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The Invaders Have Taken This Land And Bent You To Their Will

Chapter 4: Has The Memory Gone? Are You Feeling Numb? Or Have I Become Invisible?

Summary:

Interrogations. Chapter title is from Invisible by Duran Duran.

Notes:

guys all county was not lit af and it was scary that judge hated my ass
oh my God it's not an Al Stewart title isn't that crazy

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

     The two women stared at each other. Caitlyn's eye pierced Vi's soul. Vi sat astonished at her, the girl who lost her head sat right in front of her, alive. Caitlyn huffed as she sat in her chair, never removing her sight on the hostage.

     "Cait?" Caitlyn sighed, her hand tightening around the arm of the chair. "Yo-you... you were executed. Your mother said she saw you. Jayce, your death, the news nearly killed him himself. How... why are you here? Why couldn't you just come home?" Vi tilted her head up, her wrists still attempting to release themselves

     "I was offered a position,"

     "A position? Cait you're not a Noxian-"

     "General, you refer to me as General." the voice of Caitlyn the general grew stricter with each word, the volume of her voice increasing alongside. "I chose not to return back to Piltover, I made a home for myself here." The general stood up from her seat and grabbed the stoker by the fireplace, mocking the flames. "My life in Piltover was over by the time I picked up my uniform. I learned more here than I could have from my whole life in that city." Vi stared at the back of the general, her eyes filled with sorrow, fury, all while being confused. Her wrists were burning.

     "Couldn't you have just left? Give it a year or two and return back home, back to your family?" Caitlyn turned her head and pulled the iron rod away from the fire.

     "I couldn't have just integrated back into that life! How do you expect-"

     "Your family, Caitlyn!" Vi rose from her seat, her arms now free. "Your family, they were devastated by the news. Jayce, he- no one saw him for days, just because he thought you were dead, Cait-"

     "Do not refer to me as such!" The general pointed the burning iron directly at Vi, centimeters away from the tattoo on her face. "I know what I did, and I have little regret for that. If I never left Piltover, I'd be soft, naive. But here, Vi, I lead troops into victory, people fear me when I walk down a street. Now. Sit. Back. Down. My soldiers will not hesitate to kill you if you attempt to leave. Nor will I." The rod followed Vi's head as she sunk back into her seat before being pulled away when she reached the hardened seat. "You will answer my questions truthfully. If you do, I can consider letting you walk back home with Jayce. If not, I'll decide your fate from there." The general sat in the seat across from Vi.

     "Now, do you have any idea what this is?" The general held open a box with a perfect sphere inside. The gem's glow covered the entirety of the interior of the box, the blue light stretching out to shine against Vi's eyes. It looked similar to the rougher crystals that Ekko and Powder used. "It was found on academy grounds, behind the grand stage. No transcripts found provided an explanation on what it is. I have an idea, but I need to hear from you first. What is this, Vi?"

     "I have no idea."

     "Don't lie to me. You or your family is a part of this somehow and I know that to be a fact." The general stood from her seat and walked towards the rifle that was hung on a wall. She grabbed it and cocked the gun. The general held the gun close to  her chest and stood beside Vi. The barrel of the gun was close and that terrified Vi enough.

     "I'm not lying, Cai- General, I promise you I'm not. Kill me if you want but I know nothing, my family knows nothing." The general sat the gun upright in her arms, the barrel now touching the Zaunite's temple. But Caitlyn couldn't pull the trigger, she could barely hold the gun now. Caitlyn released a sigh and removed the ammo from the rifle as she set it back on the wall. Slumping down into her seat, Caitlyn stared at Vi. The two sat in silence, staring at each other. The piercing eye from moments ago had fallen, instead the eye had a sense of sympathy, but the anger could still be seen.

     "I need your assistance, Vi. I will make sure no Noxian steps foot near your bar as an agreement. General Medarda plans on organizing a visit to the council soon in order to obtain Hextech for our protection. In return, our cities will be in an alliance, you will be protected under us. All I need from you is to convince Mr. Talis to talk with the council. If they hear from one of their own, they'll have to agree." the general grabbed the gem from the box and inspected it. "I will be talking to Jayce soon, if you wish, I can bring you with me." Vi stared at Caitlyn's hands as they fidgeted with the gem.

     "I'll go with you when you talk to Jayce."

     "Perfect, shall we go?" The general placed her helmet back onto her head and walked over to the woman across her. She extended her hand towards Vi. Reluctantly, she grabbed it and let her pull herself up, quite easily.


     "General Medarda, you wished to see me?" Caitlyn stood tall in front of her general, staring up at the Medarda matriarch.

     "A little raven informed me that after your commander's death, you led your army into a victory. I wish I could've been present for such an event." Caitlyn nodded after her superior spoke. "The Grand Leader was quite impressed with your leadership, as was I. I firmly believe it is only logical if your position of deputy was promoted."

     "Would I be a lieutenant, General? A commander?"

     "General. You, my child, are quite the important asset for Noxus. You remind me of myself when I was younger, you are that of a wolf, a strong and mighty warrior." The general rubbed the cheek of the newly established general.

     "I won't disappoint, General Medarda."

     "You never do, child. I expect highly of you. Your promotion to general was bound to happen, you are a natural leader and warrior, Noxus' Finest."


