It's been awhile, hasn't it? This chapter ends the series from other points of view. The next several will focus on Nasus once again. This chapter also references my other fic, Permafrost Diplomacy, whose events directly influence this chapter, though they are explained within and it is not necessary to read it.
Thank you for the reviews and favorites while this has been on hiatus. It will be finished, never fear!
Enjoy :)
Chapter 4: Orb of Deception
Two hours before Evelynn leaves for Zaun…
Ahri hums contentedly to herself as she watches her guests leave, back on her perch in one of the graceful trees in her room. Her tails curl around her idly, shielding her from the faint chill of the morning with their soft white fur.
Plans within plans, she thinks contentedly, rolling over onto her back and staring up into the illusory dawn. Malzahar and Orianna, so sweet, so alien, to find the method and the motive. Evelynn, capricious, to explore the trails and tangles of events that led them here. And her, well, she is best with people, and so with people she shall be.
Of all their merry little band (Ahri chuckles softly, wickedly) her duties are the simplest. She relaxes for a long hour, bathing in the sunlight and the dew, letting her long raven hair spill down over the branches, before her eyes snap open and she descends lithely to the ground. Ahri clucks and her orb comes to her, bounding through the leaves to bounce between her tails, sending a pleasant shock of energy through her with each touch. Whenever she is near Nasus, she sips at his immortal soul and finds it easy to keep the opalescent sphere filled and complacent.
She checks her kimono, making sure it is securely tied around her slender waist and low enough to stun any onlookers. Her pale thighs are barely covered by the short skirt, and her delicate feet slip into cherry wood sandals with the slightest of heels. The butterfly charm hanging from her rope belt is brilliant green and easily visible.
Ahri smiles and touches the top, and with a puff of smoke the charm shifts until it appears as a tiny, serpentine dragon, curled so that it bites its tail.
"Bayara-santi," she greets the idol of the Ionian goddess of peace and wisdom companionably, "let's hope that dear Karma is in this morning."
With a flounce, she makes her way to the door, hanging from invisible hinges, and opens it. The delicious smells of the forest fade from her sensitive nose as she steps into the dusty corridor of the Institute that houses the Ionian champions, and she pouts slightly as the door shuts firmly behind her. She switches her tails out of its way and sashays down the hall, her clever yellow eyes tracing the outline of each name plate as it appears. The subtle rune that glows by each door to show the state of its occupancy is dark for Irelia, Varus, Karma, Udyr…
Ahri frowns and lets her hips move normally as she runs forwards, scanning the names. Shen, Akali, Kennen, Lee Sin…all gone.
All gone.
"Looking fer someone, pretty thing?" a man's voice drawls, and Ahri whirls around with enough calculated force to make her skirt fly up nearly to her navel.
"Twisted Fate," she purrs upon identifying the gambler through the dim light. Her orb, pulsing angrily at the interruption, calms and floats to her hand.
He grins at her, his broad brimmed hat pulled down over his eyes and his thick coat covered in yellow dust. A glittering red card rests in his breast pocket.
"Them Ionians are out, Miss Foxy," he drawls. "My buddy Lee tells me there's some trouble with Varus, and I just sent him and Karma to Ionia with a Gate. Kinkou are all busy with Zed, and Syndra's been missing for weeks…but don't tell anybody else that part, pretty thing."
Ahri smiles, her eyes hooded as she stores these facts within her mind.
"I am behind on recent news it seems, dear Fate," she says sweetly. "Anything else for me?"
"Surely you can make it worth my while, Foxy," he teases, holding a finger to his lips.
"But of course," Ahri whispers, her voice lowering to a seductive growl. "Now tell me a secret."
She purses her lips and a puff of pink magic shoots between them. Twisted Fate grunts in surprise, his hand flashing to his pocket, but cannot move fast enough. He sighs and his hand falls back to his side as he takes an unconscious step towards Ahri.
"That's cheating, pretty thing," he chides her weakly, his mind struggling against the power of her unfiltered charm.
"I'm no card player," she chuckles. "Now speak."
