Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

DANTE:
It started with a smell. A scent. Smoke. Fire. And he woke up on ground. His mother ran up to him. “Come here.”

She said, a blonde woman in red robes. Eva. She rushed his son to the closet as fire spread through the manor. “You need to hide, Dante. No matter what happens, you mustn’t leave!” She urged him as they heard rumbling and look to her left. She then looked back at her son.

“I need to find Vergil. I promise I’ll be back.” Eva immediately cupped Dante’s face and continued. “I know this is hard. You must listen to me. Be a big boy…a man, okay?”

Dante just nodded. He was couldn’t speak. He was just an eight year old kid, but Eva let go of him. “If I don’t return, you must run. By yourself, alone. You must change your name. Forget your past and start a new life as someone else. A new beginning.”

With that, Eva closed the closet. Hiding her son from evil. Through the cracks Dante saw his mother running to find his older brother.

“Vergil? Where are you, Vergil!?” That’s the last thing Dante heard of his mother, then her screams immediately came which Dante covered his eyes and shut his eyes. The screams died and Dante opened his eyes, he looked to his right as saw it.

Rebellion. A greatsword with a skull pommel. He remembered that it was one of his fathers few gifts. The father he never met. Dante didn’t care if the sword was twice his size, he picked it up and exited out of the closet to find his mother. And he did. Clothes burnt and torn in areas that shouldn’t be turned. Then he heard Vergil’s dying screams, making Dante flinch. He just ran with the sword. Exiting their burning manor and through the dark streets of Piltover. No enforcers came and put out the fire. Dante knew to an extent magic was behind the attack. He didn’t know why, he didn’t ask. He just ran and ran. And ran.

VIOLET:
The Bridge of Progress wasn’t any better… it was hell. Ash, fire, smoke, debris covered the fancy bridge that connected both cities.

“Dear friend across the river
My hands are cold and bare
Dear friend across the river
I’ll take what you can spare”

A little girl’s voice can be heard throughout the smoke as someone was shot down. Piltover’s finest, the enforcers were executing any Zaunites they found. Their breathing could be heard through their masks.

“I ask of you a penny
My fortune it will be
I ask you without envy
We will raise no mighty towers
Our homes are built of stone
So come across the river
And find…”

The little girl trailed off her singing as she and her older sister stopped. The little girl with blue hair held her older’s hand as her other hand covered her eyes. She removed her hand from her face as she saw her older sister gasping with wide eyes as she looked what was infront of them.

Death

The older sister’s grip tightened on her younger’s smaller hand. She had to be strong for Pow—

Grunting was heard, the older sister looked to her left side as she saw a muscular man beating to death an enforcer with his metal gauntlets. The man looked over his shoulder and fully turned to the sisters as they took a step back out of fear. The man took a step forward, cautiously to not scare them off. The older one silently asked for their parents, she couldn’t speak, she physically couldn’t. The man closed his eyes and tiled his head to the left. And from the smoke she saw them.

Dead

She dropped to he knees and began to cry as he little sister hugged her. The man looked at his blood stained gauntlets and dropped them with a heavy thud. And lifted both girls up. And just walked back to Zaun. And from his shoulder, the older sister balled her fist as she saw the smoke dissipated and the moon shine at those damned towers.

Where Violet gained her hatred towards the enforcers and Piltover.

5 YEARS LATER…

POWDER:
Violet was climbing on a wall as she looked down. “Where almost there,” she said to her siblings. To her little biological sister, Powder and their two adoptive brothers that were near her age, Mylo and Claggor. Violet got ontop the rooftop as she exhaled.

“Hey, Powder. Come take a look.” She said as she walked to the ledge of the rooftop, and just in time, Powder was on the rooftop as well and was in awe at the view. “It’s nice getting about it all, huh?” Vi said as she put her hands on her hips as they weren’t in the rooftops of Zaun.

But in Piltover. And just to add more spectacle a blimp flew over them.

“One day, I’m gonna ride in one of those things.” Powder said like it was a promise to herself, but—

“And one day, I’m gonna shoot one of ‘em down.” Mylo said as he did a finger gun which Vi passed through. But Claggor wasn’t so sure about this. Not because he was afraid but because he looked out for his siblings.

“Vi, are you sure about this? Look, if we get caught, we’re—“

“We’re not gonna get caught.” Vi reassured him as they began to walk through the rooftops. “We’ll be in and out before anyone notices.” They kept walking until Vi looked down at a big jump. But it’s okay, their Zaunites, a toddler could make this sort of jump. A noob can.

“Alright, everybody, follow me. Just don’t look down.” Vi said as she made them jump first.

She looked up as Mylo was next, making the jump. Then, Claggor, but not before taking a plate of cupcakes from a balcony. “Couldn’t we at least, oh, I don’t know, walk there?” Claggor asked.

“We gotta stay out of sight for this one.” Vi said as she looked up and saw Powder. Completely frozen and breathing heavily.

“Called it. This is on you, Vi.”

“I’ll go get her.”

“No.” Vi said as she looked up at her little sister. “Powder, look at me. What did I tell you?”

“That…” Powder inhale and exhale as she looked at the high fall.

“…I’m ready.”

“That’s right! So?” Powder inhale and exhaled once more at Vi’s word, she took a step and slid down but jumped through the gap, but didn’t reach.

She was about to fall! Powder was—

Vi caught her and pulled her up. “Thanks.” Powder said as she held her arm out of shyness and they continued.

They were getting close, but Claggor still had his doubts.

“What if Vander finds out we’re all the way up here?”

“Look around you? You think anyone topside’s going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the sort of job Vander would’ve pulled when he was our age.” Vi reassured her adoptive brother once more as they kept tiptoeing on the narrow path. “I’m going. Are you with me or not?”

It was clear Powder will be always with her sis. Mylo shrug as this can be their big gig. Claggor sighed.

“Vander’s gonna kill us.”

“Yeah, if only we screw up.” Vi said. Then she had to add. “So don’t screw up.”

Nothing wrong will happen. Not like she jinxed it or anything like that.

They made their way down to the balcony. Vi check through the windows as it was good to go.

“All clear.”

Mylo climbed down and tried to open the door but of course its locked. “Who keeps their balcony’s door locked?” Mylo groaned out as he began to pickpocket it.

Claggor helped Powder climbed down to the balcony as he was there after. He looked down and saw tons of enforcers on the streets.

“You’re gonna get that door open up soon?”

“Working on it. Seeing as I’m the only one who knows how to pick locks, I suggest—“ he got cutoff as Vi kicked down the door. She was followed by Powder and Claggor as Mylo’s time to shine was vanished. “Animals.”

They entered the place as Vi set down a bag on the floor and immediately went to the books. She may be from Zaun but she isn’t dumb, she’s a smart girl. Mylo walked to a workbench as he didn’t know what any of this was.

“You know, Claggor, for once your right. We are definitely not supposed to here.”

Mylo and Claggor began to fill the bag with whatever was shiny. Anything that they could sell. Powder did too, mostly things that she could keep for herself. Vi looked at the board and saw science on it.

“Must be an inventor.”

Powder was still looking around as she saw a trinket. “Whoa! I think this is a real Valdiani.” She tapped it and it opened up as she just stared it with awe.

“Oh yeah? What about this?”

“That’s a nose hair trimmer.”

“Keep an eye out for anything that looks valuable, Powder. Before Mylo fills the bag with junk.” Vi said as she side-eyed Mylo who was using the noise hair trimmer.

Mylo then saw a triangular device with a blue glowing crystal that had a strange hum to it. “Uh… guys?”

“Wait, Vi, how the hell did we find this place?”

“It was a tip from Tony.”

“Tony?”

“Just leave it. Come on.”

*The three began to look around for more things to steal as Powder went to a room. She began humming as she stuff whatever she found in her bags, she then looked at a pair of sandwiches as she grabbed one and began to eat it like the blue-haired gremlin that she is. She then noticed a case and opened it. There she found six of the same kind of blue glowing crystals that Mylo found. She picked one up and examined it. It was definitely shiny, making her blue eyes more brighter.

Vi, Mylo, and Claggor had the bag fat with trinkets, so far so good. Until… there was a clatter on the hallway outside the penthouse they stood. And two pairs of footsteps could be heard. Vi was fast as she snapped her fingers, silently ordering Mylo use a chair to jam the door. She ran towards the room Powder was. “Powder, we gotta go!”

Powder was quick as she put the six crystals on her pocket. But in her fast pace, one dropped onto the floor it crackle with unstable magic as Vi and Powder ran towards the balcony where Mylo and Claggor waited for them. Vi picked up the bag but before she could even reach the balcony—

BANG!

A blue explosion occurred. Unaware it was the magical crystal. The side of the building began to crack and crumble as the kids held onto something. Debris falling down onto the streets. Once the dust settled up and saw Vi looking down at them.

VIOLET:
The horns were loud. The kids were running on the streets of Piltover, panting but couldn’t let up. They knew damn well what enforcers do to Zaunites. They avoided whatever the hell the enforcers threw at them. They made it to the Bridge of Progress, it was splitting to let a ship pass by, but the kids outran it. And so did some enforcers.

They were already in Zaun’s side. The kids cut corners and made it to an alleyway that lead to a trash compactor. Which was annoying due to the fact their clothes were considered clean to Zaun’s standards and now their dirty.

“Though last time was the last time we were gonna do this.” Mylo said annoyed as he removed some green goo off his hair.

“Well, this time was the last time.”

“Guys, what was that? What the hell happened back there?” Claggor asked as the place to their point of view just blew up out of nowhere. Big blue explosion for no reason. They look at Powder.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t do anything.” She defended herself quickly as she didn’t knew either. At least not fully.

“You could fill a damn library with all the things you didn’t do.” Mylo snapped.

“Guys, we just emptied a Piltover penthouse right under the enforcers’ noses. So, if you’re done beating yourselves up,” Vi said as she slung the bag with goods over her shoulder, “let get this home.”

And so, they walked. In the streets of the topside of Zaun, enforcers were nowhere in sight so that’s good. But of course, if it’s not one thing, it’s the other.

“Nice haul?” A slender young man with blonde hair asked the kids.

“You could say that.” Mylo and his big mouth responded. Which Vi immediately gave him a side-eye.

“I heard there was some action across the river.” That immediately stopped the kid as the blonde played with a coin. “Someone, uh, someone really kicked the nest, huh?” It wasn’t even a question. It was a statement.

“Is that so?” Vi said as she was about to walk but stopped as she realized they were cornered by other people, around their age, maybe a bit older.

The blonde chuckled as he stood up and walked towards the kids. “But now you’re tracking this mess through my streets”

“Your streets?” That immediately annoyed Vi as she turned and took a step forward at the guy. “What makes you think—“

“Listen,” Claggor interrupted her as he took a step forward, between the two, “we don’t want any trouble, okay?”

“Hear that, Deckard? They don’t want any trouble.” One of the goons said. Which the blonde—Deckard walked around the kids.

“You know, in my experience, trouble finds you. There’s no reason this has to get ugly. How about you shakes a little taste of your treasure there and we’ll call it even.”

That’s where Vi saw her opportunity. She walked up to Deckard. “Just a taste?”

“Just a—“

HE GOT HIS TASTE. Vi swung the bag across his jaw and immediately threw the bag at Powder.

Everything went to chaos. Mylo got tackled. Claggor tackled and tossed two aside. Vi was fighting off Deckard. But it wasn’t an easy fight. They all got punched, kicked, whatever a person could do in a street fight. All while Powder watched in the corner with fear. Clutching the bag with dear life. One of the goons immediately switched his attention from Claggor to Powder and chased after her as she rang with dear life.

Vi and Deckard traded blows, but Vi ended the fight with knees on the abdomen then tossing him onto crates, stomping his head onto it. Spitting out a tooth in the process. Claggor got redirected into a wall but he immediately responded as grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it to the goon’s eyes then slammed him back down to the ground. Mylo wasn’t doing well, Vi had to help with a she used a broken wood board, slamming it against the goon’s head, knocking him out. Vi added a bit of disrespect with using her foot to lift the unconscious’ goon’s head to make sure he was sleeping. The kids turned to walk away. But Deckard wasn’t done. He stood up and pulled out a knife.

“Wait!”

Vi immediately turned and walked up to him, leaning close to the knife, but she wasn’t afraid. “You wanna see how that ends?” She glared at him, he eyes just telling him to try her.

But he was smart. He turned and limped away. And as he was gone, Vi realized a certain blue-haired was missing.

“Where’s Powder?”

POWDER:
She was still running. The narrow alleys only brought her a few seconds. She hit behind a corner as she pulled out one her bombs. Adding it nails as the goon slowly approached her location. “Come in, Mouser, I need you!”

She threw the makeshift bomb onto the floor as it rowed, the mechanizing work. But… it was just a small, pathetic smoke. She wasn’t breathing heavily as the goon chuckled and kept approaching her. Powder knew that he wanted the bag. So she threw it onto the water as the goon tried to catch it, only to fail. He looked where Powder was and she was already gone. She knew how her siblings would react. But she chose her life over things.

VIOLET:
“You did what?” Mylo said angrily.

“I’m sorry. I tried to fight him off with Mouser, but… she didn’t work.” Powder said as she was cornered by him.

“Who saw that coming?”

“We never should have gone over there.”

“Doesn’t matter. The stuff’s gone.” Vi said. Mylo is annoyed and angry. Claggor is tired and disappointed. But Powder was fine. That’s what it all matter to Vi. “It’s alright, Powder.” Vi said as she put her hand on her little sister’s shoulder. “At least you’re okay.”

“Okay?! What about us? I get my face bashed in, and she just gets a pass?”

“Yup.”

Vi simple said to the annoyed Mylo. They got on a lift as Vi pulled down the lever, leveling down. But Mylo wasn’t down bashing on Powder.

“Every time. Every time she comes, something goes wrong. She jinxes every job.”

“Just drop it, Mylo.” Vi said as she saw what was in front of them. The Lanes. Her home. Their home. She pulled her hood up as she felt like a failure. Especially with their job.

“Come along if you want to peek
I’ve seen your face around here
Come along and tell me under the table
What do you see?”

Once the lift got to the very ground level the kids walked on the streets of the undercity. It’s completely the opposite of Piltover. People sell knives, animals, chem-tech, brothels.

“Welcome to the playground, follow me
Tell me your nightmares
And fantasies
Sinking through
The wasteland underneath…”

VANDER:
The Last Drop is currently buzzing with people drinking. Vander was currently serving some foamy beer to a fellow Zaunite, Huck. Who grabbed the two cups and walked towards his booth where two traders were waiting for him. And by the looks of it, they were from Bilgewater.

“Well, I, uh, suppose that concludes our business, then.” The trades said as he tossed a bag of coins at Huck.

“I suppose it those.” Huck said excitedly to open the bag, expecting a jackpot, only to find…

“Wait… Uh, wait. This, uh… uh, this… isn’t what we agreed on, so…”

“Well, demand for your wares has dropped since we made our arrangements. This is the new value.”

“Uh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We, um… shook on it. Ten thousand.”

“Such are the risks of business.”

“Ten.”

“It’s a fair price. I think you should take it.”

“No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. I can’t do that. I can’t do that!” Huck began to freak out as he threw the bag at them as the coins fell off, but one coin was stabbed by the other trader’s knife.

“Make your choice.” She gestured at her knife as she laid it next to the coins. Money of death. And Huck? He was a weak coward.

“You folks need anything?”

“Leave us.” The male traded said as he didn’t paid attention who said it.

“You sure about that? Sound to me like—“

“Piss off!”

“Ah. Okay.” He walked away. But not even two seconds a chair was dragged against the floor as the he sat on it. “I think I know what you need.”

“You don’t seem to listen, barman—“

“Bit of advice. Don’t threaten the guy who pours the drinks.” He gestured at all the people who are at the bar glaring down at the two traders. If they mess with the barman. They mess with all of them.

And thats when these two traders realize who this man was. “So you’re Vander.”

“Hound of the underworld. I expecting something… younger.”

But Vander didn’t care. Age was just a number when it came in fighting. He pulled out his pipe and lit it up. He leaned back to his chair. “We were expecting traders whom would honor their word. Guess we all disappointed.”

“You got us all wrong, my friend. We were just… negotiating.”

This got Vander’s attention. He likes negotiating. Especially because he wins. “Now you’re speaking my language. How about you give Huck the rest of what you owe him, and I’ll let you walk out of here in one piece?”

The two traders glared at him but he wasn’t afraid. He’s from the Lanes after all. “Do we have a deal?” Vander asked as he handed the female traded his pipe

“She took a puff of it and immediately coughed and handed it back to Vander. “This is vile.”

Vander took the pipe back as he was clam. Seems this two traders from Bilgewater aren’t as tuff. “You’ll learn to love it.”

He then heard the front door open and saw his kids walk straight to the basement. And he… well, he knows what happened. He sat up and looked at the two traders before he walked away.

“Welcome to the Lanes.”

VIOLET:
The basement was basically their bedroom. Ever since Vander took them in, he made the basement a living place. A coffee table, couches, bunk beds. Whatever Vander could get for them with the little money and resources they had.

Vi sat down and looked at her siblings. “Vander learns none of this.”

“No worries there. Powder took care of the evidence.”

“I tried okay? You don’t get it. You’re older, you’re bigger. It, it isn’t fair.” Powder tried to defend herself as she curled up to a ball.

“Then stick with us!” Mylo snapped. “Take a punch or two.”

They heard the door open as they all loom up and saw Vander. Vi and powder looked away as Vander finally spoke. “Everyone alright?”

“Never better.” Mylo said sarcastically.

“Good.” Vander said as he walked down the steps, his hands behind his back. His voice calm. “I don’t suppose you can explain why it is that I’m hearing about an explosion and a foot chase topside? Four children fleeing the scene. What the hell were you thinking?” He asked directly to Vi.

“That we can handle a real job.” She said, he voice has this slight waver, trying to not cry in front of everyone.

“A real job?” Vander repeated.

“We got our own tip, panned a route, nobody even saw us.”

“You blew up a building.” He said as he tesis a hand in disbelief at the events.

“That wasn’t…”

“Did you even stopped to think about what could happen to you?” Vander interrupted her. His voice raises a bit. “Eh? To them?”

He gestured at the other three. They stayed silent and looked away. Vi put a hand on her mouth to hide her trembling lips. Vander rubbed his forehead and calmed down. “Where do you even heard this tip?”

“We just heard it from Benzo’s shop.” Powder finally said, still curled up to a ball.

“From?”

“Tony.” Powder finally revealed. Knowing she snitched. Vander sighed in annoyance.

Vi stood up with clenched fists to take the blame. “I took us there. If you wanna be bad, be mad at me. But you’re the one who said that we should earn our place on this world.”

“I also told you time and time again, the Northside’s off-limits.” Vander shot back. Knowing Vi’s too stubborn to give up. Especially when it came to taking responsibility. “We stay out of Piltover’s business.”

“Why? They’ve got plenty, while we’re down here scraping together coins. When did you get so comfortable in living somebody’s shadow?” Wrong things to say Vi. Everyone in the room look at her in shock. Vander with disappointment.

“Everyone out.” Vander simple said. Not angry but no body questioned. They all exit but Vi. “Sit.”

“I’m fine.”

“Sit. Down.” So Vi sat down. Vander grabbed a cloth and alcohol as he sat on the coffee table in front of Vi. He exhaled softly. “Those kids look up to you.”

“Yeah. I know.” She said as she leaned back down.

“Yeah. You know, but you don’t know. When people look up to you, you don’t get to be selfish.”

“I’m not—“

“You say run, they run. You say swim, they dive in. You say light a fire, they show up with oil. But whatever happens, it’s on you.” Vander knows it’s a lot of responsibility for a kid to look out for others, but he needs for Vi to be ready. Because he’ll die eventually, and even then, he’s looking out for all of the undercity. “Just like it’s on me what happens to us down here. We make ourselves a problem for Piltover, and they will send the enforcers.”

So? Why answer or them?” Vi finally asked. She’s tired living like this. “These are our streets. Someone should remind them of that.”

“You’re not hearing me. That path?” He grabbed her wrist as he handed had bloodied knuckles, even if she had handwraps on, the blood was noticeable. “This? Is not gonna solve your problems. Just gonna make more of them. We clear?”

Vi didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. Vander bit off the lid and spit it out as he dripped the cloth into the alcohol then began to clean Vi’d forehead who winced. “How did you get this?”

She scoffed as she held her hands together. “Some idiot was following us.”

“On our side? Who?”

“I don’t know.” She answered honestly. Because either her head was hit to hard to remember to name or because his name was just that forgettable. “He was just after the stuff.”

“Where is it now?”

She scoffed again and looked away. “We lost it.”

“All of it?” She just nodded as Vander set down the cloth and alcohol. “Good. Nothing can tie you to what happened up there. You gonna have to lay low for a bit, understand?”

Vi nodded. “Okay. We’re gonna be fine, right?”

“I’ll take care of it.” Vander stood up and walked over to the shelf, grabbing a trash bag and filled it up to with useless junk to sell. “Oh, you did put that idiot on his ass, though, right?”

Vi just chuckled. She didn’t even need to say yes. Her chuckle was enough. And Vander chuckled as well as he slung the bag over his shoulder. “That’s my girl.” Vander got out of the basement as Mylo and Claggor were just chilling. Definitely not hearing. No sir. “Get up, Claggor. We’re going out.”

Claggor groaned in annoyance as he was also tired, he just fought two guys on his one, he knows he’s a big buy but still, let the boy rest, damn. Vander snatch whatever trinket Mylo was using to hear his and Vi’s conversation.

“Hey, hey. That’s mine!”

“You wanna me treated like adults, right?” Vander questioned at Mylo as he tosed the bag at Claggor who almost fell while catching it. “Then you should know better than to come back from a job empty handed. Im gonna have a little word with your informant.”

Vander and Claggor exited the Last Drop from the back alley as he talked to Claggor. “Alright, give me the details of exactly what happened up there.”

POWDER:
As Vander and Mylo walked away, Powder was searching anything for her future bombs. She found a clamp and stuff it in her pocket, but then she felt them. She pulled out one of those shiny blue crystals. And remembered that she didn’t tell Vi about them. She rushed to the basement but before she could enter the room, she heard Mylo and Vi talking. About herself.

“She’s a problem.”

“Mylo, I’m not really…”

“Do you remember what was in that bag? The biggest payout we’ve ever seen and she just lost it.”

“She made a mistake.”

“Name one time she hasn’t.”

“She’s young.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“You were twice the person half her age.”

“You know what, Mylo? You’re right. There’s a bunch of things Powder just can’t do.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

And with that Powder left. Just as when Vi began to defend her. “Like, complain about everything.”

“What?”

“And brag none stop.”

“Okay, okay, I see where this is going.”

He was about to throw his ball at the wall one more time but Vi catch it and stood up, annoyed at Mylo.

“Pick fights with the group when we need to focus.”

“Vi, I…”

“And tell strangers that we have a ‘nice haul’?”

“Vi, I didn’t mean to..”

“Powder’s my problem, okay? Your problem is that you never shut up. But, I’m going to help you with that. Ready? You see this look on my face? This will always mean it’s time to shut up.” Mylo tried to speak but Vi pointed repeatedly at her pissed off face repeatedly and that shut Mylo up for good.

DANTE:
Vander and Claggor walked to Benzo’s shop. Vander stopped and Claggor handed him the bag. “Nobody comes in.” The older man told the boy as he entered the shop.

Benzo was in his counter looking at his trinket, he didn’t bother to look at Vander. “We’re closed.”

“Well, open up.”

Benzo looked at Vander for a moment then back to his trinket. “For good. You can take your worthless junk elsewhere.”

Vander groaned at the old man’s cranky attitude. “Just as well. Owner’s the shittiest businessman I know.”

They both laughed as being assholes to each other as that’s how far they go back. Benzo looks at Ekko, a kid around thirteen who was fixing on a clock. “Ekko. What’s going on with that thing?”

Ekko looked over his shoulder at Benzo. “Give me a few seconds. The cannon pinion’s still busted.”

“Finish it later. Vander and I need a word.”

“But—“

“Uh, uh. Off you go.” Benzo cut him off. Ekko picked up his stuff and walked out and began talking to Claggor. Benzo sighed and looked at Vander. “You’re a little early. My guys are still roundin’ up this month’s collections. Won’t have numbers until next,” Vander poured bins junk onto the counter, “um… why are you muckin’ about with this?”

Vander leaned against the counter tired. “I assume you heard. Where’s Tony. He was the one who gave off my kids the tip.”

Benzo sighed and looked at the back room’s door. “Oi, Tony!”

Dante—Tony, exited the back door, now thirteen as he lifted some heavy boxes and set them down on the counter and fainted to be sore. “Oh, hey V, what can I do for you?”

Vander stood up straight and crossed his arms and looked down at the young boy. “How did you got the place? You know what happened don’t you?” Tony didn’t for the chance to speak, Vander continued. “A building blew up. Vi, Powder, Mylo, Claggor, all my kids could’ve gotten hurt because of the tip you gave them.” He sighed and rubbed his nose bridge. “Where did you even got the tip from? How?”

Tony took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Well, this fancy looking guy came into the shop while Benzo was out on errands. He brought a whole bunch of stuff that Benzo only keeps in display, he even paid in gold and didn’t haggle. Ekko charged him double and I was like “well, it’s weird seeing a fancy guy with gold coins coming around him and buying stuff on display.’ So I follow the guy. I—I didn’t know the place would blow up, I just saw some shiny things and thought Vi would want it so they could sell it and get money. We’re here scraping for just the basics.”

Vander was about to say something but he noticed two shadows on the windows. Enforcers.

Benzo looked at Tony. “Back door.” Tony didn’t need to be told twice. He was already there. Just before the two enforcers entered. “Evening friends.” He greeted to the two Piltie goons as they removed their gas masks. They hate the air of the undercity. And from the back room, Tony wasn’t able to hear everything.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

The male enforcer, around his mid twenties leaned next to Vander. He was casual. His voice is clearly passive-aggressive. Leaning more into the aggressive. “Some trenchers trash attacked one of the buildings in the Academy district, but you already knew that.”

“We’re looking for the culprits.” The female enforcer said as she removed her helmet and rested on the counter, she was close to Vander and Benzo’s age, maybe a few years younger. But he voice was deep in a tired way.

“Got a description?” Vander asked casually as Benzo filled his cup with alcohol and sip one it.

“Yeah, its exactly who you picturing in that thick head of yours.” The male enforcer said, clearly angry. Maybe because he’s in the undercity.

“Mm.” Vander hummed but he was unbothered by it. He’s used to enforcers being total assholes. He looked at Benzo. “You think my head is thick?”

“Eh, just past the average.”

But the male enforcer wasn’t having it. He stood up straight and pointed at Vander. “Listen, you shady son of a…”

“How about you go for a little walk, Marcus?” The female enforcer said. “Cool off a bit. Now go.”

And so Marcus left the store, but he wasn’t gonna take in the undercity’s filthy air, he put on his mask and inhale deeply.

In the back room, Tony took a deep breath and kept hearing the adults talking. He didn’t know if they knew that he was listening to him or he used a window to run away. But he didn’t care.

“Lovely chap, you brought.” Benzo said as he had his arms crossed

The female enforcer looked down with tired eyes. “Don’t mind him the kid. He doesn’t know when to pipe down.”

“Some things are the same topside and bottom.” Vander said as he handed her a cup with alcohol.

“You know this crossed the lines upstairs.” She said as she set down the cup.

“Was anyone hurt?” Vander asked. Knowing it was a stupid question.

“A building was blown to bits. What do you think?”

Vander sighed and looked down, he then spoke after a second. “Those who did this will be dealt with.”

“That workshop belonged to the Kirammans. You know what kind of stuff they had in there? Makes this place look like a candy-shop.” She gestured around Benzo’s shop as Benzo clearly looked hurt and annoyed at his shop being called ‘candy-shop’. “The council needs someone to make an example of. People need to feel safe.”

“Yeah, topside people.” Vander said with a light scoff. He knew damn well the Council and the enforcers only cared for their side. To hell with the undercity.

“We had a deal, Vander. You keep your people of my streets, and I stay out of your business. Give me a name, we’ll do things quiet. No one will know that you’re involve.” She said as if she doesn’t do anything. The poor people in the undercity will get abuse.

“I cant do that, Grayson.” Vander said as he didn’t turn to look at her.

“You don’t seem to grasp how serious this is. If I don’t put someone behind bars tonight, the next time I come down here, I’ll have an army of enforcers with me.” Grayson said. Unaware to the three of them, Tony heard this and his eyes widened open. That’s just bad news. But he kept snooping. “We both know how that’ll go.”

“I’m sorry, Grayson, but I can’t offer up my own people.” Vander said, still not facing him as he too another sip of alcohol from his cup.

There was a moment of tension.

Grayson exhaled as she reached for her back pocket. “If you change your mind,” she pulled out a blue capsule with golden highlights, it’s their way of sending messages in Piltover, “this will reach me.”

She set it down in the counter with a loud thud. “And only me.” She said as she walked out of the store. Leaving Vander alone.

Vander picked up the capsule and exhaled as he pressed it against his forehead as the things he had to do.

POWDER:
Powder was in her bunk bed. Listen tor rock music as she was building one of her other bombs. Knowing it won’t work, but she needs to do something that just feel useful. To her. To Vi. To her family.

“What are you calling this one?”

Powder’s knew that voice as she looked up while she was upside down on the bed. It was Vi.

“Whisker.” Powder simple said as she got back to drawing its face.”

Vi sat down on the edge if the bed. She knows when Powder is like this. “You wanna talk about today?”

“What’s the point?” Powder asked as she sat up and curled up to a ball. “I ruin everything. I always do.”

“Nobody said that.”

“No. Just that you were ‘twice the person’ at half my age.” Reveling she heard Vi and Mylo’s conversation from earlier. “You heard them. I’m not a fighter.”

Powder leaned her forehead against her makeshift bomb. Vi knew the self doubt her little sister had. “You don’t have to be. Look,” she raised her hands and curled them into a fists, “I’ve got this and you got those.”

She wiggled the bombs that hung on the bunk bed. Same ones that never worked. “They never work.” Powder’s knew said as she was still in her little ball.

“They will.” Vi reassured her. There was a moment of silence. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“Come on.”

VIOLET:
Vi and Powder were on the rooftops of Zaun. They sat down on a ledge.

“What are we doing here?” Powder finally asked.

“See that gutter running along the canal?” Vi asked as she pulled out a pipe from some debris and handed it to Powder. A makeshift telescope. And looked where Vi pointed. “That’s where Claggor got his foot stuck when he was running from enforcers. They thought it was funny, so the left him there. He was out all night before we found him.”

Powder had a small smile. It’s crazy realizing the protective one got stuck to an extent. Vi gently moved Powder’s view to a billboard. “See that sign?” Powder just nodded so Vi continued. “Mylo tripped over his own paint bucket and nearly fell off trying to draw a giant middle finger. His ass made that splotch.”

That made Powder laugh. Mylo, the annoying older brother messing up so bad, it was funny for her, especially in how he treats her. Then, Vi with her leg gestured at a bunny trapped between wires. “And that? When I was a kid, some guy took my favorite to and threw it up there. I used to come out here at night and stare at it, hoping maybe Janna’s wind or a bird might knock it down. We all had bad days. But we learn.” She turned to Powder, wrapping an arm around her little sister’s shoulder. “But we stick together.”

That definitely made Powder better. Then she remembered…” Oh. I forgot to show you.” She pulled out a few of the blue glowing crystals. “These’s were in my pocket. They’re from the apartment.”

Vi narrowed her eyes in curiosity at the crystals. “What are they?”

“I don’t know.” Powder said with a shrug. “Should we show Vander?” She said excitedly.

“No.” Vi immediately said. Which clearly made Powder confused. But Vi added. “Let’s keep this out little secret. Mylo’s wrong, Powder. You’re stronger than you think. And one day…” Vi stood up and looked at the night, Piltover looking down at them, “this city is gonna respect us.”

SILCO:
The boy from earlier, Deckard was shoves into a chair as the background had a window of the underwater life. He had wide eyes as he was immediately surrounded by thugs. Full grown adults. He was panting then began to get choked by a pipe that was pressed against his throat.

“We’re supposed to follow them and not interfere.” A man from the shadows said.

“I’m… sorry…” Deckard grunted out. “They… just… caught us by surprise.”

“Now his accomplice is asking questions. About you.” The man in the shadows said as he tapped a needle. “That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

“The kids. It’s their fault,” Deckard barked, hoping it’ll safe his life, “the explosion in the upper city.”

“That was them?” The man in the shadows asked?

“Yeah. The topsiders are up in arms looking for ‘em.”

Now that, that got his attention. “Vander’s in trouble.” He turned, one eye glowing orange from the shadows. Deckard let out a nervous chuckled hoping this saved his life. The man stood from his chair and walked up to him.

“Smartest thing you ever said, boy. Get him a warm meal. But keep him off the streets.” The goons dragged Deckard out of the room as the man was revealed. Silco. He looked at his chemist. “Out timeline has moved up.”

“It’s almost ready.” The chemist said as he worked on a substance that glowed purple in the dark underwater laboratory.

“Show me.” Silco ordered. His chemist picked up a cat and dropped it in a cage where a mouse was resting. “And the side effects?”

The chemist didn’t answer. He simple tapped the glass to wake up a sleeping mouse which immediately went to drink water, but it wasn’t water. It was the same purple substance the the chemist is working on. The car stalked its way to its prey but as the rat drank the purple substance. It began to change…

Its eyes and veins began to glow purple, its muscles grew, the rat itself grew twice the size of the cat. And—

CRACK!

The cat was killed like a twig. “You’ve outdone yourself, Singed.” Silco simple said.

“You have a subject in mind?” Signed asked, knowing what this new substance was primarily built for.

“Someone just volunteered.” Silco simple said as he looked at the door where his thugs took Deckard.

Chapter Text

JAYCE:
Jayce and his young friend, that he sees as a little sister, Caitlyn walked into the hallway of a penthouse complex. Both carrying boxes of trinkets and supplies. “You really went to the undercity to get these? Weren’t you afraid?”

“A little danger is worth the risk, don’t you think?” Jayce said as he heard something drop. Definitely from the box Caitlyn was carrying. “Uh, careful. That’s your parents’ money you’re dropping.”

Jayce joked as he inserted his key into his apartment’s door. But the door itself was jammed from the inside which was off. He heard some muffling voices, mainly a girls but he didn’t know who. “Hello? Is someone in there?”

No answer. So that immediately gave Jayce the red flags. He dropped the boxes and began to try to open the door. He has valuable items inside the place. “Hey! Open up!”

Jayce didn’t wait. He began to ram into the. He then prepared himself to kick it down until—

BANG!

The door exploded. In a blue explosion, knocking Jayce down to his butt. As the smoke and dust settled slightly he saw a pink haired girl with a bag running away. Then, darkness. 

The next thing before waking up was that he was back to being a little kid. Stuck in a snowstorm with his mother who passed out from hypothermia, he called out for help and someone came. A mage, who teleported them into somewhere warmer. And before he could depart he handed Jayce a small crystal. 

The Acceleration Rune

GRAYSON:
When Jayce woke up, he was immediately questioned by the Sheriff. And he explained it as he was sitting down on a crate and enforcers were around looking at the destroyed apartment. 

“Let’s go over it again.”

“You have to believe me. I didn’t do this.” Jayce said as he looked down, his hands resting on his lap. 

“Relax, kid. We know it was a break-in but that doesn’t explain this.” Grayson gestured at the… well, the destroyed penthouse. “Theres a lot of restricted items here and I don’t see any permits. You wanna tell me how you got them?”

Before Jayce could answer he saw an enforcer careless pulling a device out of the debris. “HEY. HEY! Be careful with that, please.”

“I believe someone should have said earlier.” A man with a cane said, his back turned against Jayce as he looked at the board with Jayce’s studies. He turned to face Jayce. “What happened here?”

Jayce rubbed his nose bridge as he didn’t know. The place blew up on his face. “Science, I guess?” 

“Last time I checked, science didn’t require illegal equipment.” Grayson said.

“Nor was this approved by the Academy. Who authorized your research?” The cane man asked as he stepped forward.

“It was an independent study.” Jayce said as he fiddle with his wrist band that contained the useless acceleration rune. “Who are you anyway?” 

“I’m assistant to the Dean of the Academy, who it may serve you to remember is also head of the Council.” The cane man said, he didn’t reveal his name. Then he continued. “He sent me here to ensure that anything dangerous is removed safely. Which, according to my list, includes you.”

Jayce’s eyes widened then narrowed at the man’s words. “WHAT? How am I dangerous?”

“Uh, well, that’s for the Council to decide.” The man gave a firm nod to Grayson who pulled out a pair of handcuffs. 

JAYCE:
Jayce was in a small “cell” in the academy. To be honest, it feels more like a small dorm with extra guards. He rubbed the crystal of the dormant Acceleration rune that was attached and o his wrist band. The door opened as footsteps were heard in the distance. Jayce stood up from his cot and looked down.

“Imprisonment. What a curious principle. We confine the physical body, yet the mind is still free. I do love a good conundrum.” The yordle said as stepped forward into the room. “I remember the first time I saw you at the Academy. You reminded me of myself. A scientist ready to forge a new vector of experimentations. But sometimes we venture to far. No great science should ever put lives in danger. Be honest, now. What matter of inquiry was this?”

“Professor Heimerdinger, I…” Jayce took a step as he decided to tell the truth, even if it makes him sound like a madman. “I believe I’ve discovered something truly incredible. A way to harness magic through science.”

“Magic?”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“No?”

“The Arcane is dangerous, Jayce.” Heimerdinger began to pace back and forth as he explained. “A force of nature. Science cannot control it.”

“But, maybe it can.” Jayce said as he also began to pace back and forth while explaining. “I’m close to a breakthrough, I know it.”

Heimerdinger put his paws on his back and looked up at Jayce. “How old are you, my boy?”

“I’m… I’m twenty-four.”

“Ah. Well, I am now three-hundred and seven years old. All my life, I’ve pursued the mysteries of science, only to discover some are better left unresolved. This. Im afraid,” Heimerdinger said as he walked back to the door, “is one of them. Own your mistakes before the Council, admit your work was dangerous, but speak nothing of magic. Do that and I’ll theorize you’ll get away with, um, how do you say… a slap on the wrist.”

Heimerdinger knocked on the door for the guard to open it. And it did. Heimerdinger stepped out and the door closed. Leaving Jayce alone. 

VIOLET:
Vander told the kids to lay low. So… they’re are doing so. In an abandoned arcade which Powder was able to fix up. Vi is currently on a boxing machine working on her fighting skills and beating setting up a new high-score. 

“Remind me why we brother with this dump.” Mylo asked as he poke his own nose and aimed a toy gun at the shooting range. 

“Vander said to lay low. Enforcers never come down here, so this is as a good place as any.” Vi said as she wiped her sweat with her arm. 

“Oh, what’s the matter, Mylo? You worried Powder’s gonna beat you again?” Claggor teased as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. 

“Hey, if she didn’t keep fixing these things, I wouldn’t keep missing.” And just in time, to startled Mylo, Powder pop up from the other side of the counter do the shooting range. Connecting two wires and bringing the shooting range to life. She got over the counter as Mylo shoot sideways, missing. Every. Single. Shot. 

“You guys know I wouldn’t take you on a job you couldn’t handle, right?” Vi said, removing the boxing gloves off her hands. 

“Are you kidding? That was the best job we’ve ever done.” Mylo said as he kept missing his shoots. “Maybe just don’t take Powder next time.”

That annoyed Powder, she loaded up her one toy gun and aimed at the targets. And she. Hit. Every. Single. One. She then made a face to Mylo as she walked away towards another game. From the crack of the large window, enforcers brutalizing Zaunites for info which they didn’t give. Powder stepped back and called out to her siblings. “Hey, guys? You should see this—“

She got cut off as a Zaunite was thrown into the arcade by the window. And the enforcers saw them. And began to go towards them. Ordered by Marcus. Powder hid the bag that contained the blue crystals on her hip as she looked at Vi. Mylo flipped the switch, making the lights go out as only the neon lights were lit. Powder and Mylo vaulted over the counter. Vi tossed a metal plate at an enforcers head. Mylo pushed an enforcer away. Powder was grabbed by the braid by Marcus, but she elbowed the machine that was between them, it closed with a snap, biting onto Marcus’ arm, letting go of Powder. The kids made a run for it. 

They were now in the alley but were cornered by other enforcers, that’s until Tony threw rocks at enforcers, surprisingly with inhuman strength that dented and knocked some of the out as Ekko dropped a latter for the kids. The kids climbed up as Marcus pulled out his pistol but was quickly disarmed by a rock that was thrown by Tony. Vi kicking down the latter, pinning down Marcus. Tony flipped then enforcers off with both hands which Vi immediately dragged him by the collar like an older sister to a little brother. 

MEL:
“The House Ferros received your letter. They insist business is steady.” Mel’s assistant told her. 

“Steady is stagnant, Elora.” Mel responded.

“They wished me to remind you that it’s thanks to their innovations that you are the richest person in Piltover.” Elora added. 

Mel sighed as she looked at the objects on her desk. “Yet I remain the poorest Medarda.”

Mel picked up a cubed-object which a professor spoke. “Excellent choice, Councilor Medarda. Supreme challenge. If I may…”

“We need something revolutionary, Elora.” Mel said as she set down the cube with Munro interests and ignoring the professor’s words. “Something to put Piltover on the map. Why if today’s trial?”

Elora looked down at her clipboard. “His name is Jayce from House Talis.”

“A House? That got Mel’s attention. “Remind me.”

“They’re toolmakers. I believe the came to renown for their design of the…” she read on her clipboard about House Talis info, “collapsible pocket wrench.”

Mel scoffed out of curiosity. “But Heimerdinger favors him?”

“As far as I can tell.”

Mel hummed as she picked up a cylinder object. “This one.”

“But that’s…” the professor stuttered. “Well, that’s a child toy.”

Mel chuckled at that. “Good.”

CAITLYN:
In the Kirammans estate the Kirammans were talking about Jayce. 

“The boy’s got ambition. It’s why we supported him in the first place.” Cassandra said. 

“Ambition? Darling, he nearly blew up our daughter.” Mr. Kiramman retorted.

“Jayce had nothing to do with that. He wa a robbed. We need to help him.” Caitlyn said, holding her top hat. 

“Caitlyn’s right. We’ve known Jayce for years. Besides, we’re his patrons. If anyone is meant to speak up for him, it’s us.” Cassandra said as she got ready for the trail later today.

VANDER:
Sevika slammed her hand onto the counter at The Last Drop. “We should hit them back. We’ve got the numbers to beat them.” To make it worse, other Zaunites agreed with her. 

Vander lit up his pipe and puffed a smoke from it as he stepped forward against the crowd as they looked up to him. “You sure that’s what you want?”

To make it worse, people said ‘yes’ in many different ways, Vander bobbed his head at that info then added. “We crossed that bridge once before, and we all know how that ended.”

“You’re just protecting your kids!” And angry Zaunite who was beaten and bruised by enforcers said. 

Vander looked over his shoulder as Vi, Powder, Tony, Ekko, Mylo, and Claggor stood by the basement’s doorway. Then back at the people. “I’m protecting our people. I’d do the same for any of you. We look out for each other. It’s the way it’s always been. This will blow over. We just need to stand together.”

“The Vander I knew,” Sevika spoke as she’s the one who began this whine conversation, “the one who built the underground, wouldn’t be afraid to fight.”

Vander didn’t like that. But he calmly walked up to Sevika. Giving a slight puff of his pipe. “Do I look afraid?”

“No. You look weak.” Sevika whistled and turned to the exit, she and a few Zaunites left the bar. 

The kids watched as it happened. “Why isn’t he doing anything?” Claggor asked. 

“We kicked the enforcers’ butts with just the four of us. Imagine what the whole of the Lanes could do.” Powder said excitedly. 

Mylo rolled his eyes and scoffed as he walked down the steps. “Jeez, even Powder wants to fight.”

“So, why aren’t we?” Vi asked as all of them went down the steps, but Tony which Vi noticed. He was rubbing his wrist and looked down. Vi knew he was hiding something and Powder peek over as well. Tony looked away shyly. “Spill it, Tony.”

Tony sighed and stopped rubbing his wrist and cleared bus throat. “Well, I may or may not have heard that Vander’s got a deal with the enforcers.” 

Vi’s eyes raised a bit in disbelief at hearing this. “What deal?”

JAYCE:
Jayce and Grayson were on an elevator slowly going up to Piltover’s Council chamber room. 

In the room, Mel handed the child’s toy towards one of the Councilors. “For your birthday, Councilor.”

“Ah, Mel, this is too kind.” The old Councilor was completely unaware this was a mere child’s toy and he was basically being brought. 

“I’m told it was built only for the sharpest of minds.” Mel said all sweetly. 

The councils that sat next to him, Salo, realized what Mel was doing so he tried it. Giving the old Councilor his half eating bag of nuts. “And I brought you some Ginko nuts.”

The old cranky councilor screamed and pushed away the bag. “Don’t you know I’m allergic?! What are you trying to do? Kill an old man?” 

The door opened up as Mel was escorted by Grayson into the center of the room. Every other Houses members where there as audience. The room went dark as the light solely shine on Jayce for his trial. 

“Jayce Talis.” Cassandra started. “You are accused of illegal experimentations and endangering the citizens of Piltover. What do you have to say for yourself.”

Jayce stood silent, his hands clasped together as he was all formal. Then he finally spoke. “The materials were far more dangerous than I was aware of, and I… I now know my actions were against Academy regulations. What u did endangered people. It was reckless, and for that, I’m sorry. I ask for the Council’s forgiveness, and I hope that I can continue my studies.”

“As Jayce’s patron of many years,” Cassandra spoke up again, “I can speak for his character. I believe that one day, he will be a great contributor to our society.”

“He destroyed a building. Is this the sort of contribution we can expect?” The cranky old Councilor asked as he played with the child’s toy. 

“If you’re a scientist,” Heimerdinger began, “you’d know you can’t make a prototype without breaking a few wrenches.” 

“Do you have anything to show for your work besides an explosion?” Mel asked. 

“Uh, no. It came to nothing.” Jayce said as he looked down.

“So, you’re saying your study was meaningless?” Mel pressed on. 

“It was revolutionary!” Jayce shot back. 

“Revolutionary how?” Mel kept pressing Jayce’s buttons. “All I see is a boy meddling with things he doesn’t understand.”

“The Academy seems to have loosened its standards.”
“This is a fine line. If we condone this, what’s next?”
“Ridiculous, really.”
“The Council has more important matters to deal with.” 
“Perhaps we should finish this…”

“I WAS TRYING TO CREATE MAGIC.” Jayce snapped under the annoying pressure of the Council’s rambling. Which immediately frozen everyone.

“Magic?”
“Arcane talents are something you’re born with. They can’t be fabricated.”

“Actually, I believed it’s possible.” Jayce said. 

Mel’s eyes narrowed at the idea. It was… interesting. “Has anyone even tried it before?”

Silence. Until the mechanical councilor clears his throat and spoke. “The Arcane is the curse of our world. My race was nearly destroyed by it.”

“Surely, we, the pioneers of science, can use it for good.” Jayce insisted. “We’re the champions of discovery. Why fear it when we can master it? This is the city of progress, think of the wonders we could create. Let me prove—“

“ENOUGH!” Heimerdinger snapped. “You don’t understand ears at stake. But how can you? That’s a burden that only I can carry. Time. I’ve seen this power in the wrong hands. It corrupts, consumes, lays waste to civilizations. That cannot happen here, my boy. It must not.”

“Heimerdinger is right.” Another Councilor said. “Piltover was founded to escape the warmongering of mages, not cultivate it.”

“The Ethos is clear. He must be banished from Piltover.”

Cassandra gasps as she knows this won’t look good for her image and the crowd muttered. But someone speaks up.

“Please, let me speak!” From the shadows, Jayce’s mother comes up. “As a lower house, my voice doesn’t carry much weight here. But as a mother, I have a voice that matters deeply. My son, isn’t in his right mind.”

That immediately made Jayce look at her in disbelief. She basically called him crazy for his pursuit of magic. “His entire life, he’s chased an impossible dream. What he did was, uh, foolish and unwise. But he has a good heart. Please, let him come home.”

“A crime like this can’t be overlooked. The boy must be punished.” Salo said uninterested at this whole trial. 

“A violation of the Ethos calls for banishment,” Heimerdinger began, “but I can sympathize with a young man’s dream to change the world. Perhaps in this matter, a lesser sentence my suffice. I move that Jayce be summarily expelled from the Academy and remanded to the care of his parents. All those in favor?”

Heimerdinger raised his pawn as the light shine on him. Then on Cassandra. Then on Mel, who eyed the old, cranky councilor to raise his his hand which he did. Four out of three chose it. 

“You may take your son home, Mrs. Talis, but he is never to set foot on Academy grounds again.”

And just like that, Jayce was saved from banishment, but his future as a scientist ended… here. 

SILCO:
Marcus was in an abandoned refinery by the docks, in the side of Zaun. He walked around a bit until he stepped on a purple root on the floor. Which lead to a doorway where he came from. 

Silco

Silco stepped out of the shadows.

“First time invited to the Lanes. It better be worth my time.” Marcus said through his air filter mask. 

Silco began to pace around Marcus like a predator stalking its prey. “Ah, you see, that’s your weakness, Marcus. You carry your chin so high, you fail to see the opportunity below.”

Marcus’ eyes widened for a moment as this trencher knew who he was. But he didn’t know who thus trencher is. “Who are you?”

“You’re looking for four children, the ones running circles around Piltover’s finest.” Silco simple responded. 

“What about it?”

“Don’t look so concerned. I’m about to make your day.” Silco simple said. His hands on his back and he glanced at Marcus. 

JAYCE:
Jayce was in his home’s bedroom. Sitting down by the edge of his bed after what happened in the trial. Rubbing the acceleration rune on his wrist band. He heard knocking as his mother came in. Jayce didn’t look at her, he just looked down so she tried to lift his mood up as she walked over to the window that held some crystals from their journeys.

“I still remember that look on your face when you found these.” Her covered up fingers, that hide the frostbite scars touched them. She looked over at a picture of little Jayce and his father and sighed as she sat next to him in the bed. “Jayce, please. If I hadn’t spoken, you’d be lost to me. I had to say something.”

Jayce shook his head. “Magic saved your life. If it wasn’t for that mage, you’d be…”

“Yes, I would have,” she gently interrupted him, looking down at her two fingers, “but it won’t save yours now. You need to let it go.” 

“I could’ve convinced the Council.” Jayce said with a hint of argerness and sadness behind his tone. “If my own family won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will.” 

And with that, he stood up and walked away from his room. Leaving his mother alone. 

HEIMERDINGER:
Heimerdinger and his assistant, were putting away all of Jayce’s research on his office. 

“Oh, that foolish boy.” The old yordle said. 

“Yeah, I must admit, his theory intrigues.” The assistant said. 

“If dangerous ideas didn’t excite the imagination, we would never wander off astray.”

“Could it work? Could these stone really invoke magic?” The assistant asked as he looked through Jayce’s notes.

“Nonsense. It’s far too unstable.” Heimerdinger responded.

“Could you stabilize it?”

That immediately snapped Heimerdinger out of what he was doing. “ME? Why would I do it? That only leads to more problems,” his assistant handed him the notes, “and that poor boy has enough of them already.” He set down the notes on a table. 

“There. Come tomorrow morning, his research will be safely disposed of. Lock up.”

Heimerdinger told to his assistant as he left the room, his voice was still hearable.” “No, no, no. Magic is too far dangerous in the wrong hands.”

The assistant looked at Jayce’s notes and took it. This. Is. The. Future. Of. Piltover. It has to be. 

SILCO:
Silco had a vile of the purple substance in his hands. Inspecting it. “Will he live?”

Singed shrugged as he didn’t look away from his notes. “Long enough.”

Silco walked up to Dekard who was looking at the giant fishes from the underwater window. “Beautiful, aren’t they? Yet, up there on the surface, no one even knows that they exist.”

“They’re monsters.” Deckard finally said.

“Theres a monster inside all of us.” Silco responded, his eye narrowing as he pulled out the vial with the purple substance. 

Deckard’s eyes widened at seeing it. He heard rumors in what Silco and Singed were cooking up and even saw some of the experiments. “WHAT? No. No, no! It’ll kill me!”

Silco wasn’t face. He just pulled out Deckard’s crude knife from his own pocket and looked at it. “I’d like to let you in a very important secret I learned when I was as about your age, boy.” He tap the knife against his own face, the side that wasn’t scarred. “You see, power,” he tosses the knife to the ground and began to pace around Deckard, “real power doesn’t come to those who were born strongest, or fastest, or smartest. No. It comes to those who will do anything to achieve it. It’s time to let the monster out.”

And with that, he handed over the vial once more. And Deckard? He was pressured into it. He took it and began to drink it. And once he did. 

He transformed. 

It was painful. He growled and screamed. Like a caged animal. 

JAYCE:
Jayce walked up to the Kiramman’s estate gates. Only to find it locked. And of course, it was raining. And guess what? He doesn’t have an umbrella. 

“They won’t see you.” Jayce knew that voice. That English accent. Caitlyn. She was sitting on the side of the gates from the inside of the estate as she had an umbrella. She glanced at him. “Your name’s no good now. My dad’s say your a misfit, and that we can’t be friends anymore.”

“So why are you out here?” Jayce asked to the young Kiramman. 

“I’m a misfit too, I suppose.” Caitlyn responded with a faint smile. “What will you do?”

“Join the Talis hammer business, I guess.” Jayce responded. He can’t no longer chased after his education. So, it’s physical labor. 

“You can’t do that.” Caitlyn immediately said. Jayce is a smart person. Too smart for it to go to waste on just… hammers!

“No. I can’t.” He looked up and saw heels clicking against the cement. 

“Come inside, Caitlyn. Now.” Cassandra said as she stood by the front door of the manor. Caitlyn stood up and took one last look at Jayce before entering the estate. 

Jayce looked at Cassandra. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to explain…”

“I think you’ve done enough.” Cassandra interrupted him. She, the Kirammans funded him. And now he’s a stain to their legacy. So, she walked back into the estate. Leaving Jayce outside. In the rain. Alone. 

VANDER:
The Last Drop was relative calm now. Maybe due to the current situation that’s going on. Vander flicked the message cylinder Grayson handed to him the last time they saw each other against a bottle of alcohol. Thinking. He heard the doors open so he hid it under the counter. 

“Welcome to The Last Drop.” He greeted as he looked up. And everyone on the bar did. Marcus and two enforcers stormed in like they owned the place. “What can I get you?”

Marcus removed his air filter mask so his voice was fully clear. “Four sump-rats will do.”

Vander narrowed bus eyes as he knew what that meant. “Search the place.” Marcus ordered at the enforcers. 

And they started. Vander was prepared for this. The kids were prepared for this. “While you’re wasting your time, how about a proper drink?”

“I’ll take the strongest shit you got.” 

Vander leaned down and and pressed the silent alarm to alert the kids on the basement to hide as enforcers were about to swoop in. He did it as he grabbed the “strongest shit” he got. One enforcer entered the basement only to find it empty. Unaware it was that the kids were on the rafters. Powder nearly slipping. Upstairs, the atmosphere was intense as Marcus was twirling his glass of alcohol. And he wanted to rile up Vander with the new information he’s gotten for a certain someone. 

“Nearly forgot. I ran into an old friend of yours.” Marcus chuckled like the son of a bitch that he is and set down his glass. “He got some stories.” 

He took Vander’s pipe from his own hand as Vander put a fist on the counter and stood up straight, towering over the enforcer but he wasn’t afraid. Other Zaunites stood up ready to back up Vander as the other enforcer with Marcus pulled out his baton to beat on them if they got too close to Marcus. Vander shook his head, signaling his people to calm down. 

“You weren’t always the peacekeeper, were you?” He smugly said as he dropped the pipe into the alcohol. But it reacted differently. It didn’t turn into soft blue flames. It was red chaotic flames. The only thing holding it back was the glass. 

“Yeah, well, you can’t change the past. Right?” Vander said as he looked down at the red chaotic flames. “Be ashamed if I have to put them on again.” He gestured at the pair of metallic gauntlets resting by the top shelf. “Cast iron’s, well, it’s hard to clean.”

Its clear it’s a threat. The enforcer that was searching the basement came back up and shook his head. There was no one. This annoyed and irritated Marcus. And it doesn’t help Vander smugly winked at the annoying enforcer. “You people down here are all the same,” Marcus turned to the rest of the crowd in the bar, “mistaking arrogance for bravery. You think you’re standing up for something, but we all know there is a crime behind every coin that passes through this place.”

He then turned to glared at Vander. “You’re just a small man in a little hole the world forgot to bury.” He was about to turn but he pulled out his baton, hitting his glass as the chaotic red flames spread on the counter. Then he pointed his baton at the crowd. “And I’m gonna bury the lot of you.”

And with that, Marcus and his two enforcers stormed out of The Last Drop. Vander looming down at the chaotic flames with a somber look. To an extent… he felt like he was running out of time and options. 

Vander rushed to the basement. “Everyone okay?”

And then, Powder fell down, Vi and Tony drop gracefully, Mylo, Claggor, and Ekko climbed down from the rafter. “No, we’re not okay. They almost saw Powder.” Vi said, he tone holding on bit of anger. “What if they took her?”

“No one is taking any of you.” Vander reassured Vi and the rest of the kids. “I’m never letting that happen.”

“It’s already happening. You heard him, they won’t stop. We need to fight back.” Vi said as she slammed her fist into the wall hard enough to rattle some pipes. She held her hand as it did hurt but she couldn’t show weakness. Not in front of her family. “And if you won’t… I will.”

Vander sighed and looked down. “I’ve heard this kind of talk before.”

VIOLET:
Vi and Vander were on the Bridge of Progress as Vi had a hand over her head, she could still hear the echoes of that fateful night. The screams… the gunshots… the death… 

“Why are we here?” Vi finally asked. 

Vander sighed as he leaned against the railing in front of her. “You still don’t understand.”

“What I don’t understand is how you can work with them. Tony told me. He heard everything. We were here. We saw what they did. I grew up knowing I’m less than them, that my place is down there. I want Powder to have more than that, and I’m willing to fight for it.” Vi said as she looked up at Vander. 

“So was I. I was angry, just like you. I lead us across this bridge, thinking things could change. If I hadn’t…” he stopped for a moment. His voice filled with guilt, “your parents would still be alive. I know you wanna hurt the topsiders for what they’ve done to us. But who are you willing to lose? Mylo? Claggor? Powder?”

Vi stayed silent. Vander walked up to her and leaned besides her on the wall she was resting. “Nobody wins in war, Vi.” 

Vi leaned her head against Vander’s giant arm. One of the few places where she could be vulnerable. “What are we gonna do? The enforcers will come back.”

Vander sighed again as he wrapped his giant arm around Vi’s shoulders. “I… I don’t know. I’ll, uh, I’ll figure something out.”

“Okay…” Vi simply said as she closed her eyes from holding back tears. 

DANTE:
Tony was citing on a rooftop in Zaun, looking at his hidden necklace that shine with a red crystal as it’s pedant. He closed his eyes as he remembers that night. The fire. His mother’s screams. Vergil’s dying screaming. It was…

“Hey, Tony.” He knew that voice too well. A certain smart blue haired girl sat down next to him. 

“Hey, Bluebell.” Tony said with a small smile as he quickly hid his necklace under his shirt. And looked out at the starts. If there was any considering the pollution Zaun has in pretty much everything. “You’re late.”

“I know… I’m sorry.” Powder said as she curled up into a ball. “Today was scary, huh? I nearly slipped and gave away our…”

“Stop.” Tony said softly. “Don’t do that, okay?” Powder nodded. 

“How were you able to hit the enforcers with those rocks that hard?” Powder finally asked about earlier when he and Ekko saved their butts in the alleyway. 

Tony stood silent for a moment. He knew this question was coming. To be honest, he had been careless in showing off his inhuman strength to an extent. “Well, you see. It’s all in the wrist. You just gotta… well, you know.” He just made the kind of arm motion he did earlier. “Like that.”

That made Powder laugh. A genuinely one. And Tony? He smiled at that. A small genuine one. 

“Hey, before I forget,” Tony started as he pulled out a bag with scraps, “here. I’ve barrow some things Benzo wasn’t using in the back room.”

Powder’s eyes widened as she took the bag. “And by barrow, you mean stolen?”

“Eh, let’s call it barrow.” Tony said with a small smirk. Unexpected to him, Powder hug him which he leaned his chin on her shoulder.

“Thank you, Tony.”

“Don’t mention it, Bluebell.” They pulled away as they kept looking at the view. They’ve done this many times by now. Sitting on a rooftop and looking out at the night’s sky. “I know you’re can make your bombs work. It’ll take time. But they will, Blue. Got it?” 

Powder simple nodded with a faint smile. 

JAYCE:
Jayce was in his destroyed penthouse. Right on the edge. His wrist band and an letter rested on a crate near by. He lost everything that was worth his life’s work. There was nothing to live for. One step and he’ll—

“Am I interrupting?” A voice snapped Jayce back to reality. And startled him. 

“The hell’s your problem?” Jayce turned to look at the man with the cane. Heimerdinger’s assistant. Which he noticed him holding something. “What’s that? Another list with my name on it?”

“Actually, yes, but only because you signed your notes. Every page, I might add. A little bit egotistical, don’t you think?” The assistant said. Almost like a quip? 

“Is that why you came? To insult me?” Jayce asked. He was already having a shitty day. He was this close in attempting. 

“No, no, I was… I was intrigued by what you said at the trial.” The assistant said as he walked up to Jayce who’s back was facing him.

“That makes you the only one.” Jayce said as he didn’t turn around. 

“Yes, well, I wanted to talk about your work. This Hextech theory of yours.” He said as he closed the notes. 

“It’s not a theory.” Jayce shot back as he finally turned. He knows his research be true. “I saw it with my own eyes what magic can do, the lives it could save. You’ve no idea how beautiful it is. And now it’s gone. No one believed in me.”

“Nobody’s believed in me either.” The assistant said as he walked up to Jayce. Bit of them now standing side-by-side. “A por cripple from the undercity. I was an outsider the moment I stepped foot in Piltover. I didn’t have the benefits of a patron or a name. I simple believed in myself. Which is why I’m here because I think you’re onto something. I want to help you complete your research.”

“No one thinks it can be done.” Jayce said as he looked at the assistant. 

“When you’re going to change the world, don’t ask for permission.” He opened his hand as he had Jayce’s wrist band, the acceleration rune stuck in the band with it. 

Jayce took it and look at the assistant. He still needed to know one thing. “I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Viktor.” Viktor simply said. Just like every Zaunite. He had no last name. 

VIOLET:
Vi took a deep breath and opened the basement’s door of The Last Drop. Where both Mylo and Claggor were getting ready. “Vi, where you been?”

“Rumor is the Lanes are gonna fight.”

Vi didn’t respond to either of them. She walked down the step and looked at Powder who was in her bunkbed building more bombs with the parts that Tony gave her earlier.

“Look, I made them for the enforcers. These are smoke bombs, these are filled with nails. They’re gonna work, I know it.” Powder said towards Vi as she sat down with her. Showing Vi off. Vi didn’t say anything, she just pulled some strands of hair behind Powder. Then handed her the bunny that was trapped. Somehow Vi got it free. And now she’s handing it to her little sister. 

“You know, Powder, what makes you different makes you strong. Always remember that, okay?” Vi said as she stood up and walked away. 

GRAYSON:
Grayson pushed Marcus to the wall after the stunt he pulled off at The Last Drop without her knowledge. “What the hell were you thinking, going to The Last Drop? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I was getting results!” Marcus shot back. “You heard the Council.”

“You’re a fool. There is no stopping what happens now.” And just like that, the message capsule Grayson handed to Vander fell down from the tube. “Maybe it’s not too late.”

VANDER:
The Last Drop was empty. Powder came up to the counter and sat down on a stool as Vander gave her he usual drink. Orange juice on a specific metal cup with a metal straw. 

“There’s a girl in town
And words gone around
She’s just fine
So I don’t worry in my head
‘Cause I know her heart is tied to mine
Ooh, some day, I pray
Our love will always stay
While the world turns around 
He holds me down for sure
Well
Our love
Is a bubbling fountain 
Our love
That floats into the sea
Our love
Deeper than any ocean
Our love
For eternity 
And after all
After all
The rain will fall on us two 
Rain will fall on us two
But I’ll keep moving on 
Moving on
For I am strong with you 
With you”

Vander noticed Powder having Vi’s bunny plush and that’s when he realized. Vi is gonna turn herself in…

“With you
Our love
Is a bubbling fountain…”

Chapter Text

VIOLET:
Vi broke into Benzo’s shop as it was closed for the night. She knew what she was doing. As footsteps were approaching she got ready. Only to be surprised that is Vander and Benzo.

“Vander? Benzo?”

Vander sighed in relief to have found Vi just in time. “We don’t have much time.”

“How did you found me?” Vi asked. She hasn’t told anyone in what she was doing.

Vander walked up to her and held her. “I’m proud of you. Always have been.” He said as he cupped her head.

“Im sorry, I… this is the only way to protect the others.” Vi said as she held one of Vander’s hand.

Dogs were barking in the distance. A sign of someone coming.

“Vander!” Benzo called out. They’re running out of time.

Vander didn’t look at Benzo. He kept his eyes on Vi. “You’ve got a good heart. Don’t ever lose it. No matter how the world tries to break you. Protect the family.”

“What are you—“

Vander didn’t let her finish. He pushed her to the back door and locked her in there so she wouldn’t do anything stubborn. Vi could be heard from the other side, pounding on the door, begging Vander to open up.

“I’m guessing that’s for me.”

Vander turned around and knew that voice. Grayson and the asshole Marcus. Marcus walked up to Vander, pulling out a pair of handcuffs but Vander didn’t give his arms yet. Making Marcus sigh in annoyance. “Are you gonna let us make the arrest or not?”

“You’d obliged a doomed man one last smoke.” Vander said. That made Grayson’s eyes be widened as she was expecting in arrest Vi. Not Vander. But Vander lit up his pipe and blew out a puff. “Won’t you?”

Grayson pulled Marcus back and walked up to Vander, leaning to his ear so he could only hear. “I’m not putting you away, Vander.”

“The Council needs its pound of flesh.” Vander responded.

“Without you here, it all falls apart.”

Vander let out another puff and set down the pipe on the counter. “Benzo will handle things. He may not have my devilish charm, but he runs a tight ship.”

Grayson let out a soft grunt. She knows how Vander is. “You’ve won’t be coming back for a long time.”

“I know.” He simply said. Letting Marcus cuff him.

“Why?” Grayson finally asked.

“Mm. It’s the only way.” Vander responded. Without sacrifice, there can’t be no peace.

And with that, they began to escort Vander out. Benzo included.

In the back room, Vi could hear something horrible going on. Enforcers being killed by… something. She tried to peak through the window, only for it to be covered in blood. Grayson’s blood.

Vander, Benzo, and Marcus were left alive. Grayson and the other enforcers? Slaughtered.

“What the devil…” Benzo said as he picked up a metal pipe to defend himself.

From the green fog of the undercity, someone was slowly approaching them. Vander narrowed his eyes then they widened as they saw who came.

“Silco?” Benzo muttered. “You animal. Go crawl back into whatever hole you came out of.

“Benzo, stay back!” Vander warn. Whatever killed Grayson is still out there.

“You never did know when to walk away.” Silco calmly said at the old man.

“WAIT!” Vander called out. But it was too late. Before Benzo could strike, the same creature crashed into Benzo, killing him like if he was an ant. “NO!”

Vander dropped to his knees as Silco hummed. “Stubborn till the end.”

“What the hell have you done? This wasn’t the deal!” Marcus said towards Silco as they made a deal behind everyone’s back.

“Deal’s change.” Silco simple said as he tosses a bag of coins at Marcus, some dropping on the pool of blood. He then gave a firm nod as this beast to knock out Vander. Which it did. In one punch. Then dragged him back into the fog.

JAYCE:
Both Jayce and Viktor were writing on a board about how Hextech could work. They’ve been at this for an hour by now. “This entire time, I thought I needed to dampen the oscillations.”

“The crystals will only stabilize at high frequencies.” Viktor said as he continued writting on the board. “You have to—“

“Crank it!” Jayce abruptly said.

Viktor turned to Jayce. “Yes. Yes. You have to… crank it.”

“It works.” Jayce said about his idea.

“Eh… on paper.” Viktor said.

“Well, we could test it if we had access to my equipment.” Jayce muttered.

“Which is being destroyed tomorrow.” Viktor let that slip up.

“Wait! What?”

“Oh. I… yeah. I, I meant to tell you.”

Jayce’s head shook in disbelief. “That research is everything. My… my whole life.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Maybe if we showed them the equations, they’d let us—“

“We need more than promises.” Viktor interrupted him. “We need proof.”

“Not without they crystals. The enforcers took them all. They’re gone.” Jayce said as he raised an arm in defeat and sat back down on a chair.

“Yeah. Locked away in Heimerdinger’s lab.” And just pure convenience, Viktor pulled out the keys for said lab. And many more rooms for the Academy.

Jayce’s eyes snapped at the sound of the jiggling and his eyes widened. “No. No. No. You heard the Council. If we’re wrong…”

“Better be right then.” Viktor interrupted Jayce once more. He’s looking at the optimistic side of things.

“Why? Why would you risk this?” Jayce asked. This is the first time they’ve worked together on something. And Viktor is willing to risk everything. For him.

“Do you think it was my life’s ambition to be an assistant? Scientists seek discoveries. Ways to make the world a better place. This Hextech dream of yours has the potential to do that.” Viktor said as he turned back to look at the board.

Jayce stood up. And put a hand on Viktor’s shoulder. “Our Hextech dream.”

VIOLET:
Vi was still stuck in the basement of Benzo’s shop. Curled up. She heard the door open up as she quickly wiped the tears she had since being stuck in the room. She looked up and saw Ekko. All slumped. Vi stood up and slowly walked over to him as he began to cry. Vi immediately hugged him.

“I saw everything.” Ekko immediately said through his tears as he held Vi tightly. “Be… Benzo. They…”

Vi knew Ekko couldn’t say the words. She just held him tight. “What about Vander?”

“They took him.” Ekko said while stammering.

“Where?”

VANDER:
Vader woke up, he was still in his handcuffs and clearly beaten up as he was dragged. He saw Deckard limping and looking ill. Vader was being dragged and rested on a catwalk’s safeguard as he took a look at the place. It was an abandoned warehouse, where other men were working, it making blades… and those vials of purple substance. Hundreds.

“It’s a little crude, I’ll admit.” Silco’s voice rang out as he was next to Vander looking down at his growing empire. “The base violence necessary for change. But we both know topside won’t listen to anything else.”

Vander spit out some blood as he looked at Silco with his good eye, the other was completely swollen. “Even with your monsters, you won’t win a war against Piltover.”

“I don’t have to. I just need to scare them.” Silco said as he looked down at Vander. Deckard passed by them as he threw up the purple substance. “They won’t dare set foot in the underground again.”

“You’ll get people killed. For what? Pride?” Vander asked.

“For respect.” Silco said as he fully turned to Vander. “Opportunity. Everything they’ve denied us.”

“You had my respect.” Vander spat out. “The Lane’s respect, but that… that was never enough for you.”

“WE SHARED A VISION, VANDER.” Silco snapped. “A dream of freedom. Not just for the Lanes, but the whole of the underground, united as one. The nation of Zaun. Do you even remember? I trusted you. And you betrayed me.”

Vander remembered that stormy night… choking and drowning Silco, injuring his eye, in the toxic waters of Zaun… “What I did to you… I’ve never forgiven myself. You were my brother.”

Silco was silent for a moment. Then he spoke. “No, you still don’t understand. Can you imagine what it’s like? When your blood mixes with the filth and the river toxins eat through your nerves. Oh, I hated you for what you’d done. But as the time passed, so did my hate. And I was left with an understanding. The only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear. I hated you, but you kept my respect. Until you made peace with them. Played lapdog after everything we suffered.”

“I had no choice.” Vander simple said.

“Perhaps. But now you do.” Silco pulled out a vial of the purpled substance. “Shimmer. We have the power. We can finally realize our dream, brother.”

Vander stayed silent for a moment. This… this purple substance was named Shimmer? And there were crates filled with hundreds of vials. Enough to make everyone in the undercity into a monster. “Look at what you have done. Benzo. These kids. In fighting topside, you’d sacrifice everything that we are. It’s not the way. Can’t you see that? Kill me if you have to, but please spare the Lanes.”

Silco tucked the vial of shimmer into his shirt. He didn’t like Vander’s words one bit. “You’d die for the cause, but you won’t fight for one?”

Vander scoffed at that. “I’m just… not that man anymore.” He grown into someone better. Because of Vi. Powder. Mylo. Claggor.

“I’ll show you what you really are.” Silco said as he walked away. One of his thugs began to drag Vander into a room. But before he could pass out once more, he noticed… Sevika, with Silco’s goons.

JAYCE:
Jayce and Viktor snuck their way to Heimerdinger’s lab/office. Viktor handed Jayce a flashlight as he kneeled down and looked at the keys. Heimerdinger had to put five locks in… of course he would. Damn yordle. Viktor opened one lock.

“So far, so good.” He murmured. But…

A light lit up right to their sides, shining their view. They look who it was and it was Mel Medarda.

“Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavor. That’s quite the conviction.” She said to the two men. Mainly Jayce.

“Councilor. What a surprise to see you, huh?”
“Wait a minute, this isn’t my bedroom.”

Both Viktor and Jayce spoke over each other. They were caught red-handed.

“Please. We can prove it works.” Jayce said as he stood up straight.

“Hmm. You couldn’t do so earlier today, how is tonight any different?” Mel asked. Intrigued at the Talis.

“We figured out how to stabilize it.” Viktor said as he stood up straight as well.

“You’re the Professor’s assistant.” Mel commented. That’s what Viktor is to everyone. Heimerdinger’s assistant.

“No. He’s my new partner.” Jayce immediately said.

Mel raised an eyebrow at that but decided to get to the point. “Even if you manage to prove your theory, the Council would destroy it.”

“Heimerdinger will recognize the potential.” Viktor immediately said.

“Mel scoffed at that. “He already does. It scares him. It scares them all.”

“What about you?” Jayce asked her.

There’s a moment of silence before she broke it. “I recognize that any worthwhile venture involves risk.”

From a distance, they heard whistling, it was clear an enforcer who was ok night patrol was approaching the hallway they’re on.

“Councilor, this technology, it’s real.” Jayce said as he then added. “And no matter what happens here, it’s going to change our world. We should be the ones to lead it. Piltover, the lad of progress, equality, innovation. I know it sounds impossible, but when have we let that stop us? Please, just give us a chance.”

Mel let his words sink in. And after a moment, she made her decision. “One night, gentlemen. Impress me, or I’d suggest you pack your bags.”

She turned off her light and walked towards the enforcer. Distracting him, letting Jayce and Viktor sneak into the room.

DANTE:
Tony walked over to the quiet graveyard of Piltover. He had a long cloth wrapping onto something that was twice his size. He broke the lock with his inhuman strength and made his way into the cemetery. After a few moments he found their graves.

Eva Redgrave
Vergil Redgrave
And… himself… Dante Redgrave

Tony-Dante dropped to his knees and removed the red cloth object that was strung to his back, setting it front of his family’s grave.

“Hey, mom. Hey, big bro… I… know it’s been a while since I visited… live in the undercity is sometimes hard…” Dante said softly. Curling into a ball. “I’ve made really good friends there. There’s this smart girl there… we hang out most nights. Just silent nights.”

Dante sighed and he opened the cloth to reveal to be Rebellion. He pressed his small hand against the greatsword’s skull. “I go by a different name. Tony. I hate it. I know you said I should forget my old life… but I just can’t… every time I close my eyes… I just see it…”

Dante ran a hand through his white hair, taking a deep breath to calm himself from crying. “It’s kinda sad. Talking to the tombstones of you guys. To be fair… I feel like I should leave… maybe that’ll be the best for everyone… somewhere further away from Piltover and the undercity…”

VIOLET:
“Well, if the enforcers hit tonight, we’ll be ready… I think.”

“Dibs on the bat.” Claggor said as he and Mylo were in The Last Drop’s basement, looking at the weapons. Which wasn’t much. Besides Vander’s gauntlets, a bat, and a flare.

“No, no, no. I found it.”

“But I called it.”

“But I found it.”

“Respect the dibs.”

Their sibling-like banter gets cut off as Vi abruptly enters the basement in a haste. Running at a rapid pasted down the steps.

“Vi?”

“Where’s the—“ Vi gets cut off as Powder hug her by the waist. Glad her older sister is back. But when Powder pulled away she noticed Vi’s distress look and shaky breathing. Vi immediately went to grab Vander’s gauntlets but was stopped by Mylo.

“Hey. Those are Vander’s. Slow down. What’s going on?”

“Benzo’s dead.” Vi said as she was trying to steady her breathing.

“Dead?” Claggor said in disbelief.

“They took Vander.” Vi added.

“Who took Vander?” Mylo asked.

“I don’t know. But I need to help him.” Vi said as she isn’t aware of Silco’s involvement in all of this.

“We’re going with you.” Mylo added.

“Whatever killed Benzo… was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Vi said. Remembering the shimmer monster speed blitzing not just Benzo but the whole squad of enforcer that was about to escort Vander to Stillwater. “It tore him apart.”

Claggor put a hand on Vi’s shoulder. “You’re not doing this alone, Vi.”

“He’s our father too.” Mylo added. “Do we know where they took him?”

“Ekko followed them.” Vi said as she began to put their “weapons” onto a bag. “The old canary to the docks. He said…”

Vi noticed Powder gearing up as well. Vi sighed. Knowing what will happen. “I need you to sit this one out, Powder.”

“What?” Powder said softly.

“You’re not coming.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“But family sticks together. You said it yourself.”

“I know whah I said…”

“I want to fight. I can help.”

“YOU’RE NOT READY.” Vi snapped slightly which made Powder exclaim softly. Vi calmed herself down and cupped her little sister’s cheek. “You’re all I have left. I can’t lose you. Here.”

Vi pulled out the flare, handed it to Powder. “If they come for you, take this and run. Where ever you are, light it up, and I’ll find you. I promise.” Vi leaned her forehead against Powder’s then pulled away. The three older kids leaving the basement. And Powder alone…

JAYCE:
Jayce and Viktor were working on building a small device to stabilize the crystal. To an extent, an upgrade or fully completed version to what Jayce had in his penthouse before it was skyrocketed by some Zaunites. Jayce finished adding the final touches as he removed some goggles.

“It’s all he here.” Jayce breathed out. Viktor handed him the last remaining crystal as Jayce cautiously set it on the device. The device began to glow blue with the crystal’s magical properties.

“It’s time to crank it.” Viktor said as he closed the notes.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Jayce asked. Viktor just shrugged and made a cringe expression.

They pressed a few buttons as the device began to spin and the crystal began to levitate. Crackling with pure arcane energy.

“I don’t think it’s gonna hold! Look at the build up!” Jayce screamed out through the loud crackling and clacking from both device and crystal.

“The resonance will stabilize it. Trust me.” Viktor said calmly but a bit loud so Jayce could hear it through the loud noise.

DANTE:
He was still on the graveyard. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what else to say to his dead family.

That’s until he felt it. Like an itch. Magic. It was as if it was an sixth sense. He didn’t know how or why, but he turned towards the Piltover’s Academy district direction. His breathing labored as flashes of that night happened.

The fire. The screaming. The death. All because some mages…

“Magic… h-here?! In Piltover? How!?” Dante asked as he knew Piltover was built to escape mages. Yet mages killed his family five years ago. And now there’s a mage back?

“No. No. No! This can’t. No…”

Dante dropped to his knees and covered his eyes.

“This place… it isn’t safe for me to stay here is it? More people will die because of me…”

POWDER:
Powder was a mess… she was left alone by Vi. She was crying. Nasty. Wailing. Breaking toys. Snot running down her nose. Screaming. Hitting herself.

She grabbed the little suitcase that she had packed to go with Vi but no… she had to leave her alone. She was about to slam it down onto the floor but she couldn’t. She dropped to her knees as those same shiny blue crystals rolled out of the suitcase and into the floor. She looked at them and remembered.

A single one? One could destroy half a penthouse. Imagine a handful…?

“I can help them…” Powder said as she wiped her eyes.

VIOLET:
Vi, Mylo, and Claggor were in the old canary’s rooftop. “Let’s get Vander and get out.” Vi said as they climbed down onto a support beam through a broken glass

The place was oddly empty. Nobody was there. Vi, Mylo and Claggor landed on the catwalk.

JAYCE:
With them and their… “Hextech” project was going relative well.

“I told you it would work. It’s all yours.” Viktor said to Jayce as they look at it in awe.

“Wow.” Jayce said in awe. “It’s never done that before. Alright, here we go.” Jayce twisted the knob, intensifying the crystal, making it hover more. But there was a burst of arcane energy that shook them.

Jayce tried to turn off the device but there was another pulse, this time shattering the window. Mid explosion, the glass was brought back, hitting both of them, it was minor hits, Jayce only getting a small cut ok his cheek. Jayce slammed down his hand, turning off the device.

“Incredible.” Viktor muttered.

VIOLET:
The kids entered the room that Vander was in. He was in a chair, all his limbs cuffed up.

Vander spit out some blood. It was clear he was being tortured. “Vi.” He muttered out. Surprised seeing them here.

“What are you doing here?” He finally asked after Vi hugged him.

“We’re breaking you out. Mylo.” Vi ordered him to set Vander free as he knew lock picking.

Mylo took a deep breath as he began to work on a cuff. But something wasn’t right. Vander needed to know. “How… how did you get in? There’s guards everywhere.”

“It was easy. We found an open window and…” she trailed off. Realizing this whole thing was a set up.

“Oh, god. You have to get out. Now.” Vander ordered them.

But it was too late.

“Welcome.” Silco’s voice was heard in the empathy canary. He slowly walked as he was across the catwalk. Clapping slowly. “You have my congratulations. But in afraid this will be a very short reunion.”

And just like that, Silco’s thugs walked behind him. Twelve full grown adults. “Have you heard the rumor? Vander the coward fled town with his children. And they were never seen again.”

Vi immediately began to put on Vander’s iron gloves onto herself, using her mouth to strap them on. “Claggor, see if you can find another way out of here.”

Claggor nodded as he began to look around the room for an exit point. Vi got ready but before she could step out, Vander spoke up. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” Vi simply said b

“Vi.” Vander called out to her. But it was too later…

Vi was already on the catwalk. She exhaled as the buggiest thud walked up to her. Twice her size, and possibly triple her body weight. She raised up her hands as he cracked his neck. He lunged with his knife, but Vi deflected it and…

THUD!

She uppercutted him, sending him a foot off the ground and knocking him till next month. This made Silco’s eye wide.

Then, the rest of the thugs came towards her. With knives and blades. Vi weaved a slash, then hook onto the jaw. She weaved again on her next opponent, elbow on the back and knee in the stomach. She blocked a kick then a right hook across the other thug’s jaw.

Mylo was struggling with freeing Vander from his cuffs. “Mylo. Take a breath. You can do it.” Vander said. He needs to help Vi.

Vi knocked out another thug. Another one came with a mace as she ducked and weaved, she was then put on a headlock by a thug behind her. She kicked the one that’s in front of her, then headbutted the one behind her, knocking him off the catwalk.

Mylo freed Vander from his right leg’s cuff. One down. Three more to go. Claggor found a weak spot on the wall and nodded. “We’re going to get you out, Vander.”

Claggor pulled out a pipe and began to dig through the weak point. Mylo freed Vander’s other leg.

Vi knocked two other thugs off the catwalk as one approached her, sliding his knife through his tongue. Vi dodge to stabs and trapped the third one, she was then pushed by a other thug, she was getting jumped. So the best way is to hit everywhere at once. And it was working.

Silco narrowed his eyes. How come TWELVE FULL GROWN ADULTS NOT BEAT A TEENAGE GIRL?! Sevika was thinking the same, she was about to go in, but Silco put a hand to stop her. He then looked at Deckard and pulled out a vial of Shimmer. “Ready to rise to the surface?”

Deckard didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately took the vial and drank it like he was already an addict to it. He crushed the vial and he began to transform into a Shimmer monster. And just in time…

Vi knocked out the last thug, she was bruised and tired. To make it worse, Deckard slowed approached her. The same creature that killed Benzo and the enforcers earlier was back. She raised her hands up and jumped onto the railing of the catwalk to get the high ground, she then jumped and was about to do a double hammer fist—

He grabbed her by the neck in a second. He then began to choke her.

“SILCO. LET HER GO. THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME!” Vander said as he was till cuffed to the chair by the arms which Mylo was working on.

“YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE.” Silco responded.

Deckard threw Vi back, one of the gauntlets slipping off her hand. Weekend, she began to crawl towards the room where the rest of her family is at. Deckard stalking his way towards them.

Unaware to everyone, Powder climbed by the side of the canary, still on the outside but she could see everything through a gap on the wall. She saw her family in grave danger.

Vi reached the room and immediately slid the thick metal door across, locking themselves in the safety of the room, but it won’t last as Deckard slammed his body into it. Claggor was nearly done digging through the wall. Mylo the second-to-last cuff off of Vander. “You did good, Vi.” Vander said as he helped Mylo with the last cuff.

JAYCE:
Outside Heimerdinger’s room, Heimerdinger and a few enforcers walked towards the room as the night patrol alerted him of the strange activity going on. And there’s someone he knows who it is.

The enforcers began to try to open the door only for it to be jammed by Viktor’s cane, stuck between the handles. Ordering Jayce and Viktor to stop and open up.

“They almost through, Jayce. No pressure.” Viktor said.

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE PRESSURE TO ME!” Jayce said as they’re THIS close to achieving their goal.

The crystal began to summon runes as Jayce began to remember that faithful storm. The one mage that saved him and his mother. He closed his eyes and let the flow guide him. Twisting the knob as the crystal summoned more runes. And—

The enforcers managed to kick down the door as they and Heimerdinger entered the room. Only to find Jayce and Viktor… floating… everything in the room was floating with magic. It was beautiful. Not like the chaotic way most mages do. Just fascinating.

“You’ve actually done it.” Heimerdinger muttered out. “But just because it can be done, doesn’t mean… Will you please rip hovering?”

“I’m not sure how to do that, sir.” Viktor said in awe as he was floating with Jayce.

“This is not what Piltover’s future looks like, my dear boys.” Heimerdinger said. His voice may hide it, but he was scared.

“That’s for the Council to decide.” Mel said as she walked in. Seems she did the right decision in letting Jayce and Viktor do this. “Perhaps it’s time. For the era of magic.”

“Uh, Hextech.” Jayce corrected her. “For the era of Hextech.”

POWDER:
Powder jammed in four of the crystal into a hollow monkey. The fifth one was a necklace for the makeshift bomb. She put on the head as she peek over the gap of the wall. Seeing the monster trying to break into her family only safe spot.

“You have to work. For me. Okay?” Powder said to the monkey bomb as she leaned her forehead against it. She twirled the key on its back.

Unaware to her. Claggor was able to make a hole on the wall from the weak spot. But the metal door was slowly being broken down.

Powder snuck the monkey toy into the catwalk as it began to walk on its own. Clapping on the crystal.

Deckard noticed the monkey toy approaching and it… stop? Why did it stop? This want meant to work! POWDER BEGGED IT TO WORK!

And it did…

BOOM!

Time slowed down as the crystal blew up in a blue fiery explosion. It was giant. It send back Powder flying from the other side of the wall. She wasn’t scared. She was happy. It worked. IT ACTUALLY WORKED.

But it worked too well and too bad…

The blue flames spread rapidly, it was about to hit Silco until Sevika pushed him out the way, in the process, she lost her arm in the explosion. The flames reached the Shimmer roots that lead to Singed’s lab underwater, blowing his lab and half his face off. And… it hit her family…

Both Mylo and Claggor were sent flying to the wall, Claggor died by the impact, Mylo got stabbed in the shoulder by the pipe Claggor used. And to make sure they did die. The ceiling fell on top of them.

VANDER:
Vander woke up. Some debris were on top of him but nothing major, or nothing new was broken. He noticed the corpses of Mylo and Claggor, deep in the rubble. He then noticed Vi under the broken metal door. To make it worse… Deckard and some of Silco’s thugs were still alive. Somehow.

Silco stood up as he looked down at Sevika, her blood pooling on the floor beneath her as she was missing her left arm. “Kill them.” Silco ordered his monster.

Deckard and two thugs limped their way to the room but the two thugs that entered were immediately knocked out. Vander came out of the room, using his cuffs as makeshift brass knuckles. His kids died. He had nothing to lose. Only anger. He walked up to the Shimmer monster.

He blocked a punch and broke its arm. Then hit the monster in the guts which made it spill out its purple blood. He did it five more times into the monster elbowed Vander’s right shoulder on the back, breaking it. Then headbutted Vander. And to end it. It surplexed Vander.

Vi woke up crying as her body was completely in pain. She noticed the corpses of her adoptive brothers deep under rubble. Then she spotted the monkey’s bomb head… but. It can’t be her. She… she left her home to be safe. There’s no way she came here. NO WAY!

From the damage light and gasoline of the floor, the room was ignited into flames. Slowly creeping towards Vi.

Vander stood up for the second round against the Shimmer monster. Who was also injured. Vander let out a roar but then cried out. As he looked behind him and saw Silco. With a knife plunge into his back by Silco…

Vander immediately turned around and grabbed Silco by the neck. Chocking him slowly. But Silco didn’t let up. He stabbed Vander again. In the stomach. Then again. And again. And again…

Until Vander’s grip losen on Silco’s neck. Silco gained his breath as Vander’s head was lowered to Silco’s shoulder. “I knew you still had it in you.” Silco said as he pushed Vander down the catwalk. Into the flames below. “Find the girl. Kill. Her.” He ordered to his weakened Shimmer monster.

Vander wasn’t still dead. Hearing those words. Vi is still alive… he can’t let her down. So he used all his remaining strength to grab a vial of Shimmer from the crates beside him….

Deckard lifted the metal door off Vi as it growled. It raised its fist to finish off Vi until—

Vander, now empowered by Shimmer and twice the size of Deckard grabbed him and pulled him, the lifting him towards the doorway. And, he growled as he cracked Deckard’s neck. He then saw Vi as she tried to crawl back out of fear. Vander… is a monster.

Vander pulled back as he held his head. His was near Death’s door and was struggling to control himself. He roared out and looked at Silco who backed away into the smoke.

“SILCO!!” Vander roared out. He was about to chase him until he noticed Vi surrounded by flames. And he needed to make a decision.

Go after Silco. Or save Vi.

He decided to save Vi. Always. He picked her up and run through the whole of the wall as the whole building fell on itself. Vander using himself to soften the landing for Vi.

VIOLET:
Vi woke up from the fall, she got ontop of Vander who’s breathing where slowing down. Rapidly. “Vander. Vander…”

Vi cupped his cheek as he slowly turned to face her.

“Take care of Powder.” And those… were Vander’s last words. No ‘I love you’ or anything like that. Just… making her the protector of the last family member she’s got.

This was the second father Vi lost. She saw his life fade out and she just…

“NOOOOO!” She screamed out on top of her lungs. She didn’t care if she was internally wounded or anything like that. She just lost her father. She slowly got up with her eyes closed and her right hand holding her broken left one.

“Vi, it worked.” Powder said happily behind her older sister as she held on the bunny plushie.

“What?” Vi said as she slowly turned to look at Powder.

“Did you see me? My monkey bomb finally worked!” Powder said again. She was happy.

“You… did this…?”

Powder noticed Vi’s tone. She then looked behind her and saw Vander’s corpse laying behind her. And she put two and two together. Vi’s tone. Vander’s corpse. Mylo and Claggor missing… she…

“Why? Why did you do this?”

“I… I didn’t… was saving you…” Powder said, he tone now lower as she hold the bunny tighter. She noticed Claggor’s bloodied and shattered goggles. “I only wanted to help. I only wanted to help. I only wanted to help. I only wanted to—“

“I told you to stay away. I TOLD YOU TO STAY WAY!” And Vi lost it. She slapped Powder hard enough that she fell onto the floor.

Powder held her cheek. “No… WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!”

Vi immediately grabbed her little sister by the chin harshly. “BECAUSE YOU’RE A JINX! Do you hear me? MYLO WAS RIGHT.”

“No. No. No. No. Violet, please.” Powder cried out, blood running down her nose.

Vi noticed the blood and that made her snap out of her anger. She let go of Powder and looked at her hand. She slowly stood up and walked away. To Powder it was abandonment. To Vi? She needed to cool down. A moment alone. To think.

“VIOLENT, PLEASE.” Powder cried out. “Vi! Vi, come back! Please come back!”

The last thing Powder saw was Vi walking into a dark alley. “Violet. VIOLET. PLEASE.”

Then, he approached. Silco walked into the wailing Powder. He clenched the same knife that he used on Vander. Gods, he hated Vander so much he wants his legacy to be ruined. Including his kids.

He knelt down and put his knife behind his back to make himself see innocent to the poor little girl. Form the shadows, Vi saw this, she was about to run back for her but before she could even take one step she was knocked out by an enforcer and drafting the darkness.

“Hello, little girl. Where is your sister?”

Powder didn’t respond right away. She was alone. She needed someone. And that someone was this man. She tackled him onto the ground and hugged him.

“She left me. She’s not my sister anymore.” Powder said. Her tone being a mix of sadness, anger, bitterness.

Hearing those words… Silco looked down at her as she still buried her face into his chest. He didn’t saw the second daughter of Felicia. But also the night when Vander betrayed him. He saw himself in her. So, to everyone’s surprise. He hugged her.

“It’s okay. We’ll show them. We’ll show them all.”

This was the night when Powder died and Jinx was born.

“I can hear the sound
Of a heartbeat
Before it goes out
Won’t ever leave my memory
Of bloodshed all around
I can see a tear of my father’ face
Before it falls out
Oh my enemy,
How could I have ever let you down?”

Chapter Text

FIVE YEARS LATER…

THE RABBIT:
The great museum of Piltover held almost ever single artifacts from all over Runeterre. Demacia, Noxus, Shurima, Tragon. Bilgewater, Ionia, Ixtal, and surprisingly Frejlord and the Shadow Isles. Some say most items and artifacts they have are cursed with immaculate powers. And currently a group of enforcers we’re talking as they had the night shift.

“Hey, what are you thoughts of the upcoming Hexgates?” An enforcer asked to his fellow companions.

“The Hexgates? That giant ass tower that Talis kid and his assistant are building? Hope it works. The budget from what I heard is insane.”

“You know, for being called ‘The Hexgates’ I was expecting, oh, I don’t know. Gates? And not a giant ass tower that reach a thousand feet off the ground.”

