Chapter Text
It was a warm evening when Twisted Fate walks on the stone roads in Noxus. With a satisfied smile, he observed the landscape of the sky that would soon be covered with a cloak of stars. It was another successful day and this was confirmed by the bag of coins he had hidden in his small bag. He can already see the jealousy on his partner face when he returns to Bilgewater.
Recently, he and Graves had had an argument, nothing major, but they preferred to take a break from each other for a while so that their little quarrels wouldn't turn into something more serious. Of course, before this they made a small bet on who would steal more money without the other's help.
Graves bragged that he would steal more money when he came to Piltover. However, T.F knows that he will be the one who win this bet. After all, there's no way he could lose in his own profession. What this means is that Graves will have to do one thing for him.
He would finally be able to make him take a bath. T.F thinks as he turns left. This day wasn't over yet and that means he would be able to enter a few more bars before he had to go to a another town in Noxus. Recently he hears about a pretty good job and if his informations are correct, he will get a really good paid back.
T.F looked around. The town, although quite small and close to the forest, had several good bars where he had already earned a good amount of money. Would it be greedy of him to go to one more? T.F chuckled softly at that thought as he strutted into another bar full of people.
As soon as he entered the bar, out of the corner of his eye he saw group of people playing cards. T.F sits in the distance of the bar and watches five men and one woman play cards. It looks like everyone is tied for now. However, T.F sees the woman and the man next to her passing cards under the table. 'Amateurs' Thinks T.F as he gives his order to the waitress who approached him. The waitress nods at him with a warm smile and a moment later returns with a bottle of wine and a glass. T.F thanks her and gives her a few coins as a tip. While doing this, one of the men notices the scam of the couple next to him and they start arguing. T.F is drinking his wine when a woman hits a man with a chair.
It's going to be an interesting evening.
People around them start shouting to take their problems outside, which they do with a little reluctance in their voices. Only after the couple and two other men had left the bar. T.F decide to join the other two men, who brightened up a bit when T.F placed a bottle of wine on the table.
"Tough day?" T.F begins the conversation when a gray and rather skinny man opens a bottle of wine and pours it into a glass.
"Ech, you come to the bar to relax and some idiots will come to ruin your fun, right, Marcor?" The man on the right, with a rather large body, nods his head and drinks the rest of the beer.
"You playing?" The gray haired man asks and T.F throws a few coins on the table, giving a clear answer. The game begins, Marcor shuffles the cards and hands them over. T.F looks at his cards and throws two more coins. Two men follow his example. Two cards fall onto the table. T.F could see the uncertainty in Marcor's eyes as he put down his cards in defeat. T.F does the same, much to the gray haired man's delight. Who takes the coins.
"Do you want to keep playing son?" Asks with amusement the recalled man who tosses another handful of coins onto the tray. T.F smiles and nods. Throwing another handful of coins, the third man also puts down a similar amount. Just as they are about to start at the table two men who left some time ago show up. One of them has a bruised eye and the other has a broken nose, but no one seems to care about this detail when both of them also throw coins on the table. The game starts again. This time it's the gray-haired man who shuffles the cards and hands them to everyone. T.F remains his poker face as he looks at his cards. He has a winning hand. However, to warm up the company a bit he bites his lip slightly.
"Did you have unlucky cards again, young one?" The old man laughs. T.F. can only throw another handful of coins. However, the stakes quickly rise when Marcor throws the whole bag on the table. The man with the bruised eye give up. When the one with a broken nose throws a similar bag with a smirk on his face. The old man does the same and curiously watches what T.F will do.
"You know, no one will make fun of you if you fold" He says to him but T.F just shrugs and puts his entire bag of coins on the table. The man with a broken nose laughs.
"You know, dolly, if you look at me so nicely later upstairs, I might give you some of those coins," T.F gives him a flirty smile, even though inside him he wants to "fix" this man nose. This man is lucky Graves isn't here. Even if he knew that it was necessary to keep up appearances, he would probably get up from the table and hit him. However, T.F is trying not to think about that now when it's time to reveal the cards.
As he might expect, all the men around him make sounds of dissatisfaction as he happily takes his winnings. T.F is ready to accept their offer of a rematch when he feels his cards jump slightly in his hand. Looks like he'll have to end this nice game a little bit more sooner.
