-Noxians be Crazy-

"I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not," Vi snapped, the tone resulting more from the way her core still throbbed desperately than actual annoyance. As she kicked off her retardedly damp pair of underwear, she felt a gaze burning into her and shivered, closing her eyes for a brief, steadying moment. Life seriously sucked sometimes. She pulled on a fresh pair, some dark cargo pants and a tight fitting black tee, strapping her breastplate back on over it. "They're looking for you. You might as well draw a huge fucking bullseye on your forehead."

"You know I can help, Vi."

"No." To Emma, she said, "What's the ETA on your upgrade, Em?"

"The Sheriff's contact says that he cannot complete the android without—"

"Whatever he needs, provide it. I don't give a shit about the cost, I need it in an hour or I'm coming down there and dealing with it myself."

"Message recorded. I'll be sure to share it with him."

"Great. After you've suited up, I need you to meet me wherever I am."

"Will do."

"Vi."

The bruiser whirled to face Annie, her impatient words catching in her throat when she was met with blazing green orbs. A shadowy figure loomed behind her, its own gaze filled with the same malevolent flame.

'Shit.'

"Alright, calm the hell down. You can come, but you have to stay by me at all times. You hear me? This is serious shit, Princess. You could die."

Just saying such a thing made the pinkette's skin crawl. She wouldn't let anything happen to the Dark Child—she couldn't.

The flames dimmed and the shadows faded, the scowl that creased the red-head's brow relaxing. "Thank you."

"Tch. Don't thank me for letting you put yourself in danger. C'mon."


"You think you should be in your, er, other form for this?"

The girl shook her head. "He'll recognize me either way."

"'He?'"

"Swain." Her tone was hard, vehement.

"Whoa. What'd the bird man do to you?" Vi had meant it as a joke, but the way the mage's face fell made her heart throb. "Annie?"

"Years after the exodus of the Grey Order, Jericho Swain and his mages visited the colony in order to make an example of the leaders of the defected Noxians. He was the one who gave the order to have my parents slaughtered before my very eyes and my home burned to the ground." She gave a smile that was free of any sort of positive emotion—more a baring of teeth than anything. "He said, "Dispatch these worms." and, suddenly, everything I knew and loved was gone. Everything except Tibbers." She hugged the replacement teddy to her chest, her head drooping so that her bangs covered her eyes. Noxus has been trying to get me to come back for years, but now that I'm much more powerful, I've become a priority."

The pinkette's fists clenched around the steering wheel until they were white-knuckled and she had to take a deep, calming breath before she could unclench her muscles enough to release the object in question. She engaged the autopilot and reached over the console, capturing Annie's hand in hers and lifting the palm to her lips. "We'll kill him."

The Dark Child took a shuddering breath. "I—Thank you…" Her smile was small and weak, but it was a start. "You're amazing."

"Yeah, yeah."

An explosion rocked the vehicle and the bruiser swore, releasing the spell-caster's hand and disengaging the autopilot; she veered off of the grid, weaving between falling chunks of building and nearly crashing into a tree, swearing the entire time.

"… You want me to drive?"

"I've got thi—Shit!"

In the split second she had taken her eyes off of the road, a metal gate had reared up in front of the hover car. At their current speed, there was no option other than to crash right through it—

The dark steel burned a cherry red and the entire middle portion dissolved, eaten through by the intense heat of the flames.

—Unless, of course, Annie did that.

"The offer still stands." A smirk curved her lips.

"Oh, shaddup."

There was a flock of mages outside of City Hall, all darkly robed and intimidating in their mysteriousness. Vi screeched to a halt just above the growing gathering and leaped out to land in a crouch, Annie following suit moments later. Jayce was already there and so was Caitlyn, both of whom were standing next to the balding gentleman the bruiser knew to be the governor.

