(Fanfic) .:: Exiled Intent ::. (Characters: Veigar, Lulu, and More! Multi-chapter.)

Lioriel·9/10/2015, 2:41:04 AM·3 votes·1,886 views

Prologue

Dark books of magic and papers lay askew throughout the large, dimly lit study. The hour was nearing midnight but no answer had yet to be found. If it were a simple matter power, Veigar was certain he could have managed long ago. But no, as much as the people of Valoran wanted to believe the political arena was based on power and power alone, there was a certain degree of actual politics needed to rule the world. A book slammed shut, channeling his frustration on the subject into something far less destructive than, say, a primordial burst onto a useless inanimate object.

They’d never take him seriously. It was difficult enough to convince other yordles that he could destroy them at his whim… let alone humans. And for them to believe he could conquer all of Valoran? Impossible. No, Veigar was a joke. A short, high-pitched creature with a limp. Power alone could not unite the city-states. Not without entirely destroying them.

Standing, the yordle stretched , cracking his neck with closed eyes. It had been a long night, perhaps it was time to get some sleep. Though as he walked to the door, Veigar stopped to look over his large, worn map of Valoran on the wall. Would it ever be his? Or would he remain the laughing stock of the League forever?

No. No, he would rise. Rise in glory and power and respect and then no one… no army, no king, and certainly no prison guard would be able to touch him. But first, first he would have to capture the respect of the little people.

… perhaps it was time to return to his original plan. Only this time, no dart-blowing scout was going to get in the way.

14 Comments

Lioriel9/10/2015, 2:41:16 AM2 votes

Updated 9/29/2015

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Table of Contents

Prologue Chapter One (Divided into Two Posts) Chapter Two Chapter Three (Divided into Two Posts) Chapter Four (Divided into Two Posts) Chapter Five (Divided into Two Posts) Chapter Six (Again, Two Posts. Shocker)

Please feel free to converse about the story in the thread. I will be hotlinking chapters to this front page to make them easy to find so it won't be a problem. Like most writers and artists I thrive on comments @_@

P.S. Please upvote D: At this point no one new can find this story without a direct link!

Lioriel9/10/2015, 2:47:46 AM2 votes

Veigar continued upwards, paying the girl no mind until he was level with her, and only then to spare her a wary glance at her slack-jawed expression. She had been silent for a short while now. Odd. After passing her by, a rush of wind from behind could be felt as the girl shouted out, “Zippy!” She stopped by his hat, pulling it out for herself. “I’ve always like your hat,” she grinned, looking it over, and under, and all around before dropping it on her head. The enchantment kicked in, darkening her face and brightening her already bright green eyes.

“Leave it alone, girl!”

“I have a name, you know,” she mutters, pouting slightly as she took it off.

“I fail,” a reach for the next branch, “to see the relevance.”

“I call you by your name. Or would you rather me just call you, say…” she pauses to think, “Kitty!”

A disgusted sound comes forth. She wouldn’t dare.

“Kitty it is!”

… of course she would dare. She knew no fear.

“Fine, Lulu. Drop the hat!”

“Okay!” The girl grinned, dropping his hat back into the bush… to watch it tumble all the way down the hill.

…

“LULU!”

For the briefest of moments, a stricken look of panic crossed the girl’s face. “I’ll get it, I’ll get it, don’t worry! Just just um keep climbing up, okay? Don’t worry!” With that, Lulu zipped back down, then up, dropping the hat at the top next to his staff. Clearly she could have made the trip a hundred times over in the time it was taking him. “See! Easy. It’s safe up here. Now we just need to get you up too! Sure you don’t want the spell?”

“I’m sure I’ll never need your brand of help again.”

“Okay~”

For the next few minutes, there was blessed silence as Veigar climbed. Lulu lay at the top, her own hat retrieved and resting where it belonged. Her eyes closed, resting as she waited. When he surfaced, covered in dirt and fresh scratches, he marched directly to collect his belongings. By the time Lulu looked up, his face was already veiled. “Aww,” she pouted in disappointment.

His eerie glowing eyes looked to her on the ground sharply, then away. There was no reason to bother with her now. “Never again,” he reminds her.

“Never what?”

He summons an event horizon as he hobbles off, holding it as long as he could to prevent her from following. Never again.

Lioriel9/10/2015, 6:32:20 PM2 votes

Chapter Two

Veigar could be such a spoilsport, but deep down Lulu didn’t really mind. Despite his harsh way of speaking, the mage was one of the few who was always willing, (with some encouragement) to play with her. Never once off the League’s battlefields had the yordle come anywhere near truly damaging her. He could if he chose to. But he didn’t. To her, that spoke volumes.

Every Tuesday at one-thirty, just as the time was starting to taste like celery and peanut butter, Veigar passed by her favorite log in the woods. He often did this on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and all sorts of days as well, but… Tuesdays were blue and that matched Veigar’s robes. Naturally, that was the day she made plans to play with him.

The fallen tree was beautiful, with all sorts of knobbly twists and turns and colorful shelf fungi. Lulu added to its whimsical nature, magicking all sorts of flowers. When sunlight dappling through the foliage the image was perfect. The bright array of colors, tastes, and smells almost made her feel like she was back in the Glade.

Today was Wednesday, a brilliant shade of orange. As it was, there was no need to play with her friend. Lulu wasn’t dense enough to believe that he would, even should she make herself visible. Yesterday had been quite the event, and there was no doubt Veigar still needed to cool down from what had happened. She smiled softly as she heard him approaching, peaking through the leaves of a bush beside the path. The yordle appeared to be in deep concentration, unaware as he usually was that he was being spied upon. For someone who claimed to be so evil, she knew he really needed to work on that. Villains weren’t supposed to be surprised when ambushed on a regular basis.

Lulu sighed, imagining the possible expressions Veigar might be making. Of course the one time she had been lucky enough to see under his hat he refused to show anything but his grumpy face. All except for that one blessed moment when he had laughed in his pride of climbing up the hill. That smile… … Lulu shook herself out of the daze, realizing as Pix questioningly poked her cheek that Veigar had passed by and out of sight. Depending on if this were to be a simple walk or a secret trip to Bandle City, it could be a mere half hour to hours until he came back this way. It was unfortunate that his return schedule wasn’t nearly as predictable as his departure.

Not that this really mattered. Today was a Wednesday, and orange was not a color to be dampened by grumpiness.

“Let’s play!” she cheers to Pix, skipping off with her staff to begin one of her many fairy games.

As the hours wore on, Lulu paid little attention to the time. Time was a funny thing like that, having little use aside from admiring its flavors when there was nothing to look forward too. Only when she felt the teleportation crystal in her pocket begin to warm up did she stop to realize how late it had gotten. Casting a quick spell as she took hold of the crystal, the smell of apples and brown sugar overwhelmed her. Three thirty-five. Delicious. Moments later the crystal’s spell took effect, transporting her to the red side platform of Summoner ’s Rift.

The sweet taste of chocolate was stronger than usual. A quick check confirmed its actual presence in cupcake form; Caitlyn would be her marksman. Also present were Vi, Singed, and Veigar. The latter seemed none-too-happy to have been summoned as he grumbled to himself in his usual shrieking tones.

“Veeeigar~!” she cheered, grinning as his head snapped her way. He smelled particularly good this game, wearing his white and red robes. “I’ll be in the bottom lane this game. Good luck mid!” Lulu took off on her staff, the usual trail of flowers left behind as she headed into the jungle.

Throughout the game, the purple yordle’s mood was eerily good. Explosive bouts of giggles came and went and the strangest at times. Caitlyn did not seem to mind too much… their laning opponents were largely incompetent anyway. Even when Blitzcrank finally did manage to land a grab, Lulu easily turned Lucian into a squirrel and made a clean getaway. Truly, nothing of note happened until after the enemy tower had gone down and she and Caitlyn began to roam.

The two reached the middle lane just in time watch an overenthusiastic Katarina attack Veigar under his tower. He had been biding his time, growing his power minion by minion. A stun and a primordial burst later, he turned to see Lulu and Caitlyn step out of the brush. “Yaaay!” Lulu squealed, clapping enthusiastically at his success. She could imagine it now, that amazing grin of his beneath the hat. Veigar was laughing as beautifully as ever. Lulu giggled softly, hurrying over to where he stood.

His laugh stopped abruptly, sensing his teammate beside him. “… Why are you in my lane?” he asked coldly.

“To help you get mid tower, of course~” she stated in her sing-songy voice.

Caitlyn went straight to farming after dropping her trinket ward on the opposite side of the river.

“My farm!” he snarled, just missing at hit that went to Caitlyn on a cannon minion. “That one was worth double the power. Out!”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, turning away after stealing one more blessed minion. “Come on, Lulu. It’s time to fight the Dragon anyway.”

