A/N: Alright you guys, this is it. This the last complete chapter of When it Rains.

Thank you all so, so, so much for sticking with me on the crazy journey. And if you were saddened by my first statement, I have some news for you... There is going to be a sequel. I just need you guys to help me out with a tiny bit of input.

Throughout this fic I avoided forbidden relationships, because that just wasn't the type of cat Hollystep is. She is far to ambitious and loyal to spend time slinking around the borders (Sorry not sorry, Smokefoot). But I'm considering allowing one of her kits to fall for a RiverClan cat. It will more than likely be an OC, as RiverClan's allegiances were pathetic through the new prophecy arc. But! What I would like to hear from you is which kit of hers you think would be most inclined to take a mate from a rival Clan. (It doesn't have to be RiverClan, that was just the first thought that came to mind, because added drama.)

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for ANY warrior names or couples, please send them in! The cats in question are primarily: Duskpaw, Littlepaw, Redpaw, Sweetpaw, Fawnpaw and Sootpaw.

Now, to my reviewers:

Pandean: Don't count on me stopping any time soon xD I love writing fanfics, and when all else fails I always find myself coming back to warriors.

Kai Lover 911: I'm glad you liked my mentoring decisions! I thought they'd go well together since Sweetpaw likes getting into trouble and Brackenfur is more experienced and patient.

Hazel Ashwood: In good time, my dear :3 I wanted to kind of draw away from the fact that every deputy/leader that came up through ThunderClan starting with Bluestar had some sort of pre-destined "You will be great" prophecy just about them. It's mentioned (By Cinderpelt I think?) that it is rare/strange for warriors to receive prophetic dreams. I wanted Hollystep to have a more natural rise to leadership. She wanted to be deputy, so she worked hard and earned it. Does that make sense? StarClan does have a destiny for her-for all of ThunderClan, really-but it's just not time for her to know yet. Also I agree. They put way too much and not enough into their reproduction at the same time. I litterally (get it? Litter? Of kittens? xD) just sat next to my cat's birthing box and wrote down info on the kittens as they came. She didn't need my help, and she certainly didn't want the help of my other cat (who is the father.)

ANYWAY! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to send me suggestions for the sequel! I love you all!

Chapter 27

"All quiet." Hollystep narrowed her eyes as she stared across the moorland. "It seems they've started patrolling our border more consistently."

"I wonder if that means RiverClan has backed off of their border now that they've claimed some territory." Rainwhisker didn't look convinced, and Hollystep snorted skeptically.

"I doubt it." She turned and continued towards the lake, Rainwhisker at her side. Their pelts brushed as they patrolled the WindClan border. Their kits had been training for a moon already, and still Hollystep valued the freedom to patrol as if she'd only escaped the nursery a day ago.

As they approached the lake, the fur along Hollystep's spine began to bristle. A sudden unease overtook the dark tabby warrior.

"Hollystep?" Rainwhisker touched his nose to her ear. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Hollystep rasped. "I just had this feeling… Something terrible has happened." She broke into a sprint, not entirely sure where her pawsteps where carrying her. When she tasted blood on the air she doubled her speed.

"I smell blood," Rainwhisker gasped as he raced alongside her.

Hollystep staggered to a halt, her amber eyes stretching wide as horror gripped her limbs. "Firestar…!"

Their leader was sprawled in the grass near the lake shore, a fox trap clamped around his bloody neck. She threw herself at his side.

"Firestar, hold on, we'll get you out of this!"

A massive shudder passed through his body, and his eyes fluttered slowly open. "Hollystep," he choked out a mouthful of blood. "Brambleclaw, he…"

"Hush!" She dug at the pole, vaguely realizing that another cat must have started already—there were scours in the pole and earth around it. "Rainwhisker, help me dig! It should come loose just like the bear trap that caught Dustpelt!" The gray warrior was at her side in a heartbeat, his wider paws clearing large scoops of earth. When it started coming loose, Hollystep clamped the wire between her teeth and tugged, feeling it slacken as Rainwhisker continued digging. Finally, Firestar let out a huge gasp.

