"I don't care if they respect me so long as they fear me."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Pain rippled through Archangel to where it seemed as if acid was seering through his veins. His eyes flashed with apprehension and a overwhelming sense of anxiety as waves of agony crashed down upon him. Blood was painted across his white pelt and his wounds stung as if wasps were constantly stinging and biting where his wounds were.

The tyrant had an everlasting, strong hatred for feeling the sense of pain. He hated every ounce of pain that he received, emotional and physical. His breathing's pace was quick and ragged as Dimstar's claws lacerated his skin, crimson liquid flying loose of his wounds. The burning sensation of pain pulsed through him and sent blood welling up in the pits of his throat.

He hated to admit it, but the tom was truly afraid. His growing sense of apprehension sent a chilling shiver wavering done his spine and his eyes widened into the size of a full moon. Archangel's breath hitched and his fur bushed when Dimstar gained the advantage, pinning his rival to the earth.

Staring into Dimstar's gaze, Archangel felt a prodigious wave of fear crash over him. His teeth clenched tightly together and a faint growl rumbled in his throat as he struggled to try and remain an appearance of intimidation and power, but he could already tell by the russet tabbies devious smirk that he knew he was afraid.

Then a clamorous yowl rang through the air. Archangel's enemy whirled around instantly to eye the scene, leaving Archangel a chance to get away. The white tyrant winced as he struggled to stand to his paws, blood seeping free of his open wounds. His left hind paw was torn and sore, a overbearing wave of pain rippling through Archangel whenever he touched it to the surface of the earth.

When the tom's gaze snapped over to eye the sight every cat's eyes was focused on, an immense smile slid onto his visage out of pure satisfaction. Seeing the leader suffer through an intense moment of utter shock and sorrow pleased Archangel. Two of Archangel's followers had made the first murder of the battle, murdering the former medicine cat known as Minktalon. Archangel felt no sympathy at all, but instead an overwhelming joy that made his paws tingle.

Spark and Wolf claimed the she-cat's last breath, her blood pooling around their paws. Archangel watched on as Dimstar rushed forward to stand before the body of one of his close companions -- whom Archangel knew from his observations. The hurt plastered onto Dimstar's visage fed the ravaging, bloodthirsty starvation of the white tyrant. Archangel began to step forward, though his limbs were unstable and his wounds stung with every movement, until the russet leader of the rebellion parted his jaws and did the unthinkable.

"Rebellion advance!"

The earth shook as the thundering sounds of paws pressing against the earth in a quick pace echoed across the camp. Dimstar's yowl rang out in the distance as the shapes of more cats bolted into the camp, following their leader with battle cries erupting from their bowels as well. Archangel's eyes widened as more cats swarmed into the camp as a stampede, immediatedly locking into battle with those who followed the tyrant.

Archangel's fur rose along his spine to where it rose towards the sky. Fear pulsed through him as war raged around him. He turned and eyed the bloody, messy scenery around him, filled with fur flying and claws lacerating the skin of other's. Crimson liquid painted the dirt and battle cries echoed through the air.

The tyrant's paws were rooted to the ground. He couldn't move. Usually he would take complete satisfaction in joining the battle and drowning in the blood of his victims, but he felt trapped and destroyed. His followers were being defeated, pummeled to the earth as if they were ants compared to the former Clan cats.

He needed to run. He didn't care about leaving any of the cats behind, he wasn't going to have his life be taken so easily. Archangel knew he had to tend to his wounds thoroughly so he could escape, so he would have to pay a visit to the medicine cat den without any cat getting in his way.

Then he would run. Run and never look back. Leave it all behind, and never every regret his choice to do so.

Archangel winced whenever he attempted to move, an overbearing sense of agony wavering through his bones. He struggled to limp towards the direction of the medicine cat den, his breathing ragged and fast as he moved on. He ducked to keep low and hide behind the forms of battling cats around him. Archangel knew that one sight of him from a enemy free from a battle would result in him being attacked.

