Chapter 16: Old Friends, New Faces
"Another match? Are they trying to work me to the ground?" sighs an exhausted Riven, staring at the gigantic display of match listings on a large screen in the middle of the Institute. She has already gone through four matches today, winning all of them, but each of them more taxing than the last. "You too huh?" comments Katarina who was covered in sweat from her most recent match. The redhead was also in a number of matches today, so she knew how the snow-haired woman felt. "Well at least our next match is the both of us on the same side right? That'll make for some fun times." grinned the Exile. Replying with a hellish grin of her own, the Sinister Blade nodded and looked up towards the screen to see both of their next victims.
On the screen for the next match was listed the champions for both sides. The Red team consisted of: Katarina, Riven, Sejuani, Lulu, and Lucian. The Blue team was made up of: Gragas, Cassiopeia, Thresh, and two others that the redhead had never seen before. One of them was named D'artagnan, and the other only was labeled "?" on the screen. She looked over at the Exile to which she only shrugged in response. "Maybe it's a glitch in the system? Who knows, it might be someone like Lee Sin or Irelia." Riven says to the assassin. "True, but the main problem is my sister. I know the League tones down how harmful her poison is but... it still brings out some of the phantom pains from a fight we had a while back." Katarina shudders at the thought of her sisters poison coursing through her veins again.
The exiled Noxian nods in agreement as she could still feel a familiar pain as well. Right as they started to look over the other matches, familiar blue rings of light envelop the two of them and they are whisked away to the Rift. Once there, everyone bought their items and headed off towards their respected lanes. Riven headed towards the poisonous frog creature called the "Gromp" to help her jungler out in killing it. The Winter's Claw followed behind and sighed when she caught up with the Exile. "Of course that Avarosan would other team. It seems like only him and I are picked to play in the Jungle as of late." huffed Sejuani, her boar grunting in agreement.
The white-haired swordsman simply nodded in agreement as she did not want to be involved with Frelordian politics, or any politics at all. After a minute had passed, the poison toad emerged from a mushroom and the two champions begin attacking it. Sejuani used Smite to gain a poisonous armor around her that would harm anything in the jungle that attacked her, and the Exile used her Broken Wings ability to help damage the toad as well. Once enough damage has been dealt to the frog Riven took her leave.
Running to lane, she began to slay the first wave of minions for gold and experience, even getting a few hits on the turret. The strange thing was that her lane opponent had not shown up yet, which worried her. Out of the "tri-bush" next to her came out a man dressed in a silver overcoat with a long pole in hand. Riven noticed that while he had taken a bit of damage, he was a level above her and had a gold advantage. Once he saw that she was on top of his tower he immediately went into action.
The man started attacking the Exile with his staff which caused her to flee from the tower so she did not take any more unnecessary damage. Once she was clear of the tower, Riven's opponent started to skillfully execute the minions for their gold. He didn't miss a single one that approached him. A feat that surprised the female swordsman. She had never seen someone with that amount of skill beforehand in her entire career as a champion for the League. What was more surprising was that this new champion seemed to know how her abilities worked.
He would dodge her Broken Wings ability at the right time, and whenever she tried to close a gap between the two he would simply begin to fire a set of hidden pistols rapidly as he spun around in a circle. This caused the Exile to recall before she would be killed by this skilled champion. After a blue flash of light, Riven began to gain her health back and bought a few items with the gold she had earned. Appearing next to her a few moments later was Lucian who's forehead was caked in sweat. "Having some troubles of your own Lucian?" she asked the Purifier with a weak smile. He nodded in response and sighed, "Yeah. I know that D'Art is new and all but damn. She has some skills that are just downright frightening. What about your lane opponent?"
The Exile sighed and fiddled with her blade a bit before answering. "He's tough whoever he is. I've never seen a champion that skilled before in my lifetime of being one. It's insane how strong he is; and I've only seen one of his abilities so far." she says with a slight tinge of adoration in her words. The dark-skinned gunslinger laughed before heading off of the platform, "Well I must return. Good luck to your lane Riven." With that he was off towards bottom lane, and Riven back to her lane. When she got back to her lane, the white-haired woman noticed that her opponent was sitting there as if waiting her to return.