"Are you alright?" Hollystep spun and used her paws to pry the wire away from the grotesque wound around Firestar's neck.

"I'm going to lose another life," he croaked. "StarClan will heal the wound… but Brambleclaw…" He green eyes strained to focus on the clumps of grass hiding the lake from their view.

"Did Brambleclaw do this?" Rainwhisker sounded as astonished as Hollystep felt.

"No," Firestar coughed pitifully. "Hawkfrost… He must have set a trap… He tried to convince Brambleclaw to kill me, but he attacked Hawkfrost instead and…" Hollystep touched a paw to his heaving flank. "They rolled towards the lake, and neither of them has come back…"

"Go get Leafpool," Hollystep urged Rainwhisker. The dark gray warrior obeyed instantly, racing off into the forest. "I'll be right back, Firestar." Summoning all of her courage, Hollystep shouldered her way through the grass. Ice crept into her veins. In front her, Brambleclaw's body sprawled with his hind legs in the shallows. Horrible wounds covered his body, turning the water that lapped at his torn pelt crimson.

"Oh, Brambleclaw…" She remembered his strength in the mountains, his level-headed leadership every day as he worked tirelessly for their Clan. She gripped his scruff in her jaws and drug him into the grass where Firestar lay. Leafpool had arrived, Redpaw steadfast at her side. The apprentice's eyes grew wide when he saw Hollystep dragging Brambleclaw's body.

"What happened?"

"Something terrible," Hollystep muttered bitterly. I knew Hawkfrost was trouble. Fury blossomed in her chest, a tangle of briars that pricked at her heart as it grew. I knew it.

Firestar sat slowly as he returned from losing a life. "That's what I… was afraid of…" Grief filled his emerald eyes. "He died trying to save me. Loyal to the very end…"

Leafpool touched her muzzle comfortingly to Firestar's side. He stood shakily. "I'll help you carry him back to camp, Rainwhisker." Before Leafpool could object, the flame-pelted tom took Brambleclaw's scruff in his jaws. Rainwhisker took hold of Brambleclaw's tabby pelt and helped Firestar support his weight as they staggered slowly back to camp. Leafpool and Redpaw circled them anxiously, both medicine cats keeping their eyes on Firestar. So quietly Hollystep knew she wasn't meant to hear, Leafpool murmured, "How many lives did you lose before Hollystep came?"

"One." Firestar answered simply.

"So now you have three?" Leafpool prompted.

"No," her amber eyes darkened as Firestar continued, "I lost another once I was freed, so that StarClan could heal my wounds. I have only two left."

Two?! Hollystep tried to act as if she hadn't heard, but her blood was roaring in her ears. How will ThunderClan survive without Firestar?

As they staggered through the thorn tunnel, gasps of horror rippled through the camp.

"What's happened?" Squirrelflight thrust her way through the mortified cats. "What…"

Firestar lay his deputy in the center of the clearing. "Gather around all of you."

Hollystep pressed against Rainwhisker's side, drawing strength from the warmth of his pelt.

"Today I was led into a trap by Hawkfrost," their leader announced grimly. "Brambleclaw was with me. I was caught in a fox trap, and Hawkfrost tried to tempt Brambleclaw to kill me so that he could become leader. But Brambleclaw chose loyalty—to ThunderClan and to me. He tried to dig up the pole and save me, but Hawkfrost attacked him." He took a deep breath, as if trying to steady himself. "By StarClan's grace Hollystep and Rainwhisker took their sunhigh patrol all the way to the lake. They finished digging up the fox trap, but Hawkfrost had already killed Brambleclaw."

"What are we going to do now?" Dustpelt hobbled forward, his tail lashing. "Hawkfrost must be punished."

"We should attack RiverClan," Cloudtail hissed. "I'll shred every one of them for this."

Firestar raised his tail. "We will not attack RiverClan," he rebuked Cloudtail gently. "Hawkfrost has acted as Tigerstar did when he was alive. Whatever he's done, I am certain that Leopardstar had nothing to do with it."

"I'd bet anything that Hawkfrost killed Mistyfoot," Hollystep growled, digging her muddy claws into the ground. "I bet he killed her knowing Leopardstar would choose him to be her deputy."

