Author's Note
Finally, I'm finished! This chapter took me longer. I rewrote the whole beginning at least three times, before I finally found a good start. Here we go! Oh, one thing: If you like, you can give my thread in the official forums a bump. You can leave comments, reviews and so on there, too! I appreciated it!
Chapter 13
Blood and Steel
She looked around her. She saw absolutely nothing. Only darkness. She felt like she float between worlds. Somehow it reminded her of the summoning process to the Fields of Justice. 'Am I summoned?', she asked herself. But, who summoned her?
Suddenly she felt the earth under her feet and looked around. She stood on the summoning platform in Summoner's Rift, but the whole platform was surrounded by strong iron bars, which prevented her from leaving. 'What the hell?', she thought and looked around. Then she saw it. Her nexus was already destroyed, the towers burned down. Minions stood around mindlessly, as they didn't have anything to do anymore.
She tried to break free. She used all of her powers, all of her abilities, but nothing happened. She was caged in like an animal. Slowly other persons walked to her prison. All of them stayed shaded, and unreal. But, she remembered their voices as they spoke.
‟Again, P.C.? Well, that's a pity", someone said. It sounded like Krim.
‟Yeah, Krim...that's right...what a pity", Dassel said.
‟Caged in, with no power anymore...and this pitiful thing wanted to revenge us?", another one
said, it reminded her of Sal.
‟I thought, we could trust in you...", someone said, who reminded her of Ardus.
Riven watched the shadows. Their voices sounded disappointed, and disgusted. One of them was big, and buff. A giant two handed axe stood beside him. Brite. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her, what made it even worse.
‟I'm sorry!", Riven exclaimed.
‟Ahaha. This proves it once, and for all! You're a weakling! Your Noxian way is full of errors and mistakes, and you're nothing more than a pitiful excuse for an officer." Scarlet's mocking voice echoed in her head.
‟Riven...I am sorry..." A faint voice said. Riven nearly didn't hear it, as the laughter of Scarlet overshadowed it.
‟Diana?", Riven tried to say, but her voice failed. It felt like somebody was choking her. ‟I'm sorry..it was my fault...not yours!" She tried to break free from the invisible powers which choke her. She tried to reach Diana, Ardus, anyone. But, she was too weak. She couldn't breath anymore. Her sight started to become blurred. She panicked and slowly suffocated.
Riven awoke, and tried not to scream. Sweat ran down her face and she breathed heavily. 'Another nightmare?", she thought while she tried to collect herself and get a grip to reality. Her hands shook in panic. Riven swallowed hard, and forced herself to breath calmly. 'Fuck...am I going crazy? Well, it could be this situation..okay...calm down...slowly..'
She heard the sound of an opening cell door, and cringed. Slowly she turned around her head, only to see one of the elite soldiers who put down a tray, near the entrance. He was a rather big man, in his thirties. He had black hair, like many other Noxians and a scar near his right eye. His brown eyes looked over to her.
‟You're awake, huh?" His voice sounded calm. But, unlike Scarlet's, this man was really calm. Or at least Riven believed so.
‟Yeah...pretty much", she answered and pushed away the linen cloth. She rubbed her head and cracked her neck as she slowly got up.
‟Not comfortable?", the man said and sat down on the exact same chair, on which Scarlet sat. He leaned back and watched her. Beside him stood a giant sword, nearly as big as Riven's full summoned one.
‟How could it? Even a Noxian camp bed is better than this thing here. Why do you even bother?", she asked and picked up the tray with food and something to drink. She got back to her cot, sat down and started to eat. Even though she didn't feel very hungry at all. But, Elena said something about fighting so she would need the energy.
‟Just interested. My name is Brian Fawkes", he said, and watched her as she ate.
Riven didn't reply, instead she focused on her food. Even though, she had dozens of questions in her head, she decided not to talk too much with these...soldiers.
‟You're not a talkative person, are you?", Brian said and sighed silently.
‟Why should I? You people captured me, and imprisoned me. Why should I talk to you?", Riven replied and looked to the man, with a suspicious facial expression.
