Chapter 7

As they topped the hill, the trio was greeted by the impressive Ironspike River. They watched in awe as the powerful stream was pushed ever-forward, twisting and turning through rocks and debris, leaving churning rapids in its wake. The river cut through the Ironspike Mountains leaving a passage to northern Runeterra. As they inspected the river, it wasn't long before they found their path.

"Look there's the sewage pipe," Ezreal said as he pointed to a massive concrete tube which had a steady flow of murky liquid running from its bottom.

"Yeah that's it alright," Lux said hatred lacing her words. "Leave it to Noxus to pollute such a wonderful river."

"How do we get across?" Ezreal asked.

"There should be a bridge right…," Teemo replied as he was scanning down the river, "there!"

Teemo pointed to a rather narrow wooden bridge that expanded over the length of the churning river. The bridge didn't instill much confidence in the trio as it looked pretty old and had obviously not been maintained. Various floor boards were missing and the railing was almost nonexistent. It looked like at any moment the river would sweep it away and finish crushing it into a pulp.

Ezreal and Lux stared at the bridge unwilling to be the one who tested its sturdiness. Finally, Ezreal said, "Great…let's get moving then."

Ezreal walked to the edge of the bridge, grabbed a support piece, and gave it a shake. The bridge wobbled slightly, but remained in place. He looked at the churning rapids below the bridge and then back to the group.

"See it's not that bad," he said.

"Easy for you to say. You can just teleport to the other side," Lux said not taking her eyes off the river.

"Where is Teemo?" Ezreal then asked looking around for the yordle.

Lux laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. With the other she pointed to the bridge and said, "Right there."

Ezreal turned to see the ever carefree Teemo happily skipping across the bridge, eyes shut and not a worry in the world. He danced to the other side without issue and waved for the others to join him.

"See, Teemo made it with no problem," Ezreal said trying to console Lux.

"Yeah because he weighs about as much as my left leg," Lux quipped back sarcastically.

"It's going to be okay," Ezreal said. "I'll go first."

Ezreal walked up next to the bridge and steadied himself the best he could. Slowly, while starring down at his feet, he made his way across his new unsettling path.

Creak. Creak. Creak. Every step he took the remaining floorboards alerted Ezreal to their age. He held out his arms for balance as the handrails were in far worse shape than the rest of the bridge. For a moment he glanced over and caught the sight of the rapids that were waiting patiently to sweep him away. He gulped hard and told himself to focus forward.

Creak. Creak. The floorboards continued as Ezreal was now moving faster as he edged closer to the other side.

A few more steps, Ezreal thought to himself. I'm almost across. Just as the thoughts were leaving his mind, the board under his foot gave way and crumbled into the river. Ezreal slipped, but pushed off with his remaining foot propelling his body far enough to land on the ground next to Teemo.

Ezreal lay on his back panting and staring at the sky trying to steady himself and remain calm. After a few seconds, he stood up and looked over at Lux who was now increasingly frightened.

"You can do it, Lux," Ezreal said trying to sound reassuring. "Everything will be fine."

Lux nodded and took a deep breath. She approached the bridge and started to cross in the same fashion as she had watched Ezreal. Slowly, but surely she made her way across only pausing to regain her balance. She could hear the sound of the churning river under her footsteps, but forced herself not to panic.

"You've got this. Just focus," Lux whispered to herself.

As she was about halfway across, she heard Ezreal scream, "Lux to your left!"

Lux turned only to see a thick log hurdling towards the bridge. She crouched down, gripping the only part of the railing that was left and braced for impact. With a jaw breaking thud, the log slammed into the main support pillar of the bridge nearly knocking Lux into the rapids. The bridge moaned and swayed trying to recover from the pounding force, but it was too much. Lux turned and watched as the bridge had weathered all it could take and the support cracked in half and began to fall into the river.

"Ezreal!" Lux yelled hugging the railing with all her might. Part of the bridge had collapsed and it was only moments until the rest followed suit.

Without hesitation Ezreal ran with all his might jumping at the last possible second where the floorboards where missing. He landed squarely in front of Lux smashing the remaining railing into the water below in the process. He heard the cracking of the bridge and knew it was only seconds before the rest would succumb to the damage.

He got Lux to her feet and said, "Hold on tight."

Lux wrapped her arms around Ezreal and in a flash they reappeared next to a relieved Teemo on the other side of the river. They turned and watched as the rest of the bridge collapsed and disintegrated before their eyes.

Lux squealed and hugged Ezreal with all her might. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lux exclaimed. "How did you know that you could do that?"

