Unstable Matters Chapter 2: On the Edge of a Cliff (R)
There are just some things you don't understand.
Revolutions are dreamt up by individuals, but their aims are so unrealistic that they steep to drastic measures to achieve the impossible.
Following in the wake of destruction the worthy passions for rebirth are swallowed up by mediocrity and bureaucracy.
Intellectuals hate this and withdraw from society and politics to become recluses.
When we first met I did not know what to make of you. Far too many of my countrymen have resolved themselves toward solving violence with violence, and I blamed myself in part for inspiring their foolishness. When our souls connected, the words you spoke were filled with violence and held such casual confidence that I rejected them angrily.
I had forgotten that sometimes the world runs on simple truths.
But when Irelia came to me for guidance, after we spoke, I could see a war still raging in her mind. Battles that my followers and I had been blind to, but were so fierce that they were reflected in her eyes. By imparting the wisdom you passed to me, I was able to tame the fires of uncertainty burning away her soul. If only that peace could have lasted a little longer.
What happened the next day was not your fault. It was a true tragedy, and I want you to know that no one should bear the burden of it alone.
-Darha, The Enlightened One, and Duchess of Ionia.
Stepping out from the rune inscribed teleportation pad, Zac looked himself over to double-check that he had returned in volume. The magical artifacts he advised to buy often increased his physical size, something he had noticed didn't happen with other Champions. It was strange to return back to the Institute several sizes smaller than when he had left, but there was a small comfort knowing that he was still bigger than most other Champions anyway. Sometimes size really did matter, especially with so many egos and clashing personalities living together in such a confined space.
"Champion, please remember to fill out your report before you leave the Fields of Justice."
"Yeah yeah, sure," Zac waved a hand in the air to the voice coming magically from nowhere. Standard procedures were two words he had learned the true meaning of over the first year he had started staying at the Institute of War and fighting in the League of Legends. It could be applied to anything and everything, at any point and time for any reason. The only catch was that you had to ensure that anyone being told that wouldn't question it. "Not like anything happened though…"
Walking past the magical console where he would normally have submitted his scores for analysis, he gently pushed open the door of the chamber's exit and looked into the hall that connected all five teleportation chambers to the blue side. Looking around it was clear that all of the other Champions had left ahead of him, with none of them staying to fill out their magical paperwork either.
I wonder what's for lunch? Zac thought to himself, scratching his head lazily. Maybe the cafeteria will have that spicy Bilgewater fish dish from last time?
Describing life in the Institute of War was complicated, or so he had told the reporters interviewing him for the League's monthly circular in the height of Pool Party season. It was the only place in the world where you could find people from all different cultures living together, and at least pretending to tolerate each other while the Council of Equity loomed over the world.
Every day started the same, but different at the same time.
Sleeping in a large laminated bed so that you wouldn't stain the sheets every night. Getting eight hours of sleep no matter what calamities or disasters were happening elsewhere in the world. Never waking up with any fatigue or stress in the morning. Grooming tools and cosmetics for his personal hygiene were all supplied by the Institute of War. So too every meal could be almost anything he wanted; everything was supplied and delivered by the Institute of War to his home without him ever noticing.
Working for the Institute of War, and by extension fighting in the League of Legends meant conforming to their schedules. The governing system was cold but orderly; low ranking Summoners were rarely called upon by outside powers to compete in League matches where the outcome could mean life and death. Low ranking Summoners in the ladder system were mostly in training and had their attendance financially supported by the various city-states that dotted Runeterra. As students of war in an academic setting, they were there to hone their skills over the years by fighting matches for practice or the occasional low-value wager agreed upon by outside parties.
High ranking Summoners were all that but more; the Elite Summoners of the Institute were all accomplished mages, similar to the founders of the Institute themselves. To them the League of Legends was merely an extension of the battlefields the world had once had all over its surface. Veteran Summoners were expected to be capable strategists and combatants on and off the Fields of Justice, embodying the core of the Institute of War's values. A single veteran Summoner was said to be as strong as an entire cabal of magicians from before the Institute of War's founding, and the fierce competition for limited ranks meant that veteran Summoners were always the strongest from every city-state.
In spite of the expectations and outside would think to place on a Champion in the League of Legends, Zac had realized some time ago that winning and losing now meant very little to him. There had been a time where he had picked and chosen the League matches he participated in. A very rigorous and self-set standard to ensure that he would never find himself fighting for any villain or evil-doer. When he was not busy he had also volunteered to fights for sides that he thought deserved to win. And although he had not won all of those fights, in the end, he still had a clean conscious as to why he was fighting.
But Zac knew that there were certainly the less fortunate and those worse off in the world. He was not oblivious to the suffering of people born into cycles beyond their ability to escape. Even with the Institute of War standing as a pillar of authority in the world, there were still places where pain and suffering dominated over everything else in life.
He wasn't oblivious to it; he was just doing his part where he could. One of the first things he had learned was that there was little to no point in making enemies in the League of Legends. The most ferocious and bloodthirsty enemies could be on his side the next match. There were enough problems in the world judging by all of the fights he took part in, and troubling himself with pointless grudges wouldn't have helped any of that.
...Right?
Without realizing Zac had completely stopped walking and was standing still frozen like a gelatinous statue staring off into nothing with his yellow eyes that had no pupils or iris.
His life at the Institute of War was something he had accepted. At first, victories had felt fresh; that wave of euphoria that came from knowing that he had helped do something good for people who deserved it. Loses, by contrast, were devastating, but none of the Summoners had ever shown him the slightest hint of frustration or blame. He had felt guilty at first at every loss but had soon taught himself to deal with the guilt in other ways.
"...Right?" Zac had whispered the word this time, quiet enough that no one would hear it even though he was alone.
Describing his life in the Institute of War as such was...wrong. It felt wrong, and when he thought about it he could not understand why. Maybe something about living a life centered around fighting? But was it wrong to want to live a quiet and peaceful life when he was not fighting for his life at other times?
It still felt wrong. Something had changed, and so many things that he had come to accept were no longer felt right in his mind. Could it have been the League match he was still walking away from? He was no stranger to bloodshed and violence, both on and off the Fields of Justice. Or was it what Katarina had said to him only minutes ago? But he was no stranger to others projecting their views onto him by loose associations.
What is this uncomfortable emptiness I'm feeling?
"You IDIOT!"
He cringed from the sound of a shrill and feminine scream of anger coming from somewhere nearby in the Institute's teleportation chambers. Thankfully, not directed at him. It was always a good thing when someone wasn't screaming at him with a blood boiling level of fury in their voice the moment he stepped out of Summoner's Rift. It didn't seem to match the voices of Katarina, Ahri, or Leona as far as he could tell, nor anyone else who had been on the other team. But it was a familiar enough voice he knew from his frequent visits to Summoner's Rift.
"Matron LeBlanc, please stop!" a hooded Summoner begged. Walking up to the unfolding scene Zac could tell that the man was a high ranking Summoner from Noxus, but not high enough to even think about trying to restrain LeBlanc with force.