"Well," he says slowly, what she can see of his eyes glazing over, "there's a lot of trouble in Freljord right now. Piltover's worried about their trade routes and Ionia's got enough of a mess on her own. Bilgewater's trying to take advantage of the situation by hiring out to both Ashe and Sej', and Rakkor could care less, as usual. Demacia and Noxus haven't done anything, though."
Ahri's breath hissed through her teeth.
"Tell me, Fate," she asked lazily, "who are the most powerful mages in the entire Institute?"
"I ain't that qualified, Foxy," he protests.
"But I'm ever so curious about your opinion, my dear," she purrs.
"Well…'s got to be Syndra or Xerath, right? Xerath's got the age, and Syndra's got the talent. They could probably blow up a world or two between them."
"Ah, but Syndra is occupied," she whispered. "Unless…are there any rumors of her whereabouts?"
"Lee thinks she's in Freljord, stirring up that bat-hornet's nest," Twisted Fate said confidently.
"You've exhausted your use," Ahri said sweetly, making a chopping motion with her hand. Twisted Fate shudders briefly before he straightens up, scowling.
"Hey now, Foxy—"
She smirks and plunges a hand into her neckline. His eyes bulge for a moment until she withdraws a small purse, which she tosses to him.
"Lady Luck," he murmurs. "What else could you fit in there, pretty thing?"
"Wouldn't you like to find out?" Ahri laughs, and leaves him without another word, her shoulders back, her walk confident. Her hips sway for his benefit.
But inside, she is thinking, furiously thinking, with all of her animal cunning tearing at what the Cardmaster had told her.
Early the next morning…
"The prince-was speaking-with some figure," Orianna chirps, busily turning the key at her back. She and Ahri sit by a small pool in the League's gardens, ostensibly to watch the sunrise.
"There-was a great-noise of energy-like the Ball's-dissonance-but louder," she continues, "I-will-show you-true power, it said."
"Interesting," Ahri purrs, brushing her hair between her fingers. "And the prince's goals are noble, at least in his mind. Those are the most difficult to overturn."
A sly chuckle comes from the shadows and a shiver runs over Ahri's spine. She does not turn, but lets Evelynn appear before them, polishing her claws on a shard of bone.
"You'll never guess what I learned, dear, sweet friends!" she cackles in delight.
Ahri's nose twitches. Evelynn smells harshly of chemicals and the particularly bitter scent of the voice, and even her long run was not enough to cleanse her of them fully.
"Noxus?" the Nine-tailed Fox guesses.
"How ever did you know?" Evelynn says, delighted, before her wicked face turns serious. "It seems they have an artifact from Ammun, stolen by our friend Kassadin, who is now paying for his foolishness."
"Would they-give it-to Dem-acia?" Orianna asks, the Ball emitting an anxious whirr.
"Hah! I'd like to see those squabbling toads cooperate on anything," Ahri sniffs. "No, they'll both be trying to pierce the world-walls, but not together. I imagine that the Noxians will try and use whatever portal magic those do-gooders have cooked up for themselves."
"Do we have any idea where they are going?" Evelynn asks, her azure brow furrowed with thought.
"I do," Lux announces suddenly, and the three women jump as the mage's body shimmers into view. Ahri frowns. Can everyone turn invisible but her?
"Spit it out, Miss Crownguard," Evelynn hisses, her eyes narrowed with dislike.
"The ruins of Urtistan," Lux says quietly, tapping her fingers with her baton. "Beneath Zilean's tower lies an ancient bath house where both Nasus and Renekton briefly appeared before the magic of the summoner's took them to the institute. It is the natural conduit between Ammun and Runeterra and it is there that the mage has most likely begun to construct a portal. The only records of world travel belong to Zilean's people, and they were taken from him while he dealt with the Kalamandu crisis."
Ahri is silent, her mouth slightly open, and Lux smiles faintly.
"You'd be surprised what the Institute's library holds when you look at it with the greatest librarian in the world," she says fondly.
"Kudos to you, Miss Crownguard," Evelynn whistles.
"So what now?" Ahri presses. Her eyes rove over the blonde mage hungrily, but she pushes her orb's influence away. She considers sharing her hunch, but decides to wait. It was best, after all, not to prepare only for one enemy.
