"I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been."

~•~•~•~•~•~

Archangel wasn't only furious, but also crestfallen and broken.

The current events made his head spin and his teeth clench tightly together. He trembled out of the rumbling anger that washed over him, sending his claws free from their sockets and releasing a growl from his bowels. His eyes were lit with a flickering flame driven by rage and frustration, his tail lashing to and fro behind him. At the same time though, Archangel just wanted to part his jaws and glance up towards the sky, letting loose a loud yowl to release all of his emotions at once.

All of his followers were gathered before him, their heads ducked and their ears tucked back. It had been a full quarter moon since Snakeleap, Flamepaw, and many other cats managed to fight back and escape to join the rebellion. Archangel had been absent, straying to the shadows of his den and pits of his thoughts, ever since the event. So many things were haunting the tom, driving him to the swallowing darkness of madness and despair.

Ever since the sudden murder of Chirpbark, Archangel had been destroyed. Despite the fact Chirpbark was a former EchoClanner, the tom was loyal and the only cat who seemed to understand Archangel. The tyrant could always rely on Chirpbark to be there for him, but now whenever he took a glance to his side where Chirpbark stood, all there was was nothing. Empty. A blank page to Archangel's life.

In addition, more cats had recently escaped to join the rebellion. The rebellion was gaining more members, which was a serious threat towards Archangel. Inside, Archangel was apprehensive of the results of the upcoming battle. He sometimes wanted to run away and never return, but he couldn't be a coward. Cowards were disgusting, unloyal furballs like Snakeleap and his followers.

Now the bulk, white tom stood before his followers after a quarter moon of solitude. His eyes were flaming with rage and his claws dug into the soft earth beneath him. He was furious with them all, but most of all the two cats he had assigned to guard the camp exit that day to let no cat escape. He turned his head slowly to the right to glare down at the two guards, Creekshadow and Heirophant, from his position on the edge of Highledge.

"A disappointment to our Clan has been made by our two guards. We all fought well and did our best, besides our guards. You both should be immensely ashamed of your terrible effort you applied into the important job I assigned you. You couldn't even catch one of the furballs that ran off!" Archangel hissed, his tail lashing and his ears pinned against the back of his head.

Heirophant bowed her head and stood lower to the ground to show that she was ashamed and to place Archangel in a dominant position over her. Archangel smirked in satisfaction and his gaze flickered over to Creekshadow, expecting the newer warrior to do the same. However, Creekshadow'a gaze remained fixed on Archangel with her eyes narrowed and her head lifted up tall. The she-cat may have been a former Clan cat and didn't know the strict statistics and laws that Archangel and his followers went by, but her actions still sent Archangel into a spiraling fury.

"How dare you disrespect your king!" Archangel hissed, his lips pulled back to show his fangs.

Lunging forward, Archangel outstretched his unsheathed paws as he flew down towards Creekshadow. The cats around the young warrior immediately leaped back the moment the white tyrant leaped for Creekshadow. He slammed into the she-cat, the two rolling across the earth and across the clearing, hissing and spitting. They rollled through the snow, sending up streams of snow that splashed out amongst the crowd. Finally, the two cats came to a halt when Archangel pinned Creekshadow down, a paw with unsheathed claws held to the young warrior's neck.

Creekshadow's teeth were clenched and her fur stood on the end. Archangel met the warrior's gaze, and could easily spot a familiar flicker of apprehension rise in the Creekshadow's gaze. The corners of Archangel's mouth rose into a wicked, delirous smile that rose onto his face and parted to release a chuckle.

"You think you're something, huh? You may have been a former EchoClan brat, but that doesn't mean you should disobey how this works under my rule. Not Waspstar's. Not Dimstar's. Mine," Archangel spat, his voice as cold as the weather during a raging blizzard.

Creekstorm's ears fell back and she flinched when Archangel's face grew nearer to her's. "It's still hard for me to comprehend the laws, sir! I still have to get used to everyth-"

"You've been here for moons, you scum!" Archangel spat in annoyance, his claws growing nearer to the point of almost breaking through Creekshadow's skin. "You should've learned by now unless your skull is too thick to process it. You take after your mother's stubbornness."

At those words, a growl began to rise from the pits of Creekshadow. The she-cat parted her jaws in a clamorous, loud hiss at Archangel, her eyes showing her anger to the leader. "How dare you mention my mother like that!"

"No! How dare you talk to me like that!"

The white tom rose one of his massive, unsheathed paws with anger driving him to the very edge. With a loud cry that echoed through camp, Archangel then swiped his paw downward and tore his claws through the young warrior's face. Creekshadow let loose a yowl of defeat amd agony, a set of scratches lined down her cheek. But that wasn't enough for Archangel. Not yet.

The cats around Archangel watched their leader in horror as the white tom continued to deliver blow after blow to Creekshadow's face. The young warrior let loose many cries of pain that rippled through the camp, making some cats look away as others watched on with ambition flashing in their gazes. No cat would dare step forward though if they wanted to stop it. No cat would challenge Archangel's rule.

Finally, one last cry rang through the camp before Archangel froze in his tracks. A growl rumbled in his throat like an earthquake as he stepped off of Creekshadow. The young she-cat was beat and battered, but her flank still gradually rose and fell with every breath and her eye was still wide in terror. Next to her face lay a round shape splattered with crimson liquid and torn out of her socket.

It was her eyeball.

Cats stepped away from the scene with emotions filled with horror at the sudden turn of events. They all eyed Archangel as the cruel leader turned away from the suffering Creekshadow and faced the crowd of his cats. He gritted his teeth, blood painted on his paws and splattered across his fur as he scanned his gaze over the crowd.

"You all belong to me. I am your leader. I am your savior! I saved you all from the mistreatment of those EchoClan fools. This is a better life than what you would have as a rogue out there, still being tormented and chased away by those filthy scums of EchoClan. I gave you all a better life! And if you don't respect that, I will make you respect that. If you don't still respect that afterwards, then you might as well prepare for your last breath!"

Archangel paced in front of the crowd, his tail lashing to and fro and his eyes lit with rage. A growl escaped his bowels as he paced along the edge of the crowd, his head held high and his eyes slits. As he walked by, his loyalist bowed their heads and lowered their bodies to the ground, showing that they respected Archangel and his dominance over them all.

Archangel then froze and stood before them all, his fur standing up along his spine. "Do you understand me?!"

"Yes sir, Archangel," The crowd spoke up in unison.

A satisfied, devious smirk emerged onto Archangel's visage. He turned to face Creekshadow, who was still laying on the earth with apprehension plastered onto her face and blood oozing from her empty socket and wounds. Archangel went to approach her, laying a paw over the she-cats shoulder.

"This. This is what will happen if-"

Suddenly, Archangel was broken off by a loud yawn echoing through the camp and the thundering of paws pounding against the earth. His eyes stretched wide and his heart drummed wildly against his ribcage at the sudden noises that emerged and began to approach the camp. His ears bolted straight up and he took a step back.

"Cats of the rebellion! Attack!"

Archangel's gaze snapped back up to catch blurs of fur leaping through the camp entrance with battlecries echoing through the air. The moment he glanced up, a familiar blur of russet fur leaped off of the snowy earth and flew towards the tyrant with outstretched paws.

Just like a flash of lightning, the battle for dominance and freedom began.