//Orion PoV//
'Where's Powder?'
This was his immediate thought upon entry, but he hesitated running toward her in fear that if she was already messing with the hextech crystals, spooking her would cause a worse disaster.
Inaction was, unfortunately, worse than action.
Hextech crystals were, as far as Orion knew, conduits for the Arcane to flow through. In the original, only one hextech crystal exploded in this scene. It ripped through concrete, iron beams, and could completely disintegrate a human if they were inside its blast radius.
During Ekko's alternate universe trip, two hextech crystals exploded which is why Vi died.
This one?
Three.
The sensation of the Arcane buzzing around him was like lightning shooting through his body. Everything slowed as if time itself bent when Powder came running out before Mylo jammed the door.
'She's too early!' Orion dreaded, the arcane threads in his mind shaking violently. 'One, two... three are shaking!'
Without further thought, he grabbed Vi and twisted her around, crouching protectively to shield her.
In the background, the faint giggling of a happy child resonated.
'Ugh,' Orion grunted as Vi's elbows and knees slammed into him.
His control wavered, channeling his limits of the Arcane into a large shield spread out around them. He stretched it as far as he could, desperate to prevent any debris from striking the others after sensing the third Hextech crystal.
"Hey, what are you—"
The shield around them flashed wildly with brilliant colors as the first explosion detonated. It felt like a crushing weight pressing down on him from behind, threatening to shatter the shield and kill them both.
A split-second later, two more explosions erupted, changing everything.
Orion's shield warped as the unstable wild magic collided with it. Corruption blossomed from the core, spreading out like roots through his barrier. It was surreal, like watching something pure rot from the inside out, and he could feel every inch of it.
Weakened by the first blast, debris and splinters punched through in different places.
The shield never shattered. Instead, it bent, twisted, and gnarled itself like the hollow roots of a dying tree. Three jagged points of corrupted Arcane energy impaled him, driving through his side, shoulder, and leg. Smaller ruptures clawed at his skin, lightning-shaped cracks forming into crystalline shards.
Orion's vision went black for a moment. Blood poured from the wounds, and he coughed up mouthfuls, spraying it across Vi.
Flickers of light and darkness blinked in and out as pain ravaged him, sparks of unstable energy rupturing from his skin.
The star within him pulsed violently, burning inside his chest, beginning to swirl with frightening intensity.
"Orion?"
Her whisper cut through the chaos inside his mind, dragging him back to consciousness.
"What... what is this?"
Her terrified words echoed in his head, and his eyes rolled up to meet hers.
Orion couldn't help but feel sad at the sight of her face. A tear-streaked, trembling body shaking in fear and shock.
It hurt worse than the wounds. That look, the way she saw him, made him feel like the monster.
'That look...' he thought miserably, vision trembling. 'I feel like the villain...'
"You're alive… Vi..." Orion whispered hoarsely. Blood dripped from his lips, dripping down onto her forehead as he spoke.
——————-
//Vi's POV//
"Alive?" Vi's voice shook, her gaze shifting to their surroundings.
Charred walls, large splinters of wood and glass sprayed out, and concrete chunks lying at the base of Orion's feet with blue and violet arcane lightning streaking out from the stone.
She shivered, her head whipping back toward the others. "Powder!" She shouted fearfully. "Mylo! Claggor!"
Powder and the gang groaned, struggling back to their feet.
"What was that?!" Mylo shouted as the side of the building began to collapse and they could hear people running in fear of their lives.
Powder shouted. "VI!"
"I don't know!" Claggor shouted back, leaning back in. "We need to—"
He froze, they all did when they saw the scene.
"Hold on, Orion!" Vi wiggled out more, slipping in Orion's blood. "You're bleeding everywhere!"
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry!" She cried between sobs. Her hands trembled, hovering above the arcane shards piercing him. "We— we'll get you out!"
"Don't," Orion drew in a ragged breath, halting her fingertips just before touching the shards, and croaked, "It will fade…"
Vi leaned back, her fingers retracting with a scared squeak. The shards vibrated angrily, the deep blue shifting into reddish-black before dissipating with a hiss along with the shield.
Debris and wood chunks fell with noisy wet splats. Vi caught Orion as it let go of him, hiccupping and crying openly as shocked gasps rang out behind her.
"Jayce? Jayce!" A feminine voice cried out from the door with frantic footsteps.
Orion's gurgled voice rasped out next to Vi's ear. "Powder… nightlight… remember?"
A momentary pause and a raspy breath and a weak gesture.
"Claggor, grab Vi… Run!"
"We won't leave you!"
"You're not," Orion coughed again, blood spraying. "I have a better chance if the Enforcers patch me up. You won't make it carrying me...and I won't survive going with you."
Mylo clenched his fists, his jaw tight, whispering hoarsely, "He's right… damn it, he's right…"
The truth cut deeper than they wanted to admit. Claggor swallowed hard, guilt already weighing heavily on him.
Vi felt small hands tugging at her arm as she held tightly onto him. She glanced back, seeing Powder's previously delighted face now tear-stained with snot dribbling out.
Powder cried, tugging at Vi's arm with uncertain glances at Orion. "Will you… get better?"
Vi felt him nod, believing it to be obvious fake reassurance, tears blinding her completely through renewed cries.
The weight of the decision crushed her. Every part of her screamed to stay, to drag Orion out no matter the cost but the balcony groaned again, stone cracking and threatening to bring the whole building down on top of them.
A loud rumbling was heard as a section of the balcony began to collapse.
"Orion, I'm sor— wait NO! GET OFF ME!" Vi shrieked as Claggor came up and ripped her away.
Orion's weak body fell flat with a wet splotch into the blood and a pained groan.
Shouts and screams echoed out from the streets below.
She couldn't recall what she was shouting in the moment when Claggor forcibly pulled her head up to his, locking gazes.
"Do you want to lose Powder too?! We need to run!" Claggor shouted in her face. His eyes were tear-stained and horrified too, but determined as well.
Vi hiccupped. She knew it was Orion's last will, nodding slowly and reluctantly.
Her nails dug into her palms as she forced herself to let go, her body trembling with each step back. It didn't feel like leaving him behind; it felt like tearing away a piece of herself.
Powder needed her. They all looked up to her. But she would never forgive herself.
As they fled, silence clung to the group. None of them dared speak, their footsteps heavy with guilt. They weren't abandoning him, they were honoring his last order, and yet the shame of leaving him behind burned in every glance they shared.
The traumatized gang retreated to the roof as alarms blared and Powder stumbled next to them.
"He's the nightlight… nightlight…"
Powder's traumatized eyes clung to the tiny bit of hope in her heart, desperately. Vi bit her lip bitterly before crying out.
"Come on! We need to run!"