Prisoner

The Institute of War

Isaac walked up to one of the robed men sitting outside his glowing orange prison. As he approached, he waved his hand at the man on the other side.

"Hey! You!" He shouted, trying to get the man's attention. No response.

"You! You with robe! I'm talking to you!" Isaac knelt down to the man's level and waved again. He was likely a mere three feet from the man, separated by a glowing orange wall.

"There are five men in this room wearing robes Isaac." Mute's sarcastic remark slightly annoyed Isaac.

He chose to ignore it. "You!" He tried again, "How long have I gotta stay in here?" He asked.

Still no response, the man just kept his head down and his hands together as if he was in a deep meditation. Isaac stood up and threw his hands out to his sides. "Where the hell am I? Can you answer that?! I know you can hear me asshole!" He shouted at the man.

Still nothing.

Isaac dropped his hands to his sides, defeated. "Prick." He muttered and gave the wall a slight kick.

"No! Don't!" Mute's warning came too late. Upon making contact with the wall a bolt of lightning shot out from it and struck Isaac square in the chest, sending him flying backwards towards the center of the large orange walled prison. He landed on the ground on his back, with a thud.

Isaac groaned. "Damn... back is still sore..." He slowly got to his feet, looking back at the robed man. He was looking up now, and it looked like he was laughing.

Isaac didn't even let it bother him, had it been him on the other side he probably would've been laughing too. He just waved it off with his left hand before sitting back down cross-legged in the center of his prison. "What a douche..." He muttered.

"I tried to warn you. Those walls are pulsing with the same energy that was coming out of those canisters we found back in that Ascension base."

"Yeah, great help you were when I needed you the most." Isaac growled. Mute's avatar from the waist up appeared on his HUD. She was standing with her arms crossed, with an irritated look on her face.

"Hey! You're lucky I didn't get fried with the rest of your suit's systems when we got sucked in by that rift! Where would you be without me then huh?" She threw are arms up in the air, and then brought them to rest on her hips, slanting her pose. "Oh that's right! You'd be stuck in this energy prison with no one to talk to! And we would've even be in this cell if you hadn't gone all guns blazing on whoever those people were in the first place!"

Isaac started begin a retort, but nothing came out of his mouth. Fuck... she's got me there. He only closed his eyes and crossed his arms. It had been over a day since he had arrived in...

Wherever he and Mute were now. He had awoken to a loud conversation between two men with fancy robes concerning his armor. Much to his surprise, his wounds had all been healed... somehow, but he wasn't going to argue with the results; his back was a little sore still though.

And how could it not? I had seven knives planted into my back. He let out a sigh. Those damn three... whatever they were. Sure he was able to take on the first with little issues, the second one was tougher but he beat her too. But by the time the last guy arrived, he was dead tired, something that usually doesn't happen thanks to his incredible stamina from being an augmented human. However, the combination of being sucked up by that wormhole and blood loss from injures had whittled him down. It certainly didn't help that he had been significant pain from the injuries he suffered fighting the red head.

Then again, I only bested the first two with my powers. Had I been without those, it could've been a different story. Isaac thought, reminding himself that he shouldn't get overconfident.

Mute herself only came back online within the last two hours... after taking so many hits, the reboot had come to a stop. It wasn't until his armor's self-repairs had finished that he was able to finally finish rebooting her.

"Isaac?" Isaac opened his eyes to see Mute's concerned face on his screen. "You ok?"

"Yeah... just... confused." He rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head around, trying to relieve some of his mental stress.

"Maybe I can help with that." Mute grinned. A knew screen appeared in Isaac's top left HUD, this one showing him a reply of his fight with the black haired girl from his helmet's recorder. "Good thing your suits recorder didn't short out with the rest of the systems. I was able to go over your fight and take a deeper look at it. Something you couldn't do since... well... you know, you were kinda fighting for your life."

"And? What did you find?"

"Well, watch here." The reply cut to the part where the black haired woman had rolled out of the way, and then vanished.

Isaac frowned. "How did she do that?"

