Chapter Eleven: A game of cats and do... er.. mantises.
AN: So, I have a new chapter for you!
Yes, yes, I'm not dead. And I'm sorry for taking this long to write a new chapter.
Basically, Life got in the way.
While I was writing this, I had my school exams, suffered more than once from the dreaded writer's block. An, in a certain point, I stopped liking my previous ideas for this and decided to rewrite it from the start. I am trying to favor quality here, who would blame me?
You.
And rightfully.
I can only say that I'm terribly sorry for not uploading anything in, like, 5 weeks? Or was it even more than that?
Anyways, Winter (vacation) is coming, and I hope to get at least two new chapters before school reopens.Which means that until August I will try to upload 2 chaps, at least.
Kassadin had hidden himself behind a stone pillar. The battle between him and Cho'Gath was far from fair. Cho'Gath had just what was needed to defeat Kassadin's fight style, which was based in quick attacks: The Voidborn knew how to stop him from his constant teleporting, so he couldn't even attack without risking his skin. Kassadin was losing it. Slowly, but surely.
"Hey," said Veigar, after somehow sneaking aside him. "I have a plan. It might fail, but it's better than nothing."
Kassadin, unfazed by his ally's sudden appearance, asked:
"So, what is your plan? Something like I bait Cho and you throw spells at him?"
"Actually," Veigar said, with his mouth slightly curved upwards, "that's quite close to the plan. You distract him while I prepare a spell back here. I doubt he'll fight back if he can't move."
Kassadin, understanding Veigar's plan, decided it was better than nothing. He then Riftwalked behind the self-proclaimed Gentleman of the Void, slicing the giant three times with his nether blade. It wasn't something that would really hurt Cho'Gath, but it still was enough to anger the monster, enough to even make said monster scream in anger.
Kassadin, somehow stunned by the shout, barely recovered in time to dodge from the volley of spikes flying towards him. He then Riftwalked to create distance between him and his foe. The enraged Voidborn chased Kassadin, paying little attention to anything else. That was a huge mistake, as he didn't see the markings that sprouted from the ground under him.
A cage materialized around Cho'Gath, effectively trapping him. Veigar, then, came out of his hideout and unleashed a rain of spells on the monster.
However, it was far from enough to stop the giant. After a few moments, Cho'gath charged through the wall of the cage and shattered it. He then kept his charge, going still after Kassadin and completely ignoring Veigar.
Veigar called a meteriorite. It hit the monster right in the head.
That was enough to call Cho'Gath's attention. The huge monster decided to finally turn on the yordle that was incessantly throwing his spells at his gentlemanly figure. He threw a volley of spikes that didn't really hurt badly the small magician, but did slow him down enough to let Cho'Gath cath up. He grabbed the tiny master of evil by the neck and lifted him from the ground, just as if he was about to eat the little mage. Well, he probably was going to eat Veigar, but Kassadin wouldn't to let him do that for free.
The Voidwalker materialized behind Cho'Gath, slicing the giant's leg. Cho'Gath, feeling the sudden attack, screamed in pain, but that wasn't enough to stop him. Fueled by his anger, he raised the Yordle high in the air.
However, before he could have his appetizer, the skies went ablaze.
Annie woke up feeling enormous pains in her abdomen. She barely was able to contain screams, releasing a low grunt instead.
She, after feeling her pains fade a bit, opened her eyes and slowly raised her head.
She was greeted by a yordle whose usually cheerful facial expression had been replaced by an obviously forced smile. It was as clear as glass the fact that Lulu was worried.
The yordle then noticed that her friend had woken up, and immediately bombarded the half-awake woman with questions:
"Annie! Are you awake? Are you alright? How are you feeling? What happened? Who attacked you?"
"Hey, Lulu, calm down. I think I'm gonna be ok."
Lulu seemed to be about to ask more questions, but something stopped her. Annie saw her eyes glowing in a very unusual way. Slowly, trying not to make her wounds any worse, Annie turned to see what had called Lulu's attention and put the talkative yordle in such a contemplative state.
