Learning is a part of growth. Either you master the art of learning, or you are just another tool meant for a singular purpose, to be used then discarded. I can't afford such stagnation. Dueling with the professors gave me a new appreciation for the power of the mind. There was always the lingering question that has haunted me, why haven't I gone to school before? The only education I have undergone was from random people who took pity on me. When they figured out what I began to do, most shied away from me. Then I was educated by other monsters, until those monsters met their match. The monsters surrounding me are valuable, however. Before I decide on what to do with them, I need to keep my intentions hidden. These professors make Zaun's former crime bosses look like misbehaving kittens. There is darkness within us all. In the Academy, I am getting educated on the unique nature of darkness. Everyone is a liar, yet there are some who are too honest for their own good. People are in a never-ending balancing act to allow one side to rule, only for a time. Light cannot shine forever, and darkness must retreat whenever there is a spark.
"I think that will be all for today." Professor Hal announced.
With the last bit of mental reserve I have, I've withstood the relentless onslaught of the last professor of my trial.
"Not the smartest, not the brightest, there's something else." The professor commented as he rested his hand against the blackboard. He'll undoubtedly smudge whatever he touched, but I'm sure he remembered whatever was written there.
"That was almost a compliment." I acknowledged as I fought to remain on my feet. Every duel exhausted me in a manner I've never experienced before. It's worse than being drunk.
"You still need compliments, huh?" A big professor asked as he brought me a chair to sit on.
"I like being told I'm a good boy." I added as I sat down.
"Humor is a mask, what are you hiding?" he asked as he backed away to stand beside the other professors.
They are forming a perfect circle around me.
"What humor always hides, pain." I answered.
They all began speaking, chanting? I couldn't follow them. They spoke in such a way that it seemed as if they were speaking an unfamiliar language. The rate and speech patterns came in pulses that aligned with my heartbeat. How did they know? When they were done, all I received was a new headache and two journals.
"You should probably get yourself home." Hal advised as he stood beside my leg.
Errat walks towards me with controlled steps. "Welcome to the fold, brother."
I was in the motion of getting up until she said that, brother. I have a family. If anything, these people are associates, nothing more. I'm not some lost, poor street rat anymore. I've been found and fought against true compassion. It was beaten into me only because I did everything I could to tear myself from it. My real family is waiting for me.
"I'm touched, big sis." I'm going to wash my mouth with lighter fluid till I taste blood.
As I stood, the world held steady under my feet. My mind recovered, somewhat, from the trial of mental battles.
"Remember that we only meet five times out of the week. Your official apprenticeship will begin two days from now." With that, Hal returned to the blackboard.
Errat walked me to the door. "I'm looking forward to exploring the universe with your mind, Owen."
"And I'm going to be in full control of it." I said as I left the room.
I couldn't have left that place any sooner. Those people are all kinds of messed up. Here I thought I was special, the Doomed Hero. They all see themselves as some sort of hero, charging into a fate worse than death.
"I need to do something simple and stupid." I muttered to myself as I made it to the front door. As I stepped outside, Vi was pacing back and forth.
"Finally! What took you?" Vi asked as she walked up to me.
"That's a lot of energy. Would have thought you wasted it on the bag." I said as I opened my arms.
Vi crossed her arms. "We were worried."
I remained silent, gesturing with my hands to bring her forward.
"Did they do anything to you?" she asked as she started inspecting me.
I continued waving her towards me.
"Ugh. Fine." she rolled her eyes and finally hugged me.
"Didn't think I would have to fight that hard for a simple hug." I said as she rubbed my head.
"I'm still mad at you." she said as we began to walk down the bridge.
"You want to be mad at me." I decided as I'm glued to her side.
"Listen." Vi exhaled, seeming to struggle with forming words. "Something happened."
"Really? Something? Without me? Damn." I shook my head, cursing myself for missing out on the possible fun I could have had.
"I need you to do me a favor, alright?" she began.
"What is it?" I locked eyes with her worrying gaze.
"It's being handled, just promise me that you won't freak out, okay?" she requested.
I can hardly think straight anymore. "What happened?"
"It's Powder." Vi started.
At that moment, my legs began to kick at the ground, carrying me towards the Last Drop.
