(March 1st. 2015 – 5:30 PM – New York, Earth)
¨There's nobody on the streets. We can get to the front door without anyone noticing¨ Claire looked below, although no one was walking there the frozen people were still there, alive in most cases in their prisons.
¨I'm wondering, why can't we use Teleport right on the last floor, and ask Lissandra where Irelia is?¨ Matt shrugged.
¨Because we don't want a direct fight with the Ice Bi… Witch¨ Nick was shaking, not because of the fear but the fact that it was getting colder the more time they spent on the rooftop ¨Also, we don't know where she might be right now. Considering she is a Champion the best idea would be to keep her safe, out of anyone's reach¨
¨You done talkin', I'd rather be inside there, punching some faces instead of freezing out here doing nothing!¨ Vi huffed, her voice was shaky, even with the clothes she was wearing.
After they decided the Summoners used the Teleport spell and landed on the street. Doing the same process as the safehouse they invoked their Champions, although only Caitlyn, Katarina, Leona and Thresh were the ones that appeared by their side, the rest had to use the Warden's lantern to get to the ground.
The group moved slowly due to the ice being slippery, they looked at the frozen prisons where the people were trapper, it was horrific, some people still had the terror in their faces while others were asleep.
¨Are this people still alive?¨ Marie asked worried, while touching one of the prisons, the True Ice noticed her and started to trap the blonde's hand inside of the ice, thankfully she removed it breaking the ice that was forming around her glove.
¨They should be… back in the Rift when Lissandra uses her glacial prison, it's just temporary. But I felt too many times how is it to be frozen¨ Caitlyn spoke, remembering how she was a target of the Ice Witch's ultimate during teamfights.
The group kept looking at the people outside, hoping to find the Will of the Blades but turns out they weren't lucky, they walked to the entrance where they stopped before going in.
¨Anyone wants to back out while there's still chance?¨ Claire whispered looking at the Summoners and Champions.
¨I was thinking that maybe we could-¨ Matt spilled a few words but the sheriff pushed him inside while the rest of the group followed them from behind.
Once in the building, most of the walls and the floor were covered in the blue crystal, just a few spots where they weren't turned into the Freljord's ice. Just like outside, there were people trapped in Lissandra's prisons, most of them asleep.
¨Isn't there any way to detect other Champions? That would make our job easier¨ Marie kept walking, looking for the Ionian.
¨There is a way, Summoner. But the problem is that we not only detect Champions here, but also people like you, and we can't determine what are we detecting and who¨ Maokai's voice echoed through the icy walls of the main floor.
The ground suddenly started to shake, the ice on the ceiling fell over their heads but it didn't hurt any member of the group. In front of them the True Ice that was on the ground started to raise, shaping into many crystals, but they kept going up forming the body of a woman, her hands were being created slowly as the blue material reached the top of this figure creating what appeared to be a helmet.
¨What is this? Summoners wanting to join the Frostguard?¨ The faint voice from Lissandra echoed around, just like in the game she was taller than any of the Champions in the group, even Maokai. The armor that covered her body seemed impenetrable, just like the True Ice, a blue, almost white, ponytail waving from behind although there were no wind currents inside, even if all the windows and doors were open.
¨We didn't come to join you, Witch. We are here to recover a Champion that it is believed to be trapped in here¨ Katarina stepped forward, grabbing her daggers, preparing for an incoming battle.
¨Oh? I do hope you understand that there are many Champions here. Some thought it would be a good idea to fight against me. You didn't came here for a fight, didn't you?¨ The Ice Witch got closer to the group, the Summoners shook their head, already fearing the mage ¨That's something I appreciate. Now, who is this Champion you are looking for?¨
Everyone looked at each other, they never expected Lissandra to be pacific, maybe she was waiting for the right time to attack them ¨It's Irelia, the Will of the Blades, she is Ionian, maybe you'll-¨ Ralzith looked above as the Ice Witch locked her `eyes´ onto him.
¨I do know who she is. Please follow me¨ The Freljordian princess raised her hand and a bridge made of True Ice appeared leading them to the third floor. She was on front while the group had to follow her.
Once at the third floor the wall made of ice started to dissolve, showing them a room almost empty but with frozen people. The group stepped inside and saw that the ones inside those prisons were Champions, some were hard to identify or they didn't pay too much attention as they were looking for the ionian.
The enforcer walked to one of the corners of the room and stopped as soon as she saw the person who was trapped inside, a big grin appeared on her face and raised her hand ¨Cupcake, come¨
¨This is not the time Vi…¨ Caitlyn kept looking at the frozen Champions but was dragged by the Enforcer. As soon as she saw the person trapped in it, she covered her mouth in awe ¨She… she…¨
¨Is finally under control¨ Vi ended the sentence. In front of the two officers was a woman, with a big grin on her face, her pink eyes piercing the two piltovians' souls, her right hand was holding an electric pistol which she named Zap due to the sound effect it creates while shooting it. The Loose Cannon went missing after the battle at the safehouse and ever since then none of the Summoners heard anything about her, although ending up trapped in True Ice was worse than getting pummeled by the Enforcer.
