Diana didn't give Leona time to process what was going on before she rushed towards her and, still using her powers, made the both of them land on top of a tree branch, concealed from prying eyes.

"Did you tell anybody where you were going to?!" She asked her, jagged breaths coming out of her mouth, too.

The alarmed whisper harmonized pretty well with the wild look on Diana's face. Leona didn't know what to say. "I—"

"Leona!" Diana interrupted her, stopping at the sound of men underneath them, probably surrounding Riven, her head turning so as to look at the scene below.

"Wanderer!" One of the guards called. "Identify yourself!"

"Well, good evening to you too, guys." Riven said in her loud voice, a sound that demanded respect.

"Wanderer," Another guard intervened, "We just have a few questions for you."

"I bet you do."

"Leona," Diana began as she looked at Leona again, "I swear by our Goddesses, if you told someone—"

She cut herself off as her eyes followed Leona's, ignoring her red face, her hands playing with—

Diana snatched the necklace that had been around Leona's neck, ripping it from her and inspecting it.

A charm with the Demacian coat of arms.

Had it been there all along?!

And it was warm with some kind of magic.

Diana's eyes were alit. "Who the Hell did you tell about this!?"

"Diana," Leona started, "I can—"

"I'm telling you," They heard Riven talk again, "The person you're looking for went that way." She said, emphasizing her words. "Same direction you guys came from." She then added with a comical tone. "Maybe you walked past each other or whatever."

"You shouldn't talk about the Chosen Of The Sun so lightly. It's disrespectful."

"Disrespectful?" Riven said, then huffed. She sounded offended. "Well, she should turn the Sun down a notch! It hurts my sensitive eyes."

She was poking the soldiers' patience. "Talking like that is sinful! Stop or we'll act upon it!"

And Diana knew Riven was still tired, still recovering from their last battle.

She knew she should let it go, for they outnumbered them greatly and they were still exhausted.

But she knew Riven.

So she wasn't surprised to hear her taunt them as she said, "Woah, woah. Slow down. It's only sinful if I belong to your religion and, last time I checked, I wasn't walking around some old temple with only bathrobes on."

And as she heard the sound of battle beginning, Diana jumped to Riven's side, succeeding at stopping the soldier's advance… for a minute.

"Oh, look!" Riven said, "Is this the one you're looking for?" Then Riven pretended to look at Diana with more attention and said, "Oh, no, nevermind. She's pale enough she makes me believe she never even saw daylight."

Diana glared at her as the soldiers approached them once more. "Riven!"

Riven smirked, "Hello, stranger."

And as they were about to be hit, Diana protected the both of them with what remained of her power, her exhaustion being evident on how, at the touch of her shield, her enemies flew backwards instead of being harmed by her.

So Riven unsheathed that broken blade of hers, Diana doing the same with her khopesh.

"What did you do to our Chosen, heretic?!" One of the soldiers taunted Diana.

Diana's eyes opened wide as she looked into that specific man's eyes and said, in the lowest voice she could muster up, "I devoured her soul."

Riven immediately started laughing.

The distraction earned her a slash to the forearm.

That man didn't survive, for Riven's anger pushed her to behead him.

An eye for an eye, like your Chosen says.

She smirked at how that hadn't been an eye for an eye, but an eye for both, instead.

Leona could only watch as both sides to her story fought.

On one side, the Solari, her people, who were clearly looking for her, searching the lands.

On the other side, Diana and Riven, her foes.

But where they really her foes?

After sparing her life, fighting alongside her, informing her of their discoveries.

Letting their guards down near her.

She felt the charm around her neck. It was still hot.

Good.

They kept fighting, no magic left in either of them. Still, their mastery of their weapons was enough for them to fend them off.

But they were so many.

Riven got carried away, striking down slash after slash on a soldier's shield, obviously trying to scare them away as they hid behind his shield to avoid being hit, the Noxian taking steps forward and making them walk backwards.

She didn't see Diana looking after her, heavy breaths escaping her lips.

Neither saw the one man behind Diana, his shield forgotten, his sword up and ready to strike her down.

