Chapter 38 – Piltover's Craziest Hours
Files to sort through, paperwork to fill in, letters to write: The Sheriff of Piltover always had her work cut out for her in bulk, and this didn't even include any street surveillance or time chasing criminals. Caitlyn was at her desk, examining a file on Piltover's most recent criminal activity. Fortunately for the City of Progress, the police were among the most effective, if not the strongest law enforcement across all of Runeterra. Few offenders remained undetected, and fewer still got away with their actions. Even so, this did not stop some people from testing their luck and violating the law.
The file that Caitlyn was looking at was labelled "Progress Day: Tamara Lautari". Less than two weeks ago, she had uncovered a Noxian spy, who had been gathering as much information as possible about Piltover. In Tamara's apartment, where she had been staying, Caitlyn had found detailed journals about the Piltovan government, society and even a highly precise map of the schematics of Piltover's streets, walkways and buildings. This was evidence enough to sound off alarm bells that something had been amiss with that young lady, but it was her accent that had given it away and confirmed Caitlyn's suspicions. On Progress Day, Tamara had auditioned at Clan Medarda's manor with a hextech invention of her own making, to earn the approval of the techmaturgical college, so that she could gather even more information about Piltover. There was no doubt that she had been doing this under the orders of Noxus, with the intention of helping them plan an invasion.
Caitlyn had been on duty at the manor on Progress Day as all of the apprentas presented and demonstrated their inventions to the Medardas. During Tamara's presentation, her device had exploded, and she was sent out of the manor, alongside a man named Gysbert, who had also not been approved because his creation had fallen apart. After taking her away to the docks, Tamara had done enough begging for Caitlyn to be able to confirm that her accent was not authentic, and that she was indeed a Noxian.
Following Tamara's banishment from Piltover, Caitlyn had been investigating to see if she had been working with any accomplices. Gysbert was an obvious suspect, but he had left after Tamara's arrest. Caitlyn had also burned all of Tamara's possessions, so tracking him down would be a bit difficult. He might have left Piltover by now. A slight oversight of Caitlyn's part, she hated to admit. Another name, which was written down in Tamara's file was "Colette". She had also entered Medarda Manor with both Tamara and Gysbert and presented an invention. Unlike the former two however, Colette had been approved by the judges. Caitlyn had every reason to be wary of her, but she was currently working within Clan Medarda. It was unlikely therefore that she would be leaving anytime soon. Even so, Caitlyn didn't want to wait long before she, or Vi probably, interrogated her. She was likely something akin to a virus, who would do more internal damage and gain information as time passed and if not treated properly.
In spite of the abundance of time that she had to spend with pen against paper, Caitlyn overall enjoyed the time sitting inside her office. The long, rectangular window behind her desk overlooked the blooming markets below. Narrow width wallpaper ran all the way around the middle of the mahogany wooden room, depicting the beautiful, red Ionian landscapes. It was a shame in some ways that plenty of the wallpaper was obscured by cabinets and tall filing drawers, mostly on the right side of the room, but you could still see enough to warrant hanging it up in the first place. The door that lead into the office corridors was perfectly centred and in line with Caitlyn's desk. On the left-hand side of the door, in one of the four corners of the room, was a water dispenser and a small bin right next to it. And on the left side of the room were two metal wall mounts just above the Ionian wallpaper, which held Caitlyn's iconic hextech sniper rifle.
A knock at the door made Caitlyn raise her head from Tarama's casefile 'Come in.' she said loudly, so that the person who had knocked could hear her. The door opened and in stepped one of Caitlyn's closet colleagues. 'How can I help, Mohan?' Caitlyn inquired.
'Nothing really. I just want to use your water dispenser.'
'Huh… that's it?'
'Yeah, that's all.' Mohan walked over to it, took out a paper cup and pressed down on the pedal with his other hand.
'Why don't you just use the one in the communal area?' Caitlyn asked as Mohan drank from the cup.
'It's run out of water, so I came here, because I'd rather not spend four Bronze Washers on a small bottle.' Mohan explained.
'That's very cheeky of you.' Caitlyn said with a hint of amusement.
'Peter's ordered some multi-litre bottles, and they should be here by tomorrow morning, assuming that the deliveryman has adjusted to the longer days.'
'Let's hope so.' she said and frowned at her desk.
'Are you okay? You seem a bit down.'
'Do I?'
'Yeah. Is there anything I can do to help?'
'No, not really. I just can't help but be worried about Ezreal. That and this current case, which I'm working on.'
'About Ezreal?'
'Yes. It's been four days since our meeting with the Mayor, and since he left Piltover. I know that exploring the world is his shtick, but he's going out further than probably anyone in the whole of Runeterra has ever gone before. The seas might be really harsh, and what if he loses his way? I'm also concerned what will happen if he eventually reaches the new world. What will the fauna be like? What if they're unaccommodating or even hostile?'
'Personally, I think he'll be fine. He may be quite immature, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to exploration, travelling and handling himself. Honestly, I think the only problem he'll have will be boredom, since he doesn't really have anything to do or anyone to talk to. Other than that though he's got it covered, and for him the fun will begin once he gets there. Not "if", as you put it.'
'Yeah, I guess you're right… even still, I'll remain anxious until his return.'
Mohan dropped the cup into the bin. 'You said that you were working on a case. If I may ask, which one is it?' He walked closer to her desk.
'You remember almost a fortnight ago when I told everyone about Tamara Lutari on Progress Day?'
'Yeah?'
'Well, I'm examining her casefile again and writing down some more notes. I may have burned her belongings and exiled her from Piltover, but I don't think that this is the end of the case.'
'Why not? If she was taken away by sailors to somewhere far away, then what's the concern?'
'I suspect that she has accomplices that are still operating in Piltover.' Caitlyn went on. 'When she went to Medarda Manor to present her "submission."' she said, forming quotation marks with her hands and fingers. 'Tamara had two other people with her. I have their names down as Gysbert and Colette. To be honest though, all three of them are probably using false names. The point is though that, because Tamara was a Noxian spy, I doubt that she would've made friends with two people so quickly. Obviously, she must have been in Piltover for a while to have constructed such a detailed map, which I found inside her apartment, but I nonetheless think that the two people who went with her to the Medardas were working with Tamara.'
'Do you not know what happened to them then, after you sent Tamara packing? Well, not that she had anything at all after you burned everything she had.'
Caitlyn chuckled at his comment. 'Colette's invention was accepted by the judges, so she's working with the Medardas at this moment in time, but Gysbert wasn't. He left the manor with Tamara, and when I arrested her and took her to the docks, he went off somewhere and now I have no idea where he is.' Caitlyn sighed. 'With hindsight, I should've taken him with me too, and I probably shouldn't have destroyed all of Tamara's things, because it could've contained details of Gysbert's whereabouts.'
'Don't be too hard on yourself. It's impressive that you discovered that there was a Noxian spy in Piltover in the first place, but I'd expect nothing less from you.'
'No need to flatter me. I've already said no before.' Caitlyn teased.
'Heh. Well anyway, I'm pretty sure that Noxus don't really have any long-distance communication, so we're safe for now. But do you have any plans regarding Gysbert and Colette then?'
'I'm going to interrogate Colette very soon, or at least get someone else to do it. Then I'm going to have to track Gysbert down.'
'I see. If you need any help, just ask.'
'Like I would ask. You'll assist me when I order you to.'
Mohan laughed. 'I'll let you get on with your work then, and thanks for the water, but I might be back if I need some more.'
Caitlyn rolled her eyes after he had closed the door behind him. She looked at the clock on her desk, which had only just yesterday been installed with the extra five hours and thirteen minutes. 3:49: Almost time for her to go on duty. Caitlyn wrote down a few more notes on the file before placing it back into the closest cabinet to her desk and putting the pen in one of the desk's drawers. She then picked up her signature top hat, which she had cradled between her feet, and placed it on her head, and picked up her rifle and carried it on her shoulders as she made her way to the streets.
The climb up the clocktower was always a bit of a pain, but Caitlyn had gotten used to it across her career. It was the tallest structure in all of Piltover and the best vantage point to be able to oversee the city. This did still require her to keeping moving between all four sides of the tower, but her eagle eyes allowed to spot almost anything.
She opened the hatch and stepped onto the top platform, which lay just below the big bell and the four faces of the clock, which were now obsolete because of the longer days. The deck itself had almost no walls, with only the four corners having right angular iron walls that were only about two metres long on each side and one metre thick. They were only really there to hold up the rest of the tower and its short spire. The platform did also have a gunwale that covered all four sides – similar to the ones found on a boat - which was about one third of a metre in height, but tripping over it would spell certain doom. It also didn't help that at that height, the wind could be quite strong. However very few people ever had any reason to actually go to the top of the tower. Caitlyn was by far the person who used it the most, so much so that it might as well have been called "Caitlyn's Lookout". Caitlyn wasn't afraid of heights at all though. If anything she enjoyed the feeling of being at the top of the world, and she always took care whilst being so close to the edge.
