I actually found some time to write it, so there it is, another chapter. I hope you'll like it ^^

Chapter VII - Betrayal

"This is bad, Nidalee, this is bad…" Rengar said as he stormed into Nidalee's hideout. Some of the more curious cats raised their heads, and the rest remained still, knowing that it was just the usual guest.

"What?" Nidalee asked, not knowing what he meant, but from his expression she could judge that nothing good for sure.

"They...HE knows. The boy knows!" Rengar almost shouted trying to calm down. He was both scared and irritated.

"Wait, what? What exactly does he know?" she insisted.

"He knows I lied! Oh god, what do I do now…?" Rengar said and started babbling to himself. Nidalee walked up to him and shook him by his shoulders.

"Hey! Explain what happened!" she demanded. He looked at her and bit his lower lip.

"This...Noah apparently possesses some kind of ability to know when someone's lying." Rengar explained. "Although he doesn't know who Kha'Zix truly is." he added, and then told all the information he obtained from Noah about this ability. Nidalee frowned, it was indeed very bad, but no as much as she thought initially. She sighed and leaned against the tree near her.

"So...what are you going to do now?" Nidalee asked him, uncertain of what may come next. Rengar looked at the ground, he had no idea.

"I wish I knew." he said and gritted his teeth. Up until now, he kept his composure, but on the way to Nidalee, he started thinking about many scenarios, many of them were unfavourable to them. What if Noah lied and will tell Lucy about all of that? If that's the case, what should he do or tell? His mind was blank, he started scratching his head nervously in desperate attempt to make a plan, but he just couldn't.

"You won't think of anything while you are in this condition." she said, trying to help him relax a bit, but she failed.

"I know! But I can't calm down! I'm about to lose someone I love and I can't do shit!" Rengar yelled, but not at her, at himself. He covered his eye and started shedding tears of despair. She just remained silent. Rengar has been carrying that weight all by himself, it's only natural he would eventually get overwhelmed by it. Nidalee crossed her hands and looked down.

"Have you talked to him?" she eventually broke the silence. Rengar looked at her with his eye red from crying.

"...what?" he said, his voice shaking and cracking.

"I mean, have you talked with Kha'Zix about it? You said he can't detect a lie from his mouth, since he's sure he's a vastaya." Nidalee proposed. "Maybe he could lie, and they would take it as granted?" she clarified. Rengar opened his eye wider, that actually was an excellent idea. But did he want to endanger Kha'Zix even more? No, he was already in risk, he had to give it a shot.

"That's brilliant. Nida, you're a genius!" Rengar exclaimed in sudden rush of happiness and new hope.

"I know, you don't have to- AAH! PUT ME DOWN!" Nidalee screamed in surprise when Rengar suddenly picked her up and started spinning with her like a carousel.

"Oh, sorry about that!" he apologised and put her on the ground. She grunted at him and pouted. Rengar just laughed quietly, making Nidalee smile again. She was glad she was able to help.

"Anyway, don't waste any time, you'll need some time to talk this out, and the night isn't the most preferable time to do that I suppose." Nidalee added and dismissed him with her hand.

"You're right. I'll be going now. Oh, and thank for everything, I'll pay you back somehow later!" Rengar replied and rushed to Kha'Zix. This time, he was almost sure thing would go great.

Kha'Zix was surprised when Rengar literally burst inside their house. Rengar ran towards him and kneeled.

"I need your help." he said while trying to catch a breath. For a moment, Kha'Zix thought someone might have chased Rengar, so he stood up and bared his claws, ready to kill whoever or whatever comes through the door, but then he waved his hands. "No, no! Not that kind of help!" he added and coughed.

"Then why were you running?" Kha'Zix asked confused.

"I just wanted to see you quickly, that's all." he replied and smiled. Kha'Zix tilted his head in further confusion, but smiled back to him.

"I'm honestly not sure if I'm supposed to be glad or- wait, were you crying?" he immediately asked when he noticed that the fur on the right side of Rengar's snout was wet, and his bright, blue eye was somewhat less blue and more red.

"Wha...Ah, yes, but don't mind that, it's fine now. What's more, I need you to listen to me now." Rengar said and started explaining. He said everything, starting with what he has done so far, on Noah's secret ability ending. Kha'Zix nodded slowly, trying to digest what he just heard.

