12 Issue #12: X, The Expected.

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(General P.O.V)

~A few hours ago~

A hooded figure made their way through the secret network of tunnels built across the entire city.

These tunnels crisscrossed each other to form an interconnected channel of hidden paths, only accessible to the Amazons.

That said, this particular channel was known to a select few on Themisycra.

And that was due to where it led.

Feet pattered on water as the air around the shrouded figure became colder, the walls wet and moldier.

Then before long, a certain green light peeked out from a short distance to their front.

The figure's pace hastened. And after a few more dozen steps, they appeared in a wide chamber built beneath the Royal Palace.

The chamber was bathed in a sickly green light. The source of it being the pool of glowing liquid at it's center.

Past the pool was a stairway that led up to a raised platform with three stone seats.

Constructed with a spiralling symbol as the backrests, the seats were more like thrones with cracks running along them.

Vines creeped through the ground and up the walls of the chamber, giving the impression that this place had long been abandoned.

The figure stopped in place before the stairway, bending a knee in subservience and reverence to the central throne.

Or rather, the black haired woman dressed in a long flowing green gown, seated on it.

"Why have you come? Were my instructions not clear?"

Circe asked in a low tone, playing with a ball of green flames dancing around her palm.

Her green eyes glowed with the light from the fire. Compounded with her high cheek bones and smokey voice, she held a devastating beauty, extreme enough that kingdoms would go to war over.

A bonafide enchantress.

The figure below her, shivered with fear and trepidation. They knew the price of offending their master, the Sorceress of Aiaia. They had to be careful with what they said.

"Forgive my unexpected intrusion-"

The shrouded figure begun.

Only for Circe to cut her off with a snort.

"Oh please, get on with it. Your meaningless groveling is annoying."

"R-right."

The figure sank even lower, clearing their throat before continuing in a steadier tone.

"Another man has stepped foot on Themiscyra. The...queen insists on letting him live."

The figure's tone was icy.

"Then Hippolyta is still wise."

Circe asserted, closing her palm and snuffing out the flames.

"Blatantly ignoring the Gods even if deserving, pisses them off like some pissy spoiled brats. And that invites their judgement and punishment."

Thunder echoed from far away.

Circe raised a middle finger to the sky.

"But mistress! She's not fit to rule!"

The shrouded figure protested.

"Hippolyta is stuck in the old ways. And after all these years, change is needed. No, warranted! Wanted! There is an entire generation of Amazons willing to follow-"

"You just want the throne. Admit it."

Circe interjected with a knowing look.

"I-I..."

The figure stiffened.

A trace of mockery appeared in Circe's eyes.

"Your scheming led you to me. Someone who hates Hippolyta more than you even. A bitter enemy to your people. Someone who has killed large scores your sisters and sacrificed their souls for unholy powers. Yet, because of your resentment, you detest her, envy her, want what's hers. And you would throw away your right to vengeance and pride to feed that ambition."

With every single word that left her mouth, the figure quivered as the words rang with undeniable truth.

Circe leaned forward.

"This is not about change. Or enforcing Themisycra's laws. You don't give a shit about that. Admit it. You want to be the Queen, don't you, Alkyone?"

Silence reigned between the two, before Circe broke it with amused laughter.

"To be clear with you, I care not for politicking. Neither do I yearn for the throne."

She scoffed disdainfully, leaning back on the throne.

"I find it easier to destroy than to govern. As long as you make the world bleed and Hippolyta suffer...then you have my power, young one."

The figure raised her head, reaching for her hood and tugging it off.

"Thank you, Mistress."

Alkyone responded softly, her usual arrogance replaced by piety.

Circe waved her off, a contemplative look in her eyes.

Two men in the island on the same week. Then there was Zeus' brat whose threat level kept increasing each day, as she awakened more and more of her divine heritage.

Perhaps, it was time. Preparations were complete after all. All they would need to do is move up the schedule from the day of the verdict to...

Mmmmh...how about, tomorrow?

******"

(Tomorrow)

(Now)

(Kane's P.O.V)

You want to know what I hate more than head on fights? Getting surrounded.

That...was less than ideal. As was this situation.

Assassins work from the shadows. As it was, I was shaming my profession by not only getting tricked but also putting myself in this situation.

Yes. I blame me.

Even if it was unintentional on my part. I was still responsible for getting out of it.

"So what now? A fight to the death with you ladies?"

I enquired from my audience, the hundred strong women whose eyes watched me like a hawk and stalked my every move like a prey. How cute.

"Didn't last time teach you anything?"

Unfortunately...I was ignored.

"Sisters. Hear me."

