A/N: First thing's first: why are there so few FanFics on this paring? Baffling if you ask me, because it's obviously the best one. I will admit I did get the inspiration for writing this from "The Steel Revolution" (if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you go and do so), but hopefully the two stories differentiate from each other well enough.

I hope that it isn't too long winded (I think it breaks 7,500 or something). I just wanted everything to fit, but didn't want to rush anything either.

Let me know if you enjoyed, or if you have any critism/suggestions to add!

P.S I am still working on my other fic too, I'll rotate between the two

Fear is confusion, pain is clarity.

It was a motto of sorts. Not one that you would live your life by, exactly, but one that a certain metallic monster held very close to his heart. Or rather, where his heart would be, if he actually had one. No one dared ask. He wasn't the sort of person you chose to talk to.

I like my weapons how I like my music; heavy and metal.

Though that was how the master of metal preferred his weaponry, it wasn't specifically what he needed. Anything able to inflict pain to a large degree would do. It just so happened that the spiked mace, his favourite creator of anguish, was indeed both heavy and metal. A happy coincidence, one might think, though those on the receiving end of the oversized morning star would surely disagree.

There was a time when this bloodthirsty individual would be able to satisfy his cravings for violence a lot more often. Not too long ago, champions who had 'similar' strength (of course, none of them coming close to the armoured fiend's) would battle it out for political reasons, a source of entertainment, and very much anything that happened to tickle their fancy. These matches, commonly held in an area known as Summoner's Rift, had used to have a more recreational atmosphere.

Until a certain champion had been invited to join in on the fun.

And this champion seemed to have had too much fun. It was because of his practically dominating and excruciating presence that slowly, one by one, opponents had begun to drop out of their matches. This pattern repeated as the master of metal only grew amused by this cowardice, until eventually there wasn't a single person that would be willing to battle either alongside or against him, and so the fights had been cancelled. The entire system had been brought down by one man.

And this man went by the name of Mordekaiser.

Mordekaiser had been a champion from the Shadow Isles. A place that for all the wonders and mysteries it held had surprisingly not been mapped out all too well. Namely because anyone ignorant enough to travel there looking for an exploration wouldn't have the intelligence to figure out how to escape with their life. The inhabitants were not exactly the friendly type, to make matters worse.

As such, the Shadow Isles remained untouched other than by its own denizens. Foreigners liked to speculate and spread about rumours as to what horrors might be contained in such a ghastly place. Monsters? Riches? Natural phenomenons? Whatever was beyond those murky forests and bottomless lakes, it was kept a sound secret. But as well as the place itself, there were also faint stories here and there of what some of their inhabitants could do, and had done.

One of those such people did happen to be Mordekaiser. Though not directly passed onto him, he had come across the idea from others that he instantaneously spread death wherever he walked, plant and animal alike losing their lives should they step too close. All lies, of course. No one could have such a power, yet if there were one person to inherit such an ability, it would most likely be the steel clad knight.

And so, you would think that someone with such an unmatchable history, such incredible tales continuously passed through generations upon generations, would be out in the world. Tearing down monarchies, executing entire nations, something of the like. So maybe it would surprise you, as it would surprise him just as much, that the Lord of the Shadow Isles was doing nothing other than flicking TV channels. If you ignored the fact that he wore thick, stainless armour covering the entirety of his body, and that he had two glaring, crimson triangle-shaped slits for eyes, he might just be your everyday couch potato. Finding programs that maybe would've interested him on a different day, but right now didn't concern him.

Sighing with disappointment, the steel giant slumped his helmet to rest on a fist, taking a bite out of the poorly made sandwich he had prepared himself. There was meat inside and, instead of bread; Mordekaiser had chosen to add more meat. You might have guessed that he was not a vegetarian.

"This. Is. So. Boring." He groaned, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa that was big enough to hold three reasonably sized people, or one Mordekaiser. Sure, he could go out and kill something, but after the millionth time, taking life seemed to lose some of its initial adrenaline. Couldn't he rely on anything even remotely exciting to happen once in a while?

The ring of the phone mildly startled him. It was curios that the simple ringing of a phone could startle the warlord more than any ghost or monster could have done so, but maybe that was because a phone call was the rarer of the two appearing in his life. And as such, it meant that he wasn't one hundred percent sure of how to operate the thing. It took a few seconds for his massive fingers to reach the correct button and turn off the infernal sound. Its bleeping sounded far too happy for his liking.

"Who is this and what the hell do you want?" Mordekaiser growled dangerously into the phone, pent up anger causing his grip to almost crush the poor thing.

