With her last defeat, Rek'Sai clearly miscalculated. Will she take a more cautious, or more direct approach this time?
Chapter 13 - Double Trouble
Rek'Sai paced around and around her nest. Twice she had attacked, and twice it has been defeated. While she had managed to gather energy, it was just barely enough to keep Malzahar satisfied. Her method was effective, but it also came with risks. Her sample size was small, but the amount of energy she drew was massive. It would only be a matter of time before it worked effectively, but if she kept running into those Guardians, then it was all for nothing.
"Still pacing burrower?" Rek'Sai stopped and turned to see Kha'Zix standing there.
"Recovered I see?" She replied with a tone of loathing.
"Yes. However, I have been placed on another task. My advice to you Rek'Sai is to never underestimate those Guardians. Even when it was just the one, it was enough. You have underestimated them twice. Don't do so a third time." And with that, he ripped open a void portal and vanished back to the moon.
Rek'Sai threw a rock at where Kha'Zix had been but as she was about to throw something bigger when she thought about it. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had underestimated the Guardians twice, and wouldn't do so a third time. Rek'Sai thought for a while before she came up with a new plan. This time, it would be the Guardians running for their lives, getting smacked into buildings, and throw across parking lots. Rek'Sai laughed for a while at the plan before settling down and getting some sleep for the night. She would have to do some hunting.
Spending hours at school sometimes was nothing short of torture. Lux was beginning to understand why time and time again people just started not caring. With being a Star Guardian, her sleep schedule was so chaotic that she sometimes couldn't sleep at night because of a dream or nightmare that spawned from one of their fights. While she had been extremely careful to not let it show up in her grades, with her most recent test, it did. She was going to struggle to find a way to explain a D to her parents, but then she might be able to get away with it since it was just a random occurrence. Hopefully.
Janna on the other hand, was just struggling with the sleeping. Her classes were balanced enough to allow her to keep up with homework, but at the same time her sleep was suffering to the point where she was nodding off in class. It wasn't an easy thing to explain but if they could just have a weekend without an attack, it would help. Janna thought that and immediately regretted it since there would probably be one this weekend then. Putting her head down on her desk, she knew this would be a long weekend, one way or the other.
Poppy meanwhile was having an easy time. Being still relatively new, she was able to find a balance between the two but even she could feel the chaos starting to slip in. Poppy knew that Lux and Janna had it worse, especially Lux, but she also knew that one weekend without a major attack would be good for everyone, especially with the light homework load that everyone was getting lately. At least the attacks had done one thing, give people a break as many were having trouble sleeping.
As everyone went home for what they hoped would be a relaxing weekend, Lux walked home with Amy.
"I don't know how I'm going to explain this." Lux sighed as she looked at the test again.
"Oh come on girl. How often do you get grades like this? It's not like you aren't stressed out. Perhaps being near all of those attacks isn't sitting with you well." Amy pointed out, trying to comfort her friend.
"You can say that again. Maybe my parents will be generous. But either way, I don't want to…huh?" Lux pulled out her phone and saw it was her mother. "Here we go."
"I'll be right here." Amy said as Lux answered.
"Hello mom."
"Lux I just got a very interesting message from Ms. Teller. You got a D?"
"Yes…" Lux braced herself for the inevitable fallout.
"Honey are you having problems sleeping? Or anything else?"
'Well let's see, I've been involved in every attack. I'm fighting crazy monsters who only want to destroy us. I work with others my age to stop all of this.' Lux thought to herself but saying that was a bad idea.
"I guess I'm having some issues sleeping and concentrating." Lux eventually said.
"Honey if you are having problems let us know. Do you need to talk to someone?"
"Mom no! I just need a weekend of relaxing."
"Ok then. I'll be here if you need to talk." And with that, Lux's mother hung up.
"Well that didn't go as expected." Lux said as she put her phone away. "She's more concerned than angry."
"Told you it would be ok. Now how about a trip to the mall. We haven't been there together lately." Amy said with confidence.
"Let's go."Lux smiled at perhaps one weekend where she would be able to enjoy herself. And spending an afternoon at the mall was a great way to start it.
Janna likewise headed for the mall to start her weekend. When she got there, Janna saw Lux and Amy, and decided to not interfere with their day. Janna just decided to enjoy the time she could. Another battle was inevitable but for now, peace and the ability to not overthink or think in general was rewarding. Janna just threw her head back and decided to just let her feet lead her.
