Sorry about how long this took everyone, the three of us were dealing with finals (me with a summer job as well) and we'd had very little time to write. Anyways, here is the aftermath of the previous chapter...in more ways than one. And...we get a new 'skin' out of this.

Chapter XIII

The Tribunal wasn't easily intimidated. Nor was Andrew, for that matter. No champion at the Institute could so much as make them flinch. Even Nocturne was powerless against them.

And yet, the smoldering glare Helios was giving them was enough to make their skin crawl. His sister and companions weren't much happier.

"I can't begin to describe how pissed I am right now," Helios snarled. A few other champions murmured their assent.

"We understand," Apollyon told him, "But there is also the fact that we were unable to get rid of that anchor on Earth,"

"So what exactly have you been doing all this time, then?" He demanded. "Twiddling your thumbs? I don't want excuses, Apollyon. I expect results, however small they may be."

CRACK!

The sound of Aneria's staff slamming against the stone was deafening. Her ice blue eyes were hard as she held up a scroll and very nearly hurled it at him.

He opened up the scroll…just to see very detailed notes on the Barrier.

"Never assume that we are doing nothing, Helios," she growled, "especially if things such as family are involved. We would have more, but we also have a certain Solar prank war to deal with that is hindering progress a tad,"

Helios glowered, embers trailing from his fingertips. Cira had the decency to look bashful.

"Helios, calm yourself," Selene said. "I'm annoyed too, but that doesn't give us any right to-"

He shot her a look, and she promptly shut up.

He started when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down to see Ahri staring up at him.

"Trying to fight them will get us nowhere. If we want the curse gone, we need to work together."

His anger dissipated, and he exhaled, nodding.

"We realize that, Aneria," he continued, "but we're running out of time. Pantheon almost killed Ares not two seconds after the curse hit him. We can't afford to have another incident like that."

Said Artisan still refused to look at anyone, despite the fact that his wife squeezed his hand tightly in reassurance.

"We know that," came the sigh from the Freljordian Representative, "But we are not gods, Helios, we have our limitations. Things do not come easily to us at a snap of the fingers. The most we can do right now is put a ward around the children so that they are not harmed and will be immediately transported to the daycare upon the ward being breached."

"While that's all well and good," Selene said, "putting a ward around the children doesn't solve the problem of everyone else. Are you absolutely certain that you can't restrain it like last time?"

"I do not think we can," The Demacia Representative admitted, "if it effected Helios, and we just barely managed to push it back this previous time, it might make it worse for these children and everyone else,"

Helios shuddered. "That was unpleasant. I nearly suffocated."

"You… What?" Ahri looked at him, eyes wide with worry. "Are you okay now?"

"Fine," he replied, taking her into his arms. "No need to worry."

She gave a small nod and simply leaned into him as she went back to watching the Tribunal.

"We're trying everything," Aneria promised, "We aren't going to just sit here and let this go,"

He nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

"We wouldn't expect anything less,"

"If you're really that concerned about the pranks, I can go easy on them for a while," he said. "Wouldn't want to hinder progress."

"As long as you keep it to a minimum of champions it will be fine," the Bandle City Representative chuckled, "an Institute wide one not so much,"

He hummed. "Good to know, good to know."

Apollyon's blind eyes gave a dim spark and he suddenly put his head in his hands and groaned.

"What happened?" Aneria asked.

"Do not ask," he sighed.

"No spoilers Apollyon," Helios told him. "That's an order."

"And face her wrath? No thank you. Apologies, Leona," Apollyon shuddered as Leona's eyes narrowed, "I am staying out of this. Too much potential for violence inflicted on me,"

Ahri looked up at Helios. "It'll be fun no matter what though, right?"

He smiled. "Have I ever delivered anything less?"


Cira jolted awake with a shock, gasping as she struck at a phantom image before her. She opened her eyes slowly just to see not a wire-strewn lab, but the humble warm wood and stone of her home. She gave a sigh as she looked around. She felt...more tired than usual.

"The projector switched off didn't it?" she muttered as she got up and started towards the mirror…

Only to give a shriek of horror and terror that shook the house and caused her husband to jolt awake.

