The Grand General

             ❝ Really? Never would’ve guessed. ❞ She’s befuddled by his peculiar phraseology. Either he’s the genteel sort or he’s sequestered himself for years on end. ❝ You know, you sound like you’ve been living under a ginormous rock or in some demon infested cave for the past century. How can I even answer a weird question like that? It’s modern vocab, obviously. ❞

With time and devotion, Android 21 hoped to come across some sort of laboratory among the ruins of the island. Today’s excursion seemed a step in the right direction. The ruined building she’d discovered was a far cry from a place of research, but a destroyed tech store could still hold surprises. 21 stood quietly as her eyes darted from device to device.

“Hm…?”

Behind her came a voice of curiosity. She turned in the sound’s direction, finding a contemplative man with graying hair before her. The android greeted the stranger with a smile. “I think that depends on what you mean,” she offered, hoping to provide some insight.

“I can try to answer some questions for you. Though, I must admit, some of the technology here is a little dated for me.”

Laboratories and the sciences had been the realm of the Zaunites, not Swain himself. Granted, their technologies had important applications both military and mundane, but while Swain did his best to understand their concepts there was only so much that could be explained before the word “witchcraft” became more appropriate.

“You sound like you know more than I’ve been able to grub up. If that rumor is true? Then it wouldn’t be hard to guess why this place is falling apart, considering where large amounts of technology someone else wants usually lead. It’s still only a guess, though.” He shrugs. “I’m guessing you want me to find out? Or get down there in the sewers and find some of these fabled vintage Spirale computers? Or maybe even track down a scientist.”

The idea of having something to do is the most appealing part of it. Without much of anything to plan for he could feel himself fraying at he edges trying to keep his own brain busy. Even if it winds up being a screwy deal, the thief decides he can risk it and decide to share or book it later. And then there was always the other option.

Information thats too highly dangerous gets memorized and burnt.

"Perhaps. Conversations are a key turning point where information is concerned, and I’ve been fortunate to have many good ones.” Good. This one was sharp, and the general wasn’t going to have to guide him through slowly. Not that that was always a bad thing, but a man’s patience can be easily worn thin if his subordinates are not careful. “Whichever of the three you think will attract the least attention, although substantiating the rumour is probably the top priority. No sense in chasing the imaginary down.”

They were in the same boat. A man who does not exercise his skills and capabilities will see them atrophy, and the general’s fear was that if he was not plotting or trying to execute a plan he would be content. Satisfied.

As the device had landed in the hands of a seperate team of their gathered comrades, the four champions, each in their own right, deliberated amongst themselves to decide their name. Something that will echo in the Halls of Legends for ages to come. To inspire, strengthen the resolves of their peers, and to have an immense sense of pride once their work has been done.

Hailing the, Divine that appeared before them, Karl would call out to them, hands cupped around his mouth. “We are Team Three Dads and a Frisk!” He bellowed, clearing his throat afterwards, that was louder than he had intended to make it be. Reaching his hand out, and gingerly taking the device into his grasp, he’d lay it on the palms of both hands, turning to his three other associates. Two of them, Lords of War like himself, and a young, small child.

“Our task has been laid before us, compatriots, it is now up to us, to see it to its completion.”

The name had been inevitable. The three generals had discussed and plotted and argued for what seemed like an age before exhaustion had led to accepting the first idea out of Frisk. Three Dads they were, but whether the men were actually worthy fathers was a different issue altogether. Admittedly, considering the conversation they had had by text Swain had no confidence at the moment in himself or his fellows. It was alright. Children were resilient. She would be fine. Probably.

First, to test. In his good hand Swain took the device and fired it at a nearby building. It created a ring of bright red that pulsed with an unearthly light. Surely, that couldn’t be a bad sign. “It seems to function, and now is the time to execute the plan. That is to say, place as many of these as possible as quickly as possible.” So the general began to fire, briskly and efficiently, creating neat rows alongside the side of the building to the best of his ability.

Of course, it was soon that Swain realised the neat little rows were not so neat. Aiming and firing a gun with one hand is tremendously difficult. So he wordlessly passed it on to Yukimura. “Have a go at it - see how it feels.”

     Frisk gently returns the book to its resting place and scratches her head. She’s glad that he’s paying attention to her, but it also feels like he’s reacting way too easily. It feels like some sort of trap. Usually, people are like ‘not now, Frisk’ or just ignore her completely. She puts her chin on the edge of the desk and rolls her head from side to side, still utterly bored. Then she lifts her hand and points to herself. 

