Tigerclaw purred to himself as the clan, and the rogues attacked each other. It was going perfectly; they were all distracted, giving him the perfect opportunity to go to Bluestars den and kill her. He has been waiting far too long to do this; he should have done it long ago, but he was patient. It was going to pay off.
The tom stalked to the den's entrance, claws unsheathed when he heard a yowl, followed by the mewling of kits. He stopped he swore that yowl was familiar, but from where.
His pupils dilated and hearted stopped, as well as his breathing. "Starclan, no..."
He bolted from the den to the nursery; everything seemed slow motion as he passed his clanmates and rogues; screw the plan! He had to make sure what he was thinking was not true! Tigerclaw burst in, and he could feel a lump in his throat, veins filled with the coldness of dread at what he saw. Before him, throat torn out was his mate, Goldenflower, and beside her were his kits, Bramblekit and Tawnykit, unbreathing.
The brown tom stared at the site, shaking and heart beating; it was not supposed to be like this; they were supposed to leave his family alone! So why didn't they?
"It was not supposed to go like this; we were to be together as I ruled. You were not supposed to die! It was only going to be Bluestar!" Shouting at the bodies, it was all going so well; he killed Redtail and got the title of deputy, but at the life of his friend Lionheart, he had the perfect trap which Cinderpelt sprang by accident, but this was going to be the end of it.
It hit him like a monster hitting a tree. It wasn't the rogue's fault; it was his. He was the one who wanted power. He was the one that killed to get what he wanted. He was the one that caused the battle, and what did he get? Dead or injured cats, who never were a threat to him, they were his clanmates, and he treated them as pawns to be discarded.
He sat on his haunches and just stared at his newest victims to his hunger for power. He did not notice the battle stop outside the nursery or even as Sandstorm came in to see him.
"Tigerclaw, what are you doing? You were gone for the whole. bat-" she saw the bodies. "By Starclan, I am sorry, Tigerclaw, I-I can leave you if you want."
Tigerclaw just flicked his tail in response, but it gave Sandstorm the message and went out, leaving him alone once more. If he could, he would stay there forever, but he couldn't, so with a heavy heart, he grabbed Goldenflower by the scruff and lightly dragged her out to the clearing, with the bodies of his kits on top of her.
Tigerclaw could feel the sadness coming from his clanmates if he had the right to call them that, that is, and put her body at the center. Bluestar came from her den, saw the scene, and dipped her head.
"Thunderclan! We may have been victorious, but at the cost of the lives of Goldenflower and her kits at the rogues' paws, we will hold a vigil for them," Bluestar shouted out to the clan.
"It was not the rogues alone that killed them!"
Gasps swept through the clan as Tigerstar meowed that out, standing up on all fours and looking at his surroundings.
"Do you know who else is responsible?" Bluestar asked, curious to hear who else did it.
"Yes, I do." the brown tom stared right at Bluestar, pain in his eyes, "because I was the one who brought them here!"
The silence that filled the air was unbreaking as all of the clan stared at him with shock, or in Graystripes and Firehearts case, shock and confusion. It was broken by Bluestar asking in disbelief, "It was you? why?"
"Because I was going to kill you and become leader, like how I killed Redtail to become deputy!" He could feel his stance getting weaker as he admitted it, voice getting hoarse as he shouted it, making sure that Starclan could hear crimes. "I was the one to set up the trap that got Cinderpelt injured! My lust for power got Lionheart killed; I was ready to blame Ravenpaw for Redtails' death! And I was the one that got the only ones I love to be killed!"
The clans were in shock to hear this; they did not know what to say. Sandstorm was ready to pounce at Tigerclaw for killing her father, yet what she saw was not some bloodthirsty cat but a broken one, who seemed to have all his crimes crushing him.
Bluestar, meanwhile, had no idea what to say, her deputy, the one she thought she could trust. He was ready to kill her but was stopped by the death of his family.
Tigerstar turned to his mate one last time and put his muzzle to her fur. "I am sorry," stood back up and began to walk out of the camp.
"W-Wait! Where are you going!?" Bluestar yowled, getting the tom's attention.
"I am leaving Thunderclan; I have broken the code, and must now pay for it, do not look for me, for I can not come back," with that, he went through the bush.
Sometime later, Tigerclaw stopped to rest, no idea where he was; he just wanted to be far away from the clan. He could never go back; he has broken the code so many times over; the tom was foolish to think that he would ever get his nine lives in the first place. His thoughts were going back further, attacking a defenceless kit and learning from Thristleclaw how important power was.
Tigerclaw felt his claws extend out and hissed at them. They have been bathed in so much blood, killed so many innocence, all for some delusion. Spotting a rock, he knew what to do.
The tom put his claws tight on the rock, and with a swipe, both broke and tore them out. He yowled out in pain and looked at his now bloody paws, covered in his own.
A rustling in the bush drew his attention away from his paws. Turning, he saw none other than Fireheart staring at him and his now bloodied paws. How he wanted to yell at the flame pelted cat, but he just had no strength left to do it.
"I told you not to look for me. I am not coming back."
"I am not here to take you back," Fireheart padded up to the brown tom. "I am here to ask why?"
"Why what? Why I did all this?" Tigerclaw asked, staring into the orange toms green eyes.
"Why you care so much about Goldenflower and her kits? Were they not just another part of your scheme for power?"
Tigerclaw sighed and turned away. Just hearing those names reminded him of what he saw. "They were more than that; they were the closest I ever had to a true family."
"I am shocked that you would care about that,"
"Of course I would!" Tigerclaw snapped at Fireheart, hackles raised. "She was the only one who did not see me as a threat, or a powerful warrior, or anything like that; she saw me as... her mate and a father to our kits, and when I took over, I was planning on giving her and our kits the life they deserved, but now..." the tabby growled to himself.
Fireheart had to admit. It was odd to see Tigerclaw this vulnerable, but yet, he could not help but feel any sympathy for the cat. "Well, Tigerclaw, I say this is Sta-"
"Don't you dare call me by that name ever again!"
The orange Tom jumped back when he heard Tigerclaw roar that out. "Then what should I call you?"
Looking at his bloodied paws, he could only think of one name, "Brokenclaw."