"I found it," the sudden stimulus of words jolted Talon awake from the drowsy state that he was in only moments ago, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. He scanned the room quickly, before noticing the rather blank face of Shen. He was staring intently at the assassin who had just made a fool of himself by jump starting.

"w-what?" Talon stammered before relaxing in his seat, his surprised expression quickly dissipating into his usual indifferent demeanor. "What did you find?" Talon asked, now more focused on the ninja who was giving him that normal cold stare Shen wore almost constantly.

Shen leaned back and planted his feet on the desk of the general, placing his hands behind his head, looking rather calm and relaxed. "I've narrowed down the places where DuCouteu could be to exactly two places," Shen held up two fingers. "The first one is the most unpleasant, but probably the most likely, all things considered."

"And that would be...?" Talon let the question hang, awaiting the reply from the ninja whose eyes were now closed as if mocking sleep.

"Dead," Shen replied rather abruptly.

Talon sighed. If there was anything that anyone could rely on about Shen, it was his honesty. He was right, that was the most likely status of the general. Taking a deep breath, he leaned his cheek on his fist and closed his eyes also. Exhaustion was seriously making itself known on Talon. He hadn't slept in a good long while, and had spent the entire night making sure his 'guest' held true to his word. "Don't let lady Katarina hear you say that," Talon warned.

Surprisingly, Shen was the first one to yawn, "Of course, there is one alternative. I wouldn't put too much hope into it, but no matter how many times I read the journals, there just wasn't a way to disprove the possibility that DuCouteu could be at this location," Shen stated. Talon did exactly perk up at the news, but his eyes did slightly widen at the prospect of seeing the general again. "You were right, you had missed something. I wouldn't have gotten it myself if it wasn't by coincidence."

Talon took another deep breath before opening his mouth to speak, "Well then, let's hear i-" he was interrupted by the knocking at door to the room. It opened with an audible creak, a sign that not many people had used it recently up until the previous night. The two men looked at the figure standing at the doorway.

It was a servant girl, barely of age to be considered adult. She had fair skin, long blonde hair pulled into a pony-tail, and blue eyes that seemed to shimmer in the sunrise that showered the room in the light of dawn. She looked stern and indifferent just as Talon and Shen. There seemed to be a vacancy of emotion within the room.

"Breakfast is being served, Master Talon. Mistress Katarina has also arranged for our guest to partake in this morning's meal also, if he so willing decides to do so," the girl announced. Suddenly both sets of eyes fell onto Shen who was still looking still as ever.

"Well Shen, would you be so kind as to join us for breakfast?" Talon asked. His usual cold and ruthless tone had been replaced with one of actual kindness.

It's because I have answers. Shen thought to himself. He took in a deep breath before finally answering. "Sure. As mysterious as I am to most people, I am still just a man," Shen said before throwing his legs off the desk.

"Charolette, tell Katarina we'll be down soon," Talon said to the servant girl who bowed upon hearing him.

"Very well, sir. Is there anything else?" She asked. Talon shook his head in response. The servant girl bowed once more before walking away.

"So, where is this 'second place' the general may be?" Talon asked. Shen stood up from his chair and stretched his stiff muscles. An audible pop echoed in the room as Shen stretched out one of his arms.

"We can have this discussion after we have eaten. Katarina may want to hear this news also," Shen responded before walking past Talon out the door.

"Yeah, that she will," he said to no one in particular.

Katarina sat at the edge of the large banquet table, her cheek resting firmly on her fist. She was wearing casual clothing instead of her usual leather outfit that was adorned with knives. However, she was farm from unarmed. From where Shen was sitting, he could see at least ten different knives on Katarina's person.

The red-headed assassin was looking dumbfounded at Shen after hearing the revelation he had promised to give the two Noxians. It wasn't the prospect that her father was possibly hiding that stunned her. No, it was far from that. It was the explanation that Shen had given her afterwards that was keeping her from uttering words.

"Let me get this straight," Talon finally spoke. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table, entwining his fingers in front of his face as he continued, "You're saying that whatever DuCouteu was worried about has to involve the Noxian military in some way. Or to be more specific, it involves the very people he worked with?"

Shen gave a slight nod, "Yes, that is correct. What I noticed after reviewing some of DuCouteu's much more later entries was that he began to seem paranoid. He kept thinking that someone near him was going to attempt at his life sometime soon. His writings became more frantic, his penmanship became more sloppy, as if he was in a rush of sorts."

