I think I'll change the publishing date to Saturday. In case I don't manage to write it in time, I can always shift it to Sunday. Trying to finish it on Monday wasn't always easy. Without further ado, enjoy.

PS: If there are some Rengar x Kha'Zix enthusiasts, a friend of mine named CausingNickel has published his first story which takes place in rather unique setting. I'm honestly interested how it will develop and encourage you to check him out as well! u/11644581/CausingNickel

Chapter V - "Help"

Rengar yawned when he returned to Nidalee's camp with her. She was tired, too. They haven't managed to do a lot, but enough just for the next day. It was way past midnight, so Rengar was wondering if Kha'Zix was all right, but decided not to worry about it for now. He sat down and leaned against a tree trunk. Nidalee just casually lied down on her bed and covered her eyes with her arm.

"Success, yay…" she mumbled unenthusiastically.

"Yeah…*yawn*. I don't know what time it is, but it's got to be around two or three in the morning…" Rengar said.

"Okay, so what have we done?" Nidalee asked. It was too late for her to think properly.

"Hmm...shredded pieces of clothes scattered around…" Rengar started counting.

"But with clean cuts, so they won't suspect him." Nidalee replied.
"Right." he nodded. "What else…" Rengar wondered. Even though they just did it, it was hard to recall it. "Oh! The...the fake footprints!"

"Leading to his old cave, right?" Nidalee added.

"Correct. And they won't find anything in there, so at least half a day wasted." Rengar smiled at the thought he had more time than expected, and then he laughed when he realised wasting time would bring him peace.

"What's so funny...?" Nidalee asked half asleep.

"Nothing in particular. Anyway, was that all?" Rengar replied. He was almost sure they were forgetting something.

"The...vial…" Nidalee whispered, trying not to fall asleep.

"Oh, you are right! The empty healing potion vial, I completely forgot." he nodded. "Good thing that I eventually decided to bury their corpses and got rid of the tents, it will help to cover so much evide-" Rengar paused when he heard Nidalee snoring. He smiled and sighed. Having a friend like her was a blessing. Rengar looked up at the sky. The moon was almost completely hidden by the clouds, so there was hardly any light. Even though he was rarely using this feature, Rengar was glad that both he and Nidalee had the ability to see in the dark. After he got up, he started making his way towards his hut. All he wanted now was to just lay in bed and go to sleep.

When he was back, Rengar noticed that there was no lights lit inside, so Kha'Zix must be either asleep or gone. He was glad when he found out that it was the first case after he peeked through the window. He slowly opened the door and slipped inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. Then he took off his armour, most clothes, and in boxer briefs only, he gently lied down beside Kha'Zix, who turned out to be still awake.

"Where have you been?" Kha'Zix asked quietly. He sounded very tired, must have been waiting for Rengar all this time.

"Why aren't you asleep sweetheart?" Rengar asked and hugged him.

"I wasn't tired earlier, and then I decided to wait for you, so I waited." he replied. Rengar felt bad for leaving him without a note or something like that, but he didn't think about it back then.

"I'm sorry. And don't worry, I just had to take care of some things, that's all." Rengar tried to avoid replying to that question. Luckily Kha'Zix appeared to be too exhausted to pry further, so he just sighed, either from staying late, or knowing that Rengar was hiding something, or maybe both.

"Anyway, let's just sleep now, okay?" Kha'Zix asked and pulled the quilt up to cover his shoulders.

"You don't have to ask twice…" Rengar replied almost whispering and hugged him tighter, and then instantly fell asleep.

Kha'Zix would rarely ever wake up earlier than Rengar, so it was a surprise to him when he opened his eye and realised Kha'Zix was gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up. He slowly sat up and shook his head. He couldn't believe it was a struggle to him to get up since he always gets up very early. Last night's sabotage was to blame.

"Hmpf...good morning…" Rengar mumbled and stretched out.

"Hey. I don't want to interrupt, but they are here." Kha'Zix replied.

"What? Already?" he said, still fighting the urge to just lie down and return to sleep, but eventually he managed to get up. He picked up his clothes and armour he threw on the ground the day before and started wearing them as fast as possible while talking with Kha'Zix at the same time.