"Wait..." Mute replied, "And now this." She showed him the part where he thought he had the red-haired woman, only to have her vanish.

"Yeah... and I know how that ended... trust me."

"But here's the thing... remember how all meta-humans have strange genetic patterns that any gene-scanner can pick up?" Mute asked him.

Isaac shrugged. "Of course, that's how they tell us super-human powered freaks from the "normal" people." He put his hands in the air and made air-quotations as he said the word normal.

"That's not the point Isaac... the point is that those two had no such patterns."

Isaac lowered his head and crossed his arms after hearing that. "What do you mean? They fucking disappeared, teleported, whatever! Normal humans can't do that, so they have to be metas!"

"But that's the thing!" Mute's face clearly showed her fascination with this. "They're not! Their bodies have no such genetic patterns." Three graphs appeared in Isaac's HUD, each one showing a genetic scan of a human being. One was his own, flashing blue to show his status as a meta-human, one was that of a "normal" human being, and then the last one was a scan of a woman, probably the red-head's.

"See? There the same! The "normal" gene layout and that woman's who teleported layout. There are no meta-human genes at all! She's-"

"Normal... on a genetic level that is..." Isaac rubbed the back of his neck; he was just getting more confused. Like how the hell does my suit's gene-scanner still work while my shields decide to go to shit? "So... what? There's nothing off?"

"Well..." Mute's gaze went off to the side of the screen. Isaac's HUD cleared itself so only Mute's screen remained. "That's the thing. I can only do a basic scan with these recordings; I'll need to do one of the same person, in person that is, to see if they really ARE the same."

Isaac closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. This didn't make any sense. "So where the hell are we?" He asked the million dollar question, knowing full well he wasn't going to get an answer.

Mute shrugged in response. "Who knows? Our GPS is giving us the finger, with its unavailable BS."

"And you're sure it's not just getting scrambled?"

"Positive... Isaac," Mute gave him a concerned look, "I think we need to look at the possibility that we are no longer on Earth."

Isaac shook his head. "That's insane. Now I know there are still people on Earth don't even believe that meta-humans like me exist, but not even I believe in this delusional dimensional warp shit."

"But think about it, remember what Firewall said? That rift was like a wormhole. And what do wormholes do Isaac?"

Isaac let out a sigh. "Wormholes, according to science fiction, in a nutshell, are like gates between point A and point B that can span hundreds of light-years in distance." He muttered, rolling his eyes. Seeing that Mute was about to correct him Isaac continued. "Yes, I'm aware that there is a lot more scientific mumbo jumbo involved, I'm just over-simplifying things." She sighed and nodded.

"Close enough. And, if that rift was actually a wormhole of sorts, it would make sense that we would no longer be on Earth."

"If that's the case," Isaac muttered, looking Mute hard in the eyes. "Then where the hell is Oracle and Firewall? They got sucked in by that thing too."

"Well..." Mute looked off to the side again, unable to answer.

Isaac didn't stop though, he couldn't. "And we don't even know if we actually got sucked into that thing! For all we know, we could be in some fucked up afterlife where everyone around us are a bunch of bloodsucking demons just fucking with our heads!"

This time Mute rolled her eyes and gave Isaac a good, "are you fucking kidding me", look.

"And you thought MY idea was crazy? The odds of us being in hell, let alone an afterlife, are none. There is no such thing as an afterlife; it's all just a bunch of anti-scientific bull-"

"Ok, ok! I get it! Take it easy." Isaac shook his head. If he didn't stop her now she would never end her "science verse religion" rant.

"You know... you are sure chatty today. Where are my usual one line responses?" She jested with her normal smirk.

"Maybe..." Isaac gave her is own, "are you kidding me", look. "Maybe it's because in the last thirty hours I've been nearly killed twice, had six daggers in my back, gotten thrown around like a rag-doll by a seven or eight foot man, without any clue what's going on. And on top of all that, my only conversation partner is a SMART-ASS GRINNING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONSTRUCT!" Isaac shouted that last line, venting his frustration.

Mute's expression didn't change. If anything, her grin grew wider. "Feel better now Sergeant Isaac Miller?"

