Disclaimer: I do not own Riot Games and its creations.

'I like my weapons how I like my music: heavy... and metal! Time to shred...' -Mordekaiser, the Master of Metal

"Sickness sustains me!"

The League of Legends was an organization that aimed to settle political conflicts in a systemic way. However, as much as how it was designed to settle conflicts, denizens of Valoran found the matches that the League held entertaining. It took very little time to calm citizens about the fact that an Institute of War had been built.

The Institute itself served more as shelter for the League's champions. In fact, many champions found the Institute more comfortable than their own homes. Other than the entertaining matches held, the champions spent their times happily. But there was one problem.

The champions were always locked up in their rooms.

At one point, summoners began to swarm around champions to the point where they had to escape. A particular mummy received an injury due to the sheer amount of people inside the Mess Hall, which was the main call of retreat for the others. Their absence did bring serenity in the Mess Hall, Break Room, and different places. However, when the champions were eventually put into a separate location from the rowdy and curious summoners, even then were they too busy spending time in their respective rooms. Only a few champions such as Garen, the Might of Demacia, could be seen outside his room once in a while.

Yes, the building containing the champions was very quiet.

But there was one champion missing. A champion that had been forgotten. And this champion was also the reason why some matches could not start at all.

"Ha ha ha! Your knights are no match for my legion of undead!"

The very champion that had been banned in so many games to the point where many forgot about him.

"My children train themselves in their graves... interesting, isn't it?"

The very champion that could confidently eat Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, for breakfast.

"Time to shred!"

It was Mordekaiser.

Mordekaiser was no ordinary champion. He had set up the record for not being called to a single match for six straight months. Rumors claim that he attempted to cook Luxanna Crownguard, one of the brightest ladies in the League of Legends, in a boiling pot for breakfast simply because 'she was too bright.' Lux herself doesn't remember what had exactly happened, but she knew that her life was at stake. After all, injuries outside the League of Legend matches didn't heal quickly.

He was the Master of Metal, and he surely lived his name up to it. Not even Vladimir could slither out of his iron grip when angered. For six months, Mordekaiser had not been disturbed by absolutely anything, and he was quite glad about that. In fact, that gave him more time to level up in this one video game he got hooked to. Controlling legions of armies in real-time strategy had never been this fun for Mordekaiser.

"Yearrrrgh! Take this! That! Those! These! Ha ha ha!"

And yet, there is one attribute that very- and by 'very,' I mean by very, little people know of.

"Yet another victory for the great lord; Mordekaiser!"

He acted quite human.

Yes, people actually decided to deny the fact that he was a living being due to his public cruelty. After all, not many living things decide to shove Lulu into a closet filled with explosives. But he still had a heart, which was the very reason for why he was alive. His heart was certainly not the purest, but it certainly wasn't the dumbest. Mordekaiser himself didn't care about 'hearts' and things along those lines, however, as he was an iron man.

Putting down his GameMace controller down, which actually resembled Mordekaiser's weapon of choice, the Master of Metal leaned comfortably on his couch made of stainless steel. There was nothing as comfortable as this!

Then, he heard the knock of a door.

Mordekaiser's eyes jerked open.

It had been six months since someone had ever decided to knock on his door. What could possibly be so important?

Standing, he stormed towards the iron door with heavy footsteps before slamming it open. In front of him was a male summoner who wore purple robes. His face was partially covered by the hood, but it was clear that he was frightened. Without hesitation, Mordekaiser summoned his mace before grabbing the summoner by his robes.

"You only need to knock once, infidel! What could it possibly be that made those wretched mages send you down to my room?!"

"P-Please," shouted the summoner in terror, "please let me go! I'm too young to die! I have important news! I-"

"I, I, I, I, I! Speak clearly, you bumbling fool! Shut up and summarize your message in ten words!"

The young summoner gulped before thinking of a way to summarize his message. A few seconds was all it took before he blurted out,

"The Institute wants you to attend the next Rift battle!"

Mordekaiser's face cringed in confusion and wonder, making the summoner's face cringe in fear and horror.

