Hey! So, uh, I'm ashamed at how short this chapter is, but I needed to get this done so I can get started on the next chapter! So I ended it early.

REVIEWS

"RedBirdSong"- Awww, that was the sweetest thing you've ever said! Thank you! (Don't hate me for saying that!)

Sunfire- Don't worry! I know life gets in the way all the time, and thanks for the reviews!

"Wanderstar"- You can say that again! I'm so excited to write the climax! only a chapter or two away!

"Leviathan48"- Well, not too badly at least ;)

"BlackBrassRevolution"- I know! Stormstar (in this story) was originally going to be Dovestar, but then I realized I needed a tougher name then that, and at that time Stormstar in fading shadows was still a warrior!

Chapter 43: Unneeded

Rainstone skidded across the leaf-strewn floor on her side, using her momentum; she bounced to her paws and with her paws pushed deep into the ground, raced back for Stormstar. She ducked, jumped, and slashed, hitting the older leader hard on the head.

She hissed in pain as Stormstar didn't even flinch and counterattacked with a hard hit to her jaw. Rainstone took a few steps back and faced Stormstar with a fierce glare, she had never faced such a difficult opponent, not even Nightwing could really compare to Stormstar's tireless focus and endless strength.

She was bleeding from several scratches, none too deep to be dangerous, and she felt as battered and bruised as a kit-worn moss-ball. In sort, she was exhausted and nearing the end of her fighting strength. But she wasn't the only one.

Stormstar was panting heavily and her yellow eyes became unfocused as she gasped in breath. Around them, the storm raged with wind that whipped wet leaves into their faces and lashed their pelts with rain. The thunder growled with them and the lighting flashed with their claws; but they were in their own world, unaware of anything outside the fight.

Rainstone glared at the opposing leader with fierce determination, all her efforts to explain herself had been ignored by Stormstar, so she only had the choice to defeat the leader and force her to listen to her, she needed ThunderClan on her side. With that in mind, she charged again.

But her paws slipped as she tried to twist around Stormstar and jump on her back. Stormstar reared over her and aimed her much larger paws to swat Rainstone away. Rainstone struck like a snake and bit down hard on Stormstar's paw.

She bit down hard, feeling her fangs grate against the delicate bones in the paws. Stormstar let out a howl of pain that was drowned out by thunder. But Rainstone lacked the energy to crush the bones and so tried her best to take advantage of Stormstar's distracted pain.

She released the paw which Stormstar drew back sharply, and while Stormstar was on three legs, Rainstone dove under her belly, slipping easily on the wet grass and knocking out her back legs, sending Stormstar to the ground.

Rainstone jumped on her and tried to wrestle her into a pin, but Stormstar was larger and thus stronger, soon Rainstone was just tearing desperately and jerking at every second to avoid punishment by Stormstar's claws.

Then she felt her back paw stick against a rock and she used the stability to force Stormstar onto her back. She hooked her claws into Stormstar's shoulders, so that any movement made by the leader caused agony.

She looked down with wide, almost wild black eyes at the leader that had driven her into a sense of desperateness. But she didn't hate it, she felt more alive than she had for a long time, fear and adrenaline coursing through her to add strength to her exhausted limbs.

Stormstar stared up at her, yellow eyes blank with shock and mouth trembling in pain. "I… Win," Rainstone gasped out as her chest heaved to draw in air.

"What are you going to do now?" Stormstar asked in a whisper, still looking stunned at her defeat.

"I'm going to warn you about something that will save your pathetic life and your Clan, though after this, I doubt you deserve it," Rainstone snarled angrily, realizing as she slowly became aware of her surroundings, that it must already be almost dusk, she was going to be late for Needlepine!

"I won't believe it!" Stormstar spat.

"Then you and all your Clan is going to be destroyed, and it will be on your head!' Rainstone hissed furiously, becoming more and more enraged by this cat's insolence to turn away help when it was offered

"I don't care!" Stormstar's words stopped her cold and made her numb.

"What do you mean, 'you don't care?!'" Rainstone snarled softly, lowering her head so that she was nose-to-nose with the defeated leader.

"I'm growing old, I won't live much longer, and I was just defeated by a worthless rogue! My Clan will survive if they want it bad enough, no matter what I do," Stormstar cried.

"You old fool!" Rainstone slapped her paw across Stormstar's muzzle. "You are their leader! It's your responsibility! Yes, ThunderClan will survive if they want it bad enough, but how many lives will be lost? How many members will families lose to survive, just because you don't care enough?!" Rainstone was snarling spitefully now, her claws clenching tighter as she recalled her family back in the mountains, making Night lose her just because her father couldn't care enough.

Stormstar fell silent and stared up at her resentfully. Rainstone sighed, "I'll tell you what's going on anyways…" she recounted all she knew of Pinefur's and Nightwing's plans. She was glad that at least Stormstar seemed to listen with half-believing eyes.

