Chapter 8

Ezreal made sure to memorize the path that the soldiers were taking them through the Noxus stronghold. He knew they would end up in a jail cell, but he didn't know for how long. He wanted to be certain that when they escape no time was wasted trying to figure the way out.

Ezreal was worried about Teemo. They had carted him off ahead of Ezreal and he couldn't see him. Ezreal knew Lux was okay as she was being escorted directly in front of him. With each turn the path was becoming more and more difficult to memorize. Ezreal hoped that soon they would reach their destination.

Before long, Ezreal's wish was granted. The soldiers brought the trio into a room with four jail cells that sat next to each other and lined the back wall. Ezreal watched as they removed Teemo's backpack and placed it into a metal locker in the corner of the room. They then placed him in the farthest jail cell against the wall.

Next, they removed Lux's wand and shoved her into the cell next to Teemo. Lastly, they approached Ezreal and he was forced to remove his gauntlet and hand it over. The soldiers crammed him into the cell next to Lux and he watched as they placed her wand and his gauntlet in the same locker. The soldiers locked each cell and then left the room through the only door.

Ezreal looked around the room. There was a single, barred window next to Teemo's cell and each cell had a single bed attached to the wall. The cell had three stone walls and one single barred wall at the front which consisted of the door. Other than the cells, there wasn't much more to the room in which they found themselves in. A single door rested on the opposite wall from the cells along with a desk. Sitting next to the desk was a tall locker in which their weapons had been placed and securely locked.

Ezreal sighed and then yelled, "Teemo? Teemo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Teemo replied. "I knew both of you would come back for me."

"There was never any doubt of that, was there?" Ezreal replied.

Teemo smiled in his cell, thankful for his friends. "Are you okay, Lux?" Teemo asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Lux said rubbing her wrists. "Those soldiers need a lesson on how to treat a woman."

Ezreal starred at the bars of his cell. He grasped them with both of his hands and shook with all his might. He pushed and pulled, but it was no use. The bars were well made and all he accomplished was making noise.

As he stood back in disappointment, Ezreal heard an unfamiliar laugh accompanied by a voice, "You're gonna need more than that."

Ezreal was confused by the voice, but then realized he had forgotten about the fourth cell that sat on the other side of his.

"Hello?" Ezreal replied to the voice. "Were you talking to me?"

"Of course I was," the voice said again. "Who else would I be talkin to?"

Ezreal didn't say anything, but merely waited for the man to speak again.

"Hello?" the man said. "You got any more bright ideas to get out of here?"

"Who are you? And no, I don't. Our weapons are locked up over in that locker," Ezreal replied frustration apparent in his voice.

"Ha! As if I didn't know that already. I wondered why my shotgun wasn't just sitting right here next to me," the man said sarcastically.

Ezreal didn't reply. A long silence came over the room until the man spoke again, "Graves."

"What?" Ezreal said confused.

"My name," the man replied. "It's Malcolm Graves."

"Nice to meet you, Graves! I'm Teemo," Teemo said happily from the end cell. "The woman is Lux and you've already met Ezreal."

Graves laughed and said, "Well aren't you just a little ball of fur and sunshine. Those guards sure did a number on you…um what was your name again?"

"Teemo," Teemo replied. "And yeah that werewolf did this to me."

"Yeah you gotta watch out for ole Warwick. He's the reason I'm in here," Graves replied. "Stupid blood hound is all he is really."

"He's the reason you're in here?" Ezreal said skeptically.

"Well, yeah you see I was hanging around town and needed a little coin," Graves explained. "I figured I would relieve the local bar of some of theirs, but I was caught. As I was leaving that fine establishment, that dumb mutt hunted me down and basically dragged me in here. Been here ever since."

Graves thought for a second, "Goin on about a week now."

"But who cares why I'm here. One thing we both have in common is that we are stuck in here, so how are we going to get out?" Graves asked.

"How can we even trust you?" Ezreal said quickly.

"What do you mean?" Graves responded with a hint of anger.

"You're a criminal. Not exactly the most trustworthy," Ezreal said.