“Ooh. Someone’s scared of heights.”

“Shut up.”

They all laughed. It was a normal and boring night. Until…

“Well, this is awkward.” A figure in the shadows said. The enforcers immediately pointed their rifles at the direction. They know it isn’t another enforcer and the museum is closed. “I didd’t realize the job had such a specific dress code. And here I came in my Easter best.”

He walked out from the shadows as it was a 6’5 White Rabbit in a suit and held a necklace that had blue crystal for pendant. His eyes glowing orange as he had a grin from ear to ear.

“A Vastaya?” An enforcer asked as they all kept their aim on the rabbit.

“It isn’t. There’s no Vastaya bunnies.” another responded. “I think.”

“I don’t care if he’s a Vastaya or not. You’re clearly trespassing Museum property. You can come back early in the morning.” Another enforcer said to the rabbit as he pointed his pistol at him.

The rabbit raised his hands in mock surrender as he walked pass them. “Oh. There’s no need for that. Plities. The great City of Progress of your species. Anything that doesn’t fit your narrow understanding, you arrest, exile, or lock up in Stillwater without hesitation. The main example being the poor trenchers in the undercity.”

He chuckled wryly. “And look where it’s gotten you. Four so-called Piltover’s finest guarding up common objects that is worth a mere 2.5 million, when there’s something right in front of you that is beyond earthly values.”

The rabbit said as he was standing in front of a sword that was encased in a window box. He pressed his paw into the glass. He added a bit of pressure then shattered the glass with ease. And pulled out the sword. It had a guard that takes a "W" shape, vaguely resembling to horns, a spiral handle that leads to four skulls on the pommel with a spike at the top. He lifted it up in the air.

“The Force Edge. Sword of the demon knight Sparda. Ironic, isn’t it? That such a minor city would house the most powerful weapon of Hell? Then again, Hell, as you call it, has always been the true heart of existence itself. You can curb the worst of your savageries only through collective fear and hatred of another world. My world.”

“You talk a lot for a rabbit.” An enforcer with his gun approach the rabbit. Thinking this is some Zaunite cosplaying as a rabbit considering his words. “Put the sword back, and we won’t be harsh on your filthy trencher ass.”

The rabbit simple responded by decapitating the enforcer with a clean swoop. The other three enforcers opened fire at the rabbit who used Force Edge to deflect the pitiful bullets with ease. He lunged at an enforcer, smacking the enforcer towards a pillar, breaking his back and bones nearby. He deflected more rifle fire and it seemed he teleported as he was behind the third enforcer, cutting him in half by the waist.

More enforcers came as the silent alarm was set off the second the rabbit broke the glass. They noticed the massacre that the rabbit just made.

“Here we stand together on the threshold of a new age, the age of the Spirits. This world is about to become much, much larger. Well, it for you.” The rabbit said as he made a magic summon that immediately blew up the museum. The remaining enforcers ran away. All while the Rabbit stood admit the chaos. With a dark grin.

DANTE:
Zaun was relative quiet to an extent. People still walked on the streets. A mother and her child strolled by. A man bumped against her, making her drop her gas mask as she was one of the few people who weren’t strong enough to breath the air of the undercity, but wasn’t rich enough to get out of it. Especially as a single mother. She quickly picked up her mask, she was about to push her child’s stroller until she noticed her child’s toy rolling off into an alleyway. She sighed and pinched her nose’s bridge.

“Why now, Ellie? You always pick the worst possible time, don’t you? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you did this on purpose. Just like your old man.”

The mother picked up the toy but immediately froze as three shadows passed by her. And then…

HE heard her cries.

The woman was helped by the throat by one of the tree shadow demons. Using bones to touch reality.

“Please, take me. Don’t hurt my daughter.” The woman strained out by the boney grip on her throat.

“What daughter?” The demon holding her taunted her. The it was shot in its side.

The three demons looked behind where the gunshot came from. And in the shadows he spoke.

“Hey, look! The Three Stooges came out to play.” Dante said as he began shooting at the three demons. He pulled out his second pistols and benga to dual wield as two of the demons attack him.

The way he was shooting, it was like a rhythm. A beat of sorts. He got between the two demons. Shooting repeatedly one on the mouth, killing it, then the other in the abdomen, killing it as well. With relative ease. The last demon attacked with tentacles of bones which Dante dodge all of them, running up up a wall, jumping from it and getting the perfect angle.

“JACKPOT!”

Dante pulled the trigger. A bullet engraved with “JACKPOT!’ Shot and killed the demon right into the skull. The woman was freed and coughed from the tight grip. She looked up at Dante.

Dante, now eighteen, his mid-length white hair and blue eyes, flowed and shine through the night. He now wore an red long coat from Noxus with a chest strap from his holsters, black trousers and boots with buckles and steel toes from the undercity, dark red fingerless gloves and a white tunic from Demacia, along side a tattoo that is Bilgewater’s region sigil itself right on his cheek. And his necklace, the red crystal pendant glowed from the moonlight. His sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off bud built forearms and he even has a black strap as a makeshift bracelet.

“Eh, the way this usually goes is, I do that the drop a killer one-liner. But I’m drawing a complete blank now.” Dante said as he held his chin. Thinking for his one-liner. “This never happens to me, I swear.”

He snapped his fingers. “Okay, wait. I got one.” He pulled out his pistol from his holster, aiming at the bones. “Pretend I just shot that guy. Bang! Man, this is why you should always drink milk kids.”

He twirled his gun and closed his eyes to look cool. But DAMN, THAT ONE-LINER WAS BUNS.

“Not my best work, but you get it.”

The woman sighed wearily as Dante helped her stand up. “Um, I don’t know how to thank you. You saved our lives. That is why you’re here, right? To save lives?”

Dante thought about that for a moment. “More or less. There have been other attacks in the area. My client hired me to look into it.”

“Your client?” She repeated. “What kind of work do you do, exactly?”

“Demon hunting. Well, SUPERNATURAL hunting to be exact.” Dante said. He doesn’t just hunts demons. He hunts evil mages, wild beasts, demons, anything like that.

Unaware to him and the woman the baby tried to reach for Dante. With blue tentacles.

“Wait, you’re telling me they were actually…”

“What, those guys? Those are just low-level demons. Nothing to worry about.” Dante said casually as he felt something. He looked over his shoulder to see nothing wrong. He walked up and saw the baby on the stroller just cooing. Nothing supernatural about it. “Cute kid.”

“We really should be getting home now.” The woman said as she began to pick up her belongings. “Shouldn’t we, Ellie? Say goodbye to the nice young man.”

Such a cute kid, she was sputtering and OH MY GOD, ITS A DEMON AND it wrapped its arms around Dante’s necklace. He hates tentacles. And now they’re on a tug of war for it. All while the woman was picking up her belongings. Dante freed himself and pulled out his gun. And the woman immediately noticed this and the demon went back to being a baby. A cute kid. Making Dante look bad.

“STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THAT’S ‘MY BABY!”

“No, it’s not—“ he got hit by her purse. Which hurt. What was in it? A FUCKING WARHAMMER? Dante noticed her making a run for it out of the alley as he chased after them only for him to lose them in the crowd.

“Damn it. Welp. Not my problem now.”

HEIMERDINGER:
Heimerdinger was looking out of a window, seeing the construction of the Hexgates. But he had a somber look as the news of last night’s museum attack was heard. He didn’t like this. Mel and Elora came in.

“Professor,” Mel began. “I suppose you heard what happened last night.”

“I did.” Heimerdinger responded. “I just… don’t know who could’ve done such a thing.”

“Mm. Elora.” Mel ordered.

Elora nodded and looked at her clipboard with the reports of last night. “It say that the only item stolen was The Force Edge. And that the robber used it to wipe out multiple enforcer is such… horrific ways.”

“Oh, dear…” Heimerdinger muttered.

“Is something wrong, Professor?” Mel asked.

“The Force Edge is an old sword that is beyond my time. I fear whoever has it is willing to say it to the highest bitter. That’s the only thing I thought I could theorize. But if this thief is a swordsman…” Heimerdinger shook his head slowly, his ears lowered.

Mel looked down at Heimerdinger. “The new Sheriff is already on the case. He’ll take care of it. And soon we’ll find this thief and bring them to justice.”

“I sure hope so, my dear.” Heimerdinger said.

SILCO:
Marcus, now the new Sheriff for Piltover stomped his way into Silco’s office at The Last Drop. The place where Silco took over when he killed Vander and took over the Lanes as a whole thanks to his Shimmer empire.

“Sheriff,” Silco greeted as he looked up from his papers, “what can I do for you?”

Marcus tossed him a folder containing of the last nights attack. “Zaun is the only place that would’ve done this sort of attack in Piltover. And I know it was that lunatic girls of yours—“

“No. It’s not.” Silco said calmly yet immediately. “She hasn’t been topside since her last job. That was a week ago.”

Silco picked up a black and white picture of the rabbit. “Hmm. A rabbit?”

Marcus snorted. “The people believe it’s one of yours. The way he moved? Like one of your Shimmer addicts do. He’s a Vastaya. The undercity is filled with them. He took a sword and used it to kill men like they made of paper. I suggest you to find him and bring him and the sword to Piltover. If not, Piltover will send enforcers. Especially now that the Hexgates are nearly finished.”

With that, Marcus left Silco. Silco looked at another picture, the one saying “IF YOU WANT TO CATCH THE RABBIT FIND THE HUNTER” in blood.

“There’s only one person who gives jobs to hunters here…” Silco muttered to himself.

DANTE:
In a diner, a waitress was making Dante’s special. The strawberry sundae. She heard the bell chime as she looked behind her and saw Dante coming in.

“Right on time. You usual’s waiting on the bar.” She said as she set down the sundae and a napkin.

“Thanks. I needed it today.” Dante said as he sat down. Picked up the sundae and began to eat it like no tomorrow. But then he noticed the napkin.

He picked it up as it was written down. It said “MEET ME AFTER MY SHIFT” with her lipstick mark besides it. He looked over his shoulder as the waitress was helping another customer, she looked over at Dante and blew him a kiss.

Dante looked down at the napkin and shurg, wiping his sundae stained lips against it. He loved women. But… he likes them that they have guns and are dangerous. Enough that they can probably kill him. It was clam until he felt a presence. Same kind of presence he feels with mages, beasts or demons.

He slew down time chugging his sundae down then began to save everyone. Tossing them over the counter as he saw an oil tank being threw up against the window. Towards them.

BOOM!

The diner blew up, the impact was engulfed by flames. Dante pushed back some debris and looked back at the waitress.

“Get them out of here. Go.” And so the waitress took the customers out the back door. Dante looked at the flames as his breath labored for a moment. He remembered that night. And it didn’t helped that today’s the tenth anniversary of that night. Then—

He gagged a bit and held his stomach. “Okay… never go super fast after eating… lesson learned, D.”

Dante said to himself as he turned to leave but then he heard him…

“Dante. Leaving so soon?” A man behind the flames said, making Dante’s eyes go wide. “We have so much to catch on, baby brother.”

Dante turned to look back at saw him. “No. You’re…” and from the flames… Vergil appeared.

“…dead.”

“Oh, I’m here…” Vergil said as he lifted his hand up, his fingers pointing at Dante. “In the flesh!”

His fingers turned to tentacles and shot out towards Dante who snapped out of his small episode.

Dante dodge the tentacles, pulling out his pistols and shooing at Vergil in both shoulders and the head. He leaned back down only for him to morph into the same shapeshifter as last night. Plasma. Dante crossed over his dual pistols and began to spray at Plasma who turned into a slob and slithered away from him into a vent.

“Oh. You’re that shapeshifting baby from earlier.” Dante said calmly. He aimed down onto the floor, shooting it in a circular motion as he fell down onto the basement of the diner.

Dante was on guard as he began to shesrch for Plasma. It snuck its way behind Dante, forming its hand into an axe and raising it high in the air. Dante turned and saw it and he…

ENZO:
In one of the many chem-barons nightclubs, Sevika and a few of Silco’s goons entered the place, she grabbed a blonde, midget’s shoulder. “Hi, Enzo.”

She simple said as she headbutted him. Knocking him out.

When Enzo woke up, he was chained up to a chair. And was greeted by a blade as he pulled away.

“Before we start, you should know I’ll tell you anything you ask me about any subject.” The blade was pulled away. “Now, let’s talk compensation.” The blade was brought back in. “OKAY. Ugh, I’ll do it for free. You guys should really know how to negotiate properly.”

“Tell us about the White Rabbit.” Silco finally said as he stepped into the room. Looking down at the fat midget.

Enzo chuckled at that. “That’s what this is about? Yeah, I know who you mean. He showed up in my office with a job that needed expediting.”

“And that didn’t seem strange to you? A six-foot talking rabbit?” Silco questioned.

“Hah!” Enzo laughed at that. Did Silco forgot the world they live in? “You talking if a six-foot talking rabbit was strange to me? In a world that we have dragons, sea monsters, gods, mages. And that’s what you’re questioning me on? Some a-holes making noise over on the west side that he wanted clipped. Calling too much attention to themselves and whatnot.”

“Why? Why did it matter to him?” Silco asked.

“You know, I saw the price he was offering and I must have forgot to ask. One thing t ah struck be about him though, he had a particular hunter he wanted me to hire. Wouldn’t take anyone else.” Enzo said.

“Who?”

“Kid named Dante. Ah, sweet kid. Bit of a troubled past, though. You know how it is. Dad not around. Mom and twin brother brutally murdered by mages. You know, that sort of thing.” Enzo said, his tone a bit of somber as he felt bad for Dante.

Singed was there looking at notes as he was forcefully pulled into all this by Silco as he wants everyone working on this double time. “Listen. This, uh, White Rabbit told you to find the hunter. It’ll stand to reason it’s the same hunter that the rabbit personally requested.”

Singed pulled out a file of Enzo’s specifically of Dante. “Dante. Last name unknown. It looks like he also works as a standard hired gun. Uh. And if half of what I’m reading here is true, his capabilities are extraordinary.”

“Mm.” Silco hummed in annoyance as he pulled out a cigar, lighting it up and taking a puff. “What else do we have on him? Anything that explains the rabbit’s interests?”

“Hmm. Uh, he’s recorded going AWOL from five separate jobs.”

“Why?”

“It just says, uh… ‘Got bored’?”

DANTE:
Dante was flipping and cartwheeling Plasma’s axe attacks with a grin.

“Hand over the amulet!” The shapeshifter demanded.

But Dante didn’t let up. He weaved three axe attacks. Ducked, flipped, dive, cartwheeled while shooting. The back flipped once more. “WO-HOO!”

Dante was enjoying this and he shot at the shapeshifter. “Dressing up as my dead big brother, a little bit much. Personally, I would have been stuck with a creepy baby. IT WAS WORKING FOR YOU!”

He crossed his gun once again and began to spray all over. Plasma slithered around, making Dante shoot at a fire extinguisher. It used this for its advantage as it tackled and pinned Dante towards the wall. Grabbing both Dante’s wrist, it’s tongue extended out and snatched Dante’s necklace. Dante didn’t like that.

Dante freed himself and punched the demon across the jaw, hard enough to send it flying towards a wall, he caught his necklace and put it back on. He then approached Plasma, who was now a pile of goo. “You’ve been trying really hard to steal my necklace. Why is that?”

“The irony that I’m the shapeshifter, and you’re the one who doesn’t know what you are.” Plasma gagged out.

Dante raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

Plasma didn’t respond. He just expanded out, it looked like he was about to blow up, Dante tried to shoot it at him but his pistols didn’t respond. Then, Plasms shifted into a bat and flew away. Leaving Dante alone. Dante looked at his guns, the triggers and grips were completely obliterated.

“Every time. WHERE THE HELL IS THE EXIT?”

ENZO:
“I heard a rumor once about spirits who were too powerful to cross over, so they learned how to project their consciousness into our world and possess stuff, poltergeist-style. You ask me, that’s what this White Rabbit is. A possessed kid’s toy. Now, from what I sensed, he’s way more than just a regular hell dweller.” Enzo said. Both Silco and Sevika had the same expression. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS MEAT HEAD TALKING ABOUT?!

“I didn’t ask.” Silco finally said.

“Look, look, that’s all I know. If you’re after his location, I can’t help. I only saw him one time.”

Silco took a deep breath as he rubbed his temple. “The Sword of Sparda. What do you know of it?”

“Sparda? Ha, boy, that takes me back. All I know is the old story. Sparda was an ancient demon, back in the day when both the spirit and physical realms were still joined, who sided—“

“Who sided with the physical realm to fight his own kind, the champion of Hell, until he turned against its king and killed him for good. I know this story. What does the sword have to do with it, though?” Silco said. Done with Enzo’s yapping.

“I’m getting to it! So, being such a swell guy, Sparda took it on himself to protect humanity by casting a spell, creating a wall between the realms, so to speak. It was the power of his sword, apparently, that let him do it, with the help of a magical amulet. Which he splits in two pieces to make it harder to find. Ugh, smells like some Ionian folktale to me.”

Singed looked at a picture of the Force Edge and finally spoke up. “That’s it. Of course. Look… look at this sword here. You see that empty slot in the hilt? Though it was meant to hold something?”

Silco hummed as he looked at the rabbit’s picture and noticed the blue crystal on the necklace. It looked like a half of the same shape at the slot. “This…”

He looked at Dante’s necklace and saw how it matched Dante’s. Both halves of the amulet. “He wants Dante’s.”

Silco simple said.

The other half of the key to open a rift between the two worlds is—

DANTE:
—Dancing?

Dante had a white fedora hat, a pizza on his mouth, and a can of beer, he didn’t care if he’s was underage for drinking. He needed to pass the anniversary of that faithful night somehow.

“Lonely, lonely,
I guess I’m lonely
Something, something!”

Dante was signing a song from his radio, the can of beer as a microphone in his hideout. But it got ruined as an ad stopped it. Making him groan and fall onto the floor. And he drifted off to sleep.

Dante needed to do something. Anything. Didn’t matter if it was mess up, to just keep himself busy of thinking that night. Unaware what’s coming to him…

SILCO:
The chem-baron meeting room was filled to the brim with mercenaries around Zaun. All armed to the teeth.

“Hell a lot of guns for one guy.” One of the mercs said as he was cleaning his pistol.

“Yeah, with odds like these, you might actually win a fight.” Another merc said with a chuckle.

“Huh. Okay.” The merc tossed a bullet case at the other merc that made fun of him.

They both stand up and and began to fight each other but other mercs held them back. If they want FIFTY mercenaries for one guy, it’s a big deal. But they stop as the door was opened. Silco and Sevika walked into the room. And all the mercenaries knew who he was, they stopped and looked at Silco.

“Is that…”

“The eye of fucking Zaun.”

Silco walked up to the center of the room as all the mercenaries sat down. “Since there’s no need for introductions, I’ll shall get right into it.”

He snapped his fingers as the room went dark, then a projector lit up to show info about the job. Showing the second half of the amulet. In the from of Dante’s necklace.

“This, gentlemen, is your primary objective. An item of critical importance to the Nation of Zaun. We’ve tracked the amulet to this location.”

The projector hit the next slide. Showing Dante’s hideout, an old penthouse complex on the west side of Zaun.

“You’ll find it around the neck of its current owner, a man I’ve considered a top-level threat. He is extremely volatile, and prodigiously gifted in combat. Engage him with the full blunt of your firepower.”

A merc who was sitting down with his arms crossed spit and asked. “This super son of a bitch got a name?”

“His name… is Dante.” Silco simple said as the next slide showed pictures of Dante in black and white.

Then one by one, each mercenary began to laugh. A white haired-eighteen year old boy is their target? Really?

“That’s the guy we supposed to be worried about?”
“What’s he gonna do? Get white hair dye on us?”

“Laugh while you can.” A mercenary finally spoke up. He was the biggest one in the room. “You won’t be much longer. I met Dante once. Worked with him on a protection job. I’ve dealt with killers and roughnecks of every grade, but this guy, he’s something else. The way he moved, the hits he took. I’d be dead now if it wasn’t for him. And you’ll all be dead soon enough if you go after him.”

He finally stood up with a grunt. “Ain’t no amount of money you could offer that’d be worth—“

“Five hundred thousand.” Silco simple said. Getting all the mercenaries’ attention. “The bounty is five hundred thousand for whoever brings in Dante with the amulet. And a bonus if he’s alive for questioning.”

That made the giant merc sit back down. “Well, shit, alright. Let’s go get him, then.”

The next slide of the projector showed Enzo. “We’ll use one of Dante’s friends to keep him distracted as you move in.”

“So if we’re doing all the work, why’d you bring the blue haired crazy girl here?” A mercenary finally asked as he pointed at a certain blue haired girl in the shadows.

“She will be in the field overseeing the operation. You’ll deliver the package to her.” Silco simple said as he snapped his fingers, the projector is turned off and the lights come back. “That’s all.”

And with that, all the mercenaries leave. Silco walked up to the blue haired girl who was in the shadows. “You may come out now from the shadows.”

And she did. She wore a blue under shirt, over it she wore a dark brown leather crop top with a piece of thin off-white cloth running through four eyelets to form an X in the center of her chest. She wears a high waist light brown pants, a pair of arm warmers, one black and the other black on the upper half, while the lower half is pink/purple Additionally, she has a studded belt of three individual sections: the one around her waist, the two that loop from the back to connect to the belt on the right side, and the hem of her pants on the left. And two braided that run down to her knees. Some blue cloud tattoos can be noticed on her right arm. The braids are decorated with bullet casings in both silver and gold and engraved with her drawings, and has a widow's peak and a few short strands of hair hanging loosely around her face. He loosen-up combat boots clicked against the floor.

Jinx

The once small little Powder became the combined warmth, psychosis, and sadism in a deeply unstable mix Jinx. Silco’s greatest weapon. If he needs someone killed? Jinx. He needs someone to protect the Shimmer cargo? Jinx.

“Do you really believe I can’t take on this… Dante alone?” Jinx asked as she held one of her braids.

“No, if what the info we’ve gotten from his ally is true. We’ll need to use these mercenaries to tire him out. For you to take the amulet. Remember what I thought you, Jinx. Be what—“

“‘Be what they fear, Jinx.’ Yeah, yeah. I know. I know.”

She said in an annoyance tone as she’s been through this talk with Silco a hundred time by now. She looked at the picture of Dante and he looked oddly familiar to someone she used to know. But it can’t be him.

DANTE:
It was nighttime, Enzo entered Dante’s hideout of the abandoned penthouse. It was dirty. Pizza boxes, bottles and cans of beer and alcohol, and bags of trash food. It’s a miracle Dante is feet with the kind of junk he throws down into his mouth.

“Dante? You here? Hey, Dante! It’s your buddy, Enzo!” Enzo called out as he was in the middle of the room but no response. He sighed and turned back to the door. “Ah, nobody’s—WHOA!”

He was met with a pistol’s barrel, falling down into his ass on the floor. “Dante, you are here! Thank Janna. I… I was worried I missed you.”

“Hey, Enzo. How’ve you been?” Dante dimpled asked with a small smirk.

“Ah, I could do better, to tell you the truth. Like if you didn’t have a… a barrel pressed to my temple right now.”

“Wished I could help you out there. I do have a funny story for you, though.” Dante said as he rubbed his chin, remembering what happened yesterday. “You’re gonna love this. So, my last job, the one you gave me, it turned out to be a set up so a shapeshifting demon baby could try to steal my necklace.”

Dante squat down to be on Enzo’s level, his gun pressed it against the midget’s chin. “Crazy, right?”

Enzo laughed awkwardly, totally not scared shitless right now at the gun. “That’s the craziest thing I heard. It wasn’t my fault, Dante. Honest. Don’t blame poor old Enzo. I’m just a middleman. A nobody. It was the guy who gave me the job, the White Rabbit. He’s the one who set the whole thing thing up. Sex he comes into my office, talking smoothly, and I got mesmerized!”

As Enzo yapped to Dante, the mercenaries prepared to attack. One team from the window, one from the side, and one straight to the door.

“So you’re saying you only sent me into a trap because a demon that looks like a giant rabbit tricked you into doing it?” Dante said, trying to get things straight.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Enzo said, sweat on his brow from all this.

After a moment…

“Alright, that checks out.” Dante said simple as he stood up straight. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you the second half of your fee. Just ‘cause the job was fake don’t mean you don’t get paid, right?” Enzo said as he set down the briefcase he was holding the whole time onto the counter. Opening it up and looking at the shiny golden coins. “Pure shiny Pilite gold. And all you had to do was fight a baby for it.”

“And my own brother.” Dante said as he leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest and his tone contain a hint of bitterness in it. “The shapeshifter showed up again later disguised as him. Nothing like how he’d actually look now, but still, it was a good effort. And it didn’t help it was on the anniversary of that night…”

Enzo looked up at Dante. “Oh. Your brother? Talk about bring up the past, huh? Ugh. You alright, kid?”

Enzo’s tried to put a hand on Dante’s arm but Dante pulled away. Everyone who gets closed to him dies. His family… Vi, Vander, Powder… everyone… “I keep telling you. What’s my only rule? I’ll take any job that pays, especially if it involves killing mages, demons, and monsters. Just as long as I—“

“As long as you don’t have to care.” Enzo interrupted him. He knows Dante’s rule. “I know, so, you and me, we’re all good now, right? You know, I look at you like my own son. I would take a bullet for you. Well, maybe not a bullet. But definitely a blade, like a little jab. Point is, I would never set you up like that on purpose.”

“So there aren’t multiple teams of mercenaries outside, closing in around us, right now?” Dante said casually, as he was searching for something in the piles of empty pizza boxes.

“Okaayy…” Enzo chuckled awkwardly. “I set you this time, but only ‘cause they made me.”

“I know I’ve got another one of theses…” Dante muttered softly to himself. He opened a pizza box that hard roaches on it, and another pistol, this one from Ionia, so it should definitely last longer. “There it is.”

Dante picked up the gun and stood up tall. Getting ready as he checked his ammo. “Look, Dante, those guys out there are after your necklace too, and it’s Silco who is paying them. This thing goes right to the top. What say you just give the bling to me, and I’ll take it over to them, huh? No, muss, no, fuss.”

“I can’t do that, Enzo. She gave me this necklace.” Dante lifted the red crystal of the necklace. Remembering his promise he made to his mother. To protect this crystal at all cost. “It’s the last thing of hers that I have. No one is going to take it from me.”

“Fair enough.” Enzo said as he began to back up to the door. “I’ll just, uh, let you get ready for the big throwdown then, and head on…”

He heard the gun’s clock, stopping him as he sputtered.

“I didn’t say we were good, yet.” Dante said with a smirk.

The first team came in crashing through the windows…

They saw Dante sitting down on a chair, a single light shinning down on him, but his back was turned against them. As they start moving forward, one of them gets swooped up into the ceiling without even making a sound. And while that happens the squad approaches the chair slowly.

“We’re here for the amulet. Drop the gun and hand it over. I said drop the gun!”

The leader said as he made Dante turn around. Just to get bamboozled by Enzo, being tied up, gagged, wearing Dante’s coat and a wig.

“I don’t think that’s the guy.” A stupid merc said.

“Of courses it’s not the guy!”

And Dante? Dante is in the background like ‘Got them. I fucking got them.’ Dante load up his pool table shot, he smacks the white ball, which hit the others, sending all of them flying towards the mercs. And it hits everybody in his home. The leader ducked as the one behind him got hit by a ball right in the head, leaving him a with a dent as the other balls got stuck to the wall. Dante has a cocky smirk. The mercs start opening fire, but Dante over here pulled out the Trickster style and started dodging the bullets with ease. And to make things even more disrespectful, Dante pops besides them, shooting at the wall he was just at a few seconds and says:

“WHO ARE WE SHOOTING AT?”

They turned ro aim at him as he just smirked, shooting the lightbulb, making the room place go dark. They kept shooting at him but he weaves through them, grabbing his coat from Enzo, putting it on starts knocking the mercs off one by one. Even disrespecting the mess out of the last one by taking off the merc’s headband. Dodging a knife slash that made him appear behind the merc, ties the merc’s hands together with his own bandana like he getting arrested. And then kicked the merc into a wall and treats him like he in a bull fight.

“Oleeee!”

Dante turned on a lamp and walked up to Benzo, removing the gag and untying him up. “Now, we’re good.”

“Was the gag really necessary?” Enzo exclaimed. Dante just gave him a look. “Alright, I see your point. You managed not to kill any of them.”

“I had to add a little of challenge.” Dante responded as he walked up to Rebellion, picking it up and sheathed it to his back. “‘Sides, I don’t want blood on my walls and floor. Now. You wouldn’t happen to know why my family heirloom is is suddenly Zaun’s hottest fashion accessory?”

“If I had that info, I’d have tried to sell it to you the second I got here. Give me some credit!” He looked at Dante who walked towards the jukebox. “What are you doing now?”

Dante selected a disc. Then pressed the button. It didn’t work. He pressed it four times. It didn’t work. He sighed in annoyance and karate chopped it. The music finally began to play.

“I better with music.” Dante said with a smirk. He was ready.

When the next team of mercs come in, busting down the door, and Dante? This man took a while steel beam and threw it at them. Causally. Knocking down seven. In one blow. The next team came in, blowing up the wall and opening fire, so Dante moved in fast, speedbliziting them, unloading their guns and knocking them out with them. Using Rebellion’s flat side to block off bullets and spanking the mercs into comas.

JINX:
Jinx was watching Dante through her telescope across the street on a rooftop. The way he was fighting… it was making her jealous. Who the fuck does this Dante guy think he is? He comes here and becomes the talk of the city?

And the voices used that against her. “So, this is the guy? Why does the big boss want this shiny room again?”

Jinx’s flinched and looked over at her shoulder. “You wanna know why? Okay, I’ll tell you why. Sparda, the big demon knight dude from the books, the one who served as the right hand of Mundus, the demon’s big daddy. Basically the books said back when the world was still a baby, both the spirit and physical worlds were one and at a constant chaos. And Sparda saw a pretty lady and realize, wow, she a baddie, so he switched up on the spirits, fighting against Mundus, taking hundreds of demons out and even Mundus himself. But the only true way save both worlds is by separating them, he himself saying on the physical side, protecting the world from the demons that tried to take over it. Which, if that’s true, then it means this is bigger than we imagine. And the biggest question is… why this cocky, arrogant ass has the other half.”

Dante was finishing the last of the mercenaries, Jinx took a deep breath as she looked at her gear. She was ready. She jumped across the street, coming crashing into Dante’s place.

And Dante? He saw those blue eyes, blue haired, the braids. There was one person he only knew one girl with blue eye and blue braided hair, and she’s—

Dante tilted his head, dodging a hook that was aimed for his neck. He was so distracted he didn’t noticed this girl was armed.

“Hey. That was actually kinda close.” Dante said as he rubbed his neck.

“Closer than you think.” Jinx said as Dante looked down then behind him, his necklace was pinned to the wall, the hook snatched it and Jinx retracted it, grabbing the necklace before Dante could. Dante lunged at her but she pulled a bomb, hitting the ground, pink smoke glitter and her laughter was the last thing Dante heard. She was gone.

Dante looked at the glitter. There was one person who used glitter for bombs, that had blue eyes, blue braided hair. But she’s dead. And he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

“Of course the goon squad was a misdirect…” Dante muttered as he cleaned the glitter off him.

Enzo got out of his hiding place and saw Jinx leave. And he knew the kind of woman Dante chased. “No, she’s crazy. Literally.”

“I don’t care who she is. I made a promise. And I’ll keep it.” Dante said as he vaulted over the window and into the fire escape.

Enzo murmurs mockingly at Dante’s words. He looked at the beaten mercenaries. “So, who here’s looking for representations?”

No answers. They’re all knocked out and into comas.

Jinx was in the rooftops, running, she looked behind her to check if he was chasing her? Nope. Then again, and Dante was already besides her, matching her speed, the only thing separating them was the machinery of the rooftop. Dante beat her as he did a quick U-turn, pulling out both his pistols and crossing them sober each other.

“Hey, Bluebell.” Dante said casually.

Bluebell? Wait, the white hair, the blue eyes? That smirk, the same nickname he called her… no, it’s not him. He’s dead.

Jinx pulled out her pistols as well as they got in a small gun shootout, Dante shot her by the arm, the bullet barley grazing it. She shot him in the shoulder, as soon as the bullet made the impact it blew up. Making him go temporarily deaf on his right ear.

“Ow. What’s in that thing?” He whined as he held his arm, the shoulder under his coat began to heal rapidly.

Jinx kept a gun trained at him. Walking up to him. “I watched you fighting and wandered, ‘What the fuck kind of freak could toss professionally trained killers like that?’”

“A really, really awesome one?” Dante said smugly, letting go of his shoulder as it was fully healed now.

“Or not a person at all. That was an explosive round I hit you with. And you just walked it off like a kid robbing candy from a baby. Which means,” he hand slowly went up to his chest, “no matter how good you might be at hiding it, you’re a mage.”

She grabbed his white tunic and ripped it off with ease. She was expecting to see runes on his skin that enhances his body. Only to find… none. Just pure muscle. And she gasped. The guy’s ripped. And muscular guys are rare in Zaun.

“Ripped an irresistible dreamboat, I know. You still can’t tear this guy’s clothes off.” Dante said smugly, with a damn smirk on his face.

“You’re-You’re not a mage…but the way you move. I’ve read it was possible. I never thought I’d see one, though. You’re a hybrid. Part human. Part… demon.” Jinx said. It sounded crazy. Yet again, she is crazy.

“Wait. You think I’m part demon?” Dante said, that theory was just pure absurd and bullshit.

“You are. And I—“

Dante laughed at her, interrupting her. And cut down her gun with Rebellion in a second.

“Don’t make me laugh.” He simple said.

Jinx immediately turned and ran once more. Dante hot on her trail. She jumped over and began to slide down a pipe, pulling out her spare pistol and began to shoot at him Dante. He was already on the wall across her, wall running. He shot the pipe, making her fall down, but Dante caught her.

As the dust settled, Dante had both of Jinx’s wrists in his single hand, lifting her up by a foot as there was a foot in their height difference. He walked with her over to a wall, pinning her there.

“Seriously? Part demon? If you knew how many of those I’ve killed, you’d know how crazy you sound.” Dante said, still gripping on her wrists with ease.

“I’ve been called crazy a few times.” Jinx said calmly. Totally not bothered by being held up like this. “Besides, the story always say that demons kill their own kind all the time. Death and destruction is the core of nature.”

Dante narrowed his eyes at that. “Trust me, Blue, I know all about demon’s nature. I’m not one of them.”

“Oh, really? How else can you explain what you’re capable of? All that unholy strength but zero intelligence. No strategy.”

That annoyed Dante. He is smart. He just likes to play dumb to annoy his opponents. “I don’t know. Seems like I managed to catch you pretty easy. And since we’re getting so personal,” he reached down, by her back pocket, pulling out his necklace, “what does everyone want with my mother’s necklace?”

Oh, he doesn’t know? That’s good. “You don’t even know what this really is, do you?”

That hit a nerve. He swung her as he now had he dangle over the ledge. “I KNOW THAT ITS MINE!”

“Oh, I like that possessiveness. All yours, Hellblood.” Jinx bought both of her boots, kicking herself off him, grabbing the necklace and throwing a chomper at him, jumping off the ledge and landing onto the ground floor.

The chomper blew up in front of Dante. Once the smoke settled, the remaining of his tunic was completely gone. But he had a grin as he saw Jinx run into an alleyway. He chased after her. He found a door slightly open. He dropkicked it to open it fully.

“JACKPOT!” It was empty. “Oh.”

And before he could turn, he felt a sting on his neck. He turned to look back as he saw Jinx with a syringe in her hand as he dropped to the floor. His body going limp.

“You’re an interesting person, mister.”

That was the last thing Jinx said before Dante went completely unconscious.

DANTE:
When Dante woke up, he was in a chair, chained to to, and Enzo was beside him. Back to back to be exact. Signed as inspecting Dante’s half of the amulet. And she was in a workbench, working on fixing up her damage gun Dante cut last night.

“Yo, Blue! Not to be a bratty prisoner, but I’m pretty sure this is considered active kidnapping in every single region in the world.”

“We’re the criminals. Is what we do.” Jinx said as she didn’t bat an eye to him. Just working on fixing her gun.

Dante sighed and looked back at Enzo. “This has got to be the second-worst job you ever gave me.”

“Oh, you mean after The Great City of Demacia job?” Enzo said with a smirk, knowing what happened there.

Dante took a moment to think. “Third worst.”

Enzo chuckled. “Still thinking about that blondie?”

“No comment.”

After a while, Dante began to strain, trying to break free but they chain him up with thick chains, the mind ships use to anchor themselves. He looked at the locker, then at the buckle of his boot. He glanced over at Enzo, bringing his foot over to Enzo as well.

“I’ve been in though spots like this before. The trick is not to BUCKLE under the pressure.”

“What? Just give it up, Dante. It’s over!” Enzo whispered back.

Dante hit his boot against Enzo’s chair. “Sure they have their BOOTS on our necks, but we need to BUCKLE down, and think positive.”

And of course, Enzo didn’t understand what Dante meant. So Dante headbutted Enzo to look down at his boot’s buckle.

As Jinx and Singed were completely busy, Enzo reached down and pulled Dante’s booth buckled due to him being a midget and having been tied up with a rope.

Silco, Sevika and a few of his thugs entered the warehouse.

“Jinx.” Silco began as he looked at her. “You’ve down well, there’s no one else I could count on.”

That made Jinx blush a bit. Proud she could done good work to someone who took scare of her. But it was ruined by Silco’s next words: “I’d like to talk with our prisoner.”

“But—“

“I want to speak with him.” Silco interrupted her a bit harsh. “He interests me.”

Dante was working on lock picking the lock holding the chains that held him captive. But Silco’s voice stopped him.

“Dante. This is—“

“D. Just D. Dante is for those who know me well.” Dante interrupted him, then added:
“And I know you and your face… aren’t you the one who won Runeterra’s twink competition?”

“Close,” Enzo whispered. “He’s the eyes of Zaun.”

“Oh. Got it.”

Silco sneered at Dante’s words. But decided to remain calm. “Your abilities are truly remarkable. Jinx tells me you’re a mage.”

That surprised Dante. He was expecting her to say that he’s part demon. But yet again that sound crazy. “She’s wrong. Yeah, I’ve got abilities. Maybe not exactly human ones, but they’re… I don’t know, some sort of super mutations. Look, there’s no part of me that’s magic. There can’t be.”

Dante said. Because if even though he can be part demon, demon have magic. Are magical beings. And magic, that was the thing that killed his family, and being the thing that killed his family…

“You mother and your brother,” Silco said, “they were both killed by mages, is that right?”

“Yes.” Dante simple said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all have dead families and traumatic childhoods.” Jinx said as she sat down on the workbench. Rolling her eyes. But the more she looked at Dante, the more similarities he had with Tony…

Dante looked at Enzo, knowing he talked.

“What, you think I talked?” Enzo laughed for a few seconds. “Okay, I talked, but you should have seen what they did to me!”

“What about your father, Dante?” Silco pressed on. Curious on Dante. A mere eighteen year old took fifty trained mercenaries in mere seconds.

“Couldn’t tell you, I never met him.” Dante simply said.”

“I see.” Silco said as he took a deep breath. So far, it seems Dante is a mage. And a mage in Zaun’s side might be what they did to free themselves from Piltover’s oppression. “You’re definitely beyond human capabilities, that much is for certain. You were born with a special gift and you could use it to free use from the oppression of Piltover. As a citizen of Zaun yourself.”

With that, Silco turned and walked towards Singed, wanting to know more about Dante’s half of the amulet. Jinx walked over to Dante, putting her hands in her hips and looked down at him.

“I figured you out, Hellblood. Do you really think this whole jabbering moron act was going to work?”

“Uh, maybe.” Dante said with a shrug. “What act are you talking about again?”

“The one where you don’t know you’re a demon? Just happen to be walking spring with half the key to another fucking world on your neck?”

“The key to another world?” Dante chuckled at that accusation, not knowing one bit what she’s yapping about. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think you’ve all got the wrong necklace. Seriously. It’s just some old family heirloom my mom gave me.”

The. Suddenly—

BOOOM!!

The warehouse was torn apart by an explosion of pure magic. Ripping it apart, making everyone groan. Once the dust settled, Silco’s goons with Sevika were completely separated from Silco, Singed, Jinx, Dante, and Enzo.

“Jinx!” Silco barked out. Ordering her.

Jinx nodded as she holstered her guns to her hips, glancing at Dante for a moment before going outside. Dante noticed Rebellion nearby.

“What is this? Are we getting rescuers?” Enzo’s said, his tone a bit of hope.

“Can you think of anyone who’d want to rescue either one of us?” Dante asked, knowing the answer.

“We’re not getting rescued.”

Jinx was outside, her hands by her guns on her hips, the whole area was covered by dust and fire.

“So far, so clear.” She muttered to herself.

“Is it now?” A female voice was heard from the dust. A giant grass snake slithered to reveal itself, opening up to reveal a female demon. “Somehow, I truly doubt that.”

Then, two hulking demons come in leaping with swords, one blue, one red. The same shapeshifting demon came in as well. Lastly, a demonic knight with wings and a swines landed besides them.

Echidna, Agni, Rudra, Plasma, and Caveliere.

“Hey, demons! Big mistake! My boy Dante here is going to whoop all your asses!” Enzo’s called out. Hyping up Dante even though they still prisoners.

“DUDE. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Dante sputtered. “Just one second!”

Jinx ignore the two idiotic prisoners, she pulled out her pistols, aiming at the demons.

“So, you wanna die individually, or all at once?”

“End her.” Caveliere ordered. Echidna roared as she snot out vines which Jinx dodge rapidly as she does have fast reflexes.

WHITE RABBIT:
Meanwhile, Sevika and the rest of Silco’s thugs were on alert.

“A sincere ‘thank you’ to you all and the grand thugs who work for Silco for picking up the rest of MY amulet for me!” The rabbit said as he appeared from the smoke, The Force Edge humming with demonic energy.

“Janna has truly blessed Zaun!” He said, mockingly.

With a grin going from ear-to-ear, he swung The Force Edge, a wave of energy shooting out, easily taking out Sevika and the thugs. He then entered the area where Silco and Singed was, with the second half of the amulet. He dragged the Force Edge across the wall like a horror movie villain.

JINX:
The demons were playing with Jinx, and she hated it. She could handle on her own, she didn’t need their mockery of her.

Echidna shot thorns at Jinx which she dived out the way. Plasma swung its shapeshifting axe arms around her which she backed up, throwing a chomper as the demon in the head, blowing it up. She jumped out the way of Caveliere’s sword attack, shooing at the demon knight with both her guns, which he blocked with his winged shield. Echidna’s vine smacked Jinx hard enough, sending her crashing into the wall. Agni threw a wave of fire from his sword at her, Jinx rolled out the way, holding her abdomen. Rudra swung a wave of wind at her with she ducked. Both wind and fire crashed into each other. Jinx shot at Rudra which he stopped with his wind powers and redirected it, sending it to Agni’s shoulder.

“Wow! And by my own brother!” Agni said, the bullet would slowly healing.

“What? It’s not my fault you just stood there!” Rudra shot back.

“Get your shit together!” Echidna exclaimed. Slithering her way into their dumb conversation. “Why are we even toying with one mere little blue haired girl?”

“I don’t know. Looks like you enjoy playing with you food like a baby.” Plasma said as it regenerated from the explosion.

Echidna narrowed her eyes at the shapeshifter. “None of this would be necessary if you’d got the amulet when you were supposed to, shapeshifter. And your rouge attempt to fix it nearly exposed us to the hunter.”

Plasma narrowed its eye. “I’ve got a name.”

“Earn it.”

“We will watch your blood drain, girl.” Caveliere finally said. “For our leader.”

Jinx wiped her bloodied nose. “Shut up, you edgy knight.”

WHITE RABBIT:
Hello, Silco and the finest chemist in all of Runeterra. It’s an honor to finally meet you both.” The rabbit said calmly. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Hand me the amulet and save her, or let her die and I’ll rip the amulet from your cold corpse.”

He then gestured at Jinx, being thrown to the wall once more to the wall, Agni and Rudra slowly approaching her with their swords, getting ready to kill her.

Silco clenched the amulet. But he knew he couldn’t risk Jinx, she isn’t just valuable to his grand plans but also…

Silco threw the amulet at the rabbit who immediately caught it with ease. The white rabbit then merged both parts of the amulet, sending out a shockwave of arcane energy around the area which everyone felt.

“Fuck was that?” Jinx muttered.

“The amulet. He did it.” Echidna said.

Enzo was sweating seeing it as Dante was trying to free himself. Then, he finally broke through the thick chains that held him. That made the rabbit smirk.

“Whoa! I… I’m stronger than I thought.” Dante said as he ran to Rebellion. Picking up the greatsword and running towards the rabbit.

The rabbit raised his hand to charge up a magical attack at Dante, only to turn and aim at Silco. Dante saw this and immediately dashed to be infront of Silco, just as the rabbit shot an orb of magic, Dante beat the orb, using Rebellion to block out the attack. He looked back at Silco.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

“That’s my boy!” Enzo laughed as Dante is free and being badass. Only to be picked up by Caveliere.

Dante looked over and saw the rabbit in an armored truck. Clearly from stolen from Piltover.

“Ta-ta! Have to run.” The rabbit said wickedly as his demon gang entered it and drove off.

Jinx spit out some blood as she struggled to get up. She then heard the revving of an engine and looked behind her and she saw—

DANTE:
—Dante on a motorcycle.

“Ill get it back, mom. I promise.” Dante murmured himself and drove off, after the demon.

“Cut my live into pieces
This is my last resort”

The rabbit looked at the mirror and noticed Dante was after them.

“Ah. He’s here.” He looked back as his gang. “You have your orders.”

And their orders? Make Dante use his demonic powers. Dante was behind the truck as the back door was bust opened, Dante weaving out the way.

“This is my last resort”

Dante leaned back as Caveliere came in flying, swinging his sword, barely cutting some strands of Dante’s white hair. Dante sat back and noticed some strands were cut off.

“Alright, now I’m pissed.” Dante said angrily.

Agni and Rudra got up ontop of the armored truck, they swung their swords, shooting out waves of fire and wind at Dante.

“Suffocation, no breathing
Don’t give a fuck
If I cut my arm bleeding
Do you even care if I die bleeding?
Would it be wrong, would it be right
If I drool my life tonight?
Chances are that I might
Mutilation out of sight
And I’m contemplatin’ suicide”

Rudra used his wind powers to lift up a car and threw it at Dante who dived into and out of the car, landing back on the motorcycle.

“‘Cause I’m losin’ my sight
Losin’ my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I’m fine
Losin’ my sight, losin’ my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I’m fine”

Echidna shot out thorns at Dante which he moved out the way, a few of them hitting the front wheel of the motorcycle. Agni threw his flaming sword at Dante who slid under it with the motorcycle, the flaming sword coming back to Rudra.

“Nice one, bro.” He said as he combined both wind and fire swords to make a double blade sword and threw it at Dante, he caught it and twirled with it, showing off his sword master skills.

“Downward spiral, where do I begin?
It all started when I lost my mother
No love for myself
No love for another
To find a love upon a higher level”

Dante blocked more thorns that Echidna threw at him with the double blade sword. And threw it at her, making her fall off the armored truck.

“Finding nothing but
Questions and devils
‘‘Cause I’m losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I’m fine
Losing my sight, losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I’m…”

Dante jumped with the bike high up in the air, holding it with both of the handles like a giant engine bat.

“Damn, he’s cool.” Agni muttered out.

And… Dante slammed them into the wall and reved the engine, the motorcycle’s back wheel spinning and adding more pain and disrespect into the demons as they fall off.

“How’s that for road rash?” Dante quipped as he got back in the road and on the bike, chasing after the rabbit.

“Come on! Come on, come on, come on.” The rabbit said impatiently. “You can do it. I believe in you, D.”

Dante then felt a presence and weaved out the way as Caveliere came from behind. The demon knight sneered as he hovered besides Dante as they clash with their swords.

“Hey, while I’ve got you here, what’s it like being a demon?” Dante asked casually as they treaded sword attacks. “Do you have to be evil? Like, if someone was only part demon, if maybe their dad was possibly one, but their mom was a human, you think they’d get a choice, right?”

Danger cartwheeled over Caveliere’s sword swing and slammed Rebellion into his wing, sending Caveliere flying towards a wall, knocking him out.

“Thanks for the talk! You’re a great listener!” Dante commented, he got into a tunnel, still chasing the rabbit. “Asshole.”

“That’s it. Let it out.” The rabbit said as it looked out the window, Dante slowly approaching him. “LET IT OUT.”

“Suffocation, no breathing
Don’t give a fuck
If I cut my arm bleeding”

Unseated to Dante himself, as he pulled out his pistol, his arm began to show red patterns, right on the skin. Then his eyes went full red, cracking with demon energy. Unstable energy. But the motorcycle began to fail from the overload of demonic energy tang Dante was giving.

“Can’t go on
Living this way
Nothing’s all
Right”

So Dante leaped off the motorcycle, roaring as he basically dashed mid air, the rabbit’s smug face was in his sight, his finger pressed the trigger.

“JACKPOT!”

He pulled the trigger but due to to his demonic energy overflowing the gun it—

BANG!

-Backfired. The gun blew up in a red explosion. Sending Dante flying and rolling into the street.

The white rabbit stopped the truck and got out of it with a disappointed sigh. Dante was gurgling, trying to move his mingle armed that was completely blown up and that goes for the for half of his face. The right side. The rabbit walked over to him, humming jauntily, grabbing Dante by the hair.

“Mmm? It seems I still need to push you harder, Son of Sparda.”

Chapter Text

SILCO:
Silco, Jinx, Sevika and all the remaining members of Silco gang looked around the destroyed warehouse from the rabbit’s attack. Jinx was panting as she looked up at Silco.

“What now?” She asked, her voice strained.

“Now?” Silco started. “Now you go and rest, Jinx.”

“What?! No, I’m okay, I—“

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.” Silco said. This is the moment where Silco realized that there are levels to this. And nobody in Zaun can take it on.

“If Dante is still alive, I believe he’ll take care of it. But in the meantime, I’ll schedule a meeting with the chem-barons so all our people are double in patrol.”

Jinx sighed as he limped away. Not only the world’s at stake. But Dante, she’s been thinking more and more… Dante is Tony. Tony is Dante. Her childhood friend. And… gods, she needs someone. So, she’ll disobey Silco and take matters to her own hands.

DANTE:
Dante didn’t work up. But his mind went elsewhere. To a memory. Just months prior to that night…

“You have to keep this safe, always. You promise?” Evan asked as she put on Dante’s necklace that was his half of the amulet.

“I promise.” The young Dante said as he looked down at his half. A red crystal.

“Where’s mine? I want mine now.” The young Vergil whined. The fact his little brother got his half first before him… it seemed… like favoritism.

“Vergil, do you promise to take—“

“Yeah, I promise. Give it.” Vergil interrupted their mother. But he was all excited.

Eva had a soft smile as she put on Vergil’s necklace on him, the other half of the amulet. A blue crystal.

“There. Two perfect halves of a whole.” Eve said as she stood up and walked back to the kitchen. Sure, they lived in Piltover but their House was a lower House. Especially with her being a single mother of two twins who always be playing sword fighting. To an extent, they’re outcasts to Piltover.

Dante looked at his necklace then at Vergil’s. “I think mine’s bigger.”

Dante teased his older twin, but Vergil didn’t like that. “No, it’s not. Let me see.”

Vergil tried to reach for Dante’s necklace but Dante pushed him, sending him across the living room. Vergil stood up, throwing the small sofa off him with ease and charged at the younger twin. They began fighting like the two brother they are. And Eva heard the commotion, walking back to the living room.

“Okay, boys. That’s enough.” But they didn’t hear her. And she hated it. She… was a mere human, she didn’t had powers. But she was their mother. So she snapped.

“I SAID ENOUGH!”

And that stopped the boys from fighting. Yes, they may be super strong, but they still loved and respected their mother. And even afraid when she raised her voice. They’re mama’s boys after all.

Later that night, Dante couldn’t sleep. “I’m not sleepy, enough.”

“You never sleepy. Why can’t you be more like your brother?” Eva said with a smile as she gestured at Vergil who was asleep on his own bed. “Okay, what story do you want tonight?”

Dante hugged tighter his teddy bear and finally asked: “Tell me about dad. Do we get to meet him soon?”

“Alright, I’ll tell you a story about Dad. But after that you have to go to sleep.” She said with warmth, it’s clear Dante’s dad wasn’t a bad person, or really wanted to leave. It was a decision for the world’s safety. “Your dad… Your dad…”

The memory faded away, then Dante remembered what the rabbit called him.

“Son of Sparda.”

That finally made Dante wake up back to reality with a groan. “Why does my head feel like this?”

“I’d say it’s a miracle it feels like anything.” Dante knew that voice.

He turned to his right side with a wince as that’s where his face blew up. And saw Enzo.

“Enzo?”

“Hey, good news, kid. Looks like you’re still alive. The bad news is we’re prisoners. Again.” Enzo said as they’re in a blimp. Tied up with magical binds, and blimp workers were also prisoners.

To make it worse, they’re already high up in the air.

“You’re awake.” Agni said as he and Rudra came in, Agni holding Rebellion over his shoulder.

“Remind me again, which of you is the one who burns the marshmallows and who is the talking tornado?” Dante quipped.

Agni pointed Rebellion towards Dante’s neck as he had a smirk, unfazed by the demons.

“You sure you want to be insulting us right now? And he’s obliviously the talking tornado. Come on!”

Rudra nudge the other demon. “Agni, the message.”

“Right. Rabbit left a message for you.” Agni pulled out a crystal glowing with pure white glow. “Trust me. It’s a good one.”

Agni set down the crystal on the floor as a projection of the white rabbit appeared.

“Welcome aboard Piltover Skylines. We ask that you please pay attention to the message for an important safety announcement. You’re all going to die. That is, unless the son of Sparda can save you.”

“Son of a what? Huh?” Enzo looked back at Dante who had a grim face at the message of the rabbit.

JINX:
Jinx walked out of an alleyway as she reached an abandoned apartment complex in the topside of Zaun. She now had a compact mini-gun slung on her back. POW-POW.

“This is the place.” Jinx muttered as she saw the armored truck covered under a large cloth. The same one the rabbit and his demon gang used to get away. “Now, where is that white-haired guy?”

Jinx muttered as she entered a lift. She reached for the lever, she took a deep breath and pulled it as it slowly lifted her through the building. But she sat down, she was still tired from her last encounter against the demons which was about an hour by now.

“Why am I even doing this? I’m a crazy terrorist. Why do I care if the world ends? Is it because of him… if he’s Tony… he can’t be…”

Jinx talked to herself. The amount of similarities between Dante and Tony was insane. She just held her head as the lift slowly went up with her. Jinx stood up and checked her gear. Chompers? Check. Ammo? Enough to take down a small battalion of enforcers. As the lift stopped she out of it and walked into the hallway and not even ten steps a purple gas shot down at her, making her cough and gag, she went straight into the wall and took another long breath.

“Shit.” She murmured out as he continued walking.

DANTE:
“Yes, Dante, I’ve known your true origins from some time, and if you’re honest with yourself, you know it too.” The rabbit said through the projection of himself coming off the crystal.

“You must have accepted by now that you have demon blood. Would just any hybrid, the child of some common brute and a frail human, be able to do the things you can do? Why did half of the amulet that both Sparda and the witch used to end the convergence between realms end up as a piece of jewelry? The deadbeat father you never met, the mother that always worked day and night.”

Dante narrowed his eyes. So far this was getting. “Right, Sparda’s my ‘dad’ and my mother was a witch. Sure thing. Can you believe this guy?”

“Huh?” Enzo said. He was still trying to process all this.

“I could go on and on listing evidence, but really, look at you. Everything about you marks you as a child of aristocracy. You know nothing of the pain and misery in our world, what your parents doom us to with their sadistic barrier. He may have murdered a brutal tyrant, but what he didn’t realize was that a knew one was made, locked in with us in a cell, all together while they lived as heroes among the physical world. SPARDA WAS NOTHING BUT A NARCISSISTIC COWARD ANS HIS WIFE, YOUR MOTHER HELPEF HIM. You’ve done their legacy proud.” The rabbit sneered out. Only for him to take a deep breath to clam himself down.

“Damn. You gonna let him talk about your parents like that?” Enzo said to Dante. Instigating.

The rabbit chuckled wryly as he adjusted his suit. “Sorry. Got off a tangent there. The point is, the blimp you’re on is rigged with explosives, which my men will detonate momentarily. Leaving everyone plunging toward a squishy and undignified end. But not to worry, as Sparda’s son, it should be simple for you to activate your Devil Trigger and save them all. I’d bet on it.”

And with that, the projection of the rabbit disappears. The crystal turning into dust after it. Then the rest of the captives began to panic, muffling through the magical bindings that is gagging them. Then, Enzo began to chuckle.

“WOW, my good buddy and protege, the son of Sparda.”

Dante looked at Enzo as his face was almost done healing. “Come on, even if my dad might have been a demon, Sparda isn’t real. He’s their version of the boogeyman.”

“No, he’s real.” Rudra finally spoke. “So real. Take if from us who’ve been living with the fallout of his betrayal for the last two millennia.”

“Ha, see? Two millennia. You really think my dad is a demon from 200,000 years ago? How old do I look?” Dante said. He still doesn’t believe nor is buying it.

“That’s where your wrong.” Agni said. “Us demons age differently from you frail humans. So it is entirely possible that Sparda is your father.”

“Dante, I’ve always know you were part demon.” Enzo said. “Alright, I didn’t know, I suspected. I had an inkling, maybe. I just couldn’t figure how, but you being Sparda’s son explains everything. He’s the good demon. He fought for us against them. That’s what’s in your blood. You get it?”

Dante smiled at Enzo’s words. But Agni had enough.

“You heard rabbit. Either you stop us, or we blow them out of the sky.”

“It’s alright, everyone, Dante is gonna use that Devil Trigger of his to save us.” Enzo reassured the other captives. Then leaned to whisper at Dante. “What is a Devil Trigger, anyway?”

“No idea.” Dante said immediately with a shrug.

“Great. We’re gonna die.” Enzo immediately switched up.

“No. We’re not.” Dante reassured him. “I don’t need any kind of trigger to beat these two. ‘Sides, ‘Devil Trigger’ sounds… made up.”

“I wouldn’t be so cocky, boy.” Rudra said as he stepped forward, leaning close to Dante. “After all, you failed at saving your own mom and brother.”

“Oh, yeah. Rabbit knows all about what happened to them too.” Agni backed up. “How you just hid and watched them die.”

Flashes of that night appeared in Dante’s head. The closet. The fire. His mother and Vergil’s dying screams…

“I was a helpless kid when those mages attacked us.” Dante stoop up and got in front of the two demons. “I’m not one anymore.”

Dante used his own strength to break free with the magical beings holding him captive. Free from it. Both demons smiled at this.

“Well, let see if we can’t make you feel a little nostalgic.” Rudra said.

Dante sneered and charged at them.

JINX:
Jinx was in a stairwell, coughing, she leaned against the wall until she began to see things. Due from the purple gas that shot at her. She pulled away Vi walking up to her. Jinx immediately ran. She entered another hallway, pistol aiming the sight in front of her as she saw Mylo and Claggor taunting her. Blaming her for what happened on that night five years ago.

“No.”

Jinx whimpered out as she ran into a room. Closing the door but saw Echidna lunged at her, Jinx shot her, only for it to be an illusion. Vi took a step forward in the empty room, but the floor crumpled, making her fall down to the floor beneath her. She saw Cavaliere stalking his way up to her.

“This isn’t real. You’re not real.” Jinx whimpered out. Struggling to get up.

Cavaliere swung his sword down at her which she rolled out the way and she realized…

“Fuck! You’re real.” She began to shoot at the demon only for him to blow with his wings. Jinx made a run for it. Shaking her head from the illusions of her dead family. She reached for an apartment and entered it. It was small. She looked at a closet and quickly hid in it, aiming her gun at the door of the closet as she used her other hand to cover her trembling mouth, forcefully trying to stop herself from whimpering due to the pain and weariness. Cavaliere entered the apartment and looked around. After a long and intense moment he left.

Jinx waited for what felt like an eternity until she finally stepped out of the closet and curled up into a ball. Crying, ruining the mascara that she had one to hide her eyebags. The guilt and those damn illusions broke her.

DANTE:
Dante was fighting hand-to-hand against Agni and Rudra. But it didn’t helped the blimp was such a small space and Agni was shooting fire balls at Dante. He always tried to hide it but he’s claustrophobic and to an extent afraid of fire due to that night. And it didn’t help that the demons were taunting him, of his heritage. Of his trauma.

“Poor little half-breed. Gets hit one measly fireball, and turns into a whimpering baby.”

Dante sneered at that and ran up to them, about to punch them but Rudra used his wind powers to throw Dante to the side of the blimp, making it go uneven as alarms went off.

“Seems like that strength Sparda gave you won’t be much use up here.”

“As useless as the man himself. The way we heard it, he didn’t even bother showing up to protect you.”

Agni grabbed Dante by the shoulder, slamming him down as Rudra use his wind power to lift up Dante, Agni shooting a fireball at Dante. Sending him back to the end of the blimp, hitting the wall so hard blood came out of his mouth. He immediately ducked a flaming hook from Agni as both he and Rudra began to hit Dante from behind and in front.

“Look at the bright side. After watching your whole family die, watching these people die should be easy for you.”

Dante held both of Agni’s fists. But he lit them on fire and spoke mockingly. “Aw. The one time you’re fighting for something other than yourself, and this is how you do it?”

He headbutted Dante so hard it made Dante bleed from his forehead and drop to his knees. Agni walked up, pulling out Rebellion from his hip. “Rabbit was right about you. You’re just like your old man.”

And with that, Agni jammed Rebellion straight into Dante’s chest. Dante fell to the floor of the blimp, his blood pooling on the floor as he looked at one of the captives that looked like his mother. And he remembered what his mother told about his father.

“Your dad… your dad was a brave warrior. The bravest who ever lived. He fought against all the bad things so we could be free.”

And that… that was Dante’s awakening. The Rebellion was created to seal Dante’s true power. And the only way it could do that is by coming in contact with his blood. And it did. The pommel splits from one spike into several. The skull grows horns and the mouth of the skull opens up, the eyes sockets glowed red. And so did Dante’s eyes. He cried out enraged.

Just as Agni was about to pull the devil sword out of Dante’s chest, he grabbed Agni’s arm, Dante’s whole skin had patterns glowing red.

“Youre right.” Dante said hoarsely. “I AM LIKE HIM.”

Dante punched Agni, sending him crashing against Rudra, knocking them down as he pulled out the sword out of his chest, looking at his own skin. The patterns glowing have him and Enzo in awe.

“Wow. What is that?”

“I think this is the Devil Trigger.” Dante said, his voice sounded a but distorted yet human. “Also, I think I’m the son of Sparda.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Agni and Rudra stood up.

“He’s ready. Blow the charges.” Rudra told Agni.

“Yeah. Just give me a second to kill him first.” Agni said as he wasn’t about to let that disrespect slide. He snapped his fingers, summoning his flaming sword. “We could say he died in the blast.”

Agni rushed towards Dante who dodge a few swing and responded with swinging Rebellion upwards, severing Agni’s hand that held his sword, making him cry out in pain. Dante sheathed Rebellion to his back and caught Agni’s sword.

“Getting killed by your own sword…” Dante dashed in, stabbing Angi with his own sword, “that’d be embarrassing.”

Agni dropped to his knees. Dead.

“BROTHE!” Rudra cried out. He pulled out a detonator. “You killed my brother. But unlike yours, he will have vengeance.”

Rudra didn’t waste a second. He activated the detonator, blowing up the blimp which took everyone but Dante down into the air. Screaming in fear.

Dante looked down at how high they are. “Yeah, this blimp’s trashed.”

Dante took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Dante jumped down, and began skydiving. All the civilians were screaming. But somehow Enzo’s screaming was drowning out the others. Meanwhile, Dante grabbed a pieced of debris and looked at Rudra.

“Don’t think we’re finished just because you blew up the blimp!” Dante said as he threw said debris at the wind demon.

“We won’t be finished until you joined my brother, half-breed! Do me a favor. Try not to die in the fall! So I can kill myself, in case that wasn’t clear!” Rudra said he made himself into a small tornado, gliding away.

Dante looked down at how high up they were and how many civilians were and were the debris of the blimp would crash down. Right in the river between Piltover and Zaun.

“Try not to die? No problem!”

JINX:
Cavaliere was still looking for the blue-haired girl around the abandoned apartment complex. Unaware to him, Jinx snuck behind him and onto another hallway. She was about to enter a lift until she noticed Echidna’s vines crawling from the door of the lift. Just before Echidna fully exited the lift Jinx slid into the trash compactor. Echidna lunged out the lift, expecting to see Jinx only to stumble upon Cavaliere, he expression was annoyed.

“Oh. It’s just you. Any luck finding the vermin were infested with? No? Then go. See to your other mission. Plasma and I can take care of the little bitch. Well, I can.”

Caveliere just grunted as he dropped down into the shaft of the lift. Leaving Echidna alone, who slithered around the hallway.

Jinx climbed out of the trash compactor as she was in the top floor now. She was panting and smelled herself, almost gagging.

“I’m gonna need a shower.” She muttered herself as she began to walk. She stumble into a room that smelt like Shimmer, the shot down the door and entered the room, only to find it filled with vials of Shimmer. Then she remembered…

“Shimmer? Wait. There was this one guy that bought nearly five crates of Shimmer. It must’ve been that shapeshifter… gods. If they injected themselves with Shimmer… fuck… this isn’t good.”

She then stumbled upon an artificial heart, powered by Shimmer.

“I know Shimmer can power up machinery… but why a mechanical heart? What is this rabbit planning?”

DANTE:
“DANTE!” Enzo yelled as they still falling so high up in the air. “YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING!”

“Any suggestions?” Dante yelled back through the harsh noise of wind going through them at a rapid pace.

“I DON’T KNOW. MAYBE GROW WINGS OR SOMETHING, HUH?”

Dante looked around and spotted a bunch of parachutes falling down, a few dozen feet away from him. “Parachute!”

Dante twirled around and dived towards the parachutes. He began to parkour through the separated pieces of the blimp. Grabbing them and jumping, his coat fluttering gracefully.

“WHOO!”

He dived all the way down to the woman who was screaming, he grabbed her arm. “Gotcha! It’s my first time using one of these. Actually it’s my first time being in a blimp too. Don’t worry. I’m sure this will go so much better than that did.”

Dante chuckled, trying to bring some light to the fire situation. But as the more he looked at her the more he saw his mother in her. Making him become serious. “You’re going to live.”

He activated the parachute, saving her. He then dived in, quickly saving another one. But he only had one more parachute left. He used the last parachute on another but there was still more people to be saved. But… IS THAT THE ENGINE BLOCK!?

BOOM!

The burning engine block blew up right next to Dante making him fall further down. The red patterns on his skin began to blink as if it was like a heartbeat. Crimson electricity crackling around him.

JINX:
Jinx walked out of the room. Not even a few steps, she got attacked by Plasma’s sharp tentacles which Jinx ducked out the way and looked behind him, shooting off her explosive rounds at the shapeshifter, shooting its shoulder which blew up but immediately regenerated.

“You just did me a favor. Now I can bring in your corpse.” Plasma said as it shoot out its tentacles like punches which Jinx barely moved out the way. Eventually she got stabbed in the shoulder and punched across the jaw that it sent her flying to the stairway. Echidna saw this and began to slither her way up to the top floor. Plasma grabbed Jinx’s leg and threw her back into the room filled with shimmer, breaking the wall.

She struggled to get up as she was bleeding from her shoulder and mouth as Echidna stalked its way to her, shifting its arm into a blade. And he was just about to kill her until—

“WAIT!” Jinx finally said. Groaning slightly as there a small cut on her throat from the sharp blade. “Let’s… negotiate.”

“Your current position doesn’t seem to offer much leverage, little girl.” Plasma said, narrowing its eye.

“By the look of it, you’re demon buddies are interested in Shimmer.”

“What’s your point?”

“You could stop buying it and stealing them. I’m Silco’s top-weapon. He gives me all the jibs that relate with protecting Shimmer deals and smuggling it. I can give you information. Silco’s own trust. As long as I’m alone to do it.”

Plasma retracted its blade. And Jinx gave the shapeshifter a bloody smirk.

Echidna burst into the room, seeing Jinx and didn’t waste time. She shot thorns at Jinx, all of them marking the spot.

“You were an annoying pest.” Echidna said, but then, it turned out to be Plasma in Jinx’s form as the shapeshifter went back to its true form. This shocked Plasma.

“Looks like you killed the wrong bitch, bitch.” Jinx said from behind, pulling out POW-POW, the mini-gun’s barrel’s began to spin rapidly as pink bullets hit everywhere in Echidna’s direction.

Echidna didn’t have time to react, she was riddle with bullets, then a chamber bit by her neck, blowing up, destroying her head completely as the plant demon’s corpse fell down beside Plasma. Jinx… killed a demon.

DANTE:
Dante’s patterns on his skin began to pulse more faster. Many things going through his head. Son of Sparda. The necklace. The Rebellion. Eva and Vergil’s deaths. Hiding in the closet.

“As I stare into the eyes
Of the coming
Apocalypse
I see them reaching
For my soul
I cannot erupt
I must control
I cannot erupt
I must explode”

Dante bellowed loudly as his whole body glowed red and he… activated his Devil Trigger. A sonic boom echoed through the sky.

This demonic form gives a reptile-looking appearance to Dante's arms and legs, his head produced spiky edges, there are cracks on his chest, and his "coat" is a pair of curled up semi-chiropteran wings with each divided into two segments. Eyes glowing red. His wings unfolded. Fluttering in the middle of the air. Dante looked at his demonic hands as he was in shock at this form.

“Hey! You got wings!” Enzo screamed out. Dante looked behind him, seeing his wings fluttering in even more shock. “So flap your ass down here and save us already!”

Dante dived down. He was about to get one of the civilians but of course, he was scared of Dante, kicking and swinging at Dante in fear. And Dante retaliated by grabbing the man by the collar and bringing him up.

“HEY! CALM THE FUCK DOWN! YOU WANNA BE SAVED? OR DO YOU WANNA FALL DOWN TO YOUR DEATH?” Dante sneered out. Completely different to how he was mere moments ago. The men didn’t respond.

“That’s what I thought.”

And so, Dante began to save everyone and put them ontop of a building in the side of Zaun. His wings curling up to form his coat.

“I am omega
You cannot kill me
I am subhuman”

“You’re the frickin’ son of Sparda, baby!” Enzo cheered on Dante.

But there was so much celebration. Rudra came in, palming Dante’s face as they went on back into the air.

JINX:
Jinx pulled out a vial of shimmer as she leaned against the wall. She took a deep breath at the vile drug. She may sell it but she doesn’t really use it.

“I’m gonna hate this…” she muttered to herself. Without a second thought she drank the Shimmer. Her eyes flashing purple for a second as she cried out. Her wounds healing rapidly.

“Fuck… okay. Okay. Time to move forward.”

DANTE:
Rudra still had Dante’s face in his hand as they flew higher up in the air. “Nice to see you in touch with your demon side. I’d have felt silly revenge-killing a human.”

Dante’s claws pried off Rudra’s hand from his face.

“You know what I felt when I killed your brother? The same thing I had felt when a slept with your mother. Nothing!”

Dante and Rudra fought in the air. And Rudra, the demon with wind powers was struggling against Dante who just discovered his true power. Dante pulled a flash-step. Appearing behind him and upside down. Kicking Rudra down into a construction site Dante landed on him, his wings folding back into its coat-like shape.

“You took something from me. I’ll kill as many of you as I have to to get it back. Then I’ll kill the rest.”

Dante began to punch down on Rudra repeatedly. Enough to send out shockwaves from the impacts.

“WHERE. IS. MY. NECKLACE?”

“Rabbit… has it. I don’t… I don’t know where.” Rudra said, looking at the apartment complex where Jinx is currently in.

Dante wasn’t stupid. He saw the look Rudra gave the apartment complex. “I think you just told me.”

Dante flew off. He was approaching the building fast, but he felt Rudra’s presence as he looked behind him, Rudra tackling him. Dante began elbowing and kneeing at Rudra, but then, his Devil Trigger deactivated. He was back to his human form.

“Still only a half-breed.” Rudra said weakly.

Dante grabbed Rudra’s shoulder and used his inhuman strength to steer the wind demon. Redirecting him to go straight to the building.

They crashed into it. Both grunted by the impact. But Dante was heavily tired as him being in his Devil form is tiring to him. Rudra stood up, summoning his wind sowed.

“Rabbit’s not here right now. Would you like to leave a message?” Rudra said as he stepped closer to Dante.

“Yeah.” Jinx’s voice rang out as Rudra looked at her, she shot a bullet right in his skull, but he was a stronger demon than Echidna, so it wasn’t much effect on him, especially since it was a regular bullet.

But Dante to the distraction and quickly decapitated Rudra with Rebellion, the dropped to his knee. Panting. He looked over and saw Jinx approaching him.

“Hey, I know you. Bluebell…”

“Tony?” Jinx said Dante’s name that he used to go by. “What the hell happened to you?”

Dante was catching his breath. “Tony’s a fake name. And you were right. I am part demon.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Jinx said as she lowered her gun slightly. “What made the rusted gears in your brain finally click?”

“I turned into one five minutes ago.”

“You must be telling the truth. Ever since we were kids you couldn’t make up something that fucking stupid. You not gonna change again though, right?” She asked. Just in case she doesn’t have to put a hole through his skull.

“No, it doesn’t feel like it.” Dante said, that made Jinx lowered her gun fully. “So, you’re here for my necklace too, huh?”

“How did you know where it was?” Jinx asked again as Dante stood up.

“This blue demon eyes this building. And I just guessed it was here. Generally a good rule of thumb in life from my experiences.” Dante looks down at Jinx’s gun, she held it tightly. “Mm. You’re not gonna shoot me then? What about rip off another piece of clothing? Throw a bomb at me?”

Jinx rolled her eyes. But there was a hint of blush at the second sentence. Especially since Dante has been shirtless the whole time ever since she ripped off his tunic last night. “Let’s just find the amulet first, then we’ll have a long talk.”

Dante and Jinx began to look around the room, Dante noticed the dried blood on Jinx’s skin and clothing. “You know, it was stupid if you to come here alone.”

Jinx stopped herself and slowly turned to look at him. “And it was stupid if you go missing for the last five years.”

Dante but his inner cheek and looked down. “It’s complicated, Blue.”

“Complicated? How the fuck is it—“ she noticed a white crystal, glowing like a beeping. “The hell is that?”

Dante picked up the white crystal. “A crystal that projects people to talk to others. This means…”

Dante set down the crystal as another projection of the rabbit appeared.

“Dante. And Powder. I presume Rudra is…”

“Currently seeping into your floorboards.” Jinx interrupted him, her hands on her hips.

“Hmm. He will be remembered as a martyr. It’s you who I was calling for anyway.”

“You should know, I found out you were the one who bought all that Shimmer, which I had set up to blow up. It’s over.” Jinx said. Smugly.

The rabbit put a paw on his chin. “All trivialities. Means to an end. But your point stands, Loose Cannon. It is over. My army is about to descent on this city, causing unimaginable death, unless, Dante comes to meet us first. You have thirty—“

“This doesn’t make sense.” Jinx interrupted him again.

“Which part exactly?”

“Come on, he’s obliviously baiting me into some new insanely complicated setup. It’s his thing.” Dante said. His hands on his hips, mirroring Jinx.

“But why? What’s changed?” She turned to look at Dante. “He has the entire amulet and Sparda’s sword. Everything he needs to collapse the wall.”

She turned back to the projection of the rabbit. “Why the fuck haven’t you done it already?”

“You tell me, Loose Cannon.” The rabbit said with a grin.

Jinx turned to look at Dante. “He had the chance to kill you and he didn’t. Why keep you alive? What is it about you?”

Dante scratched the back on his neck. “I’m the son of Sparda, if that helps.”

“WHAT?” Jinx exclaimed. She then realized as she looked back at the rabbit. “Dante has Sparda’s blood. Sparda must have used his own blood in making the wall somehow, because of course he fucking did. That’s what you need. Dante’s blood. But something in him was dormant until he went demon mode just now, which is why it wouldn’t have worked before. Fuck you, Thumper. I figured you out. I know exactly what you’re doing.”

The rabbit let out a low clap. “Yes, and we both know Dante is arrogant enough he’ll come anyway. Thirty minutes son of Sparda. If you’re not here in that time, or if there’s any hint of the chem-barons or the enforcers approaching, then I give the command to strike. This work’s reckoning is already in motion. All you can do now is ease its passing.”

And with that, the projection ended. Dante has his arms crossed as the crystal turned to dust. “Me against an entire army. Sounds easy enough.”

That made Jinx’s eyes go wide. “You’re not planning to go there, are you, Tony?”

“Blue—“

“No.” She grabbed his arm. She just got her childhood friend back. Sure there’s some bad blood now but this is end of the world type stuff. “That’s straight up dumbassery. Even for you.”

Before Dante could respond—

BOOM!

An explosion was heard. It was Jinx’s doing. She did said she rigged it to blew up. But she didn’t expect it to be this chaotic. Without warning…

Dante grabbed Jinx and ran out of the window with her. Jumping high up in the air and back down into the ground—

Chapter Text

WHITE RABBIT:
A small rift between the realms split open. From the spirit realm side, the white rabbit walked into the realm. It was a wasteland, T least the area where he entered. Where it was once his home. By Mordekaiser. The necromantic warlord from a long-forgotten era, wielding immense power over death and the dead. Especially in the spirit realm. The rabbit has The Force Edge on his back and the full Perfect Amulet around his neck.

He began walking deeper into the realm, the area getting more and more harsher as he groaned weakly, dropping to one knee, even in his home realm, he was still vulnerable. He opened his chest as it is revealed that he has an artificial heart attached on his chest. Powerful by Shimmer. He twisted a knob as more shimmer was pumping into his system. Eyes going from orange to purple for a moment. He kept walking until he made it into a cave. Where a demonic knight was waiting for him.

“As meeting place go, this spot suits you. You may try to hide it, but you’ve got a much of a flair for the dramatic as I do. See?” The rabbit said.

The demon knight turned to look at the rabbit. “You have it? All of it.”

“Your information was right. Dante is the son of Sparda.” He pulled off the amulet from his neck. “His necklace fit very nicely with the one you gave me.”

The rabbit tossed the amulet to the knight who caught it with ease. “I held up my end. All I need is the final piece. As promised.”

The knight pulled out a vial of blood. Drop a tiny dose of said blood into the amulet as blue energy surged. The rabbit was all smug about this whole ordeal. “Well, I’d say that’s good enough.

He was given the amulet back and the vial of blood. “The blood of Sparda’s other son. You never know what will turn up in this realm.”

“It takes both brothers to destroy the barrier.” The demon knight reminded the rabbit.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m already working on completing the set.” The rabbit said as he tugged the vial into his suit.

The demon walked up to the rabbit. Pulling out The Force Edge as it reacted to him more than it did to the rabbit. “This sword… Far too great a power for one like you to wield.”

“Maybe so. But seeing as I’m about to use that power to undo the historic crime of its maker and free every spirit from our bondage,” the rabbit walked up and put a hand on the blade, “how about I hold onto it for a while? I know who you are. There’s only one way you could have gotten the amulet piece and this blood. You’re Ve-“

The demon immediately put a hand on the rabbit’s throat. Cutting him off from what her was about to say. “That name means nothing.”

The knight let go of the rabbit, handing him The Force Edge back. “Do. Not. Fail. Us.”

And with that, the rabbit walked away. Force Edge on his back, the amulet around his neck, the vial of blood from Dante’s dead half. He came back to the physical world where his small demon army was waiting for him. They were in a rooftop, Stillwater Hold was far away in the distance.

“Prepare yourselves! Dante’s coming.”

DANTE:
Jinx was on top of him. She coughed as she slowly got up, her hand on his pec. Dante groaned as he raised his head a bit. They opened their eyes as their noses were almost touching. Dante noticed how Jinx’s mascara was ruined by sweat, tears, and soot. The eyebags that she hid under it. Jinx blushed, but she—

CRACK!

She punched him in the jaw and rolled out the way as she stood up. “YOU THREW ME THROUGH A FUCKING WINDOW!”

Dante groaned as he sat up, rubbing his jaw. “In a dashing act of heroics that saved you from certain death. That part seems important as well.”

“Save me the jerk-off session. I would have gone out on my…” she trailed off as she saw the absolute destruction she just caused. Sure, she blew up, but never whole buildings. And this is in Zaun, Silco’s gonna be pissed off at her when he here’s this.

Dante walked up behind her. “Bluebell.”

“It’s JINX!” She snapped as she looked back at him.

Dante relocated his shoulder with ease and looked at her. “That’s a dumb name. You were never a jinx. Just a girl that the world decided to beat down upon.”

That silenced her. She went in and began picking up her gear that fell off her when they came crashing. Dante noticed her walking away from him with enough firepower to put down a whole battalion of enforcers.

“Where are you going?”

Jinx stopped and looked at him. “To stop the rabbit and beat the little pellets of shit down his leg.”

She continued walking. Dante’s hand clenched into a fist. “No. He told me to come alone.”

Jinx stopped again and looked over her shoulder. “And you’re actually gonna listen to him?”

“Before today, maybe I tried to not think about it. Because if I had the idea of having anything in common with a demon, or anything close to magic… when it was mages who… But Sparda, he was different. Him being my father. And my mother being the witch that helped him separate the worlds. Turning demon showed me what my power really is. Forced me to feel the rage and hatred that feeds it. My parents created a wall that protected this world. It was their amulet that they gave me to keep safe. Now the rabbit is about to use that amulet to tear the wall to pieces and let out all of the horrors from the spirit realm walk through. I have to be the one who stops him.” Dante said.

It was a nice monologue, Jinx will give him that. But…

“Yeah, fuck that.” And without warning-

BANG!

She shot him by the kneecap with an explosive round. Making him fall down to the ground.

“YOU SHOT MY LEG! Why would you shoot my leg?”

Jinx walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his coat and dragged him into an abandoned store nearby. “Stop crying like a baby.”

She tossed him into the store, grabbing chains. “I mean seriously? Your blood is the exact fucking thing the rabbit needs to jumpstart his apocalypse, you demonic dumbass.”

She then then whispered to herself: “I can’t lose you again, Tony.”

And Dante heard it. “OH, SO YOU DO CARE.”

Jinx didn’t respond. She closed the door, using the chains to lock it and set a few chompers on it, so if all things go wrong, he’ll blow up and be completely incinerated. Jinx has always tried to die. That’s why she’s done the most riskiest job Silco had. Ever since killing her family, she felt like there’s to true reason so live. But Dante back in her life… she can at least die trying to help him. In a twisted way.

JINX:
The rabbit, Caveliere, and their army of low level demons were in a rooftop, by a tear between realms that acted as a portal.

“Steady! The traitor’s spawn is almost here. Remember, you just have to land one blow. He’ll come.” The rabbit said as he looked down at his watch. It was already night time and the thirty minutes are near finished.

And not even a second, Caveliere growl out. “We attack now.”

“Wait! He will come.” The rabbit said. Then, they heard something.

Out of nowhere, multiple chompers connected with a net was thrown, landing in front of the demons, blowing up, and taking some demons out. Jinx came in, with a dark grin on her face.

“Who’d you expect? Some dickhead in a muster leather trench coat?” She raised her pistol at the rabbit.

The rabbit chuckled at the loose cannon in front of him. “Jinx. Nice trick. But you’re out of surprise attacks. And I’ve got a lot more warriors.”

“Lucky for them, I’m here to negotiate.” Jinx loosen her grip on her pistol. Then she holstered it to her hip.

“With what, exactly?”

Jinx pulled out a detonator. “Dante’s life. I press this button, and the most irritable member of both our worlds gets turned to a fucking cinder. Might be hard to take a blood sample from him after that.”

“I see. So in exchange for not eradicating my blood supply, you want me to call off the attack.”

“Damn right. And give me both the amulet and the sword. The Piltie goons want their precious display back.” Jinx said. Not breaking eye contact from him.

The rabbit laughed at Jinx’s demands. “How do you fit those balls in that ugly pants.”

Jinx didn’t even blink. “That’s just weird. But sure, laugh your fucking cottonpuff tail off. Dante burns, then really make his blood gone. Forever. You put these… things through hope for your cause. So I’ll suggest to you that you should take the deal to keep the hope for the cause alive.”

The rabbit narrowed his eyes as he reached for the amulet, snatching it off his neck. “Take it.”

He threw it and the Force Edge into the floor. Jinx grabbed both items.

“A pleasure, as always.” She was about to turn but the rabbit spoke.

“Aren’t you forgetting something? If this wasn’t just a bluff, if you really had Dante locked up somewhere, you would have incinerated the second I gave you the items. Don’t tell me you’ve grown fond of the half-breed.”

“Not fucking likely.” She pressed the detonator with a smirk. Chompers shot out from a building across the rooftop.

Jinx’s greatest strength is her brain, her ability to surprise others with her traps. And they always work. The explosion made Caveliere fall as the floor beneath him crumble, debris falling on top of him. Jinx pulled out POW-POW.

“Anyone else?” The demons charged at her. “Alright, everyone else.”

Jinx knew she couldn’t take them on. But she couldn’t run away. She fired her mini-gun at the demons which did little damage to them. She moved fast from their slashes, until one hit her by the inner thigh of her left leg. Making her fall. Then in a second her whole body fell limp.

“A formula I developed based on Echidna’s natural toxins. It won’t kill you, only paralyze you for a while. All of my warriors’ blades are doused with it. It will give us plenty of time to extract Dante’s blood from him.” The rabbit said as one of his demons tossed him the amulet and the Force Edge back which he caught with ease. “We just have to land one blow. I do regret that you won’t be getting what you earned, since you’ll feel no pain as you did. Oh, well.”

A demon grabbed Jinx by one of her braids, lifting her up, its blade raised to execute her. And just before it could—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots rang out. The three demons that surrounded Jinx were immediately killed by a sword.

Dante.

“Yeah, and I’ve got some bad news. You didn’t get that acceptance letter for the Merdarda’s theater role audition.” Dante said as he rested the bloody Rebellion on his shoulder.

“Dante! You made it.” The rabbit said with a smirk. His plan was going well.

Dante looked over at Jinx with a smirk, and she was beyond pissed that he saved her ass again.

“Before we start, let me at least show you what you’re fighting for.” The rabbit nodded at the tear between realms.

Dante’s eyes were wide at the sight before him. “Is that…”

“Your father’s homeland, where Mordekaiser, the warlord who had your family murdered, rules.” That made Dante’s eyes go wide. Mordekaiser, he somehow ordered mages to attack his home ten years ago. “Fitting of Fate’s dark humor, it was Mordekaiser who gained the most from Sparda’s wall after he himself died as a mortal. It has allowed him to bleed dry a once peaceful world. While your father and mother ensured Paradise stays sealed off for his own kind. They and Mordekaiser are two sides of the same blood-stained coin.”

Dante began to laugh at the rabbit’s worlds. “Sorry, sorry. But paradise? You call this world Paradise?”

“Compared to my world, yes. Come with me and see for yourself.”

Dante looked back at the slumped Jinx. Their blue eyes locked with each other. Dante remembering his mother’s words. Then looked back at the rabbit and his army of demons, sheathing Rebellion on his back.

“Anyone touches her on this world, then, you’ll die in that one.” Dante said, shaking off his protectiveness to those he cares about. Especially now that he isn’t no longer a defenseless child.

“Hands off the loose cannon. That’s an ordered.” The rabbit commanded his army.

Dante walked up to the portal, eyeing the demon army, he took a pause, then a deep breath. He then finally entered through the portal into his father’s homeworld. He gasped as he saw the wasteland before him, then gagged, then began to cough the rabbit was besides him as he exhale, it helped the fact he was a full spirit and had shimmer in his system, unlike Dante who was only part demon.

“A scorched earth and air turned to poison. Centuries’ worth of devastation, wrought by the warlord who make the human stories of the devil seem quaint. And Zaun’s toxic fumes like a breeze.” He noticed Dante trying to walk back into the portal but the rabbit stopped him, Force Edge out. “Look and see your father’s wall for what it is. An artificial construct raised by a couple with immense power to do what all constructs are designed to do.”

Dante pulled out the Rebellion, trying to hit the rabbit but he dashed behind Dante. “Keep the powerless in their place.”

The rabbit said as he kicked Dante, sending him flying into the portal and back to the physical world. “I studied the tears between realms to know where and when they happened. It’s what I’ve down to save handfuls of refuges. But with the wrath of Mordekaiser’s air in your lungs, you can understand that will never be enough. The only true answer is to let all spirits cross over. Now, the wall must be destroyed.”

Dante stood up, catching his breath. “You’re… you’re talking about genocide. If every spirit can cross into this world, humans won’t stand a chance. Millions will die.”

“You aren’t listening. Millions already die. Yes, with the wall gone, the monsters of the spirit realm will come through along with the oppressed. But in its wake, the world will reach a new, rebalanced equilibrium. What’s a sacrifice of a generation or two if it means ending suffering for those who come after?” The rabbit said as he walked around Dante. “You can right you father’s injustice, Dante. It takes only a drop of your blood.”

“My father was a hero.” Dante immediately responded and turned back to face the rabbit.

“And how would you know that? All the deep, meaningful moments you had together?” He asked. Knowing damn well, Sparda was absent in Dante and Vergil’s childhood.

Jinx groaned out. “Don’t… Don’t be a fucking idiot! Do I have to shoot you again?”

That snapped Dante out. Back to his usual self. “She makes a compelling point. I’ll gonna have to go with the not-murdering-all-of-humanity side on this. ‘Sides, soakings like you got your own fair share of daddy issues, bad bunny.”

Dante said as he walked up to the slumped Jinx. And the rabbit didn’t like none of that.

“Then I guess I’ll have to get your blood out the transitional way!”

“Careful, their blades are poisoned!” Jinx warned him.

“Good thing none of them are gonna touch me then. Let’s dance.” Dante said as he pulled out Rebellion and ran towards the small demon army of the rabbit.

He killed two in a second, ducked a blade, killed another. Then another, ducked once more and killed the one that he ducked. Jumped and kicked two in the face, decapitated one, then stabbed one, throwing it at the rest. From behind, Caveliere came charging, Dante turned as they clashed swords.

“Son of Sparda.” The demon knight sneered out.

“Son of… a really ugly guy with a weird thing for bats?” Dante quipped at Caveliere’s appearance.

Not made Caveliere angry, the made Rebellion be freed from Dante’s grip. Dante weaved and dodged all of the demon’s swings. He grabbed a tail of a demon that was watching their fight as a meat shield which Caveliere didn’t hesitate to cut down in half.

“Harsh, but fair.” Dante made both halves of the demon into makeshift boxing gloves. “You’ll fight better this way.”

Dante fought like a boxer against Caveliere for a while, hitting the demon with five punches before removing makeshift gloves. He then jumped over the group of demons and towards Rebellion, picking up the greatsword and got in a sword fight against Caveliere.

“A drop of blood! I just need a drop!” The rabbit reminded them. Annoyed how Caveliere hasn’t landed a blow on Dante.

Unaware to him, Jinx was barely gaining back her body’s control. She groaned as she tried to reach for her fallen gun. Dante was jumping, parrying, ducking attacks. Caveliere kicked Dante hard enough sending him through the portal and into the spirit realm. Dante held his breath as Caveliere flew in as they kept their fight, Dante trying to go back to the physical realm so he can breath well. The demon knight tried to stop him but Dante pushed him with a sword clash as they went through the portal and back to the physical realm.

“So, how come none of you guys get cool theater-themed identities?” Dante quipped as he and Caveliere charged at each other, holding each others arms that held their swords. “I bet you’d really fill out a nice Queen of Hearts dress!”

Dante glanced at Jinx who reached for her gun, aiming it at the rabbit who sense it, swinging The Force Edge, sending a wave of magic at her. “BLUEBELL!”

Dante called out. Fear in losing her. But she barely moved out the way as she’s still fully limp. Caveliere elbows Dante who was distracted and kicks him back to the portal as he’s in the spirit realm once more.

“Go! I can handle the girl.” The rabbit ordered. The demons rushing into the portal for Dante, leaving Jinx alone with the rabbit. “It appears the dosage wasn’t enough quite strong enough, but let’s focus on the positive. Maybe you will get to feel the cold grip of death take you!”

Dante was killing each demon, one by one, only getting tossed around but still didn’t drop no blood. He was about to pull out his dual pistols only for him to have one as he remembered he accidentally blew up the other. He began opening fire at the demons with the single pistol. The gun clicked as it ran out of ammo, but he saw a crumbing pillar so he ran to it, jumped into the air, slamming Rebellion against it, making it fall down on the demons. Killing then all. Dante was panting, still holding his breath but Caveliere was still alive, he freed himself from the debris.

“You die here, in your father’s world.” The demon knight sneered.

Dante groaned in annoyance as it seemed Cavaliere was the biggest pain in the ass he ever met. Dante ran straight to the portal, just before Caveliere hit him, Dante was in the physical world, then blocked the attack. Dante used his demon strength as the red demonic patterns appeared on his skin, eye glowing red and pushed back Cavaliere to the portal. Then—

ZNAP!

The portal closed, cutting Cavaliere’s head off in half as the corpse dropped to the ground.

“Whoo! That was crazy! Too bad your eyes weren’t here to see it.” Dante said as he sheathed Rebellion to his back.

“One way or another, you are going to bleed.” The rabbit said as the Force Esge crackled with energy. The rabbit swung the sword, a wave of energy shooting out.

Dante rolled out the way and ran straight towards the rabbit. Dodging each energy wave from the Force Edge. Dante jumped in the air and delivered a punch, sending the rabbit flying off the rooftop, but Dante caught him by the amulet. The rabbit’s breathing was labored as his face was broken by Dante’s punch.

“I gave you a chance to end this. I want you to remember that. When what will happen next happens, I want you to remember… that you could’ve stopped it.”

“What do you me—“ Dante was cut off as the rabbit cut the chain holding the amulet. Falling into the tofu waters of Zaun. And possibly his death.

Jinx grunted as she finally got control back of her body. Limped due to her thigh having a nasty cut that made her go limp for the whole fight.

“I guess you for your mom’s necklace after all.” Jinx said with a genuine soft smile. They just stopped the world from being turned into spirit town.

Dante opened his hand and looked at the amulet. He hadn’t paid attention, but having it this close. He saw the blue half of the amulet. The same one his mother gave to his older twin. So how the hell did the rabbit got it?

“Yeah.” Dante simple said.

And from above them, Enzo, Silco and his goons pulled up.