And there was Swain at the head of the procession—though "mob" was likely more accurate. The Master Tactician was garbed in copper-coloured armor with dark green feathers fanning out of the beefy spaulders, his thin lips, the only part of his face that could be seen under an ornate helm, twisted into a sadistic smirk. "You have among you, Governor, property that belongs to Noxus. Return her at once and we will leave your city intact."

The man frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know who you're referring to, General."

A single, clawed finger pointed towards the young woman and Vi bristled.

"I told you," the Dark Child murmured, that note of dejection returning full force. She took a step towards her housemate, placing the bruiser between herself and the man. When Vi rested a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, the pinkette realized that she was trembling.

Azure eyes met hazel and the Sheriff of Piltover inclined her head, her fingers tightening around her trusty sniper rifle.

Caitlyn wasn't about to let them take Annie either.

The governor squinted near-sightedly at the red-head. "Isabelle, census search."

"Right away, sir," a woman's voice responded from the lapel of his suit. Immediately after, there was a jarring sound. "Query not found."

Vi's hands clenched into fists as the man shook his head. "You aren't from Piltover and are therefore not under The City of Progress's protection. I'm sorry Miss…"

"Annie Hastur," Swain completed helpfully.

Jayce's jaw dropped. "Annie?!"

Had this been a different time or place, the pinkette would have likely made fun of the male for being the last horse to cross the finish line—as usual. Instead, she said, "I dunno about you, sir, but I'm part of the Piltover PD and I don't intend to let them have Annie."

There was an ominous crack of lightning as two of the mages flanking Swain raised their arms skyward, palms glowing blue-white. A dark cloud eclipsed the sun, bathing Piltover in shadows.

"You may want to rethink your position."

"S-Sheriff, control your subordinate," the mayor squeaked, eyes widening. As a civilian, he had never seen magic before—only heard tales of it.

"I apologize, sir, but I stand with Vi," the sniper responded, leaving his side to stand by her partner's. She winked when the bruiser gave her a grateful smile. "Ezreal's on his way," she said quietly. "And Professor Heimerdinger wants revenge. I believe he said something about reinforcing his turrets first."

Leave it to Cait to have a plan—Vi had just planned on going out fighting by this point.

"We should get you somewhere safe, Governor," Jayce offered, ever the hero. The older man nodded and allowed himself to be lead away.

Thunder rumbled as though in warning and Annie whimpered, her ears lying flat against her head. "Vi…"

"Mm?"

"I don't think we can win this."

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that?"

"The girl is correct." God damn, the bird man had good hearing. He held his hand out as though he expected Vi to hand the young mage over on a silver platter.

The pinkette flipped him off and stuck out her tongue, the vambraces on her wrists glinting wickedly. Her gauntlets wanted blood and she was more than eager to bathe them in it.

Three things happened at once: Swain's eyes glowed a sinister shade of crimson, Caitlyn grabbed the bruiser by her collar and yanked her backwards, the sudden movement sending both her and Annie crashing into the brunette so that they ended up in a pile of limbs, just in time to dodge a wave of light blue energy that zoomed by, shimmering, to crash into the mage entourage; the poor bastards in the front line didn't have time to scream before they evaporated entirely. From overhead, there was a robotic voice: "Pulsefire systems online. All systems operational."

When azure eyes flicked upwards, Vi caught sight of Ezreal soaring high above on a hover board, all decked out in a cybernetic suit. The genius yordle was floating next to him, the jets on a tiny jetpack keeping him aloft.

"I apologize for our tardiness, but I needed to outfit Mr. Ezreal here," the mustachioed midget called down. "And as for you wretched Noxians…"

A small, shining object drifted lazily downwards, spiraling like a leaf in autumn. One of the mages tilted their robed head back to see what it was; it was the last thing he saw before what had apparently been an incredibly strong explosive ripped him and dozens of his friends into chunks of burnt flesh.

And still the mage wave seemed endless.

"…You'll pay for what you've done tenfold."


