Here's the next chapter. It should be more informative to you guys, since I am holding back a lot of information. I just want to make it sort of mysterious, and if you've noticed, I've dropped a couple hints here and there.

Special thanks to the Reviewers: Cinnamonpool, MidnightEssence, Tenacross, Jarrtail, Adderstar of Valorclan, FoxStar24, and Tinselpool.

Also, just on a special note, I completely forgot that Bone (ignore this if you haven't read The Darkest Hour yet)... is dead. So let's all pretend he isn't. (insert nervous laugh here). Thank you Jarrtail for pointing that out.

Another Special thanks goes to my Beta Reader, Cinnamonpool, who's helping me with this fic as I go along. She helped give me the confidence to actually put this story up. Thanks a bunch. :D

The Dark Follows Faithfully

He didn't know where to turn. Everywhere he looked, he couldn't see a way out of the vast expanse of dark nothingness. It was just as confusing as the giant twoleg nest and he was beginning to wonder if he was truly lost and would never find his way out. He parted his jaws to breathe in a scent- any scent, but there was nothing. It shocked Tigger, for he knew that everything had to have a scent. Did anything of this place even exist?

"I'm in a dream again," he told himself, "I'm in that same place as last time."

"Alone..." a miserable voice whispered in the distance, "I'm all... alone..."

"Did someone say something?" Tigger spun around, swiveling his ears for the voice. He was relieved, for he was beginning to believe that he was all alone again.

"Is anyone there?" he called out again, hearing his words echo faintly.

"Here," the voice replied faintly. His heart lifting, Tigger ran blindly for the sound, eager for someone to talk to. He had so many questions and so much to say, it would be nice to finally see a friendly face for once.

Tigger felt a cool rush against his paws and looked down to see sparse green, wispy things poking out of the ground. And just ahead of him, those strange, brown pole-like things with green stuff were materializing before him.

"Is that you Hawkfrost?" he yowled, "Where are you? I need to talk to you." He saw some light somewhere in the distance and leapt for it, hoping to see that strange dark brown tabby. But instead, a new face greeted him. It was a dark, black and gray tom, sitting in the center of the clearing and facing away from him. Tigger felt the hair on his pelt rise, but he didn't know why. Something seemed strange about this cat.

"Hello," Tigger meowed politely, after deciding that the mysterious cat wasn't going to say anything, "My name is Tigger... Have you seen Hawkfrost?" But there was no reply, and the cat only stared ahead, facing away from Tigger.

"Ah, listen, I'm sorry to be bothering you but I think I'm lost and I need a way to get home. Can you help me, please?" Tigger asked as he circled the strange cat, trying to take a look at its face and catch his attention. But the cat was stubborn and turned his head away, deliberately refusing to make eye contact. After several more attempts, it seemed as if Tigger was losing his patience.

"Fine," he hissed, "Be that way. I'll find my way somewhere else!" As he was stalking out of the clearing. He felt regretful for leaving him alone, yet he couldn't hesitate. No, that would make him seem so desparate and helpless- begging for help from some deranged cat.

"I'm lost too," the voice said shakily. Tigger turned his head and saw the cat, still in that same shy position.

"I'm all alone too... but he wouldn't let me follow... wasn't I loyal? Wasn't I loyal to him?" the cat muttered to himself. Tigger took a tentative step towards him. What did he mean by that? What was he mumbling about?

"What do you mean?" Tigger asked softly. The cat turned to him, his amber eyes growing from dull and listless to bright and alive. He startled Tigger by getting on his paws and taking a step towards him. Tigger jumped backwards, wanting to keep a safe distance between him and that crazed cat. But the stranger seemed to stop himself from running up to Tigger, as if unsure if he should ask for permission to approach or not. They stared at each other for several seconds, the cat seeming to inspect him closely, recognition gleaming in his eyes.

"You look just like him," he murmered.

"... Like Hawkfrost?" Tigger asked. Just then, there was a fierce screech and the dark tabby was standing between them, hissing at the stranger. Startled and obviously frightened, the dark tom retreated into the dense forest before Tigger could say anything.

