"New memo to staff! Dear staff, Mundo firing only most of you! Congratulations."~ Corporate Mundo
I particularly like this skin. It is a 1 to 1 representation of the current Riot CEO. The absolute god of bad decisions.
Sorry for the delays with chapters. I really don't have the time to write everything. Well I could but that would require proper time management. And between classes, part time and the project.... I don't want to do any more time management. Though the part time is only for a couple months before it is swapped for an internship. And a heads up here the week from 10th October will have no chapters. My exams are coming up.
Also, the new motion comic helps with writing in the future.
Finally, writing parts of a show into a book in really hard. I could just skip it and get to the good parts but the show came out nearly a year ago, I didn't remember most things and I cannot expect you to either. So I'll be adding snippets just to fill in the gaps so that everything falls into place. I've also taken the liberty to change the times of certain things happening because I can.
Lets continue with the story shall we?
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"A what?" Daani asked.
"Sump rats." Jinx answered, rolling her eyes.
Annie looked appalled at being compared to a rat, "Why would they be called that?"
Jinx pointed down, "The Sump's down there. They live there." She brought her hands together, "Sump rats."
"That's not-" Annie tried to explain.
But Jinx cut her off, "And then there is this place. The Fissures. The Lanes. Anything other than the sad place this is."
Faye was furiously scribbling all of this information down.
"And it is ruled by the Chembarons." Jinx spoke with bravado, pushing out her chest as she did, "There used to be many... but now there are three. " She frowned and placed a finger to her chin, "Two. Smeech. The Yordle?" She reminded them, "He is dead. So two."
"Yordles don't die." Faye corrected as she looked up from her book.
"Shhhh..." Jinx placed a finger against her lips, "His dead body would disagree."
"What else?"
"Welll....." She hunched over and pushed out her hand and began counting, "The Docks? Ships go there." She then looked at everyone with wide eyes, "Don't go swimming in there."
Sevika snorted, "You'd be better off swimming in the Sump."
"Why?" Briar was excited, "Why can't we swim in the Docks?"
"Monsters." Sevika answered, "Large creatures waiting to eat you."
Sydell looked at Briar, "Why do you care anyway..... you don't know how to swim..."
"You don't?" Sevika looked surprised, "Everyone knows how to swim." She looked at the others, "You don't either?"
"No. I do." Sydell answered, "Our father taught us how to but Briar and Annie never took to it."
"Fire." Annie answered explaining her reason.
Briar just shrugged not bothering to defend herself.
"Mooooving on!" Jinx called out losing interest in their conversation, "The Alcove District. Connects the topside and down here."
"There's a statue there." Faye pointed out. "For someone."
Jinx stilled.
Sevika's fists clenched for a second and then unclenched.
Sydell leaned back as he tried to gauge their reactions. The statue meant something to them. Either the statue or the person represented by the statue. They weren't happy thinking about it. An enemy perhaps?
But they were all happy to skip over the topic.
"So where did you go earlier today?" Sydell asked as he assessed Jinx.
Jinx slumped in her chair, "Sending a message." Her face hardened with determination.
"Is there anything we shouldn't do down here?" Rell asked, "Other than go swimming in the docks."
Sevika turned toward Jinx and then back to the group as if making up her mind, "There is a drug down here... Shimmer. It is a bright purple liquid. Do not ever take it."
"Madness?" Sydell asked, intrigued.
"No." Sevika pulled out her pipe and lit it, "Worse. Just don't take it and if you see someone dosed up.... keep away."
"How does one identify these people?" Sydell asked while giving Faye a look, to make sure she was writing all of this down. "You know.... just to avoid them."
Sevika frowned at his words and then sighed shaking her head, "Purple veins." She answered, "Now talk with her instead."
"Can I try that?" Briar asked pointing to Sevika's pipe, "You've blown smoke from that for the last five days..... I want to do that too."
"No." Sevika blew out a puff of smoke, "Get your own."
Sydell smiled at the interaction and closed his eyes, his magic flaring.
-x-
Following her markings was the easy part but actually locating her? It was a lot harder. Zaun was a big place and the people living in it did not make things easier.
The enforcers rushed through tunnel after tunnel, air vent after air vent manipulating The Gray to herald their arrival and use the very air to scare their netizens.
The final ventilation system opened up to a large fan with bottom fan blade painted over in pink and blue markings. Her colors. Jinx.
COUGH
COUGH
There was someone strapped to the fan, hanging upside down, forcefully inhaling The Gray surrounding him.