‟Guarding prisoners is a boring task. I need a bit of distraction, so I talk to prisoners. Besides..", Brian smiled shortly, ‟I overheard your little discussion with Scarlet yesterday. You have an interesting view on the world."
‟You did?", Riven asked, surprised and put the tray to her side. She stood up and walked to the iron gate. She watched the sitting man, which stretched his arms a bit. Riven heard the faint sound of the working technology within his armor.
‟I have pretty good ears. So...tell me what do you think", he leaned forward and smiled. Riven sighed and thought about it for a moment.
'Didn't have anything to do either..besides..I don't have to hide this anyway', she thought. ‟I hate Zaun, their chemical weaponry, their view of the world...everything about them...and I think most Noxians don't know what true strength mean anymore. All that matters nowadays is might and victories, and High Command is corrupted, and make propaganda for this. They don't care about honor, or the true Noxian way anymore."
‟You deserted because your unit was killed, right? And you believe High Command is corrupted?"
‟I did. My unit was killed by chemical weapons from Zaun, after I requested backup. I didn't trust in High Command anymore. I wanted to start anew, even though I never stopped loving Noxus...it's my home after all", Riven answered and sighed.
‟So...you want to open the eyes of Noxians? And how do you want to do it? ", Brian asked. He grabbed a little bottle from his belt and drank out of it, before he focused on Riven again.
‟I'll show the world a true Noxian fighter on the Fields of Justice...I will show them the meaning of honor and strength. I'll show them the true way of Noxus!", Riven said. ‟I...I promised it."
‟To who? Your dead comrades?", Brian asked.
‟Yes...I visited their graves in Ionia. I had faced my past back then...and I promised not to forget nor to give up. And nobody of your kind, will break my will again. I have found my spirit and new strength. I guess Elena's plan didn't turn out the way she wanted", Riven answered.
‟Really? I heard how you said 'Diana, Diana', during your dreams, shortly before I brought you your breakfast. It sounded...afraid?"
Riven swallowed hard. ‟A nightmare. Nothing more", she replied plainly, and clenched her fists.
‟She is...someone special isn't she?", Brian asked surprisingly understanding.
‟Tse...I'm not good at hiding things...I love her...", Riven replied. She did her best not to cry, not before this soldier. ‟I saw how she suffered during my nightmares...I saw how she died...judge me if you want, for falling in love with another woman. I don't care about it. Without her, I would be nothing today...all I want is..to get hold by her..once more..."
She closed her eyes and crunched her teeth. She turned around for a moment, away from the man and wiped away a few tears. 'Don't cry...not now...come on..', she forced herself. She swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths. As she regain her composure, she turned around again. She looked up.
‟But, why do you even ask? Do you know this feeling anyway?"
‟You told me about yourself...now it's my turn. I know this feeling, and I guess even better than you. I have two daughters. Twins to be exact. Their mother died, while she gave birth to them...and I haven't seen them both for years now. I gave them to an Piltovan orphanage...", Brian said, his voice turned bitter.
‟I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...", Riven replied and looked down. Brian just waved at her.
‟It's alright. I'm...over it. Even though, I did it, to hide them from the Noxian corruption in the higher ranks."
Riven looked up again, and watched the man carefully. Did he really just say 'corruption'? Was he on her side? ‟What do you mean?"
‟Let me explain. I don't do this whole stuff here, because I search for power or something like this. I do it because I must. It's an order from above. Right now...I don't have a choice. I''m already suspected of working with the enemy, when I took a vacation and went to Piltover."
‟Get to the point", Riven said and frowned.
‟I am on your side, Riven. I was one of the agents send to Ionia..I heard your speech in Serene Gardens. And you convinced me completely. It was the final push, someone needed to give me."
Riven looked Brian into the eyes. She tried to read his body language, in his gestures, and his voice. He looked calm and it seemed that he was serious about it. ‟How can I trust you?", she asked. During her long years as a wanderer, she learned that a minimum of mistrust against...certain persons helped.