"What did you do that for?" Tigger yelled, trying his hardest to hide his aggitation, "He was going to tell me something!"

"You'll thank me when the time comes," Hawkfrost replied fiercely, setting his challenging gaze on him.

He opened his eyes and an unfamiliar sight greeted him. It was cold and gray, and at first, Tigger almost yowled in surprise before the incidents of yesterday seeped back into his memory. He remembered now... the chase... the tunnels... the cats... Blood Clan... he remembered them all- and he wish he hadn't. To him, it seemed even more of a dream than his encounters with Hawkfrost.

Glancing around him, Tigger saw the skinny cats and their miserable lives they led. They were digging through the human waste boxes for meager scraps, hissing at each other for small bits of shelter, staying all alone. This was no way a cat should live, and Tigger had no idea why these cats weren't searching for twolegs to take them in. Why were they making life so hard for themselves?

"So, how's our new addition to Blood Clan doing?" a smug voice asked from behind him. Tigger cringed, getting frustrated that everyone was taking a habit of sneaking up on him.

"Well enough," Tigger answered tersely before nearly jumping. He wasn't talking to just any cat, like Ribcage or Rattles. He was now addressing Jaws, the deputy of Blood Clan.

"I'm fine..." he reiterated slowly. Trying in vain to stop his eyes from straying to the cat's disfigured jaw.

"Staring at the scar are you," Jaws sneered, making the yellowed fangs more noticeable, "Well I got it from a dog. And there are plenty of them around here. I heard that they like to eat small defenseless kittens. Different from whatever you're used to, isn't it?" All Tigger could do was glare, not trusting himself to open his mouth and not end up insulting him. Satisfied, the cat padded off, the fangs on his claws clicking against the ground.

Hissing with frustration, Tigger walked off in the opposite direction, furious at himself for not teaching that cat a lesson. For a moment, he wished that Chess was with him, so he could have someone to be brave for instead of himself. He didn't know why he felt comforted at the thought of Chess being with him. He would be useless in a fight, but perhaps if he knew that someone was on his side, he would feel braver. But here, nobody seemed interested in holding a decent conversation with him, and if they wanted to say something, they were only going to ridicule him.

His stomach rumbled faintly, painfully reminding him of his hunger. He hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning! Above all things Tigger hated about living as a Blood Clan cat, he detested the rancid food they ate and how fought each other for even the smallest scrap.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be," a voice whispered inside him, "The clan should help every cat as a whole instead of surviving on their own."

And he couldn't help but feel pangs of sorrow when he saw two queens fighting over the remains of a fish, their kits squealing on the sidelines, ribcages jutting out from their pelts. And that was when Tigger wondered how far he would go for pieces of food that wouldn't even satisfy him. He sighed as he trudged on, away from all of them.

He decided that he was going to be careful of which direction he's headed to from now on. He didn't want to get lost again, and if he did, Blood Clan would find him, accuse him of trying to escape, and claw his ears off. He shuddered at the thought as he entered the lonely concrete paths, staying clear of the monsters' territory.

"But what if I can get out of this place? What if I can escape? What if I can find my way back home?" he thought to himself, "But if I can find the tunnels, they'd have to let me leave, right?" And then another thought struck him, "But what if I caught Ajax and make him show me to my home... and not even report to Blood Clan? That would make their blood boil under their pelt! Ha!"

"How's it going, kittpet?" a voice called to him. Tigger sighed, not bothering to turn around to see who was taunting him this time.

"Fine!" he snapped bitterly.

"Well it's good to see that," the amused voice purred. Tigger turned around to see a pretty, pale, white and gray she-cat padding towards him. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't a kitten like him, but at least she showed no signs of tormenting him.

"I'm Tabs," she introduced herself.

"Hi there," he meowed, "My name's-"

"Tigger, I know," she purred, "Every cat knows about you."

"Really?" Tigger couldn't help but feel proud, "What do they say about me?" She hesitated slightly before answering.

"They don't think you'll last long."

"Lousy clan," he sulked. Tabs sighed, deciding to make the tactical move of changing the subject.

