Author's Note:
So I really should be studying, but procrastinating is hard to avoid, so I decided to just start writing as much as I could. Which turned out to actually complete a chapter. WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN? But hey, here's chapter 9 (as late as it is) so I hope you enjoy, chapter 10 will hopefully not take a month to complete :P
- halowenjo.
Chapter 9:
As I looked at the image of my deceased sister the room fell away like a jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece until it revealed a familiar scene that haunted my dreams. The house where Lily was murdered. Lily beckoned me to follow, we walked through the courtyard, past the animal pens and towards the estate. I saw ahead of me a very much alive Lily sitting on stairs to her room. I froze as I saw the cloaked man that I had seen my father talking to all those years ago enter the room, followed by Lily. I sprinted for the door and tried to open it, only to fall straight through it. Lily had a gag in her mouth and tears streaming down her face.
"Where is it?" He asked, lightly tapping her on the cheek. Lily shook her head and looked away. He grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look at him.
"Where. Is. It." He said through gritted teeth, his tight grip on Lily's hair was pulling her head up. Lily gave one more shake before he threw her onto the bed. He used magic to pin her against the wall, conjuring up two nails, he pushed them into Lily, they dug into her wrists, pinning her up. He removed the gag from her mouth and pulled some sort of blue mist out. He trapped it inside a jar before disappearing. When the Vessaria's room came rushing back into view I collapsed to the ground in anguish. Lily knelt down in front me and placed a hand on my chest. Before I could even utter a word she vanished, leaving behind a glowing blue hand-print burning into my robe.
Diana rushed to my side as I collapsed to the ground, a million things racing in my mind.
"What happened?" she whispered to me.
"I-I saw… The night she was murdered."
Diana frowned and pulled me onto her, laying my head on her lap and soothing my hair back. I looked over at Vessaria to see her madly scrambling around her desk, looking for something.
"Head Summoner?" I called out, she glanced back, a look of worry on her face as she returned to scouring her desk.
"I saw it Seth... I saw HIM." She said, picking up papers and discarding them to the side.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
She picked up an older looking piece of paper, scanning it under the light.
"Here!" She gasped, jabbing at the paper with her finger. She walked over to us and thrust the paper at my head. I rose up from Diana's lap, gave her a kiss on cheek and collected the paper from Vessaria's hand.
"SUMMONER PROFILE: #36" was written across the top, I scanned through it, a lot of the text was worn out or even erased. I looked and saw a picture of the man in question. I froze as I saw his face, that same smile I had been seen before, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me, It was the man whom I'd seen Ahri with in her dorm. But I still couldn't help but feel like he wasn't just that. I went through the rest of the pages until I came across a full page picture of him. He was wearing a familiar cloak, his skin a dark tanned colour and a rough, unshaven face. Like the Rakkorian's. I thought. I looked back up at Vessaria and gave her a questioning look.
"You still don't get it, do you?" she asked. I shook my head and looked back down at the picture.
"He joined the institute only a day after your sister died Seth."
My eyes locked onto the picture of him, I could see now. It was the man that was talking to my father all those years ago. The man that killed my sister. I picked the document back off the floor and went through it.
Home town: Winstead. The same place I was born.
"Where is he now?" I asked. She went back over to her desk and picked up a new looking document.
"It says here that he resigned." She muttered.
"When?" I asked.
"Last week apparently" she replied.
I frowned, if he left the institute we had a low chance of finding him.
"Does it say where he left to?" I asked, hoping for some chance we might have a lead.
"It just says returned home." As soon as she said I that I thought back to the flashback Lily had given me. Where is it…?
"Head Summoner." Vessaria looked up from the document and raised her eyebrow.
"May I request an expedition to Mount Targon?" I asked as professionally as I could.
Vessaria smirked and nodded, pointing at Diana.
"I imagine she will be accompanying you?" she asked. I looked over at Diana who nodded.
"I'd like to bring Leona with us if that's possible, she knows a lot about the area and may assist us." Diana frowned when I said her name but refrained from interrupting.
"Very well Seth, leave me, I need to complete the dreadful paperwork." She groaned.
