Gods of Arena
Revolution

"Ana. I think we have a problem", Dan said, walking to the back passage. There was literally no need to hide anymore. The larger figures were still overwhelmed by what hit them. "Yes, we do", Ana stepped closer, holding a gun to his head. "You spoke to someone, didn't you?"

"I swear I don't know how he got to know. He just came at me", Dan took a step back, wearing a disappointed stare. He didn't think she would turn against him so easily. "I didn't tell him" "Sorry, Dan. I have to eliminate everyone who knows about this... including you"

"Me!? You-.... I thought we were friends?!"

"No. All you ever did was to stay alive when you needed to❞

"You coerced me, remember?! You came to me. I was going to die and you took advantage of me"

"Well, you have to die, okay?!", she retorted, now seeming a lot weaker than she had appeared at first. "It's time I made a decision all by myself"

"This is a bad one, Ana. You know you need me. Don't do this?"

"Sorry, Dan. This is the best I can think of if I'm going to stay alive"

****

"I came here to kill", Kwei stepped closer, holding up the gold strap.

Fred's eyes travelled around the room, picking up ideas. He kicked the table in front of him, swiftly, pushing it against Kwei's legs. The gold strap dropped on the table and Fred reached for it.

Kwei grabbed his hand, throwing a punch at his face. He was obviously stronger than Fred. "I always believed there would be a fight between the larger figures", Kwei said. "I didn't think we would be the ones on the field" "Apparently, you chose this", Fred replied, standing up to the gun pointed at him. "You don't have to do this"

"You didn't have to betray the arena, Fred... the annoying part is where King trusts you and trusts the Blank, while still thinking I am just cunning"

"You created Hound to watch him, didn't you?"

"I created Hound 'cause I saw this coming", Kwei replied. "Kang was going to hide his lover's little secret. We should put the arena first"

"No, Kwei", he replied, giving up. He was no longer scared. "We should put family first"

"To damnation with your family!"

"Different people, different ideologies. To damnation with your arena"

Fred pulled the trigger. Leila gasped, as though she had been hit, still hidden behind the backdoor.

She jerked back, as the alarms blared suddenly. The lights turned red, repeatedly. There was another emergency.

****

The soldiers rushed towards the chambers, swiftly, as the alarms blared loudly. There was no message on what triggered the alarm so King probably wanted to see them. "Intruders in the arena! I repeat, Intruders in the arena!"

The soldiers moved swiftly to the given location. There were more Intruders to deal with, this time.

Leila snuck back quickly, through the back, finding her way into her room. She erased the horror on her face, keeping herself steady as she walked to King's chambers. "Where have you been?", King asked.

"I- I was in the room", she replied, quickly. He had never walked into her room, while she was there, so he probably wouldn't know.

"There was so much noise. You didn't hear?"

"I was... asleep", she replied, wondering what happened with King. His face was sullen and he definitely had more than Leila's travel in his head. "Did something happen?" King pointed at something on the ground. She stepped closer to take a look. Her eyes opened, widely, almost falling back unsteady. It was Queen on the ground, dead. There was a knock on the door. "Who's there?"

"It's Kang"

"Open", King muttered softly and the door opened to Kang. "My misfortune has befallen me, Blank"

Kang saw Queen's body immediately. "What happened?"

"Intruders. It's Addax beasts again", King replied, taking his seat and relaxing on the chair. "I guess Ana has come after me, then.... She is going to pull the walls down and subject us to the mercy of the Addax. They are going to kill us all. Everyone!"

"You're not sure it's Ana, are you?", Kang asked, just for confirmation. Ana would have been seized already. Leila glanced at him quickly and he caught the look.

"She is my doom. Queen was going to show me a new life... I was going to make up for my past but Ana was going to pull me down to dust... I saw it coming" Leila walked up to Kang and whispered in his ear. "Fred is dead. Kwei killed him"

That was impossible. Kang stared at her, suspiciously. He nodded and stormed out of the chamber.