Poppy decided to spend some time at the tower just practicing and getting ready for the next fight. It wasn't until she noticed that both Lux and Janna weren't going to be there did she realize that they could probably use some time. She reminded herself that they were doing this a lot longer than she was, and it seemed like the pressure was starting to get to them. As Poppy transformed and began moving around to perfect her hitting style.
"Working out?" Came a voice. Poppy used her momentum to turn and see Vel'Koz hovering there.
"Yeah. I think Lux and Janna need a weekend off where they don't have to worry about anything. It seems like the pressure is getting to them." Poppy said, leaning on her hammer.
"I would agree. I wish we could get a weekend off as well but Malzahar won't give up." Vel'Koz said.
"Yeah what's his deal. He's clearly not like the rest of them?" Poppy asked.
"Lux and Janna know but I should tell you as well. Malzahar was a powerful mage here on Runeterra. The void identified two powerful mages here one of them was Malzahar, the other was called Kassadin. The void tempted them with power and knowledge respectively. We haven't seen Kassadin since that day so that means the void utterly consumed him, or he has been resisting it all this time. Malzahar on the other hand was corrupted by it and into the form you saw a few weeks ago. He seems to have used his power to rise to leader somehow.
"Anyway, together they built a portal, expecting to be rewarded, but they were both pulled inside, and for the second time, the void swept across Runeterra. They almost destroyed the planet. The Guardians managed to stop them but it cost them everything." Vel'Koz finished his story and looked up.
"Wait wasn't that Janna's team?" Poppy interrupted.
"Yes. But I don't talk about it, and neither does she. Lux, Nasus, and myself know she's keeping some kind of secret but we aren't going to pry for now. It still haunts her. And the fact she isn't a day older when she reentered this whole mess is also curious. We will just have to be patient." Vel'Koz said, respecting Janna's privacy.
"Something I'm not good at. Well that is an interesting story. Hopefully we can figure out what happened to Kassadin." Poppy said.
"Indeed. He was a good friend. I hope…" Vel'Koz suddenly paused as his watch beeped. "Excuse me Poppy. I need to take this."
"Of course." Poppy went back to training while Vel'Koz, if he had legs, almost ran to his office. Once inside he turned on the computer, then his email, and clicked the link he was waiting for.
"How are you two. Everything ok?" Vel'Koz asked.
"Oh fine. Ez just decided to try something stupid and got himself in a bit of a situation." Renekton taunted.
"And you refused to cut the tree down." Ezreal responded with a note of annoyance in his voice.
"It may have involved a tree. The point is we did get a solid lead." Renekton responded, ignoring his partner.
"Next time YOU are climbing the tree." Ezreal shot back.
"But you are so good at it." Renekton was trying to keep from laughing.
"You are so annoying. You know that right." Ezreal said. It wasn't a question but a statement that got Renekton to roll his eyes.
"My brother tells me all the time." Renekton was now barely containing his laughter.
"Ok you two enough. Good to know you are the track. Do you need anything from this end?" Vel'Koz asked.
"Yes actually. You know that book on legends on Mount Targon, we need it." Ezreal said
"Which one? The general one or the bound one?" Vel'Koz asked.
"The bound one. It has translations we need." Ezreal said.
"It's on its way. Just watch out. They don't take kindly to strangers." Vel'Koz warned.
"Oh Pantheon is here and has guaranteed us safe passage for the moment. Hopefully they will respect that." Ezreal responded.
"Don't count on it. I don't trust them." Renekton replied.
"Just keep each other safe please. Good luck." Vel'Koz said as he ended the call. He floated out of his office and into a private section of the library where extremely rare, valuable, or dangerous articles were kept. Finding the book he wanted, he quickly called Nasus. "Be sure this gets to Ezreal and your Brother."
"I'll see to it." Nasus carefully took the thick leather bound book out and headed to a trusted messenger. Once he left, Vel'Koz checked in on Poppy one more time before heading on his usual rounds of the Library. He then proceeded into the Museum where he paused in the now extremely popular Star Guardian exhibit. He noticed the expansion for Lux, Janna (again), and Poppy was going well. There was also a note for Debonair who kept showing up. Vel'Koz kept an eye out for a second longer and noted that the blue haired girl was back again. Making a note to keep an eye on her he floated back to the Library where he just decided to float around until close.