Diana and I made for the exit,
"Be careful Seth, and if you happen to find any other champions that happen to accompany you please return them ASAP." She called over her shoulder.
Diana and I thanked her and left the building. When we got outside I turned to her.
"Look, I'll go talk to Leona, she'll be more likely to co-operate if I'm asking." I said. Diana nodded eagerly, obviously pleased that she wouldn't have to see Leona. I leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek but she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in, mashing her lips against mine. When she finally let go I opened my eyes to see she was gone. I rolled my eyes and made my way towards Leona's quarters.
I walked through the courtyard that separated the separate champion dorms. The Demacian's were located due north, while the Noxians were situated south, as to keep the two factions away from each other. The Ionian's, Piltoverian's, Freljordian's and Rakkor/Solarian's were on the east, while the Zaunites, unspecified and Bilgewater resided to the west. I passed by a few familiar faces whilst making my way to Leona's quarters, I could hear Olaf once again hitting on Irelia, whom was yet again staring at me. I looked up ahead at the golden arch that signified the Solarian Quarters, although only two champions currently resided there, it was still a magnificent place. Walking in noticed the instant rise in heat, causing me to remove my robes and settled instead for a t-shirt and pants. I could hear laughing in the distance, definitely Leona's.
I walked up to the first dorm, appropriately glowing gold, footsteps echoed through the hall and I turned around to see Leona smiling at me, complete with her pool-party attire.
"What can I do for you summoner?" she asked, smirking.
"Please, call me Seth. Anyways, I'll was wondering if I could ask a favour" I replied.
Leona opened the door and gestured for me to enter, I strode past her and took a seat on the couch.
"So what is this favour?" she asked, lying down on the couch with her feet on my lap, smiling innocently.
I rolled my eyes, causing her to giggle a little.
"Well, DI-… There's an expedition to Mount Targon that I'm leading, with Vessaria's permission of course. I was wondering if you would accompany us." I asked.
Leona stood up, walked over to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for herself.
"What is this expedition about?" She asked, guzzling down the water and refilling the glass.
"We need to find something, or someone. Mount Targon is the place we believe them to be located."
Leona cocked her to the side, setting her glass down on the counter and returning to the couch.
"Who else is on this expedition?"
"Well… Myself, a few other volunteer summoners and another champion." I said, coughing in an attempt to block up the last part of the sentence.
"And just who is this other champion?"
"It's uhh… Diana." I said, instantly regretting it as Leona's face turned sour.
"You want me… To go on an expedition with that heretic?" she spat.
"Look, I'm just asking you accompany us, you don't have to interact with her at all if you so wish."
Leona pondered on it, she walked around the couch and sat on the armrest beside me.
"I'll go, but I don't like it" She said.
"Leave me, I'll need to prepare" she said, walking into her bedroom.
Exiting the dorm's I walked back across the courtyard and abruptly run into someone. I fell backwards and heard a yelp as I realised I had ran into Riven.
"Sorry Riven" I said.
Riven sat up on my chest, looking down at me.
"Can you oh… get off of me?" I asked, slightly annoyed. Riven continued to simply stare at me, before she leaned down and mashed her lips against mine forcefully. When she finally slid off of me and to the side I gasped for air and stared at her.
"What the fuck was that for?" I asked.
"Do you like me Seth?" She asked, tears streaming down her face. "Am I pretty?" she asked, looking down at her attire. She was shaking, barely able to speak. I laid my hand on her shoulder and she collapsed into my lap and started to cry, her tears soaking my shirt. I hugged her tight and sighed. Riven had always been a social outcast, ever since she ran away and was subsequently exiled from Noxus she rarely spoke to anyone besides Ahri or Irelia, the only two champions who ever really tried to seek her company.
"You're beautiful Riven, inside and out. As much as I appreciate your advances, I'm in love with Diana." I whispered, rocking her back and forth gently.
"I'm sorry Seth, I'm not sure what came over me. The stress from fighting and lack of social contact is driving me insane" she whimpered. For anyone else looking on the scene was ridiculous, a summoner with no robe hugging Riven, The Exile as if she were a child. But I didn't care.