"Well, excuse me, gentlemens, but looks like my time is running out." T.F gets up from the chair, much to the dissatisfaction of the rest. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see one of the men trying to grab his hand, but he quickly take it out of the man reach, causing the man with a broken nose to fall loudly on the floor. It looks like a little show is about to start, but before T.F. can take the yellow card out of his sleeve, guards enter the bar. The entire bar is suddenly silent and T.F. can feel the awkward atmosphere because these guards don't look like they'd come here to drink. T.F nods slightly to them as he walk to the exit, but one of them blocks his path.
"Is there a problem?" He asks politely as he sees the guard looking him up and down. Suddenly, an wanted poster appeared before his eyes. For a moment his heart stopped and his fingers were close to throwing the card. Until he looked at the picture. Fortunately, neither he nor his partner were on this wanted list. Instead, a little girl was there.
"Have you seen her?" The guard asked as he moved out of his way. T.F looks at the girl's picture and shrugs.
"Unfortunately, no" He says honestly, but it piqued his curiosity.
"She got lost and her parents are looking for her now?" The guard next to him snorted as he showed the rest of the people the wanted poster.
"Attention attention! If anyone sees this girl, they are obliged to inform every guard they meet acros.” 'Huh, that's a strange' Thought T.F. Why do these guards care so much about a little girl?
"Don't be fooled, despite the appearance of a little girl, there is a demon hiding inside her" When the last word was uttered from the guard's mouth, T.F could feel a small shiver run down his spine, he had already had contact with demons and would rather not approach them any time soon. Yet he felt that something about the narrative didn't fit. However, before he could ask what the guard meant, a high-pitched scream could be heard outside the bar. T.F didn't even notice as his legs dragged him outside to see that in the middle of the street there was a child who looked quite similar to the one he saw in the poster. Next to her are two guards who are swinging spears at her.
"Commander, we got her!" One guard shouts and the girl tries to get up from the stone road. For some reason, T.F. doesn't like this whole situation. A guard pushes past him and shouts something. Another guard wants to grab the girl, but when his hand squeezes the little girl's hand tightly, fire suddenly breaks out in front of them.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” She screams and runs away. Several guards started chasing her and T.F stands in shock in front of the scene showed before him.
"Huh, I thought such views are only in Demacia" He thinks when he sees one of the guards, who is supposed to be the commander, shouting at the others.
"What are you waiting for, catch her! We have to kill this thing before dawn!" T.F feels one of his hands crumple into a fist. She's just a kid, why would they want to kill her?
"It's none of our business Tobias, we should leave it and move on," Graves' voice rang through his head. It's true, it's none of his business and he shouldn't worry about it. Despite this, something in his heart hurt, unwanted memories that T.F. hoped he had buried deep made themselves felt. Noxus is one of the best areas for mages, so why would they want to kill such a small child? Something about this just doesn't add up in his head.
He shouldn't care, he tries to tell himself that as he walks into the small alley. It's none of his business, he shouldn't worry. he keep telling himself as I take out his blue card. A moment later, a circle of cards forms under his feet. T.F has no idea why he's doing this. When one of the guards comes to the alley T.F teleports away, leaving no trace with him.
Teleportation has always been a strange magic. It took T.F. a very long time to learn it, but even after all these years he still can't quite understand it. Everything depends on great concentration and opening the third eye, as one of the mages he met once explained to him during his little 'journey' around Runeterra. When you manage to open your third eye, it is important not to get lost along the way, otherwise you may lose yourself. The mage voice explains slowly as Tobias tried to teleport for the first time.
T.F can remember this like it was yesterday. The hesitant boy holding the blue card tightly in his hand, wanting so badly to teleport a few steps away. It was a something Graves probably would have loved to see. He thinks as he feels his body gently rise as the dust of blue stars surrounds him. Despite such a nice view, T.F knows he can't stay here for long. So as soon as he sees which direction the little girl with the red dress ran now. He closes his eyes again and teleports to the closest spot where the black-haired girl ran.
His feet touch the dirty stone road. T.F quickly adjusts his hat and looks around in which direction the child ran.
