AN: Here's the next chapter. The next one should be up in about two-ish days, and fair warning: the second one will be kind of gory and explicit so... I warned ya. Also I may rename the story to a better one as I think the original title seems kind of lame, but I will debate on that for a while. Until next time my readers.
Chapter 14: Under Attack
The League was thrown into disarray when Elias had been missing for a week. He seemingly disappeared off the face of the world without even the slightest trace of him. Head Summoner Maxis was forced to order the closure of all League matches until the Judge was found due to many of the other summoners losing a favored champion. This of course angered numerous champions that were enjoying their regular matches, but they were powerless to do anything. The people of Valoran were also losing interest in the matches since its popular new champion had gone missing. Of course the ones most affected were the teen's close friends.
Garen was spending most of his time trying to calm down his restless sister who was searching everywhere around Demacia, constantly going nights without sleep looking for their friend. Ezreal took time off from his museum job to scour the areas around Piltover and Zaun in search of the missing champion, even visiting the Freljord to ask his uncle if he has seen him. Katarina managed to convince her adoptive brother to help her scout around Noxian territories to find the Judge but could not find anything. None of the parties involved could find him for two weeks that he went missing which only made them worry more. Out of all of the friends, the ones most affected were Riven and Annie. The most revered champion that came into this world only met six months ago was missing, and no one could find him.
The Dark Child refused to leave the Judge's room and spent most of her nights crying over the disappearance of her brother. Riven would do the same, except she wouldn't cry, would rarely rest, and would barely eat. Most of the time she would just sit in the seat near the balcony and stare blankly at the sky till she passed out from exhaustion. This started to concern the summoners and champions, namely the supports, to the point where they needed something to return these two to normal. Head Summoner Maxis decided to release the Ultra Rapid Fire tournament once again in hopes that it would cheer up the two downcast champions. It worked for a little while as the two were some of the most played champions in the tournament, but they slowly lost interest in it and retired in the middle of the week. The League had seen this as a defeat on their end to help alleviate the pain from the two champions. To make matters worse, an unexpected event occurred in the Judge's absence; one that would bring about one of the greatest conflicts Runeterra has ever seen.
A large BOOM! was heard in the Institute of War which shook the entire building. "What in the blue blazes was that?! exclaimed Head Summoner Maxis from his desk. He stands up from his desk and walks over towards the window, only to be shocked at what was going on outside. Volleys of arcane energy came hailing down upon the Institute, leaving craters of crackling energy where they made contact. Maxis scoured around the area and noticed something in the distance that made his very being shudder in fear: Xerath was leading an army of unknown entities towards the Institute of War, and at the head of it was Renekton, the corrupted brother of Nasus. Without a moment to lose, the Head Summoner began to broadcast a city-wide message.
"This is an emergency. All civilians are to evacuate to the underground bunkers immediately! Any Champions left in the area are to report to the Institute's central terrace at once!" Once his message was delivered, the entire city began to evacuate. Hordes of people began to fill into the underground bunkers that were created in case of an attack on the Institute of War. As this happened however, Xerath began to target the fleeing civilians with his Arcane Barrage. Orbs of blue energy began raining down on the unsuspecting people and vaporized anyone hit by them. The unfortunate souls that were hit by this power were turned to dust as the power-hungry champion laughed manically at the destruction before him. Xerath then began to charge his power for another Arcane Barrage, this to be more powerful than the last.
Once he was charged up, the Magus Ascendant unleashed another unrelenting barrage of magic down onto the city. Blue firebolts crashed into the buildings and the landscape, covering them all in an azure flame. An unsuspecting family that was about to enter the bunker entrance as one of these bolts of energy was about to crash into them. The parents attempted to shield their children, but they all knew that their end was near. However, they were saved by a white force field created by an orb that was circling around them slowly. When the parents looked up, they saw a mechanical woman staring down at them with her hand pointed towards them. The machine then flicked her wrist towards her and the orb flew to her side, earning a look of awe and shock from the family. "You must evacuate. The Ball and I will make sure that you are safe." she said in a very mechanical voice. Nodding, the family understood and quickly made their way down the steps of the bunker.
