Chapter 10: Welcome to the Family
One month has passed since the Nocturne incident. Elias and the rest of the group spent that time playing regular League matches and spending time together to learn more about Elias and where he came from and vice-versa. He also spent this time with Ezreal learning about his powers and how to possibly control them. Then Snowdown came and the livelihood of all the champions became a bundle of cheer and joy. But even with all of the festivities going on, Elias slowly began to feel homesick when things started to show up that reminded him of his world.
It first started when he saw the large tree in the main hall of the Institute. It reminded him of the one that the local hospital would place on its roof every year for Christmas throughout the new year. Then he visited the food courts which smelled just like the ones back home. As the days went by, he slowly became more and more upset and saddened. Lux and Garen noticed how down he appeared so they decided to take him to Demacia for the New Years Festival in hopes of cheering him up. It didn't go as planned however.
When the trio arrived in Demacia it was in state of panic. A giant snowstorm had come through earlier in the week and had buried most of the town in snow, and just to make things worse Shyvana went and melted the fire in her dragon form but she ended up burning down some of the households in the process. To make things even more worse, most of the decorations and the clock they used for the countdown till the new year was broken and wouldn't be repaired quick enough to be used. Elias' mood worsened even more at the news and told the two Crownguards that he would spend the new year at the Institute and whatever champions were left. They agreed to him leaving but on the terms that he would contact them once he got back to the Institute. That never happened though.
Once the teen got back to the Institute he locked himself in his room and hid himself from the outside world; only leaving his room once a day. No one knew what he was doing in his room or when he goes out and even fewer could actually talk to him. Janna tried to talk to him but all she got were mumbled replies. Soraka attempted to talk to him, to only be asked politely to leave him alone. What shocked the Starchild the most was that he looked perfectly healthy, well rested, and seemed to be eating right but he did not leave his room at all. Another strange thing was that he had curtained off a portion of his room and ignored all questions about what was behind it.
Concerned champions like the supports helped Janna and Soraka seek out those who were closer to him but found that Riven was visiting Ionia for the new year, the Crownguards and Jarvan were busy helping with the festival in Demacia, and Ezreal was forced to help Caitlyn and Vi catch some criminal with blue braids and tattoos all over her body. A few days passed before Lux and Garen received word about their friend's state of mind. They quickly finished up helping in Demacia before heading back to the Institute of War.
"We came as soon as we could." told Lux to Soraka. She nodded and shook her hand gratefully, "Thank you for coming. The supports and I have been trying to contact anyone close to him and you were the ones who managed to come the quickest." The siblings looked at each other with frightened look before turning back to Soraka. "So what's his current state?" asked Garen. The Starchild shook her head and looked down. "He still hasn't come out of his room and any attempts to see why have been futile." she responded in a downcast tone. Lux frowned at the news and asked Soraka to bring them to Elias' room.
When the trio of champions arrived at his room the door was slightly ajar and a faint ray of light shown through it. Lux pressed a finger against her lips and pulled out her baton. Garen followed her sister's movement and unsheathed his sword as quietly as he could. The younger sibling pushed on the door lightly and it opened with an audible creak following. When there was enough room, the blonde peeked her head inside the room and was shocked at the sight she saw.
Elias was seated in a chair against the wall and was staring at a small figure covered up on the small couch that occupied his room. His face had a look of intense worry and pure concentration on it, and what was even more shocking was the fact that his hair had turned from a silvery-grey with red streaks, to obsidian black with dark crimson streaks. "Elias?" called out Lux. The Judge looked over at the door and noticed his friends peeking into his room. He waved for them to come over but had a finger against his lips while he did so.
Lux, followed by Garen and Soraka, quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind them as quietly as possible. Elias didn't leave his seat nor removed his gaze away from the couch when the trio approached him. "Elias wh-" Garen started but was cut off by the teen's hand. With a soft groan, a child with messy magenta hair crawled out from under the blankets. She yawned silently and stretched out her limbs like a cat before flopping back onto the couch. "Annie you need to get up now. It's almost noon and I have some people here I'd like you to meet." he told her softly. Annie groaned more and peeked her head out from the covers, "Do I have to?" The Judge chuckled lightly and walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.