"The Institute? Tell me summoner, why would they summon me, the Master of Metal, the Lord of legions, and the Almighty Iron Man to one of their petty games after such a long time? Did they not grant me freedom?!"

The summoner gulped again, much to Mordekaiser's annoyance, before he answered, "A-Actually, they do want you to participate, but there was another reason for why they sent me down h-here."

Mordekaiser stood, dumbstruck. He then brought the summoner to an eerily close distance, growling, "And what might be that reason?"

"T-They want you to move in with the other champions!"

"!"

Mordekaiser's jaw fell. Dropping the summoner, he looked down. With the other champions? Weren't they as insane as he were?!

...Okay, maybe they weren't as violent as him, but still! The champions were just pesky in their own ways. And they were... weak. Yes, weak. Outside of the League of Legend matches, he had a top-notch strength that is rivaled by no other. He was known for picking up Urgot with one hand before tossing him out the window straight into a swimming pool, after all.

"U-Umm... are you alright... sir?"

"GUARGGGGH! THAT'S MASTER FOR YOU!"

Mordekaiser's mace smashed into the summoner, causing the boy to fly straight out of the deep basement painfully. He would live; that is, if he could withstand major injuries. The Master of Metal had spared him thanks to a safety spell he cast around his mace. He wasn't that stupid to anger the entire Institute, though it would be entertaining to watch them fall on their knees before him.

In a rampage of insults and complaints, the lord of legions walked out of his room before shutting it. After he locked it, which triggered spikes to cover the door's handles, Mordekaiser left the deep dungeon, which was actually built especially for him.

When Mordekaiser emerged from the basement, he found himself in the middle of the Institute. A few female summoners screamed silently at his sudden appearance. Some of the security prepared magic spells in case he began to wreck havoc. The Master of Metal simply chuckled at this; was his reputation that great?

'That's it, fear me. That's what I need to motivate me before I go back to those hellions,' thought Mordekaiser.

He began to walk away from the scene. Staying there would just cause a commotion. Whenever someone gave him a weird look, he would give them a weird look, causing them to look away. It felt so good to be himself.

When he arrived at the Champions' Break, which was a large building that sheltered the League's champions inside, he found a middle-aged summoner waiting for him. His eyes widened. The summoner was the one of the summoners that feared Mordekaiser the least. Chuckling, the hulking tank walked up to the summoner.

"Ah, if it ain't ol' Mercedes. What might cause you, out of all people, to be here?"

Mercury, who went by Mercedes, was much smaller than Mordekaiser, but he wasn't a short human being. His short auburn hair contrasted from the red summoner robes he wore. The man worked for the Institute as a high summoner, and he was a fairly good-looking one too.

The summoner laughed heartily. "Heh heh, I see you stick with my ol' nickname. Anyways, the Institute wants you to stay with the champions for several reasons."

The metal tank raised an eyebrow. "Several reasons? The last bub who told me of this news said that there was one."

Mercedes frowned before smirking. "Must be a youngster. They forget the most important parts. The Institute wants you to get closer to the others. Isolation is making them fear that you'll go mad."

"Mad? Why?!"

"Apparently," said the old man, "you'll become a 'loner.'"

"Gee wiz," said Mordekaiser, imitating a young summoner's voice, "as if I never visit my victims!"

"The Institute thinks that by getting you closer with others, summoners who want to pick you won't hesitate. Currently, everyone thinks you've murdered five summoners for touching you."

"Don't worry," said the Master of Metal confidently, "I'm pretty sure they 'touched' my mace. Cause seriously, I don't remember killing any of those pathetic insects."

Mercedes grinned before patting Mordekaiser's chestplate. "I'm sure you'll do fine, though. You never failed to disappoint me. At least, so far, that is."

"Old man, if you can get at least five friends, then I can get five thousand that would kneel before me."

"That's equivalent to getting slaves."

"...Oh."

After leaving Mercedes, Mordekaiser went inside the Champions' Break. It really was a big place. The halls were literally empty, and the amount of stairs was crazy. Thank whoever designed this place that there was a freaking elevator. Some of the hallways were bland, while some attempted to look 'pretty.' They looked ugly to the Metallic Master, though.

