A/N: Finally got this out. Sorry for that. (Especially Russian Hunter, who has PM'd me about me taking forever. xD) Hope you guys like a lot of scene changes in this one. It might be a little boring because nothing really happens here. Just some preparations for later chapters. I'm not at all confident in this one.

Chapter 25

The next few weeks were boring for Talon. Hours after he and Marcus got back from the Institute of War, Katarina was up and she asked her father about the very subject he was a bit tired of hearing. After a bit of an argue he did end up telling her all about what goes on there. Anyone who looked in her eyes after Marcus' explanation could tell that she was more than just intrigued. It didn't surprise Talon much when she asked her father if she could take a carriage to the institute to "tour the place." Yeah, right. Next thing the Ducouteau household knew is that she later became a champion there. She got a well-deserved scolding from Marcus after that; the scolding being about the web of lies and deceit that she just got herself caught in. That was only met with anger from the Sinister Blade – the title she was given from the institute; she recoiled with her "I'm not your little girl anymore" speech. That was starting to sound a bit cliché to everyone. In conclusion, Katarina became a champion of the league, making her father stress on her well being and cutting assignments given to Talon.

All the while nobody seemed to care or even notice what Cassiopeia was doing. Supposedly, she left for a day, came back, and had an even greater sense of flirtation within her. She didn't flirt with Talon or her family or anyone like that, but she did grab the attention of servants and guests more often than she should have. It wasn't until the whole "champion Katarina" theme finally settled down that anyone other than Talon noticed it. Marcus, being male, didn't know how else to confront her about this other than the "there are bad men on the streets that would love to do horrible things to you" talk. It still sounded strange coming from him, he being male and what not, but there wasn't exactly a mother that was around to take care of the problem, so he had to. He was unsuccessful with that, and a few days later he got an order from the Grand General that required all his spare time.

It wasn't all worthless time to Talon; he was able to decide two things: one, there is absolutely nothing he can do in Noxus. And two, he is never having children. Especially two opposite-personality daughters each with their own interests that would cause problems in the household.

Talon lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He was just so bored. He's never gone this long doing nothing before. Usually when his master was too busy to give him any assignments, he would at least have a sparring partner he could train with, but her becoming a champion deprived him of that. He thought about traveling to Demacia to kill a few soldiers, but then realized that he didn't need the scars he'd get there.

Sitting up on his bed, he almost screamed in boredom. He stepped off the mattress and got dressed. It was nearly time for supper and he hasn't eaten breakfast this morning or anything yesterday, so he was hungry. He stepped out of his room, half hoping ninjas would appear from nowhere and attack him to rid him of his dissatisfaction. When they didn't come, he only frowned and began down the stairs. He stopped to observe Cassiopeia at the front doors with a few butlers getting a couple bags ready for her. Her and Talon didn't talk too often during these past few weeks, for she was busy mingling with others to talk to him and Talon wasn't one to go to her to talk. Now that he thought about it, the only time he really sees her anymore is at the dinner table, and they still didn't talk too much there. Oh, how times have changed so quickly.

Talon reached the bottom of the staircase, forgetting his thoughts on the younger Ducouteau. He turned his direction towards the kitchen, but stopped in his tracks when he heard his name.

"Talon?" He shifted his head to Cassiopeia. Her natural beauty was hidden behind her makeup, which to Talon seemed stupid, because he thought she looked much better without it. She smiled at him, a smile he hasn't seen for weeks, asking him with her innocent voice, "What are you up to?"

"To tell you the truth, nothing much, Miss Cassiopeia," He told with a weak curl in his lips. "But by the looks of the butlers and those bags, it looks like you're up to something."

Cassiopeia shyly looked away for a moment, "I'm going on a trip to Freljord for a couple days."

Talon narrowed his eyes. Why would she want to go there? "What for?"

"Business," She answered. "There's someone over there I really need to get information from for father. He's a leader of a tribe that's been against Noxus ever since we had our attack over there. Sure, we could easily take an army to slaughter them all and take the leader prisoner, but I've been told that the best way to get information out of him is to...ask nicely." Talon rolled his eyes, making Cassiopeia twitch. "Well I better go," She continued. "My carriage is waiting."

Talon crossed his arms and watched her go for the door, "You're not going to say goodbye to everyone first?"

She heard Talon and turned back to face him, "Katarina isn't home, League match I suppose. I did say bye to father, though he looked busy so it was a brief farewell." She turned back to the door and slightly pushed it open. Stopping herself, she turned back to Talon and tackled him with the hardest hug she could muster. Talon almost fell back from the impact of her body. He recovered and returned the embrace, feeling her warm body press into his.

