Author's Note: Okay, so here's finally chapter 3. So the reason why this took so long was because I had probably rewritten this chapter about 3-4 times before I was finally settled on something. I'm so sorry this took forever, I hope you all like it.

Rise of the Titan

Chapter 3

A Bloody Nightmare

According to the information presented to Jarvan by Ezreal, Ashe was hauled off to a bandit camp by an abandoned water mill over on the far western outskirts of Noxus. It was going to be a days worth of travel but for the three champions that was not an issue in the slightest. They knew that if said bandits were smart they wouldn't harm even a single hair on her if they didn't want the wrath of the summoners to come down upon their heads. Since the Institute of War was in complete disarray they knew they couldn't rely on the summoners for any assistance, this was something they had to do completely on their own, but rescuing the beautiful Queen Ashe is their top priority. She is the only lead they had at the moment to discovering what those creatures that attacked the Crystal Scar was. To kidnap the Queen of Freljord was very bold of these bandits, it was like asking for a deathwish, just as much as whoever attacked the League of Legends also wanted one. As night fell, they were closer to their destination and the bandit camp just over the horizon only indicated by a small glow from a bonfire.

Twisted Fate grew bored of Jarvan and Garen's extensive planning of how to hit the bandit camp so he wandered off to think thoughts in his own way. He couldn't remember what it was like to have real allies, after all he had betrayed the last one he had. Suddenly his mind started to wander. He was starting to wonder; where was Malcom Graves? Staring up at the stars he closed his eyes still thinking about everything that happened so far. He stabbed Graves in the back and felt that he really didn't deserve to be rescued by Garen and Jarvan. Maybe they did it to save Fiora? His thoughts slowly made him drift into a small nap as the hard ground had started to feel soft and his arms that were tucked behind his head began to feel comfy.

Jarvan and Garen had probably gone on for hours not noticing that Twisted Fate had left their presence. It didn't bother the Demacian prince too much, he was confident that the gypsy could handle himself. For now he had to focus back on the task at hand. The bandit camp down below in the valley of hills they stood upon seemed quite fortified. The prince had stood still staring and analyzing the task that had lied before them. How were they going to get in with everything looking like they had it on lock down? There was an awkward silence in the air for neither man had spoken for a while. Jarvan stood almost like a statue wondering as Garen stared at him with a hint of worry on his face. A few minutes had passed as both of them remained as statues until Garen finally spoke up.

"What about Twisted Fate?" he asked. Jarven broke his thoughts and turned towards his companion with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't sure how to respond to Garen's words. "Well, he can teleport himself places," Garen went on explaining his thoughts to Jarvan. "Remember how he teleported all of us out of the Crystal Scar?" Jarvan's eyes lit up to the idea, although the idea might be stretching Twisted Fate's want to help them but it was the only thing they had. Jarvan couldn't come up with anything that didn't require an army, and right now he needed as little damage caused especially if he didn't want to bring any harm to the queen. Jarvan had looked around for a second realized that Twisted Fate was gone.

Twisted Fate slowly opened his eyes the sound of rushing water. He explored his surroundings to see that he some how managed to find himself up on a beach and standing knee deep in ocean water. He remembered seeing this place before and it was nothing new. To the west was the same lighthouse atop a cliff and to the east was endless beach, and right in front of him was the usual sunset that was stuck in place, that painted the sky pink. Giving a deep sigh he stood in place staring up at the lighthouse counting the seconds go by. The seconds became minutes and suddenly it felt like hours standing there staring at the lighthouse. "She'll be here soon." he told himself.

Never had she kept him waiting like this. In this odd place in his dreams he always ran into a woman, in a white dress. It was the same deal every time he was here, and he figured it'd be no different. As he waited staring at the lighthouse and it's bright rotating light, it's light became black and that was the sign that she'd be here soon. He looked down as the water he stood in became red. Every time the water had turned red he had to reach down and touch it. How it felt, how it flowed, it wasn't water anymore...it was blood. Knowing this, touching it sent shivers down Twisted Fate's spine.

He looked around once more and on queue there she was, the mysterious woman of his dreams...or nightmare. The woman was slender, and walked slowly across the sand towards him in the sea of blood. She wore a long elegant white dress that dragged across the coarse sand and over her head was a matching hood that hid her eyes and hair and only showed her lips that were always ruby red. In her hands she carried a thorny black rose, he had always wondered if the thorns had hurt. She walked right up to him into the sea with a grin on her face. She took one hand up to his face moving the strands of his dark hair covering his ear. Slowly she whispered some ancient language to him, and repeated it to him over and over until slowly he could feel himself going mad over the words. He looked down as blood started flowing down his arm and he felt something crawling up his arm and reaching his face, and soon following he felt it all over his body. Her words kept repeating over and over echoing around him. Each time the words repeated they got louder and louder, he even placed his hand on his ears to try and keep himself from hearing them any further knocking his hat right off his head to be carried away by the red sea. His vision became blurred and the only thing he could make out was her smirk. How deep down she loved the fact he was suffering so much. He just wanted it to stop, he could feel that black vein crawling all over his body and felt like it was gonna burst out of him. He couldn't take it anymore, he was in so much pain!

