A/N: School is back in session and I have had a terrible case of Influenza...plus...Worlds is going on... so...yeah...

Anyways, on a more important note I want people to keep in mind that even though Valoran does seem to run on a 12 month cycle as our world (considering the Journal of Justice was a monthly publishing with identical monthly names such as June ect.) However, I do NOT consider the humans of Valoran to age at the same rate we do in our world. Keep in mind that in the early days of Riot active lore was very scarce and I do not believe the timelines were well rounded and executed because if they were and Humans aged at the same rate... Riven would be around 40...just saying...which disturbs me on more then 1 level so I'm just gonna flat out say that Valoran human life spans are much longer than ours for the sake of my own sanity in the matter and this story. Riven doesn't look that old anyways so I'm just gonna treat it as if they double our lifetimes.

Reviews always help me, even if you are a guest, pop a comment they are always welcome. Enjoy!

Chapter 24: Missing in Action

Why would you die for me?

Someone...

Noxus...

Die for me?

Someone in Noxus...

Promised...

For me?

Good...Lieutenant...

Promised someone in Noxus...

Don't...make...my...mistake...

Protected...

Why would you die for me?

Riven's eyes cracked open, the whispers dissipating with the arousal of groggy consciousness. Calloused fingertips softly rubbed together, only further emphasizing the reality of being awake. How empty her hand was. Riven groaned, burying her face into her pillow. She knew there was a lack of warmth at her side but she was too sidetracked by not wanting to get up to care at that very moment. The slight throbbing in her head and her body feeling heavy like lead was more than enough for her to know she drank the night before. Despite the amount of drinks both her and Torven consumed, she knew what she did to the Captain was not a black out drunken wet dream...was it? If it was, it was certainly vivid...then again...when where her dreams not. The exile sighed deeply into the plush of the pillow and turned her head sideways. It took a long moment before Riven's brain processed the large item propped up against the wall before her.

Her rune blade.

Tired crimson eyes silently looked up the rough sundered stone sword shard in exhausted, neutral, observation. A strange feeling crept through her thoughts and heart as her eyes looked up the remains of the weapon once wielded by the very poster child of Noxus. Questions started to rattle at her. Didn't she leave the sword out in the hall? Why was it back in the room? Was it just an alcohol induced dream...?

Where was Irelia?

That question alone was enough for her to try and shake herself awake. Riven managed to get up from the bedding only to find herself stumbling into the door frame from the rush in her head. She got up waytoo fast. Riven leaned on the door frame for support while her equilibrium caught up to her actions and waited for the light-headedness to subside. All she could recall in that moment, if it wasn't a dream, was the last time Irelia had touched the sword. It wasn't good. Logic was far from her thought process as she roughly managed to slide the door to the room open and half tripped over her own feet into the hall. Riven squinted in the brightly sunlit hallway and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The exile didn't hesitate to half jog to the doorway leading into the dining room. "Irelia?"

It was empty.

Riven scowled and turned from that room. She went to check the room with the crests. Meditating perhaps?

Soul-less.

The exile shook her head and turned to check Irelia's actual room. Maybe she was sleeping still? She somewhat tried to ignore the little stab to her heart if Irelia had left her to sleep alone as she approached the closed door of the Captain's room. Riven stood at the door for a moment, intently watching her fingers resting upon the handle to slide the door open. She took a deep breath, feeling the hangover catch up to her. Riven slid the door open and peered inside.

Irelia was not there.

Riven sighed deeply and slid the door back shut. After a silent moment, Riven raised her fingers to her temples and rubbed them in an attempt to cope with the throbbing. The exile grumbled, feeling frustrated with the headache and not knowing where her... Riven lowered her hands from her temples slightly and turned to the front door as it slid open.

It was Irelia. She hadn't been home.

Riven felt the flutter in her chest when she looked at her lo-...wait...was she hers? It wasn't a dream...was it? The confusion and hangover were starting to frustrate her but the smitten expression upon her face would tell onlookers otherwise.

