Heyo guis!

Do you guys know I love you all? That is why I wrote through heaven and hell to give you another chapter as fast as I could :3

I will now start including a small list of songs I listened to while writing the chapter. Feel free to listen to them ^^

Also, a small shoutout to a story; "Death's Dance" by strawberrynirvana. That story is also a ZedxAkali fic and it gave the last amount of motivation that I needed to start writing this story! I also enjoyed reading it, so I suggest you guys to go and give it a read too. It's quite good.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter :D

~ Wings

Songs:

Losing your Memory by Ryan Star

Devotion by Hurts

Kill the Light by Lacuna Coil

The Shadow Within

Chapter 2: The Shadow waits.

Zed shot up in his bed, panting loudly as he whipped around to look at Akali, who had also woken up from Zed's sudden movement.
"Zed, what's wrong?" Akali asked, worried at his sudden reaction as she sat up quickly as well, watching Zed stare at her like he had seen a ghost. The color had drained from his face and he looked as panicked as she had ever seen him. He suddenly grabbed her, bringing her close and kissing her with a bit more force than needed, before drawing away and simply embracing her, bringing her head close to his chest and holding her tight.
"Akali… I thought… I lost you…" He muttered as Akali caught on and brought her hands up to curl around his back as well.

"It's okay Zed… It was just a dream. I'm here. I'll always be here." She whispered as Zed's hold on her tightened into a more protective one.

"Always." He whispered.

…

The morning was, luckily, not as eventful as the day before or the night. Zed had slept in and Akali had decided to not wake him, as he had not fallen asleep until the first rays of dawn was bleeding into the room through the blinds of the window. Akali had already left and went back to her apartment to dress up. And right now, she was consumed with the thoughts of Zed having that panic attack. Whatever he dreamt about must've been something quite nerve-wracking to be able to break Zed's otherwise unbreakable composure. She's only seen him like that once before and that was when she had just woken up from a coma.

"Earth to Akali, Come in, Earth to Akali." Irelia said, snapping her fingers infront of Akali as Akali blinked and jumped slightly. "Huh, sorry, what?" Akali said, looking apologtically at Irelia and Master Yi.
"Geez, what did the bowl of cornflakes ever do to you? You're staring at it like you want to burn it in the fires of hell itself." Irelia said, sparing a glance at Akali's poor bowl of cereal, which had been sitting untouched infront of Akali for the last few minutes, instead being held as the focus of Akali's gaze while she was deep in thought.

"I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind." Akali said as Irelia nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Yiyi, would you mind?" Irelia asked as Yi smiled back at Irelia. "Its okay, Irelia. I'm finished anyway." Yi said as he stood up and took his empty tray.
"Always first, as usual." Irelia said with a grin.
"Except in bed." Master Yi responded with a cheeky grin and a wink, causing Irelia to return a sly grin with a small tinge of red on her cheeks.
"Ugh, could you please not do this infront of me. It's very awkward." Akali said with a small smile as Yi laughed, walking away, while Irelia made a "Pffft." noise, before saying, "How do you think I feel everytime you and Zed have those 'stare into each other's eyes for hours in seconds' thing."

"We don't do that!" Akali said indignantly while Irelia simply stared at Akali flatly, slowly raising an eyebrow. Akali pouted and lowered her face, resorting to stabbing her bowl of cereal with the spoon as she said, "Okay maybe we do…"

"Yeah." Irelia said. "So, what's up?" Irelia asked as Akali's face fell, swallowing the spoonful of cereal she had put into her mouth.

"It's… Zed." Akali said as Irelia frowned. "Oh no, is things not working out with hi-" "No no! Nothing like that!" Akali quickly interrupted, before sighing as Irelia waited. "He… He had a dream yesterday night. A bad one. And it really unhinged him… I'm just worried." Akali said as Irelia leaned back in her chair.

"Relax, Akali. Zed is a big boy, he can handle himself, better than most. Besides, he has you to support him, doesn't he?" Irelia said with a smile as Akali offered a small smile back at her friend as well. "Yeah, he does."

