AN: Now, some of you may notice the lack of the whole FAQ thing I talked about 2 weeks ago. This is because while I started to write said FAQ, I realized there was really no way to do it without dropping potential spoilers. So I'll be putting it off for some time until I deem the story to have gotten far enough ahead where it is safe to bring such topics up.
Ionia
If Isaac had to describe Ionia in a single word, it would be beautiful.
Wow… Isaac thought, his jaw wide open as his horse trotted along the road with the rest of the army. To the left of him, the ground gave way to a cliff with a massive drop that would be fatal to anyone who fell, but Isaac was not paying attention to that. Instead, he took in the amazing view of the untouched wildlife. There were mountains in the distance, and on the horizon, Isaac could see the dwindling sight of the capital city and the glittering of the ocean.
You would never see a sight like this near ANY city on Earth…
At least, not one that he had been to.
"You know…" Mute began, "I bet most locations on Earth looked like this before industrialization."
"Yeah." Isaac said. "Not that I think about it, the surrounding area of Piltover didn't have this kind of landscape when we got near it."
It made Isaac wonder, just how much of Runeterra was industrialized. Was it just Piltover?
Isaac pushed the thoughts out of his mind for the time being, deciding that he would ask Mute more about it later… assuming she had that knowledge of course.
He was, after all, going to have plenty of free time on this campaign during the march.
Speaking of the campaign… Isaac looked away from the amazing view of the land, something that took more effort then he would ever admit, and looked ahead of him.
As far as he could see on the road ahead were soldiers and supply wagons. The army wasn't marching in a single-file line neck to neck, but instead were somewhat spread out. Not overly spread out, but still, each soldier and his/her horse (if mounted) had plenty of room around them.
The army was likely spread out on the road for hundreds of meters, as he discovered Irelia had departed the city with an army of eight thousand. Isaac himself was currently located a bit farther back from the center of the force.
Eight thousand had seemed like a small number to Isaac, and he had a pretty good understanding of military strategy, but that knowledge did not spread to army logistics and medieval strategies, so he had asked Mute what was up with the Ionian army's number and why is had spread itself out so much.
"While you were in your coma, we told Irelia known Ascension tactics and weapons, as well as modern earth military technology that the Ascension would have. More specifically, explosives and missiles. Now, we don't know if the Ascension is going to spot the Ionian army and go oh look, a nice bunched up target, and carpet bomb us, but Irelia must have decided not to take that risk and spread the army out over a distance." Mute had explained to him. "As for the numbers game, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe Irelia didn't feel comfortable taking ALL the soldiers out of the capital city?"
Fair point. Isaac had thought. I'll have to ask her later.
Of course, that would have to wait until the army made camp for night, assuming they didn't make this a night march too. Irelia could be anywhere in this massive Congo-line of soldiers… and Isaac…
Well... I've got some… "baggage" that I'm not sure wants to be anywhere near Irelia…
Isaac looked to his side. Directly to his right was Syndra, riding next to him with her horse being tied to his. Her head bobbed up and down as she glanced around the blue sky… eyes wandering aimlessly with a clear expression of boredom on her face.
… And I'm pretty damn sure Irelia doesn't want Syndra anywhere near her either. Isaac thought. He understood that Irelia was against Syndra coming along, but she didn't stop him from having her come along either… and she totally had that power.
Syndra aside, there was all the other champions. Isaac new that the majority of them were up ahead somewhere. He had seen Galio flying for a little bit, and at some point in time, he saw Ezreal on his horse come back to join him for a little bit. After he had checked in to make sure that Isaac was fine, the explorer had galloped back up to where he was before. He had asked Isaac if he wanted to join him and the other champions, but Isaac was fine where he was. Ezreal had asked why he wanted to keep a distance from the others, but after Isaac had explained it to him he understood and went on his merry way.
Those reasons being four-fold. First, Syndra. Isaac knew that she was clearly unwanted and unwelcomed, and since he was now suck with her, she would've had to come too. Isaac didn't particularly care for Syndra's emotional state, but he didn't want to aggravate the incredibility powerful mage by mixing her in with a bunch of people who hated her.
That, he didn't want to listen to any arguments that would undoubtedly come up. Which led to his second reason… the Demacian champions. Additionally, Syndra wanted to know about his powers, and Isaac was one hundred percent not going to have that discussion near the Demacians… or Ahri.
That fox woman already looked like some kind of jealous girlfriend when she thought I was more willing to trust Syndra then her… even though I don't trust either of them. If she found out I had shared even the slightest bit of personal information with Syndra after knowing her for less then a day, then she would never let me hear the end of it. Isaac had decided.
Staying in Ahri's good books (or at least off her shit list) was still an important secondary objective, given her power.
Speaking of which… Isaac wanted to prick her brain a little more at a later date about what other info she may have gotten from taking the essence of the two Ascension soldiers. Not because it was a security breach for Earth's safety, but what Ahri may think to be useless info to her, might actually be something useful to TRANS-Ops back on Earth.
As for the Demaicans, as much as Isaac tolerated Sona since out of the three she appeared to be the only one who he could more or less get along with… Galio and Shyvana were his main concerns. Between Galio's passive aggressiveness, and Shyvana being… well, Shyvana, Isaac wasn't in the mood to spend hours and hours each day for the next… whenever, being in THAT close proximity to the two inhumans.
The third reason was a tactical one. If the army was every attacked on the march, having the power players spread out was actually better. If all the League champions were bunched in the center then an attacked only needed to aim someplace else to cause maximum chaos. Or, if an attacked wanted to take out all the power pieces on the board in one fell swoop, having everyone together would again pose a problem.
The fourth reason was about ten meters behind Isaac. That being Blitzkrieg, Isaac's truly only trustworthy companion (aside from Mute… and maybe Ezreal). Due to the damage their suits had taken when they had first arrived in Valoran, Isaac's COMs unit had minimal range at best... so the closer he was to Blitzkrieg the better. Sure, the new limited distance had a far greater capacity then the ten or so meters he and Blitz were currently apart, but since he and Blitz were clearly also unwanted here by the soldiers, being closer to each other had it's perks there too.
