(General P.O.V)

"Caw!"

A crow perched on Athena's statue was minding it's business when a fast moving object passed right next to it, scaring the poor bird into panicked flight.

"C-Caaw! Caw-caw!"

Said object turned out to be a princess in rush.

Diana's feet landed on a spire, leaving a few cracks behind, while nimbly springing off the tower on her way towards the Palace.

Something was wrong. She had just come from exploring the scene of the crash left behind by Steve Trevor's air carriage (Man's inventions seemed no less wondrous and strange as the God's magical automatons).

Deciding to pass through Kane's cell to retrieve him for the dreadful Senate meeting ahead, she was thoroughly surprised to only find Bulma.

Bulma had come to deliver the prisoner's breakfast when she found him missing.

And sure enough, Kane's cell lay empty, the bars unbroken and unbent. The doors opened by a key. A key that only a few people should have.

The young girl was someone who Diana trusted unequivocally. She wouldn't lie to her for no reason.

Which meant, someone else was behind this.

The whole Island knew not to defy a ruling passed by the council with the mandate of the Queen.

It would take someone really really interested in Kane- most likely with hostile intent due to the prejudice that Amazons had of men- to so blatantly disregard the law.

And if they were interested in Kane, then they would be interested in Steve as well.

Great Hera, this whole affair was turning out to be more of a curse than the blessing she thought it was.

Rather than offering Themiscyra an opportunity to reconnect with the outside world, it revealed the underlying issues plaguing their ostensibly tranquil island.

The festering wounds under it's skin.

The discontent, the whispers only spoken about in the bathing pools and the Coliseum...all of it had reached a boiling point and the lid had tipped over.

It was no secret most of the older generation who had been alive during Hercules' rampage, wanted to wage war across Man's world.

They had felt denied their due vengeance for too long.

The presence of two men on the island was like pouring blood on shark infested waters.

Those veteran warriors would be out to hunt. Out for vindication. No matter the shame and taint brought about by the unjust vengeance.

A sentiment that was proven true when Diana arrived at the Palace Infirmary, where Steve had spent the night, recovering from injuries sustained during the crash.

Or so he said. Truth was, Diana knew Alkyone and her squad had roughed him up. It was something the princess was meaning to bring into light during the Senate meeting.

"What do you mean he's gone?"

Diana growled out, towering over the shorter and older woman manning the entrance to the infirmary.

The guard raised her hands.

"J-just that princess. C-Captain Alkyone sent in a squad with a writ and the Queen's crest. They took him to the throne room under her Majesty's orders."

"Alkyone again."

Diana grit her teeth before her expression changed into a perturbed one.

"Wait, my Mother's crest? Why would they have that? It's the highest symbol of authority in Themiscyra. No different from the throne or the crown."

Those weren't things to be casually handed out. Especially to the likes of Alkyone.

Something was very very wrong...

Before the guard could so much as respond, she found herself thrown back by a loud impact.

Coughing due to the dust produced, all the guard could do was look at the hole left on the ceiling, where the Princess had blasted through with no warning.

"What is going on...?"

The clueless guard muttered to herself.

(Elsewhere)

Diana burst through the floor of the throne room, marble drebis flying away in a shower around her.

In one second, her sword was drawn out and ready to cleave anyone who would stand in her way.

One glance into the room and her concern morphed into anger.

The queen's hair was in disarray, her robes disheveled in a form unfit of a monarch. Her hands and feet were strapped in silver chains and the robes she wore tattered in places.

Added with the obvious signs of battle in the chamber...it didn't take a genius to know what had occured.

A coup.

And the one responsible...

"Youuu."

Diana ground out, taking slow steps forward.

"Princess, how nice of you to finally join us."

Alkyone, standing at the foot throne, greeted with a mocking grin.

"Ahn-unh-aah princess. Stay where you are or I slit your dear mother's throat."

She threatened, one hand wrenching back Queen Hippolyta's hair.

"Diana."

Her mother's powerful voice stopped Diana on her tracks, the haze of her fury clearing away with Hippolyta's next words.

"Leave Now! It's you she wants. You're not safe here."

Diana blinked, looking around the throne room packed with more than just Alkyone and Hippolyta.

"Sisters..."

The Princess started, her voice shaky, just like the hand wielding her weapon.

"Why?"

She ground out in confused anger, hard eyes sweeping across every face present. Friends she had fought and trained with, mentors she had learned under...family she had shared laughter and tears with.

"Why are you all doing this? Is Alkyone forcing you?!"

None of them met her eyes, and those who did looked away in shame. And yet...no one stepped up to support her.

"Hahaha, forced them? As if."

A new voice reached Diana's ears.

Following the source, her eyes were pulled to the woman whose feet were slung over Queen Hippolyta's Throne, looking right at home.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Took you long enough to notice me."

Circe said, picking a grape from the platter being offered to her by an attendant.

"Who are you? And what are you doing on my mother's Throne?"

Diana demanded, grip tightening on her sword.

"Circe."

The woman offered up easily.

"And you call this a throne? I've seen better. Sat on better."