His paws were sore and he had to lift his one back paw off the earth because of its injury, making it harder for him to move efficiently. His teeth were clenched tightly together as he began to slither through the battlefield, beginning to near the den that lingered with the wild scent of herbs. A scent of hope began to flicker deep within the tyrant as he neared it, his eyes growing wider than the full moon.

Suddenly, a piercing pain emerged in Archangel's tail and his jaws gaped in shock and hurt. The tom growled and struggled to hold back and uprising urge to let loose a yowl of pain as teeth sunk deeper into the skin of his tail. He could feel the burning sensation grow worse to where it felt like acid as the teeth of an enemy drew his blood.

The white tom peered over his shoulder to eye his attacker, his eyes shifting into slits at the familiar sight of the pathetic Flamepetal. She was a traitor to Archangel, and also the murderer of Chirpbark. Anger lit a raging fire in his eyes at the sight of the ginger she-cat attempting to damage him. What a pathetic excuse for a member of the winning side.

"You murdered my brother. You ruined EchoClan! You murdered a lot of my family. Don't run like a coward!" Flamepetal growled through the fur of Archangel's tail.

Archangel's lips curled back in a snark and he lifted his injured paw. Without even thinking and out of pure rage, he kicked back his injured paw. It slammed into Flamepetal's muzzle, sending a yowl flying free from her throat and a wave of pain flooding through Archangel's paw. He was ready to turn around and keep fighting, despite his injuries, if he had to. Flamepetal was weak, and he was a hawk compared to her mouse-like structure.

Archangel readied himself for battle until he noticed a female loyalist slam into the apprentice and pin her to the earth. It was Stag, a loyal she-cat eho had served at Archangel's side for many moons now. She nodded to Archangel showing that she had control of the flailing, scrawny Flamepetal.

Archangel focused his attention back on the medicine cat den. Waves of pain began to ripple through Archangel's body as he hastened his pace, his breathing unsteady and his heart drumming against his rib cage. Determination welled up inside the desperate tom as he struggled to slide into the medicine cat den, his gaze flickering from side to side before he slid into the den.

The scent of herbs stung his nose the moment he entered. His eyes scanned the many piles of herbs that stood around him. The tom had no knowledge on herbs whatsoever, so he was completely to oblivious to every plants exact use and how to use it. His breathing grew heavier as he struggled to examine every herb, trying his best to examine any that he may have seen Slap use before when tending to his patients.

His eyes then landed on the white, sticky web of strings that was known as cobwebs. A breath of relief slid free from Archangel's mouth as he remembered that cobwebs stopped the bleeding from wounds, whom Archangel needed to immediatedly tend to before he suffered the possible fate of blood loss.

Archangel began to stretch his neck forward and press a paw to the cobwebs to hook them easily his claws. That was when he heard a faint, abrupt noise from behind him. It made his ears perk straight up and chilling sensation travel down his spine. It made him completely freeze in his tracks and forget about tending to himself. It was the faint, sudden noise of a claw scraping against the rocky earth in the medicine cat den.

Some cat was behind him. Some cat followed him.

Archangel felt his movements freeze as if he was trapped in a block of ice. He took in a sharp breath and his eyes flashed with a sudden feeling of apprehension. It was still utterly silent behind him, as if whatever cat behind him had no clue that Archangel knew they were behind him. Enemy or not, the sudden feeling that a cat was watching him made Archangel feel completely and profoundly uncomfortable.

The sense that some cat was watching made Archangel afraid. It was tense, since the area around him was completely silent and no movements were made between him and his follower. He could still hear the cries of agony in the distance as it remained quiet between his follower and him.

That was when his enemy spoke in a low tone that made Archangel tremble. The tone was edged with a binding hatred and when the cat spoke, it was if it had thrown thorns beneath Archangel's paws and he eas struggling to remain serene and avoid stepping on them. The cat was clearly an enemy from their words, and they hated Archangel with a deep, burning passion for vengeance.

"As you said before: blood for blood."

Archangel panicked and couldn't help but feel the urge to turn and bolt out of the den despite his injuries. This cat was here to spill his blood, and the tyrant wasn't ready to meet the brutal reality of death yet.

But when Archangel turned, he came face to face with the dull, blank face of fate itself.