Desperate Times
a League of Legends fanfic
Chapter 6: A Fight on the Seas
Le'Blanc couldn't believe what her scrying spells had reveled to her. Zilean the Chronomancer of all people had foiled her initial plans in Demacia, and he was trying to foil her again now. She had never even considered him as a viable threat even with his strange ability to move through time, and yet here he was, almost out of her immediate reach.
She sighed, "Well, that won't do. I may have underestimated the old man, but if he thinks that he's going to get away from me that easily..." She turned towards the large cavern she was sitting in, she called out and several cultists appeared before her. "My mages, prepare a teleportation spell. There is someone we need to dispose of, but there is not enough time to go about this subtly." Several of the men and women in front of her bowed and huried away. The Deciver addressed the remaining cultists, "You five are the best assassins that the Black Rose has here in Demacia, you will travel to the ship of the notorious pirate Gangplank, and you will kill the man his crew calls Jay. If anyone interferes with your task, kill them as well. Also, if you encounter the League Champion Zilean, kill him and bring me his head. He has proven to be a very dangerous opponent, and it would not do to let him live."
The assassins bowed and vanished. Le'Blanc began to smile, but before it could fully spread across her face, a man approached, "Mistress, there is a situation that requires your attention upstairs. It seems the Lady Shivanna and Ambassador Poppy were unable to capture Garen Crownguard."
"I see..." Le'Blanc's smile faded. "That is disappointing."
The night air was cool, and the wind was calm. Jay stood on the deck of the Dead Pool and gazed at the moon, for some reason it always seemed to clam him down.
"A nightmare again eh?" a voice said from behind him. Turning, he saw the captain walking towards him.
"Not so much a nightmare, as... well... I actually don't know" he replied, "It felt different this time, like maybe it was a memory trying to break through, but it was all hazy and unfocused. All the same though, I can't sleep now."
Gangplank smiled broadly, "Glad te see that yer memories be at least makin' a damn effert on their own, should make it tha' much easier fer Soraka te getcha back up an' runnin proper."
Jay turned back to the railing and leaned against it, watching the water lap passed steadily. "I hope it is as easy as that my friend. I admit I am eager to-"
A wickedly sharp blade swung from his right, aiming for Jay's eyes. Jay threw himself backwards with a speed that surprised himself, narrowly avoiding the strike, and coming up in a crouch beside Gangplank. There was a group of black garbed, and masked people standing where he had just been, each armed and each gazing steadily at the two of them.
"Well now... this be an interestin' turn o' events." Gangplank said calmly. "Ye lads've got abou' ten seconds te get the hell off me ship 'fore I cut ye inte chum."
"To hell with that!" Jay spat, grabing for the nearest object and coming up with a mop left by one of the deck hands. He snapped the head off so that he had a few feet of pole with a jagged edge on the end, "Whoever these bastards are, they just tried to kill me. And I'm not going to let that go easily." He held the wooden pole up in a fighting position, surprised by how easily the stance came to him, whoever he had been before, he had been in at least one fight it seemed.
"Heh, fair enough J Lad." the captain said, drawing his cutlass. "Ye heard tha boy. I almost pity ye poor sods."
The assassins said nothing, but flashed forward with speed that almost caught the pirate off guard. Two of them brought their swords up to slash at Gangplank as the other three moved to surround Jay.
The man flashed forward and smashed his makeshift weapon through the face of his first attacker. The move seemed to surprise everyone, Gangplank recovered the fastest and lashed out at one of his opponents. The assassin swept his blade up smashing the pirate's cutlass out of the way as the other one struck with a stab towards Gangplank's chest. Gangplank threw himself to the side wincing as the sword blade nicked his chest.
As Gangplank was dodging aside, Jay's opponents were quickly turning the tide back in their favour, forcing him back with each strike. Amazingly his mop handle was still in one piece, with the exception of a section that he had left in the head of his felled opponent. He managed to turn each blow away with a skill that didn't belong to a man who didn't even know his own name.
Gangplank spared a quick glance towards Jay, before turning back to his opponents and loosing a roar of violence and lunged. The assassins faltered for only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the experienced killer. He smashed the first aside with all of his strength, flinging the masked person aside like a sack of rags. The strike was so heavy that it spun Ganplank almost fully around, as his second opponent moved to strike his unprotected back, the pirate captain seemed to almost blur with speed, there was a loud crack and blood erupted from the attackers chest.
The assassin seemed confused for a moment, pausing to examine the sudden wound that had appeared, it was only as Gangplank's blade was smashing into the side of his head that he saw the pistol in the pirate's other hand.
Jay glanced toward his comrade at the sound of the gun, checking to make sure he was ok. The distraction nearly cost him his life. The assassins, focused solely on their target, took advantage of his momentary pause and simultaneously slashed in. Jay managed to throw himself backwards as the blades closed in, his weapon however was not quite as lucky. The wooden pole was smashed to pieces and flung from Jay's hand, leaving him completely defenceless.
