Chapter 6

"Duck, dive, roll, swipe!" Ripscar snarled out and Tanglepaw swiftly obeyed, diving beneath a massive tom's paw-swipe and rolling to the side, leaping up to rake her claws along his flank.

"Faster!" Ripscar spat out from his vantage point atop a large jagged rock, dark blue eyes filled with contempt as he continued to yowl out instructions, "Turn and slash, duck then leap back!"

Tanglepaw complied, trusting the tom's instructions as she turned to slash at the muzzle of another approaching tom, spattering the ground with blood as she ducked another blow and did a leap backwards, twisting in midair to face her opponents with a determined glare.

"That's enough!" Ripscar called, leaping down next to the young she-cat, flicking his tail dismissively at the two toms and flashing them a cold glare. They hissed but obeyed the unspoken order, slinking away into the darkness.

Ripscar turned to Tanglepaw, blue eyes glittering with something that she couldn't identify, "Walk with me." he meowed, the tone in his voice making it obvious that it was not an option to say no.

Tanglepaw followed the scarred tom in silence, waiting for him to speak first. She wasn't sure how long she had been in this dark place, the sun never shined so she never knew night from day. She never slept, never needed to sleep it seemed. No matter how exhausted the young she-cat got she could never sleep, only rest. She could have been here for moons for all she knew.

She had also long since learned that obeying was the best course of action in any situation. When one disobeyed they ceased to blend in- they became a target for abuse and pain.

One of the rules she had to obey was never speaking to anyone except Ripscar. Especially the Wakers. That was what Tanglepaw called the living cats who came here but, unlike her, woke up. She was different somehow. She didn't wake up.

"You're wondering why I want to speak with you, aren't you?" Ripscar meowed, breaking the silence.

Tanglepaw nodded, her mouth pressed into a grim line. One knew better than to speak unnecessarily.

"Your training is coming along nicely." Ripscar continued, stopping and sitting, wrapping his tail around his paws neatly. Tanglepaw mirrored his movements, keeping her gaze on her paws.

"When can I go home?" Tanglepaw whispered, raising her blue-eyed gaze to meet that of the tom in front of her. "You've never told me why I'm here."

Ripscar raised an eyebrow, a small smile curling across his lips, "Soon." he meowed simply before continuing, "As I said, your training is progressing nicely. I believe you're ready to be told what your mission is. Or, as you say, why you are here."

Tanglepaw felt her fur prickling with anticipation, her blue eyes glittering with the need to know. She had been fighting and dying inside as soon as she had come to this place. She needed to know why.

"Have you ever wondered why you cannot sleep here? Why you cannot wake up?" Ripscar asked, the smile twisting into a smirk. "Have you ever wondered why you alone are so like us, the forgotten, the dead, the black-hearted and dark-souled while you yourself is so innocent?"

Tanglepaw gaped, questions bubbling on her tongue until she thought she could hold them no longer when Ripscar continued.

"Have you ever wondered who you really are? Why you are different from the others?"

"Yes." Tanglepaw whispered before she could stop herself, her voice full of desperation to know. Questions she had always struggled with were tearing at her heart. She had to know.

Ripscar's smirk widened and his eyes glittered maliciously, "Have you ever wondered why I take special interest in you? Why I seem so familiar to you?"

"Yes." Tanglepaw meowed again, her voice firmer, stronger than before.

Ripscar leaned in close so his scarred muzzle was less than a mouse-length from Tanglepaw's. "I'm your father." he hissed, eyes glittering with a sick sort of glee.

Tanglepaw stood up sharply, stumbling backwards in shock, "N-no!" she stammered, her ears flattening against her head, "You're lying! You're dead!"

Ripscar laughed, long and cold, "What other explanation could there be?!" he sneered, "You are a light born of darkness! I hold power over you like no cat ever has! You are my chance at revenge!"

"N-no! I won't help you!" Tanglepaw cried, backing up farther only to find her way blocked by the strong shoulders of the cats she had been fighting.

"You act as if you have a choice my daughter." Ripscar leered, moving closer. "I control the Dark Forest and every cat in it. If you ever want to return to your clan you will have to do as I say because believe me when I say, you will return here every night and when you do, I will make you suffer. If that isn't enough incentive for you, I can send for the pathetic excuses for friends you have as clanmates and bring them here at night. Would you rather see them corrupted, have them realize your dark secret or simply die in the most painful way possible? It's your choice."

Tanglepaw felt tears brimming in her eyes as she gazed at this monster who was her father. She had no choice. She didn't want to betray her clan but she couldn't let her clanmates die for her sake. Too many cats had already gotten hurt because of her. She thought of the scars that marred Snowkit's body and flattened her ears against her skull. She couldn't let something like that happen again. "I-I'll do it." she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut in shame as a lone tear slowly made it's way down her cheek.

((A/N- Legitimately super mega sorry I haven't been updating lately guys, life has been pretty hectic over the past month or two with school finishing up, other stories and responsibilities and just a fairly bad case of writer's block that refused to go away :/ Yeah, I sorta did a timeskip here since I didn't want to spend FOREVER in the Dark Forest area of this but still, a lot happened here, despite it being sorta short. Since school is now out I'll try to get writing more but at the moment I'm kinda out of it since I've just had a lot of stuff on my mind this month and it's been a bit of a hard time for me. But I won't worry you guys with that. I hope you enjoyed this update and I'll try to get the next one up in the hopefully not-too-distant future!))