Caitlyn perched her right boot on the gunwale at the west side of the tower, placed her rifle on her shoulder and looked down the scopes. This hextech sniper rifle was more than just a tool or a peacemaker. It was a piece of Caitlyn's identity. Her parents had made it themselves and given it to her as a gift for her twenty-first birthday, and she had been using it ever since. The craftsmanship was exquisite. Three different retractable, glass scopes to help her align any shot that she made with pinpoint accuracy; a long brass barrel to ensure that the bullet went in a straight line; a slot to place in a hextech crystal or other energy source to give each shot an extra boost; a buttstock with a slight inward curve to let it sit comfortable on her shoulder; even the trigger fit perfectly in her fingers. On top of all of that, it just looked awesome and stylish.
Furthermore, the rifle wasn't just for show. Caitlyn was an absolute master with it. She knew every inch and detail of the rifle like the back of her hands, and also knew exactly where each bullet would hit. Every shot that she made was a wrench into someone's plans, and she rarely, rarely missed. And even if she did, Caitlyn could just fire again. Whenever anyone from the ground saw Caitlyn in the clocktower with her rifle sweeping the city, no one, with maybe a few exceptions, dared mess with the law on her watch.
'Nothing in the Oblique Lane, or Sideral Avenue, as usual.'
Admittedly for Caitlyn, surveillance from the clocktower could be very dull at times. With so few criminal schemes or activity taking place most of the time, she often ended up just standing there and enjoying a view that she had seen so many times already. Patrolling the streets on foot with her colleagues was a bit more interesting and allowed her to actually stretch her legs, but ironically it was the times when there was action that her job become both fun and exciting, yet this was precisely what she trying to prevent from happening in the first place. Despite all of this however, Caitlyn did derive self-satisfaction from knowing that it was her reputation and very presence that kept crime at bay.
'Okay, let's have a look at the north.'
The further Northern end of Piltover was home to the nobles and the aristocrats. The Medardas, the Cadwalders, the Ferros Clan and more. Because these families had wealthy statesman, they also tended to own more land than the average Piltovan citizen, and therefore more gardens with some of the only remaining spots of nature. Piltover was a technological marvel and had fashioned itself on both style and substance, but seeing trees and flowers on the hills in the north was a breath of fresh air that most Piltovans could do with. Too bad though that it was only available exclusively to the privileged.
'No weaponry or explosives anywhere, Treasury's looking fine, and so is Glasswell Street. Just as it should be.' Caitlyn smiled to herself. She stared into the horizon to see if there were any wild birds to be admired, but alas it was only clouds. Except… 'Hold up. What is that?' She squinted and pushed her top hat down to shield her eyes from the sun. 'It's getting bigger.' Whatever it was had only been a little spot in the sky, but now it was increasing in size, and getting bigger with every passing second, and even came into focus. 'It's flying towards the city… and rapidly at that.' Caitlyn deduced. She readied her rifle and aimed directly at it, but hesitated to shoot though. Was it dangerous? Did it need to be neutralised before it made impact?
It continued to accelerate at an alarming rate, coming in from the northeast. Furthermore, Caitlyn realised that its trajectory meant that it was heading straight for her. The colour was also discernible now: a white… comet? 'No. It can't be. It's… wailing?' The thing was captivating: almost putting her into a trance.
Within a split second, it was as if, from her perspective, the speed of this white blur had been cranked up by ten times. Caitlyn gasped and shook herself back to urgency, and she ducked just in time to avoid it crashing into her.
Whatever it was screamed as it flew above Caitlyn's head and knocked her top hat off. It collided directly with the southwest walled corner of the tower and ricocheted off, making a rather loud sound of metal against metal, and landing in a heap on the deck. Caitlyn slowly stood back up in utter shock. 'Oh my…' She looked in horror as she realised that it was a man. He had landed on his front, with both his arms and legs outstretched. His body was fizzling with what looked like a shell of white and greyish electricity. 'Unbelievable.' Caitlyn muttered. Yet the most mindboggling thing of all though was that he was still alive. He was groaning but also mumbling. The flickering of electricity – or whatever it was – persisted for seven more seconds. Only once it had ended did Caitlyn dare approach him. The man had short black hair. He was wearing a white coat, white trousers, and some sort of metallic boots on each foot.
Caitlyn replaced her hat on her head and cautiously inched closer, keeping her rifle pointed at him. 'Hello?' she said quietly. 'Are you alright?' The man's right hand twitched and he made more moaning noises. For over two minutes, he remained where he was, only making a few feeble movements with his hands, arms and legs. 'Maybe he'll won't last for much longer…'
She waited for even more minutes. She wasn't keeping count though, and was about to leave him, but by some miracle, he used both of his hands to push his chest upright and gently put himself into a sitting position. The man did this with his eyelids barely open. As he rubbed his eyes so that he could see again, he almost fell back at the sight of the rifle pointed directly at his head.
Caitlyn lowered the rifle and gave him a concerned look. 'Are you alright?' she repeated to the now conscious stranger.
'N-not really. In a lot of pain all ov-argh!' The man winced as he moved his neck too sharply to look around. 'Where am I?' he asked as he rubbed on the pain in his neck.
'…Piltover.' Caitlyn answered.
'Umm, okay. Good to know.'
'Where are you from then, and how did you end up… flying through the sky?'
The man hesitated before speaking. 'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.' he responded.
'Well that probably doesn't matter at this very moment. You need medical attention. I must say though that the speed at which you collided with the wall over there was ridiculous. How on earth did you survive that, or at least not have most of your bones broken?' Caitlyn put her rifle down and sat on the deck too.'
'Again, you probably would've believe me, were I to explain it.'
'Also when you were lying there unconsciously, for a short while you had some sort of greyish electricity fizzling around you.'
'Oh right, that's normal for me as well.'
'Bewildering, but something's not right here...' 'And is flying haplessly through the air normal for you too?'
'That part isn't, but I've had my fair share of crazy antics.'
'Hmm… Well either way, I'm going to call for assistance.' Caitlyn reached behind her for the walkie-talkie, which she kept in a pouch on her belt. 'This is Caitlyn. I need two people to climb to the top of the clocktower, pronto. Bring a first aid kit too. It's an emergency.'
'Copy that. We'll be there on the double.' said Mohan's voice.
Caitlyn placed the walkie-talkie back in her pouch. 'I'm the sheriff of this city.' she said as a reply to the puzzled look on the man's face.
'…oh, I see. Got it.'
Her deductive skills were unmatched. The way his eyes moved up and down after she had said that she was the sheriff. How he had given a delayed response. 'He's surprised about my profession because of my outfit. Heh.' It was understandable in a lot of ways. Caitlyn did have an officer's uniform, but more often than not opted to wear her own unique and almost sultry apparel. Although it was arguable that the Sheriff of Piltover should be dressed in uniform or at least more prim-proper clothing, a bit of flare and recognisability didn't hurt. 'Is there anywhere that you are particularly injured.' Caitlyn inquired.
'Honestly, not really. My right shoulder did get damaged recently, so hitting that thing was quite painful and I do hurt all over, but I think I'll be fine. I just need to find my group, which I got separated from.'
'We can discuss that later. You may seem okay, but I'm going to have you examined, nonetheless. Caitlyn said it dismissively, but she held on tightly to the man's every word. 'Just relax for now, and umm, sorry about startling you with my rifle. It's just my duty to be ready and alert.'
'I understand. Believe you me, I know the feeling too.'
Less than thirty seconds later, Mohan and an officer called Byster charged onto the deck. 'Told you *pant* we'd be here *pant* as quickly as possible.' Mohan gasped as he sat down
Byster placed a hessian bag next to Caitlyn, with a green first aid kit inside. 'Thanks.'
'You're welcome.' he replied, also thirsting for air, and sat next to Mohan.
'So Cait, what's the emergency?' Mohan asked. 'Why'd you get us legging it all the way up the clocktower?'
'This man over here. I'll explain later, but the short answer is that he hit the cornered wall up here really hard and fast. He seems to be mostly okay, but I want to make sure that he doesn't have any serious injuries. So Sir, may I ask that you remove your jacket and shirt?'
'What?' he said, startled at the abrupt instruction.
'Think of us as doctors for the sake of this. You need to be examined, but this is also an order from the police.'
'Okay, okay, I get it.' the man submitted. He awkwardly took his jacket off, then pulled his shirt over his head, and placed both of them on the floor behind him.
