Finally! We're back! But boy oh boy has it been a rough last few months. I had intended to get this out earlier this week/last week, but midterms and work kept me away.

Thank you to everyone who wished me well during my recovery. I'm not a hundred percent yet, although given that its a disc injury I suffered from its unlikely I'll ever fully recover. At least, not for a long time.

But lets move on to the chapter. Its not as long as I had originally been planning, but due to how busy I've been it was either A. Delay the chapter further, or B. Wait until next chapter.

AIXB45990011 (Designation: MUTE): LOG ENTRIES

DATE: 11/02/2074

LOG ID: 000303

SUBJECT: VASTAYA

A blanket term for a diverse race of chimeric beings, the vastaya are without a doubt one of the most interesting beings my partner and I have seen since arriving in Runeterra.Due to them being an anomaly to me thanks to our persistent thorn in side (that thorn being a lack of information), please be aware that I'm workings with third-party knowledge and that our own personal experiences in this matter are also quite limited.

The vastaya are part human, part animal humanoids that are broken up into various sub-races, each having different physical animal characteristics with varying degrees of physical human characteristics from one another.For example, the female vastaya named Ahri (vastaya sub-race: UNKNOWN) only has a pair of fox ears, nine tails, and markings on her face, while the rest of her body is human.On the other hand, we have another female vastaya named Nami (vastaya sub-race: MARAI) appears similar to a mermaid, with an upper human body and a lower aquatic body.Although, in the case of the Marai, their upper human bodies are covered in scales, apart from their face.

After exchanging information with my fellow AIX in Shadow Team, I can tally a total of four vastaya sub-races encountered by our team thus far.However, we've been informed that there are at least fourteen different sub-races of vastaya.To the date we've only seen the Marai, the Lhotlan, the Shimon, and one vastaya of an unknown species (Ref. Log 000431 for AHRI).

Due to there being an unnamed race, it is possible that new sub-races of vastaya appear over time, or some vastaya are unique.

On a side note, there are some races/individuals on Runeterra that may appear to be vastaya but are in fact not.I once speculated that Yordles were vastaya (Ref. Log 000302 for YORDLES).But I have confirmed after consulting with our companion, Ezreal, that yordles are a completely different race.In another case, I have mistakenly believed an individual known as Shyvana (a half human, half dragon) to be a vastaya.This again, has turned out not to be the case (Ref. Log 000304 for DRAGONS)(Ref. Log 000426 for SHYVANA).So…I'm not quite sure how Runeterrans (or even the vastaya themselves.) are able to determine what classifies as a vastaya and what does not.

Vastaya/human relations are…complicated.Some appear to have no issues living among humans, as we have seen with a Shimon named Wukong.On the other side of the coin, it appears that while the Lhotlan are indeed capable of being around humans, they are unable to live among them for extended periods of time (further investigation is required to ascertain why.).While vastaya can be found all over the world, most seem to live in communities isolated from humans.In the case of the Lhotlan, this is taken to an extreme (Ref. Log 000103 IONIA).

However, this tense relation between human and vastaya aside, it does appear that vastaya and humans are capable of interracial breeding.This has been confirmed as my partner, Archangel, has engaged in extended sexual relations with the aforementioned female vastaya named Ahri.Prior to each sexual encounter, Ahri consumes a conceptive potion to prevent such a theory from becoming reality.Bio and Gene scans have confirmed such a compatibility between Runeterran humans and vastaya, and although it is highly likely that this compatibility exists between Terran humans and vastaya (further investigation may be required).

However, I am unaware of the child of such a union would be vastaya, or if more and more vastaya traits or lost between generations.This theory could explain as to why some vastaya appear more human then others, as well as explaining why the vastaya are so physically diverse….Although if such a theory is true, I shudder to think of how the vastaya came around to begin with…someone at some point in time must have been des-per-ate!

Oh, um…sorry about the mental picture that may or may not be in your head right now.Let's end it on that with my recommendation and theory.

I highly, HIGHLY, recommend further research and investigation of the vastaya.Although, on a personal note, current evidence withstanding has caused me to theorize that the vastaya may go extinct a few centuries once Runeterra reaches post-industrialization.This may either be due to human expansion into vastaya controlled territory, leading to interracial breeding and loss of vastaya genes over time.Or human expansion leading to destruction of vastaya controlled territory, leading to war and insurgency, and eventually, extermination.

This is AIXB45990011, designated MUTE…logging off!

END LOG

"The heart, it beats! May I have it?"

"In due time, dear wolf. You are an interesting anomaly, odd one. To have cheated death so many times."

"It annoys me. Hurry up so I may chase you!"

"None defy the Kindred forever, odd one. But you are interesting…tell me, is there an us in your world? The others like you did not expect us, nor did they know of us. Does your kind not have to make the choice when their time comes?"

"They all fight, and run, and flee, and CHASE!"

"I wonder…dear wolf, do you believe he will choose my bow? Or will he run for you?"

"He will run Lamb! All these outworlder-things run!"

"Indeed, they have, dear wolf. Perhaps we should follow you, as your name is a metaphor to the death that stalks your steps.Perhaps…we shall make the metaphor literal?"

"This odd-thing can bring us to more chases!"

"But know this…Isaac. No one can cheat death forever.When the time comes, will you choose the Lamb's bow?"

"Or give me a CHASE?!"

"For now, sleep…odd one. For we shall meet again…"

The Placidium, Ionia

Isaac groaned as he opened his eyes, blinking the blurriness away.

The hell was that?A dream?

He never had one like it. He couldn't see anything, just… voices. He brought a hand to his face with a groan.