"Now… Speaking about Zed… Tell me about your 'nights' . " Irelia said slyly as she leaned forward again. Akali almost spat out the cereal in her mouth, choking and punching her chest.
"W-What!?" She stuttered.
"Oh you know. The dirty details! Is he a quickie type of guy? Or does he like to pull out the entertainment?" Irelia said with a dirty grin on her face as Akali flustered. "I am NOT talking about this." Akali said indignantly as Irelia laughed. "Oh god, Akali you're so adorable." Irelia said as her laughter slowly died down, wiping her eyes. "You're so innocent all the time yet I'm sure you're one of the lustiest rascals in bed." Irelia said as Akali flushed further.
"I-Irelia!" Akali chastised as Irelia laughed again, causing Akali to groan and hang her head.

…

An hour or so later, Akali was dressed up in her usual green attire and walking into the summoning chambers. As she reached it, she ran into a familiar face in the form of blonde hair , an inquisitive young face and green-blue eyes.

"Summoner Jason!" Akali said as Jason looked at her and grinned. "Akali! Hey!" Jason said as Akali walked upto him. "You're partaking in this match?" Jason asked as Akali nodded. "I'm on the purple team." Akali said as Jason's face fell. "What's wrong?" Akali asked.

"I'm on the blue team. And as you know, I'll be summoning Zed." Jason said as Akali furrowed her brows. "So? We've fought on opposing sides many times." Akali said as Jason narrowed his eyes. "That's not the probl-"

"Well well well, if it isn't Summoner Jason." A high, cold feminine voice spoke up. Jason and Akali both turned around to see a female summoner. She had darker-than-black hair that hid one eye, while the other eyes was revealed to be bright golden in color. Yet, this gold color seemed cold and sinister. Markings extended from her visible eye, similar to the markings on LeBlanc's face. Her right hand was covered in white wrappings, as if she was wounded there.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your little champion friend?" She asked haughtily as Jason glared at the woman darkly. "Akali, this is Summoner Aranya. Aranya Averra." He said in a forced tone as the woman grinned in a way that sent chills down Akali's spine. "She's in the challenger division." Jason said as Aranya laughed coldly.

"Ah, how I love to hear you say that, Jason. And what are you at? Still Gold?" Aranya said scathingly as Jason remained silent. The woman laughed again before fixing Akali with a cold stare. "We'll see each other on the rift, then." She said before walking away.

"Who… was that?" Akali asked uneasily as Jason crossed his arms, face dark. "Aranya Averra, Challenger Division summoner. Overall bitch and a total asshole. Maybe I mixed the two words up there, but doesn't change the fact that she's a bitch. And she'll be on my team, meaning against you." Jason then fixed Akali with a look that indicated he was worried about her.

"What's wrong, Jason?" Akali asked after an uneasy pause.

"She's going to be summoning Syndra." Jason said, as Akali felt her blood run ice cold before rage entered into her head. "Oh, then this should be fun." Akali said angrily as she began walking off, but Jason grabbed onto her arm. "Don't be rash, Akali. Remember, she's a challenger division and far outclasses your summoner."

"I don't care, Jason. I'm going to get back at that bitch for the pain she put me through." Akali said heatedly as Jason kept a resolute stare on her. "Just don't lose your cool." Jason said before letting Akali go. Akali nodded once, still seething with anger, before briskly storming off into the summoning chambers.

It took maybe twenty more minutes before Akali was summoned onto the rift. As she walked into the mid lane, she spotted the dark sovereign on the other side of the lane. Syndra's eyes lit up with malice as she spotted Akali.
"Oh ho ho ho…. This will be fun." Syndra said darkly as the spheres around her floated more menacingly.
"Never knew you found 'dying a painful death' fun, Syndra." Akali retaliated coolly. "Although, given the sick bitch you are, I wouldn't put it past you." She added, as Syndra's face darkened with anger. And thus, as the minion waves came, the match began…

38 minutes later, the game was nearing it's end. The blue team was winning. Zed stalked through the brush in the purple side jungle, waiting for his target to approach. As he waited, he spotted him. The enemy jungler, Pantheon, neared Zed's position. However, as he drew close, Zed stepped out, causing Pantheon to stop.

"The end is here for you, Pantheon." Zed said with contempt as Pantheon narrowed his glowing eyes, raising his spear. "I will fight you till the last breath, Zed!"

Akali raised her head, getting the mental images of Pantheon fighting Zed from her summoner. On the other side, Ashe and Braum were in a losing battle against Twitch and Thresh. Their Jungler, Udyr, was also in the middle of a duel with the enemy top laner, Malphite.

That left…

Akali jumped to the left just in time to dodge the purple sphere that exploded into existence right where she had been standing moments ago. Syndra's laugh was high and cold as she slowly approached. Akali gritted her teeth. Their team was far behind and there was no chance she could win this battle. She threw her smoke pellets down as a shroud of smoke engulfed her, giving her some time to think.

