Man, I am on a roll with this story. I know I said it'd probably be a while before I got out another chapter, but I got hit upside the head with a brainwave and just had to write this down (funnily enough, it mainly started from some ideas for when we get to Mass Effect 2). And we're going to get an awesome fight on our hands, along with meet a few new members.

And besides, you can't really complain if a writer puts out a chapter earlier than expected.

Chapter 4: I Fought the Law (And Got A Tower To The Face)

"Here we are, Commander. Illium. Pretty much the love child of Piltover and Zaun. Everything looks nice and shiny, but morals are a lot looser here than in Citadel Space." Joker said as they approached the planet's surface. It was a rather dazzling world, lit up by millions of lights. "As you can expect, they're not too crazy about having Spectres come here. It usually results in their customers getting killed and entire buildings going up in flames."

"It's a mockery." Caitlyn said. "They're perverting the law to justify their crimes. This whole place should be knocked down and started over. This time obeying the right laws."

"Easy, Cait." Ahri scolded her. "We're not here to make a scene. Not unless we really can't avoid it. We take Lux back to the Magister Academy, we find out what Syndra's doing and arrest her, and then we leave. Starting up a one-woman crusade isn't part of our goals."

"Well now that we've sorted that out, I'll start hailing them." He tapped at his console. "Illium Control Tower, this is the SSV Normandy requesting a landing bay."

"Understood. Please specify your reason for coming to Illium." Ahri leaned in past him to talk into the radio.

"This is Commander Ahri Gumiho of the Demacian Alliance. I'm here on official Spectre business."

"Spectre? Aw shit." Control cursed. They could hear someone muttering in the background, likely telling her what to say. "U-Understood, Normandy. For your own protection and the safety of our citizens, we'll be sending an officer to escort and aid you. Make your way to Nos Astra's Liara Port, docking bay 17."

"Understood Control. We'll try to avoid any complications."

"Yeah. That's what the last Spectre said." Control muttered as they cut the line. Joker expertly piloted the Normandy through the steel jungle of Nos Astra, following the Nav computer to their destination. Liara Port wasn't actually all too busy from where they were flying. Maybe Control wanted to keep them as far away from everyone else as possible. Now she just had to figure out who to take with her. Lux was obviously going with them, given how important she was to the mission. But she couldn't really take Caitlyn with her, not with how much she seemed to dislike Illium's policies. Ditto for Mordekaiser; he was an incident just waiting to happen. Twisted Fate might be good to bring along, but she might need him to help keep an eye on the ship. And with his teleportation magic, he could find her quickly if she needed some extra muscle. Ezreal was a good choice, and she had seen the way he looked at Lux. But she needed someone she could trust to keep an eye on the others. There just didn't seem to be many good choices.

"Caitlyn, suit up." She decided. "If you're going to start causing problems I'd rather have you where I can keep an eye on you. But if you start acting up I won't hesitate to make you more docile. Got it?"

"I… Yes Commander. I'll be on my best behaviour." She nodded. Ahri was heading down to let Lux know, only to see the young lady already suited up and talking to Ezreal. They looked so cute together. One of these days she was going to have them working together, see how they act. It'll be fun.

"Lieutenant, you're in charge while we're gone." She said as she passed. "You and Fate make sure that Mordekaiser doesn't go on a rampage or anything."

"Us? Against him? Can I requisition a Cruiser Battery as a back-up weapon then? You know, just in case?"

"Between the two of you, I'm sure you can handle him. You're both Champion material. Remember that." She closed her cabin door behind her, quickly slipping into her armour. By the time she came back out, Caitlyn was ready too and she felt the Normandy dock. She took in a deep breath of fresh air once they exited the docking clamp, glad to be on a habitable world again.

She opened her eyes to see that no one was waiting for them.

"Typical. I bet they didn't even bother telling the 'police' that we were coming." She heard Caitlyn mutter. She shot her a look before heading off. Well, if the law was late, that wasn't their fault. They needed to complete their mission as soon as possible. She was just about to leave when she heard a loud shattering noise above her. She looked up to see glass and metal flying everywhere, a masked Krogan sailing through the air. She threw her magic out and stopped the fall of the debris, the Krogan flailing about as he hung in the air. And then something loud jumped down on him and slammed him to the ground. Ahri dropped the debris to the left of them, and then approached the strange missile. She saw that it was a woman, not much older than her and with a curvier figure. She was dressed a grey bodysuit with pink plating, her head helmetless to reveal frazzled pink hair. The most noticeable things about her though, were her two large gauntlets. They seemed to be some sort of modified hextech mining gloves. Well, they were certainly effective, given that the Krogan was whimpering in pain. The woman stopped pummelling him long enough to slap some cuffs on him.

"That'll teach you to try and steal on my watch bastard." She said smugly. "Try that again and I'll see how many redundant systems you really have." She looked up from her victim and nodded at Ahri. "Hey. Thanks for the assist. I was on my way here to babysit some Spectre hotshot when I spotted this loser pickpocketing people."

"He's a Krogan… pickpocket?" Ahri asked in confusion. The woman snorted.

"I know, right? What's next, an Elcor cat burglar? Still, he's pretty shitty at it since I got his ass. But now I've gotta cart his fat ass down to the precinct when I could just throw him off the port." She shrugged. "Oh well. At least it means I won't have to deal with whatever asshole Spectre's coming here to bust up the city. I swear, all they do is fuck us over dealing with some real crooks. The only good thing I like about them is the fact that they don't have to follow 'procedure'."

"It is nice not having to file a dozen pieces of paperwork everytime you shoot someone." Ahri agreed. The officer nodded until she seemed to realise what Ahri was implying.

"…Ah shit. You're that Spectre, aren't you? Now I feel like a fucking idiot."

"I'm willing to ignore your insults if you start 'escorting us'."

"Right. Someone else can cart this fat ass in." She tapped her Omnitool, no doubt sending the relevant data to her precinct. "Ok. Let's start over. I'm officer Vi of the NAPD." She held out a giant hand.

"Commander Ahri Gumiho of the Demacian Alliance." Ahri replied, shaking her hand. She instantly understood just how puny and fragile her hands were in comparison. "And this is my team. Sheriff Caitlyn Williams from Eden Prime, and Lux…"

"Lux Crownguard from the Academy." Vi finished. "Yeah, I recognise her. You don't forget the girl who busted a block while throwing a tantrum over mommy and daddy having enough of you. Come on, I'll show you around." They started walking away from the destruction, Lux blushing in embarrassment. "So yeah, as you probably already realised, my job is to get you off Illium as fast as possible while stopping you from fucking with someone legitimate business. I must've pissed off someone up high if I got stuck with this."

"You know, I've never really heard much about Illium until now." Ahri said. "And all I've really heard is that everything is legal here."

"Close. We're right at the border of Noxus and Zaun territory. If we want to stay competitive and cash in on their creds, then we've got to loosen up on our morals. You can't just sell or buy anything here, but with the right permit you can get pretty close. We sell practically every drug and illegal Council weapon you can find here. Anyone not operating without the right permit gets a little visit from people like me. And if they're lucky, we only beat them half to death."

"Huh. I didn't think they'd care about permits."

"Well we need to keep some idea of who's selling and buying shit here. After all, someone could be a serial killer who spikes their red sand with poison or something. You lose a lot of customers that way, so the city deals with them quickly and harshly. I love it here."

"So what you're saying is that the officers here are little more than thugs." Caitlyn said acidly. Ahri shot her another angry glance.

"Pretty much cupcake." Vi replied. "Some of us honestly want to do some good and kick the asses of monsters, but most of us are in this job so we can beat up people. Now, if we're done with the so-called tour, what exactly are you here for?"

"We've found evidence that shows Magister Syndra Benezia involved in the attack on Eden Prime. Lux here is going to get us in, and then we'll arrest her." Ahri explained. It'll be easier in the long run if they just tell the truth. She doubted Vi was willing to stand in a Spectre's way against such evidence.

"…Well, good luck getting in." She replied finally, smirking.

"Wait. What do you mean by that? I have a passcode and everything." Lux replied in confusion. Vi didn't say anything, only pointed towards a cluster of buildings father away. They all stared in confusion until Ahri noticed a few important details about one particular building.

It was moving.

And it was flying.

"About a week ago, Magister Syndra took complete control of the Academy, kicked out everyone else, and showed off her power by levitating the whole thing by herself. Officially it's working through a mass effect field, but the city's hung around Zaun long enough to know that it's something else. And most people just keep pretending that it's mass effect energy to make themselves feel better. If she really is a part of the attack on Eden Prime, then she's making sure you can't get to her. I don't think your passcode's going to work anymore kid."

"But that's… That's just… How could…?" Lux was staring at the passing building in shock and horror. "That's impossible. She's never had that much power before."

"Well, she is working with the Void." Ahri noted. "They could've given her a boost in power for her efforts."

"…I'm going to try." Lux said. "Maybe if you guys stay here, she might think I'm still working for her. Maybe she'll talk to me." Lux made to run off, but Ahri held her back.

"We're almost completely certain that those Geth we encountered are working with her. If you go there, you might never come back out." She turned to look at Vi. "Is the building mostly technological?"

"I guess." She shrugged. "Lux there would know better than me, unless Syndra's turned it all into runes."

"It was mostly technological before I left. The only places that operated with runes were the magical halls where we tested our skills. The… The Magisters said that it would bring a sense of normality to the academy."

"So we just need to find a tech expert to help us break in. Once inside, the two of us should be able to handle whatever defences are still active. Where can I find an expert?"