A thought came to Elias' and he grinned widely. "Well I guess I can avoid the strawberry ice cream when I go out later today..." he said with a mischievous look on his face. The child quickly shot from underneath the covers, grabbed a hold of his arm, and gave him the biggest puppy-dog eyes he'd ever seen. "Noooo anything but that!" she whined. The Judge put on his best "stern face" before relaxing and laughing lightly. "Then say hi to my friends. And be nice alright?" Elias tells her.
Annie nodded cheerfully before letting go of his arm and facing the rest of the group, who was all in a state of shock at her attitude towards him. "I'm Annie. It's nice to meet you all," she said with a cheery smile, "Have you seen my bear Tibbers?" Elias groaned silently and patted her head, "Annie no summoning demonic flaming teddy bears alright? Save that for bad guys okay?" The Dark Child looked at him confused but quickly nodded in agreement and went to sit down in his lap. "Ok big brother. I wont have Tibbers bear hug them." she giggled.
"Wait did she just call you "Big Brother" Elias?" Soraka asked confused. Annie nodded cheerfully as a response and plopped down in the Judge's lap. "Um... mind explaining how that happened? Hell explain everything since you got back because we are all confused here." Garen said in his loud voice. The Judge was messing with Annie's magenta hair and was laughing at the funny faces she was making. "Its quite the interesting story actually. Annie why don't you tell them what happened?" chuckled the teen who was enjoying messing with the little girls hair.
She had a pouty-face on but it quickly shifted into a look of excitement and bewilderment. "I was walking through the Ins... Insti," she said while struggling with the word, "Institute. In-sti-tute." pronounced Elias to helped her say the word. "Ohh... thank you big brother!" she replies with a smile on her face. "Anyway, I was walking through the Institute after the glowy blue light brought me and some hooded man came up to me. He told me to come with him to this room so I could be... what was it again brother?" Annie looked at him. "Judged." he replied. "Yeah that's it! Then he started leading me to this big black doorway and said that I would be judged inside there. But before we got to it, big brother Elias came up to us and told the hooded man that he would take me the rest of the way. And that's how we met!" Annie concluded.
Garen, Lux, and Soraka listened to the story and they all agreed with the story, but one part. Elias also noticed what they were thinking about and looked over at Lux and nodded his head towards Annie, who was now braiding his hair for fun. Lux took the cue and stood up, "Hey Annie do you want to see a magic trick? We have to do it outside though." she asked the little girl. The Dark Child's eyes widened and she jumped from her seat and ran to her, squealing with joy, "Yes, yes I wanna see!" The blonde smiled warmly at her and took her hand and led her out of the room, leaving the rest of the champions alone.
"I want to know what was going on too." the Judge said seriously. Garen and Soraka's attention fixed themselves on the teen and nodded in agreement. "How did you even find her in the first place? And when did this all start?" asked the Starchild. The black-and-red-haired champion leaned back into the recliner and crossed his arms. "First, this happened a day or so after I came back from Demacia. Second, my training with Ezreal has helped sharpen, and discover new abilities I have. One of them happens to be sensing the essences and intentions of people." he nonchalantly replies. "Sense their essences? Please explain." Garen asked puzzled. "Basically I can sense, no pinpoint the... life force, or soul of creatures around me if you will. I can even take it one step further and look into their intentions as well." Elias explains.
Soraka had a grim look on her face and her blue skin seemed to pale. "That... that is something I've only seen members of the Shadow Isles able to do." she said through shaky breaths. Elias rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor, "Yeah... Somehow my powers resemble those of the Shadow Isles, even though I'm not from it." The Starchild nodded slowly before Garen ushered him to continue. "Back to the creep in the robe. I sensed something evil and sinister walking around the League and I don't mean Shadow Isle champions or any of the other malicious ones, this one reeked pure evil. Then I noticed a smaller life in close proximity to the ominous presence: childish, cheery, slightly psychotic, but mainly untainted. After that I knew I had to go check out what was going on." the teen finished.
