8 - A Demonic Joke

by SorrowfulReincarnation

In the wake of betrayal, a pink-haired woman sets out on a hunt for the one that took everything from her. No matter the ties that bind them, no matter the cost, no matter being aware that this will be the ultimate end of their story - a story with no hero and no villain, there will be no happy end to their story. Set in the 'Bad Day'-Universe after the finale.

Information: This one-shot is the eight installment in the "Bad Day"-Universe of mine, set after the final installment, "A Final Joke", and is with that the fifth installment after the main series has come to an end. Since it refers to it, I highly advise you to have read the series up to this point to not be spoiled and/or understand everything in this.

---

PLEASE NOTE:This installment is currently non-beta'd, as my beta-reader Time96 is unavailable at the moment. Once he is free, he will beta-read it, and I'll fix all mistakes I missed while reading myself then. You will find a note on my profile as soon as he has found the time to do so.

That being said... It is time to finish this. Once and for all...

---

A Demonic Joke

"War never changes."

The red-haired woman to her right perked up at these words, not missing the sinister implication. She rose a reddish eyebrow and turned her head slightly, tearing her gaze away from the the tankard of an odd smelling amber liquid on the bar before her. It was the tone that the voice carried that had made her curious, the forlorn and defeated sigh – it was the tone of a woman that had nothing left to live for.

"We never change." added the same woman that had spoken before, one hand running through her pink hair as a dry chuckle escaped her lips. No humor, no amusement – nothing but the nothingness itself, the void of emotions – was in it. There was no happiness of getting to live another day, of seeing the sun rise on the horizon. Of feeling cold rain upon your hot skin. No hope of ever sharing a laugh with someone again. Lifeless, an empty shell robbed of what defined her.

The red-haired woman watched as her seatmate at the bar shifted a bit. But the pink-haired woman's eyes were dull, even as a weak smile crept onto her pale lips – a smile of self-pity, the hopeless situation she was in so morbid that it was funny to her on some level. Of course, the redhead silently wondered what had driven this woman to such a point. To change so drastically from what she knew her to be. What had reduced this once so confident woman to be worn to a shadow.

Warily, the redheaded woman turned her head a bit and let her gaze roam through the shady pub in search of the pink-haired woman's companion. Eerily glowing blue eyes scanned the gloom for a sign of him, that low-life associate. At least, she was sure she had seen this defeated woman enter with him, though she couldn't really understand whatever had made these two team up. This woman, with the mad jester, the Wild Card Shaco himself, in a place like this? Far away from Piltover?

Finding him standing aside the door leading outside with his arms crossed over his chest, back resting against the dark wooden wall that showed more disgusting stains of whatever it was that lingered in the stench of alcohol and smoke than it showed stains of time, she knew she should've relaxed at least a bit – but that unnerving smile of his gave her the creeps and sent a cold shiver down the spine she knew she didn't possess. Through veins she knew she didn't possess.

One thing for sure, Zyra – in all her haunted glory – did not like Shaco.

In fact, she didn't like the pub with all its low-life either. But it was the only place she knew to serve this special liquor that got her rotten plant body to tingle with an excitement she had not felt in a long, long time.

A tankard that Zyra doubted was thoroughly cleaned before being handed out was placed before her depressed seatmate, and seeing her actually reach out for it caught the plant's attention. So there was some life left in her pink-haired seatmate – or just barely enough routine to drown her sorrows in alcohol, after all.

But what did Zyra know? She wasn't human, never had been, and found it quite honestly hard to understand these meatbags and everything they went on about.

But the pink-haired woman was right about one thing – war didn't change. Not as long as 'we', the people behind it, never change. And little did she know that her seatmate would share her story with her, the reason that changed her from loving the fight and fully embracing everything it brought to... this. This depressed, lifeless sack of flesh that somehow had just enough autonomy left in it to have dragged itself into this pub and order booze. Strong booze. The invading smell made Zyra want to leave.

But curiosity was still driving her. She had always been interested in displays of life and how different they came, and this mopey woman had once been a radiant example. All Valoran had thought there was nothing to ever change her, to ever stop her.

Apparently, there was.

Still, the plant-woman cringed as her seatmate suddenly collapsed onto the bar with a loud noise of a forehead meeting the furniture. With her pink hair sprawled out on the sticky dark wood – couldn't be healthy to come in touch with that – next to the tankard she had only curled her hand around but never moved, the woman from Piltover stopped moving entirely.

Zyra blinked and did a double-take – had the woman just died? Just like that? Well, she did look undernourished, unnaturally pale and void of life. She had given up ages ago as it seemed, so there was a chance that she actually had just kicked the bucket. And well, the place did look like it might infect you with terminal diseases if you only did as much as think of it.

Briefly, the haunted plant-woman considered just how hard it would be to dispose of the body. If anyone would care if she were to grab it and carry it out the door. Her children were calling out, were hungry, and a fine human – as undernourished as it was – would do them well. Would that pesky sheriff of Piltover – Caitlyn – connect the dots if she heard of Zyra carrying the woman out that pub? Would the sheriff come to hunt her? To claim the corpse?

Would the sheriff feed her children well...?

A sob from the woman aside her, a twitch, and Zyra knew she wouldn't have to waste her thoughts on that – just now, that was. Just because the woman from Piltover had given up life didn't mean that she was useless, and her last good deed could as well be to feed the plants.

Leaning back in her seat and letting out a sigh, the redhead glanced to her seatmate and took her appearance in. The pink hair was sprawled out on the dark wood, hiding the pretty pale face like a curtain, a stark contrast to this run down, gloomy place with all its dark colors and ugly interior.

One pale hand – skinny fingers – was curled around the tankard's handle, the other flat on the surface of the bar, and with every stronger sob the woman would spill some of its contents over her hand. Not that she seemed to care, though Zyra did. She really liked the woman's gloves, and that meant something, seeing as she hardly cared for clothing. It did go well with the woman's short jacket with the rolled-up sleeves, at least, and the heavy boots. The black choker did contrast the pale skin somewhat, but was an odd addition to her odd beauty at the same time.

A fragile beauty. One crushed and destroyed by depressions.

They had taken their toll on the woman from Piltover. She was thin – thinner than usual – and it was more than obvious that she hadn't eaten properly in a while. Zyra knew how that was, how it felt to be undernourished. What effect it had on your mind, how crazy it drove you – it was what had driven her to building that human-shaped vessel of hers, after all. The hunger.

Way paler than usual, almost as white as the full moon in the sky, with even the lips nearly devoid of color, contrasting even more with the bright pink hair, recognition was hard, but Zyra managed. Was well aware of who she was dealing with, though the eyes of her companion were sunken in further than usual and encompassed in dark circles around her eyes.

With how weak the woman seemed, both physically and mentally, the plant-woman did find herself a bit surprised that her seatmate still managed to carry around these two large gauntlets on her back. How she did in the first place was something Zyra had never understood, but now it seemed even less likely.

If anything, the once so powerful officer of Piltover was nothing like Zyra remembered the tales of her. Her body was broken, but something still drove her on. Her will to keep fighting not yet completely gone.

It couldn't be, not when the woman somehow still managed to lift her head just enough to pour some of that disgusting beverage into her mouth. Not without spilling most of the contents onto her arms and the bar, but she still was moving. That was a sign of life, right?

"Things are so fucked up..." the woman with the gauntlets drawled into her tankard, whining, "Like, fucked up! For real this time..."

Zyra felt how her own eyebrow slowly rose again – a very human thing to do, she was adapting – at her seatmate. Talk about self-pity. For that was what the pink-haired woman was – an image of self-pity. And a justified one, if what Zyra had heard was right.

"I get that much, just by looking at you. And by whatever you've tried to tell me for the past twenty minutes." responded the haunted plant with a groan, feeling the equivalent to a human headache acting up, "Before you go on now – why me? Why are you telling me this?"

The woman's head moved a bit, turned. A bad idea, considering she hadn't removed her lips from the tankard yet, ending up knocking it over and spilling the remaining contents onto the bar. Not that she seemed to notice – or care – for she was already so intoxicated that she just whined again and rested her head on the bar – cheek straight into the cool pool of liquor that had gathered on the surface.

Lifeless pink eyes met the eerie glow of Zyra's blue ones through unwashed curtains of bubblegum pink. No exchange of information was made, no light within these dull glazed eyes. And Zyra just closed her own and sighed.

"I need you to work with me if you want me to work with you, you know?" huffed the plant-woman and turned her head a bit. Checking Shaco's position again and confirming that he was still by the door, Zyra let out a growl.

"It all went to hell..." Zyra perked up at these new words – the most progress she got out of the other woman in over five minutes – and glanced to her seatmate, "Literally. Just went to hell one day. War changes. Changes you."

"That's hardly anything new." complained Zyra, "Considering you were involved. And didn't you just say that 'war never changes'? At least make up your mind!"

That finally got a reaction other than self-pity out of the other woman, and Zyra silently congratulated herself for that. It only took one blink from the woman on the bar, then her pink eyes were full of life again. Life, and anger. Anger she clearly showed as she narrowed her bloodshot eyes and slowly rose from the bar, weak arms pushing up the skinny frame of what her body was.

Liquor dripped from her cheek, first onto the bar, and then down her shirt. The pink hair swept back into shape, combed to the right, with a blue hairband holding it in place. It clicked, an uncomfortable noise for Zyra, as the heavy belt around the waist of the woman fell back into place and the gauntlets too big for her lithe frame shifted a bit down the backpack-like gadget she was carrying on her back. A gadget Zyra had heard of before, apparently called 'blast shield'.

"And just what do you know?" growled the empty shell of a woman in obvious irritation, a deep growl rolling in the back of her throat. The haunted plant hardly took any offense at that, was hardly impressed or intimidated. Not by a woman half her size that had some spirit dripping from her cheek.

"Nothing, unless you tell me... Jinx." hissed Zyra back. This got the other woman to hesitate for a second, anger vanishing again and making place for the same empty expression she had before. The plant-woman almost expected the former criminal to go right back to her self-pity, but the pink-haired Jinx surprised her by letting out a very typical groan and turning her eyes away.

"I was going to do that, y'know?"

"Which just brings me back to my former question, Jinx." huffed the rise of thorns, crossing her arms underneath her chest, "Why are you telling me this? And why in the name of whatever you believe in do you look like Vi? You even carry her stuff! Thought you two hated each other."

A sinister chuckle escaped the loose cannon, though it was empty and void of amusement. This time, Zyra took offense, mainly because irritation was getting the better of her. She had always prided herself in her ability to stand annoyances, but this was starting to wear even her nerves thin. Twenty minutes with this depressed Jinx and she knew just what the enforcer of Piltover had hated about the pipsqueak.

"You've been living under a rock quite literally, haven'tcha, plant?" taunted the criminal-turned-officer, though it lacked her usual bite, "Well, newsflash! Been working with the law for a while now. Had a lil' family reunion with my sis and switched sides... About ten years ago now."

Zyra rose her eyebrow yet again despite having heard of the criminal's rehabilitation, but knew Jinx would not elaborate on whatever she had meant with 'reunion'. Especially when the shorter woman turned away and picked her fallen tankard up. Getting the attention of the innkeeper, she gestured for a refill, and only then turned to glare to Zyra again.

"That's not important right now, though. A story of the past." Jinx let out a small growl as she slowly sunk down onto the bar again. Her right forearm sled over the bar and shoved most of the spilled alcoholic liquid away before her chin eventually came to rest on it. Her tankard had been refilled in meantime, but Jinx didn't make any move to drink it. Just idly began to play with the tankard, pushing and jabbing it with her left index finger. "Of the past long gone."

"You seem oddly serious." commented the haunted plant, but couldn't help but chuckle as she continued, "Well, especially for a supposed psychopath, that is."

A grunt escaped the defeated loose cannon in response. She rose again, grabbed her tankard and downed a abundant swig, then slammed it down on the bar loudly. "Until a while ago, I would've called myself that as well. But that is over now."

She wiped the remaining foam and liquid from her mouth, then turned her head and stared at Zyra. It should be the first time that the haunted plant should see the scars that framed the left side of the loose cannon's face, the burn scar across her cheek and the deep badly-healed slash to the side of her left eye. Internally, the plant cringed at that sight, accompanied by the lifeless feeling that surrounded the former psychopath.

"Might as well tell you the whole story now, I guess. What led me here, what changed me again, this new 'bad day' that took away my happiness, and why I..." she stopped to gesture at herself, then jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the gauntlets she was carrying on her back, "...why I carry Vi's things. Why I look like her."

How soft Jinx's voice suddenly had become. At first enraged, but at the end – when Vi's name fell – only barely more than a whisper. The smoke in the air and the gloom coated the loose cannon's face as she turned to stare down at the tankard that was now nearly completely empty. She wasn't waiting for a reply from Zyra, and Zyra wouldn't give any. Would let her continue.

"The answer to that last question is simple. Surprisingly so, I can answer it in two words alone. The answer is..." The deep growl was back to Jinx's voice, the displeasure part of it like the darkness was part of the night. "...in memoriam. Would've picked up Caitlyn's stuff as well if there was anything left, I guess."

Zyra cringed. Her eyes shot open as the implication sunk in. As all the horrible scenarios suddenly flooded her mind. And even worse, they made sense, all of them. Explained what had changed Jinx, what had led her here. She felt her mouth open, but no words came out, her mind not able to form a phrase that made sense. Any phrase but one, the most important question that was to be asked.

"Caitlyn and Vi... are dead?"

Jinx's head snapped around, fury in that pink irises. No madness, just fury, as if Zyra had just spoken the most outrageous of words. And perhaps she had, for no one had thought that the ever so hard-working sheriff and her punch-first-ask-questions-later enforcer would die by anyone or anything but Jinx's very hands as the madwoman's very last act before going down herself.

But Jinx was sitting here, and that without them. Something was driving her on, and Zyra could feel that it was the need for revenge. Would Jinx have killed the two herself, she would've lost it, would've turned to full lunacy before ending her own life, there was no doubting that. She was depending on them, their presence in her dark and gloomy world was to balance her out. She could not exist without either of them, that was the unspoken rule of nature in this existence.

Someone else had done this. Someone else had, and he or she or perhaps even it had invoked the wrath of the rehabilitated madwoman. Had thrown her back into lunacy, and sparked the deepest and most primal of instincts anew.

Hunger.

Hunger for revenge and destruction. For vengeance. Hunger so intense that Jinx could not follow her counterparts into the afterlife before not having avenged them.

"Worse."

That statement surprised the haunted plant. She had been prepared for a terrible answer or for the loose cannon to go ballistic on her, but for Jinx to go right back to scowling at the bar after such an answer? Certainly not.

"Worse? Worse than death?" inquired the Rise of Thorns, "What could possibly be worse than death?"

The loose cannon tilted her head a bit to glare at the other woman from the corner of her eyes, disdain for the plant-woman's words. A growl rolled in the back of her throat, feral and intimidating, and Zyra could see in her eyes that Jinx thought of her as ignorant, though she wasn't sure what Jinx was expecting. Compassion and understanding? From someone who wasn't remotely as human as he looked, and had barely any understanding of humans? The loose cannon had to be even more lunatic than she looked.

"What is worse than death?" repeated the heavy gunner and chuckled dryly, mock in her voice, "Try loss of yourself. Of everything you stand for. Imagine yourself and everything you are, and then remove that one by one until you're nothing but a hollow shell. Have everything forcefully removed from you, finishing with your humanity being slowly seeped away until there's nothing left. Nothing."

Zyra frowned at her seatmate and the loose cannon's words. But Jinx wasn't really paying her any attention, instead emptied her tankard and slammed it back down onto the wooden bar. She was already hopelessly drunk at that point, drowning her sorrows over whatever had happened in cheap booze – which, if Zyra had heard right, wasn't an uncommon occurrence among humans.

They just wanted to forget, never caring about the consequences, and that was right up the lunatic's alley, the plant-woman could tell. Whenever had Jinx cared about consequences? About repercussions? She lived for the heck of it, and boredom was her greatest enemy.

At least, at one point it had been. Now however, it seemed to be a completely different thing. A completely different person, sitting next to the haunted beauty.

"I was forced to watch that happen before my very eyes. I watched the last sliver of humanity fade from my sister's eyes, and couldn't do a thing." continued Jinx all of sudden, not tearing her empty gaze away from the stained surface of the bar, "And even worse, I feel like I could've prevented it. She told me, you know? Said she wasn't quite feeling like herself, that she felt like there was something in her head that fought against her, and continually grew worse after that."

The lunatic turned her head all of sudden, but Zyra didn't have to turn around to know who Jinx was looking for. Already knew it was Shaco that the madwoman was looking for, and assumed it was to check on whatever the Demon Jester was doing. Whether or not Jinx found what she was looking for, Zyra never learned, but as the loose cannon eventually faced her again, she must've seen something that she could agree with.

"The change wasn't in an instant, it was gradual – weird choices that began to pile up. A slow change in behavior that I didn't pay attention to until it was too late. At first, it happened only every few months. She would forget little details from time to time. Would call me 'Jinx' again, instead of by my real name. Had these headaches acting up, which would sometimes incapacitate her, growing worse with the months."

Jinx fell back in her seat and scowled straight ahead.

"I only really started to notice when she grew more brutal. More than she had ever been before. When she started to enjoy it, the pain and suffering she could cause. When she started abandoning her own gauntlets, going for other methods." she grew thoughtful, hesitant, "I tried to tell Caitlyn, and I guess that should've been what should've made me really suspicious... Because Caitlyn didn't care about Vi's brutality. Because she was impressed by it."

"The righteous sheriff of Piltover, okay with excessive brutality?" repeated Zyra, and immediately had Jinx glaring daggers at her again.

"I told you it should've made me more suspicious than it did!" snapped the madwoman, but, as seconds of silence passed, calmed somewhat again, turned away, "I guess it made sense in the end though. Vi had already infected her and started to affect her mind."

"You know, it would make more sense to me if you started to name it." insisted the haunted beauty, "You can describe it as you want, but unless you tell me what exactly we're talking about, I can't make sense of it. Are we talking about an infection here? A sickness? Something affecting their minds?"