‟You can only rely on my words. Elena is fanatical in her research for the super soldiers...besides this isn't only about the creation of soldiers. She wants to destroy the weakness in this world at all costs. A new evolution...of mankind. And her new created soldiers, shall be this new..generation. With one main difference...they all obey her orders. Not High Command anymore."
‟This fits somehow, what Scarlet told me...she said something like 'Elena could be a Noxian king', and so so on", Riven replied.
‟I guess, Elena already twisted her mind. She is mad, and need to be stopped. We can help each other out...I only want to go to Piltover and live a life there with my daughters..nothing more. I need to hide my traces, before the Noxian assassins...you could help me with that." Brian stood up and walked to the iron bars. He held out a hand between the bars. ‟Do we have a deal?"
For a moment Riven thought about it. She didn't believe that one of these soldiers is on her side. Even though she heard a voice in the back of her head, which told her not to trust Brian too much. 'Anyway...right now it seems like he is on my side. Could help me..', she thought and shook her head. 'Now, I sound like Scarlet...using the pawns...I'm not better than her then..'
‟We have a deal, and I trust you", Riven said and gave him her hand.
‟You made the right decision. Okay, listen up. Right now there are too many guards up there. At least..thirty to forty man guarding the whole facility during daytime. I have my free time in...about two hours. I will talk to you again, during the night shift. Until then...do as you're told, and don't tell anyone", he grinned at her and winked.
‟Huh...alright. I'll see you tonight", Riven replied and Brian nodded.
‟Yeah. Until then..good luck for today", Brian said. He grabbed his sword, and went upstairs again.
Riven watched him, as he left before and stretched her muscles a bit. 'Well, with nothing better to do..a little warm up, could help to prepare for the fighting", she thought and started with some simple practice, reaching from simple stretching exercises to pushups. It was a more or less brainless task, but it helped her to collect her mind and think about things.
This twist of events was surprising. So she wasn't alone, with her opinion which was by itself a great success. 'So, there are Noxians who don't trust High Command anymore...that's a good start for me', she thought, while she did some pushups.
Her thoughts drifted to the High Command. The current leader of them, was Jericho Swain. She knew about him, even though his rise to power, was long after her self exile. Many newspapers and television shows reported about it. What she knew about him, wasn't much. He wasn't part of the Ionian war, so she never had direct contact with him. Not even in the League, although he was a champion too. 'Huh..not surprising...every Noxian champion in the League..avoids me', she thought sarcastically.
Anyway...what did she know about him? 'Huh..he is a master tactician. And he is obviously interested in the creation of super soldiers..', she thought, 'And, most Noxians follow him and High Command..well, why shouldn't they? It's the way of Noxus...I can't blame them for this. Anyway..I need to confront him within the League..as he played a part in breaking the rules of the it...'
For a short moment, Riven wondered how many summoners played a part in this, and how many of them are corrupt. She always thought that the Institute was an honorable organization, which stabilized Valoran to prevent another rune war. But, what she heard and learned so far, let her start to believe that the League was just another place for political intrigues. Another corrupted organization just like High Command.
'This world is...so corrupted. And right now, there's nothing I can do about it..but, even though they need to be punished for this...I hope that there will be no second Kalamanda...or even worse a second Ionia. We don't need another war... ', she thought and sighed, while she ended her training exercises. She didn't even sweat a bit, but at least her muscles were warmed up for the upcoming challenges.
She walked back to the cot and sat down. As she didn't have anything to do, she tried to remember everything from yesterday. She was somehow glad, that even though she was filled with hatred and rage, she still could recall everything in the correct order.
Slowly the time passed. Riven only realized it because of the wandering sun on the outside, and because she heard some noise and voices from upstairs and the outside. She wondered if they had forgotten her.
Then suddenly she heard the sound of armored boots, which came down the staircase. Riven stood up and went to the iron gate. She looked outside, and waited. Scarlet stepped into sight and looked down at her. Her face showed her disgust towards Riven. Riven herself tried to stay calm with an emotionless expression on her face.
‟So...what is it?", she asked.
