A/N:

Hey everyone! ITS THE LEGENDARY FROSTY HERE AGAIN, WITH SOME "REAL" ACTION GOING ON IN THIS CHAPTER.

Of course, now that Nocturne has his surprise attack... but sooner or later you will see REVENGE! HAHA! NO ONE WILL ESCAPE THE UNSTOPPABLE, ADORABLE DUO. And yes, you will see more of my headcanon here. PREPARE FOR MORE SHIPS BOIS! XD

Leave a favorite/follow/review as always!

Friends And Foes

Although she couldn't see it, she could sense it.

Not long after Nami entered the Institute, the summoners had used a spell to block Nocturne from entering. Or at least, that was the purpose. But no one had suspected Nocturne had blended in among them. Even the spells were not strong enough to confine him from entering another's mind before they were sealed.

And now he was free.

But it wasn't just that.

Even Nami did not know about the link between them that showed their unbreakable bond. This was unlike those souls that pledged themselves to vengeance. It was only when undead beings like her had met their true love, one that proven to be loyal to them for eternity and not just for their own advantage, that a spiritual link will form between them. It was a permanent sign to show the unconditional, pure love between soulmates, quite literally in this case.

But Nocturne was just one problem. The real question was why was he freed, and now the bond was shaken. That could only mean one thing: whatever he was doing, it was putting Nami in danger.

Even the bond forms on its own, it will still require both sides to agree on the same spot for the link to actually be established. Now, only Kalista could feel these tremors that warned her of her mate's danger. But when they were actually linked, both sides could sense whether if the other was in danger.

She had to get to her loved one before it was too late.

But how? All the entrances to the Institute were sealed, including the special entrance spiritual beings like her used to enter the League. There was no way she could possibly get past summoner magic. If they could keep Nocturne confined, she was no exception.

Unless there is someone else that can actually go through.

Kalista didn't ever recall asking for help, except from Nami. Usually she worked alone and never had any being managed to evade her. But now, this was proven impossible for her to do, not without some help.

And she saw the Fae Sorceress just outside the barrier. Lulu seemed to be trying to figure out how to get in as well. And she could see exactly why; the sky had turned dark, with the occasional lightning arcing through the air.

As quickly as she could, Kalista moved along with the Black Mist towards where Lulu was standing, with her faerie beside her. Even her usually excited and overly cheerful expression was gone, replaced by a look of what seemed to be like concern... and fear.

"Lulu." Kalista was awkward at starting a conversation that wasn't with her victims, aside from Nami. "Um, what are you doing?"

The yordle gave a gasp of surprise before sighing with relief. "Oh, Kalista, it's just you..." It was not weird that Lulu knew her name, having seen her quite a number of times in League matches. If Kalista had bothered with friends before she met Nami, Lulu would definitely be on her list. She never minded the yordle's company in the matches, and she knew Lulu thought the same way. Unlike other Shadow Isles champions, she was not hostile against her or any other mortal that wasn't a betrayer, especially not her supports.

"I'm trying to get in. Gnar - he must be worried without me. And -" Lulu expression grew sad at the statement. "I must get to safety as well as Tristana had."

Kalista was surprised at how much care she shown for the other yordle. With her usual hyperactive demeanor, no one could actually take her seriously, even with relationships with others. "I hope I'm not asking too much, but... what is Tristana and Gnar to you?"

Lulu's green eyes stared back up into her own. Clearly, she was surprised at how much more emotion was present now. "They are my family. Tristana was the only one who accepted my friendship when everyone thought I was crazy. I have feelings for her that are stronger than just simply friends. And Gnar - I couldn't turn away from him when he needed help. Tristana did it to me once - and I'm doing it the same for Gnar. He is like our adopted son. Tristana cares the same for him... and me."

"Is... is Tristana alright?" It was weird that she now shown concern for one of her most common lane opponents. Lulu nodded. "She is back at Bandle City, helping to calm the frenzy created by the yordles at the news of Nocturne escaping. Now, I have to get to Gnar."

"But...why aren't you in Bandle City with her, and why didn't you send Gnar back?"

