Nutmeg lifted her paw, her claws remaining unsheathed. Blood and saliva foamed at the corners of the kittypet she-cat's mouth. She slammed her paw down, but before it came into contact with Fireheart's neck, Quince darted in front of him. The blow was made to the she-cat's shoulders, causing her to stagger.
"Quince!" Fireheart meowed. "This is my fight. You can't get hurt because of this."
Quince gave him a long look through her gentle amber eyes, which revealed her sadness. "I'm sorry, Fireheart," she mewed. "But I can't let you die."
Quince spun around to face Nutmeg. The insane brown she-cat clawed at Quince's neck, tearing a hole in her airway. The soft-furred gray she-cat gasped in pain.
"No!" yowled Fireheart. "Quince...?"
He nudged the she-cat with his forepaw, trying to convince himself that she was just hurt. That she was just asleep. This was all a dream. Nothing here had actually happened. Quince was still alive... but she wasn't. Fireheart still could not bring himself to face that fact that Quince was dead because she had tried to save him.
Fireheart lifted his head to stare at his mother. She hurled herself at him, shoving him to the ground. He pummeled her soft belly with his back paws, claws sheathed. He wasn't willing to hurt Nutmeg, no matter how evil or insane she was.
"Fight me!" Nutmeg yowled. "Unsheathe your claws and fight me!"
"No," he told her. "I won't."
Nutmeg planted her paw on his neck, pressing down slowly. He could feel the air drawing itself away from his lungs. He gasped for breath.
"I won't hurt you," Fireheart gasped. "I- don't care what you've done. I. Won't. Ever. Hurt. You."
"Fool!" She slashed her son again, her claws connecting with his cheek.
When Fireheart leaped to his paws, he looked his mother in the eye. Her amber eyes revealed her distress, her unhappiness. Nutmeg was suffering, and Fireheart couldn't bear to see her like that. He ran at her, holding her down against the grass.
"I can't watch you suffer." Grief edged Fireheart's mew. "I won't let you suffer anymore."
He raised his paw, his claws unsheathed now. Then swiped his claws across Nutmeg's neck, making a clean cut across it. Fireheart backed away from Nutmeg, feeling Graystripe come to stand beside him.
"I'm sorry," whispered Fireheart.
He turned and walked away, Graystripe walked alongside him. Bluestar took the lead again. Fireheart suddenly stopped. Her turned back around to face the dead bodies of two of the cats he cared most about. Running up to both dead bodies, Fireheart dug two holes. He dragged Quince's body inot one, burying her with final words of farewell. Then, he carried Nutmeg's body into the other. He laid his mother's body in the hole, taking longer to bury her.
Fireheart wanted to study every last feature of her face before he laid her to rest. Never seeing her again. When he finished burying the she-cat, he turned and bounded up to Graystripe again. His apprentice, Cinderpaw, let her fur brush against his. He completely forgot about his wounds until he felt searing pain course through his body. He stumbled, losing his balance, and collapsed.
"Fireheart!" Cinderpaw gasped.
Fireheart heard distant voices and smelled a variety of scents. Then he was swallowed up by the depths of a greater force, unconsciousness.