For Lux and Janna, who actually did just run into each other despite Janna's efforts to avoid Lux so she could enjoy her time with Amy, the day went better than expected. Seeing Janna alone caused Amy to ask her to join them and the three just spent the day, and their allowance, all over the place. Once they both got home, they put away their purchases, which most of them were things that could have done without, but they were clearly compensating for the stress they were under.
The stress was showing to their parents, Vel'Koz, and Nasus, but unfortunately the void didn't rest and kept the pressure up. Hopefully Rek'Sai would give them some time, but that was unlikely. Still Vel'Koz didn't sense a presence meaning Rek'Sai hadn't found a target or targets yet. Maybe they would get a good night of sleep.
Finally done putting stuff away, and eating dinner, Lux turned to her computer, and after grabbing her headset, decided to spend the time playing games since she not only needed to destress, but as she sat down, a wave of tiredness overtook her and she went to bed instead, hopefully looking to catch up on sleep.
Janna also went through a similar process and also quickly feel asleep after eating dinner with her parents. The only one who stayed up was Poppy but even then not by much. Her training earlier made her tired and while she also fell asleep earlier than she normally would, it was still at least closer to a normal time.
During the night Rek'Sai hunted and searched for her targets. She was determined to find the targets she needed, but finding two individuals with the right energy level was going to be hard, but she nevertheless persisted. After searching the city, she had a few potential targets, but with dawn rapidly approaching, she needed to retreat and search again in the morning. 'Looks like you get a free day guardians, don't waste it.'
Lux, Janna, and Poppy all woke up the following day around midday feeling better, mainly because all of them slept more than 12 hours. It wasn't enough to completely eliminate their sleep debts, but it was enough to give them renewed energy going into the day. Without even speaking to each other, they all hopped on the same game, to waste the day away, destress, and relax. With only the occasional interruption from their families.
Eventually they all were dropped into a game together, and they all jumped into a chat room with their other 4 teammates. Two of them were well known streamers who lived in the city and were brother and sister.
"Ok everyone here? Good. Now pick your best and we will have to play around it." As the 7 of them carefully chose their characters, their team balanced out. The laning phase would be difficult for some, but overall they had a good team.
"Ok everyone, we are streaming as normal, so we are excluding your voices. Hopefully we can pull off a win."
"Let's do it." Lux let slip, but that got everyone laughing. The game went on for an hour before they managed to break open their opponent's base and destroy their nexus. That was the start of a series of matches that evening that lead to them winning 8 in a row. Before they all looked at their clocks. They all added friends, and except for the two streamers, they all signed off. Lux pulled up their stream to watch while she fell asleep but couldn't hope watching for longer than that as she wondered why these two weren't pros. The answer rushed to her head as she remembered they were still too young to compete officially. Lux finally fell asleep after they logged off and she closed her tablet.
That night, Rek'Sai scouted out the targets she carefully selected the previous day and after going through the list, she found two that were going to be successful. Moving carefully into position, Rek'Sai also realized something about her plan, it wouldn't see fruition today. Getting angry at herself, she knew that an attack on a school, where these two would be the following day, would attract a lot of attention very quickly. Still it was either that, or wait, and she couldn't afford to wait another 5 days. Throwing caution to the winds, Rek'Sai tagged them both with the special seekers, she unburrowed, caught her energy back, then retreated to her cave to wait their awakening.
The following day dawned, and without the presence of any seekers, or at least as far as the Guardians could tell. Rek'Sai had chosen seekers that would hopefully go undetected until the following day, but she couldn't be certain. Meanwhile, Lux, Janna, and Poppy were enjoying their weekend off. Since they did nothing the previous day, they all decided to at least get their homework done before their parents came down hard on them. It wasn't long however before they were all just back into their games and playing. Lux looked for the streamers from yesterday, and after pulling their channel up, she felt something as she was watching. And she knew that something wasn't good.
Their behavior and attitude had changed, a lot. They were much more aggressive, and easily making their other teammates uncomfortable. Lux quickly noticed Janna was on and pulled her into a group chat.
"Hey noticed those two from yesterday?"