"Of all the support you choose Leona!?" LeBlanc continued to yell, seemingly only growing more furious at Draven's unwillingness to take her seriously. The Glorious Executioner was visibly rolling his eyes in his head as the tirade directed at him grew in intensity. "You knew that that lunatic was on the other team and you still choose her!"
"Geez! Lighten up grandma," Draven said, slinging both of his signature weapons onto his shoulders and forcefully pushing past her. "We totally dominated the bottom lane together. It's not my fault your nine-tailed pet couldn't keep up."
"Did you listen before at all!? The entire point to the match was for the mining right to—"
What does Ezreal say all of the time? Something about Noxians? Zac silently watched as LeBlanc continued to spew insults at Draven's backside, who seemed to be only amused at the attention. Out of the corner of his eye caught a glance of blood-red flashing past them all, and couldn't blame the Sinister Blade for not wanting anything to do with her countrymen. But before he could slip away as well, he could hear the footsteps of Draven walking up closer to him.
"Hey, you! Big guy!"
Still ignoring the furious cursing of LeBlanc behind him, Draven walked up to Zac and tapped him on the arm with the side of his axe. "I heard you worked pretty well with our beautiful assassin in the middle lane! Took care of Diana like she was nothing! Not bad, for a giant blob."
"Yeah, thanks." Zac said back, off put by just how much the rumors of Draven's eccentric behavior seemed to be true. "I do workout after all."
Draven laughed loudly and boldly, flashing his white teeth in an over the top grin. "Ha-ha! Not afraid to show that you've got strength? I like that! You look tough enough to take whatever gets thrown at you! Maybe you and I should split some heads in the bottom lane some time, huh?"
"Uh... yeah. I'll think about it," Zac said, scratching the back of his head. He forced down some mental imagines he didn't want to humor from rising in his mind. Draven for his part didn't seem offended from his hesitancy or even notice it for that matter.
"Hey grandma, how about we let the Jungler settle this?" Draven suddenly suggested, and Zac knew that behind the typical cocky smirk of the Glorious Executioner was a man who knew how to deflect hazards coming his way. "You tell her; Leona was a good choice for a Support, right?"
The Matron of the Black Rose had stopped her tirade temporarily, and the Secret Weapon knew he was under the scrying orb now whether he wanted to be or not. Acting like he was taking a moment to think deeply, Zac put his large hand under his chin and rolled his pupiless eyes into his head.
"Leona is a good choice...for the start of the match."
But before either LeBlanc or Draven could say anything further, he continued.
"I don't doubt the two of you could have secured some early kills with the right strategy. Unfortunately I needed to camp mid with how things turned out, otherwise I could have ganked the bottom lane sooner."
"Anyone can claim that they would win from an early advantage, but what about your objective control?" LeBlanc shifted swiftly to another point, and Draven let out an audible groan in response. "This idiot doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint. He would have pushed the wave up to the enemy tower and exposed them to danger. If they were to die in an ambush, it would leave a large part of the map uncontested."
"Any Summoner controlling Cho'gath has a predictable path through the jungle. I doubt they would have shown up before the Void monster has all of its abilities unlocked," Zac replied, hoping that his instinct honed over the last year was correct. "The first dragon that spawned was a Cloud Drake as well. It would not be important enough for the enemy team to risk revealing Cho'gath's jungling path to me."
It was an answer that would have satisfied most Champions, and even some Summoners for that matter. But it was not good enough for the Matron of the Black Rose.
"Then what about the enemy midlaner?" LeBlanc continued to press. "Diana was bound to roam south with Leona on your team."
"Ahri is more than capable of handling Diana on her own early on. I don't usually say this, but her loss early on should be blamed on poor support by her Summoner."
"You heard that?" Draven said, turning and clicking his tongue distastefully at the hooded Summoner who had been accompanying LeBlanc. "He's got your number, bud. Don't let what happened today happen again."
"Don't think you're off the hook either," LeBlanc interjected. "You're not fooling anyone. You really choose Leona because you hoped Diana would be baited into fighting her."
"Well, you know what they say: got axes, will carry." Draven threw his head back and let out a glorious laugh one more time before he began to walk off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got places to go so people can see me."
"Sure... You have fun with that." Zac watched him go, humming a tune and spinning his axes in both hands in a way that barely managed to avoid damaging the things he passed further down the hall.
Noxians... Not as bad as people say when you stay on their good side, he thought to himself.
"..."
Turning back around, Zac looked to see that LeBlanc was staring at him intensely as if everything he were made of was being laid bare before her. Maybe it was from her frustration from earlier, but her normal fassad of a deceptive female trickster felt completely gone from her persona. All that was left was a cold, withering stare that was the last thing many people had seen. Some unreadable combination of displeasure and distaste blended together and painted as a dangerously agitated melancholy.
"Do you think I would be fooled by anything you said?"
"I wasn't lying to anyone," Zac said, refusing to give his accuser the pleasure of knowing that she was right.
LeBlanc's expression did not change. "Why did you volunteer to be our Jungler today?"
"I needed the money." It was another half truth that was not as easy as it sounded. "Even if I don't agree with your nation's views, Noxus always pays its dues in full."
"So we do." LeBlanc tapped the bottom of her staff on the hard stone floor. "But money doesn't have much value for someone as lazy as you."
Sheesh, everyone's a critic today Zac thought, sensing that the Matron wasn't anywhere near done with him.
"Do you think you can change anything with those hands?"
"...What?"
"You heard what I said. Do you think you can be a hero with those soft and lazy fists you make?"
"What are you talking about?" Zac narrowed his eyes, trying to make himself seem a little more intimidating. "These soft and lazy fists were going to win you those mining rights to...whatever you wanted so badly."
"There's nothing more pathetic than a soldier who doesn't know why they fight. Could a coward like you even kill someone outside the Fields of Justice?"
Zac felt his own heckles rising and wanted to shout something back in response, but the words of the Deceiver had struck something other than a nerve in his mind. Though he had no reason to believe it was so, her words almost seemed precautionary in the most abrasive sense. The question hadn't been pressed to him in some sort of mocking jest; it was a question that demands an answer because there was more behind it unseen by the accused. Something coming that could not be avoided with flattery or sophistry.
How he knew this, he did not know.
"What are you talking about?"
"You'll find out soon." LeBlanc spun around in her golden heels, her cape fluttering behind her as strode off boldly with the faceless Summoner behind her. "We both know you have some growing up to do before then."
Watching LeBlanc stride off in silence, the Secret Weapon waited until he couldn't hear the narrow heels of her shoes echo off the Institute's floors. Even after knowing the Matron was gone, he let himself think freely only after he was sure that he was alone.
What the hell was that about?
"Don't let her get to you. She loves being melodramatic like that."
"You would know," Zac replied reflexively, not looking at the last Champion remaining from his match before starting to walk off.
"You're pretty smart about Jungling. A lot of Champions let their Summoners do the thinking for them."
"You think so?" Zac asked, still continuing without stopping to head toward the outer regions of the Institute.
"I do. You defended yourself and showed how her anger was misplaced. Very impressive," Ahri said, her body language making it clear that she still wanted to talk to him. Closing the distance between them she sneakily slipped her arm around his own to grab hold of him and slow him down a little. Now walking together he shot her a questioning look, but she shrugged it off with an innocent smile. A subtle way of saying that even if he leapt out a nearby window and onto the ground several stories below, she would catch him eventually.