“But um… um, tower… oh fine,” she left Veigar’s side to help secure the buff.

The game was an overall steal, Veigar and Lulu’s team out damaging the helpless enemy from an early point and snowballing from there. It was after the match, as everybody prepared to teleport themselves off the field that Lulu finally pulled through on her unspoken promise to annoy Veigar.

“That was such a great game!” Lulu cheered, twirling circles around her friend. “Our lane went so well and the one time Blitz was all, ‘exterminate!’ and actually made a grab I just, poof! Squirrel,” she giggles, slowing to look Veigar over. … he did not look impressed. “And you fought Katarina so well! I don’t know why everyone’s so afraid of her, with your abilities it must have been easy to stop her.”

The shape of his eye changed just slightly, and Lulu imagined there to be more of a smile hidden beneath. “She was rather clumsy, wasn’t she? Though the others fear her because they lack my raw power!” an evil chuckle.

Lulu just smiled. “And my polymorph!”

“… yes, I suppose that too,” he admitted, recalling one of the final teamfights.

“Hey. Hey, Veigar, I wanted to ask if you were able to finish your secret plan after last time when I saw your-“

A short growl later, he moved towards her. Amber eyes attempting to be threatening. “I told you to never speak of that again!”

“Oh. Oh, right. Uh, is it going to be a problem if I already told someone that-“

“Who?!” Veigar demanded, beside himself. “I should have known you’d never-”

“Pix, silly,” Lulu rolled her eyes, twirling around. “Of course I didn’t tell anyone.” Leaning out on her staff for support, the girl sticks out her tongue. On top of her head, Pix does the same. “Though,” the cheerful demeanor is dropped as she pauses to add a thought. Veigar began marching away to the platform, taking out his teleportation crystal. “I don’t still see why you hide,” she finishes.

A glare backwards is all he gives.

“Really! I think you’re handsome, even with all those sca-” Lulu found the large gauntlet over her mouth before she could finish. She hadn’t been aware he could even move that fast. “Mwrt?” Eyes wide, her question is muffled.

“Never. Mention. Those. Again,” he hisses, still holding his hand in her way.

“Ut meh ach oo ugh ool.”

Even under the hat’s enchantment, Veigar was clearly confused. Lulu waited patiently while Pix leapt from her hat to Veigar’s. Flittering around and yanking on the feathers, Pix got his attention. Veigar’s hand shot up to swat the fairy away, but Pix dodged.

“I said,” she haughtily stated now that she was free to talk, “that they make you look cool.” That much was obvious. Besides, didn’t he want to look evil? Scars had a habit of making people look tough.

“Tch,” he hisses, moving away to the platform again. “You know nothing.”

“Neither do you!” she shouts back, pouting still.

“Girl, just-“

“Kitty.”

A brief pause. Then,“… Lulu. Would you kindly leave me alone?” he asked in what was clearly meant to be his most polite attempt at shutting her down. “Your compliments are unwanted.”

As the teleport began to overtake him, Veigar’s final view of the Rift would of a surprisingly threatening green-eyed glare.

“… He’s starting to upset me, Pix,” she pouted once they were alone.

Said fairy landed on her staff, looking to her with pity. “I don’t know why you try.”

For a moment, Lulu wasn’t sure why she did either. Were all her attempts to make him smile really worth the verbal abuse? Had even a moment of their time together been appreciated? Perhaps not, but… “Because we’re the same,” she finally responds, watching Pix from the corner of her eye. He seemed to understand, knowing when none others could not. Her crystal was retrieved and her eyes closed, willing it to bring her home.

CØRA9/10/2015, 10:22:27 PM2 votes

Absolutely love it. Can't wait to read more and see what other champs show up!!!

Vadelicet9/17/2015, 4:44:20 PM2 votes

It's tough to be evil when you're barely as tall as a short sword is long. Poor little fella tryin is hardest. Pity he keeps coming up... Short.

Lioriel9/16/2015, 4:48:25 AM1 votes

Chapter Three

The girl had struck a nerve. Multiple nerves, in fact. He had already understood that the Fae Sorceress was unlike the other useless yordles with her cheerful insanity and bravery bordering on naivety, but this…

"Gah!" he shouted to himself as the teleport completed to where he had directed. To think she would dare to comment on his scars. Veigar tossed his gauntlets to his bed, glaring out the window as he did so. The sun was getting low, but some hours would still remain in the day. Below he could see the expanse of the forest from his third-story tower. Somewhere out there, that purple monstrosity was likely skipping around making friends with chipmunks and turning them into cupcakes.

The yordle turned away from the window, digging recklessly through the bottom drawer of his dresser across from the bed. It didn't take long to find, the old mirror. It was one of those things that had been in the library when he discovered the building so many years ago. He hadn't quite the heart to toss it away. Perhaps it was a matter of superstition… if so, that was a flaw he'd have to correct. Out came the ornate mirror, raised eye-level by his bare, scarred hands. Unnaturally bright amber eyes shone back, a sight that should put fear into the hearts of any mortal. Should.

Placing the mirror at the top of his dresser, Veigar slowly removed his enchanted hat. What remained was the shell of a yordle. Dull, black fur marred by three sizeable scars on his face along with a knick in his right ear. Lifeless amber eyes. Typical, childish yordle head-shape. He looked weak. Weak and pathetic and certainly not one of those ridiculous things the crazed girl had claimed. Cool? Handsome? Tossing superstition aside he swung at the mirror, sending it toppling to the ground where it shattered. There had been a reason it was hidden away from the start.

Veigar barreled through the doorway to his study downstairs, shoving the comforting hat back on. There was one way to prove himself powerful, and that was to continue his plan. He knew that at his next chance to teleport he really should go directly to Piltover. He might have even gone tonight if Lulu hadn't distracted him. But no matter, he would use the time to prepare. A fresh, new pile of Bandle City newspapers from the last week sat on his desk, ready to be explored.

Scanning first the headlines, the articles were sorted, read, and… for the most part, trash. But a few useful gems caught his eye, verifying what he had initially thought. He would find exactly what he needed in the City of Progress.

Unfortunately, Veigar's chance to make use of the League's teleportation crystals would not come for several days. The yordle kicked himself for not taking advantage the last time his chance came around. He would not allow himself to be distracted again.

It was on Friday that Veigar was finally summoned to the Freljord. As luck would have it, the summons came just as the yordle had sat down to eat breakfast. He was none-too-pleased but took it for what it was: a chance to make use of the League's power. Typically, battles on the bridge spanning the Howling Abyss went fairly well for Veigar. It wasn't difficult to make use of the narrow field with an event horizon. A good stun could spell the death of nearly any soul caught out. There were disadvantages though, namely in respect to the lackluster minion farm… but even an inexperienced summoner could usually make use of his abilities.

It was to his dismay, then, when the battle went horribly wrong. His summoner had allowed the enemy Teemo to kill him countless times. This was the last champion he wished to give an ego boost. … The humiliation stung more than the physical pain. But he suffered through it and when his team’s nexus fell, Veigar was finally able to teleport to Piltover.

The crystal deposited him in a pleasant place of memory, the edge of a lush park with a perfect view of Piltover's skyline. Towering ahead was the center of the city, set high above like some temple of progress. Everything about its design was clearly meant to impress and inspire, from the large clockwork cogs to the clean-yet-intricate construction.

There was once a time when Veigar stood here in awe, admiring the sheer vastness and beauty of the city before him. He had been young and naive, entirely unaware of what would shortly befall him. Now the jaded yordle could see the city for what it was: a showy means to acquire power through technology.

Whipping the newspaper clipping out of his tunic he scanned the article once more. Around him, people brushed by unaware or uncaring of the small personage shrouded in darkness. The presence of Yordles in Piltover had grown rapidly in the past years since his first arrival. The city had been welcoming of Heimerdinger's pupils, all-too-happy to steal their technology for themselves.

The article clearly stated that Professor Heimerdinger's latest invention would be on display at the Yordle Academy of Science and Progress for the next month days before being transferred back to his workshop. The Academy was located a short walk away, but the tempting smell fresh tuna caused Veigar's empty stomach to rumble. Perhaps a detour would be in order…

As he shifted through Piltover's crowded streets, Veigar followed the delicious smell to a market stand. For a fraction of a moment the yordle considered doing the right thing, even reaching his hand into his tunic for the coins he had saved for just this purpose but… why? When the salesman chanced to look down the road the opposite way he slipped two cuts off the tray and slunk away with glee.

"Hehehehe," he chuckled to himself in what he was sure sounded quite evil, chomping on the first of the pieces. If anyone thought the little yordle in a spiky wizard's hat might be a little strange, they didn't say anything.