"Neither Gnar nor me are residents in Bandle City. Well, I was once, but my extraordinary powers had me banished, and Gnar was never part of the yordles." Kalista felt a strange sadness for the support. She was different and probably lost, like her. But she was lucky, just like her. Tristana accepted her and earned a special place in her heart.

Just like how Nami had reached out to her when she was convinced that no one else would.

"Lulu, I understand what you are feeling right now." As if in response, the bond between her and Nami started to shake even more violently. It was a very major warning now that the danger was imminent. "I have my own loved one to see to. She's in danger now, Lulu. We both need to get inside the Institute quickly. Which is why I need your help."

"But how can I do anything?" Lulu asked helplessly. Her companion, Pix, started flying around the air in frantic circles as well.

"Is it possible to teleport past the barrier? Do you have such a spell?"

"Wait a moment..." Lulu closed her eyes as if in thought. When she opened her eyes, there was a small smile on her face.

"That's a good idea. But I've never tried teleporting more than one being. I can only try."

"Lulu, if it is too much to do -"

Kalista was interrupted as a beam of purple magic shot from the sorceress's staff. Her eyes were immune to this kind of light that would otherwise be blinding, and she could see Lulu in deep concentration. Again, she felt a deep gratitude and respect for the yordle before her. She was willing to help her, even if she had never been much in her life. Seemingly at the end of her channel, Lulu yelled a word unknown even to her ears, and both of them vanished in a beam of purple light.

It was like nothing she had ever felt.

Pain. Unbounded pain shot through her mind, as if she could feel the darkness's terrible grip on her mind. Every part of her body felt rooted as she tried to break free of the invisible chains that bound her mind to this new entity.

Slowly, her vision cleared, even if the pain did not. But still - nothing was around her. Nothing. Nothing but pure, yawning darkness all around her. But she could clearly see herself. Her body which didn't felt like her own at all. And neither did it look like her own; her whole body was a light, misty blue color, instead of their usual green and yellow and her pale skin.

"Greetings...Nami."

"Who?" She managed to croak out. Even her voice showed how weak she was. She could not produce much more sound other than this.

"Call me... Nocturne..."

Fear and terror shot through her body. And a bone-jarring realization hit her.

Nami was not in her own body. She was in her own mind, her soul taking its purest form. And her mind was nothing but corrupted darkness.

Darkness and the creature that was responsible for it.

"Fuck you..." Her hoarse voice still sounded pretty loud in this state, and seem to echo through the empty space all around them. Suddenly, two icy blue eyes appeared in the darkness. Eyes and a grinning face. Two sharp claws shaped like curved knives.

"Indeed you will wish to after you see more. Although I have no idea where did these strong impulses come from inside your mind. That only gives me more reason to continue my torture."

Before Nami could scream more insults at that creature, he disappeared. Disappearing and leaving an opening behind her, which gave her a glimpse of reality. Wait, no, it was not just a glimpse - that was her view, what she would be seeing if she was in her body. Would her thoughts sound through her mind now, when she was directly in it? She decided to try, since Nocturne was gone.

She thought of Kalista, the smile that had won her heart, her godlike voice when she was singing, her gentle touch which soothed her, and what had happened just a night before this. She wanted to cry, but she could shed no tears. She could feel pain - but it was all in her mind.

And that's when the darkness around her vanished in a flash of light.

Everything that happened last night was projected around her, replacing the darkness that threatened to consume her. It was the exact events, every single detail of it. Nami saw how clearly her expressions were - pure happiness, nothing like the fear that now lived in her mind, which was not even in her own control.

As her thoughts faded away, she redirected her focus to the reality view. She was staring at the ceiling of the Institute's medical wing, with Soraka standing beside her, yelling orders that she could not hear. Clearly, her friend was confused and horrified at her sudden blackout. Again, Nami felt that surge of anger at Nocturne for this.

It wasn't until then she realized she forgotten about the moonstone.

Another wave of shock shot through her soul. She had been carrying it all the way to the Institute. She must have been holding it with her staff as well, all the while she was talking to Soraka and moving to her room.

What had happened to it? How am I ever going to send it to my people?

