Bared Fangs
Abruptly, Syndra's eyes snapped open, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Danger her instincts told her. Slowly, deliberately, Syndra rose out of her bed; her body giving off a faint glow as she used her power to suspend herself in the air. Glancing sideways, she looked at Kog'maw, who was still sound asleep inside his cocoon of blankets. Syndra turned her head back to the one door to her private chambers. Her eyes narrowed, as the feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. Suddenly, as if by reflex, Syndra jerked her head backwards. Not a second too soon. Milliseconds later, there was a crash as a dagger flew through the window in her room, flying straight through the space where Syndra's head was one second earlier. Upon not hitting its target, the blade continued its flight until it imbedded itself in the ceiling with a solid thump.
"Oho! You really are quite good." A woman's voice sounded from out in the courtyard. Furious, Syndra gathered her power and swiped her hand at the window. Immediately, the entire wall that Syndra had gestured at exploded, fragmenting into chunks of stone and cement.
"Haha! Nice try." Katarina laughed as she nimbly skipped backwards, out of the shower of debris. Syndra glowered at the Noxian assassin as she gently glided out of the hole in the wall and down into the courtyard. Katarina feigned a casual appearance, strolling around the courtyard and gazing at the castle as Syndra glared at her through eyes of pure fury.
"Oh? What's this?" Katarina said as she almost stepped on a small package on the floor. Deftly, the assassin kicked the box into the air and caught it in her hand.
"Hah! A gift? I wasn't under the impression that anyone would ever give you a gift." Katarina sneered as she toyed with the box.
"Give that back." Syndra snarled through gritted teeth. Instantly, Katarina grinned, she had found a way to provoke Syndra.
"Or else what honey bunch?" Katarina asked condescendingly as she tossed the package up in down in the air.
"I said. Give. That. Back." Syndra punctuated each word threateningly. Unfazed, Katarina stopped tossing around the box and faced Syndra. She tossed the package at Syndra's feet and finally spoke:
"Last chance."
"I need no assistance from anyone. That includes Noxus." Syndra spat in response as one of her spheres engulfed the package at her feet. Katarina stared at Syndra for a second before finally sighing:
"Wrong answer." With that, Katarina vanished and instantly reappeared behind Syndra, she had two daggers in her hands, ready to pierce Syndra's skull. Unfortunately, Syndra was ready. With a yell, Syndra blindly released a concussive blast of energy from her body in all directions. The wave knocked Katarina backwards, but she nimbly twisted in the air, landing with her feet against a nearby wall, and propelled herself back at Syndra. Syndra responded by forcing her magic to collect at an area directly in Katarina's path. Immediately, the space in front of Katarina warped as a sphere phased into existence with a hollow clang. In an instant, Katarina tucked into a roll but maintained her momentum. As she came out of the roll, Katarina leapt into the air, safely leaping over the sphere as it created a micro-crater in the courtyard floor. Katarina immediately attacked, sending a volley of daggers towards Syndra. In response, Syndra boosted herself backwards and swung an arm in the direction of the rubble she created when she entered the courtyard. Instantly, the rubble flew directly into the path of the incoming daggers, haphazardly disrupting the lethal blades' flight path. Tension filled the atmosphere as both daggers and rubble collapsed to the ground in a small cloud of dust. Complete and utter silence dominated the battlefield as Katarina and Syndra slowly moved in a circle, both women maintaining a distance between them. Finally, the silence broke as Syndra's hollow laugh echoed throughout the fortress. It was a maddeningly insane laugh, drunk with ecstasy and power. As her laugh subsided, Syndra fixed Katarina with a horridly twisted grin. Yes. Syndra thought, Finally, an opponent worthy of my true powers. Katarina scowled with rage as she watched Syndra relish their duel with enjoyment.
"Having fun huh? Let's fix that!" She roared as she made a hand gesture in the air. Instantly, several Noxian assassins emerged from around the fortress spires and walls, bearing down on Syndra. Syndra didn't move. Instead, her grin only grew larger and more twisted. Her eyes blazed brighter as her power explosively surged through her body. Although Noxus' assassins were skilled, the one thing they didn't account for was home field advantage. Syndra's magic had long since become one and the same between her and the fortress that she had created. Reaching out, Syndra gestured at the nearest assassin, clawing her hand into a fist as though she were squashing an object within her hand. Immediately, the fortress floor beneath the assassin warped, amorphously forming a pit and swallowing the assassin whole. From the area where the assassin had been engulfed, there was a horrid squelch as the magic infused earth crushed his body. Blood bubbled to the surface of the ground, leaving a massive stain on the floor; a testament to the horrors that happened below. However, Syndra was far from done. Turning to the other charging assassins, Syndra raised her hands to the sky. Again, pure energy flowed through her body as she effortlessly drew from her boundless reserves of magic. Finally, Syndra let out a scream of power as she dropped her clenched fists to her sides. Instantly, the fortress's aura changed, violently emitting gouts of violet energy as Syndra willed the gravity around the fortress to exponentially increase. The sudden change in gravitational energy brought the remaining assassins to their hands and knees, gasping for air as their bodies collapsed under the strain. Katarina barely had enough time to fling herself off of the island before Syndra brutally crushed the assassins.
