(BEFORE THIS HE'LL REPLY TO VISKAR.) The battle was going badly. In a different situation, he might have had a chance against Viskar. But the other black tom was the least of his worries now. Everywhere he turned there was an enemy waiting for him, and he was beginning to feel his wounds. He was lucky to have avoided any fatal blows, but he had amassed quite a collection of cuts and bruises. His vision swam and he wondered just how much blood he was losing. But he was still standing, and so was Viskar. That was not how he wanted to end this battle. He wanted, at the very least, to make Viskar feel pain like Seven had felt. He wanted revenge not for himself, but for Seven. With one last desperate attempt, Zekrin hurtled towards Viskar, pushing his way through the snarling sea of enemies and leaving drops of blood behind him. But just as he was about to engage Viskar, probably for the last time, a familiar voice called out.
Which of you is which?"
Seconds later, the tabby queen pushed her way in between Zekrin and his enemy. "Get out of my way, you-" Zekrin started to yell at her, just as her identity became clear to him. Arial? It took a moment for Zekrin to recognize her. "Arial! What are you doing here?" He staggered backwards a few steps, glaring at the tabby queen. Zekrin was torn between relief and anger. He was not sure whether to be happy that he had back-up, or angry that she had interrupted his fight.
Zekrin, save Seven and Nine, and get out of here!" She shouted.
But…Viskar, he-" Zekrin growled, making a move to push by Arial and attack Viskar once more, "He can't just get away with this! Look what he did to Seven! Seven…" Zekrin remembered her, and glanced over his shoulder. He saw Seven lying there, her sister Nine crying as she stood on Seven's back. Zekrin flattened his ears, his body lowering into a defensive crouch. His lips were drawn back in a wicked snarl as he glanced back and forth between Arial, Viskar, and Seven and Nine. Never before had Zekrin felt so torn. Someone need to help the two bengal she-cats, and wasn't it his responsibility, since he had started this fight in the first place? But he couldn't let Viskar win. Not like this. A few days ago, Zekrin simply would have pushed Arial out of the way and battled Viskar to the death. Were things different now? How had Seven made things different? How was that possible? He wanted to stay, to prove that he was stronger than Viskar.
But, as he glanced over his shoulder at Seven and Nine, he knew that Arial was right. He couldn't stand the sight of her bleeding. It was too much for his weary mind to handle.

Fine." He snarled at long last, backing away from the battle scene, "I'm going. Be careful, Arial, and get out of here as soon as you can." He looked at the tabby she-cat and nodded in her direction, his appreciation showing through for just a moment. Then he looked past Arial at Viskar. How he wanted to permanently wipe that smirk off the tom's face.

You," He spat, a manic look in his eyes, "This is not over. If it was just you and me, you'd be done for. Next time you even /look/ in their direction…" Zekrin's voice trailed off, but his eyes blazed with the strength of his threat. He backed up a few paces, then turned around and ran towards Seven. The other enemy cats saw his running as a sign of surrender. He had given up, so they only nipped and slashed at him as he ran by. Humiliation burned in Zekrin's stomach, but he held his head high as he ran towards Seven and Nine.

Seven? Seven!" He meowed, his voice thick. When the Seven did not respond, Zekrin looked at the little kit sitting on her back. "She's unconscious, isn't she?" Without waiting for an answer, Zekrin swore loudly, his tail lashing in frustration. Why couldn't she have just listened to him? Everything would've been fine if she had just escaped with Nine. The two of them would be safe, and Zekrin could have died with no regrets. But there was no time to worry about the "what ifs" now. Zekrin shook his head to clear the thoughts that polluted his mind, and focused on Nine. He saw the little kit's tears and felt guilty. Was all of this his fault?
Move kid," He said. His words may have sounded cold, but he did his best to sound gentle and comforting. It sounded strange coming out of his mouth, "I'm going to get the two of you out of here, and everything will be fine."