As they stepped forward to check on the person, whirring sounds erupted as dolls fell in front of the enforcers, swinging wildly.
Dolls that resembled them.
All with various holes and knives stabbed in them.
Caitlin's eyes narrowed.
Maddie and Steb investigated their surroundings for any clues while the rest stood around the man, they had just freed.
"You are Smeech's man." Vi said as she observed the man in front of her.
He sat against the wall, breathing heavily, snot dripping from his nose, "Was. Not anymore. Name's Heenot."
Caitlin raised her gun at him, "Tell us how you wound up here."
"Hey wait wait." Heenot waved his arms in front of him in fear, "J...J.. Jinx is off the rails. Even for her. She.. she's planning something big. Right here in the pipeworks."
Vi knelt beside him, "Pretty big place...."
"The.. The old tunnels. She said something about rerouting the vents." He pushed out still breathless from his earlier ordeal.
Caitlin moved her rifle away, "Cuff him."
"Hey! I.. I told you everything I know!" Heenot exclaimed.
"You are a confessed criminal. Spend your retirement in a cell." She said as she walked away.
"Check your gear. This is what we trained for." Caitlin said as she checked her own weapon. The rifle powered with Hextech.
Vi walked up behind her, looking concerned, "Can I get a minute?"
A certain distance away, the two leaned against the walls opposite to each other.
"I think we should cut the others loose." Vi said instantly noticing Caitlin's angry reaction, "Listen..." She placated, "If he is saying the truth.... then this is a trap."
"All the more reason to have back up." Caitlin answered.
Vi shook her head, "She will use their nerves against them. Against all of us. Tell me I wrong."
Caitlin stood silent for a moment and then spoke, "I cannot let her get away again. Are you sure YOU are ready to-"
"My sister is gone." Vi interrupted. "There's only Jinx now. It.. it has to end." Her voice cracked, "I'm so sorry about your mother. I... I'm sorry I can't bring her back but please just....Everyone in my life has changed. Promise me you won't.
Caitlin looked at Vi and then slowly stepped forward.
The two looked at each other.
Caitlin placed a reassuring hand on her cheek and kissed her.
-x-
"Your request for an audience was uninteresting." She took a sip of tea she had just poured for herself. "People have lost their heads for less." She took another sip, "So tell me Amara, what does a member of Piltover's merchant guild want from me."
Amara sat kneeling, taking a sip of her own cup of tea her aged face still speaking of grace, "I am not here on behalf of the guild. I'm here to settle a debt."
She sighed, "My bookkeeper is down the hall."
"What you've stolen... is more precious than any gold." She spoke, her voice echoing ominously as she reached the end of her sentence.
To the side, observing his weapon, was Rictus. He frowned as he felt something crawl up his hand. And from behind his hand, fingers made of eldritch magic reached out and restrained his.
Ambessa recognizing this, shot to her feet, reaching for her weapon.
But the magic restrained her.
Amara rose to her feet and walked up to Ambessa. Standing over her, she spoke in a hypnotic voice, "Did you think Piltover was beyond our reach?" She twisted her hand as a black flower bloomed out of it. A rose.
SCHING
A blade erupted from it and slid into her hand.
"My son is dead." Ambessa strained against her restrictions, "Is that not enough to sate your bloodlust?"
She placed her blade against Ambessa's forehead, "I have not insulted your intelligence Ambessa. "Do not insult mine. We know what you are chasing in Piltover. We will not allow it."
Ambessa's eyes hardened as hate filled her body, "Allow?" She stopped struggling, "Your visit only confirms my suspicions."
Rictus slammed his spear into the ground, sending the anti-magic runes into overdrive erasing all nearby magic freeing them both.
Ambessa slid under the blade and spun to her feet slamming into Amara, sending her into the wall.
Amara grunted as the wind left her lungs.
"Try to stop me insolent wench." Ambessa growled as she placed her forearm against her neck.
Amara groaned as she felt Ambessa's knife slide into her body. "My death means nothing.... You... should have given up the feud."
"You have no inkling of family is to me." Ambessa sent the knife into Amara and twisted, ending her life.
The body slumped to the ground.
"Maybe we should bring Mel into the fold." Rictus said as they collected their breaths.
Ambessa looked at him, thoughts of her daughter filling her mind, "No. She is safer as our enemy. I'll handle Salo."
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
Their attention shifted to the door.
Rictus raised his spear and Ambessa's hand tightened around the blade. He turned to her. She tilted her head to the door.
He nodded and inched toward it.