"I didn't," Ezreal replied still looking amazed that he was able to teleport them both out of danger. "I half expected us to end up in the river."

"Well it was brilliant!" Lux cheered as she kissed Ezreal on the check before softening her grasp.

Both Ezreal and Lux immediately turned bright red after realizing what had happened. They stared at one another awkwardly, but didn't move away.

"Awe!" Teemo cried behind them as he clapped his furry hands together in excitement.

"I'm so glad you two are okay," Teemo said as he ran over to join in the hug.

The three embraced and took a minute to appreciate their situation. After a few seconds Ezreal broke the silence.

"Alright, now off to Noxus. We've got a weapon to stop."

Lux and Teemo nodded and the trio turned their attention to the nearby concrete pipe. As they approached it, they noticed it was three times their size which would make it easy for them to walk. Only a light stream of water was flowing from the bottom making that one less problem to have to navigate. Teemo noticed a broken piece along the side which created a sizable hole and pointed.

"There's how we get in," he said.

Ezreal agreed and turned to look at Lux who was very hesitant to accept this entrance.

"Well maybe there is another way. I mean it's pretty dirty and all…"

"I'm all ears if you have another suggestion," Ezreal replied.

Lux looked all around the pipe and even into the hills that sat above. As she continued to search a defeated look crept across her face. She knew they had to get to Noxus and unfortunately this was the way they had to go.

"Alright let's go," Lux finally said as she allowed her shoulders to droop. "But let's make it quick, okay?"

"Certainly," Ezreal said reassuringly.

Teemo ran over to the broken pipe and looked up into the hole. Turning to Ezreal he said, "Give me a boost."

"One, two, three!" said Ezreal as he hoisted his small, furry friend up into the pipe.

"How does it look, Teemo?" Ezreal asked.

After a few seconds of no reply, Ezreal asked again, "Teemo? You there?"

Ezreal stuck his head near the opening and said again, "Teem…."

Ezreal let out a shriek as Teemo popped out from around the corner, "Boo!"

"What was that for?!" Ezreal said angrily. He watched as Teemo fell over laughing and then back at Lux who had her hand over her mouth trying to force herself not to laugh.

"Alright knock it off," Ezreal said pushing Teemo out of the way as he climbed into the pipe. "Let's go Lux."

A disgusted look returned to her face and Lux begrudgingly followed the two into the broken pipe.

Though the pipe smelled and it was rather wet, it was far better lit than the tunnels of the Ironspike Mountains. Once they had gotten so deep that the light from the beginning of the pipe couldn't be seen, they noticed small lights had been affixed to the sides.

The trio continued at a decent pace walking along the mostly solid walkway that was built along the side of the running sewage. The pipe continued to grow larger the farther they got and it was a pleasant surprise that they could remain upright. Other than the occasional rat and mysterious sewer reptile, the sewer pipe didn't pose many dangers.

"Blech. This place is disgusting," Lux said breaking the silence. "I will never get all of this grime out of my clothes."

Without turning to Lux, Ezreal rolled his eyes and gently shook his head.

"Ow!" Ezreal suddenly screamed as he rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

Lux had slammed her wand down on Ezreal's head and she greeted him with a scowl. "I know you rolled your eyes at me, Ezreal! Don't be rude!"

Ezreal was about to reply, but he was interrupted by Teemo, "Shhhh, be quiet."

The trio had come to the end of their original pipe and was now presented with two options. One pipe led off to the left while the other to the right. Teemo peered around the side and quickly jerked his head back. He hurried to the other two and pushed them back in the direction from which they had come.

"Teemo, what are you…"

"Shhh, be quiet and move," Teemo replied cutting Ezreal off. Teemo pushed them into a small crevasse that was cut out of the side of the pipe.

"Someone is coming," Teemo explained. "I can hear them talking."

Sure enough after just a couple of minutes two men came walking from the direction of the left pipe. Ezreal peered around the trio's hiding place and noticed the men were wearing some sort of yellow jumpsuit and both of them had gas masks resting on top of their heads. One man had a small tank strapped to his back while the other had some sort of muzzle and a set of chains thrown over his shoulder.

"I don't know why they sent us down here," one man said.

"Yeah it's not like we are going to find him," the other replied. "He knows these pipes better than we do."

"I prefer it that way. The less time I have to be down here the better," the first man said. "Besides I don't have any desire to come face to face with him. He is always so angry."

"Yeah not even Swain can control him," the second replied. "I don't even know why they tolerate the thing and allow it to roam around down here."