"Hey, hey, hey I may be a criminal, but I'm good for my word. If I tell I will do something, I'm gonna do it and I will help you get out of here if I can," Graves replied.

"I don't know…," Ezreal said.

"I bet it got pretty confusing trying to remember all the turns getting here, huh?" Graves said cutting Ezreal off.

"I think I memorized it pretty…" Ezreal said obviously offended by the remarks.

"See that's hesitation. That right there is what gets you lost," Graves replied. "I've been in this jail a couple of times, so I know my way out."

"How did you get out the other times?" Ezreal asked.

"They eventually let me out after about a month of sitting in here," Graves replied.

"Oh," Ezreal said in disappointment. "I still don't think we can…"

"I think we can trust him, Ezreal. Besides, he looks trustworthy enough," Teemo said who was now firmly standing in front of Ezreal's cell and looking at Graves.

"HaHa! You see, the fur ball likes me!" Graves exclaimed.

"Teemo! How did you get out of your cell?!" Ezreal asked in utter amazement as he couldn't believe Teemo was happily standing on the other side of the barred door.

"My mushrooms," Teemo replied as if the answer was obvious. "I hid some in my shoe as backup for tight situations. The acid is corrosive enough to melt away the lock."

"Teemo, you never cease to amaze me!" Ezreal said as he hugged Teemo through the bars.

"Get us out of here!"

Ezreal watched as Teemo pulled more mushrooms from his shoes and broke them over the locks allowing the acid to eat away at the metal. Within minutes, Ezreal, Lux, and Graves were all standing outside of their cells.

"Now that's what I'm talkin about," Graves said. "You're one smart yordle."

Teemo stood up tall and puffed out his chest obviously proud of what he had accomplished.

"So, what now?" Ezreal asked.

"Well, we don't have long until the guards come and check on us," Graves replied. "First we need to get our stuff out of that locker."

"Do you have another mushroom?" Graves asked Teemo.

"Yes sir!" Teemo said as he ran and melted the lock off of the locker and swung the doors open.

Each one took turns gathering their things. Teemo grabbed his backpack and secured it firmly on his back, Lux twirled her wand in between her fingers, and Ezreal fastened his gauntlet back where it belonged. The trio turned to Graves who was now holding a bulky, double barrel shotgun at his side. He didn't notice the stares at first as he was busy strapping different canisters to his waist.

"What?" he said finally noticing the stares.

"That's one big gun," Teemo replied.

"Oh, yeah," Graves said happily as he patted the barrel. "This baby right here has gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations."

"Alright so what's the plan? We can't just go through the entire place, guns blazing," Ezreal said.

Graves gave Ezreal a look and then said, "Well the first thing we have to accomplish is getting through the next room. Shortly, four guards are going to come in and chat for a minute before coming in to check on us. We've got to take them out without alerting anyone else and then go from there."

"Sounds manageable," Lux replied.

"There is a giant map of Noxus on the wall in that room," Graves continued. "We can plot our escape from there."

"Great," Ezreal said. "Now how do we take them out?"

Graves, who was already loading a canister into his shotgun, said, "This shell right here will cause more than enough of a distraction. When you get the que, go in and knock them out…but quietly."

"How will we know what the que is?" Ezreal asked.

"Oh, you'll know," Graves said as they heard the door in the other room squeak open.

Graves put a single finger up to his lips and placed his ear against the door.

"On three crack the door," Graves whispered to Ezreal.

Graves positioned himself flat against the wall and with his fingers counted, one…two…three!

"Lights out," Graves whispered to himself.

Ezreal cracked the door and graves launched the shell into the room. Ezreal watched as the metal canister bounced across the stone floor before coming to a stop near the center of the room. It began to spin wildly and Graves slammed the door shut. Ezreal, Lux, and Teemo watched as smoke appeared under the door and they could hear each guard coughing wildly.

"Go!" Graves said suddenly bursting through the door.