"The streamers? Yeah I've been trying to invite them to a game, but they aren't responding." Janna said.
"Look at their stream." Lux responed.
"Ok give me a sec." Lux could hear Janna clicking in the background while she got a notification that Poppy had jumped in. "Got it. Wow you're right. They are definitely making me uncomfortable."
"What is?" Poppy said as she finally seemed to have turned her mic on.
"Those two streamers from yesterday. They are acting very weird. Not their usual selves." Lux said.
"Let me look." Poppy paused for a few seconds. "Yeah you are right. They are definitely not acting normal. And I'm getting a weird vibe off them. Anyone know where they live?"
"Yeah. I do . Let's go." Janna said as she signed off, followed quickly by Lux and Poppy. Janna grabbed her phone and sent Lux and Poppy a meet up point nearby. Janna was the first there, and made herself inconspicuous in the park while she waited for Lux and Poppy. The latter arrived first with a small bag over her shoulder, making it look like she was out for a walk. Poppy waved and Janna beckoned her over as it made it look like they just ran into each other. Lux wasn't far behind and she was looking down at her phone to give the illusion she was also on a walk. Lux looked up at the right time and joined them.
"Ok their house is around the corner. Follow me and keep your eyes open. I'm not sure what we will find when we get there." Janna said as they all stood up.
"We'll be fine. Stop worrying. Whatever they are, I'm sure they can't hurt us." Poppy said confidently.
"Yet." Poppy turned to Lux and opened her mouth to reply, but closed it as she quickly through about what she said, and then nodded. They rounded the corner and were immediately greeted by a wave of cold eminating from a house. As they got closer, Janna walked up the front walk.
"I know them and I want to see if they are ok. Officially we were supposed to meet up today." Janna knocked on the door and a woman opened it a few seconds later.
"Janna what are you doing here?"
"Sorry to disturb you Mrs. Ulma but Iris, Jacob, and I were supposed to meet up today and I haven't heard from them. Is everything all right?
"No Janna it isn't. They have been acting weird all day. They've stayed shut up in their rooms and have only come out to eat and use the bathroom. I'm not sure if they just need a day, but I'll be sure to tell them you stopped by." She closed the door and Janna could hear her walking up the stairs.
"Zephyr" she said, unzipping the bag she brought with her, and out popped the white cat. He didn't need much telling to know what he had to do. Hopping from Janna's shoulder, he was in the tree faster than you could almost blink. Janna grabbed a small bag from hers and threw it up to him, which he managed to catch with his tail. Zephyr then managed to make himself comfortable and concealed.
Satisfied, Janna walked back down the walk to the front where Lux and Poppy were still waiting. "Anything?" Lux asked.
"Something is off. I can feel lit, even if it wasn't for the cold radiating from the house. I left Zephyr in the tree and he'll contact us if anything goes crazy. Seriously?" Janna pulled her phone and noticed a new message, from an unregistered number. Janna just turned to the tree and glared, before walking off. In the tree, Zephyr smiled and then returned to watching the brother as the sister's room was on the other side of the house.
The three Guardians retreated and headed to the mall where they could talk without much risk of them being overheard. Once they got there, they proceeded to the food court where after getting something small, they found a secluded table.
"It feels like the seekers were just planted last night doesn't it?" Lux asked.
"Yeah it does. Which means they shouldn't grow today." Poppy said. "Hopefully we can prepare for tomorrow."
"That's going to be a problem." Janna said matter of factly. Lux and Poppy turned to Janna before they both realized what tomorrow was. A school day. "So you won't be able to do anything about it but I can. I'll be there to watch them, and hopefully if they do go crazy, then I can hold them off until you arrive." Janna said that without too much confidence. Lux and Poppy both picked up on that, but didn't decide to press. They knew Janna's powers were more for controlling the fight rather than being a direct participant, but still it should hopefully be enough.
When they all got back home, Lux pulled up their stream on her computer and decided to watch, but it almost quickly became unbearable. They were both so different than their usual selves. They were quick to criticize, give up, gloat, and generally be toxic towards anyone and everyone, even people in their stream. Lux knew that it was the seekers doing their job, but that still didn't make it any easier to watch. Eventually, she became so disgusted that she had to turn it off.