"You can find one practically everywhere. Whether they'll be willing to go into the Academy for you or be affordable is another matter. You can't really trust anyone on Illium. Most of these guys have been hired by practically everyone, and only hold allegiance to the almighty credit or their lives. In short, not the kind of people to go along with a Spectre to arrest a powerful Magister."

"Well there's got to be someone." Ahri said angrily, walking away. They were so close. They were practically at her front door. And they couldn't do anything. Ahri didn't want to admit it, but that flying building frightened her. She remembered the panic she had felt when she first entered one of the steel jungles the humans lived in. The fact that they managed to make it all amazed and terrified her. This was the same feeling, but on a greater scale. She knew enough about magic, and had enough of an instinctual feeling for it, to know that what Syndra did was almost impossible. This, this was Rune War magic. It was going to take everything they had just to survive…

She was knocked out of her train of thought as she collided with something. A feminine grunt sounded as they both fell to the ground. Ahri shook the cobwebs from her head. "Sorry, sorry. I was just…"

"Watch where you're going you bosh'tet." The Quarian cursed as she started gathering up all the different components lying on the ground. She started cursing in her native language. "I swear, if any of these components have been damaged because you were off in la-la land, I am going to… to… Well, I'll do some nasty shit to your Omnitool."

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry about this." Ahri said hurriedly as she helped to collect the parts. "I was… I just need to find a tech expert who thinks going to fight a Magister powerful enough to make a floating building to be a better idea than whatever it is they're doing right now." She realised that she was rambling. "And that's also including that fact that they might need to… fight… Geth." Quarians. Geth. Quarians built the Geth. Ergo, Quarians know how to destroy Geth. She gave the Quarian a look so intense she was fidgeting under it. The last time Ahri gave someone that kind of look had been back when she was a fox hunting down a sparrow after three days hunting. "Hello."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The Quarian asked nervously. She had picked up nearly all the parts, and was fidgeting as she tried to organise them all.

"We got off on the wrong foot. I don't suppose that you'd like to join me on important Spectre business, would you?" She started applying a slight aura of her lust magic, but before it could take effect the Quarian had pulled the parts from her hands.

"Nope. Not interested. My Master would kill me if I don't get these to her. Gotta go. Bye." She said that all in a hurry as she practically ran to a waiting transmit station. The hover car flew off before Ahri could reach it in time. She blew the hair out of her eyes in frustration.

"What was that all about?" Caitlyn asked as the group walked up behind her. "She was practically hyperventilating about not getting those parts to this 'master' of hers immediately."

"Aw, poor dear must be an indentured servant." Lux said. "It's really bad when you end up like that."

"Eh, it's not the worst thing in the world." Vi responded. "At least she's getting covered. There's a lot of ways people could fuck her over."

"Wait. What's an indentured servant?" Ahri asked.

"It's a person who can't cover their debts and sold themselves into someone's…" Lux started explaining. But Caitlyn interrupted her.

"You mean slavery. You could at least have the decency to call it what it really is."

"No, no. It's not slavery. It's completely different. It's… it's…" Lux turned to Vi. "Help me out here."

"Ok cupcake, here's how it is. Money is everything here. People will do anything to get it. And sometimes, the little people get screwed over. One way these little people can get out of their newfound debt is to agree to an indentured contract. It's a legally binding piece of paper that specifies what happens to the indentured."

"How specific is it exactly?" Ahri asked before Caitlyn tried to explode again.

"Really specific. Like, you'd need to be on the Citadel Council to figure out how to wriggle out of it. There's apparently stuff there about everything, from food and bedding; to work permits and limitations; and especially what your employer can and cannot do to you. I hear that you've got to go through a bajillion hoops or be a legally recognised corporation to even get on the approved list of employers."

"And what happens if someone violates this contract?"

"For the servant? They usually rack up even more of a debt, or get kicked out of a cushy job. But for the employers, they get hit hard. Massive fines, serious drops in reputation, and everyone looks down on you. Even the drug dealers and porn sellers look down on you. In short, you act like they're a slave, and the whole city comes down on you. And the servant can go and complain if they ever feel like you're breaking the terms. Anyone interested in becoming a real, illegal slave trader usually leaves Illium by the end of the day."

"So, we could technically hire her if we talk to her employer."

"Sure. She gave up most of her right to complain when she signed the waiver. Well, she can complain, but for the most part everyone will just ignore it. Luckily for us, Quarians aren't very common of Illium. I can find her employer pretty fast."

It seemed that their mission was back on track.

"Tali, these parts are expensive." Sadi groaned as she looked over the damaged items. Luckily, most of them were still in good condition. But there were a few that had been stepped on, or had that bosh'tet sat on them. Under her visor, Tali could feel her cheeks glowing red.

"I know. I'm so sorry. Some weird lady in the market wasn't watching where she was going and walked into me. It wasn't my fault."

Sadi sighed. "I'll just add the damaged parts to the debt then. I expect you to work diligently to cover them. And whatever you do, don't try to find that 'weird' woman to kick her ass. That's what got you in trouble the last time. I can't keep bailing you out."

"I… I know." Stupid bosh'tet. This job was hard enough without getting more and more debt piled up on her. If she ever saw her again… No. Keep calm. Stay detached. Just another year of this, and she'll be free. And then he was getting the hell of Illium. It's all cutthroats and robbers here. She was momentarily distracted as Sadi leaned past her to look at something.

"Tali. What did you do?" She asked.

"N-Nothing. I've done nothing." Tali panicked, twisting round to see what she was talking about. There was an officer pushing through the crowd towards them. Officer Vi. Her heart sank. Everyone on Illium has heard of her. She's practically the loosest cannon in an entire force of loose cannons. Property, artwork, injuries. None of it mattered to her in the face of kicking some crook's teeth in. And next to her was…

"Oh wow. She is… different." It was that woman again. The one made to resemble some kind of animal. She was practically skipping towards them, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Now, just stay calm and don't rise up. Let me do that talking. They can hardly arrest you for accidently walking into someone."

"I told you, she walked into me."

"Yes, yes. Now, I want you to answer me truthfully. Did you do anything that could be taken as a sign of assault?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Just relax, and stay quiet." Sadi threw on a winning smile as the small group approached them. "Hello officer Vi. How can I help you and your… friends today?"

The animal girl stepped forward. "Hey there. Spectre Ahri Gumiho of the Demacian Alliance, at your service." Spectre? Did she say Spectre? Do the Runeterrans seriously have a Spectre? She watched as Sadi's smile nearly slid off her face in shock. She only just managed to catch it. "I was wondering if it's true that this young Quarian works for you.

"I… Yes. Now, I know what the Council's stance is on 'slavery'. But she signed a legally binding contract that protects the interests of both parties. There's nothing illegal about this."

"Oh, I understand that. I was wanting to hire her."

"…Oh crap. You were being serious." Tali breathed. Sadi looked at her in confusion. "She… She said she wanted me to help her break into some place."

"…Well… I can't exactly report you, since you're operating outside Illium's jurisdiction. And there's also the fact that an officer of the law is escorting you. But I'm afraid that I can't just hand her off to you like that, no matter who you are. You see, to avoid people trying to work around the law, you are required to buy her contract and debt. Which is over a hundred thousand credits for both." Tali blushed as she remembered the incident that got her here. "And there's also the fact that her contract clearly states that she is to remain on Illium until her contract has ended in 1 year. And this all has to go through the Illium City offices before it becomes official. I'm afraid even Spectres can't get around that."

"Why exactly did she offer herself for servitude in the first place?" Gumiho asked.

"Miss nar Rayya said that she was working on a new modified version of a pre-existing engine. I guess that someone took offence to that, because her prototype was found wrecked. Everything was completely totalled. And she had run up some rather hefty debts getting all the parts. So she's working for me until her debt is considered paid off."

"Who did it?"

"We don't know. Miss nar Rayya says that she has suspicions, but even we can't go after someone because of suspicions."

"She's right. Here, that'll be half the planet. Vi added. "Of course, they probably all did it anyway."

"Well, what if I rounded up the guys that smashed her engine? Would that help?"

Sadi went to answer, before stopping and thinking about it. Tali silently pleaded for her to say no. "Well, if they were a corporation, and you found evidence to suggest that they were engaging in outright thuggery, then the law would require that they pay for all damages, and then some. On Illium, if you get caught roughing up the competition then you deserve to be fined."

"Great. So Miss nar Rayya. Who do you think did it?"

"I… I'm not sure, now that I think about it." Tali lied. "I never actually saw them take it. And I might have the wrong person. It'll be easier if I just served my year." There. Problem solved. No crazy missions for her.

"Aw, come on. I really want to help. And it'll be fun having you on our crew. We've got an amazing ship. It's the Normandy, the brainchild of the Turian/Demacian alliance."

"Wait. With… With Runeterran engines?" The Migrant Fleet had been obsessed with Runeterran ships since they first showed up. They had always been so secretive about how they worked. Even the Salarians were more open about the workings of their ships. And there have been plenty of reports of Runeterran ships supposedly warping in areas without Mass Relays. Do they have their own internal relays or something? This Normandy could be a gold mine. "Well, in that case I suppose I could tell you. I'm almost completely certain that is was Dahlia Dantius."

"Yeesh. The Dantius'. You've got some shitty luck lady." Vi said.

"And they are…?"

"I'd say that they're a family of ruthless business ladies, but in all honesty they're a bunch of shithead corporate assholes."

"Actually, that's an insult to shithead corporate assholes everywhere." Sadi added. "From what I heard, their offices on Noveria were shut down due to accusations of corruption, thuggery, and generally bad behaviour. And to give you an idea of how bad that is, Noveria is generally seen as a Noxus counterpart to Illium."