“Hey, Dante! Your buddy Enzo brought the cavalry for ya! Ha! I mean, they actually brought me as a prisoner, but in spirit!” Enzo waved up.

The goons were in shock at seeing the massacre of the battle.

SILCO:
It’s been less than half an hour since the rabbit’s supposed death. Silco’s goons were cleaning up the bodies, for the mad chemist to study on them for research. Jinx and Dante were aside, resting, Jinx slightly more cleaner and wearing bandages on her injuries, arms crossed over her chest. Dante was sitting on a machinery, man spreading.

“Do you guys always do this after your missions?” Dante asked as he looked up at her. “Usually when I kill someone, I just… I don’t know, leave them there.”

“Yeas, that is exactly what we do. So, what are you planning to do with that amulet? Carry it around your neck?” Jinx finally asked him now that he’s got his family heirloom back.

Dante stood up as he spoke: “That depends on whether you’re try to take it.”

“I’m not.” Jinx said, that made Dante smile but she looked away like a child. “You’re gonna give it to me.”

“Aren’t we past all this?” Dante asked. “We fought an army together, sorta. I saved your life three times.”

“Twice.”

“Two and a half.”

“That bad bunny won’t be the last one to come after that thing. You really think you can protect it?” Jinx questioned him, walking up to him, looking up at him as he had a foot height advantage.

“I’m the only one that can protect it.” Dante claimed. Which is true compared to anyone in Zaun or Piltover. “Who else do you trust with it? That guy?”

He gestured at Silco in the distance who was talking to Sevika as his goons were cleaning up the bodies of the dead demons.

“Yes. Silco is willing to do what’s necessary to protect the undercity.” Jinx said, her hands lowered to her sides.

“Seems to me like he hasn’t actually done anything. Besides give out drugs and bark out orders brag both ended with a whole lot of trenches dead. Which he doesn’t look too torn up about.” Dante put a hand on his hip as he said all that.

“You don’t know him.” Jinx claim. Showing how deep she’s into Silco’s manipulation. “He’s hard because he has to be. But he cares about… the Nation of Zaun.”

Jinx glanced at Silco, then back at Dante. “You don’t wanna give me that amulet, fine. I say one word, and the goons you’re surrounded by will jumped you and made sure your brains are blown right through that fucking haircut.”

Jinx slowly reached for her pistol that rested on her hip’s holster. And Dante noticed it. He walked up to her, looking down at her.

“Yeah, because it worked so well the last time you sent fifty guys at me.” Dante reached for Rebellion’s hilt. “Side note, you should tame down on the cursing. It’s getting annoying. Like if you just learn how to say them, which we both know you started cursing out since we were ten.”

“Oh, you just asking for it, Tony.”

They were about to full full out their weapons but Enzo appeared between them. Chortling suggestively.

“I’m feeling it between you two. Do I sense a former prisoner-captor romance vibe happening here?” He chuckled as Dante and Jinx set down their weapons, looking down at the midget. Enzo then cleared his throat and looked up at Dante. “Listen, Dante.”

“If it’s about a job, my price have… tripled.” Dante said as his eyes remained looked onto Jinx’s.

“So you still taking jobs from me?” Enzo said with a smile.

“Yeah, why not? I can always count on you to sail me out for the slightest bit of personal gain. Hard to find someone that reliable.” Dante answered with a small smirk. Still looking at Jinx.

“Thats good to hear. Cuz, I was talking to a few of these chembaron types on the ride over here about a sweet—“

“Jinx.” Silco called out and walked up to the trio, cutting off Enzo. “”Where is Sparda’s sword.”

Jinx out her hands behind her back to look innocently, like she always acts around Silco. Dante immediately noticed it, but she still answered. “The bunny took it with him into the toxic waters.”

“So you didn’t just went against my wishes… but you also didn’t manage to gain the sword. The amulet. Tell me you at least secure it.”

Dante saw how nervous Jinx was. So he stopped up. “Mr. Bad bunny took the amulet with him too.”

That was a total lie, Dante had it in his coat’s pocket. Dante had his hands on his hips as he added. “If you guys could drop it by my place when you find it, that’d be great. You remember where, you sent fifty mercs for my necklace not even a day ago.”

“Is this true?” Silco asked to Jinx.

“I was poisoned. Paralyzed. From where I was lying it was hard to see.” Jinx said as he looked away, closing her eyes to hide tears. She doesn’t like failing. Or lying to Silco.

Silco hummed then looked back at Dante. “I told you, Dante, that you are the chance to free Zaun from Piltover’s oppression. This is you war too. You need to choose a side.”

“I’m not much of a war guy. Give me a call when you actually pissed off a powerful demon and make things even worse though. Sure won’t be too long with what all the experiments your two-face chemist is doing.” Dante turned to walk away but was stopped as the goons began to surround him.

“You can’t have thought that someone with your abilities would be allowed to just walk free.” Dante smirked darkly at the old man’s words. “Jinx, take him in.”

“Sil—“

“That’s what an order sounds like.” Silco cut Jinx off.

Jinx looked down as she reached for her pistol, Dante smirk turned into a grin as he knew he can take everyone out. But before anything else can happen—

BOOM!

DANTE:
They look to the rooftop across them as smoke curled up, heavy footsteps followed. Then, the white rabbit, not fully mutate with Shimmer, pumping into the valve that’s over his heart appeared. He leaped across and landed, immediately began killing the goons. He glanced at Dante and Jinx, threw an energy wave at them with the Force Edge, Jinx pushed Dante and Enzo to the side as the trio hid behind some machinery. Silco and Sevika made their escape during the carnage.

“Holy Janna! What is that thing!” Enzo exclaimed as he saw the rabbit tear down the goons.

“This purple tubes in his body!” Dante called out at the shimmer artificial heart.

“Yeah, it’s the rabbit.” Jinx said.

“How?”

“Whatever recommended dose is for ‘roiding yourself up with Shimmer, I think he just blew up the limit.” Jinx said as they peek more at the rabbit’s hulking form.

“‘Never do drugs’ that’s my motto.” Dante muttered. He peek over once more. “Hey, Enzo, that guy looks kinda dangerous. You might wanna get somewhere safe.”

Dante looked over at Enzo, only to find him running away. “Heh, so reliable.”

Dante looked over at Jinx who was still besides him. They stop silent, then nodded at each other as Jinx tossed him her other pistol which he caught. They got out of their hiding spot, walking up to the rabbit while shooting at him. Jinx normally, Dante sideways. Both hitting at the thick skin of the rabbit. Rabbit shot out a wave of energy with the Force Edge once more which Jinx rolled under and Dante flipped over it.

“Where are those explosive-bullets you keep shooting me with?” Dante called out.

“There are no more explosive-bullets. I ran out.” Jinx responded.

Dante rolled his eyes. “Oh. How convenient!”

Dante ran around the hulking demon, shooting but it wasn’t much help. The rabbit slammed down the Force Edge, blasting another energy blast which Dante jumped over it.

“You just had to ran out of bullets to go boom!”

The duo kept shooting, Jinx noticed the rabbit protecting his artificial heart from the bullets as that’s when it clicked. She pulled out one of her bombs, twisting it and throwing it at the rabbit, pink glitter covering his eyes. Giving Jinx and Dante to regroup and hide once more to make a plan.

“It might take me more than one punch to beat him now.” Dante said as he looked over at Jinx who was reloading her gun.

“All his shimmer runs through that giant artificial heart on his chest. We have to shoot the heart and cut off the power supply.”

“Eh. Think the gun you gave me was defective.” Dante showed off the destroyed gun due to how aggressive he shoots.

Jinx snatched it from his hand. “You aren’t getting another one.”

The rabbit destroyed their hiding spot as he grinned, Jinx saw the shot but was immediately hit with the giant arm of, sending her flying.

“BLUE!” Dante called out. The rabbit raised the Force Edge as Dante pulled out Rebellion from his back. The two got in a sword fight. “How do you manage to get even more uglier each time I see you? It’s actually impressive.”

The rabbit didn’t like Dante’s quip one bit. “Give me… THE AMULET!”

They traded blows but still the rabbit wasn’t able to make Dante drop a dose of blood. Enzo watched the fight and rubbed his face.

“Think, Enzo, Think.” Enzo said to himself as he glassed at POW-POW resting on the floor top besides him.

Dante managed to give the rabbit a kick flip. The rabbit was straining from the heavy smoke of shimmer in his body. “Not as easy as it looks is it? To become a monster. I don’t think your body can take this for long.”

The glass was slightly cracked. Dante prepared to lunged and he did. They continued fighting, Dante jumped over the rabbit, he had a clear shot of the Shimmer heart. The Rebellion’s tip was just mere inches from the heart but it was stopped as the rabbit held Dante by the foot. He threw him all the way to a wall. Dante dropped as he struggled to get up, the rabbit charged at him.

“Hey! Ugly rabbit freak!” Dante knew that voice, waking him up. “I’ve got your gateway to Hell right here!”

Enzo screamed out, aiming the mini-gun at the artificial heart but he was too late. The rabbit stabbed him right through the chest, lifting him up.

“NO!” Dante screamed out.

“Should’ve been hiding in the hole like the vermin you are.” The rabbit tosses the dying Enzo besides Dante.

Dante rushed to Enzo’s side, cradling the dying man, his voice was shaky. “Enzo, why did you do that?”

Enzo chuckled weakly, blood coming out of his mourn as he looked at Dante. “You see? I told you I would take a blade for you.”

Enzo’s hand raised up to touch Dante’s face only for it to fall as his eyes went dull. Enzo died.

“Enzo…” Dante muttered. He let go of the money and picked up Rebellion and turned to face the rabbit. Eyes red. The red demonic patterns showing up once more in his skin.

He dashed towards the rabbit as they for another sword fight each clash creating shockwaves that cracked the floor top beneath them. Jinx groaned as she woke up. She picked up her remaining gear. Her gun and the damage POW-POW that was besides Enzo.

The rabbit roared as he charged up a punch, hitting Dante square in the chest, sending him flying across a street and into a building, crashing five walls deep into it. As he stopped he dropped to his knees, back to normal. The Rebellion dripping to the street level, going dormant once more as separated the from Dante. The rabbit came in crashing, right in front of Dante who barely got up, feeling the sting of metal, he looked wiped his mouth as he saw it.

Blood.

His blood. The thing that the rabbit needs besides the amulet to converge both realms.

“That’s all I needed.” The rabbit’s giant hand reached for a smudge of blood only to be stopped as Jinx across another building pulled out POW-POW, screaming as the three barrels spun and open fire rapidly. Punk bullets raining down on the rabbit as he protected his artificial heart.

“HELLBLOOD! LETS GO!” Jinx called out. Dante didn’t need to be told twice.

He leaped across as he landed besides her, the mini-gun ran out of ammo as Jinx pulled the final chomper, throwing it at the rabbit as it blew up in a pink explosion. The duo began to run across the rooftops. The rabbit leaped high in the air and Dante saw this. He jumped and delivered a dropkick in the rabbit’s chest, sending them falling into the rooftop Jinx stood, immediately destroying as they all fell down into an abandoned refinery. The amulet falling from Dante’s coat in the platform he and the rabbit landed. Jinx fell further into a floor beneath them.

Dante woke up coughing and groaning as he turned to look down at Jinx who was holding herself and whimpering from the pain. The rabbit stood up and picked the amulet with a finger by its chain as he chuckled grimly, Dante saw this and realized it fell from his coat.

“Finally…” The rabbit inserted the amulet into the Force Edge, a flash of purpled energy appeared as the sword change.

The Sword of Sparda.

“The Sword of Sparda… in its true from.” The rabbit said as he had it high up in the air. He then turned to look at the undercity through a giant window beside where they stood. “Look at it. This spectacle of prosperity’ built on the misery of an unseen world. It ends the moment I let this blade touch the blood of Sparda’s entire line.”

Thar made Dante smirk. And that smirk turned into a laugh as he slowly stood up, holding his broken arm as he was bruised up from the nonstop fighting. “The entire line?”

Dante stumbled a bit but gained his footing as he continued. “You need the blood of the entire line? Why didn’t you say that before? We could have just skipped all of this. See, that would mean you also need—“

“Blood from Vergil.” The rabbit finished the sentence as with the other hand, he cracked the vial of blood that the demon knight gave him. Dropping the blood into the amulet as the Sword of Sparda glowed blue from Vergil’s blood. The rabbit began to cackle at the fact he made Dante quiet.

Dante’s blue eyes were wide and shaky. “How did you… Vergil is…”

“Dead?” The rabbit finished once more. He’s smug that he was able to get Dante all frozen. “No, Dante. Your other half is very much alive.”

No, no, no, NO. Dante heard his brother’s dying screaming. He was there. That night… “That’s impossible. I… I watched him die.”

“Oh, did you?” The rabbit lunged at Dante who was frozen still trying to grasp at his words. Stabbing the Sparda straight into Dante’s bare chest. “Tell me. How does it feel be reunited with your brother?”

Dante’s blood pooled down into the amulet. Making the blue glow go purple as Dante is red. Vergil is blue. Together they make purple. Energy pulsed from the sword as the whole world went red. Jinx woke up as her eyes went wide seeing the wall grow spikes. Demons roaring from the other side of the wall as both realms were slowly being converged once more.

The rabbit raised the still impale Dante high up in the air as purple lighting crackled around the building. “You see now the totality of your failure. Watching your world around you as you die on your father’s sword, dipped in the blood of the twin brother you abandoned.”

Jinx looked up at the platform Dante and the rabbit stood. She noticed steam coming form Dante’s mouth, his regenerative abilities failing as he had the most powerful weapon in demon history in his chest. Jinx pulled out her gun and noticed the ammo clip was gone.

“Motherfucker!” Jinx muttered. “Chamber still works.”

She pulled it, and one last bullet popped out. Dropping besides her, she realized… “One shot.”

“All that inherited power, and it still wasn’t enough to stop me!” The rabbit twisted the demonic sword in Dante’s chest, making him cry out in pain.

Jinx loaded up the bullet into the chamber, aiming it up at the rabbit, her hand was a bit shaky from her injures but she took a deep breath, steadying and aiming it at the rabbit’s artificial heart. And—

BANG!

The bullet was shot, flying straight into the heart making both Dante and the rabbit’s eyes go wide in surprise. The rabbit let go of the sword as Shimmer was being drained out from the hole of the artificial heart. Dante dropped to his knees, Sparda still in his chest. The rabbit looked down at Jinx.

“Jackpot.” Jinx muttered out.

“You shouldn’t have told me about Vergil.” Dante strained out, clenching his hands, turning them into fists as he slowly stood up. Knowing the possibility that his twin is out there. Alive. Was enough to give Dante motivation and power to live through the pain.

“No one hears me pray
For my revenge
Nothing’s gonna wash away these sins
I’ll bathe in the fire
No more wounds to mend
We all die in the end
But I know who I am”

“I have to live… FOR HIM!” Dante grabbed Sparda’s hilt, pulling the giant demon sword out of his bare chest slowly. His eyes and patterns glowed vibrant red as he fully pulled it out. Activating his Devil Trigger.

“So judge me in the
Afterlife
Save me from this pain
And fill the hole inside
You wonder why
I’m all out of tears to cry
Today I’m not
Not afraid to die”

Dante gritted his sharp teeth, wings spread out as he lunged at the rabbit. In a blur of crimson energy Dante roared and—

BOOM!

The Sword of Sparda was in the rabbit’s chest as he know he lost. But he could still talk, with the last of his life. “You believe you’re on one side. The right one. But you’re wrong. Eventually, you’ll realize you are welcome by on one. An unlovable orphan.”

Dante’s wings curled up to form his coat as he seethed. “I’m tired of hearing you talk. You hypocrite.”

Dante roared once more as he drives the Sparda upwards, the rabbit’s skin ripping open as he was cut in half vertically, Dante doing an 180 as he finally killed him. He looked over his shoulder seeing the now dead demon. It was over. At last.

Dante ripped the amulet off the Sparda, ending the convergence between the physical and spirit worlds, alongside reversing the Sword of Sparda into the Force Edge. The world going back to normal. Dante looked at the amulet, clenching it softly as he went back to his human form. He dropped to a knee, using the Force Edge to support himself as he was panting. He looked over and saw Jinx who was also panting. And gave her a crooked smirk which she retuned with a soft smile. Two teens just saved the world.

JINX:
Jinx and Dante were sitting on a ledge, their back resting against a safeguard. The sun was barely peeking through the thick clouds of fumes of the undercity. Mostly likely fell asleep together the second Dante reached her as they’ve fought all night.

“This time. He’s definitely dead this time… right?” Jinx asked, her voice was strained.

“Definitely.” Dante confirmed, still catching his breath. If that didn’t killed the rabbit, then nothing can. But he’s dead.

“Enzo?” Jinx finally spoke, her voice a bit saddened at the fact Dante lost another friend. “He seemed like a good guy. For a scumbag.”

“He was.” Dante said as he leaned his head back, hitting the safeguard with a soft thud.

“Why did you leave, Ton—Dante?” Jinx finally asked the big question. It’s been five years since they last saw each other and they weren’t exactly able to catch on with this whole rabbit crisis.

Dante looked at his hand as he thought what to say. “I thought all of you died. After the night that Vander… died I began to think I only brought death. So, I thought leaving was the best option. I thought you died wit the others. Had to start somewhere new.”

Jinx glanced at him. She noticed the nasty scar from Sparda, it seems getting impale by powerful demon weapons doesn’t fully kill him. “And the new name?”

“It’s my actual name.” Dante said. “Tony was just a fake name. To keep me hidden from those who murdered my family…”

Jinx looked down at her own hands. “I see…”

There was a moment of silence. Which Dante broke. “I think the Rabbit might have a point. Not about letting demons ravage the world and kill everybody part. But the other stuff. Well, at least the world’s still here.”

Dante stood up, sheathing the Force Edge on his back. Jinx looked up at him as she was still sitting down.

“You don’t sound too happy about it.” She commented.

Dante put his hands in his coat’s pockets. Then he glanced down at her. “You know me. I’m always happy.”

“Right.” She looked down once again. “Your jokes are a weak cover. I’ve seen you in moments when you think no one’s looking.”

“Did you do demon psychology classes with Silco or something?” Dante genuinely asked.

“No. I’ve just had to be the one killed everyone I’ve ever cared about.” Jinx said, looking down at her shaky hands.

Dante knew what she meant. “We all make mistakes.”

He looked at the view. “The rabbit told me… He said my brother is still alive.”

Jinx looked up at him. She didn’t know he had a brother at all. “Didn’t knew you had a brother. What do you remember about him?”

Dante closed his eyes. A faint smile forming on his face. “How we used to always play sword fights. More like I used to beg him… we just had the normal sibling rivalry.”

That made Jinx smile. “You think it was true? What the rabbit told you.”

“No idea.” Dante said honestly. “But knowing there’s a chance, I have to go out there to try to find him.”

He then thought of something crazy. He’s always been alone, but being back with Jin-Powder his oldest friend that’s still alive. “You, uh… You could come with me if you want.”

That surprised her as Dante fully turned to look against her, his voice having a hint of excitement at the fact he can have a partner now. Especially her. He began to do silly hand gestures with each word:

“We could do an odd partner in crime thing. Sword and guns. The devil and the Powder. Dante and Bluebell.”

“You know my name is Jinx now.” She said as she stood up as they began to walk together.

“Yeah, I like Bluebell better.”

“Bluebell and Dante. Not Dante and Bluebell.” Jinx said. Fully going well with the idea.

“Eh, we’ll work on it. ‘Side, you could get me a shirt on the way leaving this place. Still own me. You have no idea how cold it is being shirtless.” Dante said as he put his hands behind his head casually while walking. Everything was going fine until—

SKIIIT

Dante’s eyes went wide as he put a hand on his neck and turned to see Jinx, holding an empty syringe. His body began to fill motionless.

“I still have to bring you in. Silco is right. With what your blood can do,” Jinx said as Dante dropped to the floor, “it’s too dangerous to have either you or that sword out in the world. I’m sorry.”

She the squatted down, holding him by the face. “Besides… I’m no longer Powder. I’m Jinx now…”

And so, Dante was captured. Put into a capsule of toxic waters and chains, asleep for the rest of time…

The perfect amulet and the Force Edge were sealed away in different locations around Zaun.

And Jinx? She found The Rebellion, brought it back to her hideout as it had other things that belonged to Dante. His coat and his makeshift bracelet. She grabbed his bracelet as she had a saddened look.

Why did she do it? Maybe because she’s possessive and didn’t want to lose him so she thought this was the best option. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

Chapter Text

ONE YEAR AND THREE MONTHS LATER…

JAYCE:
Heimerdinger lit up a match as the sun rises in the Piltover skyline. His office’s door was knocked then opened. 

“You wanted to see me, Professor?” Jayce asked as he entered the room. 

“Ah. Come in, Jayce. Can you believe it? Our city is about to turn two-hundred years old. A bicentennial.”

The now thirty-one year old Jayce chuckled and shook his head. “It’s shaping up to be an amazing Progress Day.”

He leaned down and read one of the the statues name in Heimerdinger’s office. “‘Standwick Padidly’? Huh, I don’t know much about him.”

“Everything he built either exploded, melted, or toppled over. And yet, here he stands.” The old yordle said. “Standwick set his personal ambitions asides and focused on something far more important. Our future. He realized nothing he could accomplish could compare to the contributions of his students.”

“I had no idea.” Jayce said as he looked at the statue’s face. 

“That was his sacrifice. A dear friend.” Heimerdinger then switched topics. “The Council has recommended you give the Progress Day speech this year.”

“What…” Jayce said in disbelief. “But you always give that speech. I… I could never take your place.”

“I agree with them.” Heimerdinger looked up to Jayce. “Your Hexgates have done wonders for our city. Brought scholars from distant lands. Reignited in arts and science. You deserve this honor.” 

Jayce sighed at the news. “I… I will do my best to make Piltover proud, Professor.”

“It’s short notice, I know, but perhaps there’s something in the lab you might be able to share?” Heimerdinger asked politely. “People love a grand reveal.”

“Viktor and I just have the thing. The next Chapter of Hextech. Come to the lab this afternoon, I’ll show you.” Jayce said, his tone having a hint of excitement. 

“I’ll look forward to it. You certainly have something to live up to, my boy.” Heimerdinger walked up to open the door of a balcony. Showing off the two hundred year old City of Progress. 

And towering all buildings, up to eight-hundred feet up from the ground. The Hexgates. The sole reason that allowed  • Piltover to act as a central hub for global trade, solidifying its position as a powerful and prosperous city. 

CAITLYN:
In mid-day at the Progress Day festival, it showed some new inventions, all in the steampunk style of Piltover. At the tent of the Kiramman’s, the crowd was there as Cassandra was talking about Jayce who was besides her and her husband. 

“Our most famous protege, Jayce Talis. The visionary behind the Hexgates, a beacon of trade and prosperity for our great City of Progress.”

“Excuse me.” Jayce whispered to Cassandra as he left her sided and moved through the crowd, apologizing. 

“He’s a very busy man.” Cassandra excused Jayce’s actions to the crowd. 

Jayce snuck behind a blue haired enforcer, flipping her top hat which was immediately responded by a tight hand on his wrist as she turned. 

“Ow, ow, ow. Cait, it’s me.”

“Serves you right.” The now twenty-two year old Caitlyn said with a smile. She noticed her mother eyeing them on a distance while talking to the crowd. Caitlyn let go of Jayce’s wrist, turning back to work. 

“You still avoiding her?” Jayce asked as he rubbed his wrist. 

“I’m working.” She said as she kept her eyes out of the tent, standing on guard. 

“Oh, I can see that. I mean, there’s so much crime to thwart outside your family’s tent.@ Jayce said jokingly as he gestured the giant Kiramman’s tent that is so safe being in the middle of the festival. 

“I can only image the strings she pulled to have me posted here.” Caitlyn responded, glancing back at Jayce for a second as she had her arms crossed over her chest. 

“It’s your fault really, for not following her into a career ‘more benefitting your station.’” Jayce said, not like a scold, but more like an older sibling trying to lift up their younger siblings day. 

Caitlyn sighed as she kept her eyes on the crowd passing by the festival. “She’ll do anything to keep me from seeing the real world.” 

“Well, at least you’ll have front-row seats to the speech.” Jayce said with a smug look on his face. 

That caught her attention. She turned back to Jayce. “Speech?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m giving the big address tonight.”

“Mm.” Caitlyn let out a soft scoff with an eye roll. “We really have descended to anarchy.”

“Have fun herding the drunkards.” Jayce said as he turned back to the crowd at the tent. Both of the chucking at their small talk. 

JINX:
At the lower ports of the Hexgates a small airship from the undercity arrived, thugs began filling it up with barrels of unknown stuff in it. The dock worker saw this as he cleared his throat. 

“Uh, shipping manifest?”

A bag of coins was tossed down on his clipboard as he looked up he saw Sevika staring down at him. “From your friend. Downtown.”

From tunnels above the dock a group of masked hoverboard individuals came out. With style they flew down in a blur of green. The Firelights. They flew around the blimp, taking down the thugs and Sevika with crystallize bombs. The got off their hoverboards, putting it on their backs as the leader, wearing a white owl mask pulled out a stop watch. 

“We have five minutes till they’re out of there.” He was the leader, his mask making his voice deeper and distorted. 

He used his makeshift mace to pry open a barrel to contain pure Shimmer. 

“You ever seen this much Shimmer before?” One of his lieutenants said, having a cat mask. 

“They’re expanding. Check for more below. But it all.” The Firelight leader ordered. 

Two Firelight goons entered the lower deck which was immediately shut closed as one stepped on a wire. They panicked as they knew the logo on the hatch door. A purple glowing monkey. One lit up a flare as they went deep into the lower deck as they saw a swing that said “BOOM”. In a blue blur between the goons Chompers bit down on their bodies as they ticked and—

BOOM!

An explosion shook the airship as smoke and pink sparkles fluttered in the deck of the airship. Then, she walked out of it. 

Wearing a dark brown leather crop top with a piece of thin off-white cloth running through four eyelets to form an X in the center of her chest, low-waisted, vertically striped pants in shades of both purple and pink, torn unevenly at the bottom and shorter on the right side, the arm warmers, one black and the other black on the upper half, while the lower half matches the pink/purple of her pants, a studded belt of three individual sections: the one around her waist, the two that loop from the back to connect to the belt on the right side, and the hem of her pants on the left, a pocket on her right hip for explosives and a gun holster on her left. To end it all, she’s wearing a worn red long leather coat and a bracelet turned choker. 

Jinx. Now eighteen since the events that happened a year ago. 

She huffed some air out of her bang that covered half her face as she held herself casually. 

“Hi.”

She didn’t wait. She pulled out two chompers, ripping off the pins with her bare teeth, throwing them at the two goons that were besides the Firelight leader, falling off the airship and blowing up in pink flames. She clicked her lips, pulling unholstering her pistol while spinning it five times. 

The Firelight leader threw the same crystallize bombs at her, she dodge one without moving her feet, then shot the other in less than a second. She then dodge another Firelight as he jumped at her with his spear from the roof, she aimed at him, he dodge but Jinx kicked him in the mask. Then she used the stuck spear to boost herself up in the air, using both of her boots to stomp on him, knocking the Firelight out. She then noticed the Firelight leader pouring out the Shimmer around other containers. 

He whistled at the lieutenant as she pulled out a flare but was immediately stopped by Jinx as she grabbed her by the wrist, using the butt of her gun to smack the mask off the lieutenant as she saw a girl with pink hair. Immediately thinking of her…

“Vi?”

Memories flashed in Jinx’s head, completely unaware at the fact the lieutenant dropped the flare into the dropped Shimmer, setting to flames the drug in pink flames. The lieutenant freed herself and tried to run away, that made Jinx snap out of it, shooting her in the back. 

“NO!” The Firelight leader cried out. Jinx was breathing hard as the leader checked on his dead companion. He looked at the time on his stopwatch, knowing he was out of time but he lost his temper, pulling out his mace and ran towards Jinx. 

She pulled out POW-POW, the mini-gun’s triple barrels spinning rapidly as pink bullets flew out. But the last remaining Firelight tackled the leader out of the way as they made their escape off the airship. But Jinx wasn’t done. She was shooting every where while screaming hitting even her own. Until she ran out of ammo. Sevika freed herself and stomped her way over to Jinx, grabbing her shoulder and forcefully turning her. 

“You were supposed to watched the cargo.” Jinx simply responded with a soft chuckle which annoyed the older woman. She sneered, a purple glow appeared under her cloak but she stopped as an alarm blared out. She looked over as Jinx’s casual look turned darker, still looking up at Sevika. 

JAYCE:
“You think he’ll approve?” Viktor asked as he was doing the last finishing touches to one of their inventions. 

“Heimerdinger believes science should be used to improve lives as much as we do. We just need to show him it’s safe.” Jayce responded.”

“And what about the council?”

“We stabilized the crystal like they asked. Built the Hexgates like they asked. It’s our turn to decide the future of Hextech.” Jayce responded. His feet were kicked up on the desk, his fingers holding on a smooth blue sphere. That’s when Heimerdinger and his little cute pet came in. “Professor. I’m glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, my boy. What’s on the docket?” Heimerdinger asked. His paws behind his back. 

“It all began with this.” Jayce opened a container holding the blue magical crystals. “A crystal of magical energy, too volatile to be handled outside our workshops. Hextech was supposed to bring magic into the life of the common man. And now, it can.”

Jayce opened a small case to show their latest inventions, a triplet of the same blue magical sphere, Jayce picked one up. “A Hextech Gemstone.”

Jayce set down the gemstone into the anvil, Viktor handing him a small hammer, he got ready to slam it on the gemstone, Heimerdinger freaked out but just as Jayce hit it, the magical energy didn’t blow up, it was sustained in the gemstone. 

“We found the means to fortify the crystals. This new version is stable and absolutely safe.” Viktor said as Jayce brought a cart with two new devices. “We present to you the next chapter of Hextech.”

“We can now design portable devices.” Jayce said as he slid his hand into a giant blue mechanical gauntlet. With a grunt he slid it off the table as it was a heavy object. “The gemstone can power virtually anything.”

He inserted the Hextech gemstone into the gauntlet, the cracks glowed blue with arcane energy. He lifted up a heavy boulder with the single hand and crushed it with relative ease. Blowing off the dirt and dust from the gauntlet’s fingers. “The Atlas Gauntlets. The mining colonies in the fissures can work faster and without fatigue.”

It was now Viktor’s turn. He slid another gemstone into another device as he had a glove with another gemstone on it. “The Hex Claw. A mechanical arm, equipped with a powerful ray of light.”

With a point of his finger, the claw short said ray of light into a thick metal slab, drawing Heimerdinger’s face on it. “Image what our artificers could do with such a device.”

Jayce walked up with Heimerdinger, the gemstone in his hand. “I want Hextech to be a tool for us to build a new world. And now, it’s finally possible.”

And accidentally, the Hex Claw shot a ray of light at one of Heimerdinger’s pet’s horns which made it go immediately hide under the stool Heimerdinger sat on. 

“Anyway, this is our presentation.”

“Quite amazing, gentlemen. You should be very proud of yourself.” Heimerdinger said as he hopped off the stool. “Obliviously, there are a few kinks to iron out and screws to be tightened, but give it a decade of research, and it will be ready. Keep at it and I’m sure you will discover a way to safeguard against misuse.”

And without any other word from the duo, Heimerdinger left the lab. Both of them shocked how the old yordle brush them off like that. 

“A decade…” Viktor muttered in shock, disbelief, and disappointment. 

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn snuck her way into the Zaunite airship that was burnt. She pulled out her camera and began taking pictures of the scene, specifically Jinx’s monkey logo. Then she followed a trace of blood leading to a secret spot in the lower deck as she found one of Silco’s men bleeding from Jinx’s chaotic rampage earlier. 

“You’re from the undercity.” Caitlyn immediately said. 

“I didn’t do anything. She shot me.” The goon immediately said. 

“Who shot you? Who are you working for?”

“I can’t. He’ll kill me.”

“Who? I can protect you.”

“Caitlyn Kiramman.” Caitlyn knew that male voice. She looked behind her and saw him. Marcus. Followed by another enforcer behind him. “Why does that not surprise me? Interfering with an investigation, again. You’re supposed to be guarding your mother’s tent.”

“I was Sheriff, but she doesn’t need it. And clearly, this takes priority.”

“I realize you’re used to getting your way, Kiramman, but we have a chain of command for a reason.”

“I understand. But there’s more going on here than just the smuggling. If I could just question him I could—“

“I’ll take it from here. Since you’re looking for more work, you can take the graveyard shift tonight at the fair. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I want this one on a boat to Stillwater Prison.”

SILCO:
“You think the devil has horns?
Well, so did I 
But I was wrong, his hair is combed, and he wears a suit and tie
He’s nice, polite, he’ll catch you by surprise 
A smile so bright, you’d never bat an eye
Said she was in a hurry
That’s when she met him
Sunday walking down the street 
She dropped her bag, and it fell to his feet, he got down on one knee
He handed her the purse and gave a warning on her saying 
Miss, you know the devil has horns, he’s out tonight 
Wearing ‘round downtown carrying a gun and knife”

Sevika sat on the sofa, biting off the lid of a beer and looked over at Silco who was busy reading reports on his clipboard, his back turned and sitting down on his chair. “She fired on us.”

“There are always mishaps in battle.” Silco said nonchalantly as he didn’t even turn. He knew what she meant. Jinx losing her temper. “The Firelights were her target and most are dead.”

Sevika chugged on some beer. “It wasn’t a mishap, she froze and lost her shit. I could’ve handled those brats. She’s a problem and we all know it.”

“We?” That caught Silco’s attention as he turned his attention to her. Jinx is valuable. Especially after what she did the year prior. Taking down the biggest threat to his empire. “Whose we? I expected better from you than excuses. It wasn’t your job to make sure things went smoothly. You failed. Don’t disappoint me again.”

He turned back to his clipboard and Sevika stormed off. With a sighed he tossed the clipboard to his desk and picked a needle. “The world is getting smaller everyday, thanks to tho the Hexgates. And now, we’re cut off. The topsiders are leaving us further and further behind. What happened?”

He asked to Jinx, still wearing HIS coat, the red coat’s end and her blue braids hung down from the rafters she laid like a cat. “She already told you.”

“I’m asking you.”

Jinx dropped down into his desk with a soft thud. Hugging the red coat tightly. Knees up to her face. “One of those Firelights wackos was a girl. With pink hair.”

Silco hummed as he turned around to face his greatest achievement. He handed the needle to her as she scoot over to sit on the arm rest. “You sister’s gone, Jinx. You know that as well as I do.”

“I know. I know. Sisters, right?” She pulled away and chuckled nervously, playing with the needled like a broken toy. “You can’t live with ‘em, can’t stuff ‘em back to the ol’ babymaker. 

She chuckled again as she was now huffing air on the needle. Silco rolled his eye as he looked up. “Today’s screw-up will set us back weeks.”

Jinx leaned in, resting by the backrest. “I’m sorry.” 

She then began to play with the needle once more as if it was a missing, making “pews” noises. “I need to know that I can rely on you.”

He then grabbed her arm to pulled her to his attention instead of goofing off. “I’m doing this for us. All of us. The sons and daughters of Zaun deserve more than their runoff.”

Jinx pulled her hand away from him. “It won’t happen again.”

“I know.” Silco simply said as Jinx injected the needle into his dead eye. Shimmer going into his system as he gasped from the quick pain. With a sigh he rubbed off the shimmer tear. “Sevika will clean up today’s mess.”

“SEVIKA?” Jinx immediately said. “That ogre couldn’t clean a dust bunny with a blowtorch.”

Silco slick back his hair as he turned to face the window, his back facing Jinx. “She will suffice. You should focus on your gadgetry.”

He heard Jinx groaned in annoyance, slamming her back down on his desk. He glanced back down at her. “Take some time.”

“I don’t need time.” Jinx said as she looked up at the ceiling, her finger fiddling with a knife stuck on the desk. The same one Silco used to kill Vander six years ago. 

“Take it anyhow.” That wasn’t an request. That was an order. And Jinx, she stormed off. 

JAYCE:
The party of the topsiders was considered lackluster to Mel. Just the same old boring rich people and politicians. She looked out to the skyline of Piltover. 

“Fundraiser’s going well. Your mother would be proud.” Elora said to Mel. 

Mel scoffed slightly and looked over at her assistant and old friend. Knowing dam well how her mother is. “Would she?”

“Tired of mingling?” Elora asked. 

“Hmm. These people have nothing new to offer me. The only one actually worth my time is him.” Mel gestured at a blimp floating in the skyline with Jayce’s face plastered on it. 

“The golden boy.” Elora chuckled. “Ah, he’s won Piltover’s heart. Oh, speak of the devil.”

Mel looked behind as Jayce entered the party. Everyone went quiet as the music only played, everyone was looking at him. Elora waved a hand at him as he went over. 

“Could I barrow you for a minute?” Mel whispered to Mel as she smirked and followed Jayce. Giving one last glance at Elora. 

They entered Mel’s giant office, her desk having a white diorama of the Hexgates. Mel walked her way towards the table, swaying her hips as her white and black dress glued to her curves. 

“To what do I own the pleasure?”

Jayce took a moment, then he finally spoke. “It’s Heimerdinger.”

Mel scoffed softly. “When is it not?”

“We’ve shown him our research. He thinks we need more time. He didn’t even let us talk back to him and convince him, he just made the decision and left.” Jayce said, trying his best to sound calm and compose. 

Mel sat on the edge of her desk. He hand holding her golden wine. “It’s Progress Day. Representatives form all over the world have come to see what new wonders the City of Progress has to offer. If there’s a time to present a few creation, it is now.”

Jayce sighed in annoyance. “Great.”

Mel chuckled softly as she set down her cup and walked over to him. “Heimerdinger is a great scientist. But he’s old. He only ever see the past.”

She went over and began to fix Jayce’s collar and tie. “Piltover needs a leader who looks forward. Someone like you.”

That surprised Jayce. “You really believe that?” 

“Hextech has the potential to change everything. The world is ready. And I’ve already spoken to several potential investors.” Mel said softly as she looked at the diorama. 

“Investors?” Jayce repeated. 

“Of course.” Mel turned to face him, a soft smile on her face. “Everyone wants Hextech for themselves. It’s your speech. Give the people a glimpse of the future.”

JINX:
Jinx was throwing chompers down the abyss of her hideout, blowing up and making g the bats wake up and fly away. Gloomy and rock music playing on her telegraph. The red coat of the hunter hug her, keeping her warm in the cold hideout. 

“It wasn’t her. It wasn’t.”  She looked over at the demonic sword. The Rebellion. After betraying Dante and putting him in that facility she was able to found the dormant devil sword in the streets of Zaun. “I know. Just… some wannabe street trash. I got confused, that’s all.”

She talked to Rebellion. It was as already matching her energy. The skull, the design as a whole just matched Jinx creepiness and spiral mind that has gotten worse since betraying Dante. The guilt eating her. Using his coat and even his bracelet as a choker to, she doesn’t even know why, it just called her. 

“Now, he thinks I’m weak. I killed demons. Stop the end of the world. I mean sure, you did most of it but I was there as well. I’m NOT WEAK.” She then smirked as she looked at the sword’s skull’s eyes. “And I’m gonna show him. Oh, I’m gonna show him. You’ll see.” 

JAYCE:
Viktor was tapping his foot rapidly on the floor as the crowd was hearable from the front of the stage. Jayce hasn’t shown up. He coughed a bit as he looked over and saw Jayce finally coming up. 

“Where were you? They were asking if I could do the address.”

Jayce wrapped an arm around Viktor like a brother. “You should come up with me. We’re partners.”

“No, no. Not in front of them…” Viktor gestured at the crowd. “You… you have your speech prepared?”

Jayce just hummed in confirmation. He drank his coffee and the mug also had his face plastered on it. The light turned green as he looked back at Viktor. “Guess is time.”

And with that, Jayce walked up the steps leading to the stage. Him and Cassandra walking pass each other and sharing a look of accomplishment, he walked towards the podium and spoke on the mic. 

“Uh, good evening. I know many of you probably didn’t expect to see me here today. And believe me I’m just as shock as you are. My family and I are simple people. In our factory, we made hammers. They were probably used to cut the stones you’re stepping on right now. No one in my life excepted very much of me. And that is precisely what makes this moment so extraordinary. A few years ago, the Hexgates opened their ports to the world and made Piltover prosper beyond anything we could have ever imagined. But… we’re not done yet. This year, we’ve created something new for you.” He looked over at Heimerdinger who sat right in front of him. “Something that… um…”

There was a small microphone feedback as he debated to say it or not. “That we will share with you… when the time is right. Things that will bring an end to your hardships. Whether you’re the scion of our high houses, or an honest laborer form the underground. We vow to keep pressing forward, for we are the City of Progress. And our future is bright.”

And that won the crowd, fireworks went up the air, but he noticed Mel and Elora walked away. But Jayce kept waving at the crowd. 

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn and a few enforcers were standing guard at the entrance of the academy. The enforcers were talking and smoking. 

“That’s it? I thought that Talis boy was some kind of genius. Last year, didn’t her launch a blimp across the continent?”

“Airship, actually.” Caitlyn finally said as she turned back to see the slouching enforcers. “An airship has a rigid metal hull, it’s not a blimp.”

“It’s a balloon ain’t it?”

“Sure as hell looks that way.”

“Pardon us, if we aren’t quite so refined as you, milady.”

“What are you even doing here, Kiramman? Don’t you have a cocktail party to attend?” 

The enforcers laughed as Caitlyn looked away and noticed…

“Fire. FIRE!” She called out, the enforcer immediately ran towards it. The Kiramman’s tent was on flames. “Get the fire brigade.” 

The enforcer immediately began to fight off the fire, but a few went inside as they heard a little girl’s voice. As they did it turned out to be a trap. Caitlyn saw it. 

Jinx’s monkey face logo. 

BOOM!

The place blew up, sending Caitlyn rolling to the ground, before she went fully unconscious she saw her. Jinx. Wearing a backpack and giggling darkly as she entered the academy. 

JAYCE:
The next day, it turned out the workshop was vandalized.

“The gemstone is gone. Along with our research papers.” Viktor said. 

“The situation is still developing. No one in the undercity has claimed responsibility yet.” Marcus said. 

Turns out they were talking to the council. Heimerdinger looking down at destruction from the window. Jayce and Viktor sitting down, in front of them, the council were seated. 

“Hmm. For too long has the underground been left unchecked.”
“We’ve lost touch. They may not be your preferred constituents, but they’re still our people.”
“The undercity cannot be controlled. Not by us.”
“So where does that leave us.”
“Mr. Talis? Could the trenches build a weapon with the stolen crystal?”
“Shimmer, body replacements… we’ve seen their ingenuity over the years, of course they can.”

Jayce finally stood up and spoke. “If the right person got a hold of it, it’s possible they could utilize its energy.”

“We need to address this now.”

Viktor was about to speak but Jayce stopped him. “I agree. It was my responsibility to safeguard this technology and I failed. My mistake cost people their lives. I have come before you to recommend that we suspend all Hextech operations until the situation is resolved. Including our laboratories, the refinery, and the Hexgates.”

“Have you lost your mind?”
“The Hexgates must remain open. Piltover’s status as a global lane depends on it. Thousands would loose their income.”

“But shouldn’t the safety of Piltover be our first priority?” Jayce finally asked. 

“You wound sacrifice your life’s work?” Heimerdinger asked Jayce. 

“Without the Hexgates, my goods cannot reach foreign markets till winter. Am I to tell the Noxians their next shipment of wine will be vinegar?”

Mel decided to finally speak up. “Councilors. It appears we are at an impasse. If we shut down the Hexgates, the city will suffer. But if we do nothing, we leave ourselves vulnerable to malefactors. More lives may be lost. Perhaps the time has come to explore a more radical solution. Mr. Talis has demonstrated his commitment to our safety. He’s willing to sacrifice his own enterprise. And it seems to me only Mr. Talis has the knowledge necessary to secure the Hexgates. I propose a new chair be brought forth, and that House Talis be elevated to this august body. As a councilor, he will have the resources necessary to protect all our investments.”

“Councilor Medarda, this is highly irregular. The council has held seven seats for generations.”
“Does the boy have any experience?”

“Only that of a scientist. Like Heimerdinger.” Mel shot back. 

Heimerdinger sighed and spoke up once more. “I believe Councilor Medarda is right. Hextech security should be administered by a scientist. I second the notion.”

“Well then, shall we vote?”

JINX:
Rock music was playing on her telegraph loud enough as she was working on some mechanical butterflies, Dante’s coat following her braids movement as she wiggled and swayed on her stool, goggles protecting her blue eyes. Completely unaware Silco calling out her name until she slammed the telegraph, cutting off the song. 

“JINX!”

“That’s me!” Jinx said with a wide smile. 

“Half a dozen enforcers, dead. Enforcers. Dead.” Silco said angrily as Jinx just nodded with a smile. “A building blown to pieces.”

Jinx just chuckled as she leaned against her workbench. Silco yanked her pencil off her hand. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“Actually, I do.” Jinx pulled out the Hextech gemstone, handing it to Silco as she giggled and walked over to pull down a levee, fireworks shooting out. 

“HAPPY PROGRESS DAY!” She said cheerfully as she walked over to him and hugged him. But Silco only eyed at the gemstone then at her. 

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn was spinning her pistol in her finger as she was in her giant bedroom, wearing her pajamas. Many flowers with the same ‘get well’ letters rested by the side. A knock on the door was heard as Jayce entered her room. Flowers in his hand. 

“Hey. How you’re feeling?”

Caitlyn stood up from the floor, a photo on her hand as she walked up to Jayce. “I’ve had a break in the case.”

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“While the trails warm.” She grabbed his arm, snatching the flowers and tossing them towards the pile, bringing her to the giant map of Piltover and photos of different cases. “Listen, you know how I’ve suspected there is a single mind behind the undercity’s violence?”

“The great conspiracy.” Jayce said. That’s the name he has for her case. 

“I think whoever attacked the square is our suspect. The same symbol showed up at the botched smuggling operation at the Hexgates.”

“The Hexgates?”

“Keep up. All this time, they’ve kept their dealings localized to the undercity. Low priority. The attack on the square changes things. They’ve overstepped. If I can figure it out who made this, it could lead me directly whoever is behind it all. The answer’s here, staring me in the face. I can feel it.”

“How do you intend to prove any of this?”

“If I can work this out. Marcus will have to listen.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Council, they need more than theories.”

“Hmm. Since when did you concern yourself with the Council’s opinions?” 

“Since I… became a councilor myself.”

Caitlyn chuckled at that but then looked at Jayce. He was serious about it. “You’re serious. When? Why? Have they discovered how to govern with grease and a spanner?”

“Ha ha. I was actually hoping you might consider joining my staff.” Jayce said as he handed her a letter.

She opened it and began to rad it. “‘House Talis Security.’ That’s a ceremonial position. I’d live behind a desk.”

“You almost died, Cait. I just… I just want want you to be safe.”

“Thanks, but I already have a job.”

“No. You don’t. After the attack, your parents talked to the Sheriff. This is the best I could do.”

“I don’t need charity, Councilor. Yours or my parents’.”

“Cait.”

“Get out.” And he did. Caitlyn looked more at the map and remembered the goon from yesterday. Right in Stillwater. 

Later, she went to Stillwater and spoke to the Warden. 

“I need to speak with one of the inmates.”

“Oh, folks in here aren’t usually very talkative.”

“This one was hit by friendly fire. He’s got reason to talk. Must been sent in today?”

The warden looked at his notes. “Oh. Inmate 2135. Yeah, I’m, uh, afraid that’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“Uh, well, there’s been… an incident.”

“What kind of incident.”

“The not so nice kind.”

“You don’t understand, I have to talk to him.”

“Oh, you’ll be able to. As soon as he can move his jaw again.”

“Who assaulted him?”

And Caitlyn got her answer. She went to the lower levels of the prison, in an empty cellblock, except there was someone punching the stone wall. Repeatedly. 

A girl with pink hair, an engine tattoo on her back that ran to her arms. She stopped as she felt Caitlyn’s presence. Then looked over he shoulder. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

It was Vi. 

Chapter Text

CAITLYN:
“I took a look at your profile.” She said as she was infront of Vi’s cell. “There’s no record of you or your crimes. What are you here for?”

“My sunny personality.” Vi immediately said with sarcasm as she paced around her dark cell. 

“You attacked an inmate. Why?”

“Why not?”

“He was a witness in an ongoing investigation.”

“Hmm, bummer.”

“This is a waste of time.” Caitlyn said with a sigh as she turned to walk away.

“Couldn’t have put it better. Hey, give Silco a kiss on that winning eye of his, will you?”

That immediately caught Caitlyn’s attention. She stopped walking away and walked back towards the cell. “Silco? The industrialists?”

“Okay, this is getting old. Can you just send in whoever’s gonna kick the shit out of me, so I can get on without my night.”

Caitlyn looked down at the red line. After a moment she stepped forward, pulling out her folder and showing her photos from the crime scenes. “Does this mean anything to you?”

Vi looked at the picture. Specifically the monkey face logo. And she immediately knew who it was. Powder. She lunged at the cell’s bars, making Caitlyn jump a bit. “Where did you get this?”

Caitlyn exhaled and straightened up. “My question first. He worked for Silco?”

“Uh, they all do. How can anyone not know that? Where did you find this?” Vi asked once more, eyeing at the monkey logo. 

“There was an attack. This is evidence. I need proof if I’m to believe what you’re saying about Silco.”

Vi scoffed at that. “I could get it for you. Just not from in here.”

Caitlyn snickered at that, then roared her eyes. “In what mad world would I trust someone like you?”

“Someone like me?” That offended Vi. “You enforcers are all the same. Just asshole criminals in fancy uniforms. You know what? Find Silco yourself.”

“I will, thank you.” Caitlyn said as she began to walked away. 

Vi leaned against the bars. “Hmm… Undercity’s gonna eat you alive.”

That made Caitlyn stop. She took a deep breath as she needed this. 

She came back to the Warden’s desk with a paper. “I’ve got orders from Councilor Talis, concerning Inmate 516.”

“Not cooperative, huh?” He said with a chuckle and pulled down a thick cane. “You, uh, you want us to have a talk with her?”

Caitlyn looked down at the cane and immediately knew what he meant. “No. It’s for her release.”

“Huh. Since when he’s a Councilor?” The warden asked as he looked at the signed paper by Jayce. 

“Since today. How many talks have you had with her?”

“You know, I never even thought to count.” He said smugly. Clear that he abuses Vi on the regular. 

With Vi, she heard the cane’s clanking. She rolled her shoulders as she got ready for another “talk”. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. The cell opened but as a feel seconds nothing happened, she opened her eyes and to her surprise she found Caitlyn. The warden walked away as Caitlyn sighed, also began waking away, expecting Vi to follow her. 

MARCUS:
Marcus, enforcers, and some families were in the cemetery, burying the dead enforcers from Jinx’s attack. Marcus was on the podium. 

“These brave enforcers sacrifice their lives to defend their values of our great city. To some, they’re mothers… fathers, sons… daughters… but to all, they are heroes.”

Enforcers raised their rifles to the air, shooting them. Later, after the ceremony Marcus and his daughter walked toward Grayson’s giant memorial where she rested. 

“Who was this, daddy?” His daughter asked. 

“A good woman.”

SILCO:
Marcus was now in Silco’s office, Silco had a leg over the other, his arms spread wide onto the backrest of the couch. 

“You said you could control her. I lost six officers. Six!” Marcus said, his foot tapping rapidly on the floor. “She pushed it too far this time. The Council’s up in arms. I can’t make this go away for you unless you give me something to work with. Arresting her would be doing you a favor.”

Silco cut a cigar as she didn’t like that one bit. “I don’t need favors. I need you to do your job.”

He then lit up his cigar, taking a puff from it. “The Firelights have been a thorn in both our sides. They ambushed my shipment at the Hexgates on the same day as the attack. It seems to me the Council has its culprit.”

“Oh, that’s tidy for you. What if I’m not interested in playing along?”

Silco took another puff. “We’ve accomplished a lot together, Marcus. Sheriff. And there is more yet to achieve. I hope you can remain part of it.”

He then nodded to his goon who gave a bag of coins to Marcus. “For their families. From an anonymous, concerned citizen.”

Marcus grunted softly and stoned away. Silco took another puff. This time longer. 

JAYCE:
Jayce and Viktor were overlooking the Hexgates. Jayce pacing around looking at a clipboard. 

“Yesterday’s smuggling fiasco was nothing. This manifests are full of discrepancies, dating back months.”

“This is a por use of our time.” Viktor said as he leaned against the railing, looking over his shoulder at Jayce. 

“I’m a Councilor now, Viktor. It’s my responsibility to make sure the Hexgates are safe and protected.”

“What about our pledge to improve lives, for those in need? For the undercity?”

Jayce sighed as he knew what this was all about. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t announce our other projects in my speech. Soon we can do everything we—“

“SOON?” Viktor snapped, turning to face Jayce. “There are people who need our help now, Jayce.”

Jayce didn’t know what to say. But luckily Marcus came in and spoke up. “You wanted to see me?” 

Jayce turned and walked over to Marcus. “Have your people ever reviewed these logs?”

“Mr. Talis, I assure you—“

“Councilor. And the only assurance I need is that you will search and unauthorized merchandise. I’ve made a list of suspicious transactions.” He handed the clipboard to Marcus. 

“With all due respect, Councilor, today’s your first—“

“Second.”

“Right. You sure you don’t wan to confer with the other Councilors before—“

“This corruption runs deep, Sheriff. I intend to root it out. Have you made any progress with the stolen Gemstone?”

“Yes. Chief suspect is an undercity gang…” both Marcus and JayceMs voices fade away as Viktor began to cough, blood coming out of his mouth as he looked down at the blue glow abyss of the Hexgates. 

But he was immediately snapped out as Jayce shook his shoulder. “Viktor? You alright?” 

“A… a headache. I just… I need to get back to the lab.” Viktor brushed off Jayce’s concerns, wiping the blood and grabbing his cane, walking away. 

DANTE:
The Last Drop was loud with clinking glasses and the burn of artificial neon, but far beneath its foundation, buried behind rusted pipes and reinforced vaults, there was silence.

Silco hated this place.

It wasn’t the chill or the stench of chemicals that bothered him. It was what waited at the end of the winding corridor. It was quiet and sleeping, yet too alive to ignore. His boots echoed off the concrete floor as he stepped through the final set of sealed doors, where Singed was already waiting, scribbling something into a thick-bound journal.

“You’re late.” The chemist said, not looking up.

“You’re always early.” Silco replied.

The hum of machines filled the space. Tubes pulsed with bioluminescent green and soft golden hues, feeding into a tall toxic water pod locked in the center of the room. Frost traced its outer shell. The form inside was unmistakably human, with broad-shouldered, arms crossed over his chest like a knight entombed.

Dante.

Held still in the toxic water. Contained by thick chains, same kind anchors use. And somehow still alive in the toxic water. Silco stepped closer, studying the faint rise and fall of the half-breed’s chest.

“How is he?” Silco asked, voice low.

“Unchanged.” Singed replied, flipping a page. “Temperature, pulse, regenerative cycles. It is all stable. Weekly readings remain anomalous.”

He tapped on the pod’s side where thick crimson had once pooled and now gleamed with traces of unnatural veins.

“His blood mirrors Shimmer in potency, but it’s cleaner. Self-sustaining. Catalytic. No crash. No withdrawal. His cells accelerate repair, adaptation, even memory restoration at a rate I can’t replicate.” Silco’s gaze remained fixed.

“He took down fifty men, Singed. Jinx watched it.”

Singed adjusted his glasses. His voice remained clinical. “He is not a weapon. Not yet. He is a mystery.”

Silco lit a cigar with one hand, exhaling slow. “Zaun builds from scraps. Chemtech and grit. And here we are, sitting on a goldmine that bleeds its own power.”

“Which is why he remains asleep,” Singed said. “The second he wakes up… he won’t be yours. Or mine.”

“I’ll take that chance.”

“Then you’ll lose control,” Singed warned. “Just like you did with the girl yesterday.”

Silco’s jaw tightened at the mention of Jinx, but he didn’t argue. He approached the pod and placed his hand on the glass. Dante didn’t stir, but the frost briefly cleared over his face, it was pale, slack, and peaceful in a way that felt demonic. 

“No one should sleep this quietly,” Silco muttered. He turned to go. “Wake him when I say. Not before.”

“And if he doesn’t wake the way you want him to?” Singed asked. Silco paused in the doorway, then answered without turning.

“Then let’s hope he isn’t still angry enough to remember who his enemies are.”

JINX:
“Boring… Boring. Wow. Super boring.” Jinx muttered, looking through the notes of Jayce about Hextech. She had a pen on her mouth and Dante’s coat hugging her on the cold hideout. Then, something caught her attention. “Here we go!”

She sat up, back arching a bit under the coat as she pulled out the pencil off her mouth. “So it’s all about these runes. They form some kind of math-y magic-y gateway. To the real of the heebie-jeebies. And this…”

She pulled out the Hextech gemstone she stole as she was talking to the creepy dolls of Mylo and Claggor. “Turns it on.”

She put the gemstone in the device that Jayce used years ago, wires glowing blue as she rubbed her hands. “So… here goes.”

She twisted the knob but a surge of arcane energy sent her back as it immediately reminded her of that night. Her pants turned to sobs. “No! No! It was a mistake! It was a mistake!”

Jinx said as she stood up and just ran, crying. And unaware to her, some energy was absorbed into The Rebellion, the blue energy turning crimson. The skull’s eyes glowing red for a moment. 

VIOLET:
Vi was standing on the edge of the Lanes by a train station. For the first time in six years she’s finally free from being stuck inside the same cell. 

“I heard the train has a nice view. That could be a great way to get a view of the land.” Caitlyn said as she was in the line, holding two train tickets. 

“Too risky.” Vi said, she pulled her hood up and dropped off the ledge. Caitlyn just gasped and ran towards the edge to see Vi parkour. She sighed, throwing the tickets away and decided to chase down after the pink-haired convict. 

Vi was running, sliding, jumping through roughs and pipes. But Caitlyn? She was struggling to keep up, looking down at the heights of the undercity. And Vi? She was enjoying it. Vi made it to an alleyway, removing her hood as she took in a nice breath of the Lanes. A man behind her whistle to her as he and his friend approached Vi. He ran a finger on Vi’s bold shoulder, Vi looked at his red jacket. 

“Nice jacket.”

When Caitlyn arrived. She was panting and covering her mouth from Theo throwing up due to the adrenaline. She looked over to Vi who tossed her an purple outfit as Vi herself had a jacket. 

“Welcome to the Lanes.” Vi said casually.

“You almost got me killed.” Caitlyn exclaimed.

“My little sister could do that when she was seven. All us fissure folk can. Don’t you want to blend in?”

JAYCE:
Jayce was getting ready for the day as Viktor was tinkering with a new invention through joysticks. 

“Remind me again. You had a vision?” Jayce asked. 

“What if we’ve been looking at it backwards? We’ve been trying to discover runes that invoke specific effects and then molding them to a useful function. Tools, as you like to put it. But, but… If the legends are true, mages aren’t bound by a single function. It’s said the Arcane speaks through them.”

“I’m still not following.” Jayce said as he approached Viktor. 

“They think. They adapt.”

“You think Hextech can… learn?” Jayce asked as Viktor did a rune combination that let out a surge of arcane energy, Jayce flinched as he didn’t have protective googles. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“Of course not.”

VIOLET:
Vi and Caitlyn were at a food stall. Vi eating the food like there’s no tomorrow, with her dirty handwraps. 

“Oh! Jericho! Have I missed these.” Vi said with a mouth full of meat. Vi handed a piece of meat to Caitlyn. “Hm?”

Caitlyn looked at it and shook her head. “No. Thank you.”

Vi just shrugged and threw it to her mouth. “You’re missing out.”

Caitlyn leaned close to whisper to Vi. “Are you gonna question him?”

“About what? The meat?” Vi looked over at the chef and saw him scratching his butt. “Definitely not above board.”

“Silco. His connections? Isn’t that what we’re here?”

“We’re here because I’m hungry. Do you know what prison food tastes like? No, of course you don’t.” Vi continued eating. 

“Unbelievable. I didn’t break you out of jail to eat… slop. I knew this was a terrible idea. You don’t know anything, do you?”  

Vi chugged down the last of her food. Wiping her mouth with her arm. “Mm. Better than I remember.”

And with that, the chef gave her a napkin of a lead. Vi took it and began to walk away as Caitlyn was surprised that this was Vi’s plan all along. Following her. 

JAYCE:
Jayce and Mel were in the Medarda’s theater. A violinist performing alone. Jayce and Mel stood at one of the top booths of the place. 

“I haven’t been here in years. Since my parents brought me for the winter fest.” Jayce muttered. 

Mel walked up to him, a glass of wine in her hand, handling it to him. “We’re not here for performance. Your house is in trouble. That merchant formerly enjoyed certain leniencies with regard to her trade in exchange for her generous Academy patronage.” 

“By leniencies you mean corruption?”

“Hmm, Amara’s harmless. Oh, look at those two stooges.”

“Councilors Hoskel and Salo. Don’t they hate each other?”

“Hmm. But they share a taste for the finer Noxian spirits, technically an illegal import.” 

“I tightened our security.”

“And in so doing, put a target on your back. There are those who covet your power over the wealth the Hexgates afford. And would take any opportunity to seize it from you. You’ve just made yourself everyone’s common enemy, Jayce.”

JINX:
The abandoned building was as hollow as her chest. Jinx stepped through its rust-bitten entrance, her boots crunching on old glass. The smell of machine oil and ash still lingered, like a phantom that refused to leave. She didn’t flinch when the door creaked shut behind her. She didn’t need to look around. She knew this place.

A year and three months ago.

She could still see the broken glass catching firelight, the warped shadows of the White Rabbit’s constructs flitting across the walls, and Dante bleeding from the chest by the Sword of Sparda. His face had gone pale then. Paler than she’d ever seen. But she remembered raising her gun. Her hands had been trembling from that endless fight. Just one clean shot—straight into the Rabbit’s chest. Right into that artificial heart pulsing with Shimmer. The fear she felt when she saw Dante activating his Devil Trigger as he found out Vergil is alive, somewhere in Runeterra. Killing the Rabbit with ease. 

The rift sealed with a pulse of heat and silence. No more spirits slipping into the physical world. They saved the world. Two teens and no one remembers. She the. Walked up to the spot where they rested and even went straight to sleep for a few hours. The fact he was so excited to have her follow him to find his brother. 

Why did she do it? Maybe she was afraid of losing him to something bigger than her. Maybe she just didn’t want to share him. Maybe she thought she was protecting him. But now? Now she stood in the ruins of the place where she broke both of them. Where she changed the ending.

Her eyes stung. She told herself it was just the dust. A noise. Like a soft caw. She turned sharply, pupils dilating, gun already in her hand. A crow perched on the window beam above, its oily feathers catching the moonlight like spilled ink. Watching her. Waiting. Judging.

“You saw, didn’t you?” Jinx hissed. The crow tilted its head, mockingly. “He’d still be free if I didn’t… if I didn’t—”

She didn’t finish. A single bullet. The crow burst in a splatter of feathers and red mist. There was a long silence. Her arm trembled. She let it drop to her side.

“I don’t need ghosts,” she whispered. But the factory remembered. The ash, the metal, the echoes. They all remembered. And so did she. That’s why she wears his coat and his bracelet like a choker. 

VIOLET:
Vi looked at The Last Drop on a sky bridge. The home she used to live now turned into Silco’s gang hang out spot. 

“Well, that place does look like it has bodies buried in the basement.” Caitlyn quipped. 

That made Vi’s hand clenched on the railing. “You don’t know anything.”

Vi snapped and continued walking. 

JAYCE:
The violinist was still going at it. Jayce was silent at Mel’s word for a moment. 

“I can’t compromise the safety of the Hexgates for collateral.”

“No one is asking you to. These are simply favors amongst friends.” Mel said. 

“I never wanted anything to do with politics. You pushed this on me.”

Mel put a hand on Jayce’s shoulder. “You’re a symbol of the future now, Jayce, whether you like it or not. With the comes the potential to shape your own destiny. The Council assumes you’ll fail. Time to prove them all wrong. Once again.”

Then, Amara came in as Mel greeted her. “Welcome, Amara. How’s little Rohan?”

“Councilor Medarda. Councilor Talis. He’s just as energetic as always. I had quite a shock this morning. Enforcers banging on my door.”

“Oh, I hope you understand, Jayce had to make a show of safety. But he’s here not to negotiate all his deals personally. Councilor Talis is willing to reinstate former trade privileges to those who share his vision. Can we count you amongst them?”

“Councilor Bolbok seems to think other arrangements would be more profitable.”

“Oh, the man’s a fool. With him, you’ll be investing in the past. With us, the future.”

And after some time of being quiet, Jayce spoke up. “You know, Councilor Medarda is right. The Hexgates are only the beginning. In fact, we’re currently looking for new partners in our Hextech research, and as a support of House Talis, you’d be the first in line to any of our advancements.”

Amara stood there silent, then she smiled. “How can I say no to such an auspicious offer? 

They shook hands. Once she left Mel looked over at Jayce with a smirk. “Hextech partners?”

“It has a nice ring to it.”

“Mm. Your audience await, Councilor.”

And with that, Jayce went all around the theater, making deals with other councilors, shaking their hands and kissing them. All except for Heimerdinger who was too busy enjoying the violinist’s performance in the front row.

VIOLET:
Vi knocks on a door as a guard opens it for her and Caitlyn. They entered the building as it turns out it’s a brothel. Vi was unbothered by it as Caitlyn kept her head low and shy. Moans, giggles, chatters can be heard from every single room. 

“How exactly do you propose we go about this?” Caitlyn finally asked. 

Vi stopped walking and glanced back at Caitlyn. “Pretend you work here.”

“EXCUSE ME? I will not.”

Vi walked up to Caitlyn. “You wanna know what your problem is?”

“Please. Tell me.” Caitlyn said with an eye roll.

“You expect everyone to give you what you want. If you really want people to talk to you, you have to let them think you have something what they want.” Vi began to walk around the enforcer. 

“And what do I have?”

Vi looked up and down at Caitlyn’s curves. “You’re hot, cupcake.” 

That made Caitlyn stumble back to a wall as Vi put a hand on the wall, basically pinning the enforcer against her. “So what’ll be, man or woman?”

“Uh…”

Vi didn’t wait. She saw a worker come by, she immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him to Caitlyn. “This fine woman here needs a good time. I suggest you give it that.”

And Vi left, leaving Caitlyn alone. She walked up to the end of the brothel where the owner, a friend of Vander’s was. She opened the curtains as a female yordle was there Babette. 

“Would you believe it?” The yordle said as she looked up and saw the only girl she knew with pink hair. 

SILCO:
Marcus was fiddling with the first coin he ever gotten from Silco. The same coin with Grayson’s blood still staining it after six long years. 

“Sheriff, what a lovely surprise.” Silco said as he walked in his office and towards his chair. 

“The Hextech wonder boy is in the Council now, and he’s asking questions. It’s only a matter of time before he finds the truth.”

“What is truth, but a survivor’s story?” Silco said as he pulled out one of Jinx’s Chompers, filled with The Firelights’ logo all over it. “It’s an relived that you were able to locate proof of the Firelight’s involvement.”

Marcus picked up the bomb and looked over at Silco. “This has gone too far.”

“Hmm? Imagining yourself a hero? One final act to make you the martyr you’ve always wanted yourself as?” So Marcus pulled the pin, blowing themselves up. At least in his head. He was too much of a coward to do it. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Marcus simply stormed out. Silco sighed and slumped against his chair. “Ah, he’s faltering. You need to weaponize the Hextech soon. Once we’ve cracked their prize, topside will have no power over us.”

He was clearly talking to Jinx who was resting on the rafters, she couldn’t do it. “I can’t do it. Just… give it to the doctor.”

“You’re the only one I can trust with this, Jinx. And Singed is busy with project D.”

Jinx winced at that. Project D. That’s what Dante is now. A mere project. “I keep… seeing them. That day.”

Silco stood up from his chair and looked up at Jinx. “Fear hunts us all, child.”

VIOLET:
“…Sweetheart, I was real sad to hear what happened to Vander. And the kids. Just terrible.”

“Yeah.” Vi let out a scoff. “By the looks of it, no one down here lifted a finger to stop Silco.”

“A few tried but Silco’s got the muscle… and the money. He took over The Last Drop.”

“I saw.”

“Things have changed without Vander looking out for us.”

“Have you heard anything about Powder? I think Silco has her.” The yordle shook her head. Vi knew staying here wouldn’t help. “I have to go and find her.”

“Silco’s number two’s a regular. I can have one of my boys tell you where to find him.”

“I ow you.” And with that, Vi left the room. 

“It’s nothing.” Babette muttered. Her ears falling down to the sides of her head out of sadness. 

Vi was walking down the hallway as she stop she heard giggling, she looked over to a room and saw Caitlyn… flirting with a woman? Vi scoffed with a smile and shook her head and continued walking, leaning Caitlyn behind. This is the moment Vi realized Caitlyn liked women.

JAYCE: (SEX SCENE)
Jayce was at a balcony in the Medarda estate. Looking over at the Hexgates towering the beautiful city. Mel walked up behind him. 

“You did well today.”

Jayce looked over at her. “I had a good teacher.”

“It’s only a matter of time before those old fools on the Council officially accept your research.” Mel said as she stood beside Jayce in the balcony. 

Jayce sighed and looked once more at the Hexgates. “My father put hammer in the hands of the people, and they built this magnificent city. Imagine the wonders they could create if we put magic in their hands.”

“The world will never be the same.” Mel muttered. “The Medardas usually only take from the world. We’re not often in the position to give anything back.”

Her hand brushed against his. He looked at their hands close then back at her eyes. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Their eyes met. Something lingered between them. It was something like uncertainty, ambition, attraction. Then, without another word, Mel kissed him.

Jayce stiffened at first, surprised. He then gave in. It wasn’t impulsive. It was deliberate. Calculated. Like a pact sealed not with ink, but breath and skin. She pulled Jayce into her room, then pushed him down to the bed, hands roaming the muscles shaped by forgework and ambition. Outside the window, thunder rolled on the horizon.

Their lips met again. This time it was less political now, more desperate. The intimacy was more than lust. It was strategy and solace tangled together.

Two rising stars, seeking warmth before they burned. Jayce pulled her to be beneath her as he began to kiss her, going lower and lower as he lifted her dress’ skirt, pulling down her black lacy panties and slid his tongue between her folds. 

“J-Jayce…” Mel moaned out as she grabbed his head with a hand, the other helping him as she rubbed her clit. Jayce spread her legs wide and got between them, quickly removing his pants and boxers, his cock twitching. 

“Mel…” Jayce moaned out as he saw her hand reaching down for his shaft and stroking it, gently then fast as he slid it down inside into her pussy. He leaned forward and began to kiss her on the neck as she was by his ear, moaning form his gentle, yet powerful thrusts. Jayce reached for her hair, and began to untangle it, her hair fallowing down like a black halo against the silk bedsheets. 

Jayce reached down for her hand as she clenched it, her other hand scratching his back as she felt his cock going deeper in her. Right inside her womb. Jayce kept thrusting, this time becoming faster and faster. That’s until Mel clenched the bedsheet as they both came at the same time. Jayce pulled out as he was tired immediately going to sleep as Mel held him, cuddling with him. He was hers. And she was his. 

VIKTOR: 
At the academy lab, far from silk sheets and sex, Viktor stood over his desk like a dying man refusing his grave. The Hex Core, silent and still, sat nestled in the center of an iron-ringed platform. He scrawled another formula, tested another equation, and watched if again, then increased again nothing happen. Sky entered quietly, carrying tea.

“You should sleep.” She offered, her voice soft, and a bit of hope in it. “Let me walk you home.”

Viktor barely looked up. “No. I’ll stay.”

“Viktor…”

“I said no.” He didn’t mean for it to come out cold. But it did.

Sky lingered. Then she left him alone. The door clicked shut. Alone again, Viktor stared at his invention. He whispered, “Why won’t you work?”

His hand swept across the desk, scattering notes and schematics to the floor. He leaned on the table, gasping. Then, a sharp pain seized him. He staggered back, coughing, red blooming on his palm, smearing across the metal. His knees gave out. Then he collapsed. But the blood that was near the Hex Core was absorbed into the device. 

JINX:
Jinx and Silco stood in the waters, Piltover in the distance as thunder rumbling in the sky, lighting up the night. Silco was in front of Jinx who held herself against Dante’s coat. 

“I almost drowned in these waters.” Silco said. 

“You told me a million times.” Jinx said, leaning her head backwards in annoyance. 

“Vander wasn’t the man you thought he was.”

“Right, he was like a brother to you, and he turned his back and blah, blah, blah. Did I miss anything?” Jinx said annoyed. She knows about betrayal. She betrayed the owner of the coat she’s currently wearing. She didn’t need another boring lesson from a man who sits on his desk every single day. 

Silco snickered at Jinx’s retaliation. “I’ve got a new one for you.”

His hand dipped into the water, then raised it up, looking at it. “That day, I let a weak man die.”

He fully dipped down, letting the water overtake him, then he raised up, slicking back his hair. “And a new one was born. Betrayal, that pain that feels like it’ll eat you from the inside out, can either break you or forge you into something greater. You need to let Powder die. So the fear of pain will no longer control you.”

Let Powder die? She wasn’t sure she could. Because Powder was the one who loved them. And Jinx…? She walked over to Silco as he took her hand. “You’re strong now. Just like you were always meant to be. Jinx is perfect.”

Silco grabbed the back of Jinx’s head, brining her closer to him, then leaned her down towards the water. In a way to ‘baptize’ her from her sins of being Powder. A loving girl. But Jinx…

Jinx may be in love with the devil.

VIOLET:
“Look out for yourself
I wake up to the sounds
Of the silence that arouse
From my mind to run around 
Put my ear up to the ground
Im searching to behold
The stories that I told
My back is to be the world
That was smiling when I turned
Tell you you’re the greatest”

Vi was currently walking down the streets of the undercity. Hood up, hands on her jacket, a band signing by the streets. But right now, she had a target. A certain traitor to Vander. 

Sevika. 

“Oh, the misery
Everybody wants to be my enemy 
Spare the sympathy 
Everybody wants to be my enemy
Look out for yourself 
My enemy 
Look out for yourself
But I’m ready
Your words up on the wall
As you’re prayin’ for my fall
And the laughter in the halls
And the names I’ve been called
I stuck in my mind
And I’m waiting for the time 
When I show you what it’s like
To be worse than am I”

MEL:
Mel awoke to absence. The silk sheets were still warm, but the space beside her was empty. No Jayce. No weight. She sat up, brushed hair from her face, and stared at the door like it owed her answers.

“But once you turn, they hate us…”

JAYCE:
Jayce was sitting down besides Viktor’s bed in the hospital room. 

The second he heard Viktor was unconscious in the lab he immediately ran for him. And now, Viktor laid, pale, weak, and fragile. 

Viktor opened his yellow eyes, and glanced over at Jayce who was tapping his foot repeatedly on the floor. “Jayce?”

Jayce head went up, hearing his best friend’s weak voice. “Viktor. The doctors, um, they said you’re…”

Jayce trailed off. Viktor knew what he was meaning even without saying it. He looked up at the ceiling. 

“How much time do I have?” Viktor simple exhaled out. Accepting his fate. 

VIOLET:
Sevika was gambling on a little den by the alleyway of Zaun, and she won, cigar on her smirking mouth as she leaned back. 

“Rotten luck boys!” She leaned forward to collect her coins until she was met with an—

CRACK!

Vi’s knees came in crashing into Sevika’s jaw, cigar flying out of her mouth as she was sent flying to the ground. The other gamblers collected their money and ran away. Sevika stood up, feeling her jaw, then her eyes widened at the sight of her. 

“Vi?”

Everyone in the undercity thought Vi died. Sevika stood up and threw an back hand but but Vi ducked under it. Punching Sevika in the jaw once more the grabbed her pony tail and pinned her against the wall. 

“You filthy traitor.” Vi growled out at Sevika’s ear. 

“Vander had his chance.” Sevika responded as a purple glow appeared under her cape which got Vi’s attention. Sevika freed herself with a back headbutt and a kick against Vi’s abdomens. She grabbed her cape and removed it, showing off her mechanical arm. 

Vi’s eyes widened at this as she wasn’t even aware that Sevika lost her arm, or the fact she had a mechanical one. But she didn’t care, she stood up, removing her jacket and threw five punches which were blocked, Sevika grabbed both of Vi’s arms with her mechanical one. 

“I see you never learned patience.” Sevika headbutted three times, then punched Vi in the abdomen, sending her to a wall. She swiped but Vi ducked, punched the abdomen then the jaw, blocked a punch, dodge another which she responded with an uppercut then dodge another punt which she responded with two body shots and another shot in the jaw. Ending her combo with a Superman punch. 

Sevika fell to the ground but she wasn’t down, she growled and picked up a barrel, punching it mid air, sending it flying towards Vi who dodge it by running but was immediately shoulder checked by Sevika, then held her neck and with a 180 turn she slammed Vi down into the ground. Lifted her to the wall, using her mechanical arm’s heat to burn Vi’s cheek. 

Vi freed herself by a knee towards Sevika’s crotch, then a double hammer first into her back, tossing her to the wall. Both women were tired. Sevika got up as Vi did a hand gesture, telling the older woman to come at her. And she did. But Vi was ready. She dodge, punch in the face, uppercut, slam Sevika’s head towards a support beam, the towards the wall, rapid body shots, another punch in the jaw, kick in the foot, making her drop to a knee, then grabbing Sevika’s head and bringing her knee towards her face. To end her combo, Vi ran and did a double foot dropkick. Sending Sevika crashing to a ward and falling into the alleyway’s streets. 

Sevika spit out blood as she tried to raise but but Vi stomped her boot down to Sevika’s arm and grabbed her by the neck. “Where’s my sister? Where’s he keeping her?”

“Keeping her? You mean Jinx?” Sevika repeated with a bloody eyebrow. That made Vi confused. “She works for him.”

That made Vi’s eyes widened in shock as she slowly let go of Sevika’s throat. Sevika took the opportunity, driving the sharp fingers of her mechanical arm’s hear into Vi’s abdomen and leaned forward to Vi’s ear. 

“She’s like his daughter.” She pushed Vi away who started to crawl but Sevika grabbed her, raising her mechanical arm into to air to kill off Vi once and for all. “I’ll give her your regards.”

BANG!

A bullet shot through the Shimmer case that powered the mechanical arm, Sevika looked up and saw Caitlyn on a sky bridge, rifle ready. Sevika groaned as she ran away, Caitlyn shooting a few shots at the useless arm. She jumped down and walked towards the wounded Vi. 

“Why did you let her go?” Vi asked as he held her bleeding wound. 

“Do you ever say ‘thank you?’” Caitlyn shot back as she filed her rifle and put it on her back. 

“He’s gonna know we’re here.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

Vi shrugged, knowing it’s her fault. “You’re an alright shot.”

“I’m an excellent shot.”

Vi sighed as she raised her hand for help. “You gonna help me out, cupcake?”

“Stop calling me that.” Caitlyn helped Vi, slumping her to her shoulder. “My name is Caitlyn.”

Vi grunted softly. “But you’re sweet. Like a cupcake.”

Vi said as she picked up her jacket and the two began to walk away from the scene of violence. 

JINX:
Jinx sat perched on her squeaky stool, one leg drawn up to her chest, the other dangling, boot tapping against the leg rest in chaotic rhythm. Her workshop was half darkness, half sparks flying, exposed circuits, and one humming core of something new.

“Tick tock, little clock.” She sang under her breath, eyes locked on the machine before her. “Sing me a secret, spill me some sparks.”

Across the table was the problem. And the solution. Wires were coiled like serpents around the blue gemstone. Runes flickered, overwritten. The gemstone floated within the chamber, suspended by a magical magnetic fields that buzzed louder the closer she leaned in. Her hands were black with soot. Her face glistened with sweat and oils. Her bangs stuck to her cheek like vines. But her eye, those blue eyes gleamed with wonder in the blue glow. And that meant one thing. The machine roared to life. It was spinning, rising, clicking with impossible precision. Jinx screamed with laughter, toppling off the stool, only to spring up and start spinning like a drunk ballerina, arms wide, coat flaring.

“I did it! I did it!” She  cackled. “Take that, golden boy! Stick that in your fancy hammer and swing it!”

The gemstone pulsed, stabilizing in midair, crystalline lines of hextech etching themselves into the air around it like constellations. Power. Real power. Hers.

But unaware to her, The dormant Rebellion was absorbing some of the tunes that flew around her hideout. As the runes were absorbed they went from blue to red. As if it was powering itself up. 

SILCO:
Silco was fixing his makeup on his scarred half of his face as he heard the door open as the injured Sevika limped, Shimmer falling off her useless arm. 

“You’re making a mess.” Silco said as he didn’t turn to her. 

“The sister. She’s back. 

That immediately got his attention. Snapping close his makeup and turned rapidly to face her. 

“FROM THE DEAD?”

Chapter Text

MEL:
Mel was currently in her art room, which was more of a porch than anything. She broke an egg and mixed it up with clay. She was making a brown-red paint. Almost finishing the giant painting on a giant canvas as she took a step back to look at her piece of art. 

“I didn’t know you were an artist.” Mel turned over as she knew that voice. Jayce entered the room. 

Mel wasn’t to happy with him at the moment. Especially with how he left last night without saying anything. She felt used. She turned back and kept painting. “Hm. There’s quite a lot about me you don’t know.”

Jayce knew that tone. She’s trying to hide her anger for him just bailing out on her after last night. “Listen, I’m sorry for disappearing last night.”

“Duty calls.” Mel said with a sharp stroke, sending a drop of the brown-red paint towards her white dress. 

Jayce took a deep breath and sat down in the floor. She needed to know the truth. “Viktor’s dying.”

Those two words immediately got Mel’s attention as she stopped painting and set down the paint and brush on a small table. Jayce continued. “I think it has something to do with gasses in the fissures where he grew up. Exactly the sort of thing we wanted to fix with Hextech. Improving lives. Solving issues, but just trade disputes. Viktor saved my life once. Now, he needs me and there’s nothing I can do. I hate feeling so useless.”

Mel sat down besides him on the floor. The way Jayce sounded like he wanted to cry. It showed her that he wasn’t a greedy man that invented a new invention. But a man truly wanting to improve the world for everyone. “I didn’t realize you were so close.”

“He’s like my brother.” Jayce said softly, then, with pure instinct he leaned his head down on Mel’s lap. 

That surprised her. But she didn’t push led him away, she embraced it by running a hand through his hair. “Why did you come to me with this?”

“I just…” Jayce reached for her hand, bringing it up to his lips, kissing it softly. “Nothing feels impossible when I’m with you.”

Mel sighed softly and looked at her painting. “I’m an exile from my family.”

“What? Why?”

“I fell short of Medarda standards.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. Do you?”

That snapped Mel out of her looking at the painting, now looking down at Jayce. If he sees Viktor as a brother. Then a brother needs to stab by the side of his brother. “You should be with him, Jayce. We can’t change what fate has in store for us, but we don’t have to face it alone.”

Jayce didn’t say anything. He just simple gave her a kiss on the hand once more, grateful she was able to understand him. He looked over at the painting. “It’s a beautiful painting.”

And it was. It was the Noxus capital’s docks. The Immortal Bastion. 

VIKTOR:
Viktor sat alone in the lab. The world outside might’ve still been turning, but within these sterile walls, time had slowed, it thickened. Something like syrup in a cold vial. He sat hunched, breath shallow, fingers trembling over his knees.

The Hex Core floated inches from him, its runes gently pulsating with an alien rhythm, neither machine nor magic, but some synthesis of both. A lullaby in light. A whisper in power. He leaned forward. The closer he got, the heavier the air became, it thickened with static, like a storm waiting to exhale. He raised his hand, slower this time, joints stiff. Something in his body, every cell, they warned him not to.

But his mind. The brilliant, dying thing inside his skull was louder. He touched it. And everything changed. A blinding pulse of light exploded in his vision. Not outward but inward. The world narrowed to a point and then unraveled like a scream in reverse. His lungs seized, but he didn’t breathe. His eyes fluttered, but they didn’t see. Instead, he felt. 

Relive. 

JINX:
The Last Drop was quieter than usual. Calm jazz music played on the jukebox as it was practically empty as no one but the bartender was there. He was humming to the music was immediately snapped out of it as he heard the door burst open, only for wind to come, nobody. So he just shrugged and kept working. Until a voice started him. 

“CHUCK!” That made him drop the glass he was cleaning as he saw at Jinx, leaning against the counter, playing with Hextech gemstone. 

“Thieram. Uh… my names, Thieram.” The bartender said. He knew Jinx’s games so he was uneasy about this. But he couldn’t do anything about it because it’s Jinx and she’s basically Silco’s daughter. 

“Nice try, Chuck.” She tapped the counter for her usual. “What’s all the hubbub?”

The bartender began to make her drink. An orange juice with her metal cup that had been drawn on. “Uh. Boss wants us to grab someone.”

“Someone? Anyone? Who you grabbing?”

“Some girls. I mean, I mean not… I’m not grabbing girls. Oh, other than the… those ones… I guess.” He immediately said as Jinx silently gestured for her straw which he immediately gave it. 

“Focus. Who are they? Why wasn’t I invited to the party?”

“Uh, I don’t know. They… they got in a fight with Sevika. They did her a number.”

That caught Jinx’s attention as she was drinking. “Oh really? Which number?”

“It’s like a saying?”

He was immediately responded with one of Jinx’s hugs. “You’re doing great, Chuck! Here, for you trouble.”

He patted his back and freed him, grabbing her drink as a pin released, he looked behind as he saw a Chomper in his back. It blew up in pink paint as Jinx ran straight to the stares. 

VIOLET:
Vi was limping, still being carried by Caitlyn. The stab wound from Sevika’s fight was making her weak. Blood was pooling in her hand. 

“Silco’s goons aren’t far behind. We have to keep moving.” Caitlyn said as she kept pushing forward for her and for Vi. 

Vi looked. She saw an neon sign. Silco’s logo. An S shaped like an eye. “What the hell is that?”

“The sign.”

“Never mind, just help me to the ledge.” Vi said as they made it to the ledge. Without second thinking Vi jumped down the beans, trying to parkour but due to her weakened state she just fell. 

Caitlyn sighed in annoyance and followed after her. Unaware to either, the Firelight leader was watching them for a far. Seeing how they barely got away from some of Silco’s goons after the two women. 

JINX:
Sevika limped inside, her mechanical arm having an stretcher.

“We lost her.” She said through gritted teeth, assuming Silco sat behind the chair.

The chair turned as it wasn’t Silco. It’s was Jinx. “Lost who?”

Sevika growled and lunged—but she activated a trip wire. Activating a gas trap from the vents. She coughed, stumbled, and hit the floor hard. Jinx has a gas mask on as she wiggled her fingers to taunt her. 

Later, Sevika was tied to a chair, arms bound tight behind her back.

A slap to the face jolted her to wake up. Jinx sat on the desk. She exhaled deeply and pulled the older woman closer. “I feel like you and I got off the wrong arm. Maybe we should try the other.”

Jinx said as she had a knife in hand, and calmly drew the flat of the blade across Sevika’s clothes, but just enough to be felt.

“No need, it’s your sister.” Sevika said with a chuckled. That immediately froze Jinx. “She’s back. She’s looking for you. It’s not what you think. She’s with some girl enforcer. Guess she replaced you.”

Jinx stabbed the backrest of the chair. “YOU’RE LYING!”

Sevika chuckled, seeing Jinx losing her temper. “Why bother? Her back in town, it’s only a matter of time before you implode, and Silco finally gets the message that you’re about as good for our cause as you were for your family. Jinx.”

That immediately made Jinx sob. Sevika had a smug look but Jinx immediately fallowed it with a sneeze, kicking Sevika and began giggling. “Ten outta ten, toots!”

Jinx stood up, approaching Sevika as she was slowly going crazy. “I think I know just how to deliver that message.”

Jinx began to spin Sevika fast. Giggling like the crazy girl that she became due to the world crushing down on her. 

MARCUS:
Marcus glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, eyes bloodshot, knuckles white as he gripped the sink. He hated the man staring back at him. He was weak, compromised, splintering like glass. His jacket hung heavy with guilt, the weight of Jinx’s grenade still tucked away in the inner lining. Then a laughter broke his spiral.

His daughter, Ren.

Her giggles chimed from down the hall, a sound too pure for this house, too innocent for him. He stepped into her room’s hallway, the light flickering above. He softened at the sight of her through the cracked door. She was kneeling, smiling, balancing cards into a makeshift home. But as he fully opened it he realized who was there as well. Silco. 

“Ah, about time Daddy joined us.” Silco said with mocking innocence. Turning to face the Sheriff. “You were so busy. Little Ren here saw me in.”

Marcus was completely frozen. And to make it worse, he wasn’t alone, Silco had two of his goons leaning against Ren’s room. He looked back at Silco. “Let’s talk outside.” 

“Can’t you see we’re playing? You remember our old friend Vi, don’t you? Vander’s daughter.” He looked back at Ren. “She was about your age. Her father went on a long trip and Daddy here assured me that she left with him. But it seems she never made it. Isn’t that sad? Could you imagine being separated from your father?”

Silco said as he looked back at Marcus. The last part was a threat. 

Marcus was scared. But he knew Vi was in Stillwater. “She’s… in a safe place.”

“She’s in the Lanes.” Silco said. That immediately shattered Marcus.

“That’s not possible.”

“There’s an enforcer with her. A girl. Roughly the same age.”

“Caitlyn. She’s a Kiramman. Just like them, she does whatever she wants. I… can’t control her.”

Silco stood up. “Then of what use are you.”

“I’ll track her down. I can fix this. Please.”

“Everyone makes mistakes, right? What’s important is that we don’t repeat them. My people are tracking Vi and this… Caitlyn. They connect be allowed to resurface. Do we understand each other?” Marcus just nodded. Silco bent down and knocked off the card house. “Oops. Ah. So sorry. Accidents happen.”

That last part was a threat. 

JAYCE:
The lab was quiet. No metal clashing. No tools grinding. Just the faint hum of the Hex Core, pulsing softly like a heart that never quite beat right. Viktor stood at the center, posture hunched, face gaunt. He held a plant. It was ordinary and delicate. 

“Watch.” Viktor said. And as soon as the plant made contact with the Hex Core it grew larger than natural in seconds. “It responds to organic matter.”

Jayce besides Viktor, taking a step back and looked up at the large plant in awe. “Incredible.”

“This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, Jayce. It, it, it could be the key to augmenting physiology, extending life…”

“Saving you.” But just as Jayce said that, the plant turned to dust. 

“It happened to everyone. I can’t determine why.” Viktor asked as he walked up to the chalkboard. Leaning his forehead against it. “They’re… rejecting the transmutation.”

Jayce looked over a Viktor, with a sigh he walked over to him and out a hand in his shoulder. “We’ll solve this.”

“There’s may not be time. We’re in uncharted waters now and… I can feel my body… eroding.”

“I’ll have Sky bring Heimerdinger. He might know something that could help. In the meantime,” Jayce picked up a chalk, “we’ll do what we do best.”

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn rushed to the weakened Vi on the ground floor. Lifting her up as from the shadows they saw tents and people in coats. Squealing. 

“What is this place?”

“Is the kind of people you topsiders don’t want to think about, wind up.” Vi grunted out. 

A man approached them, hands outstretched for something, anything. But Caitlyn pulled out a flashlight as the man immediately hid from it. She pointed at the rest as they hid. Maybe out of disgust in themselves or the fact they don’t get any light. 

“It was never this big, though.” Vi muttered out. She looked behind them and saw a building. “There.”

They limped their way into the building. Caitlyn rested Vi in a dirty bench as she grunted. Then, a flicker of memory passed over her face. Powder’s voice, giggling, and the sight of blue haired innocence before everything burned away. The image made her chest tighten painfully. So much she ignore Caitlyn’s actions and words. 

“I shouldn’t have left you.”

“It’s alright.” Caitlyn said, thinking Vi was talking to her. “Despite it all, I can tell… you have a good heart.”

And for a moment, she could almost hear Vander’s voice, calm and warm in the dark.

“You’ve got a good heart.”

The memory broke something inside her. She turned her face away from Caitlyn, hiding the tears burning at the corners of her eyes.

“Just… give me a second.” Vi whispered. Caitlyn simply nodded, kneeling beside her without another word. Even in silence, Caitlyn’s presence felt like a strange, stubborn comfort, a reminder that maybe not all topsiders were like Marcus or the others. Maybe some could actually see her.

JAYCE:
The purple-blue light of the Hex Core pulsed faintly like a heartbeat. Heimerdinger stared at it, the reflection dancing in his eyes with both wonder and unease.

“What is that?” The yordle simple asked. 

“I’m calling it the Hexcore. Or Hex Core. Same thing.” Viktor blurted out. “It’s an adaptive rune matrix. Hextech that evolves.”

“It’s groundbreaking.” Jayce stammered out in awe. “What’s most exciting is that it reacts to biological matter. There are stories of healing magic. Our samples thus far have perished…”

Jayce words trialed off as Heimerdinger saw a vision. Piltover destroyed. A mage at the top of the world. “You must destroy it.”

“What?”

“Please, if ever you’ve put faith in my guidance, hear me now. I’ve seen nation destroyed by a single seed and it looked…” the yordle pointed at the Hexcore,” exactly like this.”

“Professor, this could save Viktor’s life.”

Heimerdinger looked at Viktor and saw how Viktor was eyeing the Hexcore. Like an addict on Shimmer. “Viktor, something’s different. You’ve changed. What did you do?”

That’s snapped Viktor as he didn’t looked down At Heimerdinger. “W-What do you mean, Professor?”

“Is that thing. It must be destroyed!”

“Wait.”

Jayce stepped in front of Heimerdinger. “No. I won’t let you.”

“Jayce, this is a violation of the Ethos. I will have it destroyed one way or another.”

“That’s your opinion. We’ll see if the Council agrees.” And Heimerdinger didn’t say anything. He simply walked away. Jayce sighed and rubbed his face. 

“I might know someone else who could help.” Viktor finally said. 

“You do what you have to. I need to get ready.”

“For what?”

CAITLYN:
Vi looked at the slumbering Vi. Then moved to the door, opening and putting on her hood. Caitlyn barely had time to adjust before a hooded man appeared beside her like a shadow from the Lanes.

“Is she alright?” Caitlyn gasped at the voice, immediately pulling out her rifle making the man stumble backwards. “Wait, wait, wait! Easy. Easy. That’s Vi, right? I’m a friend. Name’s Huck. Or at least I was. I mean, I… I owed her old man my life. Probably more than that. I guess.”

“She’s bleeding. She needs a doctor.” Caitlyn said steadily. 