Chaos, total chaos—and, for once, Vi wasn't the cause of it.

She had lost track of how many faces she had beaten in, ribs she had fractured, and lives she had ended, but the pinkette was beginning to guesstimate that the numbers were in the hundreds by now.

This was fucking ridiculous… Were mages as common in Noxus as rats were on the streets of Zaun!?

A short distance to her right, Annie was standing in a gap among hooded figures, swiping at the air with fingers curved into mock claws. It would have been cute, in a weird way, had her terrifying shadow bear not been looming over her, mimicking the action and shredding the oncoming mage wave with razor sharp, flaming claws.

And still their numbers marched steadily forward, mage after mage after mage; some cast protective barriers (all the better to punch through), others attempted to summon terrible familiars (the pause was all Cait needed to snipe them from her position overlooking the square), and still others were mowed down by a combination of Mystic Shots and Gatling gun-like fire from Heimerdinger's turrets and—wait, was that…?

Yes, it was: the Ball was bobbing gently about an inch above the ground around the feet of the scrambling enemy forces, awaiting a command from its mistress. The Android seemed to materialize at Vi's side, her head tilted in an almost curious fashion. "So strange, they scream."

As if on cue, the Ball shot out a Shockwave, yanking in the mages closest to it and there were terrified screams of pain as the spikes along the outside of the weapon's surface rent flesh in two.

Vi winced sympathetically. "Good to see you, Ori. We can use all the help we can get."

The robotic Champion nodded. "We will kill your enemies. That will be fun."

Leaving the pinkette with that sentiment in mind, the Lady of Clockwork slipped off into the throng.

It wasn't until the sky split open, releasing a blinding deluge of water upon the heads of the combatants, that Jayce reappeared, leaping into the air with his Mercurial Hammer high above his head, to smash it down; the resulting impact created a crater and a sonic boom that sent several hooded figures flying.

Swain's forces showed no sign of dwindling.

Vi blinked rain out of her eyes and rolled her shoulders. She was starting to get tired. When a soft sound emitted from her communicator, she grinned and opened the link to include the Sheriff of Piltover. "Hey, Cupcake!"

The brunette fired off another well-aimed shot and the mage who had been sneaking up on the bruiser's six became a part of a steadily-growing pile of bodies. "What is it?"

"What's the protocol you give your A.I to kick total ass?"

There was a perplexed pause. "Oh. I believe you mean Delta-3396?"

"Em, you heard that?"

"Yes, madam."

A bright surge of light momentarily returned the sky to daylight and the pinkette released an excited whoop, diving forward to scoop Annie up and making tracks towards the Capitol building. "We're gonna join you, Cupcake. Watch the show."

Thunder cracked and the Dark Child wrapped her arms around the bruiser's throat, burying her face in the crook of her neck. Behind them, Tibbers lumbered, swatting viciously at any enemy spell-caster that dared to look at his mistress. "W-what is that?"

"Back-up."

Emma came roaring out of the sky on wings made of multiple segments of dark metal plates, her bare body a perfect hourglass shape made of contrasting seamless white gold. She lifted an arm and the appendage detached at the elbow, rotating around until several attachments for a cannon-looking weapon stuck out and assembled themselves.

The first blast made the ground rock.

"Vi… What is that?" Caitlyn demanded when the bruiser joined her on the roof. Vanessa was standing guard over her mistress, impassive blue eyes following the other A.I with something akin to interest and, somewhere below, Orianna had paused as well, the Ball floating near her waist, coated with crimson.

"That would be Emma."

"Clearly." Her tone was not amused in the least. "That upgrade… It isn't illegal, is it?"

"Hey, hey! We needed help, right? So I got us the best help credits could buy."

The Sheriff's sharp hazel gaze watched the android soar by, her faultless features glinting. "How many credits did this cost, exactly?"

"Don't you worry about that." She turned her attention to Annie. "You gonna be okay?"

A nod.

