Hey everyone.

Sorry about the delay. If you want an explanation, read this part. If you just want the story, you know how I do things. Just roll on down to the line break and start reading.

Anyway, most of you are wondering why the absence? As well as why I'm not like myself recently (no ice jokes *gasp* ) Aside from the fact that I'm a lazy bastard. Well, a lot of personal things happened.

You know, the usual.

Except this time, I was actually hoping someone would stay despite it all and prove me wrong for once in my life that I'm unlovable.
But as always, I turned out to be right again, unfortunately. There's a saying that the Devil has it all except for love.

That saying is true.

Well, at least I still have alcohol.

... Wait what do you mean we're out of rum?

~ Wings

In her Icy Embrace

Chapter 20

He had screamed until his voice had given up on him. He had then sat down beside her body for the longest time. While he had been screaming, she had completely crystallized into dark ice. He sat there beside her as she fragmented into a million different snowflakes and flew away into the wind, leaving nothing behind but her bloodied clothes. Alan stared down at her remainders, a few articles of cloth. Her field medic's outfit. And a white scarf that she always wore, now torn at one end, even though she didn't feel the cold. He grabbed the scarf in his shaky hand and slowly stood up.

He woodenly walked back towards the army, who watched with shock. None of them had interfered in the battle since it was custom to let champions duke it out with their opponents unassisted. Now they all stared in silence. Analia was kneeling next to the unconscious Reinhart, silent tears cascading down her cheeks, tears that turned frosty due to the cold before they even fell. Ashe simply stared at a loss for words as her mouth opened and closed, her mind trying to come up with something to say but being unable to formulate anything that would be adequate. Lissandra was had managed to stand back up, although Alan could see her slightly hunched in pain. She reached out a hand for him as he walked past her.

"Alan…" She said quietly, but Alan ignored her, walking past her as the soldiers parted. He walked until he found the man he had been looking for. Jory simply stared at him with an unfathomable look, the look of a man who had seen everything there was to see… Yet, there was a certain blankness in his eyes. He looked like he had aged 30 years.

"Alan." Jory said calmly, although his voice cracked slightly. "I know what you are thinking… It is not your fault… I do not blame you." Jory said, his voice forced to be steady as Alan raised his hand shakily, the one holding her scarf, and held it out to Jory.

"I'm sorry, Jory. But it was my fault. I…" Alan's voice cracked slightly. "I couldn't save her." He managed to say. Jory slowly raised a hand and took the scarf from Alan's clenched fingers, which oddly relaxed enough to let the scarf slide out of his grip. Jory said nothing more as Alan walked back up to the front of the army.

"We continue marching." Alan said woodenly to Lissandra and Ashe as he passed them. He then continued walking forward, onto the bridge.

…

"Rawr!" Said the big bad snow monster as it loomed over the little girl. "No! Someone please save me!" The little girl said. And then Ashe suddenly came onto the scene. "Not so fast, Snow Monster!" Ashe said triumphantly.

"Queen Ashe doesn't sound like that!" 13 year old Devin said indignantly, breaking his 14 year old sister Freya out of the game she had been delved in. She held a small doll of Ashe in one hand and a small snow monster doll on the other hand. "Yes she does!" Freya said snottily as Devin crossed his hands. "Does not!" He said. "Does too!" She retorted.

As the children bickered over their toys, the door to their house opened as a guard came in. A woman stepped out from further into the house. "Welcome home, honey! Did you get an early break?" She asked, shushing the children as the man took his helmet off and put it down on the rack next to the entrance.

"No honey, I'm afraid I'm done for the day." He said with a relaxed sigh. "The Winter's Claw and her army just rode into the city, and as you know, they have an alliance with Ashe right now. Their troops took up all the guard positions to relieve us of our duty for now, since all of us were doing double overtime to make up for the lack of soldiers." He said, stretching his muscles. There was a knock on the door as both husband and wife looked over at the door, the children still bickering in the background.

"Would that be Jared? Maybe he came you give you something you forgot." The woman said as the husband shrugged, walking over to the door and opening it.

"Oh." The man said as the woman frowned. "What's wrong, hone-" Her voice died in her throat as her husband turned around, a sword stuck deep into his stomach. He gave her one horrified look before collapsing onto the floor, revealing two guards at the door, one of whom stepped inside, a spear held up. The woman couldn't even scream before the man thrust the spear right through her right eye, the point burying deep into her head and instantly killing her.