"Cira?!" Arthur demanded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He'd finally gotten some rest after Cira literally picked up him like a child and carried him in the house after he sat on the cliff for most of the night due to his shame at nearly hurting Ares. However...what he saw…

The expression on his wife's face was indescribable. Completely offset by what was wearing. She was dressed completely in white, light armor accented with scarlet-orange highlights and golden accents. Her skirt was a rich scarlet with white frills peeping out underneath the white armor panels at her hips. A rounded star-like design replaced the normal Solari insignia at her chest. Her sleeves were a snowy white and ended in delicate lady's gloves with an orange-red starburst on the wrist. Her boots had been transformed into high heels with a star accented with a bow at the ankle, her headdress had been replaced by what looked to be two white wings and her hair had been pulled into a ponytail that started nearly blonde and deepened to her normal scarlet. In short...Cira was a Star Guardian.

Arthur bit his lip, trying to hide his amusement. Saying something would probably launch him through the wall and off the cliff.

Cira's face was an ungodly shade of red.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" she roared.

"Is Leo awake?" Arthur finally asked, valiantly fighting down his grin.

"No, thank God," Cira shuddered, "I need to get to Jayce...I'm going to kill Helios...I swear…"

"Remind me to thank him," Arthur grinned as He gave Pantheon control.

"You better not let her see you then," came the Champion's warning.


"I...don't know how to exactly fix you," Jake admitted as Cira sat, cross armed on the table, her fingers tapping against her arm with harsh clicking sounds.

"Can't you just...program it so it's not my default?!" she demanded.

"I don't know what he did to you, Cira," Jake tried again, "I can't fix it because I don't know how he got it in there in the first place and he put up something that deletes everything I try,"

Cira gave a groan of exasperation, putting her head in her hands.

"Leo hasn't woken up...has she?"

"No,"

"Then you'll be fine,"

"That's the thing...she will wake up. It's just this drained us both because the projector was running all night it seems. It'll be a bit before it does...but it's going to be two weeks of Magical Girl Leona…"

"I don't know what to tell you, Cira. I mean I'm going to try and figure it out but…"

She gave a groan before stiffening as her form started to disappear in a shower of golden light.

"Have fun," Jake told her as Cira shot him a death glare that would have incinerated planets.

When the Summoning finished, Cira heard a few voices that she hoped she wouldn't have to hear here.

"Cira! Oooooo! You got one too!" Mya squealed, nearly tackling her cousin, "Now we can be glitter buddies!"

Cira gave a low metallic growl as she looked at herself. Slight confusion colored her face as she realized she didn't have her sword or her shield.

"...where are my sword and shield…" she growled.

There was a chirruping noise and she looked up to see two little critters hovering around her. They looked almost like little lion cubs, one was a rich scarlet with orange and gold markings while the other was the reverse. Their names immediately popped into her head.

"Taiyo and Kido…" she blinked, "they aren't…"

The two familiars chirped, nuzzling her cheeks before transforming...into a golden and white shield and sword.

Cira gave a groaning whine as she put her head in her hands, refusing to look at Mya, or Ariel, or Poppy's Chosen, Adrian.

"Enjoying the new look?" Ariel teased as she edged closer to the support.

The glare she gave Ariel...basically told the mage that if she wanted to keep those sparkly nine tails she'd move away. Despite that though, her foxy grin remained as she edged closer to Mya.

"You had something to do with this," she hissed, "didn't you?"

"And if I said I did?"

"You thought the clown was bad…that will have nothing on what I plan to do to you,"

Her tail fur suddenly went on end, though she didn't continue.

Mya grabbed her cousin's gloved wrist and started dragging the new Star Guardian towards the botlane. Cira grudgingly followed…

Only to give a sudden yell of despair, shaking her head and smacking it a couple times.

"Leo! Shush!" she pleaded, "NO! GO BACK TO SLEEP!"

Muffled giggles came from the mid lane.

"SHUDDUP!" Cira yelled, shaking her head, "All of ya!"

She suddenly shuddered and her blue eyes flared gold. A sweet smile crossed her face and she looked down at Mya.

"Let's go! Onward to glitter and glory!"

Mya grinned, biting her lip to keep the laughter down. She could very nearly see the storm clouds that were Cira's attitude. But, Leona was blissfully unaware of it, the programming still screwing around with her personality.

The game went on, Cira was cringing and desperately trying to get back into control, but Leona was having none of it. Cries of "For the First Star!" and others of that like rang throughout the Rift.

"I don't like to do this," Leona admitted to Mya as they watched as Miss Fortune collapsed, "But, they do return...right?"

Mya nodded.

