"So this is where… what's his name again?"

"Roku"

"Right. So this is where Rako is staying? Impressive,"

Xayah let out an annoyed sigh and decided it wasn't worth her time to correct Rakan again. She had to have said the elder's name at least twenty times by now. Maybe more since she was only counting the number of times she had to repeat what their mission was to her partner. The charmer was right about something, though. The building in front of them was more than just impressive, it was breath-taking. The grand structure was made almost completely of marble, large columns signifying the front of the house. The only parts that weren't a brilliant white were a shining gold that crawled around the columns, reflecting the sun onto the walkway in front of the building in such a way that created a beautiful weaving pattern on the path. From the roof of the adjacent building, Xayah could see a plethora of windows around the sides of the house, no doubt to let the bright sun in for natural lighting. A large pool of water along with a sitting area in the middle of a garden was behind the house, hidden from the world but still as beautiful as the main entrance. In contrast to all of the beauty, the assassin noted the guards in dark uniforms that stood out among all the white and gold. She was sure that by nighttime those guards would be virtually invisible. They had spent the majority of the morning double checking the blueprints Xayah had received from her source and tracking the guard shifts to see when they would have an opening to break into the house. Fortunately, Xayah's blueprints seemed accurate. Unfortunately, the guards had random shift changes, meaning they would have to guess when to break into the extravagant building. Folding up her blueprints, Xayah signaled to Rakan that they were leaving and head back towards the stairs that allowed them to access the roof. As they were walking out, the guards they had knocked out and tied up when they entered the unmarked building started coming to. They attempted to yell but found quickly that their voices were silenced by the tape over their mouths. Xayah couldn't help but shoot the one closest to the entrance a feral smile as they left since she knew no one would find a trace of the two of them until they were long gone.


The two Vastaya decided that they would stay at the inn until the sun set for the day and gave them the cover of darkness for their mission. This, of course, led to a very bored Rakan.

"Hey Xayah," he began. Xayah could hear the smile in his voice and, despite working, decided to humor him anyways.

"What?" she didn't even bother turning from the notes she was taking on the blueprints in front of her when she responded, instead continuing to mark the possible areas they could enter from without being seen.

"Where did you grow up? Ionia?" the charmer asked.

"I grew up in the Lhotlan lands, in the southern part of the forest," Xayah could remember the trees pulsing with magic and the different array of avian Vastaya she grew up with. She couldn't help the pang of regret that briefly overtook her. She had left her entire family behind in that forest. The assassin wondered whether or not they even really remembered her considering how early she had left. She had only been eight years of age when her passionate flame for protecting her kind was ignited.

"Oh! I was in the western forest. Near the mountains," Rakan said excitedly. Due to them both being avian Vastaya, Xayah wasn't surprised they were from the same area in Ionia. The charmer, on the other hand, was fascinated by the close proximity of their original homes. "I don't think I was ever very far south. Did you see the western side?"

"No," Xayah started mentally pulling herself from the conversation so she could give her full attention to the work in front of her. What Rakan said next, though, snapped her attention back to him.

"That's unfortunate. It was a beautiful place before it was destroyed," Long ears twitching at the last word, Xayah turned around sharply.

"What?" her eyes widened when she saw the look of sadness in Rakan's eyes.

"The western side of the Lhotlan lands was destroyed by the Noxians in their invasion of Ionia. Everyone left alive was taken… as slaves. You didn't know? The rebellion didn't know?" Rakan looked into her eyes and could see anger and confusion, feelings he was beginning to have himself. How could have the rebellion not known about the mass destruction? The rest of the Lhotlan tribe was able to stop the Noxian invaders before they had gotten past the western forest but… so many of their kind were forced into a life of slavery because of the invasion, including himself. He had always assumed the rebellion had been too small at the time to come and help but, with Xayah's reaction, it looked as if they hadn't even known.