Irelia's head was down as she stepped through the front door and slid it shut. She continued to hum the soft little melody through a gentle smile as she's leaned down to remove her shoes. She didn't notice Riven in the hallway.

Riven noticed the large envelope in the Captain's arms as she listened and watched Irelia in the doorway. Gods she was beautiful; even in her uniform. The exile stood in the hallway as Irelia, oblivious to her presence, stepped up from the doorway and approached her.

When Irelia finally looked up from being in her own little world, she jumped seeing Riven standing only inches from her, almost dropping her arm full of papers and envelopes onto the floor.

Riven raised a platinum brow, hands on her hips, when Irelia looked up at her, a tint of light pink painted over the Captain's cheeks. "Good morning?" Riven asked, voice deep and smooth.

"Why is it every time I see you out and about the house when you wake up, you're always half naked?" Irelia chuckled.

Riven blinked and looked down at her still naked upper body, only this time her wraps where gone. Riven's cheeks grew hot as she brought her arms up and covered her bare breasts. She had been so wrapped up in finding Irelia that she didn't even realize her upper body was exposed.

Irelia shook her head with a soft smile on her lips as she stepped passed the flustered exile and placed a soft kiss against Riven's arm in the process. "Sit tight, I have wraps in the medical kit. I owe you some anyways," Irelia said as she walked down the hall towards the room with the crests on the walls.

Riven turned and watched Irelia walk by. There was a different feel to the Captain today. She seemed...happier...more upbeat. Maybe last night wasn't a dream after all. A warmth lingered on the skin of her arm where Irelia's lips had been. A soft smile played at her lips when the Captain returned to her, a fresh roll of bandages in her hands with the documents she came home with tucked securely under her arm.

"Good afternoon," she smiled at Riven and offered the bandages to the semi naked Noxian.

"Afternoon?" Riven replied, tone surprised and brow raised as she took the offered wraps from Irelia. No wonder the Captain had been out and about; Riven had been sleeping most of the day. The tall platinum haired woman sighed deeply, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Riven?" Irelia blinked.

"For being lazy and sleeping this late..." Riven mumbled as she started to wrap her exposed chest, realizing that Irelia had already seen it all so why even feel bothered.

"Riven," Irelia touched the exile's face softly, "don't apologize for being exhausted and taking the time needed to recuperate. Bodies and minds have limits, so let them recover."

Riven closed her eyes, leaned into Irelia's gentle touch and listened to her voice, trying to ignore the throbbing ache of her hangover in her head. Her crimson eyes rolled back open once the Captain's fingers retracted from her cheek. She was gentle...so gentle...her touch, her words, her gaze and smile. The way the deep golden light of the late afternoon sun enveloped her, the shine of her dark silken hair, warmth of her face, and soft emerald eyes. What had this disgraced daughter of Noxus done to deserve such a love of this Northeastern beauty? What sins had she atoned to deserve the chance? Last night may have not been a dream, but even if it had been, she dare not forget it. She'd never want to. The comfort she felt in the presence of the Ionian woman she could now call lover was someone she never wanted to lose. She had lost too many people in her lifetime. Riven wanted to be better...for her...for Irelia...she was now part of a we.

"When you're ready, Luxanna sent something from the Institute for you. I have no idea what it is but I just picked it up after handling some business," Irelia said as she held up the envelope.

Riven grumbled slightly and brought her hands back up to rub her temples more, starting to hate the headache, "ugh...hangovers." The reality of the headache and slight nauseated roll of her stomach was setting in.

"Come on,I know something that will help that go away," Irelia gestured, walking to the dining room. The Captain didn't look back as she started to gather the materials needed for Riven's hangover. Irelia blinked and turned around when a hollow thunkcaught her ears.

Riven kept her forehead pressed against the low wooden table and her arms laid out over its surface. She didn't want to move. For a good few minutes she stayed like that, the threat of falling asleep poking at her conscious. Riven lifted her head from the table a bit when the sound of a small glass being set in front of her kept her awake.