Firestar dipped his head. "I'm afraid you may be right, Hollystep. But what matters now is that we honor Brambleclaw's courage and loyalty."

Squirrelflight stepped forward slowly, bending and beginning to groom her mate's torn fur. Speckledpaw was the first to join her, followed her siblings. Soon the entire Clan was pressed close around their deputy's body. Only Sandstorm left for a short time, taking Nettlepaw and Brightheart out on a hunt. They brought their catch back as the sun was setting, but no cat touched the pile.

Finally, as the moon began to rise, Longtail stood. "I still remember the day Goldenflower told me and Willowpelt that she'd be moving into the nursery. She was always proud of her kits, especially when they proved their loyalty to the Clan that only saw their father in them."

"No cat could ask for a more loyal warrior," Mousefur added solemnly. "I had my doubts in the beginning—but he grew into a warrior any Clan would be proud to have."

"He was a natural leader," Squirrelflight mewed brokenly. "If it hadn't been for him we never would have made it to the sun-drown-place and back, and we never would have been able to bring the Clans to their new homes. He was my closest friend, and I know he'll continue to watch over us all." She bowed her head and pressed her nose into his cold tabby fur. Finally Firestar spoke.

"Brambleclaw was much more than my deputy. He was my apprentice, my warrior, and my friend. He was as brave as he was loyal, and never let his father's influence sway his heart. He always looked to do what was right, even if it wasn't what was easy." He turned his gaze to the stars of Silverpelt that were slowly appearing in the darkening sky. "Receive him well, StarClan. No cat could have asked for a better deputy—I only wish I had joined you first, to see the leader he had the potential to become."

The Clan bowed their heads, silence falling over them as they all thought of the memories they shared with the fallen deputy. Hollystep thought of their mission to save the tribe, and the respect they gained for each other while they'd travelled.

The silence was broken only when Firestar spoke again. "By the laws of our warrior ancestors, I must appoint ThunderClan's new deputy." He stood and brought his gaze to the stars again. "I say these words before the body of Brambleclaw, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice: Hollystep will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

Hollystep's heart stopped beating in her chest. What? She blinked, but before she could find any words—objections or thanks or otherwise—Birchfall butted her shoulder lightly with his head.

"Congratulations," he purred.

"A good choice," Cloudtail observed, pride tempering the grief in his eyes.

Brackenfur nodded approvingly. "I couldn't think of another cat Brambleclaw would want to succeed him."

"I…" Hollystep swallowed the tremor growing in her throat and stood to face her Clan-mates. "I will do my best," she pledged firmly. "I know I can never fill Brambleclaw's pawprints, but I won't stop until I've become a deputy that Brambleclaw would be proud of."

Cheers swelled from the mourning cats. Rainwhisker wound around the dark tabby. "I'm proud of you," he murmured.

"We are, too!" Sweetpaw wove between her mother's legs.

"You'll be a great deputy," Sootpaw mumbled, shuffling his paws.

Fawnpaw puffed her chest out, "And we'll be great warriors."

Hollystep purred thickly. "Thank you. I won't let you down."

Hollystep woke before dawn, forcing herself stiffly to her paws and into the clearing. The elders were carrying Brambleclaw's body out of the camp for his burial. Uttering one last prayer for the lost deputy to guide her, Hollystep sat down next to the fresh-kill pile. Rainwhisker emerged from the warriors den first, his dark gray fur nearly blending in with the thick fog as he strolled to her side.

"Good morning, deputy." He touched noses with her as he arched his back up into a stretch.

"Good morning," Hollystep drew her tongue quickly across his shoulder. "Would you mind taking a hunting patrol? No cat ate last night, so they'll all be eating before their patrols today."

"Sure thing." He touched his nose to her ear. "I'll go wake Ashfur and Fenneltail."

