A/N: WARNING!
This chapter well, it delves deep into madness...and other things. You've been warned.
Its my first time taking a stab at something like this; not entirely sure folks will like it, but still.
Aaaaand that's all the Arcane stuff updated this month! Hope everyone enjoys the chapter, worked real hard on it.
Now then, we're still following the Ember's Rule here. Sadly, that's no joke. Really, it isn't. If folks don't like this...well, it won't be continued. Every bit of feedback helps. YOU determine what stays and goes. Reviews are the fuel which keeps me writing in these crazy times. With my tight schedule, two jobs, and a load of paperwork. I simply don't have time to write a story folks don't like. Without them, my inspiration cannot take wing and I can't write a word. So by all means, speak up!
No questions this time. Only story. I've kept you long enough.
As ever, I own no references quotes, themes or memes.
So in lieu of a long authors note...here...we...go!
Because...HE'S HERE. Who is? Read and see.
"Everyone fears something. But when you let that fear control...
...consume you...drive you mad...
...what do you become?
~?
What We Fear
Vi was alive.
Ain't it crazy how three little words can pull the rug right out from under you? The sister she'd lost, now the sister she'd found. Sister sister, thought she'd missed her. It was almost too good to be true. When they'd told her, she'd not wanted to believe at first; from anyone else she wouldn't have. But they hadn't lied. Family didn't lie. Right? Now here she was, stuck on this bloody blasted bobbing boat -wasn't that a tongue twister?!- and already wanting off.
She wasn't seasick. Nope. No way. Not a chance.
Stillwater prison loomed before them in the distance, silent as as the grave. No lights. No boats at the pier. Not a soul. It was dead and dark after the riot. She wasn't sure why the sight bothered her so. A prison was just a prison, and it wasn't as if they were going to stay lone.
A mournful breezed whipped through her hair from the dock. It almost sounded like a scream.
Jinx shivered, rubbing at her arms.
"This is a bad place." her voices babbled at her. "We shouldn't be here."
She stuffed them into a little box and forced herself to sit down a bench. The boat rocked beneath her and she felt her gorge rise in her stomach. Urk. No, no, no. She wasn't going to get sick again. The crew were already given her funny looks after her last episode.
"Just calm down." she muttered to herself. "Its fine. Everything's gonna be fine...
Silco had agreed to wait back at the Last Drop, likely to keep her from freaking out. She got that-appreciated it, even. The old man was alright. He knew she was fraying at the seams; so he'd trusted Naruto with this task in his stead. Good. She didn't think she could face him right now, much less what lay ahead-
"Are you ready?"
A hand came down on her shoulder and she jumped with a yelp.
"Gah!" She rounded on Naruto with a hiss. "Don't do that! How are you so calm, anyway?!"
"Been on a ship once or twice." he walked away with easy grace, from bow to stern, forcing her to follow, then back again. "Remind me to tell you about the Land of Snow sometime...
When he plonked down on a seat she joined him, nestling against him for warmth.
Naruto was handy with his disguises; she still didn't know how this "chakra" thing of his worked, but it was damn handy. He could even disguise others now to an extent; a good hard shove would tear through the illusion, but otherwise it would hold.
Right now, she didn't care about any of that. She melted into his side, seeking comfort. "Its just...I wish I knew."
"Mmm." There was something in his tone just now. She didn't like it. "We'll see soon enough."
Her brow furrowed and she glared his way. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He blew out an angry breath. "Vi left you, Jinx."
She flinched. "Yeah, but-
"But what?" he tilted his head, and the anger in his face chilled her blood; if only because she knew it wasn't directed at her. None of it was. "I would've killed to have a big sister as a kid. Someone to rely on, someone to look up to, someone to trust and she just...!" he tore his gaze away and slammed a fist down on the rail. "She left you. Threw you away. What kind of sister does that?"
Not a good sister. It went without saying. But even so, if she was alive after all this time...!