"Orianna!" yelled a voice. The mechanical woman turned around to see Ezreal running towards her with a furry, blonde Yordle on his shoulder that was throwing down little capsules behind them. "Hello Ezreal and Heimerdinger." she replies with a curtsy. The Prodigal Explorer nods at her while the small creature on his shoulder started fiddling with something that looked like a remote. "You need to get to the Institute right away. The League will nee-" Ezreal said before getting cut off my Heimer's hand. "No Ezreal, you go the terrace. Orianna and I will continue setting up defenses around the city." the inventor sternly told him. The young man nodded at his mentor and ran off towards the central terrace.
While the Explorer ran off, another ball of energy was coming towards the two champions. "Ah Orianna. Let me see your ball real quick." the inventor waved at her. At first the mechanical woman was reluctant to hand over her precious ball, but her mind changed when she knew how technologically savvy Heimerdinger was and ordered the ball go to the Yordle's hands. Once in his hands, the tiny inventor started fiddling with the mechanical ball. After a few moments of opening it up, pulling some wires out, and adding somethings to the inside, Heimer gave back the ball to the Lady of Clockwork. She examined to see what the inventor had changed about her beloved ball, but could not find a thing wrong, or even different about it.
Her protectiveness over her partner caused the old Yordle to chuckle to himself, "It is perfectly fine Orianna. I merely upgraded its defensive capabilities so that it would be more of use to us." The mechanical woman cocked her head to the side before giving an appreciative nod. Once that was settled the two champions began running all around the city, Orianna protecting Heimerdinger from Xerath's assault as he set down his turrets while they moved around. The mechanized woman was surprised how quickly the tiny Yordle managed to modify her Ball to have a larger shield that was much more durable than the original one. After a full circle of the city, the inventor pulled out a remote and waved for Orianna to give him her Ball. She quickly gave the small Yordle the ball and waited for him to do something. "This should be interesting." said Heimer as he pushed a button on the remote.
In an instant, all of the turrets came to life and the Ball's shield exploded around them, covering the entire city with a protective barrier. As that happened, the remaining volley's of energy were shot down by the turrets placed around the city. This caused Xerath to end his assault and call back his troops, much to Renekton's displeasure. "Eureka! It actually worked!" exclaimed Heimerdinger. His plan had worked successfully: the entire city now had its own working defense system. Orianna stood there in what could be described as awe since she could not experience emotions at all. "If the Ball is protecting the city, then what will protect me?" questions the Lady of Clockwork. The Revered Inventor gave a grin before going back to his remote, "Your ball will only temporarily acting as the city's shield. I'll figure something else out for the long term." She nodded and went back to staring around the city. "We should make our way towards the terrace now Heimerdinger. I am certain that the others are worried about us." Orianna tells the Yordle. He gives a nod of understanding and the two start for the central terrace inside of the Institute of War.
"They're finally here!" exclaims Ezreal. The group of champions gain a look of relief on their faces when their fellow champions arrived unharmed. Once Heimerdinger and Orianna join the rest of the champions, Head Summoner Maxis begins speaking. "Thank you for joining me here today. As you all have noticed, we are now under the attack of Xerath and his army led by Renekton. I can only assume that this attack will not be the last one. So as my duty of Head Summoner, I hereby order each of you here, and the other champions from your hometown, to provide some type of service in the defense of the Institute of War. If the Institute falls, then so does the League, and the rest of Valoran." Maxis finishes solemnly.
The group of champions sit there and whisper among one another. Jarvan was the first to stand and face the Head Summoner, "Demacia will help defend the League of Legends at all costs. You have our full support." "Well if they will help out, then so will Noxus. I'm sure Swain would have no issue in this matter." Katarina adds. This earns a smile from her husband, as well as the Prince. "Piltover will pool its resources into protecting the Institute and the League." says Ezreal while earning an approving nod from Heimerdinger. "I hate to say it, but I will also help." said a figure in the shadows. When they stepped forward, it was revealed to be Viktor, The Machine Herald.
Ezreal flashed a scowl on his face when the Zaunite showed his mechanical self. "Ah, the young explorer. Of course you would oppose of my helping." chastised Viktor. The blonde Piltovian charged his gauntlet and was about to point it at the mechanical man, but a large metal hand pushed down it down. "Easy there blonde boy. I don't want to have to put you down." Vi said with her signature smirk. He grudgingly agreed to stand down as he knew how badly Vi could beat down someone. "I thank you all for your support. We will continue the fortification of the Institute as the weeks go on. Hopefully by the end of the month the entire city will be safe once again." announces Maxis.