‟It's time for you, to show your fighting skills. Elena will explain everything to you. Come with me, and don't do anything stupid", Scarlet said with a cold voice, while she opened the gate.
‟Did I ever do something like this?", Riven replied and put her hands behind her neck and walked outside. She instantly felt Scarlet's armored hands on her shoulders, which pushed her upstairs through the building again.
This time, they walked different corridors. It looked more like a barrack or other military building. Riven spotted some training rooms, weapon and armor racks, and many other soldiers all dressed in the same enhanced armor. 'So, Brian was right about that', she thought.
They stopped before giant, thick metal door, which was opened by two soldiers. Riven was pushed in. ‟Stay there", Scarlet said and the doors closed again.
Riven looked around. This area reminded her of the old arena in Noxus, where ‟The Fleshing" took place. A big round room, filled with nothing more than dirt. It was mainly lit by magical lights, even though through some windows sunlight flooded the arena. Above the main arena, Riven spotted many seats, but most of them were empty. She only spotted some other soldiers, which looked over her. For a moment she saw something like a white wall, before the soldiers. It reminded her of the 'Barrier' spell on the Fields of Justice. 'So..they are protected...', she thought.
Riven spotted Elena at some sort of higher platform. She looked down at her and smiled. ‟Hello, Riven. There you are."
‟What's this now? What do you want?", Riven asked annoyed. She wasn't in the mood playing games.
‟Huh..why so serious? It's all about a little fun right now. I just want to see you, at your full strength. For testing...I want to see how strong you really are. Maybe, I let you live then", Elena said. She drew something from behind her back, and threw it into the arena, directly before Riven. It was her sword.
Riven grabbed it, and instantly felt the runic energy which filled and empowered her body. The runes glimmered strong. She looked around for a moment, and thought about breaking out.
‟Nah..don't even think about it, Riven. I am a summoner after all...it's easy for me to shut you down, if you try to flee. Besides, everything in this arena is protected by magical shields. Alright, then. Let the fighting begin!"
Another door was opened at the other side of the arena, and a single man stepped in. He wore a giant axe which looked more advanced than any other close combat weapon Riven had ever seen. His plate armor, was in the same style. Advanced, flawless and shimmering. Riven spotted some sort of hoses around his body, filled with a green liquid. Apparently they were connected directly with his body. Riven swallowed.
‟He's my first prototype! He was created with the help of yours and Scarlet's blood. A superior being, complete without the help of the pitiful Piltovian technology. I call this...a bioforge soldier", Elena explained. Her voice sounded like a excited young girl.
‟Let me show you...the next step of evolution!", the man yelled, and grinned. Without any other warning, he charged forward.
Riven readied her weapon. 'Let's see how strong he really is', she thought. The man attacked from above. Riven raised her sword to parry the attack.
Riven went down on her knees, for a moment it felt like the she would sink into the earth. She had never felt such a power. It felt like she was trying to stop a Piltovian train. She crunched her teeth, and tried to break free.
‟Pathetic...", the man grunted, and withdrew his axe. Before Riven could react a kick against her stomach send her flying through the arena. She nearly vomited her breakfast, as she hit the ground again. She coughed multiple times, and slowly stood up.
'Focus again...come on..' The man already started to attack again, this time Riven didn't even try to parry and instead rolled to the side, to avoid his deadly attacks. Riven quickly realized that, even though the man was strong like a bull and hit like a train, he was slower than her. She could avoid his attacks, if she kept up the pace.
‟Is running everything you can do?", the man yelled at her and swung his mighty axe against her. She rolled to his right side, and got on her knees in a fluid movement.
‟Not at all!", she yelled and gathered runic energy at the blade. She hit him against his thigh, with all of her strength and energy. Before she could see, if she did any damage, she felt another kick against her belly. She hit one of the walls of the arena and coughed. She felt a pain in her back, like some bones were broken. She tried to raise one of her arms, but it didn't move anymore. Her eyes wandered to his thigh. His armor there was pretty damaged, she even saw some blood.
