The air in the cell was cold, smelling of damp stone and iron. The darkness around us was heavy, as if the proximity between us had gained weight.
I was sitting against the cold wall. Violet did the same, her shoulder inches from mine.
In the dim light, our eyes met. She looked down, one hand on her abs while the other checked her neck, feeling the spot where the impact and soreness of the chokehold had just vanished. Her gaze narrowed. She looked out toward the iron bars of the cell.
"Perv. I'll hit you with the first question." She turned to me. "The bars, the healing, what's the trick?"
"Hm? Do you want a technical answer or what?"
She held her gaze.
I sighed. "It was magic."
Vi's brows arched, she wanted more.
"Think of it as the thing reality is made of. While also being the cause and consequence. I'm able to mess with it a bit."
Vi nodded in agreement, "...Got it."
Did she?
"I've heard of magic before. Tricksters called mages fooling people for money."
I nodded. "Actually, not far from the truth."
She continued,
"But after seeing what you did, I can't help but ask: What's your goal?"
The second question.
I gave her a long glance before answering,
"To stop a great threat. A terrible war. Once and for all."
"Why?" She said.
"...Because there is no other way. No one else who can."
She thought for a moment before asking:
"What am I to you?" The third question.
Her face was hard, her body tense.
"To be honest, at first you were just… someone close to one of my goals."
Her gaze sharpened at the words 'close' and 'goals'.
I put on a smile and stretched out my arm behind her, surprising her with a side hug.
"But now I see you differently. Once all my bullshit is over, I hope we can be friends."
Vi paid close attention to my face, giving little to no mind to us being this close. A faint and dry smirk at the corner of her mouth, shaking her head slightly as if trying to figure out what kind of weirdo she was dealing with.
Not much happened after that.
She never asked me to free her, but I explained why I couldn't anyway, making up an excuse and instructing her how to act when a certain someone came asking her questions.
Then came the gift… Well, think of it as 'opening her spirit gate.' Yes, fuck it, she's now able to use spiritual energy.
I need her to be stronger. I also thought it was useful to put a track her, the gate opening also had this meaning. I'm not sure how the future will be affected by this, but honestly, I couldn't give a fuck.
.
Once I was out of Stillwater Hold, I headed straight for Zaun.
After flying around and scanning the lower levels with my x-ray vision, I did some quick math and located her hideout.
Jinx's lair.
It was morning by the time I finally found it. From the outside, the place looked like an abandoned construction site.
I knew it was hers because of her signature monkey graffiti sprayed everywhere.
The lair was built inside an old ventilation system on the floor connecting the middle and deeper levels, right near Silco's main base.
I was standing on top of the turbine blade, whistle at the scale of the place inside.
The size was eerie and cool, but the importance it held, the struggle, the genius mind behind it was what mattered to me.
Tap. Tap.
I walked above the turbine blade toward the core of the place, her workbench. Each step made the metal blade creak like old wood, the sound echoing around and deep into the space. I could smell machine oil, heavily masked by the scent of violet-flavored aromatic candles.
Right before reaching the center platform where Jinx kept her workspace, I stopped and scanned from left to right: The left blade was covered in neon spray paint of monkey faces, stars, and nonsensical text. At the end sat a couch holding a life-size doll of Mylo, Vi's childhood bunny, and Claggor's goggles.
Clearly a shrine to her past.
The other blades held nothing of importance, just storage crates and random gadgets.
My ears twitched, I didn't hear any heartbeat.
"The elements are flowing as usual too," I said, my eyes glowing. "She's away."
I reached her workbench.
Schematics, books, magnifying glass, shimmer needle. A phonograph. Flame Chompers. A metallic butterfly, and more books.
I looked over the mess and slowly reached for a small notebook. I picked it up and flipped the pages: random schematics, research, and bomb ideas, intellectual notes here and there.
I placed it back down and glanced at the thick Shimmer needle, watching the purple liquid inside. My eyes glowed again as I watched the component's magical flow.
"Most of it is organic. Channeling scattered magical energy."
My eyes moved to the Chomper trap sitting at the side, then:
Badum-Badum.
I turned my head. A heartbeat approaching.
Click. The entrance door opened.
The metal-jingle of boots echoed as it stepped inside.
I didn't move.
'It's her.'
Jinx.
She froze the instant she saw me, standing just a few steps away in the middle of the turbine blade. Her slender, athletic body went entirely tense. The vibrant blue hair stretched in two thick braids that nearly brushed the floor. Her wide, silver eyes locked dead onto me.