And by that, I mean Blitzkrieg's abnormal size intimidates the living shit out of everyone.
That, and ever since "story time with Blitz", everyone saw Blitzkrieg as a ticking time bomb ready to go off any second and murder the shit out of someone. Of course, the TRANS-Ops soldiers and AIs knew that wasn't true at all.
However, all that logic aside, Mute still called him out on using those four reasons to keep a distance from the other champions as an excuse for Isaac to be anti-social. Isaac denied it, of course…. But he and Mute both knew she was right to some extent.
Isaac let out a sigh and returned to the present. He saw through the corner of his eye that Syndra was giving him the occasion glance, but decided not to comment on that.
Then he saw her look down at the anti-magic bracers that adorned her wrists and start to pick at one of them. She likely had no idea he was watching her due to his tinted visor.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Isaac warned her, but didn't turn to look at her. Syndra however did, and she scowled.
"I hate this! I am NOT some prisoner!" She growled at him.
"Looks to me like you are." Isaac rolled his neck. "Think of it as being less as a prisoner and more as a VIP."
Syndra frowned. "V… I… P?"
"Outworlder jargon, means very important person."
Syndra rolled her eyes at that for a moment before she resumed her glare at Isaac. "This!" She pointed to the bracer that was wrapped around her neck like a collar that you put on a dog. "Was NOT part of our deal!"
Isaac turned his head to Syndra this time. "No, no it wasn't, and you can blame that on the soldiers. They like me about as much as they like you."
Syndra scoffed. "I've noticed. What did you do?"
Isaac rolled his eyes. "Nothing, they're just assholes." He said, ignoring Mute's laugh.
Syndra hmphed. "Looks like we agree on something."
"Looks like it…"
There was silence for nearly a minute, before Isaac noticed Syndra was glancing at him again. He had a pretty good idea that she wanted to talk about THAT.
THAT, being his powers.
… Let's get this over with…
"So…" Isaac began, getting Syndra's attention (even though he knew he already had it), "speaking of that deal of ours… you had questions you wanted to ask me, right?" He asked.
Syndra blinked once, then nodded.
"So… ask away."
"Your powers… what are they? How do they work?" She asked without a hint of hesitation.
Isaac paused for a moment while he thought of how to word it. Even as he opened his mouth, he had to think carefully on what he said. He couldn't risk telling Syndra ALL the truth.
"To be honest… I'm not entirely sure. Wait, let me explain." He said, before quickly raising a hand to stop Syndra as she opened her mouth to say something. "My primary power as a meta-human is the ability to manipulate something we call dark matter. The reason I don't fully understand my own powers is because even the greatest scientific minds on Earth aren't a hundred percent sure as to what dark matter even is. When I was in training, the… scientists who… gave me, I guess, my powers had a very hard time understanding how my ability worked. Such as, am I just manipulating the dark matter around me, or am I creating it out of thin air... I've lost you already, haven't I?"
Syndra had a furrowed brow and a slightly confused expression on her face. She pressed her lips together for a moment. "No… well… just, is dark matter related to the three states of matter?"
Isaac opened his mouth to correct her on the "three states" part, but quickly decided against it.
No, I don't think they've discovered plasma as a state of matter yet… on the other hand its good to know Runeterra has some general understanding of the sciences outside of Piltover.
"… I don't know." Isaac instead answered. "Like I said, the best scientists on Earth don't actually know what dark matter is… hell, a few people still think its only hypothetical. Some even theorized that I'm not actually using dark matter at all, and instead its something else entirely."
Syndra tilted her head to the side. "Well… could it be magic?"
Isaac shook his head. "No, magic doesn't exist on Earth, at all. Meta human powers appear… magic like, but they aren't magic."
Mute's scanner confirmed that early on… magic gives off a completely different wave length.
"What else can you tell me about it?" Syndra asked, although it was obvious to Isaac she was having some level of difficultly following, not that he blamed her. He was the same way when he and Mute discovered magic.
"While I can manipulate dark matter to my whim, I can generally only use it for destructive purposes. I've seen some magic users here use magic to levitate, generate light, heal wounds, all in addition to casting combat magic. I can't do that. My power is meant only to cause damage."
"Didn't you use a chain of sorts made of… dark matter?"
"Yes, but that is me giving the dark matter form through my own thoughts." Isaac explained. "However, skin that comes into contact with said powers is… burnt? I guess? Its like a burn, but not really one…. Its hard to explain, so let's just go with that just coming into skin contact with the dark matter I manipulate hurts like hell."
"But you can create objects with it?"
"To some extent, yes. But again, for the purposes of combat only, you won't see me building city walls out of dark matter."
Syndra gave a hmm and turned her head away from him, staring out onto the road ahead.
I hope that satisfied her… Its important I don't mention how using my power has a negative effect on my body. Its only thanks to this suit and my inhibitors that I'm able to use it at all without causing extreme pain or having it fly out of control.
Or worse…
"How did you get your power?" Syndra asked, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow, as if she was skeptical about this whole conversation.
Isaac thought of how to tell her without revealing really anything about his back ground… but instead he gave a sigh.
"Same way they make any meta-human gain powers." He answered honestly. "Through rigorous training, injections, and round the clock torture for your entire childhood."
At dusk, the army's march came to a halt and set up camp for the night, something Isaac was more then happy to do. Riding a horse for hours on end caused his legs to cramp up, and so the exercise was more then welcome.
However, he was quickly presented with a new slightly annoying problem. Setting up a tent.
And once the nearby soldiers noticed that he was again lacking what they considered a basic skill (like horseback riding), he quickly found himself yet again at the center of a joke.
This is annoying as shit… Isaac thought as he struggled with putting up the tent. He couldn't tell what was more annoying: the fact that he could disassemble, replace broken parts, and then re-assemble the most complicated firearms on Earth in less then a minute, but couldn't put together a fucking tent… or the fact that nearly every surrounding soldier had finished setting up their tents and were not snickering at him.
A few of them even had the balls to laugh at him.
"What? You skip tent class or something?" One soldier jested loudly at him, earning a chorus of laughs from everyone within earshot.