Diana heard the sound of iron clashing with iron behind her and turned around to see Leona, out of her hiding spot, her shield up and covering her from what would have been a fatal blow.

Immediately, everyone stopped fighting.

The man who had tried to kill Diana stumbled back, "My-" He stuttered, "My Chosen?"

Leona lowered the shield and looked at him.

"What are you doing here? Why did you shield her?"

Oh, boy.

Then one of the soldiers managed to put two and two together.

"You… you're with the Heretic?!"

Diana was surprised to see Leona simply, calmly, sighing as an answer.

And then there was a kind of buzzing sound in the air…

It was getting louder.

What the Hell was it?

Diana didn't concentrate on it as much as she concentrated on Leona's focused look, though.

She seemed to be counting under her breath-

"To your left!" She roared out loud at Riven, not even calling her name.

And Riven immediately moved, just as Leona knew the Noxian would, for she was trained to act first, ask questions later.

Just as the warrior pulled Diana with her, to the same side to which Riven had jumped to.

Just as a golden, humongous hammer came to view, hitting the ground with a loud sound, shockwaves rippling around it, the magic of the blow catapulting the Solari far, far away, leaving them alone once more.

Well, alone.

What the Hell was that?

"It worked!" A bright, high voice chanted from a few feet away from them, where the Hammer had come from. "Thank you for your service."

"It wasn't a problem." Was the answer, by another high, yet somehow tinier, voice.

And when the intruders came to view…

"That is one big hammer for one tiny yordle."

Diana smacked Riven's arm. "Riven!"

"What?"

"That's rude."

"It's only the truth!"

Leona approached the human and the yordle, making Diana and Riven follow her with their eyes and-

Isn't that the Demacian Mage that helped her before?

"Thank you for appearing around at such short notice, Lux." Leona said in a calm voice that Diana hadn't heard in ages.

"No need to thank me." The blonde answered. "You should thank Poppy instead."

So Leona was about to crouch when Lux made a disapproving sound with her throat, making Leona stop and stand up again.

She approached the Warrior's ear and quietly whispered, "I would advise you against that. Yordles are too aware of their height and find it offensive."

So Leona looked at her, her mouth forming a big Oh, as she nodded and looked at Poppy.

And while Leona thanked Poppy for the help...

"Luxanna Crownguard. Lux."

All of them turned to look at Riven.

She continued, her broken blade still in her hands, undying fire in her eyes, promises of murder hiding in the red, as she took a step or two towards the Demacian. "Garen Crownguard's little sister. I should have recognized you last time."

"I don't like how you're talking, Noxian." Poppy said honestly, spitting her last word as if it had poison, Riven's accent giving her up, bracing herself, readying her hammer to, apparently, blow the former Hand of Noxus out of the map, too.

"I'm not about to pick a fight with her, yordle. Relax." Riven said, not looking away from blue eyes but sheathing her blade and folding her arms in front of her.

Lux walked towards Riven, no staff to be seen on her so, maybe, no threat being posed by the Light Mage.

Maybe.

"I'm not at all surprised you know who I am." Lux said as she came to a stop in front of Riven. "Everyone, unfortunately, knows what they want to know, who I am being an apparently important piece of information. But now, not everyone knows you're still roaming the lands, Riven."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Riv—"

"Ok! Time to sleep," Diana immediately said, cutting her off, her hand aimed at Poppy, making the yordle fall to the ground instantly, landing with a loud snore coming out of her mouth, the humongous hammer laid on the land, too.

"Thank you." Lux said to Diana then, surprising the Empyrean a little bit. "She's a very sweet being, but her admiration for my brother can get old too fast, making her a little bit…"

"Unbearable." Leona added for her as she joined them.

Lux nodded, sighing in relief, "Yeah."

"Before we keep chit chatting," Diana said, interrupting them all, "Who will explain what's going on here?"

"You were right, Diana." Leona said, "I did tell someone my departure towards you." Her eyes moved towards Lux. "I told her."

"As soon as Leona informed me that she was coming to find you, I gave her this charm." Lux said, taking the Demacian coat of arms from Leona's hands. "I told her that, if she ever needed me, she could call me with it. She only had to apply some magic to it and I would know."