"Yes!" Syndra laughed maddeningly as Katarina landed lightly on the ground below the floating fortress. "More! Send me more!" Syndra's drunken laughter echoed loudly throughout the entire area.
Katarina suppressed her rage as she swiftly moved away from the fortress. Think you've won? Think again. Katarina thought darkly as she emerged into a clearing where a battalion of Noxian forces were waiting.
"No luck this time hmmm?" Came a question from one of the company members. Katarina fixated the speaker with a deathly glare.
"Just do your damn job Singed." Katarina replied icily. Beneath his mask, Singed grinned widely as he turned to face the floating fortress. Singed hunkered down slightly as he took a scrutinizing gaze at the castle in the sky, carefully calculating trajectories and wind patterns to ensure maximum destruction. Finally, he launched a barrage of toxic poisons and chemicals into the air. He didn't miss.
"HOW'D THAT TASTE!" Singed hooted loudly as his bombardment pelted the fortress, covering the castle in a cloud of deadly gas. Syndra was caught off guard as she suddenly found herself surrounded by clouds of noxious fumes. Immediately, her eyes began watering uncontrollably. Breathing became agonizing as her lungs felt as though they were on fire. Choking, Syndra lifted herself out of the fortress and into the sky. Unfortunately, she played exactly into Singed's plans. Agony seared through Syndra's arm as a well placed chemical flask shattered on her right arm, its contents splashed all over her arm, causing instant damage. Syndra howled in pain and anger as her skin blistered away, the flesh on her arm turning black as the poison infected her body. Abruptly, Syndra felt the flow of magic through her body destabilize; her ability to willfully control her magic rapidly deteriorating. Seconds later, Syndra's violet glow winked out, causing her to plummet to the earth at blinding speed. Her magic returned only seconds before her impact with the ground, barely giving her enough time to slow her descent to a survivable fall. Syndra felt a crack as she made contact with the scorched earth. Instantly, pain seared through the left side of her chest, as three of her ribs broke from her fall. Gasping, Syndra groaned and turned her head, expecting to find herself surrounded by Noxian soldiers. She was indeed surrounded, but not by Noxians. It was Demacia.
"Foul being of darkness!" spat a voice. Still dazed, Syndra turned her head to the speaker, Vayne. Coldly, Vayne drew her crossbow from her back and quickly marched over to her crumpled form.
"Let yourself be purged!" Vayne said darkly as she leveled her crossbow to Syndra's head. Syndra's pupils dilated in panic as imminent doom approached. Wildly, she forced her body to disperse pure energy in a concussive wave. The blast instantaneously killed several of the nearest Demacian soldiers, knocking their bodies clear off their feet and onto the floor. Unfortunately, due to Singed's poison, Syndra's control over her own abilities had deteriorated significantly. Rather than launching a wave that was even in all directions, the wave was intensely focused in some areas, while almost non-existent in others. Vayne was jostled slightly right as she pulled the trigger on her crossbow. She missed a Syndra's head, instead sending the bolt straight though Syndra's right shoulder and into the scorched earth pinning Syndra to the floor. Immediately, Syndra screamed in agony as pain overloaded her senses. Furious, Vayne drew another bolt into her crossbow and stepped over Syndra, placing a booted foot on her other shoulder to prevent Syndra from worming around.
"I don't miss twice!" Vayne spat angrily as she leveled her weapon again at Syndra's face. However, before Vayne could depress the trigger a second time, a wet slimy ball smacked into her back sending her sprawling to the floor. Milliseconds later, there was a hissing sound as the slime rapidly melted through the material on Vayne's cape. Frantically, she threw off the garment, leaving the item to dissolve into a pile of ash.
"BLARGHRAWR!" Came an angry gurgle as Kog'maw emerged from a bush nearby. Immediately, he began besieging the Demacian troops in a hailstorm of acidic slime and ooze. Kog'maw wasn't particularly good at aiming, but he really didn't need to be. The barrage of acid immediately threw the Demacian forces into a state of panic as they watched their fellow soldiers melt and burn before their eyes. After driving back the Demacian forces enough, Kog'maw took advantage of the confusion to waddle over to Syndra. Clamping his mouth over the end of the bolt that pinned Syndra to the floor, he used stomach acid to dissolve the end of the bolt, allowing Syndra to painfully yank the bolt out of her shoulder. Before Syndra could get up, however, Kog'maw pushed her over onto her stomach and spat a small amount of acid onto the gaping hole on her back where the front end of the bolt had punctured through. Syndra grimaced in further pain as the acid instantly cauterized her wound, causing damage to her flesh, but stopping the bleeding almost immediately. Breathing heavily, Syndra sat up and wordlessly thanked Kog'maw with a light pat on his head. As Syndra recovered, several bloodthirsty cries brought her attention back to the Demacian forces. In the distance, she could make out Noxus' main regiment charging towards the Demacian battalion.