It was just before the second bite, however, that it happened.

A large BOOM reverberated through the city, followed by another. Shrieks were heard, shops were packed up, and a total of three wretched humans had the gall to trip on him as they ran from the apparent explosions. The remainder of his meal was trampled on in the crowd's hurry to get away. The blasts continued, but mostly Veigar was just angry that his attempt to eat had been foiled again. Pulling himself to a stand after the third fall, the Master of Evil looked up in hopes to see who had caused this disaster. With no immediate culprit in site, he turned to the one remaining human in the street. "You!" he shouted threateningly, sending his most evil of glares his way. "What do you know of this?"

The merchant, pushing his cart into an alleyway, didn't seem to notice the glare. "You better get out of here quickly, little guy."

Veigar's left ear twitched. "Why? Is this a regular occurrence?"

The man barely glanced at the yordle as he locked the cart up. "It's that Jinx again. Now shoo, go hide." Another boom sent the merchant scurrying.

If this really was Jinx's doing, revenge would have to wait. There was only so much he could do to another League champion before getting kicked out of the program. Veigar took the man's advice and left, if only to take advantage of the chaos the crazed woman had created. Unsure of how long it would last he hopped the stretch needed to reach the academy. The walkways were expectantly deserted but the inner halls would be the true test. For now he kept outside, glancing at the building names as he ran by.

The hallways were nearly silent, aside from the occasional yelp of fear or anger and distant booming of Jinx’s latest assault. From the closed doorways of classrooms the whirring of gears and clashing of metal made it unclear if its occupants were either continuing their lessons as planned or prepping to join the fray. A few voices sounded as if they might be familiar but Veigar thought it best not to stray from the goal of observing the machine without being observed himself.

At long last, he dove in, finding the perfectly vacant display room of Heimerdinger's Carrier Ultra-Load 8th-Type Robot.

Veigar stood in awe, genuinely impressed by the sheer size of the machine. The minuscule photograph in the Bandle City newspaper he had stolen off Teemo's front porch did not do it justice. The shiny blue platform at the top took up half the room and three enormous hydraulic adjustable stabilizing legs could unfold to stand several stories tall. Four sets of drone blades large enough to lift the heavy weight. The red, rubber-coated, oversized crane in the center? Taking a quick look either way to ensure he was still alone first, Veigar climbed over the rope to look straight up into the mechanical monster. Perfect. Absolutely perfect for the job that needed to be done.

... Unfortunately, there was no possible way he could learn to control this thing without years of study. The Master of Evil hated it admit it to even himself, but it looked like he would need to find an accomplice if this plan were to work. Was it even worth it?

It was quiet now. As the realization of this struck him, Veigar hopped out and away from the machine. While it might not have been the most suspicious of things to be noticed observing the CUL8TR from a distance in a crowd of Yordles and humans alike he was not yet ready to be tied to crime he was still devising. He hurried back out into the hall, passing the same noisy classrooms as before. Just as he turned to exit a final, much louder explosion was to be heard.

Veigar whipped around, his gauntlets subconsciously lifted high over his hat to press against where his ears lay hidden. Had Jinx attacked the building or…? A plume of smoke rushed out of the door opening across the hallway. Coughing, gagging, and the annoyed grumble of yordles joined the exit, hardly noticing Veigar’s presence as they brushed past him. Perhaps if he snuck out the opposite direction they wouldn’t-

Lioriel9/16/2015, 4:48:47 AM1 votes

“That was perfect!” A fur ball of maniacal glee burst from the smoky room, jittering with excitement. His colleagues groaned in response, making it clear to all they vehemently disagreed. “Well, maybe not perfect for this experiment,” Ziggs amended, “but just think if I had connected the capacitor to a shorter fuse and used it to-“ the Dean of Demolition stopped, noticing as the air cleared that his intended audience had completed their journey outside, leaving only the shadowy figure with a tall wizard’s hat in the distance. “…Veigar!”

The mage cringed. The moment he realized it was Ziggs’s explosion that had sent the researchers running, Veigar knew he should do the same. The Master of Evil wanted nothing to do with being placed at the Academy by a League associate, or to be around the champion’s famous explosives. Yet here he was, clearly recognized.

Ziggs leapt to catch up, forgetting his experiment for the time being. “What’s a yordle like you doing a place like this?” The question came without much judgment, only curiosity.

“League business, nothing you need to worry about,” came Veigar’s reply as he continued to hop away. How much further until the next exit?

“Oooh with who?” Ziggs laughed, walking beside him. “Heimer’s back in his lab if you’re looking for him.”

Hesitating, Veigar glanced over. Maybe Ziggs could be useful after all… “Oh? And where exactly might that be?”

“South side of campus, big red door, blue sign. You can’t miss it. What did you need him for anyway?”

“Don’t you have an experiment to clean up?”

Ziggs snorted, “I don’t clean. I make things go kaBoom! Nah, someone else will take care of it.”

“Tch,” Veigar gritted his teeth, speeding up. Apparently it wouldn’t be that easy to brush the yordle off. “My business is done here. Get back to your presentation!”

Ziggs must have been satisfied, or at least bored, seeing as he sped off to return to his project. Veigar breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew the danger wasn’t over. Until his plan reached its finale, no one could know of his involvement.

It seemed clear now that one accomplice wasn’t going to be enough. Fortunately, for this new part he knew exactly who he needed. The problem was that the loss his breakfast would have to wait to be avenged.

Lioriel9/30/2015, 2:36:32 AM1 votes

He was still staring the cupcake down, the process helped along by the cupcake’s own eyes staring back at him. “… I’m not sure. With you it probably tastes like, I don’t know. Green.”

Lulu snorted, shaking her head with a giggle. “You’re thinking of one o’clock. Well, celery. Same thing. But no, it tastes Purple! And red, of course. And like frosting.”

“Of course,” Veigar responded dryly, lowering the cupcake just enough to look over to see her. “How could I have been so mistaken?”

“It’s okay! Everyone gets things wrong sometimes.” Lulu gladly forgave his error despite how silly it was of him to make such a simple mistake. Perhaps any moment now he’d finally try what she had created. She stared.

Veigar stared back.

Her eyes flickered down to the cupcake.

Pix poked at the jar of spiders.

Veigar continued to stare back.

“Ahem~”

“I don’t like sweets.”

Lulu let out a gasp loud enough to be heard for miles. How could anyone not like sweets? “How? Everyone likes sweets. How could you not like sugar? Are you sure you don’t want to try it?” Lulu ran around the table, taking the cupcake from his gauntlet in the process. “I came all the way just to make cupcakes just for you!” A slight fib, but that was beside the point. She raised the cupcake high to his shrouded face where he hoped he could smell it in all its purple and red glory.

After another pause Veigar huffed, turning his head away. “I think it’s time you return home, Lulu.”

“But-” It had all been in vain, hadn’t it? Following here to rekindle their friendship. Lulu’s face fell drastically, her sadness from the day before returning. “I… I understand,” she stated in a defeated voice. She turned to take her staff from where it lay against the table.

“You do?” Veigar spoke disbelieving.

“Of course,” she sniffled, still turned away.”You h-have a new friend now. You don’t need me anymore.” She was embarrassed to be near tears around Veigar, but couldn’t help but feel betrayed. She should be happy. Happy he found a friend, even if it wasn’t her. There was a long pause as Lulu sniffled again.

“…I… have no idea what you’re on about,” came his very confused response.

“Rumble!” Lulu all but shouted in frustration, whipping around to face him with unshed tears. “You disappeared for nearly a week and didn’t tell me and won’t talk about it and only wanted to talk to Rumble!”

Even through the hat’s enchantment Lulu was close enough to see the sheer confusion evident through his bespelled eyes. “Uh…” Veigar’s already high-pitched voice was somehow higher. “Just so we’re on the same page here… Rumble and I are not friends.”

“Don’t lie to me!” she pouted. “You only wanted him yesterday!”

“That was business! Honestly, Lulu, I don’t know how you come up with this nonsense,” Veigar snorted. “Rumble and I. Friends.”

There was something about the way he said it, or maybe his snort of a laugh. She almost believed him. “… really?” Her free arm went to wipe the near-tears away, the other still holding her cupcake.

Veigar let out a long sigh, then with a sudden movement snatched the treat out of her hand and took a bite.

Lulu lowered her sleeve to watch Veigar in disbelief, then with a hint of excitement. “Do you like it?”

“It’s very…” he paused, evidently choosing his words carefully. “Sweet.”

She’d take it. Like a switch, Lulu’s joy and energy fully returned along with a brilliant smile. “I told you that you’d like it!”

He took another bite, further proof that he must not have loathed the treat.

