A/N: Contest entry for a contest of Deviant Art.
The contest prompt was pain/tragedy. I hope ths fits well enough. Took forever for inspiration to hit.
The song lyrics are from Hey Brother by Avicii.
Writing inspired by the songs Hey Brother Avicii and Castle of Glass by Linkin Park
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song.
Hey sister! Do you still believe in love? I wonder
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do
The dark of the broken clock tower was stifling. Dirt filled the air and made it feel like a person's lungs were burning. The smell of blood and gun power spoke of a personal war that had taken place. The atmosphere itself spun a tale of the Hero's dark decent.
The hard rubber from the soles of shoes scrapped and scrabbled against the splintering floor. Desperate, frightened gasps escaped a crawling victim. Blood flowed from the cuts on her bared skin. Whimpers of fear escaped the young woman as she looked up at her opponent. She shook slightly, long blue braids pooling around her as she backed herself into a corner.
She began to shiver harder as she hit the wall with her back. Her eyes widened in fear as she raised up her bloody, dirt-covered palms in surrender. Tears started to pool in her eyes before slipping down her filthy cheeks.
"W-we can w-work this out, T-thunder G-god... I-I'll say I-I'm sorry to F-fa- ...er- Vi and H-hatlady..! I-I swear! P-please!"
The safety glass of the viewing window buckled with a loud thwack as bare palms slapped against it hard as they could. A scream of anguish and denial of the situation echoed through the hospital as the pink-haired woman sobbed softly and fell to her knees. She cried and screamed until her lungs burned and hands ached from hitting the wall.
Strong arms embraced her as their owner laid a gentle, comforting kiss to her hair. Her new companion held her close and rocked her slowly as she clung to him. She buried her nose into the fur collar of his coat as her sobs turned to hiccups, her lungs too tired to do more. Her companion stroked her back with one hand as the other lovingly petted her hair. He shushed her softly, allowing her to collapse against him.
"Shhh... It's going to be alright, Vi. Cait's strong, she'll make it through this back to you..."
"I tried to be the good guy. I gave you every opportunity to change, Jinx..." Jayce blinked deadened eyes as he painfully gripped the long shard of glass in his hand, blood dripping through his gloved fingers, "Yet, you threw every attempt back in my face by destroying my home and hurting the ones I love. I never wanted it to come to this, because, now I can never go back. But, you shattered the heart of the woman who's like a sister to me one too many times. There is nothing I would not do for her; even if it means killing you in cold blood. I won't let you hurt her again."
Sniffles of fear and pain escaped the Loose Cannon as she stared up at him in horror. She was so tired and had lost too much blood. They had been fighting for over an hour and he was too strong to fight without her guns. She had hit him a few times in non-vital areas and it did not seem to phase him. The minimal energy left in her body barely allowed her to get to her knees before crawling to him. Filthy hands gripped his coat as she pleaded one last time, a simple shake of his head was her only reply before the glass came stabbing down.
"I-It didn't have to end like this, J-Jinx..." He whispered softly, eyes tearing up as the young woman's tiny body slumped to his boots. He took a shaky step back as blood started to seep into a puddle at his feet. His eyes widened in horror as the emotional realization of what he had just done finally caught up to him. The tears dripped down his face as he fell to his knees and gently reached for her body. He shakily pulled her close, gently pulling the glass from its place in the junction between her throat and shoulder.
The makeshift weapon clattered to the old wood floor. He held her close and pressed his nose to her hair as he shook and sobbed. He had just taken Jinx's life and there was no respawn out here in the real world. He had become the monster he had set out to destroy, single-handedly ripping apart his title as hero then stomping it into the earth. He had been right, there was no going back to what he was before after this. He was no longer the righteous Defender of Piltover that he had come to be seen as.
He shakily stood up, taking her with him. He blinked back the daze of anguish and sense of loss as he walked towards the entrance to the clock tower. He spotted Pow-Pow and Fishbones, turning to walk to them. He gently laid Jinx's body next to her two favorite weapons, her last right. He cleaned away the blood and dirt from her pale face before leaving in what felt like a trance.
-Piltover-
Vi looked down sadly at the pale hand in hers. She gently raised it up and kissed the palm. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she nuzzled the skilled fingers. She cradled the delicate hand like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"C'mon, Cupcake... P-please wake up, f-for m-me..." She sniffled and rubbed her nose on her sleeve, "I-I promise I-I'll be good if you do! I-I'll follow your o-orders for a w-whole month, j-just please... W-wake up...!" She lowered the hand to the bed before pressing her fore head to it. She was suddenly startled from her thoughts by the familiar weight of Jayce's hand on her back.
"Is she doing any better, Vi?" There was a weak nod before the reply came.
"Y-yeah. T-they say s-she's gonna be okay... ...I-if she wakes up from the c-coma." A hiccup escaped Vi and she looked up at Jayce, wanting to see how he was handling it. Her eyes widened in horror as what she saw. Her best friend was wearing his battle coat and it was splattered with far too much blood to be his own. She vaguely wondered how he got into the hospital looking like that but the thought was gone as fast as it came.
She raised a shaky hand and rested it on his hip as she looked at his face. Her throat went dry as she stared at his eyes. The usual playful spark that was always there, even through the hardest of times, had finally died. There was no usual look of hope and optimism, only darkness.
"J-jayce... W-what did you do...?"
"What I always do, Vi. I fixed a problem." His dead sounding words made icy claws grip Vi's soul. The sweetest, happiest person she knew had just murdered a part of his soul and she knew he had done it for her.