I better not be losing it it.Voices in my head, just what I fucking needed.

Yeah…last thing I want to do is end up like Jinx…JINX!

The BATTLE!

He felt panic wash over him as his eyes bolted wide open, expecting to see himself in an Ascension prison. To his relief, he didn't find himself in a cell with God knows what kind of Ascension nightmare fuel hooked up to his body. Instead, he was lying in a small and unremarkable tent. In fact, the entire tent was empty aside from a small crate with some variously colored vials on it.

And his helmet.

Isaac sighed in relief, taking a glancing down at himself and seeing that he was in a bedroll. He sat up with a small grunt, feeling his body protest slightly at the activity. As the sheets fell off, he saw that his armor had clearly seen better days. It was still intact, although most of the black paint had been chipped off, leaving his armor with a greyer appearance then its usual dark one.

He could hear lots of movement outside, shuffling of feet and shouts, although none of it sounded panicked. If anything, it just sounded like people were busy outside.

He reached over to the side and grasped his helmet, sliding it over his head with a satisfied sigh and locked the visor down in place.

"Mute? You there?"He asked.

"You know, you really need to make this whole going unconscious at the end of the fight thing, you know, NOT be a thing." Mute replied with a sigh, her avatar appearing in the usual spot.

He rolled his eyes. "You think I LIKE waking up in random rooms without having any idea how I got here? I thought I was in an Ascension prison for a moment there."

"Yeah… that part surprised me too, after you FELL FOR THAT TRICK A SECOND TIME!" Mute shouted before letting out an exasperated sigh, clutching her digital helmet with both hands. "I mean, SERIOUSLY?! A kiss?! You fight off hundreds of enemy soldiers and get done in by… THAT?!"

Isaac opened his mouth to protest… and then shut it.

Ok…yeah, she's got me there.

He felt a pain wash over him as he thought about what happened.

Jinx…why?Why the Ascension?

On one hand, it kind of made sense. Jinx had always been a loose cannon, doing whatever she liked. And what she liked was chaos. The Ascension could give her plenty of that.

Still… to jump ship so quickly? Is that why she left them after they arrived in Ionia? To run off to the Ascension? Sure as hell seemed like it.

Still, how did she find the Ascension?Did she contact them?Did they know where to find her?Did they always know?!

Who the hell can I trust in this world?How many of them are going to start playing for the other team?How many of them are already doing just that?!

Isaac shook his head; this train of thought was hurting his brain, and it wasn't doing any favors for his paranoia.

"Hey…" Mute interrupted his inner turmoil, likely because it was showing on his face. "You… ok? You took a pretty bad hit back there."

Isaac sighed. "I'm… fine."

She snorted in response.

Yeah…that wasn't my best attempt at a lie.

Mute's face softened. "Its about Jinx, right?"

Isaac nodded, knowing it was a rhetorical question. Mute knew him too well.

"Why do you think she turned on us?" He asked.

Mute shrugged, although she still had her apologetic look on her face. "No idea. There could be several reasons but let me be honest with you, Isaac. Don't think about it too much, because we have no way of knowing. You're just going to drive yourself crazy with the what-ifs here."

Isaac wanted to protest, to linger on the negative feelings some more. After all, it was so! Goddamn! Tempting!

But the greater part of him knew Mute was right.

"Still…" Mute continued, cupping her chin with a hand. "It IS odd… I mean, if she was always an Ascension spy, then why would she have helped us at Bligewater? Since you've always been on the Ascension's hitlist, when you were out after the battle she could've finished you off at any time. Instead, she didn't make a move until AFTER you were safe in Ionia."

….She's right…it doesn't make any sense.

So…what happened?

He voiced the question, knowing that Mute wouldn't have an answer.

As expected, the AIX shook her head.

"Like I said, we have no way of knowing at this time. As much as I know you want to boil over this some more, we have nothing to go on so please, don't tear yourself up over this ok?" She pleaded.

….Damn straight I want to simmer on this some more…but she's right.

But damn did Jinx's betrayal hurt, even more so because she managed to best him, although as underhanded as it was.

… Wait a second…

"Alright, I'll let it go." Isaac agreed. "But one last thing…"

Mute tilted her head to the side in question.

"… WHY aren't we in an Ascension prison?" He asked the question that plagued his mind. "I mean, Jinx had me, had US right were any Ascension soldier would dream. Why aren't I dead or captured?"

Mute blinked a few times, before frowning. "That's… something I'd been wondering too."

… Huh?

"Wait… after I had been knocked out, didn't you see anything?"

Mute shook her head. "Nope! I kind of had to reroute all the watts that Jinx shot into your head across your suit to make sure you didn't suffer any permanent brain damage. It knocked me out too. I only came back online a few hours ago after Goth remotely restarted me."

Isaac felt his body temperature drop at what Mute said.

That…could've….No!

That could've damaged Mute herself! She had put herself in peril because he….

Because I let my emotions get the better of me and I fucked up.Mute could've died for my mistake!

It scared him. It genuinely frightened him.

"Mute?" Isaac gave her a stern look. "Are you alright?"

Mute blinked a few times in question. "Huh? Of course. I mean… it was scary as hell for a moment there when I came back online, but I ran a diagnostic." She gave him a small smile. "I'm good Isaac, really. I am."

Isaac stared at her for a long few seconds, earning an eye roll from Mute.

"God, I'm FINE Isaac! Really!" She insisted. "I'd tell you if there was a problem. I'm good. Goth even checked me over."

"Alright…" Isaac said slowly. "Just… be careful ok?"