"I have a plan," Lux says firmly. "But it is…risky, at best. Jarvan has his eye on both me and Nasus, and expects me to try and take either his or Renekton's weapon within the week. At the same time, if I understand correctly and Talon has been earning his pay, Noxian special forces will be traveling to Shurima to catch the mage by surprise. If we stay here they will be able to open the portal, and you three don't have the knowledge to close it. If I go with you, Demacia knows something is wrong, and the Dauntless Vanguard will follow. If they meet the Noxians, they'll destroy each other, but most likely they'll merely try to capture me, and the Noxians will still be able to accomplish their goal. However, if I steal Nasus' staff and give it to Jarvan, they'll either be complacent or have their mage summon them down there, which would be disastrous, as neither Nasus or I will be there to interrupt the portal's opening."
"The Ball-believes these odds-are unfavorable," Orianna chirps, subdued.
Lux takes a deep breath and launches into her plan. "So, we need both Nasus and I in Urtistan at the same time, and the Demacians and Noxians there at the same time. Therefore, I will present Nasus to Jarvan as a prisoner and together we will convince him of a need for haste . The mage will summon the Demacian forces that can be assembled at the Institute and us, but Nasus assures me that he can use his powers to force us into reality at the edge of the desert. We will have to make the rest of the journey on foot and presumably reach the portal location just ahead of the Noxians. There, we shall attempt to destabilize and destroy it when the mage attempts to active it, and the rest of you will hopefully be in waiting to give us assistance. The arrival of the Noxians will confuse the Demacian military, and with luck we can destroy the portal and the records and escape while they fight amongst themselves."
"That sounded rather complicated," Evelynn points out, after blinking a few times.
Ahri's mind is swift to organize Lux's strategy, and murmurs, "How will we be able to reach this place quickly enough?"
"Armies are slow, and champions are fast," Lux says confidently. "My calculations should give you a day before we arrive."
"Let me sum up," Evelynn sighs, "Nasus and you travel with the Demacians. We run very, very quickly to some godforsaken desert. The Noxians get left by their lonesome. Somehow, these three groups arrive at the same time and miraculously nothing goes horribly wrong."
"You think of something better," Lux challenges her. "Even if they get the portal open, we'll be close enough to go through and organize Ammun's defense."
"I cannot improve on it," Ahri says slowly. Her tails switch anxiously, brushing through bushes and startling the birds. Though she fits pieces and slots of information together and examines it from all angles, she cannot decide how to stop both the Demacians and the Noxians at one time. If Nasus' group splits their forces, they will be overrun by the number of champions that belong to both city-states. The only hope is to catch them both together. But the plan bothers her, churns in her stomach. The idea of the slaughter that waits in the desert frightens her. She is a killer, but she kills with love. Death, blood, battle…she is a wild animal and these frighten her.
But there is terrible danger ahead and her ever-planning mind will torment her with the consequences unless she tries to prevent it.
"Fine, Miss Crownguard," Evelynn hisses. "Though I hope you know what you are doing."
Lux frowns, her eyelids flickering. "It is my duty to know all the parts of the human puzle. Incidentally, do you manipulate light or darkness to become invisible?"
"Darkness," the demon growls, puzzled.
"Ah, but there you are wrong," Lux says, shadows in her eyes. "Darkness is merely the absence of light. One may cloak themselves in cruelty, another in sparkling goodness, but while one hides, the other blinds, so evil may always go unseen."
"Then may they shutter their own eyes," Ahri purrs thoughtfully, "and Bayara-santi, the dragon of Ionia, guide us in the absence of her children."
The other three women (though Orianna fits this label only loosely) look at her and the Nine-tailed Fox smiles briefly, enigmatically, her orb shining with a pale blue glow.
"Don't fear, Lux. They're mine now," Ahri chuckles, and vanishes in a flash of spirit energy. Silently, the others disperse, until only Lux is left, looking down into the pool where Nasus sat, it seemed like so long ago.
"No more," she whispers to the dawn, "victory for our allies, defeat for our enemies—"
She vanishes between one beam of light and the next.
"—justice for all."