Within the damp and dimly lit caverns of the cave, Singe and I stand in front of the one reason why he is the way he is. She rests in the largest and most supremely designed chamber that I have ever seen. It's big enough to conceal an entire human. She is too pale to be alive, and also so well preserved, it's difficult to imagine her dead.
"She has been stricken by an infection of the lungs." Singe disclosed as his sanitized tone softened. "It has been years since I have heard her voice, heard her laugh." He ran his hand over the glass that displays her face. "I have nearly forgotten the color of her eyes."
This is the only way to acquire his assistance in building a better Zaun for us all. The alternative would be bloody. The mutated vagrants kept a watchful distance from us. Singe allowed Summer and Lis to stay beside me. Probably because she knows the capabilities of his enhanced flock. Besides the grotesque growths on the bodies of the vagrants, I can't help but notice their stretched and damaged skin. Don't want to think about their diet in these depths, but I know it isn't the type to get swole on. It most likely has something to do with the chemicals. Wouldn't doubt that it's either a buildup of fluids that did it or some other insane method of genetic alteration. I can't imagine what chemicals Singe has to force such aggressive muscle growth. This negotiation needs to go smoothly, because I can't imagine us coming out of here unscathed.
"I know nothing of medicine, besides yours truly." I pointed out as I glanced at the herbalist. Summer and Lis stand close beside me, silently informing me of the environment. My people are tense but ready for anything. Some have even broken away from the formation to gather information. Just hope they don't run into any familiar faces. The last thing I need are their pathetic reasons to stay down here.
"Ah, yes. Our mutual benefactor." He lowers his hand from the chamber. "We owe her much, yet she has withheld her name from us all."
Overhearing our conversation, she shifts from directing the organ to preparing another vagrant for an injection.
"All I can do is give her all the nutrients her body needs to repair itself." She reached her hand out to a vagrant.
A skinny man in rags. He hides his face in wraps and wears a cloak around him. There are holes in his cloak, however. Underneath them, a soft glow of magenta pulses throughout his enlarged veins. Pus threatens to burst from his lesions, and rashes spread across the entire right side of his body. Every opening of his flesh glows with that chemical. He reluctantly accepts her hand, and she guides him to the counter. Placing his hands on the counter, he prepares for the injection.
"However, that's becoming more difficult, with every inch of her limbs being replaced with metal," she disclosed with a voice laced with a hint of frustration. Her thin arms moved through her darkened, decorated veil clothing, as if she'd been clothed in shadows this entire time. Her arms and eyes are the only human parts that I have seen from her. It's strange. Why is she like this? Vaun is full of odd people, but wearing all black in the heat and in humidity? I'm starting to think that she isn't really human.
"My daughter Orianna began showing signs of necrosis, I had no other choice." He turns to me. "That is why I am surprised to see you here of all places."
Feeling Singe's gaze on me is like being under the edge of a careful blade. Not being cut out of hostility, but out of curiosity.
"What do you need from me?" I ask, being careful to allow my bodyguards to be my eyes and ears. I don't want Singe to think that I'm calculating for an escape. And escape would imply that I'm running from a threat, and Singe cannot be a threat to me, nor Zaun.
"I require your brilliant mind." He turned to lay his hand on the chamber. "And the power you call down from the sky."
"You want your machine to stay in top condition?" I guessed as I grew nervous as I looked over the chamber. It's not some lazily thrown-together bucket of scrap. The metal appears important, judging by the colors and the quality of the metal. It's powered by a different source of power, arcane. The blue energy travels in the wires that are installed beneath protective tunnels. It's just like in the journals, whatever that blue stuff is capable of, it's power in physical form. However, the illness that Orianna is afflicted with isn't powerful enough to halt sickness in its place.
"You have shown that you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goals." He turns back to me, and a familiar face steps up to stand behind him. It's that guy, the mutated freak that took bone-crushing punishment and laughed his way to his feet again. As expected, he looks a bit larger than I remember. He locks eyes with me, allowing his appearance alone to send a message that we couldn't stop him. "In return for my unwavering service, my subjects need to be tested."
There is always a price, isn't there?
"You want to test your chemically enhanced 'subjects' against my people?" I asked without sounding too repulsed at the idea. I can already see where he's coming from. He's either wanting to test his chemicals to one day overthrow me and take over. Or, he genuinely wants to lend assistance, but his callous nature sees people as mere expendable test material.
"You moved up in Zaun." The kid walked around Singe and is now standing uncomfortably close to me. "From street thug to taking Silco's spot, big man."
