Chapter 4 - Training: Extreme Edition
Lux turned in her sleep as thoughts of her recent battles clouded her mind. While she accepted what she was in, it didn't make it any easier. The scars from just three battles, combined with her training was starting to show both physically and mentally. On top of trying to keep up with everything else in her life, Lux did feel overwhelmed. Hopefully things would calm down enough for her to get a few days of peace.
"Kha'Zix what do you have planned for your next idea. Your last endeavor had success but I warned you about gathering energy from love. It was powerful, but it bit you in the end. Still the energy you gathered will allow you carry something more powerful with you this time. We need a large amount of energy so careful in your choice."
"Oh great prophet, I have found a great way of getting energy while perhaps going almost undetected. With the changing currents on Runeterra, the people spend a lot of energy on exercising and are willing to go to the extreme. I believe using the culture that has been built up around might allow us to drain smaller amounts of energy from people, but get a larger amount of people."
"Cunning. An actual good idea. Hide in plain sight. I approve. But be warned, the Guardian seems to have eyes in the back of her head. She also seems to follow the news on the planet, so you have to be careful."
"Understood great prophet. May I take my leave?"
"Go." Kha bowed and left the main chamber. In the corridor beyond, Cho'Gath was standing. The giant creature second only to Malzahar himself, looked at Kha'Zix with a sense of distain and respect.
"An actual plan this time. Good for you. Be warned however, your failures will reflect. Feeding the enemy isn't good. It only gives them confidence so even if they are outnumbered and outmaneuvered, they will still fight."
"You would make an eating reference oh giant one."
Cho swelled up. "Watch your mouth or I will feast on you next. Or feed you to Kog'Maw since he never stops eating. Perhaps both."
Kha took a step back, not enough to show he was afraid, but rather to show he meant no threat to Cho. Which was true, he wasn't as powerful, nor would he be able to outmaneuvered him. Kha just bowed his way away from the imposing figure of Cho and carefully made his way to where Khrai was waiting. Seeing the humanoid figure was always strange, but his ability to blend in would be invaluable. And while he didn't look it, he was actually quite powerful.
"Ready master. Shall we depart?"
"Patience Khari, we must find a good opening in the defenses of the planet."
"Shouldn't we do something about that?"
"We don't have the energy to even attempt it. Yet. Perhaps that will be a future project. But for now we just need to survive. We almost depleted our energy reserves to get here, only to find the portal destroyed and a city built up around it. We could attack elsewhere on the planet, but the energy is the strongest here and going elsewhere might attract even more attention that we have already. Careful with your ambitions."
"Yes master." Kha turned away from one of his most trusted and trained underlings and to the globe that was in the room they were standing outside of. Inside was a ball surrounded by currents of energy showing the layers of magic protecting the planet and the small holes that opened up from time to time. Kha studied the currents carefully because coming into contact with one could range from painful to deadly, and surely the Guardian would know. Eventually finding a pattern in the currents today, he and Khari slipped into the planet, but not unnoticed.
In his laboratory, Vel'Koz took note of Kha's return and noticed the energy he brought with him. "Only three under him that could produce that. I guess I had better let Lux know. In the morning" he added as he looked at the clock. One advantage he had is that he didn't need to sleep, but he knew that Lux did, especially with all of the training she had put herself through in the last few days. Her stamina and endurance were improving, but all things took time, and he, Dorcha, and Solas were having a hard time communicating that.
Lux for her part woke up the next morning feeling better than the night before, and also felt a sense that Kha'Zix was back. She turned on the news and saw nothing new on it so perhaps she might get a jump on their plan and stop them before they start this time. Lux grabbed the locket, and quickly changing into something casual, it was the weekend after all, and after feeling her legs, decided to just take it easier today and walk around.
Lux took a peek into Garen's room after a loud noise came out of it, only to find him still asleep. Snickering to herself, Lux went down the stairs and after checking in with her parents, decided to spend the day walking. Solas joined her as she left the front yard, while Dorcha decided to catch up on some sleep. Solas was always a hit since his white fur, while not uncommon for a poro, still brought more than a few questions. To herself, Lux thought that Solas loved the attention, but keeping from talking was a bit harder. More than once, Lux had to cover.