"Your curiosity will kill you Tobias" Once again Graves' voice appeared in his head. T.F. wants to roll his eyes when he thinks about how many times Graves' curiosity almost killed him. However, before he can think about it, he hears an explosion nearby. T.F didn't have to go far to see the metioned little girl standing in the middle of the square place, a large tree burning behind her. T.F wants to approach her but the child quickly glares at him.
"Who are you?" She asks menacingly as she hugs her teddy bear tighter. T.F swallows loudly when he sees the fire in the child's eyes.
“I'm a man who doesn't want you to get killed” T.F. himself is surprised at how sincere he says it. The little girl also seems surprised by his honesty. As she stare at him with her big blue eyes. For a moment he can see sadness on the girl's face, which quickly turns into indifference.
“Sir, what's your name?” The child asks politely. T.F takes one foot forward and he take off his hat for a moment as he tilts down slightly.
"My name is Twisted Fate, and what's your name little miss?" He tries to sound cheerful and mysterious. He knows it probably looks stupid and a little too theatrical. However, this little scene made the girl giggle softly at his introduction. She carefully approaches him, but they are still far enough away that T.F. cannot reach her with his hands. The little girl crosses her legs and grabs the end of her dress with both hands.
"I'm Annie." The girl also answers mysteriously and shows a teddy bear behind her face.
"And this is my best friend Tibbers!" She laughs happily. T.F frowns as he senses how much magic Annie's stuffed bear has in it.
He must be her source of magic. T.F thinks as he puts his hat back on. Annie doesn't seem too worried about the guards hunting her. When her hands create a ball of fire and throw it at a nearby building.
"Why are you doing this?" There is no anger or fear in his voice. Annie tilts her head for a moment, as if she considering his question. For a moment, he can see a small fire coming from her stuffed animal.
"I just want to play" She says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world, but it doesn't convince T.F 100%.
“Are you sure you're just doing this because you want to play?” T.F mustered his courage and takes a few steps closer to Annie. Even from this distance he can feel the fire emitting from the girl. Annie smiled at him and fire appeared in her hand once again.
"Do you know how to play games, Mr. Fate?" She asks and a short laugh escapes T.F.'s mouth as he shows Anna his red card. Annie tilts her head as if she doesn't know how to react to this. She approaches him quite hesitantly.
"It's one of my magic cards" He replies to her as he lets her see his red card. He can see her eyes glow slightly as she sees the flame in his card. One of Annie hand reaches for the card. T.F smiles warmly and crouches down in front of her, giving her a card. The flame in her other hand disappears as she grabs the card with both hands and looks at it.
"Be careful, you might accidentally burn yourself" He says to her and Annie gives him the card after a closer inspection. When her little hand touched his fingers, T.F decides to ask again.
“Why are you really doing this, Annie?” He asks calmly, although you can hear a slightly firm tone in his voice. Annie looks at him again with her big eyes. T.F wonders for a moment if she's trying to see his soul.
"They hurt me" Annie says coldly and T.F could feel his hair stand on end for a moment. However, his face remained calm as he continued to look at Annie who was once again creating fireball in her hand.
"Why?" T.F asks as another building was engulfed by fire. Annie jumps slightly as she begins to circle the square.
"I was playing quietly in the forest when they came" She begins to say as she plays with her teddy bear.
"I just wanted to have fun and then they came and destroyed everything!" She screamed and fire appeared around her.
"Leave her alone Tobias, I think she can handle it all on her own" Graves' voice rings in his head like a bell, but before he could make any decision, guards began to appear in the square place. There are a lot of them, too many for his taste.
The first one runs straight to Annie, but she sends fireballs straight to his chest, causing the guard to fall a few meters away. The second one is already drawing his bow, but before he can shoot, the roof of the burning building collapses above him. Annie laughs and dances around the flames, but her little dance is interrupted when a group of guards start charging towards her. Annie sends a arc of fire at them. More and more guards appear in the square place.
"Annie you have to stop right now, more and more guards are showing up." T.F tries to convince her when he started to approaching her. However, Annie blocks his passage with a wall of fire. From the corner of his eye, he could see Annie's face turning sad, but still smiling.
"You are very kind Mr. Fate" Replies Annie as she throws more flames into the distance.