"When have they come? Have they started doing something on their own?" Rengar asked.

"No, they just came, so I doubt they started anything yet." he replied, but his tone wasn't as cheerful as always, but Rengar thought it was because he didn't get enough sleep.

"Good to hear. Get some rest while I'm gone." Rengar said as he was getting ready. He fastened the locks on his armour, attached his metal claws, and sheathed the dagger. Then he hugged Kha'Zix and placed a kiss on his cheek to reassure him a little. "It's all gonna be okay, I promise. They won't know it was you."

"M'kay…" Kha'Zix mumbled, still looking down.

"Seriously, get some rest, you were waiting for me for some time, we got hardly any sleep." Rengar repeated and smiled. Kha'Zix couldn't help it and smiled back.

"Just come back before it gets dark, okay?"

"That's a promise!" Rengar replied happily. He felt his energy come back when he saw Kha'Zix smile. With that energy he vowed to himself that they would never figure out the true culprit. He opened the door, sent one last smile to Kha'Zix, and left.

"Maybe we came a little bit too early? You know, even Rengar is still sleeping." Noah commented.

"You think? Ughh, what if he gets angry?" Lucy asked, but before she got to hear any kind of reply, they heard the door opening, and then Rengar came out to greet them.

"Sorry for that, I usually don't sleep that long. I had to do some preparations beforehand." Rengar explained. He grinned when he realised that it wasn't a lie.

"Oh, no, you don't have anything to apologise for! It's oka-"

"Please spare me this behaviour. I get that you respect me and all, but to be honest, it's irritating. There is a bigger chance that I will turn you down if you keep this up rather than act normally." Rengar interrupted her. He appreciated their respectful behaviour, but he wasn't used to it at all.

"Oh, well, okay then…" Lucy said and grabbed her arm out of nervousness. She wanted to make a good first impression, but she ended up doing the opposite.

"Just call me Rengar, no weird titles or whatever." he added.

"Sure, buddy!" Noah replied. Both Rengar and Lucy gave him a weird look. Lucy looked terrified, as if he just sentenced them to inevitable death. Rengar on the other hand was surprised how bold the young man was, but then chuckled, because he found it hilarious.

"Alright, I wasn't expecting that." he said. Lucy sighed out of relief, and Noah just smiled, not realising what it could have cost them if Rengar wasn't so nice. "But let's not slack off, we have something to do if I believe correctly."

"Right. Have you decided where to go first?" Lucy asked. It was high time to start the plan.

"Yeah, I have. I suggest we go to the crime scene first. Maybe this creature visited it later. Let's go." Rengar replied and started walking. Lucy and Noah nodded and followed him.

"Oh, right, I've never asked…"Lucy started, but paused. Rengar stopped for a second and looked at her.

"What's the matter?"

"What...what about their bodies?" she asked.

"Ah, that…" Rengar nodded slowly. He tried not to remember that scene, even though it was hard. He shook his head and smiled slightly. "I buried them, they are resting peacefully." he added. Lucy sighed and smiled, she seemed happy with this answer.

"Glad to hear that. Thank you, needn't do that."

"If I didn't, they would have been devoured by scavengers." Rengar explained, "Then they would probably settle nearby knowing they can find easy food nearby, so it would be a pain to get rid of them."

"Ah, okay…" Lucy replied, but sounded a little bit less content. Rengar noticed it. He realised it was good opportunity to scare them. Maybe it would discourage them slightly.

"But after what they've been through, I just couldn't let them stay there." Rengar explained. "Yes, even though I did it in order to prevent scavengers settling there, I also did it because I thought it was a correct thing to do." Now all they needed to do was to swallow the bait.

"Oh, I understand. Sorry for misunderstanding." Lucy replied and then remained silent. Rengar thought it was for nothing, but luckily Noah, the more curious of the two, decided to open his mouth.

"By the way, what exactly happened to them? I mean, I know they died, but how?" Rengar smirked when he heard that question. Then he wore the serious face and turned to them.

