Chapter 20: Calm After the Storm

Nocturne floats there laughing as another hail of bullets comes his way.

"Those tiny things don't affect me, Judge! Why waste them when you could use them on yourself!" roars the creature as it advances towards Elias.

"I just wanted to test the waters with you Noc. You'll feel this one for sure!" Elias retorts while unloading his revolver.

Elias whispers a quick incantation and he reloads the cylinder before unloading another volley of bullets. Except this time, they appear as needles of light that pierce the Eternal Nightmare's form. Nocturne is beaten back by the newly enchanted bullets on him as his form is riddled with scorching holes.

"Surprised at my sudden usage of light magic Noc? Figured at some point I would need utilize alternate forms of magic to take down specific foes that don't exactly have roots in the Shadow Isles. I'll be sure to thank Lucian later for teaching me it," the Judge chuckles before reloading again.

The Eternal Nightmare scowls and brandishes his weapons again, "Then I suppose you will have to experience the taste of true, absolute fear, Judge."

"Trust me. I think I can handle whatever nightmare you'll use against me," Elias says with a smirk, pointing his silver revolver at his opponent.

Elias shoots up out of bed in the middle of night covered in sweat. He looks around his surroundings and notices that he is back in his room at the Institute and it was nighttime. As he was about to get out of bed to walk around he felt an arm pinning him down.

The Judge looks over and notices Riven sleeping soundly in bed with an arm wrapped around him, and next to his other side was Annie snoring softly.

"Wait how did I get here..." Elias says to himself.

Riven stirs from her sleep and looks up at Elias both sleepily and concerned, "You ok Eli?"

He nods with a smile on his face and leans over to kiss her forehead.

"Just a dream. You can go back to sleep," he tells her.

She yawns and nods before drifting back off to sleep. Elias notices that she was wearing her usual outfit when she fights on the Fields of Justice and not the outfit she was wearing at the festival. This strikes him as odd. Feeling a wave of exhaustion however, he ends up lying back down for a split second. Then something dawns on him.

He quickly disappears into a portal underneath him and arrives in the middle of the Shuriman desert. He starts to replay the events at the Blossom Festival in his head up until the end where he passed out. When he gets to the end of recalling what happened, his face and emotions shifted into that of shock.

"Wait. That means... That means Riven is my girlfriend now. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT! RIVEN. IS. MY. GIRLFRIEND. NOW!" the last part he yells at the top of his lungs.

The Judge is overcome with the overwhelming feeling of joy and jumps about the sands like a crazed fool. Minutes later he regains his composure and goes through another portal back to the Institute of War. That's what he thought until he finds himself in the middle of the forest.

"Uh... shit. I could have sworn... No, I did picture a portal back into my room, so why am I here?" the Judge asks aloud to himself.

His train of thought was interrupted by several shuriken that stick from the ground in front of him.

"You are trespassing on the Order of Shadow's territory," says a voice from the shadows.

The source of the voice steps forward into the moonlight to reveal a tall, slim, yet fit man, with a long ponytail and an arm covered in sharp and jagged armor. The armor was strange though. It seemed more alive than just metal. And in the armored arm was a scythe that was held in reverse to how Elias held his own.

"Huh. Didn't know there were any other edgy scythe wielders in Runeterra. Mind telling me your name?" Elias asks the man.

"I am Kayn, The Shadow Reaper. Master Zed's star pupil, and your end," Kayn replies while bringing his scythe back and crouching into a fighting stance.

"Hrm. Well sorry to break it to you, but I think I got you beat when it comes to fighting with scythes," Elias says while pulling out his scythe from a small portal.

The two men circle around each other, both waiting for one to make their move. Elias stops in his tracks for a moment as the world begins to spin around him. He plants his scythe and starts breathing heavily.

"What the hell is going on with me..." Elias mutters to himself.

Kayn looks at him with a puzzled look and plants his own scythe into the ground.

"It seems to me that you aren't in any position to be fighting at all. Yes, I know he is easy prey but this is too easy," Kayn says both to Elias and his own scythe.

"Hey bud. Kanye, Candy Cane, whatever your name is. Tell Zed I'm sorry for trespassing and tell that… thing that if it tries to eat me then the entire League of Legends and a very angry silver-haired lady will hunt both of you down," Elias says between ragged breaths.

Kayn looks down at his scythe then back up to Elias, "You can hear Rhaast?"

"Yeah. I can. And I gotta say, Rust, I don't think Zed, or your brother would appreciate the news of the both of you being hunted down and killed. Actually, I think your brother would just laugh at your death."

Before Kayn or his weapon could say another word, a shadow appears between both Elias and Kayn.

"Kayn that is enough! I cannot allow you to harm a champion of the League!" Zed says while emerging from the shadow.

"Master Zed! My apologies. I did not know he was a champion. I thought he was just a trespasser invading out territory," Kayn says while kneeling.

Before Zed could scold Kayn again, Elias collapses in front of them.

"Damn it," Kayn and Zed say in unison

Back at the Institute...

Riven starts to stir again from her sleep. This time though she wasn't greeted with the smiling face of Elias. Instead she was greeted with her moonlit room that was occupied by only her and a sleeping Annie. She immediately shoots up from her bed and frantically starts looking around for him.

After a few minutes of searching in their room she puts on her boots and heads down to the infirmary. Once there, she knocks on the door and waits for a reply. Soraka opens the door a few moments later and looks up at her.

"Oh, hello Riven. Is something the matter?" Soraka asks politely while waving her inside.

Riven comes inside and sits on one of the vacant seats.

"You wouldn't have happened to see Elias come through, here have you?" she asks worriedly.

"No, he hasn't... Why, what happened?" Soraka asks in a similarly worried tone.