"Wow. You know you're nasty when guys like Noxus kick you out." Miss Crownguard replied. "So, why haven't you guys kicked them out too?"

"Because they haven't given us a reason too. As far as the city council is concerned, they can stay unless they act like assholes to us. But I'm kinda wondering why they'd be after you and your tech."

"Well… you see… I kind of snuck close to a Runeterran ship while I was here. I didn't get on board, but I got close enough that the crew wouldn't like it. And I might've accidently gotten another team of spies caught in the process. But I learned enough from my scans to try and build something similar to a Runeterran engine." Tali explained. She noticed that Gumiho gave a worried glance to the final member of their group.

"Oh, they're just being sore losers. If your team got caught spying on the opposition, you lose the right to complain about it."

"How did you know it was a Dantius team?"

"Because a Dantius representive showed up and tried to take my engine as their property, because they were after the secrets first. And then he tried to interrogate me about what I had learned. So I shocked his ass and kicked him out. He kept screaming about how I'd regret that. I guess he was right."

Gumiho turned to face Vi. "Legally speaking, do I have the right to go into their offices, kick down their door and hit this Dahlia until she talks?"

"Pretty much. Of course, there's nothing really to stop her men from trying to kill you in return. And I think my bosses want some real proof before we go."

"If I had any real proof I'd have already told the police about it." Tali added. "I even had them try to trace the Runeterran mass effect filter I scavenged. Yet another cost to add to my debt."

"Wait. You had a genuine Runeterran mass effect filter? But I thought we smelt down all of them." Gumiho asked her.

"I was lucky. The ship it was originally installed on didn't feel like paying the fee to send it back to a Runeterran-controlled planet."

"Well, that changes things. Don't worry Miss nar Rayya. We'll track it down." And they turned to leave.

How exactly did she expect to succeed where everyone else failed?

"So how exactly are we going to turn a sneaking suspicion and nasty attitudes into strong enough evidence to charge Dantius Towers with?" Lux asked once they left. They were waiting near the front entrance to the Tower itself, Ahri trying to meditate.

"It's actually pretty simple, now that we know some idiot didn't follow protocol." She explained. "Before today, have you ever heard of a single modern M part showing up outside a Runeterran planet?"

"Not really. I kinda wondered about that."

"That's because you're supposed to destroy them when they wear out. Same with most hextech parts too. That means that those parts are worth a dozen times their weight in gold."

"Meaning that whoever stole the engine would've definitely kept that part. But why not keep the whole thing?"

"Would've been too risky. The police would've been looking for it. But if they found most of it in pieces, then there wouldn't be anything left to look for. But if we could detect it…"

"We'd have some half-assed reason to go in there and kick some ass." Vi finished. "Well, it's not the worst reason I've used to go and fuck up a joint." Her gauntlet dinged and glowed with an Omnitool. She opened it up to show a picture of a Salarian in a fancy suit. "Looks like we just got a message from the Quarian. She says that this is what she remembered the guy looking like." She looked up. "And here he comes now. And with two heavies too."

"New plan. We follow him, take out his guards, and then we interrogate him." Ahri said, rushing after him. The rest of them followed, splitting up to avoid attracting the wrong attention. Vi jumped onto a higher platform, while Lux made her and Caitlyn invisible. They caught up with Ahri as she got close. Lux's breath caught in her throat as Ahri glowed faintly from some unusual magic. The three thugs stopped and stared at her, almost drooling in arousal. She led them all into an alleyway, her hips swaying seductively. Lux suddenly felt the urge to join them.

"Snap out of it rookie." Caitlyn hissed. "We've got a job to do." She fired a shot into the alleyway almost at the same time as Vi came flying down fist first. They rushed in to find one thug missing a head, and the other grinded into a small crater. And Ahri was practically humping the Salarian.

"Now, what's a nice man like you doing threatening poor little Quarians?" She purred, her fingers running down his chest. He shuddered in lust.

"You… You mean Tali'Zaroth?" He stuttered. "That… That mass effect filter was ours. We found out about it first. We would've grabbed it if that girl hadn't tripped the alarm and gotten our men caught. We had to waste precious money silencing them for good." Ahri nibbled at his head horn-thing. He was shaking even more now. "I… I was sent to remind her of her place, but she was too stubborn for her own good. So, while she was out getting supplies, we snuck in and stole the whole thing. But the parts would've been tracked. So we had to get rid of it. All but the filter. We've got that even now. In the Tower."

"And if we were to go and enter the Tower right now?"

"I-It-It'd be suicidal. Dahlia keeps it close to her at all times. She sits with it by her side. She only lets the lab boys try to study it with her present. And she is not good for the nerves. Or the brain. Plus… She's got… a new worker. Some Runeterran chick from some long-lost forest. Dahlia sold her some crap about being her friend, and she's willing to kill anyone who gets too close. I've never actually seen her… But she… She's got some kind of large cat. I could hear it roaring when it killed the last guy to interrupt her."

"Thank you." Ahri whispered, before draining his life from him. He gasped in ecstasy, before falling dead at their feet. Vi pushed at something on her Omnitool.

"Got it all. That'll work as evidence. Nice work Gumiho. Now, let's head back and hand this shit over. After that, I'll be in my bunk. That was some serious mojo you pulled." Lux agreed. Some kind of pheromone-based spell? If so, it was highly potent.

"Not yet. We still can't leave this filter in Dahlia's hands. Can you imagine what the Dantius family would do with that kind of tech?"

"Yeah, yeah. Another Rune War and all that shit. Fine. But what'll we do about that cat girl she's got?"

"We fight her. If we can, we can also show her that Dahlia doesn't care about her. Hopefully, that'll make things easier for us." They ran back to the Tower, jumping into the building next to it. It was easy enough getting permission to the top floor, especially with Vi there. But once they were there, it suddenly seemed a lot farther to jump to get to the Tower. Caitlyn fired off a resounding shot that practically shattered the window before them, before Lux found herself floating in the air. Ahri was glowing brightly and gritting her teeth, causing them to float slowly through the window. They fell in a heap once through, Ahri panting in exhaustion. "Sorry." She apologised. "I've just never lifted that many people at once before." They quickly got up and stalked through the empty halls, searching for an elevator. But the first one they found wouldn't work for them. Lux was about to study it when Ahri said she heard someone coming. It turned out to be a whole lot of somebodies; a whole platoon even. They stood at the elevator doors, waiting and guarding. And one of them placed an eye near the panel.

They were pretty shocked when Vi charged through them and tossed them all aside. After that, the fight was pretty one-sided. Actually, a fight against just one Champion would've been one-sided. This, this was overkill. And the lucky survivor found himself getting his head slammed against the console until the doors finally opened. They left him bleeding out as they rode up to the top floor. It was a good thing that they pressed themselves against the walls, since a large claw spear came flying into the elevator. It then flew backwards back into the hands of a wild woman waiting at the end of the hall. Caitlyn used her scope to get a better look at her.

She was darker skinned than them, and not wearing much. She had long dark dreadlock hair tied together at the back, and blue facepaint in a line. Her top was barely considered a metal corset, obviously only holding on by wishful thinking. It curved around to cover her shoulders, while her arms were covered in clawed gauntlets. Her lower half wasn't any better, being some combination of straps, fishnet, and a loincloth. Her legs were covered by more armour with clawed feet that stopped just at her knees.

"Looks like we found our mystery stripper." Ahri whispered. The girl stabbed the base of her spear into the floor.

"I am Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress." She called out. "This will be your only chance to leave with your lives. If you approach, I will kill you."

"We're… We're due to a meeting with her. She won't like it if you hold us up." Ahri called out.

"Mistress Dantius is not to be disturbed. By anyone. Leave, or die." Their group responded by having Caitlyn snipe her from afar. But she somehow managed to dodge around it, letting the bullet slam into the large door behind her. While she was doing that, Ahri and Vi charged forward to engage her. She blocked Vi's strike with the shaft of her staff, letting herself get thrown away by the force of the punch. But she was then running back down, throwing her staff to distract them before calling it back. Ahri fired off her Orb at her, but she ran up the wall and jumped to the other side to dodge it. Ahri pulled out her pistol and started shooting, her bullets stopped by the Nidalee's shield. She was forced to scamper as she tried to impale her with her spear, while Caitlyn fired covering fire. Nidalee pounced at them, slashing out with her claws. The smaller space served her well, allowing her to bound from surface to surface. Luckily for them, Lux was able to provide them with a shield. Her strikes barely grazed it, allowing Ahri to blast her with Foxfire. This was followed up by Vi slamming her first into her hard enough to create a shockwave. Nidalee went sailing almost to the other end of the hallway again. Wiping away a line of blood from her mouth, she grinned in excitement. Ahri recognised that grin. It was what predators had when they were done playing with you. She lashed out with her spear again, the point slamming into Vi hard enough to pierce her shield and throw her back, before she charged forward again. Ahri fired another Orb, but she jumped over it and shifted forms. Now there was a scaly dreadlocked cat of some kind, covered in green plating. She rushed forward even faster, actually out-racing her orb. Ahri's instincts were screaming at her to run. But she was a champion now, and a Spectre. She couldn't afford to run. Gritting her teeth, she rushed forward to meet her enemy head on. She ducked as Caitlyn kept firing behind her, Nidalee easily dodging them. Lux fired off a Prismatic Light right behind her, the energy lashing out towards Nidalee as she got closer. They were nearly about to hit, when Ahri dashed past her claws. The huntress barely had time to react before she was pelted with several small fireballs. The combination of attacks managed to slow her down enough for the trailing orb to finally hit her. The force behind it threw her towards the Singularity, right when it exploded. And then Vi rushed forward to punch her in the face. The power and strength behind it sent her sailing through the air again, passing over Ahri as she slid under. But this time, Nidalee slammed into the door itself. And the damage done to it by Caitlyn's shots caused the whole thing to break open. They hurried in just as they walls blew open, teams rushing in. Caitlyn threw down some traps just in time for them to step on them, while Lux threw up a barrier to block the doorway. Inside, they found an ornate office fit for a Summoner. There was alien artwork everywhere, from all cultures. And disturbingly there was a wall devoted to weapons and antique torture implements. They found Dahlia herself hiding behind her desk, Nidalee lying on top on her human form. She was still moving, but it was clear that their attacks had taken their toll. She was having trouble moving fully, and was holding her side as she sat up.