"And I have no magic left in me." Leona admitted, sourly, "But you do." She added, looking at Diana with a smirk on her face. "So, when you touched the charm…"

Diana's eyes were as big as two plates. "I called the Mage."

Lux nodded. "That's right."

"Speaking of…" Riven stepped in, raising a brow at the blonde. "Mage? How come a Demacian, Luxanna Crownguard, of all Demacians, is a mage? Last time I checked, your people frowned upon magic."

Lux looked uncomfortable, but not at the question. At the truth. "And they still do. If anyone in Demacia knew about my abilities, I'd be dead. Probably by my own brother's hand."

"Nobody knows?" Diana questioned, pitying the girl.

Lux shook her head no. "I've been hiding it my whole life and, if you two wouldn't mind, I'd rather keep it that way."

She didn't yet trust her, but she had to admit; she could empathize with her.

Unfortunately.

Seems all of us in this freaky group are not fit to our homelands.

"I can't believe I'll be doing a Crownguard a favor."

Lux chuckled. "Thank you—"

"But only if you tell that one and whoever else knows I'm alive that I was a figment of her imagination and I am, actually, dead." Riven abruptly added, pointing at Poppy. "I like my status as a ghost."

Lux nodded. "Sounds fair to me. Demacia doesn't need to know."

"So you're basically betraying your people for me… you really must hate your homeland." Riven had a knowing look to her face. "If someone had told me that I'd have so much in common with a Crownguard, I would have laughed at them."

Lux laughed, not even bothering to hide how much she agreed with Riven. "I'm a little more open to surprises, but I must admit I would have laughed, too."

"I don't understand, why are you helping us?"

Lux turned to Diana. "I'm not helping you, I'm helping Leona."

It irked Diana. "Same thing."

"She's my friend and she kept my secret safe ever since we met on Demacia, so long ago."

Diana narrowed her eyes.

Lux smiled. "And just like you," She added, with a wink, "I seek truth and knowledge, too."

Diana's eyes widened, "What—"

"Anyway, I should get going. I promised Poppy she'd meet my brother if she helped me with some super secret mission and she won't believe that it was all a dream if she wakes up in the middle of the woods." Lux quickly shot, successfully cutting Diana off.

"She doesn't have to meet your meat head of a brother if she believes it was a dream." Riven observed.

"True, but she really wants to." Lux said, a small smile on her lips. "Besides, once she meets him, maybe that admiration she feels for him will die out."

Riven barked a laugh. "Most definitely."

Lux turned and walked towards Poppy, watching her with a tired grimace. She looked at Diana, then. "Is there a way you can help me out…?"

"Oh." And with a wave of Diana's hand, Poppy stood up, her eyes still closed, hammer in her hands. "She'll sleepwalk wherever you tell her to."

"Really…?" Lux looked at Poppy. "Poppy, to Demacia."

Automatically, the yordle began walking back.

"That's… useful. Very useful." Lux said, staring after the small creature. Then, she looked at the rest over her shoulder as she walked away, "Thank you! Good luck on Ionia."

Riven scoffed, "You think I'll need it?"

"Not you," Lux said, then looked at Leona. "Her. It's the Lunar Revel."

Riven's eyes widened, "Oh, right!" She said, remembering the dates. "It began at midnight!" She looked at Leona, who stared after Lux with a grimace.

And then she began laughing.

With a sheepish look on her face and a mouthed Sorry, the Mage left in the night, leaving them alone.

"Well, there goes the last bit of magic I could use." Diana said, then sighed, "I need vacations."

"You know, I keep saying that I hate Demacians but I think I'll make an exception with this one." Riven said when she finally managed to calm down.

Diana chuckled, shaking her head. "Come on, Ionia is just a few steps away."

Riven approached Leona as they started to walk again, throwing her arm over Leona's shoulders and pulling her closer, a sly smile on her lips, "Are you ready to celebrate the Ionian way, pal? Because I sure am!"

Leona groaned, rolling her eyes. "They're going to be so happy to have Noxian scum crashing their party." She looked at Diana, then, "Can you tell her to stop? She's annoying."