Janna, like Lux, also pulled up the stream, and like Lux, quickly discovered the very same things. Janna shut the stream off sooner, but mainly on the account that she would need to get some sleep. Poppy also tuned in, but muted the entire thing, which she thought would stop her getting angry. It didn't. Knowing that a fight was likely tomorrow, Poppy shut her computer down and turned in.
The following day saw the three get up and get the chills. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the seekers awoke, Lux and Poppy took extra care packing their bags that morning, knowing a fight was inevitable. Janna was also careful packing, but took care to pack a few other items she might need in case an attack did happen. Lux asked Garen for a ride, while Poppy likewise asked her mother for a ride to school. Janna decided to walk to be alone with her thoughts, at least until Zephyr dropped in front of her.
"Sleep well?" He asked as he hopped onto Janna's shoulder where he got a few scratches and pets while whispering in her ear.
"No. Was that really a question?" Janna said sarcastically.
"Sorry. You were right. I don't know what time you turned off last night, but as the night went on, they got worse and worse. It was to the point, where if I wouldn't have blown my cover, I would have attacked. It was just…bad." Zephyr searched a bit for that last word.
"I'm sure it was. But I'm going to need your help today. Keep an eye on them as I only have one of them in just one class. If those seekers awake, then you are going to have to get Lux and Poppy somehow because I won't be able to hold them off for long by myself."
"I hear you. Good luck." And with that, Zephyr hopped off and made his way to a secluded spot for the moment until he could make his way closer to the school. Janna walked into the front door and headed for her first class.
Meanwhile, Poppy and Lux were tossing ideas back and forth about how to get out of school when the time came, but there weren't a lot of options. It would be standard procedure to lock down the school to try and keep students safe, but they had heard that policy had been changed, but no one knew to what. Lux put her head on her desk in an attempt to come up with some idea but was clueless. Poppy likewise didn't have many ideas, apart from just run off, but that would get them both in a lot of trouble, very quickly.
Lux pulled her head up and looked out the window. She could see Solas sitting in a tree keeping an eye on her, and every now and then turning to look at Dorcha who was positioned on the roof, looking for signs of trouble. For all the times that she had overlooked them, Lux was glad she had them. Not only for advice, but because they were great friends, and she had met a few new ones along the way. 'Focus on the task at hand. Get an idea together.' Lux tried to write down a few new ways, but she stopped because she couldn't think of anything. Groaning, she eagerly awaited for the lunch bell.
Janna for her part, was trying to keep an eye on both of them, but it was difficult since their schedules were very different, but following the aura of toxicity wasn't difficult. Janna kept making excuses to be late to class or go to the bathroom so she could keep an eye on them but she as discovering very quickly that it wasn't going to work. She knew that Zephyr could more easily move around and keep an eye but that still didn't stop her from worrying.
Lunch was a relief to all three of them as they managed to get some well deserved rest from their day because if something started now, it was easy to group up, but as lunch came to a close, they all realized that it wasn't going to happen. Lux and Poppy went back inside with no new idea on how to get out of class. Janna meanwhile, knew that her situation was growing worse by the second. Rek'Sai would want them triggered until they were ready, but she could feel that time was quickly approaching.
As Janna walked to her last class of the day with her mind elsewhere, she almost didn't notice the distant screaming, but when she did, it was obvious where it was coming from. Janna managed to signal Zephyr who quickly dashed away, and was back extremely quickly. Janna ducked into a stairwell and ran for the roof. Once she was sure that it was clear, Janna pulled her pendant from her neck. "Star Guardian Power Up!" Janna's feet almost didn't rest on the roof when she finished her transformation. Using her powers, she floated down from the roof, and towards the source of the commotion.
Lux was spacing out with school almost over, her hope was that it would end before the seekers awoke, but as she looked out the window, she saw Dorcha hopping up and down and she knew that wouldn't be the case. It was then Dorcha stopped hopping and looked down the street. Lux ran to the window joined by a few of her classmates.
Janna made her way through the chaos as she reached the atrium of the school, it was clear why everyone was panicking. Janna floated into it while noticing Rek'Sai already throwing collected energy orbs into a portal. Janna wound up a Tornado while taking careful aim. The twister shot through the room and Rek'Sai made a desperate effort to get as many through as possible, and almost succeeded in getting them all.