"Is this the introduction I can be expecting every time? You don't seem to have changed very much." The Ruined King was someone who perhaps rivalled Mordekaiser in his negative reputation and power, though at least those who worked close to him knew of the lighter, more understanding side he had. On the other hand, Mordekaiser did not possess such a hidden personality trait. He had two settings; mean and murderous.

"Oh, it's you." He said bluntly. "Got another errand you want me to fulfil? I'd say that were beneath you, but experience has told me otherwise." Though he couldn't tell whether it was his helmet restricting some of his hearing, or if it actually happened, the master of metal thought he caught a deep sigh on the other end. From being such a high authority figure, The King wasn't used to receiving such a hostile tone of voice in a conversation. Then again, if you were related to Mordekaiser, some small part of your brain would have to get used to it in order to survive.

"Well before all of that, I'd just like to ask; how are you doing? You're one of my star pupils, yet I don't hear from you often. Or ever, so to speak." Mordekaiser chuckled in response, though he didn't sound all too amused.

"You of all people I thought understood my dislike for idle chatter. Which moves me onto this conversation." He huffed. "Do you need something or not?"

"As it happens, I could do with you performing a little favour for me."

"What a surprise. Maybe I should go ahead and put on the X Files theme song for this one." The King contemplated whether it was actually going through all the knight's insults and complaints to get what he wanted out of him. It was. Barely.

"I assume you are aware of the current conflict going on between Demacia and The Shadow Isles, correct?"

"I am aware of how you specifically banned me from using violent means to help our cause." He grumbled, despite knowing it wouldn't get him out of whatever The King had planned for him.

"That being so", he continued on, "there is a certain hostage that I would like you to-"

"Torture? Murder?" Mordekaiser's eyes lit up like fireworks as he eagerly awaited the response he wanted. What he got was an entirely different matter.

"Take care of." The Ruined King finished. "That means no killing, no suffering, none of those. I'll expect you to take good care of her." Her? Did that mean a girl? The master of metal thought to himself. How did one deal with that species exactly? What did one eat, if it ate at all? He had no experience of looking after such a creature, making his situation all the more dire to get out of.

"Are there not better people you could assign this task to?" He groaned, much like a pouting child. "You know I'm bad at… Not killing things."

"I am aware of that." The King replied, trying to stifle a grin for fear of Mordekaiser catching onto his amusement. That would not end prettily. "But this hostage has a certain sort of charm to her, which men other than you might fawn over. In order to assure nothing happens, it must be you to carry out this task." He paused a little before asking, "You don't have any of those interests, right?" From the master of metal's obnoxiously loud scoff, he could rest assured that Mordekaiser did not have any ulterior motives. He was more concerned about the girl's safety with such an unpredictable Shadow Isles citizen.

"Why are we treating this hostage so nicely? Does she have something we need?"

"Not necessarily, but we need to keep her as a bargaining chip, and she'd suit that purpose better if she didn't have your mace stuck in the middle of her throat. Do you not agree?"

"Pfft. I still think destroying Demacia would be a whole lot easier." The King rolled his eyes, wondering why it was someone like Mordekaiser was even allowed to have so much power. Then again, he'd been the one to give him clout, so there was no one else to blame.

"So I can trust you with this, I presume?" There was a short period of silence.

"Mordekaiser?" Had it been anyone else in the world, Mordekaiser would have gone out and paid them a personal and painful visit. But this was The Ruined King here, one of the very few people he held respect for (even if he didn't show it verbally), and as such, he didn't want to get on his bad side.

"Fine!" He whined, stamping an iron foot on the similarly iron floor in frustration. He accidentally put a little too much strength into his legs, denting the floor out of shape with a hardened boot.

"Oh, and I feel I should mention that the name of this person is-" But Mordekaiser had already discarded the phone, ending the conversation. Well, discarded might have been the wrong word. Utterly destroyed would better describe his actions. The iron lord did not need another distraction right now.

X

Having a reason to keep the time for once, Mordekaiser checked the steel clock for the third time that day (of course, everything was made of metal in his place). Not being one for squinting to check how far to the left a miniscule hour hand was, he'd decided on a digital one, currently reading 05:54 pm in square-like numbers. The monster of a man paced around frantically, an ever so slight feeling of nervousness slithering up and into his thoughts like a snake.

There were mere minutes until he would be forced to interact with this… hostage-girl, whoever she was. Even knowing nothing about her, his opinion of said person had already deteriorated due to the face she was Demacian. The land of the ignorant, the goody two shoes, and the all-around idiotic that seemed to enjoy poking their noses into business that wasn't theirs to poke into.