Thankfully, the jokes came to a grinding halt when Syndra started snarling at everyone. Somehow, the dark mage in magic-restraining binds was more terrifying to the Ionian soldiers then Isaac was fully clad in high-tech armor from another world.
… These guys need to get their priorities straight…
Speaking of Syndra…
"Shouldn't you be setting up a tent or something?" He asked the dark mage who was lazing about on a patch of grass nearby, watching Isaac struggle with the tent.
Once she realised that Isaac was talking to her Syndra rolled her eyes.
"Do you really think they gave me a tent?" She snorted. "I would always just summon something up... and as you can see…" She motioned towards the anti-magic bracers on her wrists. "That doesn't seem to be possible right now."
"… Good point… but where are you going to sleep then?"
Syndra's head jolted back and she blinked, as if she had just heard someone ask her a stupid question with an obvious answer. "Well yours, duh."
"Huh?"
Syndra rolled her eyes. "Seeing how the soldiers have made it very clear I'm NOT to be far from you I though it would be obvious that we would be stuck sharing a tent." She said and proceeded to roll over onto her back, staring up a sky as the sun set in the distance.
Isaac opened his mouth to object when he realized that what she said was pretty much the truth. It was painfully clear that no one wanted Syndra in the army at all, and thus she was under Isaac's watch.
Great… I have to share a tent with a crazy woman who may or may not be one of the most dangerous and mentally unhinged mages in all of the world…
Isaac had half a mind to tell her to fuck right off since there was no way he trusted her enough to fall asleep near her… but Isaac didn't truly believe Syndra would try and slit his throat in his sleep. If she tried anything funny while he was out, he would just have Mute alert him… and then he would proceed to slit HER throat open.
So… what? She gets to laze about while I get to look like an incompetent buffoon? Hell no.
"Guess that means you're sleeping outside." Isaac stated in a manner of fact way.
"What?!" Syndra half screamed as she rolled onto her side to give Isaac a nasty glare.
Isaac grinned under his helmet. "Well, seeing how I'm the one putting the tent together and you're just lying around…"
Syndra snorted. "You can't be serious."
"What makes you think I'm not?"
Syndra growled at him for a moment before standing up. She walked over to Isaac and picked up one of the rods used to pitch the tent.
Was that so hard? Isaac mentally mocked her as he went back to trying to put the tent together… only to have a shiver go down his spine.
With lightning fast reflexes Isaac twirled around and caught the wooden rod in his palm a foot away from his face, earning a surprised look from Syndra, who was holding said rod and had just tried to bash him in the back of the head with it.
… This bitch…
Isaac's eyes narrowed. "Care to explain…?" He asked as he and Syndra stared one another down, one with a look of caution and the other with a surprised marking her face.
"H… how… did…?" Syndra tried to form words, clearly taken off guard as to how Isaac had known she was about to strike him in the back of the head.
Extra-sensory perception… that's how.
"Again… care to explain?" Isaac asked as he wrenched the rod out of Syndra's hand… something that took no effort since Syndra offered no resistance. "I thought I said help pitch the tent… not hit me in the back of the head."
Syndra snarled and instead of backing off, she got right in his face. "I am NOT some slave girl you can just order around!" She spat at him, and Isaac felt her jab a finger into his armor's chest piece. "So, if you think you can just order me around like one because of our circumstances, you can go fuck yourself!"
Isaac didn't even blink as Syndra stared him down, her face inches from his visor. Even though he was well aware that at full power Syndra could possibly squish him like a bug, Isaac had stared down far greater horrors in his life…
He heard Mute sigh. "I'm starting to wonder if EVERY powerful person we meet on Runeterra is going to be as mentally unhinged as she is…"
You're the idiots who keep telling me to make friends with powerful magic users!
Isaac raised a hand and slowly pushed Syndra away from him, something she clearly let him do since she offered no resistance.
"Look…" Isaac had to do his best to remain diplomatic and not get snappy with the dark mage, "Either you HELP me put this tent together… or we're both going to be sleeping outside." He said to her in a calm but serious tone.
"This is going to be a long campaign… so lets TRY to get along, alright?" Isaac half-asked half told her as he presented her with the same rod she had just tried to break over the back of his helmet.
I don't need ANOTHER Shyvana on my hands…
Syndra glared at him for another few seconds before her eyes went down to the pitching rod in his hand, and Isaac saw the defiance slowly drain out of her.
"Fine…" She sighed, taking the rod from his hand. "But there's only one problem."
"What?"
A snarky grin appeared on Syndra's face. "I've never set up a tent either."
… For fuck sakes…
"There!" Ezreal exclaimed, "All done!"
He took a step back to admire his work. His tent propped up perfectly, matching the uniform appearance that all the nearby soldiers had set up their tents in.
Keep forgetting that the Ionian troops are disciplined… Ezreal mussed. Given recent events, the Ionian soldiers really haven't been showing them their best, at least, when it comes to Archangel.
At least they've been alright with everyone else… Ezreal sighed. He hadn't received any sass yet from the troops, neither had most of the other champions, but some of the non-human champions were being given a wide berth.
Can't really say I blame them though. Ahri can to some extent control minds, Galio is a magic-immune gargoyle, Shyvana can pulverise anyone even in her human form, and Varus is… well Varus.
The exception to that whole "being cautious around the non-humans" thing was Soraka. It was blatantly obvious that the Ionian troops revered her to some extent.
That's been pretty handy for her too… Ezreal grinned as he glanced over to Soraka, where she sat meditating in front of her own tent. The Ionian troops had done it for her, unlike everyone else.
Thankfully, Ezreal had plenty of experience camping out, so he didn't need any help. Shyvana had made quick work of setting up the tent she and Galio would be staying in (an extra-large tent too to make up for Galio's size) as well as helping Sona put up hers. Ezreal guessed that Shyvana had plenty of experience on the campaign trail herself, seeing how she was part of the Demacian elite guard.
Now that he thought about it, Ezreal found it kind of funny how both Shyvana and Archangel bashed heads with each other on every occasion. He knew Shyvana could be a total hothead at times, but he was surprised to see that Archangel was so willing to antagonise her at every chance they got. Not that he could blame Archangel, given that Shyvana's opening comments to him had been meant to gourd him into a fight.
