To the Edge of Light's Reach (Alternative Ending)

by Mechasix

How it all ends...With some devilishly quick thinking (and no small amount of luck), Lux managed to avert almost certain war, saving Runterra from a devastating conflict. She was a hero...but it had come at a price. With only her broken heart and haunted dreams for company, could she turn her back on her family and her country, everything she knew, for one last shot at happiness?

5. Crimson Sunset

Act IV: Crimson Sunset

The sun hung low in the sky, hovering serenely just over the horizon, like an airship of dazzling gold. Far in distance the perfect sapphire sky kissed the rich turquoise of the ocean, the two were indistinguishable but for the rainbow of sparkling light that danced amongst the waves.

It was a stunning evening; the full heat of the day had started to wane, leaving the air comfortably warm and a gentle, refreshing breeze rolled in with the waves. The small dock was nestled in the shadow of Piltover and the city of progress could be seen twinkling in the rays of the late sun, the tips of its many towers and spires reaching high over the tops of the rolling hills that hid the dock from view.

The dock itself comprised of a handful of wooden huts, and a single wooden jetty that stretched out from the beach, creeping out into the bay where the water lapped gently at its rickety supports. Aside from a small fishing boat, that didn't look especially sea worthy, bobbing half submerged just off the beach, there wasn't a ship in sight. It couldn't have been more different to the gleaming Demacian war docks, or the sprawling mess that was Bilgewater. It was peaceful and quiet, there wasn't a soul in sight, the only movement came from the soft wash of the sea and long grass that was rustling in the evening breeze.

A girl with long golden hair was sitting, motionless in the shade of one of the huts. She sat atop a large wooden crate, her legs were crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her clothing was distinctly modest: a knee length, sturdy looking pair of black travelling boots, tight fitting brown trousers secured with a thick leather belt, a simple pale blue tunic, and a hooded cape, brown with purple stitching around the hem, cut from some thick hide it fell just below her shoulder blades. She had a small satchel bad resting against her hip.

Lux felt remarkably calm as she gazed out to sea, her watchful blue eyes scouring the horizon for any sign of an approaching ship. She had expected to feel…well, she wasn't really sure what exactly she had expected to feel. Wracked with guilt maybe, for deserting her country? Sorrow upon leaving her family and her home behind? Panic about the prospect of being caught? Or perhaps fearful about the uncertainty that shrouded her future?

The reality, however, was that she barely felt anything at all. It was hard not to feel relaxed surrounded by all this tranquillity, the gentle breeze in her hair, the hypnotic swaying motion of the reeds, the crystal clear water slinking further and further up the shore. In the gaps between the breaking waves, Lux could hear the bustle of Piltover in the distance, the faint rumblings of daily life. It was strange really that all that life could be so very close by, and yet here she was, completely alone. She supposed when you lived in the city that had everything, there was no need to notice what was going on just beyond your walls.

She was even beginning to feel excited, as it began to sink in; she was finally free. Proper freedom! For the first time in her entire life, there was no one telling her where to go, or what to do – or who to be for that matter! It was a daunting prospect, but it was also exhilarating, the whole world was at her fingertips, and the world suddenly felt so much bigger. It was like having lived her whole life, confined to the inside of some dank cave, and finally stumbling out into the light of day for the very first time. It was blinding, an almost overwhelming sense of liberation – Where should she go? What should she do? It was her choice – that was going to take some getting used to.

For too long her life had been beyond her control, well, forever really. –

Lux suddenly wheeled round, hands scratching the rough wooden crate as she twisted awkwardly at the waist. In her haste she almost toppled from the crate completely. She performed a kind of seated pirouette, like a drunken ballerina, arms and legs sticking out, not especially graceful but she managed to regain her balance at the last moment. Not wasting any time feeling embarrassed she looked around the deserted dock with wide eyes. There was a ghost of excitement etched on her young face, she could have sworn she had heard…for a moment she had thought…The excitement was quickly replaced with a disappointed frown however. It appeared she was still very much alone. Of course she hadn't heard…She doubted anyone alive had ever heard the sound of Katarina's footsteps…but even so, for one glorious heartbeat she had hoped…

Lux slid carefully down from her makeshift perch, landing lightly of the weathered planks of the jetty. She suddenly found that she could not sit still, she could not shake the feeling of disappointment and in turn that was making her annoyed – annoyed with her own stupidity. She strolled absent-mindedly over to the water's edge, chewing at her neat fingernails as she walked. She stood on the edge of the water. For a moment she gazed moodily down at her own reflection, before she nudged a rock over the edge with her boot, watching with grim satisfaction as it splashed down right in the middle of her face, the ripples completely obliterating her watery image.

She had promised herself that she would not get her hopes up, that she would not let her dreams run away with her. It was too painful to admit what she truly desired, she needed to let go, for both there sakes. It was a fantasy! She tried to tell herself that she could start again, tried to convince herself that she could leave the past behind. She could go anywhere, somewhere new! She might meet someone else…

The truth was however, she didn't want anyone else, the very idea made her heart cry out in protest. There was a part of her past that she just couldn't forget… and deep down; there was still a tiny part of her, a tiny romantic, stubborn, deluded part of her that had thought that they could be together again…That's what it had all been about after all. The Noxian was the sole reason for any of this… it had always been about her…for her.

Lux had hoped that her letter might have been enough, just maybe…She could never have asked directly. No, asking in itself would have settled the matter. It would have made it completely impossible, the redhead's fierce pride would have seen to that. In any case she had no right to ask anything of Katarina, not anymore. But still she dared to dream. All she could do was hope. Hope, and leave a delicate trail of clues…

It hadn't worked however, and deep down she had known it wouldn't… she had always known. It was her punishment for all the lies and the deceit and the wickedness…she deserved it. Lux gave a deep sorrowful sigh. A happy ending would have been more than she deserved.

She was miles away, utterly lost in her own head, in a labyrinth of her own wistful thoughts. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, that at first, she didn't notice the arm slinking around her body, or the glint of metal in the corner of her eye.

Before she could react she was yanked backwards, an arm closing tight as a vice around her chest, pinning both her arms to her sides. Her boots scrambled for purchase on the damp wood as she stumbled backwards against her attacker, her mouth opened automatically to cry out…and then she felt the scratch of cold steel against her throat. The scream died instantly, and her body went limp, paralyzed in fear

Lux didn't dare move, not that she could move very much anyway, she was completely powerless. Death was surely only seconds away, her heart was pounding furiously in her chest, and she tried desperately to calm down, knowing that any beat might well be her last. She waited for the end to come…but it didn't, not yet.

Nothing was moving, even the endless swell of the ocean seemed to have come to a halt. Lux could feel every tiny bump and groove in the razor sharp blade that was scratching at her throat. Her attacker's ragged breathing whispered in her ear, she could even feel their heartbeat, racing almost as fast as her own, pressed against her back. This was all very familiar…she knew that blade, she knew that arm, she knew that heart!

Suddenly Lux realised what was happening and in spite of everything she laughed. A hollow, hysterical, laugh that said more than a thousand words ever could have, a small breathless giggle that captured the tragic irony of…well of everything. Her entire life. The harrowing mockery of her fate.

She regretted it instantly. The sudden movement had caused the knife to cut into her skin, and she could feel hot blood trickling down her neck.

There was a sharp intake of breath behind her and the pressure of the dagger eased ever so slightly against her bloodstained skin. Lux was shocked to realise that the arm that held her was trembling violently. She was even more shocked to find that she wasn't. The pain and the fear that should have consumed her were no longer there, she felt wonderfully calm, a warm tingling serenity washing over her skin.

Slowly, purposefully she tilted back her head, fully exposing her neck to the cold, lethal, metal. She relaxed her entire body, melting backwards into Katarina's strong arms. Her head rolled back even further until she felt her hair brush against the other woman's cheek; gold and scarlet intertwined. She bit her bottom lip, there were tears glistening in her half closed eyes, but these were no tears of despair. They were tears of pure ecstasy.

This was the only way that it could end. From the first time they had ever laid eyes upon each other, their fates had been intertwined. Gold and scarlet, bound inseparably together by their loneliness, their fear and their anger…but also by their friendship, their desire and their love – Two wretched souls against the bitter, spiteful world. Lux no longer feared death because she no longer cared! She didn't care whether she lived or died, all that mattered was that she was in Katarina's arms one final time… that their hearts beating in unison one final time. She knew nothing else. If she was to die in that moment, she would die in bliss.

But she did not die. Not yet at least. Eventually, almost grudgingly as she hated to break the stillness of the moment, Lux spoke.

"It's been too long…" She said softly, careful not move any more than she needed to. There was no reply, but Lux could have sworn that the arm that was wrapped around her chest slackened slightly, and the hand that held the dagger was trembling worse than ever, dangerously so, giving its proximity to Lux's windpipe.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked, breaking the silence again, her voice still as gentle and light as if she were merely asking about the weather. There was still no response from the other woman apart from her heavy uneven breathing. For a moment Lux was anxious that she had said the wrong thing, but then Katarina finally spoke and Lux was shocked to hear that she was crying. Her voice was little more than a whimper, struggling to get the words out between her rasping sobs.

"P-please…" Katarina said. She sounded broken and desperate, almost scared. The sound of her voice tugged uncomfortably at Lux's heart. She had only ever heard the assassin like this once before, and her only instinct was to hold her, to comfort her. She did all that she could do in the circumstances, her arm folded upwards at the elbow, and she clasped Katarina's hand in her own, running her thumb soothingly over the back of the other woman's clammy skin. Katarina did not stop her, instead she wept harder than ever, and it was several seconds before she manged to speak again.

"Please, t-tell me this isn't a trap?" She whispered pleadingly, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

"A trap?" Lux stammered in confusion. "Kat, I would never…I could never! Please, you must belie-

But she never got a chance to finish.

There was a clattering as the dagger fell to the floor, skidding harmlessly away over the damp wood. In one powerful movement the assassin whirled Lux around so that the two were face to face. Perplexed and dizzy, Lux swayed slightly on the spot, her arms resting limply at her sides. She gazed up into the taller woman's shimmering jade eyes.

Katarina looked positively fierce, her tear stained face full of defiance, a wild, hungering fire blazed in her eyes as she stared back at Lux. She stared at Lux as though she had not seen her for a lifetime; she stared as though she never wanted to look away again. She refused to even blink, such was her unwillingness to miss a single second of Lux's beauty.

They remained like that for what felt like an age, unmoving, eyes locked, as though frozen in time – and just like that it was as though the world was falling away all around them, taking with it all the dark anger of the past, and all the murky uncertainty of the future. Leaving just them, Katarina and Lux, alone, together, perfect. Nothing else mattered.

This time Katarina broke the stillness first. She raised both her arms, slowly and deliberately, and with a touch so soft it left a trail of fire along Lux's skin, Katarina meticulously brushed her golden hair back away from her face. She cupped Lux's cheeks with her hands. It was all Lux could do to stay upright, her whole body felt numb, and her knees were like jelly. It was as though Katarina held her entire body weight effortlessly in the palms of her hands. Lux's mouth hung open. Her eyes, wide and bright and nervous, trailed down Katarina's face, where they lingered on her lips: full and red, caught between a smirk and a pout and moving steadily closer…and closer… and closer…and…

Their lips locked. It was heaven. Passionate and gentle. Lux's nerves were washed away in the warmth of the kiss. She felt happiness like she had never known, she felt lighter than air, weightless in her own fulfilment. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she raised her arms to rest on katarina's shoulders, her wrists crossing lazily behind the other woman's neck.

Lux didn't know how long the kiss lasted, it could have been ten seconds, it could have been ten days. She didn't care. As one they waltzed backwards up the jetty, moving blindly in their passion, they twirled effortlessly around each other like twin stars, locked in orbit.

Katarina suddenly shoved Lux, with a gentle firmness that was impossible to argue with, back against the wall of a hut, in the same motion the red head pulled away, eliciting a disappointed moan from Lux as her cerulean eyes flew open. The mage opened her mouth vaguely, but the complaint stuck in her throat when she noticed Katarina's playful smirk, her eyes widened even further and she bit her bottom lip anxiously. In a heartbeat, Katarina was on her again, their bodies thrust together in a tight embrace as she nuzzled Lux's neck. Her hands trailed down Lux's waist and came to rest on her slim hips.