"Father did seem sort of distant during his last days with us," Katarina finally spoke, leaning backwards on the chair she sat on. "He spent days on end in his study, only coming out to eat. He kept telling us he was always busy and began to neglect his duties." Talon nodded, confirming what Katarina was telling Shen was true.

The hooded assassin took a long breath, "Very well Shen, you held your end of the deal by giving us a lead. You may leave," he said. Shockingly, Shen responded by shaking his head slowly.

"No. Another thing I noticed in the general's entries was that he kept mentioning the possibility of a third rune war. One that would end with rather...unstable...results. The general was not stupid, far from it. He managed to implement safety precautions to keep another war from starting, but with him gone, those defenses could be overruled with some time and the right amount of political power," Shen said sternly. "If this is true, then it would be in my duty to keep this war from starting, especially if the results would end in the way that I predict."

Katarina scoffed, "I've read through those journals countless times. I know that Noxus would win a third rune war if it were to come dow-."

"Then you would also know that one of Du Coteau's safety measures was to support the League of Legends rather than allow Noxus to go to war again," Shen interrupted. "This is now a matter of balance, Katarina, and I will do anything to preserve that balance." The emphasis on the word "anything" didn't go unnoticed by Katarina or her adopted brother. If they chose to oppose him, Shen would do anything to stop them, even if that meant knocking them out and hog-tying them inside of Demacia to keep them out of his way. He probably would go as far as killing them if the League didn't strictly forbid the murder other champions.

The entire group sat silently for what felt like a long while before Shen spoke again. He was sizing them up, looking at their behaviors to see if his words had made Katarina falter in anyway. It was then that he realized she was an assassin, trained to not show emotion and hide whatever emotional tells she had. "Katarina, I ask for your assistance in the matter. Without Du Couteau the possibility of a war is high and with that, the disruption of balance, which my order cannot allow."

The tension between Shen and Katarina could not be cut with a knife and even a sledgehammer would fail to break it. The two looked like statues, frozen in time with the stares they shot at each other. Both of them waiting for the other one to fail. It was a rather useless attempt on Katarina's part. She knew that, but in her mind, she couldn't just mindlessly obey Shen. She had to put up at least some resistance.

The red-headed assassin knew she would eventually give in to Shen's request. The pros far outweighed the cons. If she disobeyed him, not only would she be invoking the wrath of one of the League's strongest champions, but she would not get her father back (if he was still even alive), the League would collapse, and Talon would resent her for the rest of their lives. If she helped Shen, not only would she find her father, but she could continue being a champion, which had a sleigh of perks on its own.

After the long and tension filled pause, Katarina finally gave way with a sigh. "Fine, Shen, I'll help you," Katarina started.

"We will help you," Talon spoke up. Of course Talon would help Shen find father. Katarina thought to herself. If Talon wasn't anything, he was devoted. Katarina remembered when her father first went missing. Talon would leave for days on end, coming home and passing out on his bed before waking up a few hours later and repeating the process. This process went on for over three months. Katarina had grown worried for her "brother" and sat him down during one of the days he stayed home. She convinced him to give up the helpless cause. She remembered him leaving in a furious state, nearly killing a few of the servants. If he were asked how the entire facade had taken place, his answer would be much different.

After that, Talon had become a heavy drinker until, again, Katarina had a talk with him. After about an hour of arguing, he finally gave in and opened up to her. Something he had never done. It was that night Katarina had found out she cared about Talon, maybe not in a romantic way, but there was...something there. The assassin smirked at the memory of a crying Talon. Heh, no one would ever believe me. She thought to herself.

"Excellent, now, Katarina. I have a single question to ask you," Shen said, slapping the red-head out of memory lane. She looked up with an almost surprised expression, much like Talon had done when Shen revealed he had found Du Couteau. "Where was the last time you saw the general?" Shen inquired.

Katarina cleared her throat, "The last time I saw father was..."

The assassin placed a towel over her face, wiping the sweat from it as she entered the building. Talon was right behind her, looking just as tired and sweaty as she had. Both of them were covered in light wounds and their blades had trace amounts of blood on them. She tossed the towel backwards towards her 'brother', who caught it and repeated Katarina's action.

The two had just finished their monthly competition. It was sort of a tradition between them starting when they had first met. Katarina had challenged the street ruffian to a competition to see who was the better assassin. Ever since then, they had a competition every month, mostly to keep their skills sharp.

"You're getting better," Katarina remarked, not looking back at the street rat.