Mute smiled and nodded, before her usual antagonizing smirk returned. "Hey, just so you know, what you're feeling right now? Yeah… THAT'S THE SHIT YOU PUT ME THROUGH ON THE DAILY!"

Isaac grimaced as she blindsided him with the bag-o-guilt. "Point… taken…"

He waivered under Mute's accusing glare for a few moments before the AI sighed. "Good." She nodded before crossing her arms over her chest. "Now then, before you get up and at them I need to catch you up on things."

"Alright… where are we?" Isaac asked. It seemed like a good starting point.

"We're in a tent…"

Isaac silently glared at Mute's snarky expression.

"… within the walls of the Placidium." She added, still maintaining her teasing grin.

Smart ass…

"I'm assuming we won the battle then?"

She nodded, but the grin on her face faded. "Yes, but I'm not sure YOU would call it a victory. More like the Ascension pulled out after the reinforcements arrived."

"Huh? I thought WE were the reinforce-."

Mute gave a cleared her throat loudly and fixed him with a stern look.

"Or… I can leave the questions until you're done." Isaac finished with instead.

"Thank you." Mute rolled her eyes. "Ok, yes, we were the reinforcements, but there were more after us. Turns out two armies arrived after ours did and managed to force the Ascension forces outside the city into a full withdrawal. When that happened, they picked up their troops within the city, pulling everything out and leaving us as the victors."

Ok, that sounds like a victory.So why did she say that I wouldn't call it that?

"Now, while we did win the battle, the Ionians took massive causalities. As in well into the quadruple digits, maybe even more as they're still combing the city for survivors. Not to mention who knows how many civilians the Ascension abducted this time around. The Ascension on the other hand? Hundreds, maybe just over a thousand. On top of the extensive damage to the Placidium, not to mention civilian causalities… Isaac we won the battle, but we paid for it dearly."

….Ah…yeah, I would've called it a "victory" too.

Even though he had been told not to, Isaac decided to interrupt Mute anyways.

"How are the Ionians taking it?" He asked. There was no way they had taken the hitting of their prized nexus-city well. The fact that their soldiers had been so willing to die to take it back had been proof of their dedication to the place.

If his interruption bothered her, Mute didn't show it. "Alright? Kind of? They're still calling it a victory, but it's a bittersweet one. Like I said, the Placidium got hit, hard. The Ascension caught the city completely off-guard and ransacked the place for hours before we arrived. They raided the more valuable locations for everything they had. Last I heard, they were still assessing the losses, but it sounds like anything that was important was taken. That healer who saved your life TWICE now, Soraka, isn't taking it well. One of the places hit was her home, most of her students and acquaintances were killed. That monk Lee Sin is from here too, as were a good deal of soldiers."

Isaac sighed, feeling his headache come back. Great… that's not gonna be good for morale. "Let me guess… magical artifacts, ancient super-powered textbooks, and all that kind of crap was being stored here, wasn't it?"

Mute nodded.

"And the Ascension… got it all?"

"From the sound of it… yeah, probably."

"Well… fuck us…" Isaac grumbled. "Just WHAT kind of artifacts are we talking here?"

I'd very much like to know in advance if the Ascension got their hands on some kind of world-ending, doomsday magic device…because fuck if we weren't already in the shitter right now!

Mute shrugged. "No Idea, we'll have to ask the Ionians about that. Right now, though, they're still taking stock of the situation. Judging by what I've heard, it might take a day or two until we know what's been stolen and what isn't just lost in rubble somewhere. Maybe even longer since the Ionians are dealing with some… shall we say, diplomatic issues now on top of everything else."

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "… diplomatic issues?"

"One of the reinforcing armies that helped turned the tide of battle is native to Ionia but isn't aligned with Ionia pre-say. I don't really know any of the details, but it seems that while the help was welcome, the tension between the Ionians and the Lhotlan are still thick enough to cut with a knife."

Isaac furrowed his brow. Lhotlan? Pretty sure I've heard that name before…

Whatever, he'd deal with it later. He didn't need to get involved in anymore Ionian issues aside from the Ascension one.

Not that I could even if I wanted to… I'm essentially exiled after this whole ninja-war thing is over.

Assuming we ever get there at this rate…

"Ok… is there more?" Isaac asked, although he felt himself dreading the answer.

"Why, yes. There is the state of your armor. The state of your destroyed inhibitors. The fact that so many people want to speak with you I had to act as a damn secretary while you were out cold. You need to meet with Irelia as soon as possible. You're supposed to meet up with Blitzkrieg in about four hours for debriefing, he says this one is very important, but knowing him it'll involve drinking. Oh, and your inhuman sex friend left me an address for you to meet her at tonight although I think its less about sex and more like she's going to chew you out for nearly getting killed TWICE today."

Mute listed the whole thing off at rapid-fire speed before finally pausing to grin. "So… where would you like to start?"

Isaac stared at her for a second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four seconds.

He groaned loudly, lying back on the bedroll and throwing an arm over his forehead.

"Is it too late for me to go back to being unconscious?"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Mute's question sounded less like a question and more like a threat given the tone of her voice.

"Never mind… just… hit me."

Mute broke it down for him. First, his armor's repair system was now 99% FUBAR, with the remaining 1% being reserved only for his visor. Still, repairs would be irritatingly slow, and Mute wasn't quite sure how much longer the system would last even with that restriction.

As for the rest of his suit, any damage he took from here on out would be permanent.

I need to figure out a way to fix it, replace it, or find a whole new solution. Isaac thought. There could be some kind of magic spell or something that, maybe I should ask someone…

Otherwise, he would have to trek to Piltover to see if Firewall could do something about it. Jackhammer might've be able to help too, but he was still MIA.