Lux gave a small gasp of surprise. Her head tilted teasingly to one side and her own hands lost themselves in the other woman's mane of lush red hair. Her eyes rolled backwards into her head with delight as a very different type of moan escaped her lips, low and breathless, lustful. Lux's whole body was electric with excitement; her breathing was heavy and sultry as Katarina's slender hands traced hypnotic patterns against her skin, moving ever faster, sliding ever lower-

"Wait!" Lux gasped, ducking nimbly out from behind the assassin. Katarina turned dazedly round to face her. It was her turn to look disappointed; there was pained bewilderment etched all over her elegant face. Lux could easily empathise; her own body ached in protest, painfully demanding to know why the pleasure had stopped so very prematurely.

"I…" Lux began. So rarely did she find herself lost for words, but again, the redhead had that effect on her, she was like no-one else she had ever met. This whole situation was unfamiliar, terrifyingly so… "I-I can't." She said weakly, shocking herself as well as her companion. "Not yet…I thought I'd lost you…" She trailed off apologetically. She glanced anxiously up at Katarina, expecting to see irritation on her face, maybe even anger, but she saw nothing of the kind.

The red head was gazing at her with sorrowful understanding in her bright green eyes, her eyes that were swimming with tears once more.

"I know what you mean." She replied soothingly, she moved over to Lux and pulled her into a close hug. "It's Ok." She continued as she softly stroked Lux's hair. "There is no one to stop us anymore! We have all the time in the world." Lux looked up from the ground to find Katarina beaming down at her. The other woman's smile was so pure, so enchanting, it must surely be the most beautiful thing in the entire world. She could not help but smile back.

And then she saw something that made her heart stop. The smile was wiped from her face as her jaw fell open in horror, her eyes wide with alarm. It couldn't be…how could he possibly have known?

Her older brother was marching resolutely down the gangway, thundering directly towards them. He was not wearing his usual armour, in fact he wore no uniform of any kind, none of his medals or crests or insignia, which usual held pride of place, gleaming on his broad chest, not even the slightest trace of anything Demacian. He was a ghost, wearing heavy, battle worn, armour of dark gun metal grey, and a long black cloak trailed over wooden planks in his wake. Even his sword was not his own, instead he carried a stout and ugly blade of wrought iron – carried it in his hand! Dread fell over Lux when she saw the way he held his sword ready.

Lux barely recognised her brother. This was not Garen, this was not the good hearted, proud and noble man she had grown up with. His face, dirty from the road, was half covered by a wrap of black cloth, only the top of his head was exposed; his dark hair, grimy and matted, and then his eyes…His eyes terrified Lux. They burned with a cold, bitter hatred, narrow and murderous. He stared straight through Lux as if she wasn't there, not even the slightest flicker of recognition as he bore down upon them. There was death in his eyes.

Lux was stunned, rooted to the spot, endless questions were relentlessly bombarding her mind, none of this made any sense! Why was Garen here? How had he possibly found them? Why was he like this? Why was his sword drawn? Icy panic clawed at her, like the tendrils of some hideous plant, slithering around her body, squeezing tighter and tighter, making it difficult to move, difficult to think, difficult to breathe.

Her dismay only increased, it seemed Garen was not alone. At least a dozen soldiers, all equally anonymous, dressed in the same dark grey armour, and just as heavily armed were approaching down the hill. They drew their weapons, fanning out at their leader's heel, closing in on Katarina and Lux like the jaws of a bear trap.

Katarina hadn't moved, she still held Lux close, her fiery head resting lovingly on Lux's shoulder, blissfully unaware that anything was wrong. For once in her life she had let her guard down, her senses, usually as sharp as any of her blades, had been numbed by her happiness. She was completely oblivious to the ring of blades that had formed behind her back.

The soldiers stopped moving, forming a tight knit semi-circle across the span of the dock, cutting off any escape. The two women had nowhere to run but into the sea. Garen alone continued forwards, still barrelling down upon them, with little sign of stopping, he twirled his huge sword effortlessly in his hand, Lux saw his mouth behind the cloth twisting into an ugly grimace.

Lux was truly scared now, she had no idea what was going on or what had happened to her brother to make him like this, but it didn't matter anymore. Her every instinct screamed danger and she had learned not to ignore her instincts.

With difficultly she wriggled free of Katarina's embrace and took a step to the side, ignoring the other woman's confused grumbling as she faced her brother. He didn't so much as look at her, he continued forward, his haunted eyes fixed furiously on Katarina's exposed back. Too late, horrified, Lux realised his intentions, and without hesitation she darted forwards into Garens path.

At that same moment Katarina turned around and saw the whole extraordinary scene: the wall of nameless soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder across the dock; the giant of a man that she didn't instantly recognize, striding towards her, his sword held aloft and glinting in the dying sun; the slight blond girl standing determinedly in his path. It was more than she could take in. She stumbled backwards slightly in surprise. She felt dazed, her head pounded, her vison was blurred, the dock swam in and out focus, and her hearing was distorted, as though she was hearing everything through a sheet of water.

"Garen, no…" She could hear a small voice, Lux's voice…she sounded so distant. The small woman was shuffling backwards in front of her brother to avoid being flattened. She tugged desperately at his free arm. "Garen please don't do this! Garen please look at me!"

Without warning Garen brought the back of his hand jerking upwards, it hurtled through the air like a hammer, and smashed into the side of Lux's face. There was an almighty crack, followed by a high pitch squeal as Lux was sent reeling backwards. She fell to the floor and lay still. Katarina snapped back to her senses in an instant as anger surged through her body.

"Do not talk to me you treacherous bitch!" Garen spat without tearing his cruel eyes away from Katarina, she had never seen him like this before. "You disgust me. You disgrace the name of Demacia!"

"That's fucking rich coming from you!" Katarina snorted mirthlessly, "You never seemed to mind disgracing Demacia when-

"SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!" Garen roared his eyes wild with hate. He broke into a run and Katarina could not react before he came crashing into her with his shoulder. She was sent staggering backwards in pain, and he followed instantly with a great arcing swing of his sword. Katarina just barely managed to duck in time as the huge blade whistled past, shaving the air mere inches above her head.

The assassin sprung back to her feet, twin daggers appeared, seemingly from nowhere, in her hands as she put distance between her and Garen, the huge man was still recovering from the effort of his own attack, doubled up and panting heavily. Katarina chanced an anxious glance over at Lux, the mage lay groaning on the floor, a hand nursing her battered temple – at least she was alive. The assassin turned wearily back to face her opponent.

"Why are you here Garen? Why can't you just leave us alone?" She asked pleadingly.

"Leave you alone?" Garen grunted, "LEAVE YOU ALONE? For what? So you can corrupt my sister even further? So you can turn her to your own ends. I would kill her myself before I saw her a tool of Noxus!"

"Look around you Garen!" Katarina replied with exasperation, casting her arm wide, gesturing at the peaceful countryside that surrounded them. "Does this look like Noxus to you?"

"Noxus is where ever you go…You would plant your vile Noxian flag at the gates to the afterlife if you could! I know what you are." He said venomously. "You bewitched Lux just as you tried to bewitch me!"

Katarina laughed coldly.

"So that's what this is about." She muttered quietly. "You never struck me as the jealous type…Why would I need to bewitch you when you were so very eager to throw yourself at me time and again?" She taunted. Garen's visible skin burned red, he bellowed with rage and hurled himself at her once more, slicing wildly with his weapon. His attacks were clumsy and she skipped around them with ease. Deftly she slipped within his reach and swept his legs from underneath him, and as he stumbled back she swiped furiously at him with both hands, her daggers glancing harmlessly of his armour. She retreated allowing him to clamber back to his feet.

"Touched a nerve did I?" She teased, a careless smirk on her lips, although she kept one eye on his sword. "You know that it's true. I never tried to bewitch you - and I certainly never bewitched Lux!... Like I even could." Katarina added, turning again to look at the blonde girl, lying crumpled on the rough wooden floor, the smirk vanished. "I love her." Katarina muttered quietly, and this time she was speaking to herself as much as anyone else.

"Don't make me laugh!" Garen spat. Although from the look on his face, it seemed very much like laughing was the last thing he felt like doing, he looked like he was about to throw up. "You're incapable of love…I know that all too well. You're a cold hearted bitch – you lie, and you twist, and you slither your way inside people's heads –

"I LOVE HER!" Katarina shouted before she could stop herself. Garen sneered at her.

"She's just a stupid little girl who doesn't know what she's doing – she can't see what you are, but I can! I can see what you're doing and I will put an end to it for good."

"Then you really are a fool." Katarina said sadly. "Lux was wasted on your family…" Garen's eyes glinted dangerously.

"Enough of your bullshit." His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, "You will die here."

He strode forwards once more, but this time she didn't wait for him to strike. She darted forwards slicing wildly at his throat. She had expected him to dodge backwards but instead he twisted his body and stooped low, allowing his heavy shoulder armour to eat the worst of the blow. Katarina reacted instantly; she leapt into the air, somersaulting over another brutal shoulder charge and as Garen's steamed past beneath her she kicked out with both feet, the heels of her leather boots connecting wickedly with the back of his head.

The tank like man was sent sprawling and Katarina saw her opportunity. Her feet had barely touched the ground before she took off again, blinking right on top of him and hailing down upon him with her daggers, slicing viciously at any exposed skin she could find. He squirmed on the ground, covering his head with his arms as he tried to escape the attacks that were raining down on him. Eventually he caught Katarina with a wild kick, forcing her backwards and he clambered heavily back to his feet. The Noxian circled him like a tiger circling wounded prey, and he swayed dangerously on the spot as his eyes tried to track her movements.

Battered and exhausted, Garen was becoming increasingly reckless. He let his fury and his hatred fuel him and he swiped out again and again, but each time his sword found only air and each time Katarina struck back with deadly precision. Her daggers finding less metal and more flesh as she twirled in and out of his reach.

"YOU – NEVER – COULD – BEAT – ME!" She screamed, emphasising each word with yet another blow, the final strike leaving a huge gash down the side of his jaw, his mask of black cloth fell away in bloody tatters. Garen howled in pain, clutching at his face with one of his huge fists, staring with horror as his fingers were stained red.

Katarina stood back, observing her handiwork with grim satisfaction. She was barely even breathing heavily. Again she waited for him to recover. She ran a hand through her flaming hair, her white teeth flashing a savage grin in Garen's direction.

"You can still walk away." She said to him, suddenly very serious. She glanced again at Lux; the mage had managed to haul herself back onto her knees, one hand propping her up, the other massaging her battered skull. She gazed over at the fighting pair with unfocused eyes. The two people she loved most in the entire world locked in a deadly duel; somehow she managed a weak smile in Katarina's direction. The assassin could not hold her gaze, she knew what the other woman must be thinking, and it hurt too much to see the fear twinkling in her big, innocent eyes. There was no happy ending here for her…

The red head turned again to face Garen, staring desperately into his bloodshot eyes. "Please Garen…Please…Just walk away, I'm begging you! For Lux!"

He did not say anything, he merely grunted roughly, spitting blood at his feet. Katarina could find nothing but loathing on his scarred face, but slowly, he turned to look at Lux, and their eyes met across the dock, brown eyes finding blue for the first time, and there was a flicker of something else on his battered face. Regret? There was a deep sadness hidden behind the blood and the dirt and the hate.

Nothing moved except the waves, licking tamely at the wooden jetty, as the two siblings stared into each other's eyes. The two Crownguard's, destined for greatness, lying filthy, bloody, and beaten in some forgotten corner of Runterra, ruined. How had it come to this?

Timidly Lux broke the silence, and as she spoke she realised that she no longer knew who she was talking to. Garen was a relic of the past that she was so desperate to leave behind, he was a stranger from another life…

"It's all true." She said quietly. "Everything Kat has told you is true. I-I love her too… I want to be with her. It's all that I want." The words came surprisingly easily to her. Like a final confession. She had borne that secret for far too long. For too long she had been forced to hide it from the world when all she had wanted was to scream it, to shout it, to feel it… that was truly her greatest deception.