Cassiopeia broke off, figuring she'd been lingering there for too long. She giggled at Talon, another something he hasn't seen her do in weeks. "I'll see you in a couple days," She said before returning to the door. Talon saw the worn bracelet around her left wrist as she pushed it open, the one he bought for her a long time ago.

"Goodbye, Cass," Talon said while he watched her step into the carriage.

Talon returned to his quest for a meal. He made something quick and ate it so he wouldn't be hungry for at least the rest of today. Once he finished, he returned back to the front room to see Marcus looking at him, "My office, now."

"So what's this about?" Talon asked his master who was in his usual seat behind his desk.

He remained silent, racking his brain for something. He kept his bloodshot eyes trained on the customary clutters of unread papers on his desk. His body was paler than usual and was lacking much needed sleep. It was like he discovered a ghost haunting his house. Marcus forced his gaze off the papers to Talon and spoke with his regular tone with a bit of difficulty, "I've received a message from General Swain."

"Crimson Elite?" Talon asked.

"It would seem so. He's requested you proceed to his headquarters as soon as possible, not that I care when you go. It was stated in the letter that he's got business for you in Ionia. Some cleanup, I'd guess."

"He can't just get his army to do it?"

"Most soldiers earn a grace period after a victory if we are no longer in war. The soldiers that didn't receive a break are currently assigned simple guard duty in Ionia. We don't have anyone to spare right now, and this must not be important enough to bring anyone out of vacation. Also, you haven't seen any action for a while. Don't you think you could use some practice?"

He was right. Talon not only needed some "practice," he sorta wanted it, and Marcus probably wasn't going to give him a mission any time soon. "Right. I'll be heading to his office, then."

"Good. Make sure you report back to me for what he wants you to do." Marcus watched his apprentice leave, and once he was out, he dropped his eyes back to his desk.

The dark, shadowy chamber of Swain's office never exactly failed to send a chill down anyone's spine. Just not Talon's. He was used to his office; always gloomy with the curtains over the windows. The walls were plain with only a few the General's favourite advances. The fireplace was never lit, or at least Talon never saw it lit. the large oval mirror next to the desk must be new. And then sitting at the desk was Swain with his bird perched on his shoulder.

"You're here on time, for once," Swain said.

"What do you want?" Talon didn't want to waste any time.

Swain cleared his throat, like he always did before he was about to give a talk, "Ahem. Our invasion in Ionia was a success. We got what we came for: land and resources. But, as I anticipated, there are some bothersome Ionians that just won't stand down. There's a group – a fairly large group in Ionia who call themselves the resistance. I know I could keep ranting on about this but I know you wouldn't listen to me, so I'll cut to the chase. They are practically everywhere in Ionia and ratting out the bigger groups is something we've already done. I could care less about the smaller ones. It is the larger ones that are beginning to make a threat due to their rambling about 'freedom' in public. So your task is obvious: silence them. I don't fear how you do it, I just want them silenced. I've already prepared a vessel to take you there."

Talon silently acknowledged Swain. He turned around and headed for the exit.

"Wait!" Swain yelled frantically.

Talon stopped, "What else?"

Swain paused, trying to think of the best way to say this. He stood up from his desk and spoke, "During the invasion, we've received far more casualties than we first thought we would."

"And?" Talon asked impatiently.

"I wasn't sure if this would mean anything to you, but I thought I'd inform you anyway," He paused again, forcing the words out of his throat. "Our poster child and fellow Crimson Elite member, Riven, was among them."

It was enough to make Talon lose his cold stare and turn his head back to Swain. He knew she went off to war but he didn't think she'd be killed there. She was perhaps the toughest soldier he'd ever met, and to think she died in battle. He took his mind off of it and continued back to leaving Swain's office, reverting back to his cool state, "You were right when you said it wouldn't mean anything."

"I knew it wouldn't," Swain said under his breath. "It makes me wonder if you'll actually feel anything when we..."

"It doesn't seem like I'll be fighting soldiers, according to what Swain told. It's only another assassination of a few Ionians trying to gain independence from Noxus through non-violent speeches to the public." Talon finished his briefing to Marcus about Swain's orders. He stood in his usual spot in the middle of Marcus' office across from the desk. He could almost swear that there was a slight indentation on the hardwood floor from all those years of standing.

"Sounds like a form of oppression to free speakers," Marcus replied. "It makes me wonder why General Swain doesn't have to get approval from the Grand General first to do these sorts of things."