"So you're saying that whatever I say, Noah will take as a truth?" Kha'Zix asked, not sure if he understood well. Rengar nodded.

"Pretty much, yeah. I doubt he'll even consider you to be a Void creature since you've already talked to them. They are sure you're roaming somewhere there." he added, "But you would need to be careful not to make an obvious lie accidentally, otherwise he might start to suspect you." Rengar warned him. In fact, it's the only way for Noah to know that something's up, at least Rengar thought so.

"I'm sorry Rengar, but...I don't think I can do it…" he replied to Rengar's surprise. For some reason, he didn't seem to like that idea.

"Wha- what? Wait, but why? It's perfect! You'd just need to-"

"I can't lie to them, Rengar!" Kha'Zix suddenly cut in. Rengar silenced and looked at him. "When I said I wanted to atone, I really meant it. If I lied, it would be against my resolve." Kha'Zix lowered his voice and explained.

"Kha, please, this is urgent!" he tried to convince Kha'Zix. "I understand like no one else, but-"

"Can you stop deciding what is best for me!?" he snapped. He stood up, and while still looking at Rengar, moved a little bit away.

"Kha, listen-"

"No! You listen! All this time you've been deciding on your own what should happen and be done, without consulting it with me!" he yelled at Rengar, who couldn't understand from where it was coming from.

"It was for your own good!" he replied in self-defense. Kha'Zix scoffed.

"My own good? How can you know what is good for me!?" he continued. He moved closer to Rengar, but he didn't move back. Rengar just stood there, his eye fixed on the ground, fists clenched from annoyance.

"I-"

"You can't even look me in the eye 'cause you know it's true! If you really wanted my good, you would have talked to me more! You're just selfish!" Kha'Zix concluded. Rengar didn't know what to say. He was right, all he said was right. All this time he didn't see it, but it wasn't for Kha'Zix. It was all for him. He never asked him if it was a good idea, what he felt, what he needed, never. He raised his eye to meet Kha'Zix's angry gaze, but his look was as determined, as his angry.

"Yes, I was selfish, what is wrong with that?" Rengar asked. Kha'Zix was puzzled for a second.

"What? A lot! It means you don't respect me!"

"No! That's where you're wrong!" Rengar shouted. He wiped the tears from his eye said, "That's right, I did all of that because I thought it was right! It was all for me! You want to know why? Because I don't want to lose YOU!" he shouted. Kha'Zix looked at him surprised.

"Rengar, you-"

"You may be- no, you are right! I am selfish, stubborn, maybe even arrogant," he said and placed his hands on Kha'Zix's shoulders, "But I'm also heartbroken when someone's threatening to take my happiness away from me! And this selfishness, stubbornness, and arrogance of mine will ensure that no one gets past me, and no one takes my treasure from me!" he said and looked him deep in the eyes. Kha'Zix was speechless.

"I...I know you're doing it to keep me safe, but-"

"Let's look at it from this angle," Rengar interrupted him again, "You won't lie, I can't make up any excuse, they find out who you are, what then? Do we just slaughter them? Let them kill you? What do you choose?" he asked. Kha'Zix hesitated. It wasn't wrong, he had a point, he thought, yet he still had his doubts.

"But then how am I supposed to make up for what I've done?" Kha'Zix wanted to know the answer to this question.

"I don't know how about you, but I believe in good and bad karma. If you did something bad to them, make sure you do something good to others. Me included." Rengar said, grabbed his hand and put it on his chest. "I know how you feel, I felt like that many, many times before, but I just can't afford to lose you, so I'm hooking onto everything I can in order to prevent that." he added. Karma? Would that be enough, Kha'Zix thought. He wasn't so sure, but seeing Rengar so determined, ready to do anything to save him, made him realise his own mistake. In his eyes, Kha'Zix probably seemed to have given up, ready to sacrifice himself just to atone for his sins.

"I'm sorry, I was being selfish, too. I wanted to do something good so badly, it clouded my sight and stopped me from seeing that you were hurt as well." he admitted. Rengar's face brightened and he smiled. He came closer to hug him, and Kha'Zix didn't reject it.

"Okay then, let's do this." Kha'Zix said as he looked at Rengar. "Any ideas?"

"Not yet, but with you, I'm sure we'll figure out what to do."

