The Light To His Shadow | League Of Legends Fan-Fiction

Chapter 3 | Welcome

As the pair approached the towering walls, Aloka couldn't help but marvel at the abundance of magic here. She could feel the veins of energy pool around the academy, giving life to the tall trees and more. Wildlife native to Ionia and those Aloka had never before seen stood alongside each other, clashing and intermingling to produce a variety of nature. The forest also surrounded the entrance to the gate, not to mention the endless sea of trees behind the circular base. The largest of the trees stretched their limbs towards the school from outside the walls. Aloka stuck close to Blitzcrank as they entered the forest, memorizing the path. Inside, fauna of every variety watched from the shadows as they made way through. Something resembling a mouse scurried in the trees. It had large ears and a skinny tail, which swished with every movement. Everything was new. And though Aloka could see the snow of the mountains above, the forest was strangely tropical. Walking through the jungle, Aloka noted that it was not safe to wander. Beasts prowled behind stones, and dangers waited in the shrubbery.
Suddenly, Blitzcrank stopped. Ahead of the clearing, Aloka could see a large gate, fortified with metal plating and observed by security cameras. Blitzcrank fiddled with a small black box.
"What's that?" Aloka wondered aloud, hoping Blitzcrank would answer. Of course, she got no reply. Aloka was tired, dirty, and tired of this golem's silence.
"Hey," she started. "You know I'm not a plague or something. I've acted according to you wishes and-"
The box crackled. A woman's unfamiliar voice answered. "What'cha need?"
And for the first time on their journey, Aloka heard Blitzcrank answer. "I've captured the target."
Aloka protested, muttering, "It wasn't really a capture. I barely used my strength anyways. If anything, I've arrived as a guest."
They both ignored her complaints, and carried on with their conversation.
"Oh great!" The voice grew softer. "Hey cupcake! Open the gate for Blitzy! He's got the target with him too."
Aloka smiled, "I knew someone had to call you that."
An even softer voice responded. "Is this the target described as, 'uniquely annoying?'"
Aloka glared at Blitzcrank.
"I dunno nothing about that, just get out there!" The voice returned, " Alright, be out there in a sec. Just chill in the meantime."
Aloka pouted at Blitzcrank, "How could you call me 'uniquely annoying' in a report?"
He stared straight ahead at the gates.
"No response again? Well fine. I don't-"
"Precisely." Blitzcrank's head swiveled to look down at Aloka. "You are uniquely annoying, fleshling, but your magic calls to me."
Before Aloka could respond, a door seamlessly opened from the gate. Two women stepped out. The first was a woman who wore large gauntlets on both hands. She had pink bubblegum hair, with shaved sides and a side bang. The letters "VI" were tattooed on her face to the left, under her blue eyes. She bad a beautiful figure, with a small waist and large hips. Aloka was surprised that her arms could wield such large gauntlets. She wore boots and a standard, versatile outfit. The second woman was taller, with a refined face and dark indigo hair. Her's hung long behind her back, with the front parted to the side. She had a large rifle with several scopes slung across her back, it's core seemed to emit a reddish glow. The woman had an air of nobility and dignity around her, but wore the same outfit as the other lady.
"Yo," the first woman said with a small wave. She looked around. "Where's the one? You didn't put her in your stomach chamber or something, did you?"
She had a rough voice, which demanded attention.
Blitzcrank turned to face them. "Do not be foolish, Vi. Any fleshling would die from steam. She is here."
Aloka stepped out.
The second woman reacted. "Well, what happened to her? This is your second mission, and she comes looking like this?" Her voice reminded Aloka of a seasoned detective.
The lady shook her head and sighed. "Ah, this is going to require a ton of paperwork."
She turned towards me, and stretched out her hand. "I'm Caitlyn, originally from Piltover." She looked over at Blitzcrank. "Don't let him bother you. He was built that way."
Aloka hesitantly shook her hand. She wasn't used to humans, and would often hide from them in Ionia. Caitlyn smiled at Aloka and then turned to Vi. "I'll take Blitzcrank to deal with the situation at the dorms, and you take Aloka to the office."
Vi sighed. "Fine Cait, but I'll only do the easy work because I know how much you love policing around those students." She turned towards the door and motioned at me. "Come on, let's get you to the headmaster and then to a shower. Seriously, you smell worse than a spoiled hex-potion."
Caitlyn and Blitzcrank headed around the wall, while Vi and Aloka entered back through the door in the gate. Inside, the door had a series of technical locks and magic seals. Vi busied herself with securing the door, which left Aloka time to observe her surroundings. It was a small circular tunnel, presumably the inside of the wall. It led both ways, and had several pipes running along the top and sides. Electric lights lit the scene every few paces, leaving the space in between shadowy.
Aloka laughed nervously. "So, is this the academy?"
Vi, who had just finished pummeling the poor locks shut instead of securing them, turned with a refreshing smile. "Yup, the finest of the fine. This is only the inside of the wall though. Only security personnel can truly navigate the area, like Cait. Oh, and me, but I still forget sometimes. I don't think even the headmaster truly knows. And by the way, don't get your hopes up of this place. Once you're here you realize the students are still whiny brats like everywhere else." She glanced back at me. "But tell me about yourself. How's Ionia?"