“Huck laughed awkwardly at that idea. “Not so simple to come around here. I’m sorry. Oh, oh. But, ah, I do know someone else who might be able to help. Come with me.”

He led her through twisting paths with the scent of smoke and damp stone until they reached a cramped, cluttered apothecary. Shelves overflowed with strange herbs and bubbling concoctions, the air dense with pungent aromas. They made it to a shop as Huck hit the chime. The window opened behind the bars as a monstrous woman appeared. 

“Ailment?” She snarled out. 

Huck looked up at Caitlyn as she looked at the lady. “Uh… she’s been stabbed.”

The lady snarled and closed the window. There was an awkward silence, until Huck broke it. “She makes potions. Helps people with…”

He gestured at the Shimmer mutation for being an addict. “Shimmer. Why would you take something that does that to you?”

“I just… wanted to feel what it was like… to be somebody. To make other people afraid. Instead of—“

He got cut off as the window opened once more, the lady having a small potion. “Trade.”

Caitlyn gasped. She didn’t knew she had to trade something. She thought it was for free. But she then looked at her rifle. She unloaded the ammunition, and folded it. The weight of her decision pressed down on her harder than the barrel ever had. She was given the potion that had some Shimmer. “Thank you, I really—“

She was cut off by the lady closing on her. “Let’s go. I think Vi will be happy to see a friendly face.”

“No, no. You go ahead.” Huck stammered out. “She knew me when I was still… anyway, I don’t want her to see me like this. Just tell her, uh, tell her I’m sorry. About everything. Okay?”

Without hesitation, Caitlyn wrapped him in a brief but sincere hug. “Thank you.”

And with that, Caitlyn walked away. Back to Vi. 

JAYCE:
Jayce was in the Council chambers, the meeting wasn’t still on until a few hours but he needed to get ready. He was writing something ln hist paper. Then, Marcus set down the Chomper. 

“Found this on one of the Firelights. It matches fragments we found outside your lab and at the Hexgates.” The Sheriff said. Jayce picked the bomb up. “I… have reason to believe they’re planning more attacks.”

“Well, how has this threat gone unnoticed for so long?” Jayce finally asked. 

“Since the Hexgates were completed, the fissures haven’t been a priority.” A complete lie. 

“Oh, we’ll settle that later. For now, we need to prevent any further attacks.”

“Short of searching everyone who crosses the bridge. I don’t know how we can.”

“Then, that’s what we’ll do.”

“Are you certain? This sort of order—“

“Do it. We have to protect the city.”

Marcus didn’t respond. He simply put on his helmet and headed to the exit. But he stopped and spoke. “One other thing. I saw Caitlyn Kiramman had a prisoner released on your order. Is there anything I can assist with?”

Jayce’s gaze darkened, but he gave no rebuttal. “No. No, uh, we’ve got it covered.”

Later, the Council meeting wasn’t still in full force. Heimerdinger was the one talking. 

“Councilors, we have lost our way. This city was founded to be a bastion of enlightenment. In a world that cannibalized itself over power and pride. But we’ve forgotten. Loosened our morals in favor of comfort and convenience. Traded honor for prestige. We were once one tribe. Now we are Houses divided. I believe, if we set aside our greed and arrogance, we can be one again. It will take vigilance. We must hold each other accountable.”

“And who hold you accountable?” Jayce finally asked. His tone loud and accusative.

“What?”

“Shimmer is rampant in the undercity. Attacks at has happened so much now. The museum last year. The Hexgates and in the Academy Square. Enforcers fear to set foot in the Lanes. All under your watch.”

“Jayce, you forget yourself.” 

Jayce stood up from his desk. “I’m sorry, Professor, but healing this city will take more than just speeches. Time and again, you’ve warned us what not to do. But let me ask you this, what’s your plan to fix this?”

“I see what this is about. Your Hextech projects need more time. More safeguards.”

“Humans don’t live for centuries.” Jayce snapped by slamming his hands on the table. “We can’t wait for progress. We need a leadership focused on the future, not the past. You are the true Father of Piltover, and your years of service can never be repaid.”

He then looked at the rest of the Council. “I believe it’s time we gave the beloved founder of our city… a well-deserved retirement.”

“Jayce, don’t do this.” Heimerdinger said lowly. But the rest of the Councilors were silent. 

“It has to be unanimous. All in agreement?” Jayce pressed on. Looking at Mel, hoping she’ll follow through for him. 

Mel sighed. Slowly raising her hand. “With my deepest respect and appreciation, Professor.”

And one by one, hands were raised. Unanimous. Heimerdinger sat still as a statue. Eyes glistening. Legacy unraveling in real time.

The cost of progress had never been so clear.

VIOLET:
Vi coughed, groaned, and tried to push the foul-tasting liquid away, but Caitlyn held firm.

“Drink it.” The enforcer ordered. Vi nearly punched her for it, but it worked. The burning in her gut began to ease, the tremors slowing. She leaned against the cracked wall of the abandoned building, sweat cooling on her skin.

“Better?” Caitlyn asked softly. “We need you back to your feet. What was the name Sevika gave you? Jinx?”

Vi looked at her stab wound in her abdomen, seeing it fully healed. “Right. Jinx. How could I forget?” 

“We’re going to have to be more careful now. Silco will be watching—“ she stumbled on a support beam. something carved deep into the far wall, faded but still legible. Violet and Powder’s heights. “You used to live here? Who’s Powder?”

“She’s my sister. I thought she died, but, no. I have to try to find her.”

“How do you not know if your sister is alive or dead?”

“It’s hard to check up on people from inside a concrete cell.” Vi said as she stood up.

“What, you don’t have parents?”

That pissed off Vi, because she stood in front of the people that killed then. “No! They were killed by enforcers.”

Caitlyn gasped at the revelation. But before she could say anything else a loud metal clang was heard outside. Vi opened the door and stepped out of the building. The moment she stepped outside, the Undercity greeted them with damp rot and neon lies. Vi froze.

Silco stood across like a shadow made flesh. Two of his goons flanked him. Vials of Shimmer on his hands, giving them out to the addicts of the area. As if he was some sort of savior. 

“Vander’s prodigy.” Silco said with a dark chuckle. “I’ve regretted that we never had the opportunity to speak.”

Vi gasped as she saw that one of them was Huck. His eyes met Vi’s. Then he ran. Vi didn’t look away from Silco. She stepped forward. “What have you done to my sister?”

“I’ve freed her.” Silco said as he tossed the vials to the two addicts on their knees. “Candidly, I thought you were the prize of your secondhand family. But Jinx… oh. She is more than I ever imagined.”

“I’m gonna find her and erase whatever fucked-up delusions you put in her head. But first, I’m gonna bring your bullshit empire down all around you.”

The shimmer-drugged addicts transformed and slowly approached Vi. “You don’t know your limits girl. It’s what got Vander killed. What drove your sister away. And it’s why I’m here right now.”

“Yeah, well… you talk to much.” Vi said as she squared up. She backed up to the inside where Caitlyn was trying to push the support beam, so Vi slammed her fist into its base.

With a groan and a snap, the entire thing came crashing down. Debris of metal and wood swallowing the street in a tsunami of weight and fury. The shimmer addicts didn’t get up. But Vi and Caitlyn took their change to escape. 

JINX:
High above the city’s choking lungs, Jinx stood on a platform. The flare in her hand shook like a dying heart, trembling in her fingers. It had been buried in the mess of Powder’s keepsakes, a part of her broken things, her broken promises.

But this was different. She remembered Vi’s words. So she pulled the string. A snap, a spark, then a bright blue blaze painted the low-hanging clouds red. The smoke curled skyward like a scream. A ghost calling home.

“Kiss your perfect
Goodbye
Because the world is on
Fire
Tuck your innocence 
Goodnight 
You sold your friends like
Guns for hire
Go play with your 
Blocks
And now you’ll pay when these 
Walls come tumbling down…”

VIKTOR:
The lab had once been a sanctuary. Soft humming of machines. Gentle clinking of glassware. Notes pinned to every wall like prayers. A dream carved from rust and willpower. But that day—

That day it reeked of chemicals and betrayal. Viktor stood frozen. His gaze fixed on Rio. She lay there, unmoving, pulsing with faint shimmer-blue light, a jungle creature now bound in steel and tubes.

“Rio will live.”

“You did this?” Viktor accused the man. He hadn’t raised his voice. He didn’t need to. The edge in it was sharper than any scalpel.

Singed looked up from his work, not angry, just cold. “I thought you understood. The mutation must survive.”

Viktor didn’t answer. He simply turned and walked out of that place, leaving behind the only mentor he’d ever truly known. And Rio. But that was in the past. 

Now, The door creaked open. Familiar. Dusty. Singed didn’t look up from his desk.

“I wondered when you’d come back. The chemist murmured.

Viktor stepped inside, gait slower than before. He still bore the look of a dying man, but something in his eyes had changed. It was less fear. More resolve.

“I understand now.” Viktor simple said. 

SILCO:
Silco sat down on his chair at his office. Wiping the sweat off his forehead and the same sweat that ruined his makeup to hide that scar. 

“How many problems can one girl cause?”he said to himself. 

But he noticed painted arrows around his desk, pointing upwards. And he saw it. Sevika, vandalized as she only had a single word painted all over her body. 

‘LIAR’

JINX: 
Jinx stood still, the blue flare still going, a six eyed crow was watching her. After awhile, the flare died out. And seeing no hope, Jinx threw the flare into the abyss, looking at the Hextech gemstone. 

“Powder?” Jinx heard that voice. And she knew who it was. 

She slowly turned around as saw her… “Vi?”

Vi immediately sobbed and ran over to her little sister. Hugging her. “Oh, Powder!”

Jinx dropped the gemstone as she was in shock. A tear falling down her cheek and immediately hugged Vi. Vi pulled away and cupped Jinx’s face. “I’m so sorry, Powder. I… I tried to come back, I did. But I… I got arrested.”

“Marcus?”

“I don’t know. I… it doesn’t matter. I just… I never thought I’d see you again.” Vi hugged her once more. 

“Are you real?”

Vi pulled away once more. Jinx isn’t the only one who thought this was some messed up illusion. “Yes, if course. It’s me, Vi, your sister. I’m here. I’m right here.”

Jinx choked a sob. “Things changed when you left. I changed.”

“I know, Pow-pow, I know. You did what you had to do to survive. Me too. It’s okay. What matters is we’re together.”

But sadly their sweet moment got ruined by Caitlyn as she ran towards the platform. Jinx saw her and pulled from Vi, pulling out POW-POW. 

“Who is she?” Jinx questioned at Vi. 

“Who are you?” Caitlyn questioned at Jinx

“It’s okay. She’s a friend.” Vi said as she slowly got between the two. 

“Sevika wasn’t lying? You’re with an enforcer?” Jinx asked with accusations, her boot slightly kicking the gemstone.

Caitlyn saw the gemstone then back at Jinx and Vi. She then realized… “Your sister is Jinx?”

“Caitlyn, just listen, we can work this out.” Vi said, getting more and more in the middle. 

“This is a trick! You’re playing me!” Jinx accused. Then the voices in her head taunted her. “Shut up! I’m in no mood.”

“We didn’t say anything.” Caitlyn said, unaware of Jinx’s mental illness. 

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Jinx snapped, aiming her mini-gun at the enforcer. 

“Powder, it’s okay.” Vi said, slowly approaching her little sister. 

“Stop calling me that. It’s Jinx now. Powder fell down a well.” 

“You’re not a jinx. God, I never should have—“

“Stop talking to me like I’m a child!” Jinx snapped, aiming POW-POW at Vi’s face. “Was that why you came? For this stupid stone?”

“No, I don’t even know what that is, I…” Vi looked at the Hextech gemstone, arms up to show Jinx she means no harm. 

Jinx chuckle, her voice sounding more and more crazy and unstable. “You’re a class act, Sister. Sister. Thought I missed her. Bet you wouldn’t miss her.”

She pulled the trigger, the three barrels began to spin. “Powder! I’m here for you. Only you.”

Vi pushed down the massive weapon, her hand reaching for Jinx’s arm. “You can fire that thing if you want, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to abandon you again.”

The voices kept at it in Jinx’s head. “Everyone, shut up, I need to think.”

She the beard something. She got her guard up once more, POW-POW aimed up. “Did you hear that?”

From the tunnels the Firelights came in, Jinx immediately opened fire. Multiple came in, swarming the platform that the three women stood on. Jinx and Vi got back to back. Vi punched one off his hoverboard, Jinx was shooting everywhere. One came in but Jinx swept her mini-gun onto the Firelight, knocking her off her board. Pulling out her pistol from her hip, but she did a twist, shooting at a Firelight’s crystal bomb, leaning backwards to avoid the hoverboard driving to her, putting a Chomper on it. Blowing the hoverboard up but the Firelight jumped on the leader’s board. Vi was busy throwing fast and strong punches at the lieutenant, knocking him out. In the process, she saw Jinx laughing like a maniac, while shooting her mini-gun. 

Meanwhile, Caitlyn got the gemstone, but was immediately knocked out by a Firelight who picked up the gemstone and popped out a smoke flare. Jinx saw this, and aimed it at the smoke only to see the enforcer and the Firelight gone. She then immediately dodged an axe cut from high up by a Firelight, and immediately began to beat him with her mini-gun. Vi saw this. 

“Powder. Powder!”

But she was knocked out. Jinx saw this but before she could do anything a blade went through Dante’s coat that she still had on and ripped the right inner thigh of her leg. She knocked out the Firelight who did it. To her and the coat. She the. Saw Vi being carried and the leader eyeing her through his owl mask. Before she could do anything they propped a smoke flare and they were gone. Everyone. And Jinx? She was alone. 

“Vi? NOOOO!”

Chapter Text

VIOLET:
The sack was rough. It smelled like oil, old rations, and powder. Like actual powder, not her. Vi shifted in the ropes they tied around her wrists, biting down a growl. Caitlyn was behind her trying to break free only to fail. 

“I knew it was a mistake trusting you.” Caitlyn said. 

“You’ve been a real picnic yourself.” Vi shot back. 

“I’m not the one who walked us into, not one, but two of Silco’s traps.”

“This isn’t Silco, it’s someone else.” Vi said confidently. 

“How do you know?”

“‘Cause we’d be already dead.”

“Oh, very nice. When were you planning to tell me that your lunatic sister works for him?”

“Just as soon as you came clean about what the hell you’re really doing down here.”

“I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH.”

“Bullshit. What was that glowing stone?” Vi asked, Caitlyn just responded with a sigh. “That’s what I thought.” 

Then Vi was taken by someone, Vi tried to protest but couldn’t due to her position. Leaving Caitlyn alone in the room. 

The next thing Vi knew, her sack was removed from her face as she was in a different room. She looked up and saw the same person that she knocked out last night but without his mask, it was a Vastaya. He growled and walked over to the leader who was seated, tapping his knee as the leader just gestured him to leave and he did. Vi glared at the owl-masked leader. 

“You shy? Or just ugly?”

The leader sat up, resting his makeshift mace down and walked up to the light. Then he reached for his mask, it hissed as he removed his hood. Vi’s eyes widened as she immediately recognized him. 

“You look good for a dead girl.” Ekko said. 

“Ekko?”

Ekko, now nineteen, stalked around her, glaring down at her. “What did you know about this?”

He pulled out a canister, containing the Hextech gemstone. 

“Nothing. What the hell is this all about?”

Ekko exhaled at Vi’s question. “What were you doing with Jinx?”

“Her name is Powder.” Vi snapped, standing up but still cuffed to the pillar. “And I just found her when you and your goons showed up.”

Vi scoffed slightly. He probably doesn’t remember her. “It’s me. Vi. Same person who used to take you down to the junk heap and hose you down when you got covered in grease. 

Ekko looked down, reminiscing of those good days. “That was a long time ago.”

He looked back at Vi, his gaze hardening. “People change.” 

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Are you working for Silco?”

That offended Vi. Why would she work for that asshole? “Fuck. You.”

“I thought you were dead.” Ekko stammered out and began to pace back and forth. “Now you show up with a Piltie and give her a tour of the Lanes?”

“You were following us? Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t know if I could trust you.”

“So… so you just come out swinging?”

“Gee, I wonder who I learned that from?”

“Ah, well, you should have learned more. You still punch like a little boy.”

Ekko rolled his eyes as he didn’t even threw a punch last night. “And you still block with your face.”

Vi scoffed. But as she spoke, she had a hint of proudness at Ekko, like an older sister to their little sibling. “I remember when you wouldn’t stand up to me.”

She freed herself from her cuffs with ease which made Ekko’s eyes widened in surprise. Vi immediately hugged him. “I missed you, little man.”

Ekko was completely frozen. “How long have you had those off?”

Vi just tightened her hug. “How long have you been whining?”

Ekko just… broke. His arms trembled as he held her back. “You’re really here.”

VIKTOR:
The lab was dimly lit, quiet save for the slow bubbling of glassware and the faint ticking of a rusted clock embedded into the stone wall. The smell of rusted metal and herbs steeped in chemicals lingered in the air. A strange mixture of alchemy and sterility. Singed was looking through a telescope of a sample that Viktor brought him. 

“Hmm. Fascinating.” Singed muttered out then looked at the notes. “I would like to see the device. This, uh, Hexcore.”

Viktor was looking at a glass tube, it looked like a man without half of his face and in dark armor with wings. He looked down and saw the subjects name: Caveliere.

“That may be difficult to arrange.” Viktor finally said as he looked over his shoulder at the chemist, letting out a cough. “I’ve tried every combination of runes, but… it’s always the same. The subject, wither and rot.”

“Uh. Perhaps the error resides not with your calculation but… with your subjects. Nature has made us intolerant to change, but fortunately, we have the capacity to change our nature.” Singed said as he pulled out a vial. The Shimmer swirled unnaturally. this one wasn’t the usual purple. It gleamed red, like dying embers under starlight.

“And this is… Shimmer?” Viktor asked. He heard about the drug but never saw it firsthand. But he knew Singed was behind it, there was no on in the undercity mad nor smart enough to make it. 

“A variant. Highly unstable, highly adaptive. Its regenerative capacity far exceeds the standard strain. It should provide everything one needs to survive a violent transition.” Singed said as he stood up from his stool, slowly walking towards him. 

“Will this work on plants?”

Singed’s eyes glinted. “You aren’t here about the plants, are you? I know the look of a doomed man. I must warn you. If you take this path, they will despise you. Love and legacy are the sacrifices we make for progress. It’s why I parted way with Heimerdinger. 

Viktor looked at the glowing red vial. It was calling him. So, he reached for it. “Jayce will understand.”

“Perhaps.”

JAYCE:
The ringing of a hammer against metal echoed like distant thunder across the forge chamber. Sweat clung to Jayce’s skin, his bare shoulders straining with each strike, muscles corded with tension. Flames flickered around him, casting sharp shadows against the stone walls and bathing the room in a golden, flickering hue.

The metal before him glowed a brilliant orange, alive with heat. He shaped it. It was deliberate, methodical. Each blow was precise, even as his thoughts roared with disorder. He didn’t hear the footsteps until a familiar, refined voice cut through the rhythmic clang.

“Hammer work is such a delicate art.” Mel said, a small smirk on her face, appreciating the view she was getting from Jayce. 

“How did you find me?” Jayce asked as he removed his work gloves. 

“You’re the de facto head of the Council. People notice where you go.”

“Huh. Don’t remind me.”

“This border shutdown has people agitated.” Mel said as she ran a hand through the workbench. 

“They should be.” Jayce noticed Mel eyeing the Chomper, he went over to her and picked it up. “Marcus brought this to me. It’s an explosive. I tried taking it apart and it nearly killed me. Whoever built it knows exactly what they’re doing. This and Shimmer. It’s hard to believe what they’re capable of.”

He set it down with an exhale, then grunted softly as he turned his back towards Mel. And Mel felt him. 

“It’s that really what’s bothering you?”

Jayce sighed but didn’t turn to face her. He’s still thinking about yesterday. “He was my mentor, Mel. And I betrayed him.”

Mel exhaled softly, knowing how close he and Heimerdinger were. “Everything you said about him was true.”

She walked over to him, hugging him from the back, her forehead resting on his spine. “My family cast me out and yet, part of me still loves them. Heimerdinger will understand eventually. It’s your time now, Jayce. No more red tape. You can bring Hextech to the masses, just like you’ve always dreamed.”

Jayce nodded slowly. “Hmm. First, I have to save Viktor.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know. He disappeared. He does that sometimes. No sign of Caitlyn either.”

“The Kiramman girl?”

“It’s just…” Jayce groaned as he rubbed his head. “Uh, never mind.”

Me grabbed him by the cheek. “Hey. We’ll get through this. I’ll stall the Council but they’ll soon need their leader. In the meantime…”

Mel leaned in for a kiss, only for her to slam a loosen bolt on Jayce’s peck. “Try not to lose your nuts.”

Jayce chuckled at that as Mel left. 

SILCO:
“All our business is down. Enforcers are searching who crosses the bridge. Enforcers are searching  anyone who crosses the bridge.” Sevika said, taking a drink. 

The air in Silco’s office was thick with smoke and silence. A single oil lamp flickered on the desk, casting amber light across scattered documents and a bloodstained glass of liquor. The city below was restless. With muffled riots in the far distance, the thrum of tension rising from the cracks in Zaun like steam from a wounded machine. 

“Marcus is following my orders. Preventing Vi and Caitlyn from returning.” Silco said as he cut down a cigar. 

“Or he’s finally flipped.” Sevika said. Silco hummed as he took a puff, setting it down and went towards the door. “Where are you going?”

“To find Jinx.”

“Sir.” Sevika stood up. 

“What?”

“I got more in common with cave lice than Jinx. But let’s just say I didn’t always see eye-to-eye with my old man.”

“And?”

“She’ll come to you. When she’s ready.”

JINX:
The hideout stank of iron and gun oil. A single flickering bulb swung above, casting strobe-like shadows that only made everything worse. Blood smeared the metal floor in chaotic brushstrokes. Jagged. Messy. Like her thoughts. Jinx sat half-propped against a steel workbench, panting. Her thigh burned, it was torn open by Firelight axe. And her fingers trembled as she loaded a heavy-duty industrial stapler.

Click.

The first staple punched into her skin with a sound like a cracked bone. Her scream was more a growl, bit down and buried.

“Real smart, Powder,” said a voice. It was his voice.

Mylo.

Her head snapped up, twitching. The room was empty except for shadows and Retribution resting where she left it, propped against the far wall. 

“Oh shut up,” she muttered. “You’re dead. You’re so dead.”

“And whose fault is that?” Mylo jeered, laughing. “You left her, again. Boom, bang, crybaby runs away. Some big sister you are.”

“SHUT UP!”

Another staple. Her hand slipped. It went crooked. More blood. She gagged, spitting red onto the floor as tears slipped down her cheeks, leaving black-streaked trails of soot and powder. Her breath was shallow. Fast.

“You think she’s comin’ back?” Mylo’s voice was right behind her now. “With that Enforcer? Ha! She probably chose her. Looked you in the eye and chose someone else.”

“Not real,” Jinx mumbled. “You’re not real. I’m real. She said she was sorry. Vi said—”

“She said a lot of things. Then she left. That’s what people do, Powder. That’s what they all do.”

She stared at the last few staples in her trembling hand. Her leg throbbed. Her head pounded.

Click.

Another staple. She almost blacked out from the pain. She laughed. Or cried. Maybe both. When she was down,  her eyes flicked to the dormant Rebellion. The sword’s skull had its eyes glowing red. Calling out. 

She pulled herself up, shaky and unstable, like a wounded animal ready to bite back. Jinx had nobody left. No Vi. And definitely not Silco. Just the ghosts in her head—

But… the devil in the freezer.

“Tony…” 

VIOLET:
Vi had seen a lot of things in the undercity. Rotten foundations. The slums. The bones of Zaun left to decay under progress and greed. But nothing like this.

The Firelight hideout bloomed beneath her boots like some forgotten dream. A hollowed-out ruin overtaken by nature and reclaimed with purpose. Ivy crept up the rusted walls, and light filtered down from shattered skylights like rays from a distant, gentler world. In the center of it all. It was something she’d never thought she’d see. 

A tree. 

It was massive and beautiful. Its roots knotted through dirt and metal, splitting it apart. Its branches stretched up, holding makeshift homes, lanterns, even hammocks. It was a living tower. A rebellion grown from the ruins.

“Is that a real tree?” Vi said in awe. 

“Pretty cool, huh?” Ekko said. “When I first saw it, I knew this was the place. If a single seed could make it down here, so could we.”

“You built wall this?” Vi asked, seeing kids playing around the place with hoverboards. 

“Not alone. After Vander…” Ekko hesitated for a moment. “…died, Silco flooded the lanes with Shimmer. He didn’t care what it did to people. Everyone here was an addict or a victim. They needed somewhere safe to start again.”

“I should have been there. For you. For everyone.” Vi said, guilt easily noticeable in her tone. 

“That’s a good way to drive yourself crazy. If I just went with you that day, maybe none of this would have happened.”

Vi looked down. And realized something. Tony wasn’t with Ekko and they were like inseparable from each other. “And Tony?”

Ekko sighed and looked away. “I don’t. Haven’t seen him since that day. I feel like he died somehow…”

“And maybes you’d be dead too… or changed.”

Ekko looked at her and knew what h she meant. “Powder’s gone, Vi. All that’s left is Jinx and she belongs to Silco.”

“You’re wrong.” Vi snapped. “She’s still in there. I can reach her.”

“You can’t.” Ekko snapped. He took a breath to calm down. “I got one more thing to show you.”

He turned and led her up a spiraling path woven through the tree. They passed murals along the way. It was art that was splashed onto broken walls, vivid with color and pain. Ekko gestured to a massive collage across the wall.

Faces. Names. Graffiti tags. Little trinkets nailed into the structure. All lost to the war. Some smiling. Some bloody. Vi’s breath hitched.

Claggor. Mylo. Benzo. Vander. Even Powder as to an extent, Powder died. Even Vi herself as Ekko and everyone thought she died. 

“This is everyone we’ve lost. The price of our freedom. Some of it was enforcers. Most was Silco.” Ekko then turned back to Vi. “Your sister works for him not because she has to, but because she wants to. I’m sorry,  but that’s who she is now.”

Vi stood silent as she looked up at the mural once more. Looking at Powder. 

JAYCE:
The Bridge of Progress was in chaos. Enforcers shouted on the Bridge of Progress, pushing back a group of would-be trespassers with riot batons and steel shields, sealing off the undercity like a wound the council had decided would fester on its own.

Viktor sat on a crate, arms holding his cane which rested between his knees, and his eyes were fixed on the glow of barricades. There was tension in the air. It was thin, quiet,  and brittle. He looked over and saw Jayce walking up to him. 

“Jayce, what is this?”

Jayce looked around to make sure no one was hearing them. Then looked down at Viktor. “Do you have any idea how this looks? I order a blockade and my own partner violates it?”

“You ordered this? Why?”

“There are people down there who seem hell-bent on destroying us. What were you doing?”

“I was consulting a friend about our quandary. I told you I knew someone.”

“Well, you didn’t say they were from the undercity.”

“What difference does that make?”

“What diff… they’re dangerous.”

“I’m from the undercity.” Viktor said, and he knew damn well, Jayce knew that. He stood up. 

“You right.” Jayce tried to help him but Viktor smacked his hand away and began to walk. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot on my plate. Was your friend able to help?”

Viktor looked over his shoulder at Jayce and gripped his cane. “No. No, he said ‘Nature was resistant for this sort of tempering.’”

Jayce looked down and nodded, putting an arm over Viktor’s shoulders. “Alright, we’ll keep at it.”

From the barricades, a flicker caught their eyes. It was something arcing through the air. A bottle, burning at the neck. It crashed short of the line. A small Molotov burst into flames on the stone, sputtering harmlessly, a symbolic gesture more than anything else.

SILCO:
The chem-baron meeting was in full force. But Silco hasn’t arrived yet, so one of them, Finn put a foot on Silco’s chair and spoke up. 

“First, this wild attack in the heart of Piltover. Now, the border’s closing. We’re bleeding money and for what? His dreams of rebellion? He’s losing control. If we stand together…”

Silco and Sevika entered the room. Silco holding a box. “We aren’t due to an assembly.”

“We should be. Ever since your stunt topside, profits have been plummeting.”

“He’s right. Merchandise is frozen at the border. Topsiders are too afraid to cross.” One of the chem-baroness, Renni commented. 

“We’re all wondering, what’s your plan to fix this?” Finn pressed on. 

Silco set down the box on the table. “You’re all wondering, are you?”

“Way I see it, we should cut a deal and give back the Gemstone. Better to have some deal than none at all.”

Silco kept his eye on Finn as he spoke. “The border issue is temporary. Jinx will deal with it.”

“Huh.” Finn laughed at that. “Rumor is, your dog’s of her leash. How your meant to bring Piltover to heel if you can’t handle your own people, huh?”

Then, Sevika moved behind him without a word and slowly turned the valve on the back of a dented  tank tucked in her cape . A sharp hiss filled the chamber. The barons coughed, eyes blinking rapidly, some clutching at their throats as the dense toxic gas crept into the room, slithering between boots and chairs.

Panic surged. Silco remained untouched due to his nerves being burnt off long ago by the toxic water Vander nearly drown him. Sevika had a mask on. 

“Oh, you don’t recognize it? Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in?” Silco began his monologue, holding a mask on his hand as Sevika gave out other masks to the Chem-barons that were in the box. “Air so thick it clogged your throat. Stuck in your eyes. But I pulled you all up from the depths. Offered you a taste of topside.”

Silco walked up to Finn who was trying not to cough but failed miserably. Meanwhile, Silco was unbothered. “And fresh air. I gave you life. Purpose. But you’ve grown fat and complacent. Too much time in the sun.”

Finn finally failed to the floor as Silco looked down at him. “We came from a world where there was never enough to go around, Finn. That is why we fight. Do you remember?”

Finn was gagging and whimpering, trying to reach for the mask Silco held in his hand. And just out of pettiness, Silco took a huff of fresh air from the mask, then dropping it on Finn’s chest as he immediately put it on his face. Silco walked back to the door with Sevika. “Don’t forget again.”

MEL:
The windows of the penthouse spilled golden afternoon light across the marble floor. Mel stood perched on the edge of her balcony, Elora entered quietly.

“I’ve hard word with our friends overseas. This threat from the undercity is drawing attention.” Elora sighed and looked over at Mel. “Piltover looks vulnerable.”

Mel’s lips tightened, then she sighed. “It’s too soon. Jayce isn’t ready for that kind of scrutiny. He’s still adjusting to the spotlight, and he’s far too idealistic.” 

“There’s one other thing.” Elora pulled a small envelope from behind her. Thick, heavy, sealed in red wax with a familiar golden insignia—the sigil of House Medarda. Mel stared. “Only one person could send this.”

Mel’s fingers trembled slightly as she took the letter. The wax had been pressed deep, almost violently. The seal hadn’t changed. She turned it over, eyes scanning it as her mind began to race. A sharp breath escaped her lips. “She’s coming.”

CAITLYN:
The burlap sack came off with a sudden yank. Blinding light struck Caitlyn’s eyes, forcing her to squint as her vision adjusted. Then she saw a Firelight, he was masked and silent. He offered her a small wooden bowl filled with clear water. She stared at it. Her wrists ached, her throat was raw, and yet—

She knocked the bowl from his hands. The water spilled across the stone floor with a soft splash, just as Ekko was sitting on the doorway. Unamused at the topsider’s harsh actions to an undercity kid. 

“What have you done with Vi?” Caitlyn finally asked. Ekko didn’t answered, he just gestured at the kid to leave and he did. “Listen, let her go. I brought her here. It’s me you want.”

Then, Vi came in, leaning against the doorway with a smug look. “My hero.”

“You’re…” Caitlyn was surprised and annoyed. “But I thought you… I thought they were hurting you!” 

“Vi tells me I can trust you. You get a pass back to topside, that’s it. Let’s go.” Ekko simply said. 

DANTE:
The secret facility was dark and half-lit by flickering bulbs that hadn’t seen maintenance in months, maybe longer. Pipes creaked with pressure. The cold air still clung to the chamber like it had never stopped waiting. Jinx stepped through the frost-covered corridor. Her heart raced, more out of dread than guilt.

She found him. Encased in the cryo-pod, frozen no longer. The moment she stepped closer, he moved. When she made the call to seal him in the cryo-pod, it wasn’t for herself. It was for the world. For Piltover, Zaun, everything in between. He’d lost control of that sword. Of that amulet. Of himself. 

But she didn’t realize what that choice would cost.

Jinx went to the control panel and began to move through the knobs and lever. Before she realized a beep was heart. Dante’s heart signature was going back to normal. 

“He’s waking up.”

Jinx walked up in front of the pod, still a few feet away from it. But then, the heart monitor went quiet. She sighed in disappointment. Her hope was shattered. 

Dante’s eyes opened up fast, they’re wente blue. They’re were demonic red, the red demon patterns in his skin glowed as he broke free from the restraints and balled his hand into a fist. And he punched through the glass, the toxic water the held him spilled down as he stepped out, bare foot. 

“Tony…”

Dante opened his eyes once more, as he heard his fake name from her mouth. Then, in a blink of an eye, he slammed her against the concrete wall, one clawed hand pressing into her throat, the other crackling with raw, demonic power. The crimson patterns burned across his skin, swirling and alive, climbing up his neck, down his arms, across his back. The Bilgewater sigil, tattooed on his cheek, looked like it was bleeding ink.

“You froze me.” He growled, voice thick, betrayed. “You sealed me like a damn animal. I trusted you.”

“It was supposed to stop you.” Jinx said quietly. “You were going to kill everyone, including yourself.”

Dante’s hand was tight around her throat, not enough to choke, but enough to remind her he could. But it seemed he didn’t care. He tightened his grip on her.

“I could simple kill you and your fake daddy and his little drug empire in an hour.” He growled out. 

Jinx was losing air. Fast. But her blue eyes looked in at his red demonic ones. Maybe this was karma for all the wrong things that she’s done. To her family. To Piltover. To him. But…

“S-stop…” Jinx said. So low and soft. Like Powder. “Dant-stop…”

Dante then noticed something. She was wearing his coat, the dormant Rebellion sheath on the back, and his necklace turned into her choker. For a long, breathless moment, the patterns on his body seemed to pulse brighter, veins of heat threatening to rip the air apart.

Then, like a switch being flipped, they dimmed. His claws retracted. His eyes dulled back to that cold, blue. Still, he didn’t step back.

“I’m not here to beg.” She added, her voice rough and real. “Not for forgiveness. I’m asking for your help. Everything’s gone to shit and I don’t know what side I’m even on anymore. Just that people are gonna die if we don’t stop it.”

Still no answer. So she reached over, grabbed the dormant Rebellion from her back. Held it out for him.  Dante took the weapon like it had always been his, because it had. And it awakened. Then he reached for his coat, still hanging on her. He shrugged it on. It clung to his frame like armor, his silhouette sharper now, heavier. Older.

His eyes flicked back to her. And for a moment, the fury in his gaze flickered, he was conflicted. His gaze dropped just slightly, taking her in. She’d changed. Slimmer. Stronger. Still wild, but something else now. Calmer in the worst way. And somehow, impossibly. And more beautiful. He hated that his first thought after rage was want.

“You’ve been busy.” Dante muttered.

“Yeah,” she replied, voice dry, “so have you. Cryo-naps must be great for your skin.”

He huffed a short breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. Then turned, Rebellion resting on his shoulder like a threat. She followed behind him.

For Jinx, she thought guilt was the only thing keeping her close. But now? She was wrong.

There was something else…

EKKO:
Caitlyn could hardly believe her eyes. The hideout was nestled deep within the shattered heart of the undercity. It has lush vines twisting through crumbled stone, glowing fungi trailing the curves of a massive tree that stood as the centerpiece of the Firelight sanctuary. It radiated something she hadn’t felt in weeks.

Hope.

“It’s… beautiful.” Caitlyn whispered.

Ekko stood beside her, arms crossed, gaze distant. “If your people had your way, it’d be rubble and ash.”

Caitlyn looked at Ekko. “It’s a misunderstanding. They think you work for Silco.”

That instantly angered Ekko, storming over to the enforcer. “Your people hunt us like animals. Silco pays them to do it.”

“That’s not possible. You’re wrong.”

Ekko narrowed his eyes at her. “Say that again.”

But before things could get nasty Vi stepped between the two. Pushing Ekko a bit. “Ekko, she believes what she’s saying, okay? She’s not your enemy.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what’s this?” Ekko asked with a scoff as he pulled out the Hextech Gemstone. 

“You got it. You have to let me take it back.” Caitlyn said as she reached for it but Ekko pulled the gemstone away from her. He doesn’t trust a topsider. Especially an enforcer. 

“What is it?” Vi finally asked. Completely out of the loop with the stone. 

“It’s a Gemstone.” Caitlyn answered. “It was stolen during the attack. By your sister.”

Vi’s eyes widened then narrowed at her. “You just forgot to mention that?”

Caitlyn didn’t answer Vi’s question. She just explained why the gemstone was important. “With this, someone with the right knowledge could build… any Hextech device. If enforcers are becoming more… aggressive, that’s why.”

Ekko looked at the gemstone in his palm then back at the two women before him. “We could beat Silco with this.”

“That won’t solve things.” Caitlyn said, shaking her head. 

“Easy for you to say. You’re people aren’t dying all around you.” Ekko slightly snapped as he looked away. For the last six years Ekko had been at war with Silco and most time he’s lost countless battles and friends along the way. 

“Ekko, it’s wrong what’s been done to you. You’d be well within your rights to keep it. I couldn’t blame you. But… if you do, this cycle of violence will never stop. This is our best shot at setting the record straight. This city needs healing. More than I ever realized. Please, let me help you.”

Ekko glanced back at Caitlyn. “You got a plan?”

“I have a friend on the Council. Let me take the Gemstone to him. He’ll listen to me. Your people wouldn’t have to hide anymore.”

Ekko looked at the gemstone then back at Caitlyn, his eyes filled with determination. “One condition. I’m the one who gives it to him. I want them to see me. Not another Piltie in fancy boots pretending to care. I want them to see the undercity they keep stomping on.”

JAYCE:
The air in the lab was dense with steam and tension. Hammers had long gone silent, replaced by the low hum of uncertainty. The Chomper sat on the worktable, still defused, dissected, and deadly even in stillness. Viktor adjusted his gloves as he bent down, inspecting the sleek, jagged lines of the device.

“Uh, the from is crude, but… uh, the engineering is… inspired.”

“You think they can crack Hextech?” Jayce asked, looking at Viktor. 

“Mm. It’s a leap.” Viktor said, still inspecting the Chomper with precision and calmness. 

“It’s been suggested that they may have found a way to utilize the Gemstone.” Mel said as she stood nearby, arms behind her back, observing Viktor as well. “If we are to assume the worst, that would mean they’ve turned it into a weapon.”

“Well, do we know this for certain?” Jayce asked her. 

“We can’t afford to wait and find out.”

“Wait. What are you suggesting?” Viktor finally turned his attention from the bomb to her. 

Mel stood silent for a moment but took a deep breath and said: “We should prepare our own countermeasures.”

“You want us to build weapons?” Jayce said. 

Viktor flinched. “Absolutely not. That is not why we invented Hextech.”

“We would shatter any attempt at peace.” Jayce added. “Heimerdinger would never go for this.”

“Heimerdinger’s’ inaction is what brought us here. You said so yourself.” Mel immediately said. “The peace is already broken, Jayce. I’m only asking you to prepare to defend your people. If we’re lucky, we’ll never need to use it. The decision is yours.” 

She left. The silence she left behind felt heavier than her words. Viktor scowled at the bomb. “Weapons. The very thing we swore to avoid.”

“What if she’s right? Are we just gonna stand by while they attack us?” Jayce questioned as he slowly paced around. 

“We’re scientists, not soldiers.”

“We have the knowledge to defend ourselves.”

“We’d agreed Hextech was to improve lives… not to take them.” Viktor stammered as he continued working in the explosive. 

“What if we don’t have another choice?”

Viktor got mad at Jayce’s words, accidentally cutting a wire that activating the Chomper. Viktor takes a deep breath and cuts another wire. Disarming the bomb. Calming both of them down, Viktor turns back to Jayce. 

“There’s always a choice.”

“I need to think.” Jayce said, walking out of the lab while covering his face with a hand. 

Later, in Jayce’s bedroom, Jayce stood in his study, staring into a flickering hearth, shoulders slumped but eyes burning. His mother sat across from him, older now, weary from years of silence and survival.

“I always thought…” Jayce murmured, “that I’d change the world with science. Make it better. Never imagined I’d be talking about arming a city.”

His mother said nothing, only listened.

“I’m going to do something.” Jayce said after a moment, voice grave. “Something I never thought I had in me.”

She looked at him. “Then make sure it’s for the right reasons.”

VIKTOR:
Back at the lab, the lights were dim, the air tense. Viktor stood alone, before the Hexcore.

It pulsed. It called.

He was tired of watching people die, of falling short. Of pretending he wasn’t just as desperate as the people he once pitied. He retrieved the vial from his cane vial, still glowing bright red. The Shimmer sloshed thickly, menacing in its glow. 

He injected the Shimmer into his veins. His body tensed immediately, muscles seizing as his blood ran hot. Then, he sliced open his left palm, red mixing with red. And pressed it against the Hexcore.

It welcomed him. As if it was coming in contact with a magical being.  Screams echoed in the lab, Viktor’s own. Bones cracked. The metal sparked as something ancient and alive surged through him.

The light swallowed him whole. The thing is, he didn’t know the red Shimmer contained blood of someone else. Someone no body knew existed or was still alive. 

Dante. 

EKKO:
Vi’s boots scraped against rusted metal as she scaled the last fire escape, wind whipping her hair behind her. The Firelight tunnel behind them gave way to Piltovan infrastructure, it cleaner, colder, and hollow in its silence. Caitlyn followed closely, Ekko beside her with the gemstone secured on the container that Ekko had on. 

They made their way to The Bridge of Progress, but Vi stopped. Caitlyn noticed it then Ekko. “Vi?”

Vi stood there for a moment too long, then she finally spoke. “I can’t leave her again.”

Ekko knew who she was talking about. “You can’t change her.”

“I have to try.”

Ekko scoffed softly at Vi, knowing how stubborn the pink haired girl is. He walked up to her. And hugged her. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

Vi embraced the hug with a chuckle. “No promises.”

Vi and Caitlyn stared at each other as Ekko pulled away from the hug, Caitlyn walked up and hugged Vi. “It’s been real, Cupcake. Thanks. For everything.”

Caitlyn just tightened her hug on Vi. 

JINX:
Above them, atop the tallest spire of The Bridge of Progress, two silhouettes stood in the wind. Jinx crouched on the ledge, spying on the trio with her telescope. 

Dante stood behind her, arms crossed, coat fluttering like a banner. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He had a tight dark-grey turtleneck shit that was also long sleeve, a pair of black jeans and boots that Jinx was able to find him. His coat’s sleeves were this time unrolled and his white hair was still wet, it’s been around an hour or two since he was woken up. 

From beside Jinx, a voice crackled with a taunting laughter. Mylo’s ghostly figure leaned lazily against an invisible wall in the air beside her, eyes glinting with cruelty. Jinx’s jaw clenched. “Shut up, it’s just a goodbye hug. She wouldn’t do that. Not again.”

Dante raised an eyebrow, watching her carefully. She had gone more crazy the last time he saw her. “Give me that telescope.”

“What?”

“It seems you’ve got some mental problems right now, you aren’t focused. So, hand it over.” Dante said simply. 

With a grunt Jinx handed him the telescope. Dante glanced down at her again, the way her hand trembled slightly near her hip.

“I’ve seen broken.” He finally muttered. “You don’t scare me.”

Jinx looked at him then, really looked. Her eyes like twin suns behind clouded glass, burning, but too tired to rage. The wind howled through the rafters above them.

“You don’t get it.” She whispered.

“I don’t need to.” Dante said simply. “You’re not alone up here. That’s what matters.”

For a moment, Mylo said nothing. Faded. Quiet. Jinx stared into the dark, where Vi had vanished. Her breath hitched. And beside her, Dante stayed. Silent. Solid. Real.

EKKO:
Ekko and Caitlyn were alone now, Vi going back to search Jinx, the duo now wee going to Piltover. But they were stop as a massive search light was lit in front of their faces. 

“Halt!” Marcus ordered. 

“What the hell is this?” Ekko exclaimed as he and Caitlyn covered their eyes from the harsh light. 

From the ten enforcers, Marcus stepped out. Caitlyn immediately pulled out her badge. “Sir! I have proof. Silco’s behind everything.”

Marcus lowered one of his men’s rifles and walked up to the duo. “Show me.”

Caitlyn looked at Ekko, he shook his head, untrusting of Marcus, but Caitlyn kept on insisting. “Shit.”

Ekko reached out and grabbed the canister, opening and reveling the gemstone. 

DANTE:
Dante whistled lowly seeing the sight of Ekko’s biceps through the telescope, then spoke playfully to himself than to Jinx. “Hide those guns, Ekko. Man, gotta work on my biceps.”

EKKO:
Marcus looked at Ekko and he felt something wrong. His eyes widened, closing the canister as Marcus shot him in the chest. The ten enforcer raised their rifles as they were also corrupted enforcers. Surrounding Caitlyn. Marcus held Caitlyn at gunpoint and reached down for the canister. 

JINX:
Jinx heard Vi’s calling out to that enforcer girl. Caitlyn. She screamed seeing her older sister going after her instead back to her little sister. 

“Liar.” She looked up to see Dante only to find him gone. She then noticed her telescope on her lap and used it. 

CAITLYN:
“I told you to leave this alone.” Marcus said lowly. His hand shaking with his pistol. Caitlyn was in shock. 

But someone came to her ‘rescue’.

DANTE:
The Rebellion came in flying, piercing the side of Marcus’ head. Killing him in an instant. Caitlyn’s eyes widened in shock and horror in seeing the gore before her, then a red blur pass her, grabbing the sword. 

“I’m living in that 21st Century, doing something mean to it
Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it
Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it
I guess every superhero needs his theme music”

Dante swung The Rebellion in an arc wide enough to slice through three Enforcers at once. Bones cracked, helmets caved, and armor split under the sheer weight of that cursed greatsword. One screamed before his head rolled down the bridge. Another reached for a rifle, Dante stomped on his arm, twisted, and drove the blade through his chest with ease. He then grabbed the rifle, using his demonic energy making the weapon super charge and threw it at the search light, blowing it up and killing the other enforcers in a giant crimson explosion. 

Red flames covered the once glorious Bridge of Progress. 

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn woke up from the explosion, a piece of metal was by her leg, and she saw the massacre around her, Marcus’ head completely destroyed within a second the other enforcers dead by a red blur. She then looked up and saw Vi running to help her. Then they both saw him. 

White hair, red coat, sword sheath on his back. 

Dante. He reached down and grabbed the canister they held the Hextech gemstone, it was opened, the gemstone shimmered with its signature blue hue… until he touched it.

Red.

A pulse. Fleeting. The blue returned almost immediately, but it had flickered. Responded. 

“Huh.” Dante simple said. 

“Tony?”

Dante knew that voice. Vi. Through his long white hair that covered his blue eyes he saw Vi helping Caitlyn. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. 

Then he heard it. A sound of an engine He did. A jump flip, dodging a green blur as Ekko in his hoverboard tried charging in at him and grab the gemstone, only failing by a second. 

Ekko leapt off mid-speed, staff raised, and tried slammed into Dante with enough force to knock him flat, but Dante was faster. Way faster than anyone could see with their naked eye. 

“Hey, Ekko.” Dante simply said as he playfully fiddle with the gemstone canister. 

“Tony?” Ekko said in shock. It’s been six years since he last saw him. And he’s here now, way taller than him and Vi. And Jinx. Maybe the same height as Caitlyn, probably an inch or two taller. 

“What’s so special about this stone?” Dante asked. 

“Tony. Just hand it over.” Ekko said. 

“Didn’t answer my question.” Dante replied. 

And Ekko didn’t. He charged. The fight was brutal. Familiar. Childhood moves turned lethal. Ekko kept pace with him at first, using his hoverboard and mace to counter the power of the Rebellion, but Dante was relentless, brutal, unyielding. And way more powerful than him. 

“No one man should have all that power
The clock’s ticking, I just count the hours
Stop tripping, I’m tripping off the power
The systems broken, the school is closed, the prison’s open 
We ain’t got nothing to lose, motherfucker we rolling”

In the end, Ekko was beaten down, bloodied, groaning on the ground. Date raised the Rebellion for the kill. But he slammed it to the floor next to him.

“…You’re lucky we go way back.” Dante muttered. 

Then Ekko grinned through bloody teeth and kicked his hoverboard into reverse. It slammed into Dante’s side at full speed and launched him clean off the bridge. The canister falling off his hand. Ekko grabbed the from the floor, tossing it at Caitlyn. 

“Caitlyn, catch!” Ekko shouted.

Caitlyn grunted, still bleeding, but her arms worked. She caught the gemstone canister in time and clutched it close.

“GO!” Ekko barked.

Vi didn’t hesitate. She looped Caitlyn’s arm around her neck and disappeared into the smoke. Ekko was heavy wounded from the fight against Dante. 

But he wasn’t safe. Jinx came in with a knee to the face. Ekko grabbed his mace again, weary. Their fight didn’t last long. He landed a brutal punch across her face, she fell backwards as he got on top of her. 

Then, he began to beat her up with his fist relentlessly, every kill she did. She killed all his friends. She’s nothing but a jinx. But then, he just stopped. He saw those eyes. Powder. His friend. 

“Should’ve killed me when you had the chance…” She whispered, blood all over her. 

She pulled out a Chomper and its pin was gone. 

“Jinx, NO—!”

BOOM.

Smoke. Heat. Shrapnel. When it cleared, she was there. Dead. 

Chapter Text

MEL:
Mel’s eyes snapped open. Her breath hitched in her throat, sweat trailing down her neck. The moonlight filtering through her silk-curtained windows felt cold. Her heart pounded. Above her bed was the painting: a fallen necklace, immortalized in oils. Crimson paint pooled around it. Elegant. Beautiful. Grotesque.

A reminder.

She sat up slowly, body rigid, and let the sheets fall around her waist. Beside her, Jayce lay half-turned toward her, one arm under his head, breathing slow and steady. Untroubled. She stared at him for a long time. Then her gaze drifted back to the painting.

Mercy dies with the weak.

But Mel wasn’t so sure anymore. Then, alarms blared out. As while she and Jayce were busy having sex. The Devil was busy killing enforcers in the Bridge of Progress. 

VIOLET:
Sirens howled in the distance. The shriek of metal feet pounding along cobblestone echoed between the alleys of Piltover’s lower wards, like the gears of a war machine grinding toward the bridge.

Caitlyn winced as another sharp jolt tore through her thigh. She leaned heavily against Vi, who practically dragged her through the shadowed alleyway. Vi set down Caitlyn on the concrete floor and wall. 

“Will you be okay? I’ll be right back.” Vi said while patting Caitlyn’s knee. 

“Okay.” Caitlyn said with a nod. 

DANTE:
Dante was stuck halfway into the concrete side of the Bridge of Progress, suspended by the sheer weight of the Rebellion driven through the stone. A slow breath escaped his lungs, steam curling out into the night air. With a snarl, he yanked the sword free. He pulled himself up, metal scraping against concrete, shoulders trembling, hair still slick with blood and river grime.

He reached the top of the bridge. And stopped. Amidst the rubble, shattered rails, and scorched earth, Jinx lay motionless, arms sprawled like a broken marionette, her minigun sparking beside her, half-melted. The moonlight caught the curve of her jaw. Her breathing was faint. Shallow.

Too shallow.

“…Blue.”

The word left his lips in a whisper. Not a curse. Not a scream. A plea. He dropped to his knees, lifting her into his arms. Her skin was cold. Her mask was cracked, a smear of soot dragging down her cheek.

But she was alive.

VIOLET:
Vi wanted to run back to the bridge but stopped as countless enforcers ran towards the bridge. She could only peak and from a distance, Vi could see Dante cradling Jinx. 

Caitlyn opened the canister that held the Hextech gemstone only to find it…

“It’s gone.”

That snapped Vi out. “What?”

“It was all for nothing.” Caitlyn simple said as Vi looked back at the bridge. 

DANTE:
But Dante didn’t just had Jinx. In his hand, the gemstone and it pulsed, vibrating faintly, as if it were purring. Only it didn’t glow blue. It glowed red.

His color.

Power shimmered from it in small, electric veins, feeding into his wrist, syncing with something in his blood that had long since stopped being human. He didn’t know what it meant. He didn’t care. Because he heard it. Footsteps. Gunlocks clicked.

“…Not now.” Dante growled. “Not. Now.”

He cradled Jinx tighter against his chest and slowly stood up. He glanced back at Zaun and saw him. 

Silco and two goons were frozen. Silco had a look of fear in his face. Not only seeing Jinx wounded. But because somehow Dante was free now. Dante’s eyes shined red from where Silco stood. 

Dante took a deep breath and with a flash of demonic energy he activated his Devil Trigger. And then, he took off.

Exploding into the night sky, wings slicing through the smoke. As a lone, red figure soared across the moon, casting a warped silhouette high above the city.

VIOLET:
On the ground, Vi saw it. As a flash of red. Wings. A sword. A girl in his arms. She shielded her eyes, jaw tightening.

“What the hell was that?” She muttered, not realizing realizing Dante’s true origins. 

JAYCE:
The next morning, Mel and Jayce were at the bridge. Jayce was completely in shock. Seeing the massacre that an unknown attacker to them made while they were asleep. Jayce was completely ignoring what the enforcer sergeant was saying to him. He just immediately went over to the ledge and threw up. And once he was down he leaned his head against the rail guard, taking deep breaths. 

But he noticed something. A handprint on a broken piece of an exploded rifle. As if it’s where the explosion originated from. He balled his hand into a fist. 

Meanwhile, Mel wasn’t unaffected by the gore. Where she came from death is a common thing, especially in war. 

VIOLET:
The window creaked as Vi boosted Caitlyn over the sill, her arm still tight around the other woman’s waist.

Caitlyn bit her lip to keep from crying out, her thigh throbbed, the wound from the earlier gunshot still oozing. Her bedroom hadn’t changed. Curtains still pale lavender. The bed still perfectly made. Her life in Piltover… untouched.

Vi slipped in next, careful not to make a sound. And help Caitlyn walk. “Who lives here? Another Councilor friend of yours?”

And to answer Vi’s question. The door exploded open, splinters flying as Cassandra stormed in, dressed in a robe over her nightclothes, a rifle aimed square at them with terrifying precision. Which immediately froze the two young women. 

“Caitlyn!” Cassandra called out, realizing that’s her daughter under all that filthy Zaunite clothing. Caitlyn’s dad came in as well. 

“Oh, we were so worried. Thank goodness you’re safe!” Her father immediately said as he ran to hug her and she let him. 

“And you found a stray.” Cassandra said as she eyed on Vi. 

“This is Vi. She’s from the undercity.” Caitlyn defended her friend. 

“So I see. Could we have a word, Caitlyn? Alone.” Cassandra didn’t ask. Caitlyn shook her head in annoyance and limped out of her room as followed her mother. 

CAITLYN:
Mr. Kiramman sat beside Caitlyn in the living room’s couch, setting a tray of medical tools down. Carefully, he began removing her ruined stocking, tweezers in hand.

The shrapnel embedded in her leg gleamed faintly with traces of something unnatural. Glowing faintly red. 

“You have to speak to the Council.” Caitlyn said as she look at Cassandra. 

“Speak to the Council?” Cassandra repeated, swirling a spoon on her cup of tea. “You understand you’ve broken several laws?”

“She was doing what she thought was right.” Mr. Kiramman said as he kept removing the shrapnel. 

Caitlyn let out a groan. “I’ll take responsibility.”

“You’re a Councilor’s daughter. Your actions reflect on the entire body.” Cassandra scolded. 

“My actions?” Caitlyn said through gritting teeth from the pain. “You know what else reflects on the Council? Its citizens living on the streets. Being poisoned. Having to choose between a kingpin who wants to exploit them and a government that doesn’t give a shit.”

“Caitlyn!” Cassandra called her out for her foul language. 

“I’m sure our daughter could use some rest after her as adventures.” Mr. Kiramman suggested. He’s the one who calms both of them down. 

There was a long moment of hesitation from Cassandra but she made her choice. “I’ll schedule an audience.”

That surprised Caitlyn. “Thank you.”

“You and your ‘friend’ can address the Council’s yourselves. I’d suggest you prepare accordingly.” Cassandra said as she drank her tea. 

DANTE:
The sky opened wide as Dante’s wings cut through the smoke trailing from the chaos he’d left behind. With Jinx limp in his arms and the Rebellion strapped to his back, he ascended the spiraling exhaust towers of Zaun, heading to a place no one dared to remember. The abandoned penthouse still stood, just barely, half of it collapsed, the glass shattered, rusted metal beams exposed like broken ribs jutting out of the decayed skyline. This was once Dante’s haven. Before Silco sent Jinx and fifty mercenaries to tear it apart in search of a necklace that no longer mattered.

He landed on the cracked balcony, his wings retracting into his back with a flicker of red energy. The wind howled through the shattered windows. Inside was nothing but dust and ghosts. Carefully, he lowered Jinx onto the floor where sunlight filtered through holes in the ceiling, painting fractured beams of gold across her bruised body. Her breathing was shallow. One arm curled unnaturally under her torso. Her cheek was bloodied. Her hair still smelled faintly like gunpowder and rain. He knelt beside her, brushing a blue strand from her face.

“Great job, Dante.” He muttered bitterly to himself. “Brilliant. Just bring her back here, why not? She stabbed you in the fucking neck, remember?” 

He said louder, pointing at himself. “She cryo-froze you. Locked you in a goddamn tomb and walked away. A whole year. Gone. For what? You said it was to save the world. But all you really did was break us.”

His voice cracked. His hand curled into a fist.

“We had plans… remember?” His tone dropped to a whisper. “Riding horses across Noxus. Running jobs in Ionia. Finding Vergil. Raising hell wherever we went. You and me.”

He let out a shaky laugh, bitter and hollow.

“But no. That wasn’t good enough. You had to be the hero. You had to make the choice for both of us.”

The wind blew in from the broken wall, scattering dust across the floor like ash.

“She said sorry,” he said quietly. “I remember. Right before I blacked out. ‘I’m sorry.’”

He sat down beside her, staring ahead at nothing. The Rebellion leaned against the wall, its blade still stained with Enforcer blood.

“Well that’s the bare minimum, isn’t it?”

He looked down at her again. Her chest barely moved. A soft twitch of her fingers.

“…You’re not even breathing right.” There was just silence. Dante clenched his jaw, leaning back against the crumbling wall.

“You better not die on me…” he murmured. “Not after everything. Not when I just got out… I just…. I don’t want to be alone again…”

And Dante sat in the dark beside her, clutching the Hextech gemstone that now glowed not blue but red.

SEVIKA:
The he Last Drop was unusually quiet. Not dead. Zaun was never truly silent, but the usual rowdy voices and clatter of glasses had dimmed to a low murmur. A tension hung in the air. The kind that seeped into the walls like smoke and never quite left.

Sevika sat in her usual corner booth, half her prosthetic arm disassembled on the table. Sparks danced as she ran a screwdriver along the inside seam, tightening connections with slow, practiced care. She noticed Finn coming by. 

“Silco isn’t taking guests.” Sevika said after she took a puff from her cigarette. 

“Not a problem.” Finn said as he sat across from her. Playing with his lighter. “Wasn’t here for him. Thought I might bend your ear. You know when I ask my mates what Silco’s up to, your name’s first out of their mouths. ‘Sevika’s out in the harbor,’ or ‘Sevika paid the knuckleheads a visit.’ You’re a scary lady.”

Sevika glanced up at him while still working on her mechanical arm. “Get to your point.”

“Run a tight ship, don’t you? Except it’s not your ship. It’s his and Jinx’s.”

“This is your plan?” Sevika said as she removed her cigarette from her mouth. He mechanically arm functioning once more, this time with a blade. “Undermine Silco by using a half-assed play at my ego? Gotta hand it to you, Finn. Every time I think you can’t get dumber, you dig a new low.”

Finn’s eyes narrowed at her words. He rubbed his mechanical chin. “Let’s me plain, then. He’s slipping. The undercity’s devolving to chaos. And somehow, I’ve get the feeling he isn’t up there balancing booksheets. Jinx goes missing, suddenly his spine’s made out of jelly. Sending out all the Chem-tanks to defend his major facilities protective for no reason. And here you are, shoveling his shit. Ego is one thing, brain’s another.”

He stood up and walked over to Sevika, opening his lighter to lit up her cigarette. “You aren’t the only one dissatisfied with his performance. There’s bigger fish than Silco.”

Sevika didn’t respond, she just puff on her cigarette, smoke coming from her nostrils. Finn left the bar. And Sevika? Sevika stared down at her glass. Then at the coin. Then at her arm.

For the first time in a long while… she didn’t feel certain. And Zaun didn’t feel like home.

MEL:
The Noxian warship loomed like a predator in the Piltover harbor, its crimson banners catching the wind like bloodied sails. The soldiers disembarking were disciplined, cold-eyed, and wore armor that whispered of conquered cities and burned thrones. They made no effort to hide their presence. They wanted to be seen.

Mel waited at the edge of the dock with Elora beside her, poised but tense. The contrast between them and the Noxian entourage was stark. Where the Noxians moved like a blade unsheathed, the Piltover delegation was all velvet gloves and calculated grace.

And then, the door of the warship opened. Mel’s eyes narrowed as she saw who it was. Ambessa Medarda. 

“Mel. Elora. You didn’t have to come out and meet me.”

Mel rolled her eyes at the old general. “What are you doing here, Mother?”

“Can I not visit?” Ambessa asked as she stepped down the steps from her warship to the harbor. “I’ve heard stories of Piltover’s hospitality.”

Mel chuckled brittlely at Ambessa’s words. “You don’t sail halfway across the continent to sample the local cuisine.”

Ambessa could tell Mel’s tone. She was still angry at her. “It’s been over a decade, Mel.”

Mel hated how nonchalant and casually her mother sounded. “Since you vanished me?”

“Such drama. I sent you here to oversee our family’s interests and grow yourself. Which you have.”

“You said, ‘Perhaps, your sentimentality will be more at home with those soft-spined idealists overseas.‘“ Mel said with an annoyed face, almost like a pout. 

Ambessa wrapped her arm around Mel’s shoulders. “You have your father’s memory.”

Mel rolled her eyes once again. “Don’t try to ingratiate yourself with me.”

“Mel.”

“Or that.” Mel said with an eye roll as the two women began to walk. 

They walked silently. But Ambessa broke it. “Your brother’s gone.”

Silence. Even the wind seemed to still. Mel blinked. Once. “What happened?”

Ambessa had her hands in her hips and slowly turned to look at down. “He crossed the wrong man. I was distracted. That’s a mistake I can’t take back.”

Mel was in complete shock, but Ambessa decided to change subject as she face Mel. “Your Jayce Talis has turned his eye to Hextech weaponry.”

That snapped Mel out of he state of grief. Her eyes narrowing. “I knew it.”

“War is coming. You’ve let the problems of your undercity fester too long.”

“Piltover isn’t like Noxus. War isn’t first and every recourse. I sponsored Hextech to protect the city, not burn it to the ground.”

“It’s not conjecture, it’s a fact. Weapons can’t be unmade and they are always used. Im here to help guide you to the right decisions.”

“I don’t need your guidance.”

“We’ll see.”

The tension crackled between them. Elora gave Mel a subtle nod of support. Ambessa glanced away and then, with perfect theatrical timing, a young male escort in silk and cologne approached. He bowed deeply, offering Ambessa his arm with well-practiced charm. Mel said nothing as Ambessa took it.

“Think it over.” Ambessa said over her shoulder. “The world isn’t safe, darling. Not even for councilors with blood on their hands.”

She strode off, Noxian soldiers flanking her like wolves. The escort whispered something in her ear, and she laughed. It was sharp and hollow. Mel stood still until they disappeared down the promenade. Only then did she allow her hands to tremble.

VIOLET:
The Kiramman estate was quieter than usual. There were no servants. Just the faint creak of wood as Caitlyn pushed open the door to her bedroom, closing it softly behind her.

Vi laid on the edge of the bed, boots still dusty from Zaun, jacket half-off, posture slouched in exhausted silence. Her eyes lifted as Caitlyn entered.

“We’ll present our case to the Council tonight.” Caitlyn said, a hint of surprise in her tone. 

Vi looked down at all the information Caitlyn gathered about her case. “You did this all yourself? Without even going down there? And I thought Powder could get obsessed.”

The silence that followed after Vi’s words wasn’t uncomfortable, not anymore. But it was heavy. Caitlyn could feel it. The way Vi’s shoulders wouldn’t settle. The way her jaw clenched like she was holding something back. She sat down besides Vi. 

“What happened to her, it’s not your fault.” Caitlyn said as she laid back to the bed. 

“When my parents were still alive…” Vi muttered, “me and Powder used to share a bed like this. Except, maybe, half the size. We played a game where we pretended to be bigger and bigger monsters. So she would say, ‘I’m a slug monster with venom of ooze.’ And I would say, ‘Well, I’m a slug-eating crab with razor spikes.’ Sometimes, I… I’d get carried away and she’d get scared. I didn’t want her to start crying and wake my parents up, so… I pretended to chase my own monsters away. I’d say… ‘No monster’s gonna get you when I’m here.’ Then a real monster showed up. And I just ran away.”

There was a long pause. Caitlyn reached out, slow, deliberate, and touched her cheek with the softest caress. Her thumb brushed just beneath Vi’s eye, where emotion threatened to surface. Vi’s breath caught.

“You’re not alone anymore.” Caitlyn said.

Vi looked at her. Really looked, and saw the truth there. Not pity. Not sympathy. Understanding. And something deeper. A spark passed between them, unspoken but undeniable. Vi reached up, her hand covering Caitlyn’s on her cheek.

They stayed like that for a moment longer, time held still. They were just two souls, too tired to run, too stubborn to give up, and too close to pretend otherwise. Outside the window, the city of Piltover shimmered under its golden lights, and far below, in its shadow, the storm of Zaun gathered strength.

DANTE:
The storm outside showed no sign of mercy, its winds clawing at the broken structure like a beast starved for warmth. Lightning danced across the hollow skyline, illuminating the ruined penthouse in quick, brutal flashes. And in the middle of it all, Dante sat cradling her, unmoving, unspeaking.

Jinx was still. Her body slack in his arms, cold as stone. She hadn’t stirred once. Dante’s fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of her jaw. His thoughts spun in slow, bitter loops. In how everything kept burning no matter how hard he tried to keep it together. How she had betrayed him. How they might’ve found their rhythm again. Partner-in-crime, warpath across Runeterra, maybe even find his long-lost twin together…

But she stabbed him. Locked him away in a cryopod. Left him to rot. And still, she wore it. He noticed it again. Wrapped tight around her throat like a keepsake turned noose:

His old black-laced bracelet. Turned into a choker. It choked him too, in a different way. And that’s when he felt it. It blood. Hers. Because there’s one thing he learned during his time as a demon hunter for five years was that most demons feasted either in human emotions or human blood. And he is part-demon. 

His gaze sharpened. His mouth parted. The hunger took hold. He leaned in slowly, like a man approaching a grave he built himself. Fangs slid down, inhuman and sharp, and without hesitation, he bit her.

Right into the soft flesh of her neck.

This wasn’t vampirism. There would be no glamour in this ritual. It wasn’t seduction. It was transference. A cutthroat blend of demonblood and fractured loyalty, part salvation, part possession.

And Jinx? She didn’t sleep through it. She screamed through it. Inside her mind, hallucinations exploded like shrapnel:

With Vi, her arms wrapped around Caitlyn, smiling.

“You never mattered.” Vi whispered. “I found someone better.”

Jinx tried to speak, to run but her voice came out like static. Her hands were covered in soot. Her reflection in broken glass twisted. Powder, small, shaking, forgotten. Caitlyn’s face was, cool and clinical.  “The pain will only get worse, Jinx.”

In the real world, her body jerked in Dante’s arms. Limbs convulsing, veins glowing beneath the skin like molten wire.

“Make it stop. Tony, please…Tony…stop—” she sobbed, voice cracking like lightning outside.

“I can’t…” Dante whispered. “It’s too late.”

His bite remained locked on her neck, and through gritted fangs, he tried to comfort her, in the only way someone like him knew how. Fingers brushing tangled strands of blue from her face. And then it happened.

Patterns. They were crimson first, then pink, like living veins of light. All spreading across Jinx’s skin, snaking along her arms, curling around her ribs, blooming over her eyelids. Ethereal, glowing—then vanishing beneath the surface like breath in cold air.

Her eyes flickered. Slowly. They opened. For just a second. And Dante saw it. The recognition. The pain. The warmth. Jinx raised a trembling hand, cupped his cheek… barely.

And then she slumped back into unconsciousness. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Carefully, reverently, he laid her down against the stone floor, brushing her soaked bangs from her face.bHis mouth was smeared with her blood.

His eyes glowed a deep, dangerous red, the runic marks on his arms and neck pulsing like a heartbeat.bThen they faded. He slumped down beside her, his fingers grazing hers as thunder cracked again above.

Demons didn’t dream. But if they could… he’d dream of her waking up.

HEIMERDINGER:
Cloaked and quiet, Heimerdinger walked the fractured veins of Zaun, the brim of his hood casting deep shadows over his tired eyes. It had been decades, no, longer. Ever since he had last set foot here by choice. And now, stripped of his seat on the Council and burdened with guilt, he wandered the lower city like a ghost searching for purpose.

He passed shuttered chem dens and rusted-out husks of once-great factories. The air smelled of scorched oil and decaying ambition. Every so often, a pair of suspicious eyes would track him from a balcony or alleyway, unsure if he was worth the trouble.

Then, a small hand tugged at his coat. He turned, startled, to find a young girl, no older than seven, holding out a dirt-caked handful of nuts and bolts with a shy smile. 

“You look like you fix stuff.” The little girl said. “I found these.”

Heimerdinger blinked. Slowly, he knelt down to her level, a soft smile touching his whiskers. “Why thank you, young inventor. These are very rare specimens. Might I offer a trade?”

He produced a small copper disc from his sleeve and gave it a gentle twist. With a flick of his fingers, it transformed into a spinning top, floating for a moment before gracefully landing in the girl’s palm. Her eyes sparkled in wonder.

“Magic!” She gasped. But the moment didn’t last.

“Hey! You get away from her!” A harsh voice cut through the fog. The girl’s mother stormed over, yanking her daughter back and shielding her with her body. “We don’t need anything from people like you.”

Heimerdinger stood, flustered. “Madam, I assure you, I meant no harm—”

But the woman was already walking away, her daughter peeking over her shoulder, still clutching the spinning top. Heimerdinger sighed.

Later, back at the Bridge of Progress’ underpass where he set his small boat, he found a hoverboard lying on its side. It was battered but still humming with faint energy. He squatted beside it, and picked it up. 

“Oh, ingenious.” The old yordle muttered. “Though these blades seem improperly pitched.”

“You’re wrong.” Heimerdinger heard a voice and looked behind him and saw Ekko was slumped against the wall, clutching his leg, his usual fire dimmed by exhaustion. Blood soaked through his pant’s leg. “It’s designed for the fissures. The air is denser.”

“Oh.” Heimerdinger looked at Ekko who was grunting in pain. “Are you alright, lad?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just sprained my ankle.” Ekko said, trying to downplay his injury. He then took a good look at Heimerdinger. “Are you Councilor Heimerdinger?”

“It’s just Heimerdinger now.” The old yordle said. 

“What are you doing on this side of the river?”

“I wanted to offer my assistance to the citizens of the undercity, but… it seems I’m unwelcome.” Ekko chuckled at Heimerdinger’s words. “What is it?”

Ekko glanced up at Heimerdinger with a smirk. “We’re having the exact same way.”

Heimerdinger hummed at that then looked at Ekko’s leg once more, seeing the faint trail of dried blood on his pants. “That looks more than a sprain. You need medical attention.”

“I have to get home. It isn’t safe for me here. I don’t know how I’m gonna get there with my leg busted, and well… you’re holding my ride.”

Heimerdinger looked at the damaged hoverboard and nodded at the truth of that. 

AMBESSA:
Jayce stood stiffly in the entryway of the bathhouse, the steam clinging to his coat like guilt. He’d been summoned, no, requested by Ambessa Medarda herself. The same woman who had once commanded armies across continents, who now soaked languidly in a marble tub like a lounging lioness.

Her skin bore the marks of old wars it had scars, burns, and one jagged slash across her shoulder that hadn’t healed clean. She didn’t bother to cover herself, didn’t blink at his discomfort. Naked, armed only with her authority, Ambessa was still the most dangerous person in the room.

“Do they teach military history at your Academy, Mr. Talis?” The old general asked as she took a sip of her wine. 

Jayce had his hands behind his back and looking anywhere but at the naked woman in front of him. “It’s, um, Councilor Talis. And I’m not sure.”

“The Alornian General Sonnem Parlec used to find ways to meet his enemies blindfolded. He said a man’s mind hides behind his body. Somehow, I doubt he ever tried this.”

Those worries were enough to put things to place for Jayce. “You’re Mel’s mom.”

That’s… one way to meet your girls mom. 

“Among other things.” Ambessa said nonchalantly as she reached for her male escort who was currently giving her shoulder massages jaw. “Squeeze, child. You won’t break it.”

Jayce’s eyes narrowed. This is one fucked up way to meet Mel’s mother. “I do have other matters, so if you’ll excuse me—“

“The threat of the undercity is real. Your leadership is impotent.” Ambessa said so casually. 

Jayce scoffed at that. “We may not be Noxus, but Piltover isn’t as helpless as you think.”

“Who said anything about Piltover? The Council is the problem. The mind behind the body. Navigating your current crisis requires the expertise you lack.”

That pissed off Jayce because she was talking a jab at him. “Do you know what the success rate for senior Academy inventors is? Three percent. We’re no stranger to failure. What makes this the City of Progress is that we keep trying until we get it right. So than you, for your advice, Mrs. Medarda, but u have a city to run.”

Jayce turned to leave the bathhouse but Ambessa’s words stopped him. “Wait.”

She stood up from the water, said water coming down from her built and nude body. Jayce turned for a moment and looked away immediately as he cleared his throat. 

“I see why this province and my daughter have fallen for you. You have the passion of youth.” Ambessa put a hand on Jayce’s shoulder to talk to him right on his ear. “I have the experience. I want you to succeed here, Jayce, to grace the world with Hextech. But if you don’t accept certain realities, I fear you’ll end up like General Parlec.”

She leaned in to whisper at him, almost like a threat. “Slaughtered with your eyes closed.”

And that mad him swear in both shock and fear. 

JAYCE:
The Council Hall buzzed with unrest. Especially with this crisis. And Heimerdinger was long gone now. 

“Three of my suppliers have said they intend to delay shipments until fall to give things ‘time to cool off.’” The old cranky Councilor said. 

“We have greater concerns than a dip in profits.” Cassandra said. “The Sheriff betrayed us. We need better information.”

“We need to act. Before anyone else gets killed.” Jayce finally said as he stopped fiddling with broken rifle piece with said handprint. 

“Perhaps Marcus was operating independently. What could anyone in the undercity offer him the he didn’t have up here?” Another councilor said. 

“It’s not what they offer him, it’s what he had to lose.” Caitlyn said as she and Vi came in. Looking nicer as Caitlyn had her enforcer attire on and Vi’s clothes were slightly cleaner now. 

“Councilors, my daughter has a unique insight into our situation.” Cassandra said as she stood up to the the Council’s attention. 

“Thank you.” Caitlyn said to her mother then turned to face the whole Council. “Councilors, this is Vi. She was born in the undercity. Even though we failed her in countless ways, she risked everything to show me what life is really like down there.” Caitlyn said as she and Vi exchanged glanced. Then turned back to the Council. 

“People are starving, sick, ravaged by Shimmer. They live in constant fear of the coordinated efforts of violent crime lords. One man leads these efforts. Silco.”

“We’ve done investigations of Silco. They yielded no such level of organization.” The mechanical Councilor said. 

“And who lead these investigations?” Caitlyn shot back, knowing the answer to it. 

“What does this Silco even want from us?” Jayce finally asked. 

“He believes the undercity should be independent. He calls it the Nation of Zaun.”

Jayce pulled out the disarmed Chomper. “What about these? Do you know who made them?”

“No, well…” Caitlyn trialed off. She never got a clear look in the Chompers, nor realized Jinx made them. 

But Vi did. She held Caitlyn’s hand as she stepped up. “Her name is Jinx.”

“This Jinx has the Gemstone?” Jayce asked and Caitlyn just nodded. That was enough for him. He stood up. “Then we have to go in by force.”

“That could trigger war.” Mel said as she looked up at Jayce. 

“There are good people down there.” Caitlyn  wanted to reason with Jayce. 

“Hmph. Bad ones too.” The old cranky councilor said. 

“Even if we wanted to invade, they have Shimmer.” Another councilor spoke up. 

“We have Hextech.” Jayce said confidently. 

That shocked Caitlyn even more. Because the man she knew wouldn’t weaponize Hextech. “What happened to you?”

“We’ve been talking about talking for weeks now.” Jayce said as he put a hand on the empty chair that once belonged to  Heimerdinger. “They’re still cleaning the blood off the bridge. When do we saw entidad enough?”

“Jayce, you don’t know war. I do.” Mel said with a somber look as she had both of her hands clasped together. “It must be our last resort. There may be a diplomatic solution.”

“She’s right.” A council said, another one grunted in agreement. Others stayed silent as Jayce shook his head in annoyance.

“What?” Vi said with shock. “You want to negotiate with him?”

“It may be the only way to avoid further bloodshed.” Cassandra said. 

Vi shook her head at the Council. They’re doing nothing. They’re never do anything. “This is insane. Did you learn nothing? You can’t talk to him! He hates you. Everything you stand for. He will never back down.”

The councilors sat there silently, just looking at her. One of them had enough. “Enforcers, please escort them out.”

“Forget it. I remember where your big ass fancy door is. You’re all nothing but lazy sacks of shit.” Vi called out as she stormed out of the room. 

Caitlyn looked at her mother and she gave her a nod. To go after Vi. 

CAITLYN:
Rain fell in heavy sheets as Vi exited the building and stepped out onto the streets. Caitlyn caught up using her hand to cover herself from the rain. 

“Vi. Wait! Wait! Where are you going?”

Vi kept walking, not even turning back to see Caitlyn and she didn’t care that the rain was pouring around her. “I don’t know. Back where I came from? Seems like that’s what everybody up here wants.”

“I can fix this.”

“You can’t.” Vi said as she stopped and turned to face Caitlyn. “This is how things are. How they’ve always been. I was so stupid to think it could change.”

“There must be something else we can do. Some other way.” Caitlyn said as she tried to reach out. “We’ll make a new plan. We have to try.”

“We tried. Okay? It wasn’t enough. Topside and bottom. Oil and water. That’s all there is. You stir them together, and they might look like they’re blending. But they’ll always separate again.”

“What about us?” Caitlyn asked softly. 

“…oil and water. Wasn’t meant to be.” Vi said as she looked down. 

That hurt Caitlyn’s heart. “You’re just saying that.”

“Do yourself a favor, Cupcake. Go back to that big, shiny house of yours and just…” Vi turned, her back facing Caitlyn, “forget me, okay?”

And with that, Vi pulled up her hood and walked away. Disappearing into the rain, leaving Caitlyn alone. 

VIKTOR:
The waves of Piltover’s beach crashed in rhythmic pulses against the stone. Sea mist hung in the air, clinging to Viktor like breath on glass. The sky was bruised with clouds, heavy and pale, but he stood unmoved. He then let go of his crutch as it hit the dock with a metallic clatter.

For a moment, Viktor wavered, the wind threading through his hair, the old ache in his hip still haunting a body that no longer contained it. Then he stepped forward. His gait was uneven. A misfire of muscle and will. But the leg, his new leg, fully transmuted into a sleek, violet-hued alloy held strong. He stumbled once. But didn’t fall. Then he ran. No pain. No limits.

No gasping for breath as his body betrayed him. For the first time in his life, he moved like he was meant to.

Back in the lab, the world shrunk to a quiet hum of invention and obsession. Viktor moved quickly now. Even feverish, almost trembling. He had seen the future and touched it. The transformation had worked. But it was incomplete.

He removed his clothes, exposing a chest and arm already lined with etched runes. Arcane markings, delicate and deadly, spiraled from his shoulder to his ribs. He picked up the carving blade with steady hands.

But unaware to Viktor, Sky was walking towards the lab, clutched a notebook to her chest. Her heart pounded like a drum in her ears. She’d rehearsed the words a dozen times. 

“Viktor, I’ve been working on a private project for a couple of weeks now. No. Not that. “

Inside, Viktor lifted a vial of red Shimmer into the light. Only to find it empty. Without hesitation, he grabbed a scalpel and sliced across his palm. The blood, dark and rich, dripped into the basin feeding the Hexcore.

The moment the first drop touched the core, it pulsed. It was alive. A hum filled the room, low and terrible. The Hexcore twisted, opened like a bloom of machinery and muscle. It shimmered. It hungered.

Viktor placed his hand against it. And screamed. 

The door opened. Sky wanted to show Viktor something but the second she saw him in pain, she towards Viktor as Viktor held the Hexcore, she grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back from the Hexcore.

But the moment she touched him, it was too late. The core reacted violently, almost defensively. In a flash of violet light, Sky disintegrated, atom by atom. Her cry was lost in the surge. All that remained was a pile of gray ash. Viktor awoke moments later, slumped against the wall. His hand had completed its transformation, glistening like steel and bone merged into one.

He turned his head and saw it. Sky’s notebook, half-buried in dust.

He crawled toward her ashes. His fingers hovered over them, trembling. His face crumpled, silent tears slipping down his cheek.

Meanwhile, the Hexcore pulsed again, but something had changed. Its once-perfect symmetry was broken. No, flesh had begun to form across the surface, as if it were becoming something more than machine. Something alive.

VIOLET:
Jayce, sleeves rolled, face smudged with soot, drove the next blow into the glowing chunk of heated up ore. Sparks flared around him. Sweat beaded down his brow. He worked with a fury born of frustration—not just at the Council, but at himself. At what he’d let happen. At what he’d failed to stop.

A blade wasn’t enough. It needed weight. Impact. A weapon to protect Piltover. To defend a tomorrow. 

“You want to make Silco pay for what he’s done?” Jayce spun around and saw Vi standing besides a workbench, rain dripping from her jacket, her hands tucked in her jacket’s pockets and eyes heavy with something between grief and resolve.

“I can have you arrested.”  Jayce said with a tight jaw. 

“You guys really like to bandy that threat around.” Vi was unbothered by his threat as she began walking around the forge. “You ever been to Stillwater?”

“No.”

Vi scoffed at his answer. Of course he wouldn’t. “So you just wave an arm, have someone dragged off, don’t bother to find out what it does to someone being stuffed in a stone box for weeks, or months, or even years?”

Jayce sighed softly as he looked away. “Yeah. I want to make Silco pay.”

“I want in.” Vi simple said. 

“In?” Jayce repeated as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing at her words. “There’s no in. You heard the Council.”

“Fuck the useless Council.” Vi said immediately. “You said you were done doing nothing. That’s the only sensible thing that came out of anyone’s mouth tonight.”

“I’m not a vigilante.”

“No, you’re a victim.” Vi said as she eyed the pair of Atlas gauntlets, meant for mining. They were clunky, powerful, and brand new. She slipped her hand into one and tested the weight. She looked at it with awe. “This so people notice you when you raised your hand in the boardroom?”

Jayce sighed. “We built them for mining the fissures. They weren’t designed for combat.”

Vi gave him a sidelong look, rolling her shoulder. “Neither was I. Look how that turned out. Someone close to me had a pair like these.”

She started walking towards him, the only thing separating them was the anvil that rested in the middle of the forge. “You’re the first person Caitlyn looked for when we made it to topside. Of everyone up here, you’re the one she trusted to do something.”

Jayce sighed as he set down his small forge hammer. “What you want me to do? Arrest him?”

“Silco controls the undercity with Shimmer. Shut down his supply, and it’s only a matter of time before his own people turn on him.” Vi said as she put a foot on the anvil, leaning on her knee. 

“And how do we do that?” Jayce asked as he approached her. 

“Take out as many of his manufacturing facilities. But him hard and fast before he can react.” Jayce looked at the flaming forge as he debated Vi’s proposal. But she kept the pressure on him.

“So…” she brought up the hand that had the gauntlet on for an agreement handshake. “We got a deal, pretty boy?”

JAYCE:
One of Silco’s facilities had load up a train filled with barrels of Shimmer. As it was sent away one of the workers in one of the train cars leaned against the railing to pop out a cigarette, but was meant with a pistol to the back of his head. 

The train screeched against the rails, sparks leaping as the train crashed back into the facility.

Jayce stood tall atop the lead car, Mercury Hammer in hand, its gleaming head humming with hextech energy. A squad of enforcers flanked him, their weapons raised and eyes sharp. The enforcers stormed the facility with mechanical precision. Their orders shouted, cuffs snapping around thin wrists. Workers scrambled to flee. But were immediately taken down. 

Then, an alarm shrieked suddenly through the air. A red-haired boy, no older than thirteen, had slipped free of a guard’s grasp and smashed his fist down on a rusted emergency trigger. Warning lights flared. Somewhere deep in the shadows, machines groaned to life.

From the far end of the warehouse, the chemtanks emerged. They were twelve of them. Men once human, now encased in pressurized mech-suits, fed with pure Shimmer. Tubes hissed with violet vapor. Their steps dented steel.

Then they charged.

The first enforcer didn’t even scream before being torn apart. Gunfire pinged uselessly off reinforced armor. 

Jayce was on a bridge as he was surrounded. Behind him, a Chem-tank was stalking to him, front or him, two. 

Then, Vi’s war-cry came in as she slid from a support beam, launching herself from it and super-man punching the Chem-tank as she was now equipped with both of the Atlas Gauntlets, the one behind Jayce was sent flying to lower levels in a violet explosion. Vi and Jayce looked up at eachother, Vi gave him a wink as Jayce nodded as they both got ready for the fight of their lives. 

“Know you got my blood running
Turn the heat to six-hundred 
Wish I could knock your skull in
But I’m rising above it
Know you’ll crush it and burn it
God knows you did earn it
My friend karma’s a bitch 
She’s got some lessons, you’ll earn it
Now we’re enemies 
You’re a snake
I can see it in your face”

Vi and Jayce fought together. Jayce did a 360 swing at a Chem-tank, destroying the thug’s ribs and sending him flying. Vi was blocking three blade attacks with the gauntlets, landing a punch in the rib then palmed the chem-tanks helmet, slamming h down on the floor. Jayce was trading blows with another Chem-tank, barely dodging a blade as he gained a tiny cut on his right cheek. He countered with his hammer’s slamming down on the Chem-tank’s knees, obliterating then sending it flying. He then faced another one, trading blows, locking the Chen-tanks hand with the hammer’s handle, slamming the end of the handle against the glass mask, Shimmee pouring out then send it flying. Two approached him and with a roar he slammed down the Mercury Hammer. releasing a burst of concussive energy wave  that sent both flying. 

“Do you feel no shame?
Can’t you see my rage?
You’re a snake
Just like a spitting image fate
How’s the taste? It’s your own pencilin 
Make no mistake, got 20/20 vision
If I see your face, don’t think I’m forgiving”

Vi was on the floor, but immediately used the Atlas Gauntlets’ momentum to sent herself flying, doing a 360 mid-air as she got back on her feet, blocking two blade attacks, rolled under another and uppercutted the Chen-tank. Another approached her, she grabbed both blades and rolled out as she crushed said blades, kicking away the thug and did a ten-combo body shots, ending it with a powerful body-shot as steam came out of the gauntlet due to the meter going to the red area, but it wasn’t the limit. Obliterating completely the Chem-tank’s ribs, sending it flying to some barrels. 

“It’s time we had a discussion 
‘Bout your sorry production 
Mask your shame and corruption 
Grinning teeth lack seduction
Know the crime you committed 
I forget, not forgive it
Don’t you dare get it twisted 
I’m nice but I can get wicked”

Jayce twisted Mercury Hammer’s handle, changing it into its cannon from, he aimed at the remaining Chem-tanks surround him and opened fire. Burst of hextech energy lit up the smoke-filled air. He was able to take down six, but the seventh one was the slippery one. And in the process, a blast struck the same boy that set off the armies earlier on chest. He flew back, arms flailing, over a safety rail and into the darkness below.

Everything stopped.

And once the battle was ‘won’ Jayce and Vi made their way to the ground level. Where the child Jayce accidentally shot was barely breathing. Because he groaned out and the light faded in his eyes. 

Jayce killed a child…

And he looked up and saw how almost every worker were kids. The enforcers arrested kids. He arrested kids. 

DANTE:
Dante opened his eyes. He hadn’t been asleep, he couldn’t sleep, not anymore. Sleep was for mortals. And he wasn’t one. Not fully. His body never truly needed rest. Food didn’t satisfy truly him. Alcohol didn’t dull his senses, at least not fully. Pleasure had been replaced with instinct. And right now, that instinct screamed one thing.

She’s gone. Jinx is gone. 

He sat up slowly. His blood was calm but something deeper, older, itched under his skin. His eyes flicked across the room. The circle of salt was broken. The ash had cooled. Jinx was missing. Dante’s voice was low, cracked with dry humor as he muttered into the dark. “Of course. You always run off the second I blink. Typical.”

He stood, boots pressing into the old wooden floor. The crimson patterns along his skin flared, then dimmed as they completely disappeared. The Rebellion rested beside the bed like it had been waiting for him. 

 Dante reached down and lifted the weapon. It hummed softly in his hand, eager, like it too hungered. Like it knew blood was close. He didn’t panic. He didn’t curse.

This wasn’t about Jinx anymore. This was about Silco. 

The man who had orchestrated everything. Who had taken everything from everyone. Who now sat comfortably in the dark while Zaun bled and Piltover cracked. A man who used people like firewood to stoke his ambition.

“Doesn’t matter where she is… “he whispered. “You’re still going to die tonight.”

His coat slid over his shoulders like a shadow. The wind outside howled through the broken cracks in the wall, hissing like it too wanted vengeance. He stepped outside. Twirling the Rebellion in his hand and then sheathed it on his back. 

“Get ready, Silco.”

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn stood under the stream of her shower with her eyes closed, arms braced against the tiled wall. It had been nearly an hour, and still she couldn’t move. Not really. Her thoughts had long since drifted from the war, the council, the impossible task before her. They drifted to Vi. To her words in the rain. To the ache in Caitlyn’s chest when she said, “Forget about me.”

Steam coiled around her like smoke. The mirror on the far wall had long since fogged over. Everything was blurred. Well, except her guilt. Eventually, she shut the water off. The silence that followed was louder than the storm outside. Every drop that fell from her skin seemed to echo. The mirror was still opaque with mist, but a single symbol stood out. It was drawn by a finger into the condensation:

Jinx’s monkey face sigil. 

Caitlyn froze. Her breath caught. And then, her eyes shifted upward. In the mirror, someone was standing behind her.

Jinx.

But not the Jinx she remembered. Not exactly.

Chapter Text

VIOLET:
Jayce knelt beside the small, still body, his hands trembling as he reached down to close the child’s eyes. He moved slowly, his hammer resting against him like a relic of violence already too heavy to carry. 

Vi walked up to him, Atlas Gauntlets still on. She was a few feet away from him. “You didn’t have a choice. He knew what he was signing up for.”

Vi said, trying to ‘comfort’ Jayce. But that didn’t work. He stood up and faced Vi. “We’re done here.”

“What?” Vi was shocked but then shook her head. “We haven’t even scratched the surface. Silco’s still out there.”

“Do you not understand? I am part of this now.” Jayce snapped as he raised his voice. Then it lowered when reality hit him. “The next parents who get a massage their kid isn’t coming home… I don’t even know where to take it. Do we just leave him here?”

Vi clenched her fists as she took a step. “You’ve always been a part of this. You just never had to look it in the eye. One dead kid? There’s hundreds more where he came from, thanks to Silco, and thanks to people like you who stuck their heads in the dirt.”

Jayce shook his head slowly at Vi’s words. “This is over.”

“Not for me.” 

Jayce glanced down at the gauntlets. The gauntlets made for mining. Not war. And he knows she’ll use them to cause more death. “Take those off.”

Jayce said as he reached for the Mercury Hammer. The Atlas Gauntlets hissed out steam out of Vi’s defiance. 

“Make me.” Vi firmly said. 

Jayce clenched his jaw as the Mercury Hammer came to life. Slightly lifting it up from the ground as he spread his legs to get into his combat stance. “I can’t let you leave with them.”

Vi did the same thing. “Then, I guess you’re gonna need to kill another trencher.”

It was a tense moment. But after a second, Jayce sighed as he lowered the hammer and walked away, but before he could fully leave, he looked over his shoulder at Vi. 

“You won’t make it alone.” Jayce warned. 

And maybe he’s right. A girl with two Atlas Gauntlets against the whole undercity? 

But Vi didn’t want to think of that. She looked at the Shimmer refining machine still churned, its gears groaning like a mechanical beast. Tubes of violet glowed from within, humming with toxic life. Without hesitation, Vi stepped forward. She raised her gauntlets and she struck.

One punch. It was steel against steel, splintered the outer casing. Another, the metal screaming against metal drove straight through the heart of the machine. The core exploded in sparks and shattered glass. Shimmer spilled like poison down the walls, hissing as it hit the floor.

Vi didn’t stop punching until the machine was nothing but twisted wreckage. And even then, she didn’t stop shaking.

SILCO:
Smoke curled lazily from the crumpled remains of the Shimmer facility, mixing with the stink of ozone and scorched flesh. Soot-blackened walls bled violet from ruptured canisters, and broken pipes hissed uselessly into the air.

Sevika trudged over the shattered floor, her metal arm sparking faintly from earlier repairs, her boot crunching glass and blood. She gave the devastation a long, slow glance.

“Been a while since topside’s gotten this bold.”

Behind her, Silco was looking at the destroyed Shimmer refinery machine. “Say what you want about the late Sheriff. He had his uses.”

“Yeah, until he was set freed. And we both know who set him free.” Sevika said. It’s clear as crystal that Jinx set Dante free. 

“We’ll buy another.” Silco said, he wasn’t bothered Dante was set free. Because he currently had twelve Chem-tanks as bodyguards besides Sevika. 

“You gonna do anything about that piece of shit that murdered by boy?” Renni said as she was knelt down, with her arms wrapped around the lifeless body of her son. It was the same red-haired boy, now limp, pale, and blood-soaked. Dead. “Let me guess, ‘Jinx will take care of it.’ Just like she’s been taking care of everything else.”