"What did you tell him?", King asked.

"Where to find Ana"

****

"You haven't told him", Romeo said, immediately Dan stepped in.

"Hold on, alright!", Dan sat on the bed and sighed. "He already knows"

"How do you know that?"

"Ana. She came to me and was going to kill me. She believes I have told someone", Dan said. "It's definitely not you. If it's anyone, it's Kang. She's been pretty close to him" "That's not-"

"I understand you, Romeo. I had to survive too, you know?... If I didn't agree to the deal, I would have died. I don't know how we'll fix this but I'm sure we can❞ "Kang will know something", Romeo replied and laid back. "But whatever he brings, you better be ready to do it"

********

She moved hastily, pushing the clothes roughly into the back. She had very little idea of what she was doing. She could not control what she had started obviously. Once the Intruders were able to succeed, all she had to do was dash out with her bags. She breathed heavily, thinking of what Fred had told her. If he was right, she would be taken as a captive by the same people he had called to save her. If she refused to leave, she would be executed in the Dergon Arena.

The door opened and Kang walked in, closing the door behind him. "How do you always find me?", she asked, pointing a gun at him.

"I guess we have a kind of connection. It always leads me to you... always"

"Don't step closer", she said, almost stuttering. The nervousness was obvious, as her hands trembled. "I'll- I'll shoot"

"No, you won't", he replied, taking one step closer. They were still pretty far from each other and she really had more than enough time to shoot. "If you didn't shoot Dan, then you can't shoot me" "Why don't you just-?!", she howled, frustratedly.

Kang put a step forward, shooting himself quickly to her in a split second. "Easy, Ana"

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know", he muttered. "King would probably find out about your involvement and kill you before you walk out of here"

"Then kill me already!", she retorted, crying weakly, as her head fell on his chest. "I'm so tired... King doesn't even deserve to live but... he'll always win. To him, I'm just one scared little girl"

"It's okay, Ana"

"Whatever we do ends up in doom for me", she said. " Tell Fred I'm sorry for all the troubles I have caused. Tell him I said I'm glad he tried to help me. I wish his idea actually worked so I could fix my mistakes. Tell him I'm happy I'm free from King. Tell him I said he should probably do whatever makes him happy"

Kang left her and walked to a chair. "If the plan works, what will be waiting for us on the outside?"

"The Addax beasts", she replied. "But Fred says all they want is the Dergon Arena. They will take me and him for execution at the Addax arena while everyone else is killed here"

"That doesn't sound like a good end for anyone... it's ironic the ones who should have been your heroes will turn out as villains"

"I guess so. None of the options before me gives me a happy ending"

Kang stood up. "Let's make an happy ending", he said, staring at her.

"Uh?"

"Let's make a new plan that gives us a happy ending", he said. "We have a team willing to survive and die fighting at the same time"

"I don't understand yet. Let's get Fred"

"Ana", he sighed, walking closer. "Fred is dead. I'm sorry"

****

"You've gone soft, King"

Bane's voice creeped into his ears, jerking him out of his lonesomeness. "Queen is dead", he muttered, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He was slowly going mad.

"Get up!.... You've always been the weak Mama's boy"

"But there's nothing I can do", he stood up, submissively.

Leila stared at him, hidden behind a curtain, wondering who he was speaking to.

"You wage war, King. That's what we do❞

"War?"

"You stop running from power. Whoever comes against us must bite the dust"

"They'll bite the dust", he muttered.

"We kill them all!"

"Kill them all", he kicked back the chair behind him, gritting his teeth. "Who dares to plot against me?!"

The soldiers gathered in front of him. Some others were still handling the Intruders.

"I saw this war coming before it started", King said. "Now, I see something else coming. They will call it the revolution... and you- you're going to break it down, first. Once that is done, we are storming the Addax arena and we are taking it all. Find the Blank. Bring him before me"