Author's note: Hey, sorry about how long it's been since I last updated. Good news is I'm back from my holiday. Bad news is this is the last chapter in this arc. Sorry.

Shen found Akali soon after leaving Kennen; noting, with a tinge of unease, the uptight and nervous set of her shoulders.

"Akali," he greeted her.

She turned to him, but her expression remained ambiguous as she asked, "How'd it go?"

"Good. He's ready for when we make our move. How did things go on your end?"

With a sigh, she met his eyes. "Shen. She didn't show."

"What?" the blue ninja asked in surprise, trying to figure out what could have happened.

"I exposed myself in the northern training ground but she never showed up," Akali repeated. "You're sure she didn't follow you?"

The worry grew as Shen thought back on his journey to their hidden member before he shook his head. "No. I'm certain I would have sensed her if she did."

"But then that begs the question: if she didn't attack me and she didn't follow you, then where is she?"

Before the blue-clad ninja could answer her question, one of the younger clan members rushed towards them. "Lord Shen, Miss Akali," the ninja wheezed out, trying to catch his breath and talk at the same time, "the assassin's been spotted! The sixth patrol are chasing her through the woods near the lower reaches."

The two warriors didn't even need to look at the other to know what to do. With a shared nod of gratitude at the still panting ninja, the pair turned and raced towards the action.

They soon came across Cortin and his team just inside the edge of the forest, only to almost stall at the sight of them. All four capable ninjas slowly getting back to their feet despite all bearing some major injuries. Thankfully, a glance told the pair that none of them were life threatening. But for one person to have taken out a formidable ninja team by themselves was concerning.

"What happened?" Shen asked as he and Akali moved forward to help.

"We were ambushed," Cortin groaned. The broad ninja had a nasty gash stretching from his shoulder down to his inner forearm, but he simply gritted his teeth, as he supported his limping comrade. "We spotted the assassin by the border and pursued but when we got here, she turned on us. She took us by surprise with a hail of knives. We barely made it out with our lives."

"And the assassin?" Akali asked scanning the area now that the Vastayan female had a good grip on their last injured member.

"She took off down the western slope."

Shen paused for a moment to think before turning with resolve to the captain. "Get your team to the infirmary, Akali and I will take it from here."

With a nod, the four started making their way back as the two elite ninja continued down the slope.

As they ran, the green-clad woman turned to him. "Why is she headed away from the village? I know, technically, one could get down to the shore this way. Do you think she really is leaving?"

"Doubtful," the blue ninja responded. "She's more likely drawing us away to minimise interference. Having an escape route open is just a bonus."

"So it's a trap. Fantastic," Akali grunted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shen ignored it. "Yes. So keep your eyes open. Just because we know it's a trap doesn't mean we know what the trap is. We need to stay close together and be on our guard."

Akali nodded but didn't answer, instead both kept their senses peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

They continued down the mountain. Twisting through the thick foliage adorning the steep slope as they tried to find any sign of the Noxian.

Akali had just ducked under a low hanging branch when her partner threw his hand out to stop her. The green ninja skidded to a stop just as a pair of knives punctured the air before her.

Jerking towards where the blades had come from, she just managed to catch a flash of red hair and immediately took off after it. A little slower to react, Shen followed after them even as the two females clashed in the air. Katarina focusing on keeping the Fist of Shadow far enough away to not to get hit by her large Kamas as Akali put maximum effort into closing the distance between them.

Too focused on the figure before her, the green-clad woman was unable to react in time to Shen's shout of warning. Turning to her companion, she was too late to act as a metallic beep sounded in the clearing and her vision filled with magical energy.

Shen soon came to a stop beside the magic-electrical hybrid box. Through the transparent, blue screen it was clear that the green ninja was alright. But if her furious attack on the barrier were any indication, she wasn't getting out of there anytime soon.

Before Shen could attempt anything himself, a slim figure dropping down across from him and forced the blue ninja's attention.