This was one such occasion. The steel knight had asked for something exciting, not troublesome. Could he avoid hurting this girl? Mordekaiser knew… Vaguely knew, how to act nicely. The trouble was, regardless of what he wanted to say, his inner thoughts was always make themselves known instead. If he actually cared about what others thought, this may have been a potential problem.

Making some final adjustments, the iron man walked over to the mirror (you'll never guess what it was made of) to check his appearance was in check. Eyes glaring, armour shining, cape flowing… The definition of awesome. Sometimes Mordekaiser felt bad for other people, having to live every day knowing they would never be as cool as him.

The door knocked. They must have been a familiar face, because they knew to only knock once. Some slight comfort to his situation. Mordekaiser was about to open the thing, when he heard some quiet voices behind the door. Not being one to respect privacy, or anything else, the master of metal listened in to the words being said.

"Why are we giving her to him, of all people?" He heard one voice, presumably male say from the other end. "It's just a waste of such a girl; he'll never do anything with her anyways."

"What's Mordekaiser's deal anyway? Is it guys? Girls? Sock Puppets?" The other voice was a higher pitch, and had a slightly tinny quality to it. Probably female.

"I don't think he even has a deal. Can we just get this over with? He kind of creeps me out."

"And he's so tall, too! I thought there were just a tower of yordles in that suit of armour, not just one guy!"

"Hey, shut up! I don't know about you, but I don't plan on being top of his lunch menu if he overhears us…"

"Uhh, he doesn't really eat people, right?"

Feeling as though he had wasted enough time eavesdropping on the most boring conversation he'd ever witnessed, the armoured fiend stomped over to the door, opening it with a powerful swing that barely left the hinges intact.

Standing before him were three figures. The first two were the escorts who stood on either side, sporting an outfit similar to Mordekaiser's, albeit in a less bulky size (Presumably the ones who had been conversing earlier). It was the girl that interested him, though. Blue, extravagant hair streamed down from her head like a waterfall, a pair of equally sized pigtails both to her left and right, tied by golden hairpins. Her dress stretched down to her feet, but some strange aura surrounding her kept the tips from touching the dusty ground, and instead flew about despite the lack of wind. She also carried – well, it rather floated around aimlessly like the rest of her rather than being carried – some sort of… What exactly was that thing? It looked like an oddly shaped log with some strings struck across its length. Maybe it was a weapon? It did look like it was good for bludgeoning things to death with.

"Umm, Lord Mordekaiser." The female and shorter of the two guards spoke up, shifting feet nervously under an unwavering glare. "W-We brought her for you to… Umm…" As Mordekaiser continued to glare in her direction, the guard quickly shuffled behind the taller of the two, who was now on the receiving end of the tyrant's stare.

"What do you expect me to do!?" He hissed, trying to resist the violent tugs the girl made on his armour.

"Something… Anything!" She whimpered, shrinking as far away from view as her body would let her. The guard considered his two options. A: Run. B: Don't run. He found the first to be the more useful of the two.

Mordekaiser was now staring off at the so called 'warriors' more in bewilderment than anything else as they ran, head over heels in cowardice. If the kind of people they sent to fight showed signs of weakness at him simply looking at them, it was just as well that the Shadow Isles chose not to fight after all. He scratched the back of his helmet, wondering when his army had become so wimpy.

He then turned his attention back to the apparent hostage, who thankfully hadn't broken into a sprint like the others. Strangely, she just looked into his eyes, hands flat by her side and posture perfect. It almost unnerved him, the way that this girl seemed to be completely oblivious to his presence. Being the social star that he was, Mordekaiser decided to break the ice.

"You." The girl jumped slightly on the spot, her previous surrounding aura of tranquillity gone. She still kept eye contact with the knight, albeit eyes slightly wider than before from the shock of being woken from her trance.

"Do you have a name?" She stood slightly stunned, not registering the question until a few seconds had passed by. When she recognised the monster of a man was talking to her, she breathed deep, and did her best to pull a smile before replying "My name is Sona."

Sona looked up at the hulking figure before her, who seemed to be concentrating on something. Maybe he hadn't heard her? Just as she was about to introduce herself once more, Sona was interrupted.

"Your lips didn't move as you talked." Mordekaiser remarked. Ah, now she understood the problem. It had been so long since the maven had actually met new people, she forgot not everyone knew of her communication methods.

"Oh, w-well you see, uhh…" Sona paused, looking up from the ground to give her new acquaintance a pleading look. She almost started to frown when he didn't seem to understand what she wanted.

