Oh my freaking gosh! I totally did not realize this was the last (real)chapter until I was half-way done with it!

REVIEWS

"TheMouseOfAwesomeness"- We've known that for a long time now!

"The Spirit That Comes At Night"- ... I hate not being able to do what my readers want, please forgive me -_-

"RedBirdSong"- I prefer soda while reading (yeah I'm from the south) And I'm an absolute genius! I totally figured out the next two books just because of this one chapter, so pay attention to it!

Sunfire- That sounds like an adorable kit! But... if I use her, she won't have a big part, for a long time at least.

Troy- Really? I always thought it was one of my better summaries.. wish someone had told me that at the beginning instead of the end of the story... oh well, thanks for the advice!

"Leviathan48"- I'm a simple person for sure.

Dawnfeather- I know, my goal in this story was to have a really great supporting character and... aha!

Jordan- Thanks!

Chapter 45: Too Early

Rainstone looked up at the gray-torn sky alone in the abandoned meadow that she had been staying in for half a moon. Tonight… it all goes down, she thought. Tomorrow night it would be the full moon, so tonight Pinefur and Nightwing would attack the Clans and they'd either win or be defeated.

I wonder what the Clans have in mind… She'd left the Clans alone for the most part recently, not stepping paw on Clan territory since she'd last seen Willowwater. She was willing to allow herself to trust and be surprised by the Clans.

She hadn't really seen Needlepine since she'd told him she was leaving, he'd only come over a few times to check up on her and had left after a few words. She rubbed her slightly rounded belly with a paw, trying to feel the kits.

She didn't feel much, and guessed there were only two, like last time, or one. But she'd been so busy last time; she hadn't really been able to think about how it felt. It was an odd feeling, having something moving around her belly on its own, but it filled her with shivers of delight and motherly warmth.

If I told Needlepine I was expecting his kits, would that convince him to come with me? But she didn't want him to come with her if he wouldn't be happy, he had to make this decision on his own. She'd be leaving the day after tomorrow, it was so close, and there was so little time.

But… he never told me a definite, 'no,' so, maybe he hasn't decided? She mused on that for a while, shivering against the wind that actually felt chilly. The warm season will be ending soon, I wonder if they get snow down here?

But she wasn't scared or even nervous about venturing into the unknown with unborn kits. She knew she would be fine, she'd find the place where she could live the rest of her life in content happiness, though she wondered if she would ever forget about the mountains, and all the cats she left back there.

I wonder…?No! I can't go back, they'd kill me on sight, nothing would change if I'm dead, I just have to wait and hope for another cat to come along and pick up my legacy where I left off. She looked up at the sky again, the sun was half-way down the sky, and it'd be show-time before long.

She ate and drank and slept, making herself as strong as she could for the night ahead. She wanted to stay out of the fighting as much as she could, but she needed to be prepared. She had already decided what she'd do a few days ago. First, she'd go see how the Shadow-Thunder- Wind alliance went and get the final answer from Needlepine if he was coming or staying.

After that, assuming the Clans won, she'd head over to RiverClan and see what was going on with Nightwing. And again, assuming the Clan won, she'd say goodbye to Willowwater before spending her last day on the edge of the Clans, getting ready to leave.

She could feel the butterflies in her stomach again and she willed them to quiet down as she got up and headed out of the meadow. The dark pines seemed darker than usual under the restless sky and the muffled quiet of the forest pressed denser than before.

Rainstone slunk through the trees, heading along the path she knew would take her to the lake. She wondered why she hadn't seen, or even seen any sign of neither cat nor prey. She made it to the lake without incident, and by then, it was just past dusk.

Okay… so this is it. She took a deep breath and headed toward where ThunderClan territory. Figures, my least favorite territory is where it's going down. She glanced at the gray lake; it was unusually still just like the wind, as if everything was building up right on top of them.

A storm is the last thing they need; it'll give the advantage to Pinefur's cats that have been living underground in the dark… though Needlepine says ShadowClan is a nighttime Clan. Rainstone continued along the edge of the lake until she entered ThunderClan territory.