Silco turned to the mourning Renni. “We all mourn the loss of your son, Renni. At least we have the solace of knowing he died fighting for our cause, instead of some petty personal dispute, as so often occurs here.”

“You’re one to talk about sacrificing for the cause.” Renni snapped. “Where is Jinx anyhow?”

Silco didn’t know. But that image. Dante holding Jinx as if she belonged to him instead of Silco. That haunts Silco. But he couldn’t show it. 

He turned to Sevika. “Help her with the body.”

Sevika daw how Silco walked away as she turned and saw Finn playing with his lighter. Silco’s time was coming to an end. 

MEL:
The room was lavish. It had carved stone pillars wrapped in silk drapes, candlelight flickering across brass trays laden with grapes, wine, and steaming towels. Ambessa sat reclined on a chaise, one leg bare and resting atop the knee of the silent male escort who massaged it with practiced hands. And she was swirling her glass of wine, inspecting it. 

“Noxian wine is bold by comparison. The grapes are hardened by the climate. But then, so is everything that manages to survive in Noxus.” 

That’s when Mel entered, her footsteps sharp, commanding, dressed in her flowing  white dress with gold accents that caught the light like daggers. She walked straight to the couch and smacked the wine glass from Ambessa’s hand, spilling it across the floor and the male escort without flinching. 

“Out!” Mel said, not to her mother, but to the escort.

Ambessa raised a brow, but gave a faint nod. The young man quickly bowed and left the room, his eyes avoiding Mel’s gaze.

“Stay away from Jayce!” Mel said through gritting teeth. “Better yet, march back to your ship and get the hell out of my city.”

Ambessa snapped a crab in half and glanced at Mel. “Get a hold of yourself, girl. I thought you better.”

Ambessa drank the juices of the crab, tossing it away the hand gestured her guard to walk away and he did. Now the two women were alone. “We’re in trouble, Mel. The man who killed your brother doesn’t believe the score is settled, and his resources exceed ours. If there’s a chance Hextech can be weaponized, we must take it.”

“Piltover isn’t your testing ground.” Mel said with narrowed eyes. 

“I only accelerated the process you started.” Ambessa replied as she didn’t even look at her daughter. 

“I wanted to protect the city from people like you. I can’t believe you’d start a war just to cover your ass.” Mel said through gritted teeth. 

That made Ambessa finally look at Mel over her shoulder. “I would set the world ablaze to protect our family.”

“No. I stopped being part of this family the moment you cast me out. Why? Why did you do it?” Mel finally asked, her voice breaking for a moment. 

“BECAUSE YOU WEAKENED ME!” Ambessa snapped as she stood up. Turning to look at Mel. “I couldn’t endure the look in your eyes whenever I made the decision, the necessary decision to keep us safe!”

Mel was shocked as she looked away, a hand on her face as Ambessa put her hands on her hips and looked away. “We need that weapon, Mel. Let the war unfold.”

She then put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “And you come home, take your place at my side. It’s where you belong.”

VIKTOR:
The wind whispered along the canals of Zaun, carrying the scent of oil, rain, and rust. Viktor stood alone at the edge of a broken bridge, the water below black as ink and just as silent. In his gloved hands was a small, metal urn. It was plain, unmarked, and heavy with guilt.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know where you’d have preferred.” He opened it. “I’m sorry.”

With a soft tilt, the ashes of Sky spilled into the breeze. They caught the air like shimmer dust, scattering over the edge and vanishing into the current below. Viktor watched in silence as the last of her drifted into the depths of a city she had quietly adored.

He cough a pit as he put Sky’s glasses on his shirt and tucked her notebook under his arm as he reached for his cane to stand up. He looked down at the ledge. The guilt was eating him from the inside out. And he felt like he wasn’t worthy of living. So, he slowly set a foot towards the ledge and—

“Am I interrupting?” Jayce’s voice stopped Viktor. And the irony is there. Viktor stopped Jayce from jumping once. Now Jayce stopped Viktor from jumping. In the same way. 

Jayce walked by him, set down the Mercury Hammer and sat on the circular frame that the ledge was on. He looked up at Viktor. “Remember the Distinguished Innovators completion?”

“I remember you nothing gears in the carriage over.” Viktor responded, his tone had a hint of nostalgia to it. 

“They started cranking the engine and the whole thing was rattling. I thought a loose cog was gonna take someone’s eye out.”

That made Viktor smile a bit. “Well, at least you didn’t throw up.”

Jayce scoffed softly at that. “Everything made sense then.”

“You have to destroy it.” Viktor said after a moment of silence. 

Jayce looked over at the Mercury Hammer, thinking Viktor is talking about the weapon. “I know.”

“The Hexcore.” Is what Viktor meant. “I… I can’t do it. You have to. Please.”

Jayce sighed at that. “What about your disease? Without the Hexcore—“

Viktor coughs cut Jayce off. “Promise me.”

Jayce closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay. Okay. I promise.”

Jayce said as he stood up, putting a hand on Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor looked off to the distance. 

“We lost ourselves. Lost our dream. In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good. We have to make it right.”

SILCO:
The tension in Silco’s office hung thicker than the smoke from his cigar. He heard a knock from his door. 

“I’m busy.” He simple said as he didn’t look up from the letter and twirled his glass. 

But the door opened. Finn, Sevika, and Renni entered the office. Sevika setting a chair for Finn as he sat down, Renni stood and Sevika stood besides Silco. The death of Renni’s son still clung to the air, and yet her silence was more dangerous than any scream. Silco set down the letter as he looked at the two Chem-barons before him. 

“When you took Vander out of play, I thought, ‘Now here’s a man who understands what it takes to run an enterprise.’” Finn said as he stopped playing with his lighter. “The attitude, the instinct, the eye. The Belem package, you were. Always two steps ahead. But times lapped you, old man.”

“You’re with him, are you?” Silco glanced up at Renni as he took a sip of his drink. 

“You screwed up, Silco.” Renni sneered out. 

Silco set down his glass. Looking at Finn. “You’re too young to remember what the undercity was before it became an ‘enterprise’. We had nothing. You know what bore us though those times? Loyalty. Brothers and sisters back-to-back against whatever the world threw at us. Now I’m forced to share their air with parasites like you, who leach off their legacies.”

Finn’s eyes narrowed at Silco’s words. “Today is the day you die, Silco.”

“That’s a risk I’ve known all my life. But I still believe in loyalty.” 

Then, from behind Silco, Sevika stood tall, her mechanical arm retracting to reveal a hidden blade. It was long, clean, and glinting with fresh oil. One clean motion, and it blurred the whole room. The sound was sickening. Wet. Final.

Finn staggered, confusion written across his face like a child who’d just been betrayed. his hand reached up for his throat but then, his head rolled down the floor. Dead. Renni was horrified at the sight. 

Even Silco was a bit shocked but pushed it away as he looked up at Renni. “I would have had your son killed for this. Though I suppose we’re ahead on that account. Get out.”

Renni opened her mouth, but no words came. Only rage and the cold calculation of someone who wouldn’t forget this moment. She turned and walked out, cape flaring behind her.

A heavy silence settled.

“Were you tempted to?” He finally asked to Sevika as he picked up his cigar from the ash-tray. 

“Not for a worm like him.” Sevika said as she reached down for Finn’s lighter and lit up Silco’s cigar. “But he won’t be the last.”

Silco let out a puff as he looked back at the letter. As it was from Jayce Talis himself. A meeting. Between the two. Alone. 

JAYCE:
Dusk settled like smoke over Piltover, the sky stained with the last flickers of amber and bruised indigo. Along the Bridge outside of the city, reaching the Shuriman border, old artillery cannons lined the railings—steel sentinels poised to speak thunder if called upon. The air was thick with anticipation, the scent of oil and ozone hanging heavy.

Jayce stood at the edge, alone as he looked at the horizon. His expression was grim, the light in his eyes dulled by the weight of recent death.

Footsteps echoed. They measured, calm, and deliberate. Silco emerged from the shadows, flanked by no guards, no fanfare. Only himself and his coat. 

“Perfect place for an ambush. And you without your hammer.” Silco said as he walked up to Jayce. 

“I was reminded recently of what brought us together in the first place.” Jayce said as he kept his gaze on the horizon. “The threats beyond our walls.”

“This city has a short memory.” Silco responded. 

“‘Progress.’” Jayce said as he looked at Silco in the eyes. 

“Far be it from me to stand in the way.” Silco slowly reached for his coat, Jayce eyed at his movement wary as Silco just pulled out a paper, he gave a light scoff and gave it to Jayce. 

Jayce looked at it and began to read its contents. “‘Free trade routes, blanket amnesty, unrestricted access to the Hexgates, sovereignty.’”

He looked up at Silco with disbelief and annoyance. “Do you really think you’re in position to demand all this?”

“I give you credit for your stunt, boy. Didn’t think you had the stomach. But the big display followed by a request for parley, you’re tipping your hand.” Jayce slowly looked down at Silco’s words. “You’re afraid, boy.”

“I am afraid. Today, I got a glimpse of what war between us might look like.” Jayce nodded then looked at Silco dead in the eyes. “Your people wouldn’t stand a chance. The Council couldn’t care less. I’m trying to safe you from annihilation.”

Silco slowly nodded at Jayce’s words. “Well, well. Not the fresh-faced Academy pledge, are you? You want piece, this is the price.”

Jayce sighed in annoyance. “You’ll discontinue the production of Shimmer?”

“Half there already.” Silco said smugly. 

“Return the Gemstone.” Silco nodded at Jayce words. But the next ones… “And I need Jinx. She has to pay for what she’s done.”

Silco’s smugness faded away immediately. “They weren’t her crimes. She was working for me.”

“Believe me, if I had it my way, it’d be you rotting in Stillwater, but we can’t make a deal with a snake and cut off its head. We both have our shitty parts to play.” Jayce handed the paper back to Silco. “Get me Jinx. And I’ll give you your nation of Zaun.”

And with that Jayce walked away. Leaving Silco alone. Silco turned his gaze toward the horizon, the waters below stained orange by the last light.

EKKO:
The Firelights’ hideout pulsed with light and color, the sanctuary was alive with green lights and handcrafted tech nestled deep in Zaun’s veins. Laughter echoed down the silo  as young rebels darted around the tree, their faces beaming with enjoyment. 

Ekko limped through the gate which was just a giant boulder that lead through abandoned streets, bruised and bloodied but unmistakably alive. Behind him, in a state of awe and uncertainty, walked Heimerdinger, blinking slowly beneath his mustache at the surreal landscape of shimmering lights and people enjoying life.

A cheer erupted as Ekko stepped inside.

“Boss!”
“He’s back!”
“Told you he’d make it!”

Scar helped him sit on a rock and without waiting, he snapped Ekko’s dislocated leg back into place without warning.

“Agh—dammit, Scar!”

“You’re welcome.” Scar muttered, smirking.

“You could’ve at least counted—!”

“One, two, done,” she shrugged.

Ekko laughed, limping towards Heimerdinger that looked up in awe. The tree itself in Zaun was a miracle, but people living with enjoyment was even more. He looked down at the Hoverboard he dragged for Ekko then looked up at Ekko. 

“Uh, why this form of transformation? Surely, there are more efficient and safer methods of transformation.”

Ekko looked up at the kid playing on their hoverboards and cheering. “You’re seeing the reason right now. It’s not enough to give people what they want to survive, you have to give them what they need to live.”

DANTE:
The Last Drop was heavily with twelve Chem-tanks. Shaking with the heavy amount of Shimmer going into their system from their armors. Their violet glowing helmets lock onto the lone figure standing in the middle of the street.

Dante. 

He was spinning two basic enforcer pistols in his hands. The Rebellion sheath on his back. One of the thanks roared and charged at him. Dante didn’t move until the last possible heartbeat. Then, he sidestep. The charge sailed past, his pistols already snapping up. Four shots, each finding the exposed vents between armor plates. Steam bled out in a hiss and the Chem-tank staggered. Dante planted a foot on its chest, pushed off, and spun midair, the recoil of his pistols carrying him higher than physics would approve. He landed sideways against a wall, kicked off, and drew the Rebellion in the same motion. A twist of the hilt, sword ignited burning in red.

“Let’s make this interesting.”

The street became a blur of movement and muzzle flash. The Rebellion bit deep, cleaving steel like fabric. Bullets sparked from armor before finding joints and glass, each hit precise enough to look like a trick shot. One Chen-tank swung its blade at Dante, but he ducked under it, drove the Rebellion up through the chestplate, and vaulted over the falling body without looking back. Another came from behind, but Dante didn’t turn. He raised his left pistol backward, fired twice, and kept moving, then he began juggling an enemy midair with gunfire until the suit collapsed in pieces.

The fog thinned as the fight wore on, every muzzle flare and burning rune cutting it apart. Shell casings rained. Steam turned the cobblestones slick. The last three Chem-tanks hesitated. Dante tilted his head and smirked. Then moved. Steel flashed in a tight red arc. By the time the echo faded, the street was quiet except for the slow clink of brass hitting stone. Dante slid the Rebellion back into place, holstered the pistols, and stepped over a smoking pile of metal and meat. The Last Drop’s door was just ahead.

He didn’t hurry. Didn’t need to. The doors of The Last Drop groaned open, stifling music and quiet conversation grinding to a sudden halt. Dante stepped in, boots echoing heavy against the iron flooring. The shadows clung to his coat like smoke, and every head in the room turned. It wasn’t just that he was known, it was what his presence meant.

He didn’t say a word. Just walked and headed to the jukebox. Selecting the same music he and Jinx, or Powder back then used to listen. An electric-rock album. And he felt it. Sevika, boots scraping, rising slowly. Half the gang followed suit, weapons half-drawn, glances cast around like wolves circling an injured bear.

One man, stupid, eager to impress, pulled a knife.

“You must be lost”. He said.

Dante didn’t turn.

BANG!

The man ma body hit the floor with a thud, knife clattering beside him. Blood splattered across the floorboards. It made someone drop a glass. Dante finally turned on his stool, the glow of his demon eyes simmering like coals behind his smirk.

“No…” hesaid calmly. “I’m right where I need to be. This party is getting crazy. Let’s rock.”

He turned to the jukebox and pressed the button. It didn’t work. He pressed it again. Didn’t work. Another time. It didn’t. He sighed and hit the jukebox as his music began to play, he tapped his foot to the floor and turned once again and punched another goon. 

SILCO:
Silco sat beneath the iron‑forged figure of Vander, framed by flickering neon lasers that painted the old revolutionary in cobalt and purple. The statue loomed over the square like a gaunt sentinel. Vander immortalized in bronze, pipe in hand, eyes cast toward Piltover.

Silco’s coat hung open, face tense, he face downwards at his bottle of whiskey. 

“A thousand times I’ve imagined this moment. Never like this. All we ever wanted. The boy didn’t even haggle. And what do I lose but problems? Oh, it all make sense now, brother.” He then pour some whiskey on the statue’s rim. Then he took a chug for himself. “Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?”

Without him knowing, Jinx was behind the statue, listening to every single word of Silco. Her eyes glowed a deep pink, seething with unnatural light, and her veins ran with a powerful demon blood that was so different from anything. More powerful than Shimmer. The pink patterns coiled up her arms and throat, faintly smoking where her breath touched the night air.

She said nothing. She didn’t have to. But she knew what she had to do. 

DANTE:
The Last Drop was quiet in the way only a massacre could bring. Smoke curled up from the wreckage. Some tables smashed to splinters, glass and blood painting the floor. Bodies groaned, broken or breathless. The heavy rain outside seeped in under the door, streaking crimson across the tile. Sevika lay slumped against the bar, unconscious or worse, her metal arm severed at the elbow. Around her, the rest of Silco’s gang were either twitching in pain or already gone. Dante had made sure of that.

He sat at the counter, whiskey glass in one hand, the Rebellion leaning beside his stool. He wasn’t breathing hard. Didn’t need to. Didn’t care to. Then, the bell over the entrance chimed. His eyes flicked toward the sound.

Vi stood in the doorway, soaked and furious, Atlas Gauntlets still humming with blue hextech energy. Her jaw clenched as she scanned the carnage. It seemed like she and Dante had the same plan. 

“You son of a bitch…” she muttered. “You took them all out.”

Dante didn’t even turn fully toward her.

“Vi…” he said flatly, “this really isn’t a good time.”

She marched in, boots crunching over glass. “Not a good time? You slaughter a bar full of people and sit here like you’re king of Zaun?”

Dante took a long sip from his drink. Or a drink he stole. “Vi, look around you. And all of this? The blood, the silence, the war I just ended, that’s my doing.”

His voice dropped to a growl. “So the only thing I wanna do right now… is hit something as hard as I can.”

Vi raised her fists. Steam coming out of the Atlas Gauntlets and she charged. Her gauntlets roared to life with blue Arcane energy as she threw a punch that could’ve shattered stone. But of course, Dante caught it with one bare hand. Sparks flew.

Then he moved. No gauntlets. No Rebellion. No pistols. Just rage. He snatched a pool cue from the broken table and spun it like a staff, cracking it across Vi’s jaw, rib, and thigh in brutal rhythm. She swung again, Dante ducked under and countered, disarming her mid-swing. His palm clamped down on the gauntlet, and the Hextech gem pulsed red. Vi’s eyes widened at the sight as the blue glow turned red. 

“Jackpot.” 

Dante said lowly. Then he shattered. Vi gasped as her gauntlet crumpled in his hand. Dante ripped the useless gauntlet to the counter and threw a punch across her jaw. And she dropped, but she was too stubborn, so she tried to get up. 

“Don’t get up, Vi. This isn’t your fight anymore.”

And Vi knew she couldn’t defeat Dante. She saw the carnage from the outside and inside from the bar and then she got it first hand. So she gave up. And Dante, he didn’t celebrate. Didn’t smile. Instead, he screamed. It was a raw, guttural howl of fury and guilt and exhaustion that filled the ruined bar like thunder. He staggered back to his stool, knuckles bloody, heart thudding like war drums.

“…I didn’t want this…” he muttered. His hand reached for the whiskey.

“Bravo, Hellblood.” Before he could turn, a needle jabbed into his neck.

“Buh-byyye~” came the sing-song voice behind him.

He turned, barely, to see Jinx behind him—eyes bright pink, demonic patterns flaring like fire across her skin, lit up from veins to fingertips. His limbs stiffened instantly, paralyzed once again by her concoction. Glass fell from his hand and shattered on the floor. Jinx leaned in, nose to nose.

“You always did like making a mess without me.”

JAYCE:
The night was red with the rare blood moon. But inside the Council Chamber echoed with silence. It was cold, tense, and judgmental. Jayce stood from his chair and look at the Council. 

“Councilors… my recent unsanctioned activities in the underground have shown me two things. I’m not fit to govern the people who live there. And neither are you. Our opportunity to demonstrate our compassion, our dedication, our solidarity has passed. They’re right not to trust us.”

“You’re walking a fine line, Jayce.” Cassandra said softly but it was a warning, especially with Jayce’s recent actions. 

“With respect, I don’t give a shit what any of you think of me anymore.” That made all the Councilors give him a nasty eye. All but one. “Except you. You were right. You were always right.”

Jayce said at Mel. That made Mel’s eyes widened. Jayce trusts her and loves her. He looked back at the Council. “My days here are numbered, but I’ve come with Viktor, my partner and a Zaunite, with one final proposal.”

Viktor looked up at the Council as he was seated. “Jayce has brokered a peace with Silco. In exchange for the undercity’s independence.”

The chamber erupted. Shouts. Slamming fists. Accusations of treason.

“Independence?!”
“Unthinkable!”
“We built that city!”
“They’re terrorists!”

Jayce stayed silent as he looked at Mel who stayed quiet. Hoping she’d aid him as if she does, everyone will. But Mel looked at her Medarda ring and remembered what her mother told her. 

JINX:
Vi awoke to the cold kiss of iron around her wrists, the chair beneath her back, unforgiving. It was dark. Somewhere deep. Somewhere abandoned. Yet, it was familiar. And the only thing that lit up her view was sparklers. A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.

“Really thought I buried this place. But I should have known better.” 

“Powder?” Vi called trying to find where Jinx is. 

“Nothing ever stays dead.”

Vi looked all over her but still couldn’t see anything. “Are we alone?”

“For now. Maybe forever. Wanna know a secret? Silco thinks he made Jinx, with all his rants and his hard-won lessons. ‘Excise your doubts, Jinx.’ ‘Be what they fear, Jinx.’ Like everything was the same as when Vander left him. But he didn’t make Jinx. You did.”

Vi closed her eyes from Jinx’s words. Guilt taking her. She opened them once more. “I’m sorry, Powder. I never meant to leave you.”

“You never left. I always heard you. Shadows in the streets, prickles on the back of my neck. Your voice pushing me. Picking me up when all the colors were back. You’re the reason I’m still alive.”

That hurt Vi even more than the physical pain she currently had. “I spent so many nights in that shitty prison. On that freezing floor, hungry, bloody, counting the hours. The only thing… the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to you.”

And with that, the sparkles died out. Making everything pitch black. 

“Are we still sisters?” Jinx finally asked the big question. 

“Nothing is ever going to change that.” Vi said honestly. 

A light lit up infront of Vi as Jinx was in front her with Dante’s coat back on. Looking at her older sister. “I always knew you’d came back.”

“What’s going on?” Vi asked with a hint of fear as Jinx turned her chair. Then, she threw the lighter across, lighting up multiple matches at once to show something creepy. 

A table glowed in eerie flickers. Dolls sat in chairs. Claggor, Mylo, a stuffed rabbit with a bullet hole through its chest. At the far end, Silco, gagged and restrained, blinked in the glow. His one good eye locked on Vi. Rage. Fear. But no regret.

On Vi’s right side of the table, Dante’s shadow stirred in the candlelight. Heavy chains rattled. He was wearing his tight compression turtleneck shirt. 

“…So I wasn’t a dream.” Dante  muttered, voice groggy but dry with sarcasm. He looked down at the thick chains, then up at the lipstick-smeared, and heart drawings on the Rebellion, buried deep into the table. “You got a real thing for me being tied up, huh?”

Jinx looked at Dante. Her eyes were glowing pink. Skin lit with wild, demonic patterns that pulsed with each breath she took.

“Only when you’re mouthy.” She purred. “Besides, I like what I like.” 

She then looked at Silco. Her eyes narrowing. “He took everything from us. Right here, he stabbed Vander in the back. Just like he planned to do with me. Even after everything I did, even after being forced to betray you.”

She looked at Dante. “Even after I put you in that ice box for a year he still wanted to betray me.”

She looked at Silco once more as he mumble something incoherent, she didn’t care. “Traitor.”

Jinx the put a hand on her hip. “Mm. We’re missing someone.”

She walked back in the darkness. Vi looked around her, the creepy dolls, Dante wiggling free from the chains with struggle. The thick and heavy chains were wrapped tightly around him. Keeping him bond to the chair he was on. Then, Jinx came back, wearing the powerless Atlas Gauntlets with her new-found inhuman strength. She blows off some dust from the plate she’s carrying and sets it down on the table then drops the gauntlets on the floor, shaking her arms as she’s between Dante and Vi’s seats. She reached for the cover dome’s handle and looked at Vi. 

“I paid your girlfriend a visit this morning.”

Vi was scared at Jinx’s words. “What did you do?”

“I made her a snack.” Jinx said innocently which made Vi more scared. Jinx teasingly raised the dome to add more fear. 

“NO!” Vi flinched as in her mind she saw Caitlyn’s head on it. But she looked back and saw that it was just a cupcake, with the Hextech Gemstone on top of it. But it glowed red due to Dante’s demonic powers. 

“Sheesh! I’m not that crazy.” Jinx said as she tossed the dome cover away. 

Dante rolled his eyes at Jinx’s words. “I don’t know, you kinda are. I mean, what kind of girl wears the coat of the guy she has chained up? Tell you what, let me go and we can all settled this over some drinks. Matter a fact, this seems more like a family issue. So I definitely shouldn’t be here.”

Dante said and he eyes Jinx through his hair that covered a bit of his eyesight. Hoping he’d be able to swoon Jinx over. She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, looking at Dante with an amused glint in her eye. She tilted her head to the side as if contemplating his words.

"You're quite the smooth talker, ain't you? Trying to sweet-talk your way out of those chains?" She chuckled softly, her gaze lingering on him for a moment, before she pushed off the table and walked back into the darkness. 

She then came back, this time with Caitlyn tied up to a wheelchair and gagged, setting her to the left side of Vi on the table. A bit to harsh. 

“Powder! Leave her out of this.” Vi begged her little sister.  

Jinx leaned against the wheelchair as she looked at Vi. Silco mumble something that couldn’t be understandable from his gag and Dante was thinking his next words. 

“Now…” Jinx walked over and leaned to Vi’s chair, leaning into her sister’s side. “Where should I sit?

She gestured at the blue seat that said ‘POWDER’ it was blue, pink, and childish, innocent even. Then at the black seat that said ‘JINX’ that had crow’s feathers. “That’s your choice, really.”

She then set down her pistol to Vi’s lap. “Make her go away. Please. Send her on her way and—“

She was cut off by Caitlyn trying to say something but came out as mumbles from the gag. Jinx kept her eyes on Vi. “And you can have Powder back.”

Vi looked at Caitlyn whose eyes were widened with fear and love for the other girl. Vi was stuttering. “I can’t.”

Jinx scoffed in disappointment and picked up the gun and aimed it at Caitlyn. But before she could pull the trigger.

“Okay, okay.” Dante spoke up once more as he found out what to say that’ll snap Jinx out of this whole evil modes she’s in. “Blue, listen. Just let me take you away. From Silco. From this place. From all of it.”

The gun trembled in her hand. Dante continued. “It’s clear Zaun and Piltover has ruined you. But it’s not to late, the invitation that I told you, that we could go around the world, that’s still up. Start a new life and all that. Be that odd partner-in-crime couple. I know you love the idea.” 

Caitlyn widened her eyes, realizing just how much he knew about her. He seemed to know things even Jinx might not. And Jinx, despite appearing confident, felt a flicker of doubt, as if Dante’s words were slowly chipping away at her armor. She scoffed, trying to brush it off.

“You make it sound so easy. Just leave everything behind and start anew. But it's not that simple. You know that."

Dante tried to keep his tone firm yet empathetic. “I never said it was easy, Blue. Nothing worth having is. But the alternative? You think this path you're on is any easier? The things you're doing, the consequences that are coming... They will break you."

That made Jinx want to do it. But Silco mumble something loudly, clearly wanting Jinx’s attention and he got it. She turned to face him. 

“What do you have to say about that?” She said with a pout, annoyed that Silco is trying to speak up. She walked over to him and removed his gag. 

“HER NAME IS JINX.” Silco spat out. Not Powder. And definitely not ‘Blue’. It’s JINX. He looked up to face her. “He’s lying. You’ll be with him a day before he realizes you aren’t that little girl anymore and turns his back on you.”

Jinx tap her pistol’s barrel under her chin, contemplating both of their words. “Mm-hmm.”

She turned to Dante, resting her pistol on her shoulder. “You aren’t lying? You’re many things, but definitely not a liar. Right?”

Dante shook his head. “No, Blue, I'm not lying. I meant every word I said. You and me, traveling the world, finding adventure, and living life on our own terms."

He kept his gaze steady, determined not to look away. He could sense the internal struggle happening within Jinx, her loyalty to Silco clashing with her longing for freedom and acceptance. “‘Sides, you know the crazy things I’ve been able to do. I can handle chaos as well as you do, Hell, I’m basically an adrenaline junky.” 

Jinx's expression softened slightly, intrigued by Dante's proposal and his ability to keep up with her chaos. She couldn't help but ask. “You really mean it? No tricks, no double crossings? Just you and me, roaming the world together?"

Dante nodded once more, his expression serious yet sincere. This was what Jinx needed, confirmation. “I mean it, Blue. No tricks, no double crossings. Just you and me, taking on the world, one adventure at a time. I promise you that."

He leaned forward a little, his gaze never wavering. “But I need you to promise me something, too. No matter what happens out there, no matter how difficult or dangerous things get, you can't ever go back to Silco. He'll only drag you back down into the darkness."

The mention of Silco sent a shiver down her spine. His hold on her was strong, even now. But Dante’s words resonated with her. But then, the voices came in her head, taunting her. She shot Mylo’s doll. “SHUT UP! The adults are talking!”

And unaware to Jinx, a broken glass cup rolled over to Caitlyn. 

“The topsiders offered me everything. Independence, a seat at the table. All in return for you. They can all burn. Everyone betrays us, Jinx. Vander. Her. Him. They will never understand. It’s only us. You’re my daughter.” Silco said with sweet words, trying to win her back to his side. “I’ll never forsake you.”

That made Jinx lips quiver, she didn’t want to cry in front of everyone. But she snapped as she heard Caitlyn’s voice. 

“Drop the gun!” Caitlyn ordered as she now had Jinx’s mini-gun. 

Jinx immediately switched emotions as she slowly turned to glare at Caitlyn. She looked down and saw the ropes cut free, then back at Caitlyn with an annoyed exhale. 

“No. Please.” Vi silently begged for the two to stop. 

“Fuck…” Dante muttered. 

Jinx yelled, aiming her pistol but Caitlyn shot warning shots. 

“NO! STOP!” Vi cried out. 

“Drop the gun.” Caitlyn ordered. 

Everyone’s breathing was shaking. There was a small crack in the distance as Dante was able to break a chain link that bonded him tot he chair but the moment was so tense the others ignored. Caitlyn prepared to shoot at her. 

“Wait! She’s my sister!” By begged to Caitlyn. 

“Vi, she’s too far gone.” Caitlyn said without breaking eye contact with Jinx. 

Jinx snickered awkwardly as she set down her pistol on the table. She had her hands up. Caitlyn glanced at Vi. 

“No, no, no.” Vi pleaded. 

Caitlyn turned to face Jinx who began to whimper like a scared little girl. But those whimpers turned into dark giggles as she moved faster than anyone but Dante could see. And in a pink blur, Jinx knocked out Caitlyn with the mini-gun going back to her control. Her teeth gritted as she looked down at the knocked out enforcer. 

“You see, now finish it.” Silco ordered like the devil on Jinx’s shoulder. 

“Damn it! Powder, wake up!” Vi cores out like the angel on her shoulder. “Remember who you are! I know you remember! Picture Mylo! Claggor! Vander!”

“SHUT UP! DON’T LISTEN TO HER!”

“Dad! Mom! Me!”

Jinx was having a panic attack. The guilt was eating her up from both Vi’s and Silco’s words but then…

“BLUEBIRD.”

One word. Soft. Familiar. Dante’s full childhood nickname for her. Jinx froze. Eyes flickering between pink and blue. Her hands shook.

“T-Tony…” she whispered. 

But then she heard it. Her pistols click which snapped her out. And with a scream she shot everywhere with her mini-gun. The crows around the place flew off. Jinx was panting as she looked up and saw what she did. 

Silco was riddled with bullet holes, dropping the pistol. Vi and Dante saw what Jinx have done. She killed Silco. For Dante. Even though she knows nothing can harm him, at least nothing in Zaun. But Jinx still did it. 

She immediately began to sob as she dropped her mini-gun and rushed to Silco.

“No…” she dropped to her knees and cupped Silco’s face. “Oh. Oh, no, no, no. Why did you do it, you stupid old man.”

Jinx stammered out. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“I would never have given you to them. Not for anything. Don’t cry. You’re perfect.” And that was Silco’s last words. His life fading way before her. 

And Dante was finally able to break free from the thick chains and saw how Jinx was. He knelt nearby her. His voice came low, gentle, like how he used to talk to her when they were kids and she got scraped up trying to chase fireflies that weren’t real.

“Bluebell…”

She didn’t look at him.

“You did what you had to…” he said, stepping closer. She flinched. Not from him, but from herself. Dante stopped. Let her have space. But not silence.

“You didn’t choose this.” He continued. “They all broke you. They bent you around their war. I should’ve been there sooner. I should’ve stayed.”

Finally, Jinx moved. Slowly. Her arms released Silco’s still form as she stood, glass crunching beneath her boots. She walked back to the table, and everything went quiet. Jinx sat in the Jinx chair. Her eyes were dull now. Not glowing. Not crackling. Just empty.

“She could’ve loved me again…” she murmured.

Dante’s expression darkened out of sadness. He could feel Jinx’s emotion. 

“She does, Blue.”

Jinx gave him a look he couldn’t read. Not hate. Not sorrow. Something in between.

“Not like before…” she whispered. “Not like she loved Powder. I’m different. But she changed too. So…”

Jinx stood up. “Here’s to the new us.”

She picked up her mini-gun, then reached for the red Hextech gemstone that was on the cupcake. Looking down at Vi. 

“I am the monster that you created 
You ripped out all my parts
And worst of all for me to live
I gotta kill the part of me that sore
And I needed you more”

Jinx went over to revel the weapon she has been building behind everyone’s back. Inserted the red Gemstone into it, bring the weapon to life in red arcane energy. 

Fishbones. 

She walked over to the ledge of the building, the blood red moon shining down on her pink eyes and demonic patterns on her skin. She looked at Piltover. Specifically the Council building. 

“I hope you know we had everything 
And you broke me and left these pieces
I want you to hurt like you hurt me that day and
I want you to lose like I lose when I play 
What could have been”

Jinx holstered Fishbones to her shoulder and it began to power up. A tear feel down her cheek. Because…

Even a devil may cry. At least this devil can. 

Dante can stop her. But the thing is… he isn’t. He’ll let her do it. 

And Jinx? She pulled the trigger. A giant flash of red light blinded Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx and even Dante. Jinx screamed out in rage and sadness. Shooting a powerful blast. 

Super Mega Death Rocket. 

The rocket shrieked into the red sky in a crimson arc across the twilight.

“Why don’t you love who I am?
What we could have been 
I am your ghost 
A fallen angel 
You ripped our all my parts”

Unaware to Jinx or anyone, the Council did agree in giving the undercity its independence. But it was already to late. 

The rocket came in, expanding. And just as its about to hit, Mel sense it. Her golden tattoos glowing as the glass shattered and—

“What could have been…”

Chapter Text

JAYCE:
Mel’s golden tattoos were glowing for a moment before they went dull. Jayce opened his eyes as they were holding each other. Smoke, flames, and debris surrounded them. 

“Mel.” Mel slowly opened her eyes at Jayce’s words and hand on her cheek. “Mel, are you okay?”

Jayce slowly helped her up to her feet as they looked around them. They saw the destruction around them, enforcers came into the room looking for anyone. 

“It’s okay.” Jayce said trying to comfort the disoriented Mel. 

Ambessa came into the room as well, seeing the carnage. Her voice was already barking commands to surviving enforcers rushing the ruins.

“Pull the stone. Now. Check under the pillars. You, bring flame retardant. The councilors—!”

“They’re gone!” An enforcer shouted.

Ambessa’s face twitched. Not grief. Not shock. Just war-worn acceptance. And Jayce’s eyes widened at hearing those words as he looked at all the Councilors dead. He spotted Cassandra’s body and rushed to her side only to see her lifeless eyes. Ambessa rushed to Mel’s side to check up on her. But to Jayce, the whole world went silent as he slowly turned to his right, eyes widened. 

He spotted Viktor’s body. Beneath the collapsed table laid Viktor. 

And Jayce didn’t waste a second. 

Jayce burst through the  lab’s entrance, panting, carrying Viktor like he weighed nothing. Setting him down on the table at the center and looked frantically through Viktor’s notes in a way to safe him. He then spotted the Hexcore pulsing and reacting to Viktor’s presence. And without a thought, he grabbed the Hexcore with clamps and pressed the Hexcore against Viktor’s chest.

The moment it made contact. It screamed. The lab was filled with blinding light.

Jayce broke Viktor’s promise in destroying the Hexcore to safe him. 

CAITLYN:
It’s been a couple of days since the Council Bombing. But grieve still kept on going. Especially for Caitlyn. 

The funeral was quiet. No speeches. No grand display of Piltover pride. Just rain. Endless, gray rain.

Cassandra’s casket rested beneath a canopy of violet trees, the wood lacquered, the Kiramman seal engraved in gold at its head. A single violet sat on the lid. Her husband’s hand, Tobias never left it.

Caitlyn stood beside him, dressed in her enforcer uniform, her expression was unreadable… except for the faint twitch at the corners of her mouth, where grief pooled but would not spill. Vi stood near her, awkward and guilt in her stance, hands deep in her jacket’s pockets, unsure whether to reach for Caitlyn or not.

And in the background, half-shrouded by mist and rain-filtered sunlight.

Dante. 

By the trees. Silent. Uninvited. Unseen. He was like a ghost among the living. He watched it all. The trembling shoulders. The silence between daughter and father. The way Caitlyn barely blinked as they lowered the casket into the earth. No words. No closure. Just the sound of dirt hitting wood.

To an extent, he knew he could’ve stopped Jinx and maybe he should have. But yet again, the Council had what was coming. Because if it wasn’t Jinx, then someone else would’ve done it. And probably worse. 

Dante took a deep breath and walked away. 

———

Later, at the Kiramman’s estate. Caitlyn was siting down, opening many letters from different Houses, their apologies and grief towards the death of Cassandra. She then opened a black letter, this one containing a badge for the ceremony that will happen tomorrow. To honor those who died in the explosion. 

Tobias came in and walked besides her, but he was a mess. Still in his sleeping robes, hair and beard completely untangled. He didn’t even spoke since the funeral. Caitlyn grabbed a warm tea for him but he didn’t even looked at it, so she set it down. 

“I had the shot…” Caitlyn finally said as she looked down. But her father didn’t respond to that. 

After a moment, he exhaled softly and reached for his robe and pulled something out as he finally looked at her and spoke. “Your mother left this to you.”

He handed her the object as she looked at it. “The Kiramman key. No, I’m not… I don’t deserve it.”

Tobias put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s your legacy now, Caitlyn. You know that. Only an child born form the Kiramman may take it.”

Caitlyn looked at him as they had a moment. But then he spotted Vi listening in by the doorframe. Tobias narrowed his eyes at the trencher. “What is she still doing here?”

Vi had that look of guilt and walked away. Caitlyn put a hand on her father’s shoulder to calm him down as he’s still grieving and walked after Vi. They were in a hallway, rain tapping against the window as Vi looked at Caitlyn. 

“Hey.”

Caitlyn didn’t say anything, she just began to sob and ran towards Vi, sinking into her arms as Vi held her. They pulled away as they looked at each other, Vi helping Caitlyn’s cheek. 

“I can make this right. If you get Jayce to fix the gauntlets, I can do this myself. No one else needs to get hurt.”

“No.” Caitlyn shook her head and put a hand on Vi’s shoulder. “No more rogue missions. No more reckless plans. My mother was right. My arrogance led me to take on more than I could handle, she paid the price. They’re going to send all the enforcers after Jinx.”

Vi looked at her and held her hand. Knowing Caitlyn will go. Either by will or as an order. “Please, I have to help.” 

“You can.” Caitlyn reached for her pocket and pulled out something made out of letter, giving it to Vi who opened it and saw it. 

And enforcer badge. 

“As one of us.”

Vi’s eyes widened and looked at Caitlyn, slowly backing away from her. “Cait, I can’t wear this.”

“People are calling for blood. And there’s no longer a Council to stop them. You can show that not all of Zaun supports Jinx. We can show them. Together.”

Vi dropped the badge on the floor as she kept slowly backing away from Caitlyn like a wounded animal. “I watched then kill my parents. Do you have any idea how that feels?”

“Yes. I do.” That was a total lie in Caitlyn’s part. And Vi could see that lie as she looked away and slumped her shoulders. “I thought you were on our side.”

Vi scoffed softly at that. “You didn’t think at all.”

And with that, Vi left her and the Kiramman estate. 

VIOLET:
The streets of Piltover were slick with rain and lit with the flicker of lightning. Vi slumped against and underpass. Curling up to a ball as she looked at an empty bottle, she fiddle with it and enraged she threw it away. 

“OW!” The bottle hit a man under stacks of newspaper. “Hey, watch it.”

“Sorry.” Vi muttered out. 

“Not my first.” The man said as he stood up. He was old, scruffy, and had an enforcer coat hanging around his shoulders. He walked over to Vi. “You alright?”

Vi didn’t answer, so the man sat next to her. After a moment of silence he reached to his coat and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “You, uh… lose someone in the attack?”

Vi looked at him as he handed her the bottle and she took a deep drink from it. “You could say that…”

The man nodded. “Name’s Loris.”

“Vi.” Vi simple responded as she kept drinking. 

DANTE:
There was a small bar. Tucked between the streets of Piltover, wedged between a chemist store and a bookstore no one had entered in days. Inside, the lights were low. It had a smell of old wood, older smoke, and the lingering scent of citrus gin.

The place went quiet the moment Dante walked in. He wasn’t wearing his coat. As Jinx hadn’t given it to him the last time they saw each other when she blew up the Council. 

He walked to the counter and didn’t look at anyone. He didn’t need to. He sat down on a stool, which it creaked beneath his weight, though he barely noticed. The bartender, a thick-shouldered woman with oil-stained fingers and half a mechanical jaw, raised an eyebrow.

“What’ll it be?”

Dante didn’t blink. He didn’t even glance at the menu etched onto brass behind her. “The heaviest thing you’ve got.”

The bartender stared a second longer. Studied the lines under his eyes, the faint shimmer of something not human in his gaze. The way his hands looked like they hadn’t stopped shaking since whatever hell he’d walked out of. But she didn’t ask. Just turned around, poured something dark and angry into a glass, and slid it across.

“Hope you’ve got a strong liver.”

Dante picked it up.

“Don’t need one…” he muttered, then he took the drink. It burned like molten copper and ash going down. But he didn’t even twitch. He knew he couldn’t get drunk. At least if it isn’t something heavy and the drink he’s currently drinking isn’t heavy. And this… this wasn’t about forgetting.

It was about surviving the weight in his chest. The clawing, awful silence left behind after Jinx killed Silco… after she looked him in the eye and pulled the trigger. After he felt her in a different way. Not physically. But still intimate. As if they’re interlink. As if due to him giving in some of his blood to her they’re can sense each other. But right now. He couldn’t sense her, he should be probably searching for her. But maybe, just maybe she needs time alone. She’s totally different now. Just like him. 

He sighed an took another drink. And another. And another. Each one slammed down harder than the last. He felt the world come down at him, someone in the back laughed.

But Dante didn’t move. He just stared into the bottom of the glass, as if he might find some kind of answer there. He didn’t. 

CAMILLE:
The Council Hall was no longer a hall. It was a ruin. With blackened marble and shattered glass. Ash settled like snow in the corners of the stone floor.

But they gathered anyway. At least what was left, which wasn’t much. Just Jayce and Mel. 

Not in the chamber itself. But what was left of it was still being cleared. No. They gathered in the Ferros estate. And Camille Ferros, with her silver hair pulled tight and her frame poised like a blade sheathed in velvet, stood at the head of the room.

She had never sat with the Council. She didn’t need to. The Ferros name was older than most councilors. Older than the marble that crumbled in the blast. Clan Ferros had supplied half the city’s progress and none of its restraint. And now, Camille spoke for it.

“Piltover bleed…” she said. “But not from our wounds. From our leniency.”

Across from her, Ambessa  stood quiet, letting the words settle. Watching Mel with quiet calculation.

“What you propose,” said Mel, trying to maintain her posture, “is war.”

“What I propose,” Camille corrected, “is retribution. You call it the Nation of Zaun now. As if that smoke-ridden gutter ever deserved a name. But this…”

She stepped forward, the echo of her heels louder than her voice, “was an act of aggression. A missile. A declaration. And if Piltover does not respond with strength, it will burn.”

Mel looked toward Jayce. He hadn’t spoken. Not since he saved Viktor with the Hexcore and currently was in a cocoon made of Arcane material. Jayce stood like a ghost, he was there, but not present. And Ambessa saw it. She leaned in toward her daughter.

“You hesitate, Mel. You mourn.” Ambessa whispered, voice thick with performative warmth. “But hesitation in the face of fire is how empires fall.”

Mel didn’t reply, so Ambessa turned to Camille. “Piltover must retaliate. But not foolishly.”

“Then we must arm ourselves with what works.” Camille said, already knowing the answer. “The weapons our people have engineered. Hextech.”

That finally caught Jayce’s eye. The word Hextech stirred something behind his silence. Something half-broken.bMel watched him carefully.

“What we created,” Jayce said, “was never meant to kill.”

“Then you were naïve.” Camille answered, unsympathetic. “Now… you’ll grow up.”

Ambessa gave the faintest nod of approval. Not to Jayce. But to Camille. Surprisingly. 

“We will draft legislation. Authorize production. Begin recruitment. “Camille said, already walking past the others. “Zaun will rise no higher.”

But Mel didn’t move. She felt the threads pulling. The silence that followed a declaration of war was quieter than the moment before it. She finally spoke.

“If we do this…” she turned to her mother. “You’ll have what you came for. The weapons.”

Ambessa smiled. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “I never came just for the weapons. I came for the future. The question is… will you still be part of it?”

Jayce through his fingers from the hand that covered his face saw the tense moment between the Medardas. He sighed as he didn’t know what to do. But maybe a good friend of his could help him. 

CAITLYN:
Caitlyn was on a bench, violets flowing gracefully around her as she imagined Jinx, standing right in front of her rifle’s sight and she wanted to pull the trigger. 

“Hey, Sprout.” Jayce’s voice snapped Caitlyn from her mind as she was back to the bench. Jayce approached her. 

“How did you find me?” Caitlyn asked as she looked behind her. 

“Your dad.” Jayce simple responded as he was standing. 

Caitlyn looked at the park they were on, the violet leafs all around the grass. “Mother and I used to come here when we needed an escape. One of the few places we never argued.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.” Jayce said as he looked at her. It’s been hard times for both of them. 

“How’s Viktor?” Caitlyn finally asked. 

Jayce sighed as he sat down in the bench besides her. “I can’t even tell if he’s in there.”

“Ever since it happened…” Caitlyn started, “three faces keep spinning through my mind. I see Mother. When they found her. And every fiber of me just sinks, like a stone swallowed in dark water. But then there’s Jinx. Laughing. I want to tear that laugh from her throat forever.”

“Cait.” Jayce simple called out, being able to clearly tell her anger from her tone when she talks about Caitlyn. 

“I know. I just understand now how easy it is to hate them. One vicious act. Then I see Vi. I asked her to put on the uniform. Suffice to say, she declined.”

Jayce snorted at the idea. “Vi? Wear a badge?”

“She thinks those gauntlets of yours will salve all her problems.”

Jayce looked down. “What if she’s right?”

“Hextech may keep us alive, Jayce, but it is not what will save us.” Caitlyn said as she looked at him. 

VIOLET:
Vi and Loris were laying on a fountain, bottles all around them. Loris was asleep while Vi drank. 

“Me. Join the peanut patrol. Ha. And I thought she had no sense of humor.” Vi said. 

“I like peanuts.” Loris yawned out. 

“Her dad’s right. There’s no point in sticking around up here. Except… I’m the one who created the monster.” Vi said with some guilt. She was about to take another sip only to realize she was empty so she let the bottle roll. A boot stopped the rolling bottle. 

“Vi?” A woman’s voice rang out. 

Vi sat up and saw two enforcer. A ginger female and a fish-man. She put a hand over her head to cover up from the sun. “Who are you? And how do you know my name?”

“I’m Junior Officer Nolan. Maddie.” The enforcer introduced herself. Then gestured at her partner. “And this is Officer Steb, he doesn’t talk. Much. And, uh, it’s written on your face.”

Vi looked down and saw her tattoo that did in fact said her name. ‘VI’. She scoffed and saw Steb poking at Loris’ foot to check in he’s alive which he is. Just drunk. “So, what is it? Random search? Escort off the property? Or you just here to waste my time?”

“Search? No. No, no. Heh. Uh, you’re something of a legend amongst the Enforcers.” Maddie said. Vi reached for another bottle and began to drink. “Caitlyn made quite a scene at the station when they tried to deny your enlistment. Now I have to ask, is it all true? You went after Silco alone when the Council wouldn’t back you? Took on his whole gang alone?”

That surprised Vi. Not only because she didn’t do anything of that, that was Dante, she just came in late and got her ass kicked by him in under a minute. Somehow. “Cait said all that?”

“She said if every Enforcer had a heart like yours, we could take on Noxus itself.” Maddie chuckled as she added. “Then she threatened to withdraw her family’s funding. Anyhow, I’m glad you’re joining up. After the Sheriff betrayed us… well, let’s just say… it’s nice to know there are still good ones left.”

Maddie reached down for a handshake with surprise Vi. But she gave her a firm handshake. The fanfare horns began to play as people dressed nicely began to swarm the streets and head to the stage as it was time for the ceremony. 

“Duty calls.” Maddie said as she and Steb began to walk away. “A real honor, Vi.”

Vi sighed and reached to the snoring Loris, shaking his leg to wake up. “Come on, bug guy. Let’s go. 

DANTE:
Even if outside was daytime, inside the bar, it was still midnight. The lights were dim. The air hung thick with pipe smoke and stale bitterness. The new bartender of the shift had stopped checking the time. He didn’t need to anymore. The man at the counter hadn’t moved in hours.

Dante sat hunched over a pile of empty glasses, all rimmed with the fumes of the bar’s ‘strongest’ stock. Drinks no sane man touched twice. He’d ordered them all. Some of them twice. He didn’t slur. He didn’t stagger. He didn’t even blink slow.

“Another.” Dante said, sliding the glass forward with a finger scarred to the knuckle.

“You’re maxed out.” The bartender said, voice dry. “Didn’t even pay for the last six.”

Dante barely glanced up. “Add it to my tab.”

“You don’t have a tab.”

Dante blinked like he didn’t understand. Or like he did, but just didn’t care. A few of the late-night stragglers started murmuring. Whispering about the weirdo at the counter. Some said he was cursed. Others, just another grieving lunatic since the blast. A drunk with nothing left but ghosts and poison.

“I thought it would fix her…” Dante muttered to no one. “Or… give her something stronger than pain.”

No one replied to him, but he kept on. 

“But all it did was turn the pain inside out.” He ran his thumb along the rim of the glass. “She screamed the night it happened. And I still did it.”

A young man, a bit older than Dante who was two stools over laughed nervously. “Damn, he’s been on that seat for eight hours. Either the booze is weak or he’s a goddamn vault.”

“Or just crazy.” His partner added. “Piltover’s full of ‘em these days.”

Dante didn’t react. The bartender had heard enough.

“Look, whatever grief-trip you’re on, it ends here. I’m not running a shelter, and I’m sure as hell not running a charity.” He leaned in. “Either you pay, or you get the hell out.”

Dante stared at him, eyes shadowed but glowing faintly under the flickering barlight. For a split second, the bartender’s heart dropped. but then he shook it off. Tricks of the light. Tricks of sleep-deprivation. Dante slid off the stool slowly, his boots heavy with the weight of a man who couldn’t even carry himself anymore.

“Fine.” He said.

He didn’t argue. Didn’t even threaten. Just turned toward the exit with one last glance at the mirror behind the bar, where his reflection looked half-faded. Like it didn’t want to be seen either. The door shut behind him, and the cold morning air hit like judgment.

And that’s when he heard it. The fanfare horns going off for the ceremony, Pilties swarming the streets as they began to head to the stage. Dante sighed and scratched his white hair. 

So he may be a bit drunk, not badly. It seems he can get drunk a bit. Good for him. And the thing is, he didn’t know why he was going. He just knew there was nowhere else left to be.

MEL:
The crowd stood in silence as Mel walked onto the stage in dignified black and gold. Her posture betrayed no weakness, but her eyes flickered beneath her mask of grace. Jayce stood at the front row, hands clasped, jaw tight, Caitlyn stood besides him. Ambessa loomed nearby, still and watchful like a blade sheathed in fur. Mel leaned it to the microphones to speak. 

“One of the many privileges of serving as your councilor is having the occasion now and again to stand behind this podium to behold so many joined together not by birth or dictum but by all that we share. Our hope. Our curiosity. Our compulsion to leave behind us a world than that before. These things we share are what make us one people.”

Among the crowd, Vi noticed something odd. He saw an enforcer with a neck tattoo. From one of the undercity’s gang. And he had a duffle bag as well. 

“Today we share an unthinkable loss.” Mel looked up at the giant statue of the fallen Council behind her. “Councilor Irius Bolok, Councilor Torman Hoskel, Councilor Salo, Coucilor Shoola, Councilor Cassandra Kiramman were taken from us. But they shall not be forgotten.”

Vi kept following the suspicious enforcer among the crowd as Mel continued her speech. Unaware of the impending danger. 

“We commissioned this statue so we may remember them for their countless contributions… their lifetimes of service. Not for the craven act that stole them away.”

Vi hoped over some rails as she kept following the suspicious enforcer but was stopped by another one that was just doing his job. Caitlyn looked over her shoulder and saw Vi being held back by the enforcer, confused what was happening. 

“Though we’ve suffered a terrible blow, I assure you, the rule of law prevails in Piltover. We will find those responsible. And they will account for their crimes.”

The suspicion enforcer dropped the duffel bag besides a hooded woman that stood behind Jayce. 

“Awful isn’t it?” The hooded woman whipped to Jayce. “Losing a love one.”

Jayce slowly turned. The suspicion enforcer walked up to Mel with a pistol. The hooded woman revealed herself to be Renni. Before the enforcer could strike Mel, Ambessa charged in, saving her daughter. Jayce stepped back as Renni pulled out a triple chainsword which Jayce was barely able to stepped out the way. 

Ambessa pulled out her sword from her hip as she raised it to kill the fake enforcer he aimed his pistol and shot, not at her, but the glass ceiling of the dome that the memorial ceremony was being at. It turned out to be a flare gun. 

“You aren’t safe up here, toppers. None of you are safe.” He said like a maniac before Ambessa drove her sword into his chest, killing him. 

The crowd began to scatter. An enforcer raised his rifle at Renni but she drove her sword into his chest, the chain sword’s teeth ripping apart skin and bone., she then swung at another enforcer as she looked at Jayce. Caitlyn grabbed a rifle from an enforcer who was frozen from shock. 

High up in the air, a Zaunite airship appeared from the thick clouds and from it eight Chem-tanks dropped, shattering more glass and then. A Titan chem-tank landed. Bigger than the rest. Ten chem-tanks in total. They all roared in unison. Caitlyn opened fire but the titan’s armor was too thick. It grabbed a runaway enforcer with this giant hand and threw it, then stomped on another one. The chem-tanks were slaughtering enforcer. Vi picked up a fire extinguisher, slamming it on the back of a chem-tank, but it wasn’t much. Without the Atlas Gauntlets or the Mercury Hammer they had slim chances in winning. 

Jayce was being chased by Renni, using a railing as a shield he blocked a few swing, even ripping off one of her chem-tubes that ran to her nose off her. In the process Jayce hid behind the stage’s curtains. 

Maddie and Steb helped escort civilians remained off the area and into the armored truck. They got on and began to drive But it was too late. The titan crashed into them. Caitlyn rolled under  a chem-tank’s blade and shot its shoulder with little effect from the rifle-shot. She was immediately pinned to a giant metal crate. Yelling from the pain as she felt pressure against her body, but Vi came in running, and held her hands against the valve, roaring as the Chem-tank was forcefully pulled away from Caitlyn. She shot a direct hit through the Chem-tank’s glass helmet. Killing it, Vi was on the ground panting but Caitlyn helped her up. 

Renni walked into the backstage where Jayce was hiding and began to look for him. Jayce held his shoulder as it was bleeding from a close call, then, Renni slammed down her chainsword on the crate Jayce was behind at. Making Jayce run, he looked around for something to defend himself and found, a small hammer. It was something. 

The Titan Chem-tank loomed over the armored truck, breaking the driver’s door and grabbing Maddie. She reached for her smoke launcher on her hip, shooting a smoke grenade but of course, it was useless. 

Renni kept stalking around the backstage. Jayce came in rushing, slamming the hammer across her face, but she immediately got up with a low laugh. Jayce began to run but she swung the chainsword across his back, the teeth ripping through his clothes and skin as he fell down, he began to crawl away. 

The Titan Chem-tank raised its massive blade to kill Maddie but Steb came in with an axe, slamming it down against the Titan’s leg, making it drop Maddie. It looked down at Steb and began its chase after him, as its massive hand was about to reach on the enforcer, Loris with an riot shield came in, stopping the Chem-tank’s giant hand. Caitlyn fired three times at the Titan, staggering for a second as Vi was besides her. 

Renni reached Jayce, kicking him over so he could face her as she raised her weapon to kill him. “For my son.”

But before the chainsword’s teeth could reach Jayce’s face… Ambessa stepped forward. Sword in her hand and with one swift move she severed Renni’s head from her shoulder. Killing her and saving Jayce in the process. They heard metal creaking as they looked in front and saw it. 

Vi, Caitlyn, Loris, Steb, and Maddie surrounded by the Titan Chem-tank and four remaining Chem-tanks. It was too much for them, and they didn’t have Hextech weaponry. 

But… two crimson bullets came down from the top. 

DANTE:
Dante came in down from the same broken glass panel as the Chem-tanks did early. Landing on top of the Titan

“Now this,” he muttered, cracking his neck, “is what I call therapy.”

“It’s pouring in
You laid on the floor again
One knock at the door and then
We both know how the story ends
You can’t win if your white flag’s 
Out when the war begins”

With a massive heave, he jammed the Rebellion into the Titan’s main vent and fired point-blank. The Titan exploded in a green and violet inferno, throwing him clear. But Dante being style itself, rolled and landed slid across the cobblestone. 

“Aiming so high but swinging so low
Trying to catch fire 
But feeling so cold
Hold it inside and hope it won’t show
I’m saying it’s not inside but I know
Today’s gonna be the day you noticed”

Dante dashed across the square, dodging chem-tank’s blades, and fired with bone-cracking precision. Pistols popped like thunder. One chem-tank lost its leg and tripped, but the Rebellion came in and decapitated the super-soldier. He then carved through a second one with ease, sliding under its arm and cutting its hydraulics apart in one clean stroke.

“‘Cause I’m tired of explaining what the joke is
This is what you asked for
Heavy is the crown
Fire in the sunrise 
Ashes raining down
Try to hold it in
But it keeps bleeding out
This is what you asked for
Heavy is the
Heavy is the crown”

A chem-tank’s blade was about to dive at Vi’s face but Dante leapt, deflecting the blade with the Rebellion, and shot at the third chem-tank in the face. Then the last chem-tank began to retreat.

Before it could be stopped, it latched onto one figure in the smoke and pulled him aside, a man with blue eyes, graying at the temples, and a gold Kiramman crest on his collar. Caitlyn’s father. Tobias. 

“Dad!” Caitlyn screamed.

The tank vanished down the alley, screeching as it disappeared into the depths. And just like that, the battle was over. But the war had truly begun.

JAYCE:
The smoke still hung low over Piltover’s broken ceremonial square. Triage tents flanked the plaza, bodies still being pulled from rubble. The once-pristine stone was cracked, stained with blood, Shimmer, and green residue. Enforcers limped past with burns and broken arms, too few and too weary.

In one of the tents, Jayce sat at the edge of a cot, rubbing ash from his eyes. Ambessa leaned casually against the tent frame, arms crossed. Her fur mantle remained immaculate.

“I suppose I owe you my life…” Jayce said, exhaling. His back still in heavy pain from Renni’s weapon. 

“That’s one way to look at it.” Ambessa replied. “Another way is to consider it an investment.”

Jayce looked up. His gaze was one of caution. “What kind of investment?”

“Hextech weaponry.” She said plainly. “You’ve seen what Zaun is willing to do. What this Jinx is capable of. You’ve witnessed the Chem-Barons up close. Piltover needs teeth.”

Jayce stood slowly, and painfully. The anger was beginning to flicker behind his eyes. “Viktor and I made a promise. We said we wouldn’t let our invention become tools of war.”

Ambessa narrowed her gaze. “Then perhaps you should ask yourself if Viktor would’ve lived to regret that promise.”

She turned, brushing past the tent’s flap and vanishing into the morning fog.

VIOLET:
Vi walked up to the tent where Caitlyn was being checked by Maddie and Steb. She was fine and they quietly left as Vi approached Caitlyn. 

The two shared a quiet moment. 

“Thought you were gonna get yourself killed.” Vi started the conversation. And she physically cringed at her own words. 

Caitlyn didn’t even responded to her, she just saw an enforcer carrying a child and finally said something. “A memorial. What kind of… animals? It wasn’t even a week. We were still burying them. And they attacked us.”

Her voice cracked with fury. Grief sat beneath it, buried deep under polished decorum and too much pressure.

“They picked our weakest moment to strike,” she said. “Like cowards.”

Vi stepped forward, gently. “They wanted the spectacle. They’re trying to scare you.”

“All they did was piss me off.” Caitlyn said, her chest heaving back and forth 

“It wasn’t Zaun, Cait. Not all of it. Just some of the worst parts.”

“The worst parts killed my mother. They nearly killed Jayce. They took my father.”

Vi paused. “I know what you’re thinking. That an invasion makes sense. But it’s not the answer. It’ll turn the Undercity to ash and a lot of people down there don’t deserve that.”

Caitlyn sat, exhausted, head in her hands. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You can.” Vi said softly. “You’re not your mother, and no one wants you to be. But you can take her place, without becoming her.”

Caitlyn looked up, finally. Their eyes locked. Vi gave her a half-smile. “I’ve got your back, Cupcake.”

DANTE:
Outside the tents, Dante crouched over two dead Enforcers. He wasn’t stealing badges or money. Just pistols testing the weight, the barrels, the balance of each. Most were junk, but one or two would do. And okay, maybe some money as well. He stripped a few cartridges and stood, slipping them into his coat. That’s when Vi walked slowly behind him.

“You know,” she said, “that’s probably illegal.”

Dante didn’t turn to face her. “So is half of what I do.”

She stepped closer. “You gonna help us or not?”

Dante glanced back at her through his white hair. “On?”

“Looking for Jinx. We need to go after her.” Vi said bluntly. “Me, Caitlyn, you. She’s is too dangerous to leave alone now. And you can do so many things. I mean, you just took all of these thugs out while a small battalion of enforcers couldn’t.”

Dante sighed and began to walk. “Go to that big fancy home with your girlfriend, Vi. This doesn’t concern you.”

Vi eyes widened at Dante’s bluntness and walked after him. “The hell you mean this doesn’t concern me? You heard what she said, I made her into the monster she is today.”

Dante glanced at her for a moment as he kept walking. “This is not your fight I need to find her, and that’s all that matters.” 

“I’m not gonna let you have all the ‘fun’, Tony!” Vi said as she kept walking behind him. 

Dante finally turned for face her. “You don’t get it.”

Vi scoffed. “Then help me guess. What is it?”

“She’s my creation!” Dante snapped. That stopped her. Dante  inhaled through his nose, slow and bitter.

Vi’s stomach dropped. “What… what are you saying?”

Dante began to walk around Vi. “You want to know what happened to her? Why her eyes glow pink, or even those pink patterns on her skin?”

He stopped pacing around her and looked at her. “She has demon blood. I gave it to her. Not all of it, but enough. Maybe a sixth. Maybe an eighth. I lost count. And yes, I’m part demon.”

Vi took a step back, thunderstruck. Memories flickered, Jinx’s eyes flashing pink, the patterns that pulsed across her skin like lightning bolts.

“You… you did this to her?” Dante didn’t reply. “You turned her into a monster.”

“After the explosion in the bridge. Bluebell did kinda die.” Dante finally said. He kept walking around her. “Now, she needs to be found… but I can’t have you hunt her down like she’s a wild animal.”

Dante gave Vi a firm pat in the back and walked away. Leaving the shocked Vi at the news. 

“A demon…?” Vi finally muttered out.

CAMILLE:
The council chamber was quieter than it had been in days, but no less tense. The tables once filled with dignitaries were empty now. The ornate chairs that had once seated Piltover’s most powerful had become memorials, still scorched from the bombing. Only Mel and Jayce were the ones standing. At the center of the room stood Camille, clad in sleek, baby-blue elegance. The Intelligencer of Clan Ferros moved with the same precision like an assassin’s blade did. Controlled, poised, deadly.

“The facts are simple.” Camille said. Her voice was even, cold. “Zaunite operatives infiltrated a state-sanctioned memorial and assassinated Council members. This wasn’t a protest. This was an act of war.”

She let the words hang. There were no objections. Only stares from the two councilors. 

“If we do nothing,” she continued, “they’ll strike again. Bolder. Deeper. With more coordination. We must act before their venom spreads.”

“In my experience as General in the field.” Ambessa spoke up as she glanced for a moment at Mel then back at Camille. “Wrath must be met with wrath. You must declare martial law. If you bleed once and show weakness, the jungle will not stop to ask why. It will consume you.”

Jayce sat still, jaw clenched. Paint still linger on his back and shoulder. 

“You want retaliation.” He finally said slowly. “More blood.”

Camille turned to him, her expression unmoved. “I want stability. And that only comes when disorder is crushed. We cannot wait for another explosion to debate ethics.”

Ambessa gave a faint, approving nod. “If you let them spread, and they become ungovernable. You’ll lose your city not in one day, but piece by piece.”

Behind her words, though, lived something colder. Ambessa wasn’t here to save Piltover. Not truly. She was here to make sure it burned just enough to justify arming it. Chaos was her currency. Fear, her foundation. And Camille, for all her precision, had one goal: preserve the supremacy of the high houses. The chem-barons had tested Piltover’s strength. Camille would make sure Zaun never had the chance again.

“We’ll send a division of Enforcers into the Undercity.” Camille declared. “Targeted raids. Facility seizures. Anyone suspected of assisting the attackers will be detained or eliminated.”

“And I’ll lend you a Medardan contingent,” Ambessa added. “One of my personal units, equipped and disciplined.”

Jayce stood abruptly but painfully. This isn’t a war. It’s retaliation. Punishment. And it won’t stop with the ones who caused this. Innocents will die.”

Camille’s gaze narrowed. “Then they should learn to stand apart from criminals.”

There it was, the unspoken truth laid bare. To Camille, there was no difference between Zaun and rot. And to Ambessa, war was opportunity. Jayce looked around, searching for support. Mel wasn’t here, at least not mentally, she was traumatized by the attack. Caitlyn is still grieving. Viktor was in a coma He was alone in this room. And the room had already decided.

“Then this is it?” Jayce muttered. “We become the tyrants we feared we’d face?”

Neither Camille nor Ambessa answered. Because neither saw it as tyranny. Only inevitability.

CAITLYN:
The air inside the Kiramman estate was still. Silent. Almost reverent. Caitlyn sat infront of the Kiramman computer that held the archives of the generations of the Kirammans. And it could only be unlocked with the Kiramman key, which she had. She slipped the key into the computer as she looked through the archives. And she saw it. 

Rows of maps, sealed documents, blueprints, coded ledgers—generations of Kiramman civic engineering, city planning, and high-level Enforcer strategy. But Caitlyn wasn’t here to uphold the system. She was here to dismantle it, just enough to find her father. Hours passed as she sifted through the blueprints. Then finally, she found it:

“Undercity Ventilation Grid: Series A — Grey Dispersal System”

A secret, centuries-old set of tunnels used to evacuate toxins from the depths of Zaun. Unmapped. Forgotten by most. But Caitlyn’s family hadn’t forgotten. They had built it. And now she would use it.

VIOLET:
Later that day, the Enforcer staging ground rumbled with movement. Riot gear loaded. Rifles loaded. A city preparing for war with itself. Caitlyn stepped forward in her uniform, not just any officer now, but the designated leader of the Zaun operation. She barked orders with sharp precision, delegating search grids and masking her true objective beneath the veil of duty.

“We strike clean. Minimize civilian contact. This is a recovery operation. We are not conquerors.”

Some Enforcers listened. Others didn’t care. But they followed her. That was enough for now. At the perimeter, Vi arrived. 

“Like I told you, Cait, I’ll be damned if I let you go down there alone.”

Caitlyn’s eyes softened. A moment passed. “I’m glad you’re here.”

They exchanged a quiet nod. Then, to their surprise, Dante came in, hands in his pants’ pockets. He sighed and looked at Vi. 

“I’ve been thinking what you said. And you were right. But I’m not here for Piltover’s justice, I’m here to deal with my consequences.” 

“We all are, Tony.” Vi said as she looked over at Caitlyn as she pulled out a giant bag. “What’s in there?”

Caitlyn grunted at the heavy bag. “Jayce went through many trails and errors to getting right the Atlas Gauntlets, he’s still hurt so he can’t be working on anything for a while, but I was able to scrape this pair.”

She opened a bag as it had a prototype of the Atlas Gauntlets, it wasn’t powered by Hextech but from steam as it had vents and screamed steampunk. “I just couldn’t let you come without something to defend yourself.”

Vi eyes widened at the gauntlets and slid her hands into them, steam coming out form them as the vents began to spin. “Nice fit.”

CORINA:
The old Temple of Janna sat forgotten in the bowels of Zaun. It was tucked between broken causeways and forgotten rail lines where even the smog dared not linger. Its stained glass windows were shattered. Moss and mycelium draped its stonework like funeral cloth. Candles flickered unnaturally against the ruin, burning with cold blue flames, as if untouched by time or decay.

Inside, the wind was wrong. It was not quite a breeze, but a hum. A presence. The echo of something divine, long absent but never fully gone. Tied to one of the old prayer columns, Tobias strained against the ropes cutting into his wrists. His mouth gagged, his breathing shallow. His glasses hung cracked from one ear. Dirt and dried blood clung to his coat. He could hear whispers. Some real. Some imagined. Footsteps crunched over shattered glass and sacred dust. Calm. Elegant.

From the shadows, a silhouette emerged-tall, draped in layers of black fabric trimmed in alchemical gold. Her heels clicked once as she stepped into the light of the altar, where Janna’s mural once stood proud, now defaced with smoke and vines.

Corina Veraza.

“They said gods don’t bleed.” She said, her voice low and smooth, like poison disguised as perfume. “But Janna did. And she never came back.”

She circled the column, one finger dragging against its surface like she was reading the stone’s memory.

“Your daughter doesn’t understand what’s coming.” She said softly, pausing beside him. “None of them do. Piltover builds towers and calls them progress. But progress, Mr. Kiramman… is just another name for hubris.”

She knelt, removing the gag briefly.

“Why…” he rasped, voice hoarse. “Why here?”

Corina tilted her head, as if surprised by the question. “Because this place was sacred. And what better place to begin again… than at the grave of an abandoned god?”

She gently replaced the gag and rose again.

“You’re not a prisoner.” She added, stepping back into shadow. 

“You’re a message. The city prays to machines now.” She murmured, brushing her hand against the contraption. “But I still remember the wind.”

As she turned, a gust of air stirred through the ruined temple, unnatural in the way Janna’s breath once was. Just for a moment. And in that moment, the candles trembled. Corina smiled, as if sensing the deity watching from afar. Not quite dead. Not yet.

“Let them come.”

Chapter Text

JINX:
The Last Drop was quiet now. No music. No boots stomping. No bodies swaying to the rhythm of rebellion. Just dust, silence, and rot.

Jinx pushed the door open with her shoulder, the hinges groaning in protest. The once-vibrant bar was soaked in shadows, stained glass cracked, and blood long dried on the floorboards.

She wore Dante’s coat, oversized on her thin frame, its sleeves hanging past her hands. The collar was turned up, attempting to shield the glowing pink patterns that webbed her neck and jaw, all vainly. Her face shimmered, literally. Not with beauty, but with an eerie luminescence that pulsed slowly, betraying her. A phantom sickness that wasn’t quite shimmer. But no one would know that. Not unless they got close enough to die. She trudged up the steps to Silco’s old office, her boots heavy, her breath hollow. The faint smell of cigars and sulfur still lingered. Everything was just as he left it. The half-finished glass of liquor on the desk, his favorite pen left uncapped, paper on the desk, and his cigar on the ashtray. 

“Well, it’s all going to shit now. Chembarons warring for the control of the Lanes. Wannabe street thugs squabbling over scraps. Just like when Vander shoved off. Except this time… you aren’t here to put it all back together, because… because I put all those holes in you.”

She sat in his chair, Silco’s chair, pulling her legs up and hugging them to her chest. Her knees peeked out from the tattered pants under Dante’s coat. It swallowed her like a cloak, warm with memories she didn’t want to feel.

“Vi used to say I could fix anything. Before I broke everything. She used to say a lot. Her and you. Always bossing me around. Now it’s so quiet. What am I supposed to do with that?”

Her fingers traced the desk’s edge, smudging dust and ash. She opened the drawer. Inside: it contained a bottle of old whiskey. A set of documents. A cracked photo of them. Silco, Sevika, her. A ‘family’ portrait painted in grime and delusion. Jinx took the photo, held it close, then noticed something else on the desk.

A metallic stump. Sevika’s mechanical arm. It was twisted and charred, left behind like the last remains of a fallen empire. She looked down at herself, at the faint glow under the coat, the way her skin now seemed almost transparent in some lights. The patterns of demonic corruption flickered pink across her collarbones and jaw. Her hand twitched. Her eye spasmed. Her mind cracked, just slightly, like ice underfoot.

“You wanted Zaun to stand tall…” she said aloud, to Silco’s ghost. “Guess I gotta stand for it now. Even if I’m cracked.”

She looked at her reflection in the broken glass door on the way out. Her eyes glowed. Her skin shimmered. Her fingers twitched. Still Jinx. But not the same. Not shimmer-sick. Not demon-spawn. Somewhere in between.

She pulled Dante’s coat tighter around her, stepped into the alley, and vanished into the undercity’s fog.

DANTE:
Smeech and a few of his thugs were in his car, heading to one of the Chembarons’ locations. Sharpening their blades with their body augmentation. 

“Uh, you know, for be it from me, but, uh, you hired me to run the numbers. And ever since we’ve gone up against the other chembarons, the numbers are in the, uh…”

“Shitter?” Smeech guessed as he smoke some Shimmer, looking as his accountant that is also one of his enforcers. 

“Not exactly the term I…”

“Ever wonder why fat brains like you always wind up working for grunts like me?” Smeech cut him off. 

“No, uh, never.”

“You only use half your head. Plotting moves. Calculating odds. Know how Silco took hold of the Lanes? With his bare teeth.” Smeech said. 

“It just, you know, seems, uh, hasty. Last count, Margot got at least ten hitters guarding the stash.”

Smeech inhaled more Shimmer at the goon’s words. “Margot and Chross can buck all they want, but in the end, I’ll be the one smiling. Until I’m in Silco’s chair, your only job is to make the numbers work, hmm?”

Smeech’s gang arrived to one of Margot’s brothels. As their mechanical arms turned to blades, but they stopped as they saw the massacre in front of them. Margot’s goons were dead. Bullet holes. Slashes. Stabs. No one was left alive. And it was just pure gore. 

Then, footsteps approached. The Rebellion was shot towards a goon in the chest. A pair of glowing red eyes appeared and charged at Smeech’s gang which immediately made Smeech scream. 

SEVIKA:
The Chembaron meeting room was filled with the three remaining gangs. Smeech’s, Chross’, and Margot’s. Sevika was between all of them. Tired of how chaotic the undercity has been since Silco’s death. 

“I know you’re all fantasizing about sawing each other’s heads off. So in gonna get right to it. These turf wars have to stop.”

“These two have been the aggressors. I’ve only defended my interests.” Chross said casually as he fixed his glasses. 

“Playing coy doesn’t suit you, love.” Margot replied with her low and sultry voice. “You started this dance when you raided the Rapturewalk.”

“What could I want with your boulevard of filth?”

“Topside is the real enemy.” Sevika spoke up again. “Us killing each other is playing right into their hands. Out best shot is to put aside these petty squabbles and join forces.” 

“Ally with these two? I rather favor my chances with Topside.” Margot said. 

“Even together, they outnumber us four to one. That’s before all the recent casualties.” Chross added. 

“Might matter up there, but they don’t know the first thing about fighting in the fissures.” Sevika declared. 

Margot hummed at that then looked at Smeech who didn’t say anything. “Is he dead? Why is he so quiet?”

Smeech smack his lips for a while they turned to look at all of them. “She’s right. We don’t get Topside off our backs, we don’t last. But I got a different solution.”

He reached for a poster, tossing it on the table. “We give them Jinx. It’s all they really want.”

Sevika looked at the poster than slowly looked up at him. “We hand over our people.”

“‘We’? You don’t do much of anything anymore, do you, magpie?” Smeech stood up, using his leg augmentations to get taller to Sevika’s height and walked over to her. “Bird without a wing’s just a funny-looking rat.”

He laughed as Sevika just glared at him. “Struck a nerve, did I? Okay, I’ll make you a deal. You help me put a bow on Baby Blue for our friends upstairs, I’ll cut you a brand-new puncher, top of the line, all the fixings. Think on it. But I promise, it’s the last offer you’re gonna get.”

He walked away as Sevika scrunched her face in annoyance and anger. 

EKKO:
The Firelights have been bringing innocent Zaunites into their hideout, but of course, they had to blind them for safety reasons. But as soon as they arrived, their blindfolds were removed. 

“There’s so many of them.” Ekko muttered out as he was sitting down on a crate in the background. 

“It’s all the fighting.” Scar said as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chests. “With the chembarons warring each other and Enforcers invading the streets. We’re going to have capacity issues soon. Then there’s security risk.”

Ekko shook his head. “We’re not turning people away.”

Scar nodded at Ekko’s words. “All these years, we finally got rid of Silco, just so a new one could tow his place.”

Ekko sighed at Scar’s words as he knew he was right. He looked over, Heimerdinger making inventions to entertain the kids. At least there was someone from Piltover being good to Zaunites. 

JINX:
The old arcade was half ash, half memory. The place Vi, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor used to lay low when they’re were younger. Cracked glass shimmered under her boots as Jinx swept through the old haunt with a sack full of broken parts and tools. She sat down on the floor and pulled out a blueprint, or a brownprint considering the paper’s color. Spinning a screwdriver on her hand as she hummed to herself. 

Having demon blood had its cons, and pros. She sighed as she stood up and in a blur of pink danced across the arcade, ripping apart games, using a buzzsaw, and colorful neon paints. Even using a spare of goggles that Claggor had kept hidden from the harsh sparks while building her new creations. Ending it with wrapping it on a giant cloth and a pink bow tie. Standing up, hands on her hips and looked down at it. Humming in approval. 

But then, the air shifted and thickened unnaturally. Her nose crinkled and her eyes stung.

“…The hell?” She muttered as a hiss echoed through the ruined arcade, and a low fog crept along the floor.

The Grey.

She cursed under her breath and scrambled for the exit, grabbing what she could, mainly her wrapped creations that hung on her back. She ducked into the alleys beyond, coughing into the crook of her arm, stumbling over debris and memories alike. The only thing she had to defend herself was her pistol and a few chompers. 

Zaun was being swept. Again. The Enforcers had poured in like rats through a cracked wall, claiming it was about justice. About Jinx. But she knew better. This wasn’t a search. It was a message.

And the message was control.

From a narrow fire escape, she spotted a patrol in the distance.  At first, she didn’t care. Then she saw her.

Vi.

She was wearing those prototype Atlas Gauntlets and even a full blown gas mask which is odd because why would she need a full mask, she was raised in the undercity. Unless she became to accustomed to the fresh air of topside. And besides her, Caitlyn was talking to an enforcer who came from the arcade handing her something. The goggles, which Vi immediately grabbed and said something. 

But it was the third one that stopped Jinx cold.

Dante. 

No badge. No uniform. Just him. Walking just a little behind, head low, hands in his pants’s pockets. When one Enforcer shoved a kid against the wall, Dante immediately turned, his glare so sharp it cut through the smog like a blade. He didn’t intervene this time, but his fists clenched. His jaw twitched.

He hated this. That was good.

Jinx followed them. Quiet, nimble, a shadow bleeding through rusted steel and forgotten alleys. She clutched Dante’s coat tighter around herself, its weight grounding her like it used to. She watched his every move, trying to decipher it.

“You with them?” She whispered bitterly, voice barely audible over the distant hissing pipes. “Or just walking beside them?”

Every step she took was heavier. Her legs were tired. Her lungs burned. But her mind screamed louder.

Why was Vi here? Why was he here?

Are you hunting me… or trying to find me?

She didn’t know. So she kept following. Because part of her needed to know, before she made her next move.

JAYCE:
Mel entered the lab where Jayce was sitting down, half asleep and holding Viktor’s cane tightly. Mel had a sad look in her eyes at Jayce’s state then looked at the weird Hexcore cocoon that Viktor was on. 

“How is he?” She finally asked. 

“Same as before. Breathing. Pulse is consistent. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.”

Mel tried to touch the cocoon but it seem as it reacted to her presence, making her flinch. She walked over to Jayce. “What’s it doing to him, exactly?”

Jayce sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “The Hexcore has been evolving. Shifting through runic patterns faster than I can keep up. All I know for certain is that it’s keeping him alive. It’s the sort of puzzle Viktor would love if he wasn’t…”

Jayce trailed off and leaned against Mel’s thigh as she sat down on the table. 

“Don’t think like that. He’ll come back to us.” Mel said softly, running a hand through his hair to soothe him. 

Jayce simply nodded at her words. “I hope so.”

They sat there quietly. But then, there was a breath that broke it. It was ragged, wet, and even mechanical. Making both Jayce and Mel stand up abruptly.  Viktor’s eyes snapped open.

The world blurred as he peeled himself from the cocoon of the slick Hexcore webbing that had fused around his body. He gasped, feeling his lungs struggle between flesh and something else. It was something new. He staggered forward. Metal ran along his skin like veins of ore. The transformation wasn’t complete, but it was far past the line he remembered. His body was no longer just Viktor.

It was becoming something else.

“Viktor…?” Jayce’s voice trembled from behind.

Mel stood beside him, her posture straight, but her eyes couldn’t hide the stunned awe.

“You’re alive…” Jayce said, stepping forward slowly.

Viktor looked at his hand. “What… am I?”

“You’re… you’re alive.” Jayce began to laugh out of disbelief and awe. “You’re alive.”

Jayce immediately went and hug Viktor. Jayce immediately pulled away in realization. “Oh-oh, you-you must be cold.”

Jayce went over to grab a blanket or something and to Viktor warm. Viktor glanced at Mel then back at his body. 

“Cold? No, I don’t think I feel cold. I sense a charge. A potential.” Viktor said as Jayce put on a blanket. But Viktor looked back at the cocoon, then back as this hands. The metal shimmered in pulses of deep azure. “The Hexcore.”

“Viktor, it saved you. It somehow adapted into your injuries. Changing and evolving, it was as if… it was connected to you.”

I was supposed to die.” Viktor bluntly said. Jayce looked at him with confusion. “You promised me to destroy the Hexcore.”

Jayce hesitated. “No. Don’t you see? Heimerdinger was wrong. We were wrong. It’s not as bad as we—“

“You swore to destroy it.” Viktor snapped. “If it was responsible. If it crossed the line.”

Jayce opened his mouth, but no words came.

“Did Zaun get its independence?” Viktor asked, almost hopefully. But the pause said enough.

“…The opposite.” Mel finally answered. “The Undercity attacked our memorial. The Council’s deaths… Jinx caused it.”

“And now?” Viktor’s voice dropped. “What now?”

“They’re sending in Enforcers.” Jayce admitted, avoiding his gaze. “There’s… pressure to retaliate. To stabilize. They’ve authorized use of the Grey.”

The words hit Viktor like a blow to the chest. “You’re poisoning them. They’ll end up the same way I did.”

Jayce stepped forward, pleading now. “We don’t want this either, Vik. It’s complicated—”

“You always said you’d use Hextech to lift people up. Not chain them down.”

Jayce faltered. “No, Viktor. I haven’t weaponized Hextech.”

Viktor glanced at the damaged Atlas Gauntlets, the Mercury Hammer, then, noticed blueprints. Weaponizing Hextech. Rifles, launchers, upgrades. Viktor’s mechanical fingers moved with quiet purpose, grabbing only what he needed: a smaller version of the Hex Claw, three Hextech gemstones.

Jayce moved to stop him. “Viktor! W-wait. Where are you going?”

“To make something better than this,” Viktor said without turning back. “To atone for what we’ve both failed to do.”

“Don’t walk away.”

“I’m not walking away.” Viktor said, finally facing him. “I’m leaving you behind.”

A quiet moment passed between them.

“You’re my friend…” Jayce whispered.

Viktor gave him a sad smile. “And you were mine. Once.”

Then he stepped out of the lab. And into his own path. 

JINX:
Jinx kept to the shadows. Her boots barely made a sound against the rusted steel catwalks, eyes locked on the patrol ahead. Caitlyn’s team weaving through the maze of Zaun’s dilapidated underbelly. Among them, she saw Vi. And Dante. 

Neither wore the uniform. But still… they walked with enforcers.

“No red rose 
On your grave 
You poor sucker 
One by one
All these bloodhounds keep comin’ 
Sleep in the casket you made
You gone sucker”

Jinx’s lips tightened as she trailed them, tucking her newly crafted detonator into her belt. Her breath was still ragged from the earlier Grey exposure. The vents were spewing more than ever, and no one seemed to care. Zaun was choking.

“But you’re mad if you thought 
I’d let you go
No”

He stalking was ended abruptly. An mechanical arm hit her on the face hard enough to send her on her butt. Blood running down her nose as she pulled out her pistol from her hip, but it was immediately smacked away, then another men with walked up to her and grabbed her, then slammed her to the wall. Hard enough that stone cracked and disoriented her. The she saw him. 

Smeech, perching on a pipe and smoking Shimmer. He got off it and began to stalk his way towards Jinx. 

“Baby Blue. Stalking the hunters. You must be part cheetah. Just means I can up my finder’s fee. There is always a deal to be struck.” 

One of his men began to get rid of all her Chompers as other two kept her pinned to the wall. Smeech’s augmented legs raised him up to Jinx’s height. 

“Ah, ah, ah. They want you alive. But don’t think I won’t skewer out those peepers. Drawback of those long-range types.” He pointed a finger, which extended out as it was sharp as a needled. “Me? I’m the type of guy who likes to get in close.”

Jinx was just panting. Didn’t even say a word. That made Smeech smirk. “Never thought I’d catch you blubbering. Wonder if Silco even saw that.”

“Twice.” Jinx said normally as she blinked and leaded closer to the sharp finger close to her eye. “When he met me and when I killed him.”

That surprised Smeech as she stepped back. “You killed him?”

“It’s always me. Whether I’m pulling the pin or not, everyone around me dies. Wanna know the real kicker?” She leans closer to Smeech’s ears, her eyes glowing demonic pink. “You’re the kind of guy who likes to get in close.”

That made Smeech fully back up as one of his goons was about to punch Jinx, a bullet shot out at his hat. Everyone turned to the fog as Sevika with Jinx’s pistol came out. 

“Get the fuck outta my head
So long sucker 
I don’t wanna see you
I hate I hate this life
Ohh
Get your fingers outta my head”

Sevika began to fire but most shots were missed due to the fact she’s a brawler, not a gunslinger like Jinx. That made Smeech smirk Smeech laugh. Jinx freed herself with clawing one of Smeech’s goon’s face off and slid across the alleyway, tossing the wrapped creation into the air as it was opened, revealing to be a mechanical arm for Sevika that was made from the arcade machine parts. Sevika tossed Jinx back her pistol as she caught the creation. Without looking back, Jinx shot another goon twice. Sevika put on the mechanical arm as it began to go wild as it didn’t have a hand, just a giant mouth that was chomping the air and snorting out flames. She looked over at Jinx with an annoyed looked as Jinx just shrugged. 

“You’re gone sucker
Good luck killing me 
‘Cause I’m already 
Already dead inside”

Jinx rapidly dodge all the punches from a goon, jamming her gun into his mouth and pulling the trigger. Killing him. Her demonic pink eyes didn’t even blink at the gore. 

Smeech realizing he was now alone charge Sevika, both his mechanical arms lunged at her as she blocked with her newly acquired arm. She didn’t even know how it worked until she glanced at Jinx who just gestured to pull the lever. Sevika pulled the lever as it had a slot machine built into it, making a combination of attack. 

The giant mouth shot out, taking out Smeech’s hat. And as it was retracted and played Jinx’s song which made Sevika looked up at Jinx with an annoyed look. Jinx just simple did a little hip dance. Sevika pulled the lever as it shot a glove, punching Smeech in the face. Smeech charged once more but Sevika swung her bigger mechanical arm, destroying his smaller mechanical one and punched him across the face with her normal arm. 

“Okay, wait, wait. There’s a deal to be struck here.” Smeech tried to make a deal with Sevika as he was losing. 

“You forget, Smeech? You already made your last offer.” Sevika reminded him 

Smeech lunged as Sevika pulled the lever once more. This time she shot out ninja starts. Smeech dodge all of them, Sevika pulled again and shot out flames. Then pulled and a blue smokescreen blinded Smeech. Sevika punched him upwards. He came back down at her but she grabbed his last mechanical arm with a tight bite with her own. 

“Tell me, who’s a funny-looking rat now?”
Sevika pulled the lever once more but this time. 

“Jackpot.” Jinx muttered out. 

As Sevika got the jackpot, absolutely destroying Smeech into a blob of green fluid. Which Jinx grinned darkly as the sight. Then, fireworks shot out from the arm at celebration. 

Jinx stood up, dusting off her pants and put a hand on her hip. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Moron never could keep his mouth shut.” Sevika said as she wiped off some green fluid from her face. 

Jinx snickered from that as she looked own at Smeech’s corpse then back at Sevika. Crossing her arms over her chest. “You could just let me eat it.”

“I know.” Sevika dryly replied the gestured at her new mechanical arm. “I didn’t ask you for this.”

“It was something I could fix.” Jinx sat on a fallen pipe, wiping blood off her cheek. “That arm’s sort of an apology.”

She said softly. “For being a brat. For… all of it.”

Sevika didn’t respond right away. She flexed the arm, watching the metal mouth twitch.

“This city…” she finally said. “It doesn’t need another lunatic with a grudge. It needs a symbol. Someone to rally around. Someone to finish what Silco started.”

Jinx scoffed. “You mean me?”

Sevika turned to her, serious. “You’re his daughter, whether you want to be or not.”

“Then you weren’t listening.” Jinx said bitterly. “I didn’t kill Silco to take his place. I killed him ‘cause I was tired of being a pawn in someone else’s war.”

“War’s not waiting for you to choose.” Sevika muttered.

“I’m not Silco. I don’t care about Zaun’s politics. I just want to be left alone. Not idolized.”

“You could be something.” Sevika said.

But Jinx just stood up, dusted herself off again, and turned away. “I don’t want to be something.” 

Sevika sighed, looking down at her new arm. “Then you’re not who I need.”

“No.” Jinx agreed. “But I’m still who they’ll follow.”

She disappeared into the shadows. Sevika watched her go, then looked down at the body of Smeech. She was kingmaker with no king to crown.

CAITLYN:
The undercity didn’t breathe anymore. It coughed. Badly. The vents hissed and belched thick trails of the Grey, curling around gutters, drifting into broken homes and filling hollow lungs. Every step the enforcers took was met with silence. It was not the silence of fear, but the silence of people done fearing.

Caitlyn adjusted the collar of her enforcer uniform, eyes cold beneath her officer’s brim. Vi walked beside her in silence. Behind them, Dante slouched with his hands in his pants’ pockets, humming quietly to himself, though his gaze was never still. He was watching everything.

Caitlyn’s jaw twitched and shook her head. “This place is a nest. A festering pile of rot that keeps spreading into Piltover no matter how many times we cut it down.”

Vi frowned. “Caitlyn.”

“No, Vi, look around you. Half of them are armed, the other half cooking whatever’s left of Shimmer in their bathrooms. We wouldn’t have to be down here if they didn’t keep striking first. Memorial? The Council chamber?” And Vi didn’t answer. So Caitlyn pressed on. “We’re doing what needs to be done.”

“You sure?” Dante said, not looking at her. “Because so far all I see are bruises on children and Grey in the lungs of people too poor to buy a mask.”

Caitlyn turned sharply to him. “You’re not even supposed to be on this op.”

“I’m not, I’m just here to help you. After all, I saved your asses when even a whole battalion of y’all couldn’t beat a squad of those Chem-tanks.” Dante said casually, kicking aside a shattered gear. “You welcome by the way.” 

That made Vi look at him and shook her head in annoyance at his cockiness. They passed through the rusted corridor of an old ventilation shaft leading beneath one of the abandoned shimmer refineries. Enforcers were already there, two of them preparing to release the large locked canister of the Grey into the shaft. Caitlyn approached them, gripping the lever. 

“We clear the den…” she ordered. “Then we flush it.”

Dante stepped in front of her, hand resting on the steel valve. “You do this, you’re not clearing anyone. You’re suffocating them. All of them. The kids. The old. The ones who didn’t sign up for any of this.”

“They could be harboring terrorists.” Caitlyn snapped. “We can’t afford to be soft—”

“No one’s asking for soft.” Dante interrupted, voice steady now. Too steady. “We’re asking for human.”

He looked down the vent. “You know what this gas does to people? Not just Shimmer addicts. Not just the chembarons. It crawls in their heads. Eats memory. Twists nerves. They start forgetting who they are.”

Caitlyn hesitated, her hand holding the lever. Dante turned to Vi.

“You gonna say anything? Or just stand there and look pretty?”

Vi’s eyes moved from Caitlyn to the families below, a woman carrying a coughing toddler, a hunched man dragging an oxygen tank, a flicker of light in a cracked window. She clenched her jaw. Then spoke.

“He’s right.”

Caitlyn blinked. “Vi—”

“I said he’s right. We’re not using the Grey.”

Dante’s eyes briefly flicked toward her, just enough to show surprise. Caitlyn’s voice dropped. “You’re choosing them over us.”

“I’m choosing not to become the thing that made me leave this place.” Vi said. “We’re better than this, Cait. We have to be.”

There was a long silence. Then Caitlyn let got of the lever without a word. She turned on her heel and walked ahead. Vi stayed where she was for a beat. Watching her go.

“…She’s changing.” She muttered.

“She’s scared.” Dante said, leaning against the wall. “People say fear makes you freeze or run. But from my experience, it can also make you cruel.”

Vi looked at him. “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re not afraid?”

He gave a smile. His smile was the ame crooked, dry, and tired. “I’m angry.”

Vi raised a brow. “At who?”

Dante looked up at the dull glow of the surface through the cracks in the pipes. “Piltover. Zaun. Take your pick.”

Vi didn’t say anything. He stood up straight, brushing his sleeves off. “I’m not here for your war. I’m not here for your orders.”

“Then why are you here?”

“He looked ahead, past the pipes, past the Grey, toward the flicker of movement in the shadows. A pink glow, just out of reach. “Because she’s still breathing. And that means I’ve still got something to lose. We both do if you willing to accept change.”

And he walked on.

AMBESSA:
The docks of Piltover was quiet during nighttime, Ambessa’s ship was the only one stationed. 