It was tea.

Riven drug her arms from the table as she sat up straight, looking down at the small white cup filled with steaming liquid. Crimson eyes shifted to Irelia, who quietly sat next to the exile with her own cup nestled in her hands. Riven looked back at the cup sitting before her and took it into her hands. She was not going to break the cup this time. The exile lifted the cup and sniffed the liquid before raising a brow and looking back down at the cup.

"Ginger tea helps quell unsettled stomachs," Irelia commented while Riven looked at the tea filled cup oddly, "and drinking liquids to stay hydrated will help the headache subside."

"You seem to know a lot about caring for human bodies," Riven muttered, still studying the tea with an observant eye. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were a field medic." The exile quietly sipped at the tea. The flavor wasn't particularly one of her liking, but, she trusted that Irelia knew what she was talking about. She paused from sipping when the Captain spoke up.

"We only have one body, one mind, and one soul," Irelia said, "we best take care of them if we wish to see many tomorrows."

Riven lowered her cup a bit, along with her eyes. When had she stopped caring? No...She always cared. She is still alive.

Don't make my mistake, kid.

Riven flinched. The exile set the tea cup down and grabbed the large envelope and held it in her hands. Crimson eyes quietly traced along the well written, beautiful, calligraphy that spelled out the letters of her name, however, that was not the hand writing of the Lady of Luminosity. "Are you sure this is from Lux, Irelia?"

"The Institute's courier told me Luxanna was the one that handed it to him to deliver," Irelia replied, lowering her own tea. The Captain leaned against Riven's arm, taking a closer look at the envelope in the exile's hands. "Hm..." Irelia pondered the longer she looked at it, "though Luxanna has quite beautiful hand writing, this does look a bit off doesn't it?"

"It's better," Riven said flatly, finding the weight of Irelia semi-leaning on her comforting.

"As wonderful as it is," Irelia began, "aren't you going to open it?"

Riven shifted her attention to the smaller woman leaned up against her, "well someone is impatient,"Riven muttered.

"Curious," Irelia promptly replied, "not impatient."

"Ha, same thing," Riven chuckled deeply, leaning away as knuckles punched her arm softly. She could only imagine Irelia's face. The exile quietly worked at the packaging only to pause. She looked at Irelia, "uhm."

Irelia raised a dark brow.

Riven scratched the back of her head, "I'd rather not risk hurting whatever is inside...could you...you know?"

Irelia looked genuinely confused for a moment before sitting back on her heels, an annoyed look taking hold of her expression.

A single blade quietly dropped down in front of the exile and floated there patiently.

Riven gently pressed the edge of the envelope against the point of the blade and sliced the packaging open. The exile softly pat her fingers against the Ionian steel when she was finished and whispered, "thank you."

"Reduced to a letter opener," Irelia sighed, "what has become of me?"

"Oh, stop being dramatic," Riven nudged Irelia who chuckled as she removed the contents from the envelope. A frown pulled at the slight smile once upon her mouth as she realized what she was holding.

"Riven?" Irelia sounded concerned from the sudden change in the exile's demeanor.

Riven,

I promised you that I would talk to Diana to get copies of the public military records regarding your company. I hope all is well in Ionia and you're finding the help and support you need. If you have more questions, I will be at the Festival of Fire and am more than willing to help. They deserve closure, and so do you.

-Lux Crownguard

Riven quietly tucked the note from Lux to the bottom of the pile and looked at the document beneath. It was no doubt an official record, she knew it was. Everything was accurate from the type text to the formatting. Anger rolled through her as she looked at the status, the text shaking from her hands while she read.