"A simple sickness, you could cure. What we're talking about here can't be cured just like that, if even at all. But yeah, you're on the right track." the lunatic with the pink hair slowly turned her head, a seriousness in her blue eyes that completely drowned out any insanity that was usually present in it, "Vi has lost all humanity, even her appearance... and has become a demon. And turned Caitlyn as well."

It fell silent between the two women at the bar, Zyra frowning at this bit of information, and Jinx just staring straight at her, observing her. It did take a moment for the bit of information to sink in, realization slow for the plant-woman, and Jinx waited patiently until she saw that the haunted Rise of Thorns had understood.

"I'm not sure how it got that far. Not sure how Vi was turned into a demon, or when exactly Caitlyn was turned by Vi... But one day, she dropped the charade. Tried to get into my mind and turn me, but it failed. Had a completely different effect on me than she had intended..."

"Like?" inquired Zyra cautiously. Felt that someone's gaze was upon her, but knew who it was long before she turned and found Shaco smirking at her. Before he slowly pushed off the wall and set into motion, that nasty unsettling grin never leaving his expression.

"When Vi turned before my eyes, I..." began Jinx, but Zyra hadn't been prepared for the madwoman to cackle like a maniac all of sudden, and not for Shaco to join right in from her other side, "I lost it completely! She set my true lunacy free, and for a moment, I was absolutely absorbed in it...!"

"But then, suddenly emerged victor from it." commented the amused voice of Shaco with a hint of finalization, like it was no more than a joke for him, "Stronger and in control of it. It took her no more than one last time of embracing her madness to learn how to control it. How to utilize it. She was immune to the demonic influence, to the whisper that wanted her to give up her humanity. Too many voices in her head, fighting against it. Ahehehe."

Zyra shuddered as the Demon Jester suddenly spoke up. Scowling into his direction, she found him slipping into the seat to her other side, grinning like the madman he was. And just like that, the Rise of Thorns had a maniac on each side of her, Jinx to the left and Shaco to the right, and didn't feel very comfortable with it, either.

"Demoness Vi didn't like it. She wanted me, said I was 'the perfect lieutenant for her future reign' – and if she couldn't turn me into a demon, she might as well just take my soul and utilize that." continued Jinx the tale, "We clashed, but she and Caitlyn were too strong for me. Pow-Pow got damaged in the fight, and I had to flee. Jumped straight outta the window and fired a rocket in, sent Vi's apartment and everything we had for the past ten years to hell... But they just stepped out of the flames like it wasn't more than a curtain. Shook it right off and chased me until I finally got rid of them in the sewers."

"That explains part of it." mused Zyra when neither of the two lunatics spoke for a good minute, Jinx lost in her own thoughts of the memory, and Shaco not interested in saying anything, just silently enjoying it, "But not why you look like that, how you got here, and how you met..." she sent the Demon Jester a disgusted glance, "...Shaco."

"Right. Guess that part's important, too." sighed the loose cannon, drunk and exhausted, "I had a secret hideout left in the sewers and fled into that, forged a plan there. Though I knew it was risky, I invaded the police station a last time to get my blueprints for a set of gear that I had been working on years before, knowing it would come in handy against demons..." With a chuckle, Jinx pointed at herself, then gestured to the floor to her left, "This gear. The 'Slayer Gear'."

Seeing Jinx turn to the innkeeper for another refill – one that Zyra was sure wouldn't make things better for the lunatic – the haunted plant decided to make use of the moment and lean back a bit so that she could see the rest of gear that Jinx had referred to, the part she wasn't wearing, and found it on the floor next to the loose cannon, leaned against the bar.

Consisting of Fishbones the rocket launcher, now looking more like a pink skull on a pipe, the restored and remodeled mini-gun Pow-Pow that featured a rougher and more industrialized design – an engine sticking out, two large exhaust pipes at the back, and blades attached to the barrels – instead of the pink design with bunny ears, the stun-gun Zap in a slimmer shape, and finally the tonfa 'Saltsticks' that had recently been reworked to feature electricity, this was the so-called upgraded 'Slayer Gear' that Jinx had been talking about.

"I even managed to pick up Vi's gauntlets, which she wasn't even using anymore. Dyed my hair pink, built the 'Slayer Gear', did everything I could to prepare myself to bring down Vi..."

"She even gave herself the title 'Slayer'." mocked Shaco, interrupting the loose cannon, "Thought it would mentally prepare herself for what she deems she has to do if she should not be able to reverse the transformation! Hilarious, isn't it?"

"...but I failed. Confronted her again, but lost that fight." continued the Slayer, ignoring her associate, "And as if to add insult to injury, she didn't finish me off. Laughed as I lay defeated before her, and decided it would be more fun to just have me slowly rot in the middle of nowhere until I had no fight left in me. Said she would come for me later and see if she could convince me to follow her then, before sending me to the Voodoo Lands with her newfound powers..."

"Poor girl." snickered the Demon Jester, and Zyra in between them was slowly finding herself getting annoyed with how they had started to alternate in who talked, "Found her beaten and broken on the ground, crying to herself as she clung to her 'friends'. Told me what had happened, and that there was no hope left... But I saw what she didn't, jehehehe..."

Though she didn't like the amusement of the Demon Jester, the haunted Rise of Thorns rose an eyebrow at him in question. In the end, he hardly had any good advice, and was known for deceit and for being a bad influence, especially to those in desperate times, of which he took advantage.

Jinx was in such a time, and only time would tell what Shaco's real intentions were. One thing for sure, it wouldn't selflessness.

"And what would that be?" she asked, though she had a bad feeling about it. About the way his smirk grew even further than it should be possible, about the clear sadistic enjoyment in his eyes as he began to giggle like the demon he was.

"Shaco told me of Malzahar, the prophet that roams the Shurima Desert north of here, north of the Kumungu Jungle. He knows how we can get to the Shadow Isles, which is were we are headed." replied Jinx in the jester's stead, "We were on our way to the desert when I felt myself craving some alcohol..."

"And why the Shadow Isles if Vi is in Piltover?" inquired Zyra as she turned to the loose cannon. Immediately froze up when she heard Shaco giggle behind her, but didn't bother to do him the favor of turning back around.

"Because Vi isn't in Piltover anymore, and neither is Caitlyn." countered Jinx quickly, "Word has it that they've been seen traveling southeast towards Bilgewater, and southeast of that are the Shadow Isles."

"Without a debt, the darkness is beckoning them, calling them towards it." laughed Shaco, "They will seek refuge within it, that's how demons like them work..."

The haunted plant-woman scowled at the Demon Jester for a moment, then at the loose cannon on her other side. Didn't like the way Shaco was smirking at her, and Jinx frowning expectantly. For what reason, she didn't know, but she had a hunch. Waited for either of them to say it, say anything now that the story was told – but they didn't.

Shaco just kept smirking like the creep he was, and Jinx eventually turned to her recently filled tankard. Not a single word followed, and it greatly unnerved the haunted beauty – especially because one question, the one she had asked first, had remained unanswered.

She couldn't tell if neither of them had answered it on purpose yet – if Shaco even knew it, as he had joined them a little while after she had asked – or if Jinx had already forgot it, too drunk for her to even remember. In the end, she knew there was no way around having to ask again.

"Well, that does explain a lot." admitted Zyra eventually, avoided looking at Shaco on purpose and kept her gaze on Jinx, "But again – why me? Why are you telling me this?"

The self-proclaimed Slayer perked up and glanced at her haunted seatmate, tankard at her lips and with her mouth full of booze. Slowly getting aware of the question she had been asked, the lunatic swallowed the liquor and set her tankard down on the bar, face slightly flushed from the amount of alcohol she had already downed as she turned to Zyra.

"Well, I guess I needed someone to share this with." admitted Jinx after another few second, stopped to lick foam off her lips, "And maybe I was hoping to get your cooperation after I had begun to tell the tale, at least for a second I had."

A chuckle escaped Jinx as she turned back to her tankard and rose it to her lips again, but it was as dead and dry as all of her humor had been so far. Faintly aware of the haunted plant still looking at her, the madwoman poured some more booze down her throat.

Her last tankard, then they'd have to move again. Not that they were under any deadline pressure, if Vi had reached the Shadow Isles, she had just begun to build her new reign there, and that would take a lot time. Time during which she was still vulnerable for an attack.

"What would be in for me if I were to help you?" asked Zyra all of sudden, surprising the lunatic and amusing the Demon Jester that had decided to idly watch and enjoy what was unfolding, "I crave more magic, more powers, and food for my children. If there would be no way to return them to human, the only way to show mercy to their souls to free them of this demonic existence, would be ready relinquish their dead bodies to me?"

The loose cannon slowly turned as Zyra spoke, eyes wide as their gazes met. The haunted plant could see that realization was slowly seeping through, that Jinx was debating with herself whether or not to accept this deal that the plant-woman was offering.

Slowly, the lunatic's gaze shifted until it came to meet that of Shaco behind Zyra.

And the jester, smiling demonically, nodded.

---

The Slayer Gear rattled with every step of the heavy gunner. With even more equipment than usual, the lunatic looked armed to the teeth from both the back and the front. Pow-Pow shifted along her right thigh with every movement, the Flame Chompers shook on her belt, Zap and Saltsticks were strapped to her left leg – Zap to her thigh, Saltsticks directly below her knee alongside her shank – with hooks, and Fishbones – due to the limited space with Vi's gauntlets now on her upper back – was relocated to a new place horizontally across her lower back.

Back in the day, Jinx wouldn't have minded. Would've enjoyed it like the madwoman that she was to run around like that through the streets of Piltover, to have so many possibilities within reach.

But now, as they walked through the southwestern Shurima Desert in the afternoon, that wasn't the case. It was already unbearably hot as it was, and the heavy equipment didn't make it easier at all to traverse the ups and downs of the dunes. In either of her old outfits – her Zaun street fashion or her modified Piltover police attire – it probably would've been more bearable, but the Slayer Gear included the new outfit that covered more of her body than either of these.

Now, the solution that immediately came to mind was to take some clothes off, but Jinx couldn't do that. Not only would she have to put most of her weapons down to take her clothes off, but most of her garments had the hooks attached to them that she was carrying the weapons on.

So, silently suffering from the heat and hoping she wouldn't get a heatstroke anytime soon, the loose cannon glanced over to her associates to see how they were doing. Shaco, if he was even able to feel the heat, did not show any sign of discomfort. The Demon Jester, ever-grinning, was hopping along to the right of the lunatic gunner as if this was the most beautiful of flower fields that he was enjoying, not bothered by heat or terrain in the slightest.

If asked if there was any person crazier than her out there in Valoran, Jinx would have to name Shaco, of that, she had always been assured. But perhaps that was indeed the wrong way to see it – insanity was hard to compare, after all, and wasn't the same with everyone.

Jinx's insanity, for example, was random and destructive most of the time. She had crazy ideas, a distorted perception of what was possible and right, and always had the urge to destroy in the back of her mind.

Shaco, for his part, was deranged homicidal. Where Jinx loved to destroy, he sought to kill, to deceive, and enjoyed to turn people against each other just for the heck of it. Turned friends into enemies, led people to their demise, backstabbed where he could, and his greatest thrill was to watch the last light fade from his victim's eyes.

To say that Jinx didn't trust him was an understatement. As insane as she was, trusting Shaco was impossible even for her, but for now, she was willing to cooperate with him – though always wary, never turning her back to him for too long.

So even as she turned back into the direction they were headed, she kept him in her peripheral vision – just in case. As she turned, she momentarily stopped her gaze on Zyra. The haunted plant was leading the trio ever since leaving the pub and entering the desert, though she seemed just as uncomfortable about the heat as Jinx was.

Not much of a surprise, as she was still a plant – and not one home to the desert – and needed moisture more than the other two. Well, than Jinx, since neither of them was sure about the Demon Jester.

That Zyra was leading, however, had a reason, one that made Jinx glad that the Rise of Thorns had agreed to help them, as the Shurima Desert was anything but small. Thanks to countless roots running through the sand deep below their feet, the haunted plant was able utilize them in order to locate things in the desert, the energy of the void – which Malzahar was emitting and using – included.

While not telling them exactly where he was, it limited the area greatly. And seeing as he would notice them eventually, it wasn't out of question that he might reveal himself to them rather than them having to hunt him down until the very end.

To be honest, Jinx was tired of it. Would have enough hunting down to do once they'd find a way to get to the Shadow Isles.

"We're entering the area where the void energy is the strongest." spoke Zyra all of sudden, "I suspect there has been a lot void activity here only very recently. We're definitely on the right track."

"I told you he'd be here." chuckled Shaco, "Does this mean you didn't trust me, dear Zyra?"

The Rise of Thorns turned her head to glare over her shoulder, but didn't reply to his question. Of course, the answer was very clear to either of them, and even no answer still was an answer – and a very amusing one – to Shaco.

"We just have to find him now then." mused Jinx, ignoring the antics of her associates and instead frowning at the back of Zyra's head, "Think he is at the epicenter of the void essence you're feeling?"

"Not impossible, but unlikely." replied Zyra with a growl, "The affected area is not a perfect circle and of no distinct shape, which means its actually several smaller areas converged together as one. I suspect he's been moving within this area that the contamination is strongest – he could be anywhere in it, and we're just at the very edge."

"Are you a pessimist, dear Zyra?" giggled the Demon Jester, and enjoyed it to the fullest to see her flinch and then glare at him again, "You certainly sound like one."

"No, I'm not." snarled the haunted Rise of Thorns back, hands balled to fists and shaking, "I'd say I'm being realistic here."

"But is realism not just the excuse for being boring?"

Without a warning, Zyra stopped and whirled around, glaring daggers at the Demon Jester. For a second, Jinx swore she saw surprise in his eyes, but that was quickly replaced by the same sadistic mirth she knew him for, giggle escaping him as he stood before the Rise of Thorns. A movement of Zyra's hand, and a thorny root shot out the ground to the Demon Jester's feet, sharp end pointing at his throat as it stopped mere inches away from it – and yet, the jester remained unimpressed. If anything, seemed even more delighted.

"Last warning, Shaco." hissed Zyra, loud and clear, "Stop it, or I'll be the one showing you a magic trick of letting you vanish. I'm sure you'd make some great fertilizer..."

As silence fell after that, Jinx – standing to the side of them – let her gaze travel back and forth between the enraged plant-woman and the clearly amused Demon Jester. And sighed at the tension that lay in the air. This was not how she had intended the search for the Prophet of the Void to turn out, and was certainly not what she wanted.

"Could you two stop that?" groaned the loose cannon and massaged her right temple, "We have bigger problems than that. We need to locate Malzahar."

"And what for, loose cannon?"

The three of them perked up at the new voice from nowhere and everywhere at all, the echo to it slightly unnerving to Jinx right away. It was right as the echo subsided that reality itself began to tear apart just slightly ahead of them, warping first inwards and then, with a loud crackle and in a blinding flash of purple, outwards.

Though Zyra covered her eyes at the flash, both Shaco and Jinx didn't and instead looked at the distortion as it happened, and thus got to watch as a person in purple robes fell out of the rift that had opened for the slightest of seconds.

Malzahar had arrived.

"Now if that ain't a coincidence." commented the madwoman as a greeting, "Malzahar, just the man we were looking for."

"So I've noticed." replied the prophet as he turned to face the group's leader, standing tall as he crossed his arms and let his devious gaze fall upon the loose cannon, "And what could possibly lead your very unlikely group through the desert under the glare of the Shurima sun in search of me, mortal?"

The loose cannon took a moment to answer, first accessing the situation they were in – after inspecting the fact that Malzahar was floating above the ground in silent awe. With Zyra standing off the side, clearly annoyed with how she crossed her arms beneath her chest and scowled, and Shaco obviously excited but silent, it was clear that the Prophet of the Void wanted the loose cannon to answer.

"A question that I believe you can answer best, Malzahar." replied the loose cannon and smiled, though it was fake and forced, "And, depending on what the answer is, it may be a request as well."

"I see. The Void, it is."

A sudden movement from Zyra got the attention of the loose cannon. At first still scowling, Zyra suddenly cringed, then perked and turned east. Her gaze searched the horizon for something, her eyes narrowed, but whatever she was looking for – she didn't find it.

"I fear that will have to wait, Jinx." muttered the haunted Rise of Thorns, shook her arms once and summoned a spiked root on either side of her, "Something is coming our way, and that fast, and whatever it is – it's destroying all roots in its wake, deep below the sand..."

Now, Jinx perked up as well. Eyes growing wide, remembering something that Demon Vi had said, the loose cannon bared her teeth and balled her hands to fists. Nails dug into her palms as she growled, scanning the horizon as well for any sign of the threat.

Tension spread through her body as she grew alert, ready to pull either weapon if necessary – oh she knew very well what was coming their way, and she didn't like it in the slightest. It didn't mean anything good.

"Rek'Sai..." snarled the loose cannon through bared teeth.

"Rek-what?" huffed the Rise of Thorns as she turned to glance to Jinx – a mistake, as their threat was already way closer than either of them had anticipated.

With a screech that had the desert shaking, the sand to the east shifted. Bulged in, and the burst forth into the heaven, spreading into all directions at once as a gigantic blue beast emerged from the depths. Easily several times Jinx's size, the beast of the color of the sky had the size of a house as it flew over their heads like a giant leaping fish.

As it screeched again at the highest point of its leap, the huge jaws of the eyeless beast opened up, spit and more sand raining down. And though the group did not move, at least the haunted plant-woman frozen in shock, the beast missed them and instead hit the ground in quite some distance from them.

Burrowed in the sand immediately upon impact, the ground shaking. Was gone within the blink of an eye. Not for long, they all knew that immediately, the Voidborn fast and agile while in its burrowed state – while never having seen it before themselves, they had all heard of it, each of them.

"Rek'Sai, queen of the Xer'Sai." spoke Malzahar with his powerful echoing voice, in awe as were the others, "Many decades have passed since she chose Shurima as her home, and many civilizations have fallen to her. She's been one of the first to leave the Void and choose Runeterra. The Alpha Predator below the sand – enter her killing grounds, and your fate is sealed."