What Annie saw, however, also left her gazing in awe.
The very sky had become a vortex of fire. The storm converged itself to where the Portal recently opened by the Voidborn was, effectively becoming an insurmountable barrier.
It was obvious nothing could pass through it.
And still, that barrier gave Annie an eerie feeling, like it wasn't right. It was as if the barrier was blocking something, or rather, someone close to her, becoming a trap.
However, she had no idea of who could have been trapped there.
Kha'Zix mentally cursed whoever was the mastermind that created the firewall. The mage responsible for that spell had just separed the forces that had already invaded from the upcoming waves of Voidborn, and also cut all the escape routes for the Voidborn on Valoran.
He now had no retreat route, no way to go back into the Void.
So, as he was already trapped in that poor excuse of world, he decided to use his extra time to make an old… acquaintance… a quick visit.
He set off south, towards the Kumungu Jungle.
Cho'Gath screamed in pain. He had dealt decisive damage to both Kassadin and Veigar, but now he himself felt his strength slowly fading away from him. The flames that sprouted all aroud him had been extremely nocive. He barely could keep himself awake.
He then saw a Noxian squad heading towards him.
"Fools," he thought, "I was already about to die. Now I at least will have a last dinner."
Xerath sighed. The Noxian fools were attacking an already half-dead beast so recklessly they were just about to die. He wasn't allowing their lifes to be wasted in such a way.
He charged an arcanopulse.
Just before the Noxians had reached the Gentleman, he unleashed his mighty spell.
All that remained was a pile of ashes and a squad of dumbfounded Noxians.
The ascendant, then, went back to the hard task of trying to understand what was happening. The sky doesn't go ablaze every day, after all.
Veigar still hadn't recovered from the shock. He escaped from being eaten alive by Cho'Gath by a fraction of second. He now was lying on the sands of the desert, gazing at the curious spell that had saved him. That spell was enormous, a barrier so huge not even its caster would be able to cross. And he knew who was the caster, as no voidborn would have lifted such a block to their invasion, and also as every other mage powerful enough for that was either too far from the battlefield or too exhausted and occupied to perform a spell of that size.
Now he had to make sure where Erindor was. He had completely forgotten what the suicidal mage wanted to do, having to fight a very specific gentleman in a two-versus-one duel.
He was afraid the fool had gone into the Void. And he was sure Erindor had done so alone.
"The Void is a terror unlike any you've known."
That sentence, which was once spoken by the one and only Prophet of the Void, was a good way to describe the world where Erindor was. Darkness was common, but he would prefer if it was absolute and constant. The void had plenty of things no mortal man should see, and those sights were forced on the mage.
However, he had his mission.
And no living being would stop him.
He headed to a huge building he could see in front of him. It obviously was some kind of palace, from its size. It emanated an evil and dreadful aura, dark energies that would make someone with a sane mind go the other way, but that aura was exactly what Erindor was searching. It was there. He was there.
The King of the Void was about to receive an unexpected visit.
Kel'En'Rot was having a very annoying day. She had been forced to take guard duty, out of all things. Apparently, the King had expected some kind of intruder. She had very clear orders: No one was to enter the royal quarters without a written pass.
For this reason, she hoped this puny man in front of her had no pass. She wanted a bit of fun, at least, and murdering a lowly creature like the one in front of her would be a good way to pass the time.
"Halt," she said, her voice showing off how annoyed she was. "The King isn't receiving any visits."
The man, obviously in a rush, would have just ignored the tall voidborn. But she wasn't letting anyone pass without her permission. She placed herself between the door and the man, repeating her warning.
"I'm afraid I have to speak urgently to the King. So, if you would kindly get out of my way, I must get going," the man said.
"No pass, human, no passing."
The man sighed, like he was just wasting time by talking to the Voidborn. He got in a fighting stance.
"Really? Will you just stay there and block me the way? Well, wrong choice, lady."
'So, this little guy thinks he can just pass through? This might be interesting.'
