CHAPTER 3:2
Jayce emerged from his kitchen, having cleaned up the mess of the broken glass, and sank down on his bed with a sigh. His feet were aching beneath the thin layer of bandages and he grimaced as he fell back onto his sheets.
That was... Jayce sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. That was interesting, to say the least, but I can swear on my life that she is hiding something extremely important. And why doesn't she share her burden with me? Since when did she start becoming so hard to deal with?
He stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock on his wall. It's way after bedtime; I should probably go to sleep, he thought resignedly and moved aside his blankets to find the heavenly softness of his rather large bed. But as he found a comfortable position to sleep in, his eyelids heavy with sleep deprivation, Jayce felt something sharp chafe against his ankle. It was cold; and pulsated rhythmically.
"Damn..." he muttered dozily and rose into sitting. Jayce searched for the alien object with his hands and soon found it.
His breath caught in his throat.
Impossible... Simply impossible. Jayce clenched the familiar shape of the shard with his right hand. Every ounce of his exhaustion was as gone as it had never been there and excitement filled his veins. This... this is it, he thought as he gripped it even harder and held it up to view with his suddenly alert eyes. The steady pulsating was unmistakable but the situation felt so surreal that he thought for sure it was a dream, that he had already fallen asleep since long and was projecting his wishes into illusions.
Jayce could see the strange, azure light shining through his fingers and understood that this was real. The strength of the illumination was greater than its precursor and ignited his hope again. The shard was real.
Either I am the most foolish genius on Valoran, thought Jayce and chuckled, or I am the luckiest bastard ever. How could I have missed this? It probably also fell off from the box; are they perhaps more parts somewhere? And if the box really splintered into as many pieces as this, did it maybe break too much for Viktor to use?
He shook his head and got out of his bed. Of course not; if I can extract as much energy as these small pieces contain and create a weapon, Viktor still got the major part and is probably indulging in power. I can not even fathom what kind of massive energy he must have in his possession. But I wonder, what exactly did he do with it all?
Jayce walked to his workbench with a content smile. But never mind him; I have the last component to my most superior invention. I only need to configure a couple of things, but other than that I'm good to go.
Piltover will thank me for everything I am to do – but will Caitlyn agree?
She had never been a fan of Caitlyn's cold patience, but Vi had always told herself that it was a positive attribute. It added an edge into their relationship. She always enjoyed tormenting the proud Sheriff with everything she could come up with, since Caitlyn was somewhat of a Mrs. Know-It-All and a perfectionist and refusing to lose an argument as well.
In the beginning of their partnership, Vi had tried to be as unruly as possible to check where Caitlyn's threshold of patience actually reached, but never once had the Sheriff lost her coolness. Vi had grown to respect Caitlyn and the feelings had grown mutual; they were after all an amazing team together and were soon called: Piltover's finest.
It was an impressive performance; she had gone from being a mere thief and lawbreaker, to one of the most influential people in Piltover, and to Vi's own surprise, she actually liked it. The feeling of never having to run away and hide from the cops was a relief, and she could enjoy the excitement of a good old chase whenever she wanted. Only, this time, she was the pursuer. It was a lot more interesting and a plus was that she also had the opportunity to punch some sense into criminals.
In all glory, there were times when Vi had doubts about if this really was a lifestyle suited for her. Because even though she didn't want to admit it out loud, Vi wanted something else. A change in order. Life in Piltover was starting to get custom, boring, and she wanted to experience the world.
But that was when the letters started appearing.
A short period of time, just after her introduction to the world of law and order, Vi had started receiving envelopes filled with strange messages. The handwritten letters were filled with polite greetings and casual conversations... but they scared her more than anything. She had moved to new places several times in an attempt to lose the anonymous writer, but whoever it was, he or she was cunning and never stopped coming with new, more provocative lyrics, and Vi even stopped being bothered by it. Sometimes, the writer actually was of help since the person seemed to know quite a lot about hers and Caitlyn's current investigation, and even helped her with clues. This also terrified Vi, because if whoever it was would to be influential enough to know about their classified missions, he or she was very mighty indeed or just an incredibly lucky guesser.
The letters popped up regularly in her mailbox approximately twice every six months, and today was unfortunately one of those days.
"Fuck." Vi clenched the note even harder and pushed down the handle of the door to her apartment with her elbow, entering while placing her cap on the nearest shelf. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..."
The world slowly started spinning and her vision darkened by the edges as her breathing increased rapidly in tempo. Her heart was sluggishly beating every other second and she slumped down onto the tiled floor of her hallway.
What on Runeterra is this motherfreaking piece of dump? Vi read the letter again and crushed the envelope in her right hand. "This is impossible. Impossible! Something like this... no. No way," she said out loud and read the – for once – short letter again. "But there is no mistake..."
Tears threatened to fill her eyes and Vi hurried to blink them dry. "This is impossible," she repeated. "But still possible. But no- but yes!"
How can this be? How can she be alive? And here? In Piltover?
Vi took a deep breath and then exhaled. She placed her hand across her forehead in an attempt to cool off her heated face. It was still a beautiful time of the year with fresh breezes and a warming sun, but inside her apartment, all alone, Vi could not help but shiver. She didn't feel cold; no, she was still hot and sweaty after her jog with Caitlyn, but she felt ambivalent.