"That would lead into you taking her to the correct Judgement Hall where she'd be safe. But why have you been locked away in your room all this time?" Garen said, crossing his arms. Elias' face darkened and eyed around the room before speaking in a quiet tone. "That same presence kept following her around. I spoke to the Head Summoner on the issue and he thought it would be best if I kept guard on her. Whatever, or whoever, finally disappeared a week or so later but I wanted to keep watch some more. In the process of doing that however, little Annie decided to adopt me as her big brother." he finished with a chuckle.
The other two champions nodded before going into a trance of deep thought. The room remained silent for several minutes before Soraka spoke up, "I will have to talk to the other Supports about this issue. I'll also talk to Maxis about setting up safety wards around the Institute so that something like this cannot happen again." Garen and Elias nodded in agreement when the door suddenly burst open to reveal a very cheerful Annie, and a very stunned Lux who had part of her hair singed off. "Let me guess: Annie showed you Tibbers?" Elias said with a smirk. Lux's reply was a small nod followed by her walking towards her brother and hiding behind him.
"Eli, Eli! Big sister Lux showed me a trick where she disappeared!" Annie says excitedly. Everyone's heart melted at the pure adorableness of Annie being excited about the trick, and the fact she called the blonde her big sister. Elias laughed at her words and went over to ruffle her hair. "Well if Lux is your big sister then Garen is also your big brother." he tells her with a smile on his face. She quickly then turned to Garen who was now standing and her eyes widened with amazement. "You are my big brother Elias, but he is the even bigger brother!" Annie gleefully said with a smile on her face.
To many people's surprise, Garen actually laughed heartily at her remark and knelt down in front of her. "That's right, if Lux will be your sister then I'm now your even bigger brother." he said in his proud tone of voice. Her smile widened even further as she ran up and hugged the behemoth of a man, thanking him for being so kind to her. Lux giggled started telling Annie how if she wanted to go to Demacia all she would have to do is ask her and they'd be there in a flash. Soraka even mentioned that if she ever got hurt that she should come to the Support quarters right away so that they could heal her of whatever injury. The rest of the day was spent catching up and telling each other about the few weeks that have happened.
Soon nightfall came and the group of friends decided to call it a day. Annie had fallen asleep hours ago and was curled up in Elias' lap; snuggled up against him and snoring peacefully. After everyone had left, Elias gently picked up the magenta-haired girl and placed her on the couch, covering her up and tucking her in. "What an eventful day." the Judge sighed to himself. The day was indeed tiring for him but it also cheered him up considerably and made him forget about being homesick. He then walked into his bathroom, took a shower, brushed his teeth, and put on his pajamas on which consisted of a black sleeveless shirt and black sweatpants.
Crashing onto his bed, he glanced over at a curled up Annie, who was sleeping peacefully and clutching Tibbers in her arms. The thought made him smile but put on thoughtful look. "I should get another bed or something in here. Sleeping on the couch is messing me up pretty badly, and with two girls staying here I'm gonna need a bed." Elias said to himself. He just shrugged it off however and crawled under his covers, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Elias once again woke up with an insufferable headache, except this time it came from a completely different source. Someone was outside of his room banging loudly on his door and yelling things that made no sense. He looked around the room to see that Annie was still wrapped up in the covers and sleeping soundly. When the knocking stopped the teen was relieved. Until the banging got louder. Much louder.
Finally irritated to the point where he couldn't take it any more, Elias groggily got out of bed and stumbled towards the door. "I'm coming! Just give me damn minute." mutters the Judge as he approaches the door. He slowly cracked it open and peeked his head through it to see that Irelia was standing there. "Oh it's you. Come on in." he tells her while opening up the door more. She politely bows and walks into the room, leaving Elias to close the door behind them. "So what brings you here Irelia?" he asks her, leaning against his dresser as he does so.