Garen's face instantly hardened. Any trace of empathy or compassion, drowned in a poisonous rush of jealous resentment. Again he spat, a dirty great wodge of phlegm in Lux's direction, splattering grey and red on the planks in front of her. He turned away in disgust and Lux burst into silent tears, burying her face in her hands, her small frame shaking violently as she sobbed.

Without looking at her Garen spoke, his voice disdainful and cold.

"Then you shall watch her die." He said, his dark eyes fixed on Katarina once more. She stared right back at him, his look of utter contempt reflected in her own furious eyes. She gritted her teeth, her fingers flexing dangerously around the hilt of her twin daggers.

Without warning Garen leapt forwards, his heavy sword raised high above his head, his knuckles white as he gripped it with both hands. Katarina had been ready and she easily sprung backwards beyond the reach of his sword, her mind already calculating her counter attack. To her surprise however, something heavy and blunt collided with the small of her back. One of the soldiers had stepped forwards and shunted her with his shield. She yelled out in pain and shock, helpless as a pair of rough hands seized her by the shoulders and shoved her back into Garen's path.

The assassin staggered forwards, her boots skidding slightly on the slimy wood as she struggled to stay upright. A cold shadow fell suddenly over her face and Katarina looked upwards, fear shining in her eyes for first time. Garen hung in the air before her, his huge bulk entirely blocking out the sun, hurtling towards her like misshapen comet, his blade arcing downwards towards crest of her scalp, cold steel whistling death as it neared.

Katarina was frozen in terror. With less than a second before she was cleaved in half, and escape impossible, she did the only thing she could. Her instincts wrestling control of her body from her paralyzed mind, she raised her daggers and crossed them above her head like a shield, her eyes scrunched shut and her head flinched backwards –

And then all was chaos. The world might have ended. Garen smashed down, the whole jetty groaning awfully under the impact. His unwieldy sword, a giant beside Katarina's elegant knives, hammered violently into its dwarf counterparts. The clashing metal sung like church bells, and a shower of white hot sparks cascaded down upon them. The entire tremendous force of the strike was consumed by the tiny steel blades, Katarina clung on for dear life, but it was like trying to cling on to an explosion, the metal burned fiercely against her skin, searing her palms.

Wave after wave of shock shuddered down Katarina's skinny arms and roared through her body like a wild fire, she shuddered and jerked spasmodically like a woman possessed. It was like being struck by lightning. Her whole body screamed out in unbearable agony. Her skin was on fire, her muscles were twisted and contorted to the point of snapping, her bones were surely shattering, but somehow miraculously – madly, she survived.

Through her screwed up eyelids brilliant, golden sunlight poured in, and when her lips parted her lungs were flooded with wonderful cold air. The lethal edge of Garen's sword had never reached her skin, barely deflecting off of her crossed daggers and impaling itself instead, into the soft greying wood of the jetty, sending angry jagged splinters spitting into the air.

Katarina at last lost her grip, the twin knives tearing free from her hands, leaving her skin red raw. At the same time her legs gave way, buckling like twigs beneath her and pitching her forwards onto her knees, her arms swinging loose and feeble at her sides. She rocked backwards and forwards on the spot in a daze, barely clinging to consciousness.

She could see the swell of the sea all around her, up and down like the chest of a sleeping animal, the hypnotic motion made her want to throw up, but everywhere she looked was just the same. Her vision swam, at least three Garen's, stood darkly in front of her, surrounded by hundreds of tiny white stars. They loomed down upon her like some gruesome jack in the box, his face - or rather their faces filling her vision.

She shut her eyes tight, trying to focus on her breathing and fight back the nausea, in and out, in and out, in and out – just as a heavy fist smashed into her face.

She blacked out, it was a wonderful relief, slipping away into cool dark nothingness…but her eyes quickly jerked open again and the pain returned. Someone had her by the hair, pulling her along the ground without concern. She half crawled, was half dragged along the jetty. She felt every tiny bump and scrape in the rough wood, amplified by a thousand against her battered body, as she was forcibly lead along. She scrabbled desperately on her hands and knees to keep up, as her hair was almost wrenched from her scalp. Eventually the hand released her, and a huge boot connected brutally with her back, sending her sprawling once more.

There was a momentary respite and she curled up like a foetus, whimpering in pain and trying to regain some of her strength, any of her strength would be nice, and quickly. She was laid right at the end of the jetty, she could hear the waves more lively now below her, and could feel, cold salty water splashing up through the gaps in the wood, licking at her exposed skin. The water was refreshing, it even revived her slightly, and with enormous effort, her battered brain whirred back into action, trying to formulate some kind of a plan. Before she could even remember her name however the boot struck her again, kicking her viciously in the stomach.

She moaned, rolling onto her back, one arm dangling limply over the end of the jetty, and the tips of her fingers trailing in the waves as she fought for breath. There was laughter from somewhere behind her – or in front of her – or above her, it was impossible to tell, she didn't know what was up and what was down anymore.

It was only grudgingly that she opened her eyes. She was all but beaten, emotionally and physically, and she wanted nothing more than to just lie there forever with her eyes closed and pray that the world forgot about her entirely. Well, maybe not the whole world. There was one, very particular, very blonde person, that she did not want to forget her. The mere thought was heart wrenching, far worse than anything Garen could do to her, worse than death. It was cruel how little time they'd had together, they were so close to escaping all this shit forever. She could not give up on Lux, she wouldn't!

Painfully Katarina hauled herself into a sitting position, propping herself up on her elbows. Everything was still distinctly fuzzy, there was a huge pair of leather boots pacing up and down at her eye level, their every heavy thud was like a gunshot and she felt like her head was splitting open. Mercifully the pacing stopped, but any feeling of relief was short-lived. She scowled up at the sight of Garen looming over her.

"Still with us then?" He growled, flashing his brilliant white teeth in a wide grin, and for a moment he was almost recognizable as his old self. It was the same smile he had worn the first time they had met, and then again at each of their secretive rendezvous – she shuddered at the thought. It was sickening, now, to think of all she had endured, all she had done…for Noxus. How had she been so blind for so long.

"Good. It's far more fun this way." He said, and she recoiled as he crouched down beside her. "Stand up, what your father think if he knew you died lying in dirt." He stretched out and grabbed a hand full of her hair again, yanking roughly upwards. She slapped his hand away venomously, her hatred giving her strength; she got shakily but defiantly to her feet, her pain and exhaustion forgotten. She would not die like a dog.

And so she stood proudly at the end of the jetty, nowhere left to run, behind her only a few paces and a short fall separated her from the tireless infinity of pearly blue water. And in front of her Garen, standing between her and her happiness, as he had done, unwittingly, for so very long. The wind stirred gently in her crimson hair, it fell dishevelled about her face, cutting across her pale skin like angry scars, her actual scar looked dull by comparison. She snarled up at his once handsome face, cold hatred blistering in her eyes. Her small hands were balled into tight fists at her side.

Garen observed her struggle with interest.

"A fiery bitch until the very end…" He muttered, a twisted smile creeping onto his thick lips.

"Fuck you." She said simply, and spat at him.

"How fitting…" He laughed, brushing her saliva off his armour carelessly. Then suddenly, he changed, his face fell serious, his teeth gritted in hard concentration and his dull eyes suddenly glinted with violent excitement. Without taking his eyes off of the assassin, he heaved his sword up from the ground, nursing its weight fondly in both hands. "I should have done this a long time ago." And without hesitation he lunged powerfully forwards, his whole towering body thrust behind the attack.

Katarina scarcely had time to brace herself. Her heart was pounding a furious drum beat in her chest and she could feel it all through her body, she could feel every feverish pulse of life rippling across her skin, she could hear it thundering in her ears, along with a tiny, scared voice - This is the end. This is the end. This is the end. – She tried to think of something good, anything good, something warm and comforting that she could cling to, but she was too terrified to think. She wanted desperately to close her eyes, but she fought the impulse, a last futile act of rebellion, she would die free, she would stare death in the face, she was Katarina Du Couteau.

So her eyes remained wide open, as the diamond sharp tip of the sword sliced towards her, startling green glistening brighter than ever with bravery and fear.

And then she died.

She heard the sound of her gasp, her final precious breath escaping her lips. She heard the hideous sound of the metal ripping into her flesh. She saw pure white light and livid red blood.

But she felt nothing…No all-consuming, unfathomable pain. No pain at all actually, if this was dying, it wasn't at all bad. It was almost disappointing… but then seconds, slowly passed, and with every heartbeat, she became more doubtful - her heart was still beating…How was her heart still beating? She could feel it against her chest, as fast and as strong as ever, and now that she thought about it she was still breathing as well, her chest rising and falling again and again and again. She could feel the cool breeze on the back of her neck! She could still feel her body's every ache and sigh from the fight with Garen and she could even feel the hot wet tears rolling down her cheeks! If she could feel then…she was still alive!

But what? How? For the first time she looked around properly, and her amazement turned to utter bewilderment. She looked down at her own body, dismayed to find that she was covered in blood - was she dying after all? - but the shock soon subsided and she quickly realised there was no wound, not so much as a scratch. She didn't understand…

She looked up. There was the sword. Quivering in the air, its point only inches from Katarina's chest. It too was covered in blood, dripping in blood, down to the floor where it pooled at Katarina's feet, soaking into the old wood of the jetty, and creeping slowly between the gaps, trickling into the ocean. None of this made any sense…

And then there was Garen himself, still clinging to the hilt of his weapon, body frozen mid thrust, face frozen in his triumph - his triumph at stabbing…the air? At murdering the air? What was going on, why had he stopped, why was there so much blood? She could not understand…

She turned helplessly to Lux. Lux would have the answer. Lux would understand, just as she always did. There was no one cleverer. Lux would be able to make sense of it all…

Except she was no longer there…

Katarina gawped open mouthed at the spot where the blonde girl had collapsed - she wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere! Katarina's eyes flashed wildly, scouring the whole dock, but there wasn't a trace of her friend in sight. Panic rose in her chest, her head beginning to pound again, none of this made any fucking sense! What the fuck was happening? Had she died after all? Was this all part of some bizarre incensing purgatory?

She looked once again, to Garen, desperate confusion on her face, her crazed stare a silent accusation, a demand for answers.

This time however, she was distracted. She looked closer, and she noticed more. It was not triumph on Garen's rugged features, not satisfaction, or confusion, or even anger…but horror. Pure, unadulterated, unmistakable horror. He stared at Katarina, or at least, he stared in Katarina's vague direction, but his eyes were wide and sightless, disbelieving.

It was as though he gazed with unguarded eyes, into the very heart of the void, into its rotting, twisted core of evil and pain and suffering. He was no longer the furious, vengeful man – the might of Demacia, fallen – that he had been only moments before, but a child. A vulnerable and lonely child, caught in the icy grips of despair, frozen in fear, staring spellbound into the soulless eyes of some unseen terror.

Katarina was stunned; despite everything she felt an impossible surge of sympathy for the man. She was haunted by his expression. It sent shivers of fear up her spine and an avalanche of icy Goosebumps rippling along her bare arms. She gazed wearily up at him, all her rage forgotten, she was suddenly strangely anxious, although she did not know why.

She was unsure of what to do, of what to think, even of what to feel. Her mind was utterly blank – or maybe utterly full, a field of virginal snow, or tiny room jammed with loud, agitated people, each trying to shout louder than the next. Either way it made little difference. Her confusion was hopeless, insurmountable, her thoughts were like mud. She still could not understand what the fuck was happening.

She knew nothing…nothing except that she was suddenly incredibly scared. Impossibly scared. More scared than she had ever been in her life. It was as though whatever invisible devastation wracked Garen was passing close to her, and she could sense its presence, feel its heinous, rank breath on the back of her neck…

There was something nagging away in the back of her mind. She was missing something…Something obvious, so obvious it might as well have been right in front of her-

Suddenly her heart stopped, and her breath caught in her throat. Something clicked.