The assassins closed in on their fallen prey, preparing to finish the job. They raised their blades above their heads, and then one of them grunted in surprise, as something violently smashed in through his back and out through his chest, pulping his ribs in the process.
Jay stared at the sight that now greeted him, a vicious looking trio of blades glinted in the moonlight, dripping with the blood of the man gazing dumfounded down at them.
"Looks like Chomper was right, there is blood in the air. I don't like it when bad men try to kill my friends." The blades vanished from the man's chest, and a small creature darted out from behind him, positioning itself between Jay and the remaining assassin. "I don't think I like you much mister mask man." the small creature said.
Gangplank released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Focusing his attention on his remaining opponent, he flashed forward and delivered a vicious and very unsportsmanlike kick between the assassin's legs, grabbing the man by the throat as he started to double over. The man tried to strike back weakly, but Gangplank just slapped the sword from his hand, and pulled his face until it was inches from Ganplank's own. The pirate's smile would have chilled even the bravest man to the bone. "Now then, yer gonna watch, as yer buddie o're there gets 'is self skewered by me little pal. An' then, yer gonna find out just why they calls me the Saltwater Scourge.
An hour later, the captured assassin's screams filled the air. The ships crew, who had arrived on the scene just after Jay's rescuer had. and had moved quickly to clean up the mess, tossing the bodies of the dead overboard and watching with a grim fascination as the enormous shark made swift work of the remains, leaving nothing behind but the faint trace of blood in the water.
Jay stood at the back of the ship, watching the direction from which they had come, as if trying to see the face of whoever had sent those assassins in the moonlit wake of the ship. As he stood there, a creak of the wooden deck planks announced the arrival on someone else, turning, Jay saw his diminutive savior hopping up the steps towards him. As it approached, Jay took a moment to get a good look at it. It stood a few feet shorter than him, had a light blue skin and what looked to be webbing in between it's fingers and toes.
"So, you really can't remember anything? About who you are, or anything like that?" The little fish-like man asked. Jay simply shook his head. "Weird."
Jay smiled, "Try living it, calling it weird doesn't do it justice. Still, I should thank you my little friend, you saved my life, and I have no intention of forgetting that." He extended his hand, in a motion that Gangplank had called a 'handshake' back when he had first awoken.
The little creature smiled widely, "My name's Fizz. Good to meetcha again." He grabbed Jays hand and shook vigorously with a strength that took the larger human by surprise. "And don't worry about the whole saving thing, ok? That's what friends do. So, what's your plans for now?"
Jay nodded to the front of the ship, "The Captain is taking me to someone who I apparently knew in the past in Ionia who may be able to help. And I suspect that I'm going to need all the help I can get soon, if tonight's... admittedly strange, encounter is any indication. Would you be willing to aid me as well?"
To Jay's surprise, Fizz bowed, as if to a ruler. "Of course, I probably would have helped even if you hadn't asked. I owe Gangplank a favour anyways." With that, the little blue creature turned on his heel and jumped down the steps, and seemed to bounce as he hit the ship deck and landed on the railing. "I can move faster in the depths, I'll make sure nothing get's in the Dead Pool's way. Oh yeah, and if you need any more help, just sound a few notes on this," Fizz unhooked a small conch shell from around his neck and tossed it up towards Jay, before vanishing over the side with a quiet splash.
Jay moved to catch the small shell, the small item landing in his hand as if it belonged there. He waved to Fizz and placed the shell in a small pouch on his hip.
At that moment Gangplank kicked open a door leading below deck. Dragging an almost unrecognisable body, one that bled from dozens of fresh wounds, behind him, he made his way to the side of the ship. He then hauled on the body over the railing and held it over the open water. Jay was startled to see two things, one, Gangplank was holding the body of the former assassin up with only one arm, and two, the assassin was still alive! The poor man was weakly clawing at Gangplank's arm feebly.
"Now," Gangplank said, "Let's try this one last time. Who. The Fuck. Sent. You?" His victim gasped out something inaudible. Gangplank leaned forward a bit, "Wassat? Ye'll need to speak up a bit. I thin' yer lung may have collapsed as I was cutting on ye."
"Put him down captain," Jay said from the steps, "You won't be able to get anything from him like that. Not to mention, he'll die before we can get what we want at this rate."
Gangplank smirked and turned, throwing the prisoner bodily against the ship's mast. "Yer lucky I like ye Jay lad. Not many men have survived givin' me orders on me own ship."
Jay nodded, "I promise it won't happen again my friend. Now then," he turned to the crumpled form of the assassin, and pushed the man into a sitting position before kneeling down in front of him. "I assume you don't have much going for you at the moment my friend," He said, "So I'll make you a deal. One time only, take it or leave it. You tell me, who sent you, and why you tried to cut my head off, not to mention how you got here, and I will in turn ensure that you live to see a healer who can perhaps repair the damage my friend here has done to you."