The Exile sinks into her chair and puts her head in her hands, "When I woke up he was just gone. No note, no trace, nothing. What if he left again? W-what if-"

Soraka immediately silences her by bringing her into a tight embrace. Riven hugs her back and starts to cry silently into her shoulder.

"I doubt he would go back to his world again. And I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine," Soraka says to comfort the silver-haired champion.

Riven nods slowly and looks back up at the Starchild. Soraka smiles warmly at her and gently strokes her hair. A few moments pass before Riven composes herself again and looks back up at her.

"Thanks, Raka. You always know how to calm me down," smiles Riven.

"Anytime dear. And since you're here, we should continue with healing your arms. It's been a while since we've met up, besides on the Rift. Plus, I want to learn more about your newfound relationship with Elias," Soraka smirks.

"He was fine! He collapsed after we fought, if you could even call it a fight, and I didn't get so much as a scratch on him!" Kayn angrily tells Shen.

Shen of course didn't believe this but he nods his head and gets to work. Zed however believes his pupil's story as he also knew how skilled Elias was at combat- especially with his scythe.

"Well for now we must make sure he is taken care of. If we return him to the League like this, we will most likely be blamed for it," says the master assassin.

His pupil nods in agreement and they both stare on as Shen takes care of him.

"I'm honestly more surprised that you came to me, Zed. You could have had one of your own people take care of him, yet you still came to me. Why is that?" asks the Eye of Twilight.

Zed lets out a hmph and crosses his arms, "They don't have your... eye of expertise. That, and I was sure that you would gladly take care of someone who saved you and your weak order."

Shen simply nods and starts to finish up his examination of Elias.

"Kayn. Return back to the Order of Shadows. I will meet you there soon," Zed tells his pupil.

The Shadow Reaper bows his head, albeit begrudgingly as he wished to kill his master's greatest enemy here and now. However, he did as his master told and melded back into the shadows.

"I'm surprised he even tried to fight considering he's been unconscious for the last week and a half. You're lucky it was severe exhaustion and lack of nourishment that made him collapse. I will take him back to the Institute of War so he can regain his strength there," Shen tells Zed.

The master assassin nods his head and summons a portal of shadows underneath him. Before he went through, Shen placed a hand on his shoulder, "And Zed. Thank you for coming to me. I know our paths branched off long ago but, I still think of you as a brother."

The Master of Shadows just gives a slight nod before disappearing into the shadows.

"Now to get you back home." Shen says while picking up Elias.

The Eye of Twilight then begins to focus his power outwards. Purple glowing rings formed underneath him as he channels, and the glow starts to grow. Moments later, Shen was standing next to Soraka and a surprised Riven who jumped out of her seat.

"Ah, Soraka. I brought in this one from Ionia. He apparently tried picking a fight with one of Zed's people before passing out," Shen tells the Starchild while laying Elias down on another empty cot.

Riven almost wanted to jump on top of Elias to make sure he didn't disappear again, but seeing him in such a fragile state made her refrain from doing so. His breathing was ragged and shallow.

"I'll make sure he is taken care of Shen. Thank you for bringing him here," Soraka tells the ninja.

Shen bows his head before disappearing from sight. Both female champions look over at the unconscious Elias and sigh.

"Reckless as always," Riven says with a slight blush on her cheeks.

She repeatedly runs a hand gently through his obsidian-black hair while Soraka does some tests to check on his condition.

"He should be right as rain tomorrow. Just make sure when he wakes up that he eats enough food, alright?" the Starchild says to the silver-haired woman.

Riven gives a slight nod and continues to run her hand through Elias' hair.

"He should be ok to be taken back to hi- I mean, both of yours room," Soraka says with a sly smirk creeping across her face. Riven smiles at this thought and sits there for a few more moments before standing up.

"Thanks for the help Raka. I'll make sure that he doesn't run off this time," Riven says with a giggle.

She then lifts Elias up in her arms and says her goodbyes before exiting the infirmary. On the way back to their room, the Exile was met with various gazes from onlookers walking about the Institute. Some were confused as to what was going on, while others giggled or whispered to each other.

She ignored them of course. Her only goal at this point was to get her newfound lover back to their room. However, the words "lover" and "back to their room" made Riven's cheeks light up a shade of cherry red. She had never loved before.

All she ever knew was the Noxian way of life when she was a soldier for the army. And love, if anything, was frowned upon just as much as, if not more than being weak. Love led to weakness according to Noxians.

But, if Katarina and Garen could love each other despite one of them growing up in the same lifestyle as her, then she too could learn how to love. She eventually got to their room and found that Annie was still sleeping soundly in bed, still clutching Tibbers close to her chest.

Once Riven had lifted Elias into bed and got changed back into her sleep attire consisting of shorts and a silver T-shirt, she laid down between both of them. She rolled over to face Elias and sighed.

"You're a handful alright... but that's why I love you," she whispered to herself.

As if on que, Elias wraps his arms around Riven in a warm embrace. She is surprised at first when he unconsciously hugs her, despite his condition. She simply smiles though. As she nuzzles her head into his chest she hears him mumble something- almost like a mantra.

Adjusting so she wouldn't wake him up, Riven shifts her ear up right to Elias' mouth to hear what he was saying. What he was mumbling brought a warm and content smile to her face. She nuzzles her head back into his chest and closes her eyes.

As she drifts into sleep, Elias' words kept echoing in her mind: "I love you Rivs."

AN: Finals are over. Life isn't as crazy as it got in late September of last year. Thank. God. Also I took a fictional writing class this semester which, as you can probably see above, has changed my writing style somewhat. Hope you enjoy, and see you next year (I joke, but knowing me it's most likely gonna happen).