Isaac just stared at her with a blank face for a few seconds before sighing. "I give up... fuck it!" He laid down on his back, staring up at the roof through his orange walled prison.

I wonder what happened to the rest of my team... He thought. Oh, right... sorry Jessica... if I can, I'll find a way back to that base and recover your helmet... might be all that's left of you for a burial. He brought his right hand up to his head to make a salute. Goodbye, Raptor.

The Reporter

The knock at the door brought Kasubel back to the present. About time... He thought before taking a moment to straighten out his robes and sit up straight. Got to look like I fit this damn job.

"Come in." He said loudly.

The door popped open, and a young man with a fancy red robe, gold earrings, and a pair of white feathers that rose out from under his hat, entered the room. He took three steps, stopped, and removed his hat, reviling his clean cut hair, and bowing deeply.

"Ram Steed, journalist, seeker of truth, at your service!" He announced himself, in a fashion that seemed overly dramatic to Kasubel. He let out a quiet groan in response. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Regardless of his second thoughts, he cleared his throat and motioned for the journalist to take his seat. "A pleasure Mr. Steed, truly. I was quite confident you would come after reading my letter."

Ram Steed placed his hat back on his head and took the cushioned seat across from Kasubel, folding his hands over his lap. "Pleasure is all mine, Minister. Not every day you receive such a request, such a scoop!" He paused, and then his smile grew even wider. "Such an excellent payment!"

He really is as into his job as they say... Kasubel didn't know how to take that, given the matter at hand. Better set the record straight. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"Now, I need you to understand one thing first and foremost Mr. Steed.-"

"Ram is just fine Minster."

"Alright, Ram, first and foremost, did you obey the last set of instructions in my letter?"

Ram nodded, his eyes still shinning bright. "Of course, I had the letter burned the moment I finished it. I threw it into my fireplace and made sure it was nothing but ash myself."

"Good, then do you understand our need to be discrete with this matter?"

Ram nodded again. "Of course, it pains me to keep this a secret from the public, but I know when we are done, perhaps there will be no such need?"

"One thing at a time, Mr. Steed, one thing at a time. Sorry... Ram." Kasubel corrected himself. "Now, our... interviewee is still jailed, for now. He has shown no attempts at escape aside from the odd light kick at the prison walls. We confiscated all his weaponry, and there was an awful lot, but we were unable to remove his armor and he still has his magic powers, so caution must be exercised. I'd rather not test how well our barrier can hold him should he unleash whatever magic he is keeping secret from us."

Ram Steed nodded in reply, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a notepad. He grabbed one of the feathers from his head, gave it a quick blow, and put it to the paper. But he did not write anything, and simply looked back at Kasubel, his eyes practically glowing.

Kasubel took that as a hint to continue. "Now, as I stated in my letter, we know nothing of this individual aside from what powers we have witnessed and his advanced technology. Aside from that, nothing: no name, no age, hell we don't even know if it's a human underneath that damn suit of armor."

Ram Steed was already jotting notes down. "A voidling! Wouldn't that be humorous, but anti-climatical." He said, his smile never fading.

Funny, I had the same thought. Kasubel grinned at that. "Now then, I would like you to start your interview within the hour. Is that acceptable, Ram?"

"The sooner the better Minister! I already collaborated a series of questions for our visitor from beyond, more than my usual ten questions I assure you! But, as much as I would like to trust this... magical barrier you have set up around this man, I would still appreciate if I had a guard with me, given my... incident in the past."

You mean the time Shaco nearly stabbed you to death? Kasubel nodded. "Of course." He reassured Steed, and as if on que, another knock at the door. "Come in!"

And in walked in an angel with golden armor and a golden blade, and a face made of rock poked its head through the door.

"You requested our assistance Minister?" The angel planted her sword against the floor gently, resting both her hands upon its hilt. Ram Steed had turned around to see who it was, and he let out an "oh!"

"Will this satisfy you for your need for protection Ram?"

Ram Steed turned back around to face Kasubel, his smile even wider now. "It is PREFECT! I could not ask for better!"