Arissa confidently led her horse forward, making sure attention was on her before turning my way, and gesturing.

"I present to you...the stain upon our home. And you know what we do with stains."

""" Scrub them off!"""

Came the unified response.

That had to be rehearsed.

The mood in the Coliseum shifted. If before there was an air of danger present, now the atmosphere was charged with hostile intent.

"12th Falcon formation."

Arissa announced.

"Wing side, bring him to his knees!"

She gave the order, a strange look of anticipation forming on her features.

"Ma'am!"

Around us, four warriors intoned, speeding out of the crowd, each swinging a rope with a hook attached at the end. Their target...me.

My danger sense did not activate, so I knew the attacks held no killing intent.

But Assumptions kill. I've already established that. It would suck if I didn't learn my own lesson.

From now on I was going to retaliate. Give just as much as I took.

'Sorry Diana, your plan would have surely given me enough time for my preparations to leave. It would have guaranteed a few days of peace at the very least. It would have guaranteed safety for all. But my hand are quite literally tied.'

Diana's strategy had hinged upon me not causing trouble. At least until the verdict was passed.

Unfortunately that plan had gone down the toilet bowl when her sisters decided to ambush me.

Four shadows passed over head, the ropes in their hands winding around my body, meant to wrap around my limbs.

I stepped back, evading the encampment. Yet, they adjusted, landing on opposites sides and running around me, all the while twining the ropes together into a tangled messy dance meant to lasso me in.

I was already in the air however, knees tucked on my chest as I leapt over the targeted zone and the hooked ropes that missed target.

Snap!

A whip like sound originated from my rope wielding adversaries, the hook of one rope winding through the air and clashing onto the chains on my wrists with an audible clang.

Despite being weakened, I still retained a measure of flexibility. Just enough that I could use the impact to throw myself back, reorient my body and safely land, bleeding the rest of the momentum off by rolling on the sand.

"Lyra, give the signal."

Unbothered by the failure of her sisters to entrap me, I heard Arissa give a follow up order.

"Finally."

The other Amazon said excitedly.

There was a small pause, then the blaring sound of a horn echoed out across the arena.

A signal? A signal for what?

I slowly rose to my feet, listening and watching out for what was coming.

This time, Danger Sense did activate.

And the ringing in my head was the loudest it had ever been, sending a surge of urgency through my entire body.

The air whistled as several projectiles cut a path towards me from the sky.

No, not the sky. Pinpointing the direction the danger was coming from, turned out to be easy, but did nothing to help my reality.

Mounted Crossbows on top of the Coliseum walls.

Each manned by a squad of Amazons. Each shooting out ballista bolts in a barrage with my body as target practice.

The sky above me became populated by long ass and hefty arrows.

I wisely elected to dodge, tilting my head to the side and allowing a bolt to pass harmlessly close to my head.

The ballistic bolt's shaft vibrated upon impacting the ground, tearing into the sands behind me with a loud thunk!

The next few seconds was a combination of a game of tag and dancing. Confined to a few short feet around me.

Danger Sense shone through. The MVP of this particular debacle. One that forced me to react first and think later, otherwise one wrong move and I would have a hole through me. Or several.

I weaved and ducked through every attack, employing my assassin skills to the highest level of mastery I had achieved, just to whether the storm.

But sooner or later, it was apparent I would get tagged if something didn't change.

My only avenue of escape was to break their line of sight, or increase the risk of friendly fire.

That plan failed. Trying to move closer to the edge of the Coliseum proved ineffectual. The Amazons on Crossbow duty were seriously good.

Just enough that they blocked my charge.

What that left me with was to keep on dodging, relying on Danger Sense.

And it was working. Kinda.

I made no noise as a trail of fire lanced through the side of my chest, luckily only leaving a thin slash. I'd been a bit too slow to move at that time and it almost cost me.

The ground around my position became peppered with metal projectiles as I was boxed in from all sides, reducing my avenues of escape and the area I could use to evade the onslaught.

And as the good commander she was turning out to be, Arissa capitalized.

"Now!"

Her order came in a little too late for me to stop what was about to happen.

I felt a tug from below. One glance and I knew I'd Fucked up. Again.

Sigh.

Unexpectedly, my feet and shins were entangled in a mess of ropes. The same ropes that were held by the four Amazons I'd lost sight of briefly.

Ropes that grew tight as they pulled on them, bringing my knees to the ground, firmly holding me in place.

The onslaught of ballistic bolts ceased with the sound of the horn in Lyra's hand.

I see, they used the ballistic bolts as a distraction from the real plan.