"Don't worry, she'll be back to killing us soon enough. Though, you're still making sure I don't get killed,"

"The First Star used it's light to create us to protect. So, I believe that I should do my best to embody that light,"

"...Ok, that was cheesy and you know it,"

"Cheesy? It's the truth!"

"Whatever," Mya shrugged, looking at Janna, who was left alone, "HEY JANNA! Shouldn't you be thinking of retirement yet!?"

"Shouldn't you grow up?" came the deadpan from her Chosen.

"...Ok, I'll admit, that was a good one,"

"Let's show them what we're made of," Leona urged.

"Bullets and mayhem?" Mya grinned, "Well...circuits and sunshine for you,"

"Nope! Starlight!" came the beaming reply as the Solari Star Guardian pointed her blade at Janna, "Go Taiyo!"

Her body shattered into starlight, only to reform on the other side of Janna. Leona brought up her shield and rammed it into the other Star Guardian's chest, sending her stumbling forwards. Mya gave control to Jinx and the Loose Cannon let 'em have it. Janna's summoner forced her to flash away under the tower.

"Oooooh no, you're not getting away that easily!" Leona cried, raising her sword high, "By the light of the First Star! I Punish you!"

The sky opened up and a column of radiant golden-white energy screamed down, slamming into the earth around Janna and forcing her to stop as the imprint of a starburst was burned into the soil.

"Double header!" Jinx cheered as she fired her rocket and took out Janna with one blow.

"We should probably head back," Leona said as her sword and shield reverted into the familiars and settled on her shoulders.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Jinx shrugged, "Y'know, you're not too bad at this Star Guardian stuff,

"Oh please don't egg her on…" Mya warned, "Cira will end us both once she gets back,"

"If she can catch us," Jinx grinned, "She's gonna be dealing with Leona babbling if she gets back,"

"What was that?" Leona asked, looking back as she scratched under Kido's chin.

"Nothin'," Jinx said as the blue rings of the recall spell flashed around her, "Just talking to myself,"

"Oh, ok!"

They returned back and got a few items. Leona picked up her locket and smiled.

"Warm as the light of the First Star, it'll do well in my mission,"

"Oh God Leo please stop!" Cira begged.

Again, Leona ignored her and set out with Jinx. Her Summoner ordered her to attack and she nodded.

"The light of the First Star guides my blade and my shield," she confirmed.

"KILL ME PLEASE!" Cira wailed.

"I'd be happy to help," a voice hissed from out of the bushes. Before Cira or Leona could even register who it came from, a cocoon burst from the bushes, a spiderling not too far after it. Perhaps the more terrifying thing to emerge though was the enormous spider with a flower blooming on it's abdomen as it dropped down onto Cira with use of Rappel. However, the snarl of a wolf and a volley of arrows forced her to back off, as Kindred arrived to countergank. A vicious duel ensued, which eventually expanded to include every member of both teams.

Both sides failed to notice the muffled snickering and crunching coming from a tree near the lane.

Leona dropped a solar flare in the middle of the fight, filling the air with specks of golden sparkles, she kept fighting, her innate ability exploding around the area in a dazzling display as her teammates used it to their advantage. Having enough of it, Garen smacked her with the flat of his blade, stunning her into silence for a few brief moments, only for Poppy to ram into him and send him into a wall, away from Leona. Dianne leaped upwards, firing arrows as Wolf howled and attacked on his own, biting at Eva and then at the enemy bot lane duo.

"For the glory of the First Star!" Leona called, charging in again.

The culprit couldn't hold it in any longer. His raucous laughter made the combatants pause, and they turned to see Helios lounging on a tree branch, tears in his eyes and a bag of popcorn in his hands. He was heartily shoving its contents into his mouth, reaping the benefits of his plan.

The golden eyes suddenly flared silver-blue and the carefree smile on Leona's face clouded over

"YOU!" Cira shrieked, her form glitching into something between Project and Star Guardian as the air heated up to almost unbearable temperatures.

He laughed harder, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"No, don't-" He wheezed, thumping his chest. "Don't mind me! No need for interruptions!"

"I think the match is pretty much over," Adrian muttered, "Cira isn't going to continue."

"YOU BET I'M NOT!"

"Oh no, Leo!" Helios exclaimed. "She's not letting you fight for the glory of the First Star!"

Cira's body locked up and her eyes flickered between gold and blue repeatedly.

"Stop that! I let you have the whole freaking match! It's my turn! NO I DON'T CARE! HE'S MINE!"