Caitlyn tried not to ogle. The whole of the right side of his body was made of metal: cybernetic for a more accurate term. Not that this unseen before in Piltover, or even uncommon for that matter, but she had not expected this man to have these kinds of augments underneath his garments. This was most likely the cause of the awful clanging sound that he had made when hitting the cornered wall. Surprisingly, they seemed intact, aside from a crack and a dent. Caitlyn felt everywhere else from his waist and above, pressing down gently on most of his bones and delicately squeezing parts of his flesh.
'Are you also a trained medic?' the man asked.
'It's not in the title, but a competent understanding of anatomy and handling injuries is part of the job description.'
Without even asking, Caitlyn began probing his legs. Beneath his trousers, Caitlyn felt that his right leg was also cybernetic. As she was touching his left leg however, Caitlyn noticed that the man was tensing his upper body. 'Does it hurt here?'
'N-no. It's nothing.' he said in an almost stupefied manner.
Another easy sign to decipher. He was enjoying it: more so than he probably would have liked to admit. 'Maybe I should've gotten one of these two boys to do the examining. Oh well. I don't mind.' Caitlyn thought to herself and repressed a smile from making its way onto her face.
The procedure astonishingly did not take long at all. 'I just can't believe it.' Caitlyn remarked. 'How can you possibly not have any serious injuries, even with your metallic body parts?'
'I have reasons for it.' the man replied as he put his shirt and jacket back on. 'Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I really need to leave and reunite with the group that I was travelling with.'
'Unfortunately, I can't just let you go.' Caitlyn said with a straight face. 'You have technically entered the state illegally, so I need you to come with me to the police station for an interrogation.'
'What? Why? I haven't committed any actual crimes.'
'We're not locking you away. I just need to ask you some questions. And whilst we're at it, we could offer you some food or snacks.'
Although he had no real choice in the matter, the man contemplated the order. It was clear that he was thinking hard about it. 'Okay, I suppose it's fine. I could do with a bite to eat as well, since I don't have any money on hand.'
'Very well then. Are you okay with walking?'
'I should be.' He eased himself to his feet and took a few steps as a test. 'Yes, I'll be good.'
'The walk down the tower is a long one: just a warning.'
'I'll let you know if I have any struggles then.'
'Hold on a minute.' Byster interjected. 'I had to expend all my energy for nothing?'
'It was a precautionary order, in case I needed more pairs of hands and first aid tools. Also he might've needed carrying down the stairs.' Caitlyn explained. 'As I said earlier, I'll elaborate on everything later, once we get him settled down.'
'But can I least get an extra salary as compensation for all that running?'
'No.'
Caitlyn didn't bother to give the man details of Piltover as they walked through the streets. She didn't know where he had come from, but touring could wait. As they stepped into the police station, the desk warden Harknor waved at them. 'Afternoon, officers.' he said merrily.
'And to you too, Harknor.'
'So, who's… this?' he asked, failing to hide the assumptive tone in his voice that this newcomer had done something bad.
'He's not under arrest. We're just going to run an interrogation, since he isn't from Piltover and ended up here presumably by accident.'
'How can you accidentally go somewhere?'
'I'll find that out soon. Don't worry about it and just continue with what you're doing.' Caitlyn wanted to be hospitable if possible. This man was probably under a lot of stress and confusion, but she couldn't be sure yet whether or not he was a threat.
They reached the interrogation room. The iron door with a hextech lock was particularly big, to allow criminals of almost all shapes and sizes to get in, which was why the corridor was so wide too. Caitlyn punched in an eight-digit keycode and ushered the man inside. 'Go and get Vi.' she ordered to Mohan. 'Tell her that the gauntlets can stay on, and grab something from the kitchen while you're at it.'
'Yes, Ma'am.' Mohan said with deference, albeit slightly forced, and went upstairs.
The inside of the interrogation room, although spacious, was not at all an inviting place for something like a party. The whole room was made out of a composite metal, with no windows at all. Almost two dozen lights were installed into the ceiling. The right wall was lined with cabinets, as well as a large panel of gadgets: probing equipment. At the back of the room were several steel chairs, which were nailed to the floor, with shackles attached to them and two different models of searchlights on small tripods standing next to them. A stack of five wooden chairs were placed in the back-right corner of the room. The only comforting thing to be seen was on left side of the room, which had a couple of red couches and armchairs alongside it.
Caitlyn directed the man into one of the shackled chairs at the back. 'The chains shouldn't be necessary. It's just custom for an interrogatee to sit in one of these.'
'Good to know.' said the man with unease.
'We'll wait for Mohan and my deputy Vi to get here.' Caitlyn put her rifle on the floor, grabbed a clipboard and pen out of one of the cabinets and also took one of the wooden chairs and placed it in front of the man's. Byster meanwhile sat down on the red armchair nearest to them.
They did not have to wait long at all. Mohan pushed the door open with his shoulders, and the handles of three brown, paper bags looped around his arms. Following him was Vi: a reformed criminal and gang member from Zaun, who now served as Caitlyn's right-hand woman and the best call of action when a situation or person required some brute force to be sorted out. Although she had still not fully subdued some of her old habits from her days as a crook, such as being excessively violent or brash at times, or even failing to listen to orders completely, Vi was another integral part of Piltover's police force.
Perhaps even more so than Caitlyn, Vi's getup did not look like that of an officer of justice. She had punk-styled pink hair, a pair of goggles on top of her head and armour across most of her body – including her torso, shins, shoulders and thighs. Even her name was tattooed onto her left cheek. But Vi was known mostly for her extremely large hextech gauntlets. She had acquired them from the mech of a gang that had backstabbed her own during a raid in the Zaunite mines. After the Factorywood Fiends made their escape with their share from the crumbling mines, Vi took the gauntlets from the mech and punched her way through the dirt, giving both Vi and her gang an escape. After delivering a retributive beating to the Factorywood Fiends the following day, she abandoned her role as a criminal and seemingly disappeared from society altogether. It turned out though that sometime later, Vi had been discretely offered a position on Piltover's Wardens by Caitlyn herself, and she accepted on the spot.
No one really knows how this seemingly unlikely duo came to be, but irrespective of how it happened, no one can deny how formidable the two of them were as a tag team, covering up twice as much ground, as well as each other's weaknesses. Vi had finally found a place to call home, and Caitlyn's job became just a bit easier.
Vi swaggered into the interrogation room, flexing the fingers on her gauntlets whilst doing so. They were incredibly heavy, so it was amazing how Vi could carry them around all day as if they were merely a pair of gloves. 'Somebody's face need smashing?' she asked Caitlyn.
'No, that won't be needed today, Vi.' said Caitlyn who was anxious on behalf of the half-iron man. 'We're just running an interrogation, so I need multiple pairs of ears.'
'But fists won't do?'
'Only if the subject makes an offensive manoeuvre.'
Vi withheld a scoff; Caitlyn could tell that she was disappointed. Both Vi and Mohan then sat on the sofa next to Byster.
'Before we begin, would you like something to eat?' Caitlyn asked the man.
'What do you have?' he asked back.
'Mohan, what's in those bags?'
'Doughnuts.' he said simply.
'Really? Is that all you could be bothered to get?' Caitlyn deadpanned.
'Well I thought out guest would like something simple and sweet. And besides, doughnuts are what we mostly have.'
Caitlyn seemed to both laugh and sigh at the same time. 'I guess if we have an excess number of them in the cupboard, it'd be good to get rid of some. Would you like a doughnut or two then?' she addressed the foreigner.
'I guess I would.'
Mohan walked forward and placed the bags down in front of the man.
He spread the nearest bag open and peered inside. 'Does it matter which one I have?'
'We have too many, so no it doesn't.' said Caitlyn.
He opened the lid of a pack of six pink frosting doughnuts with coloured sprinkles, took one out and sniffed it.
Caitlyn watched him closely. 'He's scanning it thoroughly instead of just eating it…'
Eventually he took a bite after ten seconds of playing with it in his hands and chewed really slowly.
'Again, he's analysing it rather than enjoying it. Maybe he's never had one before?'
The next minute of awkward silence went by agonisingly slow, with him eating the doughnut and everyone watching.
'Thank you. That was delicious.' He said sincerely and wiped some crumbs and sugar off his lips.
Caitlyn was glad to actually begin. 'You're welcome. So, Mr…' she faltered. 'Actually, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. I'm Caitlyn, this is Vi, this is Mohan, and this is Byster. What is your name then?'
He hesitated before saying it. 'Ironwood. General Ironwood, officially.'
Caitlyn fiddled with the name inside her head and wrote it down on the clipboard. 'General Ironwood? General of where?' 'And may I ask what your first name is?'
'It's James. Sorry, I'm so used to introducing myself with my surname and title.'
'Okay. You said earlier that I wouldn't believe it if you told me where you are from. Well I'll ask you to actually give me an answer this time.'
'…Ionia.'
'He keeps pausing before speaking. Is he lying, or is he nervous? Or both?' 'I see. You've definitely come from far away then, but assuming that you did the trip in one go, by what means were you able to fly through the air?'