"What, miss me that much?" she said jokingly to the man, attacking the minions as she did so. He chuckled and stood up before going back to attacking the minions, "Just wanted a fair fight. That's all." The two stood there in silence while attacking their minions, each of them slowly building up their gold and experience while they did so. This changed when her opponent hit level six and quickly advanced towards the Exile. At first she didn't know what going on, but then she saw his teammate Gragas coming out from the river to gank. Riven began to dash away using her Broken Wings and Valor abilities, but found herself moving at a greatly reduced rate.
Gragas has thrown his cask of ale underneath her prior which allowed her lane opponent to catch up to her quickly. The silver-clad champion then began spinning rapidly, unleashing a hail of bullets as he did so. This deteriorated the Exile's health at a rapid rate as the bullets continuously struck her. Just as she was going to die though, Riven had made it underneath her tower safely and began recalling. Although this stopped Gragas from continuing further, the man continued his assault under the tower. She simply ran away as she knew he would only kill her, but this caused the silver man to retreat himself behind the minions after placing a ward at the edge of the tower's range.
As she approached her second tower, the Exile began recalling while still eyeing the incredibly strong champion before her. Just before the rings closed and she was safe Riven found herself launched high into the air, then slammed down with a great force that rumbled throughout the Rift. "You have been slain" rang through her ears when she hit the ground. "How in the hell did he do that?! He was on the other side of the tower so he couldn't have..." Riven thought to herself as she waited to respawn at her fountain. When she appeared onto the fountain, she was greeted by tired looking Katarina sitting there.
"So he killed you huh? How the hell did that happen since you were under the tower right?" the redheaded assassin says to her friend, standing as she did so. "Other side of the damn thing, and no minions to block the shots of it. He just up and appeared on the other side and killed me." the white-haired woman says while picking up the "Caulfield's Warhammer" item from the shopkeeper. The assassin then pats her friend's back and waves as she heads down her lane. After returning to her lane Riven found her tower almost destroyed by her lane opponent; only to find him missing.
She quickly pulled up the minimap and began pinging that he was missing, but it was too late. He was already down in bottom lane and was about to wreak havoc with the other newcomer, D'artagnan, who held a hefty lead of having six kills and zero deaths. As she chopped away at the minions to push towards the enemy tower, the Exile saw the immense skill that these new champions had. The silver-clad man was swiftly jabbing his staff at Lulu, as the female gunslinger fired off rounds of her own towards Lucian. Riven then saw something that caught her eye: her opponent had something attached to the end of the staff that was almost impossible to see.
It looked like it had some type of blade attached to the end of it but she wasn't sure. Just as she had found herself at the Red Team's first top lane tower, the Exile was thrown into the air again and slammed into the ground. Her lane opponent had just appeared from bottom lane, all the way to top lane in a manner of seconds. He then began spinning again in a circle with his pistols and started dealing even more damage to the now fleeing Riven. "How the hell did you do that?!" yells the white-haired swordsman to her attacker. "Magic." he replied in a sarcastic tone. His response caused her to growl and turn back to face the champion.
Riven lifted her foot and drove it into the man's chest, causing him to gasp for air and land violently on the ground. She then approached him slowly as he tried to pick himself up off of the ground. The Exile got to her opponent and planed her knee firmly in the man's chest, eyes glowing with anger. "Alright asshole now yo-" she said before pulling down his hood. Her look shifted from one of immense anger into one of pure shock.
Staring up at here was a pair of light-amber eyes attached to a familiar looking face, accompanied by a cheeky smirk that drained the color from her face. The man wiggles his way from under the platinum-haired swordsman's foot and lifted his hood back over his head. "Wh-what...?" Riven said in disbelief as her opponent began recalling in front of her. Still in shock, she reached out a hand slowly to try and touch the silver-man before her, but he vanished in a flash of blue light before she could. The Exile was left sitting in the middle of the lane before recalling herself. When the Exile had made it to the fountain, she collapsed against the the shopkeeper's large boat and breathed heavily at what had just occurred.
Meanwhile in middle lane, Katarina was starting to lose the fun in constantly killing her sister. Every time Cassiopeia would attempt to attack her elder sibling she would simply use all of her abilities and instantly slay the youngest, much to her displeasure. The score between them was now 8 to 1 with Katarina in the lead. "This is starting to get boring." sighs the redhead assassin to herself while she attacks, and eventually destroys the first middle lane tower. Once that was done she recalled back to her fountain and upon arrival, finding her friend in a near-catatonic state.