"Tell me yourself, you coward!" Riven responded, making Leona whip her head to look at her. "Oh, that's right, I know the Old Rakkor too! Or did you forget that I was the Hand of Noxus?" Riven asked her in a teasing tone. "I had to learn all the warrior tongues, yours included."

And then Riven laughed at Leona's loud groan at the discovery of the expanse of the Noxian's knowledge.

Diana looked at them with shock and bewilderment in her eyes, "Well, I'm glad you two seem to get along, now."

"That's so far from being the truth."

"Oh, shut up, Sunny Day." Riven responded, playfully shoving Leona. "You love me."

"I love the idea of you, dead, on the ground."

"Sure." Riven said, looking at Diana and mischievously winking at her.

Diana had to look away at that.

"I'm telling you, a good shield technique can overpower mastery with the sword, anytime."

"No, no, no." Riven quickly said while shaking her head. "A good swordsman can go around a shield technique. Shields are easy to dodge, they're too big and thus easy to see coming-"

"Easy to see coming?" Leona echoed before huffing a laugh, "You haven't meet a good defensive strategy yet, then."

"Oh, really?"

There had been sarcasm on her voice.

"Yes, really."

"And you believe your technique to be good enough?"

"I actually do."

"Don't make me laugh."

"I'm not really impressed by your sword technique either, Riven."

Then Diana heard the Noxian gasp. "How dare you-"

"You're actually pretty lousy." And Leona didn't stop at the loud What?! That Riven let out, instead adding a, "I've actually fought Ra-Horak more talented than you. Even that new Hand of Noxus, Darius, is better."

"Excuse you, Darius used to be my Second. That means I'm better than him, suited for ruling the Noxian Army. He wasn't."

"And yet he rules it, now."

"Yeah, because I'm dead!"

Leona remained quiet for a hot second, then, "...Still."

And Riven scoffed at her.

Leona chuckled.

"Hey, Riven."

The Noxian looked at Diana, a bit ahead of them. "Yeah?"

"Come here for a second."

The white haired woman jogged to the Empyrean's side, her eyes on Diana's, though the silver haired woman's eyes were somewhere else. "What?"

Diana pointed ahead. "Is that Ionia?"

Riven looked to where Diana was pointing and sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah, that's Ionia."

An imposing mountain stood tall in front of them, with its' cliffside stacked with architecture; houses, temples, monasteries, even elevators to easily climb up or down.

Archways were scattered all over the vast expanse of land, guiding people over and through the mountain, the lands.

The nature of the place, untouched and unbothered by the living beings that inhabited such a place, growing and blossoming eternally, constantly, peacefully.

And far, far away from them, on top of the mountain, a palace formed of two arches that pointed upwards, to the sky.

It reminded Riven of something she had seen, it reminded Diana of something she had read of.

Irelia Lito's dancing blades.

The Placidium.

Diana looked down, to the base of the mountain.

A border had been roughly built up, with soldiers posted all throughout its' length, double the number of soldiers posted on the only entry.

Consequences of the Noxian attack.

"Okay, let's go."

So Diana walked.

She stopped when she only heard one set of footsteps following her.

She turned around only to see Leona trailing behind her.

Riven was standing still, her eyes locked on the Placidium.

Leona turned and looked at Riven, too. "Hey, let's go."

Riven didn't offer any answer.

Diana saw as Leona approached the Noxian.

"Riven."

No answer.

Leona frowned and moved to grab her hand and pull her forwards, "Come on—"

Riven hissed at the contact and pulled away. Why did that hurt so much?

So she looked at her own arm, only to discover that the bandages that usually covered it were gone.

Diana recalled that Riven's forearm had been slashed open during their encounter with the Solari.

So Riven was staring at her own hands, one hidden between lines of dirty white, the other, exposed.

An ugly gashing wound rested on her forearm, dried up blood on top of it, but that wasn't was bothering Riven.