Either way, it was still nice to have someone while she just walked about and took in the city. While Lux had lived here her entire life, she still liked how the place changed rapidly and always seemed to be doing something new and innovative. Always on the cutting edge, new projects came up all the time and after walking downtown, she saw another in progress. Instead of watching its testing, which usually ended with a few laughs, she drifted into what was called Central Park, even though it wasn't near the city center.
The park was a great green space in the sea of skyscrapers that had sprung up over the course of the last 30 years. The park persisted mainly due to actions by the youth, and now most of the city was against its redevelopment, especially once people noticed that the price of rent and other things nearby went up as a result of the park. Lux laughed as nature once again took over. In the park she was looking for one thing in particular. A large sentient tree was once again making his rounds around the place. Maoaki was a gentle spirit that cared for the park as the aftermath of the old magic wars took hold and gave him sentience. He resented it to some degree, but game to embrace life as he could do much for what was left of the green spaces around the city.
Lux kept moving on however as she worked through the park until she arrived at the place she intended. A small oasis in the east section where a few benches sat in the middle of a grove. Lux took a seat on the benches and seeing no one else was around, stretched out and just sat back. Solas jumped down and made himself comfortable on the bench as well before going to sleep. Lux lost herself in time and it was only a gentle voice that brought her back to reality.
"A piece for your thoughts madam?" Lux turned and saw Maoaki standing there. She turned to face him.
"Just enjoying the peace and quiet for once. Been a busy few weeks hasn't it?"
"Indeed miss. I've seen more and more people here lately. I wish they would stay on the paths but oh well. One can't have everything. I'm sure the peace and quiet is what people need today. I will leave you then to enjoy it. Perhaps today will be a peaceful one, but I have a feeling that will not be the case."
"I hope so too." Lux said as Maoaki walked away but she knew that he was probably right. She could now feel the void energy so she decided to try and hunt it down. "Let go Solas." She said poking the sleeping poro awake. Solas yawned then jumped back onto Lux's shoulder. Lux set out from the park and tried to sense the energy, but it was a small current in the thick of the city so eventually it was pointless.
"Lux I hate to interrupt, but that's the third time your phone has buzzed." Solas quietly whispered into her ear. Lux reached into the small bag she was carrying and pulled it out. Seeing several missed text messages from Amy, Dorcha, and her mother, she carefully responded to each. She told her mother she was on a walk. Dorcha just asked if she was planning on training today. Lux responded with 'just a walk today'. Amy's however got her attention. Apparently one of those gym brands was hosting a free weekend and Amy wanted to know if Lux would join her and some of the girls from class in trying it out.
Lux was curious since normally even those large chains only did things at one location, but the entire brand was doing it. 'Might as well. I'll meet you all at the location closest to school. I need to get a change of outfit from home.' Lux quickly walked back home and after telling her parents what she was doing, grabbed an outfit from her room and dropping Solas of, who quickly went to sleep, she was leaving when Dorcha decided it was her turn to accompany Lux.
"What? I can be spontaneous too." She said as Lux just looked at her with the "really?" look. Lux just shook her head as she left and headed to the gym. Arriving she saw Amy and about 4 other girls from class
"Ready. I'm sure it can't be that bad. Right?" Lux just rolled her eyes at Amy as she pushed her friend into the building. Immediately Lux was overwhelmed with the amount of things there. Immediately a recruiter approached them.
"Welcome girls. I hope you will enjoy yourselves during this free weekend. Any of the equipment is open to you and if you have any questions, just let a staff member know." They all nodded as he turned to the next group walking in the door.
"They must be a bit desperate if they are doing something like this. I mean I know what the price is for a membership here and it isn't cheap." Ariel piped up. Her parents owned a smaller gym but they still survived.
"Maybe they just want to show off." Max said. She was from a military family and while still somewhat new to Grove, she fit in well with the crazy cast they called a class. Both turned to each other and were about to say something when Lux stepped between them and a quick look just said "Cut it out". They both went back to what they were doing.