"I have the feeling this here, where we are standing, is not her killing ground." commented the loose cannon as she turned and watched the sand ahead of her in search for the Voidborn. Now assured of the danger they were in, she unhooked Pow-Pow and had the mini-gun unfold to its full size, one finger on the trigger already, just waiting to pull it should the Xer'Sai queen emerge again.

"It isn't." confirmed the Prophet of the Void, "I can feel it – the Void Burrower is not in control of herself. Something else, something malicious has claimed her mind. She's hunting for something... Someone..."

"That would be me then." hummed Jinx, then turned her head to her two associates, "Zyra! Shaco! Rek'Sai is being controlled by Vi, she's after me! She was talking about starting her reign with the terror beneath the sands before she sent me to the Voodoo Lands!"

A rasp alerted the group, one that Jinx identified as Rek'Sai announcing he return. Pulling Pow-Pow up and preparing it, she narrowed her eyes and scowled.

"While powerful through life of countless ages, the queen of Xer'Sai only knows the hunt. Her intelligence is limited despite her evolution, primeval and susceptible to manipulation of powerful origin." spoke Malzahar, and earned himself a glare from Jinx.

"Stop talking and help us defeat her." the ground began to shake as Jinx spoke, "Cause I don't think she'll let us go just like that!"

With a mighty roar, Rek'Sai emerged from the sand far to Jinx's right again. The leap of the beast was off – at least if she was aiming to swallow them – but it was exactly what the heavy gunner was looking for, as it left the Xer'Sai queen wide open.

Pulling Pow-Pow's trigger all the way through and directing the mini-gun up into the sky at the large Voidborn, the remodeled weapon came to life for the first time since its rebirth. As the powerful engine inside the mini-gun began to purr and the exhaust pipes began to emit smoke, the weapon came to life.

At first slow, but gradually speeding up – the weapon's ramp-up time had increased with the additional power it now had after being rebuilt and upgraded to its Slayer version – the barrels at the front along with the blades attached turned, faster and faster.

Finally, the bullets kicked in, the charge built up. Jinx immediately felt the consequences of increasing the power, the recoil shaking her entire body and tearing at her arms, but she knew she would need that for if she wanted to confront Vi again.

The first time, Vi had completely ignored all attacks and had even broken Pow-Pow effortlessly. The second time, after Jinx had upgraded to the Slayer Gear, the demoness had at least shown signs of exhaustion after blocking the bullets. The third time, she would not be able to, of that Jinx was assured.

And there would be no fourth time, no matter the outcome.

Rek'Sai, however, was a completely different thing than Vi, as it should turn out. Because though Jinx saw countless flashes of bullets impacting alongside the Voidborn's body as the beast flew over their heads, Rek'Sai did neither cry out in pain, nor did she do as much as flinch before vanishing down in the sand again.

And Jinx had a hunch as to why. Countless years of fights and encounters, especially during her years in the Zaun Special Forces, as well as the ability to evaluate and analyze her enemies, had taught her how things worked. What was effective and what ineffective, why that was the case, and how to tell what of the two it was.

Pow-Pow against Rek'Sai – absolutely ineffective, despite the power the mini-gun had.

"It doesn't work." growled the heavy gunner and took a step back now that Rek'Sai was underground again, "Her armor is too heavy for something like that!"

Hearing something behind her, the lunatic quickly whirled around and pulled the mini-gun's trigger again. And though she hit the large fin that protruded from the sand far away from them and was moving at them at great speed, the bullets bounced off it harmlessly. Neither damaged the Xer'Sai queen, nor stopped her advance.

Nonetheless, the lunatic kept her weapon pointed at the approaching monster in hope to eventually have an effect – until she spotted the orb or violet void energy that gathered at the tip of the fin. Still, it was the rasp of the larger creature that had Jinx alerted and perform a rather risky jump away from where she stood.

The crackle of electricity echoed through the air as purplish void energy was released in an impulse not too different to lightning. Catching herself in a roll, Jinx absorbed the impact of her jump, twirled around as she came to a stop and glared. With a skilled and trained movement, she returned Pow-Pow to its folded up state and position on her waist, and pulled Fishbones in the same maneuver.

She exchanged a glance with the others for a brief second. They hadn't moved at all from their original position, and little did she know it was because Malzahar had told them not to, as they would not be able to help – and as Rek'Sai was blind and 'saw' through her tremor sense, and no movement meant no tremor, Rek'Sai could not 'see' you.

The position Jinx had been in before and had to leave to avoid getting hit by the void energy had changed. The sand was of a deep purple in a blotch about the size of a small room, though Jinx never got a good look at it, as the gigantic fin rushed through it and laid waste to the area, scattering the sand.

Twirling and aiming at the same time, the lunatic woman closed her left eye and took a deep breath. And knowing that the fin might vanish any second again, fired the rocket at the target. Though the aim had been off a little, the rocket hit its intended target and brought a victory to the lunatic, even if only a little one – Rek'Sai seemed to feel that one, letting out a snarl of pain as her fin was enveloped in a ball of fire and smoke.

As the Void Burrower dove back under the sand after that, the loose cannon pulled her rocket launcher down and examined the damage she had done from afar.

Where the explosion had been a moment before, a thin layer of glass now adored the sand. So the new type of super-heat missiles did work.

Still, this was getting her nowhere. Although it seemed to hurt Rek'Sai, the damage the loose cannon was doing to the powerful Xer'Sai queen was just too little to be considered notable – as the queen's fin appeared from the sand in the distance for a moment, just to vanish back into the sea of sand right away, it didn't have a single scratch to it.

And then, there was the fact that the one hit with the rocket had been more or less pure luck. While more powerful than Pow-Pow, each rocket had quite some travel time she had to take into consideration, and burrowed, the queen of Xer'Sai was too fast to land ever shot.

Considering the limited ammo she had to Fishbones, every rocket had to count, and every rocket used was one less for what was to come after Rek'Sai.

She needed alternatives, and that fast.

"We need to slow her down somehow!" roared the loose cannon in hope that her associates had an idea, "That, or somehow break through her armor!"

"I'm working on that." spoke Malzahar way too calm for the madwoman's taste, "Let me summon something of the Void to help you with the Xer'Sai queens armor..."

"Fine, as long as you hurry up and...!"

Feeling something beneath her feet shift, Jinx froze up. Eyes going wide, she did the only thing that came to mind – jump the hell away from her spot. No second too late, as she barely managed to escape the jaws that emerged from the sand, and still ended up grazing alongside one of them.

Send off course by that, an incredible pain shot through her as she hit the sand – she had landed on her side on Pow-Pow. The sand was still shifting beneath her feet as she writhed in pain, a shadow above her telling her why – Rek'Sai had jumped straight up and was still in midair. Came back down and impacted only meters away from her with the force of a building collapsing and sent Jinx washing away in waves of sand that her impact whirled up.

When she finally stopped rolling and managed to get up on all fours, the lunatic spat out a mouthful of sand. Felt nauseous. Knew she had just narrowly escaped being eaten or crushed, and was well aware of how outmatched she was if she didn't change something, and that fast.

"We need a way to detect her...! I can't see her and can't hear her, and if I'm only one second slower next time she..." whispered the lunatic to herself, spat another mouthful of sand out, and watched as her spit slowly seeped into the sand.

Into the sand...

"ZYRA!" she bellowed and pulled her head up, accidentally scaring the plant-woman in the distance – not that she cared, she had bigger problems – with that, "You said there's roots below here! How many? How strong?!"

"There's a network of roots running through the entirety of the Shurima Desert. Some of them are fairly old and huge..."

"Perfect!" Jinx pushed herself onto her feet, ignored the pain in her right side and immediately made a dash for the Rise of Thorns, "Use them to tell me where she is!"

Although she blinked at the strange request, the haunted plant quickly nodded and closed her eyes. Moving her hands a bit until her palms were pointing at the ground just in front of her, Zyra took a deep breath and concentrated. Listened to the plants deep beneath her feet.

"South."

Jinx didn't waste a second to turn southwards and pull Fishbones again. Pulling a Flame Chomper from her belt and stuffing it down Fishbones' jaw, she held her breath, heaved the weapon back onto her shoulder, aimed. Waited.

"I've got a plan, but I'm not sure if it'll work." began the lunatic, not daring to blink, "Malzahar, how much longer do you need?"

"It's almost here..." answered the prophet ominously.

"She's getting closer." added Zyra, "She's slowly rising."

"Zyra, do you think that, if I give you the chance, you could use the roots to hold Rek'Sai down?" inquired Jinx, not turning around, not turning away, "Just theoretically."

"I could, though she'd have to be still and above the ground. Not sure how you want to do that." retorted the plant-woman, "She moved slightly to the west, but is still coming at us. She's about ready to jump..."

"Just trust me, I know how to do exactly that..."

Jinx took a deep breath, mentally prepared for the next attack of the giant. Had to be prepared, especially this time – nothing was allowed to go absolutely wrong. She had to remain where she was, could not move out of the way or she'd mess everything up.

Her finger nervously rubbed along the trigger of her rocket launcher. That it was suddenly silent sure didn't help her nerves, but it did help in keeping track of Rek'Sai. She could hear the faint shifting of sand in the distance, the silent of the beast, carried by the wind.

"She's here."

Jinx pulled the trigger, even though the fin of the Voidborn didn't emerge until a second later, only several hundred meters away. At incredible speed, the fin closed in, the Flame Chomper flew towards it, and Jinx didn't waste any second to – seeing as she couldn't just let it fall over her shoulder as usual – throw Fishbones off to the side.

Hands free, she reached over her shoulder and pulled the weapons that she had no idea how to use.

Rek'Sai burst out of the sand that second, this time in a leap that barely got her off the ground, parts of her body dragging along the sand and leaving deep furrows. Her mouth was already wide open in an earsplitting screech, but that was exactly what Jinx had hoped for.

The Flame Chomper went right down the beast's throat.

The effect was immediate. Triggered by the beast's acidic spit, the Flame Chomper went off inside its gullet. Fire burst forth from the queen's mouth, another screech releasing smoke and ember. She lost balance, paralyzed by the damage inside of her, and slammed into the sand. Bounced off it, nearly going head over heels, and rolled over the ground towards the lunatic gunner.

And the madwoman remained where she was. Had no intention of stepping out of the way as she moved her hands experimentally, waiting and mentally preparing herself for the force about to slam into her with her hands extended to the front as if to stop it.

And as Rek'Sai's limp body, still at full speed, indeed slammed into her, Jinx just dug her heels into the sand. Albeit all wind was knocked out of her and though her arms felt like spaghetti and hurt like after a week of hitting the gym, it was working.

She was slowing down. Only very slow as the sand didn't offer much resistance, and several hundred meters away from her group, but she had her. Had the dazed Rek'Sai in the grip of Vi's gauntlets, which she was wearing – although with only very little idea of how to use them.

"Zyra, now!" screamed the loose cannon in hope that the haunted beauty would hear her over the distance. Unsure of how long she'd be able to hold Rek'Sai down if there Xer'Sai queen were to recover and move, Jinx was glad as the sand to either side of the Voidborn exploded into the air, the biggest roots that the lunatic had seen in her life bursting forth and stretching into the heavens.

They wiggled alluringly, almost as if to test their newfound exposure to the air and the sun – before lashing out at Rek'Sai without a warning and curling around the beast's appendages. Realizing what was going on, the queen of Xer'Sai recovered and began to struggle and thrash around, trying to escape her restraints – and if Zyra scrunching up her face was any indication, then the beast was making progress with that.

Not that Jinx would let it.

"Ugh, how did Vi do this again...?!" the loose cannon moved her hands inside the way too large gauntlets, let her hands roam them in search of the levers she knew that had to be in there somewhere. Vi had told her of them countless times when they had chatted about their self-created weapons and how she operated them, but now, Jinx found it hard to remember where exactly they were supposed to be.

In the end, it was more of pure luck than anything else that her right pinky hooked into the small lever she had been in search for. With the right gauntlet starting to hum as energy was built up inside it for Vi's signature Vault Breaker, the madwoman perked up. Quickly repeated the action with her left had to charge the full Vault Breaker.

It wasn't easy for her. The gauntlets were heavy as they were, but with the energy building up, they slowly started to vibrate ever so slightly, increasing the strain on her arms. Furthermore, she wasn't nearly as strong as her younger sister – carrying her weapons required strength in her arms and upper body, not her hands – and pulling the levers with her fingers wasn't as easy as it sounded, and increasingly growing harder as numbness spread through her lower arms.

She was glad that she didn't have to keep the charge built up for long, knowing she wouldn't have been able to, and felt relief wash over her as she could finally release it. And, as if knowing what they had to do, the gauntlets carried her forward into a charge at the queen of Xer'Sai.

An uppercut into the jaw of the Void Burrower had the Voidborn screaming out in pain as her head was thrown back and Jinx was carried up into the air. Having a general idea of what to do, Jinx shifted her weight and pulled the levers again, held them until she was no longer ascending, and released them the moment that she was falling back down.

The effect was imminent, the energy being released carrying her down at a velocity she had initially underestimated. But she still hit, landing gauntlet-first on the Xer'Sai queen's head, slamming it down into the ground with enough force to whirl up the surrounding sand in one straight pillar.

Dazed by the attack, the restrained Rek'Sai whined an snarled, but stopped moving entirely. That was what Zyra had waited for. Summoned more roots, thicker ones, to curl around the beast's body and tie her down.

She screeched in protest. Despite dazed and disoriented, the queen of Xer'Sai began to thrash in an attempt to escape, its large body wriggling as much as it could within the roots that were holding it down.

Knowing better than to use the gauntlets more than necessary, Jinx quickly deactivated the gauntlets and let them fall off her hands. The heavy hextech fists hit the sand, and with the weight of both the rocket launcher and the gauntlets gone, Jinx immediately dashed toward the giant beast.

Shaco finally decided to contribute to the fight. Having been unable to act before due to Rek'Sai's nature, he fell into a sprint himself the moment that the queen was restrained. Unlike Jinx, his goal wasn't the queen.

"He's here..."

The ominous message of Malzahar had Jinx glancing over her shoulder for a second, but not long enough for her to see who the Prophet was referring to. Instead, the lunatic pushed herself off the ground and jumped straight at the Voidborn's head, every intention to climb the titan.

Indeed, somewhat to her surprise, her combat boot did contact with Rek'Sai's forehead. And, with the beast pulling its head up, it catapulted her high into the air as she pushed herself off it.

That's where Shaco came in. While Jinx jumped at Rek'Sai, the Demon Jester had made his way to where Fishbones lay and had grabbed the rocket launcher. His fingers curled around it, gripped it tight – then he vanished, with rocket launcher and all. Blinked back into existence right in front of the Slayer in midair, handed her the weapon, and vanished again.

Next thing happening, Rek'Sai screamed out in pain as swords dug into the exposed inside of her opened jaws. Lifting her head as much as the root curled around her neck allowed her to, the queen of the Xer'Sai screeched and rasped in fury – and was promptly shut up as Jinx brought Fishbones down on her head during her fall.

Still far from defeated., however, the Voidborn remained where it was restrained.

Standing atop Rek'Sai's head, the madwoman scowled. It wasn't working. They were knocking Rek'Sai around, but it wasn't doing anything but slightly tiring the beast out. That wasn't an option, no solution.

If they didn't at least fend the Voidborn off, it would recover and just follow them again. They needed to scare her off somehow, if not completely break Vi's influence on the Void Burrower, something that ensured she wouldn't come after them.

But for that, and Jinx was very aware of that, the beast had to feel pain. Had to have a reason to be afraid of them, something that even the primeval mind of hers would remember, Vi's influence or not.

Though, how did one hurt a beast with armor like Rek'Sai? Armor that deflected even super-heated rockets, and absorbed all damage of bullets?

She rose her gaze to scan the dunes for Malzahar. The floating prophet had mentioned a Voidborn able to break through the Alpha Predator's armor and had said he'd summon him. Had even said he was there.

So where was that Voidborn? Their trump card against the terror of Shurima's depths?

Why was Malzahar just staring back with amusement in his glowing eyes?

"OBLIVION COME!"

There weren't many things that could scare Jinx, something that the loose cannon was very proud of. Only the most scary of horror games and movies got a reaction out of her and sneaking up to her never got her to flinch.

But to see the sand turn purple and a Voidborn beast the size of a small truck emerge with a yell got even her to freeze up – especially to see that it was headed for her. With it's maw spread wide open, exposing a hole full of sharp spikes, the four-eyed beast soared through the air.

And in the depths of its mouth, far beyond the arrowheads of teeth, an orb of acidic bile.

She bolted. Taken over by panic, Jinx whirled around and made a run for it, up the back of the restricted Rek'Sai that she was still atop. With heavy steps drumming along the back of the Xer'Sai queen's armor, the madwoman ran as fast as she could, knew what was going on. Finally understood the plan of the Prophet of the Void, and cursed silently that he wasn't talkative enough to have told her.

Otherwise, she would've just bought time instead of wasting ammunition and energy on Rek'Sai's armor. As this armor was now, in the face of the new arrival, absolutely useless.

Just as Jinx reached the Void Burrower's fin, Kog'Maw unleashed the bile it had built up in the back of its throat.

No bullet, no rocket, and no Vault Breaker would've had the same effect that one single projectile of the Mouth of the Abyss' bile. As it splattered across the way taller body of the Xer'Sai queen, the primeval Voidborn shrieked in agony, and Jinx understood why.

The spit of the young gluttonous Voidborn was of such corrosive properties that no container but its own body was known to be able to contain it, only the glutton's body itself able to fully withstand it. There was no substance that Jinx knew to be more corrosive than the bile of Kog'Maw, and none that Jinx feared as much to come in contact with.

Apparently, Rek'Sai thought very much alike. With moth of its face covered in the substance, the Xer'sai queen screeched and screamed, thrashed against its restraints and struggled to somehow get the liquid off it that was slowly burning through her armor.

And somehow, she indeed managed to break free during all her struggling. Maybe some acid had come into contact with the roots, maybe Zyra had led her guard down for a second, Jinx couldn't tell.

Either was fine, as Rek'Sai immediately dove back into the sand once it was free.

And didn't resurface.

Jinx, who had jumped off the beast while it had struggled, recognizing the great danger that remaining on up there posed, still remained silent and alert as she stood atop the dune that had formed during the Xer'Sai queen's hasty escape.