Which was simply to restrain and immobilize me even more.

Something that made me suspect they knew I possessed an ability to know when and where an attack was coming from.

A smart conclusion for them; would be to test how effective the ability was, by layering multiple attacks together.

Just like they did.

They highlighted a major weakness of Danger Sense.

The 'blinkers-on' effect. Basically, whenever Danger Sense activated, my entire body and mind worked in synch to plot an attack's path and then dodge it.

Unfortunately that elevated state of focus left me blind and open to other moves, causing the risk of falling into another trap high.

It was a weakness that I needed to immediately get rid off.

Arissa held up a hand and the falling projectiles stopped.

She snorted with amusement at the sour expression I wore.

"Did you think we wouldn't learn anything from our last battle?"

She asked me.

No actually. I didn't. That was a mistake.

The Amazons were actually living up to their name. This was the second time I'd been tricked.

Then again, the wealth of experience gained from living thousands of years had to be a lot.

Enough that they could adapt to a shifting battlefield and powerful enemies.

"I commend you guys. You got better. It still doesn't change the fact, I have to be in chains for you to have a chance."

I taunted the blonde warrior. Just because their breadth of experience closed the gap between us didn't mean I was out for the count.

Not as long as I had my Trump card.

Arissa merely smirked. A small contented smile that spoke of glee on her usually flaccid face

"Oh, You're not fighting us."

Wut?

She jumped off her horse, slapping it's back as it was led away by a different Amazon.

I narrowed my eyes at her as she stopped a few feet away.

They had me on the ropes. Literally and figuratively. What more was left other than delivering the killing blow and finishing me off? Not that I'm complaining.

"Explain."

I growled.

"Gladly."

Arissa spun around, gesturing out with her unsheathed sword.

"Look around. These hallowed sands have seen bloody battle after bloody battle, unlikely victories and unexpected losses. It might not be the most important place...but it is certainly the most sacred on the Island."

She paused slightly, completing her turn around and pointing the tip of her sword at my neck.

"A fitting last end, wouldn't you say?"

"Not really."

I shook my head, briefly pausing to throw a glance around.

"I have better ways to die than on a backwater Island in the middle of nowhere."

Arissa chuckled as outcry from the crowd arose.

Demands of,

"""Kill him!"""

"""What a cunt. """

How the fuck was I the Cunt in this situation?

To statements like,

"""Despicable! I say we feed him to the sharks!"""

"Enough!"

Demonstrating her authority, she silenced the Mob with a single shout.

Shaking her head,

The perpetual dry stare I was used to from her, reappeared on her face.

"While I absolutely despise the thing between your legs, I can appreciate that you're strong. Very strong. Unfortunately, killing you ourselves is out of the question. Death is prohibited in the week after the Themosphoria but if I could..."

The tip of her sword sank into my flesh, drawing blood. I made no reaction even as she twisted it, causing waves of pain to run through me.

Her smiled turned as cold as ice.

"So rejoice, Kane. For this is truly an honor. You die a respectable death."

"Honor?"

I scoffed, staring at her with an expression that said she was full of shit.

"What's honorable about this?"

I grabbed the sword with my bare hand, forcibly removing it from my shoulder, overwhelming her strength despite being weakened.

A trace of surprise appeared in her eyes as blood ran down the bladed edge from my bleeding palm.

"Unlock these chains first and then you can throw that word around."

The crowd became eerily silent.

But not for long as murmurs rose out of the Amazons.

"Sisters!"

Arissa proclaimed loudly in a grandstanding manner.

"How many of you want me to comply with his...request? How many want me to unlock the chains? Show of hands."

Not one hand was raised. The Amazons actually booed.

"And how many of you want his head on a pike for breaking our sacred laws and stepping foot on our home, dirtying it with his self serving beastly innate nature?"

She roared out and the their response was insane.

I wouldn't be surprised if my ears were bleeding from the cheers and calls for slaughter that escaped them. It truly was a mob mentality.

Arissa's gloating eyes fell upon me with a look that said, 'your move.'

"I see."

I groused, the worked up crowd quieting down, although they still simmered with hostile intent. WHEN I leave this place, ain't no way I'm coming back.

"This was never going to be a fair fight...It's an execution."

I sighed out.

"Now you understand."

The Amazon clapped her hands, satisfied.

"We make the rules. We decide if you live or die. Not you."

"How cruel."

I drolled.

She sheathed her sword in a smooth motion.

"Make peace with your gods if you have any. For ours will refuse you entry into the Elysium Fields. Only the underworld awaits you."

Judging by the finality on her tone, things were about to get heated. The time for talk was seemingly over.