With the butt of his gun he caught the first guard in the side of the head, knocking him out cold before he even hit the ground. On the other side of the room, Lux flung a bolt of light from her wand freezing two of the soldiers in place while Teemo appeared behind them and struck them with darts instantly causing them to faint. The last was up to Ezreal and he instantly teleported behind the befuddled soldier and put him in a head lock. Ezreal held on tight until the soldier passed out.

"Good work!" Graves exclaimed as he surveyed their handy work. "We make a good team."

"What do we do with them?" Lux asked pointing to the soldiers. "They will eventually wake up."

"We can't put them in the cells. The locks are melted," Ezreal said.

"Just drag them into the room and lock the main door," Graves replied. "Teemo and I will look for the key while you two drag them in there."

Ezreal and Lux begrudgingly began to drag the soldiers back into the cell room while Teemo and Graves tore apart the room. Graves was searching through a desk that sat near the door while Teemo was going through a nearby file cabinet.

As Lux and Ezreal were on their last soldier, they heard Graves yell, "Oh…my…gosh!"

"What? What's wrong?" Ezreal said panicked as he ran back in the room.

"I don't believe what my eyes are seeing," Graves said as he sat a small rectangular box onto the desk.

The trio stared in confusion at Graves as they watched him open the small box and take from it a brown tube looking object. With the largest grin Ezreal had seen from him yet, Graves took the tube and stuck it in his mouth. He lit a match and with a few puffs smoke began to pour out of his mouth.

As if reunited with a long lost friend, a wave of relaxation fell over graves and he said, "I haven't been allowed to have one of these in a loooooong time."

"What is it?" Ezreal said as he coughed and waved the combinations of smoke from his face.

"Abihoc's. The best cigars in all of Runeterra," Graves replied still happily puffing on the cigar.

Ezreal stared and quick tinge of anger came over him, "You made us freak out over a cigar?"

"Whoa, now. This isn't just any cigar. This is the first one I've had…" Graves replied.

"In a very long time…I know," Ezreal said cutting Graves off. "Did you at least find the key?"

Graves gave Ezreal an angry stare over his cigar as he tossed over the key.

"Gonna save these for later," Graves said as he tucked the box with the remaining cigars snuggly into his waist.

After Ezreal had locked the door he asked, "Where did you find those anyway?"

"The box said Knight Rito. Obviously this was his desk that they were locked in," Graves answered.

"Well thank you Knight Rito for donating to the Graves cigar fund," Graves said happily as if talking to someone who wasn't there.

"Well good I'm glad you got a cigar," Ezreal said sarcastically. "Now what's the plan?"

After a moment they heard Lux who was standing over by a large map on the wall say, "It looks like we need to go to the labs. I have a feeling that's where the weapon will be."

"I think you're spot on pretty lady," Graves replied. "They aren't far from here and we can probably get there largely undetected."

"Great, let's go then. Lead the way, Graves," Ezreal replied.

Graves nodded as he eased open the door and looked down the hallway.

"All clear. Come on."

The trio followed Graves down many different twisting corridors. Every once in a while he would give them commands to stop or crouch making sure that they weren't spotted. After a while and a few too many turns Ezreal began to grow suspicious that they were lost.

"Do you even know where we are going?" Ezreal said in a loud whisper.

Graves didn't answer, but rather motioned to the group to continue following him.

After a few minutes, Ezreal said again, "You're lost aren't you. I knew it."

Graves stopped at the next corner and placed his body against the wall. He motioned for the others to do the same then motioned for Ezreal to join him at the front.

"There's your door to the labs," Graves said firmly.

Ezreal didn't look at Graves, but merely said, "Okay, but how do we get past the two guards? They are too far away for us to surprise them."

"Leave that to me," Lux said from behind. "I can blind them with my light and then you two can rush them."

Lux crept to the front and poked her wand around the corner. In a flash a ball of light shot towards the guards and exploded before they had a chance to react. The guards fell to their knees and clutched their eyes in obvious pain.

The group charged the soldiers and dispatched of them quickly and quietly before anyone was of the wiser. They piled them both in a nearby closet in order to avoid detection.