     ‘I sign a little.’

     There’s still a lot she doesn’t know, and it’s a lot easier to rely on written text than sign language and eye contact she’s unwilling to make half the time. She doesn’t even look at him when she answers his question, nor when she flees from the desk and goes tearing down the aisle. No one else is around, so she can run all she wants! 

     …Um, well, Jericho might say something. Frisk comes thundering back moments later with one of those ottoman stools from the children’s section. As soon as its ‘legs’ hit the ground, she bellyflops onto it and stretches her limbs out. She’s flying! Ahaha! …Please don’t call her weird.

In all honesty, he was paying attention to the girl because interacting with a child like this was a new experience and a valuable skill. What makes children tick? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does one properly care for a child? All of these were things the general knew would be valuable information, or at least part of a valuable experience.

There are the hand movements, as Swain nodded his approval. Good, at the very least he could practice with her. But the child would not look him in the eye, and that was a worry. Was she shy? Afraid? Nevertheless, Frisk running off meant Swain could relax and try to practice. Children were hardy.

      Ioana wouldn’t exactly call herself ‘spirited’ so much as perhaps ‘unpredictable’. While her preference was to be as sedentary and relatively unremarkable as possible, she was getting the impression from this place and the last that secrets wouldn’t stay secret for long. Even so, she’ll enjoy stretching the discovery out while she can– she likes the peace that being ‘unremarkable’ affords her.           “You see a lot, when you actually bother paying attention,” she agrees amicably enough, somewhat pleased that the conversation hasn’t somehow ended up somewhere awkward by her doing. “Though– humans are resilient, ya know? They just don’t give themselves enough credit. Give up too easy. They could manage so much, if they weren’t their own worst enemy.”

          “Dunno if I’ve got a thousand, but I’ve seen a few things. Did you know, for example, that soil ain’t got nothing to do with how long a Vampire can stay anywhere? They’re not really bound by anything but their own bodies and the whims of the sun.” Her fingers tap along the strap of her bag, and she gives him a sharp, considering look. “Though I’m curious about what sort of things you’ve seen, since you mentioned them.”

Unpredictability was an interesting and often useful asset on the battlefield. Useful against the enemy, but often irritating for the man in charge who didn’t know whether he could count on you to execute plans. Nevertheless, no one was completely unpredictable to Swain anymore. After all, was it not the Demon of Secrets that whispered the hidden things of the world to him?

“But that is the most fascinating quality of the human race - their psyche and sense of self.” A small smile flickers onto his lips, his first true one upon coming to this place. “It is soft and flexible or hard as steel. When people push themselves beyond their limits... that is where the incredible occurs.” 

The city was fascinating in several ways. It reminded him of Insomnia in the dark, after years of deliberately causing more chaos in the empty shell of a city. This city on the other hand was precisely what only a chosen few would see back on Eos - and the Chosen wasn’t going to be one of them. Neither was he.

Maybe it was some sort of divine lesson to be learned. It wouldn’t have been the first time the gods intervened in the most inconvenient ways. He had stopped watching the surrounding ‘people’ rebuilding and doing their thing a while ago, whoever. Actual beings that reacted when being spoken to looked different from the surroundings, and this man was no difference. There was just a certain energy around him that was… familiar. He couldn’t quite put a finger on why that was, however.

“If you enjoy watching soulless creatures scuttle about doing whatever being controls this place told them to, be my guest. Otherwise you will find this dreafully boring and I would advise you to carry on.”

So different was this place, this... Radiale from Noxus. At least, Noxus in its prime. It better resembled the poorer regions of that city: the worn out buildings in disrepair, the haunted looks on the passers by, the foragers trying to find something to keep themselves sustained. However, there was no time for homesickness. The general had to focus on the here and now.

Darius did not just listen as Swain spoke to him, but kept pace in thoughts as well. When it came to a more tactical point of view, his mind worked fast, though not nearly to the same capacity as the Tactician. However, he didn’t become a general from sheer force alone and it was moments like these that proved it. Each of Jericho’s points would be kept ready, and when he was given the opportunity to speak, he hit each point in turn.

“The unfortunate truth of this is that information will likely be one of the most difficult things to acquire here. Or at least ‘reliable’ information. The only true resource we can count on would be from the mouths of our captors themselves. As we don’t even know their nature, honest or deceptive, even that is dangerous. Everything else we hear from the civilians would be nothing more than hearsay and guesswork.” He spoke from experience after dealing with the scientists in Hive. The only thing you could really trust was what they told you, and even then, such was suspect.