Anger was bubbling inside of Xayah. The entire western side of her homeland had been destroyed by invaders and she had been gone, not able to help defend against the Noxian scum. And the rebellion hadn't even known. After this mission, she would be sure to bring it up to Alakir. Someone would be punished for making such a large mistake. She focused on Rakan again and saw the anger she felt, not enough to warp the charmer's features but enough to darken his normally happy and bright eyes. The assassin stood up, walked over to the side of the bed, and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry," she said, her long bangs hiding the shame she was sure was evident on her face. The rebellion had let him and part of her tribe down; she was the reason the long scars marred the beautiful man sitting in front of her. Rakan placed his hand on the assassin's head, causing her to straighten. He didn't say a word but the small smile on his face was enough to show her that she was forgiven. So Xayah took all the shame, hurt, anger, and disappointment she felt and turned it into determination. They had a mission to complete and those emotions would only harm their goals. The two would figure out what had happened to the western forest all those years ago after killing Roku.


The sun was drooping under the horizon when the two Vastaya left the inn. Within the few minutes that it took them to make their way over to the house of white and gold, the light from the star was almost completely gone for the night and the moon wasn't making an appearance. The hextech lights that lined the street provided enough lighting for the pedestrians but the roofs next to them were completely dark, providing a perfect cover for Xayah and Rakan. They worked their way from the rooftops into the same building they were watching from before, the men they had tied up prior still there when the pair arrived. Most were asleep but those who weren't squirmed either in anger or fear at the sight of the assassin and her companion. Xayah ignored most of them except for one. The guard was one of the few that were awake, his eyes smoldering when the assassin walked up. She knelt down and reached for the pair of hextech binoculars on the man's belt, the movement causing him to start flailing wildly. Xayah hissed and pulled back at the sudden resistance. She then proceeded to stand and give the guard a swift kick to the stomach, his groans of pain muffled by the tape over his mouth. The assassin was about to let out a string of swears at the man, angry that she had been caught off-guard, but a chuckle from behind her caused her to turn. Rakan was laughing quietly at her expense. "What?" she growled while reaching down to grab the hextech binoculars.

"Nothing nothing." he let out another small laugh "You're just a lot more… vicious than I thought. It's kind of hot,"

Xayah felt her cheeks warm slightly, hiding the guaranteed color change from her companion by walking away towards the stairs. While she had heard compliments about her appearance before, not many people around her age had ever spent enough time with her to pick up on her personality. The assassin wasn't about to let the charmer's comment get to her, though. Not after what she saw at the bar. The Vastayan man was clearly a womanizer and she didn't plan to let him tag along after the mission.

The two Vastaya reached the roof and stood by the edge they were at earlier in the day. The black sky allowed them to remain completely undetected from the guards covering the building next to them. "So how do we get in?" Rakan said quietly, glancing over at his companion. Xayah pointed to a set of windows directly across from them and handed him the recently acquired hextech binoculars. Rakan looked through the strange device and was able to see clearly despite the almost complete lack of light. The windows looked similar to the others that covered the outside of the house except for one key difference. Instead of having no clear way of opening them, this set of windows only had a simple lock that prevented them from swinging open in the strong seaside winds. The best part was this lock could easily be opened silently with just a long, thin dagger.

"We enter through there when the guards change shifts. Once they do, you throw this to distract them so I can jump across unnoticed," Xayah handed her companion a small, orange hand mirror that she had taken from their room's bathroom before they left. While it would have been easier to just throw a rock or something, the pristine city did an excellent job cleaning up any loose rubble they could find. Rakan inspected the small trinket and, when he figured it out, opened it, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"Why hello beautiful," he waggled his eyebrows at himself, loving the unusual pattern the small bunches of hair chose to grow in to. Xayah rolled her eyes and grabbed the binoculars from his other hand. She was able to see almost everything with the contraption due to its ability to pick up heat signatures. Its vision couldn't breach the walls of the building in front of them, though, probably due to heavy amounts of insulation to keep the heat from the vibrant sun out. What she found strange was the fact she couldn't see through the windows despite the binoculars night-vision. Unfortunately, there was no time to plan for whatever may be causing the lack of vision. Turning her sights back to the guards below, the assassin noticed the guards getting fidgety.

