Once Fiora emerged out of the basement with Vayne half unconscious in her arms, the first thing she did was look out for Akali. At first, she didn't detect any activity around the entrance. As she moved around the staircase, she came across a completely ruined Lissandra. But where on earth was Camille then?

Her silent question was answered by a growl that came from her right. Turning her head, she saw Akali being pinned against the wall while Camille was about to rip her apart with her sharp legs. Akali struggled against her but to no avail. Without losing any time, Fiora carefully placed Vayne on the floor and retrieved her blade. Within seconds, before Camille could execute the assassin, Fiora drew closer to her and with a flick of her blade, she beheaded Camille on spot. Akali blinked several times.

"I had everything under control," she claimed.

"Oh yes, totally," Fiora retorted sarcastically. "Your welcome, by the way. Let's get out of here."

"What about Norman?" Akali asked.

"He isn't going to bother us again," Fiora responded ominously as she picked Vayne up again.

Akali nodded, not asking any more questions. They burst through the front door without thinking twice about it. There was really no point hiding anymore. Outside the battle continued fiercely even though Jinx and Irelia had to retreat a bit and even though the guards had lost their leader. Akali threw a smoke bomb, causing panic and chaos.

"Stay close," she advised Fiora who tried her best to navigate through the thick fog. This was no normal smoke, otherwise she wouldn't have so much trouble trying to follow Akali through it. But she had to admit that it was rather useful, considering it gave Akali the element of surprise, pretty much just like this case where she appeared out of nowhere and killed a couple of guards on their way out.

"Took you long enough!" Irelia exclaimed as one of her blades cut through another guard.

"Quit complaining and run!" Akali hissed.

"Aw, and I was having so much fun!" Jinx pouted. "Later losers!" she shouted at the guards before dropping a couple of grenades in order to slow them down.

They ran outside the broken gate and sprinted towards the van that was parked two kilometers away. Unfortunately for them, a jeep and a bunch of motorcycles were right on their tracks. There was no way they could outrun them, no matter how fast they were.

"Fuck!" Akali cursed a bullet flew over her head.

"Don't worry, I got this! Just keep running!" Jinx said before stopping on her tracks.

"Jinx, what are you doing?" Fiora shouted at her.

"Trust her," Irelia advised. "She's a lunatic but trust me when I say that she knows what she's doing."

"I hope she does for her own sake," said Fiora as she kept running.

In the meantime, Jinx had halted in the middle of the road with a smirk on her face, preparing her rocket launcher. The jeep accelerated faster and the bikers kept shooting at her.

"And then they call me crazy." She chuckled. "Bye bye!"

She fired the rocket straight at the jeep. An explosion followed, knocking the bikes out on the side of the road while the jeep was send in the air, flying over a very excited Jinx before landing upside down, already set aflame.

"Holy shit, she did it," Fiora realized, amused.

"You know, she's the only reason this could succeed in the first place," Irelia said somewhat proudly as she looked over shoulder to see if Jinx caught up to them.

Eventually they arrived at the van. Akali took the driver seat next to Irelia and Fiora jumped on the back with Vayne and Jinx. Everything seemed to finally settle down before more vehicles came after them.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Akali hissed, looking through the mirror.

"I need more time to reload," Jinx announced.

"This vehicle can't go any faster!" The assassin responded.

"We need to lose them quickly," Fiora pointed out.

"Easier said than done," Akali grumbled.

"We can't go to our old hideout," Irelia growled.

Fiora thought carefully. "I might have a solution for that but I can't be sure if I can come in touch with-"

"Just try! We got nothing to lose at this point," Irelia interrupted.

Fiora nodded before she proceeded to call Ashe, watching an unconscious Vayne laying on her feet. For a moment she forgot where they were and what they were up to and felt calm until the first bullet broke through the back windows.

"Come on Ashe, answer the damn call," she whispered to no one in particular. For a moment Fiora thought she'd get no answer until she heard Ashe's voice ringing through her ears.

"Fiora? Is that really you?"

"Oh, thanks the stars!" Fiora exhaled in relief. "Ashe, listen to me-"

"Where the hell are you?" Ashe asked impatiently. "It's been weeks, Fiora. Weeks."

"I know, I know Ashe. You have every right to be mad at me right now, but please listen to me," Fiora begged. "It's a matter of life or death."

Silence followed for a couple of seconds before Fiora heard Ashe sigh. "Fine. What is that you need?"

"I need you to send me the coordinates of your current hideout," Fiora responded. "Yes, I know you might think I'm insane but I need you to trust me. I promise you that I will explain everything once we get there."

"We? Who are you with?"