"Wait!" Vi called out from behind me. "She's fine!"
She'll be fine when I see her for myself. I charged inside the bar, my senses were frantic. Great, there are people here. Pushing past them wasn't a problem. What is a problem is the growing sickness that is expanding in my gut. It's a coldness that has no place being associated with my family. I flew down the stairs, then I saw her, lying on the couch. Mylo's working on manufacturing locks. Claggor looks confused about what to do with himself, so he settled for pacing until he saw me.
"Owen! Hey!" he greeted as he approached me. I couldn't get a good look at her before Claggor got in my way. Mylo stopped what he was doing and turned to me as well. He pulled his goggles up to reveal a swollen and blackened eye.
"What happened?" I asked as Claggor stepped in front of me.
"She's going to be just fine," he said as he began backing away.
"Claggor, what happened?" I repeated, trying to keep myself under control.
He backed up enough to reveal Powder's condition.
"Hey," she greeted me weakly. Patches of bandages covered most of her face. A white blanket hides what I am dreading to unravel.
A taped hand laid on my shoulder. "It's just cuts and bruises, Owen. Other than that, she's fine."
I nod my head and kneel beside Powder. Looking over her, she doesn't seem all that great to me.
"I'm fine," she stated as she reached her hand up to poke my nose.
"Who did this?" I asked as my eyes hopped from bandage to bandage.
"Some street kids. They saw me in a uniform, and that was it," she disclosed.
"Did you give them a good fight?" I asked as I took her hand.
She smiled. "I cheated."
I gave a slight chuckle. "Good."
"Vander and Silco are already close to finding the kids who did this." Vi reported as she sat on the arm of the couch.
"That's what they say, but are they?" I asked as I caressed Powder's hand.
"No." Claggor answered.
I looked at Powder. "Who were they?"
"They were just a bunch of homeless kids," she answered.
"Like me." I muttered as I began to dive in my head.
"You aren't like that anymore." Claggor spoke up.
I look at him. "Thanks."
"You aren't going to let this go, are you?" Vi asked as she swung her arms.
"No, not at all." I responded.
"Good, because I'm ready to kick some ass." Mylo stepped up.
"Easy there, we have to find them first." Vi said as she chuckled.
"Since they're just a bunch of kids, I'm guessing that they attacked her because of what we did." I began to confess.
"What? What did you two do?" Claggor asked as he rested his hands on the back of the couch.
"We were sitting on a hill, on the outskirts of Zaun." I began. Powder squeezed my hand and shook her head. "It's okay."
"In the bushes, a spy was watching us. When we exposed her, she pulled out a pistol." I continued. Vi's eyes widen. "After we knocked her out, we took it and ran."
"Badass, where's the gun now?" Mylo asked.
"I scrapped it." I disclosed.
"Only topsiders have guns." Vi informed her as she stood by Claggor.
"Someone up there doesn't like us. To cover their tracks, they paid someone in Zaun to do their dirty work." I theorized.
"I thought we were united." Mylo fumed.
"Apparently not." Without thinking, I kissed Powder's hand. "Be right back."
I moved upstairs, ignoring the looks and attempts at getting my attention. For the record, I feel rather calm, no emotion, just pure logic. Nothing should stop me from finding who's responsible for touching my Powder. But as I made it to the first floor of the bar, I was met with an unexpected sight. There are 4 roughed-up-looking kids on their knees. They are unbound and broken. Vander stands off to the left, with both of his knuckles swollen and red. Silco stands to the right, without his jacket. Twirling a dagger in his hands, he brought the blade to the kid closest to him, retaining his attention.
"I guess I don't have to do all the hard work." I stated as I stood beside Vander.
He let out a deep breath. "Knew you would want to charge out there and take names. If you want to be a part of this, start here. We've just dragged them in."
"Did they tell you anything?" I asked as I pulled out my knife and stood in front of a kid, who appears to be a bit older if I squint my eyes.
"They sang like birds, but their stories are all over the place." Vander disclosed.
Vi rushed past me and punched the kid into the booth. "Bastard! Who told you to hurt my sister"
Before she could do more damage, I hugged her. "Wait a minute now, hurt the kid, not the furniture. Gotta make a living here."
