Berwald's POV

Also, a bit of Smokey POV too.

"Tino!" The smoke gray cat instantly leapt up and rushed over to the cream and white cat. Berwald stared and felt his heart sink. So it really was Tino. He had finally found him but… Like this… His claws unsheathed but he dug them into the ground so he wouldn't rampage and go after the two who ran away not even five minutes ago. Instead he rushed up to Tino and stood beside the other tom. "Wake up, please!" He was meowing loudly, but Berwald was used to the volume because of Matthias. "Come on, you just got better. You can't be hurt again. Don't die! Oh, what if he's dead?!"

Berwald flicked his ear, tuning the other cat out, and examined Tino, who was lying on his side, his cream and white colored fur was ruffled and dirty, Berwald could see some other injures that were there before the she-cat attacked him. His light hazel eyes were open slightly, but they were blank and staring at nothing, no light reflected from those usually cheerful depths. His breathing was shallow and slow, raspy because of the wound on his throat. The fur on his neck was parted, so Berwald could see exactly what happened. The claw marks didn't hit anything important that would kill him, but they were deep enough and bleeding heavily.

Berwald felt like pulling his fur out. They weren't nations anymore, so if Tino died like this, could he actually die for real? They were always revived because they had their country to support them, but this spell was interrupting that so that they weren't connected to their country. What would happen if he died? Would he be able to be revived once the spell was broken, or would he be gone for good? Berwald decided he didn't want to find out. He had to save Tino before that happened.

He leaned down to nudge the cream and white cat. No response. He bit his lip. "We have to take him back to the others, Leichi," he said finally, in his usual stoic voice. He sounded emotionless, and he knew the others must have thought he was, but he was honestly scared for his 'wife.' The feeling of worry and hopelessness was building up him his chest, threatening to suffocate him.

Leichi nodded and appeared beside the two. The kitten didn't seem to be hurt other than the claw marks down his side from the tabby's attack, but he didn't seem to be minding, they weren't that deep anyway. His green eyes were wide and full of worry directed to the unconscious feline. He flicked his ear and glanced at the other tom. "Smokey?"

'Smokey' jerked at the new sound and looked up at the two with widened blue eyes. "W-where are you taking him…?"

"To a house where my friends and I have been staying. The lady there has a nephew who's a veterinarian," Berwald answered expressionlessly as he attempted to pick Tino up. Then he remembered he was a cat and didn't have opposable thumbs. Facepalm moment. "And, someone help me pull him over my back and I'll carry him there."

Smokey didn't respond, if cats could cry, he'd be in a mess of tears right now. Slowly he nodded and reached over to Tino before taking ahold of his scruff, careful not to make his injury worse, and slid his limp form over the stranger's shoulder. His paws felt numb as he was doing so. Too much had happened too fast, first, Leichi had gone missing, then Tino was attacked by someone in an alleyway (he assumed was the sisters), then Jack was killed, a fight with the sisters, and now Tino could be dead as well. He swallowed, hoping that wasn't so.

He noticed something about the stranger who had offered to help. One, he was with Leichi. Two, there was something about him. A scent, maybe? He and Tino kind of smelt like each other, or simply had each other's scent. Maybe he was the friend Tino had been talking about before? The two even spoke differently. Tino had told him before it was called 'accents.' Tino and Berwald didn't have the same accent, but they both spoke differently than everyone else he knew. Even if this cat was a stranger, Smokey felt oddly at peace. The cat seemed nice enough, even though his constant facial expression could scare away a bear. (FACT!)

"He's limp," Leichi said quietly. "That's not a good thing."

"No time," Berwald answered impassively. "We need to hurry and get to back before he really does die."

Tino's POV

'Where is everything?' He thought as he looked around. Everything was black, complete darkness filling in around him. He couldn't even see his paws or the nose in front of his face. With shaky breaths he looked around frantically. 'Hello?' He called out, but there was no response. He tried again but his voice gave out on him. Then he realized that maybe he never even spoke out in the first place when he called out to anyone who may have been in the blackness. It was only his mind that had spoken for him. There was no one nor nothing there except Tino and his thoughts. He tried to call out again, but he only spoke out in his mind. Where was his body?