After changing in the locker room, the group split up a bit to go upstairs on the machines. Lux, still hurting a bit went to an elliptical, while the others went to stationary bikes. After just a few minutes, Lux seemed to notice that people either were working harder than she thought, or people were just really out of shape as no one seemed to stay on their machines very long. Lux even noticed herself slowing down a bit but turning to her friends, they seemed quite exhausted, and then she looked at the time, and it didn't seem right. Barely 30 minutes had passed since they started, and even Lux knew that they weren't that out of shape. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Regardless, they all were quickly tired out and quickly decided to leave. On the way out they were again approached by a recruiter. "I hope you enjoyed your stay girls and perhaps you will come back tomorrow. Then maybe a membership?"
"Maybe, but we are beat. Thanks though." The recruiter bowed and hurried off to the next one. Lux and her friends parted ways and after somehow managing to get home, she collapsed onto her bed.
"So you worked for half an hour and are exhausted huh?"
Lux just glared at Dorcha. "Yes, but I can't explain why. That workout was easy but I feel so drained." Dorcha's face went from sarcastic to concerned. She hopped over to Lux and sat on her lap. Her face went from concern to fear.
"Lux. I think that the void is responsible. Did anything seem off while you were there? And I do mean anything at all."
Lux racked her brain, which was already exhausted, but then things started clicking. After putting the pieces together, she sat back in her desk chair, deliberately making herself uncomfortable to stay awake. "Yes. When I looked around, it seemed that people weren't using the machines much. Or getting off quickly. Even those in other areas seemed to get tired faster. Something did seem off, but I just dismissed it."
"Perhaps the void is only draining a small amount of energy from people. Get enough, like how this free weekend is, and you will make up for it. Take enough so that people don't get suspicious, and from a place where people are expected to come out a bit exhausted. Clever really. Seems that someone is stepping up their game."
Lux could only nod because she was just too tired to even think about doing anything today. She could barely stay awake. "We'll do something about it tomorrow. Going back today could cause more issues."
"Like what?" Dorcha said, rather angrily.
"Like they might be able to get a good shot at me since I'm just too tired to actually fight. Second, they might be able to figure out who I am despite all of the magic surrounding me."
Dorcha opened her mouth to reply, but thought about it and closed it again. She knew Lux was right and while she knew that at some point she might have to fight tired, being tired because of lack of sleep and being tired because of having your energy drained were two completely separate things. Dorcha decided to let it go. "Ok but we do need to do something about it tomorrow."
"Agreed." Dorcha turned to say something more but Lux had just fallen asleep after that last comment. Solas turned Lux's chair so it faced the desk so that when her mother did come in, she would think that she was doing work and just passed out. Which is exactly what happened about an hour later. Lux was jarred out of her sleep by her mother telling her dinner is almost ready. She just nodded and grabbed a pen and went back to "work".
"Hopefully we can avoid whatever that energy draining ability is tomorrow but I guess today the void wins."
"We will lose battles here and there, don't get discouraged. Eventually we'd stumble into one of their traps unwittingly. The fact they are doing what they are doing says they are still being cautious. Meaning their energy reserves are low. Which also means that bringing something like this to Runeterra says they need energy badly. Hopefully we can stop them from making a net gain."
"Hopefully. I'm not going back tomorrow. Say I'm too tired from yesterday and just plan to stay home and do homework." Both Dorcha and Solas nodded. "But I'd better get downstairs before I get yelled at." Lux quickly went downstairs where they were still waiting on her father to get home. After about 5 minutes he walked in the door and the first thing he did was sit down and put his head in his hands.
"Something wrong dad?" Garen asked.
"Yeah. That free weekend is causing headaches. Apparently people are reporting they come out of it more tired than usual and after a quick investigation, the media go a hold of it and now they are running with it. This day just keeps getting better and better. We can't shut them down but there is enough to pursue an investigation. Hopefully whatever it is will just stop. And I personally hope it's the people are stupid argument."
"Ok that's enough. So here's dinner." Everyone quickly dug in, especially Lux who was eager to replenish her lost energy. The talk around the table quickly turned into what everyone was planning to do tomorrow. Garen was planning to hang out with the other members of the team; Lux's mother was planning to go shopping and then spend some time with her friends; as for Lux's father, he was planning to sleep the day away on his day off.
After dinner, Lux made her way back up to her room and carefully closed the door. Making sure to put a looping playlist on her computer. She took the pen that Vel had given her just a few weeks ago and drew an outline on her closet door. Then opening the door, she found herself in the tower. Quickly making her way upstairs to the second floor she grabbed the locked off her hip.