With that the champions dispersed to head back to their homelands, each talking about what they can do to protect the city. When they were all gone, Maxis began walking back to his office but was stopped by someone. "Ah Riven. I assume you secured Annie in your room?" asks the elder man. She gives a small nod before speaking, "Head Summoner, there is a... matter I wish to speak to you about. In private." He looked at her curiously before waving at her to follow him. "Let us head to my office then." Maxis says before walking to his office.
On the way there it was quiet between them, which began to unnerve the Head Summoner on what she wished to speak about in private. Once they got to the office, the two walked inside, and Maxis sealed off the room so that they were completely in secret. "So tell me what is troubling you Riven." Maxis says while taking a seat, also offering her a seat as well. The Exile took the seat across from her and fidgeted in her seat, something clearly gnawing at her. "There is a question I must ask you... regarding Elias. I know this is not the correct time to talk about things like this but its something I have to ask." Riven spoke quietly. This caused the elder summoner to lean forward in his seat and stare at her, "Go on."
"Is it possible that the reason we can't find him, is that he is no longer in our world anymore?" she asks. Maxis took a second to think about what the woman before him has just said. "Perhaps it is a possibility. However for him to be able to traverse realms like that would require an immense amount of power. If he indeed managed to travel back to his world, there would be very little we could do to find him." the elder man finished. Riven's face turned into one of defeat as she learned that her theory was perhaps right. "I am sorry, but the only ones who would be able to know about travel of this caliber would be Kassadin or Malzahar; and I unfortunately do not have the whereabouts of the Void Walker, as he would be the easier one to talk to." he finished with a sad look on his face.
The white-haired woman looked down with the look of defeat clearly on her face. "Do you think he'll ever come back?" whispers a now trembling Riven. "I... do not know. But knowing him, I doubt he would leave his new found friends here willingly. I'm sure he will show up eventually." Maxis replies while dispelling the room. The elder summoner then rises from his seat as well as the Exile. He leads her over to the door and then leads her outside, "I know this will be difficult, but Elias will return. We just have to wait. Oh and another thing, I would like for you and Annie to meet Ezreal down in Piltover tomorrow. I believe he has something for you both." Riven nods with a somber smile on her face as she heads back to her-no, Elias' room. She could not bear to call her friend's room her own just because he was missing.
Once she had gotten back to the room, Riven noticed that Annie was curled up in a ball under the covers, clutching Tibbers in her arms. She smiled at the fact that at least one of them could sleep after what happened today. After putting her armor and sword away, the silver-haired woman decided to take a shower to try and relax herself. The first few minutes were indeed blissful as she felt some of the stress just melt away from her body. Water poured from the shower head and helped Riven ease her mind on the things that have happened over the past couple of weeks. However, things from her past started to creep into her mind. Flashes of the invasion of Ionia began to pop into her head. Various images of villagers and soldiers alike screaming in agony from Singed's poison, the thousands of innocent people slain due to Noxus' campaign to conquer the peaceful nation, and the killing of a widely respected Ionian Elder, all came back to her as vivid as they happened.
The Exile moves her hand across scar that ran from under her breast down to her hip, a constant reminder of the things of what had been done during the Ionian invasion. She then ran her hands across the remnants of the chemical burns that were scattered across her arms and legs, the phantom pains of them then causing her to quickly fall to her knees. Riven sat there motionless for what seemed to be hours to her, the water crashing down over her head and body. After a while, she pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into her legs.
"Elias... please come back. We all need you... I need you..." whimpers a now crying Riven. The snow-haired woman had never realized how much she depended upon the Judge to be an emotional anchor for her. With him gone she felt alone, drifting in an endless sea of pain and confusion. After a few more moments to calm herself down, the Exile finally exited the shower, put on her black and white blouse with a pair of shorts, and crawled into bed with Annie. Seconds, minutes, and eventually an hour finally pass before Riven finally gives in and falls asleep.
When Riven finally woke up it was already noon. She groggily looked around the room and noticed that Annie was still asleep and curled against her. Smiling, she gently stroked the child's magenta hair which caused her to stir in her sleep. After a few more moments, the child slowly opened her eyes and yawned loudly. "G'morning Rivey..." the pink-haired child drowsily said. Annie yawned again and slowly rose from underneath the covers, stretching like a cat as she did so. "Hey come on little one. We have to get up and go see Ezreal down in Piltover." Riven tells her. The magenta-haired girl nodded sleepily and got out of bed to get ready. The Exile did the same thing, but albeit at a much quicker pace. Once the two were ready to go, they headed towards the teleport gates which allow instant travel to cities from the Institute of War.
