A/N: Yes. Yes they do (SPOILERS).

Sorry for taking ages with this chapter, which actually happens before directly before the previous one starts.

Soraka walked silently through the forest, towards the ancient grove that she called her home.

She had become accustomed to the sounds that came from within the forest, the rustling of leaves underfoot, the pass of birds chirping overhead…..

She stopped. There was something else, something making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She looked around the forest, only to find nothing unusual nearby.

So what's making that noise?

Focusing intently as she walked, she was surprised when she heard the noise again, even closer to her than before. The voice seemed unusual, almost inhuman and she slowly began to wonder what it was.

Is that….someone laughing?

"Hwahahahaha…"

Soraka froze. There was something familiar about the voice, something she couldn't quite place. But it was something she was going to find out.

I can do this.

Trying to calm herself, she started walking toward the source of the noise. The other noises from the forest had grown quieter and quieter as she approached, which was a little strange. The forest getting darker and more ominous however…..

"Hello?"

Something was very wrong.

"Is anyone there?"

The laughter definitely came from over here….

The undergrowth rustled behind her and she had to stop herself from running.

There's someone behind me.

"Why are you hiding?"

She tried to ask the question as firmly as possible, only for it to come out as a series of response. The forest had become completely still, and all Soraka could hear was her measured breathing. Assuming this meant that the entire thing was part of her imagination, Soraka turned around.

A pair of red wolverine eyes stared back.

A scream rose in her throat.

"Die bitch!"

Then she ran.

She stumbled blindly through the increasingly dense forest, not caring where she was going or what she was going to do because the only things that mattered were not slowing down and not looking behind her no matter what.

She could sense Warwick getting closer as his footsteps got louder and louder and his breath got heavier and heavier on the back of her neck. Just as she was thinking about using her magic to slow him down, stop him, anything, she saw a pathway out of the forest. A road!. Desperately sprinting towards it, she could see the road in front of her and somebody walking in the distance.

Is that….Irelia? "Irelia!" She yelled at the top of her voice only to find no response.

How did she not hear me? "IRELIA!"

As she finally made to Irelia she heard Warwick laugh, a deep sinister laugh from somewhere well behind her.

"Hwahahahaha…"

Irelia turned around, her eyes blank, and her face completely expressionless. Then everything in front of Soraka dissolved and she started falling into darkness.

The first thing Soraka noticed was that the surface under her hands was a little unusual. Slowly getting onto her feet and opening her eyes, she saw nothing but dirt. Where…..where am I? Looking around trying to get an idea of her surroundings, she found nothing she could place. Nothing standing anyway. The area was completely lifeless and surrounded by a thick fog, with a mess of rubble and dirt and a few half built structures sticking out of the ground. The terrain felt familiar but looked unusual enough so that she just couldn't place exactly where she'd seen it before. Determined to find out what was going on, she picked a direction on the road and started walking.

After a few minutes she wished she hadn't. The surroundings were beginning to look more and more like a war zone, and there were….bodies. Bodies, male and female of all sizes, some that were damaged so badly they were nearly completely unrecognisable. As she walked past a horribly mutilated body she had to resist the urge to throw up. Just keep moving…..

As she slowly moved forward she saw a figure through the fog and paused nervously, waiting to see what would happen. "Hello?"

As she called out the figure turned and slowly began to move towards her. As the figure moved towards her she prepared herself to run, only for Irelia to make her way through the fog. "Irelia!" Relief surged through her mind, only to be replaced with panic as Irelia collapsed into a heap in front of her. Sprinting forwards, she grabbed Irelia in her arms and struggled to hold her upright

"Are you alright?"

Irelia tried to nod, but her face was ashen and she could hardly move her head. As Soraka looked down she saw droplets of blood staining Irelia's armour

"I'm going to get you to safety, ok?"

As she said this she started trying to drag Irelia to safety, only to find her body felt like lead in her arms.

As she slowly pulled Irelia along, Irelia gained the energy to begin talking.

"Where were you….when they attacked?

Soraka stared at her in shock, hardly able to speak.

"Why…..didn't you... help…me?"

I….I don't know what she's talking about.

"I'm…I'm going to see if I can heal your injuries ok? Just…save your energy."

"Where….were…you…"

As Soraka tried to channel the magic she felt something slip, no, get pulled away from her.

No….. My magic…It can't be the stars trying to stop me. It can't be.

"Come on Irelia…. Stay awake…I'm just channeling the magic now alright?"

Desperately she began to put more energy behind her magic, not willing to let it get stopped, not caring about the danger she was putting herself in, just refusing to let Irelia go.