What bothered her was the undeveloped blisters, the charred flesh, the swirls of white and brown on her skin, the scars that marred her and marked her past, that reminded her of—

"Hey," Diana immediately called her, having ran towards her and taking her face between her hands. "It's okay, you're okay." She said with some urgency to her voice. "It's all going to be alright—"

"No," Riven murmured, a faint shake to her voice, echoed by a shake of her head. "No," She said again, taking a step backwards, then another, then another—

She tripped over a root on the ground, but kept backing off, her head shaking no and her hands trembling, her eyes on the marred flesh, her mind aware of the burned skin underneath white cloth.

Diana didn't know what to do.

Riven was about to strip her other hand from its' bandage, when Leona, who had moved towards her in long strides, quickly straddled her and held each hand on her own.

"Stop that." She said, on a stern, authoritative tone.

Riven kept shaking her head, though she didn't battle Leona to release her hands, even as her cries grew louder with the fear gripping her mind, "No, no, no—"

Riven quieted down at the slap Leona gave her.

The whole forest quieted down.

Diana wouldn't take it.

She about to take a step towards them and—

Don't.

And she stopped.

Let's see what she's doing.

"Come on, that's enough." Leona said in a tired and at the same time gentle voice. "We're done."

Leona stood up and brought Riven up to her feet and, in a swift motion, she ripped some of the red cloth of her own attire, quickly bandaging her hand until all of the scar was hidden.

"There, white for purity and red for passion. You in the shape of bandages." She said, placing both of Riven's hands together and patting them with her own.

Riven's breathing started to slow down, but she was still uneasy. "But… my hands—"

"Your hands need to train in something new," Leona said, being flooded by an idea. She unstrapped her shield and quickly strapped it to the red hand, "Now you'll train on defense, while I," She took the broken blade from the place where Riven had it sheathed, by her hip. "Learn some offensive. What do you say?"

Riven slowly nodded, her eyes still scanning the shield. "Sounds good."

Leona smiled. "Good," She said, then patted Riven's shoulder. "Now, let's go."

Riven nodded, "Okay." She mumbled, then started walking.

She moved past Diana, who stood and stared after her.

Leona came to a stop by her side. "Are you coming?" She asked, making the Empyrean snap out of it with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, yeah." She said, walking alongside the former Ra-Horak. She wanted to ask, "How…" But she didn't know what exactly. "What…" She sighed, "How did you do whatever you did to her?"

Leona chuckled at Diana's phrasing. "It's not the first time I see something like this. Back in the Ra-Horak camp, I'd see it pretty much everyday," Then Diana noticed how her expression fell, her eyes cast on the ground when she added, "It happens to me from time to time. Mostly with Khait."

Diana looked away, "Yeah, I know the feeling."

And then they walked.

There was something both of them wanted to say, neither of them dared.

But the silence wasn't that unbearable this time.

Then,

"I'm sorry."

They didn't know who had said it first.

They didn't want to see the look on the other's face.

So they didn't.

They just kept walking.

"Hey, Leona."

The warrior looked at the Noxian, who was ahead. "Yes?"

Riven didn't even look over her shoulder. "Thanks for that. I needed it."

"No problem."

"If you slap me again, you're dead meat, though."

Leona sighed, "Okay."

She tried not to laugh at the small nod of Riven's head.

Then Riven stopped, turning around. "I'll need my blade."

Leona frowned as Diana and her came to a stop, too. "Riven—"

"Trust me."

And maybe it was the calmness in those red eyes.

Maybe it was Diana's hand on her lower back, encouraging her to obey.

She didn't know what made her accept, but Leona gave her the broken blade, which Riven took in her free hand.

"Thanks."

Then they walked again.

A memory struck Diana. "Leona."

"Hm?"

"How come you have your Ra-Horak armor if I stole it when I left? I remember Helena took it from your room and gave it to me, then it got destroyed when I…"

"When you were Chosen."

Diana eyed her out of the corner of her eye.

She had a matter-of-fact look on her face.

"This isn't mine. It's yours. The medics who had treated you during Armin's Rite of Kor kept it and I asked for it before leaving for the Temple, that time."

Diana looked at her. "You kept it?"