'Uhh… I don't know how to explain it. I'm not even sure if I understand it myself.'
'He seems to be equivocating, but why? Has he got something to hide, or does he truly think that the answer is so absurd that I wouldn't believe him?' 'Just describe it to the best of your ability, even if you think it sounds ridiculous.'
Ironwood nodded. 'Okay, I'll try and convey it in the best way that I can. So I myself am not actually from Ionia, but I was piloting a ship there with my group that I've mentioned already. And just before we actually managed to land, some beast or dragon I think came out of the sky. It seemed mad at us and then grabbed my ship and broke it apart, and the last thing I remember was my head spinning and me flying uncontrollable for a long time, and then I open my eyes to see your gun pointed straight at me.'
'Once again, I apologise for that.' said Caitlyn. 'But if Ionia isn't your native land, where is home for you?'
'Somewhere you probably haven't heard of.' Ironwood said.
'Just say the name, or I'll have to assume that you're hiding something.' Caitlyn demanded.
Ironwood sighed. 'Very well: Atlas. Or more broadly: Remnant.'
'Hmm… and are your group also from these two places that you just mentioned?'
'Most of them are from Remnant, but three of them aren't. One of them doesn't really live anywhere in particular in Runeterra and just kinda, goes about – an itinerant if you will. Another is from Mount Targon, I think it's called, and the other is actually from Ionia. He was the one who was guiding us there.
Caitlyn scribbled on her clipboard in silence, but her brain was sorting through everything that Ironwood had said and displayed so far.
'Very peculiar details, and none of them add up. "James Ironwood". He claims to be a General, but a General of what? "Atlas" or "Remnant"? He's correct. I definitely have not heard of those names before.
'He says he's not from Ionia, but he was travelling there. It makes sense therefore that he flew in from the Northeast. He stumbled on the name of Targon so that's definitely not it. He can't be from Noxus if Jericho Swain is their current General. Demacia is a monarchy that's protected by the Vanguards. His body is too cybernetically enhanced for him to be from places like Shurima, Freljord or Bilgewater, yet he definitely cannot be from Zaun or Piltover because of his accent and his clear unfamiliarity with the city.
'He was also hesitant to eat the doughnut, as if he was trying to determine whether or not it was edible. And of course, we now know that Runeterra has been expanded and new land has been discovered. Wait, is he?!'
Caitlyn pressed down on the finial of the pen to retract the tip and tucked it inside the penholder on the clipboard. It was a wild stab in the dark, but at the same time it wasn't. 'Are you… from another world?' she asked.
Ironwood's eyes widened. 'Yes, I am.' he said, almost sounding relieved. 'Are you aware of it too, that your world and mine have merged?'
'"Merged", you say?' Caitlyn repeated. This wasn't the wording that had been used at the meeting with the Mayor.
'Yes. On my planet, called Remnant, I am the General and leader of a Kingdom called Atlas, and I had a report from an "associate" of mine that there had been severe earthquakes on the far east and west sides of the planet, and that new land had been discovered in place of where we would normally expect to see the other side of Remnant. I met with some of my other colleagues and we talked about this, in addition to how we are seeing another moon in the sky, and now we even realise that the days are going by much slower than they should be.'
'So it's true then…' Caitlyn murmured. 'I was in a meeting a few prolonged days ago myself, and we too discussed how another moon had appeared, how there had been earthquakes and how our working days have been affected because of longer days. The city is still trying to adjust to these changes.'
Ironwood wiped his brow. 'Oh thank goodness I'm in a place where I don't have to convince the people that I'm not lying.'
'I'm personally grateful that the first person we meet from your world is nice and can speak our language.' Caitlyn observed. 'Aside from the uncertainty and odds of how this even happened in the first place, unless you yourself have an explanation for that, what are the chances that two entirely different planets would share both a language and a species?'
'That is true as well. I couldn't believe it myself when I first met with people from Runeterra.'
'Actually, speaking of which, you said mentioned that you were with three people who were from Runeterra themselves. Care to explain that?'
'Uh yes, so these three people travelled to Remnant very shortly after our planets combined. I was dealing with an internal problem with my colleagues at the time, and out of pure coincidence, they showed up and assisted us in battle against multiple forces. If I may add, something else also came to our world from Runeterra on that night. From the word of the people I met with, its name is Aatrox and it singlehandedly destroyed an entire school. Not even more than twenty of our finest warriors combined could not take it down. We were only saved in time by an intervening force that froze Aatrox in place.'
'That sounds horrific, but I'm glad to hear that you were at least able to get some help.' said Caitlyn earnestly. 'Still though, "Aatrox"?' She rolled the name across her tongue.
'I've heard that name before.' Mohan piped up. 'Aatrox. It's mentioned in folklore and tales of the Great Darkin War.'
'Well apparently, we saw the real thing last night.' Ironwood went on. 'I mention it because the reason I travelled to Runeterra with a group in the first place was because we decided that it would be a good opportunity to establish relations between planets. If there are beasts like Aatrox in Runeterra, with similar monsters in Remnant as well, then if we can get closer together, we might have a chance to make both our worlds a better place.'
Caitlyn nodded her head. 'I suppose it's possible for us to unify, assuming that we do have a lot in common.'
'This is exactly what I was thinking. We could establish trade routes, or become military allies. The sooner we can do that, the better.'
'There is one slight problem with that, as far as Runeterra is concerned however. As nations go, we're not all on good terms with each other to begin with, and there's a rather large divide between technology of states. For instance, the Noxian Empire is constantly knocking on the doorsteps of other regions, trying to invade and take land for themselves. Piltover and its dual city-state of Zaun, are the most technologically advanced in Runeterra, whilst the Freljord still use raw materials to light fires, if I'm not mistaken. If we as a planet aren't really able to unify, is it possible for yours to do so with ours?'
'Hmm, that is a good point.' Ironwood rubbed his chin. 'I hadn't even thought of that as being a possible factor. When I met with three different people from Runeterra prior to actually coming here myself, I just assumed that you would also be planet of unity. In Remnant, although we have had tensions in the past, we are currently doing better than ever before. And although there are some technological gaps between my nation and the other three, well four technically, it hasn't divided us.'
'Of course, it's not a bad idea to try and organise relations between our worlds. It's better to at least attempt to become neighbours, rather than remaining as strangers or even being perceived as enemies. In execution though, it may be a bit more difficult. In fact, we recently sent an explorer to go to Remnant to find out as much as he could about your world and report back to us.'
'True…' Ironwood put his elbows on his legs and his head in his hands, and sighed. 'What am I going to do though? How will I ever get back to my group? I have no idea what happened to them after that dragon destroyed my ship…'
'We could try and conduct a search,' Caitlyn suggested. 'but because of the circumstances under which this happened, it might be hard to find them.'
Ironwood opened a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a holographic device and looked at it momentarily. Caitlyn could read backwards and see that the screen said "No Signal" on it. He groaned and returned the gizmo to his pocket. 'Why did that dragon have to come and completely screw me over?!' he exclaimed.
'Try not to dwell on it.' Caitlyn advised. 'Focus on your own survival for now. It's better to stay put rather than go wondering and get lost in a world that you know nothing about. You told me that you don't have any money on you, am I correct?'
'Yeah.'
'Would you like to stay at the police station for the meantime?'
'I mean, that would be really helpful, since I'm essentially homeless at the moment. Thank you.'
'You're welcome.' Caitlyn smiled.
'Whereabouts would I be staying?' Ironwood inquired.
'Umm… you might be forced to stay inside a cell, but of course you won't be locked up.'
'Mhm.' Ironwood nodded.
'Unless… Ironwood, you said that you were the General of your Kingdom Atlas, right?'
'Yes, I am.'
'How much experience do you have then with policing people about?'
'Plenty actually, and I've trained as a Huntsman throughout most of my life, so I also know how to both throw and take a good beating.'
'In that case,' a grin was brewing on Caitlyn's face. 'even if you would only want to be doing it temporarily, would you like to join the police force?'
'M-me?' Ironwood pointed at himself.
'Yes. You'll have a place to stay, we'll pay you for your services, and if you find your group again, we could try and set up diplomatic relations between Piltover and Atlas. What do you say?'
'I mean, I like the sound of it, but is it okay to just hire someone like this without any prior evaluation?'
'This is essentially how I recruited Vi.' Caitlyn replied. 'So is that a yes or a no?'
Ironwood brightened up. 'You'll have to give me a more in-depth look at how policing works here in Piltover, but I accept.'
'Welcome aboard then.' Caitlyn offered her hand, and Ironwood shook it.
'Didn't expect this to happen when I got summoned here.' Vi commented. 'Still, it's always good to see some new faces on the team every so often.'
'Thank you, Vi.' said Ironwood.