"So this is the lab," Ezreal said. "Well then let's go stop Singed."

"Not so fast. This is where I get off this party bus," Graves said as he had his hand on a nearby door handle.

"What?" Lux said in disbelief.

"I thought you were coming with us, Graves?" Teemo said sadly.

"Not today. I needed to get to this door. This is my way out," Graves replied.

"I knew it," Ezreal said angrily. "You were just in this for yourself. You don't care what happens to us."

"I kept my word," Graves quickly replied. "I said I would get you out of the cell and to your destination and that's exactly what I did. Now excuse me if I have a different place that I need to be."

"Fine, go ahead. We don't need you," Ezreal said dismissively.

Graves laughed under his breath, shook his head, and in an instant was gone behind the side door. Ezreal turned his attention back to Lux and Teemo who looked worried and sad.

"We don't need him," Ezreal said trying to sound reassuring. "We can stop Singed on our own."

Lux and Teemo gave a muted nod before they turned their attention to the double, metal doors in front of them. Ezreal took a deep breath and pushed open the doors to the lab.

As the trio walked into the lab, they were on high alert that at any moment they could be attacked. After they had gotten a short distance into the room, it appeared to be abandoned. The room was rather large holding rows of metal tables all of which had glass beakers, whirling machines, and microscopes resting on their tops. The trio inspected the room in awe noticing all sorts of tubes and machinery that hung from the ceiling. Massive glass cylinders that were fastened to the back wall held a variety of liquids all in different colors. In the center of the room was a raised platform that housed what appeared to be the central machine that controlled the rest of the room. A variety of color coded tubes connected into its top and it was obvious to Ezreal that this was the machine that mixed the weapon.

"Over here," Ezreal said as he motioned to Lux and Teemo.

The trio examined the glowing monitor which displayed the mixing process for Noxus' new weapon.

"Amazing," Lux finally said after a few moments. "This tells us exactly what the weapon is made out of. We have to get this information back to Demacia. With this they may be able to come up with an anti-agent to fight it."

"It's so sad that you won't get that chance, Lux," a voice said from the other side of the room.

In unison the trio turned to see Singed standing between them and the doorway from which they came. They readied themselves for a fight, but before they could act Warwick fell from the ceiling behind them grasping Lux against his chest.

"Lux!" Ezreal said as he listened to her screams.

Ezreal raised his gauntlet, but before he could act he heard Singed say, "Not so fast. One move and I will have Warwick crush her bones."

Ezreal lowered his arm and stood still. Teemo did the same.

"Good. Good," Singed said as he approached them. "Now kneel."

Ezreal hesitated as he looked at Teemo.

"I said kneel!" Singed yelled as Warwick tightened his grip forcing a squeal from Lux.

Ezreal and Teemo dropped to their knees and Singed tied a rope around both of their arms. Singed motioned for Warwick to release Lux and Singed tied her up in the same fashion.

"What are you going to do to us?" Ezreal replied.

"I'm glad you asked," Singed replied. "When I left you alive back at the Great Barrier Mountains I was simply looking for a witness to spread the word of my weapon. You were to tell Demacia of its destructive capabilities and you did not disappoint."

"However," he continued now standing in front of Lux, "I would have never dreamed that you would have brought me the jewel of Demacia straight to my doorstep."

Lux squirmed, but couldn't get free. Singed continued, "Imagine the face on Garen and Jarvan when I bring a zombified Lux to their front door."

"Talk about breaking the spirit of the enemy!" Singed said as he grasped Lux's cheeks with his hand and gave her face a quick shake. Lux quickly drew her head back and spit at the feet of the imposing Singed.

"And, as the cherry on top you brought me a yordle," Singed said now moving on to Teemo.

"I've never tested my weapon on a yordle, so this will open up a whole new line of research. A wonderful new guinea pig!"

All Teemo could do was hang his head. Ezreal's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. How could he be so stupid? He let his anger and determination get the best of him and now he has subjected his friends to certain doom. He would give anything in this moment to allow them to go free.

"Take me," Ezreal said. "Just please don't hurt them."

