Diana's scythe glistened with an eerie silver glow. She prowled along the edge of the wall, keeping to the shadows.
"You are not supposed to be here. I thought you were-,"
Leona was cut off abruptly by one of Miss Fortune's Impure Shots to her shield.
"Hey bitch, quit talking and get ready to die! Do something you stupid support. We're trying to engage!" Miss Fortune cried out.
Morgana threw out her Tormented Soil behind Graves, cutting off his path from the turret. He began to shift restlessly, searching for a plan. He knew his support would follow his lead even if he wanted to fight, which would be suicide. Graves knew better. Now that Diana had made her appearance in the bot lane, Xin Zhao would surely make his way down. All of a sudden, the sky grew dark and cloudy. The wind picked up, blowing Graves' trench coat and smothering his cigar.
"Goddammit what the hell is this storm?" he asked Leona gruffly.
He could see the smile on her face as she started laughing. She raised her shield defensively and thrust her sword forward.
"Come Graves, I thought you were not one to run from a fight."
He met her smile with a smirk, "You're right sunshine. Light 'em up."
Leona casted Eclipse, surrounding herself in a protective aura of bright sunlight, signaling to Graves that she was ready to engage. Unfortunately, Morgana picked up on this cue as well, conjuring a Dark Bind that landed perfectly on Leona. Unnerved by the spell, she laughed and raised her golden sword to the storm that was brewing above the Champions. Diana led the blue side attack looking to focus Graves while Leona was bound. Once the bind wore off, the skies opened up and Pantheon descended from his Grand Skyfall. The opposing team was slowed enough for Leona to call down her Solar Flare, keeping them in place even longer.
"You are privileged to die by my hand!" came the cry from the Artisan of War.
Graves began to laugh darkly as he started to auto attack Diana. She growled in pain and used her Crescent Strike on him. He stumbled backwards, suddenly glowing with pale moonlight. Leona saw the exchange and ran over to Diana, using her Zenith Blade to close the gap. Once her blade connected, Diana screamed for Leona to release her. The Scorn of the Moon hit the Sun Warrior with her sharpened scythe, making a metallic screech when her armor was struck. Leona staggered backwards and smiled.
"Next time, try to leave a dent!" she taunted, stunning Diana with her Shield of Daybreak.
For a moment Diana couldn't move and Morgana moved in to aid the jungler. The Fallen Angel started to cast her ultimate; the Soul Shackles latched onto Graves and Leona, slowing their movements. Graves wasted no time dashing away back towards the turret and leaving Leona to the mercy of darkness.
"Malcolm, please! Do something!" Leona cried out in despair.
Diana used her Crescent Strike once more, and Lunar Rushed to Leona. She continued to bash her scythe against the golden shield, hoping to break through. Morgana's ultimate was done channeling and locked Leona in place. Graves could do nothing but sit under turret and deal damage to whoever was closest to him. Morgana's strength was failing so she began retreating towards the river. Leona used her Eclipse shield once more, setting up for an engage, hoping that Graves would follow. There was nothing else she could do; Diana's Pale Cascade gave her a shield that lengthened the fight.
Leona was forced backwards from Diana's strikes. The lunar goddess had fury that burned of a thousand suns. Leona's strength began to wane. Graves couldn't stand his support being torn apart, so he acted and quite foolishly. He dashed forward to Diana hoping to turn her attention to him and away from Leona.
"Ah, he has come to face me finally. The moon will rise, and the night will last forever!" the heretic hissed.
Graves gave her a Buckshot head on, causing the mage to fall on her knees.
"I suppose you have more strength than I gave you credit for. Let the moon and the sun battle; you have no place here, scum."
Something was wrong. Miss Fortune, Morgana, and Pantheon were nowhere to be seen. Malcolm Graves took advantage of the situation to finish her off.
"Looks like the moon will never rise again, nasty bitch." he snarled as he lined up his shotgun to Diana's chest.
The lunar heretic looked up from the ground and stared straight at Graves. Smiling, she cast her Crescent Strike to Leona who had been hiding directly behind Graves. Leona writhed in pain on the ground, gasping for breath. The moment's hesitation from Graves gave Diana enough time to stand and raise her scythe to deal the final blow to finish off the Outlaw.
She grinned, wiping the blood from her armor, "When will you learn you can never truly escape the darkness?"
"Fuck off." came his curt reply.
Diana's auto attack was interrupted by a loud grunt. She looked down at the iron spear now sticking out from her chest. The blood soaked her armor and Diana's limp body fell to the ground with a thud. Graves scoffed and relit his cigar.
"You are welcome, Outlaw. I just saved your ass." Pantheon called from the bush.
The warrior stepped into view and held a cracked shield. Graves was uninterested in expressing his gratitude and looked passed Pantheon. His eyes were searching, ears alert.
"Where did the redhead go? Did you kill her?" he asked, still scanning bot lane.
"She ran off. Probably ended up recalling. Come to think of it, I have not seen the Dark Angel either. She was not slain in the battle." Pantheon answered.
The two Champions retreated to the turret. Graves knelt beside Leona who was unsettlingly silent. She drank her remaining health potions and waited until she regained some of her strength. Pantheon had warded the far bush on red side, ensuring that there would be no surprise attack while the trio remained. Graves tried to hide the look of worry on his face. Leona stood up shakily with help from Pantheon. Graves offered his arm to keep her from collapsing to the ground.
Leona's voice came out barely above a whisper, "He's coming."
Pantheon didn't understand who she meant until it was too late. There was a strange gust of wind followed by the shuffling of cards. He knew now that she meant Twisted Fate. He walked from the river to the opposing battle worn Champions. The Card Master threw out his Wild Cards that sliced right through Pantheon and Graves. He chuckled and advanced toward them. Leona was dangerously vulnerable being one attack away from death. Pantheon was about to engage on the con man when another card flew out, stunning him and breaking his shield in half. Pantheon was exposed; his armor was nothing to the mage.
"Malcolm, please." Leona whispered desperately.
Graves didn't know what to do. If he left Leona's side, she would be alone but then Pantheon would perish. The Radiant Dawn raised her sword with a trembling arm and called out her Solar Flare once more. The Card Master was stunned from the light and allowed Graves to have his chance. He threw out all of his abilities and saved his ultimate for last.
"Luck ain't on your side, asshole."
Graves happily lifted his shotgun, pointed it at Twisted Fate's chest and unleashed his Collateral Damage. The Card Master's body flew backwards and hit the wall. Graves watched in amusement as his body slumped to the ground, soaking the wall and grass in blood. The health potions had given Leona more strength, enough for her to run to Pantheon's side. He slowly knelt to the ground.
"You should recall. It is not safe here. We do not want to chance staying longer than we have to." Leona said softly.
Pantheon turned and sighed, "You are right. Come, help me to the turret and let us all recall. I would say our debt is square, Malcolm."
Graves nodded and helped the wounded warrior to a safe spot. The Champions landed in base and there was a collective sigh of relief. Leona's armor was repaired, Pantheon's shield was fixed, and Graves purchased more damage items. Now that the Champions had spent their gold, the battles would be even more relentless and bloody.