Official Status Report of the Forty Second Standard Infantry

Company: Fury

Unit Commanding Officer: Captain Riven NLN

Secondary Unit Officer(s): First Lieutenant Borya Markovik; Second Lieutenant Kyler Son

Head Count: 150

Status: Missing in Action

Deployment: January, 15, 7CLE

Campaign: Ionia

Upon the morning of August, 17, 12CLE, High Command received no status report of Noxian infantry Fury Company's location. The last known location of Fury Company recorded August, 5, 12CLE northwest of The Temple of Pallas within Shon-Xan, Southern Ionia. Reported head count to date: 97. Last known Company orders by High Command was for Fury Company to join the front and prepare for the assault upon The Placidium. Military investigation launched June, 20, 13CLE upon Fury Company's failure to report for extended periods of time. No evidence recovered. High Command decision on status change reported September, 9, 13CLE from Active to Missing in Action. Commanding Officers assumed deceased. Company Battle Standard officially lowered September, 9, 13CLE.

The sides report began to crumple within the shaking tight grip of the missing company's Commander. "They are all dead," Riven's voice was shaking as hard as her fists were. The anger burned hot to her very core, "they were murdered...and we were left behind...forgotten!" Riven slammed her fists down onto the table. "Noxians...don't leave their own behind...this is creed...we are raised that way in the infantry...why...why would High Command lower our battle standard...? You don't lower them until the missing are found!"

A somber expression settled onto Irelia's face while Riven shouted at the report.

"They lowered it 13CLE...I didn't join the Institute until 21CLE...everything about this report is wrong..." Riven's voice cracked as the pile of papers from the report slipped from her fingers and scattered onto the table top. The exiled Noxian hid her face away within her crossed arms, the anger melting into silent sobs of confusion and sorrow.

The muscles of Irelia's throat grew tight watching the broken warrior's shoulders reflect the sorrow she truly felt. The Captain rested her cheek down onto the bare skin of Riven's left shoulder blade as her right arm reached over the exile's broad, strong, shoulders and held her. Irelia didn't know what to say. Seeing Riven like this hurt.

"I was too weak to protect them..." Riven's voice was a muffled whimper, "maybe High Command was right...I wasn't the one that should have lead them..."

"Riven..." Irelia lifted her head from the exile's shoulder and leaned down close to the side of Riven's face, "you didn't know that was going happen...no leader can predict everything...war is an ugly beast like that...that could have happened to you whether you were a Captain or a foot soldier..."

Her head throbbed. Her stomach ached. Her throat was tight. Salty tears stung her eyes. Her cheeks burned. She didn't know what hurt more in this moment...the reminder...the weakness...or the realization that she has done nothing to truly confront what had happened to her soldiers. "For eleven years...I have done...nothing...even now this weakness plagues me..." Riven mumbled. The exile turned her head, her cheek coming to rest upon the cold table top when she felt fingers softly touch her hair.

The Captain leaned down and rest her own cheek onto the table top, her face adjacent from her broken warrior. Seeing the one she cared so deeply for reduced to this did hurt. To her this wasn't weakness. Coming to terms with one's self and the changes that happen in life is a path to healing...Irelia would know best when it came to dramatic life changes, but to Riven, she knew the exile would always find this to be a sign weakness. As much as Irelia wanted to prove that mourning the lost and understanding that it is okay to do so to Riven, she felt she didn't have the tools to make an impact. Irelia certainly didn't wish to take advantage of the weakened mental state that came with the territory of bereavement. She would have to wait until Riven was in good standing with herself before trying to take on the armor of a belief system designed to lock away one's humanity, creating beings as hard as the armor they dress them in. Irelia quietly continued to softly run her fingers over the silken starlight hair while she watched the the puffy crimson eyes of the exile. At this rate, Riven would surely doze off on her; which Irelia didn't mind to let Riven rest more. Riven's eyes slowly rolled closed while she continued to stroke her hair. Irelia could feel the deep rooted sadness the longer she watched the exile. She quietly ran her fingers from Riven's hair and slowly traced them down the warm skin of the exile's neck and upper back. The ex-Commander's back lacked the scarring her front had, results of minor cuts scattered sporadically over the balmy tan and contoured muscular skin. Irelia's fingers stopped just above the freshly wrapped bandages around the exile's chest. She knew there was a large scar, even if she couldn't feel it.