“So,” now that she had that taken care of she could move on to her true purpose. “What are we doing today? Are you going to work on your secret plan? What is it? Can I help? What does Rumble get to do?”

“What? No,” he placed the remainder of the cupcake down onto the table. “I can’t risk telling people who aren’t part of the plan. And you aren’t.”

Lulu pouted, suddenly not feeling like he had been so sincere earlier after all. Pix above was shaking his head, urging her to not continue on. But Lulu didn’t care, she needed to know. “You said he’s not your friend. So why does Rumble get to help and not me?”

“What makes you think I’d choose you over him?”

“Because I’m your friend!” she exclaimed. “And friends help each other with their secret plans.”

“Again. What makes you think that? I’ve shown no interest in being your friend. And yet, you keep following me around.”

Lulu paused, letting this sink in. Was it possible he really didn’t want her for a friend? That she was truly unwanted here as well as Bandle City? Her face fell further as she let out a sigh, leaning back against the table.

There was silence. Lulu didn’t have the heart to say anything as she processed. But…no, No, it wasn’t possible. He didn’t hate her and she knew it.

After a full minute passed by as she worked to devise a new plan to win his friendship, but Veigar was the one to finally break the silence. ''Why...?"

"Why what?" she glanced up, eyes refocusing on him.

"Why do you care so much?" he asked again, confusion evident.

Lulu cracked a smile. “That's a silly question."

"Tch, whatever." Of course he would disregard her statement, however true it was.

"Well,” she paused to think.”Why do you?"

"What?" Veigar was beginning to sound annoyed again.

She ignored his tone, like usual, as she clarified. "Why do you care?"

"We just went over this,” he huffed, arms crossed over himself. “What makes you think I do?"

"Because you do."

"…That's ridiculous," he stated flatly. Clearly she’d have to spell out the reasons for him.

"Nuhuh. You let me into your house."

"You forced your way in," he fired on back.

"You play with me almost every Tuesday."

"Again, forced."

"You let me see your face."

"A regrettable accident," his excuses came all the quicker as she listed.

"Ate my cupcake!"

"Tch." At last, he didn't seem to have a response.

Sensing she had won, Lulu spun around with glee. "I knew it!"

"I didn't want you to cry all over me!" he exclaimed, apparently still trying to regain some control of their little debate.

"Because," she moved back over, jabbing his chest with her finger. "You," she poked a little higher, "care," and ended by tapping right where his forehead would be should she be able to see it.

Veigar's hands shot to his hat the moment hers neared it, though he didn't seem to relax even after it was apparent she wasn’t going to remove it. "Don't," he muttered weakly.

Lulu laughed, shaking her head. "I won't before asking you first, I promise~"

Despite her assurances, he continued to stand there, hat firmly in his grasp.

"I proomise! Scardy cat," she teased. She hadn’t known he was that afraid of the hat falling off.

The taunt seemed to snap him out of it. After a delay he released the hat and crossed his arms, looking away. "Don't call me that!"

"Do you prefer Scardy Kitty?"

Veigar's head snapped back her way. "I prefer Master of Evil!"

"You left out Tiny~" she continued to giggle.

Somehow the yordle managed to glared harder."Look!" his shout made Lulu jump. What was he planning on this time? "Just, if it'll make you happy, fine. We're friends. Okay?"

Lulu blinked. He was still on that? She thought they had moved on. Then the realization of what he said kicked in and she jumped once more. "Really? Really?!"

Half a moment later Veigar would find himself transmogulated into a purple squirrel and in the arms of an enthusiastic Lulu. He squeaked in protest but put up no other fight. "Thank you," she muttered as she squeezed the little ball of fur. When the squirrel began to squirm she released him from her spell as he leapt from her arms to the table.

Veigar came down with a crash, banging his head on a chair. Hissing, he glared up as he pulled himself together. "Don't make me regret it."

"Well I couldn't very well hug you with all that silly pointy armor of yours."

"It’s not silly, it’s threatening!"

"Well I think it’s silly. And uncomfortable. But if you really don't want to be a squirrel so badly, I'll figure something else for next time."

"Tch," he turned, walking out of the kitchen back into the dusty hallway.

Lioriel9/19/2015, 7:31:07 AM1 votes

Chapter Four

When Veigar did not show up for his daily walk on Friday, Lulu did not think much of it. After all, it wasn’t always daily. Besides, she had games to play and a forest full of magical energy to explore. But when Veigar failed to make an appearance Saturday, Sunday and even Monday the girl knew something must be terribly wrong.

“Where could he have gone, Pix?” Lulu waited with anxious anticipation at her usual spot. Lulu could almost taste the celery as she checked the time. 12:58pm. In theory, Veigar should pass by within the hour but already the girl was losing heart. “Do you think something happened to him? Did he change what time he took his walk?” She had waited through many flavors yesterday to test that very theory. Pix fluttered down from her hat to her staff, shaking his head. “It isn’t even 1:30 yet, you shouldn’t worry.”

“But he never misses so many days in a row. Never!” her arms flailed up, her head shaking around in a way that made Pix very glad he had changed location.

“Lulu. Lulu,” he fluttered up, trying to get her attention. “Let’s just get through today, alright? If he doesn’t come you could always ask the League for help.”

“But…” Lulu sighed. “Ooookay.”

The two hours came and went; peanut butter and apples never tasted so bitter. Lulu might have stayed the rest of the day had she not received a summons at 3:30 to fight on the Rift.

The light, familiar scent of honey and almonds filled Lulu’s mind as she materialized on the blue side platform of Summoner’s Rift. The hope she had held out that perhaps Veigar was summoned too was quickly dashed as she looked to see who their laning opponent s would be. At this rate she would never see him again. Pix, seeming to read her mind, rested on her shoulder, patting it with care. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

He was right, she decided. It was play time. The battlefield was no place to get distracted. Lulu quickly bought and hurried off to help Lee Sin start against his jungle minions before moving to the top lane to face her opponent.

Across the lane, the whirring of Rumble’s junkyard-built mechanical suit could be heard before it was even seen. Lulu arrived just as the first wave of blue minions were torched to their end. … it was a shame that he had an early start on minion farming, but Lulu would be sure to make up for it. The first few levels went by for the two in relative silence. Lulu and Pix poked, Rumble clung to his tower for safety. Really, this part of the laning phase was just so… so, “boring,” she whined out-loud, causing Rumble to blink.

“What is? Poking me under tower?” the hint of annoyance in his tone went over Lulu’s head. “Yes! … no. I don’t know,” she admitted.

His response was an electro harpoon shot her way.

She dodged it easily enough. “Hey, Rumble?”

A second harpoon was shot, this one meeting its mark as she was caught in the minion wave. “What?”

“Ouch! Oh uh, have you seen Veigar since Friday?”

“Veigar?” Even from the distance up high on his mech suit, Lulu could see the yordle scrunch up his nose in distaste. “I haven’t had a match with him in weeks. I’d be happy to see it go a month or so more.”

Lulu whimsied back to place a ward in the river brush before resuming her onslaught. When Rumble pushed out in her absence, Lulu returned with a full combo to finish him off. Easy~!

Unfortunately for Lulu, the game did not continue to go quite so well. By the time Rumble gained his equalizer she couldn’t keep up without help from Lee Sin. Even without his red buff (lovingly stolen by a certain sightless monk), Jax was able to gank her lane with ease. Even with her Jinx and Nami’s amazing laning phase, their team simply could keep up against a fed Rumble, Jax and Talon. One failed baron steal and it was all over for Lulu’s team.

The game had been a disappointment, and Rumble’s lack of help in finding Veigar even more so. But as the champions grouped to teleport home Lulu figured she’d give it one last try. Only a few champions remained, including Rumble, Lucian, Jinx, and Lux.

“Um, hey! Hey, Rumble!” She whimsied to catch up with him.

The Mechanized Menace turned back to face her. “Did you need something, Lulu?”

“Will you please let me know if you do see him? Okay?”

“See who?”

Lulu frowned. How could he have already forgotten? “Veigar, of course! He’s been missing for days!”

“Right… Of course.”

He didn’t sound too convincing, but Lulu let it slide. “Wait, little purple thing! Did you say you were looking for Vei-Vei?” a shrill, female voice came up from behind, nearly knocking into Rumble’s suit as she came to a stop. Jinx grinned, squatting down to meet Lulu at eye-level.

“Have you seen him?!” Lulu’s mood instantly brightened. Even Pix seemed to have more energy, hovering back and forth now between her hat and staff. “Is he okay? Where? When? Did you have a match with him? Did he win?”

“Guess so. Piltover. Three days ago. Nope. Aaand never!” Jinx laughed counting off on her fingers as she followed Lulu’s rapid questioning.