The voices gnawed at her. "What does it matter? She'll just leave again."
"Shut up!" She spat at them. Then, more softly, "You won't, right? Leave me, I mean."
An arm looped around her waist. "Never."
Jinx felt herself shiver a little; she couldn't keep herself from cuddling closer to him. There it was, the fervor in his voice, his words burning with dark promise, more powerful than Vi had ever been. Naruto kept his word. Always. Come hell or high water. No broken promises here. She knew he'd rather die than betray her. In that at least, she could take some small solace. He'd never betray her. Not like Vi.
Betrayal. The memory of it threatened to eat her alive.
"I'm scared." it all came bubbling back up now; all her fear, all her anger, all those bad memories escaping her in a sudden rush.
"Why did you leave me?!" a child's voice -Powder's voice!- wailing in the rain.
Furious fingers biting into her face. "Because you're a JINX!"
She bit her lip until she tasted blood. The acrid tang calmed her.
"What if she doesn't recognize me? What," she tucked her knees into her chest and hid her head behind them, "What if she doesn't want me? What if she still hates me?"
Naruto scoffed.
"Then I'll kick her ass." There was a pause now as he thumbed his chin. "On second thought, might do that either way."
A tiny smile touched her lips, breaking through the fear. "Naruto, no."
"No, what?" his grin grew impish as he leaned back. "I'm not gonna kill her or anything like that. I just wanna talk her her." he began to crack his knuckles, drawing worried looks from the crew, "Loudly. Repeatedly. With my fists, maybe my boots, and quite possibly with-
Laughter bubbled up in her as she batted at him. "You really would, wouldn't you?"
"In a heartbeat. She breaks your heart? I break her."
Comfortable silence stretched between them, broken only by waves lapping against the hull.
"This trip might be for nothing, you know." he said suddenly, breaking their tableau. "She could have escaped by now."
A frisson tension shot through the air between them, bringing her voices back to life. Jinx shivered into it and they pounced upon her.
"Left you...
"Gone already...
"Probably wants you dead...
"No," she rasped, tossing her head side to side with such force that she smacked him with her braids. "She has to be here. You said she was here."
"Yeah, but that was before we knew about the riot." he craned his neck back, their destination nearly in sight as the captain brought them in. "If she had any sense, she would've bolted by now. Best we can hope for is a chance pick up her trail after we blow this place sky high."
...you can track her, right?"
"Yeah." his head bobbed. "I want to find her just as badly as you do. I've got questions for her...
The silence grew strained now, a rubberband ready to snap.
"What do you want, Jinx?" Naruto sighed at last. "I can't answer that question for you. I wish I could. I want nothing more than to tell you what to do here. But I can't." He held her close, forehead touching hers. "Look deep inside yourself and tell me, what exactly is it you hope to gain from this? Family? You already have one. You always will. No matter what happens here today."
"Right, sure." She changed subjects before he could press her further. "Still, its kinda quiet out here for a prison." she ribbed him with an elbow. "Think there's ghosts?"
Naruto shivered. "Hopefully not...
"Ah, shit. You're scared of ghosts, aint'cha?"
He gave her a dour look. "How nice of you to remember."
"Could be worse."
He flung up his arms. "How?!"
A shrug. "Place could be filled with zombies."
"I'll take zombies any day." Naruto glared over the water and spat into it. "Zombies die...eventually. You can't kill ghosts...
(.0.0.0.)
Jinx had been right about one thing.
Stillwater was too quiet.
Far too quiet.
Considering it was Piltover's premiere prison, one might have thought it would be swarming with guards; indeed, they'd prepared disguises for just such an eventuality. It would have been a grand entrance; him, Jinx, and no less than nine of Silco's finest slipping in and out with the prisoner -with Vi!- and none would have been the wiser. They would have thought them enforcers, fallen for the ruse hook like and sinker; until those so-called "enfrocers" turned on them from within. None of them would have noticed the explosives they brought, nor their intentions until it was too late. Now?