"I doesn't matter," Fiora replied. "Can you do that for me?"

"Fine, will do. But I'm really worried about you, Fiora. All of us are."

"I'll be fine," Fiora promised. "Thank you, Ashe."

The call was ended there. Moments later she received the coordinates she had asked for and sent them to Akali.

"She won't happy to see her," Irelia pointed out, looking over at Vayne.

"Frankly, I don't care." Fiora shrugged. "Ashe needs to get over herself. We're all in this together, we are all in grave danger. We must fight together if we want to even have a chance of surviving."

Irelia nodded but before she could say another word, more shooting came their way.

"Jinx, how about you do something about our problem!" Akali exclaimed.

"Damn it Akali, give me a second!" the Loose cannon hissed. "There, I'm ready. Fiora, open the door!"

Fiora did as she was told. As soon as she opened the back doors of the van, she saw more vehicles coming after them and more men shooting at them.

"Stay still, I'm trying to shoot you!" Jinx shouted at a jeep that was maneuvering in order not to get hit by Jinx's bullets. However, they underestimated Jinx's accuracy. One of the bullets hit on the wheels and the jeep got out of track, crushing onto a tree. Another jeep advanced forward and took its position, another three men appearing from the windows with their guns.

Their luck ran out soon. Norman's men managed to pop one of their wheels and Akali almost lost control of the van.

"That's not good!" she claimed. "Jinx, have you gotten rid of them yet?"

"I'm trying!" the latter responded through gritted teeth. It was obvious she wasn't having too much fun. "But they're too many and I don't have any rockets!"

"Fiora, take this." Akali threw something over her shoulder before Fiora caught the object.

"What is this?" she asked as she looked at it curiously, even though she had an idea of what it actually was.

"A smoke bomb," Akali responded, not much to Fiora's surprise. "It won't stop them but at least it will slow then down. Just drop it on the road in front of them."

Fiora approached the open doors next to Jinx. More bullets hit her bulletproof body but she didn't bother at the moment. She focused on calculating the right spot and time to drop the smoke bomb. She waited a couple of seconds before she did. As soon as the bomb landed on the road, it immediately emitted dark thick smoke.

Akali had been right. The smoke completely disoriented Norman's men. Some motorcycles got out of track, two cars crushed on side trees and some other cars crushed onto one another, causing a collision. At least this would keep them busy for a moment. Jinx pulled the doors close.

"Nice shoot," she praised Fiora. "Better than Akali, if you ask me," she added as the latter rolled her eyes. "What's next?"

"We won't be able to go far with three wheels," Irelia pointed out.

"We won't need to go that far," said Fiora. "But we shouldn't go through Piltover now. It's dangerous."

"Agreed," Akali said. "We should go around the hills. We might get there faster anyway."

"Aren't you worried that they will follow us?" Irelia asked.

"Not any moment soon," Jinx assured. "At least, if they don't want to get all blown up." She smirked mischievously. "But this van is sure as hell uncomfortable," she commented as she rubbing her bum.

Fiora looked cautiously at her. "That's because you're sitting on an extra wheel."

"Oh."

"Pull over," Irelia instructed Akali. "It should take us only a moment to change the wheel."

Akali obeyed and pulled over at the side of the road. Irelia got out, went all the way back, opened the back doors and asked Jinx to hand her over the wheel.

"On second thought, this isn't too bad for a seat," Jinx commented as she tried to make herself comfortable onto the wheel.

Irelia rolled her eyes. "Hand me the wheel, Jinx."

It took her only a couple of minutes to fix the wheel, throwing the faulty one on the side of the road. Then Irelia returned to her seat and Akali accelerated. They continued their trip through the countryside of Piltover in silence. In the distance, they could make out the city drifting away alongside them as they moved. It was a beautiful sight that none of them could enjoy considering the circumstances. It was still night although Fiora estimated the sun would rise in a couple of hours. Her gaze drifted down on her feet where Vayne laid unconscious. This was the first time the hunter ever looked peaceful to her and it would probably be the last for a while. Norman's ominous words kept repeating in her head.

The PROJECT era will begin and no one will be able to stop it.

What did he mean by that? It certainly wasn't anything good. Was it possible that they were planning those clones Ezreal had been talking about even though they didn't have all the initials? It was a possibility. If that was the case, they in a far greater danger than any of them had anticipated and that scared her a bit. She couldn't know what to expect anymore.

As they came closer to their final destination, Fiora asked Akali to stop the vehicle. It would be wise to cover the rest of the distance on foot and get rid of the van. If they were being followed - which they probably were - they should leave any tracks behind. That's something everyone agreed on. They abandoned the van in the middle of an empty field on the right side of the road and had Jinx explode it. Then, they crossed the road and moved towards the hills on the other side.