The thoughts of the moonstone brought up images of how she went through the temple and retrieved the stone, the snapping mutated sharks, and how she and Kalista narrowly escaped from the cursed place. It was bringing back the pain again, the pain she felt tearing at her mind even if she wasn't in her body. When the flaring pain subsided a bit, all the blackness returned, leaving her with one window to focus on, which was the present moment.

Her eyes were staring out at Soraka, but she wasn't still. Her body was moving. Nami stared in horror as her body moved without her control. That could only mean Nocturne was -

"I know what you're thinking, and you're right, my little Marai." The rumbling, chilling voice sounded through the now black surroundings again. "I can control every part of you whenever I want and however I want. Now watch me," Nocturne laughed evilly before he controlled her body again.

And Nami could not do anything but watch helplessly, in terror, as the creature of nightmares made her body move.

The sounds of her patient shifting in her bed snapped Soraka to her attention. Nami was stirring. With a sigh of relief, she walked towards the Marai. "Oh, Nami. Thank the stars you are awake -"

She never got to finish the sentence. A loud crack sounded through the whole room as the Tidecaller's staff slammed on her head. It did not do any serious damage, luckily - but it was enough to disable the celestial being and give Nami a chance to knock her own crescent staff off her hand.

When Soraka recovered, she tried to look back up, but had to immediately swerve away to dodge another blow, missing only by one inch. "Nami?" She started uncertainly. "What are you -"

"Shut up!" A splash of water was thrown in her face, preventing her from talking any further. Soraka coughed and spluttered before getting a chance to look at her friend, which was not her friend at all.

She stared in horror. Nami's eyes were devoid of their usual golden-orange glow. Instead, a chilling, icy blue made her eyes look completely hollow. Her usual vibrant scales were dulled and edged with black. And the warm smile that she always wore on her face was replaced by a devilish looking grin. Worst of all, her staff, which was now held above her head, did not appear a usual light ocean blue. Instead, what looked like dark magic engulfed the swirling water magic coming from it, which was the same as the water she had thrown in Soraka's face.

"Nami, stop! I'm -" That only earned her another splash of water to her face. Worst of all, the air around her began to grow moist. The oxygen level around her was getting lower and lower, until she found herself gasping for air. A bubble was trapping her from the air around her, rendering her unable to speak or breathe.

"This would shut you up for one moment." She gave Soraka that evil look again. "You are all getting in my way. And my job now..." Her sentences were starting to fade away, her vision was growing blur. And she only heard the last of the sentence before everything went black.

"...is to make sure all of you do not."

A few of Soraka's nurse assistants came rushing into the room when the heard the terrible noise. It was like someone was hitting another one in the room and ended in an unceremonious crash. And they were right.

The patient - Nami, was hovering over an unconscious Soraka with her staff in hand. The nurses were shocked and attempted to call for help, but to no avail. Swirling water knocked them all aside, and soon all of them were lying unconscious too.

However, one lucky nurse had escaped from the commotion and raised the alarm. A large group of summoners that just arrived were crashed into the walls by another wave, but the damage luckily was blocked by a spell a summoner managed to cast. Nami had shoved all the nurses and staff away, facing them directly in a narrow corridor.

Now surrounded, Nami's icy blue eyes stared out at them, with no intention of surrendering. An evil smile was on her face, her staff held high, ready to unleash more of the destructive water magic it contained.

"Tidecaller, please surrender. Or else we will have no choice," the leading summoner said sternly, the magic glowing in his hands. Nami simply grinned back before answering in a voice that didn't sound like her at all.

"When I'm free, all of you shall feel...my wrath." The glowing magic on her staff intensified, and so did the blue magic in the summoners' hands.

Just before the two forces hit, a beam of purple light shot down on the space between them and two figures emerged from the light.

The spell was not as exhausting to cast as Lulu had expected it to be. She supposed that because Kalista was not putting much weight on the spell she was using, and thus making it easier to teleport. In a few moments, they were standing in one of the Institute's halls.

It was chaos. On one side, a group of summoners with half scared, half distressed expressions were in a pose signalling that they were ready to strike with their magic. On the other was Nami, but a more evil looking version of her. Lulu gasped in horror as she saw that her eyes were icy blue. Those eyes - it was not just the color. It was the sinister look that it gave the bearer. Only one creature possessed those eyes.