"Well it seems that a lone guardian has come to stop us. But why just one?" Rek'Sai said with a sneer.
"Oh they are on their way. You know I can do enough to keep you three busy while we wait." Janna replied, barely keeping her voice in check. She knew she was in trouble but somehow managed to keep it hidden.
"Or is it maybe that you go to school here?" Rek'Sai probed Janna for her response. Janna just kept up her look of calm. "Or perhaps not. Either way, you will not survive until your friends get here." Rek'Sai turned to the twin monsters that were beside her. "Bors. Amia. Get her."
Janna had barely any time to react before they jumped at her. Throwing another twister, she managed to knock them both up before she took cover. Zephyr jumped to one after Janna noticed the flank, and barely managed to dodge it. Janna knew that fighting in here wouldn't help anyone but her opponents, so she made a break for it while managing to look like she was looking for cover.
"After her. I will deal with anything else." Rek'Sai yelled at the twins.
"We obey." They said together and gave chase. Janna had managed to "locate" the massive gym in the school and she in turn set up an ambush, for all the good it would do. When the twins entered the gym, they were greeted with another twister, that somehow sent them both into the ceiling and then falling to the floor. Janna was actually proud of that before they turned on her. Throwing a barrier up, she dodged one attack, while she absorbed another.
While dodging yet another series of blows, Janna took her first injury of the fight with a scratch on her arm. Janna threw up another barrier, twister, and sent Zephyr to slow one down so she could dodge yet another series of attacks. While she kept it up, she knew that it was only a matter of time until something connected. And that time turned to be sooner rather than later. With a swift kick, one of the twins managed to break her barrier and knock Janna into a wall. Hitting hard, she slumped down to the bottom and was slow to get back up.
"You know, I always like unfair fights." Amia said as she moved into position.
"Indeed sister. Now let's finish her." Bors said. As they both moved into for a final strike, Janna channeled her remaining strength and created her monsoon, which sent both of them into the bleachers. Hard. Recovering her strength from the injuries she took, Janna focused and readied for round two.
"So you still have some strength left. That is good. Now maybe it will make vanquishing you a lot better. It is still an unfair fight."
"So let's make it even then. Take this." A voice came and suddenly Amia was standing there alone while Bors was sent into a wall. Janna turned to see Debonair standing there.
"You know, invitations would be nice. I hate missing the start of a party." He said with a grin, which got Janna' s spirits up. Bucking down, Janna now could do what she does best, control a fight while giving Debonair the support he needs. Janna threw a barrier around Debonair while he transformed his weapon and shot an energy pulse at Amia, which hit her square in the chest. While not knocking her back, it was clear that it hit hard.
"You will pay for that fool." She said as she charged at Debonair, who only absorbed the attack with Janna's barrier, and Zephyr clamping on slowing her down, Debonair was able to land a very hard shot with his hammer on her that like her brother, sent her into a wall. Both of them were slow to get up but quickly recovered when they saw energy pulses heading their way. Dodging the pulses from Debonair, they both went into attack mode against separate targets. This was something they quickly learned wasn't a good idea as Janna sent a twister to Bors while Debonair knocked Amia back then sent a pulse Bors' way.
Janna and Debonair paused for a moment to catch their breath while the other two tried to shake off the amount of damage they just took. The fight was almost fair when they were 2v1, now it clearly wasn't. Amia and Bors looked at each other before charging together. Debonair dodged out of the way while Janna threw another twister, which they dodged, but they were unprepared for Debonair's hammer as he swung it and again knocked them both away. But not before they both got in a few hits on him.
Debonair recoiled as Janna couldn't get her barrier up fast enough as she was dodging from the expected attack. Janna looked to him and Debonair smiled back. "It was just a flesh wound." Janna rolled her eyes and snickered a bit while he also snickered for a second before dodging yet another attack while Janna also dodged around causing both monsters to miss. It was becoming obvious that the two monsters were becoming frustrated, but it was then that they both lunged, and while Debonair and Janna both dodged around, their attack pattern became obvious and they both took a few hits, scratches, and it was their turn to be throw into a wall.
