Reunion with a old friend.
Blake, Riven and Ahri watched Irelia and Akali. Blake had just finished explaining her story, what she's been doing, how she met Riven and Ahri and why they came here. Irelia was in deep thought and even Akali had calmed down a little, like she had heard the story before. Blake silently hoped her explanation would satisfy them enough to not try to kill them anymore. Blake needed answers, and she was not going to get them by making enemies wherever she goes. Irelia finally opened her eyes, her expression having softened from her earlier hard look. The look in her eyes was warm and made Blake's nerves calm down as she realized that Irelia would not try to kill them and that Akali had dropped her killing intent as well. Seems they were finally safe.
"Your story... sounds almost identical to another stranger that arrived here a few months ago" Irelia finally spoke.
"Almost? It's pretty much the same story. And for some reason I do not think it's an coincidence" Akali said.
"Agreed, there is no question that Blake here is from the same lands" Irelia said with a nod of agreement.
"I don't understand. Someone else came here with the same story as me?" Blake asked.
"Indeed, in fact the only difference in your story was that she did not have any companions... We can take you to her if you wish. Who knows. Maybe you know her" Irelia said.
Blake nods at that, if there was even a smallest chance she could meet someone from home, she was going to take it "I'd like that. Can my friends here come along?".
"As long as they don't try anything" Akali said, giving Riven a look that clearly said 'I'm watching you'.
Riven just rolled her eyes before they followed Irelia deeper in to the forest. They reached a small area that almost looked like a training ground. As they entered the area, Irelia held out her hand to stop Blake and her friends before turning around to face them.
"Wait here. I will bring her to you" She said before walking away.
Blake waited eagerly for who this other person was. Right now she almost did not even care who it was. Irelia made it clear that it was a girl, but Blake would honestly even be happy to see Cardin. Sure he is a racist jerk, but right now, Blake would take just anything as long as it was from her world. Riven noticed this and made a mental note to talk to Blake about it later.
Soon enough, Irelia returned "Here they are".
Blake got wide eyes when she saw who it was.
It was a young woman around Blake's age, she wore her red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet. She also wore light-green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her green eyes. She was tall and quite muscular compared to most of the other girls at Beacon.
As a top, she wore a brown overbust corset with a vertical strip of lighter brown in the center. Additionally, She wore an elastic, black, A-line mini skirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle-length sash that wrapped around her skirt.
As for accessories, there was a small circular bronze plate on her right hip opposite two pouches with both connected to a belt. The plate bore her "shield and spear" emblem. Underneath her hair, she always wore a brown circlet adorned with a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on thin chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.
She also wore armor. She had elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots as well as a pair of cuisses that began mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. She was also equipped with a bronze bracer capable of connecting with Akoúo̱ atop the sleeve on her left arm. Her high-heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reaching up to mid-calf.
The woman was just as surprised to see Blake as Blake was to see her "Blake...?".
Blake could only whisper a single name "Pyrrha...".
"You know her?" Riven asked.
Blake did not answer as she took a step forward, still shocked to see her old friend that she believed was dead. Pyrrha took a step forward too, and then both suddenly gave each other a big hug. Both had tears running down their faces. Sure they were not that close back in Beacon, but they still knew and respected each other. That and finally seeing an familiar face in this strangers lands was such an relief as both did not feel like they were the only ones of their world to come here.
The hug lasted for several moments before they slowly pulled back. Blake looked at Pyrrha's face with a smile "Pyrrha... it really is you".
Pyrrha smiled back, with her own tears in her eyes "It's so good to see you again Blake. You have no idea what an relief it is to see someone from home again".
"Trust me I know the feeling. But how? I thought you were..." Blake did not need to finish her words, Pyrrha knew what she was going to say.
"It's a long story. One I will tell you back at my house" Pyrrha said.
"You own a house?" Blake asked, a little surprised.
"Yes, I built it myself when I decided to live here in Ionia. Irelia has been a big help for me" Pyrrha answered before looking behind Blake "I see you got some new friends yourself".
Blake gasped as she had almost forgotten about them "Right, the fox lady is Ahri. And the lady with a stone look on her face is Riven... she'... my girlfriend".
"Girlfriend? So you found love too. Looks like your time in this world has been rather good" Pyrrha said.