"I think I'll need to teach you a bit about combat against voidborn. Rule number one: Don't fight a voidborn inside the Void."
Vok'Maw, the voidborn who also was referred to as "King of the Void", had been enjoying the best reading of his life. While it was true that humans were lowly beings, they somehow had an astonishingly developed literature. Some of the human authors, like that one summoner called, if he wasn't mistaken, 'Badger', were innate comedians.
So, since the true King of the Void was enjoying a book, it was no surprise to him to be interrupted. Since he had become King, things couldn't just happen without him being somehow bothered. He'd have to speak something to that accursed En'Rot for letting someone in.
As he lifted his eyes from his book, however, he was exposed to an entirely unexpected situation.
A man, clad in blue robes, had just entered the room. He had a white mask hiding his face, and strapped to his back was a golden staff. He was dragging a knocked out cold Kel'En'Rot behind him.
He took a seat just in front of the King and, nonchalantly and with total disregard to the appropriate manners of speaking towards a King, said:
"Well, monster, I'm here to negotiate your surrender."
The king, seeing the obvious threat posed by this intruder, the one intruder whom had been able to defeat his most trusted war leader, calmly asked:
"And what would be your terms?"
The escape route of the Voidborn had been cutten, and so had been the entry way for reinforcements, but that didn't mean they gave up. Actually, it just made the voidborn fight even more furiously than before.
Azir had been fighting for hours, now, and he could feel how tired he was. He knew he had no way to keep fighting like that. Soon, he would just have no more energies to keep battling.
He needed a miracle right there, or else Valoran was condemned.
He then heard a deep, echoing voice from somewhere just aside him.
"A miracle, Azir? Isn't that far-fetched?"
He immediately recognized Nasus.
"Curator. It's good to see you here. I was about to lose my hope."
The huge beastlike creature kneeled aside him, probably just to keep himself at the same height of the emperor. He then said:
"I think we need them to win this battle."
That comment surprised the emperor, making him raise an eyebrow under his helmet.
"Them? Them who?"
"Those two. The noxian Juggernaut, and Renekton."
He should have expected such a thing from Nasus, but it still left him speechless. He knew what was going to happen when the alligator and the giant were thrown upon the enemies, but it still was a risky bet.
Well, better than nothing, Azir guessed.
He decided to let the two crazy warriors he had imprisioned fight. He hoped those two wouldn't attack the allies, but, if they did, it was the same defeat they would have if the wild murderers were held back.
He felt nothing.
No pain as he charged through the masses in front of him, even though he was repeatedly hit by their strikes, no contempt as he murdered every single living being in his way. No happiness, no anxiousness, no fear, no hope, no trust. There it was nothing but that feeling of void he had. And the masses for him to cut down.
However, somewhere in the middle of the masses, he finally found a worthy opponent. Some kind of huge shrimp was in front of him. It was easily a hundred times his size. Quite a feat, but he wasn't afraid of large foes. He was ready for anything in front of him.
Maybe death could free him from this void, but that shrimp wasn't giving him such a gift.
Sion raised his axe high, preparing to unleash his might on the titan in front of him.
He landed a crippling blow on the shrimp-like giant, severing several limbs. That seemed to attract the titan's attention.
But then, something stole the pleasure of the kill from him.
A lizardman jumped from somewhere, going straight towards the titan's head. He used his blade to cut right through the head of the enormous monster, making it drop dead in but instants.
The lizard then seemed to take notice of the juggernaut.
They both stared one at the other for what seemed to be for ages.
Then, the unbelievable happened. They decided they were not enemies, but rather, allies, partners in that chaotic battlefield.
They were a pair of warriors unlike any Valoran had seen before: It seemed that, together, those two could fight the world off.
Sion finally felt something else than that void. He could not tell what it was, but it was great finally feeling something.
Erindor stumbled back to Valoran.
He didn't know how much time had passed since his meeting with the king of the void, but now, it was time to stop the war unfolding back at his home.
He could only hope he wasn't late. There it was the small chance that the battle was already over.