"Lord Mordekaiser." He added helpfully.

"So you see, uhh, Lord Mordekaiser…" The maven continued, brushing a loose strand of hair out of the way as a nervous habit, "I am not able to talk to people by normal means, s-so I use my etwahl here instead." Having forgotten about the instrument before, the iron lord now picked up on how she had been constantly plucking strings when she had talked. And to think, Mordekaiser had assumed she was just a very talented ventriloquist.

"It isn't too convenient, but… It is better than not being able t-to talk at all." Sona did her best to smile once more, but stopped when the master of metal grunted in irritation. She didn't know why, but the maven observed that Mordekaiser always seemed to glare at everything. Or was that just the way his helmet portrayed his eyes?

Whilst Sona was busy asking herself questions without answers, Mordekaiser's whole body twitched with irritation. He felt like he should be saying something, but it was impossible to think with the girl staring at him like that. Apparently she wasn't too hot on social skills either, for she twirled a pigtail in her hand and averted the gaze when Mordekaiser looked her way. As it should be, the giant reminded himself. He'd almost forgotten that he was a ruler of millions of the undead, a murderer of thousands and record holding champion. He did not need to prove himself to a girl who'd managed to go and get herself captured, and he certainly didn't need to feel symptoms of social anxiety.

Turning around a full one-eighty degrees, Mordekaiser gave a flick of the wrist to the girl, before proceeding to walk back inside. He inwardly winced when he heard no footsteps following him.

"Are you going to come inside", he started, cocking his head to the left as he turned around, "Or would you rather sleep out in the cold?" Hurriedly shaking her head, Sona dashed after him, careful to shut the door behind her. Well, she tried to, but since it was made of dense metal (as were most things in the warlord's home), it only squeaked, moving about an inch before becoming stuck. Mordekaiser shook his head, walking over with large strides to shut the door with no effort whatsoever. He gave Sona an odd look, who only smiled meekly and plucked a few strings.

"S-Sorry, Lord Mordekaiser."

"I'd be sorry if I were that weak, too."

X

It was big. That was the first thought Sona came up with when he entered the house. Or rather, mansion might have been more relevant considering the size of the thing. And there was metal. The walls, tables and doors alike were all made of the same stainless steel, which seemed immaculately polished from the way the maven could see her own reflection everywhere. She was thankful that all the halls were wide enough to fit someone of Mordekaiser's stature, for this meant she could also carry her etwahl around without any hassle.

As they walked further and further (Sona slowly lagging behind from her lack of long legs), curiosity began to overtake her initial fear of the iron giant. I wonder how he can afford all of this, she thought to herself silently. What sort of thing did an eight foot knight do for a living? Quickening her pace a little, Sona stared after Mordekaiser, watching his tattered cape sway to and fro with each step. If she thought back far enough, she could remember Sir Garen telling her about the Shadow Isles.

"And you say this one is Noxus?" Sona pointed to a section of the peat-brown, tattered map. Garen, who had decided not to change out of his battle get up, nodded in satisfaction.

"Indeed it is." Sona smiled, trying to consider what the land would really look like past a small, green-coloured two dimensional polygon. Would it have been industrial, or more of a bucolic area? Who knew what wonders lay beyond Demacia.

"I am glad that I got you to teach me more of this history, Sir Garen. It is very interesting to see more of the world outside of our teeny spec on this map."

"I am glad you are enjoying it, Lady Sona." Sona stifled a giggle.

"There is no need to remain so formal with me, Sir Garen. After all, I am not part of any higher class, like you." The Demacian knight looked the maven in the eyes, opening his mouth to form a sentence, only for no words to come out. Instead, his cheeks flushed ever so slightly, a pale tinge of pink contrasting his golden tan.

"Oh but, Sir Garen! I don't understand, why have we not talked about this area? Does it not share a heritage, just like all the others?" Garen looked up from his stupor to find where Sona was pointing at, and at that moment his face reflected a darker tone than what the maven had been used to.

"That", he spoke softly, "Is a group of islands known as The Shadow Isles."

"And what kinds of people live there?"

"The sort of people that you wouldn't like to be around." Sona frowned. At least within Demacia, she had been able to build up positive reputations with everyone, both good and supposedly bad characters.

"Why is that? Perhaps is it because they do not agree with our Demacian ideals?"

"I'm not sure they agree with anything." Garen replied coldly. "It is their 'tradition' to remove any problems by force. Extract secrets with torture, and achieve their goals with dishonesty. Should you go there, I would… I would fear for your safety." He admitted sheepishly.

