Full Summary:
The champions are to compete in matches against each other for honor, fame, and to have their wishes fulfilled. However, as the competition goes on, the champions find themselves questioning their true feelings. Are their wishes truly for the best? Will their dreams be shattered? Suddenly, the competition is a lot more sinister than it seems. Lux/Kat. WARNING: Character Death.
Chapter one
Riven stood outside Lux's door, a set of flowers in her hands. They were hand-picked at the meadow and recommended by her brother, though the aroma was not something she would have ever guessed Lux would like. The smell seemed unnaturally sweet, but then again, she was too.
She knocked, a light blush working its way across her tanned cheeks. From the inside there was a shuffle followed by a small squeak.
"Coming!" Responded a cheery voice. Lux.
"Who could that possibly be?" An irritated one muttered in the back ground. Though hushed, Riven could tell who it was instantly, and her heart dropped. Suddenly, the flowers didn't seem so fresh.
The door flung open, the flowers making their way hidden behind her back. Riven cracked a weak smile, face to face with the Lady of Luminosity and the little explorer brat.
"Riven! How nice. How was your match?" The former beamed. She noticed that her hair was unkempt and a bit of Ezreal's made its way onto her shirt, and averted her eyes.
"Good I guess." But it would have been better if you were there. Well, maybe not—the presence of the bright eyed girl alone might have been enough to make her forget what was going on anyway.
"Did you win?"
With her free hand, she scratched her chin. "Well, 'win' is a pretty black and white word…"
Lux giggled, poking the tip of Rivin's nose playfully.
"Hey!" She protested, face red. Lux leaned closer, oblivious to Riven's state, and smiled.
"I love the perfume. Cosmos, right?"
She nodded slightly before quickly shoving the flowers into her pouch. "Yeah, um, I should be going now. I was supposed to meet a summoner and forgot the time." Only half a lie. "Later!"
Before she had time to blink, Riven was gone, leaving behind the confused couple looking at thin air.
"What was that about?" Ezreal questioned.
Lux closed the door, meeting Ezreal for a small peck on the lips. "Maybe she was a little lonely. Fighting with a broken sword must put a damper on her."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and the Demacians are best buds with the Noxians. It looks to me like the Exile has a crush on you."
Lux gave him a look of surprise and doubt. "What?"
"Come on, perfume? Riven doesn't wear perfume. I hope. And Cosmos are your favorite flower. Plus, she blushes like a schoolgirl around you."
Her eyes widened. "It's impossible for her to 'like' me…she's a girl!"
"So?"
"That means she has…Like….GIRL PARTS!"
He laughed. "Well, either way, that emotionless soldier-girl isn't your type. I'm surprised she could even crush on anyone."
Lux frowned as her boyfriend gave her another light kiss, unsettled by the way he called the Exile emotionless.
Riven stalked to the small café she was to meet her summoner at, cursing Ezreal for being alive and cursing herself—or rather, her shyness. While she was positive that making Lux fall in love with her was no small task, it was lame that she couldn't even hand her some cheap flowers. Glaring at them in her pouch, as if they were the source of all her troubles, she considered throwing them out. What did Lux see in them that wasn't in Riven? Beauty? A sweet atmosphere?
Probably both. And, both of which could be seen in Lux from a mile away. After all, it was her radiant smile and ridiculous optimism that first attracted her. Ah, their first battle together was quite interesting because of that.
"My, is that Cosmos I smell?" Chuckled a voice. Riven redirected her attention to a cloaked man in front of her—she hadn't realized she'd walked to the café already, and stood in front of the summoner, surprised at the fact she actually had to tilt her head upward to see him. His suave speech and refined features reminded her heavily of Taric, the walking jewelry store, only with less strength on the gay meter.
"Yes, and don't ask why," she replied grouchily. "Long day. I'm tired."
The summoner smiled knowingly and gestured to an empty table. They sat, and he signaled for a waiter. "I'll have a number six…oh, and a thirteen as well. Thank you, young man. What would you like, Miss Riven?"
"Hm. Are there éclairs?"
"Ah. Fine tastes you have. She will have a number twenty two. That will be all, young man."
The waiter left with a word. What horrible service for a café in the league…he was even hiding behind his little notepad, I couldn't see his face at all. Hmph.
"So, Miss Riven, what do you think of Demacia's Lady of Luminosity?"
She ignored him the best she could, though her eyes betrayed the smallest hints of surprise.
"No small talk, summoner. Why have you called me out here?"
The man's sea green eyes flashed dangerously. "Straight to business, eh?"
She hardened her scowl. This guy was just as annoying as Taric, that was for sure, but there was something else about him that put her on edge.
"Well," he continued, "we summoners have been working on a…a challenge for you champions. A competition, if you will, to raise up the powerful on pedestals." He smirked slightly. "To let your voices be heard."
Riven arced up on eyebrow, curious. She always liked competitions—always liked winning—but if her voice was heard, then perhaps the reformation of Noxus could be a tad easier to achieve. However, such a competition was unheard of in the League, as battles were usually for political aims, rather than that of individual champions' prowess.
"Why are you telling me this?" She questioned. "Usually such announcements are made in an assembly."
"Because, Miss Riven, you are chosen to be an inside eye. You see, in a competition, people are likely to cheat. You are to make sure there is no violence outside of the custom arenas and if there is, you report it to me. As we, the summoners, bestow upon champions rewards for winning a stage, we can also add handicaps for breaking the rules."
"Is that it?" She asked suspiciously. "If you want to simply prevent cheating, you can figure out a way yourself much more easily than by asking me."