Kasubel nodded. Perhaps... this will work after all.

Isaac found himself pacing around in the perimeter of his cell. As much as he enjoyed the solitude (or as close to it as he got with Mute around), it was missing something important. And that something was SOMETHING TO DO!

"Well... Want to go over the state of your suit again?" Mute asked him. As board as Isaac got, Mute had a billion different things to keep herself occupied.

That, and being made of nothing but ones and zeros meant she really didn't have to be bored. She could simply power herself down at any point in time.

We've gone over it three times already... "No need, unless something else is new?"

"Nope, other than a way to kill time."

Isaac let out a sigh. "Fine." This just showed how board he was, agreeing to this. Never thought boredom would kill me. Usually during times like this I'd practice my combat skills... but with these... vultures watching me...

"Ok, so just so it doesn't leave your head... your shields are totally fried. That transit through the rift we took made them completely and utterly FUBAR, the whole unit needs to be replaced. SO DON'T FORGET YOU HAVE NO SHIELDS!"

"I get it, I get it, I'll be careful."

"Thankfully, the armor's "hardening" still works, so if you really get yourself in deep shit, which you always do, I can activate it without any issues. As for our sensors, our gene-scanner and my data-scanner are all that's left. Night-vision, X-ray, thermal: all gone and fried, so for night ops you'll have to rely on the good old helmet flashlights."

"At least those are still working..." Isaac muttered, not too happy hearing this over again. Starting to regret my decision...

"Thankfully, your Dark Matter Assist, you know the thing that lets you use your dark matter powers without KILLING YOURSELF, still works. Up to a point! It was already damaged from our... travel, and you using it during the fight didn't help. So, please, use your powers at your own risk."

"It's always been at my own damn risk!"

"And mine! Don't forget, I'm in your head too!"

"You would never let me forget!"

"Ok, true. Now, back on track: one of those knives that hit you in the back busted the oxygen unit, so IF you find yourself under water, don't breathe too much."

Isaac stopped walking. "Worst. Advice. Ever."

Mute rolled her eyes in response. "You know what I meant smart-ass. Little breaths." She closed her thumb and her index finger together to get her point across. "What air is trapped inside your suit at the time of submergence is all you got."

"Then let's hope this building isn't in the middle of the ocean then, or we're gonna be here a long time."

"ANYWAYS... GPS still works, but useless right now, so I'm turning it off. Our locaters for the team still function but it's been damaged, so our squad can pick us up within a fifteen kilometer radius, but we can only pick them up within about a hundred meters. It sucks, but if they're out there, they'll have to find us."

"Better than nothing. That all?"

Mute paused for a second. "Yeah, your physical enhancements are all still intact, so there's no worries there. Self-repair obviously works, and above all, I'm still here! So all things considered I think we're ok."

"I was wondering something though..." Isaac muttered as something dawned on him. "This armor is top of the line, borderline top secret. Even without shields it can take several rounds before failing and shrapnel is borderline useless." Isaac frowned. "So how did a bunch of daggers cut through it like butter?"

"... I..." Mute began before her brow furrowed in thought. "I've been trying to figure that one out too. It appears as if those daggers were coated in some form of energy that allowed them to inflict the damage they did. But other then that, I haven't the slightest idea."

"Great... so that leaves one last question."

Mute paused again, her expression slightly troubled. "Yeah... where are we?"

Isaac shook his head in response, he had no idea. But just as he started to walk back to the center of the energy prison he was in, he noticed a door outside his cell open. In walked four new figures, a man in a funny red robe that made him look like some medieval noble, a more elderly man who Isaac recognized as one of the men arguing over what to do about his own armor, but it was the last two that really caught his eye.

A knight with golden armor that had the frame of a woman walked alongside the men, but it wasn't the armor that caused Isaac to raise his eyebrows. It was the pair of white wings that sprouted from her back, and the way they moved made them seem... real.

Then there was the other... thing. A humanoid shaped moving rock. It had hands, feet, a small face, and a massive rocky back, but it was moving.