Singed laughed and said, "Oh no my dear boy. I can't return a gift as sweet as this. We are just going to have to see what the gas will do to you three."

Singed walked behind them to the central machine with the monitor and began pushing buttons. Ezreal looked over to his friends with regret and sadness in his eyes. He wanted to say something to them, but he knew nothing would make this better. He simply hung his head and whispered, "I am so sorry."

The group heard the machine start up and could hear the liquids being drained from their respective containers. They were mixing within the machine and it wouldn't be long before they were doused in the toxic gas. Ezreal took one last look at his friends and then shut his eyes.

Just before the machine had finished mixing the chemicals, a large fireball came hurdling across the room and landed within the back of the machine amongst the tubes and turbines. The machine sputtered and spewed before exploding and bursting into flames.

"Like fish in a barrel," a voice came back from the double doors.

Singed spun with anger and yelled, "You! You destroyed my machine you…you idiot!"

"I've been called far worse," Graves said blowing the smoke away from his shotgun.

"Graves!" the trio explained almost in unison.

"Warwick, get him!" Singed yelled as he commanded the hound straight at Graves.

Warwick tore towards Graves with lightning speed.

"I like moving targets," Graves said as he loaded another shell into his shotgun.

Graves took aim and fired a shell towards Warwick lodging itself within his mouth. The impact knocked Warwick on his back and as his jaws clamped down the smoke grenade exploded completely covering the beast.

Ezreal watched as Singed panicked and fled out of a side door in the lab.

"Graves, he's getting away!" Ezreal yelled.

Graves ran over to the trio and immediately cut their bonds. As he helped them to their feet he could see Warwick recovering from the grenade. A blood red hue shinned from his mouth and eyes through the remaining smoke as the liquid from Warwick's back was pumping in full force.

The group readied themselves to fight when Graves said to Ezreal, "Go. You have to catch Singed. We will deal with the puppy dog."

Ezreal nodded and said, "Thank you, Graves."

"Go!" Graves replied and Ezreal ran through the lab after Singed being careful to dodge the debris.

As Ezreal ran, he heard Graves yell, "Let's tango you oversized blood hound!"

Ezreal darted towards the now wide open back door that Singed had left in his wake. The door led to a long, unfamiliar corridor which ended in a fork. Once at the fork, Ezreal had to make a decision. On his left was another corridor which eventually ran into a set of stairs that led downwards and out of sight. On his right, however, Ezreal could see sunlight as if it were coming from yet another open door. He immediately knew his direction as his gut told him that had to be another door in which Singed had left open.

Ezreal ran with all his might towards the sunlight. As he got closer, he realized that his suspicion was correct. He was greeted by an open door that was getting closer and closer to him as he ran down the corridor. Just as he was about to exit through the open door, a bandaged arm came flying across the opening catching Ezreal in the chest and sending him careening to the ground.

Ezreal quickly found himself lying flat on his back with an intense pain in his chest. Before he could figure out what was happening, a large foot planted itself in his neck pinning him against the ground. It was all Ezreal could do to force his hands under the foot just enough that his airway wasn't being completely cut off. He was trapped.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Ezreal heard a voice coming from a man who was now standing above him. As Ezreal's eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he saw a menacing Singed staring down at him.

"All I wanted was for you to be a witness to what my weapon could do. You were supposed to merely alert Demacia and send them into a panic," Singed continued. "But instead you became a rather large thorn in my side."

"It was my fault I suppose," Singed said as he put more pressure down on his foot. "I underestimated you as I didn't perceive you as a threat. Oh how wrong I was."

Ezreal could tell Singed was furious and that he was on a mission to make Ezreal suffer. Ezreal gasped for air and tried to push Singed off of him, but it was all in vain. Singed weighed more than him and he had the upper hand.

"My greatest work now in flames. You and your friends will pay for this, I promise," Singed said as he continued to get angrier by the minute.

"You…won't…win," Ezreal managed to say in between gasps.