"Star Guardian Power Up." She immediately went into full training mode and it lasted almost 2 1/2 hours before she finally gave up. Powering down, she liked what she did during the marathon and it still left her less drained than the "workout" at the gym. Coming down, she saw Dorcha and Solas sitting there waiting to return.
"We've been popping back and forth to your room to make sure you parents didn't look in but they seemed to just keep walking past."
"Yeah they will do that if I have music playing. They just assume I'm working or fell asleep. Ready to go back or did Vel want to see me?"
"All he said was to be careful tomorrow and that the void is probably getting less energy than we think out of this scenario. He probably made the energy back that he spent getting here, but tomorrow is probably the prophet day. So we shut this down early enough, we can hopefully prevent them from getting away with much. But let's get back."
Lux nodded and after clicking the pen, she was teleported back to her room with hopefully none the wiser. Lux sat back down at her desk, but quickly made the determination that she couldn't do more work, and changing into her pajamas, went to bed. Lux slept more soundly than she had in a few days, probably because of the workout she had gotten.
As expect the following morning saw a text from Amy asking if she wanted to go back, but Lux declined saying she was tired and needed to do homework. Amy sent back that she was overworking on the homework, but Lux just said to have a good time. Meanwhile she grabbed the Masking Bracelet as she went downstairs. Careful to kep it in her pocket rather than put it on her wrist, she told her parent that she was going to just take another walk around for the day.
"Take care dear and don't go back to that gym today. It seems their problems are only getting worse."
"I won't mom. Just relax. I'd be more worried about Garen going. He is always looking to get something for free." Lux quickly sprinted out of the house before Garen could reply. Lux knew she would pay for that later, but decided it was worth it. Walking towards the school, she caught a glimpse of Amy. Ducking behind a building, Lux carefully watched her move to the gym again with only Ariel from yesterday. The evidence of void involvement was obvious, but she needed to see what was actually going on so Lux grabbed the Masking Bracelet out of her bag and put it on her wrist.
"Masking power, transform me into a fitness instructor." Lux found herself looking like everyone else who worked at the gym and quickly made her entrance. No one, even the staff who worked there seemed to pay her any mind for one reason or another. Finding her way to the staff areas, Lux made her way around to look for anything suspicious. There was nothing obvious, but there was still a sense of something wrong. She noticed a restricted door, which was odd in a staff only area. She opened the door and inside was a room with a pedestal in the middle, with a ball on top, that was glowing.
Lux was just about to investigate when the door handle turned. Ducking quickly out of sight, she saw a staff member enter, touch their hand to the ball, then leave. Lux was about to leave herself when the door opened again. Kha'Zix entered alone. He turned to the ball and laughed.
"Good. This will work then. Now just to get a bit more. Then retrieve the others." He quickly walked back out again, and after taking a minute to ensure he wasn't coming back, Lux stepped out and after making her way out of the room, knew she needed to track down the voidling that Kha'Zix brought with him. Lux carefully made her way around the staff areas and saw that people were indeed more like zombies back here. She made her way back out to the floor, and again came across the people there and seeing Amy and Ariel getting tired, Lux was tempted to go over and see them, but thought better of it.
Amy and Ariel left just a few minutes later, and Lux noticed a staff member carefully putting away what they used, free weights, but she noticed that the staff member instead was touching every weight even ones they didn't use. Lux the noticed a device in her hand. It seemed to be a smaller version of the ball she witnessed earlier. Then a man approached her, and after tapping her on the shoulder, she went off into a staff area. Lux knew that this was the voidling she was searching for, but given the fact it was still early, she didn't want to try and force a fight now.
Lux made her way out of the gym and transformed back into her normal clothes and made her way home. Knowing she'd be back later for a fight made her eat carefully during dinner. During dinner Garen went on about his day just hanging out, while their parents just rolled their eyes at their son. Lux was keeping quiet and carefully managed her food to ensure that she ate, but not too much where it would cause a problem later. After dinner, she made her way upstairs and after putting music on her desktop, sunk out the window and returned to the gym carefully keeping away from the main streets.
Once she arrived she found it closed with a sign over the door saying they were cleaning from the free weekend. Lux made her way behind and inside a small grove of trees, and grabbed the locket. "Star Guardian Power Up." Lux set her feet back down on the grass and carefully made her way up to the roof where she found an easy access point.