"Look Riven, I'm leading an expedition to Mount Targon if you'd like to come. It'll help you get away from some matches and give you a chance to talk to people." I said, stroking her hair.
"mmhmm" she mumbled. After a few minutes I heard Riven's breathing become deep and slow. Am I really that comfortable? I thought, yet another woman had fallen asleep on me. I picked up Riven, her arms draped around my neck like a child. On my way to drop Riven off at her quarters I met up with Diana again, who struggled to control her laughter at the way Riven was clinging to me. We dropped off Riven in her room and made our way to Diana's room.
"What were you doing with Riven in the first place?" Diana asked, giggling wildly.
"It's a bit of a long story" I said. I was about to tell her what happened, but something didn't feel right.
"DIANA DUCK" I yelled.
"WHERE?" She asked. I threw myself on top of her, we fell to the floor just in time as a pair of spikes flew through the air and lodged themselves in the wall behind us.
"What was that" Diana asked, standing up and brushing off her armour.
"It's not gone yet" I said, looking around for the source of the projectile.
I could hear a distant sound of fluttering as I dodged left, something swung past me, scraping against the wall and causing sparks to fly. I grabbed Diana's hand and we ran down the corridor, narrowly avoiding another pair of spikes that impaled my robes to the wall, I fell forward as my momentum was interrupted. Diana readied her blade, creeping slowly, she kneeled down to try and unsnag my robes.
"Just cover me while I get these robes unhooked" I said, tugging on the spikes. Diana crept around slowly, moving back down the hall where we could hear a faint laugh. I looked at the spikes quite thoroughly, they looked like they were made of organic material. Wait.
"Diana!" I yelled, I looked over to see her swinging wildly at the air, her pale cascade offering little protection from the onslaught of shadows, she was covered in a few cuts and her left arm hung limply by her side.
"It's Kha'Zix Diana! He does more damage if you're isolated!" I yelled to her, she didn't seem to hear me as she continued to fight. By this point Kha'Zix had ended his stealth, his purple scythe like hands slicing through the air. I desperately tried to get my robes off, I managed to unbuckle the belt when I heard Diana scream. I looked over to see one of the purple scythes piercing her side, blood pouring from the wound. Kha'Zix let out another laugh before bending down, and launching a barrage of spikes right into Diana's chest. She flew backwards, slamming into the wall and laying still.
"DIANA!" I yelled, trying to get her attention. She simply stared straight ahead, slumped against the wall in a jumble of limbs. Kha'Zix was steadily creeping towards her, his jaws wide open and dripping a mix of saliva and blood. I had finally managed to wrestle myself free from the robes and bound towards her, jumping in between them I picked up Diana's blade and pointed it at Kha'Zix, he swiped with his left claw, knocking the blade out of my hand.
"Barrier!" I yelled as the light blue shield surrounded me, sparks flying as his scythe connected with the surface. Before I could retaliate he had disappeared.
"Clairvoyance!" I shouted desperately. But to no avail, Kha'Zix remained invisible. As the barrier around me faded I could see the faint glimpse of purple, swinging to my left I narrowly dodged the invisible scythe. I looked around, squinting my eyes as cold sweat poured down my chest.
"Devour" I heard from behind me. I turned around, see the air shimmering just in front of Diana.
"Oh no you don't! NIGHTFALL!" I shouted, mimicking Diana's spell. However, this was no ordinary nightfall. The air stood still and complete silence enveloped the hallway. Just as I thought it was over the sound of crashing waves filled my air and a white glowing substance came flooding into view. It rushed past my ears, and when it ended I could see the glowing silhouette of Kha'Zix attempting to get back on his feet. He reached a claw outwards to Diana, but before he would reach her I firmly grasped the armour plating on his back, throwing him backwards and out into the courtyard. I walked down the steps towards him, my hands glowed silver, ready to burst at any moment.