Diana instantly saw red.

Bam!

Her sword, once on her right hand, dug itself onto the ceiling, the handle shaking from the impact.

She'd thrown it at Circe's head, only for the witch to casually flick a hand out and using telekinesis, send it flying up to the sky.

"Ha! There's Hippolyta's spirit!"

Circe clapped, jumping to her feet with a flourish of her emerald gown.

"I can tell our fight will be legendary, Diana was it?"

Power seemed to emanate out of her, filling the throne room with a heavy pressure. One that Diana had never felt before. Not even from Kane.

"Just to give you a taste of what you're dealing with..."

Circe said, pushing her hands out.

Diana could do nothing as an invisible force slammed into her, throwing her smashing through the doors of the Throne room and onto the hallway outside.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Circe cackled madly, her flowing green dress extending into a similar colored magic carpet that carried her out after Diana.

"You're gonna be fun to play with, Daughter of Zeus!"

"Diana!!"

Hippolyta yelled for her daughter, trying to get up, only for Alkyone to kick the inside of her knee, sending her to the ground once more.

"You're not going anywhere 'Your former highness.'"

Alkyone said with a huff.

"Today you and your legacy die and Themiscyra will be better off for it."

Queen Hippolyta stared up at her with sneer.

"And who shall rule it? You?"

Alkyone's smile turned vicious as she leaned in closer.

"I would die first than let someone else sit on that throne. It's. Mine."

Hippolyta shook her head, the last of her hope dying. The sister she had known once was well and truly gone.

In her place was an inferior copy. An irredeemable woman whose ambition and narrow mindset, would be her undoing. And Hippolyta had no qualms in telling her the same.

"Then your fate is sealed, Alkyone. Circe is a monster. And a petty one at that. That bitch will destroy the Island long before your arse warms the cushion."

Thawck!

Alkyone backhanded the Queen, causing a universal breath intake from everyone in the throne room.

"That's for talking back to your new Queen."

The bald headed Amazon sneered down.

"You want to see Diana that bad? I shall indulge you as your monarch. There."

She forcefully grabbed Hippolyta's chin, wrenching her face to the direction she was pointing at: The Coliseum standing in the distance.

"On the sands of the Arena, as the two of you fight for your lives. What better way to mark the beginning of my reign?"

"What is the meaning of this madness Alkyone?! Release the Queen at once!"

A stern faced woman, the chair of the Senate demanded, walking in through the doorless entrance of the throne room.

She stood at the head of the Island's top officials, guarded by a dozen armed guards.

Different from the standard armor like attire the warriors in the chamber wore, the council members were garbed in formal dressing, indicative of their status.

Alkyone, back turned to them, broke her stare off with Hippolyta, straightening to her full height.

"Ah council members, how corteous of you to join us."

She addressed them, her tone dripping with naked arrogance.

Next, she spun around, hands stretched out.

"I was wondering when you would get off your pampered arses and realize...a new day is upon us."

Shaking with barely restrained fury, the head of the Senate begun to reply.

"Do you have any idea-"

"Yes. Indeed I do."

Alkyone interjected, eyes not on the Council Woman but behind her.

"Dela, what are you waiting for? Relieve them of their weapons. And if anyone tries to stop you...give them the Pillyphus treatment."

She ordered.

That's when the Senate noticed the Queen's Royal guard, lying on the floor to the side, hand pressed on her bleeding belly.

No one knew whether she was alive or dead.

"Great Zeus! Pillyphus what-"

The minister of the Policing Force, a friend of the Captain of the Guard tried to approach her friend.

Only for the sharp end of a blade to prick her neck.

"You heard the queen."

The Amazon behind her, Dela said coolly.

A series of sounds rang out as weapons were unsheathed, prompting the Senate to look behind them and find themselves held hostage by their own guards.

"What do you want Alkyone?!"

One of the council women demanded.

"How long have you been planning this?!"

"Long enough to know that I can't extend the same offer to you 12, as I do the rest of our sisters."

The self proclaimed queen responded.

She stepped forward, righteous indignation pouring off her.

"You call it loyalty. I call it stubbornness. The fact is, you lack the vision. The vision needed to see through a new Themiscyra. One that answers to me."

"You mean Circe. And only if she leaves the Island standing once she's through with you."

The Queen mocked.

"Circe?!"

The name caused a commotion among the new arrivals.

"You're a fool Alkyone."

The Head of the Council shook her head.

"Trusting that Witch..."

She trailed off.

"There's a reason she was banished. Circe's goal has only ever been destruction and pain. You have no idea who you're-"

"Dela?"

Alkyone called out coldly.

"Oof."

The Head of the Council coughed out in pain, the breath in her lungs expelled by a punch to the solar plexus.

"Good."

Alkyone nodded, satisfied.

"As I was saying before being brutally interrupted. A Themiscyra unbeholden to meaningless tradition and practices. One without weakness. One unbeholden to anyone."

"You mean the Gods."

The Queen cut in.

This time, despite being interrupted, Alkyone smiled.

"Exactly. To Hades with those pompous arseholes."

The entire throne room went silent.