In his shoes, I would be just as cocky. He must be pumped with that same trash in his veins. It's the only thing that gives him his confidence. Since he challenged me personally in this manner, I can't back down.
"Round 2?" I asked. Lis gasped upon hearing that.
The mutated freak smiles, revealing his infected mouth. His teeth are yellow and cracked due to neglect. His gums are as rotten and decayed, with the black fluids pulsing through the ruined flesh.
"A man of action, alright." His gaze stretched beyond me. "Do you mind?"
He must be talking to my two guards.
"It's alright, we are going to do this." I called back, not taking my eyes off the freak.
"This will be a controlled experiment, Minimo. Do you understand?" Singe reminded him.
Singe seems to be the only person whom Minimo respects. Upon hearing that, he faltered slightly.
"Yes, I understand," he replied as he walked around me and proceeded towards the open cavern. As I turn around, I see that a small group of my followers have inched closer, as they sensed the tension building. Minimo waved at me to follow him without looking back. Summer and Lis stood by my side and began to lead the way forward. Before I took my first step, an arm wrapped around my neck, followed by a stinging sensation in my back. The arm is cloaked in that strange material, as black as night. I didn't feel the pain, it is more like pressure. Before I could complain, it was over. Turning around with my hands up, I see her face. Time has stolen her youth, like a ravenous frog. Her eyes hold centuries of Runeterra's knowledge of what grows from the dirt and what is buried within.
"Live, Owen." She drops the syringe and grabs my arms. "Survive as you've always done."
Stepping back, I wrestled my shoulders from her grip and broke away. The herbalist has always done right by me. If I think about it, she was the only constant in my life. Ever since I could remember, she has always assisted me in my times of crisis. Never to satiate my hunger or thirst, I couldn't be bothered with that. But she was always there to keep me alive with her herbs and concoctions she brewed. Comments of assurance and encouragement brought me back to the problem at hand. Stepping forward, I am across from Minimo, enduring his piercing gaze and bleeding gums, as his excitement builds.
He raises his hands. "No extra help."
I look back to see Summer and Lis, who are standing by, ready to rush to my aid. I held my hand up and waved them away. If I am to earn the veterans of Zaun their respect, win, lose, or draw, I need to see this through alone.
"Good." Minimo ironically praises me. "I expect the same from my people," he called over his shoulder and looked from side to side. His vagrants shrink upon his eyes setting on them.
"Do you rule by fear or respect?" I asked as I adjusted my jumpsuit, making sure I remembered all the placements of my bombs.
"You should know." He takes his shirt off, revealing his mutated self. What the hell happened to him? He didn't used to look like this, but now, he's more like a miner who eats all that he chips from the mines. "Fear commands respect."
"And it's all from the heart, right?" I probed as I rotated my shoulders.
He held his hands up as he shifted from side to side. "You got me. But the jumpsuit, lose it."
I pause.
"Yeah, I know about you and your friends. I'm not stupid. You got something in your suit." He successfully exposed my secret plot to end the fight in a messy fashion.
Looking over to Singe, he laced his fingers in front of him. The herbalist nods her head encouragingly. If using these bombs invalidates the agreement, then I need to buckle down and be the monster I swore I abandoned. I unfastened my buckles and let the suit crumble to the floor. Gasps, sighs, and murmurings erupted everywhere, which didn't help my self-esteem at all, thanks everyone. What did they expect from a burn survivor? I think my lightning scars are wonderful, if I do say so myself. The lightning entered just below my left collarbone, sending its divine energy through that point and down both the front and the back of my body. Along the journey, it left an amazing design, like a tattoo of tree roots all the way down to my feet. It could have been worse. I imagine that my back looks just as incredible.
"Damn," he cursed as he got a good look at my back as I threw the jumpsuit in the arms of a Zaunite that returned to the crowd. "Now I want to get struck by lightning, you look cool, in all honesty."
I shrug. "Thanks, there's no line, so if you want, just stop by my office and I can help you with that."
Minimo smiled, and for the first time, he doesn't seem like a menacing animal, like I was. But soon after, his smile faded, and he began walking towards me. Not being the type to wait for permission, I charged ahead. The last time I checked, Minimo isn't as skilled as I am in hand-to-hand combat, so defeating him won't be much of a problem. All he has to rely on is his genetics, plus the trash that's pulsing through his body. This should be as simple as Vi. Just avoid his assaults and wait for him to tire out. Land a few critical strikes, and make him bleed. Be patient. As soon as I got within arm's distance, he reached his arm out, and I pulled my head back and pulled my knees to my chest. I kicked off his chest, but his reflexes are sharper than I anticipated, and he grabs my right leg with an iron grip. Like a whip, he lifts my leg and pulls it down to the ground, making the force travel up to my knee. To redirect the force from popping my knee, I followed the motion, bringing my body along over my knee. In doing so, he shot his fist into my gut. I've learned how to tense my muscles on the point of impact, but due to his enhanced strength, it didn't help much. I countered with a chop to his throat. When I fell to the ground, Minimo's eyes widened, as well as his mouth.