“Are you sure? What was he doing there? Are Saturdays in Piltover yellow too? And of course he wins sometimes!” she fired back her responses, easily keeping track of the conversation. The same could not be said for Rumble, who was watching distaste and confusion.

“As good as the weirdo ever is. Not telling. Whatever color I want them to be. And not most of the time.”

“He’s not that weird! Why not? You can’t change day colors. You’re silly, he destroyed you in that game two weeks ago.”

“I’m bored.” Jinx stated suddenly, laughing air ceasing. “Anyway. He was in Piltover three days ago, hopping around with some yucky-smelling fish. I got bored, just like now. So I left. He’s fine! Too-da-loo!” Just like that, Jinx was gone.

Lulu stared where the strange lady had been standing. What had caused her to leave so suddenly? “Hmmmm….” She hummed out loud, about to ask Pix what he thought before glancing up to the forgotten mech suit and accompanying yordle. Their eyes met, and Rumble quickly turned away. “Wait! Wait, hey, Rumble!” If he had stayed this long, maybe he’d stay longer!

He sighed, but did as requested. “I had a thought,” she starts. Veigar might have been fine, but he still wasn’t here. That being the case… "I thought maybe we could talk!"

"Uh okay. … why?" He seemed a bit twitchy, but Lulu didn’t mind.

"It's Tuesday."

"I guess so. But what does that-"

"Well, you're blue, right?” she cut him off before he could finish. “So I thought maybe we could hang out."

Rumble gave a look of clear confusion as he brought Tristy to a stop next to the Blue platform. "Don't know what you're on about, Lulu, but I can promise you I'm just fine."

"I never said you weren't?" Lulu blinked, scurrying over to stand near the hulking mech suit.

Unable to face her properly with her directly below, Rumble jumped out, landing with practiced grace… before stumbling to the ground. "You just said,” he stood, dusting himself off,”I was blue."

"Yeah, you are." Lulu screwed up her nose in confusion. How did Rumble not know what color his fur was?

"No, I'm fine, really."

“Did you get hit too hard on the head at the end of the game? Here, maybe you should,” Lulu yanked his arm, guiding him to the summoning platform. “… better?”

“Can I go now?"

"Tell me first."

Rumble took a deep breath, running a gloved hand over his mohawk as he gathered what little patience remained. “Tell you what?”

“What color you are, of course!”

“…”

"…You're talking about my fur, aren't you?" Rumble stated deadpan as the realization finally caught up with him.

"Ooobviously!” Lulu rolled her eyes, tutting. What else could she possibly have meant? “Remember? Because it’s Tuesday?”

Rumble stepped off the platform to walk back to his machine. “I’m not even going to try to figure that one out.”

It was clear that he was done, something Lulu did not like. “Wait!” First Veigar ups and leaves her for Piltover, and now Rumble thought she was crazy. “Where are you going?”

“Home. I have a lot of work I’d like to finish tonight,” he stated as he marched, not looking back. Taking her chance, Lulu tried her best to find something to talk about. “Oh? What are you working on?”

“I doubt it’s anything you’d be interested in, Lulu.” Rumble waved his hand dismissively. He may have had a point, but Lulu wasn’t about to admit to that.

“I’m interested in lots of things!”

Raising an eyebrow, Rumble turned, leaning back against the leg of his suit with his arms crossed. “Okay. If you must know, I’m working on developing a manual cooling system for Tristy so I can better control when exactly my-“ Blah blah blah… Lulu’s eyes wandered up to the cockpit, a thought entering.

“Can I try on Tristy?!” Controlling the giant machine sounded a lot more fun than hearing the yordle go on about fixing it. In moments she was halfway up the leg… then unceremoniously yanked down.

“No, no no no no,” he held her shoulders firmly, looking the girl directly in the eye. “Just, no. No one else drives Tristy, okay?”

“But-“ Lulu sniffled. Now he was mad at her. Why was it that all the other yordles got angry when she was around? She only wanted to play… with the suit… really badly.

“No.”

Unbidden, Lulu felt the glimmer of tears forming. She knew she shouldn’t be so upset, it was just a suit. But somehow this felt like it was about something more.

Rumble backed away in a panic, entirely unsure of what to do. “Don’t, no don’t do that. Don’t cry! Uh, look, Lulu…”

“What?” she sniffed pathetically.

“You’re a…” he hesitated briefly, “… nice… yordle and all so don’t take this personally but I don’t let anyone touch Tristy’s controls. I mean, you wouldn’t want someone messing around with your magical staff or hat or-“

That was all the invitation she needed. In the blink of an eye, Rumble found Lulu’s ridiculously large hat as well as her staff shoved into his arms. A trail of flowers floating in her wake lead his eyes to one very purple yordle in the cockpit of his beloved Tristy.

Lioriel9/19/2015, 7:31:28 AM1 votes

Shaking with excitement, Lulu moved to test out the large lever on the left. As the enormous mace began to rise, Lulu felt the familiar buzz of her teleportation crystal. “… oh. I get to play again!” she shouted down to Rumble, who was halfway up the leg of his suit to kick her out.

His grumpy face shifted to one of pure disappointment.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll get summoned again soon,” she tried to comfort him as he reached the top.

Rumble’s arm jutted outward and down, pointing her to leave. “That’s not the problem.”

“Oh?” Lulu blinked, pulling out her crystal to prepare.

The blue yordle sighed a long sigh, pulling out a crystal of his own. “Just teleport already, will you?”

“Aaaalrighty!” Lulu grinned, thrilled that she might have a chance to play a game against Rumble again. Maybe she was making a new friend afterall.

As she faded away, Rumble’s gloved hand came to his mohawk once more. “Why me?”

Lioriel9/10/2015, 2:46:04 AM1 votes

Chapter One

When morning came, Veigar woke with a faint smile. The outline of his plan had been worked out late into night. It would not be easy. Last time he had been left too vulnerable by the simplicity. His ego had told him his plan was invulnerable. Never again.

It was after noon that he left at his usual time for a walk through the woods outside his home. It was a decrepit old thing, formally a library in some unknown era. Forgotten and left to time to rot in disrepair, none but Veigar knew of its existence. Even if they had, no yordle would dare enter. A clear sense of darkness surrounded the building. Dying trees, little sign of life. Best of all, the previous owner had clearly taken an interest in all things magic.

Traveling Northeast through the woods, Veigar let his mind wander back to the plan. He’d have to make a visit to Piltover, but he was quite certain he’d be able to find what he needed. At this point it was more a matter of research than anything and-

He paused, alert at the sound of a twig snapping. A moment later, a giggle. Shoot, what day was it? Tuesday. Of course. It was always on Tuesdays that-

“Hyah!” A blast of glittering purple from opposite directions pierced his coat, stinging lightly and slowing him to a near stop.

It was no matter of importance. It wasn’t as if she could do any real damage. It was all fairies and glitter with this one. Yet.… He summoned an event horizon, paralyzing the sorceress. She only grinned. “Hope you weren’t waiting long!” Veigar chuckled in his menacingly high voice. “I don’t have the time to spar today, little girl.”

When the spell released, the girl zoomed around to his opposite side, using her staff as a vehicle of sorts. “Where are you going, Veigar? Bandle City? Did you have any special plans? Were you going to try to steal something again?” The questions sputtered out as she landed her staff, spinning around to a finish. Her pesky little fairy followed behind, doing spins of his own before resting on the girl’s ornate hat.

He was used to this. Long given up on fighting it. Whether the girl had been waiting or had noticed him by chance, the dark mage had no way of knowing. But her appearances were as frequent as they were painful. “My plans are of no concern to you.”

“But it is! If you won’t play with me, I should at least get to know why!” she laughed, trotting beside him as he hurried down the path. “Come on, you. Please? Pleeeeeease?”

He shot a halfhearted glare in her direction, all she’d be able to see beneath his enchanted hat. As always, it had no effect. “I’m much too busy to ‘play,’ girl.”

Nonetheless the pleading continued. It was easy enough to tune out, given all the experience that had been forced upon him. But it was constant. “Please? What are you doing? Does it have something to do with Teemo? Cupcakes? Gift-shopping?”

He ignored it all, the only evidence of his weariness a slight twitch in his right eye.

“Veeeeigaaar! Oh fine, be that way!” There was a moment of silence, not even the sound of footsteps.

Finally!

“Fuzzy!”

His relief was shortlived. A fraction of a second later, the world had grown. Or, as evidenced by the purple, exposed fur he was now sporting, he had been transformed into one of those squirrels she so adored. “Squeak squee squee, Squeak!” he demanded, his threatening now more useless than before. He should have seen this coming. Lulu might not have killer instinct, but her magic was strong and her persistence unbendable. If he didn’t want to fight, she’d make him.

The yordle-turned-squirrel manages a hiss, his point evident despite the language barrier she’d forced upon him.