"Shall we take a walk together?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope!" she answered in a chipper tone, something that made his non-existent spine shiver. In secret there was still something about characters like the nine-tailed fox that unnerved him a little. An intelligent creature that could go between human and predator in the blink of an eye, with no one the wiser until they struck. Even though the same could be said for him, maybe it was the fact that he considered himself more human than monster.
Seeing his unconvinced face, she frowned and waggled a finger at him disapprovingly. "Tut, tut! Shame on you. Do you know how many men in Valoran would kill to be in your position?"
More like how many men in Valoran were killed in my position, Zac thought, though he dared not say it.
"As long as there aren't any Champions here who will kill me for it."
"That's a little paranoid, you know. No one would try anything in the Institute with security as tight as it is."
"Then why do they shoot spells, swing weapons, and try to kill me every day?"
"That's because they're trying to kill everyone," she ran a hand down his arm assuringly. "It's not personal, you know."
"...What difference does that make?"
Ahri puffed her cheeks out in a pout. "Fine. Then who are they? Who would want to kill you?"
"Every one of them," Zac told her just as firmly as when they had started, gesturing to the entire Institute of War around them.
"Every one of whom?"
"Every one of whom do you think?"
"I…" Ahri hesitated for the first time, "haven't any idea."
"Then how do you know they aren't?"
"W-well I know that, but," Ahri spluttered, finding herself rendered momentarily speechless with frustration. "Wait, then how do you know!?"
"Because to the best of my knowledge, I've never been wrong on purpose," Zac answered firmly, solidifying his victory.
"Sigh. Alright, you win this time," she smiled happily as she said this, but the glimmer in her eyes told him their conversation wasn't over by a long shot. "But you shouldn't be so paranoid. What if other Champions thought the same way about the Institute?"
"Then I wouldn't be different from anyone else."
Officially on maps the Institute only consisted of a single red dot smack in the middle between the city-states of Demacia and Noxus, in a complete and utter deceptive portrayal of the elaborate facility that existed in reality. Not only did that single red dot contain a large city to house all of the essential personnel responsible for maintaining the Institute, but layers upon other layers of housings for everything a person could imagine being attached to such an important organization. Merchants, tradesmen, laborers, tourists and students from all city-states; everything under the sun had a place to stay and do business somewhere around the Institute's surrounding city. In a sense, the Institute had become the center of the Valoran continent for more reasons than the League itself.
And with all of that conglomeration of different cultures and identities, came an equal amount of variety in culinary complexities.
Do I really feel like fish today? Zac thought back to what had been crossing his mind earlier. Maybe I should get a sandwich to go instead.
"I don't think we've ever been introduced," Ahri started again, still walking along at a pace to match his own.
"Nope."
"But we have fought together on the Fields of Justice, right?"
"Yeah, a few times."
"...Today doesn't count."
"Oh. Well, I don't remember the last time."
"We were on opposite sides, and you tried to ambush me quite a few times." Ahri smiled from the memories, and he couldn't tell if she was making them up or not. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you were attracted to me. But it makes sense to try to go after enemies that are always ahead."
"I don't remember that, sorry."
"Well, it wasn't that important. Your team lost to mine in the end."
"Right."
"I hope you don't hold it against me. It's not personal, right?"
"Of course." Zac walked through a door in front of him, and did not hold it open for Ahri who passed through behind him. "It's just a match on Summoner's Rift. Nothing is ever personal."
"Good! Because if I didn't know better, I would say from the way you're acting that you don't like me very much."
"Okay."
"..."
Every time Zac entered and exited the Institute, he wondered if the highest pillars and tallest structures were bigger than the skyscrapers in Zaun. He had read that the outer perimeter of the Institute was designed to look as impressive as possible, combining the architecture and building techniques from all different cultures on Runeterra. Large repeating columns of chiseled marble and granite that rose up into the skies, holding up larger architectural shapes and wonders. No stone surface was without professional carvings and metallic trim that made the world shine like some kind of magical haven. Everything spoke toward the importance and authority of the Institute; an unsubtle message about how the organization was currently holding up the aspirations and ambitions of people from all different corners of Runeterra.
And yet, in spite of his repeated wonderment, he felt that the gilded luster of the Institute was starting to lose its...
"You know, for someone who calls themselves a hero you're not being very nice right now."
Zac was pulled out of his thoughts when Ahri spoke to him, but did not stop walking. "Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."
"Like what?"
"Stuff."
"...Stuff," Ahri repeated, dissatisfaction dripping from her voice.
"Yeah, important stuff," Zac clarified, habitually saying nothing of worth.
The nine-tailed fox frowned, staying silent for a moment.
"...Are you thinking about what to get for lunch?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Zac said, his eyes brightening up for the first time since they had started walking together.
"Just a lucky guess," Ahri said quietly, sighing lightly as she let go of his arm and moved her own behind her back. What kind of hero is he supposed to be? It doesn't feel like he cares about anything at all.
Doing the best to suppress her frustration, the nine-tailed fox knew that she only had a few more chances to get what she wanted before she would be left behind. She had been warned that there was no point in using any of her charms to try and get her way, but she didn't expect that basic courtesies would be too much of an effort to provide to her. A part of her wanted to stop the giant slime in his place and tell him off, but another voice told her that it would just be a wasted effort.
It wasn't that he was afraid of her, and it wasn't that he didn't like her.
It was just that he had nothing in his heart to give. Even if his mind was sharp, his muscles were strong, and his voice was loud, there was nothing of meaning behind it. Though no one in the Institute could see it, the man in front of her was no different from the magically animated bots that mirrored Champions for Summoners practiced against. A shell that could walk, talk, and occasionally throw punches.
Is this what they were talking about? Is this what it means to be living in the Twilight era?
"Well, how about we grab lunch together then? Just the two of us?" Ahri asked, moving quickly to get ahead of him so as to be sure that his attention was centered on her. "I know just the place for us to go."
Just as she had hoped his emotionless mask dropped at her suggestion. "You're asking me to take you out on a date?"
"We could call it that if you'd like," she winked suggestively, gigging at the same time. In response he couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. "Hey, you said it first. Not me."
"Are you going to keep following me after?"
Holding her arm out in front of him, Ahri firmly pressed her open palm against Zac's chest so that he would stop where he stood. She glowered at him with a face that had no interest in trading words and dancing in verbal duels. "Look, Zac," she said, mimicking his own tone. "I don't know about other Champions, but I don't appreciate being treated like I'm waiting to put a knife in your back. Just because I had to lie and deceive in the past doesn't mean you should treat me like a disease."
I'm pretty sure that's EXACTLY the reason why I would, Zac thought to himself, noting how Ahri's tails would flicker about violently in time with her words.
"And another thing!" Ahri continued to chew him out. "It's not right for a gentleman to question the intentions of a lady with obnoxious scrutiny. Have some respect for my good intentions!"
Yielding to her with both hands in the air, he looked down at her as apologetically as possible for someone who wasn't in the slightest. Which was pretty good considering his face lacked any real defining features for Ahri to tell that he was lying to her about what he said next.
