Chapter 10:
Gian is one of those guys that fitted the descriptions of my not-so-close friends, but we're still friends and even if it's not that strong that kind of friendship endures and will always be effective. He's a friendly guy with very weird, vain and unmanly photogenic streaks on the social medias and on his phone. Well, at least since the last time I've seen, which was nearly six years ago.
I smirked as I hoped that he changed, even for a bit, this time around.
Opening the door, I saw his telltale spiky/unruly hair and his mischievous grin. The guy was wearing an orange shirt and a blue jeans combo with sneakers, he also had a backpack slung on his back, which obviously made the curious little me wonder about what's inside.
"Broooo!" he said in greeting as he raised his hands for a high five.
I chuckled as I clapped his open hand, he still hadn't changed, but there's also the slightest chance that his attitude or his outlook on life has changed. After all, eight years has been long.
I stood aside so that he can enter my room, I saw him look around my condominium. I froze as he saw the broken monitor of my personal computer, now that I thought about it I have no freaking alibi for these types of situations!
"Whoa, dude!" Gian exclaimed as he went near the monitor and examined it, I immediately went to action, Gian's a pretty smart guy with an above average ability on analysis who knows what he might find there in the hole, and worse there might still be tiny fragments of Riven's blade in there.
I rushed to my monitor and stopped his hands from touching the tiny bits of broken glass and technological bits on the rugged hole.
"Wait, that's still sparky!" I reasoned out, hoping that my lies would be believed by my friend.
I nearly sighed when the guy quickly placed his hand as far away to the holed screen as fast as possible.
Looks like I'm safe . . . for know . . .
"What happened to that anyway?" Gian said as he pointed at the "sparky" hole of the monitor.
"I . . . really don't wanna talk about it" I said dismissively, hoping that he buys it and would stop asking me about the monitor.
He was dreadfully silent for a short while, I was hoping that he won't push it, because of the fact that I won't have answers if he asks more.
Yes, you don't and please don't let him enter my room . . .
I stopped my eyes from widening, I was so tensed about hiding my tracks that I forgot about the presence of the biggest evidence that I'm lying and hiding something from him.
Don't worry, just be silent okay?, I told the woman that I'm thinking was preparing her blade if ever Gian will wander to her territory.
Hey!, she exclaimed to my thought and not to the mental message I sent to her.
Meanwhile, the guy who I invited to my place sat at my large couch sofa and sighed one that sounds like is made of satisfaction and relaxation, probably because of my couch or something.
He then laid his bag next to him and opened it, I saw him take a netbook as he gestured at me to come near him.
Looks like he got something interesting . . . I thought and at the same time I told Riven who only grunted, though in my mind I saw her nodding.
He showed the screen of his laptop in front of me and was surprised at what I saw, it was the same picture that I saw on the internet, I'm more surprised at how Gian got it especially since that forum was shut down by a mysterious someone. And what's more, the picture was of a higher quality than what I saw.
"This is-" Gian began to said but I cut him off.
"A guy and Nami" I concluded, but without the natural tone of wonder that I'm thinking Gian expected that this picture would invoke.
"You don't seem surprised?" Gian asked as he pushed more buttons on his laptop.
"I actually saw that at the internet" I replied earnestly as I looked on at what else the guy has.
"I thought of that, but there are other champions than Nami here . . ." he said as I saw him open a gallery with a ton of pictures.
He clicked one and showed it to me.
It was a picture of cleared out area on a forest clearing, normally I would dismiss this as nothing but caused by heavy rains but what caught my attention is that there are irregular cuts on some of the conifers on that clearing plus there was one that was timbered and the cut that made it fall was unnervingly too clean for my taste, then I realized that Gian just zoomed the picture as he dragged the picture to the left. That's where my eyes bulged.
There was an awfully familiar, huge-ass sword rooted on the ground as if it was one big and mighty Excalibur.
I looked at the smirking face of Gian.
"… don't tell me that's Garen?" I was obviously lying, and I hope I sounded convincing, there currently is a platinum haired champion that can reform her sword in a jiffy at my bedroom, so this is not quite a shock to me.
"Yup, this was at Switzerland" Gian said as he showed me another picture.
This time it was on a public place, where there are many people walking towards and away from the camera. Unfortunately I failed to see any champion on the picture so I gave Gian a confused and unconvinced look. In reply, the guy zoomed on a certain woman wearing a white shirt and gray jeans. Then I finally understood what Gian meant, the woman was turning her back on the camera so I didn't notice it at first, the woman was blonde with her hair ending at her shoulders but her left hand was holding something like a baton, but I also didn't notice that the part of the picture where the end of the baton was supposed to be was blurred slightly, the only thing that could do that are lights.
"Lux, right?" I asked for confirmation to which the guy just nodded with a grin.
Gian continued to show me several different pictures, there are only some high quality pictures that are totally identifiable to the one who looks at it, most are vague shots and most often than not, quickly done snapshots.
I was relieved that Gian doesn't have a picture of a certain platinum haired, amber eyed champion. Because if he saw Riven in one of those pics then there's a big possibility that he'll see mine too.
"Why are you suddenly interested in this anyway?" Gian asked me.
I really have no answer to that, and I would rather say the truth than lie to him. The obvious thing with lying is that the one you lied upon will learn eventually, so why won't you tell him/her the truth early on where you still haven't sinned?
I let out a long and nervous sigh.
"Do you really want to know?" I asked him.
Riven, I guess it's safe to come out now, I said to her mind through our bond.
