Rising Sun- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction ✔️

Chapter 17

Sunpaw's pelt numbed with shock. His father was alive? "That's not possible..." He breathed, eyes narrowed. "You told me my father was dead!"

Ignoring the fact that two cats had just been murdered, he glared at her, darkness making her seem like a cat from StarClan; so different compared to the dark atmosphere. It was disturbing.

Silverleaf's gaze betrayed nothing. "You might want to wait for the others." She mewed, her voice solemn. "Goldensun is-"

Sunpaw ignored her, barging through the camp entrance.

His mouth fell agape when he saw the destruction the rogues- his father- had caused.

The nursery den was in splinters, the willow cracked and strewn about like mere dirt. He could see a white-tipped ginger tail poking out of the debris.

"Foxtail..." He breathed, gaze clouding up with sorrow as he remembered Amberkit's fiesty mother. Though most of Sunpaw's memories of the ginger-and-white she-cat involved her scolding him and acting hostile, he would still miss her.

The warrior's den was the only den that wasn't touched, and Sunpaw could scent many scents from inside; rogues as well as his clanmates.

The elder's den had met the same fate as the nursery; though the hollowed tree was not broken, the moss from the elder's nests were scattered everywhere.

"StarClan has abandoned us!" Came a yowl from Kestreltail as she emerged from the bushes. "I followed you, by the way. The others aren't far behind."

Sunpaw just ignored Kestreltail.
"What happened here?" He murmured, eyes darting around, as if expecting to see a flood of rogues charge down the camp walls.

A rustle of bramble bushes behind him startled him; he spun around to find a pair of amber eyes watching him.

"Goldensun?" He breathed.

A cat emerged from the bushes, but unfortunately, it was not his long-lost father.

"There you are, Sunpaw!" Bumblestar's concerned meow echoed around the deserted camp. "We were looking everywhere for-" the leader suddenly broke off, noticing the destruction for the first time.

Murmuring cats filed through the camp entrance, though at the sight of the camp in ruins, they all hushed.
All was silent. Until suddenly, an agonised, strangled cry broke the stretching quiet.

A black blur streaked over to the nursery wreckage. Sunpaw's throat tightened as Raventail crouched down beside the limp body of his mate, nudging debris off of her ginger pelt.

"No! Foxtail! What about our k-"

The black tom broke off on what he was about to say, and Sunpaw watched as he nudged more debris out of the way, to uncover three still bodies.

Dried blood riddled their flanks.

Birchkit's dull, glassy-blue eyes stared up, lifeless and emotionless, whilst his face scrunched up, as if still held in the terror of death. His light pelt was knotted, as if he hadn't been washed for days, and his four legs were splayed at awkward angles at his sides.

Stormkit's eyes were scrunched shut, the black flanks stiller than stone.

Amberkit's usually-sleek pelt was clumped with dust, though she was half-covered by branches, making her face unreadable. Her tail was trapped beneath a rock.
Sunpaw's heart numbed as he padded over to the dead family, all lying there like helpless, lifeless prey.

He didn't bother to lift his tail as it dragged along the floor, or hide his sadness as he leant down to press his nose to Amberkit's usually soft fur.

His friend- his very best friend- lay before him, her pelt ragged- though surprisingly still warm; maybe she'd died recently?- as he nudged her gently.

"No..." He murmured quietly, fur bristling.

Suddenly, a white-hot fire scorched his heart, and he spun around to face his clanmates. "How could you let this happen?" He yowled, gaze aimed at nobody in particular, until it fell on Bumblestar.

"How could you do this to her?" He stalked up to the leader, claws unsheathing. "You call yourself a leader, yet you can't even protect your clan? What kind of a fox-heart are you?"

Bumblestar's gaze held no sadness, only a deep pity, as he stared at Sunpaw. "Turn around, and tell me it was all my fault." He murmured, gaze fixing instantly on something behind him.

Turning his head, Sunpaw almost choked on his own breath. "Father?" He spluttered, gaze wider than a Thunderpath.

Before him, in all his golden glory, stood a cat that could only be Goldensun, his paws drenched in blood.

A smile spread across the tom's features, his red-stained claws gleaming in the moonlight.

"Hello there, ThunderClan. It's been a while." A purr vibrated in his throat, though his eyes gleamed with hatred as he fixed his gaze on Bumblestar.

Sunpaw's heart began to beat faster as he glanced over to ThunderClan's leader; was that fear shining in his eyes?

The rare sight- since when was ThunderClan's fearless leader scared?- chilled him to the bone.

To add to that, his father- a cat he had thought dead until that very moment- had taken over the whole of ThunderClan. What else was he capable of?