"I was planning to give it back to you, but that never happened." And Leona's brows raised a bit when she recalled and said, "Then you melted all of the Chosen Of The Sun equipment, so I was forced to wield it while they forged a new set."

"Did they do it?"

"Yeah, but I never got to use it. It's on the Temple. I was too busy coming to find you."

"Oh."

A beat.

"And you killed the Chosen Of The Sun, so I thought it wouldn't be wise to bring a ghost with me." She offered Diana a smile. "I did my best to come to you as just Leona."

Another beat.

"I'm surprised I could melt it."

"Why?"

"Because the Chosen One's equipment is indestructible. You can get hurt, yes, but your armor, your shield, your sword… just like my blade and my own armor, it shouldn't have been destroyable. At least, not that easy."

Leona frowned. "Guess it's a sign of something, in a way."

"Maybe."

And in no time, they were at the gates.

"Halt!" One of the guards roared.

And they did.

"Identify yourselves." He added later, his eyes scanning them all.

Leona stepped forwards. "I'm Leona, the Chosen of the Sun of the Rakkor tribe, leader of the Solari and the Ra-Horak."

The man didn't seem impressed. "Many titles for one single person."

"Why would you ask for my identity, then doubt me?" Leona questioned with no venom in her, but only mere curiosity.

"There's no way I could possibly confirm your identity, Leona of the Rakkor. I can tell you're a Ra-Horak by your armor, but your claims of being a Celestial? I must doubt."

"And mine?"

Then the man looked at Diana. A certain surprise shone in his eyes. He recognized the symbol on her forehead, but refused to jump to conclusions. "Who are you?"

"I'm Diana, the Chosen Of The Moon, the last Empyrean in all of Runeterra."

"Empyrean?" He echoed with surprise. "Now that's a term I haven't heard anyone use before."

He lowered his guard and walked towards Diana.

Riven was on edge, but Leona's hand on her shoulder soothed it a bit.

He was of her same height. "That religion died a long time ago, Diana Of The Moon."

Diana smirked. "Not as long as I live."

His face demonstrated the wonder and awe he felt upon being on her presence. "You've arrived just in time."

"So I've been told."

"Is what Leona Of The Rakkor said true? Is she—"

"I can confirm her identity."

The guards started murmuring to one another, their voices not lost to the small group's ears,

Just as the prophecy foretold!

Are the Empyreans back, then?

But what about the Solari and the Lunari? They're still against each other!

"Quiet!" The guard who had been speaking said. "It's disrespectful!" He looked at Diana, "Apologies, Chosen."

She was flattered by the gesture, the title… but also weirded out. How did one react to being treated with such respect? "It's okay." She said, a rather apologetic look to her face.

"We'd just need to know your shieldmaiden's identity and we'll be able to let you into our city."

Shieldmaiden?

She looked at Riven.

She contained the snort.

Judging by her raised brow, she didn't like being called a shieldmaiden.

Then her eyes landed on Riven's blade, being hidden from their eyes by the shield…

She didn't want anyone knowing who she was.

Not yet.

Not them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you who she is, for only Irelia Lito herself can confirm her identity." She said, subtly implying that Riven was no one, with no name to give.

The smiling guard frowned. "We can't let her through if we don't know who she…" He trailed off, lost in Diana's intense stare.

"Then take us straight to Captain Lito. She'll be able to tell us who she is."

The man looked between Diana's eyes and Riven's, the clash between the demanding silver and the pleading red short-circuiting his brain.

He closed his eyes.

The three of them, Leona included, held their breaths.

Then, he nodded.

"Follow me, we'll escort you to the Placidium."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm on a roll, y'all.

I've been reading all of your reviews, do NOT think I don't. I just want to thank y'all for it! It means so, so much, you guys have no idea. It actually makes my day! You all are what actually keeps me going with this, just so you know! Even with my one brazilian reader (yeah, I SEE U LMAO), I love you all! Even if I don't finish understanding what you mean, buddy! (English? Yes. Spanish? Yes. Portuguese? Not yet, sorry!)

Thoughts? Comments? Leave 'em below! I'm always watching those, always lurkin'.

Much love!