“You’re first request with an audience was uninteresting. The second inappropriate for someone of your station. The third… plain annoying.” Ambessa said as she was sitting on her chair in her quarters, pouring tea to her cup. 

To the side, her second in command, Rictus was standing. And in front of her sat Amara on a pad. 

“People have lost their heads for less. So tell me, Amara, what does a member of Piltover’s merchant guild want from me?” She asked, totally not interested at all as she drank her tea. 

“I’m not here to represent the guild.” Amara said calmly. “I’ve come here to settled on a debt.”

Ambessa rolled her eyes. “My bookkeeper is down the hall.”

Amara was unamused to Ambessa’s nonchalance. “What you’ve stolen is more precious than any gold.”

And as she said that, he voiced became distorted. Dark petals fluttered to the floor from nowhere, curling into whorls of black thorns and blood-red blooms. The room dropped into silence. Magic churned in the air like stormclouds swirling beneath the skin.

And in a snap, chains of violet sorcery lashed from the walls, seizing both Rictus and Ambessa. Amara stood up. 

“Did you seriously think Piltover was beyond our reach?” Amara summoned a knife. 

“My son is dead. Is that not enough to sate your bloodlust?” Ambessa sneered out. 

Amara teleported behind Ambessa and gripping her hair to show off her neck. “I haven’t insulted you intelligence, Ambessa. Do not insult mine. We know what you’re chasing in Piltover. We will not allow it.”

“Allow?” That was enough of Ambessa. “Thank you. Your visit only confirms my suspicions.”

And just in time, Rictus slammed down his spear as it had anti-magic runes, neutralizing the mage’s magic. And in one smooth, brutal arc, Ambessa severed Amara’s head from her shoulders.

The chains dissolved. The room fell still. She turned to Rictus. “Triple the guard. We need Hextech weaponry now. Before more thorns take hold.”

Rictus stood, adjusting his armor. “And Mel?”

“She’s my daughter.” Ambessa said. “And I’ll burn this city down before I let her be turned into a puppet.”

SINGED:
The stench of the lab hung thick in the stale, recycled air. Chains groaned from the ceiling as the carcass of the Murk Wolf swayed ever so slightly, hooked through its ribcage like a grotesque wind chime. And body parts of Cavalier and many other demons Jinx and Dante killed during the White Rabbit crisis. 

Singed didn’t notice the sound anymore. Nor the smell. He was deep in his process. With a scalpel in one hand and a sample dish in the other, he scraped a dark blue gland from the beast’s torn liver and deposited it into a fluid medium already laced with shimmer, radiant dust, and a drop of something far darker. It was Caveliere’s blood. The cells inside the mixture moved before the reagent touched them. Reacting. Adapting.

“Fascinating…” he murmured, watching them divide with impossible speed. “Living corruption. Sentient toxicity. This body, is the perfect adaptation for my beast.”

He turned toward a rack of tubes along the wall, each one humming with biological static. One held cells harvested from Shimmer addicts exposed to prolonged Grey inhalation. And then, he had a large vial of blood. That had a name from the blood ‘donor’. 

DANTE.

Singed’s eyes flicked between the samples. And he began to mix. For his beast that he coded name. “WARWICK.”

Chapter Text

VIKTOR:
The Grey clung to everything. It seeped from the vents like fog, curling through dead alleys and flooded shafts, ghosting over shattered storefronts and rusted railings. Piltover’s newest weapon, the enforcers called it. The Grey. But to Zaun, it was just another poison dropped from above.

Viktor’s metal-plated feet hissed against the damp floor as he moved slowly through the gas-choked ruins of the undercity, a cracked rebreather clamped over his mouth. His eyes glowed through the fog. Every breath felt heavier.

The Grey shouldn’t affect me like this, he thought. Not anymore.

But it did. His body, though now transformed, still fought the intrusion. The foreign compound triggered spasms in his remaining organic parts. His spine had started locking up, his fingers occasionally trembling from electrical interference. His left knee had cracked twice already, and he knew the joint was dying. Viktor grimaced. He’d have to replace more soon.

Soon, there won’t be any flesh left at all.

He passed the ruined corpse of a chem-peddler slumped over a pipe. Still clutching a dead shimmer injector. The veins in her arms were blackened, not from shimmer. From something else. The Grey. He looked away. That’s when he heard it: a voice, barely audible above the humming fog.

“Help…”

Viktor turned sharply. It wasn’t a hallucination. He found her half-buried under scrap and chemical tubing, pale white hair matted to her head, skin sagging like wet paper. Her limbs were twisted and atrophied, her lungs heaving with a liquid rattle. Her eyes, they were gone. Just sunken sockets scarred shut. She was still breathing. Somehow. 

“…please…” she whispered, lifting a broken hand. Something froze inside Viktor.

Sky.

It wasn’t her, but it didn’t matter. The memory stabbed through him anyway, the flickering of Sky’s smile, her hopeful voice when she’d tried to help him, the warm glow of trust in her eyes before they had gone cold under the Hexcore’s violent pulse. 

He hadn’t meant to kill her. 

He’d been alone. Lost. Dying. Now here stood another woman, broken and asking him to save her. And he didn’t know if he deserved to. A shimmer of static bloomed behind his eyes. It was not from the Grey, not from exhaustion, but from something arcane lingering in his blood. A low hum. A shape forming in the haze.

Sky, translucent and wordless, just watching him. Judging him. Or guiding. Maybe both. Viktor exhaled slowly and knelt down.

“I don’t know if I can save you.” He said honestly. “Even if I try, you won’t be the same afterward.”

The woman rasped out: “I don’t care. I want to live.”

Viktor looked at her, something hard in his expression softening. “Then hold on.”

———

His makeshift lab was assembled from broken piping and an abandoned shimmer still. He only built within minutes as he and the woman arrived. With one of his Hextech gemstones, he fashioned a stasis module, just strong enough to suspend her vitals, halting the cellular collapse ravaging her lungs. The Gemstone pulsed faintly as he sealed the casing.

“I’ll have to amputate…” he said aloud, more for himself than her. “All of it. Too far gone to salvage. But I can rebuild it.”

Piece by piece, he worked. Replacing the arms and legs with polymer-alloy limbs, plated in common steel. Crafting artificial lungs with filter mesh to bypass the Grey. Installing ocular units wired directly into the brainstem. Through it all, his hands didn’t shake. She became more. 

When she awoke, her voice was modulated. With a tinged with mechanical clarity. “I… can move.”

Her new hands opened and closed. Her new eyes focused on Viktor. “You saved me.”

“I gave you another chance.” Viktor said quietly. “But you’re not who you were.”

“I don’t care. I’m alive.” She stood, legs adjusting to newfound balance. “I owe you everything. I’ll serve you.”

Viktor stiffened. “I don’t need servants. If you see someone in need then help them. That’s enough.”

She tilted her head. “Then I will help you help them.”

He didn’t argue. Instead, he just sighed and his gaze drifted to a shattered pile of debris in the corner, the remnants of a steam golem once used by a fallen chem-barony for manual labor. He knelt beside it, hands brushing over its frame.

“So much machinery built for war or control. Never for healing.”

He looked back at the woman, the mimic of flesh and metal. Perhaps it was time to change that.

The first of many. A second chance born not from perfection, but atonement.
Sky’s death would never leave him. But it would never be in vain.

JAYCE:
The sun hung low over Piltover’s skyline, casting long, golden rays through the domed skylights of the cleared out Council chambers. From above, it looked serene, almost divine. But inside, under the carved marble and stained glass, Piltover’s gears were turning with steel teeth and darker intent.

Jayce stood at the edge of a balcony, arms folded as he overlooked the city. But he wasn’t alone for long. Heavy boots announced Ambessa’s arrival before her voice did. “You look tired, Councilor.”

Jayce turned slightly but didn’t answer. The distant chimneys of the city’s factories belched smoke. Somewhere below, more enforcers were marching out. Camille’s voice followed, cool and sharp as always. 

“Perhaps it’s the weight of responsibility. Without Viktor, all Hextech decisions now fall to you.”

Jayce straightened, jaw clenched. “I’m aware.”

Ambessa joined his side, hands clasped behind her back. “So, let’s talk options. The Chembarons aren’t backing down. The undercity is a swamp of chaos. You witnessed what happened when you don’t do nothing, spine nearly cut like wood.”

Camille’s eyes narrowed. “Piltover’s order is slipping, Jayce. We must be the iron spine to hold it upright. That means putting boots, and blades on the ground.”

Jayce took a breath. “I already told you. Hextech wasn’t made for war.”

“Neither was this Shimmer that the undercity feasts on,” Ambessa muttered, “but they turned it into one.”

Camille stepped forward. “If the problem is supply, then let’s solve it. We know Hextech crystals are rare, unstable, and finite. But what if we didn’t need real Hextech?”

Jayce frowned at her words, but Camille continued. “Clan Ferros has alchemists capable of synthesizing crystal lattices. Ambessa has Noxian rune lore. Combine both, and we create synthetic Hextech, it’ll be controlled, consistent, and manufacturable.”

“A crystal substitute?” Jayce asked, intrigued despite himself.

“Not just a substitute.” Camille said smoothly. “A revolution. Mass production without dependence on rare, volatile gems. Think what that means, Jayce. A new generation of Hextech arms, it’ll be cheap, scalable, distributed across the city.”

Ambessa smiled. “Imagine every enforcer armed with those Atlas gauntlets. Mercury Hammers. Whatever you desire. There is no longer a Council that you’ll have to be begging approval for every new tech prototype. We act.”

Jayce looked between the two women, their expressions unreadable, but their intent clear.

This is the future of Piltover, they were saying. With or without you.

He hesitated. “Even if it works, it’s still weaponizing something I swore wouldn’t be used for violence.”

Camille’s voice was low. “Then perhaps it’s time to reconsider what you swore, Councilor. Ideals don’t protect cities. Power does.”

Jayce stared out at the horizon again. Zaun’s smoke could be seen even from here. Faint. Persistent.

Viktor would’ve stopped this. Viktor would’ve fought this.

But Viktor was gone. And Jayce was still here. The two women left, Jayce remained on the balcony, watching the light die over Piltover. In his hand, he turned a Hextech Gemstone over and over, its light flickering, dimmer than it used to be. So was his conscience.

MEL:
The Medarda penthouse was overlooking the Piltover skyline, but this time, it was quieter than usual. No guests. No couriers. No political maneuvering, at least not yet. Just Jayce, his coat wrinkled, his tie loosened, and a tumbler of untouched liquor sitting in front of him. Which was weird as he never drank liquor unless if it was wine for a fancy meeting or party. 

Mel stood near the windows, arms folded, eyes focused on the clouds rolling in from the southwest, the direction of Zaun.

“You’re distracted.” Mel said quietly.

Jayce exhaled. “I want to find Viktor.”

Mel turned to face him fully. “That’s dangerous.”

“I don’t care.” He pushed himself off the couch. “He’s out there, in Zaun, with enforcers flooding the streets and smoke choking the skies. He’s alone. After everything we’ve done to each other… I owe him at least this.”

Mel stepped forward. “You can’t. Not now. Piltover is in crisis. The bombing, the memorial massacre, the Council’s collapse, everything is spiraling. If you vanish too, it’s going to throw the entire city into panic. You’re the only public figure left standing besides me.”

Jayce’s fists clenched at his side. “Exactly. Standing. Why am I still standing, Mel?”

She looked at him, saying nothing. Jayce’s eyes searched hers. “Since the bombing, I keep wondering… How did we survive? Everyone else died. Every other Councilor. Viktor barely lived. But you and I? Not a scratch.”

Mel hesitated. The silence dragged long enough for doubt to creep in.

“I don’t know…” she finally said. Her voice was even. Almost too even.

Jayce narrowed his gaze. “You’re sure?”

Mel turned back toward the window. “I don’t know.” She repeated to define her answer. “Some things… aren’t meant to be explained.”

Jayce let the question die for now. But her answer clung to the room like incense smoke. Thick. Hidden. Magical. He sat again, rubbing his temples. “What about Camille?”

Mel didn’t turn. “She’s moving fast. Too fast. She’s recruiting, building factories, drawing up deployment strategies. She and Ambessa are accelerating Piltover’s march toward militarization. We have to stop it.”

Jayce’s voice was hollow. “You stop it.”

She turned sharply, eyes wide with what Jayce said. 

“I’m tired, Mel…” he muttered. “Let Camille do what she wants. Let the city tear itself apart if it must. All I care about now is finding Viktor. That’s the only thing that still makes sense.”

Mel stared at him. But not in anger, but in disappointment. “That’s not the Jayce I knew.”

“No…” he murmured, almost to himself. “It’s not.”

The room felt colder. Jayce rose again and walked past her, out of the chamber, leaving Mel alone with the echo of his indifference. She remained still for a long moment before finally whispering to the empty room.

“…Then I’ll stop her myself.”

Outside, the clouds thickened. Piltover stood on a precipice. And in the heart of its highest tower, two leaders began to drift apart. One retreating into memory, the other into resistance.

DANTE:
The temple of Janna stood hidden between collapsed spires and overgrown shimmer-veined pipes. Its once-beautiful structure was weathered, the statue of the wind goddess cracked, her wings fractured like the faith of those who had once prayed beneath them.

Vi adjusted the grip on her gauntlets as she eyed the building. “You sure he’s in there?”

Caitlyn nodded tightly. “Intel was solid. He’s here.”

Dante stood a few steps ahead of them, but he wasn’t looking at the entrance. His gaze wandered. Not at the decay. Not at the guards. At the air. Then his eyes sharpened.

“…She’s here.”

Caitlyn and Vi exchanged glances. 

“Who?” Vi asked.

“Bluebell.” Dante said, his voice soft, familiar, cutting through the silence like a whisper of history. He turned to them, his easy grin gone. “Stay back. Both of you.”

“What?” Caitlyn hissed. “We don’t know what’s inside—”

“I do.” He met her eyes. “And if you fire before I tell you, I’ll turn your rifle into a flute. Got it?”

Before either could argue, he walked forward, hands relaxed, the Rebellion sheathed, but every movement screamed caution under his too-casual swagger. 

Vi glanced back at Caitlyn then looked in front. “Cait. If you see an opening… take the shot.”

Inside the temple, the shadows clung tightly to the columns. And from within them, a voice echoed.

“Well, well, look who crawled back from the grave.”

Dante grinned slightly into the gloom. “Still like creeping on me from the shadows, huh?”

Jinx’s voice danced. “You joined the enforcers?” She spat the word like venom. “Guess your soul was cheaper than I thought.”

Dante scoffed lightly at that.  “I didn’t join them. I’m using them. Same way I use anything that gets me closer to you.” 

He paused. Then added. “I’m here to save you. And if you can’t see that, then you need glasses. Which might not look bad on you.”

“Oh yeah?” Jinx asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“And how exactly do you plan to ‘save’ me from myself? From Silco’s shadow? From my own past?”

“Taking as if I’m a saint.” Dante paced around the place casually. Then he began to speak out loud. 

“‘Sides, we both know what Silco final words towards you weren’t from the heart. Calling you perfect. Total bullshit. He only used it to manipulate you even more. We both know perfection is a myth. He only said the things you wanted to hear so you could do what he asked you to do without any doubt. That’s what groomers do, Blue.”

“You don’t know anything about me. About what he gave me.” Jinx’s voice came out a bit shaky. 

“I’ve know you since we were six. Probably know you more than I know Noxus.” He looked at the broken pillar, then looked at the fog infront of him. 

“The sweet thing is, he didn’t gave you anything. Nothing to deal with your mental health as it gotten worse over time and he took advantage of that. Hell, that’s the reason you let me go off that freezer in the first place. Found out Silco was lying to you the whole time and I was the only one left to help you.”

Jinx laughed. A hollow, broken sound. “And you think you’re the one to fix me?” 

She stepped forward from the shadows, her braids swinging behind her like serpents. “What could YOU possibly offer that Silco couldn’t?”

“Fix you?” His tone came low, even. “Bluebell… I couldn’t fix you if I tried. You’re not a machine. You’re not some broken toy waiting for the right wrench.”

He stepped forward into the dim light, shadows crawling around the devil-red of his eyes. His boots brushed the grime of the floor, heavy with smoke. “I don’t offer you chains. I don’t offer you lies wrapped up as ‘family.’” 

His words hit like bullets, slow and deliberate. “Silco gave you a cage with silk bars. I don’t cage people. I won’t cage you.”

Her breath hitched. Just slightly and Dante heard it. 

“And what I can give you,” Dante finished, voice rough but steady, “is the one thing no one else ever will. Choice. You can hate me, shoot me, fight me, but it’ll always be yours. Not his. Not theirs. Not mine.”

The silence that followed was thick, electric. Her eyes shimmered with something feral and fractured. For a second, the manic grin faltered. Revealing the trembling girl behind it.

“...Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper. “After everything I did? After everything I put you through?”

Dante didn’t hesitate.

“‘Cause you’re my best friend.” Simple. True. “And no one gets to keep me from that. Not even you.”

But unaware to him and even Jinx. Vi, Caitlyn, and the enforcer of their squad got in position. Caitlyn getting an angle, arching her back for Vi. Caitlyn looked through her scope and saw Jinx. She took a deep breath, imagining a violet flower falling down, reminding herself what Jinx done. To her. To Piltover. And pulled the trigger. 

BANG!

The bullet rang out, passing beside Dante’s head and towards Jinx. But, it was just her reflection on a metal plate. 

“Damn it!” Caitlyn whispered as Jinx laughed. 

Dante turned sharply, his eyes blazing at her. “I told you—!”

A chorus of shouts and boots on tile rang out as masked thugs poured into the chamber from hidden doorways. Slowly approaching the center of the room where Dante stood. But Dante didn’t even seem nervous, after all, he dealt with far worse. 

Then, he looked over at the broken pillar once more as Jinx stood. POW-POW in her hands and looking down at Dante. Her demonic pink patterns and eyes glowing. 

“What you know about that?”

Dante sighed as he rubbed his chin slowly. 

“Jackpot.” He muttered out as he finally found her. 

“Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason?
Is it bad that I’m making friends with my demons?
And living by a couple deadly sins
Just to make sure I finish what you began
And I ain’t afraid to lose a life or ten
If it means I get to win in the end 
So imma do this on my own
Step into the danger zone
Pull the pin and watch in blow
I would rather die alone”

And within seconds, the old temple became a warzone. Vi charged in first, using the old prototype Atlas Gauntlets to punch like thunders against the thugs. But the thing is, this weren’t Jinx’s. This was from someone else. But Jinx, Dante, Vi, or the enforcer didn’t care. 

Jinx hopped down and began to fire at Dante who immediately used the Rebellion, spinning it fast to block all the bullets from her mini-gun. Caitlyn had an angle at Jinx but was kicked by a thug. Maddie, Steb, and Loris dealt with the bulk of the thugs in an part of the temple as Vi was dealing with a few Chem-tanks. A Chem-tank lunged at Dante. Breaking the small conflict between him and Jinx. 

“I would rather die alone
I would rather die alone”

Caitlyn got pinned to the wall by a thug, but the bit down the thug’s hand hard which made him cry in pain. Jinx saw Vi struggling with the Chem-tanks as the prototypes of her gauntlets aren’t as powerful as the normal ones. So she pulled out Fishbones, holstering up to her shoulder. Charming up as she pulled the trigger. 

Vi’s eyes widened as she glanced at the rocket but a red blur blocked the rocket, absorbing the blast and saving Vi. 

Dante.

He used the Rebellion to block out the attack, looking back at Vi for a moment. But the moment he looked back Jinx, she had the high ground, Fishbones in hand and her wild laugh echoing through the chaos. Her movements were faster, inhuman. Close to Dante’s, yet far from his own speed. She danced around the chaos like Janna’s wind. 

“Come out and play
Let it rain down Hellfire
Can’t hide away, yeah
It’s judgment day
And no one gets out alive”

And at the center of it all Caitlyn’s father, Tobias. He was bound, gagged, and dangling from the rafters of the temple. Jinx saw this and grinned as she dashed upwards, cutting him free but held him hostage. 

“Try anything and daddy dearest gets it!” 

Jinx called out, holding her pistol dangerously close to him. When Caitlyn lined up another shot, Jinx’s head tilted—

BANG!

But the bullet didn’t reach. It was intercepted midair by another.

By Dante’s own bullet. The sound alone was enough to silence the battlefield for a heartbeat. Caitlyn turned toward him, stunned. Even Jinx saw it and was shocked. But she kicked away Tobias and backed up toward the massive mural of Janna behind the altar.

“Time to blow this temple sky high.” She fired Fishbones.

The missile struck the mural. With a low groan, the cracked image of Janna shattered. And from it, a torrent of wind burst outward like a divine scream. The gust threw Vi, Caitlyn, her father, and the enforcer squad out through the temple doors. The gale surged through the ventilation ducts, dragging a cloud of Grey back toward Piltover.

The thugs scattered. But one person remained.

Dante, standing in the eye of the storm, braced with the Rebellion dug into the stone like an anchor. And as the wind died down, he looked up from his messy white hair. 

Jinx was still there. So was his coat. Still wrapped around her like a memory she hadn’t yet thrown away.

“You stayed.” Jinx whispered, stepping toward him.

“Couldn’t resist the scenery.” Dante said with a smirk. “You, the chaos, a dead god’s house. Perfect first date. Just lacking the pizza and strawberry sundaes.”

Jinx laughed, the sound echoing off the broken walls. “A first date? Really?”

She reached for her mini-gun, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I didn’t realize you were such a romantic.”

She began to fire the mini-gun but Dante dance around the bullets, using his dual pistols to deflect it to the sides, trolling her. 

He grabbed the barrels and looked at her with a smirk. 

“Ooh!” Dante chuckled breathlessly, his regeneration healing a cut from his lip. “I love a fast woman.”

Jinx’s eyes narrowed, but there was a glint of something else in them, something almost playful, but just for a second. She tugged the gun back just enough to make him stumble forward slightly.

“Shut up!”

She tried to keep shooting at him but her kept dancing around causally. She tried shooting her once more but Dante shot the bullets as he jumped over her with a flip. She was already panting but he wasn’t. With a pink blur, Jinx tackled him. They tumbled, and she pinned him beneath her, the Rebellion now in her hands now, the blade buzzing with demonic malice. She pushed it down to his throat but he also held it back with both ends, not even worried. 

“You’ve gotten stronger.” He said with a small smirk, the fact that his demon blood has put her barely close to his level, even if he’s holding back. 

Jinx’s grip tightened on the sword, her breath coming in sharp bursts. But despite herself, despite all the fury and chaos inside her she hesitated.

“I hate you…” she hissed, but there was no real venom behind it. Just frustration and something else entirely.

There was a beat of silence passed between them before Dante smirked up at her.

“Nah.” He countered smoothly. “You don’t.”

“Nothing can hurt you, right?” She hissed once more. “But maybe… a demonic weapon can.”

She pressed it to his throat drawing blood.

“I’ll cut your throat. That’ll shut you up.”

Dante’s eyes soft now, and smiled faintly. As he said the most nuclear thing he could think in a second.

“You’re beautiful.”

Jinx blinked, caught off-guard. Her grip on the sword faltered.

“What?” She asked, voice almost a whisper.

Dante’s expression remained gentle despite their precarious position.

“I said,” he repeated, “you’re beautiful.”

“Why do you always say things like that?” She whispered.

The pink demonic patterns on her skin glowing more. out of rage, embarrassment, everything she could think off from the top of her head at his words.

“Because they’re true.” He looked at her demonic patterns on her skin. The one he made when he saved her life. 

“This…” she gestured at her patterns. “You caused this.”

The demonic patterns began to spread even more, rapidly due to the amount of emotions going in her head. 

Dante held his ground, hands lifting slowly, not in defense, but in something that almost looked like surrender. 

“It was that or you died. You were bleeding out, Blue. No shimmer, no medicine, nothing in this world could’ve saved you. My blood was the only chance.” His voice broke, just for a moment. “And I took it. Because I wasn’t about to watch you die, I can’t let the ones who I care about die. Especially when I can stop it.”

But she wasn’t listening. Not really. The words barely scratched the storm roaring inside her. Her breathing grew louder, sharper, her chest heaving as her emotions spiked past reason.

And then it hit.

The sound ripped out of her throat. It was half a scream, half a sob. It was louder than gunfire, louder than bombs. A pulse of raw energy erupted from her lungs. 

“WHY!!”

It wasn’t magic, not a power, but the sheer force of her unraveling.bThe shockwave tore through the ancient temple like a grenade had gone off. Stone cracked, pillars split, dust rained from the ceiling as the floor itself quaked beneath them.

“Blue—!” Dante lunged forward, but she was already gone. A pink blur shot past him, braids whipping like banners, her laughter and screams blending into one horrid, broken sound that echoed against the collapsing walls. He reached after her, his voice chasing her through the chaos. “Bluebell, WAIT—!”

But all she saw as she turned once, just once, was the roof giving way. The jagged temple stones crashed down, swallowing Dante in a wave of dust and ruin. And for Jinx, the world collapsed with him. Her breath hitched, her steps stumbling as she bolted through the jungle ruins, her own voice breaking into a fractured, demonic growl.

“It’s me… it’s ME, it’s always me. I killed Silco, killed him too… it’s always ME!”

The corrupted lilt in her throat was unmistakable now, the demon’s cadence twining with her own. Jinx wasn’t laughing anymore. She was screaming, tearing herself apart in the dark as she fled the only person who’d ever tried to stand in the storm with her.

She curled over, clutching the coat she never stopped wearing. The devil was gone again. And she had left him. 

MEL:
The ground beneath Piltover trembled. Then the vents opened harshly. From deep beneath the city, in the labyrinthine belly where the pipes of Zaun connected like veins to Piltover’s polished heart, a sudden whoosh erupted. But it wasn’t steam. It wasn’t smoke.

It was color.

Plumes of vibrant Grey, tinged with the unnatural shimmer of paints, sickly pinks and blues, iridescent greens, all soaked in volatile chemicals. It burst into the air like a riotous chemical storm. The Grey had been used against them. And this time, it wasn’t confined to Zaun. Residents of Piltover screamed as it enveloped streets, plazas, and gold-trimmed avenues. Some clutched their throats, others stared in horror as it dyed fountains, statues, and polished buildings in Jinx’s unmistakable hues. The chaos was immediate, the visual and psychological.

Zaunites who had snuck up into the higher levels watched from rooftops and fire escapes, standing still. It wasn’t vengeance that moved in them.

It was awe. Because for the first time, Piltover was choking on their air. Their dust. Their suffering.  The chaos in the city spread quickly. Officials barked orders, enforcers scrambled to cordon off districts, but the Grey moved like it had a mind of its own, curling around high society like a mocking fog.

———

Mel was in her office as she stood with Elora, watching it all unfold from thepanoramic window.

“…She retaliated.” Elora said quietly.

Mel’s jaw tensed. “She made a statement.”

Their eyes met. They both knew what this meant. The council bombing, the attacks, Camille’s rising ambition, and now this. It was a clear demonstration that the Undercity was no longer afraid. Jinx wasn’t just chaos incarnate. She was declaring war.

“We need to deal with Camille.” Mel said. “Before she uses this to push martial law. We need control. Not more violence.”

Elora nodded. But just as she turned toward the door, her steps faltered. Her body shuddered. Then completely froze.

“Elora?” Mel asked sharply. “What’s wrong?”

Elora’s eyes widened, her lips parted but no sound came. Dark, thorny tendrils erupted from the floor. Black magic, cold and alive, slithered up from the shadows like serpents from the abyss.

Before Mel could react, a bloom of violet energy wrapped around her wrists, locking her in place. She tried to scream, to summon help, but her voice was swallowed by a silence spell.

The sigils on the floor flared to life. It was ancient, arcane. In the blink of an eye, Elora and Mel were gone. Only a low whisper remained in the room.

“The Black Rose watches all.”

The door burst open a moment later. Ambessa stood in the threshold. Her eyes took in the empty chamber, the flickering remains of the magic sigils, and the overturned chair where her daughter once stood.

Her face did not show rage. Only steel. And a hint of something colder than fury. The Black Rose had just made it even more personal.

JINX:
Jinx stumbled through the alleyways of Zaun, coughing violently as she emerged into the open air. Her mascara ran down her cheeks in smudged streaks of black, blending with soot and tears. The veins of her demonic patterns pulsed across her pale skin. It was more pronounced now, crawling like pink ink beneath her flesh, their faint glow casting dim light with each twitch of emotion.

She had barely gotten out. Dante hadn’t. Or maybe he had, but that didn’t matter to her right now. Not with the look in his eyes, the way he said it.

“You’re beautiful.”

It struck her harder than the collapse. She hadn’t cried like that in a long time. And now, every step away from that wreckage felt like betrayal.bJinx stopped, leaning against a rusted pipe, breath ragged, head spinning from the Grey in her lungs and the storm in her heart.

That’s when she heard the heels. Sharp, clean, deliberate.bOut of the shadows stepped a woman draped in violet lace and black feathers, corset tight and smile tighter. 

Corina Veraza. 

Her expression unreadable beneath her dark veil, though her eyes shimmered like oil on water.

“Well,” Corina said, cocking her head, “you look like the aftertaste of heartbreak.”

Jinx reached for her gun on her hip immediately, but Corina raised a single hand.

“Relax, sweetheart. If I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be having this lovely chat. Besides…” she smiled, eyes flicking toward the still-glowing eyes of Jinx. “That would be messy.”

“What do you want?” Jinx rasped. Her voice cracked under the strain.

Corina’s heels clicked closer. “The same thing you do. To burn down the gilded cage they call Piltover.”

Jinx’s hand didn’t lower. “You’re the one who took Caitlyn’s daddy.”

Corina grinned wider. “Guilty. But don’t worry. I treated him with just enough courtesy. Got what I needed.”

“And that is?”

Corina reached into the folds of her dress, pulling something small, delicate… and glowing faintly green.

A flower.

It looked unnatural. Way too perfect, too symmetrical.

“I call it Magnum Opus. Genetically tailored from samples I extracted while interrogating the good father of the Kiramman girl. It emits a neurotoxin specifically calibrated to target Piltover’s standard enforcer respirators. Turns their own breathers into poison masks.” She twirled the flower between her fingers. “With this, I can make dozens. Enough to make them fear walking the streets.”

Jinx stared at her with pure skepticism. “What do you want from me?”

“Take me to Sevika.” Corina said simply. “Word is she’s building a force. Scrap rebels, shimmer addicts, a few old gang flags trying to make a comeback. But what they need, what we need is science. Strategy. I have both.”

Jinx hesitated, then she gave a half-laugh. “You think Sevika’s gonna trust some perfume-wearing witch?”

“No.” Corina replied coolly. “But she might trust you.”

They stared at each other. Jinx, the broken demon girl with love bleeding out of her eyes. Corina, the calculating alchemist whose mind was as dangerous as her toxins. After a beat, Jinx turned.

“Fine…” she muttered. “But if you stab me in the back, I’ll feed you to your own flowers.”

Corina smirked. “Oh, darling. I wouldn’t dare.”

DANTE:
A low cough escaped from the fractured stone as Dante stirred beneath it, pinned under what used to be the temple’s ceiling. The air was thick with dust and the scent of scorched incense. Cracked columns jutted around him like the ribs of a fallen god.

His fingers twitched. Then flexed. Then finally closed around the hilt of the Rebellion, buried half an inch into the shattered floor beside him. He pulled the blade free, let it rest on his chest as he stared up at the broken ceiling.

“I’m beginning to think I’ve got rotten luck with women…” he muttered to no one but the ghosts. A smirk tugged at his lips, tired and bitter.

The noble blonde girl from Demacia
The red head pirate from Bilgewater.
His old blue haired friend here in Zaun.

And the rest, those fleeting flames of war, survival, or just bad decisions wrapped in perfume and poison. He exhaled slowly and let his head drop back against the stone. He didn’t wince. Not from the pain. Not even from the memories. His hand came up and loosely covered his eyes, shielding them from the light filtering through the cracks.

“…Tch.”

Nothing more. No grand lament. No cry for help. No desperate curse to the heavens. Just silence, thick and pulsing, like the weight of everything he couldn’t say.

Because the devil? He never cries.

Chapter Text

THE BEAST:
It had only been a week. But in Zaun, a week could stretch like scars.

Ever since the enforcers had increased their patrols, and now added martial law to Zaun. Checkpoints in every corner that lead down the Lanes. The Undercity had become a pressure cooker. The people were growing restless. Furious. Tired of being stepped on.

And today. It snapped.

A crowd had gathered near one of the major checkpoints, voices raised, fists clenched. Signs waved with slogans scorched into wood and cloth, some reading “No Chains from Piltover,” others simply “Breathe.”

Enforcers in riot gear blocked the path. Their visors glinted like glass eyes, unmoved, unmoving.

A boy. That couldn’t have been more than twelve was pushed to the front by the press of bodies. Covered in soot, his jaw set in fear and defiance.

An enforcer barked something. He didn’t move. Another shout. Still, the boy stood his ground. Then—

A crack  The butt of a rifle slammed against the child’s face. Blood hit the concrete. The crowd went silent For one second.

And then the screaming started. But deeper beneath that noise something uncontrollably howled.

Far from the riot, in a lab hidden behind layers of twisted pipe and rotted stone, a heartbeat skipped. Singed lifted his head from his notes. Not in alarm but in fascination.

Project Warwick had stirred. The beast chained to the table growled, muscles twitching beneath its mutated hide. Tubes pulsed. Fluid hissed.

Then… one of the chains snapped. The scent of that child’s blood had found its way through the winding arteries of Zaun. And the Beast smelled it.

A low snarl echoed through the undercity. And then he was gone, leaping from shadow to shadow like a living nightmare, chasing the scent like a demon unleashed. By the time he reached the riot, it had already become a full-blown battle.

But he didn’t care for sides. Not Piltover. Not Zaun. Only blood.

He tore through the enforcers first. It was splintering armor, rending flesh, then lunged toward the nearest Zaunite with the same hunger. Panic erupted. The protest shattered into chaos. Screams filled the air as the beast moved like a rabid force of nature, the Grey fog painting his claws, his breath, his madness. His body shimmered faintly in the light.

Demonic. Twisted. Reeking of vengeance and science. Of Dante. And in a haze of smoke and red and metal, the line between oppressor and oppressed became meaningless.

CAMILLE:
Enforcers were already dying. Now they were disappearing. One by one. Squad by squad. Gone. Completely gone. 

No reports. No bodies. Only scraps of armor. Ribbons of blue. A helmet with blood dried beneath the brim.

Camille watched the reports stack like corpses. First came the council bombing. Second the memorial attack. Then the Grey turned against them. Now this. Zaun, once a choked weed beneath Piltover’s heel, was fighting back. And to make it worse, it was infecting Piltover with its chaos. This was not the plan. Not the contract. Not the world Camille had spent her life preserving.

She stood alone in the “great war” room of Clan Ferros, the light from the stained glass overhead refracting into fractured blues and reds across her polished limbs. Her jaw tightened as she stared at the table of reports. Jayce was absent, lost in a noble fool’s quest for a friend who abandoned reason. Mel was gone—snatched from her quarters, abducted by forces yet unnamed.

There was no one left to tell her no. And so, Camille said yes.

Yes to emergency reform powers.
Yes to accelerated enforcer training camps, hastily assembled in the steamhavens.
Yes to recruitment drives backed by propaganda and patriotic fervor.
Yes to a city made of gears and fear.

She issued the Quota Mandate by midnight:

“All enforcers shall meet a minimum of five arrests per cycle. Bonuses awarded for surpassing this target.”

On paper, it was merely productivity. Incentive. In practice it was open season.

Young men and women from Zaun were dragged from homes, shopfronts, and alleyways for “loitering,” “resisting,” “failing to comply.” Their cries were swallowed by Stillwater Hold’s concrete boxes with iron bars.

Camille said nothing of course. She didn’t order the brutality. That would be crude.

She simply made the machine. She gave it oil And she watched.

When asked by a trembling clerk if she was concerned about inflaming tensions further, she responded, coolly:

“A fire only burns so long as it has fuel. We will remove the kindling.”

Her heels echoed down the hallway as she departed. Behind her, a new batch of enforcers took their oath beneath the glint of synthetic Hextech. Their hands shook. Their eyes were dull. Camille never looked back.

JAYCE:
The synthetic Hextech gemstones glowed a sickly cyan beneath the factory’s filtered lights. Not quite stable. Not quite safe. But it worked. That was all Camille needed. Jayce stood over the line of workers, hands clenching on the railing. The workers moved like ghosts. The Piltovian engineers repurposed into war-time alchemists. Behind their goggles and gloves, none of them spoke. Not anymore. This wasn’t invention. It was production.

Camille approached first. Her heels struck the steel floor like the ticking of a time bomb. “Two hundred units processed in a day.” 

She said, eyes narrowing. “Respectable. But we’ll need triple that if we want a proper reserve.”

Jayce didn’t respond right away. He kept watching the assembly line, jaw tight.
“I shouldn’t even be here…” he muttered. “I’m supposed to be preparing for the search. Viktor may still be alive. He could be—”

“A traitor.” Camille cut in sharply. “Or worse. A liability.”

Jayce turned, visibly bristling. “He wants to save people. I’ve seen what he’s done. The Viktor I knew—”

“—Is gone.” Camille interrupted again, voice clinical. “Or hiding in the Wolf’s Jaw. Either way, he’s not here to stop this.”

That was when Ambessa entered, boots soaked with rain, her armor dark with travel. She carried herself like someone who had crossed a continent for blood and found only delay.

“You’ve made progress.” She said to Jayce, nodding at the humming gemstones. “But no weapons?”

Jayce sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Even if I could forge weapons with these synthetic crystals, where would we test them? A Hextech cannon is not something you fire in the mountains. The energy discharge alone could flatten a quarter of Piltover.”

Camille’s lips curled into something like a smile. “But we have the perfect testing ground.”

Jayce turned to her. She simply raised a gloved hand, gesturing toward the massive window. Through it, Piltover’s skyline shimmered in the smog. And just beyond it, across the polluted river, was the broken silhouette of Zaun, its towers limping beneath the weight of decades of neglect.

“The Undercity.” Camille said coldly. “It’s already burning. Why not refine fire with fire?”

Jayce stared at her. The words hung heavy. Ambessa didn’t speak, only folded her arms behind her back. She was already playing both sides in her mind. And somewhere in her chest, beneath the Noxian pragmatism, a mother wondered where her daughter had gone.

Jayce said nothing for a long time. Then: “I leave for the search in two days.”

“That’s two days too long.” Camille coldly replied.

He looked down at the synthetic gemstones in his hand. It pulsed, twisting, humming, unstable. And without quite realizing it, he closed his fingers around it.

DANTE:
When the Temple of Janna was gone. Collapsed into a grave of holy stone and bad memories. Dante had crawled out of it with blood on his lips and guilt nailed into his spine.

He’d wanted to save her. Instead, he’d made her worse. Demon blood ran in Jinx now. And it was allhis fault. His curse.

Now, he spent most nights hunched over a splintering bar counter in the Low Lanes, where the liquor bit harder than regret and the music didn’t pretend to drown out screaming. The drinks in Zaun weren’t brewed. They were born. Born in rot. Born in rage. And they worked. Even on him. He welcomed it.

“Eyes, burning away to me
Eyes, destroying so sweetly
Now, there is a fire 
In me
A fire that
Burns”

The Black Maw was the name of the fighting ring. Half-hidden under a smelting plant, half-legal under whatever laws still pretended to govern Zaun. There was no honor in it. Just blood, knuckles, and whatever you could hide in your boot. Dante entered the cage like a ghost. No showmanship. No sound. Just that look in his eyes were all tired, distant, hollow behind the crimson glow.

Only wearing leather pants, boots, handwraps and a black leather jacket with spikes that had red in some eras, even wings on the back. Using oil to cover his white hair to black and hide the Bilgewater sigil tattoo on his face. And his arms grew, the once lean arms have gone thicker. The shoulder, biceps, triceps, and forearms have grown the size. 

The first night, he won in thirty seconds. The second, he made a man beg. The third, he stopped dodging.

His apartment was more a concrete box with a sink. No bed. No lights. Just walls to bounce the silence off of. Sometimes, he stared at the Rebellion propped up by the doorway and wondered if it would ever point at him. The place was so small, and he was claustrophobic. He was punishing himself for everything. 

“This fire is out of control 
I’m gonna burn this city 
Burn this city”

Then came the hallucinations.

It started with color. That blue. Her blue. He thought it was in the smoke. Then in the drink. Then on the street. He saw a guy dancing at a club, pale arms, candy hair, that cruel curve of a grin, and he snapped. Not because he was just hallucinating but the guy got way to close to him. And Dante didn’t swing that way. He was only interested in women. 

In her. 

And he wasn’t Jinx. Some people even pulled him off before he broke something vital. Kicked him out onto the concrete, where he threw up whiskey and memory.

By the second week, his fights got sloppy. His hits slow. The crowd didn’t cheer, they flinched. He got dropped in the third round by a guy half his weight. Didn’t even try to block the hits.

“This fire is out of control
Gonna burn this city
Burn this city”

And in the back of the Black Maw, where the shadows burned blue, Jinx watched. Face hidden beneath his old coat, sleeves too long, the collar popped like armor. The pink demon patterns on her skin were covered in grime and sweat. But her eyes, those eyes pink demonic eye, they didn’t miss a thing.

“This fire is out of control”

She watched him spiral in a week. Not weeks. Not months. Not a year. 

In a week.

And no matter how much she told herself to walk away… She stayed. Because when he broke again tomorrow night, she needed to know. If she’d be the reason. Or the reason he got back up.

JINX:
The small and tight apartment stank of rotgut and blood. Concrete walls, damp with mold, boxed in the stillness like a tomb. Dante stirred awake on the warped floorboards, one hand clutching a half-empty bottle, the other twitching as if still mid-fight. He knew something was off before his eyes opened.

A breath. A presence. A ghost. No, it was not a ghost. Not this time. He opened his eyes and there she was. Sitting on his rusted sink, knees pulled to her chest, eyes glowing faint in the dark like two little rubies carved from hell.

Jinx.

Wearing his coat. Same as always. Same as never.

“Looking good, Hellblood.” She said while humming. 

But he was on her in a flash. The Rebellion still propped against the door. He didn’t need it. Rage and alcoholism guided him. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the cracked wall. The plaster behind her caved in like brittle bone.

Jinx didn’t fight back. Her hands didn’t move. She just looked at him.

“I should’ve known!” Dante muttered, voice low and venom-soaked. “Like a bad dream that doesn’t end.”

Her mouth opened. “Tony, I—”

“Shut up.” He tightened his grip. “I don’t want to hear it. Not another word.”

Her legs kicked once against the sink’s edge. Jinx's hands finally moved, but not to fight him off. Instead, they came up to grip his wrist, not pushing him away, just holding on. Her fingers trembled slightly.

“I need you…” she choked out, voice barely a whisper, like glass under boots.

“Liar.” The word came like a blade through clenched teeth. He pressed harder. Her fingers curled around his wrist, weak, trembling.

“You destroyed everything…” he hissed. “You ran. You mocked me. You made me watch. And now you show up here, what? To finish the job?”

Jinx didn't answer right away. Instead, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. As if gathering the strength to speak.

“No…” she finally whispered. “I came because I needed you.”

Her grip on his wrist tightened slightly, though it was still weak compared to his hold. “I’m sorry.”

Dante just tightened his grip on her. So much that his red demonic patterns and red demonic eyes began to glow. But then, he saw it. Not the smile. Not the madness. Her tears. Silent. Slipping down her pale cheeks. Real tears. His grip faltered. Just enough, Jinx collapsed as he let go, hitting the floor like a marionette with cut strings, gasping, wheezing, hands to her throat.

Still crying. Still glowing with the demonic pink patterns on her skin. Then, the pink glow on her skin pulsed weakly. Like a fading heartbeat.

“I didn’t come here to fight…” she rasped between gasps. “I came because… I need you.” 

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, the usual manic energy replaced by something raw and desperate.

“You’re the only one who ever understood me.”

Dante didn’t answer. Didn’t yell. Didn’t even scream. He just turned his back. Grabbed Rebellion by the door. And walked out into the choking dark of Zaun, his own rage coiled tight in his chest like a viper. He wasn’t even sure who he hated more. Her. Himself. Or the world that kept throwing them together just to break them apart.

Jinx didn’t stop him. She just sat there, on the floor of his shitty apartment, her fingers brushing against the spot where he had held her throat that was still sore, still warm from his touch. The pink glow on her skin pulsed once more before brightening up completely 

“...I’m sorry…” she whispered to no one.

VIKTOR:
The banks of the river shimmered in shades of industrial green and steel-gray, a thick haze floating low like the ghost of memory. Viktor stood still. Watching the water twist and curl in silence.  He remembered it, this exact spot. Where he once knelt, hunched over a toy boat cobbled together from scrap and twine, letting it drift through Zaun’s poisoned waters with a child’s fragile hope. The day he met Sky and Singed. 

But now, his hands were metal. And in one of them, he held a heart. A new heart. The second Hextech gemstone pulsed like a caged storm between his fingers. Artificial. Unstable. And yet… alive. Just like him. Behind him, the defunct steam golem stood slumped and inert, its old body has been slightly upgraded, the metal was polish and its joints weren’t tight. Viktor approached it slowly, reverently, brushing sediment from the emblem etched on its chest.

“Time to wake up.” He murmured.

He pried open the chassis, carved in new channels, installed the gemstone at the core with surgical precision. Then, with one final wire adjustment—

The golem shuddered. Its eyes lit with soft golden glow.

“Designation.” Viktor said, stepping back, anticipation in his voice. “Blitzcrank.”

The golem sat up straight slowly. Steam and electricity coming out. 

“Hello.” The golem simply said.

Over the next few days, Blitzcrank began its tasks. Viktor deployed it across the Undercity, clearing rubble, lifting toxic waste, hauling medical crates through rubble-choked alleys. The mimic often tagged along, her dark-eyed stare quietly taking in the way Blitzcrank moved. How it hesitated near children. How it offered umbrellas in the toxic rain that Zaun barely had. How it waved goodbye after finishing its job.

“Blitzcrank is… kind.” She said to Viktor once.

“I designed it for efficiency.” Viktor simply replied. But even as he said it, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He began observing from rooftops, arms folded behind his back, watching as the people of Zaun called the golem by name.

Crank. Big guy. Golden Friend.

The city whispered rumors of a guardian built from iron and lightning.

Two weeks have passed since he brought Blitzcrank to life. And Viktor replaced another piece of his failing body with machine. He no longer stumbled when he walked. The cane was gone. His voice had a faint echo. The Hexcore thrummed in his heart.

And through it, the demon blood, the subtle patterns of Dante spread further in his remaining skin. 

But he didn’t notice. Because his dreams were coming true and because he didn’t know the “Shimmer” variant Singed gave him was actually blood of the son of Sparda. And transcendence was near.

One evening, Viktor watched from a high catwalk as Blitzcrank worked below, neutralizing a chemical spill outside an abandoned lab. The mimic stood beside him, silent as ever. But Blitzcrank paused. Then it moved. In slow and purposefully.

“Curious…” it said aloud as he scanned. “Spill continues. Source unknown. Following trail.”

It lumbered off, massive hands dragging metal claw marks into the concrete. Viktor tensed.

“What is it doing?” He asked. The mimic said nothing.

Blitzcrank followed the river upstream, its heavy steps echoing between concrete pillars and storm drains. Then it stopped. Ahead, belching smoke and pouring tainted runoff into the water—

A synthetic Hextech gemstone factory. Piltover and Clam Ferros’ banners fluttered over the roof like vultures in the wind. The light in Blitzcrank’s eyes dimmed slightly. It was processing. Then began understanding. It turned to look back where it came from. Then it started walking forward again to the factory. 

VIOLET:
It took the enforcers to make a small HQ in an old Chembaron factory nearly a week. The Chem-tanks were strong but thanks to Caitlyn and Vi leading the charge they made it possible for victory. Now, Caitlyn adjusted the coat over her father’s slumped shoulders. He hadn’t said much since his release nearly two weeks ago, he was too dazed and weary to speak. The subtle tremor in his hands, the gauntness in his face. Zaun had marked him. She didn’t say anything about it.

Instead, she turned to Vi, standing in the loading bay of the outpost. Enforcer boots stomped around them. Orders barked. New prisoners processed. An Undercity woman screamed about being innocent and no one listened.

“You’re staying.” Caitlyn ordered.

Vi crossed her arms. “Someone has to clean this mess up. And by ‘clean up,’ I mean that I’m forced to beat more people half to death. Keep throwing kids into Stillwater for breathing wrong, right? That’s what the enforcers only do.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Caitlyn tried to defend herself. 

“Then what are you doing, Cait.” Vi snapped, her voice rising. “Because every time I look around, Zaun looks more like a warzone and you look more like… them.”

Caitlyn stepped back, shaking her head. “I should’ve known. Maybe Zaun gets to you after all. Maybe you’re right where you belong.”

That one hit like a knife to the ribs. Before Vi could speak, Caitlyn turned away, guiding her father toward the waiting transport. Vi watched them go. The silence they left behind was heavier than the echo of any gunfire Caitlyn had ever shot. 

Later, Vi sat outside the barracks, her gauntlets hanging from her knees. The brass was scuffed, dented from the riot. She ran her fingers across the plates in silence.

“You okay?”

Vi looked up. Loris and Maddie stood nearby, holding tin mugs of synth-coffee. Maddie offered one to Vi.

“I’m fine…” she lied.

Loris dropped beside her on the step. “Tough day?”

Vi snorted. “You don’t know the half of it.”

They were quiet for a while. Then Maddie said. “Y’know, back when I started, I hated this job. Thought all we did was clean up other people’s messes. But it’s not like that.”

“No?” Vi muttered.

“No.” Maddie said softly. “We’re keeping order. Keeping people safe. You’ve seen what happens when we don’t. Chaos. Fear. People die.”

Vi looked at her hands again. The prototype Atlas Gauntlets, still warm from use.

“They were made for breaking things.” Vi said quietly. “At least that’s what I see.”

“Or protecting people.” Maddie replied. “Depends on the hands inside.”

That made Vi pause. She glanced at Loris, who nodded in agreement. And slowly, Vi nodded too. 

She was slowly getting swooned into Piltover’s side the more she talked to the enforcers. Seeing how maybe they aren’t truly the bad guys. Or she was just doing it for Caitlyn’s sake. 

JINX:
It’s been two weeks since Jinx brought Corina to Sevika. But the sharp-tongued soon-to-be-chembaroness had expected more resistance, more misdirection, more chaos, but the Jinx she followed wasn’t the manic firework she had heard tales of. She was quiet. Detached. She sat slouched on a workbench, legs swinging, Dante’s coat pulled tight over her skinny frame, the red-lined collar half-swallowed in her mouth as she gnawed on the fabric absentmindedly. Her eyes were somewhere else entirely.

Not listening to what Corina and Sevika were talking about.

“…I want a Zaun that can fight back. That doesn’t just endure.”

“And you think she,” Sevika jerked her chin toward Jinx, “can lead that?”

Corina’s smirk faded.

“People chant her name in the streets.” Corina said. “Jinx the council killer. The Ghost of Progress Day. The girl who flipped Grey against Piltover. They’ll follow her.”

“They followed her when she burned things down.” Sevika said. “Now? She’s…”

Sevika looked over at Jinx. The girl was idly poking holes in the bench with a screwdriver, not even listening.

“She’s still got that fire.”’Corina said.

“No.” Sevika replied. “What she’s got is embers.”

Corina hesitated. “Then why not you?”

Sevika laughed bitterly. “I’m the past, Veraza. The old Zaun. Nobody wants to march behind someone who sold shimmer by the barrel and broke knees for Silco. They’ll follow a symbol. A spark.”

“But she won’t lead.”

“No.” Sevika agreed. “Not unless we make her see she should.”

The two women stared at each other. Corina broke the silence. “And if she can’t?”

“Then we find someone she’ll follow.” Sevika said. “Someone who can unite the barons, the orphans, the punks and the working dead. Someone with a name and a cause.”

Jinx stood and wandered away, still saying nothing. Sevika watched her go. Her shoulders sagged under the weight of that coat, dragging behind her like a shadow that didn’t fit anymore.

“She’s a powder keg with no fuse left.” Sevika muttered. “But even a dead ember can light a fire again… if you give it the right spark.”

JAYCE:
“This is a mistake.”

Jayce’s voice cut through the whine of the lift gears, hand clenching and unclenching the Mercury Hammer’s handle. The light of the rising sun spilled across the upper spires of Piltover, but it did little to warm the cold tension thick between him and the Noxian general beside him.

Ambessa checked the edges of her sword, still caked in dust from her last expedition down in Piltover’s basement. 

“You keep saying that…”she muttered. “Yet here you are.”

“I’m going for Viktor.” Jayce insisted. “Not to fight a war. Not to escalate this further.”

Ambessa raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Because that hammer of yours doesn’t exactly scream diplomacy.”

Jayce’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond. Ambessa took a slow breath, the heavy pauldrons on her armor clinking faintly as the lift platform jolted and began its descent into Zaun’s shadowed depths. The air grew denser, fouler, the heat more chemical than solar.

“I lost a man down here.” She said finally.

Jayce glanced at her. “You said he was looking for Mel. Correct?”

“He was.” Ambessa confirmed. “But he never reported back. One of my best scouts. Hardened. Trained to survive worse places than this. And he isn’t the only one. Enforcers too. Whole patrols vanishing. No blood. No bodies. Just… gone.”

Jayce frowned, now gripping the edge of the lift. “And you think…?”

“I don’t know what I think,” Ambessa said. “But disappearances like this, clean ones don’t happen in Zaun without something making them happen.”

A low mechanical hiss echoed from the darkness below. Pipes howled in protest from unseen pressure, and the lift creaked. Jayce narrowed his eyes. “Then maybe we should bring more backup.”

“No.” Ambessa said flatly. “More people means more noise. More bodies for whatever’s feeding down here.”

Jayce blinked. “Feeding?”

Ambessa didn’t respond. She just watched the lights of Piltover vanish above them, swallowed by thick green fog. Neither of them knew the stench of blood already lingered on the lower rails. Neither of them saw the claw marks carved into the metal beams. Neither of them noticed how far behind them the last echo of their ascent had already vanished. And far below, something with metal claws and a twitching snout pressed its head to a blood-stained bootprint.

The beast, Warwick hadn’t caught their scent. But he caught his…

Dante’s. 

DANTE:
The haze of Zaun clung to the air like sickness, filmy and sweet with rot. Dante moved through it in a slow, steady gait, his boots echoing against old scrap metal and forgotten streets. He didn’t need a destination. He just needed distance. From the fights. From her. From himself.  The sting of the alcohol had begun to fade, but his head still throbbed with the weight of guilt and old ghosts. The coat he once loved wearing was long gone, now draped on someone else’s shoulders. The Rebellion resting on his shoulder. 

He was thinking on leaving now, go find Vergil wherever he is out there in Runeterra. Zaun and Piltover doesn’t want him anymore. 

Then came the sound. Something big and metallic flew towards him, a motorcycle, Dante did an 180 and cut down the motorcycle in half

“Someone’s not a fan of Zaun’s latest bike, huh?”

The reply came in a low snarl that turned into a guttural growl. Then he saw it. Warwick. The hulking, beast-shaped monster emerged from the smog. Veins pumped with toxic green ichor. Teeth like daggers gleamed under streetlight. Tubes and wiring intertwined with flesh and muscle. The scent of blood dripped from its maw.

But Dante didn’t flinch. He felt it first, deep in his bones. That same static across his skin. That same demonic frequency humming in the marrow of the world. The same feeling he got when he was around Jinx. 

His blood. His curse. Someone had bled him, and turned it into a dog.

Dante bounced on his toes, lightly tapping his knuckles together, like a boxer limbering up before a match.

“Wow,” he said, a crooked smirk curling up one cheek, “I’ve never seen a giant mutt before. You know, in a dog show, you’d definitely take first place.”

Warwick snarled, low and deadly.

“Easy, Fido.” Core cracked his neck. “How about I take you out for a walk?”

Warwick lunged forward two steps, he sniffed once, making his nostrils twitched. In recognition.

This one smells like me.

Dante set down Rebellion for a moment to clap his hands. “Come on, puppy. Let’s go.”

That was all the invitation Warwick needed.
With a monstrous roar, the hound of Zaun charged, his claws carving through pavement, jaws wide and hungry.

Dante picked up Rebellion and surged forward to meet him. The two beasts born of blood and machinery. One chasing vengeance, the other outrunning regret. The alley exploded in motion. And Zaun trembled under the weight of two devils colliding.

Chapter Text

DANTE:
The fight spilled into the veins of Zaun like a ruptured artery. Warwick’s roar echoed between the metal struts and cracked stone, shaking neon signs loose from rusted bolts. Dante crashed back against a pipe wall, rolled up with a grunt, and grinned as he wiped the blood from his lip.

“Good boy.” He muttered, rising. Patting his knees, taunting the beast. 

Warwick didn’t wait. He charged again. His claws dragging across the ground with a banshee screech, red steam leaking from his vents like venomous fog. Covering the street completely. 

CLANG!

Dante blocked with Rebellion. Sparks erupted on impact. Warwick’s monstrous strength sent Dante flying into a billboard, splitting the structure in two as it crumbled behind him. Dante barely landed before the beast was on him again, slamming him through the floor of the catwalk and sending them crashing into the under-level.

BOOM!

Dust and metal exploded as they plummeted into a hollowed-out maintenance station. Gas pipes burst. Fire flickered. Dante coughed as debris rained down. He staggered to his feet, grip tightening on his devil sword. His lungs burned and ribs throbbed. But he was smiling. Because he felt it.

The rush.

The kind of fight he hadn’t had since the White Rabbit. Since that crazy psychopath overdosed himself with Shimmer to beat him and Jinx so he could merge both physical and spirit worlds. 

That was nearly a year and five months now.

And now? That devil was clawing to the surface. Warwick howled. Dante just lunged in a red blur. 

Steel met claw. Fist met flesh. Blood met blood.

“It’s scratching on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake, and I can’t control it
Hiding under the bed
In my body, in my head
Why won’t somebody come and save me from this?”

They collided in a brutal fury of motion. In multiple directions, such as up the side of a derelict building, through ventilation tunnels, and out into the center of a forgotten Zaunite district. The block had once been a factory outpost. Now, it was a war zone. Warwick slammed Dante into a reinforced support column, snapping it like glass. Dante retaliated with a slash to the chest, Rebellion cleaving through cybernetic tubing and muscle. But Warwick didn’t stop. If anything, he grew faster. Stronger.

Fueled by pain. Fueled by Dante’s scent. Then—

BOOM!

Warwick brought both clawed fists down with inhuman force. Dante barely had time to cross his arms before the blow hit. The entire block imploded. Buildings crumbled. Roads collapsed. Smoke billowed skyward. Metal beams twisted into knots as the impact crater swallowed the area whole, caving in on itself. Silence followed. Then, slowly, from the rubble—

A hand. Dante pulled himself up, breathing hard, blood running from his scalp and lip, eyes glowing faintly red as the demon in him stirred.

“Okay…” he said, coughing. “Guess you bite harder than you bark.”

From the smoke, Warwick stepped forward. half of his jaw shattered, one eye flickering red, still moving.

“Make it end
I feel deep within
It’s just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I’ve become 
The nightmare’s just begun”

This fight wasn’t over.

MEL:
Mel awoke choking on dust. Her fingers scraped across stone, her breath catching in her throat as her mind reeled. Elora. She saw her again, frozen in time, blood blooming across her chest like a red lotus. The cold fingers of the Black Rose pulling her under.

Mel screamed. No sound came. The walls of the pit were high, jagged, and slick with condensation. There was no ladder. No door. Just the faint halo of light above, too far to reach, too small to promise freedom. Panic clawed at her until—

“Hope you find these quarters to your liking. They still haven’t replied to my request for a transfer.” A male’s voice was heard as he chuckled dryly. 

“Who’s there?” Mel said looking around. 

“Not sure I know anymore. Our hosts have a way of scrambling your omelet.” The man muttered in the darkness. 

Mel looked down at her hands, remembering what happened. “I killed my friend. Elora was there. And then…”

Mel trailed off, clenching her hands. 

“Ah. The stewards of the old world are always kin to give you a glimpse of their might.” The man stood up. 

Mel’s lips quivered for a moment. “What is this place?”

“Near as I can tell, an Oculorm. According to legend, the ancients built specialized chambers to seal away false prophets. But if you ask me, they’re just the fancy pits peacock princes like to toss their friends into.”

The phrase hit her like lightning.

Peacock princes.

Her blood turned to ice. 

“Peacock princes?” Mel repeated. 

“Sorry, just an old family joke. You know, the kind of rulers with an artistic flair.”

“Step into the light.” Mel said, voice trembling.

For a long moment, the man didn’t move. Then, slowly, he stepped into the shaft of light spilling from above. Mel gasped, knees buckling. The man was gaunt, bruised, older by years of torment, but the face, she knew that face.

“Kino?” Mel’s eyes widened. She immediately went over and hugged him. She pulled away and immediately cupped his face to make sure he was real. “It’s me, brother. Mel.”

“Mel.” Kino immediately cupped her face. It’s been years since he last saw her. “You’ve grown up. I’d hoped they’d never come for you.”

Kino said as he hugged her. Two siblings reunited after nearly a decade apart. 

VIOLET:
The streets of Zaun were on fire again. Not from flames, but from flickers of violet light and tracer rounds, of yells echoing off rusted walls and boots slamming against catwalks. Caitlyn’s squad moved in a sweep formation, their reinforced armor gleaming under the flickering glow of shattered streetlamps. Vi walked at the front with her gauntlets whirring, a silent expression carved into her face.

Caitlyn had returned just minutes ago. She was stiff, stoic, still dusted with tension from having delivered her father home. Her reunion with Vi had been brief. No embrace. Just a nod. Professional. Distant. They were already back to work.

“Multiple hostiles sighted at the refinery spires. They’re Firelights.”

Vi’s expression twitched. Ekko.  The team converged on the site fast. Explosions of neon-green lit up the sky as the Firelights launched into the air with their hoverboards, scattering like embers. One enforcer tried to follow, only to be blasted backward by a crystal bomb. By the time the smoke cleared, most of the Firelights were gone, except one, crouched behind cover with a busted hoverboard.

Vi ran first. Ekko stood in front of them, breathing heavily, his weapon raised but his stance defensive.

“Ekko.” Vi called out as Caitlyn had her rifle half-raised.

He glared past her, straight at Vi. “You’re really with them now?”

“I’m trying to stop this from getting worse.” Vi replied, voice low but firm.

Ekko scoffed. “You are what’s making it worse.”

“We didn’t fire the first shot.”

“Oh no?” He stepped forward. “Then what about the arrests? The quotas? The disappearances? You think Zaun’s just gonna lie down while Piltover crushes us with a smile?”

“I didn’t know about the quotas!” Vi said tightly.

“Then you’re not looking hard enough.”

Silence followed. The rest of the squad held position, watching cautiously. Caitlyn frowned but didn’t intervene, this wasn’t hers to mediate. It was Vi’s. 

“We’re not Silco.” Vi said. “We’re not Jinx. We can find another way.”

Ekko’s jaw clenched. “Funny. That’s exactly what they all said before they started shooting. Jinx lit the match, and now everyone’s just choosing which side of the fire they want to burn on.”

He backed away, but not before his voice softened. just a little.

“I’m not like her. I’m trying to protect people, not get them killed.”

Then he threw a smoke flare to the ground and vanished into the rising haze, his broken hoverboard dragging behind him. Vi didn’t chase after him. She just stood there, jaw tight, staring at the spot where he’d been.

“You alright?” Caitlyn asked quietly.

Vi didn’t answer, the silence said enough. Her childhood friend may have became her enemy. 

JINX:
Stillwater Hold stood silent in the haze of early morning, its towering concrete walls barely visible behind the constant smog that choked the edge of Zaun’s skyline. Jinx was accompanied by Sevika and Corina as she looked at the newly cable carts that lead from the ports all the way to the island that Stillwater Hold was located through her telescope. She put away the item and leaned against the squatted down Sevika. 

“Don’t suppose you can swim, huh, Left?” Jinx taunted the older woman which just gave her an annoyed sigh. “Well, only leaves the fun option.”

“I’m gonna hate this, aren’t I?” Sevika muttered as she and Corina followed Jinx. 

There was an enforcer alone, goofing off as Jinx looked over at Sevika and Corina who just simply gestured at the enforcer with their heads. Jinx shook her head and rolled her eyes. Walking up to the enforcer. 

“Ha! It’s me.” Jinx called out to the enforcer who turned to look at her. Jinx putting her hands on her hips. “Your vile villainess. The author of your nightmare. The, uh, dread of your—“

“Who are you?” The enforcer asked.  Which made the hidden Sevika and Corina sighed in annoyance. 

Jinx reached for one of her braids, showing it off. “Mm, Jinx?”

The enforcer scoffed at that as they’ve looked up at least a dozen ‘Jinxes’ in the last two weeks. “Yeah, never heard that before.”

“You’re not gonna haul me in? Claim the prize? Be the big here?” Jinx asked as she raised up her hands to be handcuffed. 

“You expect me to believe Jinx, the master criminal, wears a coat like that?” The enforcer gestured at Dante’s coat. 

Jinx looked down at the worn red Noxian leather coat, tugging it like she was caught wearing stolen goods.

“What’s wrong with my coat?” She asked, feigning innocence.

The enforcer folded his arms, hugging his rifle. “It looks like you raided some mercenary’s closet. Too big for you, reeks of gunpowder and whiskey. Doesn’t scream master criminal, it screams ‘I steal laundry.’”

From the shadows, Sevika and Corina both groaned. Jinx puffed her cheeks, glaring. “I did not steal laundry.”

The enforcer scoffed again. “So what, he just gave it to you?”

Jinx paused. She fiddled with her braid, voice dropping into a defensive mutter. “…Not exactly.”

The enforcer tilted his head. “Not exactly?”

Her eyes flicked away, and she puffed up her chest again, trying to steer the narrative. “More like… I liberated it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“From a certain demon-slaying, trenchcoat-wearing pain in my ass who totally deserved it!” She snapped, pointing a finger in the enforcer’s face. “And if he wants it back, he’s gonna have to pry it off me!”

Sevika sighed. “She just admitted it.”

Corina pinched the bridge of her nose. “She really did.”

The enforcer shook his head, clearly not buying her bit. “So, you’re telling me you’re Jinx and you stole some guy’s coat? That’s your proof?”

Sevika had enough and from behind she knocked out the enforcer. Jinx groaned and kicked the enforcer’s unconscious body. 

“Ugh! I am Jinx. And this isn’t just any coat, okay?”

Sevika just tossed her the enforcer’s helmet and began to strip off the enforcer so Jinx could go pass as an enforcer herself. Sevika and Corina being her ‘prisoners’. 

The trio stepped into Stillwater’s steel belly. The lights buzzed above them as they made their way deeper, occasionally bluffing or taking out lone guards. The other enforcers never saw it coming. The trio moved like ghosts. Eventually, they found the cell block. Jinx forced the guards into the adjacent briefing room. Corina slipped in behind them and tossed the canister into the center of the room. The capsule hissed, shattering into a mist of glimmering grey vapor that bloomed like a flower of death. The enforcers began coughing, then screaming.

Jinx stared in, unblinking. Then, with theatrical flair, she tossed a single gas mask into the sealed room and locked the door behind it. “Oops.”

Corina looked vaguely uncomfortable. Sevika didn’t. She was used to Jinx’s madness by now. 

“The Grey doesn’t affect you much if you’ve lived your whole life down here.” Corina murmured. “But for them… it melts the nerves.”

Jinx grinned, spinning the key rings. “We’re liberating the world. One horrific war crime at a time.”

She strode into the main cell block, but opening one cellblock at a time would take forever so she and Sevika began to pull down the cell block’s door control levers. Jinx stripping off from the enforcer armor that she wore. As the last cell door was open and all the Zaunites were freed, Jinx walked up to them. 

“Here I am, your big fat hero!” Jinx said, tossing an enforcer’s helmet into the air and blasting it mid-spin. She then removed the gas-mask piece and chuckled awkwardly as all the Zaunites approached her. Most were her fans, or washed up goons. Jinx, Sevika, and Corina led the newly freed Zaunites through the twisting corridors of Stillwater, laughter, alarm klaxons, and chaos echoing behind them like music. The prison was burning in more ways than one.

And as they disappeared into the thick fog outside, Jinx tugged Dante’s coat tighter around her, her smile fading slightly. Even in victory, she looked… haunted.

JAYCE:
The top layer of the Undercity was quiet. For once. No gunshots, no sirens, no fog-choked riots. Just a thin veil of dusk settling over broken rooftops and rusted pipes, where Jayce stood, a hand holding the Mercury Hammer tightly, waiting for something to go wrong.

It didn’t take long. An explosion lit the horizon orange, plume of smoke and sparks rising like a volcanic cough from a factory stack. Jayce turned just in time to feel the shockwave rattle the scaffolding beneath his boots.

“What now?”

He sprinted toward the smoke, pushing past fleeing workers and ducking through steam-choked alleyways until he emerged onto a rickety catwalk overlooking one of Camille Ferros’ synthetic Hextech crystal foundries. The place was in chaos. Below him, Blitzcrank rampaged. The massive golem slammed a piston-like fist into a containment unit, shattering a row of volatile blue-pink crystals. The room flared as energy surged uncontrolled. Workers fled in terror while alarms blared from rusted speakers.

Jayce’s eyes widened. “The hell?”

Enforcers flooded the catwalks around him, weapons drawn.

“Stand down, sir!” One barked as they aimed at the golem. “We’re going to neutralize the construct!”

Jayce held up a hand. “No. Don’t.”

The enforcers paused.

“Why not?” Another one growled. “It’s attacking Ferros property. That’s terrorism.”

Jayce kept his gaze on the golem, watching the mechanical fury behind each movement. This wasn’t mindless violence. Blitzcrank was deliberate. He wasn’t targeting people, he was only targeting the crystals, the machinery. All just sources.

“It’s not just destruction.” Jayce said aloud. “It’s… protest.”

The enforcers looked at him like he’d lost it. Jayce turned, authoritative now. “Look at what it’s doing. It’s going for the synthetic Hextech. These stones, they’re volatile, barely stable, and Camille’s been producing them by the truckload. If someone sent this thing, they’re making a statement.”

“So what, you want to let it go?” An enforcer scoffed.

“No.” Jayce replied. “I want to follow it. See where it goes. If we capture it now, we lose the thread. But if we let it lead us…”

“…we find its creator.” The lead officer finished.

Jayce nodded. “Exactly.”

Reluctantly, the enforcers lowered their weapons. Below, Blitzcrank smashed through the final generator with a roaring hiss of overpressured steam and stomped through the collapsing wall, disappearing into the depths of Zaun. Jayce pulled up his hood, his face grim. “Let’s follow the machine.”

And without another word, the team descended into the undercity behind the trail of destruction left by Blitzcrank, the iron shadow moving with unnatural grace, its mind possibly no longer just Viktor’s… but something new. Its own consciousness

AMBESSA:
Zaun was a maze of rust and rot. Its shadows swallowed light, and the fog carried whispers that even Ambessa was found unsettling and disgusting. The city crawled with an unease deeper than rebellion. Something ancient. Predatory.

Rictus marched behind her, his shand on his spear, boots crunching over broken glass and shattered syringes. “Still no sign of the beast?”

Ambessa didn’t answer. She scanned the perimeter of the abandoned sector they’d entered, old chemical smelters, their smokestacks blackened with forgotten sins. Warwick had been here. She felt it. The scent of blood lingered. But they weren’t the only ones tracking the beast.nHer eyes narrowed as she noticed a trail. Not a scent, not tracks, no, data. Someone had documented Warwick’s recent path. Timestamps. Injected chemicals. Combat behaviors. Notes, scribbled hastily and pinned into a cracked wall.

Ambessa stepped forward. “This isn’t just instinct…” she muttered. “Someone’s been studying it.”

Rictus knelt by the makeshift board. “Who’s mad enough to analyze the beast?”

A slow, deliberate voice answered behind them.

“Only the one who made him.”

Rictus spun, spear drawn in a blink, but Ambessa raised a hand, stopping him as a figure emerged from the dark corridor of rusted machinery. Singed.

“I had hoped he would be dead by now.”Singed rasped, voice cold and clinical. “But the hound has survived longer than most of my prototypes.”

Ambessa stared at him, arms folded. “You created that?”

“I refined him,” Singed said. “I made him more. The beast, Warwick was merely the beginning. The raw template for a lineage of beings who exist beyond pain. Beyond remorse.”

“And where is he now?” she demanded.

Singed gave a hollow hum. “Fighting the only thing he has left to fear. Another monster.”

Dante.

Singed stepped back into the gloom, the pipes on his back hissing softly. “You may not like what you find, should you continue digging through my work.”

Ambessa’s eyes burned. “I don’t scare easily.”

“Good.” Singed said, vanishing into the shadows. “Because when your soldiers began vanishing, they weren’t killed. They were… changed.”

And just like that, the corridor fell silent again. Rictus turned to Ambessa. “What now?”

“We find the beast.” She said. “But first… we tear this rat’s nest apart.”

DANTE:
The world spun sideways. Steel twisted and flames roared. Dante was hurled through the side of an abandoned refinery, metal beams collapsing around him like skeletal fingers. He crashed through a rusted oil tank, black slick oozing over his jacket, smoke billowing from ruptured pipes. The air reeked of burning fuel and scorched blood. He couldn’t find his footing and couldn’t find his breath. His ears rang as his ribs were completely shattered. And still, the beast charged. Warwick crashed through the wreckage with inhuman speed, eyes glowing like lanterns lit by rage. His claws tore through steel as if it were paper. Dante rolled away just in time to avoid being skewered, oil and ash trailing behind him like black wings.

“Shit…” Dante coughed, pulling himself up against a broken pillar, blood trickling from his lip.

He didn’t have time to think. Didn’t have time to regenerate. Didn’t even have time to breathe. Warwick lunged again. In a snap of instinct, Dante drew his two dual pistols, pulling the trigger with inhuman speed. The blasts lit the dark like thunderclaps, staggering the beast mid-leap. Dante pivoted hard, dodging under the monster’s claws as he drove the barrel into Warwick’s gut and fired again. Point blank, endlessly. The beast roared in anger and pain. 

“It’s hiding in the dark
It’s teeth are razor sharp
There’s no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart 
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it’s just a dream
Maybe it’s inside of me
Stop this monster”

Dante then added a heavy uppercut, driving his fist into the underside of Warwick’s jaw. The beast’s neck snapped back, but only for a heartbeat. Warwick’s massive claw swatted Dante out of the air, slamming him into the ground with a crunch. Before he could move, claws curled around his ankle. He was lifted, spun, and hurled again. This time, through two more buildings. He didn’t feel the glass. Only the pain. Dante smashed into the side of a derailed tram, the metal denting around his body.

“F—fine…” he spat blood, dragging himself up. “If that’s how you wanna play…”

He ran. Right into Warwick. Dante’s fists blurred, a left hook, an elbow, a knee, a right cross, one after another. He struck fast. He struck hard. Every hit a thunderclap. The beast reeled. For a moment, it almost seemed human. Then Warwick snarled, and Dante saw it in his eyes.

No fear. No pain. Only hunger.

Dante punches slowed. His breath came shorter. His legs trembled for a moment. He was tiring. He’d been pushing too hard. Too long. Not even the demon blood could mask the exhaustion forever. Warwick surged forward. Dante didn’t move fast enough. The monster grabbed him by the throat. Lifted him high up. And snarled in his face.

“I remember…. your scent. You’re… like me.”

“Sorry, Fido, I’m not like you.” Dante groaned and jammed his pistol into the beast’s mouth. 

Pulling the trigger relentlessly, freeing himself from Warwick’s grip. Catching his breath and slowly regenerating as he stood up tall. 

“I’m gonna lose control 
It’s something radical
I must confess that I feel like a monster 
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster”

The undercity was watching in silence as predator met prey.

Chapter Text

MEL:
Kino stood next Mel, but as he spoke, his voice had changed. Smooth. Unnatural. Like silk wrapping around a blade.

“…a healthy sense of self preservation, I’d say.”

Mel cupped his face, her heart hammering. “You aren’t my brother.”

She slammed him against the wall, the illusion slowly shattering. The man twisted and rippled like liquid glass, rocks unfurling into the flowing blacks and violets of something far older. 

“Who are you? And what have you done with Kino?” Mel demanded 

And were Kino once stood, LeBlanc emerged, her eyes sharp as razors, but she was in a shadow form, making her expression unreadable.

“You always were quick.” LeBlanc mused, stepping into the light. “Your brother would’ve been proud. Though in truth, he was never here.”

Mel’s breath caught in her throat, the pieces crashing together too quickly.

“You—why?” Mel whispered.

“Because your mother is becoming a problem.” LeBlanc said with quiet venom. “Her moves are reckless. Her ambition unchecked. The Black Rose has tolerated her warmongering for years… but now, she meddles in things far older than Noxus.”

Mel bristled at LeBlanc’s words. “You want to use me to get to her.”

“No, I want to free you.” LeBlanc countered. “You are drowning in her shadow. And now you’ve slowly seeing what she truly is.”

Mel’s hands curled into fists. “I already knew she was using Piltover for weapons.”

“No. You hoped that was all.” LeBlanc said coolly. “But her campaign would tear Zaun apart if it gave her the Hextech edge she craves. She sees cities as pawns. People as fuel.”

“And you’re different?”

LeBlanc only smiled. “No. But I don’t lie to myself about it.”

Mel fell silent. Her mind a storm. Zaun, Piltover, Camille, her mother all of them tearing the world apart in different directions. And here she was, caught in the middle, nothing but a pawn. Or so they thought.

“And what are you gonna do to me? You’re letting me go?” Mel asked.

“Of course.” LeBlanc said. “The spell’s broken. Besides… it’s time you knew what you truly are.”

Mel raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not just clever, Mel Medarda. You are an empath. A conduit. A mirror. One of the rare few able to reflect and bend the soul of magic itself.” She traced a sigil in the air with long, pale fingers. “You have an unique and rare gift from the Arcane. You can absorb energy. Deflect harm. Shield others. Your power is not destruction, it is transformation.”

The words echoed in Mel’s bones. Not fire. Not lightning. But it was grace. It was reflection. It was protection.

And as the illusion faded, Mel found herself standing not in a pit—but on a quiet, snow-dusted mountain slope overlooking the edge of Valerin, the ancient mountain range between Noxus and Piltover. The wind carried the scent of steel and dust. She saw the city far off in the distance.

Piltover.

Her fractured, wounded and near warring home. She stepped forward. There was no more illusions. It was time to choose who she would become.

CAMILLE:
The shimmering towers of Piltover never looked so cold. Mel stepped onto the stone terrace overlooking the skyline, the hem of her travel-worn cloak brushing past the enforcers who hadn’t even realized she was here. Snow dusted the edges of the city like frostbitten lace. Her heartbeat pulsed in time with the distant clanging of alarm bells. She’d come home. And already, it was unraveling.

She didn’t need to ask where the trouble was, smoke still drifted from the distant wreckage of Camille’s synthetic Hextech factory. Enforcers scurried like ants below, rerouting patrols, while whispers of Blitzcrank’s rampage echoed through every corridor. Mel stormed through the upper corridors of Clan Ferros’ estate, her golden bangles clinking against her wrist like warning bells. She turned a corner, only to be met with the cold sound of heels.

Camille.

The Intelligence Officer stood in the chamber like a dagger drawn halfway from its sheath. Elegant, poised, and definitely furious.

“You’re alive…” Camille noted, her voice sharp and measured. “Convenient.”

Mel met her gaze evenly. “I hear one of your factories exploded.”

Camille’s eyes narrowed. “Attacked. By Zaunite tech. A machine so advanced it tore through two platoons of enforcers and destroyed valuable synthetic Hextech gemstone prototypes.”

“Synthetic gemstone…” Mel repeated in shock. Then she narrowed her eyes. “You mean your people were making in Zaun’s side?”

Camille’s silence spoke volumes.

“You’ve crossed a line.” Mel said. “You knew it.”

Camille stepped forward, boots clicking against the marble. “And yet we’re at war. Piltover needs weapons. Not bureaucracy. Not lectures. Weapons. If Jayce won’t authorize deployment, then I will.”

Mel stiffened. “You’d go behind the Council?”

“The Council? There is no Council,” Camille snapped. “You and your precious golden boy saw to that the moment Jinx stole my a Hextech gemstone in Progress Day and did nothing.” 

She leaned in, her voice lowering to a venomous whisper. “Your loyalty to Piltover is under question. Your mother’s shadow grows long, Mel. Perhaps too long. Even on you.”

Mel didn’t flinch. “I’m not my mother.”

“Then prove it.” Camille said. “Stay out of my way.”

She turned, her long coat flaring as she exited the chamber, already barking orders to her agents. Steel heels clicked and whirred beneath her robes like coiled vipers ready to strike. Mel stood still. Everything was moving again, and this time it was way too fast. Piltover was eating itself alive, and Camille’s ambition might just tear the last fragile shreds of stability to the ground. Mel’s eyes fell to her reflection in the polished glass of the window. For the first time, she saw something new looking back.

Not her mother. Not a puppet. Someone… becoming. A new beginning for the Medarda name. 

EKKO:
The hum of life filled the Firelights’ hideout. It was low, steady, and alive. A soft glow emanated from the scrap-assembled lights hanging from overhead wires, casting warm pools of color over busy hands and tired eyes. Children chased each on their hoverboards like birds through the silo. Elderly Zaunites lined up for clean water filtered by a homemade purifier on a well. And in the center of it all sat the giant tree that had a lab on the corner. Where Heimerdinger was perched on a tall stool with welding goggles over his eyes, hunched over a bubbling contraption that looked half-stove, half-bomb.

Ekko watched him work from the shadows for a long moment, arms crossed,

“I didn’t think you’d stick around…” he said finally.

Heimerdinger looked up, blinking. “I wasn’t sure I would either. But with what’s been happening lately, people are in great need, my lad.”

Ekko stepped closer. “You could’ve gone back to Piltover. You were on the Council.”

“Yes,” Heimerdinger said softly with a nod, “and I turned a blind eye for over three hundred years.”

He set down his tools. The old Yordle’s shoulders sagged beneath the weight of memory. “I thought progress meant peace. That invention would unite us. But I see now, I’ve let that dream blind me to the cost. I thought I was building a better world. But Piltover grew fat on Zaun’s bones.”

Ekko studied the old Yordle’s, his jaw tight. “You’re not the only one who let things happen.”

A beat passed. Heimerdinger folded his hands, looking around the base, at what the Firelights had built, at the small slice of hope etched into walls of rust and grime.

“I want to help fix it.” He finally said. “Not with votes. Not with speeches. But with this.” 

He gestured to the humming generator beside him. “Real change. Real solutions. Free power, clean air, not just for the elite. But for everyone.”

Ekko nodded, his voice distant. “It’s just… sometimes I wish we could… I don’t know, turn back time, y’know?”

Silence. Then Heimerdinger blinked. “Say that again?”

Ekko frowned. “I said—”

“Exactly that, my boy!” Heimerdinger’s eyes lit up. “Turn back time. Not metaphorically. Literally.”

Ekko stared at him with wide eyes in surprise. “You serious?”

“Deadly.” The old Yordle was already grabbing a chalk and running to another stool that rested near a chalkboard, scribbling out schematics, equations spilling like a madman’s dream. “Time is a river, yes, but even rivers can be diverted! What if we could design a quantum-state stabilizer with chrono-reactive feedback? What if we could give people seconds, maybe even minutes to change a mistake before it happens?”

Ekko’s brow furrowed as he began to study the notes. A slow, familiar smile curled his lips.

“Sounds dangerous. Let’s build it.”

And with that, the two of them. An old scientist haunted by his failures and a young rebel who saw too much too soon leaned over the workbench together. And the first lines of the Z-Drive were born.

VIOLET:
Smoke billowed from Stillwater’s cursed horizon, curling into the neon haze that blanketed Zaun’s sky. Sirens blared like banshees, echoing through the lower districts as prisoners poured out like a broken dam. Enforcers were scrambling, some were half-screams, others were half-orders. Just trying to form a net around an ocean of chaos. Vi was with Caitlyn, who crouched behind a support pillar, rifle in hand, while barking orders. 

“We need backup. Sector Twelve is lost, repeat, lost! We have confirmed Firelights, chem-barons, and goddamn civilians running wild out here!”

The squadron with them was thinning fast. Prisoners, many still half-bound in cuffs and chains, were overwhelming the scattered enforcers. Some were stealing gear, others vanishing into the sewers. Caitlyn’s eyes darted. 

“Vi, look o—!”

She was cut off as ground buckled as if something beneath was rising furiously, then erupted. A body. Dante came flying through a wall, colliding with a nearby transport truck, denting the steel before crumpling to the ground, unmoving. Seconds later, a roar split the air like a wild nightmare. Red fog covered the whole area next. 

Warwick.

The beast leapt down after him, feral and towering, coated in oil, ichor, and what looked like shimmering blood. He slammed his claws into the ground with a metal-crushing clang and lunged at the nearest squad of enforcers. Death screams and limbs being torn apart followed immediately. 

Vi stared at Warwick with wide, frozen frozen. “What the hell is that?!”

Caitlyn raised her rifle, aiming for the beast’s throat only to shake out of fear.bFrom the smoke, another figure emerged, darting past the broken wall in a flurry of blue.

JINX:
Jinx’s  eyes locked instantly on Dante’s motionless body, and for a flicker, just a flicker, her whole world stopped. She dashed to him, ignoring the chaos, ignoring the beast, ignoring everything but the man in front of her.

“Hey. Hey, dumbass…” she said as she was about to pull him into her shoulder but Warwick’s roared at them as Jinx looked at the beast. 

One thing was clear for her. The beast wanted Dante dead. 

Jinx immediately pulled out her pistol and began to fire the beast, but the bullets we’re like rubber to Warwick. He just roared in anger and charged at her. She didn’t even have time to react, she immediately got thrown to a wall, immediately breaking her arm. Sevika saw this and wanted to step in but Corina immediately pulled her away, the two escaping. 

“You got me hairball…” Jinx groaned. “But if I’m going down… so are you…”

She pulled a Chomper but Warwick grabbed her by the arm and immediately lifted her up, making the Chomper fell from her hand and into the floor. The beast looked down at the bomb for a moment and his eyes changed for a moment, out of recognition.

“Pow…der…” Warwick growled out. 

That shocked Jinx as she looked up at the beast with wide eyes, then for a moment that she felt out of recognition, looking at the beast’s face. 

“Vander…?” Jinx whispered. 

But with all the chaos around them, Warwick immediately went back to being feral, open in his mouth wide to rip Jinx apart. But—

BANG!

Warwick’s face was blown half off in a crimson explosion. Freeing Jinx from his monstrous grasp as she saw Dante, holding his two dual pistols that now were destroyed. He immediately went back to being unconscious. Jinx immediately ran to him, her arm wrapped around his waist, holding him close. And just as Jinx turned to carry Dante away, a blast rang out from the edge of the carnage. The smoke parted, revealing Ambessa, flanked by armored Noxian guards and her lieutenant Rictus, who dragging a twitching, bagged figure behind him like a captured beast.

“Zaun’s falling apart.”Ambessa muttered as she scanned the wreckage. “And they’re still playing with matches.”

Rictus pointed at Warwick with his spear. “What d’you want to do with the dog?”

But the beast was already limping away.  He was bleeding, snarling, retreating into the depths with one final, echoing howl. He was spent from his clash with Dante. But far from dead. Ambessa turned to Vi and Caitlyn, bloodied but alive, guarded by the last of their squad.

“We’re done here. Come. Piltover needs answers.”

Vi looked back toward where Jinx had gone with Dante, her jaw clenched in confusion and hurt. Caitlyn gently touched her arm, grounding her. And so, as the smoke swallowed up Stillwater’s ruins and the riot bled into the depths, the battlefield splintered once more.

Jinx walked away with Dante.
Ambessa left with the soldiers.
And Warwick disappeared back into the dark.

VIKTOR:
The whirring hum of hydraulics and faint beeps echoed through the factory-turned-hospital. Dim blue lights pulsed along the walls, illuminating a line of fragile, broken bodies encased in makeshift stasis pods. Some human, some augmented, all clinging to life. At the center, Viktor stood like a priest among the dying, making delicate adjustment on a control panel. His silhouette was thin, all angles and metal, his golden eyes dim with exhaustion. Beside him, the Mimic moved gracefully, her limbs adjusting wires, patching coolant leaks, and checking vitals. No longer just a helpless woman, she had lived and evolved. An assistant. A guardian. A deep metallic thump echoed outside. The factory doors groaned. Blitzcrank entered with massive, careful steps, ducking through the archway. 

But behind him came a flicker of light. Jayce and a full unit of enforcers. Jayce’s r Hammer was lowered, but his presence was unmistakable. His eyes widened at the sight of the stasis pods.

“Viktor… you… you’ve been here this whole time?” Jayce stepped forward slowly, cautiously. “I thought—Piltover thought you vanished.”

“I was.” Viktor replied without looking up. “I had work to do.”

Jayce took in the scene in front of him, the blue glow, the ventilators, the mimic tending to patients, the grime and blood. “You… you’re saving them. The undercity’s wounded. Aren’t you?”

Viktor finally turned to look at his old partner. “They were discarded. Forgotten. I simply picked up what your city dropped.”

Jayce took a deep and slowbreath. “Then let’s change that. Come back with me. We’ll fix this. Together. Like we always meant to.”

He stepped forward, earnest. “I was wrong. I let power and politics twist the dream. Our dream. But I still believe in it. In you.”

For a moment, Viktor’s guard dropped. His gold eyes softened. But that was until he looked past Jayce… and saw the enforcers behind him, fingers twitching toward their rifles’ triggers. 

“You… brought them.”

“They’re here to protect me. That’s all.”

Viktor’s voice grew cold and distant. Robotic even. “You still don’t understand, Jayce. Your presence is never protection. Not to us.”

He turned to the Mimic. His voice became steel. “Kill them.”

The Mimic didn’t need to be told twice, she was his first and most devoted follower. She blurred into motion, launching herself at the nearest enforcers. Chaos exploded. Blitzcrank let out steam and electricity on its first, grabbing two enforcers and hurling them across the room. Jayce activated his hammer, deflecting a blast meant for his head. From Viktor’s Hex Claw that was mounted on his back.  Viktor moved to shield the stasis pods, desperately keying commands into the console.

“Mimic, protect the patients!”

Jayce screamed, “Viktor, stop! This isn’t the way!”

CRACK!

Jayce’s hammer smashed through the control panel. The overloaded stasis core pulsed red, steam coming out of tubes, then detonated. An explosion of blue fire and crystal shards ripped through the factory. And when the smoke cleared, the building was rubble. Bodies and wires scattered like torn paper. The stasis pods were gone. Silent. Broken. Viktor lay under a beam, one mechanical arm sparking from the damage during the explosion. The Mimic pulled him free with trembling strength, shielding his body with her own. Blitzcrank knelt beside them, wordless.

“I—” Viktor rasped, barely conscious. “The patients…”

“Gone.” Blitzcrank said. “Jayce Talis made a choice.”

Viktor’s head fell back. Silent grief poured from him in cold, mechanical exhales. 

Blitzcrank slowly stood. “I must leave you. If I stay… they’ll blame you for what I do.”

Viktor’s eyes opened, dim. “You would… abandon me?”

“Not abandon. I follow the directive that you gave me. Help Zaun. Save lives. You gave me that.”

Viktor reached up weakly. “Blitzcrank…”

But the steam golem was already walking into the smoke, vanishing through the broken wall, carrying the last embers of Viktor’s hope. The Mimic knelt beside Viktor, touching his face gently with her synthetic hand. Her voice, was one of a modulated whisper.

“Not alone. Never alone. My herald.”

Viktor looked up at her. And for the first time since Sky’s death by the Hexcore, a tear slid down his human cheek.

“A thing of beauty, I know
Will never fade away
What you did to me, I know
Said what you had to say
But a thing of beauty, I know
Will never fade away 
And I’ll do my duty, I know
Somehow I’ll find a way
But a thing of beauty 
Will never fade away
And I’ll do my duty
We’ll never fade away…”

Chapter Text

DANTE:
Dante woke up to silence. Something he’s used now by a very long time. The room smelled of rust and old paper. A faint draft drifted through shattered blinds, pushing sunlight across the cracked linoleum floor. The space was bare, two stories high, once an office perhaps, now only decay and dust. And a single chair. A chair he currently was on.  He shifted and the clink of chains echoed softly. Again. Great. He was bound by his wrists and ankles, his chest bare, grime smeared across him like war paint, but all wounds gone. His demon nature had done its work. Not a scratch remained. He groaned, head tipping back with an exasperated chuckle. 

“You know… for someone who says she needs me, you really have a thing for tying me up.”

Jinx stood in the shadows, leaning against a crumbling pillar. The dim light caught her glowing pink patterns and eyes that were flickering like candle flames.

“Old habits die hard…” she said with a small smirk. “Besides… I figured you needed some time to cool off.” 

She stepped forward slightly, arms crossed. “You look better when you’re not trying to strangle me.”

Dante let his head roll forward until his eyes met hers through the strands of messy hair that had fallen across his face. He gave her that crooked half-smile that always carried more exhaustion than charm.

“Strangle you? Please…” he said, tugging lightly at the chains, the metal creaking in protest. “If I wanted you dead, Blue, you wouldn’t even have time to crack one of your smart little lines.”

He let the silence hang a moment, then leaned his head back against the chair again with a sigh.

“But you’re right…” he added, voice softer, though still rough. “I probably do need to cool off. You just have a funny way of playing therapist.”

Then he tilted his head, grin widening just a touch. “Though I gotta admit… you staring at me shirtless in chains? Starting to feel less like cooling off and more like you working out some… repressed issues.”

Jinx rolled her eyes, but the pink glow on her skin flickered brighter for just a second, it was betraying something she wasn’t saying. “You were wrecked. Skin shredded. Bleeding. Your hair looked like hell.”

“Flattering.”

She snapped. “Just—shut up!”

“Hit a nerve, huh?” He said, his voice dropping low, less mocking now. He rattled the chains again, not struggling, just reminding her of them. “You pick me up, chain me down, then tell me to shut up. You’re getting real mixed signals out here.”

Jinx’s jaw tightened at Dante’s words. She looked anywhere but at him, her braids twitching restlessly. Dante leaned forward as far as the restraints would allow, catching the faint shimmer of her eyes in the half-light. “You don’t do this for everyone, Blue. You can tell yourself it’s habit, or paranoia, or… whatever excuse keeps you from saying it out loud.”

He smirked again, but it wasn’t cruel this time, it was quiet, knowing. “But you wouldn’t have dragged my sorry ass out if you didn’t care whether I bled out in some gutter. So go on. Keep telling me to shut up. It’s the only way you can keep pretending you don’t give a damn.”