"I don't think so." Syndra said viciously as a wave of power suddenly collided with Akali, throwing her back out of the shroud and into a nearby tree. Akali cried out in pain as she landed against the tree. She began standing up, but a powerful force suddenly enclosed on her wrists, pulling her forwards suddenly. The force turned, twisting her arms as she cried out in pain, being forced to let go of her kamas. The force let go of her hands, a second before her kamas were raised by the same force and then thrown hard, sailing over the treetops and far away from Akali.

As Akali scrambled up on her feet, Syndra laughed as she neared. "Oh, this brings back memories. Akali, as helpless as ever. This time, however, Zed cannot save you." Syndra said with a manic glint in her eyes. "He's mine, this time around."

Syndra's grin was wiped off her face, however, when Akali's foot planted itself into her face. Akali jumped off from her flying kick, landing a few feet back as Syndra spat out blood, as well as a teeth. Staring down at the blood, Syndra turned her face back to Akali, a crazy expression on her face. " YOU FUCKING PEASANT, HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed, the purple spheres suddenly shooting out at Akali.

Akali didn't even have time to take a breath before the first sphere slammed into her stomach, sending her into the tree again. Before she could even slide down the tree, all the other spheres began colliding into her body. Akali couldn't even scream as white hot pain shot throughout her body, feeling her bones crack and shatter as the spheres kept ramming into her over and over again, not even allowing her to slide down the tree before another one hit.

Finally, the onslaught stopped, allowing Akali to slide down the tree, which had bent from the force, to a half-sitting position on the ground. Blood dripped from her lips, her limbs unresponsive and bent in awkward ways as Syndra laughed.

"That was so much fun! I think I'll prolong this for even more enjoyment. Your team is losing anyway." Syndra said as Akali barely heard her, a ringing in her ears. She was having difficulty breathing as she could feel the blood pouring into her lungs through all the punctures of her own broken ribs digging into her lungs.

Before Syndra could do anything, however; there was the sound of wind rushing and in an instant, Zed stood infront of Akali, staring down Syndra through his helmet, his crimson eyes glaring at the Sovereign.

"Enough." Zed said coldly as Syndra raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to attack me Zed? I hurt your little slut, oh no, I'm so scared." She said mockingly, before spitting at the ground infront of him. "Not even you can defy the summoner's powers, Zed. You can do nothing but watch me play with your little toy until it breaks." Syndra said, grinning as Zed grit his teeth behind his helmet. Suddenly, Zed turned around and grabbed Akali by her shoulders gently.

Akali made no sounds as Zed gently embraced her bloodied form, before whispering to her ear, "I love you."

Shlick.

"Ah." Akali uttered, the small breath leaving her as blood dripped down Zed's armblade, which was currently burried deep into Akali's chest. With another sickening sound, Zed withdrew the armblade as Akali died in his arms, embracing her deeply again. He could not save her, but atleast he could spare her from further torture.

Syndra was laughing even more behind Zed now. "You actually care about your toy that much, Zed!? Hahahahaha, this is hysterical! I never thought you, of all people, would get attached to a broken toy." Syndra said as Zed held onto Akali's corpse silently until it faded from his arms, the magic of the summoner's rift dissipating her body. Zed stood up, keeping his back on Syndra as he said, "You know something Syndra? I pity you."

Syndra's laughter stopped then, the glee from her face slowly falling away as she stared at Zed. "What do you mean?" She asked skeptically as Zed kept his back to her.

"You're so… alone. Unloved. Unwanted. You have no friends. You have no family. You have no one who even cares about you. You remind me of myself a bit…" Zed shook his head. "But that is where our similarities end. Because unlike me, you have no redemption. You have no future to look forward to. Just you, with your hunger for power that will never end. You will die one day, alone and powerless, helpless to do anything. And no one will mourn you. No one will remember you. You will be nothing but ashes blown to the wind." Zed said darkly as Syndra stared at Zed silently, her lips parted in shock at his words, as well as anger. But before she could say anything, there was the resounding explosion that signalled the destruction of the Nexus, letting everyone know that the match ended.

"You will not even be a memory. And I pity you for that." Zed said finally as everything faded away, the summoner's rift erasing itself as the match ended.

