Dawn let out a screech of pain, her sides rippling with rapid hot sparks that sailed around her abdomen and lower region making it hard to move.

She somehow managed to hobble over to the entrance of her stick home, seeking the limited shelter that it offers to protect her. Cream looked frantic, looking at Dawn with mild shock. Cream whipped her head forward, her eyes shinning in fear as Harvey stood frozen in shock by the development of the situation.

"P-please leave us alone," Cream pleaded, coming to stand protectively over Dawn. Her claws extended as she looked nervously at the trio that looked ready to harm them at any moment.

"She's going to have kits! You have to show mercy!" Cream pleaded with a cut off wail as Harvey signaled with his tail at Bruce to step forwards.

"I don't have to do anything you say! Dawn should be taught a lesson for going against me! You as well for betraying me!" Harvey hissed, his muzzle drawn back in a snarl.

"You bullied everyone else to do your biding, but not me!" Cream spat back with a mixture of rage and fear, but her eyes narrowed with determination. Harvey gives her one last spat as his tail flickered sharply, Bruce leaped from his place, his claws extended as he let out a fearsome caterwaul as he set his sights on Dawn.

"No!" Cream shouted, as she intercepted Bruce in mid air falling down onto the ground in a knot of fur, hissing and clawing at each other.

"L-ligh-t-T-Tail, wi-ll c-come-soon—'or I hope so'!" Dawn gasped between clenched teeth, she only caught a glimpse of Creams frightened eyes as she rolled over again underneath Bruce, only to squirm out again, it was hard to concentrate on the fight but she was distracted however when she sharp pain intensified.

With a hiss of frustration Harvey signals for Brick to finish what Bruce couldn't, But Brick hesitated before shaking his head and stepping back.

"No, I wont do it," Brick said, shaking his head.

"What!" Harvey demanded, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I won't hurt a defenseless kit, or harm a Queen!" Brick replied hesitantly. With a yowl of rage Harvey threw himself onto an unexpecting Brick, who screeched in terror as he tried to get away. But it was already too late, with a slash of his claws Harvey ripped open Brick's throat, making him gurgle on blood before going limp.

Dawn would of screeched in horror if she wasn't already in pain, Dawn's vision was clouding by pain and the nauseous bile in her throat. A louder screech was heard as she saw a black pelt throw itself onto Bruce, and just as Dawn came to realize that it was Lightning Tail and that they were saved. Bruce sunk his fangs into Cream's throat, puncturing her windpipe. Bruce was ripped away forcefully from Cream by Lightning Tail who rolled with him, clawing at him with his extraordinary skills.

Dawn struggled to scoot herself over to her fallen friend, as she neared she could tell that Cream had problems breathing with a sharp twist she snapped off Cream's collar.

Cream gave a wispy breath, her eyes glazing by the minute as she looked up at Dawn where she panted on the ground. "Y-y-you-a-are-a-good-friend-tak-e-care of y-you-r-k-kits-lig-lighning-t-Tail-wi-ll-l-loo-k-a-after-you-this-is-go-goodbye-m-m-my friend—" Cream's eyes were completely blank, her stomach no longer moved, and her breathing stopped with blood dribbling out of her mouth, but Dawn couldn't mourn for long.

With a wail of despair and pain she felt something slip out of her rear end, with a painful turn of her head she saw a squirming body, and reaching out a paw she dragged the squirming body towards her. She stared at it a moment, unsure of what to do, so using her tongue she began to clean it and gasping when it let out a tiny wail. Biting on her tongue as another screech of pain almost left her; she felt another body come out.

But her head was spinning as the world flashed in color and lights; she raised her head and was relieved to see a shocked Milkweed, who was carrying a mouse to her. With a fearsome hiss Milkweed threw herself onto Bruce dragging him off of Lightning Tail, who at the time was trying to fight both Bruce and a recovered Harvey.