Guess I'll have to be more careful. Maybe I'll have to see if Syndra or some other mage can keep one of those magic barriers on me during battle. Although… still not a hundred percent sure on how far I want to put my trust in magic…

Second on Mute's list of what's fucked up, was the state of his inhibitors. Normally, whenever Isaac used his powers without his suit on (and aside from the pain), he had difficulty getting them to form properly. Sparks of uncontrollable dark matter would fly out in random directions, and there was the risk of whatever he was doing going totally haywire. He would become just as dangerous to anyone around him and himself, as to whatever poor sucker he was targeting.

In fact, his powers were so uncontrollable when he first developed them that Halcyon considered killing him themselves, so that he didn't misfire and blow up one of their damn facilities.

Something I apparently ended up doing anyways during a "stress test" when I was a teenager.

The solution to this control problem of his? A chip in his head that sent out signals to his brain to help regulate the power. Turned out, control of his powers was related to his nervous system, which explained why he was in constant pain when using them. To work around this, the chip in his brain acted as a sort of inhibitor, temporarily damping the effect on his nervous system to allow him to control his powers a bit better.

Isaac never fully understood how it worked, but that was because Halcyon didn't feel the need to explain it entirely to him. However, the more likely explanation was because Halcyon themselves had little understanding of his powers. Hell, even TRANS-Ops over a decade later still sounded like they were grasping at straws when it came to understanding his power.

Might've helped in avoiding THAT accident during Halcyon's so called "stress test" all those years ago. Being knocked into a coma for over a year wasn't fun…

Even more so because I woke up a few days before the damn Uprising…

When he joined TRANS-Ops some were clearly worried that having a soldier who could potentially lose control of his powers and explode in the middle of their own army would be bad for morale. So, they created and installed an improved version of his brain-chip in his helmet, calling it a Dark Matter Assist. It used the chip in his head to tell it when he was using his powers and redirected any stress from the chip to his helmet instead, allowing for greater control.

The trade off was that it restricted his powers somewhat. Greater control, in exchange for loss of potential power. At Bilgewater, he had overridden that, disabling his suit's inhibitors and relying only on the chip in head. This allowed him to unleash everything, but at the cost of nearly frying his own nervous system, possibly even his brain, or pretty much his entire body.

The problem that Mute now informed him of was that the chip in his head was now totally fucked. During the last battle it finally had enough, causing the massive headache and terrible pain he had experienced. When Mute override his suit, she used the inhibitor installed there to turn the chip in his head off to prevent it melting down inside his skull. Of course, while this saved him from the pain and likely death, it meant that his suit's inhibitors were totally useless since they relied on the chip in his head to work properly.

"So, what?" Isaac threw his hands in the air as Mute finished her explanation. "I'm powerless?"

"I wouldn't say powerless… just that if you use your powers too much you risk losing total control and, you know, spontaneously combusting." Mute corrected him.

"That risk has always been there!"

"Well, think of it this way. The old risk was when you went over a hundred percent. Now, you're at risk by going over just fifteen percent!"

Well this is just grade-fucking-A grand!

Still, even without his primary powers he could fight.

The rest of Mute's fucked up list was thankfully less antagonizing for him to listen to, just about who wanted to see him and what's more important. Not before she complained at acting like his talking day planner.

Although Isaac wasn't really sure why Mute complained so much about it, she's a bloody AIX.

Basically, everyone important had checked in with him. From Irelia, to Blitzkrieg, to the Demacians, to even that bloody journalist who somehow hadn't run off screaming at the sounds of battle.

Ram… Steed? Smeed? Whatever…

The one that bothered Isaac the most though was that apparently two summoners paid him a visit while he was napping. Which meant that he couldn't avoid the League much longer without being declared AWOL.

The last thing I need is the League trying to arrest me or something... although I doubt they'll try to do anything right now, once this campaign is over...

Yeah, he couldn't avoid them forever. Inaction had its consequences too.

By the time everything was said and done, Isaac could feel his stomach rumbling. He found his swords in a pile nearby and equipped them, but he was missing the rest.

"Ok… Mute? Where's are my guns?" He asked.

"Glad to see you still believe I'm an all-knowing God." Mute rolled her eyes. "But to answer your question, Goth said that Blitzkrieg is hanging onto them."

Thanks, smart ass… Isaac thought with an eyeroll of his own and stepped out of the tent and back out into the world.

The Placidium looked like a wreck. Buildings were falling apart, roads were damaged, and military tents filled the streets. Isaac glanced around as he made his way through the once beautiful place, spotting soldiers and civilians alike trying to repair damage, organize survivors, and perform general disaster relief.

Yeah… A "victory" alright… Isaac thought as he peered over a stone fence, looking out at the lower levels of the Placidium. Most buildings were damaged, if not collapsed or outright destroyed, and Isaac could see people running around everywhere. It looked like the entire place had been hit by a massive natural disaster.

He also noticed that all those floating mana crystals he had seen last visit were gone, and he had a pretty good idea where they went.

Great… they didn't just take whatever magical artifacts they could find, but the damn floating mana crystals too.

He had a feeling the Placidium had been on the Ascension's hit-list… and it turns out he was right. The place looked like hell. A thought that Isaac felt being reinforced as he spotted by some healers lining up dead bodies, with the Ascension dead being thrown into a burning pile.

I hope they remember what I told them about how Ascension weapons are bugged. Although seeing how the Ascension have already hit this place as hard as they did I'm not sure it'll matter too much.