"You idiot." They all stopped as they heard an angry voice. Dahlia's, no doubt. "What kind of guard are you? You practically let them waltz on in. This is what I get for trusting a mongrel like you." Nidalee seemed more injured by her words than all of their attacks.

"Lady Dantius… You said I was your friend. I was your greatest warrior." She said, her tone hurtful. "I protected you completely until now. They are simply too strong."

"'They're simply too strong'." Dahlia mocked her. "Or maybe it's that you're just too weak. Incompetent. If it weren't for me, you'd still be stuck in that ugly jungle raised by those stupid mangy cats. And this is how you repay me? By failing?"

"My family is not mangy." Nidalee hissed, her claws scratching at the table. Ahri glanced back to see Lux shaking slightly as she held back the continued assault.

"Oh, but they are. They're nothing but a nasty bunch of mangy, stupid, overgrown animals. They weren't even good enough to become carpets and clothes." Nidalee gasped in shock. "Aw, did you really think that I left them alone? After wasting all that money on rumours? And even they couldn't recoup my losses. I swear, the only good thing that ever came out of that jungle was the fact that your stupid, pathetic parents ended up dying like maggots. They should've done everyone a favour and taken you with…" Nidalee roared in anger, stabbing her spear down behind the desk. Dahlia screamed in pain as she lifted the spear, showing that the claws had clamped together through her abdomen. Nidalee threw her bodily against the wall. Watching as she bled out. Her eyes were the eyes of a true hunter. A predator spying a weak and easy prey. Her body glowed as she shifted into her animal form, and she growled as she stalked closer and closer. Dahlia whimpered as she grabbed her pistol, blasting wildly as Nidalee got closer. But the huntress jumped aside and grabbed her arm with her teeth, forcing the gun out of her grip before practically ripping it off. Dahlia screamed loudly, getting shriller as Nidalee's claws ripped into her. The huntress pushed her down and started mauling her, purple blood flying everywhere and scraps of flesh littering the ground. Dahlia's screams became louder and louder, before petering out as she faded away. Finally, Ahri saw Nidalee pull out her heart with her teeth, before eating it whole. She then changed back to human, blood covering her face and arms.

"That was for my family. Both of them." She limped back over to the table, her body glowing as her innate magic healed her. "I… I apologise to you. I thought I was fighting for a friend. But I fought for a cruel master. Forgive me." She knelt down, her head hanging low.

"Ah… That was the most fun I've had in days." Vi replied. "You had some punch to you. I wouldn't mind fighting you again in a League Match." Nidalee looked at her in puzzlement. Was it the fact that Vi didn't mind the fighting? Or was it that she had never heard of a League Match before?

"Uh, guys." Lux gritted out. "These guys aren't giving up. I need some help here."

"Right." Ahri said grabbing the filter they were looking for and destroying it. "We just need to fight long enough to push through and get the hell out of here. But where do we go?"

"There is a tunnel behind the desk." Nidalee said. "Dahlia had it for escape, but she didn't know that I found it. I followed it down to a… a 'garage'. There is a flying cart in there. Big enough for us."

"You heard the cat lady. Everyone down this hole." Ahri ordered as Vi punched the hole open. Ahri was the first, using her magic to lower herself down at a controlled speed. After her was Caitlyn, followed by Vi. Then it was just Lux and Nidalee.

"Come on, Nidalee." Lux grunted. "Once you get down, I can follow you before the barrier falls. Then we'll be out of here."

Nidalee shook her head. "Hole must be closed from this side. Once closed, won't open without smart people. You go. This is my mistake. I will correct it."

"But… But you'll die. You can't fight against this many enemies, especially after the beating we gave you."

"The flesh of the deceiver helps. And I have ways of remaining strong. Go." And she grabbed Lux by the arm and threw her into the hole, the room filled with gunfire. A grate closed over the hole further down, cutting off all noise.

But she could still hear Nidalee roar.

"I just got the call from the police department." Sadi said as the Runeterrans approached them again. "Thanks to all the evidence you found, Dantius Towers is expected to pay a significant fine. All the debt owned by Miss nar Rayya, and plenty more. I'll be very surprised if a Dantius is ever allowed to set up shop here again. Good job getting that confession out of that Salarian. And is it true that Dahlia is dead?"

"It is." Gumiho replied. "She was mauled by a pet cougar she had guarding her. She really shouldn't have insulted it."

"I… wow. I thought only fictional villains kept a pet cougar. Especially so far from home. Mind you, that would explain why the hallway leading to her office was full of body parts and blood. But there was no sign of any animal there. I hope it hasn't escaped into the city."

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's friendlier now." Miss Crownguard said.

"Well, you've done what you said you would. Tali'Zaroth nar Rayya, I hereby release you from your contract and servitude. You're free to go. But I would seriously consider just helping these Runeterrans with their mission in repayment for their kindness." She nodded goodbye, and walked off back towards her office.

"So, Tali'Zaroth was it?" Gumiho asked, getting a bit too close. "Welcome to the crew. Now, if we're finally finished with all this side-quest bullshit, how about we finally go and grab the lady we were after in the first place?" And then Tali felt herself getting dragged off towards the nearest taxi.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" She asked once they were all in. "All I got from you last time was that you wanted me to help you with some insane thing, and that you mentioned the Geth. Are there Geth on Illium?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Look, we found evidence that Syndra Benezia was involved in the attack on Eden Prime, and she's currently trying to find a way to open a path to The Void."

"It's pretty much like the Rachni incident, but a million times worse." Officer Vi added."

"Yeah, pretty much. So we're going to use your aid to break into her floating academy, kill everything inside, and either arrest her or kill her."

"Kill her?" Miss Crownguard said in alarm. "We can't kill her. Can't we just go with the arrest option?"

"Lux, I know you're worried for her. But look at what she's done. She's levitated an entire building for weeks. We simply don't have any means of controlling her power. And from the sounds of it, she's pretty much too far gone. If she resists arrest, then we'll have no choice."

"I know. I know that. But… But she's my mentor. There has to be an explanation for all this." Ahri turned to look at her, and sighed. "Please, let me try to talk to her. If she really is gone, if she really isn't the mentor I grew up with, then I'll help you kill her."

"…Alright. We'll give you a chance. But just one." By now, they had reached the Magister Academy. Tali had spent days trying to figure out how it stayed aloft. And now she had a very real chance to find out for herself. This might actually be worth it even more. Tali quickly removed the cover on the console, connecting several wires directly into her Omnitool. These firewalls were certainly powerful. They even rivalled or exceeded the theoretical firewalls defending Geth Prime frames. She found herself nearly triggering security systems or cursing from a dead end several times. And she was always aware of the others watching her struggle. But at last - after a lot of cursing - she finally managed to get through. They all moved in, keeping to the walls and watching as many angles as possible. Miss Crownguard led them through the frankly ornate halls. There were paintings of Runeterrans, all wearing some sort of flowing robe like the old stories of fictional mages. And there were several pedestals with antiques sitting on them, several of them hovering in place. There were golden shields and gnarled sticks; old-fashioned books and leather boots; crystals and cups. Tali couldn't even figure out what they were doing on display, or what they would've been used for.

"Did you know that many of these artefacts date back to the First Rune War?" Miss Crownguard whispered excitedly. "They were repossessed to grant protection and power to the first champions, before being replaced by newer, stronger models. On that pedestal there, is the original Guardian Horn. They said that by blowing on it, a champion would become stronger and faster than before."

"We can have the full tour later, Lux. Right now we need to find Syndra." Ahri chastised her.

"Right. Sorry. Her office was in the east wing, but if she's taken complete control of the academy then she's probably in the tallest tower. It has a nexus crystal installed to boost mag… I mean biotics." Interesting. She was about to call it something else? Could the rumours that Runeterrans don't actually use mass effect technology be true? It would certainly explain why they're so secretive and protective of their technology. They all ran quietly down the hall, until they reached the corner and Lux held out her hand. Ahri peeked around her, grimacing at whatever was on the other side. Curious, Tali crawled closer until she could see. The hallway was lined with Geth stations, inactive frames plugged in. But for some reason there were large crab-bug things crawling around. And bigger creatures lumbering down the halls. And there was some kind of crystal men with them. She felt a hand grab her shoulder and pull her back, the team retreating to a safer distance.

"Holy shit." Vi whispered. "That's a crap-ton of Voidlings and Voidspawn. Syndra's got some heavy manpower at her fingers."