Helios howled.

Ahri grinned as she strutted up to Helios. "Careful or you'll pull something from all of this laughter."

Somewhat proving her point, Helios suddenly lost his balance, flailing his arms in an attempt to regain it. He failed, falling to the ground with a thud.

"Ow," he said. "Aaaaaaaaand I spilled the popcorn too. Rats."

"KARMA!" Cira yelled.

Ariel gave a softer smile as she offered a hand to him. "Told you so."

He took her hand, then swept her into a searing kiss as soon as he was on his feet. He was particularly affectionate this time around, tracing the contours of her body through the fabric of her shirt. The outfit was clearly having an effect on him.

"Get a room!" Mya yelled.

"After all the trouble I went to of preparing the newest addition to the Star Guardian lineup?" He asked as he pulled away. "I think not! I'm going to make out with my girlfriend and laugh my ass of at Leona, thank you very much."

"...You were behind these?" Silvia asked, wincing at the metallic snarl from the Project.

"CORRECT!" Helios confirmed, sweeping his arm in a bow. "So glad that you figured it out!"

"...I was considering just maiming but nope! NOT HAPPENING! YOU ARE DEAD!" Cira roared.

"It's a funny story actually," he cheerily replied. "And if I'm being honest, the whole thing was partially accidental."

"Oh really?!"

"Okay, so it all started around, oh...a little over a decade ago?" He guessed. "This was back when the Void was making unreasonable demands from the League (like an endless supply of meatsacks for Cho'Gath, euch). This was also back when Kai'Sa hadn't joined up to keep them in check."

"Anyway, as a star, I found the idea of the Void having any influence at all in Runeterra's affairs absolutely nauseating," he continued. "But, naturally, I couldn't interfere directly, because rules."

"So you made these then?" Sarah asked.

He shrugged. "Basically, yeah. I thought Leona might appreciate a few extra helpers. The original concept had a lot of armor involved, and would've looked really cool."

"But…" He sucked in through his teeth, looking away as he fiddled with his fingers. "I may have been bingewatching Sailor Moon prior to the actual development process."

"So basically, these were made because of one massive screw up?" Jinx smirked, she, being nearest to Leona, could hear the Solari's teeth grinding as she started actually growling like a lion.

He turned up his hands in a what-can-you-do gesture. "Once I got started, ideas started mixing in my head, and I lost my focus by mistake. By the time I noticed, it was already too late. I had no choice but to imbue the selected champions with star power in secret, then pawned off the outfits as skins to a Summoner anonymously. And, well, here we are."

"I know how those anime end," Kaiden deadpanned, "I've half a mind to join Cira and end you,"

"And deprive my girlfriend of my amazingness?"

"You're tempting Cira," Kaiden said.

"You could just leave him to me," Ahri grinned as she leaned her head against him.

"You'll have what pieces are left!" Cira snarled.

"Oh calm down Cira," her foxy grin remained.

"I mean, the only way this could get any worse is if I were to make it a permanent skin on the store," Helios added.

His face sprouted a devious grin.

"Unless, of course, I already did."

"..."

"Annnnd we're going to be in perpetual darkness for all eternity with that," Syndra deadpanned, "It was nice knowing you, Helios,"

"She has to catch me first!" Helios said, already running.

"GET BACK HERE!" she bolted after him, "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"

The match never ended properly. Cira spent the next half hour chasing Helios around top and bottom lane. But it was fun, regardless.


"Selene?" came Cira's voice from down the hall.

The Lunar deity looked up to see a slightly disheveled Leona in Star Guardian garb leading a skipping Apolla, who was talking a mile a minute.

"Oh, no." She deadpanned. "He finally told you about the skins, did he?"

"Not so much 'told' as forcefully put me in one," Cira growled, twitching slightly as Leona tried to regain control, "No, you are staying quiet until two weeks are up!"

"If you're asking me to clean up after him, my answer will have to be no," Selene said. "I'm taking a long vacation from dealing with him."

"I'm not asking you to do that," Cira replied, "He's mine and no one else is going to take the joy of bringing him down from me. I'm about to go to a match and Braum is on the other team. I was wondering if you could look after Apolla for that time, she's promised she'll be good, so you won't have any trouble,"

She smiled down at the girl. "No, that wouldn't be any trouble at all. I'd be happy to take her off your hands."