"Just this once….can't you let me save my friend…"

As she prepared to channel the magic one last time she felt it get pulled away from her, but continued anyway.

"Irelia….I probably won't make it through this…I'm sorry."

Irelia was completely silent, her face a deathly white.

In an explosion of light, Soraka released the healing magic within her. "IRELIA!"

Then everything faded to orange.

Thud.

To orange?

As Soraka tried to figure out the reason for the orange light, she also found herself slowly opening her eyes. Blinking a couple of times to adjust to the dim light, she paused as realisation dawned on her.

Was that….a dream? Hurriedly, she looked around at her surroundings.

A wooden table, lit solely by a dim candle was in front of her, and a book laid on the floor nearby. Aside from a few dim candles the room was dark, and there was a dim noise from outside. Rising, Soraka slowly began retracing her steps. Irelia left….so I went to a library...which is where I am now. I must have fallen asleep for a few hours. She sighed gratefully, suddenly full of relief. Irelia's alive. She has no idea where I am….but she's alive. Grabbing the candle she left the library as quickly as possible and began running down the street to Irelia's house. Hopefully I can find her before too long, otherwise….I don't want to think about it. Exiting the library with the candle, she stopped briefly in confusion as someone exited the building across from her in the same way. Looking down the street she paused. Actually, there are a lot of people with candles. What are they…? Quietly following the others, towards the centre of the city, she wondered what was going on. Then she saw the enormous group of over 100 exhausted and clearly terrified people they were heading towards. And just off to one side….Ohmygod.

Ireliawas crouched over in front of the mass of people, and was clearly in an enormous amount of pain. Sprinting over, Soraka quickly helped Irelia up without even waiting for a response.

"Irelia! A-are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine…" Irelia staggered and nearly fell over, only for Soraka to catch her.

"Something's wrong. I'm going to get you to safety…just stay there."

Irelia started protesting weakly, only to burst into a coughing fit. "I-I can walk…"

"STAY. there. I'm going to find help."

Soraka looked around trying to find someone to ask, only for a brown-haired woman to wall over and pick Irelia up as if she was only an infant.

Soraka stared at her, in a combination of wonder and shock."What are you….."

"You needed help?"

"…"

"Well come on then!"

Soraka looked at her for a few seconds in confusion, and then meekly decided to follow.

She must know Irelia somehow. Well she seems to know what she's doing…..

"You're one of Irelia's friends?"

"I guess you could say that. Are you one of her friends?

"She's my friend!"

"..."

"…"

Soraka paused, startled at her own reaction to the comment.

Irelia mumbled something softly under her breath and the woman began to softly speak back to her.

"Sshhhhh….everything's alright Irelia, you need just need a bit of rest. We're at the hospital now."

"Akali…."

"Shhhhh…"

"Is that your name?"

"…..Yes. Yours?"

"Soraka."

A few more minutes passed, in which there was complete silence between the three of them. Then as they reached the hospital Akali spoke up.

"We're here...I'm going to get Irelia inside."

"I'm coming too."

"…"

As Soraka felt Akali's gaze on her she decided to make her feelings clear.

"I'm. Coming. Too."

Wordlessly they entered the hospital. The sight of Soraka following a woman holding another woman in her arms clearly astonished the nurses.

"She's been involved in an accident. Is there a room?"

"I'm not sure…"

"She's high priority with broken ribs and a fever. Make space."

Wordlessly the nurse walked off, only to come back a few seconds later.

"There's a free bed, third room on the right."

"Thankyou."

As they entered the room, Akali gently placed the nearly sleeping Irelia down on the bed and started running her hands through her hair. Irelia looked exhausted and feverish,, but luckily fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

"You're safe now…go to sleep."

As Soraka sat down, she realised she had to ask Akali something, but had no idea how to get her attention. As Akali left Irelia's side, she waved to get Akali's attention.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"About what?"

"It's just…I'm a healer, but I'm worried if I heal Irelia…"

"...She'll get into danger again."

"Am I…Am I doing the right thing?"

"She's going to be fine. And I don't know how to explain it but yes. You are doing the right thing."

"Thankyou."

Akali yawned. "Now if you'll excuse me….I think I need to get some more rest."

And as quickly as she had arrived to help….she was gone, leaving Soraka to reflect on her own thoughts in the candlelit darkness.

Irelia….you're my only friend. The only person that's valued me as more than just some…..some object. And for that….I am not going to lose you. And as Soraka ran through her thoughts, somehow, somehow her hand managed to find Irelia's.

"Irelia….I will do anything in my power to save you. Because no matter what happens, I am never going to lose you. Never."

And as the nightmares from only hours ago flashed through her mind, she realised something.

"Never again."