Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this story as I enjoy writing this one!
Just one thing!
I would really appreciate it if you left a review, positive or not.
Believe it or not, it really helps me get to know what you guys think about the story so far, which is one of the things I enjoy knowing the most!
That being said, enjoy Chapter 4!
~mk-lite
Talon somersaulted neatly out of the portal, landing in the familiar portal room at the Champion Headquarters. After making sure he was completely safe, he let his knees give way from under him as he collapsed onto his palms and knees. His chest heaving as he felt his world spin, Talon squeezed his eyes shut as he kept replaying the scene and dialogue he had just witnessed in his mind.
Shaking his head in denial, Talon felt tears well up in his eyes the man that he had grown up to believe was the most righteous and gifted turned out to be a ruthless criminal, fabricating accidents so that he may recruit soldiers for his ever growing army.
Talon always knew that Du Couteau was obsessed with military, but he never would have suspected that him and Katarina, the two that he treated as his own children, would fall into that category of his agenda.
Suddenly, Talon heard footsteps approaching. Wiping his eyes and discarding his arctic ops outfit, replacing it with his usual outfit, he got to his feet just as Katarina walked into the portal room. Her eyes widening in surprise, Katarina pointed at him accusingly as Talon looked on in confusion.
"Where have you been?!" Katarina cried out.
"I've only been gone for a day." Talon replied curtly.
Narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her, Katarina pouted as Talon sighed sullenly before raising an eyebrow at her.
"What brings you into the portal room anyways?" he asked.
"I've been assigned a spying mission in the Freijlord. Apparently there has been a series of mysterious villages being burnt down and the Champion Headquarters wants to know why, especially Ashe." the red haired assassin replied as Talon paled.
He could not let her met Du Couteau in these circumstances. Katarina would be completely crushed. Thinking fast, he suddenly lurched over, clutching his stomach.
"A-are you alright?" Katarina asked in a slightly confused tone as she watched the assassin collapse to the floor, still clutching his stomach as if it were the most important thing in the world.
"I-I think my stomach has an infection." Talon lied, as Katarina sighed.
"Fine then, I'll call Akali over here and maybe she can-"
Talon suddenly sprung up and dusted himself off, much to Katarina's surprise.
"Amazing. What a miracle this is. The pain is gone, as if it were never there." Talon said in fake awe as Katarina looked on skeptically.
Pointing over her shoulder, Talon gasped in horror.
Rolling her eyes at the now obvious tricks, Katarina turned her head around simply to amuse the assassin.
Talon took off at a running start, attempting to knock Katarina unconscious so that he may prevent her from taking on this mission. But a bit of ice was still stuck to his boot, causing him to instead slip and tackle Katarina to the ground as she cried out in surprise.
His face burying itself into her chest, it only took a second for Talon to realize the position he was in. Instantly lifting his head out, Talon was about to apologize before he saw Katarina's expression.
Her face bright red, Katarina glared up from underneath Talon as she lay with her arms above her head in a submissive position, her hair lying spread around her head, the soft lights from the portals reflecting off it.
Katarina opened her mouth to make a comment but something seemed to register in her mind as she slowly closed her mouth and stared up at the man she had grown up with ever since they were young. His dark red eyes were piercing as always, but they seemed to suddenly soften a great deal as they locked eye contact.
Before Talon could stop himself, he absently traced a finger down her slim face, outlining her cheek and down to her neck as Katarina felt a small thrill go up her spine. A small gasp escaped her mouth, drawing Talon closer to her thin lips as Katarina squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation for what was about to happen.
Their faces so close that Talon could feel Katarina's breath against his lips. But just before they made contact, the assassin suddenly pulled away, pushing himself off of her and stepping out of the portal room without a word or second glance.
Katarina opened her eyes slowly, as she kicked a feeling of disappointment out of her mind that she could have sworn wasn't there before. Sitting up slowly as she massaged her temples, Katarina let out a deep breath as she tried to comprehend what just almost happened. Running a finger across her lips, Katarina's face turned bright red once more as she realized how close Talon actually was only a couple minutes ago.
Shakily getting to her feet as she brushed herself off, Katarina glanced down at her wrist mounted scanner that notified her of her mission. Looking back at the portal, the assassin suddenly felt her heart pull her away from it.
Closing her eyes, Katarina tried to picture how she would carry about her mission. Instead, the image of Talon and her about to kiss came back to her head. Shaking her head slowly, Katarina groaned in frustration as she notified her scanner that she would be cancelling the mission.