“Oooh tsk, that’s no way to talk, Mr. Fuzzy,” she shakes her head slowly, eyes closed. “Now. If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. We all have our secrets. I just don’t think it’s fair to cancel our plans without an explanation!”

“Squeak squeak sque-” right. Useless. Though somehow he had the feeling that even should he had said it in plain language it wouldn’t get through to her. They had made no plans. They never made plans. She was the one stalking him through his forest nearly every Tuesday.

“I’m going to release you so you can talk, okay?” A moment later the spell lifted, Veigar returning to his usual yordle stature.

A choice word was thrown her way, making her gasp and shake her head again, a stubborn pout setting in. The fairy creature made a show of threatening gestures with its arms, but only served as an act of comedy due to his minute size.

“If you won’t tell me, fight me!” she demands, apparently reaching her limit.

“Fight? I thought it was play time for you,” he huffs, rolling his eyes as he set forward once more. He fully expected her to attack again, but he may as well make some distance in the mean time.

“Whoever said they weren’t the same?” A stinging blast of glitter accompanied her odd taunt, followed by another, then another.

The next few moments were a mad jumble of stuns, slows, and glittering purple attacks. While he could go on almost endlessly with his fast-charging mana pool, Veigar had long-since grown weary. He had things to do, evil plans to make. Perhaps if he just ended it already. Put the crazed yordle out of her misery. But, he grimaced as he realized, he had already gone through this. She was a champion at the League. Not to mention, no real threat, only a real annoyance. It would be a waste of his power to-

Veigar’s thoughts and rhythm are interrupted when all at once he was knocked to the ground, staff clattering beside him. She hung over him like a feral cat, bare hands narrowly avoiding his spiked armor as he glared upwards. “Would you kindly get off of me?” he shrieked, turning them over so he would dominate instead.

The girl laughed in response. “That was fun!”

Taken aback by her cheer, she was easily able to turn him back again with the help of her glittery slowing attack.

That’s when it all went downhill… in the most literal sense. Pushing her off to turn on top once more, the two reached the hidden edge of the cliff. Tumbling, the girl let out a small shriek of fear, clinging tightly to her opponent. Landing with a clatter, their hold on each other released only after instinct allowed.

Veigar was the first to stand, the girl rubbing her sore, hatless head while blinking as her fairy buzzed down to fuss over her. “What just-?”

“You pushed us off that cliff!” Veigar growled, gauntleted hand thrust upwards to point to where he had spoken of. Truth be told, the word cliff might have been a little strong. The grade wasn’t so steep that they shouldn’t be able to manage their way back up . Hopefully.

Her sight followed his finger… then back to where he stood glaring at her menacingly. It was then the girl’s face changed from confusion to pure awe as she stared at him.

“… What?” he snapped, staring right back.

“…. Nothing~” humming, the girl, clambered to her feet as the fairy completed one last lap around her before landing behind her ear.

Veigar’s eyes rolled, thoroughly exasperated by the girl at this point. Now, where was his staff? … The top of the hill, of course. He hadn’t had it on him on his way down. Though of course Lulu’s had made the tumble. He begins looking around more, just in case when-

“Hi!” the girl was mere inches from his face, covered in dirt with a few minor scratches. She was still oddly fascinated as before. What was she on? And why hadn’t he bothered to remove her?

“…”

Her giddy expression softened slightly. Inexplicably, he found her finger hovering just above his eyes and it finally clicked. His hat. He growled, jerking back before she could make contact. “No. No no no, you will never speak of this, do you hear me, girl?”

She blinked, hand dropping. “But Veeeigar, you look so much better like this! Why do you hide?”

He was searching wildly for his hat. Clearly it hadn’t completed the fall. Scanning the brush and trees on the hill a tuft of blue feathers stuck out, marking where to go. “I don’t want to look better, fool!” he snaps at her, looking angrier than before. She had seen him. Fur, scars, and all.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” she follows after him, grabbing her hat and whimsing up the hill effortlessly floating beside him.

While her question had merit, his exclamation had been a gut reaction more than anything, he did not care to answer. Instead, Vegiar grasped at a root a short ways up.

“It didn’t make any sense!” she continues to chide him.

Of course she wouldn’t drop it. “It means,” he hissed, “that my appearance is none of your business.” His hold slipped, sending the yordle sliding several feet. “Gah!”

“Hmmm,” Lulu came to land on a large rock half way up. “You want your hat back, right?”

He grumbled something unintelligible in response.

“Probably your staff back too, huh? And return to the path so you can get to your very important cupcake heist you were planning.”

“I wasn’t going to steal any cupcakes,” he growled upwards, reaching the spot he had been in before. Now, if he only went for this root instead, perhaps he could make it this time.

“Hey!”

Startled, he missed, slipping once more. “WHAT?!”

“I asked you a question, Mr. Grumpy-pants.”

“What?”

Tutting, she shook her head. “I only thought that maaaybe you’d like a little help. But not if you’re going to be mean,” she pouted, sitting herself with legs and arms crossed.

Would he accept help? Probably, if she had given it wordlessly. But to make him beg? “I don’t need your help.”

“Sure you don’t.”

He was almost to the same spot again. This time, this time he would succeed in climbing it. Just a little further and… there! Grinning, Veigar pulled the rest of his body up to the next handhold, finding a solid enough landing for his feet. “Yes! Hahahaha!”

Lioriel9/25/2015, 9:30:44 PM1 votes

Chapter Five

Piltover had almost been more trouble than it was worth. If Veigar had thought he waited long for his chance to investigate, he had to wait longer to leave. The first evening had been spent pleasantly enough; sneaking into Heimerdinger’s workshop to make copies of the CUL8TR’s blueprints. But extensive study of the plans made it all the clearer that he was in over his head. Even the shortlist of potential accomplices he compiled was worthless… there were few who would be willing to help Veigar, and even fewer he could trust. The only being that fit both requirements would be utterly useless at the task, though the thought of Lulu piloting a gigantic mechanized carrier was mildly amusing.

Despite this major setback, Veigar went ahead with his plans for Saturday and made contact with the second accomplice he would need to pull off the heist. A chaotic distraction would be in order, and was easily bought with the promise of a second, smaller theft from the office of the Dean of Demolitions. With that taken care of, the yordle was ready to return home to his library of solitude.

That chance would not come for three days. Veigar was bored beyond reason in the little room at the hotel. There were only so many times he could look over the stolen schematics and the locals were generally uninteresting to observe. The evenings brought some solace at the large park he had entered through days before. It was difficult to see through the city’s smog, but the star-filled sky was visible all the same. Alone, he waited there, watching the heavens he had admired from childhood.

When the crystal summoned him for a late afternoon match on the Rift, he was more than ready. The Institute of War was the perfect place to release his pent-up frustration. Most matches were exhilarating, win or lose. They were a chance to practice, learn, and destroy without the risk of authorities getting in his way. If only he could harness the battleground’s deep magic itself to use on a larger scale. …A teleportation system that sensed and transported any being in imminent danger back to a revival platform. His new world order could use such a thing, a method of preventing murder. It was such thoughts on Veigar’s mind when he arrived for the battle. It would seem some Demacian trade agreement had gone sour and what better way to settle it than an epic five on five battle? Veigar snorted as he slipped a Doran’s ring on over his gauntlet. This world should burn for its bloodlust. At least it served his purposes.

Veigar only thought to check to see who he would be up against as he passed the first tower outside of the Red base. If anyone had been able to see his face, his wince would have been quite comical. As it was he remained hidden, wondering desperately which of the two female mages would be his laning partner. Reaching his center tower he waited, taking some comfort in that he hadn’t heard anything yet. If it were her, surely a laugh would have been heard by now.

As it turned out he was wrong on both accounts. Across the way, Lulu came forward in silence, glaring lightly at him with that silly little pout she loved to give. Somehow, he knew he was in trouble. “… What? Is there a bug on my hat as well?” he asked, trying his best to pretend her glare hadn’t unnerved him.

Lulu turned her head with a little, “hmph,” of distaste, but the beginnings of smile as she did so comforted him somewhat. She couldn’t have been too angry. Her fairy, however, seemed to have taken great offense to the minor jab on his part. When Lulu sent him to attack, the fairy buzzed about far more irritably than usual, muttering in whatever ridiculous language fairies spoke in. Good. The fairy reluctantly returned to her side after firing his glitterlance and slowing him.

“Are you going to let your little bug here do all the talking?”He tried again.

“Of course not!” she finally exclaimed, causing Veigar to smirk. About time. “Well then.” Stun. Dark Matter. Baleful strike.

She retaliated, of course. A barrage of Pix’s attacks accompanied her own. A polymorph shortly followed as she approached him for her usual combo. “Where were you today?!” she demanded as she sent one last basic attack his way.