"Can you take anything seriously?" she asked as I released her.
"Don't think I'm serious, huh?" I asked as I walked towards the counter bar. "Excuse me, Claggor." Stepping around him, I grabbed the first corkscrew I saw and returned to Vi.
"Oi, what are you going to do with that?" Vander asked.
"Don't worry, I'll clean it later." I responded as I turned towards the kid. "You have a boss, someone who paid you to do this, right?"
The kid parted his jaw but squinted his eyes as if doing so caused him pain.
"Vi, if you broke his jaw—" I began.
"What?" Vi interrupted.
"Just saying. It's going to be a pain in the ass to hear him speak clearly." I answered. "Come on, man."
"Yes," he answered simply.
"Good. You know who I am, right?" I asked as I tested the sharpness of the screw.
He nods his head. "Yeah."
"The girl you hurt is a dear friend of mine. Seeing her like that hurts me, you know?" I explained.
Vi looked at me with suspicion.
The kid nods again. "If I knew, I wouldn't have done it."
I smiled. "I need a name."
He looked over to his left.
"Hey now, pay attention." I snapped my finger in his face. He returned his eyes to me. "Your boss's name."
"I can't. Really, she'll kill me," he disclosed.
"It's a woman? I'm going to need more than that." I pressed.
His eyes grew wide. "I can't tell you."
"Huh. Vander, you've let them know what will happen if they move at all, right?" I asked.
He cracked his knuckles. "Indeed I did."
"Good. Vi, be a sport and hold him." I ordered as I prepped for the fun part.
"Yes, boss," she said with aggressive sarcasm as she walked behind him and then restrained him.
"How many teeth do you have?" I asked as I grabbed him by his hair and placed the corkscrew to his front tooth, just below his gum.
"Grayson!" he gasped. "It was the sheriff that told us to do it!"
"Grayson?" Vander spoke up, disbelief adorned on his face.
"That wouldn't happen to be the first name on your mind?" Silco asked the kid that he's interrogating.
"No." he answered. "Grayson gave that Pilty woman the gun. Then told us to rough up the girl with blue hair."
"Never would have thought she would stoop this low." Vander's eyes focused on the Kid Vi is restraining. "To target one of my kids."
Silco sheathed his dagger. "Allow me to speak with Sevika." The 4 kids flinched at the mention of that name. "I'm sure she'll express her dissatisfaction with Grayson's deeds."
"So I guess that's it then, no harm done?" I looked around the room at everyone. Only Vi caught onto my ruse. She didn't, however, let go of the kid, instead, she pushed her fingers against the joints of the jaw and forced the mouth open. I stabbed the screw into the boy's gum and began twisting the screw. Vi held steady as I worked the screw through the gum and tooth, eventually severing it in the most uncomfortable fashion. While I was exacting my vengeance, Silco began his own method of teaching the kid a lesson. Unfortunately, I could only hear the kid scream, then a hard thud on the floor, followed by powerful sobs. As I finished, with the kid in front of me, I saw the two other kids bolt out the door.
"Get the one on the right!" I ordered as Vi was already in the motion of following one of them. Thankfully, we parted ways smoothly to pursue our targets. The kid is fast; the best thing I can do is to keep him in my line of sight. We maneuvered through the crowd of people, who knew better than to interrupt a chase of this magnitude. Powder is right; the people of Zaun do know me. I should keep that in mind, in case something like this happens again. Gratitude needs to be reinforced on our own terms. Teach everyone who brought them the peace they take for granted. The kid is gaining ground. It's risky, but I have to do something to stop this one from getting away. Whoever this is is smart enough to avoid the buildings and houses. Or maybe this kid isn't confident that they can hide away from me in there. Which, to their credit, I would probably have an easier time dealing with them in an alleyway. The kid slowed down to make a turn; I made a wild gamble and pulled my knife out. Thankfully, it's lightweight, without a handle. The kid runs stiffly and hardly makes turns. In consequence of doing so, I am able to slightly close the distance. The kid never looked back at me, they are content to keep running until I tire out. Unfortunately for him, I grew up hunting and being hunted in return. Lining up my throw, I threw the knife at my target, intending to strike at the center of his back. Instead, the knife sank into the right buttock of the kid. They grunted and instantly began limping. This is it; I'm gaining ground. As I closed the distance, the kid threw a kick at my head with the compromised leg. Seeing the beginning stages of the kick coming, I slide, colliding my foot into their leg. They crashed to the ground, landing on their forehead. Rolling over, I forced the knife further in with my hand. The kid screamed, then rolled over and grabbed the strap of my suspenders and pulled me up to his face. Kids like this one make fighting easy. The momentum helped me add more power to my headbutt. A loud crack bounced off the walls around us. Now that I'm eye-to-eye with him, I pulled my head back and smashed his nose with my forehead.