In a war between worlds, it was only a matter of time before Ascension technology fell into the hands of their enemies. That's how it had been during the Ascension War after all. Not to mention that Firewall was apparently already doing some of that back in Piltover.

Not wanting to take in the now desiccated view of the city any longer, Isaac asked a soldier for directions to the nearest mess hall, or whatever the soldiers were doing for food here. He was directed not too far away, finding a sparsely populated open tent where someone was handing out rations. Isaac took a spot in line and when it was his turn, the soldier at the end handed him a wrapped-up ration.

Isaac nodded in thanks. He glanced about, spotting an open table, but also noticed that several people, both soldier and civilian, were throwing him side glances, if not outright stares.

Seriously? He groaned. Nearly get killed trying to save their damn holy city… those better be "thank you" stares I'm getting!

I really, REALLY hope no one here mistakes me for an Ascension soldier... AGAIN!

He eyeballed the open table again before sighing, turning about face, and walking away.

"Mute, do you remember the route we took to get to Irelia's office?" Isaac asked, popping open his visor just enough to allow him to eat.

"Yeah, but given the state of the city, you might need to make a detour." She replied.

I'll make it work. He thought as he took a bite out of his ration.

The walk to the near-top of the Placidium took him nearly an hour, having to weave around fallen buildings that had blocked the route Mute laid out for him. That, and twice did he stop to help some of the soldiers lift debris that was blocking access to trapped survivors.

Honestly… Isaac thought as he finished helping a group of soldiers rescue a trapped family, seeing how relieved both the soldiers and family were. Forgot what it feels like to do actual good… feels nice.

Maybe when he was done with his to-do list of people to see, he could spend their time in the Placidium helping out. It could help repair his image in the eyes of the Ionians… that, and if he had the ability to help people, but refused to do so, wouldn't that make him just as bad as the Ascension?

He also came across some of the League Champions, such as Lee Sin, Ezreal, Galio; each one of them helping out in some way. Isaac didn't disturb any of them, but he did stop and chat with Ezreal briefly. The blonde hadn't taken to the wanton destruction too well but seemed to be in ok spirits now that he was actually helping people out as opposed to killing people.

Adventure right? Well, at least his morale is still good.

He also spotted Syndra flying around at one point in time, but she either hadn't seen him or had and ignored him. Isaac was a bit curious about that, seeing how this morning she was still in shackles. Maybe Irelia was willing to giving her more freedom now.

It would really take the piss outta me if they suddenly decided to clear her record… seeing how I'll still likely get the boot out of the country. Then again… those so called "elders" look like a stubborn lot, although Karma seemed a bit more lenient, but that's probably just for appearance sakes.

It would mean that he had stuck his neck out for nothing. But he had a feeling the Ionians were THAT forgiving… no group of humans were.

No, helping in a single battle wouldn't clear her of her crimes... not that Syndra would probably care.

He had also seen a weird monkey creature… but decided he didn't need any more weridos in his life at the moment and took another street. Mute had laughed at him for that.

Champions aside, he had run across captain Ren as well, who Isaac was glad to see survived. He was sporting several bandages including one that wrapped around his entire head and was stained red, but that didn't seem to faze the captain as he barked orders at soldiers to find and recover any wounded.

He's a tough son of a bitch, that's for sure. That's two battles against the Ascension he's survived. Hope he can continue that streak.

Eventually, Isaac finished climbing the still-just-as-annoying-the-first-time number of stairs to get to his destination.

Glad its not all the way at the top… Isaac thought as he looked up, there was still a long ways to go to get to the top. Of course, last time the view had been majestic. This time, Isaac had to frown at the sight of the grand building at the top clearly having seen better days.

Bet that building had a lot of important shit inside… which means the Ascension had probably been all over it like a cop on a donut.

Isaac spotted the temple-like structure where he had first met Irelia inside the month before and started to make his way over there. However, he quickly noticed that there appeared to be a crowd out front. Two armed crowds to be exact… one watching the other one carefully, divided by the damaged walkway that Isaac intended to walk down.

On one side were dozens of Ionian soldiers. On the other were… bird-men?

Uhh….?

He was about to ask Mute what she knew about… whatever the hell he was seeing when he heard a familiar "humph" nearby.

"Look who's finally awake."

Isaac resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but then remembered that there's no way Shyvana could see through his visor, so he let them roll.

"Shyvana." Isaac responded, turning to face the half-dragon. Still wearing her armor, albeit damaged, it didn't appear that she had even been looking at him when she called out. Instead, she appeared to be in the middle of moving pieces of scattered debris into a pile.

Isaac watched for a few seconds as she lifted up a piece of stone nearly half of size and with a single heave and grunt, lift the whole thing up.

"Here to see Irelia?" She asked, dropping the piece off at her pile.

No, I came here to watch you build a dragon's den outta rubble…

Of course, an answer like that would only lead to yet another fight between him and the dragonborn wannabe, so Isaac decided to let it go.

I'll just exchange pleasantries and be on my way. I'm not in the mood to have another fight right now… ok that's a lie a big part of me wants to bash something in.

A fight with Shyvana in the middle of a war-torn city? Yeah… like THAT would improve is image...

Instead, once Shyvana had put her rock down and actually looked at him, Isaac gave her a nod.

She stopped what she was doing and approached him. "Well, unless you feel like getting involved in another political debate, I suggest you leave it be for today."

Isaac cocked his head to the side in question. "Why?"

She came to a stop a few feet away, looking down at him for a moment before turning to look at Irelia's office. "She and the other surviving officials here are in there negotiating with the Lhotlan."

Okay…?

Before Isaac could ask her to elaborate, Shyvana sighed and rolled her neck.