"Mute?"

"Scanning... my God..."

"You don't believe in any religion remember?"

"No... This... this can't be..." Mute's face was that of total surprise. "Isaac... those two... they're not human."

Isaac looked at Mute's avatar, then back at the two strange figures. "That so?" No surprise about the walking pile of rocks... but still...

"Yes... that rock guy... he's giving of readings I've never seen before. And that woman... those wings, there REAL! There actually, biologically, real! And I don't mean attached, it's like she was born with them. Not even the most advanced genetic technology on Earth can do that."

No surprise there, I'm a product of the most advanced genetic tech on Earth... Isaac noticed that the four of them we're walking up to his so called prison.

"Guess there not here to relive the guard..."

"What do you reckon? They've finally come for a chat?"

"Looks like it."

"Should we try and see what their going to say this time instead of blowing them off? I mean... they must want something with us."

Isaac jarred his neck to his left, cracking it, and then doing the same for the right. "Only one way to find out."

Kasubel watched with caution as the black armored figure approached the edge of the prison where he and the others now stood. Kasubel turned to Ram Steed.

"Alright, listen. He can't hear us on this side, but we can hear him. In order for it to be two ways we'll have to weaken the barrier so he can-" Kasubel began, trying to give one last set of cautionary reminders to the reporter.

But the black armored figure had interrupted them. "So... who are you four?" He asked.

Kasubel looked up the man again. His armor was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was jet black color, all the scraps and cuts on it from his fight with Vayne, Katarina, and Garen had seemingly vanished. It had a smooth look, yet no light shined off it. Its otherworldly appearance was furthered by the fact that the helmet had a pitch black color.

How can one see through that? Kasubel felt that if he started asking the questions, nothing would get done. That's why Ram was here.

"Anyways, good luck Ram." Kasubel nodded to the reporter, and took a step back.

Time to see if this man is worth his salt.

The Interview

Ram Steed's Interview Notes with "Visitor"

Ram: "Greetings. My name is Ram Steed, journalist and interviewer for the former Journal of Justice."

Visitor: (Silence. He simply stares at me)

Ram: "I heard you speak a moment ago, I know you can talk."

Visitor: "Oh so pricks can hear me! I here I was starting to think that maybe you weren't all ignoring me."

Ram: "It's a one way barrier, we can hear you, but until just now you couldn't hear us. But there is an important question. That question is, in fact this: What are you?"

Visitor: "I think the (raises his hands to make air quotations) important question (lowers his hands) is this: Where the hell am I?"

Ram: "You are inside the Institute of War, in the continent of Valoran."

Visitor: "The continent of what?"

Ram: "Valoran. Where did you think you were?"

Visitor: "I was hoping I was still on Earth."

Ram: "Earth? Yes you are on solid ground, or are you referring to the land you came from?"

Visitor: (Silence)

Ram: "Look, either you can go back to pacing around this prison for another day, or we can talk, and MAYBE, we can get a better understand of one another."

Visitor: "I'm not interested in you in the slightest... I just want to know where I am, and how the hell I got here!"

Ram: "I've already told you half of that. The other half, the how you got here part, from what I've been told that is, is that you were apparently crossing the Void to our world when our summoners pulled out mid... Flight shall we say?"

Visitor: (Long pause, before rubbing the back of his neck) "That... almost leaves me with more questions actually."

Ram: "Good, then we can have an exchange. Question for a question, answer for an answer."

Visitor: (Pause) "Alright, shoot."

Ram: "Back to my initial question, what are you?"

Visitor: "I'm a meta-human. There's other words for that too, like freak, abomination, you get the idea."

Ram: "Seems like your kind isn't well liked we're you're from."

Visitor: (Shakes head) "You don't know the half of it. Now, my turn, what is this... Institute of War?"

Ram: "The Institute of War houses the League of Legends. It is where conflicts and disputes are decided in a much more secure and safe fashion as opposed to armed conflict."

Visitor: "That sounds... rather convenient. More like there is no way in hell it works convenient. "

Ram: "It doesn't prevent all conflict, but it has prevented further wars between the nations and city states of Valoran."