"Ugh, stop! Please!" He begged, and my stance on begging has not changed.
Pulling out my other knife, I sank the blade into an area in the right arm where important ligaments are positioned. I am correct, as the arm fell loosely at the side. The left arm became more active and swung at my head. I grabbed it under my arm and began severing ligaments within that arm as well. The kid didn't scream, for his credit, he's pretty tough. However, severing certain ligaments could also destroy the ability to feel most of the pain, I think. This guy isn't reacting the way I thought he would. A crowd is gathering, lovely.
"Let him go, Owen!" A brave soul shouted. People like that are an ember that can ignite others, soon a wildfire will spread all over Zaun. I don't need another riot.
"You're right, I almost got what I wanted." I turned the boy over and ripped the blade out of his buttock. He yelped like an animal, at least he's still kicking, for now.
I grabbed him by the back of his hair. "You choose how you want this to go. Let's find your friends."
Pulling his hair motivated him to stand.
"All I need is to find his friends, and I'll be out of his hair." I announced.
"Just let him go now, come on," a woman suggested in a soft voice.
"I get what you mean, I do." I exhaled. "You see that?"
I pointed to both of his arms that are leaking a continuous stream of blood.
"I'm guessing that none of you know how to stop that, right?" I looked around at each of the faces within the crowd; none spoke up.
"Well, I can, since I'm experienced in this ugly life. Now." I yanked the kid's hair. "We'll find your friends, okay? If we don't, that's perfectly fine. We'll return to the Drop, and Silco will take care of you."
His eyes grew wide. "No. No, please."
I pushed his head a few times to force him to start walking. Some of the people followed us, while others lost interest or left due to not wanting to be involved.
"You remember Vander, right? The father of the blue-haired girl you beat up?" I questioned out loud. This might not get the crowd on my side, but they will understand my motive.
"If she was yours—" he began.
"Mine? My what?" I yanked on his hair.
"Your...your sister? Your..." He stammered.
I punched him in the soft space under his ribcage. "Stepsister. Go on."
More people began gathering. They parted a path as we walked. They know, they understand why I'm doing this. Although their faces are twisted in disgust, none moved. As they know, they would do the same, or perhaps worse, if it were one of their own.
"Sorry, please, just let me go!" He begged.
"Tell you what, do you see anyone familiar in the crowd?" I asked.
He looked around desperately, peering into anyone who would lie for him. Given the growing silence and the glares we received, it's safe to say that no one will speak up for him.
"Looks like you aren't the favored child of Zaun." I sank the blade in the back of his knee, causing him to collapse in a pathetic ball.
"Hey, if it were any one of us. I would have finished you sooner." I admitted as Vi walked through the crowd, sporting bloodied, taped knuckles.
"But since it was MY little sister." I walked in front of him and grabbed his neck. "That you violated..."
I brought my other hand to his neck and forced him to the ground. He thrashed his legs about as hard as he could, but I achieved a solid full mount. I'm not going anywhere. Vi stood beside me and turned towards the crowd.
"I sure hope someone...stops me," the kid continued to fight for his life, even lifting his arms to uselessly slap my iron grip with. "...from making a possibly terrible life decision."
The kid began to foam at the mouth, all the while fighting desperately to buck me off.
"Would you fight this hard for someone you love?" I asked as I looked into his eyes. "A genuine question, since everyone's special."
I let go of his throat. He began coughing up foam as he forced his upper body to the right. I landed on my knee and stood to my feet. The wind blew over my head as I stared down at him.