Making her way through the gym at night was a bit harder as the lighting was dim, but she remembered the way to the pedestal room. Standing outside, she was about to open the door when she heard a groan from a room across the hall. Taking a quick peek she saw the staff passed out and it seems that their energy had been drained as well. "Someone's going to pay." Lux made her way across the hall again and kicked in the door.
A very surprised Kha'Zix turned to face her while his minion stood to the side, clearly not knowing what to do. "Well it seems my plan has been discovered again. But this time, you won't be able to stop everything my dear guardian."
"Really, I'd like to bet on that." Lux threw a singularity at them both, and while they dodged, it managed to destroy an orb. Kha'Zix flew into a rage and tried to attack but only hit the wall with his spikes as Lux dodged the attack and threw a binding, missing everything but close enough to cause Kha and Khari to dodge out of the way and out into a main room through a door. Lux followed, forgetting about the orbs in the middle of the room.
Once in the main room, she quickly had to use a barrier to stop another series of spikes that flew her way. Lux rolled and landed on her feet this time, only to have the voidling throw a series of kicks in her direction. Lux dodged most of them, but took one in the side that sent her flying into the opposite wall. Quickly jumping back to her feet, she threw a singularity out at the door which Kha'Zix attempted to get back through, and dodged out of the way again. Another binding flew from her baton as she targeted the minion and while the binding missed the minion jumped out of the way, only to be hit from an energy blast.
Turning on her heel, Lux saw Debonair standing in the doorway. "Need a hand?" Lux just nodded and went after the minion while Debonair jumped after Kha'Zix.
"Pitiful. You always seem to need help. Can't handle yourself against the great Khari?"
"Nope, just evening the numbers." And Lux threw another binding, this one landing. She threw a few blots from her baton while Khari roared in anger. Lux threw another singularity as Kha'Zix, and while he did dodge, he ended with a bolt of energy from Debonair's hammer pulse thing for his troubles. Kha'Zix was knocked back into a wall and falling down, he struggled to get up. Debonair transformed the pulse weapon into a hammer and ran at Khari, who had managed to knock Lux onto her back. Just as he was about to strike, Debonair slammed him with the hammer and into another wall.
"You really need to learn to land better."
"Perhaps, but now let's finish this." Lux quickly turned to Kha'Zix and he was still getting to his feet, so she threw a binding at Kha while throwing a singularity at Khari. Both hit and Lux threw a few more bolts at Khari while Debonair sent a few pulses. Khari jumped to the second floor where he was quickly followed and then into room with little light. Lux and Debonair looked around desperately trying to identify where Khari had run off to.
"It seems the tables are turned. Now I am the hunter and you are the prey. Now how best to eliminate you both." Both Lux and Debonair looked around before Khari dove at them both with several precise kicks and punches. A punch caught Lux in the arm while a nicely placed kick sent Debonair to his knees, and he quickly jumped back into the darkness. "Oh did I hurt you two. Maybe you should come and find me."
"With pleasure." Lux made to walk away, but Debonair grabbed her arm.
"That's what he wants. Just relax Guardian. If we stay together we should be fine."
"Back to back then?"
Debonair looked puzzled, or as puzzled as he could behind the mask, but nodded. Both took a stance back to back and kept an eye out for Khari. "Oh decided on the classic stance. This will be easy." A series of air movements kept Lux from using her eyes. Rather she relied on her ears. Debonair was still in melee mode with his weapon at the ready. He seemed to be listening but more relying on his eyes. Lux listened carefully, and when she heard a large movement, she quickly used her eyes to confirm it. Lux then put her foot into Debonair's back, pushing him away and herself into the floor. She tumbled and threw a binding where she just was, and hit Khari. Throwing a bolt, she did damage as Debonair went in for a strike. It instead hit the floor before Khair disappeared again.
Lux and Debonair again stood back to back where Lux again used her ears to listen to where Khari was. Khari was using his agility to his advantage, but Lux knew that he would probably fake this time and force them apart. When she again heard the sound she was looking for she instead threw a barrier. "Ah someone is learning. Nice play Guardian." Lux just grabbed her baton and again closed her eyes, listening carefully. After a few seconds of silence, Lux knew he was waiting for one of them to make a move and that he would do something to throw them off. She just wished she could communicate that to Debonair.