She was starting to get nervous from the lack of anything as the sky got darker and darker as the sun went down. In the dark gray light, she wandered through ThunderClan territory, lightly aiming for their camp where she'd try to get the information if she could.

Finally! She thought as she exhaled a sigh of relief, noise of a fight reached her and ended the suspenseful quiet in a whirlwind of fury. Rainstone headed for the noise quickly, anxious to see how it was all going. She paused when she reached a clearing where a gigantic oak lay at the side, watching over the fighting.

Rainstone crouched against the ground and watched with narrowed eyes at the fight. From what she could see, it was all of ThunderClan's cats against half of Pinefur's cats. ThunderClan is out-numbered, where are the other Clans? And the rest of Pinefur's cats? She decided to keep moving as she saw Stormstar busy taking down two rouges.

As she continued her search, she found WindClan up against the other half of Pinefur's cats. They were out-numbered by Pinefur's cats, but they were holding their ground. Where's ShadowClan? Continuing on and losing faith that this would be an easy win for the Clans, she went in search of ShadowClan.

Scouring the territory, she found nothing and headed for the ThunderClan camp as it was getting darker and the fighting getting fiercer. She came up to the barrier and passed right through unchallenged. Looking around, she heard an angry yowl from a honeysuckle den weaved into the branches of an ancient fallen tree.

"Rogue! Get out of our camp!" the cat yowled again, and she saw it was a young golden she-cat with black spots and blazing green eyes.

"Clam down kit," Rainstone mewed, flipping the cat and pinning her with a wide paw in a fluid movement as the cat leapt at her. "I'm the cat who warned you Clans about Pinefur in the first place," she growled, letting the cat get up.

The she-cat kept up a defensive position and glared at her, but didn't attack again. "Leopardpaw! What was that?!" an anxious cat mewed, peeking its head out of the den.

"A rogue who claims to be on our side," Leopardpaw growled, keeping her eyes on Rainstone.

"Hey! It's you!" before any cat could stop her; Leafkit had bounded out of the den and ran up to her. Rainstone looked down at the kit, happy to see her unharmed.

"Leafkit! I'm glad you're alright," Rainstone purred, patting the kit's head.

"How do you know Leafkit?" Leopardpaw growled, dragging to kit away from her.

"Because I fished her out of the lake," Rainstone snapped, annoyed that she couldn't ask the question she'd came here for.

"That was you?" Leopardpaw mewed disbelievingly.

"Yes, but that's not why I'm here, where is-" Rainstone was cut off by an angry yowl as two cats broke into the camp. From the scent of them, they were Pinefur's cats, wounded, but only slightly, with eyes burning fire. "Good grief, what now?" she muttered irritably.

The two cats, one gray tabby she-cat, and a solid brown tom, raced toward where they were standing. She saw the tom dart for Leafkit, claws unsheathed and a dark glint in his amber eyes. "Not so fast!" Rainstone spat, jumping on the tom's back and forcing him to the ground while Leopardpaw dealt with the gray tabby while Wispheart picked up Leafkit and took the kit out of harm's way.

Rainstone grunted as she struggled with the tom while not taking any damage. She had been hurt once while carrying kits, she wouldn't let that happen now, not again. Finally she managed to get a good strike on his head and while he was dazed for a moment, she tackled him and pinned him, making sure that his paws couldn't get at her belly.

She glanced and saw that another cat had helped Leopardpaw pin the tabby and they were chasing her off. Rainstone glared coldly down at the tom, Clan cats may be soft-hearted, but she wasn't. "End of the line, creep," Rainstone growled, snapping his neck like prey. He was dead in an instant, and she comforted herself with the fact that he wouldn't have felt anything.

She got up and walked toward Leopardpaw and the ginger tom with green eyes that had helped Leopardpaw. "They're gone, now, I have a question," Rainstone mewed.

"What is it?" Leopardpaw growled, still looking suspicious.

"Where's ShadowClan? They're the only cats I can't find," Rainstone mewed.