The assassin glared at Jay, and then seemed to physically slump, "My mistress Le'Blanc sent my brothers and I to kill the man called Jay," he said weakly, "She seems to believe that you are a threat to her. I know nothing else, none of us know more than we are required to know. As for how my brothers and I came to be here, the Mistress delivered us upon the winds of magic, and when she discovers that we have failed, she will send more."
Jay nodded slightly, then stood up and turned to Gangplank. "I assume you know this 'Le'Blanc' person?"
"Aye, I do lad. I was afraid o' this. That witch is trouble, no matter wha' she be doin'." The captain grimaced. "I suppose ye gave this worm yer word eh, all righ'. Ye two!" he snapped at a pair of crew-men, "Get this sack of shite below deck an inte tha Brigg."
"Try not to break him," Jay said, moving out of the men's way. "Now then, we have a new problem, he said that more would be coming, we'll need to be ready."
"I can help with that," A new voice sounded from behind him. Turning, Jay saw an old man in a plain grey robe, who seemed to be floating above the ground.
Jay reacted to this sudden appearance by moving to one of the crew men who was standing by the railing, and grabbing the man's sword. He then moved to the newcomer and pressed the blade against his throat. "Who are you?" Jay demanded.
The old man smiled a bit and then seemed to just vanish. "You have no need for the weapon my forgetful friend." He spoke, appearing behind Jay, "You may not believe me, but I am an ally. My name is Zilean, and I feel at least partly responsible for your condition. And so, I shall help to deter any further attempts by Le'Blanc to send assassins via magic."
Gangplank stepped forward and placed a pacifying hand on the blade of Jay's sword, "Zil's alrigh' Jay lad, been helpin' us all day he has. He's a chronomancer, fancy way o' sayin' he can manipulate time. He made it so that the Pool was able to cover a lot more distance than she would have on her own."
Zilean nodded, "I regret that I was exhausted by that use of my power, and so when your attackers appeared, I was unable to render assistance."
Jay slowly lowered his sword, a suspicious look still on his face. "Fine, how do you plan on keeping this Le'Blanc woman from sending more assassins?"
In response, Zilean turned and floated to the main mast of the Dead Pool , and placed his hand on the mast. An enormous clock appeared behind him, and a bright sigil appeared on the wood of the mast. Turning back to his allies, he said, "This sigil is a protective rune I designed myself. It's made to protect from teleportation, so that if anyone tries to send anything here via any form of teleportation magic, the rune's magic will interfere with the spell, and the spell will malfunction, sending it's cargo back to where they started."
"Mighty impressive Zil." Gangplank smiled.
Jay glanced at the giant clock, a hint of a memory welling up in him. "I... I remember that sound..." The others glanced at him, "That clock, I recognize it for some reason. Or at least I know that sound it makes. You were there weren't you? When I lost my memory."
Zilean sighed, "Yes my friend, I was, for a time. Please, ask no more questions, I suspect that they will only aggravate you for now. The lady Soraka will be able to help you better than I ever could. Just know for now that what I did that night, I did in hopes that it would help you."
"Fine," Jay said, "But I expect the truth from you, once this is all over." Jay turned and stalked away towards the bunk he had been given to sleep in.
"Well now, tha' went well." Gangplank watched his friend walk away, obvious anger seething from him.
"I suspect the poor boy blames me subconsciously for what happened. And I can't really blame him. His unconscious mind knows what happened, even if he consciously has no memory. And to that mind, my bomb was the last thing to happen in that tower."
Xin Xiao paced nervously back and forth in the hall way, the Prince was going to kill him. Just as the thought crossed his mind, the doorway down the hall opened, and Price Jarvan appeared. Xin bowed low, "Your majesty, I apologize for rousing you so late at night."
"Oh spare me Seneschal, just tell me what happened."
Xin nodded, speaking as the two of them made their way towards the infirmary, "Ambassador Poppy and Lady Shyvanna led the Dauntless Vanguard out to the east, following rumour of a sighting of the Noxian General Katarina DuCouteau in a small village there. Once there, it seems that Ambassador Poppy convinced Shyvanna to allow her to try and talk the enemy out, so as to attempt to reduce the amount of damage. Negotiations... failed however. The Vanguard was decimated, and Poppy was beaten into unconsciousness. Shyvanna then stepped in to try and salvage the situation, but... well, this is the result."
They had arrived at the infirmary, several of the Dauntless Vanguard lay on cots their heads lolling to the side, as the medicos tried to treat them. At the back of the room, Shyvanna lay, still in critical condition, the wound dealt by Garen still not fully healed.
The Prince's face was inscrutable to Xin, but he could feel something akin to fury seething off of him. "Seneschal." Xin snapped to attention. "Find them, and bring me their heads."