Both children stared up wordlessly, fear and shock on their faces, too scared to even cry. The man kicked the body of the mother off his spear as his partner came into the house. "What do we do with the children?" One asked.

"Nothing. Our orders are to only kill the City watch." The first said as he looked down at the dead woman, kicking her corpse to make sure she was dead.

"Then why kill the woman?" The second said, staring down at the corpse. "Such a waste."

"I dunno. I'm not a fan of screams." The first said as the second's eyes went to the frozen children. "Well, Queen Sejuani did say to kill the city watch… But she didn't say anything about what to do with their families." The second said with a grin as he stared at Freya. The first caught on as he stepped back, closing the door behind them, a grin coming onto his face too. "Kill the boy, play with the girl?" He asked.

"Even better. Tie the boy up and make him watch." The second said as the first licked his lips. "Sounds like a plan." He answered.

The children's screams were only two amongst a cacophony of many as the crown city of Rakkelstake was ransacked from within. Sejuani had returned to take what was hers; the throne.

…

The bridge hadn't been that long, but the journey had been slightly treacherous. Parts of the bridge had been missing, so the army had been forced to march in a narrow column.

When most of the army had made it across, they began the journey towards the wall of the storm again. This time, however, Alan found himself in a kind of deadly calm. He felt hollow. Empty. He felt his emptiness as great black wings behind him, reaching outwards with tendrils of power at the storm. He almost effortlessly made a tunnel through the storm, this one so much better constructed and controlled than the one he had used to come in with. Because right now, he felt like ice itself. He felt cold, disconnected. Lydia's voice kept haunting him as he walked, every step feeling like he had every single weight on him taken off, leaving him too weightless to even feel. He felt like he was underwater.

"Save me Alan."

"I don't want to die."

"Please… Save me Alan."

He was so lost within his thoughts he hadn't even realized when night had fallen, nor when they had exited the storm's threshold. It was only when he felt a hand grab his shoulder and stop him that he blinked and looked around himself to find an empty expanse of snow and night sky around him. He looked back to see Lissandra behind him, her having been the one to have stopped him.

"Alan… Everyone is exhausted. We need rest. I suggest we camp here for the night." Lissandra said, her voice low with a softness to it that she only allowed him to witness. Alan only nodded bleakly.

As camp was set up, Alan found himself distancing himself from everyone else. He sat down near the edge of their camping area, his sword in hand, just meditating. He had taken to doing this in his times of relaxation. When he was not in battle or resting, he would begin to channel his mana pool into Frig Ascutis, expanding upon it's almost limitless energy storage. It helped him focus his thoughts and think clearer.

Alan wondered what ever happened to that youth who had journeyed to Freljord from Piltover, secretly hoping he would die in the expedition. Within the span of a year, he had turned into a battle-hardened warrior who had literally walked through hell and came back. He wondered how the city was faring.

The city. He didn't call it 'his home' or 'his city' in his mind anymore… It wasn't his home anymore.

Did he have a home?

Her blood spilled upon the snow, coloring it crimson as her eyes bled tears, looking up at him, begging him to save her.

Alan's fingers clenched tightly on his sword hilt as the temperature around him dropped severely for a second or two, before returning to normal. That drop in temperature caused something on his face to feel cold… Which is when he remembered.

Her hand rose to his face, dragging her fingertips along his face, leaving four tracks of her blood on his face, marking him forever.

Her dried blood still stained his face. It was ironic how she had disintegrated into snowflakes yet her blood still remained on his face, like a scar.

He rose up to his feet, and began walking away from the camp, into the darkness of the night.

…

"Dammit!" Reinhart shouted, punching the table hard enough to make it crack. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He shouted again, continuing to punch the table hard with each shout.

"Reinhart! Stop!" Analia shouted, quickly grabbing him and stopping him from punching the table again. His fist had already been bloodied with splinters in it.

"Useless… I was so… Fucking… useless." Reinhart said angrily as Analia pulled him by his arm back onto his bed. His war tent had already been set up, so Analia decided to save time and effort for the army by telling them not to unpack her tent. She would just stay in his. Good thing she came in when she did. "Ruining your sword hand won't do you any good." Analia said as Reinhart growled, but didn't object as she sat him down and began rummaging through his pack for bandages.