As he heroically charged through dimensions, returning to his home world, he somehow managed to stumble on his own feet.
And let's just say that falling into a world and descending into the same world were two very different things.
Renekton had wanted something like that for years.
It was great, being back to fighting. The blood on the air, the dying screams of his foes.
However, this time something was different. For the first time in ages he had a partner. An ally in which he could put trust.
Nasus had betrayed him, but this one wouldn't.
This one knew the lust for blood, the need of battle.
This new partner was just like him: someone who had tasted the blood, and had enjoyed it.
And together, they would taste blood again.
They would fight, fight until the very land had fed them with its blood.
That was exactly what Renekton wanted, and the lizard could feel his newfound partner shared his desires.
Also, the synergy of their fighting styles was unsetting, even. Renekton felt it wasn't the first time he and his new partner were fighting together, although that wwould be hard to believe.
Rengar had been preparing to go hunting when he felt that smell.
A smell that had long disappeared, but one he wouldn't easily forget.
The stench of the beast.
He stiffened, trying not to stay still. He couldn't help but feel anxious. And excited, too.
For the first time in years, there it would be a good hunt.
He readied his gear, taking care not to misplace any of his bolas and not to take the wrong knife. Such an occasion required his best weaponry.
Now that Kha'Zix was back, he had to prepare a proper welcoming party. He wanted to get his long-awaited trophy.
He needed the head of the beast.
There it was only one reason for him to still be alive: to kill the cockroach.
He had awaited for long. He knew the tricky bastard would have new artifices, new tactics, but he hadn't just been sleeping while he had been waiting; no, he also had a few new tricks.
He slowly lifted his javelin. It had been tiring, training how to toss this interesting weapon, but Nidalee was a good teacher. Now, his accuracy was nearly perfect, his technique honed as much as it could be.
He dipped its tip in the flask in front of him. That flask was filled with the most dangerous poison he knew.
It was very uncommon, a poison known by few. Zyra had given it to him, back when she moved to the Kumungu. A gift that had been very appreciated: just one drop of that green liquid was enough to kill an adult man in seconds.
He dipped the second javelin. He had other eight javelins. He would exit his humble abode only after all of those were properly poisoned.
"Rengar."
He slowly looked up, without stopping his handiwork. The voice that had called him was Nidalee's.
She probably had felt Kha'Zix too, and came to stop him, he guessed.
"You know he's back."
Her face clearly showed she was preoccupied.
"Yes, Rengar."
He kept on with his work. He grabbed the shaft of the fifth javelin, and slowly lifted it.
"And you want to stop me, right?"
He looked up, seeing that her facial expression had changed. It now wasn't worry, it changed to something he guessed as resignement.
"No."
He looked back at his javelins, resuming his work.
"I know I couldn't, even if I tried. But, before you go, I have one gift I wanted to give you."
He looked back up. A gift? From Nidalee? That was… Unexpected, at least.
"Here," Nidalee said, while lifting her hand. It was a knife. A knife that was well-made, yes, but its size was way too small for Rengar to keep it as a main weapon. "I know it's not as big as what you like using, but keep it as a second weapon. I prepared it, and I made sure to use the right enchantments. It's more of a protecting amulet than anything else, really. But I hope it will be useful."
He received the knife. He saw that, although a bit small for him, it still was a great blade.
It had been carved from stone, probably by Nidalee herself, and he could see the magical runes she had used to enchant the weapon. It might not have been the knife he would use to slash and stab his enemies, but it surely would perform well were he to use it like that. He could clearly see how sharp the edge was, perhaps even sharper than his own blades.
The handle was made of ivory, probably because of enchanting properties, but that material was quite rare in the Kumungu. Nidalee surely had gone through a lot of trouble to get that material.
Its scabbard was made of steelwood. Steelwood was a tree natural from the Kumungu Jungle. It was very hard, nearly unbreakable, and also very resistant. Whoever was crazy enough to try to use it to anything would spend ages, but would get a very solid piece after his work was done.
