Hello everyone! This is a one-shot based off an RP I did with a friend. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always very much appreciated!
In a small town, far away from the city of Zaun, was a quaint little house with a loving family. In this family, there were two scientists and their son, who they loved with all their hearts. Today was to be a very special day for the family; for today was the day their son was going to the Institute of War to become a champion for the League of Legends. But before he could fight with and against the best Valoran had to offer, he had to get out of bed.
There was a small knock on Zac's bedroom door before it opened slightly, letting light from the hallway into the dark room. A small, middle aged, woman appeared in the doorframe and she smiled at the large sleeping form in the bed in the corner of the room. "Zac sweetie," she said. "It's time to get up." The large green blob began to shake slightly before two arms appeared from it and stretched out. A face soon followed, letting out a loud yawn.
"Good morning, ma." Zac said, starting to reform into his humanoid shape.
"Good morning sweetheart. Once you get ready, come and have some breakfast." She gave him a small smile before she disappeared out of the door frame. Zac finally reformed his legs and started to follow his mother, his feet making small splashing sounds whenever they touched the floor. He got to the kitchen to find the table was completely covered with plates stacked high with pancakes, bacon, biscuits and gravy, eggs, various fruits, and a whole gallon of milk. Zac's mother was sitting on the other side of the table sipping at her cup of coffee.
"I've already eaten, so go ahead." She told Zac. "You'll need lots of energy if you're going to be a League champion." Wasting no time, Zac sat down and began to devour everything on the table. As he ate, the pieces of food were visible in his body before they eventually fizzled away and digested. As he ate, his mother looked up at him with pride. When Zac first announced his intentions on becoming a League champion, both she and her husband were adamantly against it. They had escaped with Zac so he could have a normal life, but after they were captured by their original employers, Zac insisted that he become a champion so that he could use his powers to help people. After a long back and forth arguments that happened over the following weeks, his parents finally agreed to let him become a champion.
After Zac finally finished off the last of his food, his mother told him to go pack while she went to go check on her husband's progress on actually getting Zac to the Institute of War. As Zac walked back to his room and began to pack, he started to think about actually becoming a champion. He had heard rumors of the terrifying test that all champions had to go through called a Judgment. He had been thinking about why he truly wanted to become a champion. He knew he wanted to protect his parents and other people who couldn't defend themselves, but other than that he didn't know what. If he got in, he'd be officially recognized as a Zaun champion, even though he didn't fight for anything that normal Zaunite champions fought for.
"Zac? You need to get ready sweetie." Said Zac's mother, behind him.
"Huh? Oh, right, sorry." He had spaced out momentarily while thinking. He got all his things packed together and they started towards the airship docks.
On the docks, there were various airships tethered so they couldn't drift away. Among them was a large purple and blue airship that was noticeably in much better shape than the others. Zac's mother led him towards it and explained that it was one of the League's personal airships used to transport champion candidates to and from the various city states. After some tearful goodbyes and a lot of slimy hugs, Zac boarded the airship and waved goodbye to his parents. A man in purple robes showed him to his room aboard the ship and informed him the trip would take about a day. The man left and Zac was alone in his room. It was a small room that didn't really have any decorations. He put his bags away and got up to look out the window. In the distance he spotted the rusted city of Zaun. Dark clouds of smog obscured the city to where you could barely make out a dark outline of the buildings and many smokestacks. Even with all the trouble that Zaun and its people had given him and his parent's through his life, he still called the place his home. Perhaps that was his purpose, to make Zaun a better place. It'd certainly be a start. Not wanting to think of such things anymore, Zac stretched as far as he could, practically to the other side of the room, before collapsing onto the bed and falling asleep.
Zac awoke to someone knocking on his door. A man with purple robes entered and told him that they would be arriving at the Institute of War momentarily and that he should get read to depart soon. The man bowed and left the room. Zac got up, did his normal morning stretches and got his bags ready. After a few minutes, Zac exited his room and went up to the main deck. In the distance was the Institute of War getting ever closer. Zac gulped, starting to get second thoughts after seeing how menacing the building looked. The airship docked and the passengers were led off the ship and into the Institute. Along with some of the purple robed crewmembers, were two other men that Zac guessed were other candidates trying to get into the League. The three men were greeted by numerous summoners and were given a tour of the Institute's outer area. It was explained to them that the inner chambers were for only summoners and champions only. The summoner giving the tour gave the group to another summoner, a woman this time and she began to lead them towards a small door. Zac heard the tour guide summoner wish them all good luck.
The three men were led into a small waiting room with exactly three chairs and only two doors. They all sat in silence before the other door opened and called out a name. A large, burly, man got up and went through the doors, leaving his bags behind him in the room. A few minutes passed and the door burst open with the large man screaming and crying. He grabbed his bags and made his way out of the Institute without daring to look back. Zac and the other man exchanged looks of disbelief before a summoner appeared in the doorframe and called another name. The second man started shaking as he got up and went through the door, leaving Zac all alone in the room. The dead silence was nerve wracking as Zac sat wonder what on earth could've made a full grown man burst into tears and run like a little girl. "Well, maybe little girl isn't the most appropriate term." Zac thought, remembering the little fire girl that he had seen on the crystal screen many times. The door opened and the second man came through. Instead of crying or screaming like the first man had, the second man simply had a dead look in his eyes. He shuffled over to his bags and took them. He never looked at Zac once as he walked through the room and left. A summoner appeared again and called Zac's name. Zac gulped loudly as he got up and walked through the door. He was led through a massive hallway until they reached a large pair of doors. Over the doors was a plaque that read: "The Truest Opponent Lies Within." The summoner wished him good luck and left Zac alone. He took a deep breath before walking towards the doors. He'd come this far already, might as well go for it.