Milkweed instantly was delivering deadly persist blows to him, even paralyzing his shoulder making him hobble off in defeat.

"Dawn!" Milkweed came towards her, crouching down as she survey her. But Dawn felt numb; her eyes glued on the wiggling mass of the first little kitten, unaware of anything else, not even the other kits that were coming, nor Lightning Tail running off Harvey.

With a chocked squawk Dawn's head fell neatly to one paw, making everything turn black as her eyelids slide shut.

0o0o0o0o

Dawn slowly slipped her eyes open, as she blinked sluggishly she thought she had slept for years, as she turned her head slowly she was shocked then painfully reminded that Cream was now dead, blood was dried on her throat and around her mouth. Her pelt dirty and eyes cloudy blue and vacant. No sign of her normal feather-headed talks or gossip or her friendly nature, her best friend was dead.

She finally noticed Lightning Tail and Milkweed who stood beside each other in tense silence; Dawn wanted to ask them why but already knew the answer. She was about to attempt to communicate but a wade of leaves were shoved at her mouth.

Looking up in bewilderment she was met by the piercing no-nonsense gaze of a longed-furred black tom with white ears, white chest, and two white paws.

"Eat these, they will clot the bleeding," he said softly yet sternly. Without the will or energy to fight him she chewed them all up. Her eyes slowly dropping but shook herself to keep awake.

"Is she going to be alright Cloud spots?" Lightning Tail demanded, she could tell that he was impatient and the stress of the situation was more then likely making him annoyed.

"As long as she doesn't exhaust herself, she should be fine," Cloud Spots told him, sitting beside her as she kept chewing the leaves. "You're lucky that I got here when I could, thanks to Lightning Tail." Cloud Spots said, nudging a few warm objects towards her.

At first she thought it was more moss for her nest, Lightning Tail collected it for her whenever it became stale or hard. But once she turned her head to look, her eyes blew wide. Little masses of newly born kittens lined against her stomach, squeaking and meowing and making baby kitten noises that warmed her heart.

She gave out a throaty squawk as they latched onto her nipples, she pushed down the need to push them away, and let her mind away to more cat like instincts.

As she gazed down at the five, yes five, kittens she noticed two weren't moving. With a gentle probe with one of her paws she tried to shake them a little, but they did not move only resulting in one of them falling onto the other, limp as a rag doll.

"There dead," Cloud Spots said, gently shuffling her two dead kits towards her head so she could get a good look at their limp forms.

"They didn't even open their eyes." She could hear Milkweed mutter faintly. But Dawn couldn't bring herself to care about anyone else at that moment.

"They were stillborn," Cloud Spots explained. "There was nothing I could do."

"What do I do?" Dawn asked desperately, looking around at the three cats around her. "I can't just leave them like this, I mean they deserve something! I-i…NAME'S!" Dawn's outburst caused all three adult cats, and even the three living kittens to jump up at her high pitched wail or grief.

"They need names…if only that." She whispered, looking down sadly at the two.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Milkweed said softly, coming to lick the two dead kits clean for Dawn who felt to drain to do it herself.

"That one's name is Feather Bird," Dawn gestured to the sandy brown kit, whose tail looked puffed out and like a feather. "And that one is Cotton Tail." She named the other one, almost an exact replica of Feather Bird, but with a more striped design.

"Those sound like clan names." Lightning Tail observes softly, leaning over the two dead kits to nuzzle each of their heads in turn.

"I don't want to name them anything else, I do have you all to thank for all your kindness anyway…" Dawn replied softly, slowly running a paw weakly over their small forms as though she were petting them.

"What about the other three?" He asked with sympathy at how she gazed at her dead kits, her eyes turned from them hesitantly as she lingered on them. But then she turned to her living kits, and her eyes softened sadly. They were squirming over one another with energy but small.