"Of course, man there's noth-" whatever he was about to say was cut off when he saw the exile in my room.
"-ing to be afraid of" he finally concluded in awe. I grinned at his pretty hilarious face, careful to not laugh at his reaction.
Then his face shifted to what I noticed was panic.
"No . . . Stop! Don't do that!" Gian shouted at Riven which made her eyebrows furrow in confusion. She's not the only one that's confused. I myself am looking at my friend with a raised brow and a very careful mentality at how odd my friend is acting.
I am not a guy that easily panics, I have learned to be calm in very intense situations, a byproduct that was unconsciously given to me by college and eventually, my work.
But not even the pressurizing college or my stressful job prepared my mind for panic and awe when a dark greenish light glowed from underneath the shirt sleeve covering Gian's right bicep.
My eyes widened as I remembered where I've seen a similar event before.
I turned to look at Riven who was equally surprised when suddenly a shroud of black smoke covered her.
When the mysterious smoke-like substance has lifted, Riven was not alone.
A figure clad in skin-tight green attire that stood in the border of armor and sexy outfit was behind Riven, two scythe-like weapons in each hand and a mask that covered her mouth and nose. One of the blades was dangerously close to slitting Riven's throat, while the other was pointing at the two of us.
"Don't meddle with this Gian, this Noxian must die" she said as Riven gritted her teeth.
I looked on in total shock as Riven, the Exile is rendered powerless in the current situation against the Fist's Shadow;
Akali.
xXx
Riven was completely caught by surprise at what happened, she never expected this scenario in Francis' world and because of that she stupidly let her guard drop. Now look where that got her, held hostage by a woman as deadly as a certain Noxian assassin with red hair, with the only difference aside from looks and weapons is that the woman who's holding curved blades to Riven's throat has a deep and intense hatred to every Noxian soldier and champion.
Riven stopped her instinct to flip the woman over, it may cause more serious repercussions on this situation. As Riven calmed down, she immediately grasped the intensity of the situation and sought out ways in which she can hopefully use against her captor.
Don't move, I have an idea, she heard Francis's voice in her mind. I quickly looked at him, he has this calm aura about him . . . but Riven also noticed that he's stopping himself from reacting, as she noticed his hands opening and closing back and forth in tension even though his face is admirably neutral.
"She blasted out of your screen, I take it?" Francis asked with an easy grin at Gian, much to everyone's surprise, though none showed their shock in the tense atmosphere.
"Uhh . . . Yeah?" Riven looked on at Francis' friend who didn't seem to know how to tackle this difficult situation. Then Francis turned to look at Riven and Akali, Riven spied the latter to be completely surprised at what my summoner is acting like.
Riven froze, then she blinked her eyes.
That's right, Francis was now his summoner, his partner. She just fully grasped the situation and she was overwhelmed with dozens of emotions, mostly being happiness and confusion. Happiness because of the fact that her summoner is someone she can rely on and confusion as to what purpose were they bonded? Riven has a nagging feeling about that but she shelved that thought for later. For now, focus on this situation is a must.
"You were just having a match at one of the fields of justice and then suddenly you're here, at our world. Am I right?" Francis said to Riven's captor with a practiced grin and unbalancing gladness.
Unbalancing gladness it is as Riven felt Akali slightly lower her guard even for a bit, she could easily counterattack at Akali at that point but she decided to trust Francis and whatever it is he was planning.
"How did yo-" Akali said before he was interrupted by Francis's chuckle.
He chuckled before saying, "How did I know? You could ask that woman you're hugging".
Then Francis inched closer, which made Akali tense even more but strangely did not tighten her blades on Riven.
"The point is, Akali, this is not Runeterra anymore, this is Earth in the small yet frivolous country of the Philippines, there's no point in fighting for a cause that simply can't be fought for anymore" Francis said with a smile.
There was a tense silence for a minute.
"But she's a Noxian! She killed dozens of Ionians in their bid for control!" Akali shouted, her voice quavering in anger and fury. Riven was surprised at how she reacted, she thought that Francis has finally calmed her down.
"How about you, Ionian?" everyone in the room was caught by surprise at what the bald headed young man said, he said it calmly and still with a knowing smile on his face.
"W-W-What?" Akali stammered as she asked, seemingly more surprised than Riven or Gian for that matter.
Francis smiled.
"I know that the Noxians destroyed many Ionian towns and countrysides with mad fervor, I also know that they've slaughtered whole populations of Ionians" He paused then he looked at me and smiled.
"But, didn't you even wonder that those soldiers of the infamous Noxian warmachine were just following orders, who were forced to fight to the death so that they may live when the war ends? Didn't you even consider that they also have families?" Francis asked with a grin on his face and a hard stare that met hers and then Akali's eyes.
The sound of steel hitting the floor was heard as Akali loosed the grip on her dangerous weapons.
Riven was surprised at what she was seeing, the steely and passive Ionian assassin was kneeling on the floor with her hands on her eyes, crying.
She saw Gian rush to her and immediately hug her, consoling the woman that nearly claimed Riven's life.
Riven heard someone sigh heavily and turned around to see Francis standing beside him with a worried expression on his face. Gone were the confident aura and the charismatic smile, all that Riven sees is a deeply worried young man.
"You alright, bunny?"
Riven didn't reply to that.
Instead, she silently hugged the guy, who seemingly tensed at what she did, but Riven cared no less. Her hug was truly heartfelt and she made sure that Francis understands that.
"Thank you" she whispered to him as she hugged him tighter.
"Hey, bunny, I'm scrawny remember?" Francis said as the two of them laughed.