After the gate was activated, the two champions walked through it and disappeared from the room. When they reappeared, they had arrived in the city of Piltover. "Riven! You finally made it." greets Ezreal as he approaches the two champions. The Exile waves at him while Annie stands there in shock at all of the techmaturgical machines flying and dashing around the city. Laughing, the blonde champion smiles and looks over at the child, "I'm guessing its your first time here in Piltover isn't it?" She nods and an looks at him in excitement, "Everything is so cool here! The city looks a lot like Blitzy." The Explorer looks over at Riven for an explanation for Blitzcrank's name to see her just shrug. "She likes to add 'y' to the end of people she likes name."
The Explorer nodded in understanding and led the two towards the museum where he worked at. When they arrived at the museum, all three champions were greeted with a large explosion blowing down the doors. "JINX YOU LITTLE BITCH!" screamed a female voice inside. A blue-haired teenager, in quite revealing clothing, leaped out of the smoke and turned to face the museum. "Catch me if you can Fat Hands!" the teen yelled back while flipping up her middle finger. Just as she did that however, a pink-haired woman with massive gauntlets came dashing out of the smoke towards the one called Jinx. Vi's usual outfit was shredded to pieces and parts of her bubblegum hair were singed off. During this the other three champions stood there in shock at what was going on around them.
Jinx managed to slip out of the enforcer's path and started to run off down the streets. "Dammit Cait, shoot the damn brat already!" Vi yelled to the building. Caitlyn was inside of the building, revving up a shot with her sniper rifle. "In my sights..." whispered the Sheriff. A red laser appeared on the back of Jinx's leg as the rifle was ready to take the shot. Seconds later, the trigger was pulled and the sniper round flew through the air, making a large cracking sound as it did so. The Loose Cannon however was prepared for this and took out her zap pistol, aimed carefully, and shot the sniper round out of the air. "Not this time Hat Lady!" she cheerfully said before running out of sight.
Vi screamed in rage as she punched the ground beneath her, "Every time! She gets away every time!" Caitlyn walked over to her friend/deputy and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Calm down love. We'll get her eventually." said the Sheriff to calm her down. The Enforcer sighs wearily and looks down at her tattered clothes, "Aww man. This was my favorite outfit too." This caused her partner to chuckle softly at her remark. "You wear the same outfit every day. I think you'll be fine Vi." Caitlyn teased playfully.
As the two policewomen got back up they notice the three other champions standing there with their jaws open. "Oh Ezreal. Sorry about the whole mess at the museum. We got a tip on a criminal that was going to hit the place sometime to day. Didn't think we would run into that lunatic Jinx here at all." explained Caitlyn. The Explorer should have been furious at the Vi and Jinx's reckless behavior for wrecking the door to the museum, but this was somewhat commonplace so he did not mind. "Please tell me nothing was stolen." questions the blonde champion with a serious look.
"Everything is right where it was Blondie. Isn't that right cupcake?" Vi says to her partner. The Sheriff gives a reassuring nod before gesturing into the building, "We could do another once over if you want." Ezreal sighs and puts up his hand, "No it's fine. I trust you two. "Right then. Well come along Vi, we have some paperwork to do back at the station. Oh and we'll pay for the damages Ezreal. See you all later!" Caitlyn tells the group before heading out with her partner. Once they had left, the Explorer takes Annie and Riven inside of the museum, leaving the remains of the destroyed door outside.
Once inside, the Explorer leads them around the various sites around the museum. He points out numerous historical artifacts from ancient civilizations, some of the first advances in techmaturgy, and finally the statue of a fierce looking warrior. "All of this is amazing." said Annie and Riven in unison. This caused him to chuckle a bit and cross his arms across his chest. "I brought you guys here for a different reason though. I'll take you to my office to show you something I think might be useful in figuring out what happened to Elias." Both of their heads snapped towards the blonde champion and stared at him intensely.
"Really?!" excitedly asks Annie. He nods with a smile on his face and leads them both to his office, the Exile and child's excitement growing. When they went inside of his office the two female champions noticed how messy the place was. Ancient documents scattered around the place, various artifacts just lying on the ground and shelves, and some other odd items that were stacked on the bookshelves. The only 'neat' area that was in the office was the Explorer's desk, and on top of it was a case that held a small rectangular item inside of it.