Listened for any more rasps. Scanned the dunes for shifting sand. Anything that would hint at the primeval Voidborn not having left.

"She's gone." confirmed Zyra eventually, "Moving southeast. I don't think she'll come back anytime soon, we scared her off for good."

"Fear is the instinct of survival, and survival in any shape is the Xer'Sai queen's only instinct." chuckled Malzahar darkly and watched the group slowly gather, "No demonic influence can ever overcome such a powerful thing."

"The big bad monster is a lil' scaredy-cat inside." giggled Shaco, voice cracking, "Who would've thought?"

Jinx, being the last to reach the group that formed around Malzahar and Kog'Maw as she went to retrieve Vi's gauntlets first, sent the Demon Jester a glare. Just because she hadn't said a thing so far didn't mean that she particularly enjoyed his sinister comments.

But, again, they had other problems to care about, so she left it at that – not even sure if she saw it – and instead focused on the matter at hand. Just in case that Rek'Sai decided that she hadn't had enough and came back.

Malzahar seemed to think likewise – she didn't deem him very talkative or social, a man straight to the point – and ignored the haunted Rise of Thorns and the Demon Jester and turned to face her. Curious eyes examined her, expectant, yet he had enough patience to let the loose cannon adjust her Slayer Gear and check on the state of her weapons.

What had the self-proclaimed Slayer most afraid was that the gauntlets had taken any damage, but much to her relief, they had neither been touched by acid nor damaged by the attacks on the Voidborn with the heavy armor.

Fishbones looked fine as well, though the last attack had left a small dent in the launcher's barrel that Jinx knew she had to fix as soon as possible. As small as the dent was, being inwards, it could easily lead to a misdirected rocket, or worse, triggering one too soon. Latter could easily turn out lethal for her, should the launcher explode in her hands.

Having remained unused due to nigh absolute lack of effect on an enemy of that size, Zap and Saltsticks were both in perfect condition, and Pow-Pow had survived the battle with a single scratch taken.

In absolute relief, Jinx let out a sigh.

So all of her friends were okay.

"I believe we have been interrupted before." began Malzahar eventually, "Now tell me, mortal, what is it that drives you to seek out me and the powers of the void? Make it quick, for it seems that you've gained a powerful foe that does not hesitate to invade the minds of those who let their guard down and are susceptible to the beckons of the darkness."

"It's simple, really." sighed the madwoman, deciding to speak for the group, "Word has it you know how to get to the Shadow Isles as you are the prophet, and it just happens that the Shadow Isles are where I'm headed."

"I see. So you want me to direct you there." chuckled the Prophet of the Void sinisterly, and Jinx narrowed her eyes at him in dislike for the dark tone to his voice, "Then I fear we have a bit of a problem, mortal, for you've got something wrong."

To Jinx's further dislike, the man just floated backwards away from her, the gaze of Kog'Maw never leaving him. He began to laugh and turned in midair, arms extended to the sides. To the further irritation of Jinx and Zyra, Shaco joined right in, giving them the creeps and Jinx the uncomfortable feeling that she been misled all along.

"A simple misunderstanding on your part, mortal wretches, for I'm not the Prophet of the Shadow Isles, but the Void. These two places have no connection and are not alike in the slightest." as he explained, purple energy began to glow within the palms of the Prophet, and his laughter grew darker, "The Void is unlike anything you've known or could hope to comprehend. None of the laws of this realm apply to the Void, and once you've stepped inside there's no escape."

Both Jinx and Zyra turned to glare at Shaco, but the Demon Jester just shrugged like it didn't mean anything. Grinned. And the loose cannon couldn't help but feel like he had known that little detail all along, even as he had told her of Malzahar being able to lead her. That he had purposely misled her, deceived her.

And with the way the Demon Jester smirked, she was absolutely assured of that.

"However, you may be in luck, for I indeed know a way to reach the Shadow Isles." continued Malzahar suddenly, serious again, "If you head straight south, past Kumungu Jungle and the Plaque Jungles, you will eventually reach the shore. There, at the foggiest bay, you may find Yorick Mori, the Gravedigger and ferryman of the Shadow Isles, said to appear before those in need of his service. For the right price, he may ferry you to the place you seek to reach, mortal."

The Prophet of the Void stopped momentarily to glance to the Voidborn at his side, the Mouth of the Abyss reciprocating the glance eventually. Despite watching them with wary eyes, the lunatic gunner didn't fail to notice that the grin on Shaco's face grew even wider from the corner of her eyes.

Had a bad feeling all over again about this.

"I'll have Kog'Maw lead you to the bay, he is able to show you the fastest path." added the prophet eventually, a gesture with his right hand, still burning purple, into the direction of the Voidborn, "From there, it's all you, hwoever, in this attempt to restore the balance that has been disrupted."

The purple void essence shaped like fire in Malzahar's hand grew before the eyes of the loose cannon, soon to consume his entire hand. Reaching out towards her, a dark chuckle rolled in the back of his throat as he slowly tilted his hand. And though it seemed to be no more than the flame-shaped energy that surrounded it, a clear amethyst liquid flew from it and dripped to the ground below.

Where it touched the sand, it slowly spread, soon to turn the sand beneath him the same shade as the energy.

And then, in a flash of a gigantic flame that burst forth from the affected sand, Malzahar was gone.

And so was part of Jinx's hope to reach Vi as soon as possible.

---

A heavy sigh escaped the Slayer as the group traversed the dense fog. It was dark, night was soon to fall, and though she didn't have to walk herself, Jinx felt tired and exhausted. Two entire days had passed since leaving the desert behind, and though the non-arid climate was much more bearable near Kumungu Jungle, the closer they had gotten to the shore, the colder it got.

Now, perched atop Kog'Maw and lying on her stomach, Jinx was glad that she was wearing her Slayer Gear. Ever since they had entered the fog – she wasn't sure how long ago that was, as the dense fog did not only seem to rob one of all sense of direction, but swallow time as well – a chilly and moist feeling encompassed her. The smell of salt lingered in the air and the sound of waves echoed around, and though she couldn't see it, the madwoman knew they were near the sea.

Zyra, located atop Kog'Maw as well a bit behind her, of course didn't seem to mind for the most part. In fact, she looked a lot healthier since leaving Shurima behind and entering her own territory again, though not quite happy about the saltwater.

"I wonder, I wonder..." began Shaco all of sudden, the first words spoken by anyone in hours, and it had Jinx perk up. Gave her something to focus on, distract her and prevent her from falling asleep, which she was thankful for.

Turning her head, softly patting the body of the Voidborn she was sitting atop, Jinx faced the Demon Jester. He was walking alongside the Mouth of the Abyss, smiling to himself for whatever reason. Aware of the madwoman's gaze upon him, he chuckled and turned his head to meet her gaze, his piercing red eyes visible to Jinx even in the dense fog.

"I wonder if there is a way to revert that foolish enforcer to human, and if that were to save her beloved as well." cackled the jester, "Maybe there was, but we are too late now? Or, perhaps, there truly is no way? Wonder if you really are up to the task that is then bestowed upon you, having mercy on their suffering souls... Slayer."

The heavy gunner narrowed her eyes at him. Though she couldn't see him very well, these unsettling red eyes told her where he was and where to scowl. He was enjoying that, messing with her, she was assured of that by then. Was so ever since having learned that he had led them into the entirely wrong direction when he had pointed out Malzahar to her.

While somewhat thankful that he had found her and even brought up the idea of going to the Shadow Isles, the Slayer was slowly starting to think that it hadn't been such a great idea to let him travel with her – his contribution to the whole situation ever since leaving the Voodoo Lands had been very limited. Counteractive, in fact.

But he had a point. The last confrontation with Vi and Caitlyn was going to be inevitable, and sooner or later, the loose cannon would be at that very point where she'd have to make the decision. The decision if she was going to continue to try and save them, or if any further attempt was just foolish and suicidal.

For if she died without taking them along, then all of her struggles would've been pointless. It was either all of them, or neither of them.

And it became painfully aware to her then, there – in the fog by the sea, in the melancholic bleak world that swallowed everything around it...

It became painfully aware to her then that this was the first time that a major rule had been changed for real – not just as a game or a bet – since the time she had rehabilitated. Because this time, this wasn't either them or her, not even truly the basic rule of nature, the hunter or the prey. No, this time was completely different.

Because once morning came, there would be no winner.

Slowly but surely, Shaco's grin spread even further. He knew what damage he had just done, and he enjoyed it to the fullest. And she despised him for that. Many people would assume they'd get along just because they're both insane, but that was idiotic. Like saying eagles and sparrows get along just because they're both birds.

"Do you hear that?" inquired Zyra from behind the madwoman, leaning forward to glance past the loose cannon, "You can't tell me I'm the only one who hears that creaking."

Jinx let out a hum and glanced over her shoulder at the haunted beauty, eyebrow slowly rising in question. Still, she perked up her ears and listened, even held her breath.

The sounds of waves hitting the shore, washing back and forth continually. The howling of the wind over the endless depths, both essential and destructive.

And the soft creaking of a wooden vessel in the waves ahead of them.

"I think we found him." spoke the loose cannon, patted Kog'Maw a bit rougher to show him to stop, "Yorick Mori is up ahead."

Climbing off Kog'Maw and helping Zyra off, the loose cannon turned into the direction the creaking was coming from. Made sure her gear was in place before she slowly stepped forward and in front of Kog'Maw.

"Guess this is goodbye then, pal."

The Mouth of the Abyss, reciprocating the sorrowful gaze of the loose cannon, gave a sad nod in return. He cooed softly and took a step forward, pressed his face against the body of the woman and snuggled into her, enjoyed it as the loose cannon gently patted his head. They had come to grow on each other during these two days, so separation was going to be hard.

Especially because they knew it was the last time they saw each other.

But still, they drew apart. Slowly, hesitantly, but ultimately inevitable. She smiled a last time at him and he cooed a final time. And then, he slowly stepped back into the fog.

Jinx watched him until she could no longer make out his silhouette against the fog, until she could no longer hear his steps or feel the tremor of his movements. Until the young Voidborn was gone, and Jinx left to face her fate once more.

On her own two feet. With her own weaponry, and only her own will.

She didn't look back as she turned away and started into the direction that the creaking was coming from. Ignored Shaco's mocking laughter and whispered comment of how 'heartwarming' that had been.

They both knew he had no heart.

She didn't care whether or not Zyra and Shaco would follow, although knowing that they were right behind her.

Before long, the creaking was growing louder, the fog clearing as the minutes passed by. Despite the sound being audible, the wooden vessel they had heard creaking wasn't as close as it had seemed at first.

Eventually, the fog had cleared enough – never completely, but at least enough to see further than just a meter or two – for Jinx to make out the silhouette of the small bay they had been looking for.

And true enough, a light was shining at the shore, the light of an old lamp that dangled from the front of a small wooden ship. A shadow loomed aside the lamp, hunchbacked, a shovel in hand. Yes, they had found him, the gravedigger and ferryman of the Shadow Isles – Yorick Mori.

"I've been expecting you, Jay Inks." growled the deep voice from the fog as the loose cannon approached the hunched figure of the gravedigger, "Sooner or later, you had to appear here. There is only one way, in the end..."

"If you knew that I was coming, then you also know where I'm headed and why." deduced the loose cannon and finally stepped into the light, "So I'll keep this brief – Can you take me to the Shadow Isles?"

The gravedigger grunted in response, moving his undead body until he faced the ship. In the light of the lamp, he was a terrifying figure, Jinx had to admit that, ghoulish and stained with dirt as he threw the shovel into the wooden vessel and breathed low and deep.

"I can and will." confirmed the ghoulish being, slowly turning, "All three of you. Your fate will be determined over there."

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" sighed Zyra and crossed her arms beneath her chest, "It never ends well if someone says something like that."

Again, the undead man grunted in response, and Jinx shuddered as the smell of rotting flesh and dirt hit her face. Uncomfortable, even disgusted, she growled and took a step back, brought distance between her and the eternal gravedigger.

"The ferry ride can sadly not be done without a price being paid, no matter my personal choice." Yorick grunted heavily as he heaved his hunchbacked body into the wooden vessel, "Be aware, it's a cost you may not be willing to pay. The path through the fog opens only for those that have paid the toll, preventing mortals to enter. So, for the path to open, the Shadow Isles want..."

"Take mine."

Even Shaco's smile fell for once, having not expected the sudden answer. But Jinx stood resolute, determined, and stared the gravedigger right in the small glowing eyes. No fear on her mind. No regret or doubt.

And Yorick grunted in agreement.

"Very well." huffed the gravedigger, "I see you've made up your mind."

"I have." confirmed the woman with the pink hair, "I pay with my soul. The Shadow Isles can take it for all I care."

She turned and took a few steps past the boat until her boots stood in the water. Stared out into the distance, into the fog, the Shadow Isles somewhere to the east. Her fate was somewhere to the east. Vi was there, as was Caitlyn.

Biting down on her own lower lip and balling her fists, Jay Inks took a deep breath. Let the salty air fill her lungs.

"If I fail and die here, then I have no use for my soul. Don't care if it is removed from the cycle of life and death, that I will never be reborn again." The taste of metal filled her mouth, and she knew that her teeth had dug too deep into her lip, that she was bleeding, "There's just no point in it if I can't save Vi and Caitlyn. Just no point."

The winds howled. The cold breeze picked up. The waves were hitting the shore in a steady, slow rhythm.

It looked like the end of the world, for the lack of any better description. Dark and foggy, the grim black sea with the white foam of the waves, the dark gray sky, the silhouette of an island against the fog. There was no light in the heaven, no star and no moon shining through the fog, but night had already long fallen.

The image of a world that was slowly rotting away, beyond death already and simply waiting to be finished off. At mercy of time and existence itself, it rested. Laid. Faded.

This was the end of the world. And Jinx was ready to embrace it, arms spread wide – and why shouldn't she be? Life had been great for her, she had seen a lot and experienced even more. Was only in the middle of her thirties – but heck! It had been fun! Had been thrilling and very rich in variety!

If there was any regret she had, then it was that Vi and Caitlyn weren't with her now to share that as well. The final step of their shared journey. It had lasted well over ten years – ten she had spent at their side, a few more against them before that. Had been a fun ride, fast and full of surprises, turns and twists at every corner.

To be against them again at the very end hurt. To be forced to end this time by herself, actively, broke her deep inside more than any 'bad day' could ever have.

This was the end...

"Oh, how touching! What a surprise, what a surprise!" giggled Shaco in sadistic excitement, but Jinx ignored him, stared straight ahead, "This is it, right? The big heroic sacrifice? Selfless and oh so brave!"

"Shaco..." Jinx heard Zyra warn right away, though the Slayer hardly cared whether or not someone would try to put the Demon Jester in his place. Wouldn't work anyway, to try and do that was idiotic in her eyes – Shaco didn't care about such a thing. Never had, never would.

"Tell me, Jinx, do you think of yourself as the hero? The one in the right? The one to emerge victor from all this and be heralded as a savior?" roared the Demon Jester in laughter, "Tell me, Jinx, are you that stupid?"

"SHACO!"

The Slayer slowly turned her head to the right, not far, just far enough to see the furious Zyra and the jester from the corner of her eyes. He was grinning at her, more vile than she had ever seen it before, baring his sharp teeth in obvious enjoyment of her desperate situation. At her emotionless expression, lips pressed together in a thin line and pink eyes lacking happiness and energy. At the shadow of a person that she was.

He knew that everything had been taken from her. Someone had done all the work, and he just had to kick back and watch her fall apart bit by bit, savor it. That was how Shaco worked, his every delight in life, if not even making it worse just because he could.

But she wouldn't fall for it. Wouldn't give him the pleasure of falling even further.

She turned back to face the ocean. Let the cold winds brush along her face and run through her hair. Closed her eyes and embraced the eternity before her.

"You're wrong, Shaco." spoke the Slayer with determination, never got to see how the smile was wiped off his face by her words, "There is no hero in this story. And if there is, then it's certainly not me."

The winds picked up, waving a strand of hair through her face. She didn't bother to brush it away, didn't care enough to move in the slightest.

"This is a story without a hero and a villain, a story without a beginning and only one ending that has always been certain from the start. One point we've always been moving towards, though no one of us could tell when it would come. And it's not going to be a happy one."

Yorick grunted in displeasure, and Jinx knew why. He felt it, too, there was no denying that. Just as there was no denying that they were approaching the end of the story, one that could not be changed and had been written by themselves. Not even by accident, but subconscious desire. The desire to be punished for their sins, for all their wrongdoings over the years.

And had she not said it once? That it took no more than the pull of a trigger to shatter a world to pieces? A single world, and all those attached to it? To bring the end of a world, just by the movement of a single finger?

A tiny butterfly flapping its wings today may lead to a devastating hurricane weeks from now.

A single choice by them in the past made their whole world end now.

They say the world will end with a bang, with a last deafening crack – but Jinx had always known that was false. Knew that the world wouldn't end with a bang...

But a last. Pathetic. Wheeze.

The breeze had become a gust, had turned and now howled against her face from the front. Cold and unrelenting, it came from the south, encompassed her. The freezing waves came crashing against her feet, icy even through her heavy combat boots.

"That's no fun." growled Shaco behind her, unaware, "Where's the fun in such a perspective? People said you're fun, but you're just a mopey poor existence with a nihilistic view on life. Blaming yourself for everything and hiding in your little shell!"

"You're going too far, Shaco."

"No I'm not!" snapped the Demon Jester at the haunted Rise of Thorns aside him, "I'm telling the truth, and she knows it! We all know it!"

Waves were crashing against her feet now, lightning flashed above. In the distance, water was crashing high against the island, water splashing as high as buildings. The palms at the beach of the island were bending, ripped out – the sea was restless.

"It's coming." whispered the Slayer too herself and narrowed her eyes. Her associates hadn't heard it, were shouting at each other behind her, but Yorick grunted in agreement. Was feeling it. Stepped out of the wooden vessel and onto the beach, and nodded as Jinx's hand slowly reached for Pow-Pow.

The storm had arrived.

And then, everything happened in a flash.

The sea churned and a particularly strong gust of wind hit the loose cannon's face. Reacting quickly, she threw her body to the side, roughly a second before the water bulged outward and something burst from it.