Cira gave a smile and knelt down, stroking the little girl's blonde hair once before kissing her forehead.

"Listen to Lady Selene, alright?" she asked.

"I'll be good, Mama! I promise!" Apolla beamed as her mother started to break into shards of sunlight.

"Now then." Selene rubbed her head affectionately. "Any preference for what you want to do?"

"I wanna explore!" Apolla beamed, "Aunt Di-Di said there was a building she wanted to show me...but I had to leave before she could show me…"

"Alright, then." She took Apolla's hand in hers. "Lead the way, then."

The four year old giggled and almost 'dragged' Selene out of building and out into the sunny mountain air.

"Aunt Di-Di said it was down near the bottom of the Mountain," Apolla said, "Not far away from Shooma!"

"Hm? Oh." Selene chuckled. "I think you mean Shurima, little one."

"Yeah! That!" she nodded, "Aunt Di-Di said it was a special place. She wanted to take me because I'm like her. She didn't tell Mama or anyone else,"

"Hm….." Selene momentarily pondered this. "I think I may know the location you're referring to. It won't take me much effort to get us there."

"Kay!" she giggled.

Selene closed her eyes, concentrating. They were swallowed by iridescent silver light shortly after, disappearing from the hall.

Apolla opened her eyes to see a small valley covered in white flowers. It was very pretty in her eyes, but it carried a sadness in it. She looked around, seeing the soft golden sand of the desert in the distance and the cool grey and white marbled stone of the Mountain that towered over them. Nestled in an alcove of the mountain was a temple-like structure carved from silver veined marble. Vines of honeysuckle and morning glories twined around the pillars that still stood despite having cracks and chips within them. A smooth silver disk crowned the capstone of the temple, identifying it as not Solari...but a Lunari temple.

"It's so pretty!" Apolla breathed.

"It really is." Selene sighed nostalgically. "It was even more beautiful in its prime."

"Can we go see?" Apolla asked.

"It'd be best if we wait for Diana first," she replied. "She was the one who wanted to show you in the first place."

"But she's in matches all day!" Apolla whined, "She and Mama are on the same team! What we gonna do if she doesn't get back before Mama does?"

"Fair point," she conceded. "Hm...ah! I know what to do."

She snapped her fingers.

Diana suddenly materialized out of moonlight, falling to the ground in a heap.

"What the…" Mir blinked, "how did I get here?"

"Aunt Di-Di!" Apolla cheered.

"Apolla?" she asked before spotting Selene, "Ah...that explains it,"

"She requires entertainment," Selene informed her. "I believe you promised it to her."

"I did," Diana sighed, "I was in the middle of a match though, they have me scheduled all day,"

"Apolla, if you would."

The little girl came up to her aunt and tugged on her armor. Diana slowly looked down...just to get met with large, tear-filled, stormy blue eyes.

"Pweaaaase Aunt Di-Di?" Apolla begged, "You promised...and you might leave me again before we can go…"

Diana shot a half-hearted glare at Selene as she put a hand on her her still larger than normal stomach.

"Your brother is rubbing off on you, Lady Selene," she stated before sighing, "Fine,"

"Thank you for agreeing to it," she replied. "I believe that a tour's in order?"

"I'm not much a tour guide, I just know that it's one of the less dangerous temples to explore," she said.

"Alright," she said. "I can take it from here, then."

She took Apolla's hand in hers. "Come along now, little one. You're going to like this."

The trio went into the temple. The vines didn't stop on the outside, the floor was carpeted in them as well as grass pushing its way through the once pristine marble floors. Scorch marks marred some of the pillars, while gashes slashed through some of the statues lining the walls, left by angry people long ago. In the center of the room, under an open air rotunda, was a larger marble statue behind a silver altar. The statue's features were either worn away by the elements or hacked to pieces by angry Solari swords. A mosaic of lapis lazuli, sapphire and diamond spiraled away from the alter, hidden underneath the vines and separated by the grass.

"Now this brings back memories." Selene let her fingers glide along the edge of the statue. "I still remember what it used to be like, back then."

She smiled sadly. "It was a simpler time. Helios and I were just beginning to get the Solari and Lunari together. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing, really, but we made it work eventually. It was a lot more fun that either of us expected it to be."

"What happened?" Apolla asked, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the side of the altar, "Aunt Di-Di?"