Her remark about Vega pissed me off too… Ezreal sighed. Even then I wouldn't have tried to fight her.
Unlike Archangel, Ezreal didn't have a suit of armor to protect him from Shyvana's flame breath.
And now here we all are… in an army together. This is going to end in disaster.
Ezreal found it odd though, that he would be following Irelia's orders. He had never been part of any army before, and as a League champion of Piltover, Irelia held no actual authority over him. However, given the situation and Irelia's military history, he was willing to let her boss him around.
Must be the same for the others… or else people like Shyvana wouldn't have to follow any orders since she's a Demacian elite soldier and not an Ionian elite soldier.
"It's going to rain tonight." A sudden unexpected voice caught Ezreal's attention. He turned around to see Lee Sin siting cross-legged in front of his own tent in a similar manner to Soraka.
"Come again?" Ezreal asked, confused by Lee Sin's sudden remark. "It's clear skies."
"Clear now, yes…" Lee Sin nodded, facing ahead off into nothing. "But a storm is on the rise."
He heard a yawn nearby and turned his head to see Ahri half lying inside her own tent, half outside it. The vastaya woman rolled over onto her stomach and propped her head up with one hand, her elbow sinking into the grass.
"Is that supposed to be some kind of metaphor?" Ahri sighed.
"Yes, and no." Lee Sin responded.
"Great…" Ahri sighed. "Clear weather for the past week, and it finally decides to rain on the first day we're out of the Blooming Lotus."
Ezreal let out a small chuckle as he joined his fellow champions in the art of sitting on the ground.
"Well, at least we have tents." He said. "Been way too many times I've had to camp out in the rain with nothing but the tree canopies to shelter me."
"Me too." Ahri nodded. "But at least Ionian rain showers aren't as cold as Freljord ones."
Ezreal nodded, knowing that Ahri was referring to one of Ezreal's adventures in the northern most region of Valoran. Silence loomed over the three champions for a few seconds before it was interrupted by an approaching Shyvana.
"I hope they at least have some meat here." Shyvana grumbled before she too joined the sitting champion's club near Ahri. "If not, I'll have to go hunting, and these Ionian soldiers are already looking at me like I'm going to eat THEM."
Ezreal was minorly surprised at this, seeing how he never took Shyvana for much of a social person. Then again, he never spent much time with the Demacian champions outside of Summoner's Rift, and a League match wasn't the best place for a social visit.
Well… with one exception. That exception being back in Demacia.
Ahri looked Shyvana over with a raised eyebrow. "Shyvana, darling, the soldiers are looking at you like that because you CAN turn into a dragon that could eat them."
Shyvana growled slightly, turning her attention to the fox vastaya. "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't eat humans!"
Ahri's mouth grew into a mischievous grin. "Really? I could have sworn I'd heard that you tried to roast a certain outworlder alive at lunch a few days ago."
Shyvana glared at Ahri for a moment before rolling her eyes. She mumbled something under her breath that Ezreal didn't catch, but whatever she said caused Ahri to snicker.
"Hey…" Ezreal spoke up, getting the ladies attention. "Now that I think about it… you're sharing a tent with Galio, right?"
Shyvana blinked. "What of it?"
"I've been wondering something, how does he… sleep? He isn't biological."
There was a long pause at his question. At first, Ahri raised an eyebrow at Ezreal for the completely random question before she furrowed her brow and turned to Shyvana. "Hey… now that I think about it too… how does he?"
Shyvana looked from Ezreal, to Ahri, and back to Ezreal. "I… never thought about that either..." She shrugged. "I guess he just… powers down? Like one of those… uh… what are they called? Like the things that Hextech makes."
"Machines?" Ezreal offered her an answer.
Shyvana nodded. "Yeah, one of those."
"You mean like Blitzcrank?" Ahri inquired.
Ezreal shook his head. "Nah, Blitzcrank isn't Hextech, he was made by a group of students at Zaun's College of Techmaturgy."
Shyvana cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "Now, Blitzcrank's origins and the random questions about Galio's sleeping habits aside..." She glanced around her. "Where are the outworlders?"
"You mean Archangel and Blitzkrieg?" Ahri asked, getting a nod from Shyvana. "I don't know, somewhere farther back in the camp?"
"Why is he back there?"
"Uh…" Ezreal spoke up, getting the ladies attention again. "I asked him to join us earlier, but he said he wanted to keep a distance from us during the march in case we get attacked, so we would be more spread out."
There were three more reasons actually… one of which has something to do with a certain human/dragon hybrid here, but I'm not telling them that.
Shyvana scoffed lightly. "That doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't he be near Irelia like the rest of us, so that if we do get attacked she can give orders quickly?" She asked.
"He said that the Ascension could make…." Ezreal furrowed his brow as he tried to remember Archangel's exact wording but when he failed to do that, he came up with his own. "… some kind of long-ranged strike, and if they did make that strike they would aim for where the most powerful people were congregated since it's a high-yield explosive. He thinks that spreading out is a better decision… and its not like Irelia ordered us to take up to take up certain positions during the march."
Ahri's eyes went wide at Ezreal's explanation for a moment, before she let out a groan and let her head hit the grass. "Great… I didn't want to sleep anyways…"
Ezreal heard Lee Sin chuckle at Ahri's sudden woes. The vastaya in question rolled over onto her back with a sigh and looked back up at Shyvana.
"Why did you want to know where Archangel and Blitzkrieg where?" She asked.
"Because I have a claw to pick with one of them, and the other is a psychopath." Shyvana grunted. "Guess which is which?"
She didn't need to go into any more detail then that. Everyone had seen what Blitzkrieg had done in that prison, and it came as a shock to most of them. Everyone had seen him as the more temperamental one of the pair, yet he did… well… THAT.
Maybe it has to do with being a meta-human… Ezreal had thought. He had several theories on his own about Archangel, Blitzkrieg, meta-humans, the Ascension and this TRANS-Ops that the two were apparently part of. He had to make up his own theories because they had been pretty tight lipped about the whole thing.