...there was no need.
No need for disguises; because there was no one to fool.
A chill shot down Naruto's spine as he surveyed the carnage before them. Bodies lay sprawled out on the docks scattered like so many fallen leaves. Enforcers. Prisoners. Civilians. Blood ran freely across wood and stones alike. Still more bodies bobbed in the water, attracting sharks from the deeper waters. And yet there were no boats at the dock save theirs. Had some managed to flee? Or...?
...keep the engine warm." he dropped a handful of coins into the captain's waiting hand. "We'll be back."
The man, an old sea dog with white hair, grunted once, but took the money. "Don't feel right, this. Who would kill this many people?"
Naruto craned his neck. "Seems we're about to find out...
"Hey, look." Jinx waltzed past him with a whistle. "They left the door open for us."
Naruto turned to find the entrance to the prison was left wide open, yawning to the depths below. Not a single light to be seen.
Jinx slipped ahead of him, and he grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her back.
"Stay with me."
"Boo." she sulked, but didn't disobey.
Naruto snapped his fingers once. "Torches."
Silco's men kicked up flashlights and in they went.
Not three paces in, the warden lay sprawled beside his desk...what was left of him. Ripped and torn. He gagged and turned away. Someone had the decency to throw their cloak over his corpse. Good of them, ultimately a futile effort, yet kind still. The head of the prison had been a rather large man, but not even the flies had come near this crimson cadaver.
Almost as if they were afraid of something.
A circuit breaker fizzled and spat near the elevator, spraying sparks onto his corpse. They found the fuse clutched tight in the warden's fist, fingers frozen in death. He must've ripped it out. No one wanted to ask why he'd done such a thing. Still, it was easy enough to fix. They had it up and running in less than a minute.
Naruto couldn't help but frown at it all. "Wonder why they did this?"
One of the goons shrugged as they fiddled with the wires. "Maybe they wanted to keep the prisoners in?"
Naruto nearly agreed, but a thorn of doubt held him back. No, there was more at work here; more than met the eye.
"Fat load of good that did him." another muttered, stealing a glance at the corpse. "I know there's some hard people in here, but this...? Nah, nevermind. I don't get paid enough to ask."
Jinx nudged him. ...so, we going down, or what?"
Naruto heaved a sigh. "Someone find the prisoner ledger first. I don't wanna wander around blindly."
In short order they found it...and the description they were after. A prisoner with pink hair.
Jinx sucked in a breath. He smiled for her sake as much as his.
"Right, there she is." he tapped the number. "She's down on one of the lower levels, near the caf. We go in, we get her out, assuming she's still here, then we get the hell out." flicking a glance over his shoulder, he chose two men and one woman out of the nine. "Bruno. Slyz. Shiva." he rattled their names off as they unlimbered their packs. "Set the charges topside. You stay and guard the elevator, don't let anyone get by, you understand?"
They seemed almost grateful for the assignment.
...and for the love of god, do NOT use your detonators until we're away. Understood?
A chorus of nods and "ayes" went up. The rest of them piled into the elevator, struggling into its cramped confines.
Down they went, numbers ticking, chains rattling as they descended into the depths. It felt like they were headed into the bowels of the underworld itself.
It only got worse when they reached the bottom.
There was some vague illumination in the prison but faint; emergency lighting bathing all the world in a ruddy red glow. It almost reminded him of the fox's chakra, but darker. Tainted. And yet for all that, there were no bodies down here. Not a singe corpse. Someone muttered something behind him and made a sign to ward off evil.
...I don't like this, boss. Its too quiet."
"Me neither." Naruto hefted his gauntlet, ignoring the little thrill of fear he felt. "Fan out. Don't go far."
Jinx squirmed out beside him, pistol in hand. "What're you afraid of, the dark? Lets go!"
Pain stabbed into his head, bringing him up short. "Run. Now."
His brow furrowed and he brought his unarmed hand up to cup his head. "What're you on about?"