"What are you doing way out here by yourself? Trying to find your way back home are you?" she asked, "Not many cats like to cross Bone. Besides, the place is too big, you'd never find it."

"I'm not afraid of Bone," Tigger replied indignantly, "And I can leave to go home whenever I want!"

"Well then, where is your home?" she asked, giving him a knowing look.

"I don't know, but I'll find it," he muttered as he continued on his way. She was the only friendly cat around here and he was already tired of talking to her.

"You know, the only way you can get back home is by catching Ajax," she called out. Tigger stopped.

"Ajax!" he spat, "This is all his fault! Why does Bone even want a stray anyway? What's so great about him?"

"Oh, Ajax has been bothering Bone since we moved Blood Clan here six moons ago," she replied as she padded towards him.

"Him? What can one cat do against so many of you?"

"It's not like he fights us. It's that we can't get him to leave. When Blood Clan takes over, they either drive out all the cats in the area or force them to join us," Tabs explained with an excited glint in her pale blue eyes, "But Ajax knows the streets better than any cat and he always manages to get away, no matter how hard we look for him or how many cats chase him down. He's always gotten away."

"So what? It's just one cat," Tigger argued.

"That's not the point," she meowed, "Bone can't stand to keep losing. And he also wants to know the secrets of the tunnels. If Blood Clan controlled them, we could travel all across the city and catch other rogues by surprise."

"There are more of you?" Tigger felt his eyes grow round and wide, "But I thought it was all just Blood Clan."

"There are always intruders," she answered with a flick of her tail, "Or else why would we have to stick together?"

"Stick together?! None of you are looking out for each other. There's no order! No system! You can't expect a clan to thrive if you're going to scratch a living like this," he replied bitterly. At first, she seemed surprised by his response, and then her eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"What are you saying? Like there's any other way to live out here? Like we choose to live like this?" she hissed, "But of course, what does a kittypet understand about real life when you've got a cushy little home? Kittypet!" She spat the last word with contempt that made Tigger flinch.

"... Well... why not get a twoleg to take you in?" he ventured further, "They love cats and-"

"Not rogues!" her eyes blazing, "Not our kind! We're nothing to them, mousebrain! Stay for two days in Blood Clan and you'll understand!"

Tigger pondered the truth of her words. Of course no twoleg would want them. They roamed the filth-places, were constantly fighting for scraps, and most of all, they could never get along with other cats. What kind of twoleg would want them?

"Then... how about..." he hesitated, worried his next idea would be just stupid as his last. He'd only seen it in some weird part of his mind while he was fighting Rattles, but he felt some odd sense of familiarity with the scene. "That green place. There's a green place somewhere out there... where cat's can live." Tabs gave him a puzzled look before replying.

"You mean the forest? That place has been destroyed long ago before we claimed this twoleg nest as our territory. Cats used to live there, but they're either dead or long gone."

"Forest?" Tigger repeated the word to himself, "What's it like?"

"Shhhh!" she swiped a tail over his mouth, "We're forbidden to talk about it. Bone doesn't like any cat talking about it... not since Scourge."

"Scourge?"

"Don't mention his name either," she said with a frustrated hiss.

"But why-"

"Patrol's coming!" she said nervously, "They can't see us talking to each other. I'll talk to you later!" And with that, she was one, racing down the streets. Tigger stared after her, wondering how she even knew they were coming. Was her sense of smell really so good? Would his ever be able to compare with hers? And what secrets did Blood Clan have?

So I'm interested to know, what did you think about the 2 new characters? What did you think about the dark cat in Tigger's dreams? There were some hints about him in the chapter though, so read carefully. Any guesses to who he is? Please PM me your guesses so you don't spoil anybody. Anyways, more will be revealed about him later.

Also, what did you think about Tabs? I was saving that name for my future cat, just to tell you.

Right now I'm in the middle of writing Chapter 5, and I'm a little stuck, so it could take longer for that chapter to be up so please bear with me.

Please Review. Any constructive criticism, ideas, comments, encouragement, questions, suggestions, corrections, etc. are always welcome (especially suggestions and corrections). So just do me this HUGE favor and Review. Thanks so much for reading.