A/N: sorry for the wait everyone but here's the next chapter to A Glorious Illusion! originally this was going to be the final chapter but suddenly i got new ideas for this so i plan to continue this for at least 3 more chapters! Thoughts on this writing so far? I would love to hear from you all! Thanks for the support nonetheless and until the next chapter farewell!

Noxus. One of the most notorious factions in all of the League and quite dangerous with its reputation. Of course those facts alone didn't bother the single female that strode up the front gates.

By the looks of it, there was an individual waiting by the gate who would seem to have been expecting the female to come. This particular individual was a male of rather mysterious background-in fact, no one really asked about his past due to his intimidating nature and the fact that he was one of the most powerful men in all of Noxus. Perhaps the most powerful man in Noxus actually.

Although the male seemed to limp as he walked and his cane made a rather repetitive noise wherever he went, no one ever dared speak out. He was the mysterious and all powerful Swain after all.

With calm and cool eyes, Swain watches as Leblanc approaches Jim with a clenched fist.

Opening her hand, the female mage reveals the flash drive she had stolen from Viktor the machine herald. "With this, we can empower our troops and crush not only Demacia but the entire League" Leblanc tells her superior as Swain reaches down and takes the flash drive to examine it.

"Good. I knew I could count on your abilities" the male croaks out with a nod as he turns back towards the gate and begins to limp into Noxus with the female at his side.

"The herald did say however that it may be difficult to control such a creation without some means to suppress it" Leblanc explains as the pair wander through the dark and decaying streets of Noxus. Taking in the information, Swain remains unaffected and merely continues his walk. "No matter. Simply find all the mages you can manage and when it's time to unleash this power, cast spells on it to lower it's resisitence to us. We'll simply make it known to the creation who is in charge" the male replies boldly as he approaches his palace and steps inside as his guards silently open the front doors for him.

"But Swain, would all our magic really be enough to stop a perfect creation once it's already born? Think about it, what use would our magic be if the A.I. is already perfect the moment it comes to life" Leblanc had begun to say in protest as though not liking the idea of using a large source of magic to suppress something that was said to be "perfect". She didn't know why but the way Viktor had spoken of it made it seem there was hardly any ways at all to stop it's power.

The male calmly glances over at Leblanc with eyes that told he was unamused. "You think my methods would be wrong then?" Swain asks in a tone that was almost too casual-the exact opposite of what his eyes showed; a cold and death-like stare that seemed to scream feelings of hatred.

"N-No...I didn't mean anything of that sort Swain..." the woman replied as she averted her gaze and licked her lips nervously. "Hmm...don't be so afraid, woman" the man tells her in a polite tone as he lightly taps his cane at the ground beneath them before turning away to head off into another room in his palace.

Leblanc flinches slightly at being referred to as woman. She didn't know why but it made her thoughts ring with the machine herald who had called her that so often that it became a custom to her. Frowning slightly she follows after Swain and shakes her head, ridding herself of the thought.

"If you're so worried about this perfect A.I. to be too much for us why not seek out the herald?" Swain suggests as he keeps his head forward, not even looking at the female as he spoke. "P-Pardon?" Leblanc asked with her eyes slightly widening at the suggestion. Surely the male wasn't serious-Viktor had been furious at her betrayal and to go back would surely mean a battle between the pair.

"You're not afraid of the herald, are you?" The mysterious man a rests as he stops in place and gazes at Leblanc with a rests rather cold stare. The female sorceress didn't know why but the look he was giving her was almost like a challenge-almost as if he was asking her if she truly was loyal to him and making sure she didn't actually fall in love with Viktor.

Leblanc shakes her head and maintains a firm stance. "Of course not." Nodding slightly, Swain taps his cane in thought and then goes on walking. "Good. Then find him and convince him to create a barrier to limit the power of this so called perfect A.I."

Before Leblanc could speak, the male turned his body slowly, limping a bit as he faced her and added, "I don't care what methods you use. Force him into giving the information if you need to, just don't fail me."

The female bows her head in understanding and closes her eyes. "Very well. I shall find the herald and make him hand over this information you require" she speaks boldly to which Swain nods in approval.