"I don't know," Diana told her niece, "The Lunari were almost wiped out when I found this place. Just me, Asterios and your grandmother,"

"People happened, unfortunately." Selene sighed. "It couldn't be helped. There are zealots in every religion, and ours were no exception. There was only a handful of pretentious Solari at the time, but…" Her shoulders slumped. "That was all it took. Helios was absolutely furious, but the damage had already been done, and neither of us could do anything about it."

"But...Mama's not like that...neither is grandpa! They wouldn't hurt...would they?" Apolla asked, worry on her face.

"No," Mir reassured her, "They wouldn't. And they've gotten many of the priests to at least tolerate me and my 'ridiculous' ideas. But, it's been at least a hundred years since that purge, they probably had forgotten that we were a religion as well,"

"And then, of course, there was the purge of the Solari you carried out, years ago." Selene turned to look at her. "Few of the elders lived that day, if my memory serves me adequately."

"I was fighting for my life," Diana protested, "they were going to execute me. Leona didn't even make it in time to stop them, so I did what I had to. And not all of them. The high priest couldn't be bothered so he lived,"

"This may surprise you, but Helios was actually disappointed that you didn't finish him off," she replied. "He would've done the deed himself, if he'd been able."

"Hyperion and my father never got along either," Diana said with an almost savage grin.

Selene frowned with distaste. "I never liked that name. 'Hyperion' always seemed rather gauche. I suppose that's fitting, given his character."

"He's a meanie butt-head," Apolla huffed.

"Apolla!" Mir scolded, "We don't talk like that!"

"But it's true!"

"To be fair, she isn't wrong," Selene offered.

"No but her mother will kill me,"

"And wouldn't that be-"

Skritt.

"...entertaining," she trailed off. "What was that?"

Diana laid a hand on her hilt and Apolla froze, looking into the darkness.

"Apolla," Selene slowly said, "find someplace safe. Now."

Apolla didn't question it, she started towards a pillar that had been snapped in half and created a barrier between it and the wall, and hunkered down, her stormy blue eyes watching the Lunar deity and her representative.

Skrittskrittskrittskrittskritt…

It was coming from a hallway on the opposite end of the room, steadily growing louder by the second. The hall was veiled in shadow, pierced only by the approaching chitter. Selene narrowed her eyes at the source, letting her hand fall open. Her scythe materialized out of silver light, gleaming wickedly.

Diana's grip tightened on her khopesh and her glow surged, bathing the darkened temple with silver moonlight. Apolla whimpered and hunkered down again. There'd been attacks on the mountain before, but she'd always been in the house while her parents fought back outside. This was something completely new...and it terrified her.

For a brief moment, the sound stopped. The light of Diana's blade had given it pause.

And then it returned with a shrieking cacophony, as thousands upon thousands of warped and twisted monstrosities flooded from the shadows.

Apolla shrieked, Diana set her feet in a ready position, khopesh angled so that she could slash. There was no way she was going to let those things get Apolla.

Dozens of Voidborn shrieked horrifically, dashing in a frenzied skitter towards Diana. They instantly fell to a flash of light that cleaved through the entire wave, halting the others in their advance. An explosion of the same light threw them back, while the front line disintegrated into dust.

Selene was ruthlessly efficient. Her scythe blurred in her hands, the blade singing a sickly sweet song with each swing. She moved around the room at a dizzying speed, cutting down Voidborn by the dozen each time she struck.

What Voidborn didn't go after Selene, targeted Diana. The Aspect raised her blade, three globes of silver-white light coming into being around her. She swung her blade as an arc of moonlight blazed from the silver metal. Blazes of light ignited around the Voidborn struck by the arc and Diana dashed forwards, a blue of moonlight and quicksilver. She slammed her blade into the ground, the temple stones shattering as white light blazed from every crack in the stones, dragging the Voidborn closer to her. The three globes broke as they struck the creatures, shattering and melding into a large shield around her. She whirled her blade around, cutting through the armor of one creature, completely bisecting it. She darted through the monsters, a streak of deadly quicksilver as her long white-blonde hair floated around her like a flame.

"Try not to strain yourself too much," Selene told her. She tapped her scythe on the ground, and a wave of light erupted from the base, repelling the horde and temporarily granting them some breathing room. "Wouldn't want to injure the baby, would we?"