"You really want to know?" he asked, gravely serious.

"Umm...yeah?" Noah replied. Even Lucy happened to get slightly more interested.

"So better listen carefully, because if you screw up, you might share their fate." Rengar replied. He started walking towards their destination once again, but this time slower, and he started explaining. At first, they seemed unfazed, but when Rengar got to the gruesome part, he could tell they were moved by it.

"You know, it could be watching us right now." he added after a moment. This made them even more careful than before. They would look behind their back from time to time, even though there was no reason to do that. His story seriously got them.

"Did...did Connor suffer…?" Lucy asked after a moment.

"No...no, I don't think so. His death was the most merciful from all four. It wasn't swift or painless, but he didn't suffer." Rengar explained.

"Th-Thank you…" she replied. Just the moment later, they were there. Before, it was a camp from the worst nightmares. Now, it was just an abandoned campfire with flattened grass around.

"Woah, it looks...kinda unsettling." Noah commented. It looked normal, yet something was off. Lucy felt it, too.

"Last time I've been here it was all red. And I'm not exaggerating at all." Rengar added.

"You mean, like, everything?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, everything. Tents, trees, grass. There were even small pools of blood in those holes." Rengar replied and pointed at concavities nearby. Noah frowned when he looked at them and Lucy covered her mouth in fear and disbelief.

"All right then, let's look for anything that could help us. You take this side, and I take this one." he ordered, purposely sending them to the side where he left torn and cut shirt remainings. As expected, they weren't the best at searching, because it took them at least fifty minutes to notice them. But Rengar wasn't upset or irritated, quite otherwise. He was glad that they were taking more time than needed.

"Hey, Rengar? I think we found something." Lucy said out loud while looking for Rengar.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"This piece of clothing, does it look familiar? I don't think that Connor had anything like this, unless he bought it here." she said while examining it.

"I...I think one of those other men was wearing it. His name was...Aaron?" he replied. To be honest, he had no idea if it was even close to what they were wearing since their clothes were either torn to small pieces, or buried with their bodies.

"You say? It was some distance away from here, it was hanging on the tree." Noah replied.

"Is there a chance he returned for his body to eat him?" Lucy asked, hoping that it wasn't the case.

"Well...to be frank, one of the bodies was indeed missing it's upper part, so it might be what happened…" Rengar told them. He was surprised by how quickly he made up that lie. In the past it would take him more than a couple of seconds, and it still would sound suspicious.

"All...right then…" Noah gulped. He was hoping they wouldn't suddenly get ambushed by this creature.

"Let's go after this lead. But you know what it might mean?" Rengar asked them.

"It might lead us to its lair, right?" Lucy replied.

"Correct. If that's the case, this creature might be there. It might spot us before we even realise we are getting close, so stick together." he added. Without arguing, Lucy and Noah immediately got closer and started cautiously looking around. After some time they seemed to lost track, but that's when Rengar "accidentally" found another clue.

"What might this be…?" Rengar "wondered" out loud and showed them both the vial. "Looks like a regular vial to me."

"It...it looks just like the healing potion Connor bought when he was still in Piltover!" Lucy replied as she was inspecting the small bottle.

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, but...why would it be here?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe...maybe your brother gave it to someone, because he didn't need it? And then it dropped when this thing was dragging him?" Noah suggested.

"This...might be possible, but it seems very unlikely…" she replied.

"Well, we don't have any better clue, so we might as well go in this direction." Rengar suggested. He didn't hear any objections. After some more time they came across some footprints. All according to plan, Rengar thought. Then in time, they were finally there. Rengar quietly ordered them to hide behind the trees. When they looked what was in front of them, they saw partially concealed cave. It was hidden behind bushes and vines.

"Okay, are you ready? Maybe prepare your weapons now since you have time for it." Rengar suggested as he was unsheathing his dagger and unlocking his claw. As suggested, Lucy drew her rapier, and Noah raised his hands just a little higher. As they were slowly moving closer and closer, all that could be heard at that moment was their breathing. And then they were right in front of it.

"You two, stay on guard, I'll light the torch." Rengar whispered, but then Noah shook his head.