"Go then. I'll be waiting for your return. Don't take too long" the man replies in a grim tone as he turns back and begins to limp away, leaving Leblanc to remain where she was as she furrowed her brows in thought. "I serve Swain and Noxus comes first before anything yet...why am I so hesitant?"

Meanwhile in the depths of Zaun, a individual wandered the streets aimlessly-his gaze going in all directions as though searching for something but unsure of what. The streets were rather empty so no one was around to question the man's sanity as he growls lowly and whispers things to himself. Although he hid himself beneath a thick cloak and hood, it was easy to tell the male wasn't human due to the sound of metal heard from each footstep he took.

"Woman...I'll find you..." the machine-like male uttered quietly, his hands clenched tightly as he continued to walk. It had occurred to the male that perhaps Leblanc was already in Noxus but for some reason he couldn't stop searching every inch of Zaun as though making sure this wasn't some sort of trick.

Stopping dead in his tracks, the augmented male suddenly had a rather strange thought. "This whole thing...yes perhaps it was all an illusion. Maybe she was testing me. She could be at my lair for all I know, giggling at my foolishness for thinking this was real."

Yet even as he thought this, a part of him already knew it wasn't true. But even then his body moved on its own, heading back to his lair with his head hung low as he continued to question everything. "Why do I care so much about this anyways? I always suspected she would betray me so why am I so surprised it happened? Damn her..." Viktor snarled as he shook his head and made his way to the front entrance of his hidden hideout.

"Viktor."

Immediately, the herald stops in his tracks and his entire body freezes up. He knew that voice too well-it was her. "So she really had left then...that wench truly did betray me."

His hand slowly went for his staff, clutching it tightly as he turned his head towards the voice. "So you've returned. Do you truly think I was bluffing when I told you about what would happen when I saw you again?"

As though ignoring his question, the female mage went straight to the point. "I need your data on how to suppress this perfect A.I. you created."

Scoffing, Viktor shakes his head and remains in place, trying to find an opportunity to strike-it was still too early at the moment and she could be expecting it. "That's what this is about? You're a fool for coming back. I thought you'd be smarter than this, woman" the herald boasts as he readies his staff under his cloak.

"Viktor..." Leblanc spoke his name in such a gentle manner that even the herald loosened his grip on his staff. "You're not going to kill me. So please just give me the information and I'll be on my way" the female added as she took a step torwards the herald.

"Don't you dare speak my name in that tone-you wench! I won't be tricked again!" Viktor snaps harshly and aims his staff at her, firing off in her direction. Taken by surprise, the female goes for her own staff but as the blast gets closer she realizes she won't have enough time to counter. Without much choice she moves away and feels a stinging burn pierce her shoulder. Crying out in pain, Leblanc winces but musters up the strength to fire back at the herald with her staff.

Since the male had time to adjust, he fires a beam from his staff once more and both attacks collide, causing a minor explosion in midair. Taking the chance to attempt to gain the upper hand, Leblanc uses her staff to allow her to teleport briefly-landing behind the herald as she swings her magical weapon and it slams against the male's head.

"Argh! You wench!" Viktor spat out at rhe impact of the blow as he staggers to turn around and aim his staff at her once more. By the time his staff was aimed at his target however, the female mage already had hers pressed against his chest as it releases magical particles which knock back the herald and throw him off his feet.

Grunting, the male sits upright quickly and fires his death ray, forcing Leblanc to dodge to the right as she had been preparing her next attack. Ever since the pair had begun to attack, neither had as much as spoken words of surrender or possible regret. Their intentions were clear-one had to die if the other wished to live.

Viktor slowly gets to his feet and as he does, his staff fires towards Leblanc but since the attack was a bit high up, the sorceress ducks under it effortlessly. What she didn't realize however was that the herald hadn't been aiming for her. In fact he had predicted she would duck or dodge out of the way so his attack could blast off a loose screw that had been holding a nearby pillar together.

At the impact, the pillar squeaked and began to rock from side to side before it came tumbling down right behind Leblanc. By the time she realized what was happening, she came to terms with another factor in the attack. Although she could attempt to roll to either side in order to dodge the attack, Viktor had his staff poised as though prepared for her to do just that. "How far along has he been planning this...? No matter how smart he is, there's no way he came up with these tactics at this moment. He's been planning ahead of time ever since I left..." the female mage thought to herself just as the pillar neared her and it became eminent that she had to make a move or risk being crushed under the pillar.