It missed he loose cannon but ripped through the sand at a speed that was beyond Jinx's ability to turn her head in time. Curled around the unsuspecting Shaco and squeezed, interrupted him, pulled as he gasped.

Pow-Pow was unfolded by the time the loose cannon had turned, trigger pulled and barrel spinning. A shriek erupted from the sea as the bullets penetrated the gigantic translucent tentacle of a greenish color, but did little to the beast that had Shaco so tight in its grip that he could only wheeze.

Hundreds of bullets stuck in the tentacle when it moved, swinging the Demon Jester around as it suddenly moved, lashed out at the loose cannon and forced her to roll out of the way again as to not be smashed underneath it.

With Jinx no longer shooting at it, the beast's arm retracted back into the ocean at incredible speed. Shaco was wheezing and struggling as he was swung around, volume going up and down – but by the time Jinx looked up, all she saw was how he was pulled down into the water with the tentacle. Heard how his voice died down.

He didn't resurface.

What resurfaced as Jinx stepped up to the shore, however, were her bullets. All of them, all those she had fired into the tentacle, washed up by the waves.

The lunatic didn't fold Pow-Pow back up, kept it ready and a finger on the trigger. This wasn't just a random attack, and it hadn't been aimed for the Demon Jester. It was after her. She was after her.

And true enough, she surfaced from the waves. Walking upright, water dripping from her in powerful physique, the giant of a woman carried an orb of incredible weight – the eye of her god – upon her right shoulder and scowled at the madwoman the entire time as she stomped toward her.

Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess.

Jinx knew her. Not well, having met her only a few times over the years through Vi, but Jinx had seen what the priestess was capable of. The indomitable faith the woman had in her Kraken God Nagakabouros. The threat she posed.

Vi and Illaoi did get along well once, both believing in the strength and confidence. And if Jinx hadn't known it better, then the enforcer had been keen on the god of the Kraken Priestress, had believed in it and its teaching. And that though Vi had never been very religious.

But then again, the teachings of Nagakabouros – god of life, ocean storms and motion – were very similar to what the enforcer had always believed in: Everyone had his purpose, everything had desires and emotions, and everything only moved forward when everyone lived their desires.

Jinx couldn't say that she particularly agreed with everything that the god was about. Had different beliefs, the beliefs of the rules of nature – life was an endless cycle. Of the hunter and the prey, of fighting to survive. The strong overcome the weak, the prey that overcomes the predator becomes the new strong.

Illaoi had never tried to convert her. Wasn't trying to do something of the like. She lived to serve her god and tell those who were willing to listen of the Kraken God. In fact, the Kraken Priestess had even complimented the lunatic's choice, saying that the rules of nature were of great importance and that she should not ever forget them.

While imposing and intimidating, Illaoi was actually surprisingly kind. And though Jinx had never spent much time with her, didn't doubt that Illaoi was pleasant to be around, especially for someone like Vi.

The priestess didn't look very friendly when she stepped out of the water, not to Jinx, and not to anyone else.

"Foolish sister of a demon!" barked the Kraken Priestess as she stomped through the water, "You have made a terrible mistake when you have come here!"

"I see you've met Vi recently." mused the lunatic aloud, "She doesn't look too great, does she? Gained some sickly purplish color and grown these..."

"Enough!" bellowed Illaoi and shut her up, "The damage your sister and her beloved have done is beyond what Nagakabouros is willing to turn a blind eye to. The destruction she has caused to Bilgewater will have consequences. No further shall she tread, elimination is inescapable and will be executed by Nagakabouros. And we shall start with you, foolish one."

The madwoman slowly rose an eyebrow a that bit of information. Not quite able to follow the priestess' line of thought – what she had to do with Vi's actions – she frowned at Illaoi. It couldn't be to get to Vi. Illaoi was not known to be vengeful, and would never hurt someone that wasn't directly involved. If Vi was causing chaos, then Illaoi would try to get directly to her, and not through someone else.

"I'm not seeing what that has to do with me." stated Jinx, fingers still curled around Pow-Pow and slightly adjusting the direction of the mini-gun, "That's Vi's fault, hardly mine."

"I shall not allow you to regroup with your foolish sister." responded the colossus of a woman, "We will strike when she is weakest, and not allow her to gain additional power from others."

It clicked inside the lunatic's mind, Illaoi's actions finally making sense. Knowing where this was headed, she moved her free hand behind her back and made some fast gestures, without looking back hoping that Zyra understood them. Depending on it.

Luckily, the haunted beauty did understand it and acted, summoning thorny vines to envelope Yorick and guard him, then getting ready herself.

"Well, hate to inform you Illaoi, but I'm not going to help Vi. I'm on my way to deal with the problem she has become myself." replied Jinx eventually and stared the priestess straight in the eye, "Which is why I'm not up for long chats, I've got somewhere to be. So, if you were so kind as to step out of the way and let us progress? I've kinda promised my soul already as payment for this ferry ride..."

The tall woman seemed to be surprised by this statement. Perking up, she turned her head and stared at the Eye of God on her shoulder as if to seek its advice, and for Jinx, it seemed like an entire conversation was done in absolute silence. When Illaoi turned to face her again, the priestess's face was stern.

"We believe you, and trust that you carry a hard burden upon your fragile frame. You are stronger than you look, but you misunderstand your place and face a challenge that is not yours." spoke the priestess, "You lack what it needs to go up against what your foolish sister has turned into."

Narrowing her eyes at Illaoi, Jinx gave Zyra further instructions behind her back. Kept them as simple as possible, so that there would be no misunderstanding. No mistake made. Illaoi was not to be underestimated, a force to be reckoned with.

"So what now, Illaoi? Will you try to stop me?" challenged the loose cannon, "I'd like to see you try."

Unsurprisingly, Illaoi burst into laughter. She had announced several times over the years that she liked the two Inks Sisters and their fighting spirit, but she clearly didn't think of Jinx as much of a physical fighter. In a way, she was right, as though not to be underestimated, Jinx wasn't as strong in close combat as people like Vi or Braum were – people that Illaoi respected for that.

But that was what the lunatic had waited for. With a quick gesture, she told Zyra to follow the instructions she had given her right then, and Zyra acted.

Vines burst forth from the ground right beneath Illaoi and curled around the ankles of the priestess, trapping her in place. At the same time, gigantic tendrils of seaweed exploded out of the water behind Illaoi and didn't wait a moment to strike.

But the plan was doomed to fail, and Jinx should've known.

Without even acting surprised, Illaoi turned her upper body and caught the first strike effortlessly with her free hand. Only had to pull once for the entire tendril of seaweed to rip in two, and with it in hand, the colossus of a woman swung it like a whip. It even made the characteristic cracking sound as it was swung through the air and hit the unprepared Zyra, burying her underneath and causing the earth to shake. And with Zyra defeated, the rest of the seaweed tendrils just collapsed, though the arms of Nagakabouros appeared to make extra sure of that.

Sand was whirled up when the large tendril of seaweed was brought down on the haunted beauty, and Jinx found herself forced to shield her eyes, unable to attack, let alone aim.

As it settled down, Zyra lay defeated on the ground, just conscious enough to keep the orb of vines around Yorick up, and Illaoi stood in the same spot as before, although she had put the Eye of God down to cross her muscular arms beneath her chest and laugh.

"Got to admit, that was a good plan! A gutsy move! I like it!" roared the woman in laughter, almost as if uncaring that she had just been attacked, "Had I been anyone else, it would've worked! Most likely!"

A snarl escaped the madwoman and she found herself baring her teeth at the powerful priestess. Cursed herself for having underestimated Illaoi. Now she was alone against the woman.

"So you think you are the one who should oppose your foolish sister? That you have what it takes to do whatever necessary? Even kill her?" inquired Illaoi, and much to Jinx's surprise, put a foot down on the Eye of God, leaned forward and rested an arm on her upper leg, "Tell me, do you still believe in the rules of nature?"

"I do." confirmed the madwoman. Glared at her opponent, much to Illaoi's amusement.

"Then let us settle this by your rules." chuckled the tall woman and flexed her muscles, "Consider this a test of strength. Defeat me, and I will let you pass. But know that I will not go easy on you. There is too much at stake for that."

The heavy gunner didn't answer to that. Instead, knowing that Illaoi was right, Jinx pointed Pow-Pow at her, which she had kept at her side and ready the entire time. And understanding the challenge Illaoi grinned.

Not waiting for the taller woman to do anything, the loose cannon instead hit the trigger of her mini-gun and let it come to life. Surprising Jinx, Illaoi took her foot off the Eye of God and stomped onto the ground, causing the orb to be thrown up into the air due to the effect of a massive shockwave, and followed with a jump that Jinx had not deemed possible – and that before Pow-Pow's ramp-up time was over, causing the bullets to miss their target entirely.

Though Jinx immediately pulled Pow-Pow up in an attempt to readjust her aim, the lunatic found herself forced to make a dash for it as the massive woman caught her Eye of God in midair and came falling down on the gunner with it.

The earth shook as Illaoi brought the Eye of God down on the location Jinx had occupied before. Earth and – to Jinx's surprise – droplets of water were whirled up by the impact, and when Illaoi turned to follow her opponent, a tentacle of Nagakabouros rose from the earth that had turned to liquid as the Eye of God was moved from it.

"Many gods are kind and gentle." quipped the tall woman at the disbelief in Jinx's eyes, "Mine isn't one of those. So be prepared, you who believe in the rules of nature."

No sooner than Illaoi had finished, the large tentacle came swinging down, forcing Jinx to dodge out of the way yet again. Almost hit, the resulting tremor had the lunatic stumbling, and when she recovered, Illaoi was already in a charge at her.

The swing with the idol of the priestess was blocked with Pow-Pow – the resulting sound hurt Jinx on an emotional level, as did seeing the huge dent on the bottom of the mini-gun in the aftermath – and spared her the damage, but it was so powerful that it nearly knocked the weapon from her hands. It took her every ounce of strength not to let the mini-gun go, but it yanked her entire body to the side, leaving her wide open.

The punch that Illaoi followed up with had Jinx reeling to the side. Pow-Pow fell from her hands as she twirled, world turning black for the slightest of moments – it returned just in time for her to catch herself.

Her jaw hurt. Throbbed. She felt sick, nauseous, and had the urge to vomit right on the spot.

Back in the day, such an attack would've been nothing for her. Countless times, Vi had hit her with her gauntlets, and Jinx had never felt as bad as she did then – back then, such an attack would've triggered her insanity. Her insanity had always been able to compensate. To drown out pain and sickness, and increase her own power.

Now that she was in control of it, it didn't work like that anymore. Even if she let herself go and let the madness take control of her and consume her, it no longer drowned these feelings out. No longer was her emergency solution for everything.

And yet, she allowed her insanity to seep through as she slowly recovered from the attack. Without Pow-Pow in hand, the mini-gun lying in the sand out of reach, her initial reaction was to reach for Fishbones, but she realized in time that it would be able to take a single attack with the idol, something that had already been hard for Pow-Pow.

Instead, she ducked it as Illaoi came in for another clothesline, exploiting her smaller size, and rolled past the priestess. She narrowly escaped it as Illaoi immediately came to a stop and swung her idol overhead as she turned, bringing it down on the ground behind here, and escaped the tentacle that rushed at her by dodging sideways.

Pulling Zap and leaning back – a bit further than intended, still not quite used to the additional weight of Vi's gauntlets on her back – out of the way of a punch, Jinx – with Illaoi within immediate range – pressed the barrel of the stun-gun into the priestess ribs.

The taller woman growled as electricity shot through her, but caught the lunatic off guard by taking the brunt of the electricity and still moving through it, swinging her extended arm back to hit the madwoman in the face with her elbow.

Pain spread through the gunner's face, her nose making a noise that Jinx was sure wasn't natural. It wasn't until she regained balance after stumbling a few steps that she could lift a hand to her face and check on her nose. Remained unsure if it was broken, but glared at the blood that her fingers were coated in as she lowered them.

Turning to Illaoi again, Jinx didn't even give the priestess time to realize that the stun-gun was already pointed at her again, pulled the trigger and unleashed a bolt of electricity.

While doing little to the massive woman, it at least threw her off balance during her charge and caused her stumble, giving the madwoman the chance to follow up. Switching Zap to her right hand, she quickly pulled her tonfa and let its electricity flare up with a fluid motion, and – holding it backhanded like a combat knife – jabbed the glowing tip into the large woman's side.

Illaoi grunted in response, but recovered quicker this time, getting used to the electricity far too quick for Jinx's taste. So fast, in fact, that Jinx was not prepared for it when Illaoi actually caught the electric tonfa with her palm the next time the lunatic struck, and instead slammed the idol into the madwoman.

Thrown backwards through the air, every bone in Jinx's body heard – even worse after the impact that followed, Zap and the tonfa named Saltsticks falling from her hands as numbness momentarily spread through her.

But she fought on. Pushed herself back up onto all fours and deactivated the tonfa, putting it back onto the hook on her lower leg. She fired a last shot with Zap at Illaoi as the priestess came charging at her, but seeing her just block it with the Eye of God, put the stun-gun away as well. These worked better against normal human enemies than against Illaoi, and most likely were useless against demons like Vi and Caitlyn had become.

No, she had a new plan. One that would put a lot of strain onto her, but at least even the odds against the massive priestess.

With a heavy sigh, Jinx unhooked Vi's gauntlets from her back. Seeing that, Illaoi actually stopped for a moment to frown at her, watching idly as the older Inks Sister let the gauntlets fall to the ground and got up onto her knees. She scowled at the Kraken Priestess, almost as if to blame her for what she was forced to do by her, but nonetheless slipped her hands back into the gauntlets too big for her.

With a whir, the hextech gauntlets came to life. Fingers already resting on the levers to power the Vault Breaker move, the lunatic gunner faced her powerful opponent again. But the effects of the gauntlets were immediate the moment she rose and lifted them off the ground – her arms hurt from the fight before already, and the additional strain on them wasn't doing them well.

And yet, she shifted in position. Copied what she had seen Vi use countless times over the years, both as opponent and ally. One gauntlet positioned in front of her lithe frame, the other above her head and ready to strike, she stared Illaoi down.

Smiling at her, Illaoi charged. Didn't expect Jinx to be capable of using the gauntlets as well as Vi did, and was right with it. Jinx wasn't as skilled in using them as Vi, carried them more as a memento than as a weapon.

But she knew how to use them. And while not as skilled or as long as Vi could, she had no problem using them at the same speed, and that was what Illaoi had clearly not taken into account. As the tall woman thrust the idol, her Eye of God, at Jinx, the lunatic just opened her left hand and – thanks to the energy built up – managed to catch the idol.

It pushed her back a bit, heels digging into the sand, but she absorbed most of the impact. And, moving her hand to the left and surprising Illaoi as she just shoved the idol to the side, Jinx finally got what she had aimed for all along – a hit powerful enough to actually hurt the priestess. Just had to swing the right hand forward in a punch that got a loud grunt out of the taller woman and drove her back, away from Jinx.

As she had hoped, they were on even terms now. For the moment. For as long as she could carry and use Vi's gauntlets.

Illaoi had a hand on her thorax when she stopped sliding backwards, heels dug deep into the sand. Jinx had landed a lucky hit and she knew that. And she was glad about that, as it had caught the tall priestess off guard and dealt quite a bit of damage, and one that the woman wouldn't be able to brush off just like that.

Of course, the electricity from before was partly to blame, a cheap victory should she manage to overcome Illaoi. Cause though the Kraken Priestess wasn't showing it, all of her muscles had to be sore after that much exposure to electricity, more susceptible to hurt, and reaction time slowed.

And that was what Jinx was counting on as she charged forward and directly at the scowling woman. She would've shot another bolt of electric energy for good measure beforehand, but the gauntlets were too large and unhandy for her to grab the small stun-gun or the electric tonfa.

Yet, she managed to land the hit. Illaoi had immediately got up as the madwoman charged, but hadn't lifted her idol fast enough to block the hit. Sliding backwards through the sand yet again towards the shore, the Kraken Priestess growled and bared her teeth. Lifted her idol and whispered something to it, then narrowed her eyes and let out a huff.

Went right back towards the loose cannon as if she hadn't just been hit square in the face, testament of her strength, defense and stamina. The idol began to glow in azure energy as Illaoi began to move again, Nagakabouros awoken within. All the more reason for Jinx to avoid it.

As such, rather than stepping forward to meet the priestess, Jinx let go of the levers inside the gauntlets to let the energy of the Vault Breaker dissipate rather than using it, and moved backwards as Illaoi jumped.

The glowing idol missed her thanks to the quick movement, azure streaks of energy only inches from her face, quick to fade in the fog. Rather than using the fact that Illaoi was wide open after that attack, Jinx took another step back to avoid taking the brunt of the next hit.

Having seen it coming, she instead turned her right hand and opened it, caught the second swing with the idol thanks to the gauntlet. Catching Illaoi off guard by pulling on it, Jinx got the taller woman to stumble towards her, turned and slipped past the idol, and then swung her elbow back into the chest of the Kraken Priestess.

Unlike Jinx before, the tall woman took the brunt of the hit and remained upright. Didn't do as much as flinch, and instead just took one hand off the idol to sock the loose cannon into the face now that she was in range.

Though reeling to the side, Jinx quickly recovered and faced the priestess. It quickly turned out to be the right thing to do, as Illaoi intended to follow up with a jump not quite unlike the first attack she had made, Eye of God held above her head as she came down on the madwoman.

What followed next surprised even the loose cannon herself, as she was unsure where exactly it came from – perhaps result of her madness, perhaps Vi's confidence residing in the gauntlets. Unlike before now armed with the gauntlets, Jinx didn't move out of the way, and instead just prepared for the impact of the strike. Pulled the lever in each and let the Vault Breaker charge.

As she caught the Eye of God with both gauntlets, that was. Though pulled down initially, she resisted and pulled her hands up – and promptly slammed the idol into the face of the priestess, taking her completely by surprise.

Dazed and nose bleeding much like that of Jinx, Illaoi stumbled backwards. Guard left down by accident because, this was a possibility that her opponent did not want to miss out on, and so the marksman-turned-fighter aimed. Scowled. Unleashed the force of the Vault Breaker she had built up.