Visitor: "Alright... I guess it's your turn again."

Ram: "What is your name?"

Visitor: (Silence)

Ram: "Again, what is your name?"

Visitor: "... Archangel."

Ram: "That's an odd name, is it common in your world?"

Archangel: "No."

Ram: "I see, alright, your turn."

Archangel: "The Void, what is it?"

Ram: "It is a timeless space of nothing, inhabited by creatures beyond mere human comprehension. And it is also the place you were traveling through on your way to our world."

Archangel: "So... it's... what?"

Ram: "I'm afraid that is all I can tell you, simply because we ourselves are not entirely sure what it is either."

Archangel: (Long pause) "I suppose that's your answer."

Ram: "Indeed. Now, some have claimed that you seem to enjoy talking to yourself, and I too find it strange that you make so many pauses. Is there something else inside that head of yours?"

Archangel: (Silence)

Ram: "Well?"

Archangel: "Maybe I'll let her answer for herself..."

Ram: "What do you-"

(A strange, small glowing blue ghost appears in human form, wearing armor with a striking resemblance to that of a suit of Ionian armor. There is mass surprise and near panic all around me from the appearance of this ghost girl, but I assure you, I, Ram Steed, did not falter.)

Ghost?: "He's been talking to me. So no, he's not bat-shit insane, close, but not quite."

Archangel: "Thanks."

Ram: "While that clears a great deal up, it still fails to completely answer my question. So, who are you?"

Ghost?: "Call me Mute."

Ram: "By your wording, I take it that is not your real name?"

Mute: "Nope! My real name is more like AIXB4599... something, something, something."

Ram: "I see, so Mute it is then, a pleasure to meet you."

Mute: "Manners I see, the pleasure is mutual."

(Mute vanishes)

Archangel: "So there you have it... I guess. Now then, my turn. So... (Motions towards Malphite) what the hell is that guy?"

Kasubel read over the interview for the third time while sitting at his desk with Ram Steed across from him. He had a hard time believing it. That damn nutcase of a reporter... he gave me more answers in that twenty minutes then I've had all bloody week.

And Ram must've known that, because he was still smiling like a goon. That, or he's thrilled no one tried to kill him this time.

Kasubel skimmed over the whole interview, until he got to the last part, where Ram's summary was:

Ram: "So let me get this straight. Your name is Archangel, although that may or may not be your real name. You come from an advanced world known as Earth and you are a soldier there. You are something called a meta-human, a human being who has been enhanced by external means, and you were made so with the intent to harm others. And while on a mission, you found yourself teleported to our world."

Archangel: "In a nutshell, yet. And I'm here on this world called Valoran, in your UN-like building called the Institute of War, which governs all your conflict through... arena-like matches and there is currently no known way of me getting home."

Ram: "I'm afraid not, as we still don't know how you even crossed the Void to begin with."

Archangel: "Great... now how about you let me the hell out of here!"

Ram: "That is not my decision, but seeing how you did attack three of our champions, your odds may not be in your favor."

Archangel: "Of course not..."

Ram: "But here, for your boredom."

(I throw a book titled: A Brief History and Overview of Valoran threw a small gap in the barrier near his feet)

Archangel: (Picks the book up and looks it over quickly) "A brief history and overview eh? I suppose I'll take what I can get."

Ram: "Thank you for your time Archangel."

Archangel: "Yeah... sure..." (Walks away, still flipping through the book)

End of Interview

Kasubel wanted to read it over one more time later, but for now he was satisfied. He returned his attention to Ram Steed, who was sitting cross-legged sipping tea, with a smug look on his face.

"I'll admit, Ram, you did much better than I thought you would. This is... a good start to solving one mystery." Kasubel said. In truth, he was more concerned with the mystery of the disappearances then he was with this man. "I'll be keeping this interview of yours for now. I'll forward you a copy once we've settled the matter."

Ram nodded in response. "I feared you would say that, but no matter. It was expected."