"I would say the same for you, but then I'd be lying," Talon replied. Katarina turned, shooting a deadly gaze at the grinning assassin behind her. She had always hated the way he grinned, something about it irked her to no end.

She turned back around, accidentally slamming into the body of the general. "Oh, pardon me father, I didn't see you," she said hastily.

General Du Couteau looked down at her, his gaze as cold and as hard as ice. It sent a shiver of fear down the two assassin's spines. "Katarina," the voice of her father echoed loudly in the main hall. "I must speak to you," he finished.

Katarina was confused, something seemed off about the way her father was speaking. He was never so cold and distant. "Uhhm...ok," was her reply.

"Meet me in my study..." the general looked over at Talon, "...alone." Talon nodded knowingly.

When the general had left the room, Talon spoke up. "What was that all about?" He asked. Katarina could only shrug at the question. Something wasn't right. The way her father spoke to her was just so...wrong.

She left Talon behind and headed for her father's office in a hurry. When she got there, she opened the door slowly. General Du Couteau was sitting behind his desk, his expression still the stoic mask he wore when he addressed the redhead. "Katarina," he said, giving his head a slight nod before staring at her, his gaze loosening, "...daughter."

Katarina walked over, sitting in the chair in front of her father's desk. "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" She asked. Du Couteau sighed, putting down the papers he was arranging. The general hesitated to speak, unwilling to tell his daughter the news she would have to hear. The red-head grew impatient as she waited for him to speak, her expression making it very apparent.

"I must go for a while," he said, pausing to take a deep breathe before meeting her eyes with his own, "a long while. I don't know when I will be back or if I ever will come back, but there is something I want to tell you." The general approached his daughter, his large figure easily casting a shadow over her much smaller body build. He towered over the girl.

In one quick motion, Katarina found herself wrapped in her father's arms. She was flustered, unsure of the sudden outburst of fatherly love that was being bestowed upon her. Katarina wrapped her own arms around her father's large figure, still utterly confused about the change in attitude.

"Katarina, my daughter, I'm sorry that things have to be this way, but there is nothing else I can do. I'm out of options." Katarina noticed a cold feeling running down the side of her cheek. It wasn't long after that she felt it running down both sides of her face. She was crying. She never cried, not even when her mother had left. But this time, this time it was different. Her father had been everything to her. General, commander, leader...father...caretaker.

"I love you, my daughter, and I cannot apologize enough, but I'm afraid I'm out of time." The general pulled himself away from his daughter before heading towards the door.

"Daddy..." he heard behind him. A pang of guilt shot through his core being, visibly making him cringe at hearing that word. "Father, please don't leave me here..." Her voice carried so much sorrow, he could almost hear the tears that were streaming down her face, and even felt his own eyes getting moist with the threat of tears. However, his voice did not betray him, holding the sorrow that he held within himself as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Katarina, but there would only be strife if I stayed. Now please, excuse me." Those were the last words he ever said to his daughter. He left abruptly afterwards. Katarina herself remembered spending the rest of the day inside her father's study, not even emerging for dinner.

"Hmmm...very well. Obviously he never mentioned where he was headed," Shen said. Katarina shook her head. "I don't know exactly where he is at, but I have a good feeling of where we can find out. "We'll need to find the people your father trusted most."

Katarina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "That may prove to be harder than expected," she said silently. Shen raised an eyebrow at her.

"And why is that?" he inquired.

"Most of them are dead. The others? No one has seen them since my father disappeared. I'd assume that a few of them are dead, but it's worth a try to find them." Shen was about to say something until he sensed a new presence in the room. It felt familiar, too familiar. The instant he realized what it was, he shoved against the table, pushing him backwards as a multitude of daggers flew past him, digging into the wall with a loud thump.

"Shen!" A voice unfamiliar to Katarina and Talon spoke out. When the two assassins looked towards the source, there was a total of 5 ninjas crouching on various articles of furniture. "You have been charged with crimes of treason against The Kinkou. You are denounced as The Eye of Twilight, and your termination is imminent. What are your last words?" The supposed leader of the ninjas spoke.

A very small grin spread across Shen's face which looked unsettling, even to the seasoned Noxian assassins. "Last words? I don't plan on having last words any time soon."

Author's Note: Sorry this took forever to make. I've been planning it for a while and I'm trying to up the quality of this story. It's been a hard time for me lately and I'm really sorry this took forever. I'll try to update as soon as possible but I've got a lot on my plate, so it may not be as quickly as me or anyone else would like it.