"Pinefur! That snake-bellied-!" Stormstar hissed outraged. "If he thinks he's going to take me down so easily, I'll show him he's dead wrong," Stormstar spat was her fighting spirit.

Rainstone had relaxed her grip on the cat but Stormstar hadn't once tried to throw her off. "They plan on attacking the night before the full moon," she mewed, finishing with the date of the attack.

Stormstar frowned, "That's only a little over half a moon, and do we attack before then, or wait for them to reveal themselves?" Stormstar mused.

Rainstone shrugged and jumped off Stormstar. "I'm afraid this is where my help comes to an end, I don't know anything about battle strategies, I'm just good at spying and running," she gave a wry look. "But I've also alerted ShadowClan and WindClan to this threat, they should be willing to help you as you will need some help to defeat them," Rainstone warned and Stormstar looked at her resentfully, but nodded grudgingly.

"I'm not too proud to admit that I can't take on a force twice of that of mine, I'll talk with Splashstar and Duststar… But what about Sunstar?" Stormstar asked curiously.

Rainstone gave her an annoyed look, "Sunstar is being played for a fool, and I'll let him keep doing that for now, but I guarantee he won't help you if you ask," Rainstone felt the familiar twinge of irritableness that Sunstar was trusting a traitorous Clan cat's word.

"However, the force that will be attacking from that side of the lake, will probably hit ShadowClan and RiverClan before they get to you, so don'' worry about them as of yet," Rainstone mewed, turning her head away so that it was shielded from the lashing rain.

Stormstar nodded and looked at her, "You didn't tell me your name, or why you're doing this."

Rainstone stiffened, the less that was said about her the better. "You don't need to know my name, for I doubt we'll ever see each other again. As for why I'm doing this… I owe the Clans, I'd be dead if not for them right now, so helping them survive is my little thank you," Rainstone shrugged and turned away, limping slightly because of her wounds.

"Well, I thank StarClan that some Clan cat helped you out, who was it?" Stormstar asked, "I'd like to thank them if ThunderClan survives."

Rainstone looked over her shoulder, considering, "Flickertail, Sweetberry, and Willowwater of RiverClan, and add in Sunstar if you'd like," Then Rainstone leapt into the stormy darkness and left the leader far behind her.

Rainstone found her way to the lake and looked around in the dark gray light over the stormy blue waters. She decided to cross through ShadowClan territory to reach the Half-bridge, as it was a shorter route, even though it was harder to see and the waves lapped most hungrily along the slick bank.

The wind blew her tail around her legs and the rain continued to drench her pelt, though she was glad that it washed away the blood that had stained her gray fur. She didn't want to worry Needlepine when they had only just gotten together.

The clouds didn't lighten and it was almost pitch black when she reached the half-bridge. She looked around and didn't see Needlepine. Shaking with cold as the rain turned chilly with nightfall, she crept underneath the half-bridge to have some shelter on the muddy ground.

She curled down, feeling feverish as her temperature rose while her skin stayed unhealthily cold. Her wounds burned and stung and her belly grumbled in complaint of not being fed since that morning. But exhaustion weighed down on her like a heavy dark blanket.

She dreamed that night, but it wasn't of Song or anything important, it was broken memories and feelings of when she'd been in the mountains. For some reason, she kept seeing her mother, the elegant, dainty silver fur, the curled tail, the soft gray eyes full of hope and despair, the fuzzy white stripe on her muzzle, and her softly rounded face.

Hot tears seeped through Rainstone's sleeping eyes as homesickness washed over her making her feel more miserable than ever before. She couldn't keep from sobbing for all she had lost, how could she miss something she'd hated so much? She'd hated every day in the mountains, how she was scorned for her birth, how she was expected to be nothing more than a means to an end, necessary to no one.

She'd been so unneeded, so expendable, unvalued. But her life didn't feel valueless; she'd saved cat's lives in the mountains and down here by the lake. So why…? Why did she still not have a home? Have a family? Why was she all alone?

And with those thoughts she cried herself to sleep in her solitude, knowing Needlepine wasn't coming for her.

…..

Rainstone awoke groggily, with a feeling in her belly that could only mean one thing. She was sick; her dry tongue, her hot temperature, her senseless shivering, her buzzing head that pounded harder and harder. The swirl of colors before her eyes that refused to take shape, she'd never been so sick, but she had been sick once and it had been kind of like this.

But she wasn't on the muddy ground below the dock; she was in an old fox cave, a very old fox cave that only had the faintest lingering scent of the red beasts. She lay in a spacious mossy nest and her wounds were bound with cobwebs, though she noted no herbs had been used to stop the infection she could feel starting.