“That thing that nearly killed you is Vander…” Jinx just said without even thinking. 

He didn’t respond to her, and with one flex, the chains snapped like paper. He stood, stretching his arms as if waking from a nap.

“Doesn’t matter. That thing is a demon, you stay back. I’ll take care of this.”

Jinx instinctively drawn her pistol and aiming it at him as he was about to walked out. “No, YOU stand back.”

Dante did a 180, grabbing the pistol and pulled it down but she pulled the trigger. Shooting him in the abs. “This is not a human’s job.”

That word. ‘Human’ lit something raw in Jinx. Her grip on the gun tightened as her voice cracked into a snarl. “Human? You don’t get to call me that. Not after what you did to me!” 

Her braids snapped as she jerked her head, the glow in her patterns pulsing like fire through glass. “You think I forgot? You sinking your damn fangs into my neck when I was already gone? You think I asked for this?!”

Her other hand pressed against her neck where the bite had been, phantom pain twitching there still. “You made me this way, Tony! You made me your—your freakin’ half-demon experiment! So don’t you dare stand there and act like I’m some fragile little human who needs protecting.”

She shoved at his chest, the pistol still trapped between them. “You made me the thing you’re trying to fight.”

Dante’s jaw tightened, her words digging deeper than any bullet ever could. He let go of her wrist, but his gaze burned, sharper than the glow in her veins. “Don’t twist this, Blue. That thing out there? That’s not your father.” 

His voice was steel, a low growl echoing in the empty office. “That’s a man-made demon. A butchered experiment. That’s not Vander anymore.”

Jinx’s breathing hitched, pistol wavering but never lowering. “You don’t know him like I did! You don’t know what he did for me! He was—he was one of the few things I had besides you and Vi! I see him, Tony! He’s still in there!”

He stepped closer, anger finally cracking through the calm mask. “You’re seeing what you want to see. You think I don’t recognize it? That smell, that sound in its growl? That’s stitched  blood and steel. That’s no father, it’s a corpse turned weapon. And if you get in its way, it won’t remember you, it’ll rip you apart.”

Jinx’s voice spiked, raw and breaking: “Maybe I’d rather be ripped apart by him than watch you cut him down like he’s nothing!”

Dante froze at that, chest rising and falling. He looked at her. He really looked and the hurt behind her fire flickered into view. For a second, the argument stopped being about Vander and became about them.  He finally exhaled, softer but no less certain. “I’m not saying this because I want to hurt you, Blue. I’m saying this because I know demons. And that thing out there… it’s mine to deal with.”

Jinx’s grip on her pistol tightened, her knuckles pale. Her chest rose and fell in shaky bursts. “No… this isn’t yours, Tony. This is family matter. You should stay out of it.”

Her words cracked in the silence, echoing against the ruined office walls. Dante froze. For once, his mouth didn’t immediately fire back. Her eyes were raw, desperate, burning with both grief and fury. It hit harder than any blade ever could.

“Stay out of it, huh?” His voice was lighter, but there was weight beneath it. “Okay, Blue, I get the picture. But I can’t sit back and watch as your ‘family matters’ get you killed. Hell, probably by your own hand.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough that it was edged with something more personal. “You can tell me to back off all you want. But I’m not watching you get torn apart by him, or by anyone. So yeah, it’s your family matter… but I’m in it whether you like it or not. That’s what you get for dragging me into your world in the first place.”

Jinx’s finger twitched on the trigger, losing her temper in front of this stubborn mercenary. Then she just snapped.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The pistol lit up the room, bullets cracking past Dante, some grazing his shoulder, one tearing into his side. He barely flinched, skin already stitching itself back together in tendrils of crimson energy. His boots scraped the floor as he stepped forward, unbothered. Jinx’s breath came in sharp gasps, her hands trembling as she emptied the magazine into him. Each shot was more desperate, less aimed. The last click echoed, empty chamber screaming her defeat. She backed up until her shoulders hit the cold wall, her wild eyes darting between him and the smoking barrel in her grip. Dante’s steps were slowed, and deliberate. One hand clamped gently but firmly around her wrist, lowering the useless gun. The other went up against the wall beside her head, pinning her in. His blue eyes met her demonic pink hers, but his voice dropped into a soft one. 

“I’ll take care of him.” He just said like a promise. He leaned close to her, maybe for a kiss but as she flinched away he immediately pulled back and let her go. 

Her chest heaved, lips trembling as she shook her head. “No—no, you don’t get it. If you go after him without me, if you take him from me without even letting me try… then you’re just as bad as the rest.” 

Her voice cracked, pleading. “Please… let me come. Don’t leave me behind.”

Dante shut his eyes for a moment, jaw tightening. She always knew where to cut deepest. He exhaled through his teeth, frustration and fear twisting into resignation.

“Fine…” he muttered at last, his grip on her wrist softening as he let her hand fall. “But you’re sticking with me, Blue. Step for step. No running off. No suicide plays. And…”

He reached for his worn coat that she still had on, immediately ripping it off her as removed his jacket, putting back on his coat. “This belongs to me. Let’s go.”

And just like that, they’re partners again. Even if she still kind of hated him. Even if he still scared her sometimes. The two of them walked toward the staircase. No longer chained. But still shackled by everything they’d been through and everything they were about to face.

JAYCE:
The sky above Piltover was clear, too bright for the weight in Jayce’s chest. He stood on the half-fixed Council Hall balcony, overlooking the shining city. The golden towers, the spotless streets, the glimmering arcways of progress. From this height, Zaun could not be seen. Only light. His hands gripped the railing, knuckles white. Behind him, the doors creaked open. Mel walked in, quiet but firm in step.

He looked back with wide eyes. “Mel? You’re back.”

“You found him, didn’t you?” She said softly as she sense his distress from outside a building. 

Jayce turned back to the city. “I did.”

“And?”

“He’s not coming back. I tried…” he said, his own voice was hollow. “I told him we could fix it. That we could help Zaun. That I would do better.”

“And he didn’t believe you?”

Jayce finally turned to her. “He believed me. But not Piltover.“

Mel said nothing. Jayce stared past her, as if looking through every wall and lie this city had wrapped him in. “When Viktor saw the enforcers. Knew what they’d do if I failed to control him. He wasn’t wrong. Even when I told them to hold fire, they had fingers on triggers. The enforcers, they’re afraid. Their own fear is one of the big factors in why the people of the undercity hate us. 

“So what are you going to do now?” Mel asked, though she already knew.

Jayce looked down at his palm. It still bore a cut from the battle. It was shallow, healed, but there. His blood had stained Viktor’s floor. Viktor’s patients. All gone.

“Now,” Jayce whispered, “we win.”

Mel raised a brow at what Jayce said. Jayce just turned away from the view and walked back inside. His voice sharpened with resolve. “We can’t save Zaun with idealism. We can’t protect Piltover with pleas and words. Viktor was right about one thing. They’ll keep pushing back. And so will Silco’s remnants. So will Jinx. We need force.”

He walked past her, heading for the lab. “We need Hextech weapons.”

Mel watched him go, her expression unreadable.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” She asked, not following him yet. “You’ll be crossing a line. A dream that you wanted will be shattered.”

“I already did…” he said, without looking back. “The moment I let that stasis device explode. The moment I didn’t stop the soldiers behind me. And my dream shattered the moment Viktor nearly killed me.”

He paused at the lab’s door. “Viktor’s gone. And so is the man I used to be.”

The doors opened and Jayce stepped inside and with him came the death of the dreamer, and the birth of something far colder.

VIOLET: (SEX SCENE)
The sun hadn’t yet risen over Piltover, but Caitlyn’s bedroom was already filled with light. In a soft, warm, and too gentle kind of light.  The bedsheets rustled as Vi sat up, arms wrapped loosely around her knees. Her knuckles were still bruised. Her ribs ached with every breath. But it wasn’t pain that kept her quiet. It was choice. Caitlyn stepped out of the adjoining washroom, towel around her shoulders, damp hair clinging to her cheek. 

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Vi shook her head. “Too much noise up here.” 

She tapped her temple and looked back at her bruised hands. Caitlyn crossed the room slowly and sat on the edge of the bed. “You saw your city get torn apart again.”

Vi let out a bitter laugh. “It’s not my city anymore.”

Caitlyn looked at her for a moment , then reached over to the nightstand. From the drawer, she pulled the silver Piltover badge, the same one she’d offered Vi once before, what felt like a lifetime ago.

“I didn’t think you’d ever take this…” she said quietly. “But you earned it. Probably more than anyone up there.”

Vi stared at it. The polished metal gleamed under the chandelier light, catching every flicker of her hesitation. “I used to think the badge meant selling out. Giving up who I was. Turning my back on everything Vander taught me.”

She reached out, slowly, fingers grazing the edge of it. “But Vander made a deal with this enforcer a long time. Grayson  was her name. He thought peace was worth it. Even if it meant dealing with the people who sat above us.”

She looked up, eyes fierce despite the weariness. “I’m not him. I’m never gonna be him. But maybe… this is my way of keeping the peace, like he tried to.”

She took the badge. Not just in hand, as hers. Caitlyn’s smile was soft, proud. “You don’t have to change who you are. Just bring her with you.”

Vi looked at her, long and hard. Then she said it. 

“I care about you. Probably more than I know how to say. Probably more than I should. But I’m tired of acting like I don’t.”

Caitlyn’s breath caught in her throat. She searched Vi’s face, as if looking for something she couldn’t name—some flicker of doubt or hesitation. But all she found was quiet certainty.

“…I care about you too. She whispered. “More than I ever thought possible.”

Their lips met slowly, like something long overdue. Careful at first, then with mounting heat. Fingers tangled. Breath quickened. There was tension from battles, from choices, from a lifetime of holding back and none of it could be contained anymore.

The badge clattered onto the floor, half-buried in the sheets as Vi reached for Caitlyn’s shirt. For a while, there were no words. Just quiet, between the city’s oldest soldier and its sharpest shot. Between a girl who once threw punches in the dark and a woman who always saw too much.

Caitlyn’s hands found Vi’s waist, pulling her closer and closer than they’d ever been before. She tasted like hope and something entirely new. The kiss deepened, growing more urgent. Caitlyn’s fingers slipped under Vi’s shirt, tracing the lines of her sides, her back, memorizing every curve. Vi arched into her touch, a soft growl vibrating against Caitlyn’s mouth. Their legs entwined. Shirts hit the floor. Unbruised skin met unbruised skin. Vi’s hands dropped to Caitlyn’s hips possessively. Caitlyn nipped Vi’s bottom lip softly. It was like they’d finally taken off armor they’d worn for years.

“Cait, I wanna eat your cupcake…” Vi moaned out. 

Laughter burst free from Caitlyn, ruining the moment. She smacked Vi’s bare stomach softly. “Only you could ruin the mood with that line.

“It’s something I’ve yearned for a while now, Cupcake.” Vi muttered on Caitlyn’s skin. 

Caitlyn’s cheeks flushed deeply as she bit her lip, trying not to smile. 

“Well... if you're going to be so... direct about it...” She spread her legs slightly, pulling Vi between them without breaking eye contact. “Go ahead then.”

Vi grinned wickedly, pressing open-mouthed kisses down Caitlyn's stomach before hooking her fingers in Caitlyn's panties and pulling them aside. She buried her face between Caitlyn's thighs, inhaling deeply before sticking out her tongue and licking a firm line from clit to pussy hole. Caitlyn moaned loudly, her hips jerking forward. She buried her hands in Vi’s hair, gripping tightly as Vi began to feast on her like she was a long-awaited meal. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck...” Caitlyn moaned out. Making Vi smirk. 

“So much cursing, Cupcake.”

Caitlyn panted out a laugh, her face beet red. “You’re eating my pussy like it’s your favorite dessert. What do you expect?” 

She gasped as Vi’s tongue dug deeper, swirling around her entrance. “Fuck! Fuck you, Vi!”

“Spank my ass then. I’ve know you’ve been starring at it sometimes.” Vi moaned out. 

Without hesitation, Caitlyn lifted Vi's hips and gave her a hard spank on the ass cheek. Then another. And another, as Vi ate her out with renewed fervor. The sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the room along with Caitlyn's moans.

“Like that?" she panted.

“Like that, Cupcake.” Vi moaned out. “Just like that.”

Encouraged by Vi's dirty talk, Caitlyn spanked her harder, leaving a red handprint on Vi's ass. Vi growled in approval and sucked Caitlyn's clit into her mouth, sucking hard as Caitlyn spanked her ass again and again. “Vi... I'm gonna cum..."

“Fuck… please do. And I’ll clean you up.” Vi said as she kept licking Caitlyn’s pussy. 

Caitlyn's body tensed as she came hard, her hips bucking against Vi's mouth. She cried out loudly, her fingers tightening in Vi’s hair as waves of pleasure crashed over her. When she finally came down from her high, she looked at Vi with flushed cheeks and a satisfied smile. “Such sweetness, Cupcake.”

Still catching her breath, Caitlyn reached down and gently pulled Vi up for a kiss, tasting herself on Vi's lips. “You really know how to make a girl feel special, you know that?" 

She ran her fingers through Vi's hair softly, completely contrasting her earlier rough handling*  "Now..."

“My turn.” Vi finished Caitlyn’s sentence. 

Caitlyn grinned mischievously, pushing Vi onto her back and settling between her legs. She mirrored Vi's earlier actions, pressing open-mouthed kisses down her stomach and hooking her fingers in Vi's panties to pull them aside. “Since you seemed to enjoy that so much..."

She leaned in and dragged her tongue up Vi's slit, savoring the taste of her. Caitlyn hummed in approval before diving in, licking and sucking at Vi's pussy like it was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted. She spread Vi's legs wider, making room for her shoulders as she settled in to feast. “Mmm...”

“Cait…” Vi moaned out. Biting her lips. 

Hearing her name made Caitlyn look up from between Vi's thighs. She locked eyes with Vi as she stuck her tongue out and licked a slow line from Vi's entrance to her clit. “You know..." 

She hummed softly, dropping another kiss on Vi's pink pubic hair. "For such a tough lady... you taste really sweet." 

She flicked her tongue against Vi's clit, swirling around it before sucking it into her mouth gently. “Makes me want to be extra..." 

Caitlyn used her finger and began to circle Vi's clit teasingly with her tongue, “…extra gentle."

“Don’t be.” Vi said with a quiet moan. 

Caitlyn chuckled softly against Vi's sensitive flesh. “As my lady wishes." 

She began sucking harder on Vi's clit while slipping two fingers inside her. She curled them upward, hitting Vi's sweet spot while maintaining eye contact. “Like this?"

“Yes. Just like that, Cait.”

And hearing Vi's approval, Caitlyn picked up the pace, sucking and licking with fervor while finger-fucking Vi aggressively but gently. Her tongue lashed against Vi's clit in quick flicks as she curled her fingers deeper inside her love. And she could feel it.  Vi was getting close, Caitlyn added a third finger and started fucking her harder and faster, using her thumb to rub in tight circles on Vi's clit. She hummed around the sensitive nub, the vibrations sending Vi over the edge.

"Come for me, Vi." She ordered between sucks.

“I’m cumming, Cait~”

Caitlyn held Vi's thighs tightly as she came hard, drinking down every drop of her release. She kept licking and sucking gently even as Vi's orgasm subsided, cleaning her up thoroughly with soft kisses and slow licks until Vi was trembling and sensitive.

“Shh..." Caitlyn crawled back up Vi's body, pressing gentle kisses to her stomach and collarbone before nuzzling into her neck.

“Too much?" She asked softly, knowing Vi hated being handled too gently. “Or just enough to shut you up for a bit?" 

She giggled softly. And Vi moaned out. “Both…”

"Hmm~" She bit gently at Vi's neck, then kissed the spot she'd bitten.* "Then consider yourself properly loved and shut up properly." 

She settled comfortably against Vi's side, one leg draped possessively over Vi's hip. Ending their love making. 

CAITLYN:
By the next morning, the only sound was that of gearing up through Piltover’s precinct. Things such as metal clinks, the snap of armor buckles. For once, there was no chatter. Just tension. The enforcers had seen what Warwick or the beast as they call him could do. What it left behind. What it ripped apart. Vi stood by the wall, tightening the straps of her prototype Atlas gauntlets. The Atlas fists gleamed under the light overhead, still scratched and scorched from the prison riot. Her ribs still throbbed. Didn’t matter. She was going hunting. Across the room, Caitlyn adjusted her officer’s coat over reinforced body armor. She gave quiet orders to her squadron, voice calm, clipped. Focused. They were all focused. Because this time, it wasn’t just another skirmish in the Undercity. 

“Hey, sprout.” A male voice called from behind.

Caitlyn turned as Jayce strode in, coat swept back and a pushing a crated cart. His face was tired, more lines, more years in his eyes than she remembered seeing before. And the last time she saw him was a couple of weeks.

“I wanted to talk before you left, I’ve been working on some upgrades.”

Caitlyn raised a brow. “Upgrades?”

Jayce opened the crate as it showed another metal crate and flipped it open. Inside, nestled in velvet, was a sleek, long-barreled rifle. The frame shimmered with veins of crystallized blue’ Hextech, humming with quiet power.

“Fully integrated Hextech capacitor.” He said, lifting it carefully and showing it off to her. “Kinetic pulse chamber. Arc-fire loading core. Adjustable focus on the scope for long or mid-range. She’ll shoot through plate, stone, even shimmer-mutated muscle.”

Caitlyn’s hands hovered over the weapon. Then, slowly, reverently, she took it. The weight was perfect. The balance… it was flawless. She peered down the scope. The lens shifted and refocused, locking onto a distant metal peg across the room.

“This yours?” She asked.

Jayce hesitated. “It’s… a prototype. If it works, there’ll be more. For every squad. Maybe even enough to keep the monsters at bay.”

Vi crossed her arms. “You handing those out to everyone?”

Jayce shook his head. “Not yet. Just trusted hands. I’ve even upgraded the Atlast gauntlets. I knew from the start Cait ‘barrow’ the old prototype.”

Vi looked down at the gauntlets. Her mouth twitched into a half-smile. “Guess you’re right.”

Jayce smirked faintly, then, he pulled out the fully upgraded Atlas Gauntlets. “As you know, these were built for mining. But with the upgrades, now they can negate weight and greatly increase strength and dexterity even three times than originally. But I’ve added a few things.”

He slid a hand into one of the gauntlets, powering up as the knuckles began to glow red. He clenched his hand into a fist as the end of the gauntlet propped out, showing off thrusters. “You can now throw punches at a strength that can break sound itself witj the help of the thrusters, even boost yourself upwards with them. And…” 

He twisted his wrist as a large shield bubble of Hextech appeared. “Shield others.”

And with that, he removed the gauntlet and hand it to Vi who took off the old prototypes and slid the newly upgraded Gauntlets on her, eyes wide with awe and excitement at her new toys. But Jayce stayed serious. 

“Be careful down there. From what I heard, this isn’t just a rogue Chem-tank. It’s something worse.”

Caitlyn slung the rifle onto her back. The weight grounded her. “Thank you, Jayce. Both for the concern and the weapons. But now, we can handle it. I just hope I’d never see the day where you weaponize your dream.”

Jayce sighed and looked down, nodding. “Me neither, Sprout. Me neither. But it’s for Piltover’s safety.”

Outside, the squadron assembled at the tram station. Wind whipped through the open tunnel as Caitlyn, Vi, and the others stepped aboard the transport bound for the Undercity depths. 

And down below, Warwick was slowly healing in the shadows. But this time, they were hunting back.

AMBESSA:
The dim glow of flickering arc-lamps cast long shadows across the cold steel corridors of Ambessa’s warship. The air was thick with the scent of oil and burning metal, an ominous hum resonating through the hull. In the cargo hold, Rictus knelt beside the large, battered canvas bag. With a slow, deliberate motion, he unlatched the worn fastenings and peeled back the fabric. Inside lay Singed, with a smirk playing at the corners of his cracked lips. Ambessa stepped forward, her presence commanding even in the shadowed hold.

“I’ve fought battles from the Bloodcliffs to the Dalamor Plain.”,She said smoothly, voice as cold and precise as a razor. “I’ve never seen a beast of such savagery.”

She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.

“No beast is more savage than man.” Singed finally said. I trust you have terms.”

Ambessa got close to him. “You will serve me. My enemies will be yours. Your weapons will be mine. In return, I’ll supply all of your needs. Resources, manpower, freedom. You will be treated as an esteemed advisor. But I demand absolute loyalty.”

Singed’s gaze flickered upward, eyes burning with that familiar manic intensity. He was silent for a long moment, his fingers twitching as if recalling old experiments. Finally, he spoke in a voice hoarse yet resolute.

“I will help you,” he said, “but first… I must return to my laboratory. There are things I left unfinished. Tools… notes… components.”

Ambessa’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.

“Consider it done.” She turned toward Rictus. “You will accompany him. Gather what he requires, and ensure his loyalty.”

Rictus inclined his head without hesitation. “Understood.”

As Rictus prepared to depart, Singed’s eyes flicked briefly toward Ambessa.

“A warning.” He murmured. “The line between progress and madness is thinner than you imagine.”

Ambessa met his gaze without flinching. “I know where the edge lies. And I’m ready to cross it.”

Rictus and Singed disappeared down the ship’s metallic stairwell, the doors sliding shut with a hiss behind them. Above deck, Ambessa stared out into the storm-tossed sea, her mind already weaving the dark designs that would reshape the fate of Piltover and all who dwelled beneath its shining towers.

CAMILLE:
The council chambers of Piltover were bathed in the soft glow of stained glass windows, casting fractured light upon the marble floors. Ambessa’s boots echoed confidently as she strode through the hushed corridors, her thoughts sharpening with each step. Just as she reached the heavy oak doors leading to the council meeting room, Camille appeared, her expression a mixture of respect and resolve.

“Ambessa.” Camille greeted crisply, folding her arms. “I need your expertise in warfare. Jayce’s latest Hextech weapon designs are ready for evaluation, but I want your insight before the council grants approval.”

Ambessa arched a brow, intrigued as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Very well.” She replied, her voice calm yet commanding. “Show me.”

“Follow me.”

Camille led her through the chambers to a private annex where Jayce and a team of engineers stood beside an array of gleaming weapons. There were rifles, pistols, and shields, condors devices pulsing faintly with arcane energy. Ambessa examined each weapon meticulously, her keen eyes noting the balance, the craftsmanship, the precision of the synthetic Hextech gemstone embedded within.

“These are… impressive.” She acknowledged, nodding slowly. “If deployed correctly, they could tip the scales decisively in Piltover’s favor.”

She turned to Camille with a calculating smile.

“I would like to make a bulk purchase for my forces. Enough to arm an entire battalion.”

Camille’s lips twitched, half-smile breaking through her usual stoic demeanor. “Consider it done. I’ll expedite the production lines.”

Ambessa’s gaze hardened with purpose. “Good. The longer we delay, the more chaos spreads in Zaun. It’s time Piltover shows its strength.”

Camille inclined her head. “We’ll give them no quarter.”

As the two women shared a knowing look, the distant hum of the city outside served as a grim reminder. The war for Zaun’s soul was accelerating, and the battlefield was ready to be reshaped by the new weapons of Hextech.

JINX:
The streets of Zaun trembled beneath the heavy footsteps of the beast, Warwick, a monstrous fusion of flesh, machine and demon. Warwick snarled as he prowled through the twisted alleyways. Dante and Jinx stalked just behind, their eyes locked on the creature that once was Vander, now twisted into something inhuman.

Jinx’s hands trembled as she clutched her pistol which rested on her hip, her mascara running down like cracked war paint.

“He looks like… like Vander…” she whispered, voice breaking.

Dante looked at her hand that was clutching her pistol, to calm her down, his own hand found hers, steadying. “Yeah. But he isn’t Vander anymore. Not really.”

As they advanced, shadows shifted nearby. Vi, clad fully in the enforcers’ uniform, her expression hard and unreadable, trailed alongside Caitlyn and their squad. Jinx’s body shook, and tears welled in her ruby eyes. The sight of Vi, once her closest sister, now aligned with the enforcers. Their oppressors for all their childhood. It was too much her. The pink demonic patterns glowing brighter. 

Dante’s grip tightened around Jinx’s hand, firm and grounding her.

“Hey…” he murmured gently, voice barely above the hum of the city. He quickly thought what to say, sho he just shot right away. “You’re not alone. Not this time.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, someone stood with Jinx as her defenses crumbled, as the world threatened to break her. Even if it was the devil himself. Their eyes met, an unspoken bond forged in pain and the desperation to survive what was coming.

Ahead of  them, Vi’s gaze flickered, it was haunted and conflicted. The duel with Warwick was inevitable. But tonight, something else was stirring the fragile thread of hope between broken souls. 

DANTE:
The enforcers moved cautiously, their Hextech weapons humming softly as they encircled the feral figure before them. Warwick was still slowly healing from his battle against Dante. He snarled and lashed out, maiming several of the squad, but the combined firepower eventually subdued the beast, binding him in glowing restraints. Vi’s breath caught as she stared down at the fallen creature. Beneath the monstrous mask, she recognized a familiar face. Vander.

“Vander…?” Vi muttered out. 

Her heart clenched. This was her mentor, her protector. But now twisted into this savage. Steeling herself, Vi raised her fists, the weight of inevitability heavy in her hands. She clenched her one fist harder, the thrusters activating. She was ready to kill him. But before she could pull throw in a devastating punch, Jinx burst through the chaos, voice urgent and desperate.

“No! He’s still Vander! He’s not the monster you think he is!”

Vi’s eyes burned with pain and denial. “No. Vander wouldn’t become this. Not like this.”

Jinx shoved her way through the enforcers, yanking Core’s coat tighter around her shoulders like a shield. She planted herself between Vi and Warwick, arms spread wide. “You don’t know that! You didn’t see what I saw! He’s still in there—I can feel it! He saved me once, he can do it again!”

Vi’s gauntleted fist lowered slightly, but her voice broke with anguish. “And if you’re wrong? What then? He tears through this city, through you—through everyone you care about?!”

“I’m not wrong!” Jinx snapped, her pupils glowing pink as her voice went sharp, brittle. “You just want to kill what you don’t understand—like you always do!”

Vi’s face hardened, the sting cutting deep. “And you’d rather risk everything because you can’t let go of the past!”

The tension snapped like a tripwire. Vi tried to step past, and Jinx shoved her back. Vi grabbed her shoulder and Jinx swung, the pistol’s butt cracking against Vi’s gauntlet.

“Dammit, Powder!” Vi roared, slamming her gauntlet into the ground inches from Jinx’s feet, the shockwave knocking her sister back.

Jinx scrambled up, gun raised again, tears welling in her eyes but finger steady on the trigger. “Don’t call me that! You don’t get to call me that anymore!”

Vi surged forward, swiping the pistol aside, and the sisters crashed together in a flurry of blows. Jinx’s wild, frantic strikes against Vi’s brute strength. Each punch, each shove, was laced with grief as much as fury. All around them, enforcers hesitated, caught between stopping Warwick’s thrashing and the sight of the two sisters tearing into each other, their war more raw than anything the beast could conjure. Caitlyn and the enforcers tried to help Vi by restrain Jinx. 

In the meantime, Dante fought Warwick with unrelenting fury. Despite his exhaustion, Dante’s demon blood surged, giving him strength beyond mortal limits. He pressed the attack, gaining the upper hand. But Warwick was relentless. With a brutal swipe, he slammed Dante into a building, the structure crumbling under the impact. Amid the chaos, Warwick’s strike caught Jinx, wounding her and sending her crashing alongside Dante.

As the building began to collapse, Dante’s instincts took over. He pulled Jinx free, just as the rubble thundered down behind them. Without pause, Dante lunged at Warwick, Rebellion blazing with infernal light. The devil sword pierced deep into Warwick’s heart. But he got swiped away. Only to be meet with-

BLOOM!

With a powerful punch that broke the sound barrier, Vi dealt with the final blown, completely obliterating the remaining internal organs.  Warwick’s monstrous form twitched, then stilled. Silence fell like a shroud.

“Lights out
Is this who you really are?
Can’t look into your eyes
Your twisted mind
It’s dark. So dark.”

Jinx woke up and saw what happened and just dropped to her knees, grief and rage pouring from her in a raw, unfiltered scream. Her skin glowed bright pink, swirling patterns igniting across her pale flesh. Her eyes burned fiercely, fully alight with otherworldly energy. Razor-sharp claws emerged from her hands, gleaming in the dim light.

“Please tell me you brought the iron
Let’s light up the sky
And fade into the night
Wires and chains
(I’m just tired of lookin’ the other way)
Starting to fade
(I’m just tired of lookin’ the other way)
It feels like a game
(I’m just tired of lookin’ the other way)”

And Vi got off Warwick’s corpse, her gauntlet’s bloody from the beast’s blood. She was panting as she looked over and saw Jinx and how different she is now. Vi took a half-step forward, then stopped, fear chaining her where she stood. She wanted to reach out, to grab her, but her hands shook inside her gauntlets. Every instinct screamed danger even as her heart screamed sister.

“I…” Vi’s throat tightened, the words choking her. Her eyes shone wet but hard, filled with dread she couldn’t mask. “I don’t even know what I’m looking at anymore.”

“This is what I am.” Jinx said with wide demonic eyes, voice trembling with heartbreak and fury. 

Jinx flinched like she’d been stabbed, her claws curling into trembling fists.

Vi’s voice broke as she forced the words out, unable to lie. “You’re not Powder. You’re… you’re something else. And I don’t know if I can—” her jaw clenched, grief swallowing her next words.

“Look at me.” Jinx demanded as Vi looked down, fear overtaking her. Why can’t you look at me? Why couldn’t you love me?”

“I—“

“ALL OF ME!” A shockwave of pink energy rippled outward, shaking the ground beneath them. 

Caitlyn and all the remaining raised their Hextech rifles, aiming at the transformed demoness. Vi’s little sister. The girl she once knew. Now a stranger.

Dante got back up and saw the enforcers aiming at her. In a red blur he pulled Jinx away, activating his Devil Trigger. The surge of power ripped through the air, forcibly dragging Jinx from the scene in a blur of red energy going upwards. 

Vi, Caitlyn, Maddie, and Loris were left alone. Now standing over the ruin of what had been, and what could never be again.

“I found out
Treasures are always lost
Pleasures are long forgotten 
Who are you now?”

SEVIKA:
Meanwhile, in the deepest layers of the Undercity, where rust choked the air and hope had long since been buried beneath grime and gears, Sevika stood before a gathering crowd. Zaunites of every shape and scar stared up at her. Some were former chem-baron’s goons, workers beaten down by years of Piltover’s boot, or just civilians. 

“This is it.” Sevika growled, her mechanical arm glowing dimly under the flickering lights. “No more begging. No more crawling. We are not their shadow.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

“We are Zaun! And it’s time the world knew it.”

Applause roared in the underground chamber, fists raised high. Behind the scenes, Corina Veraza delicately trimmed a petal from one of her mutated lilies, the edges laced with a silvery shimmer. the early stage of the Grey. Her private greenhouse, hidden behind chemical-stained glass and thick steel vaults, had become a laboratory of warfare. Dozens of floral grenades hung from racks. Corina’s signature perfume of iron and honey lingered in the air.

“The revolution must bloom with beauty…” she whispered, placing a volatile blossom into a jade casing. “A garden of smoke and ash.”

The Grey, an airborne agent that disoriented the mind and weakened the body, was her gift to Zaun. A weapon of elegance and terror.bWith Sevika rallying the boots and hammers, and Corina engineering silent chaos, the Nation of Zaun was preparing not just for a riot but a declaration.

Three sentences. 

“We do not seek peace.
We demand recognition.
The Nation of Zaun Rises.”

And above them all, high in the sky like a judgmental eye, Piltover’s towers loomed. Completely unaware that the roots of revolution had already cracked the foundation beneath them.

Chapter Text

JINX:
The abandoned two-story office creaked under its own weight. The drywall curled from the walls, the ceiling hung in strips, and glass crunched under their feet. The faint flicker of distant fires from Zaun’s unrest painted dancing shadows across the ruined interior. Dante exhaled, and the glow in his eyes dimmed as his Devil Trigger subsided, the demon form retracting like a beast returning to sleep. His skin was torn with dried blood, claw marks, and healing flesh, but none of that compared to the sight in front of him.

Jinx, shaking, twitching, pacing like a trapped animal. Her mascara ran like inked rivers down her cheeks. Her hands were bloodstained, her breath uneven.

“She killed him…” she murmured. “She killed him, Tony. She—” her voice cracked.

“That was Vander. That was him. I saw his eyes, even if she didn’t.”

Dante took a step forward. “Blue—”

“NO!” She screamed, shoving him back. “Don’t come closer! Don’t you get it!? I’m a jinx, you hear! I ruin everything I touch!”

Without thinking, she grabbed a jagged shard of glass from the floor and lunged forward. And with zero hesitation, she jammed it into his chest, right where his heart beat or should have.

But Dante didn’t flinch. Which made Jinx freeze, she was trembling as she saw the wound close around the glass like it was nothing. She looked up, wild-eyed, as Dante simply stepped into her and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered.

She beat her fists into him, pulled at his coat, screamed against his bare chest. Then, slowly, she collapsed into him.

“I ruin everything, Tony…” she sobbed.

But when she pulled away, it was only to grab the Rebellion that was sheathed on his back. And it immediately went back to being dormant at her touch. Her arms shook as she fell to her knees, raising the devil sword to him like a twisted offering, like a crown of thorns.

“I need your help
I can’t fight this forever 
I know you’re watching
I can feel you out there”

“Then end it…” she begged. “Kill me. Do what you should’ve done the moment I broke you out. The moment that I became a demon. You’re kill demons after all. Please, just—just do it.”

Dante knelt slowly. His hand wrapped gently around the hilt, which woke up the sword once more, but he didn’t pull it from her grasp. Instead, his other hand came up to her face. With his thumb, he wiped the dark streaks of ruined mascara from her cheeks. The pink glow in her eyes still shimmered. That pink, radiant, fractured glow of demonic energy. 

And he saw her. Her. The girl beneath it all. The face he hadn’t truly seen since they were kids. One of his oldest friends. 

“Don’t cry. You’re beautiful…” he said.

Her eyes fluttered closed at his touch. The sword in her hand dimmed slightly as she leaned into his palm like a cat seeking comfort.

“Why do you care so much…?” She murmured. “You could’ve left. Zaun. Me.”

He studied her, really studied her. The way her claws trembled, the pink glow in her eyes fluttering with every heartbeat, how beneath the fury and the fracture she was still just the girl who once laughed too loud at his dumbest jokes. At first, his lips curved in a humorless smirk. 

“Quite frankly… at first, I didn’t give a damn. About Piltover. About Zaun. About any of it. I killed people from both sides. Fought for neither. But because of you… I know what’s important now I know what I need to do.”

He looked down at her. She was trembling, broken, but still here. Still Jinx.

“Zaun needs someone who won’t sell them out. Someone who doesn’t give speeches.
Someone who acts. And you… you need someone who stays.”

Dante’s hand glowed in his own red demonic patterns as it reached to her collar, resting there with a weight that was strangely steadying. His voice softened, the harsh edge stripped away, leaving something quieter. And it was something only for her.

“You and me…” he murmured, tilting his head so she couldn’t look away. “We’re the same. Carved up by this world, carrying things we never asked for. Monsters on the outside, but still us on the inside. Still human enough to hurt. Human enough to care.”

The words sank into her, like balm on an open wound she thought would never close. Jinx’s claws flexed weakly, their razor edges gleaming once more before they flickered, fading as the trembling in her hands slowed. The swirling pink patterns across her arms dimmed, shrinking back into her pale skin like fire retreating into embers. Her eyes burned last of all, those fractured, pink flames holding on as if refusing to let go. But Dante’s grip on her collar tightened gently, his thumb brushing against the hollow of her throat.

“Breathe, Bluebell.” Dante whispered. “You’re here. You’re still here.”

And with a shuddering inhale, her glow faltered. The pink gave way, her eyes slipping back into that wild, sky blue that had always been hers. A faint residue of the glow lingered in the whites of her eyes, like cracks in stained glass that would never fully mend. Permanent. A reminder. But she was calm. She was her. Jinx’s body sagged, her forehead pressing against his chest as her fists fell limp against his coat. 

“…I can’t get rid of it, Tony. No matter how hard I try. It’s always there. Always waiting.”

Dante’s hand lingered at her collar, steady and unyielding. “Control it. Own it. It doesn’t own you, Jinx. It never will. Not while I’m here.”

She let out a shaky laugh that broke into a sob, clinging to him like she was afraid the world would rip her away again. And for the first time in what felt like forever, the storm inside her wasn’t screaming. It was quiet. They stood like that, bruised, battered, soul-broken. Two demons in the bodies of humans, warriors born of chaos. A mess of pink and red, ink and blood.

“Take me high and I’ll sing
Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay
We are one and the same
Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away
Save me if I become my demons”

She was still a demon. Maybe not as much as he is. But now, she could choose when to be. Just like him. 

EKKO:
The glow of the workshop was softer than the lights around the silo that the Firelights’ base was in. Among shattered schematics and humming coils, two minds, once worlds apart, now worked in tandem. Heimerdinger stood on a short stool, goggles thick with soot, carefully adjusting the final filament on the device. Beside him, Ekko leaned forward, brows furrowed, a steady hand holding a thin soldering wand.

On the table between them: shards of original Hexcrystal, humming with unstable potential, it was volatile, but pure. Magic and scientific ambition encased in a shell no larger than a fist. At last, the old yordle stepped back and removed his goggles, revealing tired eyes bright with hope.

“It’s ready.” Heimerdinger said, voice hushed with reverence. “The Z-Drive.”

Ekko stared at the device. A complex cylinder, mechanical appearance featuring a large dial of time, a prominent pull chain, and at the center where the Hextech crystal shards that powers the device was held securely. 

“You’re sure this’ll work?” Ekko asked, still not touching it.

Heimerdinger nodded. “In theory… yes. It’ll warp time back a few seconds. Perhaps even more. But it’s volatile. It must only be used in moments of utmost necessity.”

Ekko ran a hand through his white locks. “Even with this kinda power… it’s not gonna fix anything, you know. These weapons, these tools… they’re not gonna make people listen. It’s just gonna make things worse.”

The yordle looked at him, then slowly smiled. “Perhaps. But if we do nothing, it will definitely get worse.”

Ekko glanced down again at the Z-Drive.

“Since the day we found each other. You’ve changed, in a good way for Zaun’s sake.” He said quietly.

“And I have you to thank for that, my boy.” Heimerdinger replied, folding his hands behind his back. “I’ve spent centuries delaying progress in the name of caution. But change doesn’t wait for permission. Nor should we.”

Ekko looked up at the old professor, seeing him not as an obstacle anymore, but as an ally. And for once, Heimerdinger wasn’t looking backward anymore. He was looking forward. “I built this for you, Ekko. Because you’re the only one reckless enough to use it and wise enough to deserve it.”

Ekko’s throat tightened. He reached out and lifted the Z-Drive like a satchel thanks to the strap that was connected on one end to the other, slinging it across his back with practiced ease. It hummed against his spine, warm, almost… alive. Just then, the metal hatch opened, and Scar stepped in, eyes wide with urgency.

“Boss.” He said, breathless, “There’s a revolt happening. Sevika’s rallying the Undercity. She’s callin’ it the beginning of our nation. We gotta move.”

Ekko’s eyes narrowed. He turned to Heimerdinger.

“No more waiting…” he said.

Heimerdinger smiled, stepping aside to clear the path.

“No more waiting.” The old yordle echoed.

And with that, Ekko tightened his grip, activated the first phase of the Z-Drive. Following with a quiet tick-tick-tick in his ear like the heartbeat of time itself and ran out into the future they were about to rewrite.

VIOLET:
The halls of the Piltover barracks were silent. Gone were the marching boots of the enforcers, the idle chatter of enforcers between patrols. All that remained now was the echo of recent violence and decisions that could never be taken back. Vi stood alone at a bench, gauntlets powered down at her sides, staring at the blood from Warwick’s last rampage. She remembers what Caitlyn put on the report. That it was a “containment success.”

But to Vi, she called it murder. But that wasn’t what she told the others. She told them it had been necessary. That Warwick was a threat, a ticking time bomb. And that killing him meant safety. Order.

Peace.

She clenched her jaw and told herself again: “It was necessary.”

A voice broke through the haze. “Vi?”

She turned. Caitlyn stood at the door, still in her uniform, her Hextech rifle slung over her back, face unreadable. Vi looked away. “Hey, Cupcake. You got a minute?”

Caitlyn nodded, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. Vi waited until she was close enough, then leaned her hands on the table, trying to steady herself.

“I need to talk to you,” Vi said, voice low. “Really talk.”

Caitlyn stayed silent but alert. Waiting for Vi who took a breath that shook a little. “Everything that’s happened… with Jinx. With that beast. I’ve been telling myself this is the right path. That putting on this uniform means protecting people. Keeping the peace.”

Caitlyn’s gaze softened. “It is.”

Vi shook her head. “No. It’s not that simple. ‘Cause I’ve realized something… I’m turning into him.”

Caitlyn tilted her head. “Who?”

“Vander.”

The name tasted bitter on her tongue.

“He made peace with the enforcers. With Grayson. He did it to keep us safe, even if it meant turning his back on the fight. Now I’m doing the same. Wearing this badge. Playing their game. Everyone I loved is either gone, or changed.” Her voice cracked. 

“My parents are dead. My father figure—turned into a monster and I killed him. My sister—” She paused. 

“I don’t even know who she is anymore.”

Vi turned to Caitlyn, eyes glassy. “So please. Please don’t change. Don’t become someone I can’t recognize.”

Caitlyn stepped forward, closing the space between them, and took Vi’s trembling hand in hers.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Caitlyn whispered. “I swear it.”

Vi’s voice dropped. “I’m sorry about your mother, Cait. I know I couldn’t have stopped it, but… I’m still sorry.”

Caitlyn didn’t answer with words. She reached up and gently kissed her, not the heat of battle, not the urgency of war, but the quiet kind of kiss that says I see you.

When they pulled apart, Caitlyn smiled faintly. “You don’t have to carry all of this alone, Vi.”

And Vi, for the first time since killing Warwick, let her head fall against Caitlyn’s shoulder. Let herself just breathe. For now, it was enough.

MEL:
The docks of Piltover’s ports echoed with the thunder of industry. Cargo being hauled, chains clattering, iron feet marching. Ambessa stood tall at the ramp of her massive warship, the Noxian banner rippling in the breeze behind her. Soldiers moved with discipline around her, preparing for departure. Mel approached from behind, footsteps measured but steady. Her golden dress swept against the stone, her presence delicate against the steel-clad warship.

“You’re really leaving?” The young Medarda asked.

Ambessa didn’t turn at first. “I’ve done what I came here to do. The weapons have been acquired. Your scientists are clever. Hextech suits Noxus fine.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “I won’t interfere with your city any longer.”

Mel’s arms folded, brow furrowed. “Interfere is one word for it.”

Ambessa finally turned, facing her daughter directly. For a moment, the sharp-edged warlord looked almost… tired. “Piltover and Zaun are a cracked dam, I won’t be trying to patch it. Or break it. It is not mine to shape.”

Mel’s voice softened. “You could stay. Help rebuild instead of walking away.”

Ambessa tilted her head. “Help? Or chain myself to a city already drowning in its own hubris?” She stepped closer and offered her hand. 

“Come with me. Return to Noxus. The clan misses you. I—” Her words caught, just for a breath.

“I miss you.”

Mel looked at her mother’s open hand. The same hand that led wars. The same hand that once struck fear into entire houses. And slowly, she stepped back.

“Piltover is my home.” Mel firmly said. “This is where I’ve built something real. It’s where I belong.”

Ambessa nodded, slow and solemn. “Then rule it. Or it will destroy itself without you.”

She turned and walked up the ramp of her warship. At the top, she stopped. Looked back one final time.

“I’m proud of you, Mel.” She said, and for once there was no mockery, no power play. Just truth. “Even if you never become what I wanted. You became something more.”

The ramp lifted. The engines groaned. And the warship pulled away, back toward the horizon and the red banners of Noxus. Mel stood alone on the dock, arms wrapped around herself. She had always longed to be free of her mother’s shadow. So why did it feel like a part of her had just left with it?

CAMILLE:
In the open courtyard of House Ferros, the clatter of gears and the hum of charged crystals filled the air. Hextech rifles, pistols, shields, and experimental riggings sat in polished crates. Each piece gleamed with Piltover’s brilliance and the promise of something darker. Enforcers moved in formation, receiving their assigned arms with tight, reverent hands. Their faces betrayed a hunger. For control. For vengeance.

Jayce stood at the head of it all. No longer in a lab coat, but in full combat gear. He was now part inventor, part commander. His Mercury hammer rested against him, its new modifications glowing a steady, controlled blue.

Across the courtyard, Camille stood with arms folded, watching. She was silent and she was calculating.

When Jayce turned toward her, she met his gaze without blinking.

“Well?” he asked.

Camille stepped forward, her heels clicking against the stone.

“Efficient distribution.” She said, eyes passing over the squads. “Formations trained.”

She circled him now, gaze landing on the modified hammer. “I assume the field is ready for Hextech weaponry?”

“It is.” Jayce simple said.

She stopped in front of him, tilted her head slightly. “You’ve changed, Jayce.”

He didn’t smile. “So has the world.”

A pause stretched between them. Camille’s eyes narrowed. “And what of Viktor?”

Jayce’s jaw tightened. “He made his choice.”

Her approval was cold but unmistakable. “Good. Attachment weakens the spine. War doesn’t reward hesitation.”

Camille gave him a long look, then turned toward the Ferros transport waiting to take her to the almost fully restored council chambers. Her part was done, her weapons delivered, her agenda advanced.

Jayce remained where he was, hammer at his side, surrounded by soldiers of his own making. Science had once been his hope. Now, it was his weapon.

DANTE:
The old office had no name, no plaque, no company left to represent. But it stood. Its roof mostly held. The cracked tiles and shattered windows let just enough light in for comfort without ever feeling safe. It was enough.

Inside, Dante moved with quiet efficiency, his eyes scanning the second floor. A breeze stirred the dust, curling around the broken frames of filing cabinets and rusting stair rails. His eyes caught movement. Jinx’s door half-open.

He glanced instinctively and saw her bare back, the lithe curve of her spine etched in soft pink patterns that pulsed faintly like breath. A faded bruise wrapped her ribs. A long, and old stab wound beneath her shoulder blade.

She hadn’t seen him. Dante blinked, then stepped back, quietly closing the door. His hand lingered a second on the frame, the faint hum of her breathing on the other side sharper to him than the wind sighing through broken glass. He was about to step away when her voice carried through as a soft, almost like a whisper that wasn’t meant to reach him.

“…Tony?”

His hand froze. She shifted on the other side of the door, the cot creaking slightly. “You’re not sneaky, y’know. I could feel you.” 

There was no bite in her tone. No mockery. Just the raw, unguarded Jinx he’d only ever seen in rare moments.

Dante leaned his forehead against the door, closing his eyes. “…Didn’t mean to stare. Just… making sure you were alright.”

A pause, then a soft laugh escaped her, shaky at the edges. “Alright? You saw me. You see me. All the cracks, all the scars. You’re the only one who doesn’t flinch.”

“Everyone’s cracked.” Dante muttered. “Difference is, you still shine through yours.”

Silence stretched between them, heavy but not uncomfortable. The broken window rattled against the wind. Her voice came again, quieter now, fragile in a way that almost broke him. “…Tony… do devils cry?”

Dante’s eyes opened slowly, his gaze finding the faint glow slipping through the crack of the door, the remnants of her pink patterns breathing against the wood. He let the question linger, heavy as the dust in the air, then answered low, steady and certainly.

“No. Devils never cry.”

The quiet shudder of breath on the other side told him she was smiling, even through tears. And in that moment, Dante knew she understood: she wasn’t a devil. She never would be. She was still human. More human than him.

The old hinge gave a low groan as the door crept open. Dante lifted his head, his body tense for half a second, then stilled. Jinx stood framed in the doorway. Naked. Fragile. Not glowing or snarling, not hiding behind guns or manic laughter, just her. That long blue hair of hers tumbled down her front, covering enough to spare modesty but not enough to quiet the heat in his chest or the ache of recognition in his gut. Her eyes weren’t pink anymore. Just blue. Wide. Searching.

For a moment, neither spoke. The air was too thin for words. Dante exhaled through his nose, shifting the leather draped around his arm. The same jacket that had shielded him in the pit, the smell of sweat, dirt, and blood still clinging to it. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and held it out.

“Here.” He said, voice low, almost gruff.

Jinx blinked at it, then at him. A small, uneven smile tugged at her lips as she took it, her fingers brushing his hand. She slipped the oversized jacket on, the worn leather swallowing her frame. The sleeves dangled past her fingertips, and the collar hung loose against her collarbone. It didn’t hide her scars, but it shielded her, just enough. She tugged it tighter, hugging herself into its weight, into his weight.

“…Guess it’s official now. I’m wearing your armor.”

Dante’s mouth twitched. “It’s not armor. Just a jacket.”

Her laughter was unexpected, soft and real. Not mocking, not wild. She pulled the jacket tighter, hiding her ribs. 

“Feels like armor…” she whispered.

He looked at her then. He really looked. She was trembling, yes. But she was standing. Facing him. Not running, not collapsing. Just… Jinx. And something inside him eased.

“You’re still you.” Dante  murmured, almost to himself. “Even if you don’t believe it.”

Her eyes softened, brightening under the shadow of messy bangs. “Then stay. Just… don’t stop seeing me. The real me, okay?”

Dante’s throat tightened. He gave a single, firm nod. “…I won’t.”

She stepped closer, the jacket rustling softly. Her arms wrapped around his middle, burrowing into his chest. She wasn't trying to be sexy or manipulative. She was just... holding onto him. Like he was her anchor in the storm. “Thank you, Hellblood.”

JINX:
Later, they met downstairs. The building hadn’t offered much, but it had given them a space. A chance to breathe. A floor beneath their feet that didn’t crumble.

Jinx appeared with her new look, still unmistakably her. Still wearing the same crop top, same old boots, a leg covered in fishnet with a spiked-knee pad, and she even ripped her pants, now into ripped shorts, a belt with bullets running alongside, and using Dante’s black leather jacket, her braids were back on. 

Dante wore the same boots and leather pants as always, but the top, he wore a dark-red button up shirt, its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black leather vest. He wanted to use his coat but it was too torn up and unwearable by now. And his hair was back to being white, no longer covered in black oil along with the worn handwraps under fingerless gloves. 

And together, they stepped into the streets of Zaun.

Savika was waiting, standing tall on the wreckage of a flipped transport, her mechanical arm raised to the crowd. Dozens, then hundreds of Zaunites gathered in the square. Rough faces. Scarred fists. Many wore no uniform, but all bore one thing. Resolve.

“Today,” Sevika growled into the amp she rigged from a broken sound system, “we make them see us.”

The crowd roared. Dante and Jinx approached the crowd. Heads turned. Whispers followed. Jinx, the Loose Cannon of Zaun. Dante, the Devil Hunter.

And then came the engines. The Firelights descended from above. Their hoverboards casting green trails through the fog. For a moment, everyone tensed. But when Ekko landed first, Z-drive pulsing on his back like a heart. He walked forward alone.

Jinx’s fingers twitched near her holster—but didn’t draw. Dante didn’t move. But he glanced at Jinx’s hand. 

Ekko looked at them both. “We’re not here to fight.”

Jinx’s voice cracked just slightly. “What changed?”

Ekko smiled sadly. “Everything and everyone did.”

He extended a hand. For a second, she didn’t move, she looked at Dante who just gave her a nod of approval. Then she reached forward and shook it.

Ekko looked to Dante, expression careful. “You’ll have our help.”

Dante didn’t blink. “They’ll need it.”

And that was it. The old lines in the sand blurred. The wounds between them was still present, but stitched just enough.

They marched.

Jinx walked at Dante’s side, her fingers brushing his sleeve like an anchor. The Firelights merged into Sevika’s force. Ekko nodded to Dante. Scarred Zaunites raised repurposed Piltover shields. Corina’s gas bombs clinked on belts like seeds waiting to bloom.

In the distance, the bridge of progress stood silent. Just a few blocks ahead.

Above them, the smog thinned as if holding its breath. This was the calm. And the storm would remember their names.

Chapter Text

EKKO:
The rooftops of Piltover were quiet at night. Too quiet. As if the city itself held its breath beneath the shadow of what it feared it could no longer avoid. Ekko moved like a ghost across the rails and skylights, darting over chimneys and slipping through the dark. The Z-Drive glowed faintly on his back, a soft cyan pulse against the golden trim of Piltover’s skyline.

He found her where no one would, close to the Bridge of Progress, looking at Zaun across the river. 

Vi stood at the overlook, Atlas gauntlets at her sides, gaze fixed on the distance. She hadn’t changed her stance in the last ten minutes. Ekko approached carefully, keeping low. She didn’t flinch.

“You were always terrible at sneaking.” Vo said without turning.

“And you were always stubborn.” Ekko replied, stepping into the lamplight.

There was a long silence but Vi broke it when she finally looked over her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I had to be.”

Ekko stopped just a few feet from her, the divide between Piltover and Zaun stretching far wider than the bridge beneath their feet.

“We don’t have to do this,” he said, “there’s still time.”

Vi didn’t answer.

“The enforcers are rallying,” he went on, voice low, almost pleading, “you have to pull here away. You can call them off—stop this before it starts.”

Vi let out a bitter breath. “I’m trying to protect people. That’s all I’ve ever tried to do.”

“By siding with the people who made us suffer?” Ekko snapped. “You think Vander would’ve wanted this?”

Vi turned sharply. “Don’t talk to me about Vander.”

“He’s dead, Vi.”

Her jaw clenched.

“And Jinx?” Ekko said. “What about her?”

“She made her choice.”

“No.” Ekko growled, stepping closer. “She’s broken, and you turned your back. What happened to you? The Vi I knew wouldn’t give up on people easily.”

When Vi didn’t respond, Ekko activated the Z-Drive. The world shimmered, glitching, pulsing, and rewinding. Time skipped backward four seconds. Ekko tried again, voice softer this time.

“Please. We don’t need to kill each other. There’s still a version of this where we make it right.”

But Vi didn’t budge. Not this time. Not in this timeline or the last.

“I have a duty now…” she said and looked down at the enforcer badge on her belt. “To Piltover. To Caitlyn. To peace.”

Ekko’s heart dropped. He deactivated the Z-Drive.

“So that’s it…” he whispered. “You’ve really become one of them.”

Vi looked away. Ekko swallowed hard. “I used to look up to you, Vi. I thought of you like… like an older sister.”

She didn’t respond.

“I guess that sister died in Zaun.”

He turned, not waiting for her to answer. His boots scraped softly against the metal as he vanished into the mist, the hum of the Z-Drive fading behind him like a clock running out of time. Vi stood alone, the night wind tugging at her jacket.

The bridge was still quiet. But not for long.

SEVIKA:
The streets of the Undercity were lit not by lanterns or Hextech, but by the fire in its people. They came in droves. Some in stitched jackets, others in rusted plating and salvaged gear. Firelights on hoverboards, old chemworkers with acid scars, and former goons who once worked with fear now standing shoulder to shoulder. A sea of Zaunite green, rust, and neon. They gathered on Vander’s statue.  Sevika stood atop the statue’s rim. Her mechanical arm gleamed in the haze, polished for the first time since Jinx gave it to her nearly three weeks ago.  Her voice roared over the crowd.

“I’ve bled in every alley of this damn city. For chembarons who saw us as tools. For warlords who called it order. For smoke and scrap and silence. We fought each other — tooth, nail, bolt, and blade. But not tonight.”

She looked around as some people muttered and nodded in agreement. “Tonight, we fight for each other.”

She lifted her mechanical arm, the hiss of the hydraulics slicing through the air like thunder.

“Not as Firelights. Not as goons. Not as barons or scum. But as one thing, and one thing only: Zaunites.”

The crowd screamed. Dozens, then hundreds of fists and weapons and makeshift limbs rose into the sky in defiance. The chant began like a whisper and became a war drum.

“Zaun. Zaun. Zaun. Zaun!”

DANTE:
From high above, Dante stood on a half-collapsed watchtower overlooking the plaza. His white hair fluttered in the artificial wind from the fans below, his eyes scanning the streets with a stillness uncharacteristic of the storm within.

Jinx stepped up behind him, boots clinking on rusted steel.

“They love you down there.” Dante said, not looking at her.

Jinx leaned on the railing beside him. “They love the chaos.”

“You gave them a cause.”

She gave a half-smile. “And you gave me something to believe in…”

They stood there, shoulder to shoulder, the neon glow bathing their faces in hues of green and pink. For a moment, neither was a devil. Neither a jinx. Just Dante and Jinx. Just two misfits on the edge of a city that never gave them anything.

“I was thinking…” she started, glancing at him sideways, “after we tear down the tower, torch the bridges, and win this revolution…”

He raised a brow. “Yeah?”

“We find a real place. One with a door. Maybe a window. No rats. You know… something livable.”

He smirked. “You wanna play house?”

She grinned. “Only if I get the bigger closet.”

“I already live out of a coat. You’d win by default.”

There was a long pause. Then Jinx’s voice became quieter, almost vulnerable: “You think we could do that? Just… live?”

Dante looked out over the crowd below. It was a sea of anger, hope, and fire. He turned back to her, brushing her bangs behind her ear.

“After this,” he said, “we live. I promise.”

Their hands found each other in the dark. And for one fleeting heartbeat, the weight of war was lifted. Tomorrow would bring fire and blood.bBut tonight, they dreamed. Together.

BRIDGE OF PROGRESS:
The Bridge of Progress had never seen this many boots. At least not in a long time.  It had once been a symbol of unity, of trade, of advancement.

Tonight, it was the front line.

Searchlights bathed the bridge in blue light, casting long shadows of enforcers stationed in formation. The Hex-Shields braced, creating a wall of blue magic, Hex-rifles armed, the synthetic Hextech crystal humming with barely restrained force. Jayce stood near the front in full battle gear, his Mercury hammer in one hand. Beside him, Vi clenched her Atlas gauntlets, breath steady but eyes distant.

Caitlyn gave the order. “Hold the line.”

And then—

Three crimson vertical slashes were shot at the Hex-shields, breaking the blue magical barrier with ease. The enforcers looked who it was. 

Dante. Walking alone with Rebellion drawn out. But that’s when not Zaunites came behind him. 

Not in neat formations, but in a wild, crashing tide of scrap-armored freedom and fury. Sevika was the one leading them all, her mechanical arm roaring to life as it tore into the shield wall. A chem-rigged goon followed with a grenade made from a kitchen pot. Then the Firelights swarmed, dropping from above with their hoverboards and weapons.

But Vi saw didn’t saw Jinx anywhere, as if she was gone. But she didn’t had time to think about that. She clenched her Atlas gauntlets, thrusters activating and steam coming out. 

The air between the sister cities sparked like a fuse.

Ekko surged forward through the chaos with his hoverboard, Z-Drive on his hip, slamming his mace into an enforcer’s helmet. He caught Vi in his peripherals and for a second, just a second, he faltered.

But Vi didn’t. She slammed her gauntlets into the ground, creating a shockwave that scattered Firelights and Zaunites alike. “Fall back!” 

Ekko shouted, grabbing one of his downed fighters, dragging them out of range. Sevika crashed through the enforcers with a shout:

“We’re not going back! Not this time!”

Ekko groaned in frustration but used the speed of his hoverboard to dive forward, helping pull wounded fighters to safety as Sevika tore through another enforcer mech.

The battle wasn’t clean. It wasn’t elegant.
It was trench warfare on steel and stone. And both sides were losing something.

CAMILLE:
High above the bloodshed, in one of the opulent towers lining Piltover’s skyline, the war below looked almost abstract. Like an old painting. Too distant to smell the gunpowder. Too far to hear the screaming. Camille stood at the window.nHer arms crossed behind her back, spine impossibly straight, she observed the battle through the cold gleam of reinforced glass. Her eyes tracked every movement. Jayce’s calculated swings, Vi’s ruthless charges, the chaos brought by the Zaunite insurgents. And then, Dante. The man with immaculate power to stand up against Hextech.

Her face was stone cold.  Only her eyes moved. Precision. Watching. Calculating. Waiting.

Behind her, Mel sat alone at a table. With an untouched tea growing cold in her porcelain cup. The gold bangles on her wrists reflected the flickering light of the fire that crackled in the center of the chamber, a fire she hadn’t fed since dawn. She wasn’t watching the window. She didn’t need to.

Mel’s voice was low, almost a whisper. “How many do you think will die by nightfall?”

Camille’s reply was flat, clinical. “Unknown. Depends how long Jayce holds the bridge. Depends how long he lasts.”

Mel looked down at her own hands, polished nails trembling ever so slightly against the rim of her cup.

“This isn’t what I wanted.”

“No.” Camille agreed coolly. “But it is what you chose.”

The words cut deeper than the blade Camille didn’t bother to draw. Mel didn’t respond. She just exhaled, long and slow, like a woman who had walked miles only to find she was back where she started. She reached for her tea but didn’t lift it. Her hand hovered, then fell limp against her lap.

“I could have gone with her.” Mel said quietly. “My mother. I could’ve left.”

“But you stayed.” Camille answered. “You chose to wear this crown of glass. And now it cuts.”

Mel finally turned to face her. “And you? What did you choose?”

Camille tilted her head slightly, expression unchanging. “Purpose.”

Then silence returned, thick and suffocating. Below them, war continued like the churning of an engine. Smoke rising. Cries echoing up between the elegant towers.

Two women. One forged from steel. One drowning in guilt. And neither could stop what had already begun.

DANTE:
The Bridge of Progress was on fire. Metal screamed. Men and women crumpled. The crack of detonations tore through the skyline of the river between Piltover and Zaun like war drums echoing through a dying empire.

“(I) Am a nation
(I) Am a million faces
Formed together, made for elevation 
(I) Am a soldier 
(I) Won’t surrender 
Faith is like a fire that never burns to embers”

Dante was surrounded by six enforcers with Hextech shields and pistols, but with one smooth swing, he broke the shields and decapitated the enforcers, tossing the Rebellion into the air so he could grab a pair of dual pistols as they fell. And holstering them, grabbing Rebellion back as it fell to his hand. But before he could react, Vi came in, her Atlas gauntlets’ thrusters going full power as she tackled him to the ground, making Dante drop the Rebellion. The fancy stone of the bridge cracked under Dante’s back. Vi’s gauntlet covering his face. 

Vi knew Dante is the biggest threat in this battle against Piltover. 

“This is how we rise up
Heavy as a hurricane, louder than the freight train
This is how we rise up
Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder
Magic, static, call me a fanatic
It’s our world, they can never have it
This is how we rise up
It’s out resistance, you can’t resist us”

Dante immediately retaliated with a hand grabbing one of her gauntlet’s fingers, breaking it with ease and began to pull the gauntlet away, grabbing her arm and the other hand went to her shoulder. Turning them over as Dante was on top of Vi, palm pressing her head down against the stone as they came to a stop. 

“It’s not too late to stand down, Vi.” Dante called her out. “Unless you want me to kick your ass once again.”

Vi just groaned out in anger. Jayce came in, swinging his Mercury Hammer down onto Dante, sending him and Vi tumbling across the bridge. Dante immediately healed from the skull crushing attack as he was about to get up, he saw Vi’s gauntlet clamped into his hand. 

“Well, I tried.” He muttered out and stood up. 

And swung Vi, using her as a human wrecking ball, knocking not one, not two, not three, but five enforcers off the bridge. Jayce cane in with a swing of his hammer once more at Dante’s back, the impact shattering Dante’s spine and put him to the ground as Vi was freed, but on the ground for being used as a wrecking ball. Dante immediately got up with a crack on his back. Jayce was about to swing his hammer once more but this time against Dante’s face—

BLOOM!

Dante hand held the Mercury Hammer’s head, the blue glow from the Hextech began to glow red from Dante’s devil magic. Jayce eyes widened at the sight. 

“The hell…?”

Dante didn’t respond. He just snatched the hammer off Jayce’s hands and kicked him with the force of a hundred men, sending Jayce flying back to other enforcers. He then dodge as Vi tried to attack from behind, she twisted her feet to turn to face Dante and threw another punch but Dante caught it with his hand, pulling it down and corrupting the gemstone inside the gauntlet with his devil magic. 

“You can’t stop me. ‘Cause no matter what I do, I can’t seem to die.” Dante sneered and threw her next to Jayce. 

Both Jayce and Vi were on the ground, struggling to get up from the fight against the half-breed. 

“Is he even human!” Jayce groaned

Vi wiped blood from her lip, struggling to readjust her damaged gauntlet. “Was he ever?”

Just as Dante was about to turn, he was met with Caitlyn’s rifle’s barrel against his torso and she—

BANG!

With a Hextech round blew a giant hole o that ripped through Dante’s clothes and torso. 

“You left me no choice, Tony.” Caitlyn said with remorse in her voice. But then she noticed something, his flesh, muscle, and even bone reached through the gap, closing the giant hole in his torso. “How…?”

Dante looked down at his torso then back at Caitlyn. “Ah, don’t feel bad. I heal extremely fast. Like a superhero.”

He scoffed himself at that then smirked as he leaned closer to her. “Not that I call myself a superhero, but your mom does.”

He said with a smirk. Completely ignoring the fact Caitlyn’s mom is dead. And before she could do or say anything, she was thrown like nothing. Landing besides Jayce and Vi. 

And still, the enforcers kept pressing on Dante. And he just had a cocky smirk. 

“(Hey) Can you hear me?
(Hey) Are you listening?
Sleeping in the shadows, could be making history 
(Walk) Through the fire 
(Walk) On the water
Used to be a slave, but now you are a conqueror”

Meanwhile, Ekko flitted through the chaos, his Z-Drive flashing blue bursts with each rewind. A Zaunite about to be shot? Saved. A Firelight blasted back by an enforcer? Saved. Four seconds. That’s all he needed. Four seconds to change fates. But no matter how many he saved, the enforcers pushed harder. Their weapons gleamed with Hextech light, unforgiving and precise.

The tide was turning. Then came the explosion.

It tore through the enforcer flank like a thunderclap. A fireball blossoming in the sky as chunks of the bridge collapsed into the river below. Screams followed. Heads turned up. There she was.

JINX:
Perched in the tower, illuminated by firelight, her silhouette framed by smoke and rising embers. Fishbones locked onto her shoulder, her wild hair fluttering like flags of war.

“BOOM, BABY!” She laughed, then unloaded.

Rocket after rocket screamed down into the enforcer lines. Caitlyn rolled away, dragging Vi with her. Jayce raised a shield, activating and making a Hextech barrier but the ground shattered beneath him.

Vi snarled and bolted for the tower. She used both of her gauntlets’ thrusters to fly up. When she reached the top, Jinx was waiting. With a grin too wide, her eyes glowing pink, standing atop the world like a crowned lunatic.

“Traitor.” Jinx said, her voice a song and a dagger. “You ain’t my sister. You’re their now little dog.”

“Still trying to blow up the world just to prove a point?” Vi growled, fists crackling.

They clashed. Pow-Pow fired wild, bullets scraping Vi’s shoulder. But then Vi dashed and grabbed the minigun and ripped it in half, tossing the broken weapon down into the fire. Jinx’s eyes widened in shock. But it didn’t stop her, her blue eyes immediately turned to her demonic pink ones as her patterns reveled themselves under her skin. She lunged at Vi, getting on top of her as put her hand on Jinx’s face, Jinx reached for her pistol on her hip, pulling it out with a spin, aiming it at Vi. 

“You can take my heart, they can take my breath 
When they pry it from my cold, dead chest
This is how we rise up”

Vi threw Jinx off the tower but Jinx held on with her sharp claws, getting back on top and sneered. Vi charged up her thrusters as she lunged at her. Jinx in a pink blur charger at Vi. 

Vi threw a hood which Jinx immediately rolled under and counter with a jump and a knee right into Vi’s face, blood spilling out. Jinx landed, dodge a sloppy throw but couldn’t block the devastating hit in the stomach as she fell on her back, gasping for air. Vi slowly approached Jinx. 

Meanwhile, below, Corina’s explosives detonated. The Grey was unleashed. The  perfected blend. Thick, corrosive, and unforgiving. Enforcers began to choke. Their filters weren’t built for this. Eyes stung. Breathing stopped. Zaunites surged forward, they didn’t need masks. 

On the tower, the gas had reached the top. Vi fell to her knees, coughing violently, her strength failing. Jinx slowly got up, holding her stomach and limped her way to her older sister.

“You forgot…” she whispered, pink demonic patterns glowing on her skin. “Where you came from, Sister. You stayed in the sun too long. You forgot how to breathe our air.”

And then she kicked Vi. Vi plummeted. Slammed down into a shattered beam of the bridge below, groaning, dazed and barely conscious.

Caitlyn saw it happen and screamed. “VI!” 

She then looked up as Jinx picked up Fishbones, holstering it on her shoulder and aiming again, this time in the support beam of the bridge. Even though Caitlyn was taking heavy effect from the Grey and her Hextech rifle damage, she raised it up and took aim at Jinx. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger—

Just as the bullet was fired, Dante grabbed the barrel of Caitlyn’s Hextech rifle, then used the Rebellion to cut it horizontally. But it was too late. He heard Jinx cries. He looked at the tower, then kicked back Caitlyn who landed besides the wounded Vi. 

DANTE:
Jinx was whimpering and clenching her hand, she then heard a soft land as she looked over she shoulder and saw Dante. 

Her hand trembled. Blood ran down her arm. “I can’t feel my finger, it’s gone…”

Jinx showed Dante her missing middle finger. Dante moved close slowly , touching her cheek, voice calm. “Go. I’ve got this.”

“But—”

He smiled softly. “I said go, Blue.”

They lingered for a heartbeat longer, eyes locked. They both turned at opposite directions, but then-

“Wait.” Jinx turned to look at him. 

Dante turned to look at her with a smirk. “Trust me. I’ll make things right for you.”

He then patted his chest. “That’s what my heart is telling me.”

Jinx immediately grabbed Fishbones and push it up to him. “Use this.”

“How much is gonna cost me?” He asked as he reached for the super weapon. 

Jinx pulled away Fishbones. “You can let me use your real name.”

For the first time in years, Dante’s smirk softened into something real, not cocky, something raw. He finally pulled Fishbones from her shaking hands.

“You can say it.” He whispered.

Her breath shuddered. She swallowed hard, eyes locked on his. And then, finally—

“…Dante.”

It was quiet. Fragile. But it was everything. Something flickered in him. A mix pride, pain, relief, it all tangled together. He let out a small, almost imperceptible laugh through his nose. “There it is.”

He hefted Fishbones onto his shoulder, stepping back. “Now get outta here, Blue. I’ve got work to do.”

Jinx just nodded and jumped down of the tower with a pink blur, disappearing the faint traces of the Grey and smoke. 

Then the devil stood alone. He looked down, seeing how the enforcers slowly got up as the Grey slowly disappeared from the wind. A new wave was coming. 

“So, what now, Dante? You’re right on the edge…”

Dante muttered to himself as his aura burned red. And time slowed down around him. 

“You got this. It’s time to cut lose. No holding back. It’s just you and the world and zero doubters to slow you down. So show them who you really are. What you’re made off. You’re special.”

He activated his Devil trigger. And for the first time, all saw him for what he was.

Not a hero. Not a villain. But Rebellion itself.

“Rising up, up, up, up, up
We’re rising up, up, up, up, up 
The voice of the unheard
Love is the answer 
This is how we rise up
It’s our resistance, you can’t resist us”

Dante dropped to his toes as large swirly plumes of demonic energy around his arms and lower body. He then launches into the sky, looks up and transforms into three balls of fire and electricity that swirl into the sky. Once they reach a high enough altitude, they collide, causing the flames to re-materialize back into Dante as he then back-flips in the air whilst smirking and heads back down to the ground—

KABOOM!!!

The world turned to light. With a loud shake on the ground itself. As the blinding light faded, only to reveal the Bridge of Progress destroyed.

No. Not just destroyed. It was completely erased. Reduced to ash and vapor, its grand arches swallowed in the inferno of Dante’s descent.

But it didn’t stop there. Shockwaves rippled out across the river. 

BOOM!!!!

One after another, the smaller bridges  between Piltover and Zaun also collapsed. The stone cracked. Steel supports sheared. Bridges that had stood for generations crumbled like paper as the demon’s wrath split the world in two.

Gasps rang out. Piltover stared in horror. Zaun stood in awe. The river had widened unnaturally, as if the land itself was recoiling from the violence.

VIOLET:
Vi crawled to her feet on Piltover’s edge, covered in ash and blood, barely able to breathe. Her eyes scanned the chaos. The retreating enforcers, the smoke trailing off their damaged weapons, Caitlyn limping beside Jayce as she supported Vi. Then she saw her.

Jinx.

Across the great divide, stepping down from the tower’s remains, cradling her bloodied hand. Ekko and the Firelights helped her into the crowd of Zaunites. No words exchanged. Only glances. Vi opened her mouth but no sound came. Jinx turned once, eyes distant, unreadable, as she vanished into the flood of green and gray.

Gone.

Vi collapsed back to her knees. And on the Zaunite side, Sevika climbed the shattered remains of a statue near the ruins. Her coat torn, her metal arm scorched. In her other hand, the flag.

Zaun’s flag.

A tattered green cloth with a dark black sigil. The rising smoke behind her, Firelights watching, Chembarons goons silent, and the masses below breathing the same air for the first time without fear.

She stabbed the flag into the rubble. It flapped proudly against the toxic wind.

“We ain’t just survivors anymore!” Sevika bellowed. Her voice cracked. “We’re Zaun! Free. Finally, fucking free! Let the world remember this day!”

The crowd erupted. Chants of “Zaun! Zaun! Zaun!” echoed through the undercity, louder than bombs, louder than fear.

And still, in the center of it all, just above the wide river… he hovered.

DANTE:
Wings spread like a fallen god.

To Piltover, he was the end. The monster. The walking apocalypse.

To Zaun, he was hope. Vengeance. Salvation.

His red eyes scanned both cities. Piltover was retreating and broken. And Zaun was rising and unified.

The river between them had never been wider. He said nothing. He only turned, wings folding in, and flew away, leaving behind a sky still smoldering and a world forever changed.

MEL:
Mel stood beside the tall window, arms crossed, her golden jewelry dulled by soot in the air as the shockwave was devastating. Her gaze lingered over the river. It was now wider, deeper, more of a gulf than a river.

Camille stood a few feet behind her, expression unreadable as always, arms behind her back.

“They’ve raised their flag…” Mel murmured.

“I saw.”

“They’re united now. For the first time.”

Camille said nothing. She only adjusted the cufflink of her silver glove. Mel turned to her. “There’s still a chance. If we reach out—”

“No.” Camille’s voice was firm, decisive. “Piltover does not kneel. It does not beg. And it will not lower itself to the undercity’s level.”

Mel’s brow tightened. “Then we’ll only breed more devils like him.”

“Devils are a part of the natural order,” Camille said. “But cities survive because of structure. Of strength. You know that better than most.” 

She took a few steps forward, past Mel. “Piltover must remain above. That is our nature. That is why we endure.”

Mel’s fists clenched at her sides. “You sound like my mother.”

Camille paused near the door. “She understood power. That’s at least the only positive thing I found about her.”

“She abused it.”

Camille looked over her shoulder, eyes cold. “Then learn from her mistakes. Just don’t repeat them out of sentiment.”

And with that, she left. He heels tapping down the marble hallway, vanishing behind gilded doors. Mel was alone. Her eyes returned to the window. Below, the smoke of war curled upward. The golden light of Piltover’s remaining towers cast long, cold shadows across the devastation. Somewhere across that water, Zaun was breathing. Rising. Reclaiming.

Mel pressed her hand against the glass.

“I won’t give up on us…” she whispered.

Not on Piltover.
Not on Zaun.
Not on the future.

She turned from the window, walking toward the war table her mother had once sat at, now scattered with blueprints, broken weapons, and fading hopes.

“I’ll rebuild the Medarda name from this city’s ashes.” She said aloud to the empty room. “And I will find a way to reconcile our worlds.”

Her eyes burned with quiet resolve.

“I’ll fight. Even if I’m the last one left who believes it’s possible.”

CAITLYN:
The infirmary in Piltover still smelled like antiseptic and blood. Caitlyn stood near the frosted glass window, her body bandaged and stiff from battle. She hadn’t flinched then. She flinched now. not from pain, but from the weight pressing into her conscience. The Bridge was gone. The enforcers were fractured.

Vi leaned against the wall, arms crossed, bruises across her knuckles and jaw. Her eyes hadn’t stopped moving since they returned from the bridge. She watched Caitlyn carefully, but said nothing until the silence grew too loud to bear.

“You’re thinking about them again?” Vi said softly.

Caitlyn nodded. “The person who took my father… we never found him. And now the Grey’s been weaponized.” 

She turned to Vi, her voice low and tight. “That wasn’t a Zaunite chemical… not just. That was something different. Designed. Planted.”

Vi shifted. “You think it’s all connected.”

“I know it is.” Caitlyn stepped over to a locked cabinet, retrieving a small collection of files and laying them out across the table. Scattered reports, sightings, witness accounts… but nothing concrete. Just shadows and whispers. “Someone used the chaos between Zaun and Piltover to test a weapon. They knew what the Grey could do. They timed it for that moment.”

“Means they knew about the revolt.0 Vi muttered. “And Tony.”

Caitlyn’s expression hardened. “We underestimated him.”

Vi looked down, jaw clenched. “Yeah.”

A pause. Then Vi spoke again, her voice quieter. “Do you think we did the right thing?”

Caitlyn didn’t answer immediately. “I thought I was doing what my mother would’ve wanted. Keeping the peace. Stopping blood from being spilled. But I…” she exhaled sharply. “

“I don’t know now.”

The silence between them wasn’t cold, just heavy. Vi reached out and took Caitlyn hand, fingers interlacing. “You fought for what you believed in. What we believe in, Cupcake.”

“So did they.”

They stood there a moment. The two enforcers, two survivors, two girls clinging to a fragile world crumbling between them.

EKKO:
Zaun was a city scarred. The soot-blackened streets bore the footprints of battle and bloodshed, the remnants of shattered bridges and crushed hopes. Smoke still curled faintly from piles of rubble, and the echo of gunfire seemed to linger in the air long after the last shots had fallen silent. Yet, amid the ruins, life pulsed stubbornly on.

Men and women. Zaunites all worked side by side with grim determination. They lifted twisted beams, carried broken tools, and stacked salvaged bricks. Every raised wall, every patched roof was a silent defiance against those who tried to crush them. Ekko moved carefully through the wreckage, eyes sharp and thoughtful beneath his hair. His attention caught on a small figure crouched beside a pile of debris—a girl no older than twelve, with wild, tangled green hair that shimmered faintly in the dim light.

She looked up, startled, and clutched a ragged stuffed toy to her chest.

“Hey,” Ekko said softly, kneeling to meet her gaze. “It’s okay. You alright?”

The girl nodded hesitantly, but her wide eyes told a story of loss and loneliness.

“What’s your name?” Ekko asked her. 

“I’m Zeri…” she whispered.

Ekko’s heart clenched. Another orphan born into Zaun’s endless struggle. “And your parents?”

“My dad…” she pointed at debris. A cold hand sticking out. 

That made Ekko sad, he knew how it felt losing a parent. 

“Come with me…” he offered gently. “You’re not alone anymore.”

VIKTOR:
Elsewhere, deeper in the maze of Zaun’s underground, Viktor stood motionless before the Mimic. His fingertips brushed the cold metal of her forehead, and a sudden pulse of light flickered between them. The Mimic’s body shimmered. It was now clean, sleek metal now blended seamlessly with smooth, pale skin. A transformation both beautiful and eerie. Viktor’s eyes gleamed with quiet pride and purpose. He was no longer merely a man of science, but the herald of a new era. He was melding arcane and machine to build a future for Zaun.

At the outskirts, Blitzcrank worked steadily, its massive hands stacking timber and stone to rebuild battered homes. Its whirring servos and gentle motions made it a symbol of hope and strength, an unyielding guardian in a fragile world.

SEVIKA:
In a dimly lit room, Sevika and Corina sat across from one another at a worn table, blueprints and maps sprawled between them. Sevika’s mechanical arm glinted under the flickering light as she tapped a spot on the map. 

“The enforcers are regrouping, but their grip is weaker than ever. It’s time we take the next step. Work on our homes. Out people.”

Corina nodded, her fingers brushing over a vial of shimmering petals. “The Grey will be our weapon. We strike where they least expect it.”

Zaun’s scars ran deep, but beneath the ash, a new dawn was stirring.

JINX:
The low hum of distant machinery blended with the faint scent of oil and gunpowder as Jinx sat at the sturdy wooden table, carefully assembling small, intricate bombs. The room around her was a stark contrast to the grime and ruin she’d known. It’s a modest, warm space with cracked but clean windows that let in soft afternoon light.

It wasn’t a hideout anymore. It felt like a home.

Yet, despite the semblance of comfort, Jinx’s eyes held a quiet shadow. Her movements were methodical but slow, her usually wild energy dulled beneath a veil of somber reflection. She was almost… depressed. The weight of recent loss and betrayals pressed heavy on her shoulders.

She sighed, setting down a half-finished bomb and resting her head briefly against her hand, thinking of everything broken—friends, family, the fragile trust she barely held on to.

DANTE:
What happens next? Nothing really. It is inevitable for the sister cites to go at war again, but now she realize there are humans as evil as any devil. 

Downstairs, the door to the once-abandoned two-story office creaked open. Dante stepped inside. The room was alive with quiet life: plush sofas arranged around a battered pool table, a gleaming drum set standing in the corner, and an old jukebox humming softly near the wall. A lone chair sat centered before a worn wooden table, where Dante kicked back with casual ease, the weight of the past momentarily lifted.

Outside, glowing against the twilight, a neon sign flickered steadily: Their shop. Their sanctuary.

Wanna know the name?

DEVIL NEVER CRY

Chapter Text

DANTE:
The days blurred together. Rain pattered against the roof like clockwork, never too heavy, never too soft… just enough to remind them that the world outside kept turning. But inside the two-story building nestled deep in Zaun’s underbelly, time had begun to rot. Each day, like ritual, Dante walked the hallway with a plate in one hand and a bottle of soda or whatever drink Jinx liked most at the time in the other. Some days it was cherry fizz. Some days orange. Some days just water, because even he could see through the denial.

He’d stop at her door.
Set the plate down.
Knock twice.
Sit on the floor.
And wait.

For a while, he thought she might come out. The first week, he spoke to her. Told her stories. Made dumb jokes. Shared what he and Blitz had fixed up in the shop or what Sevika had yelled about this time.

Then, he stopped talking. She never answered. Eventually, he just sat in silence. Until one night. He sat down the plate and sat down on the floor, in front of it. 

“Well, it seems like I’ve got my wish.” Dante murmured. He took a sigh. “Made an demon hunting agency and demons began to pour out in the depths of Zaun. Why? Maybe because what I did back when I decided to separate Valoran and Shurima when I blew up the bridges. I’ll deal with them.”

And after an hour, he’d stand up. Walk away. The food would always be gone by the time he got back to clean up. But the plate barely touched. A bite here, a torn-off crust there, and the drink half-finished, poured into a nearby plant or spilled down the sink.

Sometimes he found the food smashed in the trash. Sometimes not at all. But he still brought it. Every single day. Because it was all he could do.

JINX:
Behind the door, Jinx sat in the same clothes she’d worn for weeks. Her hair unbraided, messy, fallen around her face like a curtain. The room was dark, barely lit by a flickering bulb. She stared at the untouched food like it was a cruel joke.

One bite. That was all she could do.
The rest went in the trash or across the room.

She hated how careful he was with the drinks. How he still remembered her favorites. She hated the knock, the quiet way he sat on the other side of the door, never pushing. Never leaving her alone either.

She hated that it made her cry. She hated how safe it felt.

And yet, for six months, she stayed behind that door. With a part of her broken that not even Dante could reach. Not yet.

DANTE:
Dante was out on a late night walk of the undercity. But he headed to a very secret bar, opening the door as the bell chime.

“What will it be?” The bartender asked as he was to busy cleaning a glass to face Dante. 

“Strawberry sundae.” Dante simple said as he sat down on a stool. 

The bartender turned to looked at Dante. “This a bar, mister. No place for a kid.”

“Really?” Dante said with a raised eyebrow. “Just trying to sweeten the air here. It smells like shit. Or more like… blood. That’s fine with me.”

Dante let there be a moment of silence. A bug flew to the only lightbulb in the bar. The two men playing cards glance at Dante for a moment. 

“Because what I’m interested in is this rumor I heard. They say somewhere around here there’s some bar. More like a dive. A place where they’ll take someone’s life instead of money. Kinda scary if you ask me.”

One of the men playing cards puff on his cigarette before removing it out of his mouth and said: “Sorry, forgive me pal, but you sound like a junkie.”

“Royal straight flush is it?” Dante asked without even looking back at the cards or the men. “Laying a hand like that could kill a guy.”

That had enough of the man as he stood up and turned to Dante. “How about I buy you a round?”

Dante immediately pulled out his gun, putting over his shoulder and shooting the men in the head without looking back. But then—

The men turned into a demon and lunged at Dante, who just moved out the way as the other man turned to a demon as well, lunging at the hunter. Dante immediately pulled out his other and began to shoot at the demons, killing one with ease but the other came in and bit down on Dante’s hand. Blood splashing all over but Dante wasn’t amused by the attack, the gun falling to the ground. 

“Not bad, Mr. Royal Flush.” Dante with a flip of his hand summoned the Rebellion as it came down on the ceiling. 

And with one clean arc, he decapitated the demon’s head off its body. His hand was freed and immediately regenerated from the bite wound as he picked up his pistols and sheathed his Rebellion on his back. He began to walk to the door as the same bug came in flying and landed on the door. Dante just grabbed his sword’s hilt and stabbed the bug, the door’s glass shattering as the bartender came crashing on it, seemingly dead. 

“Next time you open up shop,” Dante pulled the sword from the door and began to walk up the steps, “don’t forget to add up strawberry sundaes to the menu.”

Dante said as he began to walk away, but the bartender corpse turned into a demon and tried to lunged at him but Dante simply turned, both pistols out. 

“Bingo.”

BANG! BANG!

JINX:
Dante’s boots were heavy on the floor, slick with rain and the demon blood mere an hour ago. The door to the shop slammed shut behind him as he threw Rebellion onto the rack and wiped blood off his cheek with the back of his hand.  He was tired. And hungry. Still, he made the plate. Her plate. 

Same pizza. Same damn orange juice. Same path. Up the stair and down the hallway.

He stopped in front of her door, staring at the paint-chipped wood like it personally offended him. Like it had mocked him with silence for six months. He lifted his hand to knock. But he paused and lowered it.

Something snapped in him. 

With a grunt, Dante lifted his boot and kicked the door open. The wood cracked, slamming into the wall with a bang that echoed through the whole building. Jinx was still on the bed, arms curled around her knees, too thin, too pale. Her eyes wide, startled but not scared. She didn’t even scream. Dante stormed in. 

“You think this is living?” He shouted, marching up to her, plate in hand. “You think wasting away like this is what Silco would’ve wanted?! Or even me?!”

Jinx didn’t answer. She just looked away. Wrong move. Dante grabbed her chin, turning her face toward him. “No. Look at me.”

Then he shoved the first slice of pizza into her mouth. She choked, struggled, tried to push him away, but he didn’t let go.

“Chew it…” he growled. “Chew and swallow. You’ve been starving yourself to death behind this damn door for six months. You’re not gonna rot under my roof.”

Another bite. Another shove. She coughed, tears stinging her eyes, gagging more from the shock than anything else.

“You think I’m Silco?” Dante barked, voice cracking now. “You think I want to use you? Turn you into some puppet? Into some kind of weapon? I don’t want you to fight, Jinx. I don’t want you to fix anything. I just—”

He swallowed, breath hitching. “I just want you to live…”

He threw the half-eaten plate across the room, smashing it against the wall. Then his voice lowered to something quieter. Rougher. 

“But if you’re just gonna waste away like this… then leave. Walk out. I won’t stop you.”

He turned to the door, shoulders shaking.

“But if you’re gonna stay… then you’re gonna live. Not as some ghost. Not as some memory. As you.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. Dante stepped out of her room, slammed the broken door behind him, walked back down to the office floor and sat down on the desk, not chair. The desk. He sighed as his finger fiddle with the butt of a knife that was stabbed on his desk, he pulled it off and looked at it. And he thought to himself. 

“How many times have I been stabbed… “

Inside her room, Jinx sat frozen. Pizza crumbs on her shirt. Sauce on her lips.
Tears falling in heavy silence. She curled her arms tighter around her knees, lips trembling, letting out a sob she’d been burying for too long.

The kind that came from being seen, truly seen and still not abandoned. Even by the devil himself. But then, she had the scent of it. 

Blood. 

Downstairs, Dante rolled the knife in his hand, staring at his reflection in the steel. The reflection was warped, broken in the bend of the blade. He almost laughed, but the sound died in his throat. Instead, a darker thought coiled up. Slowly, he hooked his free hand into his shirt collar and tore it open. His chest was bare, pale beneath the uneven glow filtering through windows. He pressed the tip of the knife down, dragging it across skin until it split. Not shallow. Not deep. Just enough to look.

The flesh peeled back, blood weeping, muscle flexing around the wound, yet still, he pried further. His eyes were cold, fixed, waiting for something.

“Do I even have a heart left?” He muttered.

He searched for the beat. For the proof. For the one thing that would tell him he wasn’t just another monster. The knife slipped deeper. The pain was there but dulled, distant, like it belonged to someone else. He didn’t flinch. His hands didn’t shake. A soft thrum answered him. A pulse. A stubborn, steady rhythm beneath all the ruin. He froze, listening to it.

“…Still there…” he whispered. Almost bitter. Almost relieved.

The blood slicked down his torso, dripping onto the desk. He let the knife fall, clattering against the wood. He closed his chest with one hand, the wound knitting slower than usual. His eyes dropped to the floor, voice a rasp caught between thought and confession.

“Then maybe a devil may cry at the fact he he’s still human…”

Jinx slowly rose up, her bare feet quiet on the  floor as she crept to the stairwell. The scent hit stronger the further down she went. Metallic. Fresh. And when she stepped into the frame of the office, her breath caught.

Dante sat slouched on the desk, chest torn open, blood dripping across the grain. In his hand was shaking slightly, but steady enough as he held it. His own heart. Still beating. Flesh wrapped around knuckles slick with red.

Jinx froze mid-step, her whole body trembling. Her lips parted, but no sound came. She wanted to move, scream, do something, but her legs locked. The image seared into her: his heart in his own hand. Dante, who had always been the one who stood when no one else could, who bled and healed himself back together like it was nothing. But this—this wasn’t just fighting. This was doubt. This was a man tearing himself open to see if there was anything left inside.

Her chest tightened. Her throat burned. She wanted to reach him, to stop him. But she couldn’t. Not after what he’d just done for her. Not after force-feeding her when she’d starved herself half to death for six months, dragging her back from the brink when she had given up. And now here he was, breaking in front of her. Because of her. Because he told just told her… “you’re just gonna waste away like this… then leave. Walk out. I won’t stop you. If “But if you’re gonna stay… then you’re gonna live. Not as some ghost. Not as some memory. As you.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with both hands, stifling the sobs that threatened to slip out. She turned and silently retreated up the stairs. Each step felt heavier, colder, like her body weighed more than her bones could carry. Back in her room, she slid down the door, curling in on herself. Her chest hurt with every breath. Her sobs came soundless, wet and shaking.

And the thought clawed at her mind, over and over:

This is my fault.
I ruin everything.
I’m the reason he did this.

For the first time in her life, she had seen Dante not as unbreakable. Not as untouchable. But as broken in a way she didn’t know how to fix.

And she hated herself for it.

DANTE:
The next day, Devil Never Cry office was clean, the blood from last night was completely clean as if it was never there. And Dante leaned back on his chair, one arm draped lazily over the backrest, the other holding Zaun’s latest invention. A phone. His eyes were shut, head tilted up to the ceiling fan spinning slowly above. 

“…Yeah. My usual pizza. Extra pepperoni with prosciutto and garlic potatoes. Yeah, rush it. What? My tab? Ah. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Soon I’ll pay you for everything I owe ya, oh yeah. No olives and be sure to make it a extra large. Don’t forget.”

And with that, Dante tossed the phone back to its holder with ease. Everything was calm until—

ZAP!

He ducked as a blur of green and gold sprinte, followed by the unmistakable crackle of electricity. A loose bolt from the jukebox sparked and fizzled out.

“Hey!” He barked. “That jukebox is older than you!”

Zeri skidded to a halt in front of him, boots half-torn, hair even messier than usual. She gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry! Kinda still figuring out the whole lightning thing.”

Dante sighed and sat up, rubbing his temple. “I don’t do kids.”

Ekko stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest, watching the chaos like a parent who already accepted his fate. “She’s not a normal kid. She’s manifesting control over high-voltage current. Her body’s basically a capacitor now.”

“Great…” Dante muttered. “A living lightning rod.”

Zeri poked at the pool table. Crack. A spark shot off and fried a cue stick in half. Ekko chuckled. “Exactly.”

Dante sighed as he walked over to the pool table.

“Sorry, young lady. Maybe in ten years or so, I’ll ask you out on a date.” He say fully sarcastically. He ain’t that kind of weirdo. 

Zeri scoffed, looking away and pouting. “And I’ll in ten seconds. Me? I’m only into younger guys.”

Dante stared at he then back at Ekko. “You want me and Jinx to take care of her?”

“You, yes. Jinx… eventually.”

Dante laughed, which was a bitter one. “You know I’m not babysitter material.”

“I’m not asking you to play house.” Ekko said, then paused. “Okay. Maybe a little. Just while I reinforce the Firelight base. Make it Zeri-proof.”

Dante narrowed his eyes. “No.”

“C’mon, she needs a place that’s… safe.”

“No.”

“You’re technically the most-powerful person in Zaun.”

As the two men talked, Zeri noticed a portrait on Dante’s desk. A blonde woman. 

“I won’t do it.” Dante said as he began to hit the balls with his cue stick. “I’ve got a pizza on the way.”

Ekko smirked. “About that…”

He dug into his pocket and held up a small silver coin. “Told Andy not to deliver until you clear your tab.”

Dante froze. “You didn’t.”

Ekko flipped the coin. It spun, caught the light, and danced in the air between them. “Double or nothing. I pay your entire debt… if you win.”

Dante gritted his teeth. “Heads.”

The coin clinked onto the table.
Tails.

“Fuck.”

Ekko smiled. “Congratulations, Devil. You’re a babysitter now.”