"Sir Garen… Surely, they cannot all be bad? There are good and bad sides to us all, I believe."

"Perhaps some of them can be persuaded. But there is one such person that I could not say your peaceful personality and aura would guarantee your well-being with." Sona didn't say anything, but she continued to gawk at the knight's storytelling, which pressed him to go on.

"There is one person, one person in particular that I have come across in my travels before, that stirs fear in my heart even now."

"There is someone who can scare someone as brave as you?" Sona despite talking with her etwahl, dared not to play it more than above a whisper.

"There is. I do not recall his name exactly, but I do know that he is The Lord of the Shadow Isles. His powers almost appeared to be beyond what any human should have been capable of. I am ashamed to say that compared to him, I… I almost felt like some sort of insect."

"Sir Garen…" The maven considered putting a comforting hand on her friend, before he laughed strangely out loud, confusion Sona greatly.

"But I am sure that someone with your common sense would never end up venturing to such a place, so there is no need to worry. Since not many have come back alive from the place, I'm afraid there's not much I can teach you." Sona smiled; glad to have the knight back to his old, cheery self.

"That's quite alright, Sir Garen. I feel like I have plenty to fill my plate with."

And look where she was now. The maven had managed to end up in the one place Sir Garen had told her never to go. Sona wondered what he and her other friends would think, should they know her whereabouts. Though they had tried to hide it, Sona sort of knew they'd always thought of her as a little weak minded. It didn't help that she was scared of spiders, the dark, and a variety of other things.

But so far, nothing about The Shadow Isles seemed to scare her. Maybe the environments were a little gloomy, and maybe its citizens were a little rude, but it seemed nothing like as bad as Sir Garen had described. Maybe he had come in on a bad day? On top of all the other questions, Sona wondered whether she would ever run into this lord that Sir Garen had spoken so sourly of. It was possible that she'd already seen this person, but just hadn't recognised the face. She decided she would ask Lord Mordekaiser if he knew of this being, and whether they could keep a wary distance from each other.

Wait…

Wait a minute…

Lord Mordekaiser.

Lord Mordekaiser.

She almost forgot how to walk. How could Sona have been so stupid? Her friends were right. Her completely carefree nature had made the maven walk literally right into her own demise without a second thought. She had been told she was only to be kept as a peace offering, but what if that had all been a lie? It was very probable, considering what Sir Garen had told her about the Isles inhabitants. But then if she ran now, she would be risking putting the whole of Demacia in danger, simply for her own miscarriage. Yet she couldn't very well stay here, in the hands of someone who might take her own head should she say the wrong-

"Sona!" The booming voice made the maven literally jump a few feet into the air, knocking her etwahl a few feet forward, into a towering Mordekaiser. He didn't even seem to register the impact. Sona visibly gulped, awaiting whatever torturous treatment she would be suffering through. Whatever it was, Sona would have to accept it for the good of Demacia.

"This is your room."

"…!?" Sona shook her head out of her own nightmares to find Mordekaiser pointing at a tall metal door, more than big enough for both her and her etwahl. He still looked like his crimson eyes were glaring down, and he was still very, very scary, but Sona felt ever so slightly at peace. Other than a small bit of hearsay, she had no reason to be fearful of this man. Wasn't her motto always to try and see the best in other people when others could not?

"If you have any problems", He rumbled, snapping Sona out of her thoughts again, "You come and tell me. I will do my best to deal with them. Is that understood?" Mordekaiser inwardly cringed, desperately wanting to punch the wall right now. He would deal with her problems? What was he, a babysitter? Clearly, he had let his anxiety of people get the best of him in this situation. He would need to rectify this little misunderstanding in their relationship as soon as the opportunity presented itself. His house, his rules. That was more or less how he remembered social convention going. Sona nodded vigorously and the steel knight found himself worn out already. This was more than enough interaction for one day.

Mordekaiser was about to go and get some well-deserved rest, until he heard the growling of a stomach. Looking down at his own and realising it wasn't the source of the noise, he turned to the Demacian girl. She currently held one hand on belly, one hand on cheek, looking especially uncomfortable. Ah, that would be the problem. Mordekaiser sighed, and then paced his way to another room. He looked back to find that Sona was still rooted to the spot, and so he glared at her. The maven bolted a little, playing her etwahl in a hurried fashion.

"Did you want me to…?" When he nodded, Sona began walking tentatively, still careful to leave a few paces between them in case he tried something funny.

The fridge, like everything else, was unusually large. Though there was something even more unusual than that, and even more unusual than the untouched fruit bowl that for some reason was kept in the fridge. Simple logic dictated that The Lord of the Shadow Isles did not get his 5-a-day.