-right in front of her-

-invisible-

And then she saw it…The peculiar way that light was shimmering on Garen's skin, on his armour, on his matted hair…his image was oddly distorted, as though seen through a sheet of crystal glass. It was almost impossible to notice… An idea had appeared in her head, an idea too horrible to even contemplate, but now that it was there she could not shake it. It was burrowed deep like the roots of some unwanted weed. It couldn't be true. Was she merely imagining it? Were her eyes still playing tricks on her?

She glanced downwards at her own body, raising a hand and flexing her long fingers before her eyes, examining it thoroughly. Then she raised the other hand and repeated the process, panic swelling in her chest. There was nothing, her own skin looked completely normal…

Her jade eyes were full of dread as they flickered slowly upwards again – she had seen this before…she knew what she was looking at! - Back up towards Garen. Silently pleading, praying…

"No…" She breathed, her voice barely a whisper. "Oh God no…please no, no, no, NO, NO!" As if in answer to her voice, the scene before her began to change. Suddenly she fell silent again, her shouts stifled by a terrible lamenting gasp, her own gasp, as she almost choked on her own despair. She was breaking down, her whole body shaking uncontrollably, tears flooding unashamedly down her cheeks, her mouth gaping wide and red lips trembling. She stood rooted to the spot in horror, powerless to do anything but watch as the truth revealed itself.

It was the single most terrible, and yet also most mesmerising thing she had ever witnessed. It was impossible to look away.

In a twinkle of breath-taking golden light, Lux's small form materialized slowly around the sword.

In reality it all happened in a heartbeat, but to Katarina it seemed to last an eternity, it was excruciating. She felt like her own heart was being ripped out of her chest in great shreds – this, surely, was dying, nothing could be worse –

But finally the celestial golden light died away, along with the last traces of the magic that had kept Lux invisible for so long, and the truth of what had happened was clear for all to see.

All was still. In a single sigh of the wind, as sudden as the falling of the last leaf of autumn, it was as though they had all been enveloped in a biting merciless winter. The warm summers evening was forgotten. The sun was blotted out in the sky, the rolling waves froze into hard black ice, the air was razor sharp, cold as the breath of the watchers themselves, and their own breath hung in the air like a solemn pearly mist. Their very blood turned to ice in their veins.

Lux was surely dead… dying at the very least. The sword had caught her right in the stomach, impaled her clean through the middle. She hung from the blade like some perverse imitation of a child's doll, her dainty feet dangling just above the ground. Her shoulders were slack, arms hanging limp at her sides. One hand was angled delicately forwards, fingers outstretched tentatively towards her brother. Her head was tilted slightly to one side, swaying gently on her neck as though with the breeze, and her fair, golden hair fell in light curls over her shoulders, the tips brushing against the bloody mess in the small of her back, dying them crimson and matting them together. Her face was deathly pale, blue eyes wide and staring and her mouth formed a small circle of surprise.

For seconds no one moved, there wasn't a sound apart from Lux's soft groans, but then the spell was suddenly broken, and the world roared back to life. The waves clawed at the jetty with unprecedented vigour, there were yells and cries of surprise from the soldiers, somewhere above them shrouded by the perfect blue of the sky, a bird even dared to sing, but Katarina's desperate sobs were louder than it all, wild tormented cries, ringing out like an ancient, sorrowful hymn.

Only Garen remained silent. Only Garen remained still. He didn't even blink, just standing there, his face frozen in the same horror-stricken mask, perfectly oblivious to the chaos that surrounded him. His dark eyes were fixed uncertainly on his younger sister, as if he could not quite believe she was there. He was struck dumb, unable to move, even as her blood ran through his fingers.

She was losing a lot of the blood. The wound was like a hideous fountain and the bleeding showed little sign of letting up, with every passing moment the little remaining colour in her skin was draining away. The cries and shouts were getting louder now, more urgent; the soldiers looking to their leader for instruction, Katarina was hysterical, jabbering madly, half to herself, half directed at Garen, she was caught in some feverish prayer.

To Garen it was like an annoying buzzing in his ear that he could not shake off, unintelligible but getting ever louder. Then there was a new noise, loud and intrusive, it shook him from his trance.

The low growl of an engine from out on the water, a ship was rounding the headlands. To call it a ship was being generous, had it not been for the plume of foul black smoke that churned out from, what could only be assumed was its funnel, the whole thing could have been easily mistaken for a heap of mouldering drift wood.

In actuality it was a small trawling boat, so ancient that it still used steam rather than hextech, and it looked like it must have been patched up and repaired at least a hundred times. It was a small miracle that the thing was even afloat, but even so it made steady progress towards the dock, cutting drunkenly through the waves.

To Garen, it might well have been the pride of the Noxian war fleet rounding the cliffs towards them; such was the effect it had on him. His face fell and he stumbled backwards in alarm. He still held his sword firmly in hand, and Lux cried out in pain as the rough metal was wrenched clear of her flesh. Yet more of the precious little life that lingered within Lux, was lost in a spray of lurid red paint, and the small mage began to fall.

She fell as if in slow motion, a fine mist of her own blood echoing her descent, she stretched a hand out towards the heavens, fingers clawing at the air.

Even in her despair Katarina reacted instantly. She had eyes only for Lux – In the background there was commotion: Garen's bulky silhouette hastily backing into the rabble of his own soldier, barging them aside, and over her shoulder the trawler was closing in, but none of this mattered to the assassin. Without hesitation she darted forwards to meet the falling girl, her own arms outstretched, body tensed.

She caught Lux under the arms, all the breath knocked from her chest as Lux crashed into her arms. The blonde girl's legs buckled the instant they touched the ground leaving Katarina struggling to support her entire weight – Katarina was strong, and Lux was only small but even so her body was a dead weight in the red heads arms…She didn't linger on the implications of this…She could not afford to. If there was even the slightest chance of saving Lux, she could not lose control. She had to forget her misery, and her fear, and her anger, even the pain of her own aching body. None of it mattered if Lux died. She could not die…

Katarina reached down and swept Lux of her feet completely, gritting her teeth as a fresh wave of pain shot down her straining arms. She cradled her like a baby, one arm hooked under legs and the other around her shoulders, supporting Lux's lolling head with an elbow. Her arm brushed Lux's neck and a shiver of dread trickled down Katarina's spine; the other woman's skin was icy to the touch.

She wheeled round to face the ocean, shielding Lux from her fellow Demacians with her own body. It was against her every instinct to turn her back to her enemy, let alone a group of enemies, but Lux's needs were far greater than her own. With immense care she lowered Lux's frail whimpering form to the floor, laying her gently on the wooden planks. She then knelt, sitting back on the heels of her boots, with Lux's head resting in her lap.

Katarina gazed down at her friend. She could almost have been sleeping, her bloodless face was quite peaceful, eyes half closed, lips lightly parted – but then there was the gaping wound in her stomach…The assassin wasted several priceless seconds, just staring, transfixed in fear, at the wound; there was so much blood! It was overwhelming; she didn't know what to do…

But then Lux shuddered violently, her head snapping up off Katarina knees, coughing and retching, her ghostly pale hands clutched to her abdomen. Katarina snapped out of her helpless stupor in an instant, her desperate need to ease Lux's pain far stronger than her own anxiety and fear.

Gently but firmly she pushed Lux back and made her lie still. She leant in close, the tips of her scarlet hair tickling Lux's cheeks as she reached over her and delicately removed the mage's hands from the wound, easing her arms back down by her sides. When she leant back she did not let go, her fingers weaved amongst Lux's, her thumb caressing the back of her hand. Her other hand ran soothingly over the blonde girls icy forehead.

Katarina leant in again.

"It's going to be ok." She whispered, so close that only Lux could hear her words – that was if she could still hear…there was a tiny trickle of blood escaping from the corner of mouth. "I'm going to fix you. I promise. We're going to be together. It's going to be ok." The red head struggled to sound comforting, to sound assured, but she could not help the edge of desperation that crept into her voice. She barely believed her own words. She did not know how to fix this.

Katarina sat up and wiped the fresh tears from her eyes, she ran the same hand distractedly through her hair, struggling fiercely to keep herself from falling apart – She had to stay focused!

Reluctantly she let go of Lux's hand and the other woman purred with disappointment.

"Don't worry, I'm still here, I'm going to help." Katarina said hurriedly, glad that Lux could not see the less than reassuring expression on her face. With difficulty she began to shrug off her old leather jacket, trying hard not to disturb Lux as she did so. At last she managed to yank the thing free of her studded wrist guard, leaving her arms and shoulders bear but for the faded tattoo that snaked up her torso; black flames creeping up her exposed midriff, disappearing beneath the brown leather of her corset and then clawing back around her shoulder blades.

She felt more vulnerable than ever, suddenly acutely aware of the delicacy of her own skin; she tried not to think about the small army of enemies lurking close behind her, with their wide selection of lethally sharp weapons. None of whom would think twice about slitting her open…

Katarina shook herself. She couldn't worry about that, all of her energy was being exuded worrying about Lux – besides, they hadn't attacked her yet. Maybe Garen had lost his nerve?

The assassin took her jacket in her hands, rolling the leather tightly into a makeshift bandage. She leant forwards over Lux's body once more, wincing apologetically as she coaxed the mages back up off the ground. Lux gave the most awful groan; her hands scrabbled for purchase on the jetty floor, finger nails scratching at the rough wood.

"Shhhhh….Shhhh." Katarina said, desperately trying to comfort Lux. "Shhhhh…Please! It's ok! This will only take a second...shh." But the blonde girl writhed worse than ever in Katarina's lap, each of her pained whimpers stabbing at the red head's heart. "I'm so sorry…" She begged, continuing her work, her pink tongue poked out the side of her mouth in concentration and there were fresh tears streaking down her face, her hands fumbling as she wrapped the jacket tightly around the wound.

At last she managed to knot it in place.

"Ok ok, it's done! There you go…" Katarina sighed with relief as she gently lowered the other woman back to the ground. She took each of Lux's hands in her own once more, she never wanted to let go again. She bent down and planted a kiss on her clammy forehead. "It's going to be ok." She said again, unable to mask the shake in her voice, it was impossible to believe her own words.

She looked miserably down at her handiwork and all she could think was how spectacularly inadequate it was – her dirty old, battle worn jacket– how spectacularly inadequate SHE was. She was an Assassin! Not a fucking healer! It was hopeless, how did she not know how to fix this? Why had she never bothered to learn basic fucking medical aid!

-That answer was all too simple: Until now she had never had anyone else that she wanted so desperately to save. She had always been alone. Dependant on no one, and dependable to no one, but now…now she had Lux and it was too fucking late! She would soon be alone again…

If Lux didn't get medical attention soon, proper medical attention...Katarina shuddered at the thought. Lux couldn't die; it was too soon, they had come too far. It wasn't fair…

Then she remembered the ship…Yes the ship! She looked up and there it was, floating precariously just a little way out amongst the rolling waves, so close now that she could see shadowy figures moving about on the deck. As she looked, there was the flash of brilliant light from the bow, the sun glinting in a telescopic lens. Someone was watching them.

Lux had been waiting for a boat…This must be it; her escape, her one way ticket into a new life. Gods only knew who they were, and Katarina could only guess; fisherman, pirates, mercenaries… it didn't matter who they were. She knew how these things worked, the less both parties knew the better it was for everyone. There were never any names, never any questions, just the silent exchange of gold.

This was the answer! If she could just get Lux on that boat, get her away from Garen and his thugs, they might be able to get her help. They could go to Piltover, or Zaun even, surely somewhere in that writhing mess of life there would be someone who could help them…Surely somewhere-

Hope was starting to stir within her, strange and unfamiliar after so much pain and despair, like the first glimmer of dawn after the longest and darkest of nights – It was quashed almost instantly. Even as Katarina watched, the old boat lurched around, so sharply that it almost pitched over onto its side, before it started steaming back the way it had come, as fast as its derelict engine would carry it.

Whatever Lux was paying them, it evidently wasn't enough, not to get involved in this bloody mess. They had taken one look at the scene on the dock: the apparently dead girl, lying limp and lifeless in the arms of the Noxian assassin, both women soaked in blood…and then there was the mob of heavily armed, dangerous looking men… It was enough to discourage even the most daring of outlaws.