Carried forward by the gauntlets much like when she had fought Rek'Sai only days before, but now prepared for the force, she charged at the stunned priestess. Pushed herself off the ground in a full body tackle, screamed – no, roared – as she hit the taller woman. Her right gauntlet came in contact with Illaoi's face. Curled around it. Lunacy took over the older Inks Sister.

And the next moment, she slammed the Kraken Priestess down on the sand at full force of a Vault Breaker.

Sand and dirt shot up into the air, limited the vision of the lunatic. Yet, she knew Illaoi was no longer beneath her gauntlet, a wave of sand rolling down the beach in a straight wave from her. A furrow, several inches deep, from the madwoman's feet to the water, separated the area before her. And Illaoi lay at the very end on her back, the Eye of God on her lap.

And was still moving, preparing to get up again.

Fury took over the lunatic. Baring her teeth, a snarl rolling in the back of her throat, she set into motion. Disengaged the gauntlets of her sister, arms long numb by then, and instead just charged blindly, fully consumed by desperation. Grabbed the discarded mini-gun as she passed it, eyes never leaving Illaoi as the woman rose.

A final jump, a cry out into the fog and the night, alerted the Kraken Priestess of the nearing threat. Had her swinging the idol at the height of her own head to stop the loose cannon in midair – and had her eyes widening in shock as Jinx landed in the sand just out of the idols reach.

Knees digging into the sand, the lunatic leaned back as she sled right underneath the Eye of God. And the next thing Illaoi knew was that an incredible pain spread through her midriff as the backside of a mini-gun slammed into her stomach.

All air forced out of her lungs and close to emptying the contents of her stomach right there and then, she felt her legs giving in. Let go of the idol with one hand to break her fall and suddenly found herself on one knee. She spat into the sand, hissed in both pain and rage as a wave came crashing in and encompassed her feet, her right leg and her right hand in cold water.

And as she rose her gaze to glare daggers at the loose cannon, stared down the barrel of a pink skull-faced Fishbones, the rocket loaded deep within pointed at her face.

Jinx stood sideways before her, the rocket launcher still horizontally across her lower back. One finger on the trigger, and just a simple twitch away from firing.

Lunacy was in the pink eyes of the madwoman, mixed with something that was unmistakably a deep, seething rage. The rain had started at some point during their battle, cold drops coming down upon them, a layer of rainwater upon their skins.

Lightning tore through the sky, illuminated the loose cannon's face. The madness. The abyssal anger.

They both were breathing heavily at that point. They both were far from okay, hurt all over. Both still had the power to go on, a reserve to tap into – be it lunacy and rage or the powers of a god. In the long run, Illaoi would prevail.

And with a deep chuckle, lowered her gaze.

"I admit defeat by your rules of nature." spoke the Kraken Priestess as her body quivered with laughter, "You've passed the test of strength and earned your right to move on. Try and save your foolish sister... or end this all before it escalates. Before the consequences become too great. Before it becomes a motion of downfall, for that is not the end the universe shall be moving toward by the teaching of Nagakabouros..."

Eyes still full of anger, Jinx kept staring at the fallen Kraken Priestess. Half expected her to get back up and take it back, even though well aware that Illaoi was a very honest person.

"But know that, if you will fail... Then I shall come to ensure that your foolish sister will be stopped."

Almost a full minute passed before the loose cannon finally took a step back. At first slow, gaze never leaving the Kraken Priestess, she turned her body so that Fishbones was no longer pointed at her former opponent. And then, eventually, turned completely away. Had gauntlets to pick up. Gear to set in place. A final showdown to prepare for.

"The jester has been released long ago, but he chose to move to another place. You will most likely not see him again."

By the time that she returned to where the boat stood, Illaoi had vanished in the fog. Where to, Jinx didn't know, and didn't question. The Kraken Priestess was always in motion as by the teachings of her god, always following her desires and wishes.

At some point, Zyra had lost consciousness and had released Yorick from his thorny prison. But all the untalkative gravedigger did upon seeing her approach was to grunt and to climb back in the boat, almost as if displeased that their departure had been delayed.

For all Jinx could care, he could go and dig himself a hole somewhere, as long as he ferried them to the Shadow Isles.

This could no longer wait. If even Nagakabouros was after Vi, then the damage done was already of a too great scale. Then her duty as the self-proclaimed Slayer was getting more and more inevitable by the second.

She grabbed the unconscious Zyra and threw the taller woman over her shoulder. Was too numb and exhausted to even feel her weight anymore, pure will and routine driving her on.

Felt the scowl upon her own face as she stepped into the boat to the ferryman, her jaw hurting from being clenched, but found herself unable to do anything against it. Was stuck with the scowl upon her face that was the only thing that could reflect how she felt on the inside.

As they finally set into motion, Zyra lying unconscious on the floor to Jinx's feet and Yorick standing at the back of the vessel, Jinx sat near the front and had Pow-Pow on her lap. Observed the damage done to her friend.

Her mind was elsewhere.

And soon swallowed by the fog...

---

"She's up there."

Zyra frowned over to the Slayer. Ever since reaching the Shadow Isles, Jinx had kept nearly completely silent, never starting a conversation herself, and answering only in grunts. It had driven Zyra mad, but the Slayer had not even cared in the slightest for that.

And now, after hours of what the haunted beauty had thought of as aimless walking – since Jinx had not told her anything – from the shore to the Twisted Treelines, Jinx suddenly spoke up, and her first words were these.

Here, at the bottom of a tower of gray stone that reached into heaven well beyond the tree tops.

"What makes you say that?" inquired the haunted plant-woman with a sigh and crossed her arms beneath her chest, "For all we know, Vi could be anywhere in the Shadow Isles."

The madwoman turned her head and frowned at the haunted beauty at her side, almost as if she didn't understand the question. For a moment, the two of them were silent, just observing each other.

And then, Jinx slowly nodded.

"I don't know for sure myself." spoke the loose cannon and turned to face the tower, slowly rose her gaze until she could see the top of the tower against the gloomy sky, "But I just know she's up there. I feel it. Both her and Caitlyn, high above the earth, watching from their throne in the sky..."

Her gaze sunk, followed the mighty tower down to the base and eventually came to rest on the huge double door. Thrown wide open and left that way, a bad feeling struck Jinx. The bad feeling that they weren't the first ones here, not the first ones that had come to hunt down the enforcer that had turned demon.

She balled her hands to shaking fists, fearing about her sister's wellbeing being at stake. Even then, when they were enemies. Even when there was nothing left of her sister in that demonic shell. And it wouldn't change until the end.

"Let's go."

They set into motion, Jinx leading the attack. With her Slayer Gear at the ready and the enforcer's gauntlets on her back, with all of her determination gathered up and all her emotions kept at bay.

The Slayer was the first one to enter the building through the wide open doors, leaving the gloomy forest behind in favor of the dark interior of the tower, with Zyra directly on her heels.

It was surprisingly cold inside the tower, that was the first thing that went through the madwoman's mind as she made the first steps inside, each echoing through the building. The wind howled above her head, as if loud and unrelentingly fighting against the very existing of the stone collossus.

A quick glance up should explain why that was the case however, revealing that the tower was nearly completely hollow on the inside. Only a simple stone staircase spiraled its way up to the very top, windows along the wall that explained the howling of the wind. But that wasn't what caught the Slayer's eye – it was a cage-like structure that hung halfway up the tower.

It wasn't empty.

Something – no, someone – was inside. Fighting. Clashing. It was too dark for her to make out who it was, but she could make out two voices that echoed around – one clearly female, and the other voice male. Feral. Not human.

Her hand wandered to Pow-Pow by itself. A simple and short glance thrown to Zyra to confirm that the haunted Rise of Thorns had noticed it as well, then Jinx started for the stairs. There would be no further delays. Anything thrown at them would be met head-on and taken care of, no matter the cost, no matter the consequences. No matter who fell and what would happen – Jinx would continue until the end now.

And if she had to defy death to get to the very end – once more, that was – then so be it.

Each of her steps up the stairs was heavy and definite, Zyra's right behind her much more delicate and light. She could barely hear them, drowned out by her own that caused the old and flawed stairs to crack. Yet, she never feared that they would break beneath her, knew they were too solid for that.

Until the tower shook all of sudden.

Though Zyra immediately froze up and hugged the wall, Jinx had no such doubt. If anything, it encouraged her to go even faster, encouraged her to unleash her insanity and have it flood her mind.

Vi knew she was there. As much as she felt that Vi was above her, her sister knew she was now ascending the tower.

Therefore, Jinx was not even surprised as drops of violet light fell from above in even distance to one another. And as the lights hit the stairs and turned into small puddles, Jinx pulled her tonfa from her leg. Shook it to activate the electricity, bared her teeth as she took four steps at once.

And slay the minion that surfaced from the puddle before her in a single strike.

Rising from the crouched position she had landed in, the loose cannon allowed herself to glare up and down the tower. Take in the countless minions that had spawned between halfway up the tower and the very bottom.

Considering that she was about in the middle of these two points, she had an even amount of enemies in front of her and behind her. Seeing the latter charge up the stairs to follow her, and that the other ones were patiently waiting for her to get to them, the lunatic made a choice.

"Zyra! You take care of the ones down there!" bellowed the lunatic as she fell into a charge again, saw the Rise of Thorns a floor beneath her on the other side of the tower, "I'll see what's up with the cage!"

The electric tonfa slammed into the face of a minion, the magical construct bursting apart into the same energy it had been made from, but Jinx didn't stop her charge. Whirled up the violet particles of magic like a swarm of fireflies on a warm summer night.

But this was no summer night. There was nothing pleasant about this night, which may as well be the last night of her life. No quiet walk through the warm darkness of the park, chasing fireflies as the two lovebirds sat underneath a tree by the lake. Never again would she share such a happy memory with her sister and Caitlyn. Never again experience it.

All the things they'd given her. All the things they've experienced.

She was to take that happiness from them, and it was the reason that warm tears flew from her eyes as she fought her way through the minions.

In a fit of rage, she threw the tonf – once a present from Piltover's Finest, now a painful reminder of the past – a at a minion and watched it dissipate into nothingness. Pulled Pow-Pow and nearly wrecked the trigger as she pulled it through long before having detached the weapon from her hip.

Bullets littered the wall and the steps as she swung the weapon around, countless of the minions ahead falling victim to her. A warcry echoed through the tower, one she made sure that Vi would hear. One she wanted everyone to hear it freeze up in fear, thinking that something new had been born from the shadows.

Why couldn't things ever be simple and clean? Why?

The barrels were still spinning as she continued up the tower, picked the tonfa back up, everything in her way taken care of. She came closer to the cage with every step, and could finally – through puffy, blood-stained eyes that were still leaking tears – see inside. See who was fighting, who the fast-moving silhouettes inside were.

True to her suspicion, one of them was not even human. A Voidborn that she heard about before, and had no doubt was now controlled by Vi's demonic influence. Kha'Zix, the mantis-like beast striving to evolve through assimilation. A purple beast that lured into traps and attacked from behind.

His opponent was another predator, one home to the Shadow Isles. Dressed in red, a mask not unlike that of a ceremony on top of her silvery hair, fingers ending in sharp blue claws and additional legs protruding from her back, this was Elise, the Spider Queen with the entrancing beauty of the Blood Moon.

She had seen better days, Jiinx could tell that even through the darkness. Her pale skin was covered in wounds, part of them older than just a few hours, already partially healed. She looked angry, outright furious, her beautiful features distorted in blind rage.

And knowing that Elise held grudges and never forgot a single wrongdoing against her, Jinx had a hunch as to what had the Spider Queen of the Blood Moon in such a fury.

Still jumped into the cage the moment she got the chance, weapon drawn and directed at Kha'zix.

"Don't get in my way, fool." hissed the Spider Queen, had only a simple gaze to spare for the lunatic at her side, "Run as far as your feet can carry you if you don't want to meet the same fate I will have your precious enforcer let befall once I'm done with this cursed... "

Kha'Zix jumped all of sudden, wings spread and blades at the ready, aimed at the Queen of the Blood Moon – a mistake. His mistake.

The barrel and engine of Pow-Pow were still warm, and Jinx didn't even have to remove it from her waist to aim and pull the trigger. A shot from the hip, just a single volley of bullets, and the once so powerful predator hit the ground and bounced off it, wings full of holes as he rolled past the queen and the gunner.

And seeing him hit the edge of the cage with his wings being crippled, the Spider Queen let out an offended huff and stepped up to him. Kicked him out of the cage, and watched the straight descent of the Voidborn down the tower, the corner of her mouth twitching with every time he hit the stair.

Finally, a chuckle rolling in the back of her throat, she turned to Jinx – and the smile fell as she saw that the mini-gun was now pointed at her.

"You misunderstand, spider, when you think that I'm here to help Vi." warned the lunatic and shook her gun threateningly, but her voice was distant, lacking the emotion she kept at bay, "Quite the opposite, actually. If anything, there'll be only one of two outcomes once I'll go up there – either I'll manage to turn her back, or I'll slay her."

Elise bared her fangs as Jinx kept the weapon pointed at her, narrowed her eyes at Jinx with all the intensity of her grudges.

"I'm way late already, and I'm not going to waste any more time with you." snarled Jinx, then surprised Elise by pulling the mini-gun down and turning to look past her, to where Zyra had just caught up to them, "Either you'll help us now, or I'm ensuring you won't get in the way."

Pow-Pow was placed back onto its hook on her waist, ignoring the warmth of the engine and the smoke pouring from the exhaust pipes. She cast a last glare at Elise, but then roughly pushed past her and jumped from the cage back to the stairs where Zyra waited.

And, growling and rolling her eyes, Elise followed.

"Fine. I don't care." growled the Spider Queen with fangs bared, "As long as I get my reign back that she took from me, and get to show her the consequences of her actions!"

The lunatic paid the Spider Queen no mind and started to ascend the stairs anew. Knowing Zyra would follow right away – after they had come so far, the haunted Rise of Thorns would not turn back – and suspecting that Elise was going to cooperate, she didn't turn back. Never would again. The goal was there, within reach, and she'd be damned if she let that chance to get closure go.

"She's a usurper! Has chased me off my own throne and banished me from my lands to start her reign of terror!" continued Elise as they ascended the stairs to the roof, "I don't know where she's got this much power from, and I don't care, but it has even me intimidated to think of what she's done since entering this realm."

Jinx sped further up. Didn't want to hear it, fearing it would weaken her resolve or perhaps intimidate her as well. But Elise didn't notice. Didn't care, the selfish seductress just carried on to vent her anger.

"I'm not sure who fell first. All I know is that she's defeated powerful beings such as Vel'Koz and even Mordekaiser. She and that freaky hussy of hers." Elise sent a glance towards Zyra to her right, who frowned in shock, "They even dared to attack and hurt Vilemaw! For that, I will behead them myself and sacrifice them to..."

"Shut it, spider." threatened Jinx over her shoulder, final steps leading up to a skylight in sight, "Shut up, or I will shut you up."

A hand went for her belt, pulling two Flame Chompers from it and priming them with a small delay in between. She threw the first one at the skylight, then already prepared for the second one – and as the first exploded and tore the skylight apart, she threw the second one through the fire and the smoke. Wanted the element of surprise on her side, to the extent that was possible with Vi already aware of their presence.

But as she dove through the explosion of the first Flame Chomper and landed on the roof, she found the second one a bit ahead of her, floating in midair through the power of a violet orb of energy. And, almost as if having waited for her to see it, the Flame Chomper was thrown off the tower and exploded in the distance.

And then, Vi's chilling laughter.

Straight from where Jinx stood, at the other side of the otherwise completely flat roof, was a slightly elevated platform, upon which a stone throne stood. And upon this very throne, grinning to herself, the demon that Vi had become.

One of her now massive elbows – lower arms having turned into statue-like claws of massive size that explained why the former enforcer of Piltover no longer carried her gauntlets – was resting on the armrest and her chin in her palm.

Once pink hair had turned chalk-white, skin a deep sickly pink, and once blue eyes were now a burning orange – as orange as the goggles that hung around her neck. Massive horns protruded from her forehead, leathery wings spread from her back, and teeth were now that of a carnivore – the demon that Vi had become was undeniable.

She radiated something sinister and overpowering, intimidating, something that had Jinx stare and unable to get the comparison of a powerful king out of her mind. A demon clad in leather pants and jacket, showing off her abs and cleavage without any shame.

Lying across the 'Demon King's' lap, head resting on the empty armrest of the throne and legs placed on Vi's demonic arm, was what Jinx identified to have once been Caitlyn. Looked similar to what Vi had become, had skin and long hair of the same colors, arms much sleeker in design and covered in scales, and wore a dark armor that had several orange gems placed into it at neck, midriff, the crown of horns upon her head and her sides. Carried her rifle, warped by the demonic energy she radiated. Flashed one of her pointy fangs at the older Inks, something akin to lust in her topaz eyes.

A seductive giggle resounded as the former sheriff moved upon her beloved's lap. Lolled upon it in a way that had Jinx retch at the though that this succubus had once been Caitlyn.

The memories of these two and the image that was that that moment before her – there was nothing that connected them for Jinx. Different times, different people. All three of them.

"So the three of us are finally reunited." spoke Vi, and Jinx shuddered at the echo to her sister's voice, the sadistic pleasure she could hear residing within every word, "The missing one finally has found her way here. We've missed you dearly, Jay."

From the smoke behind Jinx, Zyra and Elise emerged and joined their associate. Shifted into combat stances, ready to take on the two demons that waited at the other end of the roof. But with the single movement of her arm, the loose cannon had them both stand down – it wasn't time yet. There was still a chance.

"Why, monster?" growled the loose cannon with resolve, narrowed her eyes at what had once been her sister, "So you could ultimately shatter my world?"

"Is it not apparent that I want you at our side? My sister, in the flesh?" quipped the Demon back, and Jinx scowled at the word 'sister'. That this things was even daring to insinuate it was Violet, her sister. It was wearing her skin, that may be true, but it was not Violet. Would never be.