The first thing he saw was the darkness. Pitch black with nothing around. Suddenly, alarms began to blare and a voice over an intercom kept repeating, "Intruder Alert!" It was a scene Zac remembered all too well. The dark hallways flashed with red lights, and in the distance, Zac heard his parents struggling and screaming for help. Not wasting any time, Zac began to run towards the screams for help. He eventually made it to a room full of Zaunite guards, which proceeded to open fire on him. The bullets merely hit his gooey body, absorbing all the energy, then falling to the ground. Some guards came at him with taser rods, which actually did hurt Zac a bit. Not wanting to seriously injure anyone, Zac merely played around with the guards, punching or kicking one every once in a while.
During the chaos, Zac's father had managed to get his restraints loose and slid his hands through them. He quickly untied himself and his wife and the proceeded to try and sneak past the guards that Zac was keeping busy. It was going well until his wife stumbled slightly and hit her foot against a pipe that was on the floor. Some of the guards instantly turned around and began to open fire. Zac's father pushed his wife out of the way and took the full barrage of bullets, killing him instantly. Zac's mother let out a scream of pain and sorrow. Zac's eyes grew wide as he saw his father get gunned down right before him. He let out a scream of rage and began to throw guards with great force against the walls, making his ways towards the body of his father. After dispatching with the last guards, he quickly made his way beside his father's corpse. His mother was crying over it before looking up towards Zac. She gave a small smile and reached to touch Zac's face before another gunshot fired out. The side of her head exploded as blood poured out and she collapsed on the ground. Zac looked towards the gunshot and saw a guard that had not yet succumbed to unconsciousness and had let out one final shot before blacking out.
"No…no...nononononononononononononononononoNO!" Zac screamed. "It didn't happen like this. It never happened like this! Why…why…mom, dad…I couldn't save you." Zac put his face in his hands and he began to sob. He didn't notice the alarms and intercom system start to fade away until he was in complete silence.
"Why do you want to join the League, Zac?" said his mother. Zac uncovered his face to see her corpse sitting upright with blood still coming out of the large hole in her head and spilling onto her clothes. He was utterly terrified at this sight and could barely think on an answer to give her.
"Umm, t-to represent…the city-state of Zaun, l-like the champions Warwick, Dr. Mundo, Vik-"
"Why do YOU want to join the League, Zac?" the corpse interrupted, a look of irritation growing on its face.
"I…I want to….GAH! Everything is so wrong with Zaun!" Zac began. "Children are looking up to maniacs and psychopaths as role models. And it's not just in the city. Even in the small town we live in, children are killing small animals because apparently Dr. Mundo does it all the time, or Singed thinks that they're perfect specimens to test out his sick poisons on! It's…it's just not right ma. I want a bright future for Zaun, one that doesn't involve corruption at every turn. That's why I wanna join the League."
The corpse gave him a smile, "How does it feel, exposing your mind?" Zac couldn't think of an answer to give the figure. He simply sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face. The corpses of Zac's parents seemed to melt into darkness and two doors opened, letting a blinding light in. Walking towards the light, Zac found himself in the Institute again. Only now, there were champions and summoners walking around as if though they were old friends. A few champions even stopped and waved at him in the distance.
"Welcome to the League of Legends, Zac," said a voice beside him. He turned to see the same summoner that had led him from the waiting room to the Judgment doors.
"W-what was that?" Zac asked, trying to regain his composure. "My parents, they were…"
"All an illusion my friend. I apologize if we made you feel too uncomfortable. You're parents are perfectly fine. If you don't believe me, you can call them yourselves from your room. Now come, I'll escort you." The summoner led Zac towards a section of the Institute that was decorated with many metallic surfaces. It reminded Zac of the rust structures that littered Zaun, only these ones were very clean and pristine. "This section is for champions who wish for a brighter future for Zaun." The summoner explained. "Lucky for you, you've only got one neighbor."
"Hello there," said a light and harmonic voice. Zac looked up to see a woman with blond hair and white clothes carrying a staff float down from the ceiling. "Greetings Zac, I am Janna. I've heard quite a bit about you, it's an honor to finally meet you. I hope you didn't have too tough a time in your Judgment. Oh, I'll take it from here summoner." The summoner bowed to them and bid them farewell. "This is your room here." She waved her hand and a door opened to reveal a bright, green colored, room. "I'm afraid you'll have to decorate it on your own time. I can help you if you wish." Janna gave him a warm smile that made him relax a bit.
"That would be great. I'm not much for decorating." Zac said nervously. Janna quickly became one of his role models after he had seen her in a match once when he was younger. "Oh wait, where are my bags? I think they're still in that waiting room."
Janna let out a light chuckle. "No, they're actually in your room already. The summoners take care of all these types of things." She pointed into his room, and his bags were indeed lying on top of the counter, along with a phone right next to them. "I wish I could stay longer, but I'm afraid I have a match coming up. We can talk some more after I get done, alright?" She floated off, waving goodbye to Zac. Zac waved back to her and took a deep breath. He had made it; he had become a champion in the League of Legends. Even better, his biggest role model was right next door and shared his dream for a bigger and better Zaun. Boy he couldn't wait to tell his parents about this. He turned and walked into his new room to go call them right away to tell them the good news.