Well, until recently, that is. Ever since Bligewater, they had apparently decided to be more open about their secrets... and as much as Ezreal enjoyed solving some mysteries it worried him.
If things were going well, they would still be keeping everything tight lipped… they must be worried about how things are going if they're doing a complete one-eighty on the whole thing…
"…. What?"
Ezreal blinked as he came out of his thoughts and back to the conversation at hand. Shyvana, who had spoken that last single word, was staring at Ahri with a somewhat wide-eye expression on her face that didn't fit her.
Ahri on the other hand had a cheshire grin plastered all over her face.
"Hmm?" Ezreal glanced from one to the other. "I missed that, what?"
Ahri giggled. "Oh nothing Ez… I was just making some… observations about Shyvana's odd fixation on our favorite outworlder.
Ezreal furrowed his brow in confusion and turned to Lee Sin, who of course was still meditating in silence. He looked back at Shyvana who looked as if someone had just told her that the army's supply of meat had run out already.
"I…" Shyvana began before she blinked a few times, clearing in some kind of shock. "What? H-how, does THAT have to do with anything? How does either of those things have anything in common!?"
Ahri giggled. "Come now, it was a simple question. I asked when was the last time you got laid."
Ezreal's eyes went wide. W-wha, HUH?! What did Ahri just ask her?!
His surprise quickly paved way for humor though upon seeing Shyvana's suddenly very nervous face.
"I… I fail to see why that's important…" The dragon mumbled out, which only caused Ahri grin even further.
"Oh really now?" Ahri giggled again, her tails twitching, showing her excitement. Ezreal had to sutably cover his mouth to hide his growing grin as he watched the fearsome winged terror of Demacia get reduced to a toy in Ahri's palm.
"My dear Shyvana…" Ahri giggled as she spoke. "if your having a dry spell there's no need… to… deny…" Ahri's voice started to trail off and her face clouded over with a thoughtful expression for a moment, breaking the flow of her words. While she appeared to suddenly fall deep into thought, Ezreal spotted Sona and Galio approaching from behind Shyvana.
As soon as the other two joined the group, Ahri's thoughtful expression broke way for a much more playful one.
"Wait… Shyvana… could your obsession with fighting Archangel be because…" Ahri stopped halfway and began to giggle. "Darling… are you in heat?"
Shyvana's head reared back as if she had been struck. "W-what?! No!"
Upon seeing Shyvana become completely shocked, Ezreal couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a brief snort. When Shyvana's gaze darted right from Ahri to him, he covered it up by looking away and pretending to have a coughing fit.
Oh man… this is funny! Ezreal thought as he tried to hold his laughter in. Even though vastaya totally don't go into heat!
Ezreal felt something snap in his mind and his eyes went wide. He had totally forgotten something in the moment… a very important fact.
Although Shyvana appeared as a human/dragon hybrid… she was in technically a full-fledged dragon mistakenly imbued with some form of human magic, which gave her human appearance and tendencies. She was NOT a vastaya.
... Dragons don't go into heat… do they? Wait, now that I think about it, since Shyvana has a human appearance does she lay eggs or does she…
… huh… I actually don't know…
His thoughts were broken when he heard Shyvana growl again. "What's it to you anyways?" Shyvana blinked once then rolled her eyes. "Now that I think about it, I've noticed you've had a fixation on him too."
Ahri blinked, clearly taken a little off guard about how the conversation had been redirected at her. "Oh?" She titled her head to the side, before Ezreal saw her eyes drift away from Shyvana and up to Sona. "I guess that makes three of us then."
Shyvana raised an eyebrow, then realized what Ahri had said had turned around to look up at Sona.
… Hey what wait?
Ezreal raised an eyebrow and looked from Ahri to Sona, who appeared to be very surprised at what Ahri said, before she started looking back and forth from Ahri and Shyvana, shaking her head in frantic denial.
Shyvana let out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously Sona…?" She shook her head. "Seriously?"
Ezreal had to do his best to snuffle another laugh when he saw how flustered Sona was getting.
Hah! Nobles…
Ahri seemed to enjoy the whole thing, but then she suddenly sighed, rolling over again like a cat. "Well… I can't say you're wrong Shyvana." She said.
Shyvana looked back to Ahri with a strange expression. "What?"
Ahri giggled. "Well… I do find Archangel to be quite attractive and I do like scars. It's also been longer then usual for me since my last… amorous adventure." She grinned. "I have a feeling I'm not the only one here though on both accounts…"
Ezreal blinked in surprise when he saw Sona's face get redder, and Shyvana's eye twitched.
… No way… Ezreal's eyes went wide when he saw this. Do they all….. wow….
Ahri seemed to notice too and her mischievous smile returned. "I'll make you both a deal. When I'm done having my own dry spell broken by a certain outworlders, I'll be sure to give you virgins all the details." She started to giggle again, "If anything, just because your reactions to teasing are so priceless!"
Awkward silence reigned over the group… and Ezreal felt another urge to laugh grow in him when he saw how Sona's face turn an unhealthy shade of red, and Shyvana's eye twitch again.
…. Wait…. Are they both…. For real?
Ezreal couldn't hold it in, and he let the dam break.
"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!" Ezreal heard Shyvana shout as he fell onto his back, holding his sides, body shaking on its own as the laughter erupted from his body. Through his tear stained eyes, Ezreal saw that Ahri's shoulders were shaking from her own laughter… meanwhile Shyvana was looking at him like she wished he were dead, and Sona looked like she was about to die from the embarrassment.
"Yo… ou…" Ezreal tried to manage between gasps for air and laughs. "You… one of the most… feared… Shyvana… and… you've never…"
"Fuck this…" Shyvana growled as she stood up. "I'm going hunting."
"Y-yeah…." Ahri managed through her own giggles. "Fuck this… because it's the only way you've…" That was as far as Ahri got when she started to laugh again.
Shyvana threw one final "JUST DIE" look over her shoulder at Ahri before storming off.
To the side, Ezreal heard Lee Sin sigh. "I do not understand why that is so funny… if they neither of them have met someone yet, it should not be for you to laugh at."