"Sister? At 'our side'?" repeated the Slayer with a snort of disdain and disgust, ignoring the faint surprise on Elise's face, who only now learned of their relation, "You stole Caitlyn's soul and made her your slave!"

"Is that so, Jay?" inquired Demoness Caitlyn in a hauntingly alluring voice, soft and perfect lips moving ever so slightly with every whispered word, "Has she really claimed my soul, or just stolen my heart?"

The madwoman bared her teeth in response, couldn't believe this was a conversation she was having with Caitlyn, of all people. What was supposedly Caitlyn, and might have been at one point.

Now, just another poor soul under Vi's demonic influence.

And Vi knew what she had done. Was absolutely aware of all the things she had done, and she was proud of it, Jinx could tell just by seeing the demon's lips curl up at her beloved's words. Of the misery and pain she brought with her actions. Of the emotional pain even the little things did to the Slayer.

When Jinx had decided against her, against becoming a demon, Vi had made it her personal mission to destroy everything that the loose cannon stood for with an absolute indulgence. That much was apparent even to Jinx as she finally stood before the demons. Or perhaps had known all along, but denied it.

Either way, she slowly pulled Pow-Pow from its hook. Glared as Vi rose an eyebrow in fake curiosity. Continued to grin, even as Vi rose her right hand and – surprisingly gentle considering the size of it – placed a single finger beneath Caitlyn's chin. Gently rose the sheriff's gaze, and kissed her on the lips.

Short, sensual, a display of affection that Jinx wasn't foreign to seeing from Vi and Caitlyn – and yet so different from the two. A longing, a want, a need in it that was unnatural for the two. That had Jinx disgusted as they broke apart, but only served to amuse the former enforcer and sheriff.

And then, slowly, Caitlyn got up from Vi's lap. Spread her wings as she got up and slowly descended the stairs, stretched her arms high above her head and giggled like the seductress she had become.

But Jinx just made sure to keep Pow-Pow pointed at her. At least until Caitlyn claimed her spot at the bottom of the stairs, a little off to the side, arms crossed beneath her chest and a sickeningly sweet smile upon her lips – as, at that moment, Vi moved.

It was only a small movement, the demon lifting her chin from her palm and slowly shifting into an upright sitting position, but it had Jinx immediately switch targets.

"Anyway... Welcome to my tower, Jay." chuckled the demon, amusement and mirth in the burning furnace that her eyes were, "The place from where I will begin my reign. I'm so glad you could make it."

"This tower is mine!" bellowed the Spider Queen to Jinx's left and took a step forward, anger in her eyes, "This is one of the many sacred places of Vilemaw, and you just claimed it for yourself, usurper!"

In response, Vi just chuckled even lower, but slowly rose from her throne. With her claws catching alight in crimson energy, eyes that looked down upon Elise, she slowly rose to her full height. Lighting flashed all of sudden in the distance, purple and unnatural, and Jinx felt it was the demon's doing. That she was summoning up a storm of malicious energy as she stood proud and tall before her throne, lowly laughing to herself.

"You have amused me long enough, Elise. To defy me with such petty ambition..." sneered Vi and took a step forward, energy surging within her demon claws, "How very pathetic."

The Spider Queen let out an enraged gasp at the demon's words, and though she took a step back in what she would never admit to be fear, she kept scowling at the woman atop the stairs. The woman that slowly took a few steps to the side, taking her gaze away from her sister's group to stare out into the distance.

"Isn't it funny?" she continued and listened to the sounds of the nearing storm, "That the wind only carries one thing for certain? Burning heat that sears the world, frigid cold that drains all life. No matter where you go in this world, the wind will always carry one and the same thing..." her head turned, a sinister smile upon her lips that would've made Shaco proud, "Death."

She turned and walked into the other direction, rose her demonic hands to shrug and chuckle.

"No matter where you go in this world, no matter where you turn... The ruin and the suffering will be there. The wind knows no bounds."

She stopped before her throne and turned, burst into a dark laughter that had the Slayer's group feel a cold shiver going down their spines. And though Jinx had kept Pow-Pow pointed at Vi all along, the demon managed to catch her off guard – suddenly thrusting a hand into their direction, Vi's eyes ignited in orange energy.

"WINDS THAT ARE NOW AT MY COMMAND!"

The winds picked up, a breeze becoming a storm within a second. A demonic force was being unleashed, a gigantic and constant wave of power coming from Vi, malicious winds suddenly hitting Jinx and her two associates at a force that had the loose cannon dig her heels into the ground in a hope to stop herself from being pushed backward. In order to shield her eyes, she had to take a hand off her weapon, could only snarl at the constant pressure in the air that was slowly draining away her power to fight against the winds.

"It was foolish of you to come here, Jay, thinking that you could change me!" roared Vi over the howling of wind. In response, the loose cannon lowered the arm shielding her eyes, just enough to glare ahead, scowled at the demon that had once been her sister. The hollow shell that vaguely resembled Vi, eyes pouring orange energy in the sea of violet winds being unleashed.

"That not enough, Jay? You need another taste of my power? Whaddaya say, Cait, want me to show them?"

The Slayer was helpless to watch as Caitlyn – giggling - stepped in front of Vi, unaffected by the demonic force, and suddenly took over for the demonic enforcer. For only a second, the winds stopped, the Slayer stumbling forward as the force tearing at her faded - and then returned, pushed her back again. And while considerably weaker than the power that Vi had emitted before, it was still enough for Jinx to be frozen in place. For every movement of the loose cannon to be slow and draining, not even able to pull a weapon.

And watch as Vi, standing behind Caitlyn, slowly rose the same hand as before over her head.

The crimson energy from before changed at that moment. Leaking from the demon's claw, it no longer just encompassed it, but instead completely drifted away from it, only to be sucked towards a spot above Vi's palm.

It was too late that Jinx realized what her demonic sister was about to do. With a sudden flash, the orb of orange energy came to being above Vi's palm, and the demon wasted no second in throwing it.

It tore through the air, flew past Caitlyn, and was headed straight for them. Gathering every bit of power she had, Jinx forced her arm to sink back down to Pow-Pow and grab the weapon with both hands, but the drain had her panting in pain and paralyzed by then. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins, every heartbeat getting considerably harder than the one before. Still fought against it, despite knowing it was going to be her downfall if she kept doing that.

Then, Zyra screamed. Was hit by the orb that Vi had thrown, encompassed in the orange energy as it exploded upon impacting with the haunted Rise of Thorn's chest, gone from Jinx's peripheral vision as orange lightning tore through the air.

The last thing that Jinx ever saw of Zyra was how the Rise of Thorns, barely conscious, was thrown off the tower.

No sooner than that, the demonic force stopped tearing at the Slayer and the Spider Queen. Had both of them falling forward, Elise even hitting the floor on all fours. Not wasting a second, Elise threw up right there and then, not caring how unladylike it was. And Jinx understood completely, as though she had remained upright, she found it hard to breath and herself unable to do as much as make a single sound.

Yet, the first thing she did was to turn her head and stare to where she had last seen Zyra.

"Oh, don't worry, she'll be fine." quipped Vi and chuckled maliciously, "She'll survive it, the trees will break her fall."

A scream tore through the air, one that Jinx was very familiar with. A rasp, a screech, the sound of earth being torn.

"And Rek'Sai will break her spine." added the demonic enforcer with a movement of her claw, "I was so thoughtful as to move her here for this reunion of ours."

Slowly turning back to face her sister and Caitlyn, the Slayer scowled. Cast a short glance to Elise to ensure that she was alright and already recovering, but then took a deep breath and glared directly into Vi's eyes. Sneered, much to the enforcer's confusion.

"No, Vi... Don't you worry." spoke the loose cannon as she slowly recovered from the unexpected onslaught herself, "Zyra doesn't even have a spine to break. She lacks a backbone just as much as you."

The enforcer didn't take too kindly at the mockery. Having turned into a demon, her already short temper had been cut even further, and Jinx still got that short fuse lit like no other. Something that Jinx counted on to be true until the very end, no matter if human or demon or whatever.

So, as Vi slowly rose a hand above her head again, Jinx didn't even find herself surprised. Caitlyn cocked her head in surprise, but didn't say anything as she stepped to the side, allowed the sisters to face another.

"You seem to still not know your place, Jay!" yelled Vi over the sound of the energy gathering above her hand, "Maybe you need another taste of my powers to understand your position – its either joining me, or falling here tonight!"

Vi swung her hand down, threw the energy again as she yelled, and Jinx stared into the face of danger with determination and confidence. Unwavering, a bastion of calm, she never dared to blink.

What had Illaoi said before? What had she asked? Whether or not Jinx was still trusting in the rules of nature? The struggle between the strong and the weak, the endless cycle between the hunter and the prey?

Then, she had answered – without hesitating for the slightest of seconds – that she indeed still did. Had been confident that there was nothing else as definite as these rules, nothing as set into set as these from the very moment that life had come into existence.

And now, at the end of her journey, at the point that Illaoi had warned her of, the answer was more definite than ever.

She still believed in them.

With a mighty roar, both hands around Pow-Pow's handle, she swung the mini-gun at the orb. Precisely aimed, the blades at the barrels slashed into the demonic energy. Stabbed into it and carried it along as Jinx rotated around her own axis, and was only released as she pulled the trigger and fired a bullet into it.

Unable to have foreseen this, Vi was caught off guard as her own orb of demonic energy came flying back at her. And though Caitlyn, quick as ever, reacted and threw herself in front of her beloved, she was just a tad too slow.

The orb flew past her and hit its owner. Set free orange lightning upon impact that tore through stone and had part of the roof collapsing. A bolt of lighting grazed Caitlyn, the former sheriff of Piltover screeching as her right arm got caught up in the electricity and sent her reeling sideways and falling off the stairs. And Vi, taking the brunt of the orb, was thrown backwards into her own throne. Shattered it and sent rubble flying.

But it was still far from over. Was only the beginning of the end, and Jinx knew that even before Caitlyn slowly picked herself up.

To make the best of the situation, the Slayer hurried to the side of the fallen Spider Queen. Grabbed Elise's shoulders and quickly helped her up to her feet. And though the seductress didn't look perfectly fine, she at least had recovered for the most part.

"How do you feel?" inquired Jinx as she dusted her associate her off, though the Spider Queen quickly slapped her hands away. Which the Slayer considered to be a good sign, as the other woman seemed to be able to fight on if she could do that much.

"It's not how she feels now that you should be worried about, Jay. It's about how she'll feel once we're done with you two..."

Turning around to face the throne again, Jinx scowled as she found her sister crawling out of the rubble already. And the demon didn't look any happier than before, that for sure. Rolled her shoulders and her neck as she climbed to her feet, throwing rubble aside with a single movement of her arm, crimson energy pouring out in a shockwave that rolled across nearly half the tower.

"So it seems your answer is definite, Jay!" bellowed the enforcer, breathing heavy in pure anger, chest rising and falling, "You turned against me! I didn't want it to be that way, but fine! I can deal with that. I can live with that."

She rose her left hand and pointed at the Slayer, giving a silent command to her beloved that Caitlyn followed without hesitation, throwing herself into the direction of the heavy gunner with claws and wings extended.

"The question is – can you?!"

Jinx pulled Pow-Pow back up and pointed it ahead, finger already on the trigger and pulling it just enough for the barrels to start spinning and the engine to roar up. It surprised Vi, who had not expected Jinx to be willing to shoot Caitlyn – but that was before Elise tackled into the demonic sniper and knocked the rifle out of her hands.

And with the two out of the way, Jinx had no obstacles between her and Vi. And with Pow-Pow already spinning at full speed, it fired immediately upon Jinx pulling the trigger all the way through.

Barely in time, some of the bullets going past her defense and hitting her body, the enforcer-turned-demon moved her gigantic forearms in front of her, using them like a shield. And seeing the red gems in her sister's forearms light up, the Slayer quickly pulled Pow-Pow down and jumped out of the way.

A second later, a powerful laser rolled over the stone and ripped through the roof.

"So that's the rules we'll be playing by, huh, Jay?" growled the demon and watched as Jinx slowly picked herself off the ground, "Fine. If that's how you want to start this game, I'm in."

The demon slowly descended the stairs that led up to where her throne had once been. Spread her wings – if to intimidate the Slayer, then it failed – and bared her teeth in a nasty smirk that the loose cannon was sure wasn't in amusement.

"I'm in an exceptionally good mood tonight, seeing as the three of us are together again." continued Vi and shrugged, "To celebrate the new reign I'm going to start, let's play by your rules one last time."

"You misunderstand, Vi."

The demon perked up as her sister countered immediately, found herself stumped as Jinx put both hands onto Pow-Pow and approached her without the slightest hint of fear in her eyes. Without the slightest hint of any emotion.

"There's not going to be the start of anything tonight." spoke the Slayer resolute as she was, didn't even send a glance to the other side of the roof where Caitlyn and Elise were fighting, "Quite the opposite, as there will only be the end of something tonight."

Vi charged forward, unsure of where this conversation was going, and not intent on finding out. To her further surprise, the punch she had aimed at her sister's face missed and she ended up stumbling into the Slayer instead as Jinx leaned out of the way. Pow-Pow slammed into her side, the enforcer lost her balance and fell.

"Tonight, it ends..." Vi turned her head in confusion at her sister's words, found the Slayer walking towards her almost as if it was a walk through the park, "Tonight, we end."

Again, Vi charged, but Jinx pulled Pow-Pow up in time to not block the punch, but actually knock Vi's fist up into the air with enough force for the demon to stumble backwards. A surge of rage flashed over the face of the Slayer and Jinx took a hand off the mini-gun to punch her younger sister into the face directly.

Rushed off her feet, the enforcer fell over and hit the ground. Bounced off it, but managed to regain her balance with a flap of her leathery wings, landing on her feet and digging one claw into the ground in an attempt to stop herself.

"I never wanted it to come this far!" bellowed Jinx as she followed and swung Pow-Pow like a battering ram. It missed, Vi pushing herself off the ground in a jump, kicked the loose cannon into the face and landed again as Jinx stumbled backwards, holding her face. "I never wanted us to reach this point..."

Slowly, Jinx rose to her full height again. Searched and found, left cheek red and swollen from the kick, the gaze of her sister. A dry chuckle escaped her.

"So, at least tell me... What was it that changed you, Vi? Was it the horrible dreams? The stench of blood you've grown to love?" whispered the gunner, then averted her gaze and sighed, "And does it even matter?"

Vi wasn't going to answer and wasn't going to let her continue, let crimson energy envelop her hands and dashed for her only sibling. But having expected this, Jinx twisted her body, caught Vi off guard once again by directing the remodeled Fishbones at her and pulling the rocket launcher's trigger without even taking it off her back.

A single rocket burst from the skull-shaped barrel and howled as it soared through the air. An explosion shook the roof of the tower, more parts of the already badly damaged floor falling as the ball of fire enveloped Vi.

As it faded, the demon was on all fours and panting. Snarling.

"It isn't even you anymore!" bellowed Jinx at the fallen demon, an accusation that shocked even the Slayer herself. But it had her calming down a bit again, had her slowly relaxing and eventually slowly shaking her head. "There's not going to be any winner tonight."

The demon slowly rose her gaze and bared her fangs at the heavy gunner, a hiss not quite unlike that of a snake escaping her. Fury resided within her orange eyes, strands of white hair hanging into her face. But Jinx just chuckled.

"You know, Violet, I never thought it would be you who lost it first." the amusement in the lunatic's voice was scarce, "That last sliver of humanity we had."

With a roar, the enforcer threw herself at Jinx, lured into a false sense of security again. Ran straight into the barrels of Pow-Pow and cursed as they dug into her stomach. Screamed as the blades penetrated her skin and as hot metal singed her flesh.

"For years, our game of cat and mouse dragged on. Of the hunter and the prey." Jinx ducked it as Vi swung her arm at the height of her head, "And I was the one hunted!"

Just in time to avoid having a mini-gun with blades drill a hole through her waist, Vi stepped back and removed the blades from her abs. Still got hit by the hail of bullets, though they failed to penetrate her demonic skin. Stopped again.

Orange-glowing boiling blood, almost like magma, stained the floor to the enforcer's feet, testament of her loss of humanity. And as Vi laid a hand onto her wound, Jinx just stared down at the blood. Eyes were empty and dark.

"Tonight, it's different." the Slayer's gaze rose her gaze and met that of her panting sister, "Tonight, I'm the one hunting you down."

As the Slayer shook her weapon, more of the boiling blood splattered onto the ground. The blades at the front of Pow-Pow were stained in a deep glowing orange. And Vi growled like the feral beast she had become.

"But is what I'm saying even reaching you anymore?" Jinx stepped forward again, immediately having the demon back on her feet, "Do you even have enough mind left to understand me?"

"I understand you just fine." snarled the demon, taking the insult personal, "Fuck you."

To Vi's displeasure, this only got a laugh out of Jinx. The madwoman threw her head back at the weak counter – this wasn't Vi, Vi was witty and sarcastic! - and laughed for her heart's content. A dry, chilling laughter that had even the demon uncomfortable.

"Is there any point left in talking to you? Trying to reach what I still believe is in you?" inquired the woman with the once electric-blue hair, "Or is it foolish of me to believe that you aren't completely gone? That, just for once, I'm actually having hope?"

Vi didn't answer. Stared. Actually felt something deep inside her act up at these words. Jay - Jinx? Feeling something akin to hope? The same woman that had, years before, claimed that she had long blown the last candle of hope out?

"That's what I thought." sighed the lunatic and lowered her gaze and weapon in sadness, "You don't have to say anything, I can see it in your eyes."

She turned away from the demon. Actually turned her back to it and watched the fight between Elise and Caitlyn on the other side of the roof. Watched as Elise was losing badly, but didn't care enough to actually step in. That was the fight of the Spider Queen and her own undoing, not that of the Slayer.

"Or perhaps, it's best to say that I don't see it anymore, Vi." she turned to glance over her shoulder to where Vi was still standing, staring as if she didn't quite understand, "That was defined you is gone."

Growling, the words triggering her again, Vi activated her newly found demonic powers again. Slammed one of her claws down on the ground in fury and sent a wave of energy at Jinx that way, but the Slayer just sidestepped and aimed Pow-Pow at her again. Knew that the moment of peace was over again.