"Just, what the hell was that?" He chuckles as he begins to reach down with his left arm.
I surprised him by grabbing his wrists and twisting them around into a secured hold. When I managed to snap it, Minimo screamed more in frustration than in pain. I scrambled to my feet and recovered some distance to breathe. My Zaunite thugs howled in revery, as I seemed to have the upper hand. However, that punch to the gut is having a lasting effect. I think I'm going to be shitting blood for a month. Minimo charges at me with his mangled arm, seeming to not care at all about having one arm to fight with. With a ferocious opponent like him, the best way to approach this problem is to allow it to approach me. Using my ability to judge the distance and time of his assaults, I manage to evade most of his strikes. He has a habit of showing his inexperience in combat. The right side of his body's veins ignited in that magenta color, causing that side to enlarge slightly in muscularity. That ruined the flow of timing, and his fist landed against my head, sending me flying into the crowd.
"You got this, Owen!" A familiar voice screams in my ear, over the other shouting. "He's cheating, so you have to cheat too."
A powerful push launched me towards Minimo. Using that momentum, I ran towards him, thanking his arrogance that led me to dig my elbow into his right eye. When I slipped his right uppercut, I couldn't believe how lucky I was getting. Planting my feet, I turned my body into a cross to his liver. Then my fist crashed into his ribcage, I swore I almost relocated it towards his spine. When Minimo brought his head down to clutch his side, I delivered a knee to his nose. One of my trademark moves, it never fails. As Minimo crashed a knee into the ground, I didn't relent. Stomp after stomp encouraged the cheers to rise from both sides. After another knee to Minimo's liver pushed him to lay on his side, my Zaunites shouted for me to finish him. One look over at Singe, and that almost froze me in place, he was smiling. The doctor, whose heart beats for his daughter and for her alone, smiles at me. He's up to something. That's when it hit me, and then I proceeded to stomp on his head exclusively. There is something in Minimo's blood that is going to turn this fight on its head, turn me on my head, if I'm not careful. He's just lying there, with blood leaking out of his ear, rubbing at his liver, and accepting the kicks to his head. The level of cheering is almost deafening.
"You got this, Boss!" a masculine voice shouted.
"Put that fucker out!" a feminine voice shrilled through the air.
Minimo's body pulsed, sending that dark chemical through his enlarged veins. The pulse looked painful, as if the chemical were in control, not him. It only took one pulse of that chemical to bring him back to all fours. As I kicked his face, he grunted, sending him back to the ground. I'm getting tired. When is that chemical going to work for me? Regardless, I'm going to finish this fight, with or without enhancements.
"Go! Go! Don't stop!" were the collective cheers of all the Zaunites.
My legs are burning, and my feet are ruined by all the kicking. They are right, I can't stop now. They need a strong leader. Vander's glory days are behind him, I don't want to see him put those gauntlets on ever again. Silco is right where he should be, verbally dancing with the council people of his equal. I need to lead Zaun towards a brighter future, and it all begins here. Another pulse of that chemical turned Minimo into a hulking monster before my eyes. The cheers and hollering grew quiet as we bore witness to his transformation. His skin wasn't healthy enough to tolerate it. His exposed muscles leaked that repulsive chemical, burning the ground upon contact. His uppercut was easy to avoid, since there was so much mass to see. When I retreated to a safe distance by a series of backflips, I got a better look at Minimo's new body. He's a disfigured mess. The majority of muscle growth occurred in his back, giving him a hunchback posture. His right arm is more detailed than his left. The legs suffered the most, as they have hardly benefited from the series of injections.
I turn to Singe. "You need to look at your math, I think you're a bit off."
He's not smiling anymore.
Minimo's legs buckle under the sheer mass of his frame. My people groaned in disgust as he dragged his body towards me by his arms. It wasn't difficult to maintain a safe distance from him. He swiped at me in a pitiful attempt to land a strike. If he keeps this up, I can recover the use of my legs. My feet are still beat up, but they look better than Minimo altogether.
"How about we call this a draw?" I recommend as I back away from another attempt at a swipe. "We can fight again when you aren't a twisted-up ball of beef."
That got a few of the Zaunites laughing.
Minimo looks up at me with eyes of confusion and boiling anger. "What?"
