[center][color=#00998e][b]Alexander Locke[/b][/color][/center]

Alexander was not looking forward to meeting Erick at the cafe, it required him to get up, on his day off, and go to his place of employment--[i]on his day off[/i]. It wasn’t like he had [i]plans[/i] or anything, it wasn’t like he was trying to scale the ladder. Nono, if Erick called, the world heeded to it! Or something to that effect, or so it had always seemed… The other guy had something of a commanding atmosphere that surrounded him, honestly, Alexander was a little jealous of it. Maybe if people listened to him, he could be Diamond 2 or 1 or whatever Erick was, but instead he was stuck in Plat 2, but at least he always had the joy of crushing nerds with Ezreal.

Nothing made him happier than Arcane Shifting straight into battle, landing the empowered Triforce AA, followed up with another Triforce Q proc, then standing on his enemy’s body and spamming ‘You belong in a museum!’ while typing “G E T  S H I T  O N  N E R D S” in all chat. He paused for a moment, looking in the mirror and placing his tube of toothpaste on the counter, grinning to himself. [color=#00998e][i]Maybe,[/i][/color] he thought to himself for a moment, [color=#00998e][i]I’m stuck in plat for a reason. I mean, I kinda am a [b]little[/b] bit of a troll. Which, as we all know, Platinum MMR in League of Legends is filled with.[/i][/color]

He left the bathroom and strolled down the hall into the kitchen area of his apartment, looking around for his phone. He found it, but he couldn’t exactly reach it. He stuck his fingers out, the tips grasping, grinning to himself. “[color=#00998e]Maybe if I believe hard enough, I’ll just shift over there! I’ve done it probably tens of thousands of times in game. I can get over there.[/color]” He started laughing but it was cut short after a slight [i]whump![/i] sound filled his ears and he ported next to the counter where the phone was.

A grin came over his face. “[color=#00998e]Alright, round two. Let;s try that again.[/color]” He snatched the phone and punched Erick’s face with his thumb, dialing the number as he looked over to his favorite chair, thinking like he had last time. As the dialtone began, he warped again, this time appearing in the chair with a little added issue: there was a dark, burned mark in the wall where his bolt had hit. “[color=#00998e]Got it… Not entirely safe. Gonna keep that in mind… Oh, hey, Erick? Dude. I got something to tell you![/color]”

“[color=#c49d00]You inherited Ezreal’s powers and Arcane Shifted around your house?[/color]” The other man’s voice flooded through the speaker on his phone and Alexander froze.

“[color=#00998e]Hey! How’d you guess that, wadafak?[/color]”

Erick looked up at the Sand Soldier in front of him before he spoke again, still as calm as ever. “[color=#c49d00]Just a hunch. I’ll see you at the cafe, right?[/color]”

“[color=#00998e]Uh, yeah, see you there.[/color]” Alex responded, then shut off the call, wondering how Erick had known that as he stood up and left the building.
[hr]
[center][color=#c49d00]Erick Anderson[/color][/center]

As the phone call ended, Erick stood up and again looked at the Sand Soldier, walking around him slowly, observing him. Perfect. The spear, everything was exactly like the soldiers of the actual Shuriman emperor. Erick lifted his hand and pointed in a direction, and immediately the soldier’s spear lashed out, stabbing at the air where Erick had pointed. He tossed his hand to the side this time, this time wanting the soldier to move, and, obediently, the Sand Soldier moved, gliding over to the side.

For a moment, Erick wanted to dash to the ally, to see how well he could execute an [i]actual[/i] Shurima Shuffle, but he stopped himself. “[color=#c49d00]I’ll figure that out later.[/color]” He said, then looked at the soldier and cleared his throat, and spoke, finding his voice to be even more powerful and booming that it had ever been before, almost echoing in his apartment. “[color=#c49d00]Go. The order is given.[/color]”

Almost immediately, the soldier dissipated, leaving nothing but a few grains of sand on the floor where he had once been. Smiling, Erick pocketed the knowledge of his newfound powers, and left the building.
**
It was barely ten minutes before he arrived at the cafe, smiling as he saw his friend waiting outside. Gesturing inside, Erick led Alexander into the building, and to a table, sitting down beside him. “[color=#00998e]Alright. Let’s talk,[/color]” Alexander suggested, and Erick shook his head.

“[color=#c49d00]No way, I’m thirsty. Drink first. Then talk.[/color]”

Alex sighed.