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Sandbag barricades sat like heavy scars across the bridges, manned by nervous Enforcers with their rifles leveled. On the opposite side, the people of the Undercity milled about—angry, desperate, and clutching rusted pipes and improvised clubs. In the grand history of Piltover, this was barely a riot; it was a loud protest.
"What about the ones who broke the line?" Caitlyn asked, her eyes scanning the crowd.
"Arrested, Sheriff," an Enforcer replied. "They claim they acted on impulse, caught up in the heat of the moment."
Caitlyn didn't hesitate. "Send them to Stillwater for a few days. We need to maintain the deterrent. We can't just let them walk back into the Sump after rushing a blockade."
Vi winced. She knew the cold damp of Stillwater better than anyone. She stepped to the front of the line, trying to reach them. "Listen to me! I'm from the Lanes! I'm one of you! We can solve this without—"
A jagged stone caught Vi on the shoulder.
"Lackey!" someone screamed. "You're no Zaunite! You stand with the Cops while we rot! What's been solved in ten years? Nothing!"
Vi retreated, her expression darkening as Vander's old warnings echoed in her mind. "This won't solve the problem; this will only lead to more casualties…"
Chen, landing his hoverboard beside her, didn't share the sentiment. "Peace doesn't solve problems either, Vi." He knew the history of his own world. He knew that the status quo rarely surrendered its power to a polite request. "Power grows from the barrel of a gun. If you want a revolution, someone has to pay the price."
"I know how to so-olve it~" Jinx chirped. Before Chen could blink, she had pulled the pin on a Firelight grenade.
"Jinx, no!" Chen grabbed her wrist, redirecting the throw into the Pilt river below.
BOOM!
The water erupted in a massive geyser. The bridge went silent. The protesters and the Enforcers alike froze, staring at the blue-haired girl perched precariously on the bridge's railing like a gargoyle.
"Oh I never thought I'd one day blow up the whole place" Jinx giggled, her palm held across her forehead like a monkey gazing at the moon.
"Get down!" Chen roared. He was genuinely angry. He'd hoped the reconciliation with Vi had stabilized her, but the "Jinx" was a permanent fixture. She wasn't a monster anymore, but she was still chaotic, still manic.
Jinx pouted, hopping down and twirling her braids. "Boring. Look, they're quiet now, aren't they? My grenade worked!"
Caitlyn marched over, her face flushed with fury. "Do you have any idea how close you just came to starting a massacre?"
While Caitlyn and Jinx argued, Chen's phone buzzed. It was Ekko.
"Chen! I've been scouting," Ekko's voice was tense. "The bridge protest? It's a distraction. Silco instigated it, but he's not there. I tracked him and a hundred Shimmer Warriors to the docks. They've boarded Zeppelins headed for Bilgewater. Silco has completely abandoned his territory in the Lanes."
Chen froze. Bilgewater? Why Bilgewater? Suddenly, the system flared to life in his vision.
Main Quest: The Twin Cities War Current Objective: Defend Piltover. Difficulty: Extremely Difficult (Lethal).
"Something's wrong," Chen whispered. "Jinx, stop annoying the Sheriff. We're going back to the bridge center."
They found Jayce already there, arguing with Vi over the Hextech Gauntlets. "Give them back, Vi! Those are prototype mining tools, not boxing gloves for a street brawl!"
"Chen gave 'em to me," Vi countered, checking the fit of the blue-glowing gauntlets. "And besides, I'm a 'Special Consultant' now. I need a weapon that doesn't break when I hit something."
Chen landed and cut through the bickering. "Jayce, shut up. Caitlyn, Piltover is about to be hit."
He laid out the pieces: The bridge protest was designed to draw the Enforcers to the perimeter. Silco wasn't running to Bilgewater to hide; he was going there to use their Hexgates.
"We only have jurisdiction over our gate," Caitlyn whispered, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "But the Hexgates are a network. If Silco boards a trade Zeppelin in Bilgewater, he can bypass our walls entirely. He can fly directly into the city center."
"A hundred Shimmer Warriors appearing in the middle of the Treasury or the Academy..." Jayce breathed, his face pale. "It would be a slaughterhouse."
"One Zeppelin can't fit a hundred mutants," Vi argued.
"The ones I designed can," Chen said grimly. "They're high-capacity freighters. Jayce, you need to build the weapons. Now. The Enforcer rifles are single-shot antiques. They won't even scratch a Shimmer Warrior's hide."
"Hextech isn't for war!" Jayce protested, remembering Viktor's warnings.
"You'll build them," Chen said, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "Because the alternative is the end of your city."
As if punctuated by fate, a massive whoosh of displaced air echoed from the Academy towers. A trade Zeppelin, bearing the Bilgewater registry, emerged from the Hexgate.
A split second later, the sky over the city center erupted in purple fire and the scream of automatic weapons.
"They're here," Chen growled, his Duelist's Dance already highlighting the vitals of the first Shimmer Warrior jumping from the sky.
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