut, then pushed him down. He was defeated, and Ace was clearly not going to let him live. His nails grew into claws, and before he killed Crow, the foxes came in and started biting him. The dogs were about to join them, but Ace threw a fox at the dogs, knocking them down, and he tore the rest off of him, either killing them, or making them retreat.
No cat was brave enough to stand up to him after seeing that. This time, there was no interruptions. Ace raised his hand, then Cleo quickly entered the battleground, and shouted, "Birch is dead!" Ace stopped. His whole body tensed up, and blood started flowing out of his mouth. He then fell over, and Crow slowly stood up.
The Night Cats cheered, and the rebels joined me underground. I looked at Rudy, and he just looked sad. He looked at me, and I slipped back into the tunnel. I heard Crow shout, "The Night Cats have won the war! Three cheers for the Rebellion!" All of the Night Cats shouted, "Rah! Rah! Rah!" The noise faded out as I started to think about Birch.
Cleo's words echoed in my mind, and it made me want to die. Then I heard someone whisper, "Jay. He's still alive. Go find him." Saddness welled up in my chest, and I ran out of the tunnel and into the forest. Humans with large trucks spraying water were putting out the fires, but most of the forest was already charred. Then I heard a pained scream. I went towards the sound, and more came after that.
Suddenly, the screaming stopped, and I saw a cave up ahead. I rushed to the cave and peeked inside to see a mess that made me want to puke. I saw Birch with six kittens, and two stillborns. Blood surrounded his lower region and his face. He was slowly breathing, but it looked like he was about to pass out. Lu was sitting there with a worried and sad face.
She murmured, "How could a cat have eight kittens? And he was screaming so much..." She was about to walk out, but then she saw me and growled, "Who's there?" I padded into the cave, and she said, "O-oh... it's Jay..." I asked her, "Whose idea was it to say that Birch was dead?" Lu sighed and said, "It was Birch's. When he could still talk anyway. He lost his voice while screaming. He even screamed your name after saying, "Help me!". It was terrible."
I walked up to him, and laid down next to him. I whispered, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to support you. But your plan worked. We won." In response, Birch purred. Then he passed out. I looked at the kittens, and it looked like some of them weren't going to make it. Lu said, "The kits are going to be fine. Might as well name some of them."
I smiled and whispered, "There's twins. Two little white kits with a black spot on their back. I'll name them Leo and Bit." I looked around, and I said, "There's a little girl. She looks a lot like you. I'll name her... Willow." I let Rudy leave the names to the other three, and I fell asleep next to him, smiling at the fact that my mate wasn't dead. "Thank you... Birch." I murmured.