"Great. I need to go deal with our bird problem while Emma keeps them busy." She caught sight of a blur of movement in her peripheral and shouted, "OI! Ez!"

The blonde came screeching to a halt and swerved to join them on the rooftop, his visor lit up with flashes of red and blue. "What?"

"Let me borrow that thing."

He gave her a doubtful look, but hopped off and strode towards the edge of the building. His ult was off of cooldown anyway, and he wanted a clear shot.


She had a dickens of a time locating Swain, but she found him leaning comfortably against the face of the clock tower, the ravenous crow he kept as a companion perched on the hour hand just above his head.

The Master Tactician sneered when he saw the bruiser, a gust of wind tossing his cape dramatically, making him seem larger and more fearsome than he already was.

Not that Vi was intimidated by anyone.

The pinkette leaped down from Ez's hover board and pressed a button on the underside of its tailfin that made it small enough to tuck into her pocket. Once the borrowed object had been safely stowed, she slid into a combat-ready crouch, gesturing for the spell-caster to "come at her".

She wasn't disappointed: Swain's body swelled, becoming feathered and hideous as he limped forward, his curved beak opening to release a raucous sound that made the bruiser flinch and instinctively cover her ears.

Had the mage's Ravenous Flock gotten even bigger?

There was no time to consider it as she ducked a sudden eruption of feathered fiends and side-stepped a broad, rotting wing, swearing as sickly green feathers burned the bits of flesh that they touched.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Annie's parents, bird brain."

The bird shrieked with laughter. "Did the child put you up to this, Enforcer? This disagreement is between myself and the young Hastur—I would kindly thank you to leave us be."

A mangled claw swiped at the pinkette faster than she could keep track of and she grunted, flipping backwards and warding off another jab with her gauntlets. "I'll say this and I'll say it once." The woman caught the wing that swung at her, ignoring the way her skin crawled and yanking the feathered monstrosity closer so that she could meet its dead, beady eyes. "You fuck with Annie, you fuck with me. And you won't like fucking with me."

In way of response, the mage let out another eardrum-piercing sound; the moment Vi's grip weakened, he tore away from her, swatting her aside like a horse would a troublesome fly.

"You presume too much, woman," the garbled voice said, wings spreading to their full length. "Know your place!"

The flock of miniature crows that flew from the dark wingspan was magical in origin, latching onto the bruiser and burrowing into her flesh in the manner that a tick would. She released a startled yelp and flailed as she felt the little buggers writhing just beneath her skin—a revolting itch that could never be scratched.

"The fuck did you just do?" the pinkette demanded, icy cold discomfort warring with steadily heating panic. She had seen the foul aberrations disappear the moment they had come into contact with her exposed bits of skin, had seen them evaporate even as she felt the discomfiting sensation of being invaded by deadly, magical parasites.

"You need not worry about it for the time being—"

Even as he said it, the world began to dim at the edges of her vision and her stomach heaved, violently expelling the contents of her stomach onto the shingles of the roof to be washed away by the steady downpour. Her legs gave out and she fell into a crouch, giant hextech gauntlets the only thing keeping her from eating concrete.

"—Of course… You'll be dead in a few minutes."

x-x-x

Annie flinched, her hand lifting instinctively to cover her heart as a grim sense of unease filled her to the very core.

'Swain…' She didn't need to be near him to know that he was casting that spell—

/ "Dispatch these worms," the general ordered, turning his back on the two familiar forms sandwiched between two burly Noxian soldiers. He paused, however, turning slowly to face them again. "Actually… I have a better idea."

The male lifted his arms, pointing a hand at each of the captured mages. If he expected fear from his prisoners, he got none; the woman, a petite red-head with dark blue eyes, straightened her spine proudly. "Do your worst, Jericho. You're far worse off than we could ever be—Noxus has claimed your body and soul."