"Alright, I'm sorry," Zac apologized. "Will you forgive me?"
She took a moment to consider his offer, surveying him with a grim scornful satisfaction, before giving him the same seductive smile as before.
"Apology accepted."
Grabbing onto his arm again when he didn't offer it, they began to walk together toward the exits of the Institute of War.
"I hope you don't mind, but I want to go somewhere familiar," Ahri said. The fake sweetness in her voice from only moments ago felt as if it were being shelved for another time.
Zac waved at a group of novice Summoners in green robes, being led around the Institute past them on a hybrid lecture tour by their seniors. Their mixed reactions were expected, given that they were taught from their introduction that Champions were to be respected (and even feared) at all times. Having someone like Ahri attached to him like Viktor's robot arm to his body wasn't helping things.
"I don't mind." He shrugged with apathy. "Where did you want to go?"
"A little bakery in the city. You might have heard about it from...some others."
"Fine by me. I'm flexible like that."
"Good! They sell these really tasty sandwiches for lunch. We should get there soon so they don't run out of stock." She pulled him by his arm around a corner along a different direction than where they had been heading. "I bet you'll like this place! They also have the best desserts in the Institute too."
"Is that so? What's the name of this place?"
"Huh? The name?" Ahri repeated, and Zac suddenly got the feeling that she had been avoiding that subject on purpose. "It's, um… It's a small bakery called Sinful Succulence."
"Right. Yeah, I've heard about it," was the mildest thing he could think to say back. When a demi-god embodying the aspect of justice decides to open a bakery, it's kind of hard not to hear about it. The amount of unconfirmed rumors circulating about the origin of Morgana's new hobby weren't helping either. "Have you been there before? Are you sure her baking is safe?"
"It's fine. Trust me." Ahri stroked his arm reassuringly. "She may lay the whole enjoying pain and suffering thing on a bit thick, but her baking is fine. She doesn't even burn most of her batches with her magic anymore! I bet all those nasty rumors were started by her older sister anyway."
"Uh-huh," Zac said, now feeling even more unconvinced. "Is there a reason why you want us to go here in particular?"
"Yes, actually," Ahri said, before he watched her stop and take a deep breath for some reason. "It was a...request, I guess. Morgana wanted to talk to you, and...she asked me to see if you were available today."
"Uh-huh," Zac said again, noting how Ahri was telling her story to him in a way that suggested that there was a lot more details she was omitting behind everything. "And what does she want to talk to me about?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll see when we get there!" Ahri said chipperly, though this time it felt as brittle as glass blowing in the winds of a storm. "But I'm sure it's nothing too serious. Who knows what someone like her is thinking, right?"
Still walking through the main halls of the Institute of War, Zac and Ahri continued onward arm in arm. By now he was long accustomed to getting strange looks when people around him thought he wouldn't notice, but with Ahri wrapped around him it irritated him. It was a strange sensation, thinking about it. To be aggravated and even a little offended at something he paid little attention to, all because someone else was with him. Ahri probably got her own share of attention all of the time, but for different reasons.
"...Hey, about before. I meant to say that I'm sorry about LeBlanc."
"Sorry? What for?" he asked, wondering why she was bringing up something that felt like it had already happened ages ago.
He watched her expression turn serious as she began to scan the area around them. Not fearful like a child afraid of being caught over something embarrassing, but almost like a spy who was relieving themselves of the notion that they were being watched by forces unseen. The look of someone who was being hunted, hounded, and was prepared to do almost anything for it to stop. Satisfied after a dedicated minute, she pulled herself closer and leaned up to whisper where his ears would be if he had any.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
Zac simply nodded, not sure what else he could say to assure her after seeing such a wide range of emotions over the last couple of minutes.
"LeBlanc was supposed to take the middle lane today, but I volunteered to substitute for her after she didn't feel up to it. I think she was feeling guilty that I got hurt when it could have been her fighting."
"Huh... Is that it so?" he blinked and nodded, the question of why LeBlanc was there observing the match in the first place answered. "Why did you volunteer for that? I didn't think Noxians an Ionians got along."
"I kind of owe her a favor, sort of," Ahri admitted, her voice still in a low whisper. "When I first joined the League, I wasn't nearly as strong or as popular as I am now. LeBlanc introduced me to her associates who taught me how to fight against other Champions were regulars to the middle lane."
"Huh. So you're in her debt?" He let out a whistle. "That sounds rough."
"I've returned the favor enough times by now," her tails twitched erratically as she spoke. "but I still feel obligated to her for helping me."
"That's very...loyal of you."
"Really? Do you really think so?"
"Yeah, I'd say so." Zac laughed thinking back about it. "Or at least she looks at you like a valuable pawn. I don't know. It's always hard to read shadowy spymistress archetypes like her, you know?"
He watched her let out a sigh filled with both sadness and relief. She leaned her head against his arm, still locked around her own. "Loyalty. That means a lot to me. Thank you for saying that."
"Yeah, no problem." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. Now he was starting to piece together why she had become so suddenly attached to him all this time. It wasn't about him, but something that seemed to be out of her control. A dangerous obligation that she could not share with anyone but a stranger, as strange as that seemed.
"Wait… What did you say earlier?"
"Huh?"
"You said LeBlanc and her associates," Zac recalled. "Who else were you talking about?"
"Oh! Um… Just some Noxian Summoners. I don't even know their names," Ahri said turning and looking away for a moment. Almost as if she were worried that they were being watched while being together. "It's like she knows all of the Noxian magicians that get sent to the Institute. It really surprised me when I realized it."
"Yeah, she's a pretty big part of Noxus and stuff." Zac looked up at the ceiling to just make it feel like he was staring at her with scrutiny for his next question. "So, does anyone from Ionia know ab—"
"Yes," Ahri answered, in a way that made it clear she wouldn't be saying any more on the matter. The way her expression changed made it clear she had already gotten an earful from unnamed others about her choices in life. "Let's not talk about that. Please."
"...Alright, fine. I get you," he said, waving his free hand in the air as if he were blowing away the touchy subject. "But hey, sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, right?"
"The last omelet I made didn't threaten to banish me from ever returning to my homeland," she muttered in rueful disgust, rolling her eyes as she did. "All because I wanted to choose for myself who I wanted to become."
"If it's any comfort, I kind of know what that's like." He looked around at their surroundings just as she did, trying to note every face of every person they passed. If a Champion dedicated to stealth and subterfuge like members of the Ionia Kinkou were spying on them, there was no way he would ever notice their presence. Still, something in his mind pushed him to try anyway. "When I first joined the League, a lot of different people told me what I should be doing. Talking about living up to my potential, or trying to tell me why I was born into this world. It got old real fast."
Ahri said nothing as they continued walking, and Zac took it as a silent sign that he should continue.
"It's hard to listen to people who preach about altruism through order and balance. How can they talk about that when they let so many of their countrymen die in a war?"
"It's more complicated than that. For a lot of Ionians, the war with Noxus was their first taste of real conflict since the Rune Wars. We were the only place on Runeterra that never had to deal with the violence so many people have become accustomed to."