As both of them struggled to get up, the monsters laughed at their fortunes. Janna knew that now both she and Debonair couldn't win on their own. They needed help but Lux and Poppy still hadn't shown. Meaning that whatever was going on, they couldn't get away. As they both got to their feet, Janna looked over and saw that Debonair was just as wounded as she was. As the monsters charged again, Debonair transformed his hammer, ready to counter the upcoming blow, but Janna had another idea. Focusing her powers for the second time, she conjured up another monsoon, which slammed the twins back into the opposite wall. The rains generated healed them both, not fully, but enough.
That wasn't the end though. The twins recovered, abet more slowly than they had in the past. As they took to their positions again, Janna and Debonair moved to counter. It was almost a standoff, before Amia charged while Bors flanked around. Debonair met Amia with his energy pulse while Janna slowed Bors and then threw a barrier on herself as Amia rebounded from her attack and swung at her. Debonair reacted quickly and slammed them both into the bleachers. This time, they were extremely slow to get up, but when they did, they launched such a desperate attack that they both missed to the point where Janna and Debonair were able to just move out of the way and back into position.
Both the monsters recoiled for yet another attack. It was then they noticed a shimmering energy field around them. Before they could even react, it detonated in their faces. Janna and Debonair turned to see Lux and Poppy running into the gym from the opposite side. Janna smiled as they finally had the power they needed to take them down. Lux saw that both of them were wounded from the fight, but they had managed to hold on. Poppy didn't waste time and charged straight into the fight while Lux threw a shield on her while Janna and Debonair stepped back to catch their breath. Poppy pinned one against the bleachers and her hammer sent it flying, while Lux threw a binding and several bolts from her baton at the other. Roaring in pain, the two were down, but reacted quickly when Lux began to focus to eliminate them.
That brought them back into a group where Lux and Poppy were finally able to get a second to talk.
"You both ok?" Lux asked while keeping an eye on the twins.
"Yeah. Nice timing. I'm not sure how much longer we could have held." Janna replied.
"Oh longer than you think. But yeah, not much longer." Debonair added with a note of defeat.
"Well we're here now. So let's finish this." Poppy said and with that the twins attacked again. This time however, they were outnumbered 2 to 1 and two of them were fresh. Poppy partnered with Janna against Bors, while Lux and Debonair went up against Amia.
Poppy kept up steady pressure against Bors, hitting him with her hammer, slamming him into walls, and generally knocking him around. Bors got a few hits in, but they either glanced of Poppy's armor, or Janna's barriers. Janna for her part, kept up the tornadoes and Zephyr kept jumping around slowing Bors. Eventually Bors found an opening and managed to get Poppy across the face. That was a mistake as Poppy swung her hammer above her head and brought it down. Bors flew into the ceiling and then back to the ground in a heap.
Lux and Debonair kept up their pressure by making Amia either dodge Debonair's attack, to get hit by Lux, or vice versa. Lux kept up her steady attacks with singularities and bindings, and a few bolts from her baton, while Debonair kept changing stances between ranged and melee keeping Amia on her toes and heels as she kept having to dodge. At one point she had an opening and swung at Debonair, who dodged, only to be hit full in the face by Lux with a binding and several bolts. Roaring in anger, Amia attacked again only to realize that she was still bound, which resulted in Debonair sending her into the wall with her brother.
Lux threw another singularity to keep them there and then focused her powers. Debonair and Poppy stood in front to knock them back if they got up, while Janna stood behind to throw another barrier if needed. Lux threw her baton in the air and unleashed her full power. "Final Spark." The beam encompassed both twins and they disintegrated. "Dusted."
Lux touched back down and was about to move towards Poppy and Debonair, when she threw herself into Janna, knocking her out of the way. Poppy and Debonair turned to see Rek'Sai emerging from the floor. She was clearly trying to interrupt Lux, but missed the timing. Lux and Janna landed a few feet away and quickly got to their feet while Poppy and Debonair charged in, swinging their hammers in unison, they knocked Rek'Sai into a wall, from which she didn't get up.
"Did we get her?" Poppy asked.
"Doubt it." Janna replied, and she was correct as a second later, Rek'Sai shook her head and got back to her feet. Roaring, she looked around but knew she was outgunned.
"Enough of this you monster. You cannot stop us. We are the Star Guardians. Sworn to defend the universe against all those who would throw it into chaos. And that means you. We have won this time. Now either surrender or be destroyed."