     "Hello? Vi? Is anyone, hey- hey get off of me!" The sounds of Jayce's struggle emitted from the room where he was held. The general watched as her men held down the scientists, turning back towards Vi who stood awkwardly behind her. The general then barged through the door and the soldiers stood still. Vi walked behind her and sat herself beneath a Noxian flag draped on the wall. The general issued for the soldier behind Jayce to bag over his head, she then gestured for the soldiers to leave the room. As the door closed, Jayce looked around the room frantically, he turned his head towards the seated brawler and bartender. Her eyes fixated on him, giving him a sympathetic look. "Vi, what is happening? Why are we here?" his gaze turned forward and there he faced the warrior who towered over his chair.

     "I have nothing to offer you animals. You bastards have no right to keep us hostage here." Jayce spoke with that of fury, with good reason; he was just kidnapped by the people who beat him, his friend and killed his sister. The restrained man struggled, his grunts growing with rage as he attempted to free his wrists. The general stood in front of him, Vi watching as the two said nothing. Eventually, the general's helmet came off and there was now a woman in front of him. Her eye stared into his, the silence was interrupted by Jayce's heavy breathing by staring at the girl in front of him.

     "Jayce, oh Gods Jayce." He was hyperventilating now, watching as his sister breathed heavily in front of him, her chest plate rising with each inhale. Caitlyn grabbed the dagger on her side and knelt down in front of Jayce. She watched him before crashing herself into an embrace, cutting him free of his bondage. The clang of the knife on the floor was ignored as Jayce wrapped Caitlyn tightly in his arms, her face now in between his neck and shoulder. Tears fell onto her hair and armor, Caitlyn's own tears from her eye dripped onto her knees.

   "Caitlyn, Cait, you're-you're alive Cait." Jayce held onto Cait, refusing for her to stand. If Ambessa saw her, if Grand General Swain had seen her in such a state, this vulnerability would have taken away her titles and armies. But they didn't matter at the moment, the only thing that did was her brother, the brother she had missed for the past eight years.

     "Jayce, I should-, I'm sorry."

     "Don't be sorry, sprout, please, don't be." Caitlyn separated from the embrace and faced the teary eyes of Jayce, clasping his face and patting his cheek. She stood up from her position and rubbed her scarred eye. "What happened, Cait?" Caitlyn looked around the room, giving a look to Vi and turning back towards Jayce.

     "When I came here, General Medarda gave me the chance to become her soldier, then she promoted me to general."

     "You became a soldier? What-why?" Jayce stood up and looked down at Caitlyn.

     "The choice to become a soldier saved my life, Jayce. If Medarda never gave me the option, I'd-I'd be dead Jayce. My head on a platter or I'd be stuck in a cell. I enjoy what I do Jayce. This is my life and I like it." the general clutched her chest plate and stared back up at the scientist.

     "No one, no one in Piltover has heard from you in years, Cait. We all thought you were dead. Why? Why tell us nothing!" Jayce breathed heavily, his chest rising rapidly.

     "If you knew, you would have tried to return me back, but you would have only killed yourself in such a process. I'm happy here Jayce, this is my home. Abandoning you, mother, father- V... hah, Gods." Caitlyn rubbed her hand through her hair and huffed out a breath of uneasy laughter and hidden sob. "If I never left Piltover, I'd be a councilor and spend the rest of my life at a table. But here, Jayce, I stand at the front of armies, I fight with my men. I could've never done this there, I would have been miserable. You of all people know that." Vi watched Caitlyn provide her explanation, Vi's own hand running through her hair and slumping down into her cushioned chair.

     "Caitlyn, I-I know that, but a-a note, a letter, I'd settle for a damn bomb if it had your name on it. But you said nothing, Cait. Your mother, I've never seen such a stern woman fall apart so easily. And your dad, he was silent." Jayce looked down at the general, his hand running along her shoulder. "They showed me the gemstone already, Cait, I know that's why you came in, but I hope you know that your support when I started with this was the reason I created Hextech. Viktor and I- we want to protect Piltover's citizens, just like you always wanted." Caitlyn looked up at Jayce and then looked back down at Vi.

     "I'll release you both, unscathed. But, Noxus needs access to your work, Jayce. We'll protect you. Other nations are threatened by this new technology, if you help us with Hextech, our weapons-"

     "No." Jayce stepped back from Caitlyn. "No, I will not use Hextech for weapons, Viktor and I swore on it."

     "Bilgewater, Demacia, they'll kill for the control of the Arcane. Just let another general speak to the council, they will understand."

     "Your mother's still on the council;" Vi spoke from her seat and stood up, "if she thinks that you're still dead by the hands of Noxians, she'll make sure the idea not even brought up to that room. Unless you go to that courtroom yourself, Cait, they won't listen."

     "She's right, Caitlyn. But you want to stay here, so if you're only going to use us for Noxus' benefit, I don't want to hear it." Jayce turned from Caitlyn and sunk into the wall besides Vi.

     "There are other threats at hand. Something much more dangerous than even we can handle. This threat, it's far, far worse than anything we could handle alone. Please Jayce, I'll talk to the council, please." Caitlyn's eye pleaded with Jayce, his tall structure fallen to his posture. His arms were crossed by his chest. "We need this Jayce, the Bl- the threats at hand could destroy Runeterra as a whole. I'll schedule an airship as soon as I can to Piltover. I will make sure this process is without any harsh actions." 

     "Fine."

Notes:

may start incorporating flashbacks of the years in-between the time skip

Notes:

i don't even know where this au came from, maybe it was the voice of Satan himself, is this a sign to start praying more