"Don't stop," Riven whispered, body relaxing.

Irelia complied, gently ghosting her finger tips over the exile's back. A gentle smile pulled at her lips when half lidded crimson eyes watched her warmly. "I thought you didn't like to be touched," Irelia's tease was soft, a small chuckle laced with her words.

"Only you," Riven replied, her eyes closing once more while she relaxed under the soft touch gently tickling over her skin.

"Where they good people?" The Captain asked.

It took a couple moments before Riven answered the question, "most of them, though I know some of them didn't like me in the slightest."

"Why is that?" Irelia pressed, feeling safe to ask questions. Maybe Riven would find some comfort if she talked about her soldiers a bit more. The memories of man are meant to be shared, for if they are not, they simply slip into the dark corners of the living's mind until they are forgotten to their story teller's grave.

There was no signs of hesitation when Riven continued to speak, "because I killed him." Riven lifted her head from the table and sat back up, her eyes quietly looking over the scattered papers listing the names of her company. "Some of them were his classmates," Riven explained while she collected the papers from the table top. "Wouldn't you hate me to if I killed your friend for a rank?"

Irelia didn't respond right away, feeling like she might have struck a nerve with the way Riven answered. "I'm sorry, that was a silly question."

"No... Don't apologize, Irelia. The silliest questions are the ones left unasked," Riven said, turning her head and looking down at the smaller Ionian woman nestled to her side. She was warm. The exile watched quietly as slender fingers picked up a page containing a list of names from the table. Her eyes shifted from the names to the one holding the list. You're such a mystery, Irelia Lito, Riven thought while watching the Captain reading the list.

"Why does your name have 'NLN' behind it?" Irelia asked curiously, taking a close look at the Commander's list.

"No last name," Riven answered. The exile noticed Irelia's head lower slightly after she answered the Captain's question. It never did bother Riven that she didn't have a last name. Most orphaned children in Noxus didn't. She was far from the only person in Noxus without a surname. Riven observed Irelia while the Will of the Blades kept her attention on the list.

"Captain Riven NLN...missing in action," Irelia read from the list.

"Alive," Riven mumbled, eyes focusing on the list. She ignored the pause Irelia made and gestured the Captain to continue reading.

"First Lieutenant Borya Markovik...missing in action," Irelia continued

"Deceased..." Riven lowered her eyes.

"You know for sure?" Irelia asked.

The exile exhaled deeply, "I know for certain...he's the only reason I'm here right now..." Riven turned her head from the list and looked away.

The Captain lowered her eyes from the list and set it down quietly. Riven was in pain, so naturally, she didn't wish to continue.

"Wouldn't you like to know what happened?" Riven didn't look back as the question rolled free.

Irelia quietly shook her head, "not if it hurts you," she mumbled.

Riven shook her head and turned back towards the Captain, "I will tell you to ease my thoughts, but in return, I want to hear about the battle I never got to fight."

Irelia was quiet for a short time. The last stand of the Placidium was the home to her own internal beasts. In all her honesty, the memory is a blur, shrouded in hatred, anger and pain. The memory that took many years of personal reconstruction and support to become who she was today. Was bringing up the day that changed her life forever, the memory that burned and pillaged her humanity, worth discussing with a soldier who never made it that far? Who was supposed to make it that far...What would that memory had been like if Fury Company never perished in the Couer Valley of Northwestern Shon-Xan?

"I won't force you to tell me."

Irelia turned her head only to meet the tender tear stained crimson eyes of her Noxian love. How human Riven had become in the recent weeks...a far better result than the cold distant slave of her terrors she once was. There was an understanding behind those deep fiery eyes she'd easily find herself lost in, an understanding that between them both, it was safe to speak of their demons. Riven had already trusted her with the stories of many of her scars...Irelia would feel wrong if she didn't return the same trust to Riven. "I will tell you..."

"Don't feel obligated for my sak-

"I want to," Irelia interrupted the exile, keeping her eyes away.