"And by negotiate, I mean arguing and screaming like whelplings. I'm surprised we can't hear it all the way out here." She added.

Isaac glanced back at the crowd outside. "I'm guessing that's why it looks like a Mexican Standoff over there?" He asked.

Shyvana gave him an confused look. "A what?"

He sighed. Damn it…

"Never mind, Outworlder saying." He waved it off. "I'm assuming this is going to be one of those all-day and all-night things isn't it?"

Shyvana just folded her arms over her chest and shrugged, before heading back to working on her rock collection.

That was good enough of an answer for him. Not to mention probably his most civil conversation with Shyvana to date.

Isaac disabled his external for a moment. "Mute, you want a scan of those birds? I'm gonna guess that those are those Lhotlans I've been hearing about?"

"Correct, but no." Mute answered. "Goth already sent over his data on them. But I would advice against calling them anything but Lhotlan or vastaya, bird-people would likely be taken as an offensive term."

Hmm… good point. Last thing I need is causing issues with people over terminology and slang.

Wait…

"Wait, vastaya?" Isaac frowned. "I thought that was the name of Ahri's race."

"Vastaya is the blanket term for a much larger species Isaac. You could say the Lhotlan are a sub-race or a type of vastaya. Ahri is another."

"What's hers?"

"No clue."

That got another eyeroll from him.

Whatever. Isaac thought, taking a step back to turn around. No point sticking around here then. I'll just find Blitzkrieg for the debrief.

"So…" He heard Shyvana start again. He turned to see her lazily lifting another piece of debris. "Why do you think Jinx joined them?"

Isaac watched the blue-skinned warrior for a moment before looking away and letting out a sigh of defeat. He didn't want to have this conversation with anyone, simply because he didn't want to think about it himself. It bothered him… it really did.

But he won't admit it to anyone.

He glanced back at Shyvana to see that she had yet again stopped her task, looking over her shoulder at him and clearly expecting an answer.

"I…" Isaac began before signing again, deciding to be honest. "I don't know."

Shyvana snorted. "What, that's it?"

"What hell do you want from me She-Hulk?!" Isaac spat back, throwing his arms out to the side and facing her. "I don't have all the damn answers! Maybe blackmail? Joining willingly? Because let's face it, Jinx likes to blow shit up. I only have theories, but no actual, goddamn answers!"

"Isaac…" Mute warned. "Don't get baited into another fight! Please!"

Shyvana snorted again, louder this time, turning to face him with a challenging grin on her face. It reminded Isaac of the one she had worn back at the Ionian Inn. Right before he had thrown food in her face.

"Looks like someone regained conscious on the wrong side of the bed this evening. What, Ahri not putting out enough for you?"

Isaac recoiled slightly, he had not been expecting that of all things to be brought up.

How the fuck did she… what?!

Isaac shook his head. "That… that is none of your damn business." He growled. What the shit did it matter to someone like Shyvana who he shared a bed with at night?

Shyvana snarled at him. "That might be the case, but I can't help but wonder what else you're keeping secret from us. Maybe something that could've stopped all…" She looked around and motioned to the destroyed Placidium around her. "THIS!"

She returned her attention to Isaac, lowering her head to glare at him. "Well? Tell me I'm wrong…" She growled, her voice almost a whisper. "… Isaac."

… She didn't….

His eyes snapped open at the sound of that word. One hand flying over his shoulder, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of one of his swords. Shyvana reacted as well, dropping the debris in her hand to drop into a fighting stance.

Bitch wants to blame ME for this!? And uses my real name?! I'm gonna-

Mute's avatar suddenly appeared in the air between the two of them, throwing her arms out. "ENOUGH!" She shouted. Her cry even louder for Isaac as she screamed in his earpiece as well, and loud enough to make him jump.

Judging by the she-dragon's reaction, it had taken Shyvana off guard too.

No one moved, and after a few seconds, Mute let out a sigh and dropped her arms.

"Shyvana." She began, turning her head to face her. "I understand your anger with the situation but know that we are NOT your enemies! I'm not sure how many times we have to tell you that?!" Mute shouted at her, before pausing to grip the sides of her holographic helmet in furstration. "God you organics are so, damn…. dense!"

Shyvana growled and opened her mouth in a clear desire to protest, but Mute cut her off.

"I'M NOT FINISHED!" Mute screeched so loudly that Isaac tried to cover his ears, only to realize the futility of his actions for obvious reasons.

"Archangel and I are doing everything we can in our situation! As we have always done! Picking fights with allies only makes things worse!" Mute chewed the she-dragon out.

"Not to mention it makes you look like a total bitch…" Isaac muttered under his breath… and immediately regretted it when Mute did a full one-eighty to glare at him.

Oh, COME ON! YOU make snarky comments like that ALL the fucking time!

"Archangel…" Mute's spoke between gritted teeth. "Same goes for you. YOU are NOT helping either. Not. ONE. BIT!"

"I'll just… stop talking then." Isaac muttered, taking a step back and letting Mute handle the situation.

Because my handling of this situation would end with my fist in Shyvana's face.

Mute glared at him for a moment, before turning back to Shyvana. "If this is Demacia's idea of winning us over to your side you better think of a new strategy. The only thing you all have made it very clear to us so far is that Demacia is NOT worth our time." She spat at Shyvana.

Shyvana recoiled as if she had been slapped. She said nothing in response, but her arms slowly began to lower.

Mute threw her one last lengthy glare before her avatar disappeared from sight, reappearing in Isaac's HUD in the usual spot.

"We should go." She growled. "We're drawing too much attention."