"Brave until the last second. I like it," Singed replied as he pulled a small vial from his pocket and unscrewed the top. "Thankfully, I have one vile of my weapon and it so happens to be just enough to transform one…last…person."

Ezreal squirmed and pushed with all his might, trying his best to avoid the toxic concoction. He listened to Singed laugh manically, pleased by Ezreal's struggle with the vile still in his hand just waiting to inflict its foe. Singed wanted him to be in as much pain as possible and Ezreal knew he planned to drag the process out.

Just as Ezreal was about to give up hope, he noticed the gauntlet on his arm. As if an idea had just been dropped out of the sky and into his head, Ezreal knew that if he could position it correctly he may be able to launch Singed off of him. Ezreal noticed that Singed wasn't paying attention to him, rather he was in the middle of another rant coupled with more insane laughs. This was his chance. Ezreal slowly removed the gauntleted hand out from under Singed's foot, positioned it upwards, and took aim.

Singed looked down just as the two mystical bows appeared on each side of the gauntlet. His eyes grew wide, but before he could release the contents of the vial, a large, crescent shaped energy wave appeared from the gauntlet striking him point blank in the stomach. The blast performed better than Ezreal had even hoped. It carried Singed across the courtyard before sending him crashing into nearby boxes of supplies. Ezreal quickly got to his feet and rushed over to the now destroyed crates.

As Ezreal approached the wreckage, he saw Singed who was now pouring blood from a massive gash that stretched across his torso.

Singed, whose laugh had grown even more manic, said, "You are impressive, aren't you?"

"It's over Singed," Ezreal said in a serious tone.

Ezreal was again greeted with more laughter, "You haven't stopped me, boy."

"What are you talking about?" Ezreal said perplexed by what he had just heard. "We've destroyed your weapon and now you lay dying on the ground."

"That may be true, but take a look around," Singed said motioning to the nearby walls and the surrounding courtyard. "How is it that you can let off an attack like that and no one comes to my aid?"

Until now Ezreal hadn't thought about how unusually abandoned Noxus seemed. He looked around trying to find signs of anyone else, but there was no one to be found. Ezreal stared back at Singed without saying a word.

"Let me help you with the answer," Singed said through gurgled words. "It's because I managed to make enough of my weapon to cover Demacia before you destroyed the machine."

"What?!" Ezreal said not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"That's right. Fresh batches of my chemical weapon are on its way straight to Demacia and it is being escorted personally by the Noxian military," Singed replied. "You may have stopped me, but my weapon lives on."

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and his heart began to race. He was panicking. While he was in Noxus, Singed had pulled a fast one on him and sent the entire Noxus army out to attack Demacia. He had to warn Demacia, but how? There was no way to get back in time and without proper warning Demacia wouldn't know what was coming.

Ezreal had to make it back to Lux, Teemo, and Graves. Maybe they would have an idea on how to get back to Demacia in time. As he turned to run back to the lab, he could hear Singed using his dying breathes to laugh at Ezreal in his panicked state. Just before he reached the door, he saw his friends appear into the courtyard.

"Ezreal, are you okay?" Lux said as she, Teemo, and Graves ran into the courtyard.

"We've got to get back to Demacia!" Ezreal exclaimed.

"Get back to Demacia? Why? Ezreal we saw the blast from the lab and…" Lux replied with a concerned look on her face.

"Look don't worry about me," Ezreal said rather harshly. "Noxus' army is headed to Demacia as we speak with that chemical weapon. We've got to warn them!"

"Oh no!" Lux cried.

"I thought this place seemed rather empty," Graves said looking around the courtyard. "So, what's the plan?"

"You're coming with us?" a surprised Ezreal asked. "I thought you had somewhere else…"

"My place is right here," Graves said cutting Ezreal off as he lit up another cigar.

Ezreal nodded and looked down at Teemo who had his chest puffed out and was standing at attention. He then looked over to Lux who was holding her wand above her head.

"Lux, what are you doing?" Ezreal asked.

"Getting us back to Demacia," Lux said as three screaming red bolts shot from the end of her wand, one after the other, and high into the air.