"I'm more concerned about the men, if you could call them that. They looked similar to the undead we encountered on Eden Prime. I think Command is calling them Husks. Maybe they're what they turn into after a period of time." They all looked up as they heard the sound of pounding feet, getting louder and louder as something got closer. They quickly moved away, hiding behind anything that could cover them. Tali peeked out as she heard the steps go past, surprised by what it was. A stone and metal man, driving a large mechanical suit. They seemed to have their arms replaced by large shields and some kind of lance. Behind them were hovering cannons, piloted by the same figures. Now she recognised them. They were the Minions. Some kind of VI controlled soldier. But according to some people, they seem to have a near limitless supply to build them with. Once the team passed by, they regrouped near the wall again. She saw the group look at each other in worry, and she wasn't surprised. Their odds were looking worse and worse with every second.

"Dammit. I think we're going to need back up." She tapped at her comm piece, but obviously it wasn't responding. She gave her helmet a few whacks before nodding as it started properly. "Finally. Normandy, this is Gumiho. Put Fate on right now." They waited a few seconds for her command to be obeyed. "Fate. I need to know something. Can you teleport with some passengers?" Whoever was on the other end, they weren't saying what she wanted to hear. "I know it's difficult. But we've got some problems over here. Syndra's got minions, Geth, and Voidborn. We need all the muscle we can get." More talking. "Thanks. Get here as soon as possible."

"Well? Is he coming?" Officer Caitlyn asked her.

"He said he can teleport with a single passenger, but only to the transit station. It would cause him too much strain to try further, and the defences on this place means he can't get here directly even if he tried. So until they get here, we're just going to have to…" They stopped as they heard a hurried clicking sound. They tried to move and hide, but one of those bug things, those Voidborn, spotted them. But its eyes seemed to pass over them, Lux glowing slightly. It sniffed at the air for a few seconds, before heading back. They breathed a sigh of relief.

And then the air will filled with a loud screeching noise, and dozens of those things came scurrying towards them.

"Shit! Everyone, get to cover and start taking them out!" Ahri shouted as she nearly flew through the air, little balls of fire forming and smashing into the Voidborn as she passed. She hugged against an alcove and started shooting back. "Tali, please tell me that you've got something that can work on those Geth."

"Maybe. We've been working on a worm program that can alter their IFF signatures to attack the enemy. But it won't last forever, and the more I use it on a frame the less effective it is."

"For fuck sakes, just do it already!" Vi shouted, her fists crushing another Voidborn as it pounced for her. Her tech armour was active and braving the assault, but it won't last forever. Grimacing under her helmet, Tali prepared the data package for remote sending. Now she just needed to find the right target. Something tough, yet not so tough it'll break through the worm on the spot. So that ruled out the lone Prime she spotted on one of the racks. And the rocket drones would be suicidal. Throwing it to the wind, she fired off the package at a sniper all the way in the back. She was rewarded by the Geth blasting at a Voidborn instantly, somehow timing it with Caitlyn's shot. Lux threw her staff at Vi, creating a barrier around them both, before using it to fire streams of light that stopped several Voidborn in their tracks. She then threw an orb of light amongst them, causing them to somehow move slower before the orb exploded and consumed them. Caitlyn had loaded her rifle with a large spiked bullet, which spread outwards when fired and pierced through several enemies before becoming imbedded in a Geth trooper. And while this was all happening, Ahri was throwing around blue fire and orbs that seemed to change reverse after a point. Tali was simply amazed at the combat abilities of Runeterrans. They were almost in a league of their own. She almost fired off another data worm, but she felt that it was unnecessary. Until she spotted the Minion returning in their machines. She fired the worm at them, confident that their help would likely finish the push.

Only the minions kept charging straight for Lux. It didn't work.

"Lux, behind you!" she shouted out, the young lady barely having time to react. She rolled aside as the lance speared the ground where she had been standing, but it slammed her with its shield and knocked her aside. Tali fired off a grenade, but it only just budged it. She rushed over and blasted with her shotgun, giving Lux time to run. The minion reared to stab her. Cannon fire had her pinned. She was going to die.

And then a glowing line of some energy sliced through the middle of it. The minion fell aside and was shot in the head by a young blond-haired Runeterran wearing powered armour. Behind him were two more warriors. A man in a longcoat and a wide-brimmed hat throwing cards; and a giant of a man in old-styled armour and carrying a mace. The giant was smashing aside cannons with his mace, swinging it with ease despite its size, while the man with the cards was vanishing and reappearing elsewhere in the hallway. By now, most of the enemy forces had been destroyed.

"About time." Ahri sighed in relief. "What took you lot so long anyway?"

"Sorry, Vixen." Card man – must be that Fate guy - apologised. "It turned out that Mordekaiser was too big for me to teleport. We had to run to the transit station instead. How are you guys though? You still doing ok?"

"No." Lux moaned. "Priceless artefacts were ruined." She looked ready to cry.

"Hey, I remember seeing this before." The giant said as he poked a shield. "That guy owed me money."

"Ok everyone, group up. We need to talk before reinforcements arrive." Ahri said as they huddled. Tali found the giant almost glaring over her shoulder. "Ok, I thought that between the five of us, we could've handled Syndra. It might've been dangerous, but it could've been possible. But after seeing how much trouble her guard dogs were, I'm starting to think that we're going to need help."

"We can't all go. The elevator can only hold a few of us. Mordekaiser would be pushing it." Lux said.

"Fine then. A change to my change of plans. We'll keep going like we originally were going to. Ezreal, you and the others need to go and find the towers and see if there's any Void portals down here. We need to shut them all down before we leave."

"I don't like you guys going up against this Magister alone. Not if she's really this powerful." Ezreal said. "But, you're the commander. We'll smash this everything in sight if we have to." They heard Mordekaiser cheer and lift something. "Everything except for the countless priceless relics."

"Pfft. Wimp." Mordekaiser scoffed.

"There were leylines installed in the centre of the four wings. That's the best area for any summoning." Lux told them. "But I'm afraid you'll have to find the Minion Towers on your own. The Magisters didn't think that we'd need them."

"Right. If you guys run into trouble, contact us immediately. We'll get to you as soon as possible." They all jumped at the sound of smashing. They saw Mordekaiser standing by a hole in the wall, his mace jutting out of it.

"You know, the main halls go all the way to the wings." Lux snarked at him.

"I know. All this sentimentality was starting to make me gag." He replied as he pulled his mace free. "And besides, this is more fun." He smashed through the wall again, making a space big enough for him to walk through. Relics and paintings fell in pieces, leaving Ezreal and Lux staring in slack-jawed horror and making a high pitched whining sound.

Maybe now was a good time to leave.

"All that history. All those priceless artefacts. All that culture. Ruined. Crushed. Grinded into the ground." Lux was sobbing. "Why? What cruel reality lets such a monster into our hallowed halls?"

"Ah, will you quit complaining. I'd happily smash it all up too if it got in my way." Vi replied. Lux looked at her like she had just suggested that she'd kill a baby for fun. Geez, what's with her? It's just some old stuff. Sure it was back when Runeterra existed, but that doesn't make it worth saving. "Look kid, we need to focus on now. What can Syndra do? Aside from summon Voidborn and lift an entire building."

"Well, she can summon orbs of light to attack people. And she can manipulate them in different ways. Oh, and she can lift and throw people and things. But that's all, really. She's just very skilled with them. Pretty much every time I had to train with her, she'd end up distracting me with the orbs before bombarding me. But this was before she could do… this." She waved her hand around herself, to mean the building. "So, she could be even stronger than that."

"Gods-fucking-dammit." Vic cursed. Still, at least the ride up wasn't too bad, she thought as she felt Caitlyn's hips pressed against her and Ahri almost leaning on her. But eventually, they finally reached the top floor. They almost spilled out of the small elevator, rushing to cover as quickly as possible. Peeking round the corner of the pillar she was hiding behind, Vi saw a floating couch facing away from them. A white-haired woman was sitting on it, looking out the window. She also saw Ahri dashing silently towards her.

"You can cease with your pitiful attempt at stealth, Commander Gumiho." The woman said, waving a hand lazily. Ahri was blasted back by a wave of magic, skidding back to the rest of them. "And your team can come out too. I know they're there. Officer Vi. Tali'Zaroth. Caitlyn Williams. And Luxanna." Her chair turned around until she was facing them. Vi hadn't really followed what happened to Syndra until she lifted the whole building, but she definitely remembered her wearing golden armour that covered her eyes. But now she was wearing black, and her helmet now revealed glowing purple eyes. There wasn't a trace of compassion anywhere on her face. "And then of course, there's your friends scurrying down below, doing a laughable attempt to close the Void portals. I have been aware of you all since the moment you arrived on this world. It's a pity that you survived your assassination, but at least I won't have to pay that halfwit." Vi charged forward suddenly, but she found herself caught in a cage of magic, unable to move. Syndra had barely paid her any attention. "What I find more surprising is that you survived contact with the beacon. It appears that you're made of sterner stuff than I thought. How delightful."

"Magister Syndra. Please. Why are you doing this? Why are you seeking the return of The Void? Why did you kick everyone out of the academy?" Lux asked in tears. She must've really trusted this lady.

"Why, you ask? It's actually rather simple. I did it for freedom." They must've been puzzled, because she explained. "Before I arrived at the academy, my power grew and grew with each passing day. By the end of my twelfth year, I was better than all the elders in my city. That was when my parents sent me here to Illium to learn to better control my power. And for a time, it was good. But after you managed to overpower my barrier, I realised that my magic hadn't grown in years. Not since before I arrived here."

"Maybe you simply weren't as strong as you thought you were." Caitlyn shot back.

"I refused to accept that. And I was right to be suspicious. I found out that my dear old mentor had placed a dampener on my magic, hoping that I would learn control and restraint. The old fool had the audacity to believe that he could decide what I did with my power. And so I dashed him against the walls. Right over there." They turned to see a series of cracks radiating outwards. "And with his death, my power grew again. But I also realised that he couldn't have made that decision on his own. Others had to have agreed with it. And it sounded just like the Ionian Council's way to bind whatever they feared."