…

Akali had waited in the changing rooms for a good amount of time to allow everyone else to leave first before she decided to exit the room, a dark expression on her face. She was angry and frustrated that she couldn't do anything against Syndra. As she exitted into the hallways, however, she found Zed waiting for her. He had taken his helmet off, allowing his black hair to be free as he spotted her and began walking to her.

They met halfway and Zed pulled her into an embrace, saying nothing.
"Thank you, Zed." Akali said, knowing why Zed had done what he had done. She was glad he didn't let her suffer.
"That was one of the single hardest things I've ever had to do in my life." Zed whispered as Akali offered a small smile to try and lighten the situation.

"We meet in battle on the Rift a lot, Zed." Akali said.
"Yes, but neither of us have ever been in such a state…" Zed said darkly. "Syndra… She will pay. This will not go unanswered."

"Zed." Akali said resolutely, drawing away and using her fingertips to lower Zed's face so he would look at her. "You will not do anything. She's not worth it." Akali said as Zed remained silent, just staring at her with those intense eyes of his.

"Lets get going then." Akali said, stepping away while gently taking Zed's hand and pulling him to get him moving, letting go of his hand once he began moving forward. He remained silent, however, his eyes shadow-cast as his gaze smoldered, his thoughts going back to the nightmare he had about killing Akali, then to Syndra forcing him to do so in the Rift. The wound was too open and now salt had been poured onto it. He had almost lost Akali as well because of her. All, because of Syndra.

Because. Of. Syndra.

She would pay.

...

It was in the middle of the night. Nothing moved in the dead of night. Syndra was floating above her bed, eyes closed as her spheres rotated around her slowly. She drifted up and down, as if caught in weightlessness, her white hair floating around her head. She was not clothed, as she lived alone in her apartment and found little reason to wear clothes when sleeping. She seemed to be half sleeping, half meditating, floating vertically above her bed. In her trance, she failed to notice the dark shadow that moved across the floor of her room. The shadow slowly moved across the room to the corner, where it was the darkest. For a few moments, the shadow melted into the darkness of the corner, joining the other shadows there. A second later, however, two red eyes opened higher up, as a full figure stepped out.

It was completely black and smoky, like a shadow brought to life. It was monochrome in color, mostly differing shades of black. Only it's eyes, a vivid shade of red, was what stood out. It walked forward slowly, each step normal yet making no noise, leaving not even an indentation in the carpet as the shadow walked towards the sleeping Sovereign.

Stepping up onto the bed, his weight didn't even cause the bed to dent in where his feet was stepping. Rising up, he stood next to Syndra's bare body, unfazed by her nudity.

She would pay.

His arm raised up as he held it there. Ever so slowly, his armblade extended, looking as if it would create alot of noise of metal-against-metal, yet being completely and ominously silent. As it extended to full length, the very end of the blade just barely touched Syndra's chest. Only a few inches of skin, flesh and bone separated the cold shadowy blade from her beating heart. Powerful or not, Syndra was still a living being, with the same turn-off switch. The shadow pulled it's arm back, preparing to end the Sovereign's life. And then, shot the arm fo-

Zed woke up with a start, his red eyes staring out in the darkness of his room. Today, Akali had decided to sleep in her own room. Irelia had wanted to have a girls-night with Akali, so she hadn't refused. Zed did not protest either. Therefore, he was now in his room, sitting crosslegged on his bed. He had been meditating as he always did, by closing his eyes and focusing, summoning as many shadows as he could. Yet, some how, he had fallen asleep and dreamt of something… weird.

His red eyes focused forward, staring at a Shadowy figure. With his concentration nearly broken, only one shadow remained. That shadow stood directly infront of Zed, standing straight and unmoving, it's only striking feature being the vividly red eyes that belonged to Zed himself.
Staring at the shadow, Zed felt vulnerable. Like the shadow was watching him rather than him watching it. With a small flicker of movement on his otherwise passive face, the shadow faded away, leaving the lingering red of it's eyes for a few moments after it had disappeared, leaving Zed all alone in his room. But hadn't he been alone after all? His shadows were only his creations, after all.

Then why had he felt like there was another presence in the room?

Nothing else to say right now, except for the fact that I'm nearly keeling over from lack of sleep xD

Please leave a review guys. I would love to hear your thoughts on every chapter and I always read what you guys have to say. And remember, you guys need not have an account to review and tell me how much you loved/hated my story!

Listen to the Shadows, guys. They whisper Lies hidden in Truths.

kthnxbai.

~ Wings.