It hadn't occurred to Fiora that Piltover seemed like a little paradox in the area. Built right next to the sea, it covered much of the the small plain before it got interrupted by hills and endless mountains that were behind those hills. It looked like a huge mushroom appearing out of nowhere. Fiora had never appreciated this until they reached the top of a hill that provided them with a great view to the city below. She might have even enjoyed it if she didn't carry Vayne in her arms and if they weren't chased down. Peeking one last time over her shoulder, she followed the rest of her team down the other side of the hill.

Crossing several hills would be tiring for any other human being. But they were not any other human beings. Not only did they cross them but they managed to do it before the sun rose. But when they arrived where Ashe's coordinates pointed to, they found nothing.

"What's the meaning of all this?" Irelia demanded.

"I don't understand." Fiora was baffled. "It was supposed to be here!"

"Well, there's nothing here," Akali stated matter-of-factly. "Your friend lied to you."

No, this wasn't right. Ashe wouldn't trick her like this, no matter how mad or disappointed she was at her. There must have been something else, something they were missing.

"I can't believe we did all this way for nothing." Irelia sighed in frustration. "Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere completely exposed."

"Wait a minute," Fiora cut her off. "There's something there, I can feel it."

"You can sense it but can you actually see it?" Akali inquired. "Because I don't.?

"Just give me a second…"

Fiora concentrated. She ran scan after scan trying to pinpoint what it was. She knew there was something out there. Suddenly, her scans started showing the outline of a building. Of course it was invisible to the human eye, even to their eyes but they had the ability to spot it. She grinned in satisfaction.

"There's a building here indeed," she announced. "It's just take some time to see it."

She didn't get a response straight away. "Shit, you're right," Irelia admitted.

"It's invisible!" Jinx clapped her hands in excitement. "That's some really advanced technology right there."

"Only Ekko could possibly pull off something like that," Fiora muttered to herself. "Come on, let's go."

They approached the invisible building with cautiousness. They couldn't know what security was installed there for any possible intruders, although Fiora doubted that anyone would come in such a remote location. She headed towards where she assumed the door was - always according to her scans - and stopped there.

"Now what?" Jinx asked. "Do we just knock or…?"

"Well, I can't exactly knock on any doors, can I?" Fiora motioned at her occupied hands. "Why won't you do us the honours?"

"What's that?" Akali pointed at a floating device on the left side of the door. "I don't assume that's doorbell."

"No, it isn't," Irelia agreed. "Looks more like a scanner."

"That's because it is," Fiora realized. Clever. No one but them could have access to this hideout. But that caused them a new problem. Fiora couldn't be sure if her face would be enough to grant them access but they had to try. She stepped forward, activating the scanner that stirred at her move. A glow of light ran over her face, scanning her features. Then it disappeared as quickly as it had made its appearance. Nothing happened.

"What now?" Irelia asked impatiently.

Before she had barely finished her sentence, the building started unraveling before their very own eyes, taking finally a full shape.

"Well, for starters, open the door," Fiora said sarcastically and Irelia rolled her eyes as she walked in first.

They found themselves in what seemed to be a small but very advanced lab, bigger than what it looked from the other side. Of course, it would be impossible to keep so many PROJECTS is such a crumpled place. Fiora wondered how they were able to build something like that.

Her question was to remain unanswered. The moment they stepped inside, they were faced against her old companions. Fiora felt Irelia and Akali stiffening as they drew out their weapons and Jinx loaded her gun. The situation really quickly became hostile. Fiora searched for Ashe among everyone else; she spotted her with her bow ready to shoot. They stared at each other for a couple of agonizing seconds. Then Ashe lowered her bow. Fiora nodded at Irelia that everything was alright now. Reluctantly, Irelia withdrew her blades.

"Is that Vayne?" Ashe asked, motioning at the hunter resting in Fiora's arms.

"Indeed she is," the dueler replied. "She's been badly hurt," she added. Instinctively, Fiora searched for Master Yi. She had to turn her head to the side in order to spot him in a corner, drawing his blade away. She was just so glad he was alive and well. That didn't escape Ashe's attention. She didn't say anything.

"I might be able to do something," Ekko chirped in with a smirk. "Come on, bring her over here," he added, pointing at what looked like a table or perhaps a bed that was connected with a computer. Without hesitation, Fiora did as she was told and placed Vayne there so as Ekko would run the diagnostics on her. Then, she turned around only to face the cold atmosphere that was still there left hanging. She might have returned but that didn't mean that she hadn't lost their trust. Everyone seemed distant, drawn as far away from her as possible. Except maybe Ezreal. Their drama left him completely indifferent. Ashe was the only one willing to have a conversation.