"Never is a very long time, you know."
"I know that," Ahri said bitterly. "Ionia was...no, Ionia could return to that world. To a time before the seeds of war and conflict bloomed in the minds of men and women. That's what I want from the Institute of War, and their League of Legends. I just want my world to go back to how it was."
"From before you had to care for others?"
Zac snapped his jaw shut with an audible smack after he realized what had slipped out. Quickly looking down to see what damage he had done, he got to see the nine-tailed fox looking up at him as if he had slapped her, just before her regular mask returned.
"...You're quite the charmer, you know that?"
All Ahri got in response was the sound of Zac coughing awkwardly, before he pushed open a pair of double doors in front of them.
Why did I say that? His own question to himself was rhetorical, but he did not know what the answer was. And worst of all, unlike before, he could not think of a meaningful apology now that he was sorry.
Together they descended down the large staircase that led up to one of the Institute's many entrances. They were certainly impressive to look at, and he remembered the impression they made on him when he had first arrived under escort to head straight to the reflection chamber. A flight of long stairs with sharp steps that were as milky white as polished marble. There was nothing drilled into them either that could distract the eye from where they started and where they led to.
From its perch in the center of the city, the Institute of War was above everything. The symbolic message was blunt: anyone climbing these stairs was entering a place dedicated to a higher cause. Higher than the surrounding city below where citizens of every nation-state could be found. Higher than the cultures each nation-state's citizens brought with them. Higher than their business, their concerns, and their squabbles.
"You should try to be more positive," Ahri started again. "You know, looking on the bright side."
"I've heard that before," Zac said, ready to shut her down just as fast as before. "Mind over matter, or something like that. Sounds like a waste of time."
"Hmph. Spoken like a living weapon."
"That's rich coming from you."
Ahri scoffed loudly crossing her arms under her chest. "You don't know anything about me!"
"And what do you know about me?" Zac shot back, starting to suspect that he didn't actually want to know the answer to that question. "Do I have the word idiot printed on my forehead? You think you can just butter me up and have me walk up into...into...whatever it is you're planning?"
"I'm not trying to do anything like that," Ahri insisted again. "Why are you being so paranoid?"
"You keep saying that, but you won't tell me what's on your mind."
"Do you think I'm a liar?" Ahri accused, her eyes flashing dangerously for the first time since they had been walking and talking together.
"Maybe you haven't had to lie to me yet," Zac retorted, "but that doesn't mean you won't."
"You know, I never pictured you to be a cynic."
"A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist," Zac remarked back, hiding his own surprise at how he had managed to think of something quirky to say in return. He watched her face contort with irritation for only a second, and wondered if he had actually managed to beat twice in their verbal dance.
"...You know what, fine! Forget it!" Ahri shouted at him. "I was trying to do something nice so we could be friends, but if you're going to be like this then forget it!"
"Who ever said I wanted to be friends with you anyway? Huh?" Zac puffed out his lower lip looming over the nine-tailed fox with a large glower. "Go kiss up to someone who cares. Like all of the Summoners who love you."
"Jiog ena gala!" Ahri snapped angrily, letting out animalistic snarl as she did. In one quick motion she swung herself about, and with all nine of her tails hit Zac across the face knocking him backward and down the massive set of stairs that lead up to the Institute of War's front entrance.
At the mercy of gravity Zac rolled silently down the large flight of marble and granite stairs, barely making the effort to curl himself into a ball so that the descent down would go a little faster. Why was I so nasty to her? This question punctuated his mind, even as the world was spinning around him blurring everything into a colored mess. Maybe I should apologize to her later...
After a few more seconds of tumbling, he landed at the base of the stairs with a resounding splat. Impacting the ground with enough force to split him apart, the pieces of the Zaunite Secret Weapon diligently inched themselves back together in silence.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Releasing bodily fluids in a congested area comes with a steep fine, bud."
With the last major piece of himself slowly crawling back over to his main body, the large puddle of green slime on the ground (known as Zac) began to slowly form back into a humanoid shape. The natural cell division of his body made him more robust than people would imagine, and crippling impacts for any source were nothing but a nuisance. A little known fact was that the magic of the League made him lose small portions of himself every time he threw a punch while on Summoner's Rift. His body outside of the battlefield was considerably denser, and mostly immune to any kind of weapons like blades, bullets, and explosions. His creators really had created a robust bio-weapon of incredible potential, minus the fact that it didn't want to live as one.
Still a slick puddle at the base of the Institute's entrance stairs, Zac reformed his own head and looked up to see who was talking to him. He recognized her immediately by her short pink hair, unique style of dress, and twin massively oversized hextech gauntlets on both her hands. Looking down at him with narrowed eyes, Vi held some sort of notepad in the fingers of one hand and was filling it out with a pencil pinched between two fingers in the other. A comical sight that would have been a lot funnier if her attention wasn't being aimed at him.
"And here I thought you were better than that." Vi shook her head in disappointment as she continued scribbling onto the tiny ticket pad in between the two massive fingers of her hextech gauntlets. "But I guess everyone shows their true colors eventually."
"Hahaha. You're hilarious." Picking himself up off the ground, Zac stretched all of his arms and legs so that all of his goo was in the right places. Without the limitations of an internal circulation system or skin, it was possible some mornings to wake up with completely illogical body portions that needed to be fixed. "Is Ahri following me down? You know, if I was a normal person that fall could have killed me."
"Don't know, don't care." She ripped off the ticket from her pad and thrust it at him, holding it in the air for him to take. When he made no motion to take it from her after a few seconds, she reached out and stuck it on him instead. "I hope this'll teach you a valuable lesson about respecting the law."
Taking the ticket out of his own body, he looked it over with scrutiny. It was nothing but a normal ticket, with a legal notice along the bottom noting the authority of the issuer as a representative of the Warden's Office in Piltover. The only thing he found strange about it was the neat handwriting on the form, something that shouldn't have been possible given how he had seen it being filled out.
"Hey officer, when did the Wardens of Piltover have jurisdiction in the Institute?"
"Like I said: don't know, don't care," Vi said, seemingly awfully smug about the whole nonsensical affair. "Oh yeah, and what's this I heard about you soliciting a prostitute in broad daylight? Do you have any shame!?"
"Prostitute!?" Zac could only stare at her like she had suddenly grown several new heads. "Who in the hell told you that!?"
"You just did," Vi grunted. "You said something about man-eating fox, right?"
Zac face-palmed with a loud wet slap. Standing up to his full height and volume, he glared at the Piltover sheriff's officer enforcer who was in the middle of writing him another ticket. "You can't be serious."
"I'm always serious about enforcing the law, bub." Tearing off his second ticket, she reached out and placed it into the palm of his hand before closing his own fist around it. "But I'll give you a chance to think about your actions. Come and see me later if you decide to turn your life around."
"You can't be serious," Zac said again, pulling the wet ticket dripping his own green goo out from inside of his hand. But before Vi could answer, a loud shout interrupted them both.
"VI! Stop mucking about and hurry up! We've got a job to do!"
