--Reader Notice, Nov 8th: Last chapter edited (Origin). Changelog in chapter comment (affects character interactions)
Also, this story is now R18 and reflected in Tags/Synopsis.--
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"Unity through transcendence…"
Sevika grabbed the engineer by the collar, lifting him clean off the ground, a furious snarl twisting her face.
"What the fuck's the matter with you?" she snapped. She was exhausted. Half from the running around, half from not sleeping last night, and these damned eggheads weren't helping.
"W-We can't detect any toxic fumes!" he stammered, panicked. "And we can't open the vents to clear the air even if there was! I-It's jammed!"
The way he looked at her put her on edge. Same hollow stare, same twitching fingers as the others she'd seen that day. Delusional, muttering nonsense, reaching for things that weren't there and whispering to ghosts.
Her teeth clenched. She slammed him against the wall again, her patience wearing thin.
"What good are you, then?" she snarled. "Maybe a few hours in the Pit will motivate you to do better?"
"N-no! Anything but that- look!" He pointed frantically toward the massive gears along the wall beside the sealed ventilation shaft.
The shaft itself was huge, at least five meters across, and sealed shut by thick iron doors. The panels along its side were stripped away by other engineers anxiously standing watch, exposing the jammed mechanism. Enormous chunks of rock were wedged deep in the gears like shrapnel.
Behind her, the rusted tunnels stretched endlessly, the faint light of the Undercity's upper levels barely visible through the haze.
Sevika dropped the engineer and strode over, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"This doesn't look accidental," she muttered, tracing the interlocking gears with her gaze. "Was anyone down here before you? Anyone on the logs?"
"No, ma'am," the engineer coughed, rubbing his throat. "No signs of forced entry either. Whoever did it… they must've had clearance."
"Hmph. A rat," Sevika spat. She tore off her cloak which revealed her mechanical arm. The moment she flexed her shoulder, the internal gears whirred to life and Shimmer pulsed through the joints.
"We'll run a check on your crew later," she growled. "For now…"
She reached to her belt and pulled out three vials of Shimmer. Her arm hissed open, ejecting an empty cartridge before she slid a fresh one into the chamber.
Her pulse increased. Veins and eyes flickered violet as the drug took hold. It fueled not just her prosthetic, but coursed through her bloodstream too, amplifying strength, focus, and reflexes.
Her gaze shifted back to the men she brought with her. They were half armed with clubs and blades, a few with guns. They looked bored, barely paying attention. One was even picking his nose while looking her straight in the eyes.
Useless imbeciles, she thought bitterly.
Her arm rotated with a hiss, sparks flying from the reinforced metal as she powered up.
"Ma'am, please don't—" the engineer began, panic rising. "You'll clear the jam but you'll wreck the gears in the process! My boss will be furious! The cost will be—"
BANG!
The blast echoed like a cannon shot. Sevika's arm flared, vents bursting open with steam before she slammed her fist into the rock. The explosion shattered the rock instantly, sending out shards of rock and breaking several gears in the process. Sparks rained down as the iron doors groaned and began to part.
Cla-clunk.
Smoke hissed through the gaps, rolling over them as the massive gate slowly opened into a yawning, dark tunnel beyond.
Sevika exhaled sharply, stumbling as the Shimmer rush faded into exhaustion. Her chest heaved, muscles trembling from the exertion as if she'd just finished an intense workout.
"There…" she panted, bracing a hand on her knee. "The air should clear now, right?"
She turned toward the engineer- and froze.
His arms were raised, palms open toward the ceiling like he was welcoming some divine revelation. His pupils were wide, eyes glassy with madness, and an eerie grin split his face from ear to ear.
"What the fuck are those?!" Sevika shouted.
Gunfire erupted. The tunnel filled with screams and the deafening roar of automatic fire. Shadows sprinted through the smoke.
Her blood ran cold.
Without thinking, she seized the nearest Piltover engineer by the collar and hurled him forward toward the darkness to buy herself time to escape the front.
"NOOO! AAAAAHHHHH—!"
The scream was short-lived. A wet crunch followed by the sound of tearing flesh filled the air. Blood sprayed across the rusted metal walls, painting them red. Those who froze where they stood were torn apart next, mangled shapes dragged screaming into the dark.
The engineer who'd been smiling never moved. He stood serenely, head tilted upward, whispering something Sevika couldn't hear before the thing cleaved him in half.
That was all she needed to see.
"Fall back!" Sevika bellowed, her voice cracking as she spun and sprinted down the tunnel. Her men were already fleeing with some dropping weapons, others tripping over body parts that flew down the tunnel after them.
A few tried to stand their ground, trembling as they raised their weapons toward the creatures.
But Sevika knew better.
This wasn't a fight they could win.
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~Meanwhile, in the cavernous depths next to Singe, or Corin Reveck's lab~
Corin Reveck scribbled madly across the walls, muttering beneath his breath. From the moment the dark figure arrived, he hadn't stopped scrawling symbols and equations. Over every wall, floor, and even the ceiling. When the ink ran dry, he switched to his own blood.
"What a disappointment," the dark figure sighed, almost mournfully, standing in the shadows beside one of his serpent soldiers. The creature's body began to twist in on itself, bones snapping in wet succession as its arms folded inward in grotesque contortions.
It shrieked, its eyes rolling back before fixing on the dark figure with mindless bloodlust.
"Azmodan would enjoy a creature like you in his armies. But…"
Mid-sentence, the creature lunged. The dark figure inhaled softly and a beam of crimson light erupted from the depths of his hood. The abomination sizzled as its upper half vaporized, spraying ash and ichor across the stone.
"For my purposes, and even for a fool like him, we can't have our toys turning on their masters."
Corin didn't flinch. Amid the carnage, he kept scratching symbols into the rock with torn fingers and bone beginning to protrude through. The dark figure exhaled again in misery and shook his head.
"This experiment was a failure. Still… it will be entertaining to see how it ends."