Ezreal took a deep breath in as he tried to bring his laughter under control. "S-sorry." He managed to get out, although it sounded like a weak apology through his own chuckles.
He saw Sona throw Ahri a nasty look, then her gaze went to Galio who had been silently watching the whole affair. Strangely enough, Galio seemed to waiver slightly under Sona's glare, before he sighed and turned to the laughing Ahri.
"Ahri… Sona would like you to know that she doesn't feel comfortable having her sex life compared to someone…" Galio trailed off for a moment, clearly uncomfortable himself with being the messenger drawn into this. "Someone as… loose… as you."
Ahri paused her laughter for a moment at that, and Ezreal could have swore he saw her expression cloud over for a moment with something that was anything but pleased. However, he quickly played it off as his own imagination because Ahri started to grin again.
"That's fine Sona dear…" She giggled. "Its ok to be a little jealous."
Sona gave a silent huff in response before turning on the spot and walking away. Galio gave an exasperated sigh before following her.
"Ah…" Ezreal heard a distance Soraka speak up. "The joys of youth…"
As Ezreal's laughter died out he wondered if he should mention this to Archangel... or if it would really matter. As he weighed his options in his head, he failed to notice that Ahri's face had clouded over with a troubled frown.
It wasn't until the sun had set that Isaac and Syndra had finished assembling their tent. Upon it's completion the two of them stood back and "admired" their work.
"Hmph!" Syndra scoffed, looking around them. "You have all these neat, uniformly placed tents, then you have THIS piece of shit…" She motioned with her head towards the half-assed assembled tent that belonged to them.
Hey! We did out best.
Isaac sighed and shook his head. Half their tent looked like it was ready to fall down with the slightest breeze. Before he could make his own comment on their handiwork, Mute's avatar appeared in the usual spot.
"You better hope it doesn't rain or something… with the shape THAT thing is in, water will pool in the top and either make it even more lopsided, or the whole thing is going to come down on you when you're sleeping." She stated with a smirk.
Shup up Mute… I didn't see YOU out here helping us… Isaac thought, blissfully ignoring the fact that Mute had no physical form, but decided he was going to blame her anyways for lending a hand.
"Champion Archangel?" Someone called to him from behind. Isaac looked over his shoulder to see who it was and was greeted with the sight of a spear-wielding Ionian soldier.
… Great…
"Yes?" Isaac replied as he turned around. He was glad he was wearing his helmet since he was rolling his eyes.
"General Irelia has requested your presence." The soldier informed him.
Isaac raised an eyebrow. General…?
Isaac glanced over to Syndra. "Just me?" He asked.
"Yes. She said nothing about…" The soldier suddenly appeared uncomfortable when he looked at Syndra. "S-Syndra…"
Responded by rolling her eyes and turning away. "I'm going to bed." She said and made her way to their sorry excuse for a tent.
"I thought they told us she had to be nearby at ALL times?" Mute asked.
Isaac sighed. Guess the exception to this rule was when he had to meet Irelia.
"Lead the way." Isaac responded, and the soldier did just that.
After nearly ten minutes of walking through the tent maze, made harder by the fact a large number of soldiers were still wandering around setting things up for the night, the soldier led Isaac to a larger tent that had been given a wide berth from the rest of the camp.
It also had a pair of guards in front of it.
"In there." The soldier pointed to the tent, and then walked away.
Mute scoffed. "Well he was sure eager to ditch us. What? Not going to show us back? This place is a damn maze!"
Isaac rolled his eyes. "Mute, please tell me you can set a waypoint at our tent's location?"
Mute sighed. "Of course I can, but I'm trying to argue about how that man should've been more willing to show a lady where her place of rest was."
"Mute… uh… I'm a guy."
"I meant me, you idiot."
"They probably don't know your in my head."
"And a good thing too! Since most people here treat me as if I'm some kind of spirit or ghost, they would probably see you as being possessed as well."
"Then WHY are you arguing about this."
Mute gave him a grin. "Because I enjoy arguing with you."
Isaac rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as he made his way to the command tent. "Shut up Mute."
The guard lifted the flap to the command tent and motioned Isaac to go inside. The meta-human nodded and entered, quickly glancing around the tent. Given that the army was only stopping for the night, the tent had various boxes, duffle bags, tables, and chairs all lined up around the outer part of the tent, leaving only a sleeping bag and a single small desk and chair in the center of the tent.
In that desk was the tent's sole occupant and the army's commander.
"Archangel." Irelia nodded. "Thank you for coming."
Isaac gave her a nod, walking up to the opposite side of her desk and stopping a few feet away.
"So…" Isaac began as he looked around the tent. "General?"
Irelia responded with a small chuckle and a soft smile. "Yes… it appears that you weren't the only one to get a sudden promotion."
Wait… how does she know I got promoted?
Isaac furrowed his brow. "Who told you that?"
"Blitzkrieg did. He told me he promoted you so you would not have to seek him out every time I tried to make a request of you."
Isaac nodded. That seemed fair. "You needed me for something?"
Irelia nodded. "Yes. I realized that during the confusion of the past twenty-four hours, I had never specifically told you what I needed from you during the campaign."
… I thought you just wanted me here to kill ninjas and Ascension… what else is there too it?
"Alright… shoot."
Irelia leaned back in her seat. "I will need to assign you to a particular captain and his unit during the battle. I originally planned on having all the champions in a single division, but after much thought, I believe it would be better if I spread us out over several divisions. Now, before I assign you to one the division I have in mind, can I ask you two questions?" She finished her explanation with a question.
"Hold on…" Isaac waved a hand around. "Ok, sure you can ask me any questions, but you do realize your troops hate my guts, right?'
Irelia pressed her lips together for a moment. "I'm… aware of that, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that you will need to be assigned to one of my divisions. As much as I trust you to perform on the battlefield, I will need to know where you are should I have need of you. And I assure you, the one I will be assigning you, hopefully, will not have an issue with you."
"… Fine… Isaac grudgingly agreed. He was NOT thrilled at all to be taking orders from an Ionian captain who hated his guts. "Go ahead and shoot."