Riven sighed and nodded quietly. There was no point in arguing any further, especially when Irelia had made up her mind. "When you're caught in the fray of chaos...you tend to lose all sense of your own existence in that moment..." Riven began.

Everything burned. The air, her throat, her eyes and skin...everything. A high pitched ring continued to screech in her ears while the distant screams of the world around her echoed through the ringing white noise. Scattered silhouettes of shattered forces would vanish into the green mist as quickly as they would appear while her world continued to spin. Her armored boots struggled against the muck of the ground to to keep her stable as she hobbled forward within the sickly haze. Through the searing pain there was a numbness she could not shake while she continued to limp half dead in the choking air. Despite the tears, the blood, the sweat, and laboring breath of her own lungs, she felt closed off from collapsing world she found herself in. Paying no mind to anything...just simply running on auto pilot in hopes of escaping the toxic graveyard.

Click.

She froze. The world went silent in that second when the click below her right boot echoed in her ears. She knew that sound...anyone who fought in a war knew that sound. What a terrible way to die...stepping on a pressure plate activated hextech landmine. Riven knew once she lifted her foot, the life she had would vanish in a matter of seconds. The soldier swallowed hard, feeling the fear building up in her chest and eyes. The large stone rune blade silently slipped from her fingers into the mud below as she tried to stand still. She looked down to see her foot was only partially on the pressure plate. "No..." The Commander started to panic, feeling trapped, and her life hanging in her ability to stand on that pressure plate. "Oh Gods...no...Please no..." Riven begged into the empty air, her attention flicking between her foot and her surroundings. "Okay...okay...slowly..."

The metal trigger creaked slightly.

"FUCK!" Riven cried out and pressed back down onto the trigger. The Commander hyperventilated shallow breaths as she tried to calm herself. "Slowly..." she tried to move her foot again, the creaking of the pressure plate scaring her back into submission to not move."Damn it!" She shouted, hot tears running down her face. Riven held her breath, the squeaking metal shaking her to her core. "SHIT!" How scared she was, knowing her life was going to end when her body gave into exhaustion and the plate would move. The Commander was terrified, the proof of her fear in the panicked tears running down her face. She didn't want to die...not like this...

"Commander..."

Riven's attention was caught but the deep and raspy voice as her head lifted to see its owner only standing yards away. "B-Borya..." the Commander bemoaned towards her First Lieutenant. She could tell he was in bad shape, the dark crimson dripping from his half armored knuckles gripping his side tightly. Riven honestly couldn't tell what was bone, what was flesh, and what was steel left upon his hand and forearm holding the wound. He looked tired...so tired.

The Lieutenant's eyes shifted to her foot then back up to the petrified face of his Commander. He began to stagger towards her.

"W-What are you doing, Borya? Stay back!" Riven commanded her soldier, swinging her arm to emphasize the order.

He didn't listen to her.

"Stop!" Riven shouted at him, the fear expressed when her voice cracked. "It's not safe! Get out of here! GO!" The Commander pointed away from her. Her words were falling on deaf ears as she watched her second in command continue to engage her. "Why aren't you going...?" Riven whimpered. Bloodshot, tear stained, irritated crimson eyes shifted to the face of the large man standing before her as he looked at the mine below her foot. "I gave you an order...ngh!?" Riven flinched when strong hands grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. She looked down when she felt something pressed against the side of her right foot.

"No," was all the Lieutenant said as he lifted his Commander from the ground and shouted in pain, throwing her free of the sealed fate she had thought she was in.

Riven did not land gracefully, the sheer power behind the throw knocking the wind out of her when she struck the ground. The Commander gasped harshly as she slowly sat up, her once bright platinum hair and half her face covered in muck. She looked at the man standing in her place, his hand back to gripping the gushing wound in his side.

"You will get up, take that sword, and walk away!" Borya's voice was stern, his steely brown eyes piercing and fierce. "You need to live, Riven...you still have a chance," his voice softened.