Ezreal continued to listen to the men's conversation until they were out of ear range. After he was certain they were gone he climbed down from their hiding place.

"Who were they?" Teemo asked.

"Noxian workers," Ezreal replied. "I noticed the crest of Noxus on the back of their jumpsuits."

"What were they doing down here?" Lux asked.

"I think they were looking for something….," Ezreal replied, "or someone."

"Down here?" Teemo said unbelievingly.

"Yeah I think," Ezreal replied. "And judging by the equipment they had with them it wasn't a friend. We better be careful."

"They went that way," Ezreal said pointing down the right pipe.

"Let's go then," Lux replied.

Ezreal carefully made his way down the right pipe followed by Lux with Teemo pulling up the end. He sure hoped they were going the right way as he knew after a few more turns they would be utterly lost. He knew, however, that their best bet was to follow the direction of the workers.

After a few minutes of walking, Ezreal noticed how quiet the pipes had become. The flow of water from this direction was merely a trickle leaving nothing to distract from the eerie silence. Every now and then Ezreal would look back and he began to notice that Teemo wasn't acting like his normal carefree self, but instead was rather on edge.

"Everything okay, Teemo?" Ezreal finally asked.

Teemo whipped his head back to Ezreal and said, "Oh yes…just fine."

Knowing that Teemo was lying, Ezreal asked again, "Are you sure?"

Teemo hesitated before saying, "Well, um…not to freak both of you out, but do you keep hearing breathing and panting sounds every now and then?"

Fear shot across both Ezreal and Lux's face. They both quickly surveyed their surroundings and then looked back at Teemo.

"I haven't heard anything," Ezreal said nervously.

"Neither have I," said Lux.

"Okay," Teemo said nodding his head quickly over and over as he continued to look around. His small, furry ears were perked up and twitching in different directions.

Ezreal walked closer to Teemo and said, "We will keep an eye out okay? Besides we are almost to the end of the sewer I believe."

Teemo nodded and continued following Ezreal and Lux. Within minutes the group came to an opening which led into a wide cylindrical room with a large pool of water in the center. A catwalk surrounded the pool and a pipe continued on the opposite end of where they were standing. Ezreal looked up and noticed that the room extended high into the air. Many different pipes protruded from the walls all of which were dumping water into the center pool.

As Ezreal and Lux were inspecting this new room, Ezreal heard a now increasingly nervous Teemo behind them, "Um, guys….you might want to look at this."

Ezreal and Lux turned to see what Teemo was referencing. He was pointing at the wall next to the opening of their pipe. Four deeps gashes were cut into the concrete wall each side by side as if made by a large claw.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and he said, "Alright let's hurry up and get out of this sewer."

"I think the exit is that way," Ezreal said pointing to the pipe on the opposite end of the catwalk.

Just as the words left Ezreal's mouth, they heard a noise coming from above them. The sound of splashing water echoed through the room as if someone….or something was running down one of the pipes above their heads.

"Run! Now!" Ezreal yelled as the trio ran around the catwalk, trying to make it to the other side.

The group ran as hard as they could, but as they were rounding the side of the catwalk Ezreal heard a loud thud against the metal. Ezreal turned and saw that Teemo had tripped on the catwalk and was now bleeding profusely from his knee. The noise above them stopped and all three looked up and froze. Ezreal could now hear the faint sound of sniffing and growls. For some reason Ezreal now felt a pulse in his chest as if the hands of a large clock were ticking right next to him or like it was…his own heartbeat. The sound rang through him like something had intensified his heartbeat and was tracking it. Panic shot through him and he ran to Teemo's side hoisting him onto his shoulder.

"Go!" Ezreal yelled at Lux as she ran around the catwalk with Ezreal close behind.

Ezreal ran with Teemo thrown over shoulder, blood dripping down his back from Teemo's wound. The beating sound was now more intense and it was taking over Ezreal's mind. With every drop of blood that hit his back, the sound grew louder. As they reached the other end of the catwalk, Ezreal looked over his shoulder just in time to see the source of their fear.

A massive beast stood in the opening of the highest pipe sniffing the air. Two massive claws were positioned on each side of the pipe and its legs were positioned to strike. Hair covered its body and its eyes glowed red.

"Go, go, go!" Ezreal yelled frantically forcing Lux faster down the lower pipe. As Ezreal turned he heard the beast let out a piercing howl that rang through the sewers.

Ezreal and Lux were running as hard as they ever had in their life. They heard a deafening clang behind them and Ezreal knew the beast had jumped down and connected with the catwalk. Splash, splash, splash; Ezreal could hear the creature running directly through the water behind them snarling and growling like a crazed maniac. Run faster, Ezreal thought to himself, we've got to get out of here.