Both cats looked at her warily, but the ginger tom answered. "Half of ShadowClan is going to take down the other rogues on the other side of the lake, and the other half is reinforcements that just got here," the tom mewed in a husky voice.

"Are they being helped by RiverClan on the other side of the lake?" Rainstone asked sharply, stiffening.

The ginger tom shook his head, "No, but Duststar was confident."

Rainstone swore, shaking her head angrily. "I may not have planned any battles, but I know that those ShadowClan cats are doomed to failure," she snarled, fear rising as she wondered if Needlepine was in that half of the group.

It'd make sense, since he knows where their camp is. Without even mewing a goodbye, she darted out of the camp, racing for the lake and dodging the battling cats. How could they be so stupid?! Without RiverClan, half a Clan will be clobbered!

Huffing, she pushed herself as she raced along the shore. It was midnight by the time she reached the dock between RiverClan and ShadowClan territory. She didn't spare a glance for her old territory as she raced straight down the Thunderpath, entering into Nightwing's territory before long.

She paused, panting heavily as she stood on the open hill landscape, blackness pressing around her from all sides and a faint mist wetting her face and weighting her whiskers down. Where are they?! The land was deathly silent and only the thin whistle of wind and rain could be heard.

With her tail trailing behind her, she raced low over the half-familiar territory. She skidded to a halt as she heard a dark cackle of laughter rang out in the night at the same time the heavy scent of blood hit her to almost knock her off her paws.

She raced to the top of the hill and crouched low in the grass. Her eyes picked out shapes in the dark of night, and her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. Even in the dark she could see the dark stain of blood on the grass and she could see the countless bodies that lay motionless on the ground.

ShadowClan was massacred! She could see Nightwing's many cats, and spotted the top cat himself, sitting with gleaming eyes and watching the battle field as his minions went among the cats, making sure they were dead. She could see Raven and Slate, they were grim-faced and stolid; they obviously didn't like this but had forced emotion away.

Is he there?! Her heart was beating desperately as she scanned the area for a red-orange mottled pelt. Oh… she spotted him and her heart stopped, she could only see the red blood that drenched his fur. Is he still alive? The thought was dull as she had already given up hope.

Stop it! It's too early to give up yet! You have to know for sure! Nightwing's cats haven't gotten to that section yet, they haven't made sure he was dead yet. But how to get down there without being seen? She stiffened as she heard a yowl of pain and she looked long enough to see that Nightwing's cats were torturing some poor cat to death.

Bile rose in her throat as she listened to the beaten cat being torn apart piece by piece. There's nothing I can do, she reminded herself, but that didn't help the fact she was turning her back on a suffering cat. I've done it enough times, I should be used to it, she tormented herself bitterly.

But she made it to Needlepine's side without being seen, the cats too engrossed in their fun for now. Even Nightwing was watching in interest. "Needlepine? Are you alright?" she whimpered, pressing her ear to his chest and sighing as she heart the steady heartbeat, but it wouldn't last long here.

"Raisnone?" Needlepine slurred woozily.

"Shh, I'll get you out of here, just relax, you'll be safe," Rainstone murmured, draping his much larger and heavier body over her thin shoulders so that his belly was center and his arms and legs dangled over each side. She was mountain strong and fear lent her strength as she moved as silently and steadily up the hill as she could.

She thanked the darkness and the rain that drove down more heavily now, it'd be almost impossible for them to be found once out of the territory. She wandered in the darkness almost aimlessly, just knowing she was heading for a border.

She blinked as she came upon a stream, if I follow it down into RiverClan territory, I can probably cross, maybe get Willowwater's help. She needed a place to treat Needlepine's wounds, as he was now unconscious from the loss of blood.

Oh thistle! If ShadowClan was defeated by Nightwing, and RiverClan isn't participating, then the other three Clans won't stand a chance if Nightwing brings his cats to Pinefur's aid! Oh, if only he hadn't helped Pinefur, then the Clans could have taken down Pinefur and Nightwing one by one, but Nightwing didn't take my warning… the fool.