The Ionian captain takes a look around his room then looks at him, "I have come to inform you about our match later today. It will be me, you, Karma, Lucian, and that evil witch Syndra." she said with the last name being like poison to her. The Judge took note of her bitterness towards Syndra and remembered how the Dark Sovereign was an enemy of Ionia. "Ok. Who's on the enemy team?" Elias asks her. She shook her head and crossed her arms, "I have no idea. I've heard that it's mainly consisting of Demacian and Noxian champions.
The teen's face turned into a frown for he did not wish to possibly have to fight his friends. "Alright thank you for the heads up." he politely thanks her. Irelia flashes him a small smile before noticing something moving on the couch. She makes her way over to it and sees that Annie is asleep on the couch and is still clutching Tibbers close to her. Instead of acting rationally and asking what she is doing her, the Will of the Blades summons her weapon and has all four of her massive blades at the Judge's throat.
"Why is this child here. She has been missing for weeks!" she demanded with a scowl on her face. The black-and-red-haired teen sighed before ducking under her blades and moving at an impossible speed, now face to face with the Ionian woman. Pressing his scythe's blade to her neck he looked her dead in the eyes, her shock clearly evident in them. "Let me make this clear: Make sure you have the facts in before you decide to kill someone. I have been placed as her bodyguard by Head Summoner Maxis due to her being such a young girl. If you have any problems with that, I'll gladly tell him about them." Elias growled at her.
After she nodded slowly as her response, he slowly retracted his blade back into the darkness and shook his head. "I knew you were still naive but still I never imagined you to attack me like that. How old are you anyway?" he asks her quickly. She stiffened at his words because she had heard the word "naive" numerous times, and they always followed with her age. "I'm only 26." she coldly replied. Elias knew he hit a nerve and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. It was a 'I just had four blades controlled by a master martial arts fighter being pressed against my neck' moment. Won't happen again."
Irelia's face reddened in anger but she quickly composed herself before bowing and leaving the room. When she was gone, Annie was wide awake and staring at him in awe. "You wanna go get some breakfast with me?" Elias asks her with a smile. She quickly nods and rushes to the bathroom to get ready. After bathing, brushing her teeth, and clothing herself in her pink dress, she walks out with her magenta hair damp that's in her eyes. He chuckles at her appearance and goes into the bathroom and gets ready himself. Once he was out, Annie was sitting on the couch, casually drying her hair off with her fire magic, then looked up at him. His jet-black hair was a wet mess that managed to hide the red streaks in them, and his outfit consisted of the same hoodie and jeans he had when was in Demacia.
The two soon left the room and began walking down the halls of the Institute. They were greeted with hello's by various summoners and a few champions as well. After walking for a bit, Elias noticed that Annie was staring at him intensely. "Oh alright." he said smiling and kneeling. A wide grin came across the child's face and she climbed onto his back, making sure to hold onto him tightly. Once she had a firm grip on him, the Judge continued walking until he had exited the Institute of War entirely. "So what do you want today?" the teen says looking up at her. She pondered for a moment and quickly decided with a single word, "Scones!" He smiled and nodded pointed forward, "Then acquiring scones we shall do!" Annie giggled and mimicked his pointing motion.
Both champions continued forward until the little one noticed a bakery that was serving breakfast items and steered the older one towards it. Once they had arrived at the door, Annie slipped off of his shoulders and stood next to him while he opened up the door. The scent of freshly made pastries and sweet cinnamon rolls was intoxicating to say the least. Elias breathed in the smells of the bakery and sighed happily. Then he noticed the two workers in the bakery and nearly lost all of his color.
Pantheon and Morgana were in the back rolling dough, sprinkling sugar, and applying frosting across various assorted goods. After a while of staring, and Annie deciding on what she wanted, Elias was snapped out of his daze and found something he wanted as well. He told her to go find a seat at one of the tables and Morgana came over and had a smile on her face to his surprise. "What would you like?" she asks him. "She wants one of the strawberry scones and I'll take a cinnamon roll." he politely replies. The Fallen Angel nods and quickly gathered the items and placed it in a bag. "Your total comes out to 150 gold." Morgana tells him.