‟Hey, Riven. How about your little sword trick? Oh, and let me give you a hand. It would be unfair, if a weaker human is crushed like this." She heard Elena's voice and suddenly she felt the good feeling of a healing spell which was cast on her. Her bones were back in place, and she could use her arms again. Slowly she stood up and readied herself.
'No other choice here...', she thought. 'If I don't do it...I will probably die here.'
‟Ha. I give you your time. Maybe then your a challenge", the man said and readied his weapon for another attack.
‟Alright", Riven said plainly, and closed her eyes. She started to focus on the runic energy. She tried her best to push away her fear. Yes, she could summon the blade. But the last few times, it only stayed for about a minute or even less. It was like the blade felt her fear, so she couldn't catch the energy. Like an eel, it slipped through her fingers. She swallowed hard and focused again. 'Leave doubt behind...', she thought. 'No more hesitation...'
Riven took a few deep breaths. 'I can't die here...' She pushed out the fear of failing and dying. She pushed out any unnecessary thoughts and emotions. Finally, she felt how her heartbeat got slower, and how an inner peace filled her. Riven felt the magical energy. She knew this was somehow strange, but it felt like her sword told her that it was ready. 'Mind and body are one...they will not break me...not again', she thought and mumbled, ‟Blade of the Exile..."
She heard a murmur, which went through the soldiers. She opened her eyes again and hold her fully restored blade in her hand. It was the first time, where she would use it during a real battle. Excitement filled her. ‟Come at me now", she said, her voice echoed slightly through the magical power which flow through her veins.
‟Ha! Finally a challenge!" The man charged at her, his axe raised high, like he wanted to cut her into two pieces with one attack.
Riven just stood there and readied herself. 'I'll end this in quickly...', she thought. His axe went down and she parried it, but this time she wasn't send flying nor did she go to ground. This time she stood and looked at him. ‟Is that all?", she said. She released runic energy in a Ki Burst. The man stumbled backwards. Then, Riven jumped at him and cut his axe into two separate pieces.
‟Shit!", he mumbled and looked at her, unarmed. Riven saw fear in his eyes.
‟You cannot go...unpunished", Riven said. She released the runic energy all at once in a wind slash. The wave of energy hit the soldier in his stomach and send him flying against the wall of the arena. He made a loud noise as he hit it, and a cloud of dust and dirt, covered him. She still held her blade in one hand, even though she was sure, that this one wouldn't stand up anymore.
As the cloud slowly lifted, the man still lay against the wall. He didn't move anymore. His armor was shattered. The green liquid dripped on the ground. Riven slowly went closer and looked down at him. Even though he was badly injured, he lived. He coughed blood and looked up to her.
‟Think about your past and deeds. Maybe you find your errors", Riven said and turned around. ‟Is that enough, Elena?", she yelled. She swung her blade one more time, and then it was gone. Back to its normal, broken state.
‟Perfect, Riven. That was an impressive show! Now lay down your blade. Hands above your head...you will be escorted back to your cell", Elena replied.
Riven sighed and dropped her blade, even though it felt horribly wrong. 'Think of Brian...do what they say...', she reminded herself and put her hands, at the back of her head. The doors were opened and soldiers stormed the room. Two of them, grabbed her, while others picked up her injured opponent, and brought him away. Another one picked up her sword.
‟Have a good afternoon and night, Riven. We will speak again tomorrow." Elena blew her a kiss, before she walked away. Scarlet shortly looked down at Riven, her face showed nothing more than pure hatred. She turned around and followed her 'master'.
Riven just sighed, and walked away with the soldiers.
Luckily, this time she wasn't thrown into her cell, like the last times. Riven walked in, and heard the sound of the closing gates behind her. ‟If you wish something, ring this bell", a soldier said behind her.
‟Something to drink, would be nice", Riven replied.
‟Alright. You'll get something." The soldiers left the cell block again, and Riven sat down on the cot.
She leaned against the cold stone wall, and looked up to the little window. After a moment, she heard how someone opened the gates again. She looked in the direction and saw how someone put a glass and a bottle in her cell. ‟Thanks", Riven mumbled, and drank a bit out of the bottle. She walked back to the cot, and sat down again. She thought about the summoning.