"Like it?" Katarina asked with a coy smirk. "It's a hextech barrier, courtesy of some of our Zaunite partners. Just one of their many gadgets. Personally, I don't like using most of them. They're no fun and no challenge. No skill involved in using them. But they're nice to have in reserve for when people aren't fighting fair. If for example I needed something to level the playing field."

Shen felt himself stiffening, shifting into a ready stance as the Noxian stopped observing Akali and turned her gaze to fix solely on him.

"But now that I can kill you one on one, I figured I'd start with you," she continued. "After all, you're always so eager to come to everybody else's rescue. Let's see if you can take care of yourself just as well."

Her devilish grin widened but instead of attacking him head on, she backflipped, catching a low branch and pulling herself up into the trees.

Shen's defensive position became even more tense as he realised what her strategy was. They may not have clashed much, but his swords and his fighting style clearly indicated that he was a melee fighter. And while he did have an impressive leap, he'd already needed to use it in her presence; making it easy for the Noxian to stay out of his range while she whittled away at his defences from afar. And with Akali stuck like she was, he couldn't move from the open clearing without leaving the Fist of Shadow exposed instead. He had to admit, it was an extremely well thought out plan.

Sensing movement behind him, Shen quickly ducked, twisting under the knife flying towards him. He returned to his defensive stance, only to immediately sweep out a single sword and barely deflecting another blade that had been thrown almost perpendicular to the first.

"Not bad," Katarina grinned from her new perch. "But let's see how well you can keep up." In a flash of red light, she was gone.

Shen stilled, slowing his breathing and extending his senses as he waited for the next move. It didn't take long before another three knives came flying towards the ninja. Calmly, he blocked the first two before sidestepping the third. However, he was not prepared for the sudden flash of light behind him.

With a burst of red and a hastily put together defence, the Eye of Twilight managed to deflect the blade slightly, causing the deadly attack to slice along his upper arm instead of into his chest.

Ignoring the pain, Shen swept his twin katanas at the assassin before she could attack again and forcing her to twist away. However, before he could push his advantage Katarina pulled back, disappearing in another burst of light and leaving the ninja on guard again.

The next flurry of blades comes hard and fast and despite his best efforts, the blue ninja was unable to avoid all of them; earning himself a couple of minor nicks and grazes despite his fast reflexes. Still, it wasn't enough to dull his focus as he reacted pre-emptively to the assassin's second attack from behind.

Katarina's eyes widened as his sword came at her head, ducking under it just in time. However, before she could move Shen's hand snaked forward, catching her wrist and effectively pinning her in place as he swung at her again. In a desperate move the assassin pushed herself up off the ground before using the ninja's shoulders as a fulcrum to leap up and over his head.

The sword cut a couple of centimetres off the ends of her hair and the twisting pressure on her captive wrist almost dislocated her arm, but the spontaneous action worked out the way she'd hoped. Shen was forced to let go of her, allowing the Noxian to teleport away as she fell.

The blue ninja frowned at the outcome. He had lost his best chance of winning this fight as it was unlikely she would try coming that close to him again. However, he did have a better idea of her pattern of attack, allowing him to loosen his focus enough to call out even as the next barrage assaulted him. "Why?"

The projectiles paused ever so slightly before the red-head answered, "That's a very broad question. Wanna narrow it down for me?"

"Why are you doing this? What do you gain from attacking us?" Shen clarified, twisting through the mass of blades hurtling towards him from his left – the opposite side to where Katarina had answered him.

Up within the branches, the Noxian rolled her eyes. This line of questioning again. They were persistent if nothing else. Then she smirked: might as well humour them this time. "Me? Nothing. Other than the fun of killing you that is. But the Noxian High Command, well they gain a lot from it."

"Such as?" the blue ninja asked as he blocked another set of daggers the assassin threw as she leapt overhead.

"Freedom mostly. See, your small clan has a fair bit of infamy outside of your little island nation. Mostly for getting in the way of some powerful people's plans. The Noxian Command don't really want that happening to them."