It was full of meat. There literally wasn't anything else in the fridge besides the fruit bowl. Sona scanned its contents, intent on finding something remotely healthy.

No such luck.

"So, do you want meat, or more meat?" Mordekaiser asked her. Sona would have laughed had she not found his request to be serious, and had she not still felt him glaring at her through his helmet. Maybe that was the way he looked at people, but he did not want to anger him regardless.

"Do you not have anything else? Perhaps, some vegetables?" The knight snorted, muttering something about "those poison green things".

"Does this mean that", Mordekaiser exhaled, rubbing his helmet with a free hand, "That there is more than meat to the Demacian diet?" Sona wasn't sure if what Mordekaiser ate could be called a 'diet' of sorts, but she nodded politely.

"And does this mean that we have to go outside to get some more food?" Sona paused, thinking of how to best choose her words.

"If it is not too much trouble, Lord Mordekaiser…" The armoured giant looked at her, and then groaned. He hated the outdoors.

X

The journey itself had taken around half an hour. Not because the supermarket was that far away, but because Mordekaiser had insisted that he knew where he was going, when really he was just following instinct. After passing the same spot for the fourth time, Sona eventually had the idea of asking for directions. It was strange to note that, despite being able to communicate a lot better than herself, Mordekaiser insisted she should do the talking. Maybe he was shy? Or perhaps he just thought Sona would be able to ask more nicely?

Fortunately, the place wasn't so busy. Then again, who really did their food shopping this late in the evening? The maven heard Mordekaiser mumble some complaints about the design, something to do with there not being enough metal in the interior.

"Sona." The maven whizzed round, her hair flopping across her face as she looked up at The Shadow Isles Lord. "Hurry up. I do not want to stay in this place for any longer than I have to. Do you know what it is you want?" Sona nodded half-heartedly; she didn't really have a clue what she wanted to eat, or even how to cook anything, but something told her that Mordekaiser would only become more annoyed should the maven say no. And for her own safety, she did not want to annoy him.

Picking up a nearby basket (Sona assumed that her companion would find it degrading to carry things around), she floated in any which direction, looking for the first thing that would accompany the mountain of meat Mordekaiser owned. She secretly wondered whether he would be open to eating any of her non protein food, and if so, how much she should buy.

Mordekaiser scrunched up his face in discuss at some of the 'food' being offered. Of all the horribly bright colours, he only recognised a few items. There was solidified ketchup, which seemed to be kept in a spherical shape, tiny trees coloured both white and green for some reason, and those smelly green things that people seemed to eat around Christmas. Not that he celebrated Christmas with anyone else, he just happened to hear of some of the more human traditions.

Just as they were about be able to escape with Sona finally satisfied, both the maven and knight's heads turned as a child's wailing could be heard from one corner. Both the pair's instincts acted at once. Mordekaiser being Mordekaiser, completely ignored the sound and carried on walking, as it was none of his business. Sona however, moved towards the sound, looking to qualm whatever problem there was. Exhaling deeply and counting to three after he found the maven had gone missing, the master of metal stomped after her, patience hanging by no more than a thread.

"That girl is more trouble than she's worth…" He growled, finding her not too far away and accompanying a small child. She couldn't have been more than ten years old, and with all that wailing she certainly didn't act like it. Everything was purple. Her hair, backpack, clothes and cat ears were all the same colour, though she sported a pair of emerald green eyes too, currently clouded by tears.

Sona bent down to the child's level, causing the master of metal's eyebrow to rise. What did she plan on doing?

"Why are you crying?" She cooed, patting the girl's head with one hand and playing her etwahl with the other. The child stuttered for a while, unable to form a sentence properly.

"M-My bear… my bear Tibbers, someone took him away from me!" She wailed, Mordekaiser inwardly flinched from the high pitch this girl seemed to reach.

"Who did?"

"I don't know." She whispered. "But I need him! Without Tibbers, I… I need him!" She repeated, and Sona nodded in understanding. She patted the girl on the head again, before turning to Mordekaiser.

"…What?" Sona cleared her throat silently, not daring to look at the knight for the question she was about to ask.

"Do you think you could…?"

"No."

"But Mordekaiser-"

"A girl lost her bear, who cares! This is clearly no problem of ours, and I don't intend to make it one." Mordekaiser practically seethed at the maven, who strangely did not seem to be nearly as afraid of him as before. She ended up returning the glare, and sat down firmly with arms and legs both crossed.

"Then I'm not leaving."