Katarina watched it until it was little more than a rolling black cloud on the horizon, and then it disappeared altogether…With it went her last hope. She was left helpless, facing the inevitable. She clutched Lux's hands tighter than ever in her own, looking desperately down at her friend – her love. Tears rolled silently down her cheeks as she gazed into those beautiful, vacant eyes.

Now more than even she needed Lux; her selfless heart and her fearless smile, she needed her guidance, and her comfort, and her love!

The mage was simultaneously the most familiar, and the most elusive person that she had ever met. Even now after all they had been through Katarina still felt like she barely even knew the other woman…but at the same time she felt like she had known her for her entire life. She could hardly remember her life before Lux; it didn't seem real, faded memories flickered in her brain like an old and distorted film. She felt so detached from it all, scarcely able to recognise the places and the people that she saw… even herself.

She no longer knew the girl that she had once been…Who even was she without Lux? She wasn't anything. She was obsolete, an empty shell, a speck of dust. Her life before Lux wasn't worth remembering and a future without Lux didn't bear thinking about…Life without the golden haired girl was no life at all…

Katarina let her forehead rest lightly against Lux's, holding her tightly, breathing in the soft scent of the other woman's hair even as her own silent tears seeped amongst the golden strands.

She was an enigma…the only person that had ever truly beaten her, and she had beaten her so completely, broken her so perfectly, that now the very thought of losing her was unbearable. She could not live without Lux.

The assassin could hear the low murmuring voices of the Demacian soldiers, and the dull rattling of their armour as they closed in on her, but she didn't move. She stayed completely still, her eyes shut, hugging Lux's limp form close to her own. She listened fervently for every shallow breath, felt for every faint pulse with the same icy terror in her heart, dreading the moment of silence and stillness that would mean Lux had left her forever.

She didn't want to fight anymore…she didn't have the energy, or the strength, or the heart. Violence was all she had ever known and this was where it had led her. She just wanted to be with Lux…to hold her, to hear her voice, for whatever sorry time they still had…

Why couldn't they all just leave them alone! She wished they would just leave, but they did not. She could feel their presence hanging over her like some poisonous cloud, intruding on this moment – this moment that should have been private, just Lux and Katarina quietly losing their minds together –but they didn't leave. She could feel every one of their hateful eyes trained on her back; she could see their stupid, sneering facings looming out of the darkness at the back of her mind. They were mocking her, mocking Lux, laughing at their miserable fate and their naïve attempt at happiness.

Even now they would not let them escape the shackles they were born into, their pathetic little lives consumed in a war they had never chosen, lives that had never truly been their own. It had all been for nothing. Their fight had been futile. In the end no amount of love, or hope, or defiance could liberate them from who they were. Their desperate story, their secret revolution, their condemned love…the entire tumultuous affair would die with them, their struggle forgotten and their wasted hearts impaled proudly for the rest of time, beneath the flags of their two 'great' nations.

Demacia and Noxus…arch enemies…opposite in every way… but in the end no different at all.

Well fuck them…fuck them all! They had taken so much from her…left her with nothing, nothing left to lose…They would not steal away their last moments together!

Katarina slowly raised her head, and her eyes blinked open, cold and furious. A blinding light rushed over her. The sun had slipped down below the line of the sea, splitting like the yolk of an egg, its magnificent light bursting in every direction. The sky bled yellow and orange, pink and red, and ripples of gold raced out across the tranquil water. It was breathtakingly beautiful and Katarina's rage briefly faltered…to look out at such a brilliant horizon, a sky dancing with so much life, over Lux's weak and fading body…It was the saddest thing she had ever seen.

She shook herself out of it, and with a last loving stroke of Lux's hair wriggled out from beneath the other woman, easing Lux's head back down where she lay eerily still on the wooden floor of the jetty. Katarina got slowly to her feet. She did not bother to wipe away the single fat tear that clung to her cheek. With reluctance she turned away from the sea and the sun – away from Lux. She turned away from the warmth and the light, to face the dark, to face her oppressors. They stood before her like a line of toy soldiers.

The world seemed suddenly very dull, her own shadow stretched out long in front of her as though it trying to escape. She felt the warmth of the sun tickling the bare parts of her back and she longed to turn around, to surrender herself to its comforting embrace, but she knew that she couldn't, not yet. She needed to finish this.

One by one she fixed each man with her chilling stare; one by one she wordlessly condemned them each to their fate. Garen was nowhere to be seen, but if this surprised her, she did not show it, she doubted anything could surprise her anymore. The 'Might of Demacia' had vanished without a trace, presumably fled, unable to face what he had done…

"Fucking coward!" Katarina spat under her breath. Her hatred for Garen burned fierce as the evening sun. She yearned for his blood, to make him pay for all he had done to Lux – to them both. She needed him to feel her pain and her despair, she would tear his beating heart from his chest and crush it in the palm of her hand. He didn't deserve life, he didn't even deserve death. Katarina would break his body until there was nothing left to break, and then she would break his mind, shatter his very soul. She would not rest until he was just as broken and as empty as she was…

But he was gone…he was gone, and hunting him down would not save Lux. Killing him would not bring her back. Lux would not have wanted her brother dead, not at Katarina's hand, not at all. She would have forgiven him.

Katarina felt an overwhelming pang of Love for her fallen friend, her heart felt like it might explode in her chest. Lux was a better person than Katarina could ever dream of being; she should not be the one that lay dying in this forgotten place. She deserved so much more…

Katarina turned instead to the soldiers, they were the only ones left for her to blame. All that stood between Katarina and the crushing weight of her own guilt and sorrow.

They were closing in on her cautiously, weapons drawn and ready, what little could be seen of their faces was damp with sweat, their heavy black armour a burden in the suns dying warmth. Katarina tensed, ready to fight, her mind calculating her options. The Demacians had every advantage: they had her massively outnumbered; they had her surrounded, a blade pointed at her from every angle; and she was still recovering from her fight with Garen…A savage grin spread across her lips. They didn't stand a chance.

The soldiers halted as one, only a couple of paces between the Noxian and their raised swords. One of their number stepped forwards. He addressed Katarina in a loud, authoritative bark.

"D-Don't try anything foolish Noxian! Surrender and your death will be painless." Katarina merely laughed, her smile growing wider, flashing her brilliant teeth.

"That might be slightly more intimidating if your hand wasn't shaking like a lotus flower." She quipped, and the man scowled furiously, his skin reddening beneath the steely metal of his helmet. He gripped his weapon even tighter, his knuckles white around the swords hilt. Katarina took advantage of the man's flustered silence.

"Why don't you all follow in the footsteps of your 'brave and noble' leader, and fuck off!" Katarina continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm, trying to summon her usual brazen spirit but falling slightly flat. "If you go right this second, and leave us in peace, a few of you might yet live!" She said. The old Katarina would have killed them all without a moment's thought; Lux really had changed her…

Her words, a clumsy attempt at being merciful, only riled the soldier up even more however, and his stormy temper raced to the aid of his wounded pride. He gave a great booming laugh, bristling with forced bravado and looking round to his comrades for support; a few half-hearted laughs rippled along their line. The other Demacians didn't seem to find the situation funny in the slightest; his weren't the only hands that had been trembling, and most of the soldiers were eyeing Katarina wearily.

The man kept his laugh going a little too long for it to be convincing and Katarina stifled a yawn as she waited for the charade to finish.

"As gracious as your offer is," He began, and as expected there wasn't a trace of humour in his venomous voice, (his voice that was noticeably higher pitched than before). "It is you who should fear for your life. We are not going anywhere!"

Katarina gave a casual shrug that only infuriated the Demacian even more and when he continued he was almost shouting.

"NOXIAN BITCH! WE WILL SLAY YOU AND THEN WE WILL FINISH OFF YOUR TREACHOROUS PET WHORE!"

The smile was wiped instantly from Katarina's face, replaced with an ugly snarl of hatred. She stared at the man with unblinking fury, her eyes low and dangerous and the old scar positively twitching on her cheek.

"Try saying that again." She said quietly, her fingers flexing at her sides.

The soldier looked delighted that he had finally managed to provoke her, he gave a smug smile of satisfaction before he spoke again, clearly and deliberately, so there could be no mistake.

"Actually…" He began, his beady eyes fixed on the assassin, malicious and hungry. He was clearly savouring his words. "I think I will let you live, just long enough that you can watch…watch as I crush the life from your dear Lux…" Katarina was breathing very heavily; cold death blossomed in her green eyes. "I will put her down like the weak…depraved…whor-

He never finished speaking, the last words stuck in his throat. Try as he might he couldn't make a sound. Confusion swelled in his mind and then he was coughing, and spluttering, desperately trying to speak, his confusion rapidly turned to panic as he gasped for air, desperately trying to breathe! And then at last he managed to dislodge the words that blocked his airway…but it wasn't words, it was hot and viscous and it gushed free in a murderous frenzy, like water from burst dam. It was blood.

It had only taken her a second, a single blink of the eye, and she had appeared behind him with impossible speed. She had ended his hateful torrent of words in the only way she knew how; a single surgical slash across his throat, and now she took her other dagger and plunged it deep into his spine – This was unnecessary, the first cut would have certainly killed him, but she had wanted to do it, it felt good. It was for Lux.

Katarina allowed herself only a moment to savour the man's final silence. The other soldiers were in disarray, scrambling over themselves and each other, a perfect storm of chaos panic and confusion, but finally they were beginning to realise what was happening. Even as they lunged towards Katarina she took to the air, leaping upwards and kicking hard off the man's back, she twirled backwards through the air and landed beyond their reach, several feet away, crouched and ready.

The first soldier smashed to his knees before pitching forwards into a pool of his own blood. He was dead before he hit the ground, the ghost of his arrogant excitement still lingered in his staring eyes.

The remaining Demacians were in shambles, clumped up in a frenzied horde, several of them had thrown themselves at the space that Katarina had until so recently occupied and they now lay in a heap, the others stood nearby in an agitated daze. They scrambled desperately to regroup and to reorganize but it was already too late.

Katarina rose coolly to her full height, her wild hair was ablaze in the full light of the sun and her pale skin shimmering like snow. She consulted the group of doomed Demacians, almost with sadness, but then she took a deep steadying breath and her eyes fell closed as she prepared for her final and deadliest dance. She let her instincts steady her hand and her rage fuel her movements as she began her sinister pirouette, moving faster and faster until she was little more than a blur of black and white and brilliant red.

She was a hurricane of blood and blood was all she found. Metal sang like the wind at the heart of the fiercest tempest, as dagger after dagger sliced through the air and found its mark. The Demacians were cut down where they stood, and their final animal cries rang true; wails groans and whimpers playing an awful requiem in the warm evening air. One by one they crumpled away, a dozen hardened soldiers folding like origami as the life was punched out of them.

It was over in a matter of seconds, the last of the Demacians struck down as he lunged desperately towards Katarina, his broken body falling amongst his comrades. They were all certainly dead, their rigid bodies littered the dock and their blood ran in rivers along the wooden planks but Katarina did not stop. Still she span and still the daggers flew, impaling themselves indiscriminately in wood and flesh alike.

To find the strength she needed to fight she had given herself over to her emotions and now they consumed her, she was out of control, beyond all reason and hope. With every turn, every throw, more anger pain and despair escaped the cramped confines of her soul and burst free, erupting into the world in relentless barrage of furious missiles. She was the epicentre of the storm, the white hot core of the explosion, wild and destructive…

But the more powerful a storm, the sooner it must burn itself out, and this was no exception. Eventually, in a terrible scream of raw emotion, Katarina just stopped. She staggered wildly forwards, barely keeping her feet, almost lurching over the edge of the jetty and into the water. Reaching blindly in front of her she managed to find a crate with her searching fingers, and she lent heavily against it for support.

She hung her head, staring groggily down into tumbling water as she panted for breath; the perfect turquoise was corrupted by a ghostly mist of muddy red, rolling like a fog amongst the gentle waves. Without warning, Katarina was suddenly and violently sick over the edge of the jetty, doubling up and clinging desperately to the crate with her finger nails. When it was finally over Katarina swung back around, leaning her back against the crate and looking anywhere but down - in the end she shut her eyes. She was breathing like someone who was scared that they might forget how to do it, each breath heavy and uneven; she sucked greedily at the fresh, clean air.