But I needed more information.

"Wait."

I stopped her before things could proceed the only way I knew they would.

"One last thing."

Arissa blinked.

"Go on. I'll humor you."

I gestured around with my chin.

"I'm guessing from this perfect ambush you set up, that your captain is in on it too. But are the Princess or the Queen aware of what's happening?"

As expected my words had a certain effect.

Some of the warriors looked...uncomfortable.

Arissa's lips thinned.

"By the time, they find out, you'll be long dead."

She then turned to face a certain direction behind her.

"Open the gates!"

Her voice carried through the coliseum, being met with another wave of cheers.

"Enjoy the last few seconds of your life."

The Amazon bit out scathingly, haunted eyes staring at my own.

"For everything I had to suffer through when Herakles, that...sick bastard invaded the Island, this shall be my vengeance. Your death shall shall be the penance Man's world pays."

She seemed to deflate.

"And maybe finally, we can put this grudge behind us..."

With that, she walked away.

"I have nothing to do with your revenge!"

Only for me to call out to her, frustration leaking into my voice.

"Innocent I'm not but you're merely shifting the blame of what happened onto me because I'm a man. Your ire is with the ones that forced themselves on you, not me. Stop this before it's too late."

She stopped.

By the tightening of her fist, I guessed she knew I was talking about more than my coming execution.

It was clear something was up. The Queen and Diana were nowhere to be seen despite what was happening, I was yet to see Steve and it was becoming obvious that I was just a piece in a much larger board.

Arissa then kept on walking.

Immediately, a gong sounded out across the whole arena.

Following the gong, a series of drums begun to play, maintaining a doom and gloom pace of beats that dramatized the atmosphere.

I tugged on the chains once more. They didn't budge. Even using my webs was out of the question as that was a move I wanted to keep secret.

The added effect of the manacles wrapping around my wrists only served to make that particular ability unviable.

The ropes on my feet were not normal either. They seemed to tighten with every struggle I made to untangle myself.

On top of glowing in a silverly light, the same one pulsing off the chains.

Another big problem was the mounted crossbows set up on specific points of the Coliseum.

Judging by the slanted angle they fell on me before without sacrificing markmanship or power, the shooters had a wide view of the entire Arena.

Multiple layers of traps. And I fell for each one of them.

But this was good. This could serve as some good training too.

If I was smart about it, I could even hold out until Diana arrives. IF she arrived.

Failure to that, I would dislocate my thumbs, slip out of the cuffs and fight my way out, taking as many of them down with me as I could.

The worrying thing however, was the fact they weren't outright bullrushing and attacking me.

In fact, they did the opposite, following Arissa's move.

They started backing away from me, hands on their weapons and eyes still trained on my form.

A loose circle was maintained around me, giving the impression I was some sort of sacrificial offering.

Sighing, I reached for my eyes and removed my glasses, placing them on the side pocket of my pants.

While the white shirt I'd worn before was nothing but rags left behind in my cell, the pants were fortunately still intact.

The beats of the drums grew in a crescendo, intensifying.

Then without a warning, they abruptly stopped. And I found myself alone on the sands of the arena, all the Amazons having vacated to the edges of the Coliseum.

A second later I knew why.

The layout of the Coliseum featured grand columns supporting towering stands, with four cascading staircases leading to the highest seats.

At the very center of the arena, its heart, an ancient and massive obstacle course was constructed.

The obstacles were visibly designed for superhuman prowess. Meant to challenge the agility and strength of the participants.

I should know. Obstacle racing was an effective form of balance, speed and coordination training. Although no obstacle racing I'd been on or seen was this...grand and imposing.

And the last feature of the Coliseum were three large gates. The one behind me served as an entrance into the Arena.

The one directly opposite it, on the far edge of the Coliseum served as the exit.

Finally, the last gate was off to the side, on my direct right, meant for a different purpose.

One that I learned very soon after.

The bars groaned as they were pulled on by large chains attached to pulleys, raising the gate and opening the way fkr whatever lay beyond.

Burning blue eyes appeared from the shadows and the darkness, staring at me with animalistic intent.

The crowd's cheers and chants were still going strong...only to fall silent upon a deep growl coming from the gate.

A growl that shook the air, making it tremble with power.

I won't lie. I tugged on my restraints a little bit more at that.

Heavy stomps that made the arena quake sounded out.

I don't know what I was expecting but...the creature that appeared through the gate was equal parts menacing as it was impressive.

A giant midnight black Wolf, burning entirely with blue flames.

A Hellhound.

These man hating bitches wanted to feed me to a fucking Hellhound.