Hey Guys! As promised on Friday, here is Chapter 6 of One Last For The Road! Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy! Stay safe out there! :)
Disclaimer which I definitely didn't forget to add last time: I do not own anything League of legends related, except my account and this story.
Chapter 6: New Allies
Caitlyn and Vi both took a sip of their coffee. They were enjoying their short, free time before they had to get back to work. While they did so, Vi's gauntlets, which were left by her desk, started to act up. While she was giving her statement the other day, she noticed that her gauntlets had been hit a few times by Jinx's minigun, causing them to malfunction. On previous occasions, they barely did any damage to the bruiser's signature weapons, but now, apparently even her weapons got a considerable upgrade. After a few sparks, the two gauntlets completely gave up on life.
"No, no, no! Fuck!" Shouted Vi. Losing her signature weapons was something that hit home considering it was because of them that her life took a 180 degree turn. But to be fair, they were quite old and had been through a lot. Safe to say not even Vi's powerful gauntlets were immune to time itself.
"Hey Vi, don't worry! We can get them fixed." Said the Sheriff, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder.
"How? These guys are quite old. I mean, I kinda expected them to kick the bucket at some point, but not now." Replied Vi, still feeling overwhelmed over what happened the day before. She turned around to see Caitlyn with a wide grin on her face.
"Don't tell me you forgot about him?" Replied the Sheriff. She whipped out her phone from her pocket and pressed a few buttons, then called someone. "Hey, how are you?...Yeah, I'm good as well. Listen, Vi needs a desperate upgrade on her gauntlets after a job which went sour. Could you help?...Thank you so much, we will be there shortly." She said as she hung up the phone.
"Hey, get up. We are going to fix your gauntlets!" Stated the tall woman proudly. At that moment, Vi looked at her partner with deep appreciation. She knew that Caitlyn is usually very stern and down-to-Earth, but when it came down to helping those that she cared for, she would turn the entire city of Piltover upside down in order to do so.
"Yeah, let's go." She replied, holding back tears. The bruiser proceeded to pick up her cigarettes and radio, and followed Caitlyn of the Police Department. They drove for a few miles to the centre of Piltover, where the laboratories of a certain charismatic genius lived and performed technological breakthroughs on a daily basis. As soon as they reached them, they were greeted at the door by said charismatic genius.
"Vi, Caitlyn, good morning!" He said happily.
"Morning Jayce!" Replied Caitlyn, with the same level of happiness in her voice. "How are you?"
"I've been good, but I've been really busy lately." Replied the tall, muscular man, leading them inside.
"In that case, thank you for making some time for us."
"Hey, don't sweat it! You know you can always turn to me whenever you need help." Replied Jayce with a wide smile. Caitlyn tried to hide a slight blush in her cheeks. As soon as she recovered, the Sheriff and the Deputy followed Jayce in his laboratories. Vi herself was never one to be impressed by people's riches and fortunes, especially when it comes to their houses and workplaces. But even she had to admit that Jayce worked in a well designed building, which looked more like a five-star hotel than a laboratory. They walked for a couple of minutes, the two women checking out a few of Jayce's working projects. Unfinished miniature turrets, a futuristic looking morning star and a few other objects which the two women couldn't even pronounce. They reached Jayce's office, which in comparison to the rest of the laboratory was neatly organized. He closed the door behind them and proceeded to walk and sit behind his desk.
"So, what can I help you with?" Said Jayce as the two officers sat down on the couch facing his desk. Vi picked the two gauntlets and handed them to Jayce. The damage on them was noticed by Jayce straight away. Jayce examined the bullet holes deep in thought, while the two officers waited patiently for his response. Finally snapping out of his train of thought, he looked up at Vi.
"I have to say, there are not many weapons that I know of that could penetrate your gauntlets. Who did this?" He asked. Vi hesitated for a moment.
"It… it was Jinx." She replied, with a look on her face that could be described either sad or confused. Jayce was taken back because of the statement.
"What? But I read the newspaper. She committed suicide, right?"
"That's what we thought as well. I didn't see it myself but if Vi says it was her then I believe her." Quickly cut in the Sheriff. "Also, we strongly believe that it wasn't a suicide case. When we visited the morgue, we saw the body after it was cleaned from all the glass and blood. Jinx looked like she was slashed in the abdomen by some kind of beast."
Caitlyn took a quick glance at Vi, who was just sitting there, lost in thought. It seems that the entire ordeal was taking a toll on her. But to be fair, who wouldn't feel at least a little bit lost after everything that happened. She did not just see her nemesis' dead corpse covered in blood and glass, but she also witnessed said nemesis attack her as if nothing had changed. As if it was just another day in the life. The Sheriff turned her attention back to Jayce, who was still thoroughly examining the beaten-up gauntlets.
"We are certain that there is a specific organization behind everything. Ever heard of the name PROJECT?" She asked. Jayce immediately turned his gaze to Caitlyn with a look of surprise, which then turned to worry.