Stomping out of the portal room, Katarina went straight to her room and slammed the door. Throwing herself onto her bed, Katarina stared up at the ceiling as she suddenly felt the urge to see Talon. Flipping over onto her stomach, the assassin buried her face into her pillows as she kicked her legs in frustration at this new and foreign emotion.
"That idiot! What was he even trying to go for that entire time?! What's wrong with him! That aggressiveness was so unusual, especially for him. Idiot! Pervert! I should have kicked him in the nuts when I had the chance." Katarina seethed in her mind as she came up for air.
Hugging the pillow close to her as she lay on her side, Katarina felt a rare blush rise up to her cheeks.
"Does…he have feelings for me?"
The thought lingered in her mind before she caught herself and flung the pillow at the wall angrily. Running a hand through her hair in exasperation, Katarina decided that a long bath would help soothe her mind. Stepping into her bathroom and closing the door behind her, she let her clothes fall to the ground after turning on the water to the tub.
Sinking into the warm water, Katarina breathed a sigh of ecstasy as she felt all the muscles in her body loosen and her mind clear. Closing her eyes as she stretched her body out in the water, Katarina let her mind wander, only to find herself thinking about Talon again. Opening her eyes as she felt her face warm up, the assassin splashed her face with water before sinking back into her thoughts.
"I wonder what was going through his mind back there."
…
"What the hell were you thinking? What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell were you doing? What the hell?!"
Talon's fist smashed through what was now the twenty fifth training dummy, as he continued screaming and seething to himself for what a moron he was in his mind.
As another Teemo-like training dummy appeared in front of him, he reared back to deliver a killing blow to the fake yordle before he sensed a presence in the Training Arena. Lowering his fist as he turned around, Talon was surprised to find Akali leaning against the entrance, her stare fixated on him.
"Your form is so off, I couldn't help but watch," the dark haired ninja said.
"I appreciate the audience. But the show is over." Talon replied sourly as he began walking towards the exit.
"Did something happen between you and Katarina?"
Akali's voice made Talon stop dead in his tracks as he slowly turned around to face her.
"What made you think of such a dumb question?" he asked in a dangerous tone.
The ninja shrugged. "Your behavior reminds me of when I was trying to come to terms with my feelings for Zed. A lot of pain, questioning, and reflection. Actions truly do speak louder than words."
Now she had his attention as Talon crossed his arms, studying the ninja.
Akali had always been a quiet observer in the Champion Headquarters, always opting for solitude over company, as many of the ninjas and assassins did. But after discovering her feelings for Zed, and his for her, the two had blossomed to the point where others believed that the real Zed and Akali had disappeared and were replaced by the current two.
The same went for Shen and Ahri. While Ahri had always been known as one of the liveliest Champions in the entire Headquarters, Shen had been known as one of the broodiest. But now together, Shen had undergone a transformation that everyone applauded him for.
Talon opened his mouth to reply but suddenly lost his words as his eyes fell upon the training dummy, completely covered in blades and knives, bringing up that night when Katarina broke down in front of him. He was always taught to protect people with fighting and weapons, but seeing Katarina so vulnerable in front of him yet being able to do nothing made him feel helpless.
Losing all his adrenaline from before, Talon felt his knees go weak and would have collapsed onto the ground if Akali hadn't dashed over and caught him. Setting him on the ground gently, Akali sat down next to him as Talon stared up at the open ceiling.
"I think I have feelings for her."
The bluntness of Talon's words made Akali smile underneath her mask. She loved it when she was right.
"I never have felt like this before, but I want to protect her and make her happy. All these years, I've watched her suffer alone while I couldn't do anything but stand along the sidelines, unable to help in any way. But now…I want to be the one who can make her happy." Talon whispered, his voice wavering from the emotion behind his words.
Akali nodded as Talon, unable to stop himself, began pouring out his pent up words and feelings as Akali listened on.
…
Akali suddenly snapped awake, as she blinked her dark red eyes. Her vision coming to focus, she turned her head to see Talon on the ground, completely knocked out. Remembering that she had fallen asleep amidst the hours of Talon talking, Akali shakily stood up and stretched outwards before realizing that it was three in the morning after looking at her watch.
"Boo."
Zed's husky voice in her ear made her instinctively flip around and drive her fist towards his face before she realized that it was him. Zed's expression remained stoic even with Akali's fist barely touching his nose.
"S-sorry, I didn't realize it was you. Besides, you scared me! What are you even doing here?" Akali said angrily as she pulled her fist away, slightly embarrassed that she had let her guard down.