"What is that?" asks Riven, something about the item familiar to her. The blonde champion walks over to his desk and lifts up the case to bring it to the other two. "I have no clue what this is, but it definitely is not an ancient ruin. When I analyzed it using Heimer's machines, it was mechanical inside, but on a different level of what we have here in Piltover." he explains. The white-haired woman crosses her arms and looks at him confusedly, "What do you mean 'on a different level'?" Ezreal's eyes light up from excitement and begins to explain. "Yeah, what do you mean Ezy!" says an excited Annie
"Well you know that all techmaturgical devices use magic right? Well this piece of machinery doesn't use magic at all. It uses only electricity to power itself, which is unheard of anywhere in Piltover, or Zaun for that matter. Whatever this is, it is indeed advanced, but advanced in another world's." finishes the blonde man. After a few more moments of looking at the strange device, Riven began to think about where she had seen it before. "What does it do?" asks the snow-haired woman. "I don't have a clue about what it does due to the battery being dead, but I finally managed to charge it enough to perhaps turn it on. Hopefully now we can see what it does." he replies, his excitement growing every second.
The Exile nods as the blonde Piltovian takes the device out of the box, and presses a button located near the top of it. Within seconds of pressing the button the device's screen powered on. An animation played on the glass surface before the screen dimmed a bit. Once the screen had turned back on, the three champions were shocked at what was on it: it was Elias with his arm around a beautiful girl with long, purple hair, the both of them smiling. "I-I knew it..." quietly said Riven. Ezreal and Annie look over at her to see that her hand was covering her mouth. She noticed them and tried to composed herself. "E-Elias showed me this one time when he first came here. He showed me how it works and all of the strange things you could do with it. But I remember he said he lost it before he..." the last couple of words causing her, and Annie, to choke back tears.
"Where did you find this Ezreal?" asks the teary-eyed Riven. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "I found it during the match when that damn lizard went on a rampage. I didn't know it was Elias', otherwise I would have returned it." She waved her hand and told the Explorer that it was ok. "Um... I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, but you wouldn't happen to know how to use this would you?" Ezreal asks. After wiping her eyes, the Exile nodded and gestured over for him to hand her the device. "It's a bit fuzzy... But I think I can still use it." she said after receiving the device. While she started working on the device, Annie decided to look at some of the old books piled around the room to take her mind off of what was going on.
The white-haired woman pressed the side button again and the screen flickered back on. On the screen now was a grid of dots that lit up when you touched them. "Of course it would be password protected. Hold on I can get something that can decipher it." Ezreal scoffed and went to grab some machine off of his desk, but was stopped by the Exile's arm. "No I remember the password... It was something like this." she said while connecting the dots to form an upside-down 'V'. A click sound was made and the device became available to use. "Is there anything else you remember about him using this; I have no clue what it is called." the blonde champion asked Riven. She nods and presses a blue button that looks like an elongated 'U' or 'C', "He would constantly press this button here and put it up to his ear like he was trying to listen to something."
After pressing the blue button, a long list of numbers and names appeared on the screen. "Wait I know what this could be! This is probably a type of telephone used in Elias' world!" exclaimed the Explorer. Riven cocked her head and stared at him confusedly, "Telephone? What is that?" "It is a device that allows long-distance communication to happen. It was created by Heimerdinger a while back, but he was never able to perfect it." Ezreal replies. She nods her head before scrolling through the list more. "I don't get it. If he had this the whole time, why didn't he get in touch with his family back home?" asks the white-haired woman. "Hmm... he probably didn't have a strong enough signal to reach back to his world. That was one of the main problems Heimer was running into when he created his version of the telephone. But the strange thing is, I think it has a strong signal based on those bars at the top." he says while pointing towards the top right hand corner of the screen, a series of bars constantly fluctuating between three and four of them.
"Should we try to use it?" asks Riven, hope starting to come back to her eyes. The Explorer shrugs and takes the device from her hands, "It's worth a shot isn't it?" He scrolled through a few of the contacts listed in the phone and decided to chose the one labeled 'Mom'. Just as he was about to press it though, the phone began ringing. On the screen it said "Unknown Number" with a green and red button on the sides of the words. The blonde looked over at Riven and she nodded, causing him to press the green button. Ezreal put the phone up to his ear and cleared his throat, "Hello?" The other end was quiet and full of static, like someone was there but was not talking.
"Sorry... I dialed the wrong number." said a man's voice on the other side of the phone. Then the call ended, and everything was silent...