Hello, readers! Chapter 34 of Forest's Fate has finally been written. Sorry for the short break; I got caught up with life issues, and I was also figuring out the plot for the rest of the book.

Warning: Minor gore in this chapter as a result of some character deaths. Also, I am experimenting with a gigantic plot twist in this chapter, so watch out for that. (I may or may not keep the plot twist; we'll see how it's going to work. 😊)

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The clear, indigo sky shines above me as I walk through the grass. Rain told us to continue our tunnel patrols as usual while letting the Superiors keep the North Tunnel. However, on the night of Ice and Ash's battle, I can't imagine staying in the tunnel. After all, after tonight, the tunnels won't matter, anyway. And besides, I need a distraction, something to keep me from thinking about the battle.

        I wish I could help Ash. I would, but both Ice and Ash already stressed that it's a one-on-one battle and that others aren't allowed to intervene. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Maybe I should stop them from fighting and convince them to continue the war in the usual way.

        "What are you doing here?"

The voice startles me. That's when I notice the strange figure standing in the corner of my vision. My eyes dart to the figure, and my heart skips a beat as I realize who's standing just a few tail-lengths away from me: Mirage. I look at the white cat warily staring at me, her black ears flattened to her head. Normally, I would get frightened that she appeared to me during the dead of night, but tonight, I feel brave for some reason.

        I stare at Mirage right back and reply, "I'm taking a walk. What are you doing here?"

Mirage crouches to the ground. She growls, "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a birdhead rebel."

I suspiciously narrow my eyes at her. It seems like this has something to do with Ice; of course she doesn't want to tell me. At a loss of what to do next, I observe my surroundings. To my surprise, Silver Lake is just nearby with its shimmering water. Also, even closer to us are the trees that tower above towards the sky. Bushes thrive around them.

Ice and Ash aren't anywhere to be seen. There is a stench in the air that indicates that multiple cats passed through earlier, though. I'm certain that they're somewhere. They have to be; otherwise, Mirage wouldn't be here.

With my tail, I gesture towards the only area the fighting cats could be: behind the trees. I meow, "Ash and Ice are there, aren't they?"

Mirage hesitates for a moment, but then she gives a simple nod. "Yep. Are you going to leave now and finish your walk?"

I sit down next to her. "Nope. I'm waiting with you."

The white she-cat scoots away a little while shooting me a fierce glare. She hisses, "No way. You're leaving."

I feel the fur on my back rise. "I know you're up to something, and I won't let you do it."

"I'm not doing anything, you birdhead! And I probably won't have to do anything, either. Ice has everything under control."

I stare at Mirage, staying seated in stubborn silence. She locks eyes with mine in return as her tail furiously twitches. Curiosity is slowly taking over me. I don't only want to know what is going on behind those trees; I need to know. It's a necessity, like an agonizing thirst that will only be fulfilled if I go there and take a peek.

        Without further thought, I rise to my paws. My legs immediately move towards the trees as if they have a mind of their own.

        "What are you doing?" Mirage asks.

        I don't answer her. Instead, I keep walking, focusing on the shimmering, silver-colored lake instead of the hostile threat behind me. If she won't explain why she's here, then I won't tell her what I'm thinking.

A moment later though, the sound of crushing grass and quick paw-steps behind me interrupts my thoughts. I don't even have to glance behind my shoulder to know that Mirage is running after me. My mind immediately dissolves into a cold panic as I dash away into the indigo night. There is no way I'll let her catch me, no way I'll be prohibited from finding out why she won't let me see what's going on. After all, Mirage is a Superior, and I'm a rebel. We're enemies.

I slide to a halt next to the wall of plants. Quietly poking my muzzle between two bushes, I gain entry into the battle. Soft moonlight shines down on the clearing ahead of me; the first object that I see shining under the gentle light is a ginger pelt. Ginger? My suspicions are confirmed when I see Ash crouched in the corner, his eyes weakly glowing yellow as blood spills out of him. Ice and Stripe are advancing on him. But why is Stripe here?

        A weight crushes me to the ground. My legs splay out in all directions, and a shocked yowl escapes my jaws as I realize that Mirage is on top of me.

"Cheater!" A screech slips out of my jaws. "Ice is a cheater!"

Ice's head snaps towards me. Stripe also looks at me as she snorts in contempt.

"It's you," she hisses, as if I am the cat who shouldn't be here.

Ice gives the ginger she-cat a signal with his tail before padding towards Mirage and me. His ice-blue eyes are flat and emotionless. With a gigantic jolt, I manage to slip out of Mirage's grip, and I stalk to Ice. My anger rises as I see Stripe continue to attack Ash behind Ice. He's completely defenseless; he is so covered in bleeding wounds that he can barely even dodge Stripe's swift moves. He locks eyes with me, and for the first time in my life, I can see a hint of terror in his eyes. I realize the hidden message Ash is telling me: Help.

Before I can open my jaws, Ice purrs in amusement. "Do you actually think I would follow the rules? You see, Stripe is a skillful comrade. She convinced me to let her help kill Ash, and I'm glad that I listened to her."