"Indeed." Thank god, no "Where is my reporters rights" BS. Kasubel stood up from his desk, and Ram took the hint and did the same, setting his tea down on the edge of Kasubel's desk.

"Thank your for your work Ram." Kasubel thanked the man as he shook his hand.

"Pleasure was all mine." Ram said, before adding "Now, about my... payment."

Kasubel nodded. "Of course. I was the one who had the largest hand in the shutting down of the Journal of Justice. That also means I can lift that ban just as quickly." Kasubel once again took his seat. "Granted you reporters keep your noses clean this time, I'll let you do as you wish."

Ram's face beamed at hearing that. "So then...?"

Kasubel nodded. "Yes, I'll lift the ban."

Ram struck an overly dramatic victory pose. "Yes! Thank you Minister! Now I have reporters to contact, offices to dust off..." He began as he bolted towards the exit. "And news to report!" He shouted that last response as he ran out of Kasubel's office.

Hopefully he doesn't trip on the way out... Kasubel grinned as he looked over Ram's interview with Archangel or whatever he called himself. Now time to do my job... He stood up and made his way out of his office.

Damn, I already know what the Council and the High Council are going to do when they hear all of this. Kasubel thought as he made his way through the halls of the Institute. They're going to try to make him a damn Champion.

Resolution

Interesting... That was the only word that came to Isaac's mind as he read through the book the reporter had given to him. That was, until he remembered that it had been given to him by a reporter.

A bloody journalist... that's the first person in this world that I get an actual conversation with... a bloody journalist... Isaac found that funny in an ironic way. Back on Earth, everyone in TRANS-Ops was under a strict "no talking to press" rule. So having an interview with a reporter as his first conversation on this world was a rather humorous result.

At least he gave me something... Isaac wanted to thank the man if he ever saw him again; this thick history book was just the solution he needed to his boredom. I wonder how this book is in english... what are the odds we speak the same language? I could probably ask Mute about it but I frankly don't care enough about such a small detail.

"Come on, flip the page already!" Mute usurer him along.

"I'm not finished it yet."

"God, you organics read so slow!"

"Well, maybe you should take time to read it yourself rather than taking an instant scan."

Mute rolled her eyes in response. "You know I could just scan the whole book then tell you anything you wanted to know, I'd be a whole lot faster."

"But then I'd be back to being bored as hell. Besides, this is... interesting."

Mute snorted. "You? Finding something academic interesting? Who are you and what did you do with Isaac?"

Isaac rolled his eyes and looked up at Mute's face and her usual smirk in all its glory. "History is interesting when you don't know how it's going to end. Earth history is boring since every empire from the dawn of time is nothing but a pile of ruins now."

"So? There's plenty more to history then a pile of ruins you know. Like the battle of Thermopylae. Please tell me you've heard of it!"

"That's the one where the Spartan king took his army of three hundred Spartans went and got annihilated right?"

Mute rolled her eyes. "They fought against a force of over 200,000 Persians! It was amazing, three hundred brave men with their allies against a force that outnumbered them so greatly that they knew they stood no chance. They fought bravely and-"

"They died."

"Well, yeah but-"

"But they died. That's all that's important Mute. They went to battle and got crushed, they all died. The Spartans fought bravely, they held their ground, but they died."

Mute put her hands on her hips. "The hell is your problem? Never thought you'd get annoyed over the concept of death, seeing how killing people is your day job."

I didn't choose this life Mute, it chose me… you know that. Isaac let out a sigh. "Nothing, just… that's the thing with history. Everyone dies, that's it. Wars are started by old men and the young die for it. In peace, sons bury their fathers…"

"And in war fathers bury their sons. Herodotus said that, so what?"

"I wonder what the Spartan fathers thought of Leonidas when he took their son's off to die…?"

"Knowing Spartans, they probably thought it was glorious."

"And that is why Spartan doesn't exist anymore…" Isaac shook his head and continued reading the book in his hands. Can't stand those war types… it's that same damn bloodlust for power and glory that lead the Halcyon Corporation to start experimenting on humans to try and make the next generation of genetic soldiers… and that lead to the creation of the Ascension and that lead to the Ascension War... Isaac closed his eyes for a moment. All they wanted was money and power, so they fucked me, my sister, my family, and most of the world over!