"These whole... living... things... are highly overrated."

Mordekaiser sighed before something caught his eye. In the middle of the first floor's hallway was a figure sitting on a bench.

The iron man felt giddy.

"O' de le joy! The first thing that's remotely close to living is a person sitting on a boring looking bench."

Mordekaiser stomped towards the bench. However, he found something completely unexpected.

Instead of his usual, oblivious victims, this one had some sort of instrument in front of her. Her hair slightly floated in an odd fashion, and her clothes seemed to move due to the aura around her. She slept peacefully with a beautiful face that many men would fawn over.

However, Mordekaiser was not your ordinary man. This was proven when he took out his steel camera. The lord of legions crept next to her before moving one of her pigtails a little. When she didn't wake up, Mordekaiser let the hair cross over his face before taking a picture of himself. He was glad to find himself with the longest mustache in mankind.

"I could use this to win the Bestest, Awesomest, Trollest Troll of 2013..."

Letting go of the hair, Mordekaiser put away his camera. He looked back at the woman, only to find a pair of eyes staring back.

The two stared at each other for a while.

Then the woman smiled. She continued to stare at him, which disturbed Mordekaiser a lot.

'What is this madness?! That smile... something's not right here... and with her...'

Mordekaiser kept a poker face before turning away. He had to prevent himself from killing the woman at this moment. Taking a deep breath, the Master of Metal looked back at the woman. She plucked some strings in what appeared to be a harp. The noises were surprisingly pleasant to the iron man's ears.

"Mmm... do that thing again."

The woman's expression turned from to a sleepy, yet greeting one to a confused expression. She pointed at her instrument, trying to confirm his request.

"Yes, yes. That thing. Made of whatever it's made of. The noise makes me feel high- I mean, good."

The maven began to pluck more strings, causing the Master of Metal to twitch erratically with happiness.

"Wait a second, I should be finding my room right now. Woman! You play surprisingly pleasant music that soothes my ears. I give you the permission to tell me your name."

The maven plucked more strings, looking at Mordekaiser with a smile.

"...What?"

When Mordekaiser's face cringed in confusion, she also was confused. Plucking more strings, she looked up at him expectantly.

"...Woman, I have no idea what you're talking about, but that feels good! Awwww yeaaah!"

Mordekaiser jumped around like a certain, hellish pony before retreating to a nearby elevator. However, the Maven of Strings, Sona, was greatly troubled. Her magic was ineffective. Her magic did not work.

Therefore, she could not talk to him.

Why couldn't she talk to him?

Mordekaiser had to go to the highest floor in order to find his new 'home.' It was at the very end with a wooden door. The area itself wasn't that bad; there were many rooms inside, with a ridiculously large living room that showed the entire Institute through a wide window. Even the bathroom was large, and apparently, the toilet had been resized for Mordekaiser's comfort. It lacked something crucial, however.

It lacked metal.

It was fixed the instant moment he entered the room. After dedicating his time to modify the room, he turned the once beautiful place to a hellish home fit for a lord. The living room now had a throne that acted as a spinning chair.

"Hmph. Not bad. But I certainly expected more."

He was unaware of the commotion beneath him.

"You what!?"

Garen, the Might of Demacia, had met up with Sona after becoming tired with his friends' parties. His jaw nearly slammed itself on the floor. Just when Sona was about to continue, Garen dragged her into his own room. It was filled with posters of big swords and swords... definitely Garen-like.

"Sona, do you even know what that monster is?"

The Maven shook her head.

"Sona, Mordekaiser is a ruthless ruler over Shadow Islands. He's known to kill off anyone who ticks him off enough. I had to silence my own sister just to save her life; you know about her talkative personality, anyways. Mordekaiser's ability to use metal is horrifyingly powerful.

...and judging by your expression, you never knew about that."