It was clear that Nidalee had spent a lot of time in the preparation of that knife, and it also was clear that it was a knife he would like to have with him at all times.
He dipped the point of the last javelin in the poison.
He then dipped the point of his new weapon too.
He left his cabin.
From that moment, the hunt was on.
Many believed that he would adapt after eating a prey, but that wasn't exactly true.
He only needed to taste the blood of his target to absorb power and characteristics from whoever he fought.
And he always made sure to taste the blood of his foes.
He had never been fond of magic, but the skills he had just learned from his last target couldn't have come in a better moment. He never expected to fight an anthropomorphic feline with fireballs out of all things, but he now would surely use those spells to finally defeat the lion. He never cared about using underhand tactics, anyways.
He tested his power one last time before heading to the place from where his nemesis' smell was coming.
He managed to produce a fireball about as large as a soccer ball. Not something to be way proud of, but still a powerful spell.
He grinned.
From that moment, the hunt was on.
And he'd be sure not to be the prey.
Rengar silently stalked the mantis, or cockroach, as he liked to call it.
He had been doing so for quite a long time.
He had been following him for long enough to see something he didn't expect.
He saw the mantis preparing a spell.
He now needed to teach Kha'Zix not to bring spells to a knife and schythe-claw-thingy fight.
Well, he also was breaking the rules, but he didn't care.
He threw his first javelin.
Kha'zix suddenly felt something impacting to his chest.
It was a javelin. It didn't hit perfectly, and just ricocheted from his exoskeleton.
He was still alive, unhurt in fact, but it still was bad.
Rangar had found him before he could find the feline.
Rengar mentally cursed. He missed the first shot. He had got Kha'Zix distracted, but now there it wouldn't be more of that. He needed to change style, his enemy was ready for the javelins.
He approached Kha'Zix silently and swiftly, never losing sight of the giant mantis for a second. He prepared his knife and claws.
He then saw a small mistake he had done: he forgot to poison his main weapon!
He decided there it was nothing to do about it. There it was no going back at that point; it was either be the hunter or the hunted. He then leapt.
Kha'Zix was caught off-guard.
He had been expecting a javelin, not a fully-grown lion that surely weighted more than 500 pounds.
He barely avoided being cutten in half, getting only a slash through his chest.
It wasn't bad, but it surely was far from good.
It was the first blood of the battle, and it was his.
He leapt far away from the lion. He might have been taken by surprise, but he knew he had the advantage if he kept the distance.
Rengar, however, had none of that. He rushed after Kha'Zix, being sure to keep him always in his melee range.
Kha'Zix finally managed to hit his foe. He was able to slice at the lion's shoulder, leaving a deep gash.
However, he also go hit. Rengar managed to strike his leg. It probably wasn't going to stop the mantis, but it surely would slow him down.
Kha'Zix leapt again, finally managing to open some distance from Rengar. Hoewver, he had been followed by one of the bolas.
He barely had time to curse those damned devices, instead being immediately forced to parry a strike coming from his left.
He unleashed a little fireball. It should have hit, but something made the spell miss. It was like something had redirected the flames.
Rengar probably had found some magical protection.
He would need something else.
He cleared his mind from all thoughts, instead focusing only in the battle.
'Parry left… Dodge right… strike left. Parry left and counter… strike up… parry left… strike right.
An opening.
Fireball.'
Rengar barely dodged the spell. He could even smell some of his fur being charred by the flames.
He leapt backwards, disappearing from Kha'Zix field of view.
He then went into stealth.
His predatory instincts were left free. He felt every single movement from his nemesis. He then sneaked behind the mantis. He somehow noticed the mantis also had used his stealth, but it wasn't enough.
Nobody could hide from him.
He noticed he had lost his knife. It probably had been knocked away while he jumped away from his foe.
He cursed himself for losing the blade. How was he to fight without the dagger? He had claws, yes, but those claws weren't sharp and long enough to penetrate the hide of the beast. He could use the javelins, but they were quite bad when in melee range and he didn't have many.