Although it was definitely risky, Leblanc had to try. Her only option to avoid being hurt was to warp directly in front of the herald and hope it caught him off guard. Without much hesitation, the female raises her staff and disappears for a moment as magical mist pops from her original spot.

It was true that the action had thrown Viktor off guard and his own actions began to falter. The herald hadn't exactly calculated for Leblanc to perform such an action so when she appeared directly in front of him it wasn't a surprise that he jolted in place.

There it was-a clear shot. The sorceress could easily end this now and fire one crushing blow to the male who was briefly frozen in place. Yet as her staff went into motion, she couldn't bring herself to attack.

As she glanced at the eyes of the herald, all she could see were flashbacks of their previous time together. The day they had met, their march to Piltover, the night they made love...

Leblanc hesitates, her staff wavering slightly in her grasp for that brief moment that seemed to last an eternity. Viktor on the other hand wasted no time to grab the mage by the scruff of her neck and force her onto her knees as she cries out, dropping her staff.

With her only source of power out of her grasp, Leblanc knew what her outcome would be. As much as she tried to resist and struggle, the male had an iron grasp on her shoulder and he wouldn't budge. "Why did you hesitate, woman? Can't bring yourself to kill someone? How pathetic. That mistake will bring your death" the machine herald boasts as his death ray takes aim and begins to prepare it's blast.

"Viktor! Stop! Please!" Leblanc cries out, the edge of her eyes brimming with tears as she quickly looks up at the male. No such look of sympathy appeared on the face of the machine-like male. Instead, he scoffs and shakes his head while his death ray continued to gather energy-a bright yellow light starting to emerge from the center. "Begging moments before you die? Such a pitiful thing you are! Oh how satisfying it is to-"

"I love you! Viktor my feelings for you never changed even when I...I..." Leblanc had quickly sputtered out but suddenly couldn't bring herself to go on. Her lips had begun to quiver as her tears ran down her cheeks and she lowered her head, too ashamed to look at the herald. "I know you won't beleive my words, herlad. I know the pain I brought you that day. But you don't understand how much I regret what I did. I was putting my origin first before you and it wasn't until I left that I realized how I truly felt about you..." the female went on, much to the male's confusion. His death ray was ready to fire but for some reason, Leblanc's words had caused him to pause for the moment.

"I'm a deceiver. I was meant to come and steal data from you to strengthen the Noxian forces...but instead, you were the one who stole from me" Leblanc whispers lowly as she slowly raised her head, wiping her tears.

Viktor tilts his head back, baffled. "Steal? What did I steal from the likes of you?"

Although her body was a till trembling slightly, the female raises her hand and places it on her chest as she weakly smiles up at the herald. "My heart...You stole something no one's ever known I had..."

Viktor was stunned-confused even at the hearing of her words. "Why are you telling me this?" The male demanded, although his tone made it seem more like he was asking in a hesitant voice.

The female chuckles dryly and offers offers a kind smile, making the male's insides flutter. Something about the way she was looking at him was different than before. It was almost as though seeing her acting with genuine and sincere emotion. As she opened her mouth to speak, Viktor could hear the gentleness in her voice. "I love you Viktor...my heart belongs to you. With that single fact I'll be happy. And if you wish to kill me still...then I'll at least die knowing I told you the truth."

With that, Leblanc closes her eyes and spreads her arms as though embracing her fate and preparing for her death to come. A long sullen silence would follow as the herald stood speechless at what the mage had just told him. "I'm supposed to be a man with an iron heart. With no emotions. I refuse to be tricked again by this woman. Yet...why does my...heart ache?" the male questioned himself as he stared down at the woman who was prepared to die after simply stating her true feelings. "Damn you" Viktor snaps harshly and cries out as he fires his death ray.

The blast however didn't seem to hit Leblanc at all. In fact it had been directed to her left, only several inches away from where she knelt.

Sinking down onto his knees as though defeated, the machine herald began to shake his head. "You win, woman. I can't kill you. Whether you were tricking me or not, now is your chance. Go on and finish me off already" he snaps harshly, keeping his gaze at his feet.