"Boram doesn't know?" Talon guessed.

"It doesn't matter. You're only being used to clean up part of the mess made by this war."

"It will take me at least a week to finish not including the trip there and back – a month at most," Talon added, "do you still want me to go? I may be away for a long time."

"Talon I've sent you on missions that have taken you as far as the Shadow Isles and have kept you away for more than just a month," He said it almost proudly.

"That was you, not Swain. I don't trust him, nor hold the slightest bit of respect for him. I've only been carrying out his orders because you told me to, and only so you could keep a closer eye on him. I haven't been able to conclude anything about the orders he gives me, what he may be planning, weather we should take action against it, nothing. He knows you're onto him. That's why we've been turning up with nothing."

Marcus sighed at his apprentice. "I know," He said, "Swain isn't stupid. At least not enough to openly involve you in his master plan if he wants to keep it secret. We haven't made much progress by your efforts, and that further leads me to believe you're being led off the information I really need. That being said, I only ask you to complete this last mission for Swain, then no more. You no longer have to obey his orders."

Talon dug into the thought of not having to take orders from Swain again, and it would be hard to say that he didn't like it. "Very well. I'll do as he says this one last time." He bowed. Turning his back, he went for the door.

"Hold, boy." Marcus showed his palm, unseen by Talon until he turned around. Marcus couldn't get out what he wanted to say, so Talon spoke.

"Master?"

Marcus stared at his apprentice for a good moment, piecing together how he wanted to tell what's on his mind. He frustrated himself after a while of not finding what he wanted. "Oh fuck it," He forced out. "Boy, Talon, I think of you as a son. One I never had the chance to have."

Talon for once stood stunned. Him? Like a son? It never occurred to him that the great General Marcus Ducouteau thought of him as that. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Marcus felt like stopping there, but he already started so leaving it unfinished wouldn't be a good idea. He sucked up what was left of his pride and continued, "It didn't start out that way. No, back then I only thought of you as a simple boy, picked off the streets and raised to kill my enemies. But after the first few months of personal training and missions with you, I began to realize your potential not only as a master assassin, but as a person. I knew your place, though, and for a while I forced myself to treat you like killing was your only purpose. It was when my daughters began to grow on you that I really took note of it. Cassiopeia called you a brother. Katarina said you were just a friend, but I could tell she liked you just as much as her sister did. I saw how happy they were around you. A certain happiness I haven't seen in them since their mother passed. You could say that they passed on their love for you to me, and ever since then I thought of you as one of my own. I have found more enjoyment from your training and watching you improve afterwords. And I can't help but feel proud of you whenever you successfully complete a mission."

That was interesting, and was completely unlike him to say this kind of stuff. Even so, Talon listened to what he said. When he was finished, Talon asked, "Have you been drinking again?"

It caused a chuckle in Marcus, which forced his gaze upwards. "No, boy. You know I don't drink. Everything I said I meant."

"Then if you'd allow it, I'd like to say that I've always thought of you as a father. Even though I've never had one, and don't know what it's like, you still fit that position for me."

"Then there really is more to you and I than student and master," Marcus pondered. "You should go. You've got a boat to catch. And we've never had this talk."

"Yes sir." Talon turned to the door once again.

After the trip back to the mansion to deliver information about his mission, Talon boarded the Noxian trade ship to Ionia. He picked a dark corner with no one around to wait until the ship reached its destination. After a good couple of hours of watching the waves of the sea roll by, he heard someone yell "land." The ship docked at a newly built harbor controlled by Noxus. Talon was the first to exit, followed by tourists and trade supplies. Around were basic buildings creating a settlement around the coast. It was more lively here than any other city or town in Noxus. Children played on the sand and the adults were busy building up their town. It wasn't the type of noisy place Talon liked being around, but it did hold the advantage of being able to get around with little attention.

Edging through the crowds of tourists and laborers, Talon finally made it off the dock and through the newly built village. In that handy head of his, he knew he needed to find one of the Noxian generals of High Command, not here but in a military base just a mile from this location. This guy was the one that led the reconnaissance to find those big groups of rebel Ionians. Talon mentally grinned and broke into a sprint for the military base. About half of the work was already done for him, and he'd rather finish this quickly than having to spend a few extra days tracking the targets down himself. He ran for six minutes, reaching his destination. He would have gotten there sooner, but all the metal on his body can even weigh him down. He stopped at the entrance, the walls reached high and doubled as a barricade in case of attackers; it stretched far across the ground, telling Talon that this is a big base.