His snort of laughter was a far from pleasant sound. "You act as though I possessed a soul to begin with, Amoline." To the tall man with blonde hair and piercing green eyes, he said, "You're quiet, old friend. Could it be that you've seen the error of your ways?"

By way of response, the man turned his head and spat, a mixture of blood and saliva landing on the toe of Swain's boot. He didn't make a sound when the soldier cuffed him sharply, only stared at the Master Tactician with a look that was equal parts rage and pity.

"Tch. Say your farewells, then. And to that daughter of yours as well—what was her name again?" He made a thoughtful sound. "Ah… Annie, was it?"

Both mages went stock still, flames burning in their gazes and the air around them fluctuated—a warning. "You touch a hair on her head—"

"Gregori, you really have no room to threaten anyone," Swain interrupted caustically. In the next moment, he shed his humanoid form and became a giant crow, his eyes glinting dully with a mindless sort of maliciousness. From under his spread wings flew miniature versions of the crows that usually accompanied him on the battle field; they darted forward and attached themselves to the couple, making both Hasturs cry out in discomfort. "Release them."

The soldiers did as they were told and Gregori and Amoline fell to their knees in the dirt, their skin writhing with whatever it was that had taken residence in their bodies.

"What… Have you done…?"

"You told me that there was nothing worse than losing your soul." The general leaned in a conspiratorial manner, whispering, "You were wrong."

A scream left the woman and she tore at the cloth covering her chest, flames erupting from her mouth and eyes as her magic became unstable.

"AMOLINE!" The blonde started forward, but shadows danced around his lower body, wrapping around him and holding him there. "Stop this at once, Jericho."

"Mm… I don't think I will."

The shadows reared up, malevolent clouds of energy that choked the life from Gregori even as he cast one last spell to protect his precious daughter. /

"Annie, what is it? You're crying." There was a rare note of concern in Caitlyn's voice and her brow was furrowed slightly. She didn't stop firing, however, despite the fatigue that showed plainly in the set of her shoulders.

"Vi," she choked out, scrubbing at her eyes. "She's in trouble."

"What?!" The brunette dropped a hand to her waist and pressed a button on the side of the half-gear symbol of her loyalty to Piltover. "Vi."

No response; not even the crackle of static.

Caitlyn swore and Annie blinked, shocked. The Sheriff of Piltover really did care for her partner. "Vanessa, contact Emma. Tell her—" Hazel eyes flicked to the sky: bolts of energy rained death on the gathered mages who, without the guidance of their leader, were beginning to falter. "No, never mind. Lock onto Officer Vi ID. No. 8762939 and take Annie to her. Primary objective is to protect Annie—do you understand?"

The A.I blinked, the only sign of protest she had ever shown to this day. "Primary objective is to protect—"

"Annie," the woman insisted. "I'll be fine."

"… Understood."

"Hurry."

Vanessa nodded, holding her hand out to the mage. "Come, A-nnie."


The Dark Child felt her anxiety worsen the closer they got to Swain. She had faced him on the Fields of Justice after he had murdered her parents in cold blood, of course, but this was different.

Now, her stomach roiled like the sea during a storm, her heart pounding in her ears like a drum.

Something was very wrong—she could feel it.

"Target found," Vanessa announced, her superior vision spotting what the spell-caster's very human one had yet to. The A.I. was carrying the young mage and, had Annie been in the mind-set to appreciate such a thing, she would have been both impressed and unsettled by how quickly they were soaring through the rain-dimmed sky. "Officer Vi: vitals, unstable. Unknown ailment caused by… unknown."

"Magic," Annie supplied, a tremor in her voice. It felt as though there was a giant, invisible hand clutching her heart, squeezing it.

"Unknown ailment caused by magical interference," the android corrected herself. "Commands?"

The red-head blinked, caught off guard. "Umm… Focus Swain?"

"Target acquired: mage with unusual power levels. Initiating attack protocol Alpha-6186."