This is not how I wanted it to go.
"Just call it. I understand what you are trying to do, I respect you for that. But you can't go on like this. I mean, look at you, you physically can't." I explained, but I only ignited further laughter from behind me.
Minimo's jaw clenches. "You think this is funny?"
"No. No, I don't, listen to me." I look over the Zaunites and wish that they would act their age for a change. "You can't fight like this anymore. Come work beside me, we can change together. We can be—"
"Normal?" Minimo asks as he fights for control over his body, flexing and somehow appearing smaller as a result.
"We will never be normal." I admitted it as I witnessed the chemical oozing from his open lacerations and ruined veins.
"Damn right we can't." He doesn't appear angry, nor does he seem embarrassed of his performance. What cemented his face is an expression of acknowledgement. He knows what he is, and he lacks any degree of shame for it. Rising to his feet, he now stands a head taller than he was before. His lean and mangled pit fighter body would have been impressive if it weren't for all the torn flesh hanging from his body. The majority of his muscles have decreased dramatically, but somehow, he has managed to retain a fraction of his enhanced power. The moment I tried to backstep, he kicked me in the chest. It's the same kick I used the first time we fought. All the air left my body the moment he hit me. It wasn't made any better when I slammed into the ground. Adrenaline forced me to my feet. As I walked around the arena, my breath was locked in my chest. Minimo follows me, sensing the weakness. I tried to play it off, but I was dying for air. I surprised him with a spinning kick to the side. Although I manage to make him wince in pain, his abs force me to stumble backwards. Slowly, I regained my ability to breathe, but it's not good enough. It's like I'm fighting two entities at once, an enhanced freak and the air itself. If I'm going to go out, I'm going to go out swinging. Shifting the direction of my feet, I maintained my ground and began to pick at Minimo's defenses. Although he managed to display his ability to learn from the previous fight, he isn't a quick or creative fighter at all. He still relies on his superior body to force out a victory, but all he managed to do is expose his weaknesses, which I exploited. Every move he made, he received a punch, a kick, an elbow, and occasionally a knee. Everything I had was used to break him down, but he wasn't stopping. No matter what I did, how hard I landed my worn fists, he won't give up. It's a beautiful thing, really. That tenacity is what we Zaunites are built to embody. Surrender isn't an option, it wasn't before I met my family, and it isn't here. It took one strike, one mistake, one lapse of concentration that sent me flying into the air and crashing to the ground. In my vision, I see arms waving for me to get up, desperate faces screaming for me to stand, be their leader, show some backbone, and stop being a sorry sack of bones. I thought I was working on the last one. Guess I have to eat off of Claggor's plate more often. However, I need teeth in order to do that. Minimo's foot came crashing down on my face, pressing my head into the ground. Thankfully, he didn't get anywhere near my mouth, but that doesn't mean I was spared from the taste by proximity. I felt a rough hand grab my leg and lift me up. With the same foot, he side-kicked me, sending my body rolling across the ground. I don't feel pain anymore, it just hurts. There is no other way to describe it. I can't even tell where he kicked me exactly, all I know is that I feel weaker because of it. I'm on all fours, trying to gather my bearings. His foot slammed into my ribs, lifting me from the ground. As I descended, a meaty fist grabbed my face, and I felt my body flying and rolling through the air and landing across the arena.
"STOP! STOP!" screams of a young girl erupt from the crowd. A faint hint of a blue braid flies across her head as she's being held back from charging after me.