"Go get ready," Xayah whispered, scooting closer to the edge of the building. "And make sure you wait until the old guards are completely out of sight and hearing range," looking back at her companion, she could see Rakan's blue eyes light up with excitement before he raced off down the stairs. Now it was just a matter of time before her plan was set into motion.

After a few minutes, the assassin watched the guards pass off their posts. A few minutes after that, she heard the click of something landing on the path nearby. The guards had noticed it too and walked off in the direction it came from, all the way back by the street. Xayah put the binoculars down and perched herself on the ledge, shifting all her power into the bottom of her feet. Determined golden eyes narrowed onto her target and she shoved off the edge. One of Xayah's favorite parts about being in the rebellion was that she could leap from buildings like this as part of her job. Despite being avian Vastaya, most of her friends and family growing up were not able to fly. They made up for this by being excellent runners and jumpers, giving them the feeling of flight for a few precious seconds. Xayah took this to an extreme and spent much of her time in the southern forest leaping from tree branch to tree branch, sometimes being able to stay in the air for a full half minute if she used her cloak to glide. It was the closest she would ever be to the freedom of soaring through the sky and, while it wasn't ideal, she was okay with that.

Xayah felt the wind in her face and ripping through her hair, the hood she had on only staying in place due to her long ears being pushed through the top. The blissful feeling lasted only a second before she landed on the ledge of her mark's building with a quiet thump. When the assassin didn't hear any shouting from the guards below, she knew that her companion had been successful at drawing them away. Pulling out one of her feather daggers, she began working on flipping the lock open. It only took her a few seconds to do so but Xayah still felt the rush in her ears from jumping and she wasn't sure how long the guards would be investigating the mysterious noise Rakan had created. The lock popped open and she carefully moved to one side of the windowsill to allow half of the window to open. Once it had, the assassin began to make her way inside, only to be stopped by a whooshing noise in her ear and a pair of arms wrapping around her torso. "The guards are on their way back," a familiar voice whispered in her ear, smile evident in his tone. Xayah tsked at her companion and pulled herself from his arms so she could enter the building. As soon as she passed through the threshold of the window, she felt a small pulse of magic pass through her. Blinking in confusion, the assassin inspected the area around her and listened. The house was almost dead silent, meaning whatever she felt hadn't been an alarm. Shrugging to herself and dismissing the magic as only the thing that prevented her from looking into the building, Xayah turned back to Rakan, who was still smiling on windowsill.

"You're lucky I didn't shove you off," she said angrily, lowering her voice as much as possible to avoid breaking the silence in the household.

"I would have just jumped back," the charmer said in an equally quiet voice before stepping onto the floor next to her.

"How did you do that anyways?" Xayah asked as she peered out the window, seeing the guards on the ground return with looks of confusion before closing it quietly.

"I'll tell you later," Rakan looked around the hallway they had stepped into. The walls inside of the house were much darker than its exterior though the décor was just as extravagant. Intricate paintings and vases were placed tastefully along the walls, providing those walking down the long hallway something to look at as the navigated the house. The hardwood floor was covered with a soft red carpet that seemed to go on forever, the real gold trimming signifying the quality of the material. There were at least four doors lining the wall adjacent to the window the two Vastaya had entered through, no doubt leading to some of the many bedrooms located in the house. While they weren't entirely sure which room Roku was staying in, the pair had guessed he would be in the biggest bedroom, located near the center of the massive house. Keeping to the shadows caused by the soft, dim lighting in the house, Xayah led the way as they wondered to the end of the hall. The assassin peered around the corner, looking and listening for any signs of life, her ears twitching in attention. Rakan kept track of what was going on behind them, making sure no one would sneak up on them as they made their way through the building. It was slow work. The two Vastaya had to make sure they weren't detected by any that may be below them or around the corner, keeping their footsteps soft and on the carpet when they could. It took them about 15 minutes to shuffle their way to a set of side stairs in the back of the house. Keeping on the far wall so they could see anyone heading up the stairs, Xayah and Rakan made their way down towards the middle floor of the building, which was one floor above where they needed to go. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, a soft melody started. The soothing sound of the instruments did nothing but strike fear into Xayah. It meant that the pulse of magic she had felt earlier should not have been dismissed so quickly and Roku knew the two Vastaya were in the house. Pounding footsteps of guards approached them and the assassin could see a terrifying purple field of magic drop over the outside wall of the house, the same field they had walked through earlier but now visible. Xayah quickly pulled out a dagger and threw it at the dark barrier to test its purpose, only to watch as the magenta feather disintegrated on impact. "We're going to have to fight our way out," she turned to her companion. The charmer nodded with a determined look on his face.