"Watch out!" Ezreal heard Teemo yell from his back.

Before he could react, Ezreal felt a massive claw grip his shoulder and within seconds Teemo was ripped from his grasp. The beast flew over his head as it pushed Ezreal into Lux knocking them both against the pipe wall. Ezreal watched in horror as it ran off ahead of them on all four legs with Teemo firmly in its mouth.

"Ezreal!" Teemo's yell echoed down the pipe back to his friends.

Within seconds Ezreal and Lux were on their feet in pursuit of the beast that now had their friend. As they ran, they could still hear the beast splashing through the water up ahead and the squeals of the now panicked Teemo. Try as he might, Ezreal couldn't keep up and they were losing ground on the beast. Ezreal and Lux stopped, doubled over with exhausted pain and panting as they could only listen to Teemo's sounds disappear into the distance.

"What do we do now?" Lux said panting and looking at Ezreal.

Lux watched as Ezreal hung his head and tried to catch his breath, but no answer came.

"Ezreal!" Lux said again.

"I don't know!" Ezreal yelled harsher than he intended. "Just…just give me a minute."

Ezreal forced himself upright, still panting, and surveyed his surroundings.

"There," Ezreal finally said pointing to a ladder that was built into the side of the pipe wall. "It looks like that ladder goes to a manhole cover which is bound to lead to the surface."

"But we don't know where that will come out," Lux replied. "We could come out right in the middle of Noxus."

"We don't know where any of these pipes will come out," Ezreal said. "And now we don't have the luxury to wait. We've got to find Teemo."

"You're right," Lux replied.

Ezreal and Lux made their way to the ladder and began to climb. Wherever this ladder led, Ezreal just hoped it would lead them closer to Teemo. As long as it did that and as long as Teemo was still alive, they would deal with whatever came next.

As they reached the manhole cover, Ezreal looked down to Lux and was greeted with a reassuring nod. He slowly slid back the cover being careful not to make any loud noises. Once the cover was slid back, Ezreal lifted his head to get a better look around.

They were in luck! The ladder led to a manhole cover that was in the center of what seemed to be a freshly delivered shipment to Noxus as the manhole was completely surrounded by large boxes and wooden barrels. Ezreal slowly pulled himself up and was happy to see that the Noxus soldiers were all distracted by something that was taking place in the center of town.

Ezreal motioned to Lux and whispered, "Come up. Quietly."

Ezreal helped Lux out of the hole and then easily slid the cover back into place. They both took cover behind one of the boxes and began to look around.

"We've got to find Teemo," Ezreal whispered to Lux.

Lux pointed to the center of town and said, "I think he's over there."

Ezreal looked where she was pointing, but he couldn't see anything, "I need a better look."

Ezreal slowly made his way around some of the boxes still remaining undetected from the large amount of soldiers that were surrounding the area. Once he could finally see what was going on he motioned to Lux to join him. She hesitantly looked around and then quickly joined Ezreal behind a stack of boxes.

"I don't see him," Ezreal said to Lux.

"Right there," Lux pointed to the tiny Teemo who was sitting in the center of the Noxus soldiers with his head hung and his ears drooping. "And that's Swain in front of him."

Ezreal's face tensed with anger as all he could do was listen to the raspy voice of Swain torture his little friend.

"Well, well, well look at what the cat drug in," Swain said walking around Teemo as the Noxus soldiers jeered, "Or I guess in this case it would be the dog."

Swain looked in disgust over to the beast that had taken Teemo from the sewers. It was on all fours and growling at Swain with obvious hatred. Swain's bird was squawking in return. Ezreal saw that the beast wasn't actually a dog, but rather a werewolf. Ezreal's face grew to confusion as he realized the werewolf looked less like a beast and more like it was someone's science experiment. Its arms and claws had been augmented with metal which contained vials and tubes that housed strange green liquid that flowed through a tank on its back. All sorts of tubes ran from the tank and Ezreal could only guess that at some point these tubes ran directly into the creature's body.

"I know you aren't here alone, yordle," Swain continued. "Where are your friends?"

Teemo's head continued to hang and he mumbled something under his breath.

"What? I can't hear you. Speak up," Swain said as he put his cane under Teemo's chin in order to lift his head.

Ezreal could see Teemo's scratched face and anger surged through his body and he felt himself beginning to stand. Lux realized this and forced Ezreal back to the ground.