Two Noxian soldiers guarded the entrance, spears in hand. Talon approached them, and they both straightened their figures to try and look more intimidating.

"What's your business here?" Asked the guard on the right.

Talon hated having to answer people like this, because word of what he's doing can spread easily this way. "I need to speak to the general of High Command here. He has vital information I need."

"What kind of information?" The guard on the left asked.

"The location of certain people. I was sent by Swain."

They both looked at each other, then back at him. "We're going to need some identification," Said the one on the right.

Talon was beginning to become irritated. He shifted his right arm slightly to reveal his armblade from his cape. "Are we really going to go through this?"

They both shivered at the sight of the shiny metal along with the assortment of blades they got a glimpse of. Looking at each other again, they stepped aside and opened the doors. "I think you've showed us enough identification, sir." The man on the left trembled.

Talon entered and the doors shut behind him. The roofless fortress allowed sunlight to get in and brighten a mood. The soldiers inside were tending the place like it was a village. A semi-enclosed village that seemed more like a prison from the outside. There were few tents, and more cabins and small structures, making this seem like a permanent military base. The place had a cafeteria, it's own barn, even a bar for drinking. They must really not be seeing any action to have made all this somewhere where there's supposed to be battle-ready soldiers keeping watch day and night.

He found himself outside the general's house. He gave a few knocks. A few hard ones to make sure he would be heard. The door opened and it was the man Talon had been looking for. General Malek Hawkmoon. He smiled at Talon, seeing that his assassin has arrived. "Ah, my Crimson Elite soldier is here."

The mansion doors opened. Katarina stepped in, carrying her knives on her body. She looked around, but saw only a few servants tending the household. Shrugging it off, she made the trip to her father's office. Tapping on the door with her fist, Katarina said aloud, "Father, I'm home." She waited for a response. None came. "Father?" She said again, this time a bit louder and agitated. She became worried. Hastily grabbing the knob, she twisted it and flung the door open. Katarina covered a gasp with her mouth when she saw Marcus slumped over his desk. Rushing to his side, she placed two fingers on his throat. A wave of relief washed over her at the pulse she felt. He was breathing as well. Leaning over to look at his face, she tapped him on the shoulder lightly, "Dad?"

At first he didn't respond. Then one of his hands came up to rub his forehead. Slowly he removed his hand from his face and got back up on the chair. Looking at his daughter, he noticed the worried look on her face. "I passed out, didn't I?" He asked in the fatherly tone he used when talking to his daughters.

Her worry turned to anger, noticing that he was perfectly alright. "You need to take a break!" She yelled, turned around, and left like that.

Marcus looked down at the papers he's been slumbering on. He frowned at the little progress he made so far in his work. He took in a deep breath and let it out. "Perhaps I do need a break."

"When we got back to Noxus after the war, I took the order to come back here to lead the forces that were required to stay. Most of the time, the Ionians are peaceful, so we don't have too much military activity. We've got other military bases, but this is our main one."

"Are you done?" Talon asked without care. He and Malek were sitting on separate couches across from one another.

"You don't rest, do you?" Malek searched a drawer for a list. He found it and gave it to Talon. "That list has all the information on the targets you need to find them. This mission doesn't require you to kill them, just do something that will scare them away from preaching to the public. On second thought, you could probably kill a few, and that would scare away the rest."

Talon scanned the list of names. There was a lot of them, at least thirty big-name freedom fighters. "I'm not to kill them in public, aren't I?"

Malek grinned at the assassin. "I would be concerned about that if you were recognizably Noxian." Talon raised his head to look back at Malek, and he continued, "If I may suggest something that may make this a lot easier as well as add some extra fear in people, is that you do slay them in public. We would have to get you some Ionian clothes to make it seem like it wasn't Noxian suppression."

"I'd prefer to stay in this."

"We have another advantage," Malek added. "You have come around the time of the Lunar Revel. It's a celebration of festivities for the coming of the new year in Ionia. Despite the recent war here, I've received reports that they still intend to celebrate it."

"Festivals only mean more people. Besides having more witnesses to a murder, how is this an advantage?"

"That's just it, Talon. Never underestimate what a few more witnesses can spread." Malek stood from his couch and opened up the door for Talon. "The nearest Ionian village is Kalum, a few miles up north. It's one of the places we've decided not to post soldiers at. That's all you need. I'd like you to get started as soon as you can."

Talon nodded and accepted the door opened for him, leaving the couch and making his way out of the military base.