"I can draw their attention then you can take it from there," Xayah pulled out a set of daggers in response and pushed herself against the wall next to the threshold that led out to the hallway, showing her trust in his plan. Rakan smiled at her and put his hand on her cheek briefly before rushing out into battle. The assassin didn't have time to even blush before the sounds of weapons being drawn reached her. She peered around the threshold to see the charmer literally drawing the attention of everyone around him, beautiful golden particles of magic pouring out of him. Despite some of the guards having pulled out their weapons before he had reached them, they were entranced by the magic flowing around her partner. It almost seemed as if he was dancing as he weaved between the crowd, his brilliant cape adding to the illusion. Xayah forced herself to look away and instead focused her aim. She threw five daggers, each one hitting a non-lethal point on five separate guards' legs. The assassin wasn't planning on starting a war with Demacia. It would just add to the rebellion's struggle against the corruption in Ionia. So she simply incapacitated the guards for the time being. Xayah repeated this process until every one of the twenty or so guards in front of her were on the floor, Rakan standing in the middle of their downed forms. He flashed the assassin a smile and the two rushed through the groaning guards towards the source of the music. As they ran down the stairs, another guard with a crossbow stood in their path and aimed straight at Rakan. Xayah didn't give him a chance to even think about shooting her companion and launched a dagger into his arm at lightning speed, causing him to drop his weapon. She threw another dagger at his leg to prevent him from standing and, as they ran by, swiftly kicked him in the back of the head to knock him out. The charmer in front of her chuckled at her actions as he had earlier in the day and she couldn't help but join in. Despite the relatively dangerous situation they were in, the assassin was enjoying herself.

The music the two Vastaya were hearing was coming from the master bedroom where they assumed Roku to be staying. Xayah didn't hesitate shoving the intricate double doors that led to the bedroom open, revealing a room bathed in light. Her target was standing next to the bed in an elaborate white gown with long sleeves, the outfit no doubt meant for sleeping. A small hextech music player was sitting on the bedside table near him, still playing the sweet melody from before, though now it only sounded haunting. The bed itself had purple satin sheets and large amount of pillows; too many to use practically. The harsh hextech lights were almost blinding after being adjusted to the dim light of the hallway and the complete blackness of outside, forcing Xayah and Rakan's to wait a moment for their eyes to readjust. The moment of hesitation allowed the guards that were hiding behind the doors to grab the pair and prevent them from moving or attacking the elder. Xayah shouted in anger, her mark standing only a few feet in front of her; a few seconds away from being silenced. The balding man chuckled, the sound consisting of a deep rumble that spewed evil intentions. "You thought you could kill me that easily, puny assassin?" Roku walked up to Xayah and grabbed her chin, allowing her to see every wrinkle on his aged face. "So young… so naïve. You know nothing of the world, girl," he let go and turned away from her.

"I've seen enough to know that you're someone that doesn't belong in it. You twist beautiful magic into that" the assassin jerked her chin to the magic barrier outside of the door "for your own greedy purposes,"

Roku laughed again and turned back to the pair of avian Vastaya. "Magic was not made to be free. It was made to be controlled; to conquer lands and defend against enemies. If we had a better grip on magic during the Noxian invasion, or if your people had even bothered to lift a finger to defend our lands, none of the mass destruction that occurred years ago would have happened,"

"We did offer to help! Your people decided to enslave mine instead of work together!" Xayah spat at the man, the anger she felt evident on her face. Roku dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand.

