Author's note: Well, I never really planned on continuing this story. However, it was slightly more popular than I expected, so I guess I'll continue it for now.
Have fun reading.
Chapter 2:
Gasping, groaning, the dying warrior leaned back against his sturdy turret, his great sword laid on the grass next to him. He looked at the night sky. Oh, how beautiful was the moon, how pretty were the stars, the-
"GAREN!" cried out a voice. The fatally wounded champion turned his head towards the source of the voice and saw Phreak and Ziggs running towards him.
"Garen, we took care of Shen," Phreak cried out, "And we even brought down the Annie as well."
"Yes," added Ziggs, "Let's say I pun-ished them greatly."
Garen shifted his position a little to face then and whispered, "That is excellent my friends. Promise me upon our fellowship that you shall defeat our enemies…"
"What are you talking about Garen?" Phreak asked, "You're going to be much better. Any moment now, you're going to die, but then you'll be revived! Don't we always get revived from our nexus?"
"Not anymore," Garen muttered, "The nexus has been destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed so many times that it somehow glitched and lost its power. From now on, each game, every character only has one life, and the new objective is to simply defeat all of the champions of the other team."
"But Garen, you can't- you can't be gone forever!" Phreak exclaimed.
"Sometimes we can't have what we like," Garen explained, "But when such cases arise, we should simply like what we have. I am proud to spend these last moments with great companions."
Garen turned to Ziggs, who for once was no longer smiling.
"Farewell Ziggs," Garen said, and with a slight grin he added, "I will miss your pun-ch lines."
That seemed to cheer up Ziggs a bit, and the midget gave some sort of military salute.
Garen then turned to Phreak and rasped, "I know our time together has been short, but I see a great man in you. Well, I guess this is goodbye."
Phreak wiped a tear off of his face.
"I'll take care of the rest of them," Phreak said and held out a hand, "For justice?"
Garen clasped Phreak's hand, "For justice."
And all that needed to be said has been said. There was a silence as the trio waited somewhat awkwardly for Garen to die.
"Who else is left?" Phreak asked as he and Ziggs departed top lane.
"There's Warwick, Irelia, and Sona," Ziggs counted, "I suspect at least one would be at bot lane currently."
"Yeah, let's go," said Phreak, and the pair traveled down the river, racing to accompany the two other allies down at bot.
Zilean was in trouble as he struggled to hold his ground against two enemy champions. Irelia and Sona were pushing heavily towards Zilean's turret.
"About time you guys arrived," Zilean said.
"Where's Janna?" asked Phreak.
"Dead," Zilean answered grimly, "Warwick ganked her earlier and I didn't have my ult up."
Phreak cursed. He only met the girl for a short while, but she seemed quite nice.
"We stand a good chance," Zilean said, "our numbers are even."
"So what's the plan?" Phreak asked.
"I say we engage battle right now," Ziggs explained, "Warwick is not here, and they have pushed to our turret. We are superior in numbers as of now."
And with that the Yordle threw a bomb at Irelia, who dodged and sneered, "Great, another person who can use bombs."
Suddenly, a familiar howl rang through the air.
"Get back!" Phreak cried, "Warwick is coming."
But before Zilean or Ziggs could move, Sona played a sudden, compelling piece, and the two were frozen by its beautiful melody.
The vicious wolf dashed through the air, passing so quickly across Phreak's eyes that his form appeared as a blur. It attached itself to Ziggs and began to mutilate the poor Yordle. With its sharp claws, it snatched one of Ziggs arms and tore it clean off.
"Get away from him!" Phreak cried out at the sight. He lunged at Warwick, but Irelia knocked him out of the way. At the same time, Irelia, with lower health than Zilean, attacked the old man, stunning him again immediately after Sona's stun was over.
Phreak couldn't believe what he was seeing. His last two allies were completely trapped by the opponent, completely helpless as the other team savagely attacked them. And the Community Coordinator fell to his knees in despair. Oh, how worthless he was. How incapable, unreliable, useless were his skills.
And it was out of that feeling of desperation and self-hatred did his fury erupt. His life felt so meaningless that he no longer cared what happened to it. So what if he dies? As long as he could save his friends… As long as he can protect the lives that were worthier than his.
He charged, rather foolishly and blindly. But it was the pure unexpected stupidity of his move that caught the enemy champions off guard. He kicked Warwick away from Ziggs, barely breathing with his injuries and a missing arm. And before Irelia could react, Phreak kicked her too.
"Ziggs!" Phreak cried out, "Can you still stand? Can you still move? Run away Ziggs, I will delay them for you, for you must heal and live! Oh, yesterday I saw you as computer-generated, fictional character, nothing but a mere accumulation of pixels. But today, I see you as a friend, a brave, funny, faithful companion. Oh, if only we could not fight. If only that Warwick, and Irelia, and Sona were not our perpetual enemies. They could've been our comrades, as I consider you my great comrade."
So moving were Phreak's words that Ziggs forced himself to his feet. So poignant were Phreak's unfaltering tone that Ziggs strained his remaining arm to grab another handful of bombs.
"Simply touching," Ziggs sobbed, "But I will not leave you alone with the enemies. I'll stand by you, no, breathe by you until I can breathe no more."
The Yordle looked at the Sona, who was healing both Warwick and Irelia.
"You disgusting savages can take my arm! You can even take my life!" Ziggs croaked out as loud as he can, "But as long as I live, you will never take my friends!"
He removed his vest, and tied to his entire body was an entire suit of explosives.
"Ziggs," Phreak whispered, "What are you planning on doing?"
The Yordle smiled and replied, "Phreak, my friend, it has truly been a blast!"
Screaming, the Yordle lit all of the explosives he was wearing, and charged at Sona. There was a deafening explosion, and the healer was no more. But with the attack, so too did it take away the hexplosive expert.
And there was a momentary silence that seemed to last for ages. A silence of respect. A silence to lament the loss of a brilliant Yordle, as knowledgeable in puns as he was in bombs. A silence to remember the late Ziggs.