Lucy and Noah came a little bit later than the day before, but still rather early. They could still hear the birds sing, or feel and see the dew on grass and stones around them. But this time they needn't let them know they arrived, because Rengar and Kha'Zix were already there, waiting for them. Lucy waved and smiled on her way, Kha'Zix waved back, and Rengar just smiled faintly.

"I wasn't expecting to meet you, too, Kha'Zix." Lucy said with radiant expression.

"Well, me neither, kinda." he replied and scratched his head. She gave him a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked concerned. Good, Rengar thought. They Lucy hasn't said anything about Kha'Zix, and Noah is silent, too. He realised that he's focusing on catching any lies, because his eyes were set on the current speaker.

Noah looked at Rengar, he knew what Noah wanted. Rengar sighed and looked at Lucy. "I...have to come clean with some things…" he said. Lucy tilted her head, she didn't know what was happening.

"Okay, hold on. Can you explain what's going on?" she said, now annoyed a little. After a short moment of silence, Rengar spoke out.

"I wasn't...completely honest with you guys." he said. Lucy looked at Noah, he really didn't tell her. "All this time, I...I've been misleading you, getting you as far away from the true location of the Void creature you're pursuing."

Lucy was standing wide-eyed, she couldn't believe Rengar would do that, and also she couldn't believe that Noah didn't tell her.

"What...but," a wide variety of expressions flashed on her face, from glowering look, to grim stare, "Why'd you do that? I thought…" she exhaled, looked down and shook her head.

"I just...remember when I said I didn't want to have you blood on my hands? It wasn't a lie. I really don't want that fight to happen…" Rengar said, making sure to phrase it the way that Noah's ability wouldn't catch it. To his delight, Noah smiled a little. It was a good sign.

"I told you you wouldn't! I want this myself! All I asked was for you to show me the location. You wouldn't be the reason of my death, but my recklessness!" Lucy replied angry at Rengar.

"I was the one who didn't want you to do this…" they heard suddenly. They all looked at Kha'Zix with surprised expressions. "I asked Rengar to fool you."

Lucy and Noah were both surprised. It wasn't Rengar? "Huh…?" they both said.

"When I said I came here to look for a place to settle...at first I wasn't alone. I was in a small group of five." Kha'Zix said with doleful face, "But then...one day, it ambushed us at the dawn. It started killing every single one of my friends, unfazed, as if it wasn't anything new for it."

Lucy covered her mouth as he was telling his tale. Noah seemed to be shocked as well. The fact that he hasn't interrupted him yet must mean he indeed can't detect any of Kha'Zix's lies.

"I managed to escape, but...then I got lost. I've been wandering for days, terrified for me life, knowing that this thing may come for me any second." he said and looked at Rengar, "You know the rest of that story." he added as his attention returned to them.

They were silent for a moment. Despite not wanting to do it initially, he was proud of how good of a liar he was. "I don't have many friends, even with you two I can count all of them on fingers of a single hand. That's why there is no way I'm letting you go. Rengar taught me how to fight, instead of killing it, we could prevent him from killing anyone anymore."

"After the death of Connor and the others, I made my up mind," Rengar joined in, "I decided not to hide his existence anymore, and become the "Jungle Guardian" my father wanted me to be." Rengar added. It used to be a lie, but to make it a truth, Rengar decided to actually tell everyone that Kumungu Jungle has been invaded by the Void creature, and stop them from getting too deep inside. With this thought in his mind, Noah couldn't see it as a lie. And it seemed to have worked, because Noah looked conflicted.

"I...I'm sorry for what happened to you and your closest ones, but…" Lucy said, she was upset. "I just have to do it. At that point, I don't really care if I end up dying, I have to do it, to avenge my brother, and ensure it won't kill anymore!" she added with determination in her eyes and anger in her voice.

"Lucy…" Noah said quietly. He didn't share her feelings. He wouldn't let her throw away her own life for revenge.

"Please, I'm begging you! Just tell me where to go!" Lucy pleaded. Rengar was truly sorry for that, he knew she was in pain and saw that as the only way of paying her respects, but there was no choice. He had to end it. Rengar took a deep breath and looked at her.

"Sorry, Lucy, but this is where our paths part. I won't help you." he said. He didn't fake his sorrow, it was genuine. He didn't want to make her his enemy, but at that point, it was the only choice he had. Lucy was shook when she heard him. She looked at Kha'Zix with hopeless expression, but he just averted his gaze and looked somewhere else.

"My apologies, but I can't. I hope you understand…" he said. Lucy closed her eyes, her breath was shaky and uneven.