"I'm the damn Congelate Elite, Analia. I'm the commander of Queen Lissandra's armies and the lead of her Royal Guards, the Congelate. Yet all I did in that fight was serve as a cushion for Lissandra to land on and an extra body to look after." Reinhart said as he gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowed. "If I wasn't so damn useless… I could've stopped her… From getting hit by that. I could've saved her."

"Reinhart… Shut up…" Analia said quietly as she finished bandaging his hand. "You think you feel useless? I'm Ashe's champion and a wielder of one of the three weapons of Frig, yet I was so incapacitated by a blizzard that I couldn't even move." She said, regret plainly written in her eyes. "We were both completely useless, Reinhart… but complaining about it now won't help. It won't bring her back. Now look at me."

So he did. He raised his face to look at her. Her emerald eyes were focused on his, lacking their usual steel yet still strong. Her skin looked less pale than she had been in the cold, healthier. Her golden hair had been pulled back into a ponytail though many strands were hanging loose or had come free. Her lips were a light pink color, similar to the small blush on her cheeks that appeared at his gaze.

And just like him, she stared at him. His pale ice-blue skin coloration, along with the long jagged white scar that went across his face. Those hard blue eyes of his that looked like chipped rocks under an ocean of water, the short white hair that had grown not-so-short in their long journey, giving him a rough edge to his already masculine look.

"You're touching me." He said in a soft voice as Analia blinked, realizing her hands were on his face, yet they weren't burning from the frostburn pain of touching an iceborn.

"I guess I am." She muttered softly, tracing her fingers down the sides of his face. She then leaned in close and gave him a soft kiss.

It was short and sweet, and when it ended, Analia said, "We won't let anyone else die, Reinhart. And I especially won't let you die."

"I'm not as important as you are, Ana." Reinhart said as his hands, which hand been on her shoulders, lowered down to her midriff, right above her waist. A small shiver went through Analia. "After all, I'm looking after two lives here, not just one." He added.

"Shut up, you." Analia said as they both shared a weak smile, taking comfort in each other's touch and presence.

…

Alan had been walking in the snow for a good amount of time. He didn't know where he was going or what his objective was, but all he knew was that he was walking. At one point, all of a sudden, everything around him quieted down to an eerie silence. The snow on the ground became starker white in color, the sky cleared of all clouds and coverage and the moon shone down upon him.

Alan hadn't realized where he was until he felt the presence of someone he hadn't seen or heard from for some time.

"Alan Frost." Kassadin's gravelly voice almost echoed in the emptiness as Alan turned around to face him.

"Kassadin?" Alan muttered, his eyes focusing on the dark warrior of the past.

"You cannot falter now, Alan. Lose your spirit now and you shall lose the war, and in doing so, the world." Kassadin said.

"I know… I just… I'm trying." Alan said, his eyes narrowing as he clenched his fists.

"You cannot try. You must accomplish." Kassadin retorted. "Do or do not, there is no try."

"I'm trying!" Alan shouted as he turned around. All of a sudden, Kassadin's metal-covered right hand came up before he suddenly whipped it out to the side. A blinding flash of light echoed in the visuals of Alan's oculus as a purple blade of pure void energy now jutted out of the place where the arm-blade was supposed to be on Kassadin's right gauntlet.

"Try and you shall fail!" Kassadin shouted as he stepped forward, flashing purple before suddenly appearing directly in front of Alan with another flash of purple almost instantaneously, slashing upwards with his void blade.

Alan dodged backwards instinctively, but the fact that he was invincible due to his champion's bond made him not dodge as far or as fast as he would've.

The tip of Kassadin's blade cut through Alan's armor like it was made of butter, making a long diagonal gash on Alan's chest, sparks flying along with flecks of blood as the blade skimmed Alan's chest, leaving a thin but bleeding cut. But worst was the pain. It felt like the very molecules of his skin were forcefully parted, the champion's bond screaming as it was cut apart in that location.

"What the hell!?" Alan shouted, his eyes glowing a vivid blue as he looked down at this chest. A thin crimson line was visible on his skin under the armor, not deep enough to bleed but enough to show the blood.