"I'm sorry." Mordekaiser breathed, his voice dangerously low as he stalked towards the two terrified girls. "I think I must have heard you wrong. You're not the one who makes demands here." Whilst the purple girl hid her shivering frame behind the also trembling Sona, the maven stood her ground. It just wasn't in her nature to deny someone help, and despite how utterly terrifying Mordekaiser looked standing well above her crouching height, she refused to give in.

"I-I-I said, I'm n-not leaving." Her instrument sounded quieter than usual, and fingers shaking about so much it caused her speech to stutter. Unbeknownst to the trio, customers were peeking from behind various shelves and piles of canned food, watching silently as the large knight appeared to be whispering something with his eyes closed.

"One, two, three…" He began to count out loud, finding it more effective than in his head for ridding of the urge to punch anything and everything in sight.

"Four, five, six…" Sona allowed her previously tightly shut eyes to open, becoming confused when the red lights from inside Mordekaiser's helmet had disappeared.

"Seven, eight, nine…" Everything around them had fallen silent, besides the purple girl still sobbing slightly.

"Ten." Mordekaiser opened his eyes. They awoke to two very startled, very frightened faces eyeing him carefully, both at a much smaller height then his own. The master of metal sighed. The maven would own him one after this.

"Fine." Sona's eyes lit up brightly as the idle chatter began to rise up from the supermarket once more, previous scene forgotten. "What does it look like?"

"Uhh", the girl hesitated, thumb sticking in her mouth, "It's got two legs, two arms, two eyes-"

"I know what a bear looks like, imbecile!" He shouted, not noticing the child's fearful eyes and recoiling from the shock of being yelled at. "What specifically?" After not getting a response for some time, the knight began to doubt that she even knew how to spell the word specifically. Sona seemed to pluck a string so quietly that Mordekaiser couldn't hear it, but the child seemed to jump with an idea.

"It's brown." She beamed, and Mordekaiser noted how quickly the female species seemed to undergo mood changes. Then again, he was also aware that his anger could come up quicker than most.

"Stay here." He ordered to both Sona and the little girl, not sure which one of them was more likely to run off somewhere. After the maven's previous actions, he wouldn't put it past Sona. Satisfied with the enthusiastic nods he received in return, Mordekaiser turned the corner and left. His teeth still hurt slightly from clenching them so hard and so often, but that was the least of his worries right now. What worried him was what those two idiots would do without his supervision. It turned out that being so awesome also came with drawbacks, apparently.

The bear was literally a few paces away from where they'd been. It was sitting on the cashier's desk, drooping against a wall.

Problem: There was a queue.

Solution: Remove queue. A dozen or so helpless bodies were knocked to floor like bowling pins by the giant as he made his way to which ever unfortunate individual had chosen this time of day to be their shift. Needless to say, when a very unhappy looking eight foot, metal giant storms towards you with eyes blazing like a bonfire, you would probably be scared too. Unless you were Mordekaiser, which you probably aren't.

"How much?" He snarled, pointing to the small bear propped up on one leg. When he received no answer, the master of metal leaned in closer, hands on the desk and crushing the wood in his monstrous grip.

"How about we make a deal? I'll take it, and you can keep your life. Does that sound fair?" There was still no response, only his wide eyed expression and shaking hands of the poor human, who looked as if he were seeing a ghost. In reality, he was seeing a whole lot worse. Taking that as answer enough, Mordekaiser plucked the small item from its sitting place. He prayed that his two new 'friends' hadn't betrayed their word.

And so, the master of metal was almost relieved to find the two familiar figures sitting down, doing who knows what.

"Can I try playing it?" The purple girl asked, face brimming with curiosity. Sona nodded, and as the child fiddled with some of the strings, her expression became delighted as she giggled at the unfamiliar noise.

"Here." She looked up at Mordekaiser, whose look seemed slightly less menacing than from their first encounter. Her gaze however, immediately went to the tiny brown creature than his gargantuan hand contained which she took greedily and clung to like a life line.

"Tibbers!" She squealed, happy to see her furry little friend again. Sona smiled gently at the sight, and then turned to Mordekaiser. He seemed ever so slightly weary, and looked to the door as if to say 'let's go'. She nodded, already a little guilty for the trouble the maven seemed to have caused him already.

As the iron man left, he heard the same voice call out to him again.

"Mister, mister!" It wailed. Mordekaiser turned only his head, giving the child one of his signature death glares. She didn't seem to notice though.

"My name's Annie, mister! What's yours?"

"Mordekaiser" he grunted.

"Mordy-kun!"

"No, Mordekaiser!" The child put her hands on her hips, giving a thoughtful pose before speaking out again.