Zed blinked. "I simply came to check up on you, as you have been gone for a while."
"I was walking past the Training Arena when I saw Talon training in there. Except that his movements were erratic, not like his normal style. I suspected it due to a complication between him and Katarina and I turned out to be right." Akali sighed as Zed raised an eyebrow.
"I see. Well now that you are done being Talon's personal therapist, I would very much like it if we both retired to our room." Zed replied as Akali nodded sleepily.
"What about him?" Akali gestured towards the sleeping form of Talon on the Training Arena ground.
"Leave him be, once he falls asleep, nothing can wake him." Zed chucked as he took her hand and led her out of the Training Arena and down the dimly lit hallway.
Watching the two ninjas leave, the shadowy figure appeared once again against the outline of the moon, floating in the air as it drifted down to the ground to stand next to Talon.
Reaching down an armored hand, the figure reached towards Talon's arm. But it jerked away a second before several kunai blades flew above Talon's body and pierced into the wall. Turning its stare from where the blades came from, its shadowy face gave nothing away at the sight of Katarina.
"Stay away from him." Katarina hissed as she drew her signature blades. The commotion finally brought Talon awake as he slowly opened his eyes to a figure of darkness standing above him, facing off Katarina. The last thing he remembered was talking to Akali before passing out from exhaustion.
"How did things end up like this? What is going on?" Talon thought frantically as he slowly inched himself away from the figure.
But suddenly, his blades scraped the floor, drawing the figure's attention towards him. Seeing an opening, Katarina hurled her blade at the figure as she charged at it. Without even glancing at her, the figure drew a glowing blade from underneath its cloak and literally sliced her incoming blade clean in half. Shrugging off her surprise, Katarina lunged forward, slicing downwards at the figure. Turning to face her, the figure easily deflected her strike and disarmed her.
Before she could roll backwards out of its weapon range, Katarina felt the bite of cold steel into her stomach. Stumbling backwards slowly, Katarina felt her stomach before lifting her shaking hands to her vision. The red glistened in the moonlight as she felt her warm blood begin to spill out from the fresh slash on her stomach.
Talon froze as he watched Katarina crumble to the ground, unconscious. Everything began to fade out, the only thing remaining in focus was Katarina's body as the blood began to pool out from around her.
Turning towards the figure, Talon's eyes burned with rage as he drew his blades.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID, YOU MONSTER!" he screamed as he sprinted towards the figure. The figure appeared to not move until the last possible second, easily ducking Talon's blades and delivering a swift but powerful uppercut which effectively knocked the assassin unconscious.
Pulling out a pair of chains complete with a lock, the figure managed the lock Talon up and fly off with his unconscious body through the open ceiling just as several Champions and Summoners rushed into the Training Arena.
"Someone! Call the medic team and open up a room immediately!" Shen ordered as several Champions nodded and dashed off to find the medical team, the gasps and whispers of horror began to circulate through the growing crowd.
Kneeling next to Katarina, Ahri summoned some of her healing magic to slow down the bleeding. "What happened here?" she asked in a distraught tone.
"I don't know. Talon had fallen asleep here and we just thought it would be the best option to leave him be." Zed replied before realizing that the assassin was gone.
Seeing the realization click in his eyes, Shen shook his head. "Regardless of what happened, we have a patient on our hands and she is in bad shape. Perhaps she will know what happened if she wakes," he said grimly.
"I-if?" Akali stammered.
Ahri strained as beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. "This cut is no ordinary cut, the blade seemed to be coated in some sort of poison and it's counteracting my healing magic, making it extremely difficult to heal her."
Before Shen could reply, the medic team arrived and Katarina was taken away to a stretcher as Shen prepared his medical attire.
Ahri collapsed, her energy spent as Akali supported her. "I-I did what I could, but I could literally feel her life force fading away. If only I could had more power, then maybe I could have saved her." Ahri whispered sorrowfully, tears forming in her golden eyes.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Zed knelt in front of her. "You did your very best, which is more than enough of a start for my brother. Shen is a medical genius, as he has performed many miracles that many thought were impossible. Together, we will save her and figure this through."
Akali and Ahri nodded in agreement as the crowd began to disperse, everyone on guard now. It was both rare and forbidden to attack anyone with the intention to kill outside of the Summoners Rift. But for someone to be able to attack and put someone as skilled as Katarina in such a state was definitely not from the Rift. Jarvan IV had announced that there would be a meeting for the entire Champion Headquarters to figure out what happened.