"Right…" Diana nodded, "I was wondering why I was slower...sorry, went straight into, as my sister would say, 'fight mode',"

"One second." Selene pushed Diana aside, then used a blast of lunar energy to separate the front line from the rest of the swarm. She swept her scythe upwards, the blade glowing a pale blue. To Diana's surprise, a wall of water erupted from the ground in the hallway's entrance, cutting the swarm off. Selene clenched her fist, and it hardened into a thick sheet of ice, preventing the swarm from advancing any further.

"Right. That should make things easier for us." Selene gestured to them with her head. "I don't think you'll have any trouble with them, will you?"

"Not one bit," Diana smiled, readying her blade again, "I just don't want them to get to Apolla. Leona would have my head if anything happened to her,"

"I'll look after her," she assured her. "You go and enjoy yourself."

"Gladly," Diana nodded as she dashed forwards in a streak of silver moonlight.

"Apolla?" Selene turned to lightly rap her knuckles on the barrier. "Are you alright?"

The child gave a whimper but nodded as her glow shone brighter and brighter from the fear.

Selene gently shushed her, putting her hand against it. "It's alright. It's alright. No one's going to hurt you. Everything will be fine. It won't be much longer, now."

Apolla nodded, but huddled closer into her little ball. Diana however, was still going at the monsters, slashing her blade through their armor, hissing sounds flew up as the metal ate through the voidlings' flesh with the same look as acid eating through anything. Black, tar-like blood dropped from the curve of her blade and stuck to her boots as it pooled over the floor. But, soon enough, the hoard that had been cut off by Selene's wall was decimated. Diana turned back to her deity and her niece.

"I believe that's all of them on this side of the wall," she said.

Selene frowned at the wall of ice. "We'll have to deal with the rest later. And I, for one, am curious as to how they got in here in the first place."

"We are near one of the Rifts, Icathia isn't too far a travel from here in the first place," Diana explained, "perhaps one of the rifts opened?"

"On their own?" She asked. "I doubt it."

She looked to a hallway adjacent to the one she'd blocked off, eyes narrowing. "I wonder…"

"Down there perhaps?" Diana asked, "their little helper?"

"Maybe," Selene replied, "though I'm not so certain about little."

"Apolla, it's safe now," she called. "You can come out."

The little girl cautiously crawled out of her little hidey hole, her stormy blue eyes luminous in the dark. She immediately went over to her aunt and hid behind her leg.

"Scary…" she whimpered.

"I know," Diana soothed, "But we're going to make sure that whoever did this is not going to do it again, ok?"

"O-Okay…"

"Just stick with us," Selene said, walking towards the hallway. "You'll be fine if you do."

The hallway's floor was chipped and cracked, chasms into the mountain's heart opened up at some point which caused Diana to pick up Apolla and leap over the chasms, landing a tad awkwardly a couple times. Veins of silver ran through the marble, glowing in the presence of the Lunar deity and her Aspect, though the farther they went, the dimmer it glowed, becoming corrupted with a harsh violet color due to the Void's influence. There was a faint scuttle above them every now and then, but Selene's presence kept the source at bay. The walls and floor sprouted webbed cracks further down, each one pulsing with the essence of the Void. Selene kept Apolla's eyes off them. She knew what would happen if she looked for too long.

"Pity," she muttered. "I rather liked the decor, too."

"As did I," Mir agreed, "No 'polla, don't look. It's bad,"

"I wanna go home…" Apolla whimpered, "But I don't wanna let this keep happenin'..."

"It'll be over soon." Selene glowered ahead. The light from the end of the hall had become almost blinding. "We're here."

Mir looked up at the center of the room and frowned.

"That's Maximilian," she blinked as Malzahar's Chosen raised his arms, almost as if he were calling something through the massive glowing portal before him, "...we told him to stop that…not on our mountain!"

"MALZAHAR!" Selene yelled. The walls of the temple shook, shaking debris from the ceiling.

The Prophet of the Void faltered in his ritual.

He turned to face the trio, and his gaze lingered on Apolla, who instinctively ducked behind her aunt. Her mother warned her to stay away from him.

"If it is Diana, her little doppelgänger, and the Lady of the Moon," Maximilian deadpanned, "how quaint. Here to watch the show?"

"We told you to stay away from our mountain, Maximilian," Mir snapped.

"Since when as that stopped me? The veil is thinnest here,"

"And how about me?" Selene leveled the blade of her scythe at his heart. "I'm only going to give you this one chance, Malzahar. Stop this. Now."

