THE RED MOON
The huge red nexus' crystal shattered in thousands of pieces. A woman's voice rang out in the air "Victory!" and, after a few seconds, the ten Champions found themselves in the waiting room.
"That was hard." Cira said, rubbing her left shoulder.
"That's URF for you." Leona said chuckling "It's very funny but sometimes it can be stressful."
"Yeah, my arms are killing me...now I know what it means to spam a skill. Who created this mode?" she asked, leaving the waiting room after having greeted the others.
"Do you really want to know the answer?" Leona asked in response.
"I thought that a more frenzied mode would have amused everyone." a male voice said behind her and when she turned to face the man, her only words were "Andrew...why am I not surprised?"
"I don't know." Andrew admitted "But I know that you'll be surprised for what I have to tell you."
"Let me guess...another Chosen?" Cira asked.
"Wrong, this time isn't about a new Chosen." Andrew said with a smile "It's about a festival, the Festival of Fire, to be precise."
Leona's eyes turned gold as the Radiant Dawn took control "Oh, it's already June?"
"Yes and, as every year, we'll close the servers for 'maintenance' so that all the Champions will be able to go to the festival." Andrew said "All of you need a little rest."
"This would be my first festival! Yasuo told me about it and I can't wait to see all those things!" Leona rejoiced with a big smile on her face.
"I'm really curios now. I have read about the Festival during the release of the latest Blood Moon skins but I don't know very well what it's about." Cira said then taking control again "When it will be held?"
"In five days, so in about three days on Earth." Andrew explained "The festival will last one day and one night but you can go there when you want."
"We'll go early in the morning, right?" Leona asked hoping for a "Yes" as an answer and Cira just nodded with a smile on her lips "We'll go along with Arthur and Pantheon."
Hearing those words, Andrew paled slightly "Well...regarding the 'company'..." Cira stared at him confused "You should, so to speak, keep an eye on the other Chosens."
"What do you mean?"
"You're the one with most experience among all the Chosens and some of them don't know how to behave out of the League, so you should make sure that they don't do anything stupid." Andrew explained.
Cira stared at him for a few seconds without blinking.
"A baby-sitter..." Cira began closing her eyes "You're asking me to be a baby-sitter, in a few words..."
"Well, 'baby-sitter' seems an exaggeration. You won't have to be their shadow, but you need to prevent accidents where possible." explained the man with a calm voice "Nothing will prevent you to spend some quality time with Arthur."
Cira sighed heavily "All right, I'll help but seriously...the others don't seem troublemakers."
Andrew raised an eyebrow "Are you sure? Are you not forgetting someone?"
"Yes, of course! What do you..." in that moment, the sad reality hit Cira and Leona "Oh...true..."
From behind her, popped two black gloves that covered her eyes and a male voice said "Guess who!"
"Shaco..." sighed Cira and the Demon Jester jumped on her shoulders like a baby.
"Correct! You're sooooo good in this game! Are you maybe a mage? You should change your role in the Rift!" chuckled Shaco before jumping away in order to avoid the hand (and the fist) of Cira. The clown jumped a third time, hiding himself behind Andrew "Sooooo scary ahahah!"
"Among all the possible Champions..."
"Why HE had to have a Chosen?" asked Leona with a mental sigh.
"As you may have guessed, he is the one that could cause some problems during the festival." explained Andrew while Shaco mimicked his expression behind his shoulders, opening and closing the mouth. Cira tried hard not to look at him so as not to laugh. He could be terribly annoying, but many of his jokes were quite funny. Leona preferred the ones aimed to Diana.
"And the other two?" asked Cira while Andrew tried to grab Shaco, without success. The eyes of the clown turned black as his Chosen, Jason, took control of the body "Tyler and Fiddlestick will be good boys, you can bet on it!"
"What about Ashuros? I do not want him and Nocturne to terrorize the others at the festival." said Cira since she had faced him in the Rift and boy, Nocturne's skills were not pleasant.
"He won't come. Too crowded for his taste." said Andrew with a calm voice but with a glare aimed at Shaco who was snickering behind him.
"A small consolation, but at least it's something." said Leona before taking control "When the time comes, we will leave from here?"
"No, you'll teleported directly to Ionia. Since you'll be out of the Rift, time will flow more slowly than during the matches, so prepare some excuses for your absence of a full day." explained Andrew before giving her a small card with the symbol of the Blood Moon on it "When the symbol will shine red you'll have half an hour before being summoned at the gates of Ionia."
"Thank you, Andrew. It will be better to go to inform Arthur and Pantheon." said Leona before walking away, leaving the man alone with Shaco who was now trying to paint something on Andrew's back.
With Cira & Leona
"Do you think that those two will cause problems?" asked Leona while searching for Pantheon in the hallways of the building.
"I don't know. Even if they are two killers, they don't kill anyone so maybe they'll simply enjoy the festival." hypothesized Cira hoping to be right.
Leona nodded before noting a certain swordsman staring up at the sky out of a window. Raising an eyebrow, she walked toward him and, when she was behind him, placed a hand on his shoulder, withdrawing it immediately due to the man who spun around, grabbing her wrist.
"Yasuo what's wrong?!" shouted Leona slightly intimidated by the swordsman's eyes.
Eyes full of fear and...bloodlust.
"Oh...it's you Leo...forgive me, I didn't hear you." said the man releasing her wrist with a little bow.
"It's nothing but...are you all right? You seem...different." said Leona looking at her fellow Project Champion who seemed not to have slept for days.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's it." explained Yasuo with a little smile "So, are you ready for the festival?"
Both Cira and Leona sensed immediately that something was wrong but if there was one thing Leona knew, was that Yasuo was very reserved in some aspects and therefore there was no point on pressing him with more questions. Not now at least.
"Andrew warned us about it just now but you can be sure that I'm looking forward for this festival!" said Leona with a smile.
"Glad to hear that Leo. Will you bring your boyfriend?" asked Yasuo with a knowing grin "You know, there are some really good hot-springs with mixed baths in Ionia and what could be better than a nice hot bath, after a long day, with someone like Pantheon?"
"Yasuo..." said Leona with a gentle smile, but also with black flames and a demon mask mask behind her, while rising her sword.
The swordsman raised his hands with a nervous smile "Just kidding, Leo. No need to be so...scary." he then walked away waving a hand over is head "It's time for my match, have a good day Leo!"
"There's something wrong with him." said Cira and Leona nodded before walking toward the cafeteria.
"I've never seen that look before. I just hope it's not something serious..."
With Yasuo
The Unforgiven was walking toward the waiting room while telling to himself that everything was fine and that he wasn't crazy. It was a beautiful day with a warm sun and a gentle breeze that refreshed the hallways of the League.
Then why, why? Why every time he looked out of a window, all he saw was a red sky and a moon?
A blood red moon.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's it! End of the first chapter!
A very short chapter, I know, but it is only a preview to what will happen in the next chapters! As written in the 'description' of the story, this fic will be a spin-off AU of the series 'We Are Warriors' of Elhini Prime. For now, the only Chosens that will be present are those of Leona (Cira – Elhini Prime), Pantheon (Arthur – Elhini Prime's boyfriend), Nocturne (Ashuros – mine), Fiddlestick (Tyler – mine) and Shaco (Jason – mine).
If any of you have sent an OC for the series of Elhini Prime and would like to see him/her also appear here, let me know! I'll add your OC as well.
I do not know when I'll be able to update but I hope to be quick!
See you around and have a good day!
