"There he goes again."

Silence drifted across the tower top, slower than a tortoise, yet faster than the greatest invention from Piltover's finest laboratories.

"Mhm," a voice answered.

Distant explosions flickered on the horizon, illuminating the deep haze that always surrounded the battlefield. A flash of lightning streaked from the clouds above to the earth below, ending in a victorious howl.

"It's kind of annoying, really. He has much to be proud of, but … really? For Demacia? Why not: for a bag o' money, or mebbe for a beef sandwich?"

Dry chuckling met his words. "You are asking me about proclaiming loyalty in battle?"

Twisted Fate pondered her words. "Mmm. Point; it is nice trick … but I doubt Garen needs to be so dishonorable to prove his loyalty … or you for that matter."

The dark loomed closer, threateningly so. He just smiled, stretching back with both arms behind his head. "Come on now, do ya'think anyone would actually take a contract on the deadliest assassin in Noxus?"

Lack of a response made his grin expand. People skills, that was his bread and butter, and he was good at it. Most didn't look beyond the flashy cards, or the stylish clothing he preferred … which meant they weren't looking at him. She, however, did see past the trappings – and that made her dangerous. Attractively so.

A high-pitched scream pierced the air, bringing his attention back to the south. "Sounds like Lux got another kill. I wonder though …" he let the words roll off his tongue, "she seems a bit more – sensuous than her brother, no?"

Katarina's voice was dry again, amused. "You'd think so. Are there any women in the Legends Guild you don't think are attractive?"

"Illaoi," Fate answered without pause. "Jinx isn't that pretty to begin with, and Zyra is just too poisonous for me. Oriana has a lot o' things going for her, but being metal is a big drawback."

"Anyone else?" her voice was sweetly innocent, yet carried an undertone he knew all too well.

Fate grinned; she should have known better than to try bluffing him. "Kennen, I'm not rightly sure she is a girl, and Karma is a b – " another explosion, this time near the tower they occupied, interrupted him. He rose to his feet, smoothly scooping up the hat from where it rested beneath his head.

Below, Ezreal and Lux fired magical bursts against the tower. They made an interesting pair; both extraordinarily good looking, blonde and commanding the basic forces of the universe at their fingertips.

Fate watched them dance around each other, one entrapping oncoming minions in coruscating bands of light while the other blasted them apart. Order and chaos, weaving together on the loom of fate – he liked that phrase.

"Morgana incoming," Katarina announced from her position on the other side of the tower.

Fate nodded absently. "It ever strike you as … odd?"

One elegantly sculpted eyebrow raised in response. "Besides your sense of humor?"

"Part o' my charm." Fate jerked his chin towards the light-haired duo below. "I meant Lux. All that 'In the name of Demacia I will punish you' … I reckon she says it a lot. Don't forget the leather, an' her habit of carrying a stick everywhere .…"

Katarina's mouth quirked. "I would assume Ezrael knows how to handle a bit of potential danger, Fate. You don't approve of a woman in leather?"

Danger! Twisted Fate's already high sense of self-preservation kicked into exponentially elevated levels. His mouth smirked at the concept. Top-rated leather-clad assassin asking if you just insulted her!

"On the right woman – no," he smiled at the shadowed individual. "On Lux … she's a child, especially when compared to another lady I could mention."

Husky laughter emanated from the darkest corner; Fate forced himself to not jump, he hadn't seen her move. "You always had a silver tongue, haven't you?"

"I'm a simple card player, with maybe a little luck." Fate spread his hands expressively, "How 'bout you?"

Another booming retort made the tower shake, dropping dust from the tower's rafters. Battle cries floated in through the window, describing the fight beneath. The tower itself quivered as the powerful blasts emanating from its transceiver gained strength; someone was confident of victory, at least at this stage.

He glanced through the opening, scanning the ground below. A hulking figure swung an anchor, hammering at the lithe form chipping away at the structural integrity of the tower, even as energy cascaded on his shielded form.

"Nautilus," Fate noted. "Pullin' out all the stops on this one; has to be more – there they are."

From deeper within the mist, more warriors appeared; joining Lux as she held the shield protecting her partner. A tall, broad-shouldered figure wielding a two-handed blade sprang past the titanic defender, striking a fierce blow at the tower's base, knocking away one of the runestones reinforcing its width. At the same time a vapor cloud smoked into existence, obscuring the form of another assassin, diving into its depths.

"They are enthusiastic," Katarina agreed. She peered around his shoulder, studying the battlefield. "Caitlyn will be in the brush," she pointed, "waiting for a shot."

Fate glanced at the tall grass, studying how it lay. "I wouldn't try my luck with that," he agreed. "But there's still one man missin'."

The thunder of approaching footsteps approaching from the other direction caught their attention. A large figure, armed and armored with glistening steel bore down on the melee below.

"There's backup for the Reds, but they're still outnumbered … maybe a split?"

Katarina nodded at the horizon. "Something has the birds spooked down south. Dragon Pit is that way."

The hatred-filled howl of a defeated animal made the air shake, forcing the duo to stumble slightly. Fate noticed that Katarina didn't pull away quite as quickly as she could have, and kept his thoughts to himself. Perhaps he hadn't removed himself from her proximity as quickly as he could have either.

Shaking sensations pulled him from his reverie, the feeling of the stone underfoot shuddering under the impact of multiple weapons. The defensive towers in the Legends Guild were hardly as sturdy as they appeared. Simple structure-bearing runes were etched into each stone, capable of being damaged by any weapon. The more runes were removed, the less support the tower had; although the magic fueling the attacks from the various orifices never flagged.

At this point, the Blue team was getting closer, hammering the rune stones with gusto. The structural integrity was decreasing to the point of no return.

Twisted Fate pulled a card from the air, twirling it between his fingers. He held out a hand to the shadowed figure in the corner, "No fightin' Destiny. Comin'?"

Mocking laughter met his ears, yet not stinging with the malice some would have attributed to its owner. The darkness became slightly more opaque, and she vanished. A single long scratch mark, fading on the self-repairing floor, pointed towards another tower, deeper in the Rift, and suitable for better observation. Practically a come-hither gesture, by her standards.

Twisted Fate let the card fall from his grasp, and let his luck carry him away.

An empty tower, blasts of stray magic streaming from its peak, fell into the rubble that had once been its base. The former heights, home to many conversations between allies and enemies – perhaps more – were ignored by the competing forces.

One window, distinguishable solely by the framework crushed against the ground, fell a little lower. A single playing card drifted to the ground, vanishing as it did so. That was the point of its existence – but it wasn't the end of its fate.