"Details. That only occurred because the Vastaya were trying to stop Ionia from controlling what belonged to us. Enough of this petty political talk. I think it's time for you to understand just useless your rebellion is," the elder snapped his fingers and twenty-something guards walked into the bedroom, one hostage in each of their clutches. The hostages were chained and had hoods covering their faces. Their clothes were almost completely in tatters, only a few pieces of cloth remaining on their bodies. The guard in front shoved his hostage before Roku and removed the hood, revealing the beautiful face and brilliant white hair of a female fox Vastaya. She was older but Xayah could tell by the hardened look in her eyes and her toned muscles that she was from the rebellion, though the assassin did not recognize her. "As I'm sure you've already noticed, Katsa is a part of your pathetic rebellion," the fox woman hissed at Roku when he insulted her cause. "It was quite easy to capture her. She had been running medical supplies to your camp a few miles north from Capital City in Ionia," Xayah and Katsa both paled at the elder's knowledge of one of their main camps. If he knew where it was there was a good chance everyone at the camp was in danger, or worse, dead. "You would think that because she was so close to what she calls freedom that she would never have been in danger. But here we are," Roku pulled a knife from the inside of one of his long sleeves and lowered it to her throat. Xayah tried to turn away when she saw the knife, knowing what Roku was about to do. The elder laughed and snapped his fingers, an order to the guard holding her to force her head back to the scene in front of her. Roku grabbed the chin of Katsa and looked into the rebel's sharp eyes. "This is the price you pay for your foolishness," he sliced the knife across her throat and the hard determination disappeared from Katsa's eyes; her beautiful white hair stained red by her lifeblood. Xayah clenched her teeth in anger and lowered her head.

"Um upo sat," the assassin whispered, knowing that the fellow rebel would want the Vastayan words for freedom and magic to be said for her passing. Xayah forced herself to bite back the sadness and shame she felt and instead channeled both emotions into hate for the man in front of her. "You're a monster," she growled out, shifting in the tight hold of her guard. Roku snapped his fingers again, the second guard standing in the doorway walking forward with his hostage in response. When the hood was ripped off, Xayah's stomach dropped. This hostage was only a teenager, the smooth lines of the boy's face slightly raised due to the scales that indicated his Vastayan heritage. His terrified face was a stark contrast to Katsa's hardened features, telling a different story than the rebel's.

"Torin was taken from a Vastayan village under the protection of your rebellion. It didn't seem to do them much good," Roku sneered at her, placing the bloodied knife under the boy's chin. Xayah looked at the boy with a mixture of sadness and apology, trying to comfort him before he met his fate. Roku slashed again and the life drained from Torin's small body. The elder made a waving motion and the next hostage was brought in front of him. This cycle repeated for half an hour, Roku telling Xayah the name of the hostage and their connection to the rebellion before killing them in front of her and calling for the next. The assassin could feel herself breaking under the sheer amount of lives that were ended tonight because of her mistakes, the music that was still playing in the background plaguing her mind with negative thoughts. Had she paid more attention to the magical barrier she and Rakan had passed through or known about it before they even entered, all of the Vastaya dying before her could have been saved. Shame and sadness flooded through her body and she thought about how many things were done wrong. Movement next to her finally brought Xayah's attention to her forgotten companion and his captor. Rakan was visibly shaking in anger, the strain he was putting on the guard holding him evident. The charmer's face was warped in terrifying beauty, his bright eyes darker due to the murderous stare he was sending in Roku's direction. His anger revitalized her resolve. If Rakan, someone who wasn't actively part of the rebellion, could be passionate and energized enough about what was going on in front of him to almost break out of his captor's grasp by sheer willpower, she should be ashamed that she wasn't showing the same passion tenfold. Xayah straightened up slightly, the ease of movement informing the assassin that her captor had loosened his grip due to her apparently giving up. With this knowledge, Xayah turned back to Roku and the hostage kneeling in front of him; the last hostage. She could tell this one was clearly only a child by their small body and she was determined to make sure they got out alive. Roku pulled the hood off this time and a small girl with feathers poking from her cheeks was revealed. There was no doubt this girl was a member of Xayah and Rakan's tribe, though from where neither of them knew. She didn't seem scared of the man holding her down, her face sitting in a passive state. "We took little Steya here from northern Lhotlan lands, an area you're familiar of for sure. I can still remember her mother's screams as we took her away. The woman was part of your rebellion and couldn't do a thing to save her daughter, or herself for that matter," Roku lowered the knife to Steya's neck. "Looks like you will not be able to do anything to save her either,"