"You're mad Alkyone. Mad."

Hippolyta bit out in a hard tone.

"Disparaging the gods is a crime with severe repercussions. And not just for you."

"Yeah? So what?"

Alkyone sneered.

"What will you do about it? Even they can't do anything to me. I'm the Queen of Themiscyra, commanding a force in the tens of thousands. They want a fight? I say...let them come."

*****

Diana grunted, pain blooming on her ribs as she shattered one of the fountains with her body.

She got to her feet, unsteady and dizzy, only to drop to one knee, having never been hit that hard before.

The second time was enough to send her punching through the walls of the palace, finding herself in free fall before carving a groove through her favorite place, the Palace Gardens, set on the eastern section of the compound.

"Never been hit as hard, have you little Godling?"

Her adversary echoed a similar sentiment, gently floating to the ground with an amused smile on her face.

Diana shook her head, punching the ground with an angry growl and bursting a small hole around her fist.

"You'll Pay for that. I love this garden."

"Oh will I? I love that expression on your face. You're defiant, unbroken. Let's change that."

Circe begun, starting to move her hands in the motions of a spell.

"Arrggg!!"

Diana roared, the ground under her feet erupting into dust and soil.

She dashed forward, fist lashing out. Witches and magicians were weak in close quarters. She just had to stop her from finishing the spell and-

Breath left her body as another platform of air impacted against her chest, slamming into her with the force of an explosion.

The Amazon princess was ready this time, tensing her muscles and grounding herself, to the result of simply sliding backwards instead of being sent flying away.

The environment behind her was not so lucky however. Flower petals swirled around them, trees were uprooted and the whole area looked similar to a scene left behind by the passing of a category 5 cyclone.

Diana rolled her shoulders, having felt the attack but still remained standing.

"Your tricks won't work again, Witch."

Circe blinked in surprise.

Then slowly the smile that had been present on her face turned feral.

She slapped her hand over her eyes, laughter escaping her.

"I knew it. You really are his daughter..."

The hand fell, and Diana was treated to emerald eyes that glowed with power and a hunger for more.

"Well then, you just became very useful to me, Princess."

Diana narrowed her eyes. She bent down, grabbed a chunk of the fallen Fountain and raised it's half ton weight above her.

Then she threw the whole thing at Circe.

The Witch watched in interest as the projectile flew her way. She raised a dainty palm sparking with electric energy and fired off an erratic bolt of lightning at the chunk of stone.

The chunk exploded into pebbles and dust, obscuring the area.

"Oh, so that's the strategy."

Circe muttered to herself, losing sight of Diana in the garden.

"Using the dust to hide your position. Clever."

And sure enough, the Amazon princess appeared behind Circe, her long legs winding into a spinning kick with the strength to shatter stones.

Circe smiled. Unseen by Diana her eyes glowed green, indicating the activation of a spell.

The earth under them rose up in a mould that blocked Circe from Diana's attack, only for the Witch to realize she had underestimated the Demi-god as the kick managed to burst apart the defensive spell.

Circe's eyes went wide as she begun to turn around, only to meet Diana's fist mere millimeters away from connecting with her cheek.

Whoosh!

A concrete pressure wave followed behind Diana's fist, missing Circe as the Witch smartly popped away from scene.

Only for her to appear right behind Diana, hand placed on the small of the latter's back.

'I can't move. Why can't I move?'

Thought Diana, frozen in place by an invisible force.

"Did you think that would work?"

Circe snorted.

"Your mother stole 3000 years from me. Sealed away in the ruins below the Island. Do you think I didn't prepare for my revenge? That I stayed silent all that time? That I wouldn't grow my skills? Train my magic to the point I could cast any spell instantly? Did you take me for your run of the mill Magician? If so..."

ZzzZzttttt!!

"Aaarghhhgg!!!!"

Diana screamed in agony as arcs of emerald lightning invaded her body, seizing up her limbs and burning her flesh.

ZzzZzttttt!!

"You made a very big mistake by underestimating me."

More lightning surged down her hand and into Diana, who screamed herself raw, eyes bloodshot with pain.

"I'll make you burn."

Circe said, sending another jolt into Diana.

ZzzZzttttt!

"I'll make your mother watch as I strip your flesh from your bones."

ZzzzZZttt!

"Ill make you bleed, Daughter of Hippolyta..."

ZzzZztt!

"...but not here."

The witch of Aiaia shook her head, the emerald lightning striking Diana dead on, eliciting more howls of pain from her.

Slowly the charge lessened until, Diana's body hit the ground.

"Not just anywhere will do however. Only the Sands of Themiscyra deserve to taste the blood of Zeus' welp."

Circe said.

Despite the pain Diana was in, she followed Circe's gaze, to stare at the Coliseum a distance away.

"It should be time too. How convenient, I thought Alkyone would fail me, but she and Serena have proven to be quite the help."

"Serena?"

Diana panted.

"W- What does the High Priestess have to do with this?"

She hissed through bloody teeth.

The most malicious smile so far, stenciled itself onto Circe's face.

"The word that comes to mind is...everything."