After the initial shock, her gaze dropped to the Chomper in my hands, then back to my face.
I turned to fully face her.
SWHIP—She whipped out her gun and aimed it straight at me, her fingerless leather glove creaking tightly around the grip.
"Who are you?"
Now,
how do I do this?
To get on Jinx's good side, or at least stop her from pulling the trigger immediately, standard 'real-world' social methods like a polite introduction won't work. Her paranoia and trauma would make a traditional approach sound too much like a rigid Enforcer.
"Mechanical energy. Very impressive," I said, turning the toy over in my hands. "Those geothermal lovers up top can't hold a candle to your wind-up skills."
Jinx's head tilted. Silver eyes widened as she scanned my face, weighing my words. Her finger stayed locked on the trigger, but I noticed her guard drop slightly.
For someone as broken as her, a compliment is like ice cream to a lost child. Irresistible.
She opened her mouth to snap a comment, but I didn't give her the chance. With a casual swing, I tossed the Chomper at her chest.
"Catch."
She dropped her aim and caught it against her bare waist, right beside her tattoos.
"The name's Axion, by the way."
She glared at the Chomper in her hands, then up at me. She pointed the barrel of her pistol right at my face again.
"Axion? Is that a Topsider name? Did they send a clown to get rid of me?" She let out one rough giggle. "Tossing a bomb at a girl. Boom! We could've both been confetti!"
"..."
Was that a bomb?
How did she manage that with a wind-up system?
'W-Well, the next part of the plan is to make sure to genuinely care. Place myself in her shoes.'
I closed my eyes for a breath, then gestured faintly toward the couch at the far end of the blade.
A look of genuine sorrow washed over my face.
"You build all of that because you're suffering, aren't you?" I said softly, stepping closer.
Her eyes lit up. A micro-twitch of her lips. The gun shook.
'Then finally, make her do the same for me. For that, I just need to tell the truth. If I fool her, I might risk not caring.'
"...To me, anything is possible." My voice echoed with weight, "If you're willing to trust me, I might really be able to bring them back."
I didn't lie. This is Runeterra. Once I get her intellect, anything is possible.
"Bring—buh—ah—" Her eyes drifted off. She shook her head violently, locking her sharp focus back on me. Her aim tightened. "Do you think I'm a fool?! How did you find this place?!"
I pressed my lips thin, then spoke honestly. "I… have seen this place before, so I knew exactly what to look for."
Her eyes went wide, reflecting a manic edge. "Why aren't you lying?!" She shook her head as if shushing unseen voices, then snapped her gaze back to mine. "Did you put a tracker on me?!"
"I did not," I said firmly. "Like I said before, I can bring them back if you—"
"SHUT UP! Everybody just shut up!"
Click—
Bang!
She pulled the trigger.
[Nullifying Orb] activated, ricocheting the bullet aside with its force field. Then with a single step I shortened the distance with [Flash].
I grabbed her wrist and forced the gun upward. Her eyes widened in surprise, but her other hand swept out, trying to smash a Chomper right into my face.
Swish. I leaned back, dodging the explosive toy with Vi's precision. In the same fluid motion, I swept her feet out from under her. As she tumbled backward, I snatched both the Chomper and her pistol out of her grip.
As she hit the ground, her survival instincts kicked in immediately, snaking to the side and reaching for another gadget next a nearby crate. Before she could touch anything I used photokinesis to swipe her back to my feet like a sack of potatoes.
She tried to stand—But winds whooshed around her arms and legs with cuffs made of compressed wind.
She hit the floor again, thrashing wildly like a fish out of water.
I stood over her, looking down at the chaotic mess of her hair and her furious expression.
'I fucktup. She's clearly not my friend.'
Plan B.
'The trauma took over, spiraling her into a severe psychotic episode. Words won't fix this anymore. I need to change the environment, drain the hostility, and force her mind to clear.'
I opened the UI and clicked on the shop icon.
'Should I buy this now?'
I looked at her. Even bound by wind, she didn't stop fighting and looking at me with murderous gaze.
[Recall] Click.
"Let's go for a walk," I murmured, beginning to channel a mass teleportation spell.
With a desperate surge of strength, she loosened her wrists and broke free from the wind-cuffs, lunged forward, and wrapped her arms tightly around my thigh, trying to bring me down.
"Calm down girl! You're scaring me!"
ZAP!
The world vanished in a flash of blinding light.