"Mordykaiser-kun?" Deciding that he was getting nowhere, and that he didn't care whatsoever about how a strange child pronounced his name, he continued to drag Sona out of the store. She thought to mention that they had forgotten to pay for the rest of the food, but then reconsidered. The grip on her wrist was already too tight as it was, and she wasn't even sure whether a Lord of the Shadow Isles even paid for food in the first place.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Sona sagged behind a little, still wondering if maybe she should have left the whole 'bear' incident behind. Even though she did help Annie, it seemed to make Mordekaiser very unhappy, for reasons unknown to her. Was it that he hated helping people, or did he hate the fact it made him look slightly less intimidating? Perhaps reputation was a very important thing in the Shadow Isles. I wonder if he hates me now… She thought solemnly to herself.

The two also entered the house in silence, when Sona had decided this had gone on long enough.

"L-Lord Mordekaiser!" The iron man stopped walking, but stayed with his back to the maven. Sona wasn't sure what she wanted to say, or what she should say, but knew that she needed to say something.

"I am sorry for… for troubling you like this. I did not mean to make you angry, I just wanted to help." Her lip trembled slightly at the prospect of Mordekaiser hating her. Not because she was scared of him (although she was still), but because she found him to be more interesting than any Demacian she had ever met. There were so many questions she wanted answered, it wouldn't do to have them all float around in her head for the rest of her life. However short it may be, depending on when she ticked Mordekaiser off enough.

"You are forgiven." She heard him grumble whilst turning around, which sent a wave of relief washing over the maven of strings. "But next time I tell you to do something, you do it without question. Is that understood?" Sona nodded her head, just happy that the two were still able to get along. She might have said something else, but her stomach beat her to it. She again hid her face in embarrassment, not aware that Mordekaiser was already going somewhere else.

"Here." Sona glanced at… What was that thing in his hand? It looked a little like bread with some sort of white powder all over it, and shaped completely round. When she gave Mordekaiser a confused look, he frowned.

"Do you not like doughnuts?" A doughnut? What was in one of those? Sona didn't think the idea of bread and nuts appealed to her very much, but when Mordekaiser ripped it into two halves, her mouth made an 'O' shape. There was jam in it, and a lot of it, too.

"Do you want it or not?" The knight asked her through a muffled voice, mouth stuffed with food. Slowly, Sona took the shredded 'doughnut' from his hand, weighed it around in her hands a little, and then plopped in her mouth. It's sweet! She noticed instantly, and found herself almost savouring the taste of what must have been a gourmet delicacy, or how else could it taste so good? Mordekaiser eyed his guest suspiciously, still not quite sure what to do with her. Today had been… interesting. Although some parts had been more annoying than others, it was mildly interesting to have someone else around for company. Slightly. Whether the iron man preferred it to being alone, he wasn't exactly sure. It didn't seem like he had a choice in the matter right now, sadly.

"That seems like enough shenanigans for one day." Mordekaiser yawned, not used to so much frolicking about with people that weren't himself. "I trust you can find your own way to your room?" Sona nodded, and though he didn't entirely believe her, he was too exhausted to complain.

"Later." And with that, he was gone from view. Sona stood, still mesmerized for a little longer, until she shook herself out of it. She eventually found her room after a few minutes spent exploring (it turned out she hadn't remembered after all), and plonked herself down on the bed without a second thought. Unlike every other room in the mansion of a house, this one seemed to have a more homely atmosphere to it. The carpet was fresh, the walls painted brightly, and the ceiling was entirely made of glass, allowing Sona to stare into the night sky from her bed.

The maven couldn't stop thinking about Mordekaiser. She had very jumbled up feelings about him. If you looked on the one hand, he seemed very dangerous. He was a Lord of the Shadow Isles out of all things, and it didn't seem like he showed restraint to violence very often. Not to mention all of the things Sir Garen had told her about. But then, there was a little bit of a lighter side to him, as Sona thought there was with everyone (and was determined to find more of within Mordekaiser). Instead of treating her like a hostage, the metal giant treated her like a regular human being instead. He had fed her when she was hungry, introduced a magnificent new snack to her, and above all, surprisingly listened to the maven's request for helping the young girl, Annie. What had made him do that?

I wonder, she thought to herself, whether we could get along just as two people, rather than captor as hostage. Sona snuggled herself into the oddly soft covers, falling asleep as quickly as the whole day had passed her.

That would be nice… To be Lord Mordekaiser's friend.

What are your thoughts? Plz review, I'm sure you're aware of how much it can motivate an author ;)