"Yeah, I've heard rumors. Apparently, they specialize in artificial augmentations and cybernetic enhancements. At least that's what I heard."
"Yeap. And bringing people back from the dead it seems." Replied Vi, having snapped out of her thoughts. She clapped her hands to psych herself up a bit and stood up from the couch.
"So, is there anything you can do for my gauntlets?" Asked Vi.
Jayce grinned slightly, proud of what he had already come up with. He stood up and asked the two officers to follow him to the labs. As they were walking, Jayce turned his head slightly to make a proposition.
"So Vi, I was thinking. Would you like me to repair your gauntlets, or upgrade them?" Vi stopped walking for a second, trying to choose.
"Although I'm not keen on altering them in a massive way, an upgrade is probably the better option, considering how badly Jinx can damage them now. But what kind of upgrade are you referring to?"
"What would you say if I were to add some 'magic' to them?" He asked, impatiently waiting for the officer's reaction. The scientist's question seemed to peak Vi's interest.
"Magic? What are you talking about?" She asked. They proceeded to walk a few yards further until they reached one of Jayce's labs. The two officers noticed a tall, blonde guy standing over one of the desks at the corner.
"Wait a minute, Ezreal?" Asked Caitlyn loudly. The tall blonde guy turned around to look at whoever shouted his name. He smiled when he realized who it was.
"Hey Cait, long time no see!" Replied the blonde man. Ezreal was an explorer. He had explored many places in the world. From long-forgotten caves to lost cities and runes, Ezreal had gone nearly everywhere. He would always bring a souvenir back from his adventures, which he would then donate to museums across both Piltover, and the neighbouring city of Zaun.
"Long time indeed. Have you been in any trouble lately?" Asked the Sheriff with a smirk.
"Nothing worth arresting me for, I assure you." He replied, returning the smirk. He then looked at Vi.
"Hey Vi, you okay?" He asked, noticing that something was off. The enforcer was looking kinda out of it. But she quickly snapped out of it.
"Yeah, I'm good I guess." She replied, not wanting to get into detail as to why she was feeling a bit down. Jayce walked over to Ezreal's side and gave him a pat on the back.
"Ezreal is here on a different matter. But I think we are lucky that he is here in the first place. Go on then, why don't you show them why you are here?"
"Sure thing!" He replied. Ezreal reached into a small, brown leathered fanny pack which was hanging from his back, and pulled something covered in a small, dusty cloth. He removed the cloth and something bright and shiny filled a small portion of the room with magic particles. Both women were slightly mesmerized by what they saw. A rather large, light indigo-coloured crystal was lying on the explorer's hand. It seemed to be pulsating with power, which could be felt even by the Sheriff, who had never experienced actual magic herself. Caitlyn didn't even know such a thing existed in the first place. She heard rumours of inexplicable things happening all across Runeterra, but never really experienced something like this first hand.
"What in God's name is this?" Asked the two officers simultaneously. Ezreal had a wide smirk on his face, as his inflated ego grew even larger if that were even possible.
"It's an arcane crystal that I recently found in one of my expeditions at the Shuriman desert. This little guy was practically asking to be discovered. In fact, it is the same crystal that powers up my gauntlet." Replied the tall, blonde explorer.
"See, I was thinking, what if I were to fuse Vi's gauntlets with Ezreal's newly-found crystal?" proposed Jayce. Vi was about to answer but she was quickly cut off by Ezreal.
"Hey, um, not to ruin your enthusiasm or anything but I don't even know how my crystal works, ok? What makes you think this is gonna work? This could either be a breakthrough or a total disaster."
"That might be true, but we won't know until we try. Of course that is just a suggestion. This all depends on Vi." Once Jayce said that, everyone turned around to look at the pink-haired officer. She thought for a few seconds, and then exclaimed her answer.
"Yeah, I'm down. I'm no expert on the specifics but I trust your abilities, Jayce. Surprise me." She replied, suddenly feeling confident she made the right choice. Jayce's smirk couldn't get bigger. The two officers began to take their leave until Ezreal stepped in.
"By the way, you two know that you can always turn to us if you need any help, right?" He said with a smile. The two officers were touched by Ezreal's kind words.
"Thanks Ez, we will let you know in case we need you." Replied Vi with a smile on her face.
As the two women began brainstorming as to what they could do next, they decided that keeping up with work is probably the best way to take their minds off of everything that is going on lately. Of course, Vi had to lay low for a bit until her gauntlets were ready to be used again, primarily focusing on helping out the force with its paperwork.
So, two new characters join the roster ey? Two more character that I really enjoy playing within the game. Hopefully, I nailed their character down to as close as their creator meant to.
Fair warning, this is the last pre-written chapter, so from this point on it makes some time to write, reread and post new ones. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing! :) Also, massive thanks to King Lebron James for the second favourite! Absolutely gassed, cheers lad/lass.
Thank you again for reading this chapter of One Last For The Road, stay safe out there guys! See you all again soon! :)