"Sharp. The second thing you will do for us…is ensure that anything else we ask of you is done. Ah, but don't worry Miss Riven, we wouldn't ask of you to carry out anything drastic. Just simple tasks."
"And how does being your little spy-servant benefit me?"
"We'd be willing to bend the rules for you, Miss Riven. Maybe a match or too will work out clearly in your favor."
It was all Riven could do to prevent herself from spitting in his face. "You mean cheat. A cheater to prevent cheaters, huh? I play fair and square. I think we're done here."
"Wait!" He said quickly. She sighed, motioning for him to go on. "Don't be hasty. Your éclair has yet to arrive. And. Ahem. Rather than that, I suppose that once the competition is over, we summoners can aid you in one wish of yours."
"Any wish?"
"If it remains within our grasp, then yes."
"Deal," she agreed. "You had better not be lying."
"Wonderful. Ah! It seems that the éclair must be saved for another day. They are summoning the champions to the assembly hall."
She looked down at her arms, to in fact, find them encased in a bright blue glow. As it reached her eyes and filled her sight with a white light, the summoner nudged her on the shoulder.
"Also, you may call me Markos."
Lux and Ezreal materialized at opposite sides of the assembly hall, Lux fixing her hair, and Ezreal making sure no part of him had lip gloss on it. Their relationship was completely secret—as she was just nervous about the whole thing, and he was worried about big brother Garren—but it was still pretty hard to keep from stealing glances….and kisses… in public.
"Soooo….what's this about?" She asked Jarvan and Garren, leaning her head so she could see them. They were seated behind her, talking about something political that went right through her. Prince Garren shrugged, seemingly forgetting about his conversation with the prince.
The prince frowned. "I wasn't notified by anyone about an assembly. In fact, I hadn't been notified about anything lately."
"I wonder what's it's about," she laughed. "Oh oh oh! I remember the last time there was an assembly—remember? When King Jarvan made an announcement and showed—"
"LUX!" Jarvan glared. "Do. Not. Speak of it!"
Garren chuckled as Lux shrunk in her seat.
Around them, champions reorganized themselves by relation—around the three Demacians, Galio perched overhead, Fiora and Sona isolated themselves nearby, whereas Xin Zhao conversed with the two rangers, Quinn and Vayne. Poppy resided with her Yordle brethren, Lux getting the vague inkling that Teemo, missing from the group of Yordles, was out making trouble.
She was actually surprised that the champions weren't bickering wildly amongst themselves, or even fighting, having been forced to gather in the huge auditorium-like space. She figured it was because they were curious like her to what was going on.
After what seemed like an hour of relentlessly making corny jokes to her older brother and the prince, a huge crack and a bang erupted through the room. Everyone snapped their attention to the front, where three summoners, all quite familiar stood. The one in the center had a bright energy engulfing his hand, and was probably the source of the loud sound.
"Thank you for gathering on such…lack of notice today, champions," the summoner mused. "However, I'm sure many of you will be looking forward to what we have prepared."
"My name is Summoner Amshra. The League will be holding a competition among you champions—the winner, or winners of the competition will be awarded with a special key-in to what the Summoners do, and will have their voice heard. It is not only to help make all of you stronger and more aware, but to make the council more efficient if it has a champion's thoughts factored in."
Murmurs erupted from the champions—excitement, radiated from them, and the more egocentric ones gave declarations of their future success. Lux, though, didn't like the sound of it as much. The smile threatened to drop from her, until Garren have a hoot of laughter.
"Ha! This is the chance to show them that Demacia is superior! The Might of Demacia will win the title of 'champion' from the arms of the Noxians."
From across the room, Katarina stood up and flicked the finger. "Noxus shall prevail! You fucking Demacians won't even get past your first matches! Haha!"
Garren stood up as well, and Lux let out a sigh. "Why you—"
"Hold yourself, Garren. The winner of the competition is already decided—no bickering will make Demacia fall," Jarvan grinned.
Vi heard this from the seats behind him, and smashed her un-armored fists into a nearby chair, nevertheless sending the back flying. "Hell no! The winner is ME, arrogant bastards!"
Lux moved off to the side. Wow, who knew prestigious champions and knights could get riled up so easily. And she was the immature one?
"Oh shut up you idiot," Caitlyn sighed from beside her partner, whacking her in the side and pulling Vi back in her seat.
Before things got too out of hand, another crack lit up the room. Once again attention was turned to Summoner Amshra and the other two, who haven't said a single word. Amshra smiled—their enthusiasm was wonderful.
"Before getting to the actual hype of the real competition, there are, well, preliminaries. Three 'Battle Royale' style brawls in a newly constructed arena shall be carried out, and the eight champions in each brawl with the lowest score shall be eliminated from the competition."
"A kill is two points. An assist is one. Consecutive kills have added points. Simple rules. I would also like to say that throughout the competition, violence out of the arena is not tolerated. In addition, the institute has been cleared of all staff and residents. You may take food whenever, but all stores are closed down. Trespassing in stores is also prohibited."
"Monitors displaying any current match are set up throughout the institute—next to each monitor is a digital list of the next match, or, rather, who is participating in it."
Ashram smirked. "Three hours until the first match. Thank you for your cooperation."
And then the three were gone, engulfed in the same bright light that summoned them here. The instant they left, the room roared with all sorts of conversation, but Lux left to return to her room, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Ashram…Ashram…Why does it sound so familiar?
Thanks for reading this far! This is my first LoL fanfic, and I plan for it to be nice and long with short-ish chapters around this length. It will be plot driven and have lots of romance to match the action-while I have ideas for the pairings I want, feel free to post who you would like to be together! Maybe I'll listen. Review please! I welcome constructive criticism.