"That isn't your place! You have a family! Daughters, that need you!" Riven shouted at him.

"I know my place!" Borya shouted, "I've known it since the day I decided to serve my Nation, my people, and my Commander..." The Lieutenant calmed his voice again as he realized how scared and confused his young Commander really was. "They will be alright, Riven. My family is strong, and so are you. I am in bad shape and you still have a chance to live. People need to know what happened here today... our deaths will mean nothing if no one survives."

"Why...?" The Commander could feel the sobs building up in her chest the longer she looked at the doomed father of three and loyal officer, "why would you die for someone like me...there is no one in Noxus waiting for me! I am a nameless rat of the streets of the outer city!"

Borya looked Riven in the eyes for a short moment. "The day we were deployed I was stopped by a hooded figure in the shipyard. I was not given a name nor could I recognize a face beneath the shroud. I made a promise to someone in Noxus that I would be a good Lieutenant and protect my Commander. This person clearly has some form of higher power or maybe even nobility because if I kept you alive at the cost of my life, my family would be taken care of at their expense for my sacrifice. Someone in Noxus clearly cares."

Riven couldn't help but look at her soldier while he explained his actions. The Commander hung her head as the uncontrollable tears continued to run down her face, her fingers digging into the mud and shoulders shaking.

"Riven..."

She shook her head, biting her lip and she held back the sob.

"It's okay to be scared, Captain. Death is scary... we never realize how frightening it is until we face it," Borya's voice was comforting in nature. "Riven, look at me..."

Riven lifted her head to look Borya in the eyes.

"Don't make my mistake, kid. Don't follow orders your entire life. Think for yourself for once. Now, do the smart thing and grab your rune blade, turn around, and never look back...can you do that for me?" Borya smiled at the young woman trembling only feet away.

"I can't do it, Borya... I can't leave you here like this..." The Commander's voice cracked.

"Yes you can, Riven. You can do this. I believe in you. We all believed in you. Remember how we used to sing the anthem of our motherland whenever our legs hurt while we marched for days on end? Remember how much that alone kept us going? Let those words give you the strength you need to stand up and get out of this mess. Every second you stay here more toxins get into your system. You need to go now if you want to make it...don't let our sacrifice be in vain." Borya was mortally wounded...he knew it...he just had to convince his Commander to leave him there.

Riven silently nodded. She reached out, her muddy fingers curling around the hilt of the large stone blade and picked up the massive sword as she stood up. The Commander stood there for only a moment, before lowering her head and turning her back to her friend. She started to walk away...and didn't look back.

"Perpetua victoria, Riven," Borya whispered softly as he watched his Commanding officer's silhouette vanish into the haze.

It was becoming more and more difficult to breathe as she tried to find her way out of the toxic haze she was trapped in. She remembered the words of her homeland...the one's that kept her soldiers going when they felt weak...

Through the fire...we march on...hearts beating as one...

Through creed of might...we shall fight...until the wars are won...

Riven coughed harshly as she staggered through the sickly green airspace, the scattered corpses of broken forces at her feet while the words continued to play in her head...as if the voices of her company were still there...chanting it...

Raise the banners...battle cry with pride...

Strength and Honor...our spirits never die...

Riven wheezed as she found the haze starting to fade away, the air becoming cleaner and the deathly silence being broken by the sound of trickling water.

Noxus free...Noxus strong...never shall she fall...

The Commander dropped to her hands and knees as the shore of a small creek in a wooded area. Despite the air being clean and untainted...she was still in great amounts of pain.

In her keep...we are safe...

"Glory for us all..." Riven whimpered the remaining words. The Commander cried out in agony at the shoreline, the shout echoing through the woods. If any Ionian forces were near... it was loud enough to spark their curiosity. She felt like she had failed her soldiers...they trusted her to keep them alive. How could this have happened? Surely the Zaunites knew there were Noxians there...why would the Ionian's fire off a Noxian distress flare?

A loud bang echoed in the distance.