And now I'm all that's left of my family... Isaac opened his eyes and flipped the page, trying to avoid those thoughts. On the next page was a picture that showed a medieval-like crest. It had two gryphon's holding swords, crossing them just above a blue shield.

The Demacian Crest. Isaac frowned. Demacia…City state on the west coast of Valoran…

His thoughts were interrupted by Mute. "Hey, that crest… doesn't that look familiar?"

He looked back at the picture. "No?"

"It was on that big guy, remember?"

"No, I was too busy getting my ass kicked to notice the damn crest Mute."

"Well, it's the one and the same."

"So the big guy's a Demacian, what does that change?"

"Umm…"

Isaac kept reading. Seems like this Demacia paints itself as the good guy on the block… seems a little too utopian to me. He read a bit farther down before his eyes fell on the list of noble houses: House Lightshield, House Crownguard, House Vayne…

"Hmm…" Mute's voice interrupted him again.

"Hmm? Notice anything Mute?"

"Huh? Oh…" Mute looked off screen again, her usual response when she was unsure of something. "I was just cross checking what that reporter said…"

Isaac looked up from the book and at Mute's face. "I've been meaning to ask… what did we REALLY discover from that interview? From my perspective, it left us with more questions than answers."

"No, you're right there, it did create more questions. And judging by what the history book said about the Void, that reporter wasn't lying when he said that was all they really knew about it."

"So then… how the hell did the Ascension get across it…? And… why?"

"That… is a really good question… But whatever the answer is…"

Isaac shook his head; he knew what she was going to say. "It can't be good."

"I have a theory about it though…"

Isaac closed the book, using his finger as a bookmark. "Shoot."

"Ok, so we had those weird canisters back at the Ascension base right? It gives off the same energy reading as these prison walls."

"Yeah, and?"

"What if… what if this energy could be harvested?"

Isaac thought about it for a moment. Harvested… an unknown energy… energy… power…

Oh shit… "You mean harvesting this strange energy for a source of power?"

"Yes!" Mute's expression lit up. "My theory is that the Ascension has been coming back and forth from this world, harvesting that stuff to power a new generation of weapons. Remember what happened when that bolt of lightning hit that crate?"

"Yeah… it fried Jessica…"

Mute's eyes went downcast at that. "R-right… I didn't mean…"

"I know you didn't, but I get what you're saying." Isaac shook his head and laid back down on his back, looking up at the ceiling again. "A bomb…"

"Yeah… if that small crate was able to incinerate Raptor through her armor…"

"A larger explosion could turn an entire downtown district into ash…" Isaac closed his eyes. Great…

"Also, I compared the energy readings from those canisters and the prison walls with the energy readings from those daggers that managed to penetrate your armor. They are similar in nature."

"So they can use this same energy to enhance weapons like knives to the point they make suits of armor that can block bullets... useless?

"It certainly appears that way."

Isaac sighed. Great... just fucking great...

There was a period of silence between them.

"So…" Mute broke the silence. "What do we do?"

"We do our job." He sat up, and opened his eyes, staring at the floor. "We find where they've been harvesting the stuff… and we kill them all."

"And we go home?"

"… After we find Firewall and Oracle."

Mute smirked. "Leave no man or woman behind huh? Sounds like a good plan. We've only got an entire world to search."

Isaac flipped the book back open, checked the page number and made a mental note of it before closing it back up.

"This is going to take awhile isn't it?" Mute asked. "Like… a long while…"

Isaac stood up, and glanced over his shoulder on a whim. Behind him, the elderly man was entering the room with the golden armored angel and the rock monster again. But instead of the reporter, the woman with the long black hair who he had fought earlier was with them. Something tells me this is going to be my chance.

"Isaac?" Mute's head was tilted to the side. "What are you going to do?"

Isaac cracked his head to the left and right again.

"We've got an entire continent to search Mute." He turned around and walked towards the group. "So I guess we better get started."