Talon finally made the trip to Kalum. Citizens flooded the large village. It was more like a city, really. Paper lanterns hung from building to building, lighting the street with its candlelight. Most of everyone he can see were Ionian, but he was able to spot a few Noxians enjoying themselves as well. There was no aggression on either side; both were friendly to each other. Some large stands lined the streets as well, selling their foreign, but still traceable to Ionian heritage, wares.

There were a handful of high-influence freedom fighters in this city. Five of them, they just needed to be found, and killed. Preferably in public but he wasn't going to go out of his way to lure someone onto the streets, even though they should already be out spreading their cause.

He found himself pushing through the crowds, analyzing each and every face for the matches of his targets. After some time of looking, there were none of them in this area. He began to move on when he saw one particular stand selling an assortment of blades and costumes. Talon was here on a mission, but it wouldn't hurt to check out some of what the Lunar Revel has to offer. He came closer to it, and he noticed that it was more than a stand. The collection of wares went inside a building behind it as well. He could recognize some of the weapons hanging on the wall inside the store. Knives, daggers, swords, axes, claymores, scythes, kopeks, spears, almost any non mechanical weapon you could think of. Talon was no collector, but he does have his fair share of different blades back at the mansion.

The "costumes" on sale fit some of the arms. Soldier uniforms equipped with plate and chain mail, most looked Ionian, others were Noxian, some didn't fit any country at all. One of the outfits, though, stood out enough to catch Talon's interest.

The shirt was without sleeves, and was silver. Below it were a pair of blue pants that were heading over to the grayish side. On the left leg was a design of a dragon coiling around the fabric. Thin grieves and gauntlets were set aside but were meant to go with the outfit. Some pieces of decorated metal were strapped to the right hip of the pants. A striped black cape with ruby engraved steel claws at each end hung on to the back of the costume. The whole thing was topped off with a scarlet red scarf wrapped around the opening where the head is supposed to go.

Talon stood staring at it, imagining what he'd look like with it. There wasn't a hood, so that's a minus, but it did have a cape like his, and that's a plus, but that led him into the thought of what gave the designer the idea to put something that was unique only to Talon. Maybe whomever made this saw him during one of his assassinations. A coincidence wasn't likely, so that was probably it. Talon was a bit reluctant to even consider buying the outfit, but once he saw a couple of blades not too far from it, he was sold. A stack of shurikens were piled up. A ruby was in the centre of each one, and the shape of the shurikens were not of any Talon has seen before. Next to the stack was a weapon stand holding Talon's signature weapon. The armblade showed a dragon's head in the back with rubies for the eyes. The blade looked as if it came out of the dragon's mouth, and extended a nearly perfect distance. The middle of the blade was also replaced with a long shaped ruby. The edges arced inward near the beginning of the sharp steel. It fit his tastes perfectly.

In the end, Talon got the garb along with the collection of shurikens and the armblade. Malek did say he needed to not look Noxian after all. He looked almost exactly like what he thought he'd look. He wore the scarf as a mask for his mouth and nose, concealing the lower part of his face. The lack of a hood showed his brown hair going down to his neck, but it wasn't a big deal to him. The sleeveless shirt showed his toned arms along with all the scars he acquired throughout his life. The only downside is that his eyes were in plain sight. Talon didn't like showing his emotions, and whenever he did, it was always the eyes that showed first.

When Talon left the weaponry, he noticed that the streets were louder than before. People gathered around a man who was yelling out words of hatred and spite,

"-First they destroyed our homes," Talon heard the man say, "then they took are land, and then stole our resources! They surround us with their over-aggressive military to contain us, and next they are going to make us their slaves! Are we just going to stay back and let them do this to us? I say no! I suggest we gather together and claim our independence from these treacherous Noxians! Who's with me?"

Harsh. And in no way did that sound peaceful. Talon heard the man being answered by some cheers, more booing, and the rest were unsure. Getting closer in the crowd Talon recognized him as one of his targets. He inwardly smiled at the man's foolishness to attract this much attention. He readied his new armblade to make its first kill. Taking out the centre of attention in a crowd this large will definitely cause panic, and guaranteed to send a message.

A/N: Still awake? Hope it wasn't too boring, but it seemed necessary to write.

Now that the season's over, I'd like to say that I'm willing to play some LoL with whoever is up for it as long as you're on the North American servers. I started playing the month Vayne came out and I think that was around two years ago. I'm a level 30 gold tier summoner and I'm an okay player if I do say so myself. PM me if you're interested and I'll give you my summoner name and we could play a few games together when we both have time. Big thanks for reading, and a bigger thanks for reviewing! :D