"Well, if there are any Noxus soldiers still around they know where to find us now," Graves said sarcastically.

"Let them come. They won't stay for long," Lux said moments before a booming roar rattled the sky.

Ezreal, Graves, and Teemo immediately put their heads on a nervous swivel at the frightening sound. Ezreal scanned the skies looking for the source of the sound expecting to be attacked at any moment. As he looked towards Lux he noticed she was unusually calm.

Within minutes, red scales, pointy teeth, and broad wings dropped from the clouds and filled the nearby sky. Ezreal couldn't believe his eyes. Currently soaring above his head was the biggest dragon he had ever seen in his life and it simply appeared out of nowhere. He was frozen, but to his left Graves had raised his shotgun.

"Holy smokes!" Graves yelled at the sight of the dragon. "Get down, Lux!"

"No! Put your gun down! Do not shoot!" Lux immediately yelled at Graves as she waved her hands frantically.

After circling a few more times overhead, the dragon landed peacefully behind Lux. Its body was so massive that it had to fold in its wings in order to fit into the courtyard where the group was located. Ezreal, Graves, and Teemo watched in disbelief as the massive dragon quickly lowered its head and allowed a few strokes from Lux. As they watched, Ezreal and Teemo were still frozen with fear while Graves still had his shotgun at the ready.

"You…you have a dragon?" Ezreal said after his momentarily paralysis had begun to subside.

"This is Skarn," Lux said as she patted the behemoth on its head once more. "He's been with me since I was a little girl."

Skarn moved its head to scan each of the other three, its beady eyes constantly blinking. Sniffing could be heard as it was obviously summing up these unknown people it was confronted with. Neither three of the men moved a muscle.

"And for heaven's sake, put your gun down!" Lux barked at Graves.

"Sorry, mam, but that's just one big lizard," Graves said as he reluctantly lowered his gun.

"Well this lizard will get us back to Demacia in a heartbeat," Lux said not breaking eye contact with Graves.

"You want us to ride…that?" Ezreal asked.

"Unless you have a better idea," Lux said matter-of-factly with her hands on her hips. Skarn's head was now rapidly moving between the group, obviously keeping up with the tone of the conversation.

"Why didn't you tell us before that you had a dragon at your disposal?" Ezreal asked ignoring Lux's statement.

"Well," Lux said as she climbed on the back of her scaly friend. "I'm only supposed to use him in emergency situations, but I figured this qualified. Now come on!"

Ezreal and Graves stood still as they watched Teemo gleefully hop over to Skarn who lowered his head and allowed the yordle to climb up.

"Looks harmless enough," Graves said as he shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Skarn. Lux held out her hand and helped pull Graves onto the dragon's back.

"Let's go, Ezreal," Lux said.

Skarn was looking at Ezreal, waiting for him to make his way up. Ezreal took a deep breath and approached the dragon. As he got close, Skarn turned his head, placed it against Ezreal's back, and gave a hard sniff. As if approving of his new friend, Skarn turned his head back forward awaiting new orders.

"See, he likes you," Lux said as she helped Ezreal onto Skarn's back.

"Good," Ezreal said trying to hide the fact that his heart was racing in his chest.

After a few minutes of making sure everyone was set, Lux pulled on Skarn's reins and yelled, "Let's soar, Skarn!"

As if shot from a cannon, Skarn released his massive wings and lifted off into the sky. Everyone other than Lux gripped Skarn tightly trying not to fall to their deaths. As Skarn continued to climb through the sky, Ezreal realized he could see for miles. He could see the snow on the tops of the Ironspike Mountains, the green fields as they zoomed past below, and Noxus as it quickly disappeared into the distance. There was no doubt that Skarn would get them back to Demacia in a hurry, but Ezreal couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough. Could they beat Noxus' army? Would they arrive in time to warn Demacia? But most of all what were they going to do once they go there?

All of these questions swirled in Ezreal's brain to the point of making him dizzy. He couldn't try to figure all this out now and told himself to take it one step at a time. For now they had to get to Demacia before the Noxian's did.