Suddenly a white light filled the area. It wasn't bright, but because Tino had been in darkness the sudden whiteness seemed blinding to him. He squinted his eyes and blinked a couple times before testing his sight and looking up. He was standing in a grassy field. The grass was soft on his feet—wait—paws, and little bugs danced around in the air. It seemed peaceful, and the scenery somehow made him feel fatigued. His eyelids felt heavy and he slowly started closing his eyes.

'No, don't fall asleep!' He mentally slapped himself and shook his head, trying to wake himself back up. 'Fall asleep and that'll be the end.' He let out a quiet breath and looked around. There was no one there other than himself and the bugs, who he doubted would be able to help him. 'Better start somewhere,' he thought and started walking, surprised by the gravity of the air. He felt light, really light, as if he could float off into space at each step. He couldn't feel himself, or any weight of the world. He looked down at his paws and his light hazel eyes widened in shock. He was transparent! The background behind him could be seen through his form, halfway invisible. 'Am I… Dead?' He wondered and flattened his ears, narrowing his eyes in thought. What were his last moments? Everything was fuzzy, the only thing he could recall was a pale gray cat. Who was she? She was… on top of him… and her paw was covered in blood. He had heard a scream.

He closed his eyes and sighed, that was the last thing he remembered. He opened his eyes again and looked around, there had to be something around. Tino decided to not walk in a random direction, he didn't want to take the chance of losing his footing and fly away from the Earth.

"…in…"

His ears perked and he looked around. Who was that? The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"…ino…"

'Who's there?' he tried asking, but once again, only his thoughts spoke for him. Why couldn't he use his voice?

"…Tino!"

He jumped as the volume of the unknown voice rose. He shook his head to clear it, and when he looked up again, he was facing someone. He thought hard for a moment, then finally remembered who they were. Smokey and Leichi were standing there, as well as Jack and that strange cat he had seen in a tree. He felt his muscles relaxed as he recognized them. He wanted to say hi, but he couldn't speak out loud to them, and he doubted they could hear his thoughts.

But then the four vanished, into thin air, leaving Tino alone, stunned. In their place, was now different cats, those he had never seen before. There was a large stone gray tom with cold blue eyes, his expression forever in an impassive glare, and a fluffy pure white cat with a clip by his left ear. There was also an even bigger white and ginger tom with the fur on his forehead sticking straight up, and a small white cat, barely out of kitten-age, with a gray spot over his left eye. Even if Tino had never seen them before he knew exactly who they were.

"Berwald!" He exclaimed, surprising himself he could speak again. His chest was filling with an emotion he couldn't place, maybe it was longing, or heartache. All he knew was that it was consuming, and unbearable to feel a moment longer. Even though he was a cat, he felt tears in his eyes that threatened to spill over. He wanted to run to them and hug them and exclaim how he missed them all so much, and he was so scared not being with them, but at that moment, his legs gave out.

Tino felt himself collapse in the grass, which was no longer soft and green, but hard and scratched at his skin. It was dry and painful. He lied there, unable to get up, so he just looked up at his brothers who were still standing before him. Why were they just standing there, couldn't they see he was in pain? "Berwald?" The cream and white cat asked. The only response was a stoic scowl. Apparently, using his voice was a mistake, because he felt something come up in his throat. It hurt so badly. He gritted his teeth, forcing back a whine of pain as it consumed and engulfed his neck. Where was it coming from? He shut his eyes tightly as the pain increased.

He felt like he was about to cry as the pain kept rising, and he could do nothing to sooth it. With teary eyes, he forced them open and looked up at Berwald pleadingly. "Hel—" he couldn't even ask for help as his voice gave out and he was left there in the sharp grass, the pain becoming unbearable. He gave up and closed his eyes again, just wanting to lie there and never move again. Why weren't his brothers helping him? He felt like he was dying and they still did nothing to help.

Were they abandoning him?

Or was he abandoning them?

Author's note: Thanks for reading. Sad chapter, I know. This was honestly hard to write. :/ Sorry that I'm torturing these characters, it's almost over. Also, sorry I didn't post this chapter sooner, I've had writer's block ^^; I've read all the reviews and I want to say thank you to everyone who's been enjoying the story so far! You're all a great inspiration!