“That's why I'm letting you go. The game will be over soon” She says happily and barely avoids the arrow that was flying towards her. T.F knows he has every right to leave this place. But something inside him tells him not to. However, before he can fully understand why he is still standing in one place, he hears the terrifying scream of a child. One of the guards managed to sneak up on her and knock her to the ground. More and more guards started running towards her. But before the other guard could help hold her down, the girl started screaming again. For a moment, T.F thought that time had slowed down when he saw a large burning bear throw a group of guards away. During these screams and roars, T.F can hear crying.
It was Annie.
She's lost control of her magic, T.F thinks loud as a new pair of guards run by. They are better armed, he notes. Yet, this is still little compared to the strength of the bear which easily knocks them over.
T.F wants to leave, he really does, but his legs are as heavy as lead and he just can't lift them as he hears the little girl crying once again in the middle of all this chaos. In the distance he can hear another pair of guards carrying something heavy, but T.F can't turn around to make sure.
This is so stupid, he is not and never has been a hero.
He should leave before the fire catches him. It's really not that difficult.
He should have left here a long time ago anyway…
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Graves is going to kill him if he finds out.
Twisted Fate breaks through the wall of fire. There is smoke and a burning smell around him. He don't care about it when he sees Annie in the distance, standing and staring blankly at the chaos she has created. Another guard walks past her, somehow managing to avoid Tibbers' punch. But before he can swing his sword at her. T.F pulls a yellow card from his pocket and hit him perfectly, sending the guard to the ground. Annie turns to him. Their eyes met again.
"Why?" She asks as tears well up in her eyes, Tibber lets out a loud roar and slowly starts running towards him. However, T.F is faster and draws another pair of yellow cards.
"I don't know, but I don't want you to get hurt" He says to her as he shoots Tibber a yellow card and runs to her. Annie doesn't seem satisfied with his answer.
“Why do you care!” She screams as she throws another fireball that almost hit him.
"I am a monster!" She screams again as another guard grabbed her arm tightly. T.F throws a card at him and Annie quickly runs in the other direction. At that same moment, Tibbers started moving again.
"You are not!" Replies T.F who is getting closer to Annie's reach. Tibbers is hot on his heels, but T.F is not giving up.
“Listen” He starts. "I know we just met but I" T.F throws a yellow card at the guard who managed to get through the fire. Tibbers behind him tries to hit him with his paw but he miss.
"But I feel like you're a good kid" He shouts. Annie gets angry and more and more buildings catch fire. In the distance, residents start running with buckets of water.
"WHAT CAN YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?!" She shouts and at the same moment another guards show up.
"FIRE!" One of them screams and a sea of arrows flies across the night sky.
Annie is still screaming. The guards' voices turn into bloody screams as they trying to kill the beast that managed to catch most of the arrows. T.F can see Annie grab her head and scream. The end of her dress is on fire, she is terrified. Tibbers roars menacingly and want to charge at him. T.F continues running, avoiding flames and arrows. Annie is kneeling on the ground, her hands are holding tightly to her hair. T.F feels his knees buckle, but before his knees hit the ground he finally manages to grab Annie.
Annie lets a terrified scream escape her lips. T.F tries to keep his mouth shut as he feels his chest literally burning, but even then he doesn't let go of her and holds her close.
"It's okay" He tells her as he places his hand on her hair.
"I've got you, no one will hurt you here again" T.F can feel the bear above him, he closes his eyes and inhales the ash that gathers around him.
"I got you, everything will be alright" He says once again. The fire had already burned the material of his shirt, making holes in it. For a moment he thinks this might be the end of him, but that thought won't make T.F let go of Annie. Suddenly, a barrage of fire erupts around them, burning all the guards who approached them.
Suddenly there is complete silence around them.
Annie continues to cry, but she no longer seem to want to leave his embrace. A teddy bear falls on his shoulders. Everything is so quiet, all he can hear is the cry of a little girl.
"Everything will be fine" He says calmly as he tries to control his breathing. His head still hadn't processed the information that had just happened. The teddy bear falls from his shoulders straight to Annie, who clutches his shirt with one hand. Everything is fine now. T.F gets up from the ground, still holding Annie in his arms. Everything around him is burned and the buildings are barely hanging on to the bricks and boards that, by some miracle, were not consumed by the fire. T.F doesn't waste any more time. He take a blue card from his sleeve. His eyes glow blue and cards form under his feet. T.F closes his eyes and the next moment he disappears with a child in his arms.