Rek'Sai weighed her options, and quickly ripped open a portal. "I will return you brats." And disappeared through it. Lux attempted to throw a binding but missed. After calming down a bit, Lux turned to Janna and Debonair.
"You both did great. Sorry we didn't get here sooner but we were um…held up."
"That's fine, but I think we should get out of here before the police storm the building." Debonair said in reply.
"Good point." Janna said and the four of them quickly sprinted for the roof. Once there, they got a good view of the police storming into the building while they sat on the roof catching their breath. They all looked at each other for a moment, and started laughing. The tension that they had been under for the fight broke instantly. They all just had it out and once they finally recovered, they all just looked at each other, and parted ways.
Debonair disappeared down a ladder while the Guardians jumped from the roof and made for a grove of trees that would be able to conceal them as they powered down. Once they were sure the coast was clear, they emerged and headed home, making sure to steer away from the massive police presence.
"So what happened? What took so long?" Janna asked as they walked home.
"Well the police decided to implement a new procedure when an attack happens near or at a school. They empty the schools, classroom by classroom then they have to make sure that everyone is off. So finding a spot to meet up and then transform was difficult to say the least as there was police everywhere." Lux said, retelling their story.
"They were paranoid about anyone going off script or going to a secluded place. Eventually we had to transform separately and meet up on the way here. It was luck that we even found each other before we got here. Hopefully it won't happen again." Poppy added as Lux trailed off.
"Well hopefully it won't happen again. And maybe this time we can get to the seeker earlier." Janna said after a few seconds as the three approached a spot where they had to split up. Quickly coming up with a common story, they all took a second to remember it. Reaching the spot, they all turned to each other, nodded, and headed for home.
What was strange for Lux is when she go home, it was only Garen in front of the TV. "Where's mom? I already saw dad."
"Still at work. She has been calling me non-stop. To say that she is concerned is an understatement. Now for you inevitable question, no, I wasn't near where those things emerged. I only heard about it while running out of the building. I'm guessing you stayed nearby to watch?"
"Kind of. Most of the fighting apparently took place inside as they stormed in and they came out shortly afterward. So I'm guessing that the void lost this time."
"Hope so. Heard from Janna? I know she was closer."
"She ran, and we literally ran into each other." Which was somewhat true. "We stayed but she headed for home before I did." And with that, Lux headed upstairs. Lux hated lying to her family, but this was something she knew he'd never be able to process, and keep to himself. It was paramount that their families remained insulted from their alternate lives, and if that meant lies, then so be it. "It still doesn't make me feel any better." She said to herself as she closed the door to her room.
When Janna got home, she was greeted by her parents, who were very concerned. "We were worried. Are you ok?" Her father asked as she walked in.
"Yeah I'm fine. I managed to get out before anything really happened. I ran into Lux, literally, and we stayed while I tried to process it. Then I left earlier while she stayed. I guess I wandered on the way home. I'm sure you called, but I just didn't notice." Janna said, carefully remembering her part of the story.
"Well next time do please. At least you are safe. Now how about some dinner?" Her mother asked as Janna trailed off.
"Sounds great."
"Stayed to watch Poppy?" Her father asked as she walked into her house.
"I couldn't say no. But we didn't see anything. Most of it was inside. Once I figured that out, I started walking home. It was an interesting day." Poppy said matter-of-factly.
"I would say so. Still, your mother is picking up something on her way home. What do you plan to do in the meantime?"
"Probably just watch TV actually." Poppy replied and jumped onto the couch next to her father. She carefully put her head onto his shoulder and they watched the news fallout from the battle. Poppy felt a little twinge of guilt when they talked about some of the damaged, but it went away quickly when she reminded herself that it was either that, or people get hurt.
One thing all three agreed on before they parted was that this story of lying would eventually come back to haunt them. But they all agreed that it was also necessary.
Meanwhile, Malzahar was surveying the energy Rek'Sai managed to collect. "Rek'Sai. I am pleased with your progress. You haven't collected more than Kha'Zix did, but you are making progress. Just watch yourself. You came close today, let that be a lesson."
"Yes Prophet. I will not let those guardians interfere again."
"They will interfere Rek'Sai, it is how you handle it that I am judging."
"Yes Prophet." Rek'Sai turned to leave, and would remember the Prophet's words as she planned her next attack.