Within a second it was all over. He sat up in a cold sweat realizing what had just happened. It was the same as before, and he had been having these nightmares ever since the operation. Twisted Fate brought his arm up and wiped the sweat that had collected on his brow. He knew the nightmares were a sign though. He could still hear the words of the woman echoing for a few more seconds before they finally faded. The fortune teller had always understood what the nightmares meant though. By now the words of the woman was burned into his head, and he repeated the same thing she had said to him. He said it to himself over and over until he could say it with no mistakes. He pulled out a card and said the words again. He watched the card glow a pale blue as it shot a bolt of ice at a near by rock freezing it solid. He stood up completely and picked up his hat which had fallen off his head during his nap and brushed the dust off of it before placing it back on his head. He headed back in the direction he had left Garen and Jarvan acting as if nothing has just happened. As he returned he thought about telling the two Demacian men about the origins of his fast evolving magic but at the same time he didn't think they'd understand. Who would trust a man who backstabbed someone he once called a friend? Twisted Fate shook the thoughts from his head and tipped his hat down. He didn't want to show more weakness to them. Feeling vulnerable was the last thing he wanted during all the confusion.

Jarvan was the first to notice Twisted Fate's return. It had been a couple hours since they had taken a survey of the area. Everyone still seemed at a loss about how to approach the situation. Silence fell on the three of them as they avoid the gaze of one another. The breeze of the cool autumn air hung heavy around them as they all tried to get words out, to express their feelings about the whole thing. Jarvan's gaze slowly shifted back to Twisted Fate as his eyes met. The two looked at one another seeing the one had something to say to the other, but Jarvan knew better than to try and force something out of someone he hardly knew.

"We may have idea to sneak in there," started Jarvan. Twisted Fate lifted his hat some to show Jarvan that he was listening. "We remembered how you teleported us out Crystal Scar, we were thinking if you could possibly port us in there as long as we can get close to Ashe."

Twisted Fate looked back and forth between Garen and Jarvan and raised an eyebrow. He already didn't like to use his magic to help others not knowing just how unstable they can be, and already working with others wasn't exactly his strong suit. He wasn't even sure if he could control his new spell or not often times he couldn't without secluding himself for hours even away from his summoner. Deep down he didn't want to admit to Jarvan that he wanted to figure out what was going on. The only thing he had left was the League of Legends, the only place where his magic could be any use. He looked to the side thinking about it for a moment. He looked back at Jarvan slowly nodding. "Lets scout out the area more, I'd like to get us to as close to Ashe as possible," Twisted Fate responded sharing his thoughts.

The three of them headed more east following the camp. The three noticed that what looked like a storage in the back, it was the least guarded area and it would be easy for them to sneak into there unnoticed, but they couldn't find a sign of Ashe. As they looked Garen noticed a woman in the middle of the camp talking to some, but it looked like to him she was the one giving the orders as the two she was talking to ran off. Garen's eyes followed them as they spoke to two more and those two ran off. Garen turned his attentions back to the woman wondering just what kind of a woman she was. She was an in an elegant white dress with her head covered by a hood. He grabbed the attentions of the other two pointing her out.

Upon setting his eyes upon her, Twisted Fate froze. How could someone from his dreams be real? Without anymore hesitation or a word he grabbed Jarvan and Garen's wrists and teleported the three of them in a ring of cards to the unguarded storage area of the camp. The Demacian men looked at one another in confusion by Twisted Fate's hasty decision. The gypsy took point behind some crates watching some more bandits walk by. After he was out of sight he looked around one more time to see that the coast was clear moving forward behind some barrels where he was listening on a couple of the bandits talking to one another. With they way the two spoke it sounded like they weren't really bright, and made Twisted Fate wonder about how just how a heroine like Queen Ashe could be captured by them.

"Just how long do we have to hold her?" asked the strong arm bandit to a skinnier one. Twisted Fate inspected the first one. He looked like he was all brawn and no brains just a typical muscle man these camps tend to have as enforcers to keep people in line.

The skinnier bandit spoke up, "I think the boss only agreed to this job was for the fact that we're getting paid a good sum for this." The two bandits shook their heads to one another. It seemed like even they were confused about this whole ordeal. "Attacking the Institute and having us kidnap the Queen of Freljord, this is asking for a death sentence."

Twisted Fate saw Garen and Jarvan coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. and held his hand up from coming any closer. Instead Twisted Fate held up a card and chanted his new spell turning the two bandits into solid ice in place. He put his hand down and signaled for Jarvan and Garen to come closer. He turned towards the two, "These men are only hired hands, and even they have doubts. We need to find who's in charge, they'll have the answers."

Jarvan noticed that worry in Twisted Fate's voice again, he knew something had the gypsy shaken. The Demacian prince took a second to look at Garen who looked like he had a lot on his mind. The two were obviously lost in deep thought just wanting to get to the bottom of this, even Jarvan wanted his questions answered. But he also knew that getting this solved wasn't going to be an easy task. They weren't going to get any answers right away. The air around them was gloomy and he was getting tired of this dreary mood that constantly lingered around them. He gave a deep sigh before raising both his arms and delivered a punch to the face to both men catching both their attentions.