Isaac glanced back to in the direction of Irelia's office, seeing that the two groups there had stopped paying attention to each other and were now all looking at Isaac and Shyvana. The Ionian soldiers looked worried, likely because they knew what happened the last time he and Shyvana got pissed at each other. On the other hand, the Lhotlan looked only curious.

Yeah… that's too much attention.

Isaac nodded, taking a quick look at Shyvana and seeing that she had dropped her fighting stance, then turned around to leave.

Well… that was… something…

After several long, tense seconds, Isaac licked his lips. "So… that was a thing."

Mute had her arms crossed over her chest, giving him an annoyed look. "Yes… yes it was." She huffed. "You are welcome by the way. I mean, if I hadn't interrupted that you would've had another destructive fight with a half-dragon in front of Irelia's office while she's in the middle of delicate negotiations with a rebel faction that may or may not aid us against the Ascension." She stated in a matter-of-fact way, before narrowing her eyes at him. "Right?"

Isaac couldn't help but look away nervously. "Yeah…"

Ok, when you put it that way… I was sure about to make an ass out of myself, wasn't I?

Its been a rough day… first the battle, then fucking Mania, then Jinx, then learning my powers are on the rocks, and now THIS?!

He signed. "I need a drink…"

Mute rolled her eyes. "Good thing we're doing debriefing with Blitzkrieg right?"

"Mute…"

"What?"

"… Thanks."

Mute glared at him for another moment before sighing, dropping her arms and appearing as if all the strength in her digital body had just left her. "Seriously… what would you do without me?"

Isaac made to answer but shut his mouth when he heard Shyvana let out angry scream behind him. His head snapped in her direction, expecting an attack. Instead, he watched Shyvana grab a large piece of debris and spike it back down into the ground before falling to her knees, punching the earth repeatedly.

All the while letting out cries of fury and frustration.

…. Maybe we've all had a rough day… maybe we all just need to vent a bit…

By the time he reached the rendezvous point, the sun had set, casting the city in darkness. Isaac turned his helmet lights on, relieved that at least those were still working. The RV point appeared to be a building in the lowest level of the Placidium, whose street looked like it had been the subjected to at least three different Siege Tank strikes.

"You sure this is place?" He asked Mute, stepping over a large piece of rubble with a crushed Ascension shock trooper underneath as he approached the marked building. There was hardly a soul around, only a few soldiers combing the destroyed area for any looters and or survivors.

Mute rolled her eyes. "Isaac, I'm talking to Goth right now. Not to mention you're within COM range of Blitzkrieg."

"Mute… the building's wall is gone." Isaac pointed out as he ducked under the remains of the collapsed wall. He could see a small light inside, but otherwise he had no idea what kind of building this was.

He poked his head to peek in. Inside he saw several turned over tables, some of which were shattered. At the far wall though…

Isaac let out a small sigh. "Never mind. This is definitely the place."

At the far end of the room stood the remains of a bar counter, with a surprising number of intact drinks lining the shelves.

Yeah, this looks like a place Blitz would have a debriefing at.

Oh, and the other sure-fire sign that he was in the right place loomed over the bar counter, appraising one of the liquor bottles in his oversized gauntlet. His helmet lay resting on the counter top nearby, along with… a robotic arm?

The fuck?

Blitzkrieg wasn't alone though… so Isaac remained quiet as he entered the destroyed bar.

"The holle is this chicken scratch?" Blitzkrieg muttered with his back turned to Isaac. However, Isaac couldn't tell if he was talking to himself, or the young woman with short red hair who stood behind the counter.

"Unless you learn it first, the written Ionian language is the second hardest language to learn in the world." The woman's voice sounded a bit familiar, speaking as she fingered each bottle, going down the line and checking them for… something. "The hardest is Shurim… oh! Here!"

She grasped one of the larger bottles and brought it to Blitzkrieg, the nearby light brightening her face up enough for Isaac to see.

Young… wait, isn't that the violinist I ran into a few days ago? What was her name again?

Blitzkrieg took the bottle from her and gave it a swirl. "What is this one called?" He asked before frowning. "Nevermind, I can read this one."

The red-head had to crane her neck to look up at the titan of a meta-human on the other side of the counter. "It's a Piltover whiskey. Its quite good." She explained with a small smile.

As Isaac stepped over a broken table, Blitzkrieg screwed off the top and took a few sniffs before taking a sip straight from the bottle. After a few seconds he saw him nod. "Hmm, not bad. Prefer American bourbon, but I'll take what I can get."

The woman tilted her head to the side, appearing slightly confused as she watched Blitzkrieg fill his flask with the new booze.

"A… merry…can?" She asked, totally butchering the word. "Is that a place from your world?"

Blitzkrieg nodded. "Depending on who you ask, a country, a nation, a continent…" He shrugged. "But if you want to know more about Earth, its probably better to hear it from Earth's only League champion." He looked over his shoulder with a grin, his eyes meeting Isaac's behind his visor. "What do you think Arch?"

"So you did hear me…" Isaac sighed, coming to a stop a few meters away from Blitzkrieg. "While I'm not surprised you wanted to meet in a bar, did you have to pick the one in the middle of nowhere?"

Blitzkrieg shrugged, but the red-head answered instead. "There are very few bars in the Placidium, all of them located on the lower levels." She explained, before giving Isaac a smile. "Good to see you again Archangel. I heard that you had been wounded during the fight, are you alright?"

He gave her a nod. "I'm fine, thanks. It's… Madison, right?"