Before long, more warriors emerged from their den. They gathered patiently around her. StarClan help me make good decisions today…

"Alright," she muttered to herself. By the twitch of Cloudtail's whiskers, she knew it hadn't been as quiet as she'd hoped. "Brackenfur, I'd like for you to take the dawn patrol. Take Sweetpaw and Snowheart with you. If you catch even a whisker of Hawkfrost on our territory, you know what to do." With a respectful nod, Brackenfur gathered the cats she'd named and headed to the thorn tunnel. "Sorreltail, you take the sunhigh patrol. Bring whoever you'd like between their hunting patrols. I'll lead the evening patrol myself." As her Clan-mates nodded their approval, Hollystep gained confidence. "I'd like two more hunting patrols to be responsible for feeding the Clan today. Sandstorm, Cloudtail, you'll head those. Take at least two cats with you and don't hesitate to eat before you go. Rainwhisker already has a patrol out to keep us on our paws through the day."

Sandstorm raised her paw to get Hollystep's attention, and the young deputy pricked her ears. "I think we should work on a training program," the senior warrior meowed casually. "It won't be long now before Nettlepaw and Spottedpaw can expect their warrior names, and if Hawkfrost means to be like Tigerstar, we'll need all of the warriors we can get."

"Yes," Hollystep nodded. "You're right. Every morning I'll meet with two or three cats in the training hollow to spar. If Hawkfrost means to cause trouble we'll all need to have sharp claws." She skimmed her warriors. "For now, all those that haven't been assigned directly to a patrol and have apprentices, be sure to focus on training. We can only get stronger in new-leaf and green-leaf."

Affirmative meows and confident nods rippled through the warriors. With a wave of Hollystep's tail, they split into their patrols and got busy.

"I knew you'd handle it well."

Hollystep started, even though she'd scented Firestar's approach. "I just don't want to let anyone down… I wanted to be deputy for so long, but I never realized what the cost would be…" She shook her head, turning her amber eyes to her paws. "I'd give anything to have Brambleclaw sitting here instead of me."

"And that's exactly why I chose you—and why I know that had he become the leader of ThunderClan, he would have chosen you. Your ambition to do great things has never swayed your loyalty to ThunderClan." He flicked his tail towards the high-ledge. "Come with me. We've got a lot to discuss."

She followed Firestar up to his den. He settled in his nest and invited her to sit across from him. She tucked her paws under her chest and waited for her leader to speak.

"Now," Firestar meowed thoughtfully. "We have a problem."

"Hawkfrost," Hollystep guessed. Firestar nodded gravely.

"His influence in RiverClan is unprecedented—he could tell them a mouse was a starling and they'd probably believe him." The flame-pelted tom shook his head. "But there's not much we can do about it."

"We can wait," Hollystep sat up a little straighter. "Sandstorm mentioned wanting to implement a more rigorous training schedule. So we'll let him do whatever he wants in RiverClan while we grow strong enough to oppose him."

To her relief, Firestar's eyes were narrowed thoughtfully. "Yes," he murmured. "I won't bring it up at the Gathering; Leopardstar would never believe it, anyway. I'll let him think that I forgot while losing those two lives." He glanced at her again. "Did you and Sandstorm discuss the training already?"

"Briefly," Hollystep answered with a dip of her head. "I'll be meeting with two or three cats a day in the training hollow. We need our warriors to be just as in shape as our apprentices."

Firestar sighed, his tone growing surprisingly warm. "Did Dustpelt ever tell you about Bluestar?"

Hollystep blinked, taken aback. "Of course he did," she stammered. "I've admired her since I was in the nursery."

Her leader's eyes glittered. "I wish you could have known her, Hollystep. You remind me of her every day." He stood and stretched. "Let's get down to the training hollow then," he meowed, more businesslike. "I'd like to keep my claws sharp as well."

"Yes, Firestar," Hollystep trailed after the flame-pelted tom, still stunned by his remark. I remind him of Bluestar…?

As they padded to the training hollow, Hollystep felt fresh vigor bubbling in her blood. With Firestar to lead us, and me at his side, ThunderClan will be stronger than it ever has before. Their misfortunes thrummed in her veins, seeping through her pelt like rain, and she only felt stronger because of them. When it rains, it pours, but the storm always gives way to newer, stronger growth. She thought of Rainwhisker and her own kits. And no amount of rain could dowse the fire burning in this Clan.