Looking over the pink haired officer, Zac could make out the familiar clothing of Piltover's sheriff waving to them both down the main street leading into the interior of the city. From a distance he could make out her silhouette, still wearing her trademark goofily oversized hat, brown boots, and skimpy striped dress. At long last his question had been answered as to whether or not Caitlyn actually went about patrolling the streets in the same gear she wore on Summoner's Rift, but he was in no position to talk since he never wore anything at all.
"Alright, alright! Keep your frosting on, Cupcake! I'm coming!" Vi shouted back, waving a massive fist in the air before turning around at Zac again. "Whelp, duty calls. Don't let me catch you again, you hear me kid?"
"Yeah, sure," he muttered watching her go, "but I'm stealing your red buff next time."
Now alone once again, Zac felt his stomach grumble. A sore reminder of what could have been if he had just been a little kinder and kept his mouth shut. With the vast city in front of him and the Institute of War behind him, he sighed and sat back down on the base of the stairs he had descended from. In one afternoon he had killed someone unnecessarily, been solicited for the role of support, scrutinized as a Jungler, rejected a date with one of the most popular Champions in the League, and gotten a ticket he didn't even know how to pay off.
...All and all, a pretty peaceful afternoon by normal standards.
He had long since realized that there were no coincidences to be had, not on Institute grounds where the leaders of every city state were in constant communication with their highest ranking subordinates. Part of his hostility toward Ahri, deserved or not, had been made worse after learning that she was friends with both the leadership of Ionia and the Matron of the Black Rose Society. Both groups were more than willing to use alternative methods to get what they wanted, which was a business he wanted nothing to do with at all. It was rare that Champions were admitted into the League stayed neutral and unaffiliated with the participating city states, but his neutrality was something he was proud of and wanted to keep for as long as possible.
After all, doing the right thing didn't require the permission of any higher authority. At least not in his eyes it didn't.
"Hey, what's with all the negative waves around you?"
"Huh?"
"I asked, what's with all the negative waves you're giving off?" Zoe, the Aspect of the Twilight, sat comfortably hovering in the open space between one of her portals. The magic ring connecting two realities around her burnt like a living fire, and the young girl rolled around in circles out of boredom while waiting for his answer.
"I...uh," Zac felt himself at a loss for words for the new arrival. "I don't know what you mean. Negative waves? What—"
"Oh, I get it. But you don't, do you?" Zoe said, and the Secret Weapon watched as the portal she was leaning out of began to do circles around him. "You're a prisoner of the times too, huh? That's really sad. Like, super sad. I thought you were so cool too, being a giant jelly man and stuff."
"What are you even talking about?" Zac said, not sure if he was supposed to be offended or not.
"You really want to know?" Zoe's smiling face turned grim, or at least as grim as possible for an ancient celestial aspect inhabiting the body of a small girl. "It all started with my dark and mysterious past—"
"HEY! Is Fat Hands gone? I'm getting claustrophobic in here!" Zac watched as a hand from inside of Zoe's portal shoved the Aspect of the Twilight against its edge, before the owner of said hand hastily crawled out from the portal, collapsing in a heap on the ground.
"You're looking for fat hands? I was told there would be cupcakes!"
"I said I was following Cupcake!" Jinx explained, slapping her forehead loudly from her position on the ground. Zac watched as Lulu fell out of Zoe's portal too. "Is that why you started following me around? You Yordles never listen when you have sweets on the mind!"
"I know what I heard," Lulu said, dusting herself off and adjusting her large hat. "You said that you were following a super duper cupcake, and I wanted to see it for myself. Wait," her face then morphed into a dramatic shocked expression. "Maybe you're hiding them from me! How could you!? After all of the times we've shared together! I made you ginormous! That's like…superduper enormous!"
"Okay, okay, let's not fight you two." Zoe clapped her hands together to get their attention, lazily leaning back against the burning celestial fire of her portal. "You two sound like a bunch of Targonians, always bickering back and forth."
"What? Bickering!? How dare you!" Lulu rapped the bottom of her staff against the ground, causing some daisies to improperly sprout up where she had. "Yordles do not bicker! As ambassador and first citizen of the Glade, I require several hundred sugary treats a day, and I will not be denied my birthright!"
"No one needs that much sugar a day. Especially not you." Jinx said, standing up and stretching her long lanky limbs out. "If you keep keeping cookies like yesterday they'll start calling you the Cookie Sorceress."
"What!? That's ridiculous!" Lulu shouted, before reversing her enthusiasm into a harsh whisper. "But if I was a cookie sorceress, what kind of cookie would I be…?"
"Oatmeal raisin, for sure," Jinx said immediately, and everyone flinched when Lulu let out a horrified gasp in reaction.
"I'm WHAT!? How could this happen to me!?" Lulu shouted, with tears starting to form in her eyes. "Oatmeal raisin!? Why didn't you stop me before I became a MONSTER!?"
"Oh for the love of—" Jinx groaned, rolling her eyes again when she heard Zoe snicker. "I didn't mean it like—"
"I'm a monster! I exist to ruin the fun of others!" Lulu shrieked, before letting out a loud sob. But right before she seemed ready to burst into tears, the Yordle pulled her hat down over her head. A few muted seconds later she lifted it back up again with her emotions back under control. "Well, I guess I kind of knew that already. It's not my fault they can't see all of the colors."
"I'm just looking out for you, kid." Jinx leaned down and slapped Lulu on the back, causing her hat to tilt forward and let a large puff if glittery dust to escape its backside. "You just can't handle that much pastry power alone."
"Huh? Is that why Pantheon kept killing you over and over again last—"
"Well, yes! But, no." Jinx glanced at Zoe, before patting Fishbones strapped over her back lovingly. "Let's not talk about that. For now."
"Do you two mind?" Zoe interrupted, before pointing at Zac. "I'm trying to get some work done here. For once. This century. While I still feel like it."
"What do you want with me?" Zac asked, feeling all three pairs of eyes on him now.
"We don't try to understand the sense you're not making," Zoe started, only for Jinx to continue.
"So she wanted to share that with you," Jinx said, then jerking a thumb toward Lulu who was smiling brightly.
"You're welcome!" the Yordle exclaimed, before holding her hand out to him expectantly.
Looking down at Lulu's open hand, Zac slowly placed the ticket Vi had given him a minute ago into the Yordle's purple palm. Lulu quickly took the piece of paper away, stuffing it hastily into her hat and a few glass marbles fell out as she did.
"Alright, here's the deal." Zoe put her hand out firmly to show that she was serious. "You? Big source of negativity right now. I don't know why, but you're so negative that you could make chocolate cake taste like chocolate dirt. And that's gross. Like, so gross. I may be getting on in my years, but that is NOT right! It's just not right I tell you!"
Zac wanted to say something back, but was stopped by Jinx. "Ah! Ah! No talking! She's not done yet. You gotta' listen before you can...run...or something."
"I don't have a clue what she's talking about."
"Well, duh!" Jinx rolled her eyes, picking up one of her own braids and beginning to spin it in a circle. "No one does, but that doesn't stop her."
"So why are you with her?" Zac asked, while the Aspect of the Twilight had now moved onto recanting the dangers of teleporting bread.
