Fair.

The assassin never expected to become a prisoner, the boss told him this job should be the easiest, the weakest to take from. But this guy… he had seen the assassin coming a mile off, which took some doing, the assassin was exceptionally well trained.

Arms tied to a beam in the ceiling, the assassin tried to shake himself free.

“I wouldn’t bother trying if I were you,” the assassin heard someone say from behind him, and footsteps sounded as the unknown man walked in front of the assassin.

“you are tied with pure Qi there, there’s no breaking that.”

the assassin was thinking a mile a minute, he was furious, this opponent was beyond belief, not only had he managed to trap him, but to tie someone up with nothing but Qi energy seemed impossible, either the boss set him up, or more likely, the boss had no idea the target was so advanced.

The assassin knew better than to ask what was going to happen, to speak a single word would give away something about his master. This was going to be an interrogation.

“I can see from your eyes you don’t plan on talking, no doubt you’ll die before saying a single word. I’d be impressed if the determination was your own, or you had a worthy cause, but clearly you don’t…”

“Doll, if he isn’t going to talk then what are we doing here?” another voice came from behind the assassin.

“He’s not going to talk, but I am… since you have brought this world back to me its time for me to be honest with myself… and with you I guess.”

at that Doll started to tense up a little, the assassin could see the shadows cast by the dim basement light started to fall across Doll in a different way, he was… shape shifting?

Doll stretched a little, working out the kinks in her new body.

“God its good to be back to myself again, well, I say myself but this isn’t the body I was born with, its just the most comfortable you know?”

before the assassin, where seconds ago stood a dirty, unshaven man, now stood a beautiful woman with hair almost down to her knees.

“wha…” a word escaped the lips of the assassin, this was too unexpected.

“ah, made you talk huh? Don’t worry kid, I wont hold it against you. Like I said, I’m not after information from you, I want you to tell your boss about me, tell him he should have come himself, then I would never have stepped out of hiding, all he has accomplished today is awakened another contestant, and my goal is the same as his.”

at that Doll withdrew her Qi holding the assassin in place.

“also, tell him I don’t think highly of getting others to do his dirty work, when I am ready I hope we become opponents and I shall take the points he cheated from the others who couldn’t stop you assassins.”

The assassin quickly looked around, trying to assess his situation?

“I wont kill you stupid,” doll smiled “I need you to deliver the message”

at that the assassin took his opportunity and dashed out the door past Doll’s friend.

“Are you sure its ok to let him go?”

“bah, I don’t want to kill anyone I don’t have to, especially as he isn’t a match for me. If I win the contest, hopefully it will put an end to the killing.”

“So you are going now?”

“Things have been set in motion, the arena is calling louder than ever, and I can feel my bracelet’s energy, it will start to pull soon.”

Doll looked at her bracelet, an ornate, expensive looking band with 26 glass beads embedded in it. One of them glowing.