Eventually he answered with a simple. "Yes, I would."
I nodded. "Thank goodness, otherwise I would have killed you."
"Are you done?" Vi asked as I stood beside her.
"Oh yeah, blew off all the steam I had. Let's go." I said, as we began to walk through the crowd that parted for us. "And thank you all for being patient with us; I know we can be a bit much."
The crowd had a mixed reaction. Sure, there are some who desperately wanted to help the kid, despite what he did. There are some that wanted to stop me physically. However, in doing so, they would have to get through Vi first, then through Mylo and Claggor, and after them, Vander and Silco. Those people are smart enough to do the math on how screwed they would be in doing so. Then, there are those who understood my plight, understood the anger I masked as indifference. I continue to wear the mask until we get to the basement. The skin of Vi's arm brushed against mine.
"Thank you." she said as she stared forward.
"What was that?" I asked. "The language of the eyes speaks volumes."
She grabbed my head, turned me towards her, and kissed my forehead.
"Thank you." she repeated as she bore daggers into my eyes.
"You enjoy hurting me, don't you?" I asked as the new pain in my neck announced itself with pride.
"Sometimes, you bring it on yourself." she responded as she slipped her arm over my neck as we continued walking.
"You forgot to make a wish." I reminded her.
She chuckled. "So that's our thing now, huh?"
"Only our thing." I solidified.
"Hmm, how come?" she asked.
"Because only your wishes can come true." I responded.
She went quiet for a moment, then laughed. "So that was a healing experience for you?"
"It let me know just how far I'll go for the people I love." I admitted, and I'm afraid of going that far again.
"This will be the only time where I agree with you." Vi admitted.
We allowed the silence to bond us as we walked. I want to protect what is mine. The family that I have been gifted is mine, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect everyone I love. No limit is too far. We arrived at the Drop to see the two kids gone. It is empty.
"Vander and Silco must have gone to the Council." Vi surmised.
"Wonder what this Sevika will do about Grayson?" I wondered as we opened the door to the basement.
"Thinking about going after her?" Vi asked as we were descending.
"I would have to get through the entire Piltover guard to do that." I theorized.
"We'll talk about that later, because you are NOT taking on Piltover guards." Big Sister Vi declared.
"You only want me to have the kind of fun you approve of." I complained as we reached the bottom.
Mylo is sitting at Powder's side, holding her hand. Claggor returned to resting on the back of the couch. The three are joking around, keeping Powder's mood up. She's looking better, sitting up and responding to the family around her.
"Hey, Pow Pow!" Vi softly chimed as she began to unwrap her hands.
"Vi! Owen!" Her eyes fell to Vi's hands, and her expression froze, but when Vi knelt in front of her, Powder's smile brightened.
"I'm going to teach you how to cheat better when you're 100%." Vi decided.
"I told you." I pitched in.
Powder stuck her tongue out.
"We deep cleaned upstairs." Claggor reported as he took his gloves off.
"And Vander?" Vi asked as she adjusted the covers around Powder's legs.
"Those two headed towards Piltover." Mylo added.
"Thought so." Vi relaxed on the floor.
I turned around to lie on my bed.
"What happened to those guys?" Powder asked as she shifted her eyes between Vi and me.
"I left my guy to the mercy of the people." I said as I lay down on my bed.
"Seriously?" Mylo didn't sound all too impressed.
"After I taught him a valuable lesson on family and love. My soft spots." I added as I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.
"What about the other one?" Powder asked, she seems a bit too interested in what we did to the ones who tried to get away.
"I let my hands do the talking. But don't worry about that—" Vi's voice drifted off into a muffled distance.
"Commander!" My eyes shot wide open.
I am in a war-torn Zaun. The sky bleeds fire. The only things that kept the sky alight were the machines that shot out fireballs and warships that shone powerful lights, which destroyed numerous opposing warships that soared through the sky. A great, violet, abominable, sentient eye deity roams the battlefield, spreading terror in my name. Once it blinked, it tore open space itself, evaporating the abominable horrors that stood above mountains. My eyes fell upon a tall woman with long, deep blue hair, angular blue eyes, and an eyepatch.