'I suppose we should start by giving you a proper rundown then.' Caitlyn advised. 'I assign duty schedules to all the officers per week and give them areas to patrol. Of course, we'll have to show you around Piltover so that you can familiarise yourself with everything, but you'll be tagging along with someone, so you'll be fine.'
'Sounds good to me.'
'We'll also have to equip you properly.'
'Actually, I do have these:' Ironwood pulled out two large revolvers, seemingly out of nowhere, and showed it to everyone else in the room.
'Interesting…' Caitlyn muttered as she tried to see if she could decipher anything from the model alone. 'Decent firepower and accuracy?'
'Yeah. It's come in handy a lot in Remnant when dealing with criminals and these creatures we have called Grimm.'
'We could definitely give you more than that though.' Caitlyn got up and went to the panel of gadgets on the wall. 'Hextech pepper spray, hextech grabbling hook… Umm… ahh, how about this: a hextech taser?'
'Pardon me for asking, but what is meant by "hextech"?' Ironwood asked.
'It's a fusion of magic and technology.' Caitlyn explained. 'A lot of the world often see the two as mutually exclusive, but Piltover discovered first that they are actually complimentary of each other, and have allowed for us to create some of the finest and most cost and energy-efficient inventions to date.'
'Fascinating. Well, I know what a taser does, but what about a hextech taser?'
'This was invented by one of our revered Piltovan scientists, Jayce Giopara. It uses pure electrons, rather than darts. The range it covers is twice as long as an ordinary taser, and the electrical charge it gives off magically avoids all vital organs. Instead, the current flows through the bones and muscles to subdue the target without risk of inflicting lethal harm. That and it's funny to hear someone make silly noises after being shocked.'
'I'll take whatever you recommend.' said Ironwood.
'This'll be good for you then. It's both an interrogation and combat tool.' Caitlyn pulled it off the wall and gave it to Ironwood.
He examined and fiddled with it. The shape and design felt wonderful in his hands, and it was small and compact.
'If you do leave us, you'll be required to give it back, but for now, it's yours.'
'I feel honoured.' Ironwood smiled. 'I'll make good use and take good care of it.'
'That's what I like to hear. Now then, how are you feeling? Do you still need to rest after hitting that wall, or are you okay to go for a wonder around the city?'
'I think I've been sitting down for long enough, so I could do with a walk.'
'Very well then. Vi, you come with me and Ironwood. Byster, you're due to go on duty in the west, and Mohan I want you to take the clipboard I was writing on, take it up to the computer room and get the notes in print form.' Caitlyn ordered.
'Yes, Ma'am.' Byster and Mohan said in unison and got on with their tasks.
Caitlyn, Vi and Ironwood exited the police station together, and they were greeted by the shining sun, which was still high in the sky.
'We'll start by going to the south. This is Piltover's more industrial side and is also interlinked with the city of Zaun. There's more pollution down here, but you'll be fine.'
Ironwood took in his surroundings like a sponge. Piltover's architecture and aesthetics were similar-ish to Atlas and even Mantle, but there was something about Piltover which made it seem both ornamental and comforting. It was like a more appealing version of Mantle.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted in the far distance. The three of them jumped at the abrupt noise. 'What the..?' Caitlyn uttered. It came again, the same explosive boom. And then another type of explosion, followed by two separate high-pitched laughs.
Sirens began to wail, followed by the distress of citizens panicking and running for their lives. 'Oh no. Get your taser ready Officer Ironwood. This is going to be your first job in the field. Everyone follow me.'
Tyrian Callows scampered towards the sound of the explosives and laughter that matched the lunacy of his own. His grin was abnormally stretched and his eyes open wider than the circumference of a tin can. He ignored the pain of wind flying into his face. Nothing was going to stop him from getting involved in whatever was taking place.
He ran through the gates, which had been blown up, following the trail of smoke and delectable sounds. The laughter was increasing in volume. 'There it is, there it is!' He saw two figures.
One was a skinny, blue haired girl with exceptionally long braids and a barely existent outfit. She carried a rocket launcher, shaped like a shark, on her left shoulder, and a minigun with pig-ears in her right hand. She was sending rockets flying everywhere.
The other was a small, furry little creature with a big bomb on its back, and it was throwing more bombs in every direction. The look of joy on their faces was endearing to Tyrian. He ran towards them: eyes set on the blue haired girl.
'Look, look at that!' the furry creature shouted to the girl. She turned towards Tyrian and fired a rocket at him. Tyrian vaulted over it and pounced on her, pinning her to the ground and she dropped her weapons.
'H-hey, get off!' she yelled, yet still wore a malicious grin.
'I loooove mayhem.' Tyrian cooed. 'Do you love it too?'
Her eyes widened to the same level as Tyrian's. 'I do. I do! Screaming and panic! It lights me on fire!'
'Can I join in?!'
'Yes!'
'Tyrian leapt of the girl and danced merrily on the spot. 'Oh, how exciting this is!'
'Look Ziggs, we got a new partner!'
'Yay!' Ziggs cheered.
'Here, take Pop-Pow!' Jinx got up and tossed her minigun to Tyrian.
He caught it and examined the gun's shape and feel.
'Just hold down the trigger and tear everything to shreds!'
Tyrian tested the trigger on a nearby bakery. Bullets shot out from the tips, and the building crumbled within seconds. 'Nice, very nice!'
'I'm Jinx, and you are..?' asked the girl.
'Tyrian. An absolute pleasure it is.'
'Yep, now let's go and blow everything up!' Jinx ran forward whilst firing her rocket launcher, Fishbones, from left to right. Ziggs and Tyrian followed.
'So satisfying!' Tyrian shouted as they destroyed the entire street.
'You know it!' agreed Jinx.
Their combined laughter was enough to drive anyone insane, but it was the destruction they were bringing, which would bring Piltover to its knees. Who was going to match their firepower?
Caitlyn, Vi and Ironwood entered a sprint as they rushed to the source of the chaos. 'It's her again, isn't it?' Vi said.
'It definitely is. Well she's not getting away this time.'
They made their way through the rubble, which was already littering the streets, and citizens were scrambling for cover in the opposite direction. The cost of the repairs was going to be massive…
The explosions were in close proximity, as was the laughter. They turned a corner and "There!" Caitlyn pointed at the three perpetrators.
'Crap, it's the fun police!' Jinx moaned. 'Time to move everyone!' Jinx, Ziggs and Tyrian all began running in different directions. Ziggs turned left, heading towards Piltover's west; Tyrian ran back the way they had come; and Jinx went right.
Caitlyn aimed her rifle at Tyrian, however he disappeared around a corner before she could shoot. She groaned. 'Split up and pursue them!' Caitlyn then quickly brought her walkie-talkie to her mouth. 'Jinx, Ziggs and another unknown accomplice are attacking Southern Piltover! We need backup! Anyone at all!' she commanded and put it back into her belt.
Vi went after Jinx, Caitlyn followed Ziggs, and Ironwood ran in Tyrian's direction. The three culprits were fast, but the destruction they caused was a dead giveaway of their positions.
It was amazing how quickly Vi could run with her gauntlets hanging from her arms. She'd had a lot of practice though. Jinx was infamous in Piltover, not only for how much devastation she always caused, but also how difficult it was to catch her. Somehow, even when carrying two really large weapons, ammunition and a set of foot traps, she could outpace almost everyone. Vi curved into Piston Avenue: a street which primarily sold machinery parts. 'Get back here!' Vi yelled.
'Come and get me, Fat Hands!' Jinx taunted.
Vi growled and charged forward. She evaded the rocket, swiftly stepping aside the first two and even jumping over two more. Jinx grinned as Vi encroached. She may have been insane, but Jinx was also surprisingly cunning. Vi jumped up and raised her fists above her head, ready to pulverise Jinx into mush. But Jinx had other ideas. 'Gotcha!' she said and put down three chomping traps. Vi's feet landed directly in them and they bit down on her ankles – snaring her in place. Jinx fired another rocket at Vi's feet, and it sent her flying. She landed face first in some sharp stone debris, and Jinx laughed hysterically. Vi clumsily got up and wiped the stones from her face. A bit of blood ran down her right gauntlet.
'Is that the best you got, Fat Hands?!' Jinx mocked again.
'Shut UP!' Vi snarled. 'I'll snap that bazooka in two and break your face in!'
'Hahahaha! I'd like to see you try, Fat Hands!'
'Grrrr!' Vi roared in anger and made another attempt on Jinx. She readied her gauntlets and rushed forward. Jinx made a run for it, putting a sizeable amount of distance between her and Vi. She placed down another set of traps; they caught on Vi's feet and she tripped over. Jinx rolled on the floor in fits of laughter. Vi's infuriation was her worst enemy. Her blood was boiling, and Jinx knew it. 'C'mon Vi, you can do better than that!'