It went better than the last times, where she tried it. She summoned it relatively fast, controlled the energy and power which flow through her veins, and she even could parry such a strong attack. She sighed. 'But, well...it doesn't help me right now, does it?', she thought. For a short moment, she thought that she wasn't any better than Scarlet, by relying onto to one item.
She shook her head. No. Even though her sword held much of her power, she was the one who wielded it and needed to learn anything about it. Scarlet instead just improved her strength by using technology. She didn't need to learn nor train. All she needed was putting on that shining armor. There was a difference between them.
Anyway...sitting around in a cell, with nothing to do was rather...boring. For the first time in her life, she felt boredom. Here was nothing to do, no place to move, nothing. She only could dwell on to her thoughts, but nothing more.
She laid on her back and looked outside of the little window. She heard the noise of some people and sighed, as the time slowly passed. 'Well, can make a nap right now...so I am awake during the night', she thought and closed her eyes. She fell asleep relatively quickly.
A couple of hours later...
Riven opened her eyes again, only to realize it was utterly dark now. Not even a torch burnt outside of her cell. She blinked multiple times, so that her eyes would adjust to the darkness. She saw the moon, before the window in her cell. 'How late is it?', she thought and stood up again. It was rather cold, and a shiver ran down her spine. Luckily, there weren't any nightmares during her nap. Most likely because she got new hope during the daytime.
Now, the only thing to do, was waiting for Brian. 'Hopefully he fulfills his promise', she thought. Just as she finished the thought, she heard footsteps on the staircase. She looked in the direction of the iron bars. She felt excited and the hope of coming out of this cage. Riven saw how a torch lit up the corridor and the cell blocks, before someone stepped into her sight. The one person, which she would never have awaited in this place.
‟Sorry, to let you wait. Finding your whereabouts took us longer, than we expected." The person who opened the gates, was none other than Diana. She held a torch in one of her hands, in the other the keys, with which she opened the gates. She wore a rather strange outfit. Leather boots and a rather short and tight pants. And a rather short top, which left her cropped. Her long silver hair was knotted into two long pigtails.
‟You damn...", Riven said. Her voice failed her. She just jumped from the cot directly into Diana's arms, while she felt tears running down her cheeks. ‟You...I..." Riven felt Diana's hand at her back, which gently stroked her.
‟It's alright..it's alright...we're here now", Diana replied, and smiled.
Riven looked to her left and right. Brian stood a few steps away, close to the staircase. On the other side, she spotted Vi. She wore the same strange outfit as Diana, but together with her giant hextech gloves.
‟Well...that's a reunion!", Vi said, and winked at them before turning to Brian. ‟So you were right...Mr. Noxian soldier."
‟Why should I lie to you?...even though you wanted to break my nose", Brian replied and grinned. ‟Anyway..let's get out of her as fast as we can, before they sound the alarm."
‟You're absolutely right. Come on, Riven. Cupcake and Ms. Hoverblade waiting for us upstairs. We have your weapon here", Vi said and handed over her sword. Then Brian and Vi walked upstairs, leaving Diana and Riven alone for a moment.
‟Ms. Hoverblade?", Riven asked, confused.
‟Irelia", Diana explained and smiled. ‟We will explain everything, once we get out of Zaun. Until then...stay close to me."
‟Diana...", Riven said quietly. Somehow she felt an urge within her.
‟Hm?", she replied and turned around again, only to get surprised by a rather short, but, nevertheless lovely kiss from Riven. They allowed themselves a few seconds, before Riven interrupted the kiss again.
‟Feels better now...", Riven said, and simply smiled. She didn't need to say anything.
‟Yeah, you're definitely right", Diana replied. She had a warm smile on her face. ‟Let's go then, huh? You..owe me something." She winked at her.
‟How could I forget? Let's go, Diana!", Riven said with new found assurance. Right now, she felt like anything would turn out well. She even felt like fighting a whole army of super soldiers.
They both turned around, and walked upstairs to the waiting others.