He then remembered he had a spare knife.
He lifted his hand to his chest, where he had hung the scabbard.
He slowly took the hilt in his hand. He remembered he hadn't touched it before.
It felt great.
That weapon was perfect. And he had his chance now.
Kha'Zix was hit from behind.
The blade sunk deep in his backside.
But it wasn't enough to kill him.
He turned aroud, releasing a burst of flames. And the burst hit perfectly.
The blade must have been the source of protection, Kha'Zix noticed.
Rengar was knocked back, his chest and face burned.
Kha'Zix leapt towards him, lifting his schythe.
He wasn't strong enough to end Rengar.
It was clear he had knocked the lion out, but he hadn't the force needed.
Rengar's blade must've been poisoned.
He fell on his knees.
Another second and he could've won, but it wasn't like that.
He had been defeated.
Azir allowed himself to relax after seeing the outcome of his decision. The two mad warriors had not only caused devastation in the enemy lines, but they also developed some unexpected form of partnership between the two juggernauts.
He could clearly see victory.
Not a war won, but definitely a good start. Winning the first major battle, especially in such adverse conditions, was never a bad thing.
Now the alien troops had been scaterred, only trying to resist in small groups. It would be easy to exterminate the remaining voidborn in such conditions.
It was way better than any human would have predicted; not even a seer like the Prophet of the Void himself could've foreseen a victory in that battle.
Right in that moment, however, something unpredicted happened.
All the voidborn that were still alive just disappeared out of thin air.
It was a mass retreat.
And, after they disappeared, the portal, that hanging menace above him, closed itself.
The last thing in this series of strange events was a light blue dot materializing on the dark sky.
Together with the blue dot, the stars and the moon appeared.
The Invasion had ended.
But what was that constantly growing blue dot?
AN: Annnnnnd here we end this chapter!
I guess you can guess what's the blue dot... I KNOW! IT'S A BLUE FLYING VOLKSWAGËN!
Err...
Forget that.
Thanks for all the three reviews. Also, if any of you have doubts that don't include spoilers in it, feel free to ask away! I will answer every single review I get, be it in the "Review Reply Corner" or through a pm. Hey, I might even tell some... spoiler-ish... information through PM's.
Also, if any of you want to add me on LoL or Skype, feel free to do so! Well, if you are Brazilian like me, at least.
My LoL account (BR server only): Erindor
My Skype: Erindor
As you can see, I'm quite creative. It's no wonder my main OC has such a wonderful name '-'
But enough of this nonsense! Now I present you...
THE GLORIOOOOUUUS
(Draven pops out of nowhere and yells "Me")
(I kick Draven out of the room)
So, as I was saying, IT'S TIME FOR THE GLOOORIOOOUUUSSS REVIEW REPLY CORNER!
REVIEWER #1: A reader (guest name): Thanks for the praise, bro! (Or sis. Can't just pretend everyone is male) I don't think it would be very good to last forever, as there it would be NO END :
But you don't have to worry way too much. There it are at least like, 5 chapters, before the end :)
REVIEWER #2: Guest (And you really need to come up with your pseudonym. Just something like, say, 'Me', so that I can be sure the reviewer is you):
After doing... whatever they were doing? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Well, all the joking aside, I read your review just after watching "The Avengers 2", so I was all like:
"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
That's... a bit of a overuse of "YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", but it's for a good reason. You know, I had just been thinking about the same thing when I read your reply.
Anyways, thanks for reviewing. Love ya :D
REVIEWER #3: SpaceMageVeigar (guest name): Thanks for the praise! I know it might not look like that, considering how much time it took me to upload, but reviews like that always help me to get going! Don't worry if you have nothig to say, just write whatever random thing comes to your mind :D
Also, you don't need to be sorry, not reviewing isn't a crime, but reviewing surely is great.
For the person who recieves the review, at least. :p
So, tell me what you think of this chapter, good people! I hope you all liked it! Oh, and also, remember:
Poppy jg is op.