"I know this is eating away at both of you," started Jarvan. "But looking for a quick way out isn't going to solve anything either. The more we dwell on this the more we let our enemy get one more step ahead of us. This isn't a time for hesitation, this is a time to act. We've had plenty of time to think and be scared of the dangers that lie ahead. I too have my own worries and concerns to the unknown that lies before us, but I also know when is it a time to slow down." Twisted Fate nor Garen spared Jarvan a glance after his speech, for both men knew he was right. There wasn't going to be an easy way to solve this, and rushing recklessly would only get them killed. If that were to happen what then? Who would save Ashe and who would try to get to the bottom of this attack on the Institute?

Jarvan pointed ahead and saw a tent that was heavily guarded by two large men. He figured that must be where they're holding Ashe. They watched for a while before noticing the woman in the white dress wave the guard away before walking into the tent herself. Twisted Fate felt himself get heated only to have Jarvan's hand placed on his shoulder shaking his head. Garen caught the attentions of the other two pointing out another place to hide out that could bring them closer to the tent. They moved quickly to the next set of crates to their left being careful to avoid the sight of anyone, and together they continued to move closer until eventually they were right behind the tent. They listened into the conversation that was going on.

The three listened carefully only catching a little bit of what was going on. But they didn't hear anything they didn't already know. So far they had only heard a woman's voice also go on about the legend of the seed of the oracle. There was no response from the one she was talking to and they watched as the woman's silhouette disappeared from the tent. The three moved in closer sneaking into the tent before being noticed and the guard moving back into their own positions.

To their surprise Jarvan was right, there was the queen herself. Her hands and ankles were bound by rope and there was only a small glint of life in her eyes. It had been days since the attack and since anyone had seen her. They could only imagine what horror has happened to her in that time. Using his sword Garen cut the rope that had her bound and Twisted Fate started channeling the same healing spell he had used on Fiora only a few days back. Her wounds weren't as bad as the ones that Fiora had received that day but Jarvan still wondered what the gypsy could do for her. After a few minutes of tending to Ashe's wounds the life returned to her eyes and she was shocked to see who had saved her.

Ashe was about to open her mouth before Jarvan looked at her and placed a finger over his lips signaling her to quiet down. She looked past him to see Twisted Fate taking a peek out the entrance to see that the guard hadn't moved and there seemed to be a crowd collecting. The four seemed to hold their breath for a second before the gypsy told them it was clear and the crowd had cleared. "I can't get us out of here," he whispered, through his heavy breaths.

Jarvan inspected the gypsy up and down and noticed that he did seem like he was getting tired. He couldn't imagine the kind of power that it took to teleport multiple people on top of that he had to tend to Ashe's wounds. He could only hope Twisted Fate wasn't pushing himself as he did last time on the Crystal Scar. Although the situation was dire, he wasn't going to ask Twisted Fate to strain himself. There had to be other means of escape. His thoughts were quickly interrupted when Ashe took a grip on his arm. Jarvan looked down at her and saw the fear in her eyes. Whatever they had done to her or whatever it was she had seen must have been terrible. The Demacian prince shifted so that she could sit up and lean against him, he placed a hand over hers to try and assure her everything would be okay.

Twisted Fate continued to quietly keep watch before Ashe's voice had caught his attention. "That woman," she spoke, keeping her voice down so that the guards outside couldn't hear her. "She has strange magic. She made me see terrible visions," As Ashe spoke she clutched onto Jarvan's arm more and her arm shook rapidly. "She showed me visions of a creature destroying everything in it's path."

"The Titan," said Twisted Fate turning towards Ashe and Jarvan. "Those things that attacked the Crystal Scar might have something to do with the Seed of the Oracle."

Ashe eased her grip that she had on Jarvan's arm turning her full attentions to the fortune teller, "Those are just stories. You don't think the Seed of the Oracle is real do you?" Twisted Fate didn't respond but instead looked at the ground along with Ashe. The stories that both of them had heard were obviously very similar.

Garen looked back and forth between the two before speaking up, "How did this happen to you anyway? Weren't you on the Crystal Scar as well? Surely they must have a reason to kidnap the Queen of Freljord."

"That woman did this to me. These bandits are merely hired hands," responded Ashe.

"To attack the League of Legends on the day two champions who know about the Seed of the Oracle happen to be on the fields of justice," Jarvan started. He looked at Ashe and then back at Twisted Fate who attentions were still towards the ground. With the information from Ashe, Jarvan was starting to piece together things little by little. Although he started to wonder just why they'd take Ashe but not the gypsy. He let his thought dwell on this for a moment. The attack on the Institute, and kidnapping Ashe...he began to wonder just where Twisted Fate fit in this puzzle. There had to be something he was missing. He started to wonder just what was his place in all this madness, and why he was so eager to help them at the first moment of trouble. He didn't know much about him, but it was about time he started to get to know him. He felt there was something the fortune teller wasn't telling him.