"All forces form on me!" Came a powerful roar. Immidiately, the Demacian forces formed a line behind Jarvin as they braced for the onslaught of Noxian forces. Within seconds, the Noxian forces surged powerfully into the stalwart Demacian lines, plunging the fields of battle into complete chaos. Blood flowed freely between the music of clashing steel and bloodcurdling screams. Amidst the disorder, Katarina spied the vulnerable Syndra and idle Kog'maw, watching the two battalions collide. Katarina smirked deviously and silently slunk out of the battlefield, fading into the darkness of the landscape. Moments later, she appeared directly behind Syndra, brandishing two of her favorite knives. Before Syndra could react, Katarina plunged the knives into Syndra's vulnerable back. Syndra cried out with surprise as she coughed out a large amount of violet blood. Katarina finished her brief underhanded attack with a powerful kick to Syndra's broken ribs, sending the sovereign spinning to the ground.
"Still having fun?" Katarina taunted as she vanished back into the darkness, preparing to strike again. Syndra struggled onto all fours; her body trembling in shock as she yanked the two knives out of her back. Just as Syndra was about to push herself back into a standing position, Katarina reappeared behind her wearing a predatory grin across her scarred face. She was about to finish off Syndra until a bellowing cry took her right out of the air.
"DEMACIA!" Garen yelled violently as he barreled forcefully into both Syndra and Katarina, scattering both women to the floor. He immediately followed up his assault with a pouncing stab at Katarina. Nimbly, she rolled out of the way and tossed several knives directly at Garen's face, prompting Garen to deflect the lethal blades with a mighty swing of his sword. Katarina grinned, predatorily as she defiantly glared into the face of her long time rival. Garen met her gaze with a smile of equal ferocity. Slowly, the pair moved farther and farther away from the battlefield, focused solely on their duel.
Meanwhile, Kog'maw continued pelting everything at random, melting Demacian and Noxian soldiers alike. He didn't care, they had hurt the hand that fed him, and he was beyond angry. Kog'maw was in the middle of acting like a fire hose when a groan from Syndra snapped him out of his rampage. He waddled over to her fallen form and gave her a gentle nudge, uttering a subdued gurgle of concern. Syndra grimaced in pain as she moved herself into a sitting position. Painfully, Syndra clutched her broken ribs which had turned a bright shade of purple due to internal bleeding. She coughed, drawing blood again. Close by, another one of Singed's bombs went off, causing Syndra to cringe slightly at the explosion. Seeing Syndra in pain, seemed to cause a drastic change in Kog'maw. He went from angry, to completely furious. Blindly, Kog'maw waddled over to one of Syndra's spheres and ate the ball of pure energy, forcing the condensed sphere down his throat and into his stomach. Instantly, his body began to glow a resplendent purple as the sphere's energy was slowly broken down by the acids in his stomach.
"BLARGHARHARARHARHAHHR!" Kog'maw gargled angrily as he barreled off into the direction of the biggest mass of fighting soldiers. Midway through reaching the main site of conflict, Kog'maw began an explosive chain reaction within his body, using the various chemicals and acids present throughout his body as a fuel. Syndra could only watch in horror as Kog'maw disappeared into the mass of soldiers, his odd form glowing ever brighter as the mixture of raw magic from her sphere and his chemical reactions boiled towards critical mass.
"No!" Syndra shrieked in panic "No, Kog, come back!" Syndra screamed, reaching her left hand out as though she were trying to pull Kog'maw back to her. But her voice was drowned out by the sounds of clashing steel and she could no longer locate Kog'maw among the clashing soldiers. Time seemed to slow as Syndra sat, waiting in dread for what would come.
–Flash-
There was a resplendent burst of brilliant white light as Kog'maw reached the center of the battlefield and self detonated. Instantly, a concussive blast radiated outwards from the flash, culminating in a colossal eruption of purple energy. Syndra could only watch in horrified fascination as a cloud of purple magic engulfed the entire battlefield, incinerating everything that it touched as the wave expanded radially outwards. Finally, the explosion subsided, concluding its existence by pelting the battlefield with sections of land, torn from its foundations due to the force of the blast. Syndra's world finally spiraled into darkness as her tattered form was buried beneath a hail of scorched debris.
Author's Notes and Some Q/A
This definitely wasn't an easy chapter for me to write. It was a little awkward trying to get the scenes I envisioned to work out cohesively in words. Anyhow, hope it worked out well.
I really like seeing the increase in reviews that I am getting though I would like it even more if there were things listed that I could improve upon. Thanks so much everyone!
In other news, I am open to answering any questions you guys have about the stories that I have written. Feel free to pm or post questions you have. Also, I have begun spinning around ideas for a final installment for this series. I have a basic foundation for where I would like it to go, so maybe I will post a teaser/prologue sometime in the coming month. No set time though because I have no idea how busy I will be in the coming weeks/months.
Response to FroztyTempest:
It is difficult for me to answer the question of Irelia x Sydra vs love/hate without giving spoilers into the final chapter that I am writing. Rest assured that your questions will be answered in this up coming chapter.