"Riven. Hey Riven! What the hell happened?!" the redhead said as she shook her friend. The white-haired woman looked up from her stupor and shook her head furiously. "It's him! I swear it's him on the other team Kat!" the Exile said while gripping onto the assassin's wrists. "Riven you aren't making any sense. Who cou-." Katarina stopped mid sentence. Pulling her arms away, she got the message that her friend was conveying and put on her own look of disbelief. "Are you sure?" the redhead asks seriously. Riven nods with the most serious look she's ever given and points towards her eyes, "Same eyes as him, and he looks the same!"
The Noxian assassin pressed her fist to her chin out of deep thought and finally nodded. "I'll go top and pull off the guy's hood. You bait him out, and I'll knock him to the ground got it?" The ex-Noxian nods in agreement and the two began heading down top lane: Riven down the actual lane, and Katarina through the river pathway.
On the Blue Team..
"Damn it..." cursed the silver-clad man as he approached the shopkeeper and bought his "Blade of the Ruined King" item. He kicked the floor beneath him as a blue pillar of light flashed besides him. D'Artagnan had appeared next to him and flashed a confused look on her face. "What seems to be ze problem monsieur?" she asks while also buying an item from the shop. "Riven saw my face. I'm almost certain she recognized me as well." he says nonchalantly. The gunner's face shifts from one of shock to one of concern, "Well zen, try to not get caught again, monsieur." With that she exited the fountain and headed back towards her lane. He shrugs, "Easier said than done."
When the hooded champion made it up top lane he noticed a change in his lane opponent. She became a lot more aggressive with her attacks and started to push her opponent towards his tower. Once he was under his tower, Riven then activated her ultimate: Blade of the Exile, and dashed towards the silver-clad champion. The white-haired champion used her Broken Wings ability three times therefore knocking up his opponent, then stunned him using her Ki Burst ability. Damn. Taking a lot of damage, but so is she... Wait that means! By the time he had figured out the Exile's plan Katarina had jumped out of the bush and leaped onto him, dealing damage with her Bouncing Blades, Shunpo, and Sinister Steel combo.
The outnumbered champion's health had been depleted below half; but the Exile's health was even lower. "Might as well blow it now," mutters the silver-robed man. With a deep breath he slashes the air with his staff, opening a small void and reaches into his weapon into it. He began pulling it out of the gap and the two female champions soon found out that it was no longer a staff: It was a scythe that looked like it was carved out of a nightmare. It was midnight-black, decorated with an assortment of bones that littered the entire polearm, and a serrated blade.
He then throws the scythe towards Riven. The blade sinks into her shoulder as she cries out in pain, then slumped forward afterwards and planting her sword into the ground. A few moments later she falls onto her face, almost identical to her death animation from the game. Katarina was shocked from what had just happened but was even more shocked from what happened to her opponent. He had regained a portion of his health back and was starting to get back into the fight."Now it is your turn Kat." he said while hiding a playful, yet sinister grin under his hood.
The silver-clad champion then used his Dark Corridor ability and teleported behind the assassin then spun again with his guns, stunning and damaging the redhead. Before she could recover from the attack, the male champion kept auto attacking to deal more damage to the almost-dead Katarina. Once she had recovered from being stunned, the redheaded assassin used her Summoner Flash spell, then placed down a ward on the opposite wall and jumped to it with her Shunpo ability to gain a lot of distance away from her opponent.
Gragas however blocked her advance. He used his Body Slam and slammed into Katarina, both stunning her and dealing damage. He then slams his barrel into her with Drunken Rage and finishes her off. The Rabble Rouser then laughs before heading back into the jungle. The game then goes on to where Red team only had one last tower defending their Nexus, and the enemy team was closing in for the finish. Red team had to come up with a plan and come up with one fast. Of course everyone turned to Katarina who merely sighed.
"Ok guys. We have to focus that D'Artagnan chick and the hooded asshole. After that we just cleanup. Lulu and Sej: You two make sure to keep the tanks at bay so Lucy and Riven can help me kill the three squishies. I can't go in till the last minute to assassinate them, but by then it should be an easy win after that." the Noxian assassin explains. The rest of the group nods in agreement before putting their plan into action.