Knowing she didn't have a way, Lux just had to trust her instincts. She carefully balanced her right foot on her toe and listened again. Debonair was just twisting his head looking for where Khari was hiding. It was then that Khari decided to act. He threw something into a corner, which caused Debonair to turn, and Lux to push off on her heel, turn, and push Debonair away. Khari again jumped at them both, but because of what Lux had done, he missed again and fell to the ground. Debonair didn't miss this time with his hammer. It hit hard and threw Khari into a wall. Lux drew her baton and threw a binding to make sure he stayed here.
Lux then drew her hand along her baton and focused her energy. Jumping into the air, she threw her power into her beam. "Final Spark." Khari barely had time to register what was going on before Lux hit him with her beam. He screamed before turning to dust. "Dusted. Now for the other one." Lux sprinted out of the room and back to the room where the pedestal was. Seeing Kha'Zix there with a void portal open, throwing orbs into it.
"Well I guess he wasn't successful, but successful enough. To allow me to get away."
"Not this time you giant bug." Lux threw a binding, which caused Kha'Zix to leap into the air dropping an orb in the process. Debonair went and shattered the two remaining before dodging as Kha'Zix returned to the ground and threw a few spikes for good measure. Lux threw her barrier to shield him as he moved, and then threw a singularity at Kha'Zix. Catching the bug out in the open, it detonated and she threw a few more bolts at him for good measure. Kha then took to his wings again and flew up to the second level before opening another void portal.
"You may have eliminated my minion Guardian, but I got away with what I wanted. You may have cost me four orbs, but I got away with much more than that. Enjoy your victory." Kha jumped through the portal laughing as he did. Lux threw a singularity but detonated it after the portal closed before it got there.
"He tricked us."
"Yes he did. But what he got away with is more concerning. He knew what he was doing. He hoped that minion he brought would finish us, me specifically, but he got away with the energy he had been storing. I didn't get a count of how many orbs were in there, but you destroyed two, and I know I got one, but apparently got another, that was only four out of probably at least a dozen."
"More probably. This gym has 28 locations around the city. So that's 24." They both turned to each other scared at the thought. "I think our next fight will be much harder."
"I hope not, but it seems like that. We'd better get out of here before the cops come."
"Yeah. Good luck." Debonair left quickly through the door he entered while Lux left via the roof as Debonair got out just before the police arrived. Lux decided to watch as they walked around and after seeing that her father wasn't there, decided that on his day off, Caitlyn didn't want to bother him. Especially considering that she was there herself. Lux stood for a while on the roof watching the police perform their duties and examining the remainder of the orbs. She knew they were nothing special, just bits of glass now, but she still waited and watched.
"Guardian, you might want to think about returning home before your parents find out." Dorcha's voice snapped Lux out of her trance. Turning to the poro who had joined her, she just smiled and nodded. Jumping down from the roof and proceeding a little way outside the general area, she powered down and began walking home. By the time she got back to her house, most of the lights were still on and sneaking a peek, she saw her parents and Garen in the living room around the TV. Her father had already put on his uniform and was clearly ready to leave, but the fact his police belt was on the couch told Lux that he had been told to report in the morning.
For her part, Lux carefully scaled the tree that was outside her window as she had done numerous times, and made her way into her room. Solas was there watching, and turning to see Lux and Dorcha, smiled. "It went well then."
"Not really. Kha'Zix managed to get away with about 24 orbs filled with energy. Debonair and i managed to destroy 4 but he still got away with a lot." Solas and Dorcha held their heads. "We need to speak to Vel about this. But you might want to check in with your parents before you disappear to the tower." Lux nodded and after switching her music off, headed downstairs.
"Decided to come out of hibernation?"
Lux just stuck her tongue at Garen and turned to her parents. "What's going on?"
"Another attack. At that gym this time. Glad you didn't go. I've been told to come in the morning. But you should go back upstairs and get some sleep. You too." Her father added as he turned to Garen. Garen for his part started to protest, but quickly realized it was futile. He followed his sister upstairs and after closing their doors. Lux switched her lights off and made the noise of getting into bed. Lux waited until her parents came up, then grabbing the pen from her nightstand, she quickly drew an outline along her closet door and emerged into the Guardian Tower. Vel was already there.