"Kalista..." Lulu looked towards her friend uncertainly. She had an unreadable look: it was one of fear and despair mixed with concern and care. She never remembered the specter had ever held that much emotion in her eyes. She was one of the most common lane partners for Lulu in the Rift. They had developed a friendly connection without actually realizing it. Now, she looked even more like a true friend Lulu could get, no matter what she was.

I have my own loved one too.

She had found her love, just like how Lulu had found Tristana.

She's in danger now.

Danger.

A danger named Nocturne.

Suddenly, it all became clear.

Kalista came here to save her loved one because she sensed the danger. And it was clear that the Marai meant a lot to her, judging by the expressions she now wore. Fear that she would lose her, despair of what had happened, concern for Nami's well being and care she would always show for her loved one.

The same unconditional love that she had for Tristana.

The summoners standing were recovering and turning their attention to Kalista. "Now's not the time. We have one problem here and we could not delay anymore time."

"Please, listen. I'm not here to cause more harm." The summoners were obviously scared of the specter, having heard of her stories so many times already. But they never knew there was such a pure soul within the being they were seeing. "I'm trying to save her."

"Oh, really?" The leading summoner spoke, showing the disbelief in his voice. "Why should we trust another being of the Shadow Isles, especially in such a situation?"

"Because it's Nocturne's work," she spoke again, more frantically this time. "It isn't her own action. Her mind is possessed."

"Nice story." To Lulu's horror, they were using another spell. It was undoubtedly used to separate her from Nami. And she had no way to escape it, being trapped in the situation she was now in. Even Nami was silent through this whole process.

But Lulu was not trapped or held in place. She was free to move at her own consent. And she could not let her friend stay there, helpless. She could assist her in saving Nami. She knew she could.

"It's true!" Lulu yelled as loudly as she could. All the attention was suddenly turned to the yordle. "She's not lying. I was with her the whole time. Nocturne was in here the whole time, impersonating one of the summoners. He is corrupting Nami's mind. Please, let Kalista save Nami. She knows what to do."

The leading summoner look dumbfounded. After a brief glance at his other fellow summoners, he nodded slightly, still unsure. Even as they stepped back, their cautious positions remained. At the same time, Kalista took the chance and approached Nami slowly. She gave Lulu a slight look of gratitude and she simply gave a small smile back.

Everyone watched as a being of the Shadow Isles moved towards the possessed Marai.

"Nami?" Kalista started as she moved towards her soulmate. "Are you alright?"

She did not respond. Instead, those icy blue eyes were now devoid of any emotion, seemingly reflecting her own eyes. Reflecting what she had been before they met.

"I'm Kalista. I'm here now, Nami. It's going to be alright." Not caring about her audience, she got closer. Her hand reached out and gently touched Nami's. The blue in her eyes flickered, revealing a few sparks of orange.

"Please, come back to me. I missed you, even if it was only a while you've been away. I..."

The orange in her eyes started to flash across rapidly, alternating between a shade of orange-gold and light blue.

"I love you."

A second of complete silence.

The blue suddenly engulfed all of the orange that had appeared in her eyes, and she found herself crashed into the wall as a wave surged from her staff. The one mortal she loved gave a furious battle roar before her staff started charging with magic. She was going to destroy the Institute. Kalista may be immune to the magic she was going to cast, but not the others still in the Institute. She couldn't let them die like this. Some had just saved her.

It was a beam of magic from the tiny sorceress that saved them.

Oh wait, sorry, did I not update the story for so long? Wait, and I left you another cliffhanger?

Yeah, I'm probably going to get hated for this. XD But now, you've seen very clearly that I ship Tristana x Lulu. And Lulu is on friendly terms with Kalista now, and she is probably going to save her more than twice. (maybe not, as this would be a spoiler) Will Kalista save her beloved Nami in the next chapter or is Lulu going to do it? What will happen when everyone has known of their relationship?

See you all next chapter and I hoped you enjoyed it!

~Frosty