Before Annie could even think to ask what that entailed, she caught sight of the combatants on the roof of the clock tower and her heart stopped beating for what felt like a small eternity:

Swain was standing over Vi's fallen form, his ghastly ult activated. He was laughing, the sound cruel enough to make even Tibbers roar anxiously.

"So nice of you to join us, Annie," the abomination cawed. "How does it feel to lose yet another loved one?"

'Another…?' No, it couldn't be…

"Please be okay…"

Vanessa placed her passenger gently on the roof and launched herself forward, blades shooting out of the hem of her hoopskirt as she spun like a top. Swain fell back, unsure of how to treat this new foe, but it was only a matter of time before he regained his sureness and—

No time to think about that now.

"Vi!"

At the sound of her voice, the pinkette raised her head, a weak grin touching her lips. "Well shit, kid… Didn't want you *cough* to see me like this."

"This" was ashen skin and a blotchy, inky rash. "This" was tremors and a fever and a stomach that heaved like a bucking bronco. "This" was the smell of death in the air—a cloying smell that the rain couldn't quite wash away.

This was terrible.

"…" The girl lowered her head and, instantly, the rain stopped falling. No, that wasn't right—the rain didn't stop—it merely evaporated with a quiet hiss before coming anywhere within a fifty yard distance of the Dark Child. Thunder rumbled, but she didn't flinch, her gaze fixed on the floor, her now-dry bangs covering her eyes.

"Return to Noxus, Annie Hastur," Swain commanded, pinning the android down with a three-toed talon. Even her immense strength was no match for the power of the Master Tactician's Ravenous Flock. "As a dark mage, you will be immortal and, together, we will rule the mages of Noxus."

When she didn't move or acknowledge that she had heard him, Vi chuckled. "Face it, bird brain," she wheezed. "Annie's not a gullible idiot like the rest of your posse." She lifted a hand and rested it on the red-head's knee, though the simple action seemed to be incredibly taxing. "Don't cry, kiddo. I…"

At the bruiser's hesitation, the young woman blinked. "You…?"

That faint pink hue that rose in her cheeks wasn't due to the fever. "I, um… Love… You…"

Annie's blood went cold as, the moment those precious words left the Piltover Enforcer's lips, her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped bonelessly.

"Vi…?"

Swain opened his beak to release a startled squawk just as a feral roar drowned the sound out, an immense, vaguely bear-shaped form looming over the caster made entirely of shadow. Gone were the flames that danced and roared within Tibbers's form; in their place was a chilling, wrathful energy that burned hotter than any fire did—or could.

The Shadow Witch within the Dark Child had reared her malevolent head.

This new, shadowy version of Tibbers lunged forward, much faster than he had been before, and caught Swain by the wing in icy fangs, ripping the appendage clean off and shocking the male back into his human form as he slammed into the ground some distance away.

His arm hung limply at his side, blood dripping down to form a crimson pool as he rose to his feet. "What… Are you?"

Vanessa sat up, sparks flying from a crack in her otherwise flawless porcelain mein. "Apologies. I could not complete my task as directed."

Annie shook her head, holding a glowing hand over Vi, palm facedown. "Can you… Help her?"

"I will make an attempt." From bright blue optical receptors came a greenish beam of light that swept over the bruiser's body. "Pulse rate: abnormally low. Blood pressure: abnormally low. Body temperature: abnormally high. Seeking source of ailment now."

The A.I wouldn't be able to find anything… Would she? Annie could only hope—

"We're not done here, girl!" Swain snarled, attempting to staunch the flow of blood with his cape.

It was the that the red-head looked up, the intensity of the hatred burning in electric green orbs making the man take an unconscious step backwards. "I was a child when you took my parents from me," she murmured. "And I was powerless. But now…"

Tibbers sank into the ground and, moments later, a pool of spectral energy bubbled under the Master Tactician's feet, tendrils rising up and solidifying into giant, clawed paws that held him fast. The shadow bear's mistress rose slowly to her feet, a strange calm settling over her. Her heart ached, but it no longer hammers against the inside of her ribcage, and the mixture of despair and unease that had been swirling around her mind had settled down, allowing her to think very carefully about her next move.