Her heart was still racing in her chest; she could feel its angry beat shuddering through every inch of her body. She was so weak that every beat threatened to send her toppling over. Her scarlet hair was a dishevelled mess, plastered all across her face, and there was a glistening sheen of the sweat on her bare skin. Her legs felt like they had melted away inside the sticky leather of her leggings and her feet, if there was anything left of them inside her heavy boots, felt like they were on fire.

All of this was nothing compared to the aching emptiness that she felt inside. She couldn't bring herself to move, to think, or even to feel, she just stood there, slumped against her crate in a numb and sluggish daze. Time slipped lazily by, she was dimly aware of the sun's heat on the back of her head, and then it moved on. The world in front of her gradually succumbed to shadow as night rolled in.

A faint coughing pulled her from her trance, and she looked up, blinking dumbly, slightly surprised to find that she was still alive – She could not help but feel a twinge of disappointment. For a moment she thought she might have imagined the noise, but then she heard it again. She rolled her shoulders experimentally, kneading the back of her neck with her hand, a grimace of discomfort flickering across her face. Her whole body ached, ached like she had fallen face first down Mount Targon… but at least she could still move.

She turned around, decidedly unoptimistic about what she might find, a familiar weariness hanging over her, a weariness born from the ashes of her shattered hope.

The horizon was on fire, the sun little more than a sliver of gold, all but swallowed by the seething black waves, but its light fought on, a kaleidoscope of colour. Great streaks of orange, pink, and red slashed violently across the darkening sky, piercing the dusky blue of the impending night like great living tendrils as the sun tried to abate its slow descent into oblivion.

The affect was quite spectacular, but Katarina was not looking at the sky. She had eyes only for one thing. The jetty stretched out in front of her, past all the bodies and the blood and the violence, right out to sea, where the world could almost have been peaceful. The very tip of the jetty was framed by the setting sun, and squinting against the blinding wall of light, Katarina saw a shimmer of gold – a shimmer of gold that burned brighter than the sun itself, a colour more pure than any other she could see.

Slowly, purposefully, Katarina started towards it. She trod a careful path through the bodies of the fallen Demacians, the ground was slick with their blood, and the sole of her boots were skidding dangerously but she never looked down. As she walked further on she left them behind her, she left the battle behind her, she left everything behind her, and suddenly it was just her and Lux, and the waves and the sunset.

She stood over Lux's body. The Golden haired mage lay still, in a halo of sunlight, the last rays of the sun falling like a blanket of her battered body, dancing in her hair and twinkling on her pallid cheek. For a moment Katarina just watched her sorrowfully. She was apparently unconscious, her eyes were closed and a small pained frown had settled on her youthful face. She was mewling and fidgeting, like a sleeping animal in the midst of a troubling dream.

She was still alive. Katarina barely even felt any relief before she was overwhelmed once again by dread…How long did they have? However long it was it would never be enough…she couldn't waste a single second.

On an impulse, Katarina walked to the side of the jetty. The small boat that she had noticed earlier was still there, bobbing quietly in the water, tethered to the jetty by a tatty length of rope. Kneeling down she managed to tug the thing closer, so that it was floating right beneath her. Several sacks lay strewn about its small hull and one by one Katarina hauled them free and placed them on the jetty. She ignored her aching limbs as she dragged the sacks over to Lux's head, where she arranged them into a small pile.

Katarina straightened up and wiped the sweat from her brow. She stood with her hands on her hips and looked at her crude creation. It probably wasn't quite as luxurious as the Demacian palaces Lux had grown up in but in the circumstances, it would have to do.

Lux purred as Katarina settled down beside her, sitting back against the sacks. To the assassin's aching and bruised body it was blissfully comfortable. With a delicacy almost unimaginable from the same person who had just cut down a small army of soldiers, she eased Lux up off the ground and pulled the other woman into her bosom. She wrapped an arm tight around Lux's slender shoulders.

They sat together in warmth of the dying sun, the only sound that of the glistening waves as they rolled in all around them. Their docile silence was a mark of solemn understanding, their final resignation to the cruel inevitability of fate. They had come so very far, fought exhaustingly against every little thing that had stood between them – against each other, against themselves even, and they had almost won. But fate was a cruel mistress, especially cruel in their case. Like a spiteful and vindictive Goddess she had watched their pitiful struggle with bored amusement, knowing all along how it was doomed to end.

Even so, Katarina felt oddly at peace. She held Lux close, watched her head sway with the rise and fall of her own chest, gently stroking her silky golden hair, and listening attentively to the soft whisper of her breath. She knew that she never had to let her go again, and the thought was like a warm breeze across the cold tundra of her heart.

It wasn't quite happiness…that was not possible, she might never feel true happiness again, but in this moment they were together, and whilst they were, the darkness could never totally consume her. There would always be light; there would always be hope.

"It's beautiful isn't it…"Lux's voice melted into Katarina's thoughts, so soft it could have been a dream. She gave a startled gasp, her hand stalling in its incessant stroking of Lux's hair. "…the sky I mean." Lux added, her voice a little stronger this time, she shifted her position in Katarina's lap and gazed earnestly up into the other woman's face.

Katarina didn't know what to say, she found herself unwilling to meet her friends eye, and instead she made to look out at the sunset, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes. She could only nod meekly, and hope that Lux did not notice the deep sadness on her face. Katarina had been sure that she would never hear that lovely voice ever again…it was like the sweetest music in the world to her ears, instantly lifting her heavy heart so that it soared, lighter than air… but now she faced losing it all over again. She wasn't sure she could cope…

"You're beautiful." Lux said quietly and Katarina could no longer help it, she looked down. Lux was smiling timidly up at her and Katarina was instantly lost in the bright, endless blue of her eyes. There were silent tears pouring down the assassin's cheeks, and an impossible, irrepressible smile twisted on her lips. It was both the happiest and the saddest she had ever felt. Raw, devastating emotion consumed her and she never wanted it to end.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She tried and tried again, desperate to convey to Lux just how much she meant to her, to say just how lost she would be without her, to say how beautiful she was – desperate to say anything! She couldn't make a sound. She couldn't find the words; there were no words to say how she felt about Lux! Her mouth flapped uselessly –

"I know." Lux said looking intently into her eyes. "Of course I know."

And then Lux kissed her, reaching up she hooked her arms around the back of Katarina's neck and pulled their lips together. In an instant, all of the redhead's pain and fear had disappeared, her eyelids fluttered closed. For those few, desperately short seconds, Katarina was in heaven.

Too soon it was over. Lux fell heavily back into her lap groaning with pain and panting for breath.

The huge effort of holding her wounded body up, even for a few short seconds, was almost too much and Lux teetered on the edge of consciousness. Whether her eyes were open or closed she did not know, the darkness called to her, it engulfed her, peaceful and inviting. She was slipping away, she was falling…

Katarina came crashing back to earth, the dizzying moment of ecstasy shattered into a million pieces under the cold, blunt weight of her reality. Her eyes flashed instantly open, blinded momentarily by the sun and her own frenzied fear. She gripped Lux's shoulders as tightly as she dared, fighting against her own primitive instincts to shake the girl, to squeeze her, to slap her! – Anything that might stop the light in her eyes from fading, anything to make her fight just a little longer. There was nothing she wouldn't do to keep Lux there with her.

"Lux! Lux please…" Katarina said, an awful crack in her voice. "Please Lux don't go!" she whimpered. "I love you…so fucking much..."

Lux heard Katarina's voice. She heard her calling her name from somewhere above, far above her head. It was as though she was at the bottom of the ocean and Katarina was floating high amongst the clouds. Her voice was so distant, so quiet and fuzzy, and yet Lux could hear the tormented tremor in every syllable. She could feel the other woman's desperation and despair like a trickle of icy water down her own spine, it burned in her heart like wild fire, and it burned back the darkness that surrounded her.

"Mhhhmmm." Lux groaned, expending a huge effort to make any noise at all. "I can still hear you ya'know." She murmured groggily. Light flooded her eyes and gradually the world reassembled itself around her, a jumble of blocky shapes and blurred colours. "You have no idea how long I've dreamt of hearing you say those words…I'll have to make a note for next time – just get Garen to stab me in the stomach…"

Katarina half laughed, half gagged, exhaling explosively, the breath that she hadn't realised she had been holding punching free like a bullet from a gun. By the time Katarina had recovered her breath, Lux's vision had become clearer and the mage smirked innocently up at her friend, her eyes twinkling like sapphires in the twilight. The red head met her gaze, incredulous and exhausted, but above all incredibly relieved. She could not help it as her lips twitched into a tentative grin.

Lux giggled, her infamous, gleeful trill that danced the fine line between whimsical, and just plain unhinged. It was the same laugh that Katarina had once found utterly insufferable, but now…now, it was the very sound of happiness, and love, and hope, and she soon found herself wanting to laugh with her.

Katarina's lip twitched, she sniffed, she felt she was about to start laughing…and then suddenly, she burst into tears. Before she knew what was happening she lolled helplessly forwards, her forehead resting against Lux's chest, and her scarlet hair tumbling all over her face as she sobbed.

It was Lux's turn to look shocked as the red heads tears soaked into the fabric of her top. She found one of Katarina's idle hands and clutched it in her own, summoning what little strength she had left and squeezing tightly.

"Hey!" Lux said. "I would do it all a thousand times over just to here you say those words!" She was trying to be comforting but Katarina only wailed louder. "Come on Kat, don't go soft on me now… I'm not dead yet!" She joked, her airy, jovial, voice wasn't entirely convincing.

Katarina choked on her tears, spluttering and sniffling. She whimpered like a wounded animal.

"Shut up! That isn't funny…" She moaned pathetically, her voice muffled in the front of Lux's tunic. "Nothing about this is funny."

"I know that." Lux gasped, shocked to hear the hostility in Katarina's voice. With her free hand she began to stroke Katarina's hair, her fingers playing gently amongst the tangled ends. "I'm sorry…Of course it's not funny. It's just…I just want to enjoy being with you, for us to be happy together now… Otherwise it's like they've won…"

There was a break in Katarina's tears, and she lifted her head slightly, turning to look at Lux, an accusatory look in her blotchy eyes.

"But they fucking have won Lux!" She groaned, her voice was hoarse. "You're dying…" She added, this time far quieter, her mouth reluctant to form the words.

"I know that too." Lux muttered, looking away.

For a moment there was silence and she watched the push and pull of the water as it slinked silently beneath the jetty. It was a deep and impenetrable indigo colour now, a near perfect mirror of the star speckled heavens above. A zigzag path of sparkling golden light stretched out to sea, cutting through the dark water like a bolt of lightning in the night sky. Lux found herself hazily tracing its progress with her eyes, patchy and dim at first but gradually growing stronger and purer the further it travelled, until it reached its blinding crescendo. The sun was still fighting on, but slowly it was being smothered by the heavy blanket of the night, a thin stripe of bloody gold was all that's remained, marking the place where sea and sky joined.

Finally she turned back to Katarina and the suns image still blazed in her eyes, a fierce and unwavering certainty.

"I know I'm dying," She paused, breathing heavily, a single tear clinging to her eyelash, she rubbed it carelessly away with the back of a hand. Her blue eyes swam but she did not blink, she looked into Katarina's eyes as though she was staring into her soul. "I feel like the luckiest person in the world." She said. Katarina made to argue, but before she could speak, Lux reached up and cupped her cheek, her thumb brushing gently against the red heads lips, and she gave a tiny shake of her head.

"I mean it Kat. Meeting you - falling for you, it's been the only thing in my life that felt real. You are everything…from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I haven't been able to think about anything else, you were all that I wanted...and I…" Lux faltered, finally tearing her eyes away, trying to hide her tears, blinking feverishly. When she glanced back up at Katarina, her indomitable poise was finally starting to crack. She looked how Katarina felt; ragged, exhausted, and desperate.

"And I thought I had lost you forever…" Lux pleaded in a whisper. She looked pained; the awful memory of those past months was still fresh in her mind; the despair, the hopelessness, impossible to forget, now haunted her shimmering eyes. "I thought that you despised me! I thought that I would never see you again, never hear your voice, never hold your hand!" She reached out with both hands and clasped Katarina's. Once more she stared imploringly into those serious jade eyes.