"So, who are your new friends?" The archer asked, looking suspiciously over the three new PROJECTS.

"That's Irelia, Akali and Jinx, all part of the last generation of PROJECTS," Fiora explained. "We met under some weird circumstances."

"We've got enough time," Ashe pointed matter-of-factly.

So Fiora narrated how her and Vayne had went out to assassinate the three scientists, how the trio had captured them and how they were released thanks to Vi's interference. Then, she skipped to the part where they had rescued Vayne from Norman Rose's mansion that had lead them there that night.

"That doesn't sound like Vayne. Why would she do something so reckless?" Ashe inquired.

"She had her reasons," Fiora responded vaguely, without wanting to get into too many details. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to share her personal life with everyone yet.

"Well, there had better be a good reason she put you all in danger," Ashe said bitterly.

"Ashe, I know you have mixed feelings about Vayne, all of you do. I understand. But I need you to remember that she's not the real enemy here, no matter what her choices have been the past couple of weeks. We are in this all together, weather you like it or not," Fiora stated sternly.

"Well, I don't know what choices Vayne has made but I'm pretty sure they almost had her killed," Ekko commented. "It's a miracle she's even alive. What even happened to her?"

Fiora shuddered, remembering how Norman wielded a gun specifically designed to kill them off. "The PROJECT corporation has designed some special weapons," she explained. "And as you can see, they work perfectly fine," she added, pointing over at the unconscious Vayne.

"What does that mean?" Leona asked. "That they…"

"They could if used properly. Even so, they can fuck us up really badly."

"Fuck up doesn't even come close to describe it," Ekko mumbled. "I'll try my best but there's no guarantee. Some of her systems are beyond repairing at this point."

Fiora nodded. "Thank you, Ekko," she said gratefully.

"So, how did you find this place?" Irelia suddenly asked, making all the heads turn towards her.

"Vi helped us with it," Lucian was the one to reply. "It was some old project of hers. With some tinkering and our help, it became a portable base."

"It's a really cool place," Jinx commented. "It could use some improvements but otherwise, it's really impressive."

"Well, I don't suppose you've got anywhere else to go at the moment," Ashe finally spoke. "You're welcome to stay here if you want."

"Thank you, Ashe," Fiora thanked her and she meant it.

"There's a reason the scanner recognized you and gave you access here, Fiora." Ashe looked at her straight in the eye. "We always knew you'd come back. It's just that we can't trust you just yet. It will take some time before we do again."

"I understand." Fiora nodded. "That's fair, I suppose."

Conversation soon died out since there was nothing left to say. The tension had been alleviated to an extent, something Fiora was glad for, but interactions would still remain awkward for a while, that was for sure. That was something she would worry about later. She spent the rest of the night observing Ekko as he tried to fix some of Vayne's parts that had been damaged. She only hoped he succeeded in his task. He didn't stop working until the next afternoon.

"There," he said eventually. "She should be up any moment now. Be careful though. Not sure how much she remembers or how she will react."

Fiora approached carefully as Ekko had advised. Vayne looked like she was having a peaceful sleep, as if she was watching some sort of dream. Fiora stroke her hair absentmindedly. Suddenly, Vayne stirred and Fiora jerked her hand away as she saw a fist coming towards her face. Fiora kept it still, looking down at Vayne response.

"It's me, Shauna," she said softly. "No need to be scared."

Vayne struggled against her grip for a moment before her eyes fixated on Fiora's face. "Fiora?"

"Yes, it's me." Fiora smiled. "Don't worry, it's okay. You're safe now, we are safe now."

She slowly let go off Vayne. The latter seemed confused, as if a million thought were running in light speed through her head. Suddenly, she sat up and Fiora had to withhold her.

"What's wrong? Shauna, don't fight me and tell me what's wrong!" Fiora shouted as she struggled to keep her still.

"What's all this fuss?" Ashe came in to see what's wrong.

"Fiora, he said...he said…" Vayne gasped.

"He's gone now, he's not going to hurt you anymore," Fiora reassured her but Vayne shook her head.

"Norman has funded PROJECT. He knows what they're up to. He told me… he told me that they're going to release the clones in a matter of days! We're all doomed!" She exclaimed.

Fior froze. She looked over at Ashe only to realize that she was just as shocked as herself. Vayne's very ominous revelation meant only one thing;

The end was near.


A/N: I'm not sure if I'm ready to write about an apocalypse of the sort while the real apocalypse is happening out there. Stuck at home for two weeks, let's hope I can prepare some more chapters.