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It was the fifth of April, and the time for Cosmic-Con was in full swing. With the hallways filled to the brim with excited kids and adults alike, one would’ve thought that a grown man in a Star Guardian Ezreal cosplay wouldn’t have been too strange. And really, it wasn’t a bad outfit—quite the opposite, in fact; the amount of detail and effort put into the cotton and makeshift gauntlet would cause even those snooty critics to fall slack-jawed in utter admiration! No no, the problem wasn’t the outfit. It was the fact that Urgot was so big.
When he walked, the hallways had to clear just a tad for him to be able to move, and sometimes the others wouldn’t budge at all, so there was nothing Urgot could do but sit pensively as he anticipated the one o’clock fan meet-and-greet that was soon to be followed by a costume contest. Yes, it would be grand! Wonderful! Stellar! Those other words that meant something good!
“You doing good, Urgot?” a voice called.
A face dropped down in front of him from atop his head, the little face of none other than Tristana smiling back at him. She had come to participate in the National Teamfight Tactics League. It wasn’t anything important to Urgot, but he still rooted for her regardless.
“Great!” Urgot responded. “Why wouldn’t I be? Today’s the day! I’ve waited for ages!”
“Don’t they do this every year—?”
“Hey, look!” Urgot’s already excited face somehow managed to brighten more.
“Oh wow, he’s here too?” Tristana blinked. “I thought he was holed up in his house still!”
Though the crowd of people was so dense that every face looked like each other, Urgot easily picked out one in particular that he recognized. A flash of pink, the face of a cat, and a paw print engraved on a flashy spade—Yorick couldn’t have been any more conspicuous than he currently was. The shepherd was accompanied by several cat-like creatures that awkwardly hobbled on both two legs and four legs without any real consistency. Yorick was in the process of trying to herd them when Urgot caught his attention. That stone-cold expression broke into a soft smile at first sight of the superfan; not even Yorick was immune to Urgot’s joy today.
“Yorick!” Urgot was already in front of his friend. “Thought I’d find you around here had I searched long enough.”
“Don’t worry, I was preparing to get lost again.” Yorick shut his eyes as the mewling of the cat monsters grew louder and higher in pitch, resulting in him slamming his spade on top of one of their heads to quiet them.
“Mood!” Urgot laughed.
Yorick was the Shepherd of Lost Cats… or so the people that lived on the curb claimed. Really, he was just some guy that fed the stray animals around town with the food he had on hand. At some point, his house filled to the brim with cats, and he became known as the Cat-Caller.
It’s not as sexy as it sounds.
“Are we missing anybody, Tristana?” Urgot looked up to the yordle on his head.
Tristana stood proud and peered out over the crowd before pressing her fingers together. She could think of about two other people that should be here today.
“Uhhh… Didn’t Nami and Galio say they were coming?” Tristana held up two fingers. “Galio’s probably already here though. You know, work and all.”
Her face suddenly brightened. “Hey, speaking of which… wanna grab chicken? He always makes it the best.”
“True…! Well, I don’t see why—!” Urgot gasped before gesturing to his perfect cosplay of Ezreal. “Oh, I couldn’t! Look at this!”
“Still as doting as ever, I see…” Yorick chuckled. “Well, I guess I couldn’t have expected you to change in the span of a year.”
“How many more showed up to the front yard, Yorick?” Urgot asked, putting a hand to his chin as he scrutinized the man in front of him.
“Fair!” Yorick finally flashed a wider grin.
The day started out so simple, it was hard to imagine there was anything going on aside from the convention itself. The average person that stood in the crowd of adoring fans could’ve felt the adrenaline coursing through the veins of the people around them. Their rampant excitement was contagious, and there was no denying the splendor of the events hosted at Cosmic-Con.
Beginning with the PROJECT comic premier, Katarina showed off just how impressive she could be when given a set of throwing knives. Seven, twelve—it didn’t matter how many she was given, none of them would touch the ground with her superb agility and awareness. Lucian was there to provide a light show, the glow from his guns casting a gleam on the daggers. With every blade that hit the air, a flash of light gave the room a fierce orange glow. With the final flash of light, an ‘X’ symbol materialized in the air. A figure shot through it, causing the X to divide and dissipate into the light. The man, well-built and proud, threw off his hood. It was none other than Pyke, one of the newer participants to the PROJECT series.
Urgot cheered with the rest of the crowd as Pyke finally made his debut into the fan-favorite comic series. Even though the sailor was typically a sour sport and didn’t enjoy the publicity, this would be his first attempt at… socializing somewhat. Urgot recognized that, and the man gave a thumbs up when he saw Pyke make his exit.