"So you see, nothing, not even death, could feel worse than losing you – the emptiness, the guilt…my heart died the day I betrayed you. I don't care if I die! I'm more alive now than I've ever been - and I'm free, I'm happy, all because of you – because you came back to me! The world could end right now for all I care; I got to be with you again, one last time. Its more than I could have hoped for… it's more than I deserve! I love you Katarina, and I will die loving you. That it is all I care about."

She sighed heavily, wallowing in the aftermath of her words. Saying it all aloud made it all feel far realer than it had, and she felt it all like she never had before. It was like her senses were suddenly heightened, as though she had been in some protective bubble that had numbed it all, deadened every blow, but now she felt everything. The sadness and the pain, the tragic irony, the woeful regret, it hit her hard, it almost crushed her, for a moment it was overwhelming, suffocating, heart-breaking, agony…but then it was gone. Like a huge weight lifting from her shoulders, her whole body relaxed, she breathed like she had never breathed before, like she might never breathe again.

She had bared her soul, and she could only listen, every bit the witness, as it had given its rambling speech, dancing haphazardly over their twisted relationship. She had gasped with Katarina's as it had come to each emotional realization in turn. She had been an audience to her own truth, heard her own trembling voice professing all the things that she had never to brave enough to own, and at last she had accepted them. After all this time…she was done running, done hiding, done lying. She wasn't scared anymore. All that she felt now was relief. She was free.

Lux beamed up at Katarina, her love, tears flooding freely down her ghostly pale skin.

Lux's smile was so beautiful, so pure and honest, that for a moment Katarina almost forgot everything... A single radiant smile was very nearly enough for her not to care - to care that for her, the world really was about to end…it was very nearly enough… but not quite.

She gazed at Lux's beaming face, an aching longing in her own eyes. She wanted more than anything to just let go, to pretend that this whole nightmare wasn't really happening, to forget that everything was about to end. She was desperate to just be happy, to smile with Lux, to hold Lux and never let go, but she couldn't. Even as her lips began to twist into a weak smile, she was shaking her head, reluctantly at first, but then the shaking became more violent, frustration and anger and fear boiling up inside of her. She moaned like a wounded animal, she tore her eyes miserably away from Lux and buried her head in her hands, her fingers raking through her scarlet hair.

For a while she didn't say anything. She didn't want to. She couldn't bring herself to share the awful thing that she was thinking, but she couldn't stop thinking it. The same ugly question echoed and thundered round and round her fragile brain, like a box of fireworks going off beneath her skull, and about as easy to ignore. Trying to keep it in was excruciating. It was selfish, it was wicked, why couldn't she just forget it and just be happy now, with Lux! She was terrified of hurting Lux any more than she already had…but…but, she couldn't bear it any longer…

"But what about me?" Katarina murmered pathetically.

She instantly regretted it, her head hung shamefully against her chest and for the first time she was glad of her lank hair, falling like a curtain about her face. She couldn't bear to see the disappointment that was surely there in Lux's eyes. The silence hung uncomfortably over the pair of them, festering like some disgusting smell, until Katarina felt compelled to break it, to at least try and justify herself.

"I can't live without you…" She mumbled desperately. Part of her was aghast to hear what she was saying, some deep routed vestige of her old life, her old self, screaming out in protest at the words leaving her mouth, at what she had become. She snarled, disgusted with herself, furious that even now, even here, her past was still lurking at her shoulder, as though it was merely waiting for her guard to slip so it could drag her back in. She continued with renewed conviction, her anger lending strength to her words. "You can't leave me! I don't know what to do!"

Katarina ran a sweeping hand through her hair, pushing it back. She took a deep steadying breath and looked blindly up into Lux's face, it was impossible to make out the other woman's expression through a sheet of her own tears; her body was rocking back and forth with despair.

"Please…I'm terrified…You can't die. YOU CANT DIE!" She cried out suddenly, desperately, her jarring voice echoing around the deserted dock, out over the waves. A lone sea bird went soaring into the air in fright, wings flapping furiously, spraying thousands of tiny droplets of water through the air; they sparkled like miniature diamonds as they caught the suns light. Katarina watched sadly as the bird soared away, a black speck gliding low over the water, eventually swallowed by the dusky night sky. "You can't die…I don't want to be alone again." She muttered, choking on her sobs.

Silence fell heavily over them once more. Katarina's spirit was broken, her anger, a fire fuelled by her overwhelming sense of injustice, had burned itself into the ground, leaving only despair and emptiness in its wake. She sagged backwards into the pile of sacks, her whole body was leaden, arms and legs slack and useless, she couldn't summon the willpower to move. Her head sunk back into the coarse material and it stayed there, her weeping eyes gazing blankly up at the heavens.

The stars winked back down at her, shining as bright and as clear as any night she could remember. It seemed they were mocking her in her misery, how could they shine so gaily after all that happened, how could life continue after Lux? How could the world not mourn with her? She would extinguish the stars, drape the hills in black. She would drain the seas and silence the birds…life could not continue.

Katarina screwed her eyes tight shut. Her head was pounding, her heart aching. It was as though her heart was trying to claw free from her chest, desperate to break free, no longer able to bear the pain. It was like a cold and jagged lump that had lodged in her throat. She could feel movement beside her, but she didn't want to open her eyes.

Lux was grunting softly, every small movement causing her discomfort as she struggled to untangle herself from the other woman. Katarina immediately missed the warm comfort of Lux's weight in her lap, her hands travelled instinctively up to the place the mage had been, her fingers curling in the empty air, searching for her.

For a wild moment she was scared that Lux had gone, her hysteria driving all logic from her brain, but then she felt her settling uneasily at her side. Katarina could feel Lux's shoulder pressed against her own, she could hear her breathing, soft, but slightly laboured, it was obvious she was struggling against the pain of her wound.

Neither of them spoke, Katarina was trying to summon the courage to open her eyes again. Then she felt Lux's fingers gently grazing her cheek. They were cold as ice but they burned Katarina's skin like the embers of a dying sun. She gasped as Lux pushed lightly, guiding her head around, pushing it onto its side so that her other cheek rested against the rough material her makeshift pillow. Lux's hand lingered and Katarina raised her arm, covering Lux's small hand with her own. Their thumbs intertwined and cautiously, her eyes flickered open.

Lux lay beside her, facing her, their noses were only a hairs breadth apart, so close that Katarina could feel Lux's clammy breath tickling her chin. The Demacian was in a bad way, her skin was deathly pale, her eyes were crinkled with pain, but even so, miraculously, there was still a weak smile on her bloodless lips.

Katarina was in awe…Lux looked like death, her beautiful, youthful face twisted and withered by pain and fatigue until it was barely recognizable. She looked so frail, so small, so desperately weak, but she still found the strength to smile. Like the sun peeking through the clouds on a miserable day, her angelic smile made everything seem brighter, warmer, even as the life slipped from her body, she still brought light into the world.

Katarina had never loved anything so much, never seen anything so radiant, so precious. There had never been anything, or anyone, that she was so desperate to protect. She would do anything for Lux...She would have climbed any mountain, or fought any God…she would even lay there, serene and smiling, while the only person she had ever truly loved, left the world forever. If that was what it took…

Katarina had never felt less like smiling, her face told a hundred stories, each unhappier than the last. It had been the longest day; with every passing hour time seemed to move slower and slower, until seconds felt like years and minutes like lifetimes. She had been caught in an emotional hurricane, hurled without care from one extreme to the next, until she no longer knew what she was feeling, she knew only that it wasn't anything good. She was exhausted, just thinking made her head swim…

She smiled back at Lux. It was time to just let go, they must not have long left.

"I'm sorry…" Katarina began humbly, eager to forget her outburst, but Lux cut her off.

"No, I am!" Lux said, her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper but her urgency was unmistakable. "I don't want to lose you either…" Her eyes were wide and fearful and Katarina felt a surge of guilt.

"You're not going to lose me." Katarina said firmly, she reached down and her fingers slipped effortlessly between Lux's. "I would follow you anywhere Lux."

The two women stared intently into each other's eyes, emerald green and sky blue glinting in the twilight. They might have been anywhere in the world, nothing else mattered.

"I love you." Katarina said fiercely, she was desperate not to cry, but her eyes were stinging with tears. Somehow, by sheer stubborn determination she managed to hold them back, and she sighed with relief. "Luxanna Crownguard…" She added lightly, a small smirk on her lips, there was a trace of her old scornful humour back in her voice.

Lux giggled, raising her free hand and flicking her golden hair airily, every bit the ditsy rich girl she was supposed to be. Even now, lying ragged and bloody on the floor, she was unnervingly convincing; only Lux could play the spoiled princess whilst nursing a gaping wound in her stomach.

"Ahem." She gave a small cough, her brow momentarily furrowed in concentration, as though trying to remember something.

"Why, you flatter me, Madam Du Couteau, thank you! The feeling is, of course, mutual." She said, in an almost perfect imitation of her old demeanour, prim and proper, the pained rasp in her throat, only slightly detracting from her performance.

Katarina looked slightly exasperated but could not help sniggering and Lux fell into another set of giggles. She tilted her head slightly, looking up into the redhead's face through her eyelashes.

"You know Kat…you're really not all that sinister this close up." She flashed Katarina an impish grin, her eyes glimmering enticingly. She reached out, her index finger stroking the underside of assassin's chin; slowly and deliberately, she drew the other woman in, and Katarina had no intention of resisting.

Their lips met, their eyes fluttered shut, lost in each other's embrace.

When finally they broke apart, Katarina did not let go. She kept Lux in her arms, and Lux nuzzled her head affectionately into the other woman's shoulder. They lay together, tangled in each other arms, at the end of the jetty, hidden from the world. Scarlet hair spilled into gold, they were like one being, breathing in unison to the ceaseless rhythm of the waves. Their silence was peaceful, content.

It was Lux who finally broke it.

"Kat…?" She purred.

"Mhm?" Katarina responded lazily, too blissfully comfortable to use proper words.

Finally she had managed to stifle all the dark thoughts, she was at peace, floating amongst the clouds in a kind of senseless, euphoric daze. Her eyes were half closed, her hand mechanically, but tenderly stroking Lux's long golden hair. She was happier than should have been possible, and she was scared of ruining it. If she had to speak then she had to think, and if she started thinking again…she was almost certain to fall.

"Talk to me, I want to hear your voice – I want to drown in your voice! To feel it. To breathe it." Lux said fervidly. It was hard to ignore that, and the heavy, fuzzy fog that had engulfed Katarina's mind, gradually began to clear, in her surprise, all her worries were cast aside.

"Oh…urm…Ok." Katarina said, a little flustered. "Right…urm…what do I talk about?"

Lux laughed aloud, a laugh that quickly devolved into an ugly, wheezing, cough. Katarina looked down at the mage, worried. If her trance hadn't already been broken, it certainly was now, this was dangerous territory, and she could already feel her mind creeping off in dark directions.

"Lux?" She asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." Lux spluttered, shaking off the last of her coughing fit. She began laughing again. "…Well, in the grand scheme of things anyway."

"What's funny?" Katarina asked seriously.

"Oh," Lux began, suddenly pensive, "It's just…well sometimes I forget that you've never had a real friend before."

"-Hey!" Katarina gasped, unsure whether or not she should feel offended.

"Oh, you know what I mean." Lux dismissed, waving away Katarina's half-hearted look of indignation. Katarina considered for a moment, she was still in half a mind to retort, but the longer she thought about it, she more she realised how true Lux's words were.

"Yeah, I suppose." Katarina said, sighing sadly. Years and years of loneliness still weighed heavily upon her soul. Lux's saw the dejection in the assassin's eyes and her heart melted.

"Aww, it's not a bad thing! You just have high standards when it comes to choosing your friends." She reasoned kindly. "And, if I say so myself, I think you've got exquisite taste." Lux shuffled over, and, with difficulty she twisted round to face the redhead. She beamed up at into her face and Katarina could not help but smile weakly back.