Glancing back at the clearing, Katarina had to stop herself from grinning; just as she'd suspected, opening up a little about her presence here while keeping the ninja on defence with her consistent barrage of blades was allowing her to slowly manoeuvre the ninja where she wanted.

Another three blades forced him back a step as he spoke, "We only intervene where necessary – as I'm sure your High Command knows. Which means they know what they're going to do would be opposed by us. Am I right?"

"Ooh, you are a clever one aren't you?" the assassin cooed, her next set of knives pushing him a little further left. "But maybe not clever enough. After all, did you really think the steady influx of Noxian ships in the south are purely for trade?"

Shen's eyes widened behind his mask. The southern isles foreign trade had been gradually building for years. How long had this been planned?

"Noxus was built on a foundation of conquest. As a city-state we take pride in our battle strength and unrelenting endurance. But recently, with all the League sanctions tightening, Noxus has had to look elsewhere to uphold its way of life. Sure, there's the siege on the barbarians up north, but anyone with half a brain can tell that the treaty between them and the Avarosan will soon spell an amnesty for them by the Institute of War." Another few daggers thrown and another step back. "But your nation refused it. You refused to be a part of the League; too caught up in your morals and so sure of your isolation – it was too good an opportunity to pass up. But wars take planning and time. It would mean there would be a point of vulnerability. Which is where I come in. To stop you from interfering."

"So it's true. Noxus is trying to concur Ionia," Shen summarized.

"Yep. But don't worry," Katarina teleported to a branch behind the blue ninja. After carefully manoeuvring him around, the Ionian was now much closer to this side of the clearing. Too close to react in time as she sent one final knife hurtling towards his unprotected back. "You won't be around long enough to care anyway."

Inches from the turned ninja's back, the blade was knocked out of the air by a bright, fast-moving object.

Katarina blinked in shock, but before she could react, something crackling with energy hit her with the force an Elmark, launching her from her perch. As she was sent flying, she barely managed to grab another branch, swinging herself up and around to reduce her excess momentum before landing on the ground just outside the clearing.

Looking up to see what hit her, the Noxian felt her eyes widened in shock – and if she was honest, a little fear – at the sight of the yordle poised next to the now turned blue ninja. His eyes were fixed on her, glowing eerily from the excess electricity surging over his form in angry, sizzling waves that were strong enough to short-circuit the hextech barrier keeping their remaining member away.

She watched them warily, even as she raised her hand to touch her now bleeding cheek with a wince. That was going to bruise. Still, in spite of the pain, and in spite of her turned odds, Katarina couldn't help grinning, "I guess the mouse wasn't quite as dead as I was led to believe. That means that this was all a set up. Impressive. It takes a lot to fool me."

Shen ignored the rise in anger his two companions were oozing, as he responded. "We knew you'd only talk if you felt you were guaranteed to win. Hence us running right into your 'trap'. We figured setting it off was the most likely time we would be able to glean the information about the invasion out of you. And with Kennen in reserve, we were never truly in danger."

"Clever, I'll give you that," the assassin rose from her crouch as the trio readied to attack. "But there's just one flaw in your plan. See, I didn't just tell you because I thought I'd win. I also risked telling you because it didn't matter. Do you get it? You're too late. At this very moment the start of the invasion's already underway. I might not have gotten to kill you but I still win. And since there's now no reason to stick around with these odds any longer, I think I'll just take my leave. Thanks for the entertainment but I've gotta run."

The three ninjas lurched into action, but it was too late. With a mock salute and a smug grin, Katarina disappeared in a flash of light just as the electric yordle reached her spot.

Frustrated but unwilling to give up just yet, he turned to take off down the hill. "Come on! If we go now we can still catch her!" the purple ninja called, only to pause at Shen's restraining hand on his shoulder.

The older ninja shook his head, his relaxed posture (more relaxed than it had been in weeks) the only sign that the ever-vigilant man was content with the outcome, but it was enough for his teammate.

"We don't have the time unfortunately. Not if we want to get word to the Ionian Council in time."