Following PROJECT was the showing of the Star Guardian action figures as well as Star Guardian merch. Urgot squealed at the sight of Ezreal’s, causing Yorick to wince and rub one of his ears to make sure he hadn’t gone deaf.
“Is that necessary?” He shot a glare to Urgot.
“Sorry, I’m really excited…!” Urgot clenched his hand into a fist that shuddered as he struggled to hold his anticipation inside. “Look, it’s the New Horizon team!”
But, seeing his friend so happy quelled Yorick’s annoyance. Yorick could let Urgot have this day, at least. His face relaxed, and he gave Urgot a pat on the shoulder. Finally, his idols were beginning to make their way onto the stage. First, there was Ahri, followed by Miss Fortune, Soraka, Syndra… and Ezreal. Yorick winced upon hearing Urgot once again. At least all of this would be over soon.
"Welcome, Starlights, to the annual Star Guardian fan meet-and-greet!" Ahri held her arms out as her nine tails fanned out behind her. "Remember the rules! No harassment, no touching without permission, no reckless destruction of property…" She flashed a glare to Miss Fortune, who shrugged and winked to the crowd. "... and be reasonable with what you want to be signed. We've had people ask us to sign their butts. I'm sure Syndra would do it, but the rest of us have varying levels of dignity. Mostly above that level, at least."
Soraka cleared her throat. "Most importantly, please enjoy yourselves!"
Ezreal chimed in. "And there's gonna be a costume contest hosted by yours truly sometime during the meet-and-greet."
Ezreal looked out over the crowd, spotting Urgot. "And I think I'm already seeing a fan! You've got good taste."
Tristana looked down at Urgot's face and saw that the man was staring wide-eyed at Ezreal, his voice caught in his throat. Urgot looked both ways and pointed to himself as if to ask "Is he talking about me?", and Ezreal could only nod and give a bit of a laugh. Urgot's eyes brightened with intense hope. He was in a good mood for the rest of the meet-and-greet.
When the time came for his costume to be presented, Yorick patted him on the back and ushered him up to the stage. Stairs were the bane of his existence, but with help from the shepherd, Urgot stood proudly next to the other competitors, all dressed as Ezreal. Urgot's longtime rival, Baron Voss, stood at the other end of the stage dressed in his own Ezreal cosplay. They shot a glare at one another, but Urgot knew he was the superior Ezreal cosplayer. He'd been doing it ever since he joined the fandom!
"You'll notice we're running things a bit differently this year!" Syndra gestured to the line of Ezreals. "We're separating the overall contest into individual ones for each Star Guardian member! That means one for each member of Ahri's team and those of Lux's team as well. Each captain cosplay will be presented last.
"The reason for this is, well, we've been hearing a few calls for a change… I'm not gonna name names, but one of you guys is on a crazy winning streak, and Lux wanted to make things fairer."
Urgot chuckled to himself, pressing his fingertips together. Syndra gave a signal to the Star Guardian team (the judges of the event), bowed, and stepped off the stage. Urgot could feel his victory approaching. His prize, the Prestige Edition Star Guardian Ezreal XL statue, was just within his grasp. The judges called for everyone to clear the stage.
Lulu and Janna, dressed in their Star Guardian outfits, were the next ones up on the stage, with the former holding a set of flashcards.
“Alright, everyone! We’ve cast our votes and are ready to announce the winners of the competition!” Lulu adjusted her hat as Pix sat atop her head.
“Cross your fingers, Urgot!” Tristana nudged her friend.
Urgot was crossing them so hard that they’d probably snap from the pressure. There were faces he recognized and didn’t recognize, and Urgot couldn’t have been happier to congratulate them, but there was a spot he was expecting, and Ezreal was the one announcing now.
“I bet all of you saw this coming, but the winner of my cosplay contest is—”
CRASH!
An explosion from nearby caused the room to rumble and erupt with shrieks—Yorick’s cats included. Tristana yelped and grabbed onto Urgot’s head tightly, and Yorick turned towards the eastern wall to see it fully collapsed. A purple glow smothered the room and was almost too bright for Urgot to look at. His heart caught in this throat, one unwelcome sight stepped onto the scene.
“Started the party without me?”
High pitched laughter was followed by a purple haze rising from the floor. It hung in the air before contorting into an unstable portal. From it came several tentacles that belonged to a strange octopus-like creature. Urgot was too busy screaming with excitement to be afraid of what was going on, but his screams were basically the same pitch as everyone around him anyway. Nobody would notice. Yorick sicced the cat monsters on it immediately. The tentacles shot out and grew pointed ends, piercing the bodies of the cats and causing them to burst into smoke. A human arm pushed past the octopus creature. Urgot caught the flash of purple and blue. A four-pointed star emblem gleamed in the glow of the octopus monster. Ahri’s tails bristled, and the rest of the guardians from her team drew their weapons. Lux gasped and called for her team, stumbling off near Ahri.