"And that's when you met Malzahar." Ahri guessed. "And decided for some stupid reason that The Void was a good idea."

"In a sense. Malzahar did approach me, saying that he saw that he would require my merciful aid in his plans. But I could care less about what he wants to do with The Void and the Voidborn. They're simply a means to an end."

"And what end is that?"

"Why, the destruction of everyone who would try and stop my power. I will never follow the whims of another, forced to dance to their tune. Malzahar and I work together when I feel like it. When he and his forces have done as I ask, I will banish them all from my kingdom. And all we learn to obey me, or perish."

"No." Lux whispered. "This isn't you. You were kind, you were gentle. You cared for me and helped me when I was stuck. You hated the Void. What happened to the old you?"

"So you would ask me to give up my power? To return to being weak, so that you can return to the old ways? I will never go back to that. I have done things that no other mage or biotic has ever achieved. The Asari would balk at the idea that I am doing this under my own power. If they learned the truth about magic, they would realise just how pathetic they truly are. They would seek to eradicate the use of magic rather than relinquish their grip on the galaxy. The Salarians would oppose them, secretly gathering up all magic artefacts to create their own weapons of mass destruction. And the Turians would desire for all Runeterrans to be reduced to a lone world. This I have foreseen. But under my rule, we will all rise above them. They will bow and scrape at my feet. And so, I'm willing to be merciful to you all. Surrender, and join my army. Obey me in all things, and you will be spared. Even Malzahar's Voidborn won't be able to touch you. Refuse, and I will crush you here and now. You will never leave this room alive. Make your decision." Vi saw the group look at each other, expressions ranging from fury, to worry, to sorrow. Then Lux stepped forward and knelt at her feet. Syndra smirked as she took in her victory.

And then she was shocked as the girl unleashed a dazzling lightshow right in her face.

Now that her control was disrupted, Vi felt herself falling again. She quickly jumped off the ground and smashed her gauntlet into the Magister, knocking her away. But she waved a hand and smashed an orb down upon her. It was a pure black orb, dark enough to make even the shadows seem grey in comparison. Vi's shield only just weathered it for her, but she still felt pain. Luckily, before she could attack again, she was under attack from a drone, probably from Tali. And Ahri had thrown a spell too, one that turned back after Syndra dodged it. But the magister simply waved a hand and blocked it with another dark orb, before destroying the drone by throwing it at them. She summoned more and more dark orbs, using them to block incoming fire like a shield. Everytime Vi tried to get in close, she found herself getting cut off by them. But then they caught a break. Syndra sent a few orbs to smash into Caitlyn. But the sheriff blocked them by firing off a net, causing her to slide backwards from the force, more importantly, the net wrapped around the orbs and sent them flying. Vi grabbed the end of the net and moved to slam them into the magister's face. But she felt herself get pulled away as she waved her hand.

"Really Officer Vi? You honestly thought you could use my orbs against me? How just like you, to think of only thuggery." She then spread her arms out, and the orbs floating around her exploded outwards. They slammed into everything around them, smashing Vi against the wall. She couldn't see what happened to the others. Syndra snapped her fingers, and she felt herself get lifted into the air again. "Still, you are starting to get annoying. I think it's time you… disappeared." She threw her fist towards Vi, and all the orbs started flying towards her. Even Vi could tell she wasn't going to survive such an assault. She hated this. She always saw herself going down fighting, not trapped in the clutches of some magical bitch. But she wasn't going to accept her fate. She was going to keep glaring until she was dead.

And that was why she saw the wand heading straight for her.

It managed to speed past the orbs, hitting Vi first and creating a barrier around her. The orbs slammed into it uselessly, leaving Vi unharmed. Syndra barely had time to be surprised before blue flames struck her. Grunting in pain, she pulled the orbs back and dropped Vi to the ground, warding off Ahri's attack. Then Caitlyn fired a powerful shot at her head. She barely got an orb in the way, but the force behind the shot was so powerful it caused the orb to collide with her head, shattering the crest. She gave out a loud yell, and blasted them all away with a wave of power. Her orbs exploded outwards again, but this time they flew with enough force to shatter through anything in their path.

"Enough! I grow tiresome of this feeble display. You know you can't win." She took a deep breath, getting her emotions back under control. "I have been watching you all since you arrived. I know what you are all capable of. Petty spells compared to my power. I will crush you, no matter what. And there is nothing you can do to stop me." She lifted them all into the air, heedless of the attacks they tried to throw at her. Her orbs hovered behind and above her, waiting to be unleashed. "I was going to give you all merciful deaths. But now I'm going to make them painful instead."

And that was the moment, when all seemed lost, that a taxi came flying through the wall. Syndra turned in time to shield herself with her orbs, the force slamming her into the other wall with force. Before it completely crashed, the door smashed open and a shape jumped out. They all fell to the ground as she lost concentration, and immediately started moving away while throwing attacks at the wreckage. Once they were certain that she was down, the looked to see who their saviour was. And they were surprised to see that it was…

"Nidalee." Lux cried out in joy. "You're ok."

"I am." The jungle huntress replied. "But those flying carts are strange. They simply don't make sense in how they work. I was lucky that crashing seemed easy to do." Whatever else they were going to say was interrupted as the taxi shattered into pieces, forcing them to hide behind what little cover was left. Syndra stumbled out of the crater, her robes shredded and cracked. Of Nidalee, there was no sign. Syndra screeched in fury before bombarding their positon with her orbs, only for Nidalee to appear behind her and driving her spear into her side. Syndra yelled in pain as she batted the huntress aside, clutching her side as blood flowed. Her orbs orbited her now, growing faster and faster as she got closer. Their attacks couldn't get through now, and she occasionally created another orb to slam into them. They needed a miracle, or another hero jumping in.

"I've got a really crazy plan." Ahri said as they crouched behind cover. "It's probably going to get us all killed, but considering that's what she wants to do anyway, I think we'll take the chance. I need you guys to distract her until I can get in close to her."

"Are you crazy?" Tali asked. "She's surrounded by a maelstrom. You won't get anywhere near her without getting smashed to bits."

"Leave that part to me. Now, while I'm stopping her, you guys have to look through her lab for notes. Any kind of notes."

"Why?" Vi asked. "If we hurry up and kill her, then we'd have all the time in…" She stopped, realising the crucial detail.

"Exactly. As soon as she dies, this whole place is going down. We need to grab that info and escape before that happens. Are we all ready? Good. Move out." They separated, just as the maelstrom shattered their cover. They started unleashing attacks while running, causing Syndra to twist and turn to keep them in her sight. She was obviously losing it, her composure shattered. But she had enough power to block most of their attacks still. She used her magic to grab Vi and slam her against the wall, before throwing rubble toward Caitlyn. Her orbs knocked Nidalee's spear off course, allowing her to start blasting away at the huntress.

"Syndra!" Lux shouted at her. "You are not the mentor I remember!" Her wand started glowing as it spun faster and faster before her, until she fired a massive beam of light at Syndra. The magister blocked it with her orbs, but the raw power behind it was almost too much for her. Vi could see her orbs burning away as they blocked it, the beam blasting a hole through the wall. When it stopped, she was standing on the ground, devoid of all orbs.

And then Ahri made her move.

As she rushed towards Syndra, her body seemed to be almost glowing with some power. Vi felt herself feel warm, her body almost itching to be with the woman. Even Syndra fell under its effects, lowering herself and dissipating the orb she was creating. But somehow she was fighting against it. The orb was struggling to be formed again, and she was trying to raise it above her head and smash it down on Ahri. So the commander rushed forward and grabbed her, planting a kiss on the magister's lips. The orb faded away as she gave off a moan of pleasure, holding the fox girl closer in an embrace.

"You can't be serious." Vi heard Tali say. "Her plan was to somehow seduce her? That doesn't even make any sense. How did she even do that? And how is it going to kill her?"

"The commander can drain the life from her by doing this. I've seen it before." Caitlyn said, already searching through another room for information. "Just ignore them and start looking."

"What are we even looking for?" Vi asked as she removed her gauntlets. "It's not like she's got a folder saying 'Evil plan to summon The Void' just lying around."

"Previous artefacts I found suggested that the Protheans and the species before them were constantly wiped out by The Void." Lux replied. "Runeterran history said that The Void needed Magisters to summon them through in massive numbers, or open giant portals, to allow them to destroy us. And we were still stuck on one planet at the time. So in order for The Void to systematically wipe out galactic-spanning species, they must've had some way of opening portals big enough to let in their worst creatures. That means that there has to be some sort of full-proof method for opening a portal big enough."

"Oh, I get it. So if this Malzahar needed Syndra to help him, then there could be notes on how to open something that big."

"I think I've found something." Caitlyn suddenly said. "There's a lot here about something called 'The Conduit'. From her notes, it's a key part in allowing the Reapers to cross on over. Malzahar probably wants it destroyed."

"Does it say what it is?"

"Not really. Only that it could be reached through the Mu Relay. And that it was a last-ditch effort by the Protheans."

"Found the Relay!" Lu shouted. "No, wait. Damn. It's in a Prothean code."

"Can't you read Prothean?" Caitlyn asked.

"I have a limited understanding of their normal written language, just enough to get a gist of it. Like how this paper," she lifted up an image of a stone tablet, "says that it was the first Relay they made from Materia. I think that's their version of hextech. This one, this is in code. You'd need to have a full understanding of their language to even begin decoding it. And no one out there has a full understanding of the Prothean Language."