"If we want to rescue Teemo we can't make any rash decisions," Lux said.

Ezreal nodded and turned his attention back to Swain.

"I don't know," Teemo replied with pain in his voice. "And even if I did I wouldn't tell you."

Swain smirked and let out an evil, manic laugh, "Very brave to protect your so called friends who have appeared to abandon you."

Teemo again muttered something under his breath.

Swain bent down and said, "What was that?"

"They will stop you," Teemo said as he spit in Swain's face forcing the general back.

Swain wiped the spit from his face and now had a scowl beaming down at Teemo.

"Let's see how brave you really are," Swain said as he dropped his cane.

Ezreal and Lux watched in shocked disgust as Swain hunched over and began to jerk violently. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Swain's hands began to hook as if forming talons while gigantic wings sprouted from his back that was covered completely in dark feathers. His head thrashed as it formed a massive beak and feathers filled out his legs.

Swain lifted his beak towards the air and let out a monstrous, unnatural shriek.

He then lowered himself down to Teemo who was shaking in utter fear. "Tell me!" Swain said with a growled voice.

The werewolf was now beside himself snarling and barking at the grotesque bird that now stood in front of him. The green liquid was churning through the tank on its back and liquid was draining from its mouth. It looked poised to attack Swain at any moment.

"Move and I will end you, dog," Swain growled looking towards the werewolf.

"That would not be wise," Ezreal heard a voice say from behind Swain.

The crowd of soldiers parted to make way for the man who the voice belonged to. Immediately, Ezreal recognized the man.

"That's the guy I saw before I came to Demacia," Ezreal said to Lux. "That's Singed."

Lux gave Ezreal a confused look and he continued, "I'll never forget his soulless eyes and the bandages that basically cover him from head to toe. Where's the tank though?"

"The tank?" Lux asked.

"Yeah last time he had a tank on his back," Ezreal replied. "I think he's the one behind the weapon."

Lux gasped as they turned their attention back to Teemo.

"Warwick is my protector and no harm will come to him," Singed continued. "Even from you, Swain."

As if a dog had just seen his master, Warwick galloped towards Singed and placed himself between him and Swain.

Swain, who had now transformed back into a human, reached down to pick up his cane and said, "Do not test me, Singed. I am still in command of this army and I will not…"

"In command of the army, yes," Singed said calmly, "But let me remind you who is currently bolstering this flailing fleet."

Singed walked past Warwick, who was still growling, and came face to face with Swain, "It is my work, my weapon that will give this pathetic excuse for an army a chance against Demacia."

Singed paused before continuing, "And don't you forget it."

Ezreal couldn't see Swain's face, but he could feel the hatred from where he was. Swain merely stood for what seemed like an eternity before reacting.

"Move out! All of you!" Swain yelled at the now scrambling Noxus soldiers who were crowded around.

"Place this yordle in a jail cell," Singed commanded a couple of nearby soldiers. "I will deal with him later."

"That's it," Ezreal whispered. "We've got to find the jail. Let's go."

As Ezreal tried to stand, he quickly realized he was frozen in place. He looked to Lux who returned the same panicked stare.

"I can't move!" Ezreal said to Lux.

"Neither can I," Lux replied.

"I prefer it that way," a voice said from behind them.

They turned and fear flooded through their bodies at what they saw. Karthas was standing behind them holding his staff in their direction. He was obviously the source of the spell that was freezing them in place.

"Karthas!" Ezreal exclaimed.

"Somehow we keep running into each other," Karthas said sarcastically. "Fancy that."

"Now walk!" Karthas yelled as he shifted his staff forcing Ezreal and Lux from their hiding spot.

Just before the soldiers took Teemo away, Singed commanded them to stop, "What do we have here?"

"What is the meaning of this Karthas? And who is that?" Singed asked motioning to Ezreal and Lux.

"I knew your friends weren't far behind," Swain interrupted. "They are with the yordle."

"Ah, so these are the three that duped the two of you back in the Ironspike Mountains," Singed replied.

Swain's face twisted to resentment and Karthas sneered.

"Lock them up with the yordle as well," Singed commanded the soldiers. "But obviously I don't have to tell you to lock them up in separate cells. And take away their weapons; we don't want an escape."

"They have proven to be shifty," Singed said as he shot a look at both Swain and Karthas who were both fuming mad.

The soldiers took the trio away and before leaving Singed looked back towards Karthas and Swain and said, "Thank you, Karthas. I believe you two have work to attend to?"

Swain and Karthas watched Singed leave before shooting each other a look and dispersing to their own business.