Sona became horrified when Garen mentioned Shadow Islands. Especially with the fact that the iron man she met was a ruler, out of all people. After regaining her composure, she sighed before plucking her strings to Garen,

"But... but Sir Garen, there was something strange about this... man..."

Garen attempted to calm himself down as well before he asked, "And why might that be, Sona?"

"I am sure I plucked my strings to talk to him... but he... he didn't hear anything except for my music."

Garen obviously became confused. Anyone could hear Sona when she wanted to talk to them, so why couldn't one of the strongest listen to her?

"That's certainly interesting... but nevertheless, please be cautious around him. I don't know what his intentions are in the Break, but his presence worries me about your safety."

Sona looked up at him before smiling. "Thank you, Sir Garen. I shall be careful."

Garen felt heat rise up to his cheeks. He couldn't stand it when a beautiful lady like Sona looked up to him like that.

And outside, there were two women right at the door.

Luxanna Crownguard felt worried about her brother. Right now, he was with a woman in his room, and this was probably the first time he did something like this. Was he trying to do something drastic? Or perhaps he wanted to confess his love? Either way, she was focusing on what they were saying. Their voices sounded caring for sure.

Next to Lux was Katarina du Couteau. Knowing Garen for a long time, she was surely interested in this sudden turn of events. There was a certain part of her that made her... jealous. Strange for a Noxian to go so far for a Demacian, but then again, the redhead did 'appreciate' Garen for unknown reasons.

Usually in a strange rivalry for Garen, the two had made a temporary alliance to find out what was going on between the Might of Demacia and the Maven of Strings. Lux and Katarina looked at each other with worried looks when Sona clearly asked,

"But Sir Garen, why have you brought me into your room? And there are so many... swords..."

And what followed afterwards put them into a full-panic mode.

"Want to see my personal sword?"

Now, puns were something Garen used a lot, and in this case, it seemed to cause both confusion and chaos with Lux's and Katarina's imaginations.

Lux silently asked, "Does he enjoy that kind of stuff?"

"Of course not," whispered her redhead rival and ally, "at least, not while I was around!"

"S-Sir Garen, what are you doing? And... w-why are you being so hasty...?"

"E-Eh, well, I just wanted to share it with someone I trust."

Both Lux and Katarina screamed in their minds,

'ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU DON'T TRUST ME?!'

Lux dug her face into her hands while Katarina blushed as the embarrassing conversation went on.

"S-Sir... sir..."

Lux and Katarina looked up at each other before shoving their ears next to the door.

"T-That... is certainly big... and it certainly looks dangerous...!"

"Heh heh! Actually, I never used this thing before. Sure, I swung around in the bathroom before, but I always managed to hit something with it. Part of the reason for why I don't do that anymore.

…

…

...wanna carry it?"

Everyone gasped. Even Mordekaiser, who just found out that his mace had a dust ball on it.

"It- It- Ah, uhh, I... it looks too dangerous though..."

"Don't worry, Maven of Strings. No one is around to hear the ruckus. Hopefully."

Garen was out of hope, much to his oblivious nature. Lux was on the verge of breaking her light staff, while Katarina felt like sharpening her daggers.

"O-...okay..."

Lux and Katarina prepared for an ambush.

Meanwhile, inside Garen's room, Sona did her best to carry Garen's favorite sword. It was insanely huge, but since it wasn't an actually weapon, it wasn't that big. The sword surely did look real for a model, though.

"L-Like this?"

Garen found himself in a world of bliss. Seeing the maven shy like this was too awesome for him. Mouth open with a smile, he found himself day-dreaming.

"S-Sir Garen? Did you pass out...?"

"Huh? What? N-No! Nothing. Ha ha, it's just refreshing to see you holding that sword."

"R-Really, sir?"

"Sure! In fact, that big sword might even fit with you-"

This was the end of the line. Lux and Katarina bust the door open before respectively yelling,

"DEMACIA!"

"NOXUS!"

Garen could only look up at confusion before asking,

"Lux? Kat? What in the world are-"

Garen went into a world of pain. Something he honestly didn't deserve. Mordekaiser chuckled when he shoved the dust ball he discovered into a trashcan.