"This world? What is she talking about, Blake?" Riven asked.
Pyrrha looked at Blake "Wait, you have not told them yet?".
"No... I was waiting for the right time" Blake said with a sigh.
"Tell us what? What is going on Blake!?" Riven demanded in a tone that Blake did not like "What have you been hiding from me, Blake!?".
"Calm down Riven, I will tell you everything later. But for now, all I can say is: I'm from another world" Blake answered.
Riven looked confused as Ahri looked interested.
Meanwhile, the figure from the bar was still tracing Blake's steps. He asked around for anyone who had had anyone matching Blake's appearance and while he got some info, non of them knew where she had gone or where she might be now. It was not something The Figure enjoyed. He did not like having to wander around blind without any solid leads. But he made a promise to Blake. One he was going to keep.
He continued on while thinking to himself 'Seems fate will bring us together again Blake. Not even another world can keep you away from me. I will find you and when I do, I will destroy whatever life you have made for yourself here and then I will decide your fate'.
He smiled at the thought. When he got here, he was worried he would never get to see his darling again. But seems destiny was willing to give him something in return for dragging him here. One way or the other, he would keep his promise to Blake and when she has nothing left to live for, her life would finally be in his hands. And he would be the one to decide what happens next.
Back with the lady gang. They were all gathered in Pyrrha's home. It was nothing special, but it was near a lake and Pyrrha had her own wooden bathtub outside, which she could fill up by opening a small path for the water, anytime she wanted a dip. Blake had just finished telling Riven and Ahri about where she really came from. She told them about Remnant, she told them about Beacon and she told them how she ended up in this world of Runeterra. Her story sounded insane, but Pyrrha could back it up and neither Riven or Ahri really had a reason to believe they were lying... but Riven was still not happy, and for a obvious reason.
"Why did you not tell me this before?" She demanded.
"Would you have believed me?" Blake asked.
"Likely not, but I thought you trusted me more than this" Riven said, making it very clear she was not happy that Blake would keep something this big a secret from her.
Blake sighed, knowing Riven had the right to be mad "I do... I just wanted to wait for the right time and I was not sure how to tell you".
"You just needed to be honest... that's all" Riven said before looking away.
Blake knew there was no point in talking to Riven anymore for now, she needed time to cool of so she just got back to what she wanted to know "What about you Pyrrha. How did you end up here? Everyone thought you died".
"I did... or at least I was supposed to" Pyrrha began as she leaned back in her chair "During the Vytal Festival Tournament. Ozpin called me to his office, where he revealed that he and his inner circle had chosen me as a potential candidate to be the next Fall Maiden".
"Fall Maiden? You mean the one from the old story?" Blake asked.
Pyrrha nods at that "Turns out it was real. As we traveled to the vault below the school, the group explained to me that the current Fall Maiden, Amber, was critically wounded, and had part of her power stolen. She was being kept in a comatose state. When I asked about why this truth was never shown to the public, they explained that it was to protect the Maidens from power-hungry individuals who wished to steal the Maidens' gifts for themselves".
"I can see the logic in that. But where do you come in?" Ahri asked "They said you could be the next Maiden?".
"The group explained to her that because Amber was too injured to transfer her power naturally, they would be forced to use Atlesian technology to try and merge her life force, including her Aura, to my own. This raised my concerns about the ethics of such an act, along with the potential risks to my well being. Nevertheless, I expressed interest in the decision, for the sake of the denizens of Remnant" Pyrrha continued, before she sighed "But it was a lot more to it. There was a chance that the transfer could change me in to a completely different person. There was a chance I wouldn't be me anymore. Ozpin told me that I could think about my decision, though I needed to provide my answer before the Vytal Festival ended. I was so stressed out about it, and I could not even tell Jaune because I was not allowed to... I could not even seek comfort in my own team".
Blake looked shocked and even angry about that "What kind of sick experiments where they pulling behind our backs!? That's all just wrong!".
"I felt the same, but they used the whole: Desperate time calls for desperate methods, excuse. And as we both found out later. There was a lot more going on than anything we could have prepared for" Pyrrha said.
Blake looked down at that, knowing Pyrrha was right about that. But then Riven finally calmed down enough to enter the talk "So how did you get here?".