She nodded, smile growing. "Yes, that's me! I'm sorry to intrude, but I saw your companion here looking around for a bar and I happened to remember the location of one." She frowned as her eyes drifted around the place. "I only wish it were in a better… state."

Yeah… this place looks worse then that bar in Bligewater did after me, Ezreal, Vega, and Jinx got into that bar fight.

Isaac felt a tinge of pain hit him as he remembered that. It had barely been a month ago, yet it felt so much longer. Now it was just him and Ezreal, with Vega dead and Jinx having joined the organization that killed him.

Maybe… I should see if Vega has a grave somewhere…

As he fought with his own thoughts, Blitzkrieg turned back to Madison. "Thanks for the help kid, but I'm afraid me and Arch have private matters to discuss." He tapped the side of his nose. "Outworlder stuff, I hear you lot like to call it."

If Madison felt offended, she didn't show it. Instead, she bowed. "I understand." She simply said, grabbing her violin case, and walking around the counter.

"Be safe kid." Blitzkrieg gave her a wave, as did Isaac.

"Have a good evening you two." She said as she returned the gesture and left the two meta-humans alone.

Isaac slid his visor up and gave Blitzkrieg nod, before he glanced at the robotic arm on the counter next to Blitzkrieg. "Ok, what's with the arm?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Blitzkrieg snorted, "That Starscream is an annoying ass bastard to fight, that's for sure. Flying in circles and the like. He tried to take off my head…" A grin formed on Blitzkireg's face as he patted the robotic arm. "I, got his entire left arm."

Isaac felt a grin force its way onto his own face as he shook his head. "Collecting souvenirs now, huh?"

Blitzkrieg shrugged. "Sorta. Keeping it because next time I see that Deception, I'm going to beat him to death with his own arm." He gave a loud hah before taking a swig from his flask. "Heard you ran into your best friend out there. And by best friend I mean your old stalker."

Isaac couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips. "I don't even want to talk about it…" He moaned.

Blitzkrieg grimaced. "Ouch… still after you huh? Man, if you can get past the whole never shuts up and shark teeth, Mania isn't hard on the eyes… if you're into insane anorexic girls with seven feet tongues that is."

"Stop." Isaac groaned as he ran his gauntlet over his face. "I don't want to talk about it!"

He felt that pointing out that he had slept with an insane anorexic woman a short while ago and enjoyed it might not be the best move. Even more so when said woman was now flying the Ascension colors.

The Alpha shrugged, obvious to Isaac's train of thought. "Fair enough, I wouldn't want to in your shoes." He took another sip, throwing a finger over his shoulder. "Might as well grab a drink off the shelves there. We might be here awhile."

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Why? Debriefing going to take that long? Whats there to talk about?" He threw his arms out to the side. "The Ascension came, kicked Ionia's ass, and left. End of story."

Blitzkrieg shook his head. "That's not why its going to take awhile. What? Mute forget to tell you?"

Tell me what?

Isaac chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment. "Mute… something you're not telling me?"

After a few second wait, Isaac heard a small nervous chuckle in his earpiece.

"Heh… uh…Oops?" To her credit, Mute sounded slightly apologetic

He rolled his eyes. "Well?"

"You'll see… annnnny second now."

Isaac frowned. "See wh-?"

He heard some footsteps behind him. Isaac quickly twirled around, his going wide in surprise at what he saw.

Two individuals clad head to toe in the ever-familiar TRANS-Ops armor stepped over the rubble, one as tall as Blitzkrieg, the other Isaac's height. As both of them looked at him, Isaac saw the smaller once freeze in his or her place, while the other one...

"HAH!" A male voice shouted, the larger one throwing his arms out wide. "THERE'S MY BOY!"

That voice… wait…

No way…

Isaac blinked in surprise as the Jackhammer opened his visor up, casually strolling over to him with his signature wide smile.

"Jackhammer!" Isaac practically shouted, a genuine smile appearing on his own face.

Jackhammer's smile somehow grew. "That's right baby! The Hammer is here to party!" He boasted, extending a hand out. Isaac took it and shook.

Isaac felt relief wash over him. "You're alive!"

"What?!" Jackhammer hooted. "You thought I bit the bullet?! Ain't nothing badass enough to out badass me, baby!" He slapped a hand down on Isaac's shoulder. "Look at you! A celebrity in a new world already. My boy's all grown up!"

Isaac's smile became slightly strained at that. "It's… been… something, that's for sure."

Jackhammer laughed at that. "Oh man, you better have stories for me!" He stepped aside and waved the other TRANS-Ops soldier over. "You won't believe who I ran into out here! Come on Princess!"

Huh? Isaac raised an eyebrow. Princess?

Before he could ask, the back of the smaller TRANS-Ops meta-human suddenly went straight and snapped to a salute.

"S-sorry!" A familiar feminine voice came out of her helmet. "Hime! R-reporting sirs!"

…. Hime…?

No… way…

Isaac's eye went wide. There was no way!

H-Hitomi?!

So there's going to be another action drought for a bit. Not nearly as long as it was prior to this sub-arc, but don't worry, we'll be back into the real action soon. The next... I dunno, one to two chapters will be dealing with the fallout from the battle.

As those of you who check my profile page may be aware, I'm back in university. Combined with work, I've been (and will likely continue to be) swapped busy. So until things die down again, I'll be posting on a bi-weekly schedule again, but this time I won't be able to give you guys actual dates because things could come up and cause me to miss them.

Regardless, I'll be keeping updates on writing status on my profile page. To make it easier for everyone, at the bottom of said page where I keep my list of stories (even though there's only 1), I'll be keeping a progess count on future chapters.

Next update: Week of March 12th... hopefully.