"Why should I," the Prophet of the Void snorted, "you can't hurt me. The League would have your head and you know it,"

"Context, Malzahar," she tutted. "What do you think's going to happen when I tell them about this? I'd be more worried about myself, if I were you."

"They know I do things like this, it is not new. And it isn't like I am able to actually bring something large out. Not without...something to give back,"

Again his eyes rested on Apolla who gave a squeak and hid again.

Selene's eyes smoldered with silver flames. "Absolutely not. The League will have your head if you so much as lay a finger on her...assuming I don't take it first."

"Since you came here, I've seen you do nothing worth noting. A little burst of anger when the Solari came after your precious Aspect, but nothing beyond that. You've given me no reason to fear you,"

A vein bulged in her forehead.

"Apolla, hold this." Selene offer her the scythe.

The little girl held the weapon with wide, stormy blue eyes.

"M-Miss Selene?" She stammered.

"You may also want to cover your eyes," Selene advised.

She flashed a smile at the prophet, cracking her knuckles.

"Now then. Let's get down to it, shall we?"


"So...what exactly did you do to him?" Helios asked, squinting against the glass.

"You don't want to know," Selene drily replied.

He smirked, and they fist-bumped. "Sorry that I wasn't around to help you out. I would've gotten the Star Guardians together, but they were all busy."

"Does it look like I needed help?" She asked, gesturing to the room behind the glass barrier.

At the moment, Malzahar was propped up in a hospital bed, sobbing uncontrollably through his full body cast. He'd been unresponsive since the three had brought him back, refusing to answer Akali's questions.

"You would think they would learn by now not to mess with deities…" Andrew sighed.

"He needs to be watched more closely, from now on." Selene folded her arms. "Vandalising my temple is one thing, but threatening a child is another."

"That's why we keep a close eye on the children," Andrew explained, "And why we were so upset about Helios' stunt earlier with these three. They'd think they don't have to listen to their parents and then start wandering off...where people like Maximillian here are waiting. Could you imagine the Hell that would come if Torin was hurt? Or Artemis or any of Leona's kids for that matter. That's why we told you to clean it up and take responsibility for it. So that the kids wouldn't take it as a 'we can push the limits and disobey and wander off',"

"That was different," Helios rebutted. "I was watching them. And I sent them to Braum after we'd finished. Don't mistake my disregard for the rules as a lack of responsibility, Andrew. I'll do my part. You just make sure to do yours." Selene nodded in agreement.

"Believe me, I'll make sure of that,"

Helios seemed to be satisfied enough with that. "Good. We won't have any issues in the future, then."

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out. "Hello? Oh, hey. Yeah, I'll be there soon. Just finished taking care of something with my sister. Okay, I'll see you then. Bye."

He stuffed the device pack into his pocket. "Welp, that's my cue to leave." He snapped his fingers and pointed at them, walking backward towards the door. "Got a hot date."

"Just don't go terrorizing the mortals," Andrew told him.

"Ha. If anything, they've been giving me the stink-eye ever since I started dating Ahri. But yeah, sure, whatever you say." He turned on his heels, waving over his shoulder. "Later."

Selene exhaled, watching him leave. "It's still jarring, seeing him like this."

"With a girlfriend?"

She nodded. "Before now, my brother really wasn't one for relationships. He'd indulge in a one-night stand on occasion, whenever he was feeling lonely, but this…" She wordlessly shook her head. "I do want him to be happy, but I honestly never saw this coming."

"The same with Ahri, she unfortunately has been teased by some of the other Champions because of her reputation. I am glad she is happy though,"

She hummed. "As am I."

She could only hope that it would last.

Not sure what will happen next. But, knowing Fic it'll be interesting.

Chosens Used (We Are Warriors)
Leona- Cira Noble (Jonson)

Pantheon-Arthur Jonson

Diana-Mir Marama

Ahri-Ariel Royal

Syndra-Silvia Lazar (Umbero)

Jinx-Mya Grace (Allen)

Miss Fortune- Sarah Flint

Garen-Kaiden Darkhound

Kindred-Dianne Faye (Diamond)

Elise-Eva Faye

Poppy-Adrian Krazozinski

Janna-Kyra Makani

Chosens Used (We Are Chosen)

Kindred-Dianne Faye

Lucian-Arthur Jonson (Senna-Cira Noble)

Leona-Janie Noble

...And then there are Helios and Selene.

Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please let me know!

Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)

Máriessë ar mára tecië

Farewell and fair writing

Elhini Prime signing off.