Lux's contemplated her affectionately for a moment, but then something changed in her expression. Her blue eyes twinkled mischievously; quite suddenly she reached over and placed her hand on Katarina's bare midriff. The Assassin suddenly tensed, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention, she stared at the invading hand with equal part suspicion and excitement.

Lux smirked, and with the nail of her smallest finger, she began to painstakingly trace the snake like tattoo that slithered up the Assassin's hip. Katarina began to squirm as the finger rose higher and higher. Lux watched her eagerly. The mages bottom lip was teased between her teeth and her blue eyes were transfixed hungrily on Katarina, delighting in every detail; each tiny spasm of pleasure, the look of panicked excitement in her eyes, the bead of sweat clinging to her brow.

Katarina was giggling breathlessly, writhing around on the spot. Lux's hand had passed her rib cage and reached the hem of her corset, but her wandering finger did not stop there. It wormed its way beneath the leather, and began to tease it, ever so slightly upwards.

"No!" Katarina yelped. She grabbed Lux's arm and easily yanked it away from her body, adamantly ignoring her own grumblings of disappointment. "That is enough of that!" She said, her voice higher than it should have been. Still holding Lux's wrist she rolled over onto her knees, straddling the golden haired mage and pinning her arms to her sides.

Both women were giggling as Katarina loomed over Lux, breathing very heavily, her chest heaving and her red hair draping haphazardly over both their faces. A huge grin was plastered on Lux's face and she stared up at Katarina with wide, innocent, eyes.

"You make a shit patient, you know that right?" Katarina said eventually, her breathing still far from regular.

Lux giggled, wriggling futilely against Katarina's iron grip.

"But you make a fantastic nurse…" She teased, gesturing at the Katarina's jacket which was still tied clumsily around her wound.

"Oh shit. Right." Katarina said in alarm, and she rolled off of Lux, falling in a heap at her side. She lay on her back, her knees pulled up towards the sky.

"Awww, I didn't mean that I wanted you to move." Lux grumbled from beside her.

"Of course I had to move!" Katarina said firmly. "I don't know what I was thinking! If were not more careful you might…" She stopped, her throat suddenly very dry.

"Might what?" Lux said quietly. Her beautiful smile was now distinctly absent from her face, and her voice was no longer playful, it was solemn, almost bitter.

A heavy silence fell over them, like a cold dark shadow. Katarina watched Lux anxiously. She knew she had said the wrong thing. The mage wasn't even looking at her, she was gazing desolately out to sea, her hair fluttering lightly in the breeze. Her golden hair shone pearly white in the light of the moon, the perfect full moon, which had slinked out into the sky as they talked.

Katarina shivered involuntarily, despite the warmth of the night air. Katarina was petrified, more scared than she had ever been in her life, and yet she knew that her fear must pale in comparison to whatever Lux must be feeling.

Insanely she found herself thinking about all the people she had killed – she could still remember every face – wondering what they had felt. Had they even had time to feel anything? Anything other than fear…? How many people had she seen die, how many people had she helped die? She had witnessed so much death…it had always seemed so easy…

Katarina shook herself, she felt sick, like there was a bottomless pit in her stomach. Nothing about this was easy.

Tentatively she reached out, her little finger hooking around Lux's. She half expected the other woman to pull away but she did not. In fact, she didn't react at all, she showed no sign of recognition that the assassin was even there.

"Lux…" Katarina said softly. "I'm so sorry!"

Lux turned to face her. She looked so different, the last of her mask, finally melted away, leaving just Lux, open and defenceless. It was as though she was staring into the other woman's soul, it was so pure, so raw; Katarina had never loved her more.

Lux made to speak, but stopped abruptly, her lips slightly parted. She looked down, as though in shame.

"I don't want to die." She breathed suddenly, glancing nervously upwards, as if trying to gauge the redhead's reaction.

Katarina was awestruck, overcome with emotion, staring at Lux as though seeing her for the very first time. There were tears in her green eyes, and tears rolling down her cheeks, but Katarina was completely oblivious to them. All she knew was Lux, Lux and a desperate need to help her. Her mouth hung open uselessly. Several times she tried to speak but she couldn't. There were no words. Nothing she could say that would fix this.

In the end she did the only thing she could, the only thing that felt right. She lunged over and flung her arms around Lux, hugging her as tightly as she dared.

Lux released a great shuddering breath, caught off guard and momentarily too stunned to move. Then she yielded to Katarina's embrace. Her sky blue eyes filled with tears, so she closed them, her arms wrapped around Katarina's back.

Pain flared in her wound, but the pain was nothing; she felt so wonderfully safe, engulfed beneath Katarina's lithe body, locked in the grip of her powerful arms, with her warm breath tickling her ear, and her mellow scent in her nostrils. She didn't want it to end.

"Thankyou Kat." She said, her teary voice muffled against the other woman's shoulder.

"What for?" Replied a baffled Katarina, drawing back just enough that she could see the mage's face.

Lux opened her eyes and met Katarina's gaze. She was squinting; the clear, starry night was as bright as the midday sun, compared to the infinite darkness that threatened to swallow her every time she shut her eyes. Each time the world took that little bit longer to flicker back to life, and she was all too aware that each time might be the last. Soon would come a time where the darkness would not relent. She was close to the end.

Lux fought to keep her eyes open, even as her body grew ever wearier, her limbs heavy and her movement sluggish. She was hesitant to even blink, each time she did, barely allowing her eyelids to close for fear that they might never open again. She drank in Katarina's appearance, with the zeal of someone who had staggered for days around the hottest and driest Shuriman desert. Desperately, she tried to memorize every last detail of her lovers face, from the exact, vibrant green of her eyes, to the sharp fall of her brow and the grizzled ruddy channel of her scar. She didn't want to forget any of it.

"For everything." Lux said breathlessly. She didn't have the strength to hold herself up anymore and she slumped backwards, her head sinking deep into the sacks but she never took her eyes off Katarina. Her gaze was unwavering.

The Assassin flushed, her cheeks turning a shade of red that almost threatened to outshine her hair, though she felt no embarrassment. She didn't notice the little, rueful smile on Lux's face. She didn't care.

"Your welcome." She said, very seriously, squirming round into a sitting position, propped up on her elbow. "A thousand times, you're welcome! - But it should be me saying thank you…" She looked around wildly, frustration and passion bubbling to the surface. She cast her eyes over the horizon, as though scouring the sky and the sea in search of the right words. Her gaze fell upon the moon and settled there, the great white orb shimmering in her own eyes as she lost herself amongst her memories. Those blissful nights they had spent together, hand in hand at the institute, bathed in beautiful, soothing moonlight.

"The truth is you saved me Lux." She said at last, in a distant, dreamy, voice. "You saved me from myself. I could have lived my whole life, my whole miserable life, and never known this – happiness, friendship, and love…" She shivered lightly. "I would never have found any of it without you. I might never have even known I wanted it. I can't even begin to – Lux? LUX!" Katarina's thoughts trailed off and her voice became a squeal of panic.

Lux wasn't moving. The golden haired girl lay completely still, one arm lay limp at her side, the fingers of her hand curling towards her palm, and the other arm was slung across her chest. Her skin was as pale as the moon above and her eyes were closed.

"Lux." Katarina said again, her voice a whisper. She swallowed, trying to repress the now familiar lump that rose in her throat. She didn't trust herself to speak, terrified of the cracks, and the splinters that she could feel creeping through her voice, threatening to shatter it into a thousand tiny pieces. She might never speak again.

Instead she leant close over Lux's motionless body, with a trembling hand she combed the wild strands of white gold hair from her love's face; her beautiful, dreadful face. She was ashen and gaunt. The life and the light that she once emanated so unsparingly - that would radiate from her like palpable warmth - was now absent, marked only by the awful coldness of the vacancy left in its wake. The usual glow of magic, which twinkled across her skin, as star fire twinkled across virgin snow, had all but faded.

It was like Lux herself was fading from the world, fading from existence. Already she was only a shadow of her former self. It was like Katarina was looking at portrait of Lux, grey and faded by time, or perhaps at some mournful, drab statue of her. The kind of sterile tribute that Katarina imagined might stand, condemned to neglect, in some dusty corner of Lux's Demacian home. Katarina did not want to believe that it was the girl herself, the same Lux that only hours earlier had twirled with blissful grace in Katarina's arms, dancing and laughing; full of life, and hope, and love.

It broke her heart. Katarina hung limply over Lux, silently and irrepressibly shaking. She was powerless as great convulsions of despair, surged through her body like electricity, rocking her back and forth like a ragdoll. A single, fat tear fell with a splash against Lux's cheek and Katarina whimpered as she brushed it clumsily away with her thumb, even as a dozen more swelled ready to take its place in her own, blotchy and exhausted eyes.

"Hmmmm."

Katarina froze, dumbly blinking the tears from her eyes. She listened intently, too downtrodden by fate, to easily accept what she thought she had heard. Scepticism was the only way she could continue to function, a hopeful heart could only bring her more pain.

"Mnnnnmmmmm, Kat." Lux moaned. Her voice was quiet but quite clear, certainly not a figment of her imagination.

Katarina almost laughed, she almost cried, an enormous confused sigh escaping her twisted lips.

"Lux!" She gasped, running a hand through her scarlet hair; the other hand found Lux's and took it gently. "Oh Lux I…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"No. Not quite." Lux said softly, her eyes were still closed, but she had heard the quiver in Katarina's voice and guessed what she was thinking.

"Oh Gods, Lux." The Assassin said, her voice raw with emotion. "What can I do? What do you want me to do?"

"You've done – she coughed lightly – You've already done so much!" Lux finished with a struggle, her face contorted in discomfort, her eyes still tight shut. Just the act of talking was almost too much for her beaten body. She coughed again. "Talk. Just talk to me." She said and fell silent, her silence was absolute…final.

Katarina clapped a hand to her mouth, suppressing a wail. Her eyes were wide and shimmering, her bottom lip wobbling dangerously. She was consumed by horror, ravaged by grief, filled with an inexplicable but unshakable certainty that she would never hear Lux speak again. The mage had spoken her last.

The silence was crushing, weighing down on her like the sky itself, the unending mass of the heavens falling all around her, all over her, burying her, suffocating her. She wanted to shout and scream. She wanted to shake Lux, to beg her to talk, anything to hear that voice for just a little longer.

But she didn't. She mustn't. This was not about her.

Katarina sighed, taking a deep breath, filling her lungs with the crisp night air. She flung her head back, shaking her hair from her face. Briefly the deep indigo sky filled her swimming vision, a vast labyrinth of stars, before she screwed up her eyes, defying herself to cry any more.

"O-Okay" She said, her voice as steady as she could make it. She swivelled round and lay back beside Lux, squirming to find a comfortable position in the primitive nest of sacks that she had made for them. She lightly brushed her lips against the other woman's cheek, before putting her arms around Lux's slender shoulders and gently pulling her close.

Lux didn't speak, she didn't open her eyes, but she snuggled longingly into Katarina's embrace, her cheek pressed to the Assassin's chest and her arm wrapped around her waist. Lux was icy cold to the touch, Katarina shivered but did not recoil. She gave one final sigh, gazing with wistful adoration at the golden haired girl, before she turned, and gazed out over the water instead.

The horizon was no longer distinguishable, the sun completely gone, leaving sea and sky to blur into one eternal, impenetrable darkness. Only the water close to the jetty was visible, glinting white in the light of the moon as the whispering waves licked at the tired wooden supports.

Katarina opened her mouth to speak, and was only slightly surprised when the words came tumbling easily from her mouth. In the end, she knew exactly what to say.

"I had this dream – well, I kept having it actually. Ever since that first night we trained together, and then all that time we were apart, even when I thought I might never see you again…especially when I thought I might never see you again…

I would dream about another life, a life where I wasn't a Noxian and you weren't Demacian, we were just Lux and Katarina. We were together. We didn't have to hide from anyone, or apologize for who we were. We were happy."

Katarina smiled vaguely, her brilliant jade eyes were misty, far away.

"I hated myself for dreaming about you. But not as much as I hated waking up. It drove me crazy, I never wanted it to end – it always did though. Dreaming about you was the only thing that kept me going…

I always imagined we might visit Ionia. It's really quite spectacular, the mountains, the waterfalls – I could always picture your smile…