“Today?” For the love of… it was Tuesday again, wasn’t it?

“Today, yesterday, Sunday, Saturday, and Friday,” she adds with a glare and her trademark pout. A basic attack followed this while he was forced to just continue to farm for ability power with his baleful strike. He gave her a look, then opened his mouth to respond but was cut off.

“Why so long? And why Piltover?”

He snapped his mouth shut. It was unsettling how much she seemed to know about him.

“And why didn’t you invite me?”

Aaand of course that’s what this ultimately boiled down to. He really should have seen that coming. “My business is my own, girl.”

“But Kitty, you missed our play time!”

… right. The Kitty thing. She wasn’t going to let that go, was she? “I’m here now, aren’t I?” Veigar sighed.

“You know that League matches don’t count!” despite her words, her tone had a slightly more cheerful edge now with a smile she was failing to keep hidden.

“Close enough,” he grinned, chuckling slightly. Now that she was smiling the match would not feel so weird. Maybe now he could finally enjoy the practice.

As the next minute went by, little was said. The two yordles poked and farmed, biding their time to make a first real move towards winning the lane. The occasional eye contact was made, resulting in Lulu giggling every time. Veigar found he didn’t mind. Besides, any moment now he’d have his ultimate and- Out of seemingly nowhere their lane was ganked by his own top laner, Darius. How he had managed to miss that he was coming was beyond him, but here he was, using his ultimate to take down Lulu before Veigar had a chance to do it himself. It was over before he could blink and the yordle was not happy.

“Darius!” he all but growled. His higher-pitch voice was no doubt less threatening than he’d like but there was not much he could do about that. “She was mine to kill. What are you doing in my lane?”

Darius shrugged, taking a few of Veigar’s precious minions for himself. “Rumble is a tough lane for me. I could either stay and become weaker, or,” the man smirked, “take the free kill and get strong.”

While logically Veigar understood Darius’s actions had more to do with his summoner than not, it was clear the Noxian man had enjoyed it. Besides, he was from filthy Noxus, the worst of Runeterra’s offenders. Veigar’s own summoner seemed equally upset, doing his best to hit the minions with his baleful strike before Darius could. “Get out of here,” he hissed after the last of the minions was stolen.

“Gladly.” Darius teleported back to the base after the lane was pushed, Veigar grumbling to himself as he joined him. There was little sense in staying if Lulu was about to return more powerful than him. By the time Veigar reached the center, Lulu had already pushed her lane to his tower. She looked less-than-pleased. Even though the answer was clear Veigar couldn’t help but ask, “What now?”

“That wasn’t fair!”

“Of course it wasn’t,” he rolled his eyes. “It was a gank. Tell your summoner to ward next time.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Already she was harassing him, though she seemed to be saving her whimsy for the right time. “I was having fun playing with you, Veigar. Darius wasn’t supposed to come, too!”

“Tch, like you don’t want your precious Jarvan’s help.”

“I don’t! This was supposed to be like our normal play time.”

She really was a strange girl. What was with this obsession with sparing him every Tuesday? “Look, I didn’t even know Darius was coming until you were dead. If I had it my way, we’d have fought one on one.”

Veigar received a heartfelt smile in response, the girl finally placated. He’d never understand why these things mattered to her so much but he found himself smiling in return without meaning to.

Before long the game shifted, as so many do, to everyone grouping up mid lane. He and Lulu were fairly evenly matched, though with his ability power farm he had a slight edge. Tristana and Leona had done decently against Vayne and Zyra, but the same could not be said for Darius. Despite his frequent jungle raids and the kill against Lulu he was far behind the enemy Rumble. When the yordle runt came to meet them with his rightfully-cocky laugh, his team was smart enough to focus him down. …but not quick enough. Lulu’s wild growth saved him just as he was cooling down and Vayne managed to kill the half of the team that Rumble couldn’t.

Instead of getting angry, Veigar was rather impressed. Rumble was one of those underplayed champions with a lot of potential… perhaps he should move him further up his list of candidates. Ultimately the Master of Evil was certain Rumble’s biggest obstacle would be his senseless, stubborn patriotism. But if he could find a way around that…

The rest of the game was close. With Leona’s crowd control, Pantheon’s stun, and Tristana’s mobility they had a chance... but ultimately the blue team won. As Veigar’s nexus began to fall he prepared what he would need to say to win the yordle over.

When the game ended, few champions teleported away. It was just his luck that the one time he desired to stay after only three would leave. Unsurprisingly, Lulu was there, harassing Rumble about something or another. Pantheon and Leona seemed to be deep in conversation. Tristana and Vayne bonded over their difficulties against each other in the bottom lane.

There was no good way to start this conversation with so many present, but if he stood here any longer Lulu was bound to think he was here for her. It was best to just get it over with. Steeling himself first, Veigar hopped over to the yordles just as Rumble chased Lulu as she climbed up into his haphazardly built machine.

“I’ve told you,” Rumble all-but growled as he pulled on her arm. “You can’t go in there!” His efforts were meaningless though, with her magic to keep her afloat and slightly larger size.

Lioriel9/25/2015, 9:31:06 PM1 votes

Lulu laughed, shaking him off as she made herself comfortable in the seat. “I just want to look! I promise I won’t touch anything this time.” Only she did touch, or sniff at least, one of the controls. “Mmmm chocolate.” The fairy seemed to be investigating the opposite side of the cockpit, poking at the panels.

Rumble sat beside her, covering the knob she had been sniffing with his glove. “I’m done, Lulu. Out.” His expression was serious to the point of being comical next to Lulu’s silly grin. The girl ignored this, reaching to open some panel. Rumble’s moves became more frantic, and even though Veigar couldn’t clearly see whatever was going on up there it was evident Lulu had found something Rumble did not want anyone to see. A small piece of paper was snatched away, causing Lulu to pout. “Down.”

“Fiiiine, if you’re going to be such a grumpy face about it.” Lulu flipped herself right on over, landing gracefully on her feet, looking up to Rumble. “I promise I won’t tell anyone though!” she added with a giggle. She spun around on one foot to skip away and… made eye contact with Veigar. Shoot. He should have stepped in earlier so it didn’t look like he was spying and-

“Veigar!” she grinned, skipping over to him. Above, Rumble sighed in relief at being forgotten. Putting on his best scowl, Veigar stepped aside. “I’m not here for you,” he pushed her gently out of the way as he approached the mech.

This did nothing, as she popped right back to where she had been. “Then who? You never stay after! Then again, you never disappear for five days at a time to visit Piltover so-“

“I’m here for Rumble, obviously,” he snorted. “Now why don’t you and your bug get lost?” Both Lulu and Rumble appeared distressed at this news. Rumble immediately put his machine into gear, heading for the platform. While this did not surprise him, he wasn’t enjoying how difficult they were both making this. “It’s important, Rumble,” he adds, hoping that would be enough to slow him down as he moved to follow.

Lulu grabbed at his tunic, preventing him from doing just this. “You still haven’t apologized!”

“I don’t need to!” He turned on her, shaking her grip loose. “You’re the one who plans these things without my consent!”

Veigar was vaguely aware that they were beginning to cause a scene with the remaining champions watching. Rumble must have notice too, because his suit was suddenly standing quite still as he rubbed his head in an uncharacteristically awkward manner. Veigar could barely process this though with Lulu making her pathetic little pouty face again.

“Fine!” she shouted. She stood up straight as the fairy landed on her staff. She took a deep breath then… smiled. “Have fun with your new best friend,” she stated pleasantly. … only Veigar was fairly certain there was nothing pleasant about it. As she skipped off he decided he’d have to deal with her nonsense later. Whatever was bothering her had nothing to do with him.

Veigar turned to Rumble, who still seemed to be staring blankly at the champions who were watching. “We need to talk,” he shouted up. When this did not get his attention, he summoned a cloud of dark matter above Rumble’s head. This seemed to snap him out of it as he dodged just in time.

“What was that for?!” the runt shouted down. “Do you think I’ll actually stay for you now? Get lost, traitor.”

“Tch,” Veigar’s fingers twitched. If he was already calling him a traitor, this project was seeming less and less possible. “Just answer me one question.”

Rumble pulled the controls to kick them into gear. “Right, like I’d give you the time of day.”

“Do you want to get back at Heimerdinger?”

There was a pause. A long pause. “I’ll give you ten minutes.”

“Half an hour,” Veigar bargained immediately. Though that wouldn’t be nearly enough to go over the entire plan.

“Fifteen.”

He supposed that would have to do, for now. “Then we should begin. Teleport to the large tree in the western field between Bandle City and the forest?”

Rumble gave a nod, looking past Veigar again.