For a moment Leblanc didn't move and all she did was stare at the augmented male. Seconds later, her body moved on its own and she flung her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. It may not have been comfortable since his body was metallic and hers wasn't but she didn't seem to care. "Viktor, you fool...I'm done playing tricks. This is real..."

"Real?" Viktor repeated quietly, his hand reaching up slowly to touch Leblanc's face. As his hand ran along the side of her cheek he takes a deep breath. He could feel her-it wasn't some trick or illusion. As she had said, it was real.

For a brief moment the pair lay there simply staring at each other in disbelief. Just moments ago they had been trying to kill each other and now all that hostility seemed to fade away. "Run away with me Viktor" Leblanc finally spoke out as she took the male by the hands and urged him in a rushed yet soothing voice. "Why would we run away?" the augmented male asked, glancing at the female with sudden surprise at the question.

"Swain will be wondering why I haven't returned sooner or later. He'll send forces here since he knows Zaun was where I was headed in search of you. Let's hide out somewhere else" the sorceress urges him, her eyes showing desperation and fear. It was no surprise that she was scared-by doing this she was betraying Swain and he wasn't a forgiving man to such things.

"Very well. If you insist," Viktor replied with a nod of approval as he stood hand in hand with his returning lover. "However if we leave Zaun I'll have to destroy the lab. Can't risk having that damned Swain coming and stealing more than he already has."

"Destroy your laboratory...? Are you certain?" Leblanc asks the male as she looked over at the hideout that for so long had belonged to the mechanical man.

The male lets out a chuckle as he shakes his head and glances back at the female. "Woman, of course I'm certain. For you...I would do anything" he tells her while lightly squeezing her hand. A faint blush crosses the face of Leblanc as she averts her gaze, somewhat embarrassed.

"I'll make it quick" Viktor tells her as he releases his hold of her hand and wanders off into the depths of his hideout. As Leblanc stood in place she could hear the sound of his death ray going off as it destroyed everything that the herald saw in his path. A few minutes passed and by that moment the sorceress could tell that the building would collapse at any given moment. It's walls had begun to shake and rumble as debris rolled off the corners of the already decaying structure.

But what worried Leblanc was that Viktor had yet to emerge. There were no more sounds of his death ray, only silence from the interior. "Viktor?" the female called out although could tell he wouldn't have been able to hear her as the rumbling of the structure only grew with each passing moment.

"Viktor!?" Leblanc yelled for the male as her voice grew more and more concerned with each second that went by. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, a figure emerges from the front entrance of the building and strides out, his dastardly cloak trailing behind him.

Rushing over to him, Leblanc pants heavily as her feet go as fast they could carry her. "That fool! Why is he walking so slow? Does he not know what's going to happen if he doesn't hurry!"

As the female mage finally reaches the spot where Viktor was, she grabs his arm without letting him speak and raises her staff just as a large chunk of the structure comes tumbling down from above them.

If Leblanc had been a second late, herself and Viktor would have been crushed underneath the collapsing building. Panting heavily, Leblanc sinks to her knees in front of the male as she manages to teleport them away from the danger. After taking a moment to recollect herself, the female shoots Viktor a glare and began to punch his chest angrily. "You idiot! What were you thinking!? We could have died! You especially! Are you a fool, herald!?" Leblanc snapped as she groaned and shook her head, slamming her palms into his chest.

"Hmm...you were worried about me that much?" Viktor asks, looking down at Leblanc as she seemed to have finally calmed down. "Shut up" the female mutters as she looks to the side and shakes her head, sighing heavily.

"If you're done with your complaints..." Viktor began as he suddenly grasped Leblanc by her upper back with one hand and her legs with his other; carrying her bridal style. "...then how about we go on our way?"

"Hey!" the female gasped out as she was picked up and blushes as she drapes her arms around his neck to hold on. Letting out a chuckle, the herald began to walk. "It's always satisfying to see that I can catch a deceiver like yourself off guard" the herald jokes as he began to walk with Leblanc in his arms.

"Hmph...you shouldn't get too cocky," the female replies as she rolls her eyes and smiles. "I love you Viktor" she adds in a soft tone while laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

"I love you too, Leblanc" the male tells her, glancing at her briefly to see that she was now trying to rest. Seeing the smile on her face for some reason made Viktor wish he was human again because it was at this particular moment that for the first time in his life as a machine, he wanted to smile.