Strangely, they sound as if they're underwater or screaming through a thick wall. But that voice brings me back, from where I don't know. Blood shoots out of my mouth as I fight for air. So that is what was making breathing so difficult, damn. Sitting up, I take in a strange sight: Minimo's form is shrinking once again, this time, he appears as small as he was when we first met. He walks towards me, locking eyes with me, and there it is, the smile he's known for. In the effort to appear deranged, he only comes off as a boy who's been pressured to assume the role of a leader of the vagrants. He hates this life as much as I hated being homeless. We found contentment in our old lives, but when we found our adoptive fathers, we had to kiss our old ways goodbye. Strength drains from his veins and lacerations with every step towards me until he's brought to his knees as he mounts me. His incoming elbow to my face planted my back to the ground. He brought his along with the effort he put into taking my head off with his elbow. Seizing the opportunity, I wrapped his head in a lock and secured it as tightly as I could. Minimo thrashed about, picking me up and slamming me into the ground again. However, I maintained my hold. His limp and mangled left arm swings over my head. The limb half managed to bump into my head upon descending back towards the ground. The right hand reached over, and I leaned forward on Minimo's back, doing my best not to compromise the security of his neck. He managed to grab hold of my left arm. In his efforts to pull me away, he only assisted in applying pressure on the left side of his neck. In a surprising move, he stood up and ran. I can only imagine that he's going to slam me into the wall to get me off. There are options here. I could let go at the appropriate moment and hope that he slams his head into the wall. Or I can maintain hold on his neck, hoping that whatever the herbalist injected in me will save me. She has never failed me before, and she won't fail me now. I have no reason to doubt her abilities. What she held in her eyes is something different, and I want to explore that difference. My back slams into the wall of the cavern. Minimo took a knee, and I cranked the hold even harder until I couldn't feel my arm anymore. In his last attempt, he lurched forward again, this time not being able to slam me again. Instead, he collapses against the wall. Falling limp in my arms, I pulled back, raising the upper half of his body up until I felt a crack. Feeling content in my victory, I released him. As he fell to the ground, I stood there in disbelief. I've wasted the majority of my day in a musty hellhole, fighting a mutated freak to near death. I collapsed on top of him. This was a giant waste of time. Victory roars and chants erupt from my Zaunites as my vision is consumed by their faces. Hands reach down to pull me up. I am lifted above them all, and surprisingly, I'm not as exhausted as I thought I would be. I am well aware that I might have killed another child, but in doing so, I have cemented myself as one to be loathed as an enemy. The vagrants surround Minimo and carry him towards Singe, who immediately injects him with that glowing substance. Singe and I locked eyes, he nodded, pleased that he had a ruined body to experiment on. As we left the cavern, I fought to stay awake. Everyone in the Drop is going to flip. What time is it?
"Set me down. I need to walk." I ordered as I ran my hands over my face, only to pull back blood.
"Sure thing, boss," a humble voice spoke.
As I was lowered to the ground, Summer and Lis took my side immediately.
"Here." Liz hands me my jumpsuit.
"Thanks, did you enjoy the show?" I asked as I put my clothes on, relieved that I'm finally not so naked.
Lis looks about to see the Zaunite thugs conversing about their experiences.
"I want to forget this entire day," she complained.
"We can drink it away." Summer suggests, then she looks to me. "Right?"
"Hell yeah, we're going to the Last Drop after this. Just you two." I informed them as I signaled everyone to continue walking.
When we made it to the factory, I looked up to see that the sun had set on the horizon. The ray made the smog clouds just as bloody as the mess I left behind, lovely. Looking back, I see that I have more people than I can bother to employ, but I asked for this, so I have to follow through with it.
"Welcome to the army, ladies and gentlemen." I announced as they all cheered and clapped. Fatigue washed over me. My legs buckled, I'm sure they say that. Regardless, I maintained my posture as resolute as I could.
"Now get out of here and try to clean up your act. You all are going to be busy for the next year. Kicking Piltover's asses isn't going to be easy, and there are a lot of asses to kick." I declared.
As they all dispersed to celebrate the victory we achieved today, I reached my hand out to Summer's shoulder. She could feel me about to fall onto her. She took my arm over her shoulder, and Lis did the same to my other side. At least this way, it appears that I'm not leaning on another for support.
"How do I look?" I asked, knowing I look like freshly battered beef.
"Like shit," she said as we made our way towards the Drop. Close enough.
"Great, now listen. I have a pretty protective family, and—" I look up to see Claggor holding a bag of goodies. His jaw hung open, and his eyes widened at my appearance.
"Look, it's not as bad as it feels." I began as he drew closer and knelt in front of me.
"Try telling the rest that," he said as he looked me over. "Who did you piss off?"
"Singe doesn't get angry." I thought for a moment at that statement. "At least I don't think."
"Singe!?" He foolishly yells that name around as if it won't have consequences. Thankfully, hardly anyone is around to hear. "Why do you do this, man? Why do you go around pissing off all the wrong people?"
I can understand his frustration, but my head is feeling a bit funny.
"Claggor, I want you to meet my two new friends, Summer and Lis." I introduced them by using my head to nod in their directions. The three exchanged awkward waves of acknowledgement.
"Thanks for making it weird, Claggor." I said upon bringing my arms from around their necks.
"What?" Claggor asked as he lowered his goggles.
"You two are done for the day. See you tomorrow." I said as I stepped forward and turned around to meet them.
The two exchanged looks of bewilderment.
"Are you sure?" Summer said.
"But you're still hurt." Lis didn't have to remind me.
"Ladies, please, I'll be fine." I turned around to Claggor. "Catch me, big guy, I'm going to pass out."
I'm sure he complained as I did so.