“What?” Without waiting for an answer, Veigar turned his head to see what he was looking at.

“Your little shadow is watching us from behind the base wall,” Rumble stated emotionlessly.

A second look proved him to be correct. Of course she was. She was probably spying on him constantly… how else would she have known where he had been? He really would need to be more watchful for her if he wanted to keep his plans secret. “I knew that,” he hissed. “Let’s just go.” Before Lulu came in and distracted them…

Rumble took one last look towards the other remaining champions then back to Veigar. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Lioriel9/30/2015, 2:35:47 AM1 votes

Chapter 6

Wednesday morning bloomed orange and cheerful, but Lulu did not. The excited babble of squirrels and birds and lemurs outside her window urged the Fae Sorceress to smile but the girl was not having it. Even with her eyes open, her beautiful strawberry waffles managed to taste like black liquorish and her banana-onion juice like broccoli. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair, and the yordle knew exactly whose fault it was.

It was that Rumble. Not only would he not share his mech suit with her, he stole away her only friend. Lulu knew she should be happy that Veigar had finally found a friend but it was tough to swallow that he had found that in someone else. Especially after all her work! No, she could not accept this. “Pix.” Lulu looked from where she had been staring at her barely-touched breakfast for the previous four minutes and twenty-six seconds. The fairy moved from where he had been slowly sipping orange juice, landing to the right of her plate. “We’re going out today.”

The fairy stared for several beats before answering, “Don’t we always?”

“Not like this!” Lulu jumped to a stand, grinning for the sake of show. If she played at excitement enough, surely the feeling would rub off on her for real. “This is going to be perfect. We’re going to go into the woods,”

“Don’t we always?”

“Wait for Veigar,”

“Again, Lulu… I’m not sure how this is any-“

“And follow him home~” she ends with a cheerful twirl.

If Pix found any fault with her plan, he knew better than to argue against his friend.

Lulu could hardly wait for one-thirty. The remainder of the morning was spent transmogulating hers and Pix’s appearances, trying to find the look that perfectly matched her mood. When she became bored of that, the girl moved on to redecorating her tree house. At first the couch turned blue. Then deep pink. Then into an oversized banana worthy of a magical-healing-unicorn-goat. Pix tested this out but found he much preferred the original fuzzy red couch to its magical counterparts. Lulu agreed, if only because it ultimately wasn’t worth the mana to keep the silly thing transformed.

Eventually, when the clock struck celery, Lulu left her woodland home to track down the Tiny Master of Evil. “I hope he makes it,” she pouted to Pix as she waited near her magically gardened log. Already Veigar was six minutes and forty-two seconds late and the fear that he had skipped town again was beginning to overwhelm her.

“I wouldn’t worry,” Pix answered from high above. His dark, bat-like form hanging upside down from the tree looked slightly out of place against the cacophony of magicked colors. Lulu mused, however, that she looked just as silly in her Wicked clothing. “He’s been just as late before.”

This was true. Veigar’s daily walk had been known to vary in time up to an hour. But with all her fears she was getting impatient! “I knooooow,” Lulu moaned, settling herself in as comfortable as she could manage.

Fortunately for Lulu, she only had to wait another fifty-eight seconds before the mage made a showing. He meandered along the path with his usual deep-set invisible thinking scowl firmly in place. Finally relaxing, Lulu smiled now that she knew she hadn’t been abandoned in entirety. As Veigar passed she gave a wistful sigh, almost forgetting that she would need to follow him until her fairy-turned bat landed gently on her hand.

Veigar’s outing lasted a total of forty-three minutes from the moment she lay eyes on him to when he approached what appeared to be a dilapidated, yet strangely beautiful tower. The immediate area seemed to be devoid of any living plant life but even the twisted, dead trees held their own charm. She felt it fit him, and that’s all that mattered. The girl waited a few minutes after he had entered the building before she made to follow.

Entering through the same large wooden door her friend had, Lulu felt a strange fuzzy tingle. She looked to Pix who nodded, seeming to have felt the same thing.

“A dark magic barrier. I don’t think he wants visitors.”

“Must not have been that dark~” she sung a little louder than she probably should have for sneaking into a self-proclaimed evil mage’s home.

Pix landed on her hat, alert as he listened for any sign Veigar had heard. “Keep it down or he’ll hear you.”

Lulu shrugged, laughing quietly. “Isn’t that the point?” Striding into the large open entryway, she passed a dusty desk with a collection of equally dusty old papers alongside a bell. Lighting up her staff with a purple glow, she took a good look the start of a staircase spiral along the outer edge of the circular room. Beneath, curved bookshelves lined the walls. He lived in a library? Shrugging, she looked back to the desk and accompanying bell. “… hmmmm….”

“Don’t do it,” Pix sighed, knowing already he had lost the battle.

“Maybe if it’s just really… really,” she paused, lowering her voice to the smallest of whispers, “quiet.”

“You know better, Lulu.”

She just laughed, raising her hand. “You’re probably right!” With one last giggle, she bell was pushed down, chiming a vivid shade of powder blue throughout the room.

A thunk could be heard from the floor above… clearly her presence had been noticed. Now the challenge would be to see how far she could get in before he got to her! Mounting her staff, she vroomed up the staircase to the second level to find a miniature hallway with one door on either side. Dismounting first, Lulu’s hand went for the door to the right just as the one of the left opened with a crash. She spun around with an innocent grin to face Veigar. “Hiya!”

He stood tense, angry yellow eyes shining all the brighter in the darkness. Despite being home, he carried his oversized staff. No doubt this was to fight off the perceived intruder. The pose held for several long seconds before finally relaxing. “Dare I ask how you got past the security?” he asked flatly, stepping back into the room he had come from.

Taking this as invitation, Lulu squeezed past him into the small room. It turned out to be a makeshift sort of kitchen. Open shelves clearly meant for books held scattered dishes and food items. A long piece of wood, likely from the side of an old shelf, lay across several shorter ones to make a counter where an uncut fish and a loaf of bread lay side by side. It wasn’t much to see, but the thought of food reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since her attempt at breakfast that morning. The lighting streaming through open window on the curved portion of the wall reminded her to remove the glowing spell on her staff. It wouldn’t be needed here. “Do you mean that fuzzy feeling I got at the door?”

Veigar huffed, clearly unhappy that she had managed to break the barrier without being aware of it. “I swear, you and that ridiculous little bug,” he grumbled as he set his staff up against the wall.

Pix flew off her hat, circling Veigar closely with a loud buzz. The yordle swatted as he followed Lulu into the kitchen. Lulu stopped at a small table, leaning her hands against the single wooden chair. “I’m hungry! Snack time, okay Pix?” The fairy dashed back to Lulu, ill-content but equally hungry.

“I believe you’re supposed to ask the involuntary host first,” Veigar grumbled from somewhere behind her.

“Oh, sorry!” she spun to face him with the purposefully innocent smile once more. “Where were my manners? Would you like something to eat too?”

She could hear his grumble of discontent as she turned away. It served him right, him abandoning her for Rumble.

In the minute she spent rifling around she managed to find a good deal of fish, chicken, and a very questionable jar of dried spiders. She held this out to him with disapproval, shaking her head. “Veigar, you’re a yordle, not a bird. Or is this because of the whole kitty thing?”

Veigar snatched the jar away, glass clinking against his gauntlets. “Oh sure, barge into my secret, enchanted house full of dark magic, disarm my traps, raid my kitchen without permission, and ask ridiculous questions about my ingredients!” He set the jar down onto the table with more force than was necessary, taking short, even breaths. The poor guy was probably nearing the limit of his patience. She would need to feed him quicker.

“Well you can’t eat that! But um…” she looked at the limited food supply once more, deciding on what was the least offensive. “Here!” The large loaf of bread was tossed onto the table in front of the jar. Pix flew to take one sniff of it and shrugged. It must not have been bad. Just… stale.

“Here what? Do you expect me to slice it for you?” he asked in his usual grumpy little voice.

“No, silly. Watch!” Lulu closed her eyes, conjuring the perfect image in her mind’s eye of what she wanted to eat. A moment and a “Transmogulate!” later, six large, beautiful cupcakes had appeared in place of the bread.

There was a moment of silence, then, “Did you just…” he stared at the pink swirls of frosting in disgust, “polymorph my dinner into cupcakes?”

Lulu beamed at this, positively thrilled. “Mhmm! Don’t worry though, it’ll return to normal later after it’s in your tummy so you won’t get sick from it. But for now!” The thought of beautifully red chocolate filled her with excitement. She took a large bite of the closest, smearing frosting across her face.

“Tch,” he lifted one sample gingerly, almost as if he were afraid to touch it.

“Well? Are you going to try it? I promise it’s really good!”