"This one," She gestured to a small light brown she-cat, with white chest fur, and one white paw on her right front foot. "Will be Cream Fur." Her eyes swept over to another, which was the biggest out of the three. It was a dark gray tom with white tipped ears, he was more jittery then the other two, looking like he wanted to run for miles.

"This one is going to be Lightning Storm," She says with a bit of humor in her voice as she turns to Lightning Tail, whose tail curled in delight, purring as he noised both Cream Fur and Lightning Tail and rested on the last one.

"And him?" Lightning Tail asked, looking fondly at the small brown tom.

"Why don't you name him?" Dawn offered, looking at him with slow blinking eyes as she looked at him fondly. Lightning Tail stared at her in surprise, and then his gaze softened as he watched the tiny kit, his head rested on the tip of her tail, snoozing away.

"Hawk Wing," He said finally, looking at Dawn with approval.

"That's a wonderful name!" Dawn purred out weakly, moving the living kits closer to her belly as she wrapped the dead ones in her tail.

"We should burry them," Milkweed spoke up, bring up the dreadful duty that had to be done. "Before they start to rot."

Dawn cringed at how that sounded, her tail pressed more heavily on top of the kits and her eyes stared hard and frantic at Cream's dead body.

"We have to Dawn," Lightning Tail muttered, dipping his head as he gently picked up Cotton Tail, having to pull a little as Dawn's claws gently held onto his tiny tail.

"My kits," Dawn said brokenly, remorse plain as day in her voice as she watched Milkweed pick up Feather Bird. And painfully yet, watch Cloud Spots drag off Cream.

"Cream! My kits, my—" Before Dawn could let out a wail to bring them back, she was interrupted by a tiny squeal, looking down she saw Cream Fur hop onto Hawk Wing waking him up and be pushed into Lightning Storm.

"Cream, Cotton Tail, and Feather Bird might be gone," Her eyes never left the three bundles of fur at her stomach. "But I still have Cream Fur, Hawk Wing, and Lightning Storm that need me!" With that thought in mind, she wrapped her tail around them, making sure they were snuggled tight against her and feel into a light sleep.

0o0o0o

"Do you think it should be a little deeper?" Milkweed asked, pulling back to survey their work so far. Doing the same they made a pretty deep hole, but Lightning Tail wasn't satisfied just yet.

"Just a little deeper, we can burry them all together." He proposed, getting a nod from Milkweed as Cloud Spots prepared Cream and the two kits.

"I think we're ready now," Lightning Tail mussed as they finished digging a hole wide enough for both Cream and the kits. With help Cream was lowered into the hole, both Feather Bird and Cotton Tail placed on her stomach as if Cream was their mother instead of Dawn, Milkweed gently wrapped Cream's Tail over the two kits.

"Shouldn't we say something?" Milkweed asked, looking back and forth between Cloud Spots and Lightning Tail.

"I didn't know Cream for very long," Lightning Tail said solemnly. "But what I knew of her was that she was a loyal friend to Dawn, and gave her life for her and her kits," His gaze swept towards Cotton Tail and Feather Bird. "This kits will be remembered with our ancestors, let Cream and them be guided to their hunting grounds." Slowly, he leaned down giving each kit one last nuzzles to their heads.

Looking at Cream he felt pity for the poor Kitty pet who couldn't be saved, leaning over he whispered in her ear. "Take care of our kits." The reference directed at Dawn, but unaware that he added himself in the sentence, not knowing that Milkweed over heard.

Once they were finally buried Cloud Spots headed back to check on Dawn and the kits, but before he could follow after him Milkweed held him back with her tail.

"Are you the father of Dawn's kits?" She all but blurted, her eyes filled with a searching expression.

"No," Lightning Tail replied, almost tiredly and not just from fighting off Harvey and burying Cream and the kits.

"Just checking." Milkweed mumbled, heading off with a swish of her tail. "Tell Dawn I hope she will be alright and I'll see her soon, I have to get back to my own kits!"

"But I wish I was."

0o0o0o