Dante ran both hands down his face. “I hate you.”

“You’ll live.”

Zeri popped up beside him. “You’re not much of a gambler, are you?

Dante sighed louder. “Shut up. Let’s go, you’re helping me on my work.”

But before Dante and Zeri could leave. Ekko picked up a guitar case. “Dante, you forgot something. You got a show to play, right?”

“A show?” Dante said with an raised eyebrow, hands in his pockets then realized one thing. Zeri didn’t know at the fact Dante isn’t a devil hunter. 

With a sigh he grabbed the case, slinging it on his back as Ekko left to make the Firelights’ base Zeri-proof. 

And so began the storm. Of lightning. Of guilt. Of healing. And of Dante learning the one thing more dangerous than demons—

—pre-teens with powers.

———

The engine rumbled low, a feral growl beneath the hood of the black-and-chrome two-door muscle car tearing down Zaun’s fractured highways. Neon lights flashed by in streaks of green and violet as Dante gripped the steering wheel, one hand lazily dangling over the leather rim. Zeri sat shotgun, legs kicked up on the dash, humming to herself as her fingertips sparked idly against the window.

“I could come and see your show.” Zeri said innocently. “I mean, there must not be anyone who comes to see you otherwise, right?”

“Sorry. But my shows are for adults only.” Dante simple said, eyes on the road.

“So the woman in that picture is coming to your show then, huh?” She asked. 

“Picture?” He repeated. But then immediately knew what she meant. The picture in his desk. It was his long dead mother. 

He didn’t respond, he stayed quiet as he remembered it that night. He found a picture portrait, holding and just thought of his mother, and the picture magically appeared. He doesn’t know if it’s some reality manipulation or demon magic. Maybe both. 

Zeri decided to change topic due to Dante’s silence. “Well, whatever you do, you should buy a new car. I don’t see any romance happening in this car that’s for sure. It’s dirty. It sticks. And it’s falling apart. Don’t you know, when it comes to women it’s not where you take them that’s important, it’s how you get them there.”

Dante gasped as he felt a presence. The interior of the car began to darken unnaturally, shadows creeping from the seams, swallowing the edges of the light.

And then—

“Dante. This girl’s life is mine.” A demon’s voice rang out. 

“Hey are you even listening to me?” Zeri asked as she looked at the frozen Dante. 

Without hesitation, he reached under his seat and pulled out a battered magazine that was garishly pink with glossy letters, “DEATH METAL DOMINATRIXES VOL. 9” and slapped it directly in front of Zeri’s face.

“Hey! Wha—what the—!”

Dante immediately pulled out his pistol, aiming it at the incoming gasoline truck, eyes turning demonic red as he spotted the demon on the truck’s side. Without hesitation, Dante pulled the trigger. Three shots. 

Zeri removed the magazine off her face and glared at Dante. “What’s wrong with you? What was all that about?”

She then realized they’re about to crash as she screamed but Dante avoided it, making sure Zeri didn’t get to see the dead demon. 

“You just keep adult mags around to—block my eyes??”

“It’s called parenting.”

Zeri looked stunned. “You’re insane.”

Dante smirked again, flicking the disc player on. Screamo-metal crackled through the speakers.

“Welcome to Devil Never Cry.”

Zeri grinned. “Okay. You’re kinda cool.”

“Don’t push it, kid.”

———

The train hummed as it sped across the fractured rails between Zaun’s outer boroughs. The distant neon from the undercity glinting across the windowpanes in sharp pulses. Dante laid down on the seat across from her, arms behind his head, boots spread lazily, while Zeri perched beside the window seat, chin in hand, staring down at a small, folded photo in her lap.

“So you can look cute when you want to.” Dante teased Zeri. “Is that a picture of your boyfriend?”

“No. It’s my mom, you halfwit. And she’s a lot prettier than your girlfriend.” Zeri snapped, but Dante didn’t put much attention to her reaction. “But, I don’t remember anything about her. My mom got sick and died when I was a baby that’s what my dad told me. That’s why I don’t remember anything my mother. The only thing I have is this picture of her.”

The sound of the train wheels clattering beneath them filled the silence.

“Beautiful woman.” A new voice suddenly cut in. “Just like her daughter.”

Zeri turned, startled, as a sharply dressed man in a dusty gray coat approached, flashing too many teeth. He didn’t wait for permission. He sat down beside her, his knee brushing against hers, eyes unblinking.

Dante didn’t move. “Can I help you?”

The man chuckled. “Is it alright if I sit here? I don’t bite.”

Before Dante could respond, Zeri immediately threw his guitar case back at him and patted the seat. “Here you go!”

“Thank you.” The man said as he sat down next to Zeri. “Hope I’m not bothering you.”

“You’re not bothering me. But I can’t promise you’ll live long.”

Dante said nonchalantly 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Zeri asked loudly, thinking it was a threat to the innocent man. They passed a dark tunnel for less than a second as Zeri was still talking, her eyes closed in annoyance. “I mean really? Would anyone need some promise like that? Just because they—“

She opened her eyes and the man fall down, dead. His blood pooling down on the trains floor. Zeri whimpering at the gore. 

Dante glanced at the body, his nonchalant act still strong. “Good grief. That’s why I told you.”

It wasn’t long that the few people and a conductor came to the scene. Everyone surrounding Dante and Zeri. Zeri curled up to a ball as Dante sat up, looking at the corpse. 

“He was beat to death. Damn.” Dante said. 

“It can’t be. Was it you?” An old man said accusingly, pointing at Dante. 

The conductor looked down at Dante. “You. How about you? You better start telling me what’s going on here.”

“Sure. So how do you want me to run this little scenario by you?” Dante started. He looked at everyone and began to use his detective skills that he rarely use. “So for the ten seconds or so that this train was in the tunnel. In this car there was those three, me and the girl. And then our dead friend here, that makes six. First off, the old man… he didn’t do it. And the couple there was making out in the dark. And that’s how she was.”

“So that only leaves you.” The conductor said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Nope. There was one more person. Or to be more precise… one more thing.” Dante said as the window besides Zeri, a demon was stalking her. The train went back into another tunnel. 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets flew across the train car’s ceiling and walls. Once the train came out of the tunnel, Zeri’s eyes were wide as the demon was gunned down, revealing to be the very same man that sat next to Zeri. It was still alive but Dante just angled his gun downwards with his wrist and killed it. Picking up the guitar case and walked away like nothing ever happened. Zeri immediately followed. 

As the train came to its stop, Dante and Zeri walked away. The city felt colder than usual.

Zeri walked quietly, arms wrapped around herself. “That man on the train, do you know who killed that guy?”

“Who knows.” Dante said as he kept walking, his hands in his pockets. 

“It was a demon. He was killed by a demon wasn’t he? Could… could a demon be hunting me down too?” Dante didn’t respond, Zeri decided to say something else instead. “You think she’d be proud of me? My mom?”

Dante didn’t answer right away. Then he said. “You’re still standing, ain’t you?”

Zeri looked up at him.

“Then keep walking.”

She gave a small nod. And they kept walking.

———

The hotel was the kind of place that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the old Piltover oppression days. Yellow lighting, peeling wallpaper, a soft hum from an old fan in the lobby.

“Welcome to our hotel.” The manager said, he look inhumane. But Dante didn’t seem to be bothered. 

“Give us your cheapest room. I don’t give a damn if it gets sun or not. We’ll be out of here first thing in the morning anyhow.” Dante handed the manager gold coins. 

“One adult and one child.” The manager said as he counted down the coins and reached for the room’s keys. 

Dante grabbed the keys and began to walked up the stairs but stopped as he spotted Zeri looking at a poster on the wall.

“What are you doing? Come one, let’s get some sleep.”

“That’s my mother.” Zeri simply said without taking her eyes off the poster. 

“What?” Dante said annoyed. 

“My mom.” Zeri muttered then looked back at the creepy manager. “Mister!”

“Yes, what is it?” He asked without turning to face them. 

“Where can I go to meet this woman?”

“Well…”

“What are you taking about?” Dante intercepted their convo, feeling suspicious. “I thought your mother died. Come on.”

With a sad sigh Zeri followed Dante up the stairs and towards the room. But the manager chuckled darkly. 

The room wasn’t much better than the lobby. Faint smell of mold. One cracked lamp, one bed with stiff sheets and one small couch. Dante plopped down on the couch so Zeri could take the bed. 

“This place is a tight fit.” Dante muttered out in annoyance as he closed his eyes. “Get to bed. Tomorrow’s gonna be an early day.”

“I didn’t tell you the truth.” Zeri began. She didn’t want me.”

Dante opened his eyes to glance at her for a second then closed his eyes . “What?”

“The hospital director…” Zeri said, voice low. “He told me my mother… gave me up. Said I was a burden. That she didn’t want to raise someone like me. I never knew if he was lying.”

She looked at Dante with wide, uncertain eyes.

“Is that why demons always go after people like me? People no one wants? Do I die too, in the end?”

Dante’s face kept staring at the ceiling. The ticking of the wall clock filled the pause.

“Who knows…” he muttered. “Maybe. Maybe not. That’s life.”

Zeri frowned. “That’s not helpful.”

“Neither is the truth. Go to sleep now.”

She lay down, curling up beneath the sheets, still hugging the worn photo of her mother. But the look in her eyes didn’t fade. Not even as sleep came to claim her.

———

The clock read 3:17 AM when Dante stirred. The room was colder than usual.  And it was because Zeri’s bed was empty. He stood up instantly and moved to the door, opening it. Downstairs, he stalked into the lobby, boots heavy against the tile.

“Hey, where’s my niece?” Dante asked to the manager. 

“Niece?”

“The kid I checked in with.”

The manager hummed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

Dante turned to the poster of Zeri’s mother still hanging on the wall and without warning, he drew one of his pistols and fired.

BANG!

The poster ignited in purple fire, shrieking as it melted into black sludge. The scent of brimstone filled the room. The shriek came not from the paper, but the air around it. Something invisible was burned through. The manager’s face twitched darkly but Dante was already pointing his gun at him. 

“Bastard. What the hell are you?”

The manager chuckled. “Speaking of hell, you should know I know all about you.”

“Yeah?” He looked down at the blade which the manager’s hand slowly reached. “Then you know that thing won’t be enough to kill me, don’t you?”

“Uh…”

Dante’s blue eyes turned demonic red. “So, where Zeri?”

———

The car sped through the twilight-stained streets of Zaun, every light casting long shadows on the cracked windshield. Dante sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel, the other gripping the collar of the manager’s collar. 

“Well, you see, I’ve gotten orders from above.”

Dante’s eyes eyes narrowed. “Black Rose? I know about the whole deal with them stealing magic from children.”

The manager’s smirk twitched.

“Thought so.” Dante muttered, gaze locked ahead. “They never liked wild cards. Especially ones that shoot lightning from their fingers.”

He slammed the brakes. The demon jolted forward with a hiss.

“You’re not scared of her.” Dante  said, staring into its twisting features. “You’re scared of what she’ll become. That’s the whole game, isn’t it? Keep her looking backward so she never sees what’s ahead.”

The manager didn’t answer. Dante opened the door and dragged him out, chains wrapping around his arms in one motion. With a single boot, he pinned him against a rusted pillar in an alleyway, the shadow of the opera house looming in the distance.

“She’s just a kid…” he said quietly. “But if she dies under my watch, I promise you that I’ll do more than kill you.”

He left the manager strung up in shadows and firelight, the chains glowing with runes that sizzled against its skin. Then he stepped into the dark.

ZERI:
The opera house stood like a monument from another time. Wit its graceful arches, cracked pillars, ivy curling up the balconies. It was quiet, too quiet. Zeri’s steps echoed on the marble as she crept deeper inside. And went straight into a theater. There she spotted a woman with green hair and she immediately knew it was her. 

“Moma!” Zeri ran into the stage where the light casted down on her mother. And embraced her. 

But something was off. Her mother didn’t age. Her skin had the sheen of porcelain. Her eyes gleamed too sharply. And when she smiled, it didn’t reach her soul. But Zeri didn’t care, she was too emotional and she’s still a child. 

“I’m sorry, Zeri. I won’t do anything to make you feel again.” She said to calmly. 

“You promise?”

The lights turned off as the woman’s face turned demonic. “Because you’re about to die right now and your mom’s gonna kill you!!”

The background of the stage dropped down as more demons appeared from its shadows and charged at Zeri who shielded herself with a few bolts of electricity but that wasn’t enough to hurt them. But something was. 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets rang out, hitting the demons, pushing the away from Zeri and a backdrop fell between Zeri and the demons. Zeri looked at the entrance of the room as she saw him. 

DANTE:
He was walking for the stairs, a light shining on him. 

“Hey there. You’re not actually into lame operas like this, now are ya?”

“Dante!” Zeri looked at him as he had a faint smirk. “I—I thought my mom was…”

“Looks like we have to wait for our touching finally.” Dante gently interrupted her. The backdrop shook behind Zeri. 

Just as the demons were about to lunge at her, Dante jump over and kicked the demons away, landing between them and Zeri. He raised his gun up and shot another backdrop. 

“Sorry, honey. But this show isn’t for kids.”

The demons and Dante’s showdowns alongside the pistols’ blasts was the only thing Zeri could see. Dante was easily killing the demons, but Zeri was completely frozen. 

Until a hand grabbed her shoulder from the shadows as the manager came in behind her. 

“I’m so sorry, Ms. but I’m afraid is now for you to die. Because I was promised I’d be greatly rewarded by my masters if I killed you if the others failed to do so.” He chuckled darkly as he was about to lean even closer and…

BANG!

He pulled back as he looked at Dante’s shadow on the backdrop, a hole from the bullet he shot just a moment ago smoking. 

“Hit the road.” Dante said. And so the manager was about to do that but—

BANG!

The manager’s head turned back to its demon form as it exploded in a burst of violet flame before he made it to the door. Dante lowered his smoking gun.

“He was still a demon.” Dante muttered. “Cowards get bullets too.”

Zeri stared at him, mouth open. He stepped past the backdrop and towards her, offered her his hand.

“C’mon, Sparkplug. Let’s go home.”

She took it, small fingers tightening around his palm. And they walked away from the phantom stage, the last echoes of a mother that never was fading behind them.

———

Morning light filtered through the grimy windows of Devil Never Cry, catching flecks of dust in midair like suspended embers. The office was quiet except for the sound of a spoon clinking against a glass bowl. Zeri sat cross-legged on the couch, licking the edge of a mostly-finished strawberry sundae, her cheeks puffed with guilt and satisfaction. Around her, the formerly industrial interior of the office had been invaded with streamers, mismatched banners, scattered LED lights in obnoxiously bright colors. A giant paper sign, written in glitter pen, hung lopsided above the front desk:

“WELCOME HOME, ZERI.”

She blinked up as Ekko walked in, hoodie halfway off his shoulder, a tired grin across his face.

“You didn’t have to eat his sundae.” Ekko teased.

Zeri wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “It’s fine. I received compensation.”

“Compensation?” Ekko said amused with an eyebrow raised. 

“Yep. Because I’m a little girl, who’s been scarred from being exposed to the ugly world of adults.”

Ekko chuckled and ruffled her hair. “The base is ready again, by the way. Safe. Reinforced. Even has lightning rods just in case you sneeze too hard.”

She blinked. “I don’t sneeze lightning—”

“Not yet.”

She laughed, light and real. A door opened as Dante stepped out, pants around him as he was drying his white hair that clinging to his jaw with a towel. 

“Ah. Ekko, you here.”

“Yup.”

Dante gaze scanned the office. “I thought my strawberry sundae would’ve been delivered by the time I got out of the shower.”

“That strawberry sundae?” Ekko gestured at the empty cup on Zeri’s hands. 

“WHAT?” Dante said in shock and mock of betrayal. “HEY! THAT WAS MINE.”

He then scanned the office once more and saw how Zeri vandalize the place. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is my place. Let’s get this straight. My place. Mine.”

“It was totally filthy and dorky. So I cleaned it up. And did some cool decorating.” Zeri said smugly with a shrugs on her shoulders. 

“Cute’s a relative term. I’m more concerned about my goddamn dessert.”

“That’s the charge for my work. Thanks. It was the best sundae ever.” Zeri said with a grin. 

JINX:
Later, the rain came down soft that night. Muted against the windows, like the city had nothing left to scream. Inside Devil Never Cry, Dante sat alone at his desk, a chipped mug of whiskey in his hand and an unopened bottle of something stronger sweating beside him. The lights were off, save for the dim red glow of the neon sign outside, casting long, jagged shadows across the walls. The jukebox had long stopped playing. No music. No voices. No footsteps.

Just him. And the ghosts.

“Bless me with the 
Leaf off the tree
On it, I see
The freedom reign
We are falling 
The light is calling 
Tears inside me 
Calm me down”

He was on top of his desk on re more, like a cat. Or a depressed dog. Papers littered the desk. Things such as contracts, demon sigils, news clippings of missing people and mutilated corpses. A mission was waiting. There was always another mission for. 

But none of it filled the hole in his chest.

Jinx hadn’t come out in days. Zeri had left with Ekko. And everyone else is either dead or enemies. Such as Vi. 

He took another sip, wincing as it burned down. He wasn’t angry. Not anymore. Just…

Empty.

The chair creaked. The desk was cold under him, but then—

Arms. Slender. Quiet. Shaky, but real. Wrapped around him from behind. Her chin rested on his shoulder like a whisper from the past.

Jinx.

“Midnight calling 
Mist of reing
Solving 
Crown me with the
Pure green leaf
Grace to my father
Blessed by the water
Black night, dark sky”

She didn’t say anything at first. She didn’t have to. He didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. He was afraid that if he blinked, she’d be gone again. But she was warm. She was there.

“…I wanna help…” she murmured, voice cracked, almost ashamed. “With the devil hunting stuff.”

Dante blinked at her words.  She squeezed him tighter. “I can build shit. Blow shit up. I know how to fight, even if I’m a little messed up in the head…”

He turned slightly. Not enough to break the hug. Just enough to see a sliver of her face. Her eyes were dull, tired but trying.

“…I don’t want to rot…” she whispered. “Not anymore.”

Dante sat there, the whiskey still burning in his throat, her arms still trembling around him. He didn’t shrug her off, didn’t move away. He just let the silence breathe between them until her words stopped echoing in his skull.

“You really think you wanna walk that road?” He muttered, voice low, roughened by smoke and drink. He slid the mug across the desk, far from his reach now. “Devil hunting isn’t like your toys, Blue. It ain’t games. It ain’t enforcers with rules and badges and cells to stuff people in. It’s teeth and fire and shit that doesn’t sleep. Doesn’t care if you scream.”

Jinx swallowed, her cheek still pressed to his shoulder. “And what, you think I don’t know scary? You think I haven’t seen teeth, fire, screams?” 

Her voice cracked, but she forced the words out. “Dante… I’m already messed up. Already half-way gone. At least this way… I’d be doing it with you.”

He finally turned then, slow, careful, until he was facing her. The red glow from outside painted half her face in bloody neon, the other half lost in shadow. Her eyes—tired, raw, but burning with something he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Conviction.

“…Jinx…” he said, using her name instead of Blue or Bluebell for once. His hand rose, brushing some of her loose hair away from her face. 

“This path? It doesn’t make you better. It doesn’t fix shit. If you step into it, you’ll bleed. You’ll break. And if you’re lucky? You’ll keep breathin’.”

She sniffed, tears clinging to her lashes, but her lips curved in that half-crooked grin he knew too well. “Sounds like home already.”

Dante stared at her a long moment. Long enough for the rain to patter louder against the glass. Long enough for the ghosts in the room to get quiet. Then he smirked, though there was no joy in it, only weary understanding.

“…Fine. You wanna hunt devils with me? Then you start small. You don’t touch a thing till I say you’re ready. You mess up, it won’t just be your blood on the floor—it’ll be mine too. You get that?”

Jinx nodded quick, her grin widening through the wetness on her cheeks. “I get it. I’ll earn it. You’ll see.”

Dante leaned back on the desk, eyes still locked on hers. “Then welcome to the shitshow, partner. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Her arms squeezed tighter around him, and for the first time in days, maybe weeks, something shifted in the air. Not healed. Not whole. But alive.

“The devils cry”

Dante let himself breathe.

Chapter Text

SHURIMAN HIGHWAY:
The Shuriman highway was alive with fire and speed in the middle of the night. Three motorcycles screamed down the cracked concrete, engines howling like wild animals.

“Faster, baby!” The man in first place whooped through the loud noise of the engines, cutting across lanes and popping his front wheel off the ground.

“You’re going too fast!” The one in second place warned as he was gripping his handlebars like his life depended on it. “You’re gonna blow out your frame—”

The motorcyclist laughed. “Then stay in the kiddie lane.”

Their third rider, in last place called out to them. “We should turn around…” she muttered. “Something’s off.”

But the race kept going either way. Then a new sound came in. It wasn’t exactly an engine. Just a pulse of low, grinding noise. Like bones dragging on pavement. Out of nowhere, a fourth bike roared past them. Matte black. The body looked welded together from scrap and bone. The rider wore no identifiable gear. Only a black helmet that gleamed like obsidian, and the faint glow of hellfire underneath the frame.

The leader blinked. “What the—?”

The ghost bike surged ahead and passed the leader, which his instincts flared.

A challenger. 

He grinned. “Oh, you wanna dance?”

“Wait, no! Don’t!” The one in second place shouted. “That thing’s—!”

But the leader was already leaning forward, throttle twisted all the way back, the wind tearing at his jacket. He was almost on it.

“Let’s see what you got, freak.”

But as he got close it, the biker turned its head. There were no eyes inside the helmet. Just burning red slits of flame. And then—

It vanished. The leader blinked, the bike was completely gone. And so was the road. His front wheel hit a jagged edge and the  bike flipped. He didn’t even have time to scream. The crash was instant. Metal shrieked. Flames erupted. The leader’s body was flung through the air like a ragdoll. The other two bikers skidded to a stop in horror, watching the wreck burn.

And far from the distance, two men in suits didn’t flinch. “Confirmed. Demonic presence attached to the vehicle. Mid-level demon.”

JINX:
Rain fell like broken glass and Zaun groaned beneath black clouds, streets slick with oil and reflection. Neon signs blinked above shuttered windows, flickering with promises no one believed.

Jinx stood silently beneath a crooked lamppost, soaked through. Her hair hung limp against her shoulders, shadows pooled under her eyes. The pistol at her hip was hidden under her long cloak, the barrel damp from waiting.

A man approached her. And he was smiling, clean-shaven, dressed in a too-neat suit with too-white teeth.

“You alright, sweetheart?” He asked, pulling his umbrella up. “You waiting for someone?”

She didn’t answer. He looked her over once more. She looked young, cold, beautiful in a dangerous way. “Well, if your boyfriend’s left you out here, he’s an idiot.”

The  man added, voice syrupy smooth. “Why don’t I buy you something hot? There’s a diner down the street. Warm food, warm seat…”

A pause. Then Jinx nodded once.

“…Sure,” she said, “why don’t you follow me hotshot.”

But the thing is, they didn’t make it to the diner. Instead, Jinx led him through rusted alleys and collapsed fences until they arrived at a long-abandoned building, once a tenement complex. The man stopped at the threshold, raising an eyebrow.

“There’s nothing here.” He said, glancing around. “No food. No people. Just rot.”

“That’s funny…” Jinx said quietly, her hand resting on the doorknob. “Because that’s where you belong.”

She pushed open the door. Inside, mold clung to the wallpaper like decay in slow motion. Broken glass crunched under their feet. The stench of mildew and something else. It was something metallic that clung to the air. Jinx stopped in front of a closet. Slowly, she opened it as something fell down. 

Human skulls.

Dozens of them. Stacked in rows. Some still with hair. But most clean, only stained with rotten blood.  The man’s face didn’t change.

“You really brought me here to—what, accuse me of something?” He asked, smile thinning.

“I don’t need to accuse,” Jinx replied, “I know. You pick up girls. Lonely ones. Hungry ones. You feed them. Make them feel safe. Then they disappear. Funny thing is…”

She stepped back, raising her hand.

“…I’m not so lonely.”

The man’s voice deepened. “You were supposed to be bait.”

His face peeled open. The skin splitting at the cheeks, his jaw stretching wider than humanly possible. Black horns spiraled out of his scalp as his spine cracked and reassembled. His arms elongated, claws extending. Flesh twisted until there was nothing left of the man and only the hulking, snarling demon beneath the disguise.

Jinx’s smile returned and it was wild. Her blue eyes turned pink, and her pink demonic patterns glowed in her pale skin. And just as the demon swiped at her, she jumped, the cloak she was wearing feel off but she didn’t care. She just for a Chomper on her belt and pulled the pin, tossing it lazily.

BOOM!

The bomb exploded in pink flames, burning and damaging the demon.

“I prefer you in this from.” Jinx said with a smirk as she landed back on the floor. 

The demon charged through the smoke and put, but Jinx was already mid-air once more, pulling out her pistol. 

“Wrong girl to mess with.”

She fired point-blank into the demon’s chest, sending it reeling.

Then came the chains she found on the floor, using her inhuman speed to combine both chain and a few Chompers, throwing it at the demon and aimed the shot. 

“Pow.” She pulled the trigger, bullet hitting the grenade as it blew up, causing the other Chompers to blow up in a chain reaction. 

And finally. There was silence. The demon collapsed, half of its body missing, twitching. Jinx stood over the corpse, with a pose of that like a drunk ballerina. 

“Nicely done.”

Jinx turned gun pointed at the two men in black suits stood at the ruined entrance, untouched by the rain or smoke. One of them adjusted his gloves. The other held up a badge. 

“Who the hell are you guys?”

“Shuriman Highway Department.” The gloved one said calmly. “Division 9.”

Jinx narrowed her eyes. “You’re not enforcers?”

“No. But we’ve been wanting to find your… boyfriend.” His voice was even. “Dante.”

She froze slightly at that name.

“We’re not here to arrest him.” The man added. “We need him. But since he’s hard to reach, we thought maybe the girl who used to share his bed might be easier to talk to.”

Her grip tightened. Dante’s name still landed like a hammer in her stomach, even after weeks of pretending it didn’t. She forced a crooked grin. 

“Boyfriend, huh? Hate to break it to you, suit, but we’re not like that. We’re just—” She cut herself off, her tone turning sharp. “—friends. Platonic. He’s my… partner. Devil hunting partner. That’s it.”

The gloved one tilted his head slightly, studying her like a bug under glass. “If you say so. Labels don’t concern us.” 

His gaze flicked around the ruined space, the smoldering demon carcass, the spent shell casings. “What concerns us is ability. And from what we’ve heard, you and Dante have quite a reputation.”

Jinx lowered her pistol, just slightly. “…Heard? From who? And why’s the Shuriman Highway Department crawling down into Zaun? You guys even know how to breathe the air down here without choking?”

The badge man didn’t blink. “We go where we must. And what we need, your enforcers can’t handle. Not Piltover. Not Zaun. Certainly not Demacia. We need specialists.”

The gloved one stepped forward, his shoes somehow untouched by the blood-soaked floor. His voice was lower, more direct. “Dante’s… not easy to reach. He avoids contact. But you…” 

His eyes narrowed, as if he could see through her smirk. “…you’re here. You fight alongside him. Which means you can bring him to us.”

Jinx gave a sharp laugh, though it sounded hollow even to her. “Bring him? Ha! You think I can make Dante do anything? You’re dumber than you look.”

The badge man’s expression didn’t change. “We’re not asking you to force him. We’re asking you to deliver a message. Division 9 has work for Devil Never Cry. Paid work. Work suited only to someone like him.”

“…And me?” Jinx asked, her grin slipping into something sharper, more daring. “Or am I just the courier in this little play?”

The gloved man gave the faintest hint of a smile. “Travel, pay, and the occasional license to kill. You already qualify.”

The man reached into his coat and tossed her a card. Jinx caught it mid-air with ease and looked down at it as it only had only had two lines:

“Division 9”
“Follow the Road.”

She stared at it and slowly smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

DANTE:
Devil Never Cry had never seen better days. The cracked ceiling fans spun lazily overhead, throwing shadows across peeling walls and scattered ammo boxes. A faint smell of gun oil, ozone, and pizza lingered in the air like a permanent guest. 

“Unbelievable!” Zeri whined as she was rearranging the whole place. “Guys places are such a mess. No one is gonna come to a style like this. Much less any clients.”

Dante didn’t look up from his book. A worn paperback with a missing cover and bloodstains on the spine. He sat in his chair, legs kicked up on the table, one hand turning a page, the other loosely holding a half-empty beer.

“Style.” He  replied , his voice calm as always. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Style?” She echoed with a scoff. “It looks like a demon exploded in here and nobody cleaned up the guts.”

“That did happen once.” Dante said, flipping a page. “We mopped most of it. Eventually.”

And just then, a voice came from the outside. 

“Mister Dante.”

Zeri looked at the door. “It’s a customer?”

“Nope.” Dante simple said. 

The door opened as it was revealed to be the pizza guy. “I got one basil and spicy salami pizza with no olives.”

Dante walked over to the door. “Thanks. I’ll pay you for everything I owe at the end of the month.”

And just like that, he grabbed the pizza and slammed the door in front of the pizza guy. He just went back to his table. 

“Pizza again?” Zeri whined with a sigh. “So, when do you think clients will start coming today?”

The box hit the table with a thud and Dante slid back into his chair, flipped it open, and plucked out a slice with all the ceremony of a man unwrapping a relic. Steam curled up into the lazy ceiling fan draft. He bit in, chewed once, twice, and let the silence drag.

Zeri stood with her hands on her hips, glaring like she’d caught him committing some high crime. “So that’s it? Beer, pizza, and dust bunnies the size of poros? You really think this is how a business runs?”

Dante didn’t even look up. “Worked so far.”

Zeri threw her hands in the air. “Worked so far?! Your waiting room looks like the inside of a grenade, Dante! What client’s gonna walk in here and go, ‘oh, yeah, these are the professionals I want to trust with my life’?”

Dante finally glanced over the edge of his book, one brow arched, slice halfway to his mouth. “They don’t come here for the paint job, Sparky. They come here because when something ugly crawls out of the dark and starts chewing on their family, I put it back in the ground. Simple as that.”

Zeri groaned, grabbing a broom from the corner and sweeping furiously. “Yeah, yeah, Devil Never Cry, fixer of problems, slayer of demons, big scary guy who never cleans up after himself. What if someone important shows up, huh? You think they’ll wanna step over pizza boxes and bullet casings just to get your attention?”

And just at that, the door opened as Zeri turned. “Welcome! Come right in!”

Zeri greeted with a wide grin and closed eyes. She then looked up and saw her. 

Jinx, holding the door opened and a backpack slung over her shoulder, she was looking at Dante. 

“So I leave for two months for my ‘demon hunter’ training handbook that you gave me and this place becomes a dump?”

Dante didn’t even glance up from his pizza, just raised the slice in lazy salute. “Good to see you’re alive, Bluebell. Manuals didn’t kill you, huh.”

Jinx stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind her with her boot. Her backpack thudded against the wall as she let it slide off her shoulder. “Alive, but bored out of my skull. You call that thing a handbook? It’s like you photocopied a Bible and sprinkled in doodles of demons with big teeth.”

Dante just chewed on his pizza, swallowed, and shrugged. “Keeps the rookies alive.”

Zeri, still clutching the broom, blinked. Then her whole face lit up. “Wait. You’re Jinx? Like—like the Jinx? The one who—who blew up the Council?”

Jinx’s mouth curled in a grin. “In the slightly radioactive flesh.”

“Oh, this is so cool!” Zeri rushed forward, nearly tripping over a crate of spent casings. “I’ve heard about you from Ekko. You’re like—like an engineer savant! And insane! In the best way!”

Dante just muttered into his pizza. “More like worst way.”

Neither of them heard him. Jinx tilted her head, eyes bright with mischief. “So, you’re the little zaprat that won’t leave this dump alone?”

Zeri practically beamed. “That’s me! Zeri. You’re so much cooler than Dante made you sound.”

Jinx barked a laugh and shot Dante a look over her shoulder. “Oh yeah? What’d he say about me?”

Dante didn’t bother looking up from the pizza box. “Loud. Reckless. Trouble.”

Jinx grinned wider. “Aw. He does think about me.”

Zeri snorted, instantly on Jinx’s side. “He’s just salty because I told him his place smells like demon butt. You, though? You get it. Style and chaos. Respect.”

Dante finally set the slice down, sighing through his nose. “Great. Two of you now. What are you here for? If it’s about some job thank but no thanks. Because every ‘job’ you’ve tossed me since your little handbook vacation was trash. Suicide runs. Freaks two leagues above your paygrade. I’m not cleaning up after your disasters again.”

She tilted her head, feigning innocence. “Oh, come on, don’t be such a wet blanket, Dante. This one’s different.”

“They’re always different.” He leaned back, chair creaking under him. “And then I end up knee-deep in demon guts while you’re learning how not to blow yourself up.”

Zeri leaned on the broom, eyes darting between them like she was watching the best soap opera of her life.

Jinx hopped off the desk and sauntered toward the dusty pool table shoved against the wall. She twirled a cue stick in her hand and smacked the chalk cube against it. “Tell you what. Let’s make it fun.”

Dante raised an eyebrow. “Fun is usually code for ‘idiotic’ when it comes from you.”

She smirked, leaning over the table with a pose that was equal parts dramatic and reckless. “If I sink the eight ball in one shot, you take the job. No questions. No excuses. You’re my partner on this one.”

“And if you don’t?” Dante asked, eyes narrowing.

Her smile turned wicked. “Then I’ll drop it. No more whining about your crap teaching methods. And I’ll sweeten the pot. As a whole twenty thousand. In cash.”

That got Dante to sit up straight. “Twenty. Thousand.”

Jinx winked. “Guess you don’t believe in me.”

Zeri whispered, almost bouncing. “Oh, this is so good.”

Dante sighed through his nose, rubbing his temple. “…Fine. Do your little trick shot. But when you screw it up, I want that cash in my hands before the end of the week.”

Jinx lined up, tongue poking between her teeth as she drew the cue back. With one sharp crack, the cue ball shot forward, clacking perfectly against the eight ball. It rolled smooth as silk across the felt, kissed the rail once, twice and then dropped clean into the corner pocket.

Thunk.

The silence was loud. Jinx straightened, spinning the cue like a showman’s cane. “And that’s game, baby.”

Zeri threw both hands in the air like a fan in the crowd. “No way! She nailed it!”

Dante stared at the table. At the pocket. At her smug, expectant grin. His jaw tightened. “…You cheated.”

“Pfft, no.” She waggled a finger. “I hustled you. Big difference.”

Dante pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering curses under his breath. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, resigned. “Fine. One job. But I swear, if this turns into another trip through hell—”

Jinx cut him off, grabbing a slice of his pizza without asking. “Relax, Hellblood. This one’s a cakewalk.”

He watched her bite into it, already regretting every life decision that led him to this point.

“So? Who’s the poor son of a bitch this time?”

“Demons. Of course.” Jinx simply said as she snatched the last slice of pizza. 

———

The biker lot was a half-abandoned scrapyard littered with oil stains, rusted car frames, and the distant hum of thunder rolling over the horizon. Engines roared, low and guttural like beasts begging to be unleashed. Men and women in leather jackets laughed over cigars, some cleaning weapons, others tuning bikes that looked like they’d been welded together by warlocks.

Dante stepped into the place first, heavy boots crunching against gravel. He took one look around, his expression already deadpan.

“What the hell is this?” He then looked back over his shoulder at Jinx. “There’s no way in hell these morons can be the demons you were telling me about.”

“Yeah, well, look.” She pointed at the biker gang’s name. ‘Devils Nests’. “As far as the Shuriman Highway Department is concerned, these guys are real demons. Or are you scared?”

Dante rolled his eyes at Jinx’s teasing. “Don’t mess with me, Bluebell. Why would a demon hunter waste time taking out a bunch of bikers?”

Jinx leaned against her own balance. “Oh, please. Don’t act like you’ve got some holy code. You don’t just take out demons. I’ve seen you, remember? You don’t hesitate when it’s flesh and blood. You’ve iced people. Humans. No horns, no tails. Just meat and bone.”

Dante’s jaw flexed, but his expression didn’t crack. He stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she heard. “Difference is, I don’t hunt people for sport. Or coin… we’ll debatable on that part. But that’s not the point. I go after soldiers who carve kids in half. Syndicates who bleed the undercity dry. Gangs that get too close to the people I give a damn about. That’s it.”

Jinx tilted her head, eyes narrowing, voice a little sharper now. “So what, you’re like some knight with a demon-slaying sword, picking and choosing who’s worthy of your judgment?”

He met her glare, flat and unflinching. “I kill what threatens what’s mine. Doesn’t matter if it crawls out of hell or out of a bar down the block. If it’s a threat? I end it.”

For a beat, the rumble of bikes filled the silence between them, one of the Devils Nests revving just to show off. Sparks flew from a welding torch nearby. Jinx gave a crooked grin, though her eyes stayed on him. “You say that like it’s noble.”

Dante finally smirked, a humorless, razor-thin line. “Never said it was.”

Jinx scoffed and looked at the biker gang. “Don’t worry, Hellblood. You won’t need words or weapons to deal with these pansies? Follow me.”

Jinx walked over got the gang who were talking to each other. 

“Where’s the big guy who organized this party?”

The music stopped as the new leader of the gang stepped up. “I’m Vincent, the leader of the Devils Nests. What do you want?”

Jinx walked up to him, putting her hands on her hips. “Don’t mean to just the party but you guys need to hit the road.” 

“What are you talking about?”

Then another guy came in. “We do what we want where we want.”

“See?” Dante said towards Jinx. “Talking to losers who don’t know what a pain in the ass they are is a waste of time. Bye”

“What did you say?”

Vincent put a hand on the guy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about the he inconvenience to you guys. Would you let us do our thing for now? There’s this asshole that I’m looking for that I have to fight. My older brother ran against him three weeks ago and got killed.”

He clenched his fist as if he was doing a vow. “This guys a legend on the highway and everyone who’s run against him is dead and come hell or highway, I will avenge my brother. So you and your girlfriend here need to move on or else.”

Dante sighed as he put a hand on his hip. “What a loud of crap. If you ask me your brother getting killed racing others around is dumb enough. But you’re dumber than he is for trying to get revenge for his death.”

“What did you say?” Vincent was about to walk up to Dante but Jinx grabbed his arm like nothing to stop him. 

“Hold on. If you wanna pick a fight so bad, why don’t you race him?” Jinx said with a smirk as that got Vincent’s attention. “If you lose you and your crew leave this place quietly.”

“Hey, Bluebell, what do you thing you’re doing?” Dante asked her. 

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” She looked at him over her shoulder. “If you win your job’s finished and the money will be all yours.”

“Wait a damn minute, I’m not—“

Jinx put a finger on Vincent’s lips to cut him off. “This guy you’re talking about, his name’s Red Eye, correct? Well, if you race my partner, chances are this Red Eye will show up, won’t her?”

“Maybe…?”

Jinx just gave him a wink and looked back at Dante with a smirk. 

———

The wind roared like a beast with no throat. Thunder cracked overhead on the dark night’s sky, but no one looked up. All eyes were on the starting line, where two engines growled low. Dante and Vincent on their motorcycles. Jinx walked up to Dante with a helmet. 

“Here you go.”

Dante looked at the helmet then at Jinx’s blue eyes. “I don’t need it.”

“Didn’t think you would.” Jinx said nonchalantly knowing he survived worse than a motorcycle incident. 

Vincent saw this and immediately got jealous as he removed his helmet. Tossing it to the ground. “Me neither.”

That got gasps and murmurs from his crew. 

Dante put his hands on the bike’s handled and glanced back at Jinx. “And you? What are you up to?”

“Oh, come on now. Don’t say it like that.” Jinx said innocently. “All I’m doing is trying to take care of you so you don’t up starving to death.”

“Shit…” Dante murmured. “How the tables have turned.”

He then reached for the Rebellion that rested on his back, unsheathed it and giving it to her. “Here, probably won’t be needing it.”

Jinx grabbed the devil sword. “Probably not, at least not now.”

And she held it, the sword immediately went dormant, she glanced at Dante. “Hmm. Seems it doesn’t like me that much.”

“Seems you two have a thing in common.”

“Oh?” Jinx raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

“You both don’t like it when someone who isn’t me is touching you.” Dante said with a smirk. 

Jinx froze for a beat, Rebellion’s cold weight still humming faintly in her hands. Her lips parted in surprise, then curled into the kind of grin that was all teeth and trouble.

“Careful, Hellblood,” she said sweetly, tilting her head, “say things like that and people are gonna start thinking you actually like me.”

Dante’s smirk deepened as he rolled his shoulders, gripping the handlebars of his bike. “People already think worse.”

Vincent’s jaw clenched so hard it looked like his teeth might crack. His crew shifted uneasily, torn between jeering and waiting for the explosion.

Jinx casually rested Rebellion against her shoulder, like it was just a rifle, and leaned forward with a sparkle in her eyes. “Thing is, I don’t mind being compared to your sword. Means I’m sharp, dangerous, and you can’t live without me.”

That actually earned a few whistles from the gang, though mostly at her nerve.

Vincent barked over the noise, his voice raw with annoyance. “You two done with your little flirting session? Or do we gotta wait for you to kiss before we race?”

Dante didn’t bother looking at him, just revved the engine once, low and thunderous, like a growl. His gaze stayed locked on Jinx. “When this is over, don’t let anyone touch that sword. Or you.”

“Pfft. Please.” Jinx flipped her braids back, grinning as she planted Rebellion’s tip into the dirt, standing proudly beside it like a banner. “Nobody’s stupid enough to try.”

Vincent sneered, revving his bike in challenge. Lightning forked across the horizon as the two engines roared louder, drowning out the muttering of the gang.

Jinx stepped forward between the bikes, an arm around Rebellion and the other raised up high, her voice carrying over the storm. “Alright, boys. One road, no helmets, no brakes. First to the end of Deadman’s Stretch wins. Loser…” 

She smirked, eyes glinting dangerously as she looked straight at Vincent. “…well, let’s just say it won’t matter what happens to the loser.”

The gang roared with approval, stomping boots and revving engines in chorus. She swung down her raised arm as both bikes went pass her, she looked over her shoulder with a smirk. 

Vincent and Dante shot forward like bullets, the wheels tearing into the highway that wrapped around Piltover and Shurima’s border.

Vincent chucked as Dante was behind him for mere inches. “How you like that?”

He sped up, passing Dante but he was amused by it. As Vincent glanced over his shoulder then looked ahead he gasped as Dante was somehow in front of him. 

“You’re going to have a hard time avenging your brother if you ride that slow.” Dante called out as he sped up even more. 

“Shit!” Vincent gritted through his teeth as he reached for a button on his handle pressing on it. 

POW!

He sped up faster, passing Dante. “Look at you! This race is all mine! See you back at the finish line, you dickhead!”

And from the shadows of the brushed besides the road, Red Eye awakened. 

“He’s got Nitros. Idiot.” Dante murmured as Vincent didn’t wear a helmet, if it isn’t Red Eye that will kill him, it’ll be the wind pressure for going that fast without a helmet. 

Vincent gritted his teeth from the wind pressure but he isn’t stopping, nor wants too. And just as he got on the highway’s bridge, the world went dark. And Dante felt it. Red Eye was laughing. And in a ghostly skull charged at Vincent. 

Dante immediately pulled out his pistol and fired to snap Vincent but it wasn’t enough. He saw his brother.

“Michel?”

The figure on the bike looked back at him. And didn’t say anything. Just sped up. Vincent’s breath caught in his throat. “Michel… you’re alive?”

He accelerated, chasing the phantom. The demon’s lure. 

“Don’t be stupid! Don’t do it!” Dante called out but it was too late. Dante immediately pulled out his other pistol snd began to fire at the bridge. 

“Go ahead and try to see through me
Do it if you dare
One step forward, two steps back, I’m here 
(One step forward, two steps back)
Do it, do it, do it, do it!”

The bullets ripping through the steel beams as it began to collapse behind him. And the chaos was enough to stop and safe Vincent. Dante caught up to him as he saw he was disoriented. 

“What are you trying to do? Going this far to follow your brother?” Dante shot his wheel, putting him out of the race. 

He then looked at his dual pistols. Broken. So he let them go. “Another pair to the trash.”

He then looked up at a road and saw Jinx on a bike, she toss Rebellion at him and he caught it with ease. She gave him and thumbs up and jumped over, landing on the road where the demon and Dante are on. 

Dante groaned. “I should’ve known. That was the plan all along. Alright then.”

“Can you see all of me?
Walk into my mystery
Step inside and hold on for dear life
Do you remember me?
Capture you or set you free
I am all, I am all of me.”

Jinx immediately pulled out her pistol, fired at the demon, but it didn’t do nothing, she pulled her other pistol, crossing them over each other and began firing but it seems like the demon has a strong hive. 

“Shit…” she murmured. 

Dante caught up to Jinx. “What the hell do you thing you’re doing? You called me ‘cause you knew you couldn’t take this thing out. Not on your own anyway.” 

“Well, if you already knew that, what are you waiting for? Go get ‘em.” Jinx said as she holstered her pistols. 

“You make it sound so easy.”

“What’s wrong? Is it too hard for you?”

“No. It’s easy as it can be.” Dante said with a shrug and sped up. 

He gritted his teeth and his red red demonic patterns appeared on his skin, glowing. He began to channel some of his demonic energy to make his bike faster. 

BOOM!

He broke the sound barrier and some of the road in the process as he began to catch up Red Eye. But as he did, the bike began to break slowly but it was enough for to overpass the demon, hitting the breaks and sliding on the road. 

“I am, I am all of me (I am)
I am, I am all of me (I am)
I am, I am all of me (I am)”

Red Eye lunged at him, Dante unsheathed Rebellion and jammed the devil sword into Red Eye’s front wheel. 

“Haven’t you leaned that speeding causes accidents?” Dante gritted out and deepened Rebellion, making blood spill from the demon. 

Red Eye roared in pain as it morphed from its bike form to its true form, his back wheel turning to legs, the handles turning to arms, front light turning to an eye, and the front wheel turning into a buzzsaw. 

The buzzsaw began to spin rapidly and slowly pushed towards Dante. 

Jinx approached fast, standing over her bike to jump with a pistol on her hand. She leaped off it as Dante freed himself from Red Eye, making the demon bleed and stunning it. And just as Jinx was as about to get a good aim, Red Eye’s hand smacked her away, but she recovered fast as she was still in mid air, pulling out Fishbones from her back and aiming it at the demon. She fired and the missile blowed out the demon’s eye in a blinding flash of violet smoke.

Jinx landed back on her bike and came to a stop as she saw what she and Dante caused. They killed the demon. But from the ash, a spark appeared, going over to Dante.

It hovered in the air like a shard of starlight, humming with a strange resonance that made the gravel tremble. Jinx straightened on her bike, squinting. 

“Uh… Dante? You seein’ this, or did I finally cook my brain with too much gunpowder?”

Dante stepped forward slowly, his hand resting instinctively on where Rebellion should’ve been. His blue eyes narrowed as the spark pulsed, then shot toward him. His first instinct was to swat it away, but instead he just caught it. The spark twisted, lengthened, reshaped itself. A grinding sound, like steel on bone, echoed through the lot as the light hardened into a weapon. Links of jagged iron clinked together, snaking downward until Dante held a wicked chainsword, its blade half steel, half serrated chain, dripping faint embers where the metal burned.

Jinx blinked hard, lowering Fishbones. “…Okay, what the hell is that?”

Dante weighed the weapon in his hand, giving it a test swing. The blade roared like a chainsaw, sparks flying as the teeth churned and clamped. “Devil Arm.”

“Devil what-now?” Jinx asked, hopping off her bike and walking closer, her braids swaying.

“Devil Arm.” Dante repeated, his tone calm as always. “When a demon’s will is stronger than death, it lingers. A hunter who kills it can forge that will into a weapon. Not just steel. But part of the demon itself.”

Jinx’s nose wrinkled, suspicious. “…And this is your first one?”

“Yeah.” Dante rested the chainsword across his shoulder. “Never happened before. Guess Red Eye was too damn stubborn to die clean.”

Jinx pouted, glaring between him and the ashes. “Wait a sec. I blew out its eye. I fired the shot. So why didn’t I get the shiny new demon toy?”

Dante smirked, lowering the weapon so its teeth revved again, sparks hissing in the rain. He leaned in slightly. “Because, Bluebell… demons don’t like being owned by someone crazier than they are.”

Jinx’s jaw dropped. “HEY!”

He just chuckled, turning back toward his bike with the new weapon still humming in his hand. “Don’t take it too hard. You’re better at making your own weapons anyway.”

Her cheeks puffed as she stomped after him, Fishbones slung over her shoulder. “Tch. Fine. But next demon we kill, I’m getting the prize, got it?”

Dante glanced back, eyes glinting. “Sure. If you can beat me to it.”

He gave the chainsword one last spin before slinging it against his back, the teeth slowly grinding to silence. He flexed his hand once, then looked over at Jinx.

“…You wouldn’t happen to have a spare pair of pistols, would you?”

Jinx stopped dead in her tracks, squinting at him like he’d just asked to borrow her toothbrush. “Spare what?”

“Pistols.” Dante repeated flatly.

Her hands went to her hips. “Don’t you already have a pair?”

“They broke.”

Her eyes widened. “Broke?!” 

She leaned closer, scanning him up and down like he was lying through his teeth. “Dante doesn’t just break his guns. What’d you do, sit on them?”

He tilted his head toward the horizon. The  ruins of the bridge where he and Vincent had raced. Half of it collapsed into the canyon below, metal twisted and blackened, the road a gaping scar.

Jinx’s jaw fell open. “…Oh. No way.”

“Yeah.” Dante’s voice was calm, matter-of-fact. “Only way to stop him from becoming a demon’s kill was to take the whole damn bridge out. Guns couldn’t handle it.”

Jinx let out a long, strangled sound somewhere between laughter and disbelief, clutching her head. “You—you destroyed an entire bridge just to save some biker jackass?!”

He shrugged. “Didn’t have much choice. Guy was human. Didn’t deserve to die on my watch.”

Jinx dragged her hand down her face, groaning. “Unbelievable… you don’t blink blowing up demons, but you’ll trash a landmark to save some idiot with a leather jacket.”

Core gave a faint smirk. “That’s the difference between me and them, Bluebell. I choose who deserves a bullet.”

She pointed a finger at his chest, still half-laughing. “You’re insane.”

“Guess we’ve got that in common.”

Jinx sighed and walked back to her bike. Dante looked down at his own which was totaled. She climbed on first. Looked over her shoulder with a smirk. Dante raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t look so smug…” he muttered, climbing on behind her.

“Hands on hips.” She teased.

He placed them there, his fingers settling lightly against the curve of her waist. His touch was hesitant, careful, like he was afraid she’d shatter if he held on too tight. Jinx rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see it. 

“What’s the matter, big bad devil hunter? Afraid of catching feelings if you hug me properly?”

“Afraid of you driving us into a wall if I don’t.” Dante shot back, deadpan.

She barked out a laugh, kicking the bike into gear. Gravel spat out from the tires as they tore down the road, neon lightning flashing far in the distance. The wind tore her braids back, whistling past their ears, and for a long moment neither spoke. Just the road, the storm, and the faint press of his hands steady on her hips. Finally, Jinx tilted her head just enough to catch his voice over the rush of wind. 

“Y’know… people are gonna talk, seeing us like this.”

“People always talk…” Dante said. “Doesn’t mean they know a damn thing.”

She grinned, sharp and aching all at once. “So what are we, then? Just… partners?”

There was a long pause. Dante’s grip tightened for the briefest second before loosening again, as if he wanted to answer but the words stuck in his throat.

“…We’re alive…” he said at last.

Jinx let the silence swallow that answer, staring ahead at the road like it could tell her what he wouldn’t. Her smirk didn’t fade, but it was softer now, thinner at the edges.

“Alive, huh?” She murmured. “Guess that’ll do for now.”

———

The Devil Never Cry office hadn’t changed a bit. Still smelled like gunpowder, old pizza, and scorched demon ichor. A neon sign buzzed lazily in the window, flickering between “OPEN” and “HELL.” A ceiling fan creaked overhead like it might finally give out today.

Zeri sat on the stool of the drumset, tapping it lightly for a boring beat. 

“I still don’t see any clients.” She whined.

Dante lounged in his chair, boots propped on the table, a book in one hand and a cold drink in the other. “I’m all about a one-day work week, little drummer girl. And I should be getting paid for that recent job anyway now.”

“When you say ‘recent job’, do you mean the Devil and the motorcycle thing?” She asked. 

“Yep.” Dante said casually. “After all, I am the one up getting rid of the highway demon. And Jinx’s negotiating with the Shuriman Highway Department to get us a lot of money.”

At that moment, the door slammed open. Jinx stepped in, a smug grin on her face and a rolled-up document in hand. She tossed it onto Dante’s chest.

“There. You got paid.”

Dante raised a brow, unrolling the paper. His eyes scanned the numbers. “…Wait. This is less than half of what we agreed on.”

She leaned against the couch arm, tilting her head with faux innocence. “Yeah. Because you collapsed a bridge.”

Dante groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “It was either the bridge or the poor bastard’s head on the pavement. What do you want from me?”

“Twenty thousand more.” Jinx shot back, grinning wide. “But hey, good news: they said they’ll pay for the repairs… in five to seven business years.”

Zeri nearly choked laughing, sliding off the drum stool to flop onto the couch. “Oh my Janna, so you did blow up the bridge! I thought that was just rumor.”

“It wasn’t blowing it up.” Dante corrected, glaring. “It was… tactical demolition.”

Jinx smirked, crossing her arms. “Tactical? You turned an entire highway into a fireworks show. And don’t even get me started on your pistols.”

Zeri perked up, eyebrows high. “Wait—he broke them?“

Dante sat forward, scowling. “They were a casualty of war.”

“They were a casualty of you being reckless.” Jinx leaned in, close enough to jab his chest with her finger. “If it wasn’t for me and Fishbones, you’d still be halfway down that demon’s throat.”

Dante swatted her hand away, but his ears burned red. “Yeah, well… didn’t hear you complaining when I saved your ass countless times, Bluebell.”

That earned a snort from Jinx, and before she could fire back, Zeri groaned loud, throwing a cushion at them. “Ugh, stop flirting in front of me! Seriously—get a room or something. This is worse than watching two old people argue.”

Both of them froze, mid-snap, exchanging a quick glance like two kids caught with stolen candy. Jinx’s smirk faltered into a crooked little smile, while Dante just muttered, “…We’re not—”

“—Not dating!” Jinx finished in sync, but the way her cheeks flushed betrayed her.

Zeri rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t get stuck. “Yeah, sure. And I’m not a human Tesla coil.”

She grabbed her jacket and hopped up. “You know what? I’m going out for noodles. You two can… I dunno, figure out who’s paying the next electric bill or just make out already. Whichever comes first.”

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving silence in her wake. Dante exhaled slowly, leaning back into his chair. “…She’s annoying.”

Jinx, still smirking, pushed herself upright and sauntered toward the kitchen. “She’s not wrong though.“

She then came back from the kitchen with a soda in hand, popping the tab with her thumb. She took a long sip, then leaned against the desk, expression smug.

“Oh, and by the way… your share’s already spoken for.”

Dante’s head snapped up from his book. “The hell does that mean?”

“Means it’s being used to buy cleaning equipment.” She ticked off on her fingers as she listed them. “Mops. Bleach. A new vacuum. Maybe even a hazmat suit for whoever has to deal with my room.”

Dante nearly choked on his drink, sputtering. “Cleaning equipment?! I was saving that money for pizza! Sundaes! The essentials!”

“Yeah, well, guess what? Living organisms shouldn’t be sprouting from your bathroom sink.” Jinx smirked, sipping again. “Consider it… pest control.”

Before Dante could unleash a string of curses, the door creaked open. Vincent stepped inside, his jacket still dusted with road grit.

“Hey.” Vincent said, walking over to the couch. “Came to say thanks. For saving my ass. Would’ve been roadkill without you.”

Dante grunted, waving a hand like it was nothing. “Forget it.”

Vincent shook his head. “Not forgetting. Which is why I’m here. Let’s settle this proper, one more race. No demons this time. Just you and me.”

Dante narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “…You serious? Again?”

Before Jinx could stoke the flames, Dante sighed and shot to his feet, stalking over to the pool table in the corner of the office. He plucked the cue off the rack and twirled it once in his hand.

“Tell you what…” Dante said, smirking. “If I sink the eight ball in one shot, you buy me dinner. Full spread. Steak, dessert, the works. If I miss…” 

He glanced at Vincent, his grin sharp. “…I’ll race you. No complaints.”

Vincent’s grin widened, fire lighting his eyes. “Deal.”

Jinx plopped onto Dante’s chair with her soda, grinning ear to ear. “Oh, this is gonna be good. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen, the fate of dinner is at stake.”

Chapter Text

DANTE:
Devil Never Cry was mostly quietly, except for Dante’s jukebox which began to play a calm tune. Dante was laying down on one of his couches, arms behind his head as he used the armrest as a pillow, one foot wiggle to the beat. 

“Man, Dante. Every time I drop by, you’re further and further in debt.” Ekko said as he look through the bills. 

And just in Dante’s luck, the jukebox failed. He sighed and walked over to it. “What did you expect? Everyone leaves me bills instead of a damn paycheck.”

With an annoyed grunt, Dante kicks the jukebox, breaking it. He just walked back to the couch, resting the same way. And to make it worse, the jukebox fell and broke even more. Pieces scattering all over the floor. 

And to make it more annoying, Zeri came in. 

“Hey, Dante, are you here?” She then spotted him on the couch. “Sleeping again. You’re kidding me, what kind of adult spends all their time sleeping or eating pizza? It’s pathetic.”

She the looked over to her left and saw Ekko trying to fix the jukebox. But it was beyond fixing, not even Jinx could fix it. She walked over to him. 

“What happened to the jukebox?”

Ekko just pointed a screwdriver at Dante. 

“Just find a way to fix it, will ya?” Dante said without even opening his eyes. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just too violent. You never been able things, whether they’re simple machines or good-looking women. You need Charm School, my man.” Ekko said as he was trying to fix the destroyed jukebox. 

“I totally agree.” Zeri said, crossing her arms over her chest.”

“Lay off.” Dante simple said. 

“Where’s Jinx anyhow?” Ekko finally said.

Dante cracked one eye open from the couch, groaning like it took effort just to speak.

“Bluebell? She’s takin’ a day off.”

Both Ekko and Zeri froze.

“…Day off?” Zeri repeated, incredulous. “Her? Jinx? Blue hair, no brakes, big guns? That Jinx?”

“Yeah.” Dante adjusted on the couch, folding his arms behind his head again. “What, you think she’s chained to me twenty-four seven? She’s my partner, not my apprentice. I’m not her boss, and she doesn’t need me babysitting her every second.”

Ekko leaned back from the mangled jukebox, squinting. “Wait wait wait. Did you just say partner? Like, actual equal footing? She passed your… what, some kinda test?”

“She passed the Devil Hunting Exam.” Dante said flatly, a smug little grin tugging at his lip.

Zeri scoffed. “That’s not a real thing. You just made that up.”

Dante rolled onto his side, reaching lazily toward the coffee table. He snagged a folded piece of paper from under an empty pizza box and lobbed it at Zeri. She caught it, unfolded it, and blinked.

“‘Devil Hunting Certification: Part One,’” she read aloud. “Question one: If a demon is about to tear your arm off, what’s the correct response?”

Ekko chuckled, leaning over her shoulder. “Lemme guess, the answer’s ‘tear its arm off first’?”

Dante’s smirked wider, eyes closed again. “Nah. Trick question. Correct answer is ‘bite it.’”

Zeri groaned, tossing the paper back onto the table. “You’re unbelievable. That’s not an exam, that’s just… chaos scribbled on paper.”

“Call it what you want.” Dante stretched out like a cat, clearly enjoying himself. “She passed. Which makes her certified. Which means…” 

He lifted a finger in mock authority. “…she gets to take days off whenever she damn well pleases.”

Ekko shook his head, muttering with a grin. “Man, you two are impossible.”

He then looked back at the jukebox and whistled in disbelief. “The only way this thing is gonna get fixed is by getting parts for it. Or you can find some way to get a different one all together, but I bet that would be pricey. This jukebox of yours is far older than the one Vander had.”

Zeri spotted a disc on the wall, framed. “Hey, Dante. Why is the only record you have framed?” 

“I’ve played that record more than any other. But it got scratched. I framed it ‘cause I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.”

Zeri pulled it from the wall and look at it closely. Then looked back at Dante. “If you like it so much, I don’t understand why you don’t just but another one.”

“Look at me and you’ll see why. I don’t know the singer or the song. Back in the day, that was one of those records in that jukebox when I got it when I return to our lovely undercity.”

Zeri hummed at Dante’s words. Then, Ekko stood up and shook his head. “It’s no use. It’ll be a hell lot quicker to just go out and buy a new one, Dante.”

“Yeah, like I got that kind of money to do that. If only a job came in right through that door.”

And as if the gods themselves answered, the office door creaked open, breaking the lull. Dante sat up just enough to glance at it, expecting maybe a bill collector or worse, Jinx with something explosive. Instead, a young woman stepped in. Hood pulled low, oversized sunglasses covering her eyes, dressed casual enough to blend in with the undercity crowds. Still, there was something polished about the way she moved, like the city grime didn’t quite stick to her.

“This is… Devil Never Cry?” She asked softly, shutting the door behind her.

“Depends who’s askin’.” Dante muttered, leaning back again. “If you’re here to sell me health insurance, you can walk right back out.”

Zeri squinted, tilting her head. “Wait a second… you sound familiar…”

The woman hesitated. Then, with a sigh, she pulled her hood down, tugged off the glasses. Long pastel-pink hair tumbled out, her face instantly recognizable.

Ekko’s eyes went wide. “No. Freakin’. Way.”

Zeri dropped the record she was holding. “Seraphine?! That Seraphine?!”

Dante blinked once, unimpressed. “…Who?”

“Who—?!” Zeri nearly choked. “Dante, are you serious?! She’s only the biggest name in music right now!”

Seraphine gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry for the dramatic entrance. I have to be careful about paparazzi. But yes. I’m Seraphine.” 

Her tone turned serious as she looked at Dante. “And I need your help.”

Dante raised a brow, finally sitting up properly. “…My help? What for? I don’t exactly do fan club work.”

She nodded. “I know. That’s why I came here. This world tour of mine, it started in Piltover. And it’s ending here, between Piltover and Zaun. But… I’ve felt something. A dark presence. Something’s watching me.”

Ekko and Zeri glanced at each other. Seraphine stepped closer, lowering her voice. 

“You’re the one who gave Zaun its independence. The one who made the river wider, who destroyed Piltover’s bridges. Your name isn’t just whispered here. it’s known all across Runeterra.”

Zeri’s jaw dropped. “Wait, what? You knew about that?!”

Seraphine nodded firmly. “Everyone does. That’s why I came here. Because if something’s coming for me… I want you to be my bodyguard for my final performance.”

Dante scratched his jaw, giving her the same flat look he gave everyone who wanted something. “…Lemme get this straight. You’re asking me. A broke, demon hunter… to babysit a pop star because she’s got a bad feeling?”

Her eyes sharpened. “Because you’re the only one I trust to fight something not of this world.”

Dante rubbed his temple, already regretting sitting up. “Look, lady, I don’t do groupie protection detail. I slay demons, I eat pizza, I pass out on my couch. That’s the holy trinity of my life. You want a bodyguard, hire some shiny Piltover security suit.”

Seraphine’s lips pressed tight. “They can’t protect me from what I felt.”

Dante leaned back, hands behind his head. “Yeah, well, feeling spooky vibes isn’t enough to get me off my couch.”

ZAP!

“Agh—!” Dante jerked upright as green sparks danced across his shirt, Zeri standing behind him with her fingers still crackling.

“Don’t be such a lazy old man!” Zeri snapped, grinning smug. “You’ve been moping around this dump for weeks. This is literally the best gig you’ve had in forever.”

“Kid, zap me again and I’m gonna turn you into a lightning rod.” Dante growled, patting out the static in his shirt.

Ekko leaned casually on the busted jukebox, smirking. “Zeri’s right. You take this gig, you’re set. You don’t, well…” 

He tapped the wrecked jukebox. “Guess that’s one less thing you’ll ever hear again.”

Dante narrowed his eyes. “…Low blow, man.”

“Effective though.” Ekko shot back.

Dante groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Fine. I’ll play bodyguard. But only because the last thing I need is you two nagging me like some retired couple.”

Zeri pumped her fist. “Yes! Devil Never Cry goes on tour!”

Seraphine clasped her hands, relieved. “Thank you—”

“Don’t thank me yet.” Dante cut in. “First I gotta survive listening to your music.”

Zeri rolled her eyes, then piped up again: “Wait, can we bring Jinx? She’d totally love this.”

Dante’s expression hardened, voice calm but sharp. “No. It’s her day off. She’s not my lackey. She doesn’t need to get dragged into every gig I take.”

Zeri tilted her head, smirk curling. “Didn’t you say she’s your partner? Not her boss. Not your apprentice. Partner. Partners don’t sit out the big stuff, Dante.”

Dante froze for a second, jaw tightening like he’d just been called out in front of class. “…You’ve been spending way too much time around her.”

JINX:
The streets of Piltover were lit with gold that night. Lanterns strung across balconies, fireworks primed, music swelling from the plaza where the grand ceremony was underway. Piltover glittered in celebration. But far off, perched on the iron skeleton of a half-finished clocktower, Jinx sat with her legs dangling, telescope pressed to her face.

She didn’t need the lenses. Because her eyes were sharp enough but it gave her hands something to do. Her aim drifted over the crowd until she found them.

Vi, standing tall in a crisp, tailored suit, nervous grin tugging at her face. And Caitlyn, in well done up white silk and sapphires, hand tight in Vi’s, smiling like she’d just been given the whole damn world.

Jinx’s jaw tightened.

“Pfft…” she whispered, forcing a smirk, though her voice cracked. “Look at you, Powder. Sister of the year, huh? Watching from the cheap seats while Cupcake gets big sis.” 

She lowered the telescope, blinking fast. She told herself it was the wind making her eyes sting. She told herself she didn’t care. She told herself she could’ve been there if she wanted to crash the whole thing with fireworks and confetti, steal the show like she always did.

But she didn’t move.

Instead, she hugged her knees up, rocking slightly. The echo of Caitlyn’s rifle shot still rang in her memory, the day she lost her middle finger and whatever was left of Vi’s love. 

“Not invited.” Jinx muttered, chewing her lip raw. “Guess that’s what you get for killing Mommy Dearest and almost kicking sis to her death.”

She laughed to herself, a brittle, broken sound that scattered on the night air. Then she went quiet, eyes drifting back to the glowing plaza. She hated Caitlyn. She hated what she represented. The law. The chains. The side of Vi that had chosen Piltover over Zaun. Over her. And yet… there was Vi, smiling wider than Jinx had seen in years.

“Stupid…” Jinx whispered, hugging herself tighter. “You’re supposed to be happy with me. Not her.”

The fireworks boomed, violet and gold exploding across the night sky. From her tower, Jinx didn’t cheer. She just watched, small and trembling, as the light reflected off her blue-slowly-turning-pink eyes, and her demonic patterns showing. Jinx crouched lower on the steel beam, Fishbones laid across her lap. Her fingers traced the trigger like a nervous tic. One rocket. One squeeze. That’s all it would take to turn Piltover’s biggest wedding into fireworks of her own.

Her thumb twitched against the trigger. 

She imagined the screams, the chaos, Vi staring up at her with that betrayed look she wore so well. Caitlyn bleeding out in white silk. Powder reclaiming her place as the star of the show.

Her lips curled into a grin at the thought, then faltered. Because another thought slithered in. Vi screaming her name. Not in rage, but in pain. The way she had screamed once before, when bridges burned and families broke. When Jinx thought blowing everything sky-high would keep them together.

She froze. The trigger under her finger suddenly felt heavier than her whole damn arm. Her head dropped against Fishbones’ stock. 

“Why can’t I just… stop?” She whispered, the words cracking.

Her bag clinked when she shifted, and something slid out: a battered, dog-eared book. The ugly thing Dante had tossed her during one of their so-called “training” months. The Devil Hunter’s Practical Guide.

She had hated that book. Hated Dante for making her read it while demons three tiers above her level tried to chew her face off. But she’d read it. Every night. Between reloads, between nightmares. And somewhere in the nonsense about discipline, contracts, and keeping your damn cool when hell itself stares you down… she had learned.

Dante’s voice echoed in her head. It was dry, sharp, impossible to ignore. “If you lose yourself in the fight, you’ve already lost. Doesn’t matter if it’s a demon or your own reflection.”

Her reflection…

Jinx rubbed her eyes with her palms, leaving streaks of oil and dust on her cheeks. The wedding bells below chimed, soft and mocking.

“I could do it…” she muttered, knuckles white on the grip. “I could blow it all to hell and Vi would have no choice but to see me again.”

Her voice cracked. She shook her head hard, like rattling a thought loose.

“But… I don’t wanna hurt her anymore.”

The admission came out strangled, like it had been locked behind her teeth for years. Her hand slipped off the trigger. Fishbones lay quiet. Instead, she just watched Vi dance with Caitlyn under the lanterns. Watched her sister laugh. Watched her be happy without her.

And it burned worse than any rocket ever could.

SERAPHINE:
The dressing cabin swayed gently, the sound of water slapping against the hull carrying up through the steel. Outside, thousands of voices rumbled in anticipation. Zaunites and Pilties alike crowded on either bank, waiting for Seraphine’s last concert of her world tour. Her stage was a massive barge anchored right in the middle of the wide river Dante had carved nearly nine months ago, when he destroyed the bridges that once chained the two cities together.

Dante stood with his back to the door, arms folded, keeping watch. The air was charged, full of lights and murmurs, but in here it was quiet except for the soft clink of jewelry and the gentle rustle of fabric. Seraphine sat before the mirror, brushing her hair, her reflection glittering in the sequins stitched into her dress.

“You always guard doors like they’re going to sprout teeth?” She teased, her tone airy but curious.

“It’s just habit.” Dante muttered, eyes fixed on the corridor. “Doors are where trouble walks in.”

She smiled at that, then set the brush down, gaze softening at her reflection. “You asked me about my story, didn’t you?”

“Didn’t mean you had to answer.”

“Well, I want to.” She leaned forward on the vanity, voice quiet. “I grew up here. Zaun, Piltover… both sides, really. Never fit in on either. My parents where Zaunites but moved to Piltover for a better future for me. And when I sing, I… hear things. Felt things. People’s memories, their pain, their joy. Like the whole city was inside me. That’s why I sing, even when it hurts. To turn all that noise into something beautiful.”

Dante didn’t move. He just let the hum of the river fill the silence.

“And you?” She asked softly, turning toward him. “What’s your story, Dante?”

His jaw tightened. “…Not your business.”

Seraphine tilted her head, studying him, not unkindly. “Closed off. Figures. You carry yourself like someone who’s lost too much to trust easy.”

He shifted, finally glancing her way with a look that warned her not to dig deeper. But she only smiled faintly. 

“Still… whatever you’ve been through, you carved this river. You gave Zaun independence when nobody else dared to. And now you’re here, protecting me, when you could be anywhere else. People whisper about demons in stories, but me? I think you’re a good demon.”

Dante snorted, shaking his head. “Cute. Doesn’t make it true.”

Seraphine fastened her mic, rising with a soft shimmer of fabric. “Maybe. But you can laugh at me all you want, songs aren’t about what’s true. They’re about what people need to hear.”

Dante turned back toward the door, but for the briefest moment, his stance softened, like her words had found their way into a crack he didn’t know was still there.

“You said you feel a dark presence. What exactly does that mean?”

Seraphine paused, lips pressing together. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, more careful. 

“When it’s near, I… see things. Purple lightning across the sky. Clouds of bats, swirling like smoke. It isn’t just visions either. Men who came to my concerts? Some of them never went home. They vanish. No bodies, no trace. Just gone.”

Dante’s brows drew together, his usual smirk replaced with something sharper. “Sounds like a demon. Probably one that likes to announce itself before it feeds.”

She swallowed and turned in her seat, her bright costume glittering in the lamplight. “So you believe me.”

“I’ve seen enough to know better than to laugh it off.” He shrugged, arms crossing. “But don’t get worked up. The demons I’ve faced lately? Barely worth breaking a sweat over. If this thing shows up, I’ll handle it.”

Seraphine’s lips curved into a nervous but playful smile. “Maybe you should handle it during the performance. Imagine it, me singing, you slaying a demon in the background. Could be great for both of us.”

Dante gave her a flat look. “…I’m not doing stage tricks.”

She laughed lightly, shaking her head. “Didn’t say you had to. Just… if it comes, and you win, everyone sees it. They see me safe, and they see you as more than just the scary man in the leather coat. You’d be a legend by the end of the night.”

Dante grunted, turning back to the door. “Lady, I don’t need a stage to prove myself. But if something shows up, I’ll kill it. Simple as that.”

Seraphine leaned back in her chair, still smiling, but there was worry behind her eyes. “…That’s all I needed to hear.”

VIOLET:
The river sparkled under lanterns strung along the moored boat, its deck remade into a radiant stage. Piltover’s polished skyline loomed on one side, Zaun’s twisting lights on the other. It was a bridge of song strung between two cities divided by Dante’s own destruction months before.

On Piltover’s side, Vi tugged at the collar of her suit jacket, already feeling out of place among the sea of well-dressed nobles and polished officers. Beside her, Caitlyn’s eyes practically glowed, a rare look of unguarded joy lighting her face as she scanned the stage.

“I can’t believe I’m finally seeing her live.” Caitlyn whispered, squeezing Vi’s arm. “And for our first night as wives no less.”

Vi smirked, though she’d never admit how much seeing Caitlyn this happy melted her. “Guess Seraphine’s got some competition then.”

Caitlyn laughed and bumped her shoulder against Vi’s, the music swelling as the stage lights flared.

EKKO:
Meanwhile, on Zaun’s side of the river, the energy was far more chaotic. No gala dresses there, just scrappy kids, patched jackets, and wide eyes staring at the glowing figure on the stage. Ekko leaned against the railing, hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes sharp but curious.

“Can’t believe we’re front row to this!” Zeri said, bouncing on her heels as the crowd pressed closer. “Seraphine’s, like, the nicest human alive. Who even gets free spots to this kinda thing?”

Ekko tilted his chin toward the boat where Dante leaned, arms crossed at the edge of the stage, looking utterly uninterested. “Guess it helps knowing the guy with the big sword.”

Zeri snorted. “Yeah, the guy who looks like he’d rather nap than bodyguard the most famous singer in Runeterra.”

Ekko chuckled, but his gaze stayed steady on Dante. He’d known the man long enough to see the difference between boredom and vigilance. Dante’s eyes weren’t tired, they were hunting. Watching for something the rest of the crowd didn’t see.

And as the first soft notes from Seraphine’s mic drifted across the water, carried between Piltover and Zaun alike, even Dante’s sharp eyes flicked up. For one moment, the river was silent but for her song.

JINX:
Jinx perched on a crumbling rooftop, legs dangling over the edge as the hum of the crowd below rolled up to her like waves. Lanterns shimmered across the wide river, Seraphine’s voice carrying over the water like it was stitched from starlight. She hugged herself without realizing it, chin resting on her knees. From up here, she could see almost everything. The stage glowing with crystalline lights, Caitlyn practically glowing beside Vi on Piltover’s side, and right there at the edge of the stage… Dante.

Standing stiff, arms crossed, posture saying I don’t care even though she knew better. His silhouette against the glow was unmistakable. Her chest twisted at the sight of a pang she hated admitting even to herself.

“Figures…” she muttered, lips quirking bitterly. “Big, shiny gig, famous pop star, fancy lights and who do they drag out to play watchdog? Mister ‘I’m too broke for pizza but lemme buy another ten pizzas.”

Her smirk faltered. She hugged her knees tighter. Of course she knew it was just a job. Dante would take any job right now, with the state their debts were in thanks to his spending habits. It wasn’t like he was hers anyway. Not like she had the right to complain.

But still… watching him stand backstage, steady and unshakable, guarding someone else’s spotlight? It gnawed at her in ways she couldn’t untangle. She wanted to laugh it off, to swing Fishbones onto her shoulder and yell something chaotic across the river, maybe even crash the whole performance just to prove she was still there.

Instead, Jinx stayed quiet, perched in the dark, letting Seraphine’s song wash over her. And she hated how it made her feel. She felt small, unwanted, jealous, and a little… left behind.

DANTE:
Backstage, Dante leaned against the frame of the door, arms folded, trying to tune out the shimmer and swell of Seraphine’s stage magic. Concerts weren’t his thing. Too loud. Too crowded. Too much glitter. But then—

The first notes hit. That melody. Slow, wistful, aching. It sliced through the noise like it had been waiting for him. His head snapped up, eyes narrowing.

He knew that song.

The jukebox. Long nights, pizza boxes stacked like barricades, that record spinning over and over until the grooves gave out. The only one he couldn’t bring himself to throw away, so he’d framed it on his wall like a memorial.

His jaw tightened. “…No way.”

Out on the stage, Seraphine’s voice wove through the crowd, her eyes half-closed, luminous in the riverlight.

“I really want to stay at your house…”

The very same line that had haunted his room back in Devil Never Cry.

Dante’s hand fell from his arm, hanging loose at his side. He muttered, low enough only he could hear: “So you’re the one.”

For the first time all night, his usual wall of disinterest cracked. He wasn’t guarding some celebrity now, he was standing ten feet from the artist who unknowingly soundtracked years of his life.

The concert’s energy was still climbing when Seraphine’s voice faltered. She pressed a hand to her temple, her voice dipping low as if she’d lost her pitch, then her eyes widened. Purple lightning cracked across the air above the river, twisting unnaturally against the clouds. A swarm of bats scattered across the lights of the stage, warping the music into a discordant hum.

Dante head snapped up. The air had that telltale charge. Heavy. Wrong. And then he heard her. A woman’s laugh, sultry and sharp, curling like smoke inside his head.

“Well, well… the infamous Dante. Slayer our kind. You’re far more handsome than the stories made you sound.”

Dante smirked. “Lemme guess. You’re the demon behind the purple disco party?”

A figure materialized, stepping out from the swarm of bats. pale skin, crimson lips and hair, and eyes glowing like polished amethyst. She was topless, the bars covering her bottom half and hair covering her breasts

“Nevan.” She purred. “You’ll remember my name. I’ll treat you so nicely that you’ll never wanna leave.”

Dante stepped back, putting his hands on his pants waistline like a cowboy. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

He pulled out Rebellion from his back. “Quick question. Why is it always the flirty ones that wanna kill me?”

She grinned, sharp teeth flashing with purple lightning. “Oh, darling… who said anything about killing? I’d rather play with you.”

With a scream of bats, the fight began. Nevan’s shot blasts of purple lightning, tearing chunks out of the stage as Seraphine scrambled back. Dante rushed her head-on, deflecting sparks with calculated slashes. The two danced in a blur of steel, lightning, and bats. And with every strike punctuated by the rhythm of Seraphine’s interrupted melody.

Finally, with a roar, Dante slammed Rebellion into the boards, driving Nevan back. She staggered and as she was about to fall down, Dante caught her. She looked up at him, running a hand on his shoulder. “My, you’re sweet.”

She reached for a bite on the neck but Dante pulled away and shot her in the waist. Defeating her completely. “You think so, wouldn’t ya?”

Dante said with a smug look as she huffed the smoke off his gun’s barrel, holstering it. 

With a sigh Nevan went back up to his face, hand running down his jawline. “Alright. I’ll help you on your journey. Mm. Your father was a handsome Devil. But your no slouch yourself.”

Her hand ran down to his abdomen but she turned into a ball of lighting and that was immediately morphed around Dante, reshaping into a purple-necked guitar, skeletal edges shimmering, a folded scythe hidden beneath its body. Bats swirled around Dante before vanishing inside the instrument. The Devil Arm pulsed in his hands.

Dante slung the guitar over his shoulder. “Huh. Guess I’m in a band now.”

The crowd, being that both Zaunites and Piltovans erupted, mistaking the battle as part of Seraphine’s spectacle. Dante, never one to waste an audience, jumped and riff the guitar as sparks shoot put behind him. He strummed the guitar with a grin. Purple lightning arced across the stage in time with the chords, bats bursting outward and circling before scattering in sparks. The crowd went wild, chanting his name like an encore.

Even Vi and Caitlyn, stunned from their seats, exchanged baffled looks. Ekko and Zeri were already cheering themselves hoarse.

Seraphine, heart still racing from the near-disaster, lifted her mic and smiled through the haze, recalling what Dante had told her backstage: “…I’m not doing stage tricks.”

And yet, here he was. Side by side with Seraphine. He was shredding Nevan for the crowd, she launched into her next song. this time, the grand finale didn’t belong to her alone.

It belonged to both of them. And Dante ended the concert with his knees sliding down the stage, arms spread out and the sparks still going. 

“YEAH! HAH! WHOO!” And with that, Dante laid backwards as the sister cities cheered. 

JINX:
Perched on the edge of a Zaun rooftop, Jinx hugged her knees to her chest. Rain had stopped, leaving the city slick and glinting beneath the neon. Her fingers absentmindedly tapped Fishbones’ handle, though she wasn’t ready to pull the trigger.

Below, the river reflected the chaos of lights and sound. And there he was.

Dante.

In the center of the stage-boat, spotlight catching the glint of his new Devil Arm, the purple strings humming with electricity, the folded scythe tucked away like a secret weapon. Bats arced and danced, lightning flickered, and every movement he made seemed to command the very storm itself.

The crowd erupted in a unified roar, Piltover and Zaun alike, their voices colliding in a wave of awe. And yet, all Jinx could feel was the pull in her chest—a cocktail of pride, jealousy, and something she hadn’t admitted even to herself.

He was magnificent. Dangerous. him, unfiltered, in the spotlight for the first time since she’d known him. And he wasn’t just surviving; he was performing, killing, dazzling all at once. The kind of moment she’d imagined countless times, yet never allowed herself to hope she’d see. Her eyes tracked every flick of the scythe, every strum of the strings, every smirk he gave that made the crowd scream louder. And she realized, he’d leveled up again. Red Eye had been impressive, but this… this was new. Fancy, deadly, and his.

Jinx’s fingers tightened around Fishbones, but she didn’t raise it. She couldn’t. Watching him like this, she felt something shift. Maybe in awe, maybe in  longing, maybe the bitter twinge of “I’m not him, I’m not part of this spotlight.”

Her eyes softened. Maybe it was enough to just watch. For now.

DANTE:
The office felt quieter than usual, the neon hum of Zaun muffled by the heavy rain outside. Dante leaned against his desk, arms folded, as Seraphine tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and set a tidy and heavy pouch of coin down on the wood.

“And that’s your payment.” She said softly, her voice still carrying a singer’s lilt. “Worth every note, I’d say.”

Dante gave her a simple nod. “Job’s done. You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

But Seraphine’s eyes caught the framed vinyl on his wall, the scratched one. She smiled knowingly, pulling something from her satchel. “That’s why I wanted to give you this.”

She slid a crisp, mint-condition copy of I Really Wanna Stay at Your House across the desk. The sleeve shone under the lamplight, untouched by time. Dante blinked, his usual stone expression cracking just slightly as he looked between her and the gift.

“…You knew.”

“I saw it framed when I came early. You don’t frame something unless it meant something.” Her voice was soft, almost teasing. “Call it a thank-you. And a replacement for the one you couldn’t bring yourself to throw away.”

Dante let out a low exhale through his nose, like he wasn’t sure whether to scoff or sigh. But he picked it up, carefully, as though it were made of glass.

Seraphine tilted her head. “There’s a party after the concert. Just friends, family. You’d be welcome, Dante.”

For a moment, silence. Then Dante shook his head, polite but firm. “Not my scene. But thanks.”

She studied him, as if she wanted to say more, but didn’t. Instead, she smiled warmly. “You’re not what I expected. Everyone may call you the devil, a monster, but… you’re a good demon, Dante. Don’t forget that.”

With that, she slipped out the door, humming softly as the rain swallowed her footsteps. The office was quiet again. Dante looked down at the record in his hands, thumb brushing over the glossy cover. His eyes flicked to the corner, where the newly acquired Devil Arm. Nevan leaned against the wall, its strings humming faintly with purple electricity even at rest.

He stood there in the dim light, caught between the past scratched into old vinyl, and the dangerous power pulsing at his fingertips.

Dante’s boots creaked against the stairs, the office below fading into the usual Zaun hum. He stopped at Jinx’s door, knuckles rapping softly against the wood.

“…Hey. How’s your day been?” His voice was low, measured, like he was talking to glass. He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, waiting. Nothing. Not a sound from inside. He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a short sigh. 

“Figured. Kinda knew you wouldn’t wanna talk. I just… thought today might’ve been hard for you. That’s why I was pushin’ for you to take the day off.”

The silence stretched, thick and stubborn. Dante stared at the crack near the bottom of the door, then crouched down. He slid the new record across the floor, pushing it gently until it disappeared inside.

“…Thought you might want this…” he muttered, almost too quiet for anyone to hear. Then he straightened, gave the door one last look, and walked away.

Downstairs, the office was dark except for the neon glow bleeding through the blinds. Dante hoisted himself up onto his desk, settling on the familiar spot he always claimed at night. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat waiting. He unscrewed the cap, took a swallow, and let the burn settle into him. His eyes wandered to the framed photograph of his mother propped against the wall. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, bottle dangling loosely in one hand.

“…Hey, Ma.” His voice cracked in that dry, tired way it always did when he spoke to the frame. “It’s been a while since I said anything, huh? You’d laugh if you saw me now. Devil hunter, babysitter, landlord, bookkeeper, and whatever the hell else. All in one.”

He huffed, a humorless chuckle slipping out before his eyes softened.

“You know… it’s kind of a miracle. Nobody close to me’s died. Not for a long time. Feels weird sayin’ that out loud. Like I’m jinxin’ it.” He smirked faintly at the irony of the word, then sighed. His gaze flicked toward the ceiling, where Jinx’s room was. “She’s the closest person I’ve got now. Drives me insane half the time… but she’s still here. And I guess that’s enough.”

He tilted the bottle, staring at the swirl of amber inside.

“…And there’s Zeri too. Kid’s a pain, but—” he exhaled through his nose, shoulders loosening just slightly, “—she’s starting to feel like a niece. Family, almost. Guess I didn’t think I’d ever get that again.”

The neon hummed, the bottle gleamed, and the office felt smaller, quieter. Dante leaned back against the desk, lifting the drink toward the frame.

“Here’s to you, Ma. And here’s hopin’ I can keep ‘em safe a while longer.” He drank, the sound of the rain outside carrying through the silence like a promise waiting to be broken.

The creak of the stairs pulled his eyes up. Jinx came down slowly, clutching the record against her chest. Her eyes flicked to the jukebox by habit, then fell when she remembered. He’d smashed early today.  So instead, she ducked back upstairs and returned with her battered old telegraph player. She set it carefully on the floor, lowered the record onto it, and let the static hum fill the air before the melody began. I Really Want to Stay at Your House drifted through the office, warm and imperfect, but enough.

“So, get away
Another way to feel what you didn’t want yourself to know
And let yourself go
You know you didn’t lose the self-control
Let’s start at the rainbow 
Turn away”

She didn’t speak at first. Just walked up behind him, slid her arms around his shoulders, and hugged him from behind. Then, gently, she took his hand off the glass and intertwined it with hers.

“Stop hiding behind that…” she whispered against his ear.

Dante didn’t resist. His hand stayed in hers, rough and calloused, but not pulling away. His eyes narrowed slightly at the music, at her closeness. “…So that’s what this is about, huh?”

Jinx pressed her cheek to his back. “It’s about us.” 

Her voice was quiet but firm. “We’ve been stuck together for almost nine months. Lived through some good, and a lot of really bad. But we’re still here. You’re still here. With me.”

Dante let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “Guess I am. Miracles happen, huh?”

Her grip tightened. “Dante, I like you. More than like you. And I know you’re… you. Closed-off, walls higher than Zaun’s smoke stacks. But I don’t care. I want this. I want you.”

His hand twitched in hers, jaw tightening. He stared ahead at nothing, voice low. “…I feel the same. Always have. But I don’t know if I can do this. Every time I let someone close, it ends bad. I don’t wanna screw up the only partnership I’ve ever had that matters.”

She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his shoulder blade. She knew he was scared. She knew he was broken. But she also knew he was worth it. Jinx moved around to face him, dropping into his lap without asking, legs folded against his side as she caught his eyes. Hers were burning, determined. “If we mess up, we mess up. Doesn’t matter. We’ll still be us. Partners. Friends. Idiots. Whatever we are, we don’t quit.”

Dante searched her face, torn between his guarded instincts and the flicker of warmth he couldn’t hide. “…You really don’t let go, do you?”

She smirked faintly, leaning closer. “Not a chance.”

Her hands framed his face now, pulling him down into her space. “Promise me, Dante. No running. No quitting.”

His throat worked. After a long, heavy silence, he gave the smallest nod. “…I promise.”

The music swelled. Jinx closed the last inch, pressing her lips to his. It was gentle at first, testing, then firmer when he didn’t pull away. For once, Dante let the walls drop. His hand slipped to her back, pulling her closer, and the kiss deepened into something raw, unspoken, but real.

“So, what do you wanna do, what’s your point of view?
There’s a party, screw it, do you wanna go?
I’m on top of you
‘Cause I really wanna stay at your house
And I hope it all works out”

When they finally broke apart, foreheads touching, Jinx’s breath hitched into a shaky laugh. “…See? Not so scary.”

Dante smirked faintly, though his voice was still low, almost reverent. “…Scarier than any demon I’ve fought.”

The record still spun softly on the telegraph, the last notes humming through the quiet office. Jinx shifted in his lap, eyes finally flicking over to the strange, electric guitar propped against the wall. Her lips curled into a sly grin. 

“So that’s the new toy, huh? Can’t believe you let some demon lady get all handsy with you just to win it.”

Dante me huffed, smirking despite himself. “What can I say? Ekko told me I needed charm school.” 

He lifted his hand and gave a lazy shrug. “Figured I’d give it a try on her. Looks like it worked. Now I’ve got a cool electric guitar-slash-scythe thing.”

Jinx giggled and poked him in the chest. “Yeah, well, if it worked on her…” 

Her voice dropped mischievously as she pressed closer, lips brushing against his jaw. “…guess I should start worrying, huh?”

Before he could answer, she kissed him again, hungrier this time, more insistent. Her fingers traced over his collar, then tangled in his hair, pulling him down with that familiar mix of recklessness and obsession that was so her.

Dante let her, a hand settling at her waist as he kissed her back, though a thought tugged at the corner of his mind. She’s always been like this, he reminded himself. When she latches onto something, she doesn’t let go. Could be a toy, a project, a gun… or me.

His thumb brushed against her cheek as she kissed him harder, and for a fleeting second he wondered if he should be worried. But then he felt her trembling against him. And it was not from fear, but from holding back too much for too long. And instead of pulling away, he just held her tighter.

“…You’re obsessed.” He muttered against her lips with a half-smile.

Jinx broke the kiss with a sharp laugh, her eyes sparkling with mischief and something deeper. “Guilty as charged.” 

She pressed their foreheads together, fingers still tangled in his hair. “But since when does that bother you? You're the one who kissed me back.”

The telegraph crackled as the record finished, but neither of them cared. Jinx tugged at his hand, eyes shining brighter than the neon scars that shimmered faintly along her arms.

“C’mon…” she whispered, lips still swollen from their kisses. “Let’s not do this on your damn desk.”

Dante arched a brow. “Not a fan of spilled whiskey and paperwork, huh?”

Jinx snorted, shaking her head as she pulled him towards the stairs. “No. And I’m sure as hell not gonna let you spill me on that damn desk either.”

She smirked and tugged harder until he stood. They climbed the narrow stairs, the office fading behind them. His bedroom was what she always teased it for being. It was bare walls, a simple bed shoved against one side, hardly lived in. No posters, no clutter.

“Figures.” Jinx murmured, letting him go only to flop on the mattress. “You live in the office and sleep in a box. Classic Dante.”

“Don’t like tight spots…” he answered simply, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Never have.”

She slid closer, straddling his lap again. One hand pressed to his chest, urging him to lie back. “Then good thing it’s just me and you. Plenty of room.”

Their mouths found each other again, deeper this time, Jinx’s nails dragging along his jaw. And as her body pressed against his, something else stirred. those faint, glowing patterns that had marked them both. Dante’s red patterns lit up like burning cracks in stone, and Jinx’s own patterns flared a vivid pink, winding across her arms, her ribs, even along her neck where his hand brushed.

She broke the kiss just to look, her grin gone soft. 

“We’re glowing, Dante…” she whispered, like it was both a joke and a prayer.

He glanced down at his own crimson flickers, then at hers, the way they pulsed in sync as their hearts raced. “…Guess that’s what happens when demons get carried away.”

Her forehead pressed against his, eyes shut, voice almost trembling. “Then let’s get carried away together.”

Her words lit a spark in his eyes. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her, deep and demanding. Jinx melted into him, hands roaming his broad shoulders and lower.

The world faded away. For once, Dante didn’t notice. He was lost in the heat of their kiss. He pulled back just for breath, eyes meeting hers, then dragged a slow path of kisses over her jaw, down her neck, along her shoulder.

And he found the pink marks again. Shuddering, she clutched his shoulder to steady herself. “What’s wrong, Bluebell?”

She shuddered again at the nickname only he used when they were alone like this. Her fingers dug into his hair instead of answering. “Nothing... Just kiss lower.” 

Her voice came out breathy and needy. “Please.” 

The pink patterns pulsed brighter along her collarbone where his lips had been. Dante’s breath hitched at the sight. His mouth found her collarbone, leaving a trail of burning kisses down her chest. She arched into him, letting out a breathy moan that set his blood ablaze.

"Damn, you drive me crazy…” he muttered, his fingers trembling as he fumbled with the fabric of her crop top. “You have any idea what you do to me, Blue?"

She helped him push the crop top up and over her head, tossing it aside without care. Her hands immediately went back to his hair, holding him close as he kissed lower still. When his mouth reached the swell of her breast, she gasped his name— “Dante.”—like a prayer.

He could feel the rapid pulse of her heart racing under his lips, in time with the rhythm of their ragged breathing. She let her head fall back, exposing the sharp line of her throat, the hollow of her collarbone. Her body was a canvas, marked and trembling and alive. And Dante drank it all in. He had never seen anything so beautiful, felt anything so hot, so raw.

He lifted his head, breath ragged as he looked up at her. “You're goddamn gorgeous, Blue."

Her eyes fluttered open, meeting his gaze with a soft smile. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging him gently back towards her breast. She wanted more of that. More of him.