…
The heat against Talon's cheeks jolted him awake, his eyes flying open to the sight of a bonfire in front of him, its embers trailing upwards into the night sky.
Trying to move his hands, Talon realized that both his ankles and hands were heavily locked up with various chains. Struggling against them furiously, the assassin suddenly froze as he heard footsteps coming up from behind him. Straining to turn his head to see who it was, Talon's eyes widened as he saw that it was the same shadowy figure who attacked him and Katarina back at the Champion Headquarters.
"You again?! I'll kill you! I'll break free and rip you apart! I'll-"
Talon's words died in his throat as the shadowy figure stepped to the side, revealing General Du Couteau standing behind him. Now that he was up close, Talon could make out various new scars traced along the General's face.
"It has been some time." Du Couteau said in a sorrowful voice, his expression softening a great deal at the sight of one of his first proteges.
"Ge-General…" Talon was at a loss for words before suddenly snapping out of it. "General! This figure attacked Katarina and I! She's gravely injured! You have to let me go and help me find her! She will definitely make it through if she knows you are by her side! I-" Du Couteau raised his hand and shook his head as Talon came to a stop, pits of fear beginning to unravel in his stomach.
"Oh Talon, it is so unlike you for the care so much for a person, let alone Katarina. I thought I had raised you to become a stone cold killer. After all, that's all I expected out of you and her," the General sighed as he ran a hand through his snow white hair.
"Since I now know that it was you who spied on our most recent expedition in the Freijlord, you probably know of my plans now, don't you?" Du Couteau asked almost lazily.
Talon swallowed, refusing to believe what he was hearing. "G-general, you simply disappeared on us when we were little. We waited for your return but ended up going to the Champion Headquarters to join the League of Legends. B-but from what I heard, is it true? Did you stage those accidents at various villages? Why?!" Talon's voice trembled with rage and disbelief.
Gesturing to the figure next to him, the General chuckled. "You were always a bright one, even as a little boy when I found you scrapping trash off alleys. I did stage those accidents, in order to flush out all the weak and let the strong remain. I never told you Talon, but before you and Katarina, I had a family. A beautiful wife and a young daughter. But through the terrors of war, they were lost to me and waved off as simple casualties of war by the Noxian High Command. I now have built up an army of magic infused soldiers and assassins strong enough to crush the High Command and eventually the entire world!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms out to the sky.
Talon shook his head, all this information swimming around in his head, threatening to break his mind in half. Literally everything that he had come to believe was coming crashing back down on him. Feeling the strength leave his body, Talon collapsed limply onto the ground as the General knelt in front of him.
"However, out of all the assassins, you and Katarina were among my top skilled fighters and there is nothing more that I would like than to have you two by my side, just like old times. What do you say?" Du Couteau said gently as Talon shakily looked up at him.
"You killed her parents and her entire village. You lied to us about our entire lives. You were our father but now I see the truth. You are nothing but a lunatic, driven mad by the loss of family and bend on nothing but pointless vengeance." Talon hissed.
The General's expression turned dark as he motioned the figure behind him. "I really hoped it wouldn't end like this, Talon." Du Couteau said in a low voice.
The figure effortlessly lifted Talon up and activated a magical seal, lifting up a invisibility cloak that had been covering an entire valley below them. Rows and rows of soldiers filled up the land, with a makeshift military base set up. Teleporting themselves to the main base, the figure took Talon down several flights of dark stairs underground before coming to a dark and damp room full of skeletons and prison cells.
Dumping Talon into one of the cells and activating the magic lock, the figure turned and left without a word as Talon's chains finally came undone. Rubbing his sore wrists, Talon slumped against the wall as he felt tears running down his eyes.
"There is no way. There is no way that this is happening. This has to be a bad dream, right? Where I can just wake up and find everyone waiting for me at the Champion Headquarters. There is no way…"
Talon lost track of time as those words repeated themselves through his head. He didn't even notice the shadowy figure was standing in front of his cell until it banged on the door, startling him out of the doze he had drifted in.
"The General wants to know everything you know about the Champion Headquarters. It's so called Champions and the infrastructure of the entire Headquarters. We believe it could serve as our future base of operations for the revolution of our new world," the shadowy figure whispered in a deep voice.
Snorting as he stood up, Talon raised an eyebrow at the figure. "Like hell I would tell the likes of you anything," he growled.
Pulling its hood off to reveal a mangled and deranged face, the figure's mouth stretched into an unnatural smile as he summoned an operating table, complete with various torture tools and weaponry.
"That's just the kind of answer I wanted to hear," the figure grinned.