Briskly, he and Akali took off back towards the village. Confused but unwilling to be left out, Kennen quickly caught up to them.

"But I thought we were too late. The assassin said the war's already started."

War. The word itself sunk heavily to the bottom of his stomach. Their nation was going to be at war – and with Noxus no less.

"That may be true," it was Akali who answered this time. "However, what she didn't know was that we've already contacted Karma about the invasion."

Continuing on the topic, Shen expanded, "We sent word while you were unconscious. While we could not provide any locations or times we were able to warn them. Which means the province councils would have had some time to prepare. That in itself could turn the tide of the battle. And with this extra information there's a good chance those north of Galrin, Navori and Shon-Xan should be able to put up a solid defence before the Noxian troops reach them."

Kennen pumped his fist, "They won't know what hit them!"

"Only if we can get this information to them in time. It's valuable because it'll provide defence in areas that wouldn't have acted by the time word spread of the invasion. But if we wait too long, it'll become useless."

Akali snorted at that, "Something tells me we won't have much time spare once everyone finds out the Heart of the Tempest isn't dead."

"Hmm," Shen narrowed his eyes. "You're right. However, if you two could handle that there should be enough time for me to send the information."

Kennen grinned, the mischief filled look apparent even under his mask as his eyes sparkled with excitement. "Well we don't have to tell them straight away. Do you know how many awesome pranks I could pull with everyone thinking I'm dead? Ow!"

His mischievous musings came to an abrupt end as Akali's hand came down fast on his head.

"This is not a joking matter!" she reprimanded him.

Behind the two, Shen shook his head before turning his thoughts forward: towards the looming war. It was hard to be impartial on such a topic especially when directed at his own homeland. War was not a flippant subject for any nation. The consequences and destruction of such an action would not only be felt individually on a large scale but could scar the land and the people for generations to come. It was also vastly unideal for their own situation. An Ionia controlled by Noxus could have an irreparable impact on their work. It could not be allowed to happen.

Still, as he thought back on what the assassin had said, he couldn't help feeling she had a point. Perhaps their city-state had become too complacent and too isolated. Change and growth were a part of balance too. But could their home handle such a drastic change? It would be their job to ensure it did. They would need to stay vigilant.

Looking ahead to his two bickering teammates, Shen couldn't help but feel his thoughts lightening. Yes, there would be much work ahead of them. But right now, he was glad to have things back to normal.

And finished! And with this chapter I have officially hit over 100,000 words for this series. Which means this is the biggest story I've ever written. How's that for a milestone!

Also, I know some of you will be upset that I didn't actually continue into the war, but honestly, I didn't want to. Not that I don't have a rough idea of what would have happened, but wars are long and the Kinkou weren't the most significantly involved in it in my cannon anyway. So sorry if you were excited to see some of the other champions. More details on the war are very likely to turn up in future stories but yeah, this is as much as I'm going to write on it here. I still have a fair way to go and another 5 main characters to think about.

And finally, this is the important one but: I'm going to be taking a break between this story and the next one. I don't no how long it'll be, and I'll try to keep it as short as possible (I have absolutely no intentions of stopping this series) but I really need this. This year has been pretty hectic for me, after graduating uni and starting a full time job (not to mention how often I've been sick this year) I've been struggling to keep up with everything. I've basically had to drop all of my hobbies - this is in fact the one I've been most consistent with if you can believe it. So yeah, I want to take a break to get things a little more in order in my life and to hopefully gather a couple of breather chapters up again. That way when I come back I won't be leaving you guys hanging for 7 or so weeks again in the middle of a story. Thanks for understanding. I won't be completely gone (I do have a couple of shorts I'll be posting sometime) but you'll have to wait for the next ToBC story.

Next one will be centred around the fab four in their final year at school. There's going to be a couple of pretty big milestones in the next arc which I'm pretty excited to write. So you hopefully won't have to wait too long. I'll post a notification on this story when the next story is up just as usual.

Cheers, Candlestic