"The moon always rises" I found myself saying, but it was not my voice. Kha'Zix rose his head towards me, cocking it inquisitively. As I started to approach him he jumped up on to one of the pillars, staring at me. I walked up to the bottom of the pillar, pulled my fist back and slammed it into the base. Plaster and stone alike crumbled down as the pillar started to the collapse, the silver energy falling off me in waves, Kha'Zix jumped to the next pillar, still observing me.
"You don't touch her!" I roared in pure rage, the silvery wisps spiking intensely.
The pillars visibly shook as I destroyed the next one, kicking it over. Before long I was surrounded in an arena of fallen debris, Kha'Zix stood on the last remaining pillar. I was stopped mid punch as I heard a faint whisper.
"Seth"
I turned around to see Diana leaning on the frame of the walkway, clutching her stomach as the blood fell freely. Kha'Zix took my momentary distraction to strike, leaping off the pillar with a wicked laugh as his claws posed for the kill. Before he could reach me a rope flew through the air, contracting around his limbs. He crashed to the ground beside me, a familiar bola restraining his movement.
"My apologies Summoner" Rengar growled, emerging from the bushes, a muzzle and more rope in hand. I gave him a nod as he started to tie up the protesting Kha'Zix. I heard a thud as I looked over to see that Diana had fallen over in a pool of her blood.
"Diana!" I yelled, rushing to her side. I quickly ripped my shirt off, tying it around her waist and applying pressure to her side in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Stick with me Diana" I said, hefting her up into my arms as her head lolled to the side.
Along the way to the infirmary I passed by a bewildered summoner whom I recognized as Letica, she looked utterly dumbfounded as to why I was carrying Diana whilst not wearing a shirt but I had no time to explain. I kicked open the doors to the infirmary and screamed for help. Soraka popped her head around the corner and her eyes widened at the sight. The rest of the people in the room gasped, I looked down at myself and saw the blood-trail that followed me, my chest was covered in red and Diana was extremely pale. Soraka beckoned me into the room, pushing items out of the way to clear the bed. I placed Diana carefully on the bed, kissing her gently on the forehead. Please be ok.
"Seth, go get Vladimir, he's down the hall" she said, I gave her a questioning look but she looked over at me, her eyebrows furrowed in worry so I took off down the hall, and came upon Vladimir, sitting in a seat with a cup of wine. Or blood.
"Vlad" I said, he turned his head slightly to look at me and nearly turned away before he saw me covered in blood. He licked his lips and jumped out of the seat. I turned back down the hall with Vladimir in tow and entered the room again. Diana was hooked up to a life monitoring machine whilst Soraka was entering health potions into her.
"Lay down on the bed over there Seth" she said, flicking the end of a syringe and inserting it into Diana's forearm. I quickly took my place on the bed and Vladimir came over to me.
"This is going to tingle a little bit" he said, smirking at me. I looked over at Diana.
"Do it" I said. Vladimir raised his hands and a small sphere of blood appeared, small strands extended out and latched onto my arms. One larger strand pierced the skin on my arm. I could feel myself getting weaker as he drained my blood, his sphere increasing in size.
"Don't kill the poor boy" Soraka said after a few minutes. He rolled his eyes, disconnecting the strands and walking over to Diana's side. The same strands connected to her and the sphere shrunk as it pumped blood into her bloodstream. Her skin started to regain some colour and the wound on her side was slowly clotting, stopping the blood flow gradually.
"Get some sleep Seth, you've lost a lot of blood." Soraka said, looking up from the monitor.
"Not until I know she's going to be ok" I replied, shaking my head. Soraka sighed and prepared another syringe.
"Young love" she muttered, this time inserting the syringe into the wounded area, a green glow emitted from it, spreading to the edges of the wound.
I lay my head back on the pillow and turned my head to look at Diana. I shouldn't have brought her into this… I doubt she would have taken no for answer though. I thought, chuckling. I turned onto my side and closed my eyes and thought about why Kha'Zix would attack, or how he had even escaped his cell in the first place. All I knew is that I was going to stop this summoner, whoever it was.
He will pay…
A deep rumbling sound emanated off the walls in Seth's mind, a pair of Icy blue irises slowly slid open, looking around in the darkness. It laughed, the sound booming in the empty void.
In blood.