"There's no need, I can make magical light orb that can fly around us, or several smaller if needed." he replied. Rengar thought a second, but since it didn't matter, he chose the second option.

"Okay, make smaller ones, but send one of them inside, and make the rest fly around her to aid her inside. Lucy and I will cover you." he instructed him and with Lucy he started looking around them. Without any hesitation, Noah started whispering something, and then after a moment small, bright orbs formed in his hand. He pointed with his finger towards the cave, and one of those little lights followed his command. Rengar looked for a second behind him, he was honestly amazed and interested in what else this young man could do with his utility magic. First protection barrier, now this.

"I don't see anything yet…" he replied.

"Okay then. I'll go inside, you two enter right after me. Noah, make the light go as far as possible." Rengar said and then slowly entered the cave. He had to admit, his darkvision could come in handy from time to time. He was there maybe once or twice, and never really paid attention to what was here. All he knew was that Kha'Zix used to live here before he moved to his house. Now that he was "inspecting" it, he noticed that it must have been rough living here, even for a Void creature. No beds or tables, only some stones and slabs.

"It's good for now I believe. Can you make those lights one again?"

"Aye aye." Noah replied and then they all returned to him, they started spinning in his hand, and then they became one, bigger, and brighter ball of light, which he sent higher to illuminate most of the entrance. They all looked around with their weapons high, but there was no trace of the enemy.

"Are were sure he's in here?" Lucy asked after a moment of painful silence.

"We're not. He might be out, or somewhere here, invisible." Rengar said. Noah and Lucy swallowed. They completely forgot that he mentioned he could turn invisible, though not for long. They started looking around, shifting their gazes from one corner to another, awaiting enemy attack, yet nothing happened.

"Don't worry, I can try to sense him." Rengar replied.

"Oh, you mean the camouflage and the ability to slow your own pulse in order to feel someone else's?" Lucy suddenly said. Rengar blinked several times and looked at her confused.

"Uhh, yeah. How do you know?"

"I've read some books by Eduard Santangelo, famous explorer from Piltover, about vastaya. He mentioned about Kiilash tribe, cat-like hunters, and their abilities." Lucy explained thoroughly. Rengar was both surprised and displeased by how much she knows. That knowledge can become troublesome.

"A-Anyway, just let me do it." he said and coughed. Then, he closed his eye and released the power within him. He felt everything slow down around him, his breath, his heart, everything. Then he looked to his side, he "felt" Lucy's and Noah's presences where they were standing a moment ago. He could "see" their heartbeats. They were faster than usual, human heartbeat. But it wasn't something out of ordinary, they thought they were in danger. To them, on the other hand, Rengar started being slightly transparent, but they still could see him. Naoh sent his light a little bit further into the cave, but all he saw were dark stones, some of them looked almost like boulders. But when he did it, Rengar felt something. He thought he was imagining things, but no. He focused on the direction where the light flew. And then he felt it. A heartbeat.

"H-Hey guys...did you hear something?" Lucy said suddenly. Noah looked at her, and then again at Rengar, who was still focusing. Then they felt rumbling under their feet, and with time, it was getting stronger and stronger.

"Watch out!" Rengar yelled suddenly. When they looked at the darkness in front of them, they saw a huge bear emerging from shadows. They all jumped to the sides in order to avoid trampling. It roared, and the sound echoed through the cave, deafening all of them.

"Ah, shit!" Rengar cursed trying to fight the pain in his ears. He shook his head, he felt dizzy. He envied human's hearing at that moment. He looked at Noah and Lucy to see how they were coping with it, but he didn't see them, something was blocking his sight. He looked higher. The bear chose him as his first victim. With the corner of his eye he saw its clawed paw making its way to him with high speed. Rengar tensed all his muscles and moved his weapons between the two of them to block the damage, but he knew it would probably send him flying onto the wall anyway. He just hoped it wouldn't crush his bones. Suddenly, he felt the crush, but nothing has hit him. No pain, no nothing. He felt it beside him. Rengar lowered his guard a little and opened his eye. He was both shocked and confused. His sight was still slightly hazy from that echo.