Should I be happy for these news? She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the ground. "Damn, no! She just comes out of nowhere and this person knows it? Should I even trust the writer? What if this is just a stupid prank?"
But deep down I feel that it's not, Vi thought and grimaced. Her hand was aching but the pain was – somewhat – easy to ignore. Nobody knows about this, not even Cait. If this person is sure of his or her information, this could be really risky and end up as one big mess. But how should I explain this to her?
How should I tell her that I have a sister that's not only insane, but has supposedly been dead for over two decades?
Must... continue...
Caitlyn pushed herself up for the one-hundred and sixteenth time before finally taking a break. She had just returned to the police station from taking a lap around the ground level of Piltover, accompanied by Vi and a comfortable pair of headsets. It was their usual tour at least three times a week and today's jogging trip had been incredibly of relief. Caitlyn had received another letter by the mysterious "C" during yesterday evening, and this time the contents of the note had been of utter seriousness. She wanted to get the words out of her mind and would gladly have called Jayce... only, Caitlyn guessed that he wanted nothing to do with her any longer.
"... I miss him even though he's still here; you need to give a sign! Don't let him disappear; I'd give him my forever if it meant for a day he can really be okay, 'cause I miss him! Even though he's still here..."
Caitlyn scoffed and wiped away the sweat prickling her forehead. What a suitable song. Not.
She rose from the floor and threw away her earphones and her tiny music player onto her desk. The song didn't stop playing and she was forced to approach her workstation to turn it off. Caitlyn tried not to look at the lonely sheet resting in the center of the table, but her eyes caught on it anyways and she read the letter once again.
Trouble in paradise? Might I perhaps have to remind you yet another time that I do not want to kill innocent bystanders? I won't hesitate from mutilating him from the insides out and I can even make you watch. But as merciful as I am – whether it be to my disadvantage or not – I dislike having to make a scene. Collateral damage is, as both of us know, a very sharp tool to use by ones enemies and I don't want to make myself any more heard than I've already done.
Well, that started of rude and I apologize, my dear Officer, for the rudeness, but I want to point out a permanent statement into that pretty little head of yours. There's nothing wrong with being "in love", but all those feelings are fleeting and what you might or might not experience with the good-looking inventor, I don't want to know. I'm only offering you a chance to keep him out of this mess.
Because I know everything about you. And everyone in your proximity. You have nowhere to hide, nobody to trust. You're alone, pushing anybody away from you and staying forever cold, haughtily watching us from your superior position at the highest peak of Piltover. It disgusts me tremendously, but I guess you can't help it. You are simply the symbol of this city... and it's my duty to make you gone.
To subdue you.
To humiliate you.
To utterly and completely destroy you.
But that right is mine and my only. Even though it would be quite satisfying to watch others trying to make you "snap", it wouldn't even give me a tenth of the satisfaction I will receive when breaking your will with my own. That is why I'm warning you now and always will. Read this several times, Officer, though it's not like you don't reread my letters...
Your partner, Vi, is in quite a notch. I'm not sure yet where this will lead, but beware: something malefic awaits her. And you. Something that's not me.
-C
A cool breeze from an opened window carried away the letter to the ground. Caitlyn made a motion to put it back on her desk but then decided to ignore it.
Someone is definitely playing me, she thought irritably and pressed together her lips. Sweat trickled down her cheek and she wiped it off. I will get to the bottom of this for sure. Whoever this "C" is, the person is positively insane. Always starting the letter in a polite manner, just to threaten and infuriate me later on and at last pointing out his or hers superior perniciousness.
Caitlyn straightened and threw an angry glare at the note. It's almost like I'm dealing with a youngster, someone naïve and inexperienced. The way the writer describes me, I'm guessing the person is a "he" or a homosexual woman – since whoever it might be is seemingly obsessed with me – which I highly doubt since I don't know any lesbians. There is a minimal chance it could be, but that's awfully farfetched.
"Who are you?" whispered Caitlyn and clenched her fists. "C, who are you?"
After a moment of hesitation – and awkward silence as nobody answered her – the Sheriff angrily picked up the note to rip it into as many pieces as she could. "You've mocked me enough and I ought to end this before I actually start believing your words. I don't trust invisible, anonymous phantoms. Stupid kids."
The ivory-white paper was surprisingly resistant and thick, and as she tugged at it for a time, she realized why.
There was another letter inside.
A/N.E:
Okey, say whatever you want but I am quite late with news. Vi has this crazy, weirdo sister and Riot Games revealed her just recently. Unfortunately, she has no major part in this story - if some of you wonder or was hoping for - but she might pop up in the sequel to this story. I did plan a continuation to Jayce, Caitlyn and Vi as I consider this as just a prelude to my main story - which will be fully constructed by myself and my imagination.
I must say that I was a bit disappointed with Jinx's Lore - Riot never told why she joined the League and I hate when you miss such major details - and I will probably have my own spin on it. She is a bit too "harmless" in Riot's version, nothing wrong of course, but just not the Harley Quinn we all know. ^^'
'Til next time!