“If you are asking for the aid of other civilians, I am certain I can help on that front. I know of many and worked with most. Some are less than trustworthy, and others I am willing to entrust my life to. I can get them in contact with you as soon as need be.” Assuming a fair number of them were still here to start with. Meeting Lucina, Morgan and Lelouch again gave him the hope that it was the case, but he could not deny the possibility that they were outliers in it all.

“Whoever the creators of this world are, it seems strange that they would create such a place and yet leave it in ruins. The scientists that reigned over Hive City made it so in time, disrepair naturally fixed itself. Though we cannot confirm that this is the same place, I am willing to believe that perhaps there’s something more to this. That the sad state everything is in now may indeed be part of the test set before us.” It was an assumption of course, but he felt justified in where he stood regarding it.

It was why they worked so well together on the Trifarix. Each three had their own specialties, of course, but all were well-versed in the fields of strategy and war. No longer was Noxus a place where pure brute might ruled: strength came from all avenues, hence the formation of this new system of leadership. The general was reassured that at the very least the capabilities of this Darius at the very least matched the one from his own Runeterra.

Thus far, everything this Darius said was sound. Information was a precious commodity, so being unable to glean much of use was rather irritating but not unexpected. Knowing he was well-connected and in relatively good standing was also a boon in such a tumultuous time, and would serve well for future planning. It was his third statement, however, that was somewhat worrisome.

“A test?” Swain could not help the displeasure on his face. “What is there to test? Resilience? Determination? Strength?” It was that last word, ringing through his ears, that reminded the general of where he was and who he was with. “... If this is a test, then it is no different to the daily struggle in Noxus. We shall fight, and overcome, for is it not what is expected of us?”

     A library: the exact opposite of a movie theatre. Quiet and still, the perfect place to come and calm down. A little boring if you’re too jumpy for the books, which is exactly how Frisk is feeling right now. She’s still excited about the movie, the groceries she brought back for herself and her roommates…This new city is kind of scary, but a lot of good things have been happening, too!

     So please understand: she has a little trouble sitting still right now. After perusing the children’s section, she turns on her companion. With a couple of chapter books wedged under her arm, she gets up behind him and smacks the back of his chair. Yanks at the back a little, trying to tilt it. It doesn’t work.

     Frisk then turns to the books on his desk. They’re probably boring and too difficult for her to understand, but she gets up on tiptoe and reaches for one anyway. She gets it to teeter on the edge of the desk, at which point it tilts too far and lands right on her head. Oof.

It was hard to practice the movements for signing with only one hand, and not for the first time Swain wondered why so much of the world was so inconvenient when you were not able-bodied. Even so, he would endeavour to learn. There had to be some way to adapt this even if he had the advantage of temporarily summoning a hand, and this was what was occupying Swain’s thoughts when he was interrupted.

The general could hear the smacking against his chair but wasn’t very concerned. Weren’t children capable of entertaining themselves? Or at least, that had been his understanding watching them play on the streets of the Empire. Then again, that was in the company of other children: he had incredibly little experience of children playing on their own barring his own childhood. So he turned back to the book, intently focused until the book falls and he finds Frisk rubbing her sore head.

He keeps his grin in place, a poker face, and just nods in acknowledgement to the missing hand. “I can help with a variety of things, depending.” With a look around, Lupin waves his hand lazily. “As much as I’d like to have plans for a place like this? It has plans for us. But right now, it’s a frontier.” He jams his hands in his pockets again, eyes almost sparkling.

“I wanna dig in it. Do a real Vesalius dissection of the place. All we can get from it now is knowledge. After that? Anything else might be cake. Might be.” The decision to match wits and be open instead of playing dumb like he usually favors is a last minute choice, an attempt to get a sonar pulse on this guy’s aim; really though Lupin figures everyone is just as lost as he is and there’s no reason to hide something as broad as a desire for knowledge.

An adaptable man, it seemed, and one who at least had some idea of professionalism. Even if he hadn’t Swain had worked with all manner of egos and personality, but someone who kept a relatively level head while on the job made the general’s jobs far easier. “It’s always good to find men willing to see the bigger picture for what it is, rather than panicking when faced with the new and unknown.”