"Wha...what happened?" he asked as he moved away from that bear.

"Phew...just in time…" Noah sighed in relief and sat down on the ground. Rengar noticed his hands were pointed at the bear. Did he do something?

"Noah sent it to sleep, though not eternal. I mean, literally. It's sleeping." Lucy explained.

"Be careful next time, it's hard to cast a spell that fast, you know?" Noah groaned from the strain. Rengar's eye widened. He put something like this to sleep? Just how powerful is he?

"But let's be swift, after like, two or three minutes, it will wake up. I can put it to sleep again only two more times, then we have to either evacuate or kill it." Noah replied.

"I'll keep an eye on it, you two start looking."

"Sure. Let's go." Lucy nodded and started searching. Rengar started looking around as well. When he was done pretending to be searching his side of the cave, he decided to join Lucy.

"To think you two would save me, unbelievable." Rengar commented.

"I mean, we are the cause of it, so I guess it wouldn't have happened if we didn't ask you to help." Lucy replied, still searching for anything.

"Yeah, you're right I suppose. But still, it was incredible." Rengar admitted.

"It is, right? Noah always wanted to become an adventurer, so he started training magic. He managed to cast Sleep that fast only because of how dedicated he is." she replied.

"Sleep? You mean that spell?"

"Yeah. It sound silly, yeah, but it's just a name. All that really matters is magic formula. To put it simple, the words he needs to say in order to cast it." Lucy explained it as best as she could. She didn't understand it herself, so she was hoping she didn't lie accidentally about something.

"Ah, I see. Seems quite useful." he replied. Then they heard another groan, immediately followed by another snore.

"One more use guys…" Noah reminded them about limited amount of time.

"Shit! He's right! Let's keep looking!" Lucy shook her head and returned to searching."Sorry, it's my fault." Rengar apologised, but she smiled and shook her head once again.

"No, it's okay. If we run out of time and don't manage to look everywhere, we can always return tomorrow once he's rested." she said while looking under every rock and behind every corner.

"So he has a limited amount it spells daily, huh?" Rengar said.

"Something like that, yeah." Lucy replied, but sighed. "There's nothing here. Maybe we should go deeper? Noah still has one more use, and we've been looking only for a minute since he casted second Sleep."

"All right, let him know. I'll go first." Rengar suggested and went forward. The deeper he went, the more rocks and irrelevant stuff could be found. The end of the cave was closer than he expected it to be. After a moment, Lucy joined him with the lights Noah summoned before they entered the cave.

"It's not that deep. Rather shallow. Anyway, found anything?" she asked concerned. She was afraid that it was all for nothing.

"Not yet, but I wouldn't have high expectations. If the bear claimed this cave, it must mean it has changed its location." Rengar replied. This made Lucy upset. Even though she knew they wouldn't find anything right away, she felt disappointed. So many clues, just to find yourself in a dead end. They spent a minute looking around, trying to find anything, something out of ordinary, but there was nothing, only meaningless scratches on the stones.

"I guess no luck for today, huh?" Lucy asked. Rengar could tell she was sad, he felt it in her voice.

"You know, it might be dead, this thing looked powerful…" he said, wishing something so simple would convince her.

"I doubt it. I don't believe something so menacing could let itself get killed by an overgrown bear." she said and kicked a little stone. "Well, let's get goi-" she added and gasped.

"Hmm? What is-" Rengar asked, but then he noticed it himself. When they were looking at it from various angles, it had no sense at all, but when they were at the back of the cave, when they looked towards the exit, all those scratches on stones started forming a word.

"Wait, does it say "hell"? No, wait! It's "help"!" Lucy almost yelled!

"But...why…?" Rengar asked. He didn't understand why something like this would be here. Was it a coincidence?

"Guys! You have a minute!" Noah yelled to them, slowly getting away towards the exit.

"There's no time to talk now, let's go." Lucy said and ran. Rengar started running with her, still perplexed by what he just saw. How did it appear there?