Swain struggled against his bindings to no avail; he summoned a flock of crows to attack, but the young mage's Molten Shield nullified the spell and every desperate attempt that followed until she was standing before him, her head canted to the side in the manner of a curious cat.

The girl raised a hand, her glowing palm a few inches from the older mage's face and he flinched. "Release me at once."

"Too proud to beg for your life?" He spat on the ground near her feet and she smiled—a sadistic, chilling expression. "Ironic how the roles have changed." When the man didn't reply, Annie frowned and tendrils of dark energy wound around her forearm. "No clever last words, Jericho?"

She supposed she had been expecting the ghastly green ball of energy that flew towards her; what she didn't expect was for it to fly right over her shoulder, towards Vi—

"NO!"

There was a sharp sound and the 'thud' of a body falling limply to the rooftop: Vanessa had met the attack head-on in an attempt to protect the fallen pinkette and now the sparks flowed out in a steady stream and her eyes were dimming.

"Objective… Completed…" the A.I. gasped before falling still.

Annie's ears went flat against her head and, without glancing back at the captured mage, the girl summoned a pillar of flame and malevolent energy that could be seen for miles and would leave only a memory of the cruel Noxian general. He screamed horribly as the flesh was melted from his bones and Tibbers howled as a delirious laugh left his mistress.

She was free. She had avenged her parents' deaths and she was free.

"Beaten by a little girl… Hah."

A pained groan disturbed the Dark Child from her thoughts and she quickly ran over to rejoin her fallen lover, falling to her knees next to the woman and struggling with her dead weight as she attempted to sit the pinkette up. "V-Vi?"

"I feel… Like absolute… Shit."

She was a little green around the gills, but the fact that she was even conscious right now was an incredible improvement. The mage squealed and crushed the bruiser to her, covering the older woman's face with kisses and whispering, "Thank Ifrit…" as Tibbers dispelled into fragments of umbrage, the hate that fueled his new form being replaced entirely by happiness.

Everything was going to be alright.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there," Vi sputtered. "What happened, exactly? There was this bright light, then Cait started yellin' at me about something, I think."

Right… The Sheriff. Green orbs flicked over to the inert android and azure orbs followed suite. "Fuck. Cupcake's gonna be furious."

None of that mattered right now. She was just glad that the pinkette was okay. Annie cupped the woman's cheek and kissed her soundly, pouring every bit of adoration and relief that she felt in that very moment into the contact. When she pulled away, the Piltover Enforcer seemed dazed.

"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining…"

"I love you."

Her expression—surprised, awed, confused—was priceless and the spell-caster couldn't help but smile. Everything was going to be okay. There was a low sound and Vi flinched, reaching up to touch her collar. "Cait?"

"Where in the name of all that is technologically advanced have you been?!"

—at the same time Emma questioned—

"Madam, are you okay?"

"Er…"

"She's fine, Caitlyn," Annie responded, taking the bruiser's hand in her own. "I think we should take her home, though. Vanessa, too."

"Affirmative. The mages here fled; Jayce and I are inbound."

"Ugh. Don't bring that scrub here." She was clearly feeling more like herself, though she allowed her head to rest on the younger woman's shoulder. "And you might want to have Heimy look at Vanessa. Her android's in pretty bad shape."

A groan. "You're always costing me more and more credits."

"You'd still do me, right?"

"VI!"

The rain had slowed to a fine drizzle, the fine mist shimmering from the heat the mage gave off. It touched her skin now, her defenses completely lowered from a combination of exhaustion and relief.

Everything was going to be alright…

And the sun peeked out from behind the dark clouds.

-End Chapter-

Almost done :D