Xayah took this as her chance to wretch free of her captor and immediately reached into her cloak for a dagger. As soon as the assassin had one in her hand, she launched it at the elder. Roku was forced to drop the knife and raise both his hands to defend himself with his magic, the dark purple of the wall he created matching the barrier that encased the house. Steya took the opportunity to run from the man and into Rakan's arms, the charmer having broken free during the confusion of Xayah's abrupt escape. The guards that had been holding the two Vastaya were knocked out as well, Rakan's doing no doubt. Roku's face twisted in anger at the way the situation had been turned on him and pointed a bony finger at the Vastaya. "Kill them!" the guards that had been originally holding the other hostages stepped over the bodies lying at Roku's feet and drew their weapons. Xayah pulled out ten or so feathers and launched them at the guards standing before her. None of them hit the men guarding Roku and instead lodged into the wall behind them. The elder burst out into a dark laugh at the assassin's move. "It seems the best the rebellion could throw at me was an assassin that cannot even aim correctly!" Roku continued laughing and failed to notice Xayah's smirk. She lifted her arm in her enemies' direction and closed her now glowing open palm into a fist. The feathers behind the men began to glow a bright magenta and wavered slightly before yanking themselves out of the wall, Xayah's magic pulling them back to her at deadly speeds. The daggers pierced the bodies of the guards around Roku, causing them to drop to the ground, dead or otherwise, and leaving only the elder standing. He paled as soon as his guards fell, realizing his mistake too late. Xayah turned to Rakan during the slight pause in the battle.

"Get to the first floor and wait for the barrier to drop. You have to get Steya out of here safely," she gave Steya a small smile and looked back at Roku, preparing her next move.

"What about you?" the worry could be heard in Rakan's voice but Xayah was determined to kill the elder and get the child to safety.

"I'll be all right. You have my word," Rakan glanced from her to the elder before picking up Steya and leaving the room. As soon as they were gone, Xayah began throwing endless mounts of feather daggers at Roku. His magic was strong but not strong enough to hold up both the barrier and protect himself for an extended period of time. The old man knew this and was beginning to worry. He backed up until his back hit the wall next to the bed and the bedside table, picking up the music player that was still singing its sweet melody. When there was a break in the whistling from the daggers being pelted at him, the elder threw the small box at Xayah and sent a pulse of magic after it. The assassin only had a brief second to cover her face before the two impacted in front of her, causing a small explosion of magic and machinery. It gave Roku enough time to open a secret door behind him and slip through it into a dark tunnel. As soon as the smoke from the explosion cleared, Xayah angrily tore after the elder, knowing the old man wouldn't be able to get far due to his age. She only had to run a couple seconds through the dimly lit passage before she could see Roku in front of her. He was moving his hands in a complicated manner, no doubt preparing a trap while she had been running after him, her emotions blinding her judgement. And now she was caught in an enclosed area with no escape. Xayah moved to pull a dagger from her belt, infusing it with her magic. She would only have one shot before whatever spell Roku was preparing would kill her. Quickly taking aim, the assassin launched the glowing dagger at the elder in the same moment he fired a bolt of dark purple magic at her. Xayah closed her eyes afterwards and prepared for the numbness of death to hit her, whispering the same words she had said for Katsa after her death. As she was doing so, Xayah heard someone yell out her name and saw a bright golden light through her eyelids before she felt a sharp stab of pain and everything went black.

A/N: Here's chapter 3! Sorry for the delay. This week has been pretty stressful and I knew this chapter would be much longer than the others. Hope you all enjoy :)

-AzraelRyell