'I said SHUT UP!' Vi exploded. She punched a crater into the ground and lunged at Jinx. Yet again though, Jinx was prepared for this. She whipped out a stun pistol and fired it at Vi. The shock caused her to lose her footing. For the third time in quick succession, Vi was humiliatingly on the ground.
'I'm over here, Fat Hands!' Before she could even attempt to get up, Jinx blasted her with another rocket. Vi flew horizontally over the pavement and rolled into a mound of rubble, which collapsed on top of her.
Jinx's laughter: It just didn't end… Vi wished that she could close her ears and make it stop, but if she had a choice, Vi wanted to squash her laugh-box and skull between her fists. She threw the debris off, raised her gauntlets above her head and screamed. She glared at Jinx. The blood vessels in her eyes were on the verge of popping. Vi didn't usually have murderous intent, but her restrain had been unknotted. She ran in a blind rage at her, no longer caring if Jinx was brought in dead or alive, or what happened to herself. Jinx fired a rocket, but Vi punched straight through it, ignoring the explosion entirely. She emerged from the smoke and fire so fast that Jinx did not have time to react. For the first time in so long, Vi landed a hit on Jinx. Her gauntlet hit her squarely in the face. The impact was so powerful that it launched her across the street and straight through the wall of the nearest building that was perpendicular of Piston Avenue.
Vi uncurled her fist and took deep breaths. She saw the large hole in the wall opposite her. Fishbones was on the floor next to where Jinx had been standing. 'Oh my, that felt goooood.' Vi smirked. She approached the wall and peered inside. There was another gaping hole in the wall inside the building. Vi stepped in and went to the second hole. To her amazement, there was a third one, which opened up into the next building. It was through there where Vi found Jinx. She was crumpled on the carpet. Her face had been squashed, her nose was completely broken and blood trickled down her face. Besides this, Jinx was also lying in a small but still nasty puddle of red. She wasn't moving, but was still breathing through her mouth.
Vi knelt at Jinx's side. She was mildly tempted to finish her off. 'It would be payback for all the damage she's caused and lives that she's taken, but at the same time… no. She deserves to suffer for life from boredom behind bars.' Instead, Vi picked her up and put her on top of her right shoulder and then went to get Fishbones. It was also tempting to destroy her accursed rocket launcher. 'Maybe it'll make a good police way though, this thing has made its last boom.'
She headed back towards the police station. In the distance, explosions were still going off, and cackles could still be heard.
Ziggs was one slippery little devil. He seemed to have an infinite stash of bombs on him and he threw them constantly, making it difficult for Caitlyn to be able to stand still and line up a good shot without being hit or having her view obscured by the explosions and smoke. To this day, she still did not understand where all the bombs came from. They were almost the same size as himself, and they kept rematerialising in his hands. Ziggs ran into Oblique Lane, throwing bombs both left and right. Caitlyn followed him, almost running straight into a bomb. She threw herself out of the way just in time, before it exploded and destroyed a statue of Mayor Vincent behind her.
'C'mon, c'mon, why'd ya always gotta spoil the fun?!' said Ziggs.
'Because you disrupt the peace and cause all this destruction for nothing?!' Caitlyn fumed.
'There's nothing fun about peace though!'
'It doesn't matter what you think! You're breaking the law to such an extreme degree, therefore I am bringing you in!'
'Good luck with that!' Ziggs threw two bombs straight at her. Caitlyn fired a bullet at one to destroy them both before they hit her. She moved to the left to get him back in her sights, but Ziggs had blown up the side of a tool shop, and he was safe behind a pile of rubble.
'Damnit!' Caitlyn took cover behind the building on the edge of the street. She knew that she had the advantage of being able to work around the bomb's travel speed, yet how could she handle the sheer quantity of explosives that Ziggs wielded? She peered around the corner. Ziggs was running away, all the while tossing even more bombs at the structures on either side of him. Caitlyn pointed her rifle at Ziggs. 'Is he really stupid enough to forget that I'm here?' This was no time for hesitating though. She lined up the shot and fired. The bullet hit the bomb on his back. It exploded and Ziggs went soaring into the air, flying around in circles and screaming, like a balloon that had been untied. He fell to the ground and lay still.
Caitlyn creeped around the corner of the building and moved towards him with her rifle pointed at his throwing arm, cautious in case he made any sudden movements. Ziggs was breathing, but his eyes were closed. 'He's awake though. I can tell. He's planning something… Almost there. Carefully, carefully… carefu-'
Something detonated beneath the loose slates at her feet. Caitlyn was launched into the air. Her top hat departed from her head and she dropped her rifle also, and fell on of her left side, grazing her elbow.
'Haha! You fell for it!' Ziggs chortled.
Caitlyn rolled over to face Ziggs. She gasped in horror.
'Bombs away!' Ziggs threw a ginormous bomb into the air and used a Satchel Charge to push himself out of danger. It was as big as a typical lounge for a family! Caitlyn couldn't move in time, and even if she'd been able get up, there was no way that she could outrun the blast. She held her hands over her head, waiting for the bomb to consume her.
Ironwood sprinted after Tyrian. He had one of his revolvers in one hand and the taser in the other. Tyrian flipped around the corner and fired Pow-Pow in every possible direction, tearing up stone and metal in his wake. Ironwood gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected to be recruited as a police officer upon arrival in Runeterra, and he certainly hadn't expected to be in the thick of the action so quickly. Although Ironwood was fast, Tyrian was both fast and agile. This was going to be a tough opponent to lock down.
He turned the corner and saw Tyrian in a frenzy with Pow-Pow. Ironwood shot both a bullet from his handgun and a bolt of electricity from the taser. Tyrian, sensing the incoming fire, ducked and swivelled around to confront Ironwood. Immediately upon laying visual contact with him, Tyrian dropped Pow-Pow and slapped himself in the face once. His eyes widened and a wickedly evil smile wrote itself onto his visage. Ironwood, noticing his genuine surprise, halted.
'Well, as I live and breathe: if it isn't General Ironwood! Now what could you be doing here of all places?'
Ironwood almost chocked on his own breath. 'W-what!?'
'I mean, it's not everyday that you come face to face with someone who is from the same world as your own, but in a completely different one.'
'W-who are you, and how do you know who I am?!' Ironwood demanded.
'Why my good friend, my name is Tyrian. You probably haven't heard of me before because I'm not really all that important, but I'm sure that you know who Her Grace is.'
An ice-cold shiver went down Ironwood's spine. 'No, you don't mean… her?'
Tyrian laughed maniacally. 'Yes, exactly: Her!'
'Well, what are you doing here then?'
'I asked you that question first, did I not? But if you must know, I got in a mess with a little girl from this planet, and I ended up here. And how about you then?'
'Umm…'
'Hey, don't be rude! I gave you your answer, now you owe me mine.'
'I travelled here, willingly.'
Tyrian momentarily pondered the response. 'Hm, fair enough, but enough talk! You are on my Goddess' wanted list, so do me a favour and let me end your life!'
Ironwood's mind was racing. What was he to do? 'Should I run? It would be cowardly if I did so. But if he's an apprentice of Salem, then I might not be able to take him on. No, I certainly won't be able to outrun him. I have to face him…'
He gulped and put on a grimace. 'Alright. Bring it on then, Tyrian.'
Tyrian yelled and lunged towards Ironwood with beady and hungry eyes. He deployed his wrist-blades and slashed at Ironwood. The General jumped back and fired two rounds from his revolver. Tyrian evaded them with lightning fast-reflexes. He pounced again, slicing and dicing the blades as rapidly as possible. Ironwood blocked the assault with his metallic arm. They ripped through his jacket and shirt, but his arm was only scratched.
Tyrian kicked Ironwood in his right shin. The pain of hitting the metal stung so sharply that it swam directly up his own feet and leg. He leapt back, retracting his own leg and clutching it. Ironwood punched Tyrian in the face with his iron first. Tyrian yelped and clutched his face. He still had plenty of Aura though. Kicking the General and being hit by him had hurt, however he was unscathed. In fact, he eagerness to slay Ironwood himself had been amplified.
He now knew that Ironwood was durable, and actually made partially out of metal. Raw striking power was going to be needed, and a dose of his secret weapon. Tyrian shot out some bullets from his wrist-blades. Ironwood dodged them, but gave Tyrian enough exposure time to attempt to strike his chest. The edges gashed through Ironwood's clothes, but also the surface of his flesh. Ironwood stumbled back and was kicked to the floor by Tyrian. He prepared himself to pounce.
In a flash, Ironwood pulled the trigger of the laser, which he had sneakily kept at his side. The bolt hit Tyrian in the chest. He went berserk; began shaking violently, making funny noises and frothing at the mouth. He fell to the ground and rolled about as if he was having a seizure.