"There's something here; something that shouldn't be. You're not ready to face it. Get your ass back up that elevator."
It was a rare day indeed when his guest wanted to mouth off to him. "What're you afraid of?"
"Not afraid," the low voice answered. "Not for me. For you.
"Since when do you give a shit about me?"
"Since you're about to die."
Bah! He was lying.
...wasn't he?
"Right," Naruto looked back at the ledger, squinting in the low light. "She's in cell block forty. Shouldn't be too far...if she's still here." he did his best to ignore Jinx's scowl. "If she isn't, we set our charges and get out before reinforcements. Got it?"
Another series of grunts answered him.
Together, their group ventured forth. Naruto found his teeth clenching with every step. Too many tight corners. And still no bodies. No signs of life, either. Not even blood. There had at least been remains of the riot up top on the docks, but down here it was just...cold.
Like the void.
"Powder?" A voice called out in the dark ahead of them suddenly. Faint. Distant. Little more than a whisper. "Is that you?"
"Vi?" Jinx whirled toward the sound, eyes gone wide with hope and fear. "I'm here!"
"Oi!" Naruto reached out to grab her, but she eeled through his fingers. "Wait!"
"This way!" she hollered, braids bouncing over her shoulder.
Naruto raced after her.
"Brat!" the agony in his skull intensified tenfold, bringing him up short. "If you don't turn around right now, I swear I won't be held responsible!"
Something skittered ahead of them. Steel dragged across the floor.
He rounded a corner found her standing before a gangly figure in an open room filled with tables. It just...hung there. Strange looking thing. Like someone had smuggled a scarecrow into what must have been a cafeteria, nailed it down, then left. Jinx prodded its chest without fear, heedless of anything else.
"Where did you come from...?" he heard her mutter. "Weird looking thing...
Naruto's sixth sense was no longer hissing; now it was shrieking. "Jinx! Get away from there!"
"See?" heedless of laughed and turned to face him, hands clasped behind her back. "Its just a scarecrow. Nothing to be afraid of. Wonder who brought it down here...? Somebody's gotta a freaky fashion sense...
The "scarecrow" moved behind her. Little more than a twitch in Naruto's, but he saw it. Jinx didn't. Was he imagining things? A trick of the light, perhaps? No. He didn't believe in coincidences. His blood ran cold, even as one of his soldiers whimpered behind him. Calm. Calm down. Don't panic.
He scooted closer and held out a hand, trusting to his instincts. "Come here. Walk towards me. Right now."
"Sure?" she shrugged and started his way a lazy gait. "You're being awful weird today...
A shadow fell over her, followed by a low rasp. She froze.
...aw, shit."
Jinx was still speaking when it pounced on her back, bearing her down in a storm of teeth and metal and crows.
Blue eyes snapped into scarlet. The world went with it. Naruto lunged, even as she cried out in pain. Caustic crimson claws cracked out like a whip, grabbing the beast's jaws and wrenching them apart before it could bite down on her neck. It recoiled with a shriek of surprise, warding its face with a long limb to bat him aside. A bloodied Jinx kicked out, scrambling back on all fours like a drunken crab to safety. Naruto stepped in and swung when it went for her again, only to be met by a storm of crows. It swept past them both, seeking easier prey.
Silco's men unloaded their guns in a panic. "What the hell is that thing?!"
Twitching, it turned towards them with a low rasp...and answered. "Fiddle...STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICKS!"
That gangly monstrosity drank in their fear and scrambled, babbling inanities. It surged forward, screaming like the damned. It ran on the floor, the walls, then the ceiling, then the walls again, crawling, and crawling and crawling, always just out of harms way. It fell upon one man and rent him to pieces. Another was torn apart before the rest could even react. A plucky soul tried to rush it with a sword and was promptly hacked apart for her troubles. A fourth was caught by its teeming arms before he could reach them.
Four dead in as many seconds. Two remained.