As predicted, Gragas and Thresh went in first to try and target the squishy targets. Sejuani and Lulu however did their jobs skillfully by using a combination of Glacial Prison to ensnare the enemy team in ice, and using Wild Growth on Lucian to give him more health so he stayed alive longer. The Purifier and Riven swiftly took down the tanks afterwards, leaving the vulnerable targets wide open. During the skirmish though, the yordle and Freljordian came close to dying to D'Artagnan and Cassiopeia, but they were immediately assassinated by Katarina.
"Hell yeah! That was some Grade A fuckin' teamwork guys!" cheered Katarina. The rest of her team roared in victory as they began to clear up the Super minions invading their base. "Wait that was only four of them!" yells Riven. The Noxian assassin quickly shifts to being on high alert before she is put into a state of shock. She had been lifted into the air by the remaining enemy champion with his scythe, then slammed her down into the ground, killing her instantly. He then shifted his attention to the four remaining champions and went to work.
First he targeted Sejuani as she had the lowest amount of health and used his Summoner Flash spell to teleport behind her, then strikes her down with his blade. He then shifts his attention to Lulu who was the closest and slays her almost instantly. Lucian and Riven start to retaliate to the enemy's assault but to no avail. The gunman was defeated as his body was cleaved with an uppercut from the silver-clad champion. The Exile was soon the last remaining Champion on the Red team's side.
In the background, the minions had grouped up and finished off the remaining tower. "A turret has been destroyed." speaks the Announcer. After he heard that, the silver-clad champion throws his scythe at her. She dodges it with her Valor, but her opponent behind her and jabs the flat part of his scythe into her back. Riven goes down from the attack but quickly retaliates with her Ki Burst. The enemy champion is stunned for a brief moment before growling and continuing his assault. The platinum-blonde haired champion thought she could finish off her foe with a few more auto attacks, but she quickly found herself with a curved blade sticking out of her chest. The Exile had been defeated.
"PENTAKILL!" roars the Announcer. Riven collapsed onto her knees but was caught by her opponent who held onto her tightly. "Sorry Riven... I had to make my big return flashy." he says to her quietly, a small smirk on his face. She softly chuckles before weakly punching his shoulder, "Elias... You're an ass." The last of her words spoken weakly the Exile dies. Elias then lays her body down gently on the ground, then finishes off the Nexus; creating a violent explosion as the crystal erupts into thousands of shards. "Victory!"
"Now for the fun part." sighs and exhausted Elias. Soon after, he was teleported outside of the meeting room to be greeted by an enormous mob of fans. They were all chanting his name loudly before he raised his fist into the air and yelled "Good to be back!" This sent the crowd into a frenzy and they roared even louder than before. Elias was then tackled to the ground by a mess of tears and pink hair. Annie clung onto her adoptive brother as tears poured down her face. "Is it really you?" she exclaimed. The Judge nods with his signature grin on his face and is hugged even tighter by the Dark Child.
When he looked up from the sprawled out mess that was clinging onto him, Elias saw that numerous fans were beginning to stampede over to him. He quickly slammed his palm into the ground which summoned a portal beneath them that sucked the two champions into it. They reappeared in Elias' room; away from all of the chaos. "How've you been Annie?" he asks after peeling her off of him. She sniffles and rubs her puffy eyes before replying, "You're a big fat meanie Eli! You were gone for a month!" The Judge rubbed the back of his head and nervously chuckled. "Where the hell were you?! And why do you look so much... older?" questions another voice.
In the doorway was a panting Riven who was glaring daggers at the Judge. He sighs tiredly and spreads his arms out, "It's a long story, but I hope this will clear things up."
So uh... Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter (that only took 7 months to finish ffs, yes hate me all you want) finally! Sorry for the very long update but here it is. Here come the excuses so get ready. First off, I had that big event that happened that pretty much made my life to a full 180; aka life was feeling pointless and I was feeling pretty shitty from June, all the way to the middle of October ("fun times"). Secondly, I started my senior year in highschool which has demanded my full attention until recently where all that is left is a few tests and my finals so there's that to. And finally, I recently acquired a ferret which is both a lot of fun to own and also very time consuming given its still a baby and well... a ferret. So hopefully I can get right back on track to writing some more as I have missed it greatly.
I also love how this is sort of turned into an ironic chapter as it marks the return of not only Elias, but myself as well. Well that's all for now readers. Don't forget to review if you want, and I'll see you in the next chapter.