"I figured you would show up. What size were the orbs that he was using?" Vel pointed to several different sizes along the counter. Lux carefully looked at them all and then pointed at the middle one. "Well that is good and bad, how many did he get away with?"
"24 I think. Debonair said that the gym has 28 locations and while I didn't get an accurate count, he admitted to 4 being destroyed in the battle. I can confirm 3, but no more."
"That still isn't as bad as it could have been. He got away with a lot, but he also likely burned a lot of energy getting here. Or he did what I think he did. He will use that energy to destabilize the summoner magics around the planet. That means monsters who are more powerful and more aggressive. I can't be sure it depends on how desperate they are. Judging by this, they aren't that desperate yet. It is still an energy harvest so it is unlikely they will attack the magics, especially since they will be quickly reinforced. This isn't good either way you put it though."
"Tell me what I need to do. I'm at a loss."
Vel turned to the clearly anxious teen. "Just wait and see what happens. Hopefully we will see what happens in the next few days. If nothing happens, then they are planning a much larger harvest. If we see an aurora, then they are attacking the magics. Either way, they won't make their move for a few days. So get some sleep while you still can."
"Is it possible they may try to unleash multiple voidlings at the same time? Or do two of things you said?"
"Possible, but unlikely. Unless they have drastically improved their energy storage methods, they have enough to do one thing, not both. And by improve, I mean over 200%. Efficiency. Unlikely but possible nonetheless. Anyway Lux, please go home. You have school tomorrow and you need to get some sleep." Lux just nodded and headed back to the door. Clicking the pen, she found herself back in her room where she quickly flopped on the bed and went to sleep.
On the moon, Malzahar looked at the 22 energy orbs in front of him and smiled. "Well done Kha'Zix. It is a shame that you couldn't get orbs in the last two locations but this will help us greatly. It is a shame about your lieutenant, but his sacrifice will be honored. You have done a great service. Now we need to decide what to do with it."
"If I may prophet. I suggest holding off against an attack against the summoner magics. It would be an obvious attack and would bring more attention. I would use the energy to get a more powerful monster to get more energy and attack something that will get energy in a big fashon."
"Cho'Gath" Malzahar said as he turned to the giant creature. "That would attract unwanted attention. But we do need a large energy infusion soon, so we don't have much of a choice. Take 12 of these to the vault and convert it while we use the rest to send Kha'Zix back with a very powerful minion. Perhaps this time I will pick. Go and wait for my orders. We must wait a few days for a shift in the magics to get you back with something powerful."
The chorus of voidlings left the chamber as voidspawn came to move the orbs. Malzahar stopped the last one however and approached it. "Give that back. I need it for something." The voidspawn rose on its legs and presented the orb. Malzahar grabbed it and the voidspawn ran out of the room. "Now let's see where you are hiding."
Malzahar broke open the energy orb and consumed the energy. Peering through the veil, he searched for Vel'Koz, who still managed to hide from his sight.
On Runeterra, Vel could sense the watchful eye of Malzahar gazing across the planet. Quickly descending into his lab, and joined by Nasus, they both channeled their energy and once they felt the eye leave for a final time, relaxed.
"He knows I'm still here, and he wonders why I'm still hiding. We must prepare for the day where this building comes under attack from his spawn."
"Sir the defenses are ready but I think we are being premature. I sense a shift in the sands but I cannot tell if it is good or bad. I suggest waiting to see what will happen sir."
"Perhaps you are right Nasus. Maybe whatever I'm feeling is just Malzahar expending precious energy, but it was strong. Maybe he consumed an entire orb. And if he did, that might just give us a fighting chance. His next monster will not arrive for several days until the magics shift patterns again. Hopefully Lux will be able to get some sleep and rest before this battle. I think it will be her toughest yet."
Vel turned and headed out of his lab, Nasus followed only after checking that the room was truly clear. He felt a presence, but he dismissed it. He knew it wasn't void, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. It also wasn't inside, but he was still cautious never the less.
Outside the library, a figure wearing a full cloak with hood stood in the shadows. Watching and waiting. Once the final lights were turned off in the Library, the figured moved, and seemed to float away.