Irelia blinked, likely put off slightly about his way of speaking, but then again, she was probably getting used to it… or was putting it off as just an outworlder thing.
"I would like to know in more detail as to what your exact role was in… TRANS-Ops, right?"
… That's a fair question, sure I can answer that.
"My role in Shadow team was the squad infiltrator, due to my size and history. However, I never really performed much of a infiltration role during the Ascension War since my team was forced into frontline combat for most of the time. Unofficially though, my role was the weapons master, since I understand how to use just about every weapon on the planet, be it some high-tech rifle, combat knife, or a tank." He answered Irelia, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. "That detailed enough, or do you want me to explain a little further?"
Irelia shook her head. "No… that was good enough. While I'm sure I could assign you to the role of scout in my army I feel your talents are at better use on the front. As to my second question, how good are you at riding horseback?"
Isaac had to resist rolling his eyes, before he realized Irelia probably wasn't poking fun at his (until recently) well-known lacking skill.
"I'm not master, but I've got the gist of it. Give me another day on the road and I'll be as good as everyone else… but if your referring to FIGHTING from horseback, I've had no experience."
Irelia gave him a small smile. "See how quick you were to pick up on riding altogether, I'm sure you'll master fighting mounted in no time." She said.
Isaac tilted his head to the side. How'd she know that I already learned how to… of course…
Isaac let out a small sigh. He should've known…
"You were spying on me… weren't you?"
Irelia's expression turned into something Isaac had never seen on her face before…. Embarrassment.
"Yes… yes I had some people watching you in the city. Its not that I didn't trust you Archangel, its that I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Shyvana in my city… although I'm suddenly a general, I am still technically the captain of the city's guard." She explained herself.
As much as Isaac wanted to be pissed at this revelation… he really couldn't blame her. He DID start that brawl with Shyvana… and seeing how Irelia was essentially Ionia's chief of police, he couldn't fault her for wanting to keep an eye on him.
Isaac shook his head. "It's… fine. I understand… I don't like it, but I get it." He answered.
Irelia's face softened a bit and she returned to the same captain Isaac had known. "On a side note… My spies DID notice how you been spending a lot of time with, AND almost started a fight with a certain fox vastaya…"
"HAH!" Mute let out a snort.
Isaac's eyes narrowed immediately, but before he could say anything, Irelia raised a hand to stop him.
"No. I'm not going to pry into your personal life Archangel, nor will I tell you who to befriend." Irelia quickly said. "But I will tell you that you don't need to be so careful around Ahri as I have seen you be around many others. as much as many here distrust her, I know that she's not a bad person."
"Oh?"
"Unlike many of the champions here, Ahri spends the most time away from others, out alone in the wilderness of Ionia. While she has a very… dark past, since the Noxian Invasion of Ionia, she had gone out of her way to secretly protect Ionians from Noxian raiding parties. Since you are aiding us, you have nothing to fear from her." Irelia explained.
Isaac furrowed his brow. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I just wanted to let you know that we, all of us, are not as eager to harm you as you may think… as my soldiers have regrettably made it seem." Irelia gave him another small smile. "We are all in this together."
Isaac sighed. Great… just great… he was being given a fucking friendship lesson by Irelia… just great…
For someone who appears to be close to my age… why is it that Irelia appears to be way more… sagely… then me?
"Anyways…" Isaac said, eager to get off this topic. "Where in the army are you sticking me?"
"I will be putting you in under the command of the Ionia's sixth cavalry regiment." Irelia nodded. "While I'm not delusional enough to tell you that you must follow the sixth's captain for the entirely of the campaign, during battle you will be under his command and his alone… besides myself of course. I trust this won't be a problem…"
Oh yeah… there's a damn problem with that… but… Isaac thought before he had to grin slightly under his helmet. You said all that like such a general that I guess I'll play along…
Isaac responded by giving Irelia a silent nod.
Irelia nodded back. "Good. I know you've already equipped yourself during your stay in Ionia, but go down to the quartermaster when we make camp tomorrow night and get yourself a spear suited for cavalry charges. It might come in handy. That is all Archangel."
Isaac nodded again but then remembered he had a question. "I have a question…"
Irelia raised an eyebrow, which was his hint to continue.
"You have, what, eight thousand here? Where is the rest of Ionia's army?" Isaac asked before he chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "Now that I also think about it, if Zed's on an island, why are we marching across the land instead of sailing?"
Not that I'm complaining…. I hate sailing…
Irelia surprised Isaac by chuckling. "I was wondering when you would ask that. The truth is, is that I was worried that if we sailed the entire distance from Ionia to Zed's controlled territory, we would be an easy target for an Ascension attack at sea. So, I ordered the fleet to set sail the dawn after we left, where it will meet us at Ishiaval Port, our largest port city on the northeast coast of Ionia." She explained before pausing to sigh. "As for our army… due to the Ascension raiding so many rural villages and towns, the majority of Ionia's army has been scattered across the land to protect them. Our skirmishes with the Lhothan haven't helped with that either and we've been forced to send troops to try and quell the growing fears of a war inside our own borders. When we began preparing for the campaign, I sent word to some of those armies to make their own way to Ishiaval. This way, our forces will be spread out on the march, making us a harder target for any potential Ascension, or Order, attack."
Order? She must mean Zed's order…
Isaac nodded to all of that. He was honestly impressed with Irelia. Those were some sound plans.
Great… not only is she wiser then me, but she's also got an even better military mind then I do…
Of course, that was until you took modern Earth weapons into account… he doubted Irelia knew more about airstrikes, tank and urban warfare then he did.
Aside from making him feel slightly inferior to her, Irelia had only reinforced Isaac opinion that working with her had to have been the best choice he made since coming to Ionia.
"Is that all, Archangel?" Irelia asked, breaking Isaac out of his thoughts.
Isaac took a step back away from her. "Yeah, that's all boss."
Irelia blinked, clearly taken aback from his casual reference to her. After a moment, Isaac saw a genuine smile appear on her face. "Very well… get some rest."
