The Proving Grounds, a place where either new summoners show up to train themselves for more advanced matches, or where certain types of duels are held. It was a rather odd place, since it was a straight bridge of sorts, with a giant nexus on each end and several other buildings that included an inhibitor and several giant statues referred to as "turrets". Towards the middle of the area, there were bushes on the sides, enough to hide any said champion or champions.
It would seem to be an easy area, but a summoner could not command their chosen champion to buy anything until they simply die, nor could they return to the shop via the "return" spell, since that spell was barred from use. If one was not paying attention, the summoner would be in some trouble (whether or not the summoner was male or female was another matter entirely).
Today was a day where two different champions were to duel one another. One was a rugged man armed with a somewhat mediocre-range, but absurdly powerful shotgun that could destroy even some of the most stalwart of creatures. The second duelist was a giant rat, armed with a crossbow and bolts infected with deadly venom. Though not as wildly strong as the man with the shotgun, the user was frighteningly adept with the crossbow; he actually had bested everyone in the league in a duel of who could attack the fastest.
The rugged man with the shotgun walked towards the middle, shotgun loaded. The giant rat with the crossbow did the same.
"Feelin' Lucky?"
"I hope that's not a joke, Graves."
"Ain't no pun, Twitch."
"Thankful Miss Fortune or that card fanatic isn't here..."
The two exchanged glances, then turned to their weapons of choice. The two backed up a bit, then took stood still. The duel would end depending on who died first – the summoners told their respective champions their abilities, strengths, weakness and such as they stood still.
It was going to be a rough fight between the two.
A few seconds later and... "thunk"! Twitch had scored the first three hits, right in Graves' left knee. Graves then used his unhindered leg, dashed in, and tried to buckshot him, but the rodent got out of the way just as the attack brushed against him slightly. He had been really fortunate.
Graves then fired off a sort of canister that emitted smoke, almost making it impossible for Twitch to see anything. Moving around was slightly difficult as well. Wading through to what he thought was his safe area, so to speak, he ran smack dab into Graves. Graves fired off several shots, pegging Twitch really hard. The giant rat made a break for it and went into hiding via his stealth ability.
Graves couldn't figure out where he went. He started firing off randomly at different directions, hoping to finish him - all of his attacks missed, striking nothing. The Outlaw became somewhat frustrated, then stood still, searching his surroundings for him.
Twitch assessed the situation he was in. He was somewhat damaged, but so was he. His poisons were taking its toll on 'The Outlaw', and it was showing; he was starting to sweat a little, something not too many people saw. Then again, being shot in the knee with something that lethal would deter just about anyone.
Twitch walked around through the bushes, then stood right behind him. Preparing for his fight with Graves, he then fired off several bolts right into his back. The man groaned in agony, but before he buckled down, he made a last ditch effort to kill the plague rat. Dashing in towards him, he unleashed a buckshot right in front of Twitch, striking Twitch really hard.
The two died shortly thereafter. The buckshot was too much for Twitch, while the bolts and the deadly venom finished Graves off. It was evidently a draw.
Several hours later...
Several hours after the match and everything was back to normal, so to speak, Twitch had decided to pay a visit to Graves before he went off about his business. He had found him at the middle of the bridge at the Proving Grounds.
Deciding to surprise him, he appeared right next to him, laughing while doing so. Graves didn't seem to care that much, though he did turn slightly to look at his 'guest'. Twitch sat on the ground next to Graves, and then they both didn't move. Even though the area was a bit weird, they didn't seem to mind it that much. Actually, in their opinion, it was somewhat 'calming'.
"How'd you get that dang good with that there crossbow? You're like a snake-in-the-grass."
"Been practicing for a while. Seems to be naturally apart of me. Only thing that's been keeping me alive, these days. What about you and the shotgun?"
"Destiny? Oh, this darling always been helping after I got busted out of that little hole that Varmint Priggs stays at. Thanks to the gunsmith I met, anyhow."
"Gunsmith?" The rat inquired, a bit intrigued.
"Someone I met, courtesy of another person who was held up in that cell. It's a real beauty. Asked him to modify a gun to my exact ideas. Oversized, but it "compliments me well", to copy the man's words."
Twitch had heard the story between him and Twisted Fate, though he never really cared, up until now. Twitch was actually beginning to respect someone else other than himself and the higher ups of Zaun. Not too many people could actually sneak around, let alone escape, from Zaun without more than a few problems. Only he had been able to sneak around without getting busted...
"Where'd you get that stuff on your shots?" The outlaw suddenly asked.
"It's some of the stuff I find in the sewers of Zaun. It helps when you're trying to duel against some of the more wild champions in the league, if only just slightly." Twitch laughed.
"Well, gave me some trouble. Good fightin', Twitch."
"You're not so bad yourself. The fact you can dash about, even when infected, is proof you're a good duelist."
The two then started to laugh, slowly at first, but then it escalated. One might think that this site might be very strange – a giant rat with a crossbow and a conman actually sharing a laugh together, and even going so far as to pass around compliments? If anyone saw this, they may have likely had to pay a visit to a physician who dabbles in psychological studies.
They left the Proving Grounds together, both of them in a rather pleasant mood.
Author's Notes – So, this event is based on a duel I had with a fanatic Graves user. I was the Twitch user, and believe me when I say we had a long fight that lasted up to almost 90 minutes. By the time it was over, we both had around 6 dozen deaths, each caused only by us. None of the other teammates we had back in the match went for us, which is odd, but whatever. Another thing worth noting, I guess, is the fact that Twitch and Graves are my two only favorite ranged carries, and in my book, they're slightly underrated, much like Sivir is. I usually see many Vayne users, Corki users, Ashe users, Caitlyn users, Varus users, or even Tristana users. Cripes, I even see Kennen as a ranged physical carry more often than I see either Twitch or Graves, which is outright weird (YES, people did play Kennen as a ranged physical carry, I don't know why).
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this tribute. I sure did enjoy working on it.