"We can debate about this later. Everyone just keep looking for information." Vi said, grabbing everything and throwing it into a bag. They all stumbled as the building shuddered, the view outside moving faster and faster. "You know what? Fuck that. Just grab everything you can and get moving."

Caitlyn nodded, before tapping away at her comm. "Ezreal, are you done down there?" She smiled as she heard his answer. "Good. Get your team back to the landing platform. This place is about to go down around us." The whole place shuddered again, the buildings getting lower and lower. They ran out into the main room to find Ahri almost supporting Syndra in her grasp. The Magister was mumbling something to her as she stopped to take a breath. They could see a green glow misting out of her mouth. Spotting her team running towards her, she pulled Syndra close again and kissed some more. Syndra's hand waved around feebly, before flopping down beside her. Ahri threw her body away, running to catch up to them. They all nearly screamed as they started rising off the ground, the building tilting as it fell. They were all thrown into the air as the building crashed and skidded, only avoiding getting slammed into the wall by Ahri's magic. And it seemed stronger than before. She threw her arms forward, sending them towards the elevator while Vi destroyed it with her fists. They practically flew down the shaft, smashing through the doors at the end to find everything flying. They then flew upwards to find a taxi imbedded into the wall, damaged beyond repair. And further away, Ezreal and Fate were holding onto Mordekaiser as his mace was stabbed into the platform. Without saying a word, Ahri's magic surrounded them too, lifting them all away as the building reached a massive cliff. It sailed off behind them, and then there was a loud and powerful explosion as it crashed.

"That was probably the power core we had installed for the security." Lux said as they flew away.

The citizens of Nos Astra were surprised to see the lot of them floating towards them from the wreckage of the former Runeterran Magister Academy, watching in shock and awe as Ahri lowered them to the platform. She then released her magic, and felt an overwhelming stabbing pain in her head. Enough to make her retch uncontrollably.

"Hey, Vixen. You feeling ok?" Fate asked her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder before carrying her in his arms. She groaned in pain.

"Ugh. I feel like I just drank myself into a stupor while having enough caffeine to power a star cruiser." She mumbled. Oh gods, that was a really bad idea. Then again, it wasn't like they had a lot of options available. Nevertheless, she still had a job to do. "Roll call. Everyone, roll call."

"We're all accounted for commander." She heard Ezreal's voice. "Though Lux looks a bit out of it right now." She heard him grunt as something was thrown into his arms.

"That's everything we managed to grab before Ahri here brought the whole place down around us." Vi said. "Now, I'd better grab a team and go check the wreckage over before anyone tries to salvage it for artefacts. There might still be Voidborn inside there somewhere."

Ahri smiled. "So much for my promise not to break anything."

"Hey, for what it's worth, you did a good job. That place could've come down over a lot of people if you hadn't gotten it moving. And that was the most fun I've had in ages. If you guys ever come back, give me a call. I want to see what kind of shit we can get up to next time. Oh, and bring Cupcake here with you. That'll make my day."

"Sure thing. Try not to get into any trouble."

"I'd ask the same about you Spectre." Vi saluted them and walked off to the nearest taxi.

Ahri kept smiling until she passed out.

"I'm not surprised that you're in such pain Ahri." Chakwas was saying later in the infirmary. "Do you realise just how much power was inside of you? I'm surprised you didn't explode from it all."

"Don't tempt me doc." Ahri groaned. Her head still ached from it all. "So how do I make all the magic stop… magicking so much?"

"Just use it all up through your spells before you try and gain any more energy. The good news is that I've finally found a way to make you take a vow of celibacy."

"You do realise that I'm going to sleep with half the crew as soon as I'm all emptied out, right?"

"I do. But given just how much power you've got, this might last you for several years. And before you even think about disobeying me, my theory is that any more energy will cause you debilitating effects just as severe as what you've already suffered. But for now, I want you to get some bed rest."

"I'll have time to rest when we're heading to our next mission. Right now I just need to check on the crew." Ahri said as she hopped off the sick-bay bed. "I need to make sure everyone came out of there ok, talk to our newest team member, find out what we've discovered…"

"That last one can wait. Lux is still deciphering it as we speak. Give the girl some time before you interrogate her." She shook her head. "But yes, I think you will have to talk to the Quarian. She's far too interested in the Normandy for the Alliance's liking. We need to come up with something to placate her."

"Already got something." Ahri said as she left. Outside, she found Ezreal waiting for her. He smiled as he saw that she was alright.

"Hey Ahri. You gave us a bit of a scare when you passed out. But now that you're ok, I'm gonna mock you about that for the rest of your life." He laughed, but it sounded a bit forced.

"How is everyone?" She asked. "You guys didn't have too much trouble with the Voidborn?"

"Not really. We had the easy part. Mind you, that 'easy part' was dealing with a small army of replenishing monsters from a dark realm while trying to wade through and smash their portal without falling into it or looking through it. So yeah. Fun. Well, at least Mordekaiser thought it was fun. Me and Fate had to practically rocket around to keep away from them all. We only just finished when you decided to land the building on a cliff."

"What happened to Nidalee?"

"Who, the lady in the green stripper armour? She said she was going to travel on the 'big flying carts' and see if she can find some friends. She'll probably kill a whole lot of people nobody will miss, break a few buildings and make the Alliance go bald before their time. But I think she's now their problem. Oh, and Joker wanted to talk to you. It's probably about how you killed Syndra or something. Did you know that he's been asking everyone for pictures and footage of that fight? It's seriously annoying."

She smirked at him. "You're just saying that because now you've got to pay him 250 credits for that bet you two had about me engaging in a cat fight."

"No. We'll, not just because of that. But yeah, you cost me my bet."

"Don't worry. I'll give him all the juicy details in person."

"You sure? You don't need to have some R&R?"

"I'm fine. It was just a bit too much energy. I feel a whole lot better now." And she walked off before he started nagging her to stop and rest. She was the ship's captain, its mother. She was supposed to spend her time worrying about everyone. It was actually a relief to talk to Joker. Sure he was crass and perverted (not that she didn't mind), but at least he wouldn't nag at her.

"Hey, Commander. Heard about your awesome fight. That was just… Wow. I can't believe it. You went up against a Magister. One powerful enough to lift a building with her willpower. And you literally seduced her to death. That… That's awesome. Please tell me that you got pictures of that."

"Sorry Joker. She was a bit of prude about it. All she did was hold me close."

"Dammit. I was expecting clothes to be flying everywhere."

"Not even close. Now, was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Uh, yeah there is. You got a couple of calls while you were out. One from someone called Helena Blake. Said she needed your help dealing with some nasty creeps. Do the galaxy a favour and all that. And the other one was a Nassana Dantius."

"Wait. Did you say Dantius?"

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"Well, we kinda had to… attack her family's Illium operations to get Tali's help."

"Well, unless she had future sight, she couldn't be calling about that. Her call was about 10 minutes after you left." Yeah, that was long before the attack. But now she was really curious as to what this Nassana wanted with her. Well, whatever it was, she doubted it would be on the table now. Still, maybe she could threaten her into not trying to get revenge. Yeah, that could work. "Oh, one last thing. The Council said they wanted to talk to you urgently. I'm talking 'call us or we'll hunt you down' urgent."

Ahri groaned loudly. "I have to report to the Council? That's just great. As if I'm in the mood to come up with a whole load of bullshit for them. Can't we just say that I got injured in the battle and I'll call them some other time?"

"I don't think they're going to like that Commander. And as a Spectre, you're legally required to inform them of what you've done. Just go and talk to them and get it over with. Like taking a plaster off. Or getting a bear trap removed."

"Hardy har Joker." She stomped off towards the comms room, thinking all the different stories she could tell them and ways to stop them from realising she was lying through her teeth. Not that she got far. Her head was pretty blank. And sore. She could feel it getting stronger the longer she had to think for. Command's going to hate me. She thought as she established communications with them. And they were already glaring at her.

"Commander Gumiho, perhaps you could explain the reports we've been receiving from Illium about your 'arrest' of Magister Benezia." The Asari Counsellor said testily. She was holding onto a datapad, likely all about her exploits. It might be best to be truthful unless otherwise not needed.

"My team and I broke into the academy with the authorisation of your authority and an officer of the NAPD. We found signs of Magister Syndra working with the Geth and attempting to open a 'portal' to The Void inside. When we went to confront her, she resisted all attempts at reason and engaged us. For the safety of my team, I had to resort to killing her. I followed most of the protocol for dealing with a dangerous threat."

"And yet you forgot to mention the part of how your fighting caused a floating building to nearly crash into Nos Astra." The Turian Counsellor retorted. "At least five buildings were damaged when it knocked into them while flying at speed. How exactly do you plan on explaining the lives lost from those collisions?"

"When she realised that she was losing, she must've deactivated the mass effect field keeping the building in the air. I couldn't figure out how to reactivate it, so I had to settle with crashing it away from the city. Not many people realise this, but a falling building is really hard to fly without crashing into anything."

"Did you at least recover any possible information regarding Malzahar's plans?" The Salarian Counsellor asked her.

"Not entirely. We found some information about how a Conduit is keeping the Void separate from our galaxy, but so far we don't have any clues as to where it is. All we got was that it could be reached by the Mu Relay, and reports suggest that it was lost when the star it orbited went supernova."

"You are correct about that." The Asari conceded.

"So, apart from a gratuitous level of property damage, do you have anything else to show for this fiasco?" The Turian asked her. She had to avoid trying to punch his face in. None of her magic would work at this range.