By the time he and Irelia had finished up, the sun had fully set, and most of the soldiers had retired for the night. Isaac made his way through the semi-deserted camp, following the NAV point back to his tent.
Aside from the odd noise and the clattering of soldiers walking around, it was rather quiet… so when Isaac began to hear music he was rather confused.
"That sounds like a violin…" Mute muttered.
Isaac couldn't help but to snort. "You're kidding… one of these soldiers can play the bloody violin? Do they even HAVE violins in Valoran?"
Judging how it's getting louder the more I walk, I guess I'm going to see for myself.
Soon after that thought, Isaac passed a small clearing in the tent city… where he was met with a rather peculiar sight: several Ionian soldiers seated and/or standing around a campfire… and on the other side was a beautiful woman Isaac had never seen, carrying a violin.
She had dark red hair cut short, showing off a calm and spotless face. Her clothing was a mix of assorted leathers that made her outfit appear as if it had been strapped together by several different people, although it left her legs and arms bare. A brown cloak fluttered in the wind as the bard not only played with her eyes closed, but danced around the firepit as she played, illuminating her appearance and mesmerizing all who watched her performance.
"Huh…" Mute said, "I guess they do have violins after all…"
Isaac responded by rolling his eyes. He stood there for a moment, watching her play and listening to the relaxing music. It went on for another thirty or so seconds before the bard suddenly stopped to strike a pose, then bow.
Her audience clapped their hands, earning another bow from the violinist.
"Well, that was rather nice." Mute nodded.
"It was…" Isaac muttered in response, watching as the soldiers stood up from the firepit and scattered back to their tents. As he watched them all he noticed how the bard watched them all leave in silence with a small smile on her face, her eyes drifting around…
And Isaac didn't miss how when she saw him her eyes went wide.
Looks like she recognizes me… not like I blame her, this suit makes me stand out from the rest of the army. Isaac thought as the bard started to make her way over to him. As much as Isaac didn't want any more attention, he was curious as to what the musician would possibly want from him.
"Excuse me…" The violinist spoke in a soft and relaxing tone when she got close enough to him. "Would you be… champion Archangel, by chance?" She asked.
No… I'm Batman…
Well aware such a response would be only seen as rude (and confusing), Isaac replied with a nod. The young red-haired woman gave him a smile.
"It's a honor to meet you." She said, extending a hand out towards him. "I'm Madison, a traveling musician."
Isaac glanced down at her bare hand for a moment before gently taking it in his own. "Nice to meet you." He said.
I guess…
She seemed pleased at his words. "And you as well." After their handshake ended she grasped her violin with both hands, holding to close to her body. "I must admit, I'm surprised. I never would have expected to see you in such a place."
Isaac shrugged. "I go where I'm needed." He motioned towards her with his head. "What about you? An army on its way to war seems like the worst place for a musician to be."
Madison let out a small giggle, which sounded rather pleasant. "Oh, quite the contrary actually." She spoke with a smile as she explained herself. "You see, I'm on my way to the Ishiaval Port to meet a friend. Seeing how dangerous the roads are these days, I thought it would be best for me to stay with the army on its march."
Makes sense… though… "How'd you know where the army was going?" He asked.
"Oh. Because one of the soldiers told me when I asked."
"… Fair enough…" Isaac mumbled, a little annoyed how he had to find out from Irelia herself, while some random traveling musician had simply been told by a nameless soldier.
Great… I see how it is…
Madison let out another giggle before taking a step back away from him. "Now then, as much as I would love to speak with you more, I'm afraid I must retire for the night." She tilted her head to the side. "Perhaps we can speak again at a later date? I'd love to hear about your adventures, they might make a good song someday."
Bards singing of my adventures… not sure how I feel about that.
Isaac gave her a nod nonetheless, and the bard seemed pleased. She gave a small wave and turned away.
"Well… aren't you mister popular…" Mute grumbled.
"What?" Isaac raised an eyebrow as he turned to continue his way back to his tent.
"Nothing… I was just thinking how funny it is that you suddenly have so many females who want to spend time with you." Mute's grumbling paved for a snarky look on her face that warned Isaac that he was about to get very annoyed with her.
"Mute…"
"So… whose it gonna be first?"
"…What?"
Mute rolled her eyes. "I mean come ON! Whose it gonna be first? Ahri? That Madison girl's pretty…" Mute gave him a nasty grin. "Maybe you should challenge Shyvana to a… wrestling match… or what do some people call it, a struggle-snuggle?"
Isaac stopped mid-step to glare at Mute. "Yo… your joking… THAT'S what you were asking?!"
Mute snorted. "What? You'd bang Jinx but you're not willing to go for someone as good looking as Ahri? Or Sona? Hell, aside from the part where she wants to kill you, even I have to admit Shyvana is attractive in a weird way."
"Mute… One is a noble, the other is a fucking insane dragon, and the other steals souls."
"Essence, not souls."
"Same thing. No don't correct me!" Isaac quickly added when he saw Mute open her mouth.
"Come on Isaac." Mute laughed at his expense. "You face down endless waves of enemies without batting an eyelash and yet sex talk makes you uncomfortable. I hear it can be a good stress-relief… something you clearly need."
Of course I know it's a good stress relief! Why do you think I fucked Jinx? Isaac rolled his eyes. As much as he did find some of those Mute listed to be attractive… and sex always felt good, he wasn't going to be having this conversation.
"Eat a dick Mute…"
"Can't, I'm software."
"Shut up…"
"You didn't answer my question…"
"That's because I'm not, I'm going back to my tent."
Mute's smirk returned in full force though…
"So… Syndra then?"
"MUTE!"
Isaac was about to cuss her out when he heard something tink against his helmet… which was followed by another, then another…
And suddenly he was standing in a downpour.
Remembering the sorry state of his tent, Isaac reached out a hand into mid air, palm up to assure himself of his fear. Sure enough, water quickly started to pool in his armored hand. Isaac's eyes drifted slowly across his HUD, over to where Mute's face was, where she started to give an awkward and nervous chuckle.
"Uh…." She began, refusing to make eye contact with her biological partner. "Get Jinxed…?"
…. I hate you…
AN: Next chapter will be Sept 25th.