Aloka fiddled with her fingers, thinking about her future here. "It's wonderful. There's lots of magic and a variety of food you can-"
"Not about that," Vi dismissed with a wave of her hand, "How's the fighting? I've beaten all sorts of messed up humans, but not people like you. Uh, Vastayans, right?"
Aloka gave a weak smile. "There's a lot of different tribes and cultures, so there's always a need to be versatile. I try not to fight within the community, so I wouldn't really know."
Vi frowned. "Psh, lame. What's wrong with fighting your own kind? I do it all the time to the drugged up chem-thugs back in Piltover." She flexed her gauntlets, "I wish I could've lived without fighting, but there's too much evil in this world to be a princess. And now," She laughed, "I can help people using my own two hands. Piltover has an extraordinary low crime rate."
Aloka processed what Vi had said. A majority of Ionia struggled to fight against Noxus, as they had a code of balance. Vi's insight revived the confusing feelings Aloka had put aside for a long time. Piltover's direct stance towards their enemy was a refreshing situation applicable to Ionia. With all this in her head, Aloka could only produce a lame "I see."
The two walked down the tunnel, with Vi rambling on with stories from her childhood and career. She also told Aloka about the school. It trained in tough combat, as well as the normal studies. The school had enough power to obtain what they needed for specific studies and trips to far away lands. All of this was sponsored by the League of Legends. At the end of the tunnel, a ladder led up to a closed trapdoor, and a door on the side led to the entrance of the academy. Through the entrance, Vi dropped Aloka off in a clear room with a large unoccupied desk on one side and several corridors leading off into the building. Long benches filled the blue walls between the doorways, and paintings of flowers hung on the wall above. The floor was made of plain white tile, with a large circular rug in the middle. "Geez, they should really make the walk from the wall shorter." Vi huffed. "Imagining traveling that far just to run errands. Think of your security team damn it."
She looked over at the desk and then back at me. "Well, this is when I leave. Just take a seat on one of these benches, and someone should be right with ya. Oh, if you were wondering, 'Vi' stands for 'vicious.'"
With that, she headed for the door. Aloka nodded and waved as Vi left. Although she had a temper, Aloka could see that Vi was not a bad person. Besides, she liked her cool gauntlets. Aloka took a seat on the wooden bench. She appreciated the rest. Although the trip wrung her out, interacting with humans exhausted her. She sighed and rested her head on her shoulder, while her eyelids hung low. Only then, from the odd perspective, could Aloka see the human observing her from the shadows in the corner. His red eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, the only source of light in that corner. How could Aloka have missed him before? She raised her head to discreetly view him. Silver hair hung low on his temples, and a scar ran across his jaw. He wore simple and concealing clothes, but Aloka could tell they were from Ionia. A metal band of sorts circled his neck. The shadows clung to his body like a shroud, hiding him away from normal sight. Aloka was sure any passing being would have missed him. As he turned his eyes towards Aloka, she quickly glanced away. Something about this man made her uncomfortable. She felt a desire to get away. From the corner, Aloka heard a low chuckle. He stared plainly at her, almost looking down at Aloka. She had no choice but to withdraw from the battle of dominance, especially as she was still restrained by the handcuffs. From that moment on, Aloka could tell that he dismissed her from his mind. She was deemed as no threat, and he seemed to ignore her presence entirely. "Just wait till I see you in school, shadow bastard." Aloka thought, while frowning.
A few silent minutes afterwards, Aloka heard the sound of chimes. A large something had come to the desk, rummaging through the papers. It was large compared to both Aloka and the male, almost similar to Blitzcrank. In the center of it's fluffy chest, a mask with three holes that vaguely represented the eyes and mouth of a human rested. A large horn protruded from the back of it's head, decorated by dangling chimes. It wore large gloves, and attempted to dress formally with a garb of refined red cloth. One hand clutched an instrument of sorts. Aloka sensed immense magic and power from the being, and shuddered at the thought of it's power. It looked under the desk and found the missing item. A small cylindrical chime rested on ots side under the desk. As it outstretched its hand, the chime floated up and happily absorbed into the being. Getting back up, it glanced around the air and made noises at something, shaking the chimes on its horn. Aloka assumed that it could see something they couldn't. Looking up, it studied Aloka for a moment before motioning for her. It glanced once at the shadow while turning to face the wall behind the desk. Taking the war horn in his hand, it faced the wall and produced a low guttural sound. The force blew Aloka's hair back from her face. Suddenly, a large portal opened on the wall, surrounded by a circle of magic runes. Turning back, it opened its hand for Aloka, which Aloka nervously accepted.
Still peeved by her small loss against the shadow bastard, she turned and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll have the opportunity to crush your skull at some point. I always do, so watch your back."
In the back of her mind, she prayed that she looked intimidating enough with her bared teeth.
As they stepped through the portal, she could hear the echoes of a dark laugh behind her.