"Okay then, fine. I'll do it alone with Noah! I don't need help from any of you!" she shouted and went away.

"Keep her safe, don't let her do anything stupid." Rengar said after she was some distance away from them.

"Sure thin-" Noah let the sentence trail off when he heard a sudden "boom" sound somewhere in the distance. It didn't sound like an explosion, more as if something fell and hit the ground hard.

"What was that?" Kha'Zix asked. They all looked at each other.

"No clue...really." Rengar shrugged. It was too far away, so it couldn't be Lucy.

"Maybe a rock fell somewhere? Or earth moved?" Noah suggested.

"Who knows. Anyway, be safe you two." Rengar said. Noah nodded.

"Aye! You too!" he said, giving them his usual bright and wide smile, and then ran towards the direction where Lucy went. When he was too far behind the trees to see him anymore, Rengar sighed almighty.

"I can't believe it was all I had to do…" he said and sat down on the grass. Kha'Zix kneeled down beside him.

"You know, they could still find out...theoretically."

"Doubt it, the only meaningful clues were in their camp, but now that they think they were fake…" Rengar said and smiled, "Means that you're safe." he added. He leaned closer and hugged him with one hand.

"Next time you decide to start plotting, be sure to include me in your masterplan." Kha'Zix said and smirked. Rengar laughed and nodded.

"I won't forget to! Ok, let's head back inside, shall we?" he suggested and stood up. As they were walking, another booming sound reached their ears.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Kha'Zix said out loud. It must have been very far away, because they hardly heard it.

"Maybe a hill somewhere is crumbling, or wet ground has stopped being a sufficient support for the trees? It is quite humid today." Rengar said when he realised that his lower part of body was almost entirely wet from grass.

"That would explain it. But now I'm hungry, let's hunt something. We haven't hunted together in a while." Kha'Zix suggested. Rengar smiled and nodded. It was true, they didn't have time for each other in a while, even if it was only couple of days. Rengar returned for his weapons, Kha'Zix left the robe inside, and together they proceeded to do what they do best, hunt.

"Lucy! Wait for me!" Noah shouted to Lucy. Her pace was fast, but she wasn't running. She was furious.

"You knew!?" she yelled at him.

"I...well, I knew he wasn't fully honest, but I realised that only after yesterday. I asked him to tell us the truth later, and he agreed." Noah replied. Lucy cursed under her breath and sighed. She placed her hand on her mouth and started thinking.

"That doesn't matter anymore, anyway. We should start our own investigation." Lucy said, She seemed to have regained her composure, she didn't look as angry as before.

"Are we able to do it by ourselves? I mean, I didn't learn any tracking spell yet…" he admitted, but she gave him a warm smile.

"Don't worry, we won't need it, if we look long enough, we'll find it. Or it'll find us, and then, we will be ready." she said and then took something out from her bag. It looked like a normal scroll.

"What's this? A magic spell?" Noah asked. Lucy smirked and showed him its content. When he read the first couple of words, his jaw dropped and his eyes started shimmering like two diamonds. "H-Ho-How did you get this!?" he asked in excitement.

"It cost me an arm and a leg, but as I said, I came here prepared." Lucy said and put it back in the bag.

"Bu-But...a spell that strong...I didn't even know a spell like that can be written down on the scroll!" he shouted.

"I know, right? I was surprised when I've been offered it as well."

"Where did you even get that from?" Noah asked. He wanted to know her source. If it was some powerful mage, maybe he would take Noah as his accomplice or student? It would rock, he thought.

"Uhh...I had to dig a little bit, and...it wasn't completely legal, too…" Lucy laughed awkwardly. Noah raised his brow and looked at her. "Hey! I don't give me that look!" she said offended.

"Well, if it proves useful, it would mean it wasn't for nothing."

"Exactly. Now then, let's go." she said and led the way. In the background they could hear birds, wind, droplets of water, and another loud sound of something falling.

Aaaaand finished. This week I will have SO. MUCH. WORK to do, so the next chapter may be published even on Monday, but I'll squeeze my buttocks and try to do it at least for Sunday, but no promises! With that being said, see you next week!

EDIT: Oh god, something unexpected happened and one sentence got cut at the end, I'm sorry for that, now it's correct. Also, I accidentally forgot to put a word in one place earlier in the chapter, this is fixed, too.