"Chakra rounds, damnit!" Naruto hollered at the survivors. "Use the chakra rounds! Burn it!"
Tittering like a mad animal, the beast pivoted toward them. "JINX! ALL YOUR FAULT!"
She seemed to shrink under the words, recoiling.
'Oi, fox! What is that thing?'
"Something old. Very old. You can't kill it. Don't even try."
"Really?! He swiped at it, only for it to become a flock of birds again. Rusty steel flicked out, tearing a rent in his back. "Why didn't you warn me?!"
"I did. You bulled on ahead anyway. Best you can do is exorcise it."
He raked a claw cross its chest. "A little late for that!"
...fine. Do you trust me?"
He slammed it away and it clamored up again. 'Not at all!'
Angry red rounds spattered off its face, eliciting a slight flinch. Beady red eyes snapped to the gunners.
"Feeeeaaaaarrrrr!"
The survivors broke ranks and fled through the corridors back toward the elevator; they were run down before they made it.
Beady red eyes gleamed in the dark, focused on them. Jinx howled at and opened fire, gattling gun barking, no avail.
"Hey! You want fear! I'll show you fear!" Chakra bubbled up from the pit of his stomach and for once Naruto embraced it. "C'mere!" he growled, voice warping, teeth gone sharp, eyes blazing red. "I've got a feast for you!"
He stalked forward, yanked Jinx behind him and put himself squarely in the beast's path. It didn't even hesitate. Blood sprayed as it slashed down at his shoulder; the moment it made contact he caught its spindly wrist and and reeled it in like a fish on a hook.
Wrapping his arm around it, he pulled. Hard.
"Raaaargh!"
A roar tore out of him as he drove a vermilion Rasengan unto what passed for its chest. The beast buckled. Crimson chakra burst from its back, but it didn't die. Countless limbs slashed at him in a frothing frenzy, seeking only death, only blood, only pain.
"Sorry...Sakura." it rasped at him, mocking him. "Couldn't keep...my promise...
His world went red.
"Shut up!"
He lashed out again in a brutal punch and this time the creature keened in pain as demonic chakra tore its body asunder. Once. Twice. On the third its head bobbed low and he got ahold of it. Wrestling it down, he glared at what passed for a hateful eye, forcing it to look him square in the face.
"Listen, you! I don't know what you are, and I don't care." He flung it down and stomped on its bladed back, shattering the construct. "You don't get to feed on her fear!"
A single tail of chaka boiled behind him.
"Or mine! You hear me!"
Two tails now.
Claws flicked out, obliterating his right eye. It boiled back a heartbeat later and he slammed it into a wall in recompense. Hate bubbled up in him, swallowing his fear. This? He'd been afraid of this thing? It seemed so tiny now compared to the power he wielded. Puny, even.
"Hey what's the matter?" Naruto leaned over the abomination with a frown. "You're not done already, are you? I thought a "monster" was tougher than this."
Groaning, the beast tried to force itself upright. Try, being the operative word.
Red eyes creased in a smile. "That's it. Come on, try harder.
He stomped down on their face.
It cut into him. He healed as a third tail bloomed in the cloak.
"You think you're scary." he stabbed a hand into its chest and found purchase on the darkness there, the essence controlling it, felt it quaver in his grasp. "You have no idea. SCRAM!"
Clawed fingers tightened around it and the construct shattered. A dark wisp of something shot through his fist and into the ceiling. He gave it an evil eye, then incinerated the scarecrow's remains for good measure. If it had been a spirit, it wouldn't have anything to possess now.
Jinx stumbled his way, eyes wide. "Whiskers...is that you?"
...yeah."
He pulled Jinx close. She recoiled, hissing in pain when he touched her. Now it was Naruto's turn to flinch. He didn't want to be seen like this. But he had no choice. It was alright now. That thing was gone, they could find her blasted sister, and finish what he'd started.
Calm down. Deep breaths. Let the cloak fade.