Ironwood clutched the gashes in his chest as he stood back up. 'Pretty effective.' he thought to himself. Ironwood pulled out one of his revolvers again and aimed it at Tyrian's back. The bullet made contact, however it ricocheted off of something and rebounded into Ironwood's left shoulder. 'Gah!' Ironwood cried out. Fortunately, his Aura was active. Still though, 'That was that?'
Tyrian jumped up and slashed at Ironwood. The General reacted just in time. Tyrian was getting much more aggressive. He kept repeatedly swinging his blades and fast as he could, keeping pressure on Ironwood as long as possible. Unlike Tyrian, Ironwood did not have a proper offensive weapon. He was being forced to manoeuvre his metal arm all over the place to shield himself from the wrist-blades. Ironwood couldn't hold out long: One arm against two sharp edges.
Their eyes met for a split second. Tyrian saw desperation. Ironwood saw his own demise. They both had gritted teeth. Someone was going to get another hit, but who?
Ironwood scrambled his free hand for the taser, which he had foolishly put back in his jacket. It was so awkward in the midst of their battle of attrition, but he managed it. Another bolt of electricity exited the taser and hit Tyrian in his right hand. He spasmed again and timbered to the ground, convulsing in what looked like very painful movements. His Aura flickered. Ironwood reached for his revolver again and pointed it this time at Tyrian's head. He didn't want to kill, but to get him out of the picture for good would be one less thing to worry about. He put his finger around the trigger and, 'Arghhh!'
Ironwood dropped both the taser and the gun, and collapsed. A searing sharp pain pierced his chest. He screamed through gritted teeth and clutched the spot where he had been struck. It was agonisingly painful.
Tyrian shook the last of the taser's effects out of him and smugly got back to his feet, stretching his stinger out triumphantly. He swaggered towards Ironwood, who was writhing on the floor. Tyrian sniggered. He should kill him instantly whilst he was still helpless and at the peak of his agony. Tyrian wanted to savour the delight of killing him though: to bask in the glory that would come with killing General Ironwood. He raised his stringer, reading to plunge it deep into his throat. 'Say goodnight, General Ironwood…'
Something hit Tyrian from behind. A potent ball of energy. He cried out in pain and stumbled back (Definitely should've killed him when he had the chance). 'What the?!' He turned around in time to see a large hammer smash into the side of his head. The force sent Tyrian careening sideways into the wall of the house on their left. He bounced off of it and fell back down to the ground on his front.
Ironwood was still in a huge amount of anguish, but had regained enough composure just in time to see in the corner of his eye Tyrian collide with the wall. He looked at where Tyrian had just been. A fairly handsome man was standing there instead. He wore an ostentatious looking coat with dark trousers. In his hands, he carried a metal contraption on a long handle. 'Got your back.' he said with a smirk.
'Th-thanks…' Ironwood managed to say.
Tyrian growled and used the wall to help him return to his feet. His head was spinning so much that he couldn't see straight. 'Y-you!' he exclaimed at the man who had hit him. 'How d-dare you interrupt our fight, you bastard!'
'Hmph.' he shrugged. 'How dare you have such an ugly face.'
Tyrian stumbled backwards. 'You'll pay for this…' he said sinisterly and proceeded to half run and half stagger out of the street.
'I see you're using one of my nifty inventions. Good on you.' the man said. He approached Ironwood and offered him a hand.
'Much appreciated.' Ironwood replied.
'Are you okay? That guy looked like a menace.'
'I think I'll be fine.' said Ironwood, but whatever he just hit me with, really… hurts.'
'At least he's gone now. This whole place is in shambles, but I can still get you somewhere to have that wound treated.'
'Thanks. I owe you one.'
'By the way, how come you're in possession of my taser?'
'This thing? I joined the police today, and this was the device that the Sheriff gave me.'
'Ah, I get it. And who might I have the pleasure of meeting?'
'I'm General Ironwood. How about you?'
'Jayce Giopara.'
'Oh yes, I remember the Sheriff mentioning you.'
'Caitlyn's bragging my name? Wouldn't expect anything less from her.'
'Well this thing's really useful. Good job on inventing it.'
'Pleasure from yours truly. Now, shall we get you checked up. Perhaps we should go to the police station?'
'Yes. Many thanks once again, Jayce.'
Caitlyn put her hands over her head, knowing that Ziggs' bomb would be the end of her. She felt a jolt as if she was in a vehicle that had gone from a standstill to full speed in a millisecond. She found herself flying across the ground. The bang was deafening, and the heat it omitted was almost too much to handle, but the sound of the bomb on its own confirmed that Caitlyn was alive. 'But how?!'
She looked down and realised that she was still slightly above the ground. She reached underneath her as well and felt two arms that were holding her up.
'Can I put you down now?' A familiar voice asked.
'Y-yes.' said Caitlyn. She let herself be turned the right-side up, and her boots reunited with the pavement. Caitlyn pivoted around and saw a very tall woman, with tidy white hair, a regally grey outfit, incredibly large thighs, a few hextech augments on the front of her body, and most notably, literal knives for legs. She also had Caitlyn's hat on her head, and her rifle between left armpit. 'Thank you, Camille.' said Caitlyn with tears in her eyes.
'Let me handle it from here.' Camille instructed, giving Caitlyn's hat and rifle back. She fired hookshots from her thighs that latched onto the side of the building on their right, which was amazingly still intact after Ziggs' carefree fiesta, and launched right off it, straight towards him. The speed at which she travelled was frightening.
Ziggs was about to throw a bomb to ward her off, but Camille caught up to him too quickly for Ziggs to retaliate. She kicked Ziggs and held him down with the point of her right leg. 'Get out of my city!' Camille said sternly. 'Never come back, or I will not hesitate to kill you!' And before Ziggs could even say anything, Camille raised her leg slightly to pick him up. She tossed him into the air and followed up with a kick so hard that it sent him out of the city walls, back into Zaun, like a baseball being knocked out of the park. They could still hear his scream even after he had disappeared from view for five more seconds. 'Good riddance.' Camille scoffed.
'We could've done with arresting him, but I am so grateful that you came. How did you find me?'
'I followed the explosions. Word spread that you had called for assistance, so I left my manor and came as soon as I could.'
'Yes I did, and so far, you're the only person I've seen who's actually helped.'
'Better than nothing, and I'm happy to be working with Piltover's finest.'
Caitlyn noticed that there were no more explosions or laughter. Had both Vi and Ironwood succeeded and taken down their respective targets?
'Attention! Attention! Some madman has broken entry into a maximum-security prison at the Promenade Level of Piltover and Zaun! We can't take him on! He's too strong! Backup needed immediately!' bellowed a voice through Caitlyn's walkie talkie.
'The maximum-security prison at the Promenade Level?' Oh no, that's not good!' said Caitlyn.
'Need a lift?' Camille offered.
'Absolutely.'
'It'll be rough.' she warned.
'If I gets us there in time, then I have no complaints.'
'Let's go then.'
Tyrian had recovered just about from his hit to the head. For someone like a him, a hammer bash wasn't going to put him down for the count. He pushed his way past all the guards in his way. He wasn't sure why exactly he wanted to go in this direction. The smell wasn't pleasant, but he reckoned that it housed something interesting. He gauged quickly that it was a jail of some sort. There were cells with bars, but only a few actually had anyone locked away. He entered an open space inside a large room with cells on both sides. At the end of the room though was a large green panel. It was light up enough for Tyrian to make out that something large was located behind it. He jumped down from the bridge that oversaw the area and strolled excitedly towards the green panel. Just outside of it, Tyrian found a large control box. It had a few dials and knobs on top, but the thing which was just begging to be pulled was a large, red handled lever. 'Hehehe, let's see what this thing does.' He reached his right hand out and put it around the lever. 'Yeooow!'
He felt like his right shoulder had been stabbed by a white-hot knife. He turned around and saw that he wasn't far off. Caitlyn was standing on the bridge with her rifle in hand and a bit of smoke trailing out of the barrel, alongside a very tall, older looking woman with what appeared to be blades in place of regular legs. 'Stop right where you are!' Caitlyn ordered. 'Back away from there, or I'll shoot you again!'
Tyrian glared at the two of them. 'Why must I?!' he demanded.
'Do not argue with me!' Caitlyn snapped. 'I'll give you five seconds and if you don't move, I'll put a bullet straight thr-'
Tyrian pushed the lever forward without even looking at it. The panel revolved around the chamber it was concealing to the right, revealing what was inside: a mechanical monstrosity. What was once a human had been transformed into a hulking tank with six large spiderlike legs. An arm-cannon had replaced his right arm. A green ventilator mask with a thick tube went over his mouth and nose. The chains that had bound him behind the panel were unshackled. He stepped out of the chamber on his six legs and observed the area around him. 'At last! I am free!' he said.