"When the fall of Beacon began, me and my team were ready to defend it. But then I saw Ozpin and I realized the only way to save Beacon was to accept the power of the Maiden, so I went with him, and Jaune followed us. Me, Ozpin and Jaune took the elevator to the vault, and we ran down the long corridor toward Amber and the Aura machine. I entered the pod opposite of Amber, and nodded to Ozpin to indicate my readiness to receive Amber's Maiden powers. Ozpin instead prompts me to speak my agreement aloud, and I answered Yes. The power transfer began, but Cinder, the one responsible for the all the chaos interfered, shooting an arrow into Amber's heart. This killed Amber, and her remaining powers escaped the pods and entered Cinder's body, making her the Fall Maiden instead of me. I exited her pod and offered to help Ozpin fight Cinder. Ozpin refused the help, instead telling me and Jaune to leave and get the others. Me and Jaune left the vault, leaving Ozpin to face off against Cinder" Pyrrha answered before taking a quick pause as the more painful part of her story began.
"Just breath Pyrrha. We are not going to pressure you" Blake assured.
Pyrrha nodded and continued "After fleeing the tower, I realized that there was no time to explain to Jaune what happened. Once I realized that Cinder had defeated Ozpin and was heading to the top of the tower, I decided to go back and fight Cinder. Jaune repeatedly protested and refused to let me go, but I kissed him and then forced him to leave before I went back to fight Cinder alone... I knew right from the beginning that I had no chance of winning, but I just couldn't run away and watch as everything I fought so hard for was being torn apart... I fought Cinder with everything I had. Never in all my life had I ever had to push myself that far in a battle. It would have been exciting had it not been for the situation. But Cinder was just to powerful for me and in the end I was overpowered and shot through the heart by her arrow... this should have killed me, but instead I saw a blue light and next thing you know. I wake up here, in Runeterra".
Everyone was silent as they let Pyrrha's story sink in. Ahri was the one to break the silence "That was very brave and noble of you Pyrrha. Not everyone runs to a battle they know they can't win".
"Thank you Ahri... still I wished I could have done more. And I still have no idea if my friends and family are safe or not. When I arrived in this world I wandered around aimlessly for weeks, until I arrived here in Ionia. Irelia helped me a lot and thanks to her I now have my own little home here. It's been a calm life, but I still missed my old home" Pyrrha said before looking at Blake with a smile "But at least now, I know I am not alone anymore".
Blake smiled back and nodded in agreement "It is nice to have something from back home".
"Tell me something though. If there was a chance for you two to go back to your own world... would you take it?" Riven asked, but her question was clearly more aimed at Blake.
Blake could sense where Riven was going with this "Yes... but I would want you to come with me".
"You really think I could live in your world?" Riven asked.
"I do not doubt it. I would never leave you Riven, not willingly at least. If there is a chance for me to go home and take you with me, I would do it without hesitating" Blake said.
All though Blake tried to reassure Riven, her lover still had one question "And if there was no way to take me with you? What would you chose? Me or your home?".
Blake got wide eyes before looking both angry and hurt "Riven... that was not fare...".
"Just answer the question!" Riven demanded, but she quickly realized she shouldn't have said that.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Blake snapped before she stood up and ran out.
"Blake!" Riven called after her and was about to follow her until Ahri grabbed her arm and glared at her.
"Leave her alone. You've done enough" Ahri said with a deadly tone.
Riven looked down. Just how many times is she going to hurt Blake's feelings? At this rate Blake might just end their relationship all together... she would have to make it up to Blake later, as soon as she calms down. Their relationship had been strained many times now, and it could break if this keeps up. And that was the last thing Riven ever wanted. She loved Blake, she had brought so much joy in to Riven's otherwise garbage of a life. And Riven did not want to lose something that precious to her.
As for Blake herself she stopped under a tree and sat down. She took several deep breaths, trying her best to calm down. Maybe she shouldn't have ran away like that. She kept promising herself to stop doing that, but like always, she took a cowards way out and simply ran away. What Riven said hurt, and Blake really did not want to answer such a question... but Riven did have a point... if Blake ever got a chance to go back home, but would never see Riven again... what would she chose?
Her home? Or her lover?.
This was a decision Blake prayed that she would never have to make. Because right now. She had no idea what she would do.
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Tell me what you think.