"Sorry." he held up his palms, glowering at the cloak shielding them. "I can't hold you like this-
Stillwater's ceiling erupted overhead.
His world went black.
(.0.0.0.)
Reality swam back with a start.
Blue eyes burst open with a start. He tried to rise.
Rubble pressed down into his spine, weighing him in place.
His first thought was filled with rage. Those idiots. They'd detonated the charges. But why?! He'd told them not to!
No.
Somewhere in the smoke he could hear Jinx crying; no, he could see her now, sprawled out beside him, whimpering in pain, pinned by something even worse, shoulder run through by a metal beam. Blood pooled beneath her in vivid relief as she gasped for air.
No. Not like this.
Footsteps drew closer in the haze.
...find the intruders!" a furious snapped. "Finish them off."
Oh. He understood now. Reinforcements had come. And they weren't theirs.
.
..
...it was a trap, then.
He caught sight of an enforcer in the smog, all heavy armor and raspy breath behind their helm.
They didn't see him, not yet, but they would soon. Jinx was in no shape to defend herself. He wasn't much better. Not now.
Groaning, he planted his palms on the ground and heaved, ignoring his wounds, the rebar piercing his stomach and legs. Push! The rubble gave way to his desperate strength, but slowly. Not fast enough. More. He needed more power. Now! POWER!
Something snapped in the back of his mind and he heard him.
"Fine. I wasn't satisfied, anyway."
Blue eyes boiled red anew. Scarlet light flooded up at his command, rising from his stomach and quite suddenly, the seemingly immovable rubble weighed no more than a feather's brush. He shrugged it aside with a snarl and stumbled her way. Bleeding. Had to stop the bleeding. He wasn't healing fast enough. Protect her. Had to protect her.
Jinx wasn't moving when he reached her. Her head lolled to one side as he picked her up.
"You're alright." He knelt, holding her still form. "I can fix this!" a desperate shake rattled her frail shoulders. "Just hold on...please...don't leave me alone...
An enforcer waded through the smoke, baton in hand.
Saw a humanoid silhouette. Charged.
Something struck him, sending him slamming back out the door in a twisted mass of arms and legs. Another shuffled forward, unwilling to risk himself, his fellows shying back as they realized their "victims" still had some fight in them. Silence stretched into oblivion. And then. Something screamed. No. Someone.
"Not...again...!
That was their only warning.
Then a Beast stalked through the smoke.
A/N: Hello Four Tailed cloak.
What happened to Vi, I wonder...?
Well. You'll have to read and see, won't you?
To clarify, that was Fiddlesticks whom Naruto dealt with. First time I wrote something horror-esque. Hope I did well here. Really wanted to set the mood.
As ever, we're following the Ember's Rule here. That's no joke. Really, it isn't.
If folks don't like this...well, I won't continue it. Every bit of feedback helps. Reviews are the fuel which keeps me writing in these crazy times. With my tight schedule, I simply don't have time to write a story folks don't like. Without them, my inspiration cannot take wing and I can't write a word. So by all means, speak up!
As ever, reviews are my lifeblood. Without them, I cannot write.
So In the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Revieeeeew, Would You Kindly?
They keeps an old man alive.
And enjoy the previews.
As ever:
SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Seriously!
Obvious references are obvious~!
(POTENTIAL!) Previews! What can I say? I've been busy.
The monstrosity waged forward, white eyes wild, four tails lashing at the enforcers.
And all the while, it screamed one word.
"JIIIIIIIIIIINX!
Silco's glass struck the floor and shattered. He ignored it, eyes blazing upon the dead man before him. "What have you done...?
"What was necessary." the fool scoffed, mustache twitching. "I've had enough of you lot."
A pistol barked.
A body hit the floor.
Red ran freely with the line.
EDIT: But whose body be it...?
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"You...should...be...!"
Run. Now.
Hide. Now.
Caitlyn stumbled forward, clutching her side.
Had to move. Had to run...
For Zaun!
Please! I need you!
R&R~!