"Not enough firepower." I stated without thinking. Memories of this version of me began to flood my mind. My family, where is my...oh...oh no...Jinx...you didn't...how could you... My heart began to grow cold as the memories of their charred corpses stabbed at my soul. Everyonethat I could call brother or sister was another traumatic blade that pierced my soul until it grew cold.
"Noxus sent word of reinforcements an hour ago." she yelled over the continuous sounds of war, the screams, the machines blasting their weapons, and the destruction that followed.
"We'll hold the line till the last of us remain." Turning away from the platform, I march down to the battleground.
"Commander," she's following closely behind me. "I also bring word of the location of the Jinxers."
Hearing that word invokes memories of this world's Jinx, leading the charge to bring both Zaun and Piltover down to their knees. We have finally, within seven years, achieved a prosperity that rivals Piltover's arrogance and splendor. This world's Jinx betrayed both cities because
"You have full authority to hunt down every one of them, to the last." Saying such an order out loud gave me such a heartache that I could barely breathe. I have no control in this world, but I have so much power. My body has aged into a fortress of indomitable will. Looking down at myself filled me with dread. I am in a decorated uniform that resembles Piltover's regalia. However, where there should have been blue, there is green.
"I formally request that you lead us into battle." she stiffly requested.
A grin spread across my face. "You aren't afraid of being shown up once again, Kiramman?" I taunted as I pulled out my standard-issue repeating rifle.
"With all due respect, sir." she pulled out her personally modified rifle. "Mine is bigger than yours."
"HA!" I bellowed as we marched.
Kiramman led me to a small squadron of soldiers, who were stationed across from a familiar shimmer factory.
"The building has been scouted; there are no explosives," a soldier reported as he saluted.
I saluted. "Any signs of life?"
"Many. This is it, sir," he finished reporting.
"Let's wipe them out." I ordered.
I lead the charge across the war-torn streets, with Kiramman beside me and twenty infantrymen following us into the building. With the visor on my helmet, it scanned through the walls, thanks to the hexsight sensory scout bot that was hiding in the corners. The targets are moving in reaction to the sounds of our footsteps. My men know what to do. They spread throughout the building, positioning themselves in the perfect spot to cause maximum casualties. They are waiting on my signal. There is a slow-moving target that is highlighted in my visor. My hands are steady, my breath is slow, my heart is cold, and my finger is even colder. When I passed the point of regret, the bullet left the barrel with a whisper. The others followed. Bodies begin to fall, and their life signature fades in time. In retaliation, the Jinxers countered our calculated assault by collapsing sections of the floors above and below us. Doing so separated us into weaker and disorganized units. There is one, however, whose movements are blindingly fast. In short bursts of speed, my squadron is finding it difficult to land a shot on her. It's strange; she isn't as deadly as the rumors suggest. Instead, she's operating as a support, giving her Jinxers supplies to even the playing field when it comes to weaponry. They carried low-caliber firearms. At a distance, our armor could protect us from fatal injuries. At this range, well, this is war. Allowing my mind to take control completely, I began calculating the numbers, the losses, the winning moves to gain the victory, who to sacrifice, and who should be held sacred over the others. It's callous but necessary. With every Jinxer felled, that blur took more of an offensive role, causing casualties on my team to rise. My team is effective in neutralizing the street gang until only one remained. The target dashed to and from floor levels, recovering ammunition and tech. That is when I grew desperate. Using an explosive, I threw it across from me at a far distance. When it landed, I pulled the trigger. The explosion was deafening. Hopefully, my team heard the explosive pulsing when I activated it. I see the life signal of that lone Jinxer. Pulling myself to my feet. I climbed the destroyed ruins of the upper floor and cleared the debris that covered her body. Her vitals are active and strong. I pulled her from the wreckage and restrained her. Upon removing my visor, I wiped her face clean of soot. The longer I looked at her, the deeper despair pulled me.
"Commander." Kiramman's voice anchored me. "You finally got her."
Blue hair, pale skin, looks so familiar with that sleeping face.
"Commander." Kiramman loaded her rifle. "I understand if you are unable to execute her."
"No, it has to be me." I decided as I loaded the chamber and aimed the barrel at Jinx's head. My finger is cold.
I wake up screaming.