             ✖//SILENCE would be the only thing that’d come from her as the noise of everyone scattered around her would be almost like white noise. There was a hunger that was slowly eating her away, like a small flame slowly growing bigger and bigger in her stomach. It was beginning to make her feel tired slightly for having to contain it, but she’d manage. She always managed through these strange terrible circumstances, this would be just another challenge for her to go through. A presence though would finally snap her away from the silence of solitude that she had for a brief moment before casting a glance at the other. Being stared at was something she didn’t really appreciate much, so naturally, she’d face them. ❝ What do you want? ❞ A slight annoyed tone would lace through her words while speaking. ❝ If you keep staring then you might as well should take a picture. ❞

@tyrantofnoxus

Such were the intricacies of this city that people from all walks of life had gathered amongst the ruins. From far future and ancient past, child or ancient, man or woman, both or neither. It was a veritable cornucopia But one thing seemed to be consistent amongst all of them: hunger. Determination. Desire. There was a strength in their expressions, as well as adaptability. It meant Swain took a lot of time observing others, but occasionally it caused some difficulties.

Such as now.

( @tyrantofnoxus ) ♥ ( X )

❝ You kinda seem like a BLONDE DRACULA. You’d fit right in if were were in TRANSYLVANIA. You’ve gotta be like super into the whole vamp culture, right? Do you sleep in a coffin? ❞

“It must be. I do have to say, they did put a tremendous amount of effort for the sake of a scientific experiment.” Hohenheim himself pondered their true intentions, were they thinking about their new inhabitants as lab rats only? Or was it possible that there was another reason in the mix? He would have to observe that further during his stay on Radiale, that’s for sure.

“That can easily be done. Which place would you want to hear about first?”

"Yes, this scientific experiment is... questionable.” Swain was deep in thought. That conclusion did not quite sit well, especially after having spoken to Darius about the nature of the previous city. “If I know anything about scientists, sometimes they are inscrutable and unkind in their pursuit of the impossible. We are but playthings.”

Candy, chocolates and literally anything that make kids’ mouth drool, those lovely and small things were long gone from Kana’s world. It’s hard to treasure such small treasures until they were gone. This place, however, was different. Everything was so full of life and people, the small boy is sure to remind himself to treasure these moments as he walked down the streets. His legs stopped at an empty store, was it abandoned? The empty store had empty shelves and he could see several candies that had been dropped on the floor.

There was no particular reason why but in his heart, he was aware that the empty and abandoned store reminded him of his world back home.

He jumped slightly when he heard someone’s voice. He turned to see the stranger, curious at what Kana had been up to. He shows a small smile to the stranger.

“N-Not really! I was just wondering why this was empty… Everything is so full of life here after all!”

Candy, chocolates and treats came to those who could afford them, or who were allowed them. Such was the way of Noxus, were sometimes even scraps of bread were like manna from the heaven. That being said, despite the ruined state of the city, it was still a place with much opportunity and liveliness. At the very least, little pockets of colour and personality always seemed to appear, just like this.

Technology was something that was currently out of Swain’s realm of knowledge, or at least the knowledge of this era. What he was slowly coming to learn poring over dusty, mould-ridden tomes was that the world this city was set in had moved far beyond the available technologies of Runeterra. Indeed, it was enviable and intriguing, and if Swain could bring such things back it would improve Noxus’ influence tenfold.

Of course, that meant nothing if the general did not know how it worked.

[text] Alright, perhaps we dont try to teach the child about war

[text] yet

[text] perhaps when we start, we all meet somewhere thats easy for us to get to, maybe the hole for instance?

[text] there is never a bad time to teach a child about war

[text] from the beginning of time mankind has constantly been at war

[text] she must be prepared

[text] as a note name wise what do people think of the four horsemen or the envoys of tomorrow

[text] or the imperials

Lupin tilts his head, looking every inch like a magpie sizing up a pile of discarded fries. It’s been a while since someone picked him out of the crowd like this which immediately puts him on alert… and immediately makes him curious as all hell. His smile gets sharp around the edges and he straightens his collar with a proud little -pop-.

“I might, annnd I’ll bite. That’s not a trait someone usually angles for unless they need a magician for a Vegas show or a birthday party.” He sidles up closer but keeps a safe padding of space and a wary eye on the serious-looking man, in case he was lying and did know who he was.

Usually fancy types like this wanted him out of the picture.

"I am somewhat lacking in that department myself.”

Swain held up his arms, one attached to a perfectly good hand and the other hand decidedly missing. His expression was so dead pan and serious it would be difficult to tell whether that had been a joke or not. Of course it was, but intended as one meant to provoke nervous laughter.