¨Jinx is still alive after all… kind of…¨ The Sheriff extended her hand to touch the crystal that surrounded the Zaunite but as soon as her delicate fingers pressed the prison the eyes from Jinx moved to the right, locking onto Caitlyn. She screamed and stepped back, alerting the rest of the group.
¨What happened?¨ Matt ran and grabbed Caitlyn before she could fall to the ground, he turned his head towards the trapped woman ¨So I guess not everyone has a happy ending¨ His voice trailed off , putting Cait back on her feet.
¨I think I found her¨ Ralzith shouted as the group joined around the prison. Inside the woman in blue whose hair was crystallized was asleep.
From behind, the Ice Witch raised her hand and the prison surrounding the Will of the Blades started to crack until it got destroyed making her fall, thankfully Ralzith was able to catch her before she could crash. The broken pieces of True Ice were moving towards the princess which then merged into her pedestal-type crystals.
Irelia was different, she wasn't wearing her traditional armor of the guard, instead it was a suit with better protection, but what was impressive was that her body changed as well. The former Void Summoner placed her ear closer to Irelia's heart, a slow heartbeat could be heard, she was alive, but for how long?
¨She changed…, she is…¨ Ralzith whispered, his voice was shaky but not because the cold around him but the fact that his Champion was not the same as the one he saw in Valoran.
¨The True Ice infected her¨ Everyone looked at Lissandra ¨I have seen a lot of people suffering this kind of transformations, although the Ionian is the first one to survive…¨
¨We appreciate that you helped us Ice Witch, but I'm afraid we must leave as we have an important matter to attend¨ Leona spoke as the group walked to the entrance to the floor where the bridge was waiting for them, Ralzith was carrying his Champion in his arms just like a groom carries his girl.
A few steps were remaining before they could get out of the building and into the city, but something happened. That something was that a thick wall of ice just got raised, covering the main entrance, Lissandra appeared behind them, with a slight grin on her face.
¨You wouldn't think I would let you go that easily, didn't you? I gave you what you were looking for, now I do expect that you give me something I want¨ They all turned and looked at the Ice Witch who had her hand extended, waiting to receive something ¨The Void Crystal, I know one of you is carrying it¨
The group looked at Ralzith, the person in charge of the crystal, he handed Irelia to Claire and moved his hands forward summoning a white sphere, after a few seconds the purple crystal appeared in his hands.
¨Why is it you want this? It doesn't belong to you. In fact, it shouldn't belong to anyone but the institute!¨
¨Foolish Summoner, you people at the Institute never understood what the Void has to offer. We know that the Watchers are beings coming from that dark realm, with the magic from the crystal I will harness the true power, and turn this world into MY world¨
¨Then if giving you the crystal means that we'll have to serve you as slaves, then that's a complete no¨ Claire crossed her arms.
¨WE WILL NEVER BE SLAVES!¨ The group turned at Matt who raised his hand in a fist, everyone was looking at him, confused of what he was doing ¨What? I always wanted to say that, and this situation demanded it¨
¨Enough! Will you give me the crystal or should I strip it off your hands?¨ The mage was moving forward but the Champions stepped in front of Ralzith, blocking her path towards him ¨So be it… in the Rift, my powers were limited but in this World, I am alive!¨
Lissandra threw an Ice Shard at them, everyone dodged it except for Leona who blocked it with her shield, the True Ice that was embedded in the shield made it heavier thus forcing the Radiant Dawn to drop it so she doesn't fall.
Katarina, Vi and Maokai were rushing at the Ice Witch but as soon as they got closer the Enforcer and the Treant couldn't move, when they looked down, their feet were trapped into True Ice, and was going up, trying to imprison them at a slow pace. However the noxian assassin was able to avoid this trap and used her Shunpo, landing on Lissandra's shoulders, she pressed her dagger against the throat of the Ice Witch.
¨Let us all go or prepare for a slow and horrible death¨ Katarina whispered into the princess' ears but that only created a smile on the witch's face.
¨Attacking from behind, which is something only cowards do. But two can play this game¨ Lissandra kept in place while she felt that Kat's grasp felt lighter, from behind an icy claw that was coming from the ground grabbed the Sinister Blade and pulled her from the back of Lissandra, the latter turned, still donning that smile on her face. She raised her hand and caressed Katarina's left cheek ¨You told me many times that I am weak, but as I said, the Rift limited my powers. You shall have a special treatment after I'm done with the Summoners¨
The Ice Witch turned, facing the five Summoners, in front of them Thresh, Caitlyn and Leona (who only had her sword) were blocking the path of Lissandra. She started to advance, Vi and Maokai were still stuck as the True Ice was already covering their knees. The other Champions decided to stand their ground instead of going for a rushed attack.