The moment they left and made sure they are in a safe distance, they saw a head of the bear peek outside. It looked confused, but luckily it hid inside after a moment.

"The bear probably thought we were in its dream." Noah said and sat down near the tree. "Have you found something?"

"Yes! Someone scratched the word "help" on those stones we saw. You can see the message only when you stand at the very back of the cave." she explained.

"Could that be? He had a prisoner?" Noah got up straight like a spring.

"That's what it looked like. What do you think Rengar?"

"I…" Rengar mumbled. He didn't really know what it could mean. As far as he knew, Kha'Zix have never had any prisoners. But he couldn't just tell them that. "Well, I...I'm sure I buried 4 bodies. Maybe it was someone else? I mean, we don't even know how old it is. It might have been there for centuries." Rengar suggested.

"No, there is no way it is older than one month." Lucy cut in.

"How can you be so sure?" Noah asked. "I mean, I didn't see it, but can you be so sure?"

"It's because of the type of stone and moisture in that cave. It was quite wet inside, wasn't it? Those dark stones inside are known to change their shape very quickly when droplets fall on them. Maybe it doesn't take days, but even within the first month some changes can be seen." she started explaining.

"Where are you getting at?" Rengar asked highly confused.

"Sorry, I'll be brief. Those scratches that we've seen, they still had their sharp edges, almost as if someone just made them." she added.

"Wait, so because those scratches can't be older than one month, that means someone must have made them earlier?" Noah replied.

"Exactly." Lucy nodded and smiled. Rengar was right, her knowledge could indeed prove troublesome. But it also made him wonder who was the author of those letters."But what does it tell us? As I said, I buried four people." Rengar reminded her.

"You're right. It's not like one of them rose from the dead and left a message for us."

"So? What do you think?" Noah asked.

"I can see only two possibilities. First, he had someone imprisoned in there, but someone apart from those four." she started.

"I don't think a Void creature would keep someone captive…" Noah sighed.

"And the other possibility?" Rengar asked.

"Well, it may sound weird, even insane, but it's the only logical answer we have left." Lucy replied. "What if the Void creature wrote it itself?"

"What!?" Noah almost yelled. "Why would it write something like this?"

"That I don't know either, but think about it. There aren't any other possibilities, unless we are missing something vital." Lucy said. She looked at Rengar and noticed that he was thinking about something. "Hey, you listening?" she tried to catch his attention after a longer moment of silence. He shook his head and looked at her.

"Ah, yes, sorry. What was it?" he asked.

"I mean, you've never said anything about my deduction. Noah immediately said it was ridiculous, but you just remained silent." she said. It felt almost as if she was suspecting him of something.

"I don't believe I allowed any interrogations…" Rengar replied harshly.

"Ah, sorry! I mean, I suppose you tried to look at it from this angle, too, but I interrupted you. My apologies." she replied and lost her confident tone.

"Uhh, yeah. Something like that. I must admit it sounds impossible... " he added. But she probably was right. If not human, then Kha'Zix must have written that. But why? And why was it concealed like that?

"Okay then. It's around noon, we probably should get back, I'm starting to get hungry." Lucy suggested. "What about we come a little bit later tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'm okay with that." Rengar replied. "Can you return on your own? I'll pick some herbs on my way back, I don't want to slow you down."

"Yes, of course. Thank you for today."

"No problem. Oh, and uh, thanks for the save." Rengar said.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Noah scratched his head and smiled.

"So tomorrow then. See you." Rengar added and left. It was bad. Really bad. He was sure this day would discourage them badly, but instead it gave them more hope. He had to ask Kha'Zix about that message and think about something bigger than just some fake clues.

"What do you think, Noah?" Lucy asked her friend. He pondered for a moment before giving an answer.

"I dunno, it didn't sound completely honest, but he has no possible reason to lie to us." Noah said, not sure about all of it.

"I think you're right. It must be a lot to him as well. Let's forget it. Come on, I'm starving!"

I was so surprised when I realised I wrote 5k words. It's at least 1.5k words more than I usually write. But you all deserve it. Let's say that's my way of repaying all of you my absence. All right then, see you next Saturday :D