“What an entrance, Zoe.” Ahri cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Fashionably late as always?”
“Better than being an hour early and doing nothing,” the guardian said, pulling out a yo-yo and spinning it. “Besides, traveling the Dark Alleys is hard stuff! Give me a break!”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get all the playtime you want when we seal you away for good.” Miss Fortune aimed for Zoe. “Any last words?”
Zoe looked up from her toy and smiled at Miss Fortune. “Duck.”
“What?” Miss Fortune narrowed her eyes before glancing above herself.
A storm of feathers rained down from above, and it was Poppy that rescued Miss Fortune just in time, tackling her out of the way. From above was Xayah and Rakan. Rakan dabbed.
“Can’t have a party without us!” Rakan announced, gesturing to himself and Xayah. “The Emperor of Hotness makes his grand entrance ! And the Queen of Sexy—!”
“Not now, Rakan.” Xayah rolled her eyes, waving a few of her feathers around.
“The Empress of Thighs—”
“No.”
Xayah let go of Rakan and spiraled to the ground, righting herself just before she hit the floor and sticking the landing. Rakan looked disappointed and followed after her. The two stood in front of Zoe, readying their feathers.
“Gotta say, didn’t think you were narcissistic enough to have a fan meet.” Xayah scoffed. “Thought that was more my style, but hey, good job. At least someone respects you losers.”
Yorick glanced at Urgot, his face intense.
“We should be going,” the shepherd said. “The guardians can handle this.”
“And miss an epic fight scene!?” Urgot clenched his hands into fists, his eyes sparkling with wonder. “I’d rather die!”
“Write your will then.” Yorick tugged on his arm and got to moving.
“Noooooooo!”
Urgot’s wails fell on deaf cat ears.
Tristana led the way as she, Urgot, and Yorick made their way out of Cosmic-Con. The ground rumbled as more of the building began collapsing from Zoe’s magic. Anybody that knew the Star Guardians knew that Zoe was a herald of chaotic change, but attacking a fan meeting was the last thing that anyone would’ve expected. Three shapes shot into the sky above the convention building. Xayah was staggering from the rapid shots Ezreal was landing.
“Eat this!” Ezreal pointed his gauntlet at Xayah, drawing his other arm back as though he were readying a bow. “ TRUESHOT BARRAGE!”
“Awesome name, Ez!” Rakan gave a thumbs up.
“R-Rakan!” Xayah snapped. “A little help!?”
“Oop—!”
Rakan flew for her, reaching a hand out and channeling his energy into Riku. A shield enveloped the two of them, colliding with Ezreal’s ultimate attack violently. It painted the sky a vibrant blue and green. From the smoke came a green star that sailed downwards, followed by Rakan. Though Rakan was sailing to the ground, Xayah seemed to pay him no mind. The guardian saw the ground fast approaching, but it was difficult for him to keep his eyes open.
“Be safe… Xayah…” Rakan said, his voice dying out.
Something caught him. Tristana saw it. The hulking figure of a winged petricite colossus.
“Galio!” She smiled, pointing to him. “He made it!”
“Wait, Tristana, what’s that?” Yorick pointed to the green star that was falling below Galio and Rakan.
Urgot ran out after it, ignoring Yorick’s immediate scolding. As he drew closer, Urgot could clearly make out the five-star star guardian emblem. It perfectly matched Ahri’s, but it held Rakan’s color scheme. Urgot caught it with ease, and his skin shivered as he felt unfamiliar energy begin to flow into his body. Was this the magic of the cosmos?
He could’ve sworn he heard a man’s voice shout his name.
Who was it again?
. . .
Urgot watched as the world around him distorted and changed in a menagerie of colors. Black began to coat the ground like a black ichor. Stars dotted the nothingness, and his surroundings became space, complete with comets and planets of varying sizes. He could spot Neptune to the northeast of him. Right in front of him, however, was what looked like… the Sun? No, not the Sun… a collection of nebulae. Whatever he saw distorted like ripples on the surface of a lake. He felt as though if he reached out, he could grasp the vast nothingness of space in his hands. Urgot found that he couldn’t speak despite the anticipation in his very soul. He reached atop his head for Tristana’s input but found that she was absent like everything else he knew. Still, he clutched Rakan’s gem in his hands.
“Is your name Urgot, Star Child…?”
Urgot’s mind froze as he realized who he was speaking to.
The First Star.