'This is not good…' Caitlyn murmured apprehensively.
'Yo, Cait! What's going on?!' called out a voice coming from her left. Vi came dashing onto the bridge, out of breath. 'I got here *pant* as soon as I heard the message. Had to put Jinx's body in the police station first, but what's *pant* going on?'
'That person who was with Jinx and Ziggs earlier got in here. He's released Urgot. Look.'
Vi peered down at the floor below.
Urgot slowly creeping forward. Tyrian stepped back in awe. 'What is this thing?'
'Well, if it isn't those two little girls again!' Urgot said, addressing Caitlyn and Vi. 'Shall we see if you've gotten any stronger since last time?!'
'Vi, Camille, get down there and subdue him.' Caitlyn instructed.
'Time to see who among you are worthy!' Urgot fired from his arm-cannon at the bridge that Caitlyn was standing on. His gunfire tore it apart with ease. She tried to get to safety, but she couldn't outrun the falling bridge. She fell all the way the ground and landed hard on her back on the Iron floor.
'Cait!' Vi called out. Share glared at Urgot and charged at him. Camille grappled to the wall and dove towards him too. Tyrian's adrenaline also built up. He licked his lips and ran at Urgot, with his wrist-blades out, ready at hack his way through Urgot.
It was never going to be that easy though. Urgot had purposefully augmented himself in such a way to remove as many of his humanistic weaknesses as physically possible. Not only did he have a tremendous amount of firepower, but he was exceptionally beefy too. He fired his arm-cannon at Vi. She held up her right gauntlet to shield herself, but it couldn't withstand the bullets. The gauntlet was broken straight off her hand. It clattered to the floor with a devastating clang.
Camille dove towards Urgot's chest, but he simply caught her round the throat with his bare hand and chucked her into the wall. She fell to the floor in a daze.
As Tyrian leapt at Urgot's legs, a shotgun blast erupted from two of Urgot's front knees. The knockback was so powerful that it sent Tyrian flying backwards. He skidded across the iron floor on his back, coming to a stop just behind Vi. His aura was low again, yet he still wanted to fight. He revelled too much in action. He looked behind him and saw Caitlyn struggling to get back to her feet after landing painfully on her back.
Tyrian looked at Urgot squarely in the eyes. He could see that he was doing the same. He ran on all fours towards him, eyes wide, tongue out and mind centred on carving Urgot's legs off.
'It seems that you have chosen death!' said Urgot. Suddenly Two metal plates around his chest opened, and a giant drill was launched from his chest. Tyrian turned around and tried to dive away from the drill, but he wasn't quick enough. It impaled him in his back, and he screamed in pain as it dug deeper into his spine. Urgot laughed, and two chains then exited from his chest as well and attached themselves to the drill. They began to pull the drill and Tyrian back. 'Get over here!' Urgot cried out.
'W-what?!' Tyrian said in a stupor, realising that he was being dragged towards Urgot.
Vi's eyes widened. 'No!' she shouted, and ran to grab hold of Tyrian's arms. Her gauntlet crushed down on his left arm. It didn't matter though. With all her might, she did not relinquish her grip.
The chains were too strong. Both Tyrian and Vi could not fight against them and the drill being reeled in. Vi lost her footing on a slippery piece of iron, tripped over and let go of Tyrian.
Tyrian looked over his shoulder and could see two large chainsaws inside of Urgot. They were spinning really fast; the metal was grinding against each other. Panic overflowed Tyrian as he realised what was happened. He screamed louder than he had ever done so before. "NO! NO! NO! HELP ME!'
He was mere centimetres away from being devoured whole.
But suddenly, the pulling stopped. The sound of the chainsaws also ceased. Tyrian looked behind him to see that Urgot was completely motionless. He scanned the room and saw that Camille, Vi and Caitlyn were also frozen in place too. He tried to free himself from the drill, but it was still stuck into his back too firmly, and it hurt to move. The light coming through the circular windowpane at the back diminished too. It was becoming dark very quickly. 'What? What's going on…?' Tyrian whimpered.
Black yet thin and wispy smoke rose from the ground and consumed the room. A soft tune began playing in Tyrian's ears, which sounded like a piano. Finally, atop the entrance to the bridge, a white figure began to materialise into being. It was hard to see in the dark and from that distance, but Tyrian could make out a petite figure, with a grey mask that had glowing blue eyes. Next to it was what looked like a small black cloud with ears, which was also wearing a mask with glowing eyes. Tyrian sensed that both of them were fixated on him in what was quite possibly the most unsettling way conceivable by the imagination. 'W-who are you?' he stammered.
The white figure carried something in its hands. It raised the object and pointed it at Tyrian, pulling back a string. 'Hush now. Rest…' whispered an angelic voice. The arrow, which only Tyrian could see, flew from the bowstring. It glided gracefully across the room and made its mark in fate's orders.
The ethereal figures dissipated, as did the darkness and the smoke. Time resumed and everyone began moving again.
Caitlyn, Camille and Vi minds were forever scarred by their misfortune of looking in time to see Tyrian being pulled straight into his doom. The sound of his flesh being ripped apart was horrific, but it was his last and final scream that made their stomachs turn. Blood flew everywhere from Urgot's chest like a burst pipe. It splattered all over the floor and the nearby walls, and even coated Vi, who had been standing too close. Nothing remained.
Urgot laughed devilishly. His sheer lack of humanity was both terrifying and sickening.
Vi wiped Tyrian's blood off her face, trying hard not to think about what had just happened. She looked at Caitlyn and they nodded at each other.
Caitlyn aimed her rifle at one of Urgot's legs and fired. It threw off his balance long enough for Vi to jump forward and uppercut him in his ventilator mask. He gasped for breath. Caitlyn fired another bullet and it shot straight through his arm-cannon. Camille jumped in too and severing the arm-cannon straight from Urgot's arm with her legs. It landed with a clang on the floor, just as Vi's gauntlet had done. One final punch from Vi in his face finished the job, knocking him unconscious.
Vi toppled to her hands and knees, feeling like she was about to throw up.
Camille sat down and wiped some of the dirt off her legs with her hands.
Caitlyn walked over to Vi and put a hand over her bloodied shoulder. 'You did what you could.' she said, trying to sound comforting.
Vi sniffed and tried to stop herself from shaking. 'That looked so painful. I can't imagine a worse way to go…'
'You said that you put Jinx's body in the police station earlier.' Caitlyn commented with the intent of changing the subject. 'What happened to her?'
'I caught her. Might've been a bit too brutal if I'm honest, but I finally got her into the place she deserves to be in…'
Caitlyn patted Vi on the back. 'You've done amazingly well today. You deserve some rest, and a raise too.'
'What do we do about Urgot?' Camille asked, slowly walking towards them.
'It should be safe now for the guards to come back in. That crazy man who broke in in the first place has been… taken care of.'
'And what about Ironwood? What happened to him?' Vi brought up.
'Hmm, I'm not sure actually. I completely forgot about him. He was the one who was dealing with… him.'
'If he wasn't successful, we need to go and find him.' said Vi urgently. 'What if he was hurt, or worse?'
'I'll call the rest of the team and see if anyone knows his whereabouts.' Caitlyn decided. She reached for her walkie-talkie again, held down the button and spoke into the microphone. 'This is Caitlyn. The Promenade has been secured. The culprit who broke in has been, um, neutralised, and Urgot has been detained as well. Does anyone know where Officer James Ironwood is?'
'Thank goodness you're okay. He's back at the police station.' said Harknor's voice. 'Jayce brought him here a while ago. We think he's been poisoned.'
'Understood. Keep an eye on him. Vi and I will be busy dealing with the aftermath of the Promenade. Stay safe.'
'Copy that. You too, Cait.'
'Now that's sorted. Let's put Urgot back where he belongs.'
She groaned internally about the idea of getting her hands even dirtier than they already were. Today was going to go down in Piltover's history as one of the most iconic days ever, but not in a good way. Had there been any positives to come out of it?
'Well yes, we made first contact with someone from the new world. Jinx is finally behind bars, and Ziggs might have been dissuaded from every causing havoc again in Piltover. But is that any real consolation for all the damage that has been done?'
Any way she thought of it, this day was going to require an extraordinary amount of paperwork…
Hello all,
I hope that you're doing well and that you enjoyed this especially meaty and action-packed Chapter; it's by far longest that I've written so far, and overall I'm fairly happy with how it turned out.
I'm entering the exam period across these next two weeks, but once I'm done with that, I'll be firstly focusing on adjustments and rewrites of the Chapters that need updating, before continuing with the story itself.
But next time, in Chapter 39, we are resuming with a check-up on Ezreal and Noxus' journey to Remnant. In addition to that, we will also find out what happened to another one of the characters who was aboard Ironwood's ship when Ao Shin destroyed it. Thank you as always for your continuous support, and take care.