"You have gotten cocky, Alan! You keep thinking none can defeat you now that you have the Champion's bond." Kassadin said as he raised his void blade. "You have lost yourself Alan. One death took you away from whatever you were."

Alan's body tensed as he felt rage fill his veins. "DON'T YOU DARE MAKE HER SEEM INSIGNIFICANT!" He screamed, a blast of icicles exploding out of the ground around Alan, forming a cascading circle with waves of the sharp icicles shooting out. Kassadin didn't even flinch, raising a hand up as a pulse of purple energy shot out from his hand like a shockwave, shattering the ice before it even reached him, making the air thick with miniscule floating ice fragments. And through that cover, Alan jumped in, his eyes glowing, wide and ferocious, his blade cutting a path through the air aimed to deal a deathblow to Kassadin. Kassadin raised his free hand, only his forefinger and middlefinger extended up while the rest was closed into a fist. Alan's blade hit his fingers and stopped there instantly as a ringing sound suddenly blasted out of the point of impact, hurting Alan's ears.

Frig Ascutis stuck against Kassadin's fingers, having not even cut him, simply vibrating there.

"You think to cut me with my own weapon, Alan?: Kassadin said ruefully. He flicked his fingers and there was a flash, Alan stumbling back, Frig Ascutis flying off and landing blade-down in the snow several feet away.

"Alan. You traversed the void, just as I did. You have power inside of you from that. Do you think that doppelganger you fought was simply created out of nothing?" Kassadin said.

"When I went into the Void, I left a part of me there. Thats where my dark copy came from." Alan said, wary of Kassadin yet he didn't seem to be moving to attack Alan again.

"Do you think any single being in this world can survive without a piece?" Kassadin asked. "The void took a piece of you, yes. But it also left a piece of it inside of you. You always had the corruption in you since you became Frig Ascutis' wielder. How much has it grown?"

"Last I checked, it covered my right arm, a lot of my torso and parts of my left arm." Alan said, gritting his teeth.

"Do you know that corruption will eventually kill you?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why?"

"... No."

Kassadin's void blade sizzled out of existence as Kassadin walked up to Alan. He put a hand upon Alan's chest, the breastplate of his armor disintegrating at his touch until Kassadin had his hand on Alan's chest.

"It's because everyone who has ever faced the corruption tries to fight it. You war within yourself, and you kill yourself trying. You can't win against yourself." Kassadin said. "Your corruption is a strong source of power, Alan. And now that you have part of the void in your essence, it is downright deadly in it's power. Do you remember how much mana is stored within Frig Ascutis?"

That wasn't hard to remember. Alan knew how much there was, he himself would put his own surplus mana into the blade whenever he could. It was like there was an ocean within that sword. "Yes."

"It is nothing compared to the power you can call out from within you."

"I did, once. When fighting Raziel." He said, remembering with a shudder. "I can't do that. I might lose control."

"Because you let it take control, Alan. You see it as an enemy within you. You need to embrace it and take it into yourself. Join your essence together, become one. You have walls around it without even knowing it, don't you? You need to face your fears or you will lose this war and Lydia's death will be for nothing."

"What do I do?" Alan asked, looking at Kassadin with pain but determination in his eyes. "Tell me."

"Simple. You need to survive the merge." Kassadin said as he suddenly pulled his right arm back, hand closed in a fist. As soon as he punched Alan in the chest, his void blade shot out, piercing Alan through the chest and out the back.

Alan's eyes widened as his mouth opened barely, not believing what had just happened. Kassadin pulled his blade out and turned away, taking a few steps away from Alan. Alan felt himself rapidly losing his strength as he fell to his knees, blood coming out of the large wound in his chest… No wait, not blood.

Black, viscous liquid poured out. Before Alan could fathom it, the pain started. Like he was back in the Void again, where the ground was razors, the air was fire and the sky rained acid.

His scream echoed throughout the land.

PS; There's a new story coming that I'm going to write after I'm done with this. I've already posted a lot of art and teasers relating to that story, so if you want to read up on them, You'll find them in my facebook page (The link is on my fanfiction profile bio).

That's also your ticket to contacting me if you want something.

I'm also planning on doing an RWBY story, and a Rainbow Six Siege smut is also in the works.

That's it I guess.

Farewell for now.

~ Wings