Her thoughts ended abruptly as she entered RiverClan territory, finding a narrow place to jump across the stream. Her legs trembled from the strain of carrying Needlepine, but she forced them into a swift lope and leapt. It was a messy leap, and her legs buckled as she landed, but she managed to keep Needlepine on her back.

"Come on, let's find some help," she muttered to the still unconscious Needlepine. She decided she couldn't carry Needlepine much further and laid him down when she was relatively close to camp. She bandaged the worst of his wounds before sprinting toward the camp.

Once there, she could almost swear that what she had seen was just a nightmare compared to the peaceful contentment of the RiverClan camp. Sweetberry was on guard and Rainstone raced right past her before she could even do anything.

"Flickertail!" she called, running into his den and turning toward his neatly stacked pile of herbs. "I'm borrowing this stuff!" she mewed to the half-asleep medicine-cat and raced out with a bunch of herbs in her jaws.

"Rainstone!" Willowwater called running up to her. "What happened?"

"Disaster, why wasn't RiverClan helping?!" she mumbled angrily and despairingly.

"Sunstar wouldn't help…" Willowwater trailed off, eyes widening. "Are the other Clans losing?"

"Half of ShadowClan is gone already, if you don't want the Clans to die out, I suggest you go help the other Clans fend of Pinefur in ThunderClan territory, though you may be too late already," Rainstone growled, aware that a growing crowd had gathered.

"What are we going to do?!" Willowwater wailed in fear.

"I don't care," Rainstone spat, misery and blank apathy crashing down on her. "I'm leaving for good, I'm never coming back, it's up to you cats to defend yourselves, and I can't do it anymore. So goodbye Willowwater, I kept my last promise," she mewed hurriedly, rushing out of the camp of confused and frightened cats.

Getting back to Needlepine, she fixed him up as well as she could and had him resting easier in not too long. Then with the first light of dawn through the grey clouds, she hoisted him up again and carried him out of Clan territory.

Rainstone grunted, her head spinning in exhaustion as she breached the hill of the ridge surrounding the lake territories. She looked back once more; it looked so peaceful, the land flowing from one landscape to another. But she could feel it, the earth trembling as murderers raged over it.

And I'm abandoning them. She felt apathetic to the cause now; they weren't totally doomed, if ThunderClan and the others had fought of Pinefur, then they could take down Nightwing more easily. But she had no desire to ever go back, she'd done all she could, and if the Clans hadn't done enough, she wasn't strong enough to help them anymore.

"I've just got to find a home for my kits and Needlepine, and that's all." Rainstone told herself firmly. She was done with problems, she'd let them rest for other cats to take care of. She knew she was being weak and selfish, but she hadn't been raised to keep fighting forever.

I'm sorry, I wish you all the best in the Clans and mountains, but I won't be helping you anymore, and I'm sorry Song, I'm leaving earlier then when you said I could go. You saved my life and I can't even follow your orders.

Rainstone looked ahead over the grassy landscape with the light of dawn just breaching on her and her mate that she carried on her shoulders. Hope filled her with the bright light, the cats would survive, and they couldn't all be beat as easily as she could. And maybe my Legacy will be continued my kits… maybe they'll all finish what I started.

"Well how do you like that?! That rogue left the Clans shattered and defeated, what's going to happen now, huh? Well, Song? How does your prized rogue fix this?" Song glanced unhappily at the speaker, Rosewing.

Rosewing was a pale red she-cat with dark brown paws and darker brown eyes, a former deputy of RiverClan that had been given more than one mess to fix. She was one of the few StarClan cats Song had befriended while staying in StarClan's hunting ground while watching over Rainstone.

"I'm disappointed by the defeat of the Clans as well, I honestly thought they'd win with all Rainstone told them," Song returned heavily.

"Well, they are defeated, Pinefur has complete control over ThunderClan and WindClan while Nighwing took ShadowClan and has made advances on RiverClan, the Clans will be divided between the two before long," another cat spoke, the former medicine-cat of ThunderClan, Seedtail, a brown tabby tom with prophetic blue eyes.