"Shut up!" bellowed the demon, but Jinx just began to shake her head again. And seeing her doing it, Vi no longer understood – all this power she had now, all this might! She had defeated enemies of incredible strength, easily had brought even Mordekaiser to his knees and had hurt the false god Vilemaw!

And yet she couldn't squash Jinx like the annoying little bug she was?! Even outmatched by a mere human woman?

"There was once strength and kindness in your brilliant blue eyes. But even that is no more." proceeded Jinx, completely ignoring Vi's fury, "The orange that now looks at me is that of a being lusting for absolute destruction. Hell burns in your eyes."

Vi charged. Lured by the words, provoked by Jinx, pushed off the ground to end it. End the torture. End the confusion. End everything.

Was promptly tripped by Jinx slamming Pow-Pow's barrels into her legs. Fell and hit the floor in a painful roll, roared in pain as she landed on her own wing and bent it in a way it shouldn't be.

"And it's entirely your fault! You let that in there! You let it control you!" now Jinx was getting angry as well, let a wrathful gaze meet an equally wrathful gaze of the enforcer, pointed at her own forehead, "Was it really worth the cost?!"

She swung Pow-Pow at Vi, and while missing with the blades hit the demon with the engine into the face. Watched Vi roll over the floor, only the be caught off guard by a shockwave. Thrown backwards as well, the Slayer hissed as she hit the ground on her knees. As the friction ripped her pants and left deep cuts on her knees.

Lifting her gaze, one hand already on the floor to push her up, she didn't expect to find Vi directly in front of her. The enforcer's face was bruised, orange blood running from a deep gash across her tattoo. Wrath was still in her eyes, now more than ever.

The punch across the face had Jinx flying again. Falling. Hitting the ground more than once, pain spreading through her fragile frame. Pow-Pow was gone from her hands when the world stopped spinning, and blindly, she groped around for it with her right arm, the left only numb and unresponsive. Couldn't find it right away and instead got up onto the three limbs that worked.

A heavy boot hit her into the side and sent her rolling again. Growling in pain.

On all fours – sans the right arm – again, staring at the ground and panting heavily, blood dripped from her lips. Blood she wasn't sure of where it was coming from, if from an internal injury or just from accidentally biting her lip during the last attack.

Turning her head, she found Vi standing right next to her and staring down at her, Pow-Pow on the ground just beyond her. No way that she could get past the demon to pick it back up. Not just like that.

But she had more weapons, some even unconventional to use but not without their use.

And so, as Vi pulled her leg back for another kick, the lunatic pulled her final Flame Chomper and primed it with her teeth. And as the chomping began, she slammed the metal set of teeth into the demon's leg.

Vi howled out in pain as the metal dug through the leather of her pants and into her leg. Careless for a second, this allowed the Slayer to throw herself against Vi's legs and knock the demon over and flat onto her face.

The path to the mini-gun with blades free, Jinx threw herself forward and landed atop it, took it with her as she rolled. Used it to push herself up, numbness of her right arm leaving only slowly, and glanced to the demon that was slowly getting up as well. Bleeding worse than before from her stomach.

"See what you force us to do?" panted the Slayer in disgust, spat blood onto the ground, "See where you've lead us?!"

She stumbled to her feet, weak and nauseous, legs struggling to work. Couldn't support all the weight anymore. And in anger, she reached over her shoulder.

"This is the end, Vi!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, pulled the gauntlets of her sister from her back and threw them on the ground in between them, "Not only for you, not only for me, but for her as well!" she gestured to where the demoness Caitlyn sat atop a fallen Elise and curled her fingers around the Spider Queen's throat, "Because you dragged her into it!"

Elise choked as silence fell over the two unlike sisters, using her last amount of strength to struggle against Caitlyn and the sick pleasure that the once righteous woman felt upon the prospect of having the other woman at her mercy.

That wasn't Caitlyn. Had no resemblance to the sheriff of Piltover that she had once been.

And to her own disgust, Vi saw it as well. Saw what Jinx saw, the lack of what defined Caitlyn in the demoness.

"Because you let your instincts control you." continued Jinx, softer than before, slowly losing the last bit of energy she had left, "Because the first thing that came to your mind was to turn her into a vile beast as well."

A shot rang through the silence, a feral shriek as Caitlyn fell off the barely conscious Spider Queen and orange stained the floor next to the beauty of the Blood Moon. Caitlyn was wheezing, the bullet having gone straight through her torso, the skin of the demoness not as sturdy as that of Vi.

Slowly, Jinx lowered Pow-Pow, even though the barrels were still spinning. Even though the trigger was still completely pulled through.

Then, she dropped Pow-Pow onto the ground.

Out of ammo.

"And now, it's the end of our story." she pulled Fishbones and heaved it onto her shoulder, nearly fell over, "Of all the years the three of us had."

Vi wasn't moving from her spot. Just staring at the prone body of Caitlyn and the barely conscious Spider Queen.

"It was a fun time, wasn't it? When we could just be ourselves." sighed the lunatic and attracted her sister's attention, "As enemies. As sisters. As friends."

Slowly, Vi began to nod. Couldn't disagree. There was nothing left to disagree over. Jinx was right, she knew that, and at least at the end, she could be honest.

"But we're not ourselves tonight." she lowered the rocket launcher and rested it on the ground before her, stared her sister dead in the eye, "You're but another mindless beast, and I'm but the Slayer."

She discarded of Zap and her tonfa Saltsticks. Added them to the pile to her feet. If not her, then at least her friends could live on. Kept only Fishbones close to her. Until the end, her closest friend.

"Tonight, the madwoman joins the hunt." spoke the loose cannon with the last bit of her power, closed her eyes, "Let's end this, Vi. Together. In a last demonic joke..."

Her voice faded. Her raspy breath paused for a second, then picked back up after she coughed. Smiled a last weak time – and found Vi hesitantly smile back.

"Jay..."

The madwoman's eyes opened wide. The voice! It couldn't be!

It was Vi's voice. Not affected by demonic nature, no echo to it. Even more, the eyes that Jinx's gaze laid upon were blue.

Though weak, happiness surged through the Slayer's heart. So there was a way. So they were still in there! Her hope and her struggles had been rewarded.

With relief came defeat. Her body finally gave in and she felt herself falling forward – into the arms of her sister. In the warm embrace that she had missed.

The enforcer's skin was still of a shade of pink, her hair still white as chalk, and her arms still demonic – but it was Vi. Only a matter of time until Vi would be completely herself in the loose cannon's arms.

And thus, she let herself go. Smiled as she gave up all the struggles and went limp in her sister's arms. Finally, the nightmare was over. Everything could finally return to the normal. She would finally play pranks on Vi again, debate over hextech for hours, rent movies without asking Vi and spent the evening watching them with her.

Could work with Caitlyn again, talk about books with her over a cup of tea in the afternoon, and even work on all these boring countless reports!

She could fall asleep now, rest her tired body. All would be well once she'd wake up again.

Scarlet blood splattered across the roof.

"Jay... You foolish woman."

Gently, Vi pulled her claw from the Slayer's chest. Watched with sick satisfaction as the pale woman collapsed onto her knees once the demon let go.

A blink of her eyes, a fake cough, then her eyes were orange again and her voice once more distorted. And all it took had been a little charade. The good old 'I remember who I am' trick, followed by the most oldest game in existence – betrayal.

"You..." rasped the Slayer, but didn't make it any further without coughing more blood up. And Vi just took another step back. Watched in amusement as the light slowly, very slowly, began to fade from Jinx's eyes.

From the corner of her eyes, Vi saw Caitlyn – her queen – get up and stretch herself like she had just had a good night's rest. No longer wheezing, no longer acting. And Vi feasted her eyes upon her queen as the demoness turned and rolled her shoulders. As her queen smiled seductively.

Betrayal truly was the oldest and funniest game ever invented.

"I may make the better psychopath..." Vi stopped and turned her head as she heard Jinx rasp, the Slayer not as far gone as she had expected, "But you, Violet... You make the better villain."

At this, Vi wasn't able to hold the laughter back anymore. Loud and hysteric, complimented by her ignorant sister's words, she stepped back in front of her and laughed into the Slayer's face.

"Thanks, Jay. I work hard on it."

The lunatic narrowed her eyes in disgust, a darkness falling over her face that had Vi bare her teeth in a grin.

And all wiped off her face in one sentence alone.

"Do you believe in fate... Violet?"

Smile falling, a confused grunt rumbling in her throat, the demon stared into the lifeless eyes of her older sister. Searched for an answer, an explanation, for the question – found none. Tried harder, grabbed Jinx by the shoulders and shook her in an attempt to bring some life back into the eyes, hoping that she'd find the answer in them then.

Instead, Jinx's lips just curled up into a smile as a last and final shot rang through the air.

And as Vi's limp body fell to the side, the Slayer made eye-contact with Caitlyn for a final time, the demoness lowering her rifle. And then, Jinx fell as well.

Didn't even feel her body make contact with the ground, though she still saw herself land. Though she still got to see Vi a final time, the enforcer slowly transforming back into her old self.

In the end, it had taken a Slayer and not a sister to end this all in a last and cruel, demonic joke.

As vision was finally fading for the Slayer, blackness invading it, she spotted Caitlyn approaching. The sheriff was already in the middle of a fast process of turning back into her old self, skin already returned to normal and her chalk-white hair its natural brunette shade again.

"I always knew it was going to end this way..." spoke Caitlyn in a kind and celestial voice that didn't fit her, shouldered her rifle – and collapsed like a marionette that had its strings cut. And something new emerged from her body, something Jinx had sworn she had seen twice before in her life.

A white light, taking the shape of a lamb, and a dark shadow following her that resembled a wolf. Kindred.

Death.

The being stepped over Vi's body and kneeled down next to the loose cannon. Gently reached out and place a hand upon the cheek of the loose cannon.

Even the wolf was silent.

"Fear not, Jay. Though the outcome today was an unsightly one, you've done well." cooed a gentle voice, and she could swear that all warmth left her body, all will to struggle, "The night is near its end. Now, you will be shown mercy. Have no fear as you step upon this new path, have no fear as darkness claims you. Everything will be okay now."

Tiredness overcame her. A deep desire to close her eyes and forget everything. Everything that happened. Everything she was.

In the distance, beyond Kindred, standing at the very edge of the roof with her arms spread out to the sides, a lady as pale as a corpse dressed in a fancy scarlet dress. The Lady in Red laughed mutely, Jinx could clearly see so as lightning tore through the sky, her pale fingers spread like claws and her eyes wide in madness.

And, still laughing, the woman let herself fall backwards off the roof. Was gone as another flash of lightning tore through heaven.

Jinx's eyes fell close – or perhaps, the darkness finally claimed her – and she felt even that last urge fade.

And didn't struggle.

"You will be free..."

---

She sat up as fast as she could. A heavy weight was taken from her chest – and promptly landed on her legs.

"Ouch!" she shrieked, tears in her eyes as she glared at the offending object on her legs, which she quickly identified to be a shark-shaped rocket launcher, "Fishbones! How often did I tell you not to sleep on my chest! You're not a cat, you're a rocket launcher!"

Just as she reached out to hammer a fist down on her friend, Jay froze up. Lowered her right arm and looked down at it. Her arm was fine. Fishbones was shaped like a shark. A quick glance around the room revealed she was back in Vi's apartment.

No tower. No Shadow Isles. No Demon Vi and no Kindred. Beneath her blanket, she was wearing her old pale-blue shirt that was easily a size too big for her.

The alarm clock on her shelf – well, she was lying in the upper bunk of a bunk bed, after all – read 7 AM, first of April. Not 10 years after her rehabilitation, but only roughly two and a half. Everything was still fine. She roughly remembered having worked way late into the night the day before, remembered how she had collapsed into bed.

Had this all been a dream? Everything?

Her head hurt even thinking about it, even though she immediately massaged her temples. By instinct, reached over and grabbed the small pill bottle next to her alarm clock. Shook a single pill out of it and swallowed it.

She needed new ones. And new dreams while she was at it, they sucked lately – she didn't even get to die a heroic death.

If that had been a dream, that was. A dream that she could remember every detail of, had problems distinguishing from reality upon waking up, a dream that had felt so real...

Even now, she could feel the touch of Lamb upon her cheek.

Was it truly a dream or perhaps... a second chance? A new opportunity to make things right? Or just the joke of an omnipotent being that liked to mislead others until the very end?

Whatever it was – she stopped bothering. Had priorities to care about, and hers shifted quickly when she smelled something very alluring that made her aware of her empty stomach. She did skip dinner the night before to work on her project. And she did skip her usual midnight snack – namely, raiding the fridge of Vi's strawberry yogurt, which frustrated the enforcer every morning anew.

Good times.

A smile spread across her lips and she quickly kicked the blanket back to climb out of her bunk. At the bottom of the ladder, she twirled and hopped through the room – messy as it was, she had every safe step memorized – to the door.

Stopped in the door to sent her newest project, located on her workbench, a last smile.

Left the room and quickly waddled across the hall to the kitchen, where the smell – bacon, pancakes and hash browns – was coming from.

"Oh god, Jay!" groaned Vi – alive and very human – the moment that the loose cannon appeared in the door, "Could you at least get decent before coming here? Just once? You are aware my girlfriend is here, right?!"

In return, the madwoman – ha, she could feel her madness again! Her beautiful madness that could drown all the irritating things out! - sent a glance to the sheriff of Piltover. Standing at the stove and preparing their breakfast – cause both Vi and Jinx were horrible at cooking and ended up causing more damage than good – Caitlyn smiled at the antics of the two sisters.

That, and because Vi was practically wearing the same as Jinx – a loose T-Shirt, no pants and no socks.

"Well, who says I'm not doing this exactly because your girlfriend is here?" teased the loose cannon and entered the room, enjoying the deadpan expression on Vi's face. Enjoyed it that this was normal again as well. Not forced to hunt them down. Not forced to be a slayer.

"Have a seat Jay." offered Caitlyn with a chuckle at the sisters' antics, "I have a plate ready for you. Just had to put it aside so Vi wouldn't wolf your breakfast down as well."

As the madwoman accepted the plate with the pancake on it and moved to sit down across from Vi, her younger sister nearly chocked on her food. Coughing, she sent a glare into the direction of her girlfriend, but it took her another moment of recovery before she followed up on it. Time Jinx was intent on using.

"You know, I had the weirdest dream ever last night." began the lunatic as she placed her plate on the table and picked up the cutlery that had already been placed on the table for her, "I don't think I ever had a dream that weird and, let's be honest, I'm a little crazy in the head, so that means something, right? And it all started..."

"Hold on a second, Jay." interrupted Vi and turned her in chair to frown at her girlfriend, "Just what was that supposed to mean, cupcake? You let it sound like I'm a glutton!"

"And just who do you want to fool, Vi?"giggled the sheriff and rose a playful eyebrow at the enforcer, "You may not be a glutton, but you do wolf down everything that I put down in front of you."

"Well maybe it's just because it tastes so good!" huffed the brawler and, with a childish pout, turned away, "And maybe you should consider that someone who works as much as I do has to get that energy from somewhere!"

Jinx rose an eyebrow, but couldn't help but smile at the antics of the couple. Had her sister just admitted it, after all? And was Vi really behaving more childish than her for once?

Not that she was judging that. Here, just among the the three of them, there was no reason to judge anyone. It was just them, and everyone could be who he was. No questions asked. No doubts presented.

No betrayal happening.

"Smooth, Vi. Real smooth." teased Caitlyn and rolled her eyes, but finally turned to the older Inks sister, "You wanted to tell us something, Jay?"

The loose cannon turned her head and met the gaze of the sheriff of Piltover, the smile, then glanced to Vi and examined the expectant smirk.

And, for the first time in a long time without a single voice in her head, let out a low chuckle as she took a bite of her pancake. Smiled at the two as she rested her chin on her palm.

"Oh, nothing."

---

Aaaaaand April fool hoax!

Okay, why do you guys and gals still trust me with stories uploaded right at the beginning of April? I even announced I was working towards a specific date! And that especially after last year's installment on that day to this series, which was an April fool hoax as well! If I ever manage to pull this off again, I might as well introduce the 1. April as a "bad day".

Ha! Get it?

Now watch me upload a serious installment that's not an April fool hoax next year.

Well, I must admit, I had this story planned for the 1. April. And I could've made it, had I abandoned other work and "A Joke of Misfortune". But as chronologically, aJoM happens before "A Demonic Joke", and sets the base for it, I worked extra hard on both. Things happened, though, and I fell ill, and work slowed down to a crawl and I kept falling asleep, which is why you got this only now. But, hey, at least I could have some fun and have that teaser-stuff happening on my profile.

Which, by the evening of 4. April, has been restored to what it was before.

In its entirety, about 48 hours have been spent on this installment, and scenes and characters I had planned to begin with were changed several times. In fact, originally, this was supposed to have two more scenes in it – one with Mordekaiser leading the group through the Shadow Isles to the Twisted Treelines, and one where Jinx fought one-on-one against Kalista at the Twisted Treelines, with the vengeful avatar eventually becoming part of her team for the final attack.

Now, as with "A Joke of Misfortune" last week, my beta-reader Time96 did not beta this, as he's having a lot of examination stress. He will, however, eventually return to fix that once he finds the time, at which point I will leave a note on my (restored) profile.

Well then – the notes I have on this installment are enormous because of just how different this installment is from the rest of the series, and I guess I will not go into them this time around. Basically cause that would easily add another three thousand words.

But that is why I'm especially interested in what you guys and gals think about this installment. I mean, it was pretty serious for the most part and probably a bit violent towards the end, but I was aiming to let it seem a lot darker than the recent additions to the series. One that would indeed make you feel that it's "final" (though it's not, the next installment is planned for late summer).

So, in hope that this one was more to your enjoyment than 'A Joke of Misfortune' (which I'm kinda sad about), I'm gonna leave it at this and get some real sleep, and not just these short unscheduled and restless naps I've been having lately.

Next thing you know, I will get a letter from a town called Silent Hill...!

…I didn't check my mailbox yet. I shouldn't jinx myself.

Anyway, that's it for me, I'm SorrowfulReincarnation and I'll see you next installment!

So long~