"Oh, you know. I like to be here, there, and a little bit of everywhere." Jinx laughed at her own response, before taking a step back from him in fear. "Wait, you're not gonna' go rat me out to Fat Hands and the Hat Lady, right!? Those jerks in the purple robes said I'm not allowed to leave the Institute without their permission! Can you believe that!?"
"Hey, I'm still talking! Are you even listening!?" Zoe snapped, getting right up into Zac's face and wiggling her eyebrows. "You need to work on your attitude, mister hero! You were a real jerk to that fox lady. A hero needs to be good to everyone! Boys, girls, and even giant space doggies!"
"Maybe I was being rude," Zac said, scratching the back of his head, "but I'm just feeling off today, you know?"
"Off? OFF? Hold the phone! You're feeling...off?" Zoe scratched the top of her head, and then the top of Zac's head. "On? Off? Hmmm… Maybe that's the problem."
Zac looked at Jinx and Lulu again for help, but both conspirators were nodding their heads too like they were deep in thought.
"...Maybe you should go see her after all."
"Who?" Zac asked, a little afraid of the answer.
"HER? Ugh, but she's such a buzzkill," Jinx said, rolling her eyes and letting her tongue slip out of her mouth. Next to her Lulu did the same thing like a mirror. "It's always vengeance and justice and crap. She thinks she's so cool because she's the leader of their stupid club."
"Who are you talking about?" Zac asked again, still not understanding anything that was happening around him. "Who do I need to go see?"
"I like her. She gives me purple sugar cookies," Lulu said happily, reaching into her hat once again and pulling out a cookie matching her description.
"Got any more of those?" Jinx asked, eyeing the sugary treat as Lulu began to eat the one in her hand.
"Yeah."
"...Can I have one?"
"Go get your own, scrub," Lulu said, now with two cookies in her mouth.
"Why you little sh—!"
"ALRIGHT! Break it up girls! We're getting back on our star road trip!" Zoe shouted, before snapping her fingers and causing her portal to open up widely. Letting out a loud groan Jinx complied with Lulu in tow, and both Champions disappeared without a trace into the sparkling stars the moment they stepped through the celestial ring.
Satisfied that everything was ready, Zoe slipped back into the other side of the portal too before sticking her head out. "Hey, in all seriousness, and I never say that seriously, you need to take a look at yourself." Zoe gave an exaggerated shrug. "All of those guys and gals in the fancy purple robes; you know what they're saying lately? That we're in a Twilight era. Twilight. Me. My era, but you know what? IT SUCKS! Everyone's all moody, and broody, and whiny. Where's the hope? Where's the love? Where's the ambition for change?"
Pausing to give a light cough to clear her throat out, Zoe then looked Zac in the eyes seriously.
"So to make things right, we're going to start with you. I know you have what it takes to be a big hero, but you really need to start acting like it. There's a day that everyone needs to step up and meet their destiny… And yours could be coming soon. Or maybe not? Just as long as it doesn't clash with bagel Fridays."
And with that wisdom spoken, the Aspect of the Twilight disappeared with her conspirators.
"Go to Sinful Succulence. Ask for the baker's special. Then ask her why."
Zoe's last words were passed to him like a whisper in the wind; loud enough for him to hear it and no one else. Looking around himself, there were no signs or remains of anything that had just happened, and only the faint noise of the city in front of him could be heard.
What was all of that about? He thought, noticing that the ticket originally written by Vi who he had passed to Lulu was somehow back in the palm of his hand. Am I going crazy? Did I hit my head going down those stairs somehow?
But without warning, in a blink of an eye the ticket had written for him was gone. Snatched right out of his own hands by a diving blue blur that immediately pulled up after and flew off into the city ahead of him.
"HEY!" Zac shook himself out his own stupor, and began chasing after Valor running into the city. But the giant blue Demacian eagle had more than a small head start from him, and he was quickly losing sight of him amongst the tall spiraling buildings of the inner city.
Stopping his chase to catch his breath from his own sudden sprint, he ran his hand over his face again and groaned. If there was a conspiracy involving him circulating around the Institute, it would now include the Champions from Demacia as well. There was no way Quinn's partner would swoop down and steal something from him by coincidence, and more than likely she had probably ordered him to do so from some place unseen. And if some as high profile as Quinn had been given the task of spying on him, the original orders had likely come from the prince of Demacia himself.
Great, just what I need. Zac scratched his head, and looked up toward the heavens. The sky above remained beautifully clear, a teasing reminder of what had once been a promising afternoon away from the chaos of Summoner's Rift, the Twisted Treeline, Howling Abyss, and Crystal Scar.
What do I do now?
Tired, frustrated, and a little confused, he threw his arms up in the air in aggravation.
"Alright! Fine! I'll go! Because why the hell not!"
It would only make things worse if he ignored it, he reasoned. But no matter what he told himself, he knew better that vague self-assurances weren't any assurance against League caliber trouble. Ignoring the stares of fear and curiosity that were coming his way from people all around him, he jammed his hands into his sides to make it look as if he had pockets to put them into. Hell, if trouble was going to find him at least he could try to avoid starting anything with anyone else who was looking for the same.
Alright, if I were Champion on a special assignment to spy on someone, what would I do next?
For the second time in the same day he looked around himself as he kept walking. And for the second time also, he was reminded of how woefully under prepared he was to try and stand up to the Champions of Valoran's city-states in something other than a straight fight. If a lifetime's worth of skills about the art of counter-espionage were condensed into a book, he couldn't even imagine what the introduction would look like. Considering his repeated proximity to them on and off the Fields of Justice, it wouldn't make sense for them to be spying on him without the use of an elaborate disguise or advanced magics.
"Going my way?"
Or, they could be hiding in plain sight waiting for him to walk into them.
Kicking her blue-booted legs against the brick wall she was perched on, Luxanna Crownguard adjusted the oversized witch's cap on her head and looked down at him with a disarming smile. The eccentric blue sorceress costume may have been a comical sight to some, but he knew from personal experience that the costumes worn by many other Champions didn't impede their ability to tear him limb from limb. Despite her young age and innocent appearance, the Lady of Luminosity was no exception.
"Were you expecting someone else?" she asked curiously, still smiling down at him.
"No, it's not that." Zac wasn't sure where he was going with his own words. "Don't ask. Just forget about it."
"Hmm, if you say so. Good afternoon to you, by the way."
"Yeah, same to you," Zac answered back politely. His mind drifted toward the differences between the blonde teenager and nine-tailed fox when they both gave him the same expression. A disarming smile from a scheming spy compared to a predatory seductress.
"We haven't fought together in a while, but I hope you remember me."
"I don't think anyone could forget you, or your smile," Zac said smoothly. "Demacia's Lady of Luminosity. Luxanna Crownguard."
Deciding to play along, Luxanna gave him a short curtsey from where she sat, while grabbing the edges of her already short skirt. Her long baton floated rigidly next to her in the air when she let go of it. "In the flesh, and at your service. I don't know much about you, but I hope we can be—"
"So, how long have you been following me?" he interrupted, asking her bluntly.
Her disarming smile remained, and he wondered if his question was less interrogative and threatening than what she was used to hearing as one of Demacia's top spies.