He hands her his golden champion's card, which was given to him so that he could spend his earnings from matches. She takes the card and swipes it at the register before handing it back. "You're a champion too? I've never seen you around." the angel tells him. "I'm relatively new actually. The names Elias, and that's Annie. She's another new champion as well." he responds. Morgana looked shocked to hear that a little girl was in the League of Legends but figured if she was in it, she was immensely powerful. "I see. Well I'll see you on the Rift perhaps. Until then." Morgana says bowing her head slightly.
The Judge waves goodbye and took a hold of Annie's hand before promptly leaving the bakery. After handing her scone to her, Annie took a bite of it and was met with pure bliss. "Thish ish sho good!" she said between mouthfuls. Elias chuckled at this and ate his own cinnamon roll which tasted absolutely perfect. After the two had finished their breakfast they pondered on what they should do today till his match. "We could go to that park you've wanted to visit." suggests the teen. She pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "I wanna go see big sister Lux and see that magic trick again!" the magenta-haired child exclaims. Elias nods and picks her back onto her shoulders, then starts to walk towards the Demacian wing of the Institute.
The enormous blue and gold banners were the dead give away. Even more so was the man standing in golden armor sparring with a large man dressed in his Dauntless Vanguard armor. The two were slicing at each other with their weapons and constantly switching who had the upper hand. When Elias appeared in hand with Annie, the two old friends stopped clashing and looked at the pair. Jarvan walked over to them and shared a manly handshake between himself and the Judge. "Well you're a a sight for sore eyes. How have you been Elias?" the prince asks him. "I've been doing well. How's that situation in Demacia?" he responds.
The golden prince sighed but quickly shook his head, "The issue was thankfully resolved. Even after Shyvana burned down some of the city on accident, most of the decorations were salvageable and were quickly put up. Lux had to work especially hard to put on a light show to make up for some of the activities being put out of commission because of the snow." Elias chuckled at all the trouble his friend had gone through but he knew that the prince would make it through anything. Elias felt a tug on his sleeve and looked behind to meet a pair of emerald colored eyes staring at him. He leans down and she whispers in his ear: "Who's the big gold man?"
"Ah right. Annie this is Jarvan the 4th. He's Garen's boss and best friend. Jarvan this is Annie. She's became a new champion lately and has been placed under my care by Head Summoner Maxis." he explains to both of them. Jarvan knelt down and took off his helmet, letting his messy black hair fall around his face. "It's nice to meet you." the prince says, extending a hand towards the little girl. She shyly took it and shook his hand before hiding behind Elias again. "So what brings you here Elias?" Garen says to his friend. He motions to Annie and says to him, "She wanted to see Lux do the invisibility trick again before my match later today."
"She's inside the library. I'll take you to her." the Demacian captain tells them. The group said their goodbyes to Jarvan and walked inside of the Demacian living quarters. Saying the inside was stunning would be an understatement. The halls were covered in various paintings and Demacian banners glittered with golds and blues. After a few turns and hallways, they finally arrived at the library. Inside of it was a large collection of books, scattered papers, and various other bits of paper lying around. In the back of the library there was a small desk piled high with papers and books alike, and sitting there was Lux who was reading an old book that seemed like it could crumble if you mishandled it.
"Lux! I've brought you some visitors." Garen whispered loudly. The blonde looked up from her book and smiled at her guests. "Lux!" Annie gleefully squealed as she ran towards her. Lux hugged her adopted sister and looked at her outfit. "Where's your headband? It looks so cute on you!" she asks the girl. "I forgot to grab it today. But I got a scone today from a lady with really big wings. It was delicious." the little girl told her adopted sister. The two girls talked to each other for a while and so did the two guys when an announcer announced the time for the next League match.
"Well that's my cue to leave guys. You guys gonna watch the match from here?" Elias asks Garen. "You can count on it. I wish you good luck." Garen replies. The Judge nods and says goodbye to Lux and Annie before running off to his next match.
AN: Well guys here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to write but I managed to get it done before I go back to school. As always I hope you enjoy and hope that you have a good night/day/evening/read and I'll see you next time.