"Her biotics were incredibly powerful. And she had a beef with everyone other than herself. At least we won't have to worry about her trying to kill everyone and conquer the known galaxy."

"Very well then Gumiho. At least we don't have to worry about her anymore." The Asari said. "Luckily for you, we received a garbled transmission with Malzahar's name in it coming from Virmire in the Sentry Omega Cluster. Find out what they discovered out there." They cut the comms, allowing her to finally scowl.

"'Do you have anything else to show for this fiasco?' I'll show you something you scaled bird-brain suck up." She muttered angrily as she left the room. She nearly got herself and her team killed, and all that asshole could do was complain? They got results. Maybe not the results she'd want, but they still got plenty of results all the same. What gave him the right to be upset with her anyway? She was so focused on being angry that she crashed into someone coming up the stairs. They both fell down the stairs, their limbs tangled together and banging everywhere as they fell. Ahri ended up on the bottom, her head banging against the floor. She might've made a keening sound of pain.

"Uh. Oh, my head." Tali said as she pulled herself free. Even with a masked helmet on, Ahri could tell that she was glaring at her. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"

"It wasn't my idea, trust me." Ahri replied as she got back up. She yowled as the Quarian stepped on her tail, pulling it free so quickly that Tali fell over again. She helped her up before dusting herself off. "You know, I was coming down to talk to you."

"Really? Well I was wanting to talk to you too. There is a lot of stuff that just doesn't add up after everything I've seen."

"I know, I know. I bet you've got a lot of questions for me. And I'm not in the mood to come up with a whole bunch of lies that will end up falling down. So I'm going to actually tell you the truth, on the understanding that if you even so much as breathe this to anyone outside this ship the Demacian Alliance will have to executed. Understand?" The Quarian nodded. Ahri took a deep, long breath. "Runeterrans don't have Biotics. We use a different power called magic."

"…Are you serious?" Ahri nodded. "But… But everyone knows that magic isn't actually real. It's make believe."

"Not on Runeterra. Magic was, and is, used for almost everything. All Champions are either magical in nature, use magic to aid them, or use hextech weaponry and devices to level the playing field. It's even in our engines and computer systems."

"So, what? You pretend that you use strange biotics and mass effect technology to make sure you're the only race that can use this 'magic'?"

"We keep it secret because we can't trust anyone else with it. The Rune Wars of our past were called that because of the amount of magic involved in them. A single mage was pretty much a living nuke, able to destroy entire cities by themselves. Entire areas were rendered inhospitable and mutated from the fallout of the magical destructions. The League was formed to make sure that we'd never use magic in such a way ever again."

"But then you had a second Rune War, right?"

"Yes. When we discovered space travel and found the archive on Mars. The possibilities of combining mass effect technology with magic was too much for us. It led our nations to actually carve up Runeterra than face another true war. If we can't trust ourselves with the limitless potential of magic, then how can we trust the other races?"

"So instead you silence anyone who tries to find out the truth."

"Well, the Alliance is also worried about how the Council would react if they learned about magic. And I'm willing to be the idea that a Summoner could wipe out cities if they wanted to is pretty scary."

"But… But there's got to be so many possibilities with magic. Good things too. Can you imagine how much it would help people to have access to your kind of abilities? Can you imagine how much power your engines could make?"

"I can. But I can also imagine the horrors we unleash with it too. The Void is one such horror. An alternate realm filled with monsters that wish to destroy us all." She gave Tali an intrigued look. "Why are you so interested in our engines anyway?"

"I was wanting to duplicate them for my pilgrimage."

"Your pilgrimage? What's that?"

"Well, when we become of age, we leave the Flotilla to see what the rest of the galaxy is like, along with finding something useful for the Flotilla when we come back. We then present it to the captain of the ship we wish to join, and if it's of satisfactory condition, we are accepted into the crew. It's a bit like getting passage to another nation, in a way."

"And you saw our engines as your way of getting to the top."

"My father is an admiral. Great things are expected of me. I can't just return with a bagful of food or a spare part."

"Well, I'm afraid that's a no-no. Magic has to be kept secret, for everyone's safety. I'm only telling you because you're a part of my crew now."

"And because you can't be bothered coming up with lies."

"That too." She could still see that Tali had some doubts. But forcing her to agree – by coercion, threats or magic - would just hurt her. She had to agree willingly. "I'm trusting you with this knowledge Tali. Please don't make me regret it."

Tali sighed. "Alright. I'll stay quiet. For now."

Well, that wasn't the worst option she could've gotten.

Oh man, that was awesome. And we've finally gotten our last member of the team (for now, at least). I always liked Tali. She was my favourite right after Garrus.

Now, I really hope that I don't suddenly get an outcry of reviews saying that 'Syndra should've won that fight easily' or something like that. She was the bad guy (or in this case, girl) and Ahri was the heroine. She was obviously going to lose. Ahri using her charm on her (which according to the TV Tropes page, canonically works on everyone) was the only way I could have them kill her while still having time to rummage through her papers. I mean, it's not like she's going to just tell our heroes. And besides, until Ahri kissed her Syndra was actually fighting against it. And she held off at least half-a-dozen people at once. So I think I did her justice.

In the next chapter, our heroes are going back to the Citadel for some side quest business, and then onto Feros to save the colonists. And you'll see what (or better yet who) I've got for the Thorian.

Officer Vi

Originally an orphan from the lawless outskirts of Piltover City, Vi (named after the numeral tattooed on her face as a baby) learned quickly the art of thievery to survive this gruelling life. She quickly grew to enjoy the thrills of her life, and she was snapped up by a group of criminals to aid them. But when she was eleven, a raid on a mining facility gone wrong forced her to change her ways. She refused to leave the trapped miners to die, and fashioned crude gauntlets from a damaged mining suit. With them, she managed to free the miners and escape. Afterwards, she cut off all connections to her former accomplices and took to robbing solo. But this time, she only robbed from other criminals. When word of her actions reached the Piltover City Police Department, they decided to try and recruit her. Entranced by the idea of pummelling criminals without the fear of the cops, Vi quickly accepted. However, after a few years with them it was clear that her roughshod attitude and enjoyment of police brutality made it difficult to work with the force. After learning of Illium, Vi quickly to a transfer to their force. There, her skills are far more valuable; with her street smarts allowing her to understand some of the criminals she arrests; and her quick fists allowing her to brutalise any criminal dumb enough to get on the Government's bad side.

Rumours that Vi is interested in the fairer sex are met with a fist to the face.

Magister Syndra Benezia

Born on the lone Ionian Colony of Pai Sho, even at an early age Syndra showed incredible potential for magic. By the time she was barely in her teens, she had greater power than the colony elders. But she lacked the restraint her elders had, using her power without considering the damage she caused. Fearful of what she could do, her family sent her to the Magister Academy to learn self-control. There, her restraint and understanding became greater, until she was finally considered a true Magister. When she became an adult, she joined the Academy as a tutor to share the knowledge she had been given. And her first – and so far, only – apprentice was the equally talented Lux Crownguard. But as the years went by, she noticed that Lux was growing stronger while she remained the same. Meditating on why she was still only as strong as when she was a teenager, she found the subtle strands of a dampener spell. Angered by this betrayal, she confronted her old mentor, the only mage who could've had the time to place it on her. He admitted to it, responding that only when her apprentice successfully became a recognised Magister would he release it. She responded by dashing him against the wall, and her power was unleashed. Angered by their attempts to control her, she joined with Malzahar and banished every other Magister, using force for most of them.

Her power marked her as a threat to everyone in the galaxy.

Nidalee

Few know the Huntress' origins, but documents found in the Dantius Tower allow some speculation. Found in the dangerous Kumungu Jungles, a cast off thrown onto the jungle world of Eingana, it was likely that her parents had entered the forbidden jungle in search of ancient relics left over from the Rune Wars. However, Kumungu Jungle is considered dangerous enough that many of the altered native species of Eingana have become extinct around the edges of the woods. Somehow, the young girl managed to survive in those woods after being found by a pack of cougars. And there she grew up until a Dantius expedition attempted to scavenge the jungle. Refusing to leave without something to show for it, they managed to convince Nidalee to join them and brought her to Dahlia Dantius, who convinced her that she was her only friend.

Upset at the loss of her home and both families, she has taken to wandering the galaxy for a new home.

Illium

An Asari colony bordering on the outskirts on the Noxian Empire, several entrepreneurs have made contact with the isolated nation. However, to match the prices and demand of Zaun, Illium has relaxed the normally stringent Council laws on product safety, proscribed material and sentient trafficking. This is allowed as Illium is officially recognised as an Asari Corporate world, and therefore not bound by Council ruling. That said, there are still several things that Illium law frowns upon, and Zaun breaks almost all of them on a regular basis. The unofficial law is that Zaunites entering Illium are to leave their illegal work and research behind in their labs, a law that Noxus enforces with great strength. The Demacian Alliance, worried about Noxus' actions on the colony world, agreed to have the Demacia Magister Academy set up on the planet, acting as a warning to any would-be invaders. It is one of the few places with areas open to the public, allowing tourists to view the ancient 'relics' from past League matches.

No shoplifters have ever left the building with their stolen goods.

Voidborn

The catch-all term used in the past to refer to anything that emerged from The Void, Voidborn can range from small critters on par with Minions, to powerful monsters that are a threat even to Champions. Most of them resemble a monstrous corruption of regular animals or species, with powers revolving around gaining strength as they fight. And they all seem to have a 'hunger' they must satisfy, from actual food to knowledge or fear. Ancient reports also suggest that they can range in both size and knowledge, with their power and ferocity equal to either category.

And possible rumours suggest that there are even worse things in The Void.