"Following?" She blinked in surprise at the accusation. "What makes you think that?"
"I noticed a little bit of sweat on your brow. That wouldn't be because you had to run after me after I took off after Valor, right?"
As he expected of the professional the teenage spy she didn't answer at first, choosing instead to simply laugh off his accusation with a shrill girlish giggle. He watched her smoothly run a hand over her face and push back some of her stray locks, cleverly wiping her forehead she did. "It's just a hot day out, that's all."
"Well excuse me," Zac said with rueful dissatisfaction dripping from his voice. "Because my day, so far, has been one giant chain of Champions messing around with me for unspoken reasons."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But since that's the case, shall I cut to the chase?" she offered suddenly.
Taken a little off guard by her sudden cooperation, he nodded appreciatively. "Uh... yeah. Please, if you don't mind."
Zac watched her hop off of the brick wall ledge, her iconic weapon catching her like a broomstick on the way down and dropping her off closer to the ground. Moving by some power unseen, the magic baton then circled around her before resting against her back in the same position he had seen many swordsmen carry their own weapons. Patting her skirt down from any dust or dirt picked up, she motioned for him to follow her as she began walking deeper into the city.
"Do you know why I'm here?"
He shrugged indifferently, deciding to follow after her. "Maybe. Is it the same reason Quinn and Valor are following me as well?"
"Not exactly," Luxanna shook her head, walking at a slow enough pace where they walk alongside each other and talk at the same time. "I'm here to ask a personal favor, actually."
"And that would be?"
"Demacia respects the independence of Champions who choose to remain neutral in politics outside of the League," she began to explain. Listening to her go on, he couldn't help but wonder how much time someone had spent studying him and writing a speech tailored to convince him. "As I'm sure you know, other city-states are not as respectful of personal boundaries."
"So this has to do with Noxus," Zac said flatly, remembering the match from earlier in the day. His thoughts drifted back to what Ahri had said to him before he had chased hr away. "I know they get a bad rap, but I've fought alongside and against them plenty of times. Why is today any different?"
"I can't go into detail, but there's been a change in thought over their approach to the League."
"Their approach? Or do you mean Jericho Swain?"
Luxanna didn't answer him immediately. "...Yes."
"Well that sounds foreboding," he remarked dryly, trying to not let his imagination wander. But coming from a famous member of the Crownguard family, he had to wonder whether or not she was exaggerating. "But how does that affect me?"
"Tell me, when I say the word Noxus what comes to your mind first?"
"An empire that relies on heavy taxation and trade to sustain their barren capital, which is still primarily located in the old fortress an evil warlord once utilized to rule over his territory," Zac said immediately. "Noxus also holds an unusual duality; in spite of their war-obsessed exterior, many of the remnant kingdoms and tribes in the eastern wastelands have found the Noxian empire to be accepting of their talents after they're assimilated, whatever they may be."
Zac stopped talking and walking when he noticed Luxanna had too. Under her large witches' hat, she was giving him an amused look that deserved an explanation but he shrugged in response.
"I read a lot of books."
"Mmm. I bet you do." Luxanna turned around and began walking again. "I'm sure you know that there are many Champions in the League with a strong grudge against Noxus for their crimes across Runeterra. Until recently the high command of Noxus saw the League as a means to justify their conquests. The invasion of Ionia was only contested after the occupation, and the ongoing barbarian pacification campaign in the north continues every day."
"I understand what you're saying, but I still don't see how it involves me," Zac stated bluntly. "Unless you're going to tell me that Noxus wants to recruit me into their Champion pool?"
"That's what we would like to see not happen." Stopping for a moment in front of a shop stall along the road, he watched her pick two bright red apples out of a stacked pile. Wordlessly signaling to the vendor, she casually handed over a single gold piece taken out from somewhere unseen over to the shop's owner as payment. Starting her walk again, she took a large bite out of the first one greedily sucking up any juice that leaked out from the tender flesh of the fruit as she did.
After a few more bites, she licked her lips clean and continued. "Most of the Champions that come from Noxus have seen their popularity decline in recent months. Swain considers the success of Noxian Champions in the League to be a crucial part of his influence over the high command back at his home. We're concerned that if he can't make his current roster more efficient, then he'll start looking outward for new help."
"And that involves me." Zac remained silent as they continued walking together, his mind processing all of the information that had been suddenly dumped on him. "I guess it's flattering that they would consider me, but I can't say I like the idea of being under a Noxian microscope."
"That's all I wanted to hear, really. In an ideal world, I'd love to know that you gave Swain and LeBlanc a piece of your mind about their character when you eventually meet them. With some very select words too, of course. But since we know that won't be happening, I would like your word that you won't be taken in by whatever they have to say."
"Do I really look like someone who would be fighting under a Noxian banner proudly?" he felt compelled to ask just from how serious she was being with him.
"Of course not, but a lot of people back in my home would never understand that." Luxanna sighed despondently, frowning as she did. "Please don't take it personally that we had to have this conversation. If it means anything, Prince Jarvan told them it was pointless."
"Yeah, well... don't worry about it," Zac said. "I've gotten used to a lot of people asking me things and making assumptions over the recent months. I appreciate you being upfront with me."
"Don't mention it. It's always nice to have a conversation with someone who you know is being honest with you, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Zac agreed, thinking back on everything that had happened in the morning so far. A canceled League match, mysterious conversations, dodging accusations and dealing with vague foreboding threats. If it had all been spread out over a month than it wouldn't be any different from what he was used to. But packed into one day? Maybe it was good that he was so flexible.
"Hey, have you ever heard of something called the Twili—"
"Well, we're here."
"...Huh?"
Stopping and looking around, Zac realized to his own surprise that Luxanna had led him right to where he had wanted to go before he had started following her. Both of them were standing outside of a small bakery, with the words Sinful Succulence painted in regal black lettering onto a large front window. The same window was being blocked by a velvet curtain on the inside, which allowed limited viewing from the street into the interior of the shop. Looking it over with a careful eye, he found himself surprised at how humble the exterior of the shop was considering its infamous owner. He then wondered how many people from across Valoran had stopped by out of curiosity, not knowing what they were walking into.
"Sinful Succulence, right? Be sure to say hello to Ahri for me later."
He groaned at the reminder of what could have been, wanting to put it as far behind him as possible. Even the slightest chance of running in the nine-tailed fox inside of the shop was completely killing his appetite for a snack.
"Thanks, but how did you know I was looking for this place?"
"I have my ways." Luxanna turned around to walk off, waving goodbye to him as she did. "It also helps that you and Ahri were pretty loud back in the Institute. You should work on that, for the future."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever," Zac said, feeling the weight of everything that had happened beginning to weigh on him.
But judging by the smells of what lay ahead, maybe things wouldn't be so bad.
Author's Note 04/16/2020: as a part of the revision process two chapters were heavily updated and combined to make this chapter. Respective to that I am submitting it as a new chapter rather than a replacement/update. Going forward I will start to combine and revise chapters that were 10k words, and I am happy to say that the next chapter (#16 Chains of Command - Part 2) will be out soon. As always thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this update.