Who? Then she spotted him, orange and red fur and bright green eyes sleeping by the low rock entrance, snoring softly as the golden light filtered in around him. "Needlepine?" she questioned in a rough whisper.

"You're awake!" Needlepine cried in relief, head shooting up and scrambling over to her immediately.

Rainstone's head felt dizzy and she was in desperate need of some water and a fresh breeze on her face. "Water," she croaked out, laying her head back down and closing her eyes before she could faint in front of Needlepine.

"Okay, okay, just stay here," Needlepine mewed hurriedly, and the last sound she heard was his retreating paw-steps.

When she awoke, her muzzle was wet and she could feel that her fever had gone down enough that she could open her eyes and the world didn't swirl in front of her eyes. She lapped eagerly at the soaked moss-ball in front of her muzzle and she felt the sweet watery relief in her throat.

She sighed when she had drunk her fill and she could feel a light breeze flowing into the cave. She also noticed the purple light that told her it was twilight and she wondered how long she'd been in here. "Needlepine?" she called lightly, she didn't see him in the den and she was sure he had been there before, though her head hurt so much she couldn't really remember.

"Rainstone?" a voice returned her call and she saw Needlepine's green eyes staring at her from outside the den.

"Yeah," she mewed with a reassuring look at his anxious expression. "I'm okay," she mewed, struggling to sit up but deciding it better to stay lying down when her head flipped at the movement.

"Do you need something? Anything?" Needlepine mewed desperately, hovering over her and nosing her.

Rainstone waved him away with a paw. "Do you have feverfew? And tansy?" she huffed out, remembering that Flickertail said they used tansy down here for sickness.

"Yes! I didn't know how to use them, but I know what they look like!" Needlepine mewed eagerly.

"Well, I know how to use them, so please get them," Rainstone sighed tiredly, settling her head back down as she felt her little bit of strength ebbing. She wondered if she should ask for something to eat, but the nauseous churning in her belly told her that would be a bad idea.

She rested, but didn't fall asleep as she lay; only thinking about how the cool night breeze felt so nice on her feverish skin. The quiet call of an owl calmed her nerves but she remained aware of the heavy pounding of her heart.

"Rainstone? I'm back," Needlepine's voice was muffled and she smelled the familiar scent of feverfew and the sharp tang that must be tansy.

Rainstone jerked open her eyes and jumped at the sudden break of her peace. "Oh, thanks," she mumbled, trying to calm her racing heart that had jumped foolishly at Needlepine's voice.

She grabbed the herbs from Needlepine and divided them into four doses that would be good for the next day and a half. "That hits the spot," she sighed as she gulped down the first dose with relief, imagining she could already feel the herbs working their relief on her sick-ridden body.

"How did you get so sick anyways?" Needlepine laid down near her, but she shooed him to the side because he was blocking the breeze.

'Uh…" Rainstone closed her eyes and struggled to remember what happened before she passed out. "Oh yeah! I slept in the wet mud and rain waiting for you! Where were you?" she asked irritably, staring at him in an accusing fashion.

Needlepine flinched, "Because of the storm I couldn't get out of camp, every time I tried I was sent back to the den, so I just gave up," he mewed apologetically and Rainstone snorted. Although she was relieved that at least he had tried, her feelings of loneliness still edged at her mind as her greatest fear.

"Well, I think I must have also pushed myself too hard earlier when I fought Stormstar," Rainstone admitted, nodding weakly at her wounds.

"You fought Stormstar?!" Needlepine exclaimed.

"That's what I said," Rainstone sighed, annoyed that he repeated what she said.

"But, Stormstar… is Stormstar!" Needlepine stammered as he searched for words.

"Yes, she was the toughest opponent I've ever had, I only barely won, even with all my recent training," Rainstone mused tiredly, closing her eyes again.

"Well, you just rest for now," Needlepine mewed softly, nudging her caringly.

"Wait…" Rainstone mewed quietly as she struggled to keep out of the sleepy blackness that yawned like a pit in her mind. "How long… have you been caring for me?" she asked, she had assumed that this was the first day.

"Three days now, I haven't been back to camp since I found you under the dock," Needlepine mewed quietly.

The shock of the news was the last thing Rainstone knew before giving in to sleep. She may be unneeded, but she wasn't unloved.

...

Hmm... That really was short by my standards. Well, I'll make it longer next time to make up for it! Hope you enjoyed it at least! Though, it was more of a go-between kind of chapter...

I told myself I wasn't going to throw a pity-party or complain... but after losing most of my weekend to my sister's graduation party or whatever, I'm not in the most charitable mood. So I'm going to say that I've been getting less and less reviews, PLEASE, if you like the story at all, or if you don't like something at all, review so that I know if I'm doing a good job or if something needs fixing!

PLEASE REVIEW (See? I put it in after every chapter!)