At long last, the anticipated arrival of Chapter 5. I had spent a lot of time figuring out both my life and how Veigar should play his hand. I admit, even I would not have seen this coming six months ago. However, it's the best solution I could come up with. The beginning of this chapter also serves as my thought processes during the past six months (unintentionally, I might add).

Also, sorry about all the typos in my author's notes. They were done on mobile.

Veigar looked in the mirror, his once yellow eyes glowing red and glaring back at him. He couldn't believe that he made friends, sure, but now he couldn't believe he had to betray them.

He went back to his bed and sat down, unable to sleep. So many questions flooded his mind.

First up, would the Star Guardians be able to handle an army of that size?

Veigar remembered the size of the armies shown to him. There were many kinds of warriors, and ten thousand of each kind. There were only five Star Guardians. They were powerful defenders, sure, but could he expect them to handle an army of that size? Probably not, especially since they could attack more than five places at once. If that happened, at least one area would fall by Thresh's hand.

Second question: Could he fight all of the Star Guardians?

Obviously, Thresh was a little uncertain about his forces and their strength if he had to turn to Veigar for help. Thresh knows that the battle would have a questionable outcome. If an army of that size was on par with the Star Guardians, how could the self proclaimed "Tiny Master of Evil" hope to take them on by his lonesome?

Third, could he kill them off one by one quietly?

This would be his best bet. The problem is that after one or two kills, they would begin to suspect something was up. If they noticed that their friends were killed by dark magic, he'd be in trouble. Plus, Thresh would see that he failed, and send his armies. Now there would be even less of a defense.

Fourth: Could someone else do it?

Veigar thought about this one. Assassins are what got him into this mess in the first place, but could they be his way out?

Veigar looked at his map of Valoran. Noxus would be the quickest place to hire an assassin with the gold he "borrowed" over the years. It would be easy, just hand them the cash and the information on the targets. Then he realized that he was still a wanted yordle (hence the attack by the Noxian assassin last week), and that they would attack him on sight. After all the years they tortured him, he was also not inclined to give them a single coin.

He then looked to Ionia. The island was not too far from Piltover (unless that changed in the damned weekly lore updates that Rito has), and he could be able to talk to the masked assassin he heard stories about. With Poppy already being suspicious of Veigar, it would be best to ask him to take her out first.

He then thought of the mysterious story of some artist that used blood for his masterpieces. Maybe he could hire him too, and take out Lux.

He then thought of the other two Guardians. Jinx seemed like she was so full of herself that she would probably be tricked by Veigar. If she were isolated, she would never know what hit her if he did it himself.

That left Janna. Veigar knew the Star Guardians were too powerful together, but when their power was two-fifths of their strength, he would be able to kill Janna without trickery.

Finally, this left Lulu. Thresh had agreed that Veigar could spare Lulu, but killing the other four Star Guardians would leave her broken hearted. Hopefully, she would at least see things his way and understand that he did the right thing.

The highway to Hell is paved with good intentions, Veigar thought to himself.

Plan developed, he collapsed on his bed and dozed off.

The next day:

Veigar sailed off to Ionia. This was a bitter pill to take, but it was a necessary one to take to save everything he knew.

And so Veigar has his plan, and the Star Guardians have no idea what's coming to them. Chapter five (finally) published!

Reviews and Shoutouts:

inorgan: Like I said in the AN I deleted, I appreciate your kind words. I'm glad to see fans you like stick around even after so many months of inactivity. I hope this chapter and the later ones are satisfying to you and the rest of the readers.

Joe Morgan Honda: I bought a car last week, a 2015 Honda Fit. I got a great deal for a great car, and believe that my dealership deserves a little praise here. Get rid of your Fords people, and get a Honda instead!