¨Remember to keep moving, try not to get frozen and aim for the non-protected areas¨ Caitlyn whispered to the other two champions as she was signaling the Summoners to stand back.
The Ice Witch prepared another ice shard but this time she stopped a few meters away from the Champions and Summoners, she looked up and smiled ¨You should feel lucky today, there are more people who decided to arrive at my humble abode. A family reunion you might say, but do not worry, as I have a special person who will come to you very soon¨ Lissandra stepped away and into the middle of the room, she started to melt, turning into pure ice as her body was slowly merging to the ground up to the point where she disappeared, nowhere to be found.
¨That's it?¨ Nick asked, lowering his guard.
¨What did she meant by family reunion?¨ Marie looked at Claire who was only paying attention at the imprisoned Katarina.
The Summoners and the rest of the champions walked to the ones that were imprisoned and tried to free them. Leona used her sword to cut down the claw that was holding Katarina while the rest of the Summoners tried to use the Ignite spell in order to melt the True Ice on Vi and Maokai, although the spell could only be used on Champions in the game, they were able to remove the frozen parts that were trapping the last two.
Irelia was still asleep, now in Ralzith's arms, her beating was getting even slower, she was pale as the blood was not flowing at a normal rate through her body. The more they spent inside the Chrysler Building, the more time she'll need to recover completely.
¨How do we get out now? If I use Teleport Irelia won't be coming with me¨ Ralzith muttered, holding the Will of the Blades closer to him so she would stay warmer for a longer time.
¨The only way is to go up, maybe we can do the same thing as we did in the rooftop¨ Marie suggested, the rest nodded and headed towards the stairs.
¨Lissandra said a special person would come to us. I would guess its Trundle¨ Matt looked everywhere, trying to find where the troll might be hiding.
¨I don't care, the only thing we must be worried about is to find a way out¨ Nick looked for a window, but the True Ice was blocking everything.
When they got to the seventh floor they looked for thin piece of ice that could help be easily broken but without any luck. Before going back to the staircase their path got blocked once again, this time it wasn't True Ice their obstacle, instead it was a two meter tall figure, its skin blue, just like the material the walls and the floor were covered in, the armor he was wearing looked sturdy enough to protect him from any incoming projectiles. On his shoulder a big crystalized club was resting.
¨The Troll King…¨ Thresh echoing whisper attracted the attention from Trundle who smiled, showing his teeth.
¨Well, well, the Ice Witch said there were intruders I should deal with. But I never expected to be Champions… Just for old times' sake¨ Trundle hit the ground with his club as he started to rush towards the group.
All of them decided to split up, dodging the troll's strike. He looked at the Twisted Treant, the grin still in his face. He pointed the club at him as he rushed, Maokai was preparing to knock him back but out of nowhere an ice pillar came from behind him and blocked his path, the king moved to the left and hit the Treant on the face, however Maokai only got hit once before he could use his left arm to protect himself.
From behind Caitlyn was shooting at the troll's back but the bullets were bouncing from the armor, this made Trundle chuckle as he turned towards Caitlyn and started to run at her, hopefully Katarina was able to control him by jumping on his back and stabbing his shoulder, but even if the blade penetrated his skin he wasn't affected by it. He grabbed the redhead and threw it to the ground, Trundle raised his feet but as soon as he started to go down Claire was already at Kat's side using the Barrier shield to block the impact.
He kept stomping the barrier that was not going to hold for much longer. Vi grabbed the club from the troll and used it to knock him away, she then proceeded to fling Trundle's weapon closer, hitting him once again in the head. When he fell to the ground the area where Claire and Kat were still holding was falling apart.
¨Get out of there, now!¨ Marie cried out, she grabbed Thresh's lantern and threw it closer to them but before they could touch it the floor collapsed, making them fall, the sound was heard thrice. The Summoners got closer to the hole and noticed Kat and Claire standing up.
¨You girls are alright down there?¨ Caitlyn shouted at the noxian duo who were wiping out the dust from their clothes.
¨Yeah, don't worry about us, we'll meet outside¨ Claire responded.
The remaining members of the group were now facing the Troll King who grabbed his club again.
¨You messed with the wrong troll, kiddos¨ He hit the ground once again with his weapon ¨Prepare to be crushed by Boneshiver!¨
We are getting closer to the end and things are starting to get tougher for our heroes!
KyuubiNoPuma: Got me hanging here like.. Will Ashe make an appearance? What about Garen? Since this is an Ionain 'Irelia' we're talking about.. The team comp will be even more interesting..
Can't reveal anything just yet ;)
So this is it.
First: OMG THAT NEW GP IS AWESOME!
Second: I made a poll that you can vote on about which is your favorite Summoner (Claire, Nick or Matt) and you can vote by going to my profile
Third: See you guys next chapter ;)