"True," Song inclined her head. "But I don't believe that the Clans won't overcome this," the ancient black she-cat mewed.

"Perhaps, but there will be many lost lives because of this and it won't be easy," Rosewing mewed in harsh realism.

Song sighed, "Maybe I trusted too much in Rainstone's strength, I should have known how unstable she was from everything she endured from before."

"No, Rainstone was very strong, stronger than most Clan cats, but she just couldn't go on like that forever, so she took off as soon as she had the chance. She kept herself ignorant of the outcome of the attack because she knew she wouldn't be able to leave if she knew they'd been defeated," the WindClan apprentice Softpaw mewed, her pale gray fur dotted with odd orange marks.

Song shook her head and watched as Rainstone continued to move further and further away from the lake, not looking back once. She had Needlepine on her shoulders, and Song knew neither would ever go back to the lake. Rainstone was searching for a home, and she would find it and live contentedly the rest of her life.

"But which cat is going to liberate the Clans now?" Rosewing demanded impatiently.

"Is it not obvious?" groaned the former ShadowClan warrior Smokepool, a silver tom with black ears and hazel eyes, nodded at Song who was staring intently at Rainstone's retreating figure in a pool.

"Please tell me you're kidding, Song," Rosewing begged, staring hard at the ancient she-cat.

"Does it not make sense?" Song retorted in defense, continuing to watch the dark gray she-cat.

"But you know Rainstone will never return! She doesn't care enough, you said so yourself," Rosewing argued.

"I never said she doesn't care enough, she just doesn't have the strength to act on her emotion, after all, she was raised to hide her true emotions and does it so well that only recently has she been able to recognize them, but it was too early for her to draw strength from them," Song explained.

"So she will return?" Seedtail asked; blue eyes hazy and unfocused as if he was constantly looking into the future.

"No, Rainstone will never come back herself, but I wasn't looking at her in the first place. There will be another with her courage and strength that will be given a much better beginning to emotions… A very special cat if I sense correctly," Song continued, staring hard at the picture of Rainstone and Needlepine.

"Are you talking about Rainstone's kits?" Softpaw asked, gold eyes sparkling.

"Yes," Song mewed, met by groans and cries from Rosewing and Smokepool.

"One problem, those kits aren't even born yet, and the Clans need help now, not to mention that this kit you have in mind couldn't find the Clans anyways," Smokepool pointed out.

"I don't think it's a bad idea, it would be too dangerous to have cats in the Clan alone to rescue themselves, an outside force will be needed," Seedtail nodded approvingly.

"Besides, I know what I saw, Rainstone, or her bloodline, will save the cats in the mountains, and that is my true goal, although it seems things have been so closely entwined with the Clans, that their survival depends on Rainstone's bloodline as well," Song explained.

"Well, I guess we can only trust you for now and help the Clans in any way we can," Rosewing sighed in defeat, her dark brown eyes worried and exhausted.

Every cat nodded and got up to go back to watch over their suffering Clans. Softpaw turned and looked at the still black ancient she-cat whose amber eyes bored into the figure of Rainstone. "Are you leaving to follow her?" Softpaw asked, halting every cat in their tracks to listen to Song's answer.

Song looked at the apprentice that had died too young, "Yes, there's something special about one of Rainstone's kits, it will need my help and guidance. But I will defiantly return, with Rainstone's Legacy."

...

I decided to do an unhappy, European ending this time... wait a minute, have I ever had a happy ending? -_0 kind of pathetic that I can't make happy endings when I try. Oh well. Those aren't as fun anyways. Maybe I'll make the very end happy... to some extent.

Ya know, originally, this was going to be a two-part chapter and there was going to be fighting and dying left and right, and the Clans won. But then, I had a moment of genius and I figured out exactly how I was going to work the next two books (things I had been stressing about forever) Now everything is super clear! yay!

Well, this wasn't exactly the end, I'll have the epilogue, but then its on to Book 2 and its going to be awesome! Oh I'm so happy I can't sit still!

Please Review!