"Stop!" I yowl to Stripe, bolting past Ice towards the other opponent. Pure rage pulses through my veins as I shove myself in front of Ash, lifting myself on my rear legs and slamming my front claws on the top of Stripe's head. As her head bows down toward the ground in recovery from my blow, my forepaws fall back to the ground, and I leap on her and pin the she-cat down. I'm so angry that I barely notice what I'm doing. As she screeches and squirms, I lower my muzzle and chomp down on her neck.

        Stripe releases a deafening, painful yowl as dark blood surges out of her neck. Her cry is cut short when I bite down even harder, which causes a loud crack to pierce the blood-stained air.

        Crunch. And then silence. Stripe stops resisting; her body goes limp. Even Ice stops from what he is doing to stare at her dead body.

        My rage is replaced by a numb feeling of shock. More than shock- it's an emotion I can't even put into words. I killed someone. I didn't mean to end her life, even though she was my enemy. Why did I let myself do that?

        Mirage narrows her eyes. "You killed her," she says, "in the least honorable way possible."

        Ice's gaze shifts to her in agreement. I hear Ash struggle to stand up behind him, but his claws skid on the dirt made slippery with his own blood, and he collapses back on the ground. The moonlight fades away as I see Mirage advancing towards me.

        "I'll kill you in a better way," she growls through clenched teeth. "I will hurt you so badly that you will be begging for death by the end. You'll die the slow, torturous death you deserve, just like your friend Ash."

        My heart begins to beat faster as I back away from her. I'm smart enough to know that I would never be able to beat Mirage. Stripe was an amateur fighter just like me; we trained in the same camp, after all. I just killed my first cat. Mirage has been fighting for ages though, and who knows how many cats she has already murdered in her lifetime?

        My human form. I just realized that I have my power handy for moments like these. And as soon as I think about it, I feel my body transform.

Just as expected, Mirage stares at me in shock once I shape-shift. Her body is frozen into place , probably undecided on what to do. I know it's a perfect opportunity to try to crush her to death or something like that, but a better idea comes to my mind. Stepping over Stripe's body, I silently walk to Ice. If I need to kill a second cat, Ice would be the best victim, not Mirage. I need to stop Ice from defeating Ash.

He doesn't even notice that I'm approaching him from behind; he's too busy etching another deep wound into Ash. Mirage cries out to Ice, but it's already too late. I clutch him by the neck with both of my hands, lift him up, and intensely shake him. My rage is back again, this time directed at Ice and his decision to bring me to Gardinia. Anger, homesickness, and vengefulness combine together in my heart as I forcefully throw him to the ground.

That's when I almost fall over because of something thrown onto my back. After a bunch of claws tear into my skin, I quickly realize that Mirage had leapt on me.

"Stop it!" I scream as I try to throw her off of me with my hands. However, my arms can't reach where she has planted herself. I feel the blood stream down my back, the fresh wound inflicting so much pain that an agonized cry escapes my lips.

Both of us stop struggling as another unpleasant sound vibrates through the air. Crack.

My gaze falls on the silhouette on top of Ice. It's Ash. He had somehow crawled to Ice and broke his neck, the same thing I did to Stripe.

Ice, the kidnapper, the tormentor, the dictator. He's finally dead. A strange relief washes over me as I let myself switch back to my cat form.

       Mirage is standing behind me. Her cold voice rings in my ears as she says, "You realize that you will never go back to Earth now, right?"

        I freeze. The thought has never come to my head until now. While staring straight ahead, my voice comes out as a croak as I reply, "I wasn't going to return to Earth in the first place, anyway."

        Although I already silently accepted this fact the moment I escaped the Earth-cat camp, disappointment and grief ignites in my heart anyway. I think about Earth and its abundance of trees and animals. Earth feels like a paradise, where the sky always has countless stars at night and where all of the seasons are. And of course, like with most paradises, Earth is a place I will never be able to reach.

But as soon as I stop thinking about that, another subject comes to my mind. A long time ago, someone else disappeared like this. It was someone very close to me, and until recently, I assumed that this cat was kidnapped or killed by a human.

I need to distract Mirage, since she is slowly stalking towards me and Ash with vengeance glittering in her glowing eyes. There's no use fighting back; I'd be seriously injured like Ash at best and dead at worst.

"There was another brown tabby like me who disappeared from Earth years ago," I blurt, speaking at a rapid, panicked pace. "He looked a lot like me, and his name was Tornado. We were close, but then he went in the forest on his own one day and never came back, and I was never able to find him. Do you know him by any chance?"

Mirage halts and stares at me with wide eyes. The revenge in her eyes is replaced with shock and confusion. I stare back at her in surprise as well. I didn't mean to shock her. I only meant to distract her from trying to kill me; I'm already aware that she doesn't know-

Mirage interrupts my thoughts. In a monotone, dead voice, she replies, "Tornado? Yes, I know him. He died a year ago."