"Ever wonder what it's like to be buried alive?"

Shirou pushed hard against the collapsed wall, Vi a reassuring partner as she copied his actions. Behind them, Ekko and Powder searched around other spots they could either help or escape.

"Surprisingly, it's not the stifling lack of air that hits you first. It's the cramped space. The sudden realization that you've been 'boxed in' in the worst possible way."

Above and around them, the collapsed building rumbled with their actions. Now Shirou and Vi were focusing on breaking apart the larger rubble along with the metals, while the younger duo focused on carrying the pieces out of the way.

"For a normal person, it'd be prudent to scream, to call for help. But this is Zaun. Screaming for help in the undercity never actually gets you the help."

Powder was soon the first to fall to her knees, weakly gasping for breath. Then it was Ekko, nearly hitting his forehead as he tumbled.

"So naturally, you have to un-bury yourself. Nobody comes to save you, especially if you're not willing to save yourself."

Taking a moment to adjust Ekko and Powder out of the way, Vi took on their job in clearing away the loosened rubble, fighting past the Zaun Grey that choked at their lungs with it's deadly smog even harder than usual with the increasing lack of oxygen.

"However, it's one thing to try and save yourself. It's another to keep at it with no signs of progress."

Soon, Vi herself had fallen to her knees in exhaustion, diverting her efforts into masking her nose to that she could breathe better. Understanding her plight, Shirou grit his teeth and kept at it.

"Its both amazing and terrifying for a Zaunite to experience this kind of thing. To have your will tested so strongly, and to come out of the experience as something stronger. To know that you can handle that situation."

Soon enough, even Shirou could feel his lungs demanding fresher air. His muscles were screaming, despite (or maybe because of) the Reinforcement magic casted into them. Taking a pause to observe his gloved hands, Shirou frowned at the bleeding cuts and bruised welts worsening from his efforts.

Still, he knew to stop was to accept death. To hesitate was to die. So with a growl and pushing even more prana through his body, he went harder against the large indent in the wall now. It was probably a bad idea to do so, seeing as it made him take in even more of the poisonous and dusty air, with even feeling like his own blood was boiling within his flesh as his fist punched steel and the steel caved beneath his blows.

"For that, I thank you... guardian spirit..."

A light flutter of breeze across his cheek in the oxygen-poor space was Shirou's only warning of her presence. The next time he punched, the wind swirled around his wound-up fist and punched along like a compressed gale that howled in his ears.

Not only did the entire collapsed rubble get blown away, the Zaun Grey had completely cleared away for a whole mile, leaving Shirou and the others with fresh cold air that they greedily sucked in.

"For taking your time and testing my conviction..."

She appeared as elusive as his parents' stories usually described spirits to be, looking like a strong gust would be enough to blow her away into nothing more than an illusion. With her long golden locks in a constant breeze and her ethereally blue eyes, Shirou hated how he was blushing at the sight of her.

The Zaunite-raised part of Shirou blamed her rather skimpy, even if regal attire for looking very good on her voluptuous figure. The Ionian-born part of Shirou instantly gave that part the mental equivalent of a kick to the shin.

The spirit smiled and leaned forward to hold him in her arms, embarrassing Shirou a bit in how quickly he leaned into it as his Od sang at the contact.

"Thank you, Ionian child." Even her voice sounded heavenly. "Thank you for not giving up."

"No... Thank you, Fury of the Storm... for letting me know I can push through in situations like this... That my body can become as steel... and my blood will burn as fire if needed."

Opening Theme: Bones

~Gimme, gimme, gimme some time to think~

A blast of toxic smoke blew by, revealing neon graffiti art of Shirou, Ekko, Vi and Powder in their young ages against a wall.

~I'm in the bathroom, looking at me~

Another blast of smoke revealed teenage versions of Vander, Silco and Benzo roaring in solidarity against Piltover Enforcers during a protest before a sudden shift showed adult Vander and Benzo with their children while Silco stood alone.

~Face in the mirror is all I need (ooh)~

A third blast of smoke revealed Vander and Silco charging at each other, the former with his gauntlets worn while the latter had a knife, the both of them appearing demonic with burning smoke escaping their mouths.

~Wait until the reaper takes my life~

~Never gonna get me out alive~

~I will live a thousand million lives (ooh)~

A flock of birds flew away, flying past a painting of a young Artoria and Caitlyn chatting amicably, while Jayce and Viktor followed them as they both read intensely from the same book.

~My patience is waning~

~Is this entertaining?~

Morgana and Mel smiled as they shook each other's hand in a painting, both having puppet strings over the rest of the Council.

~Our patience is waning~

~Is this entertaining?~

Heimerdinger stood short in a painting, Jayce and Viktor at nervous attention behind him.

~I-I-I got this feeling, yeah, you know~

Now as sculptures, younger Shirou and Artoria held blades against each others' throats, before suddenly defending the other's back as grown ups.

~Where I'm losing all control~

Grown up Caitlyn shoots her rifle while Jayce charged ahead with a sparking hammer.

~'Cause there's magic in my bones!~

Grown up Ekko held up a stopwatch, riding a hoverboard while he left afterimages.

~I-I-I got this feeling in my soul~

Grown up Powder (Jinx) and Vi stood back to back, the former shooting a gatling gun while the later sported a pair of gauntlets superior to Vander's.

~Go ahead and throw your stones~

Grown up Artoria held up her sword, the weapon ablaze as something draconic hovered behind her.

Grown up Shirou had a pair of blades in both hands, an unseen woman floating behind him as wind blew about protectively.

Together, they charged ahead.

~'Cause there's magic in my bones!~

"Dawn"

Even at his age, Ekko was a Zaunite who was no stranger to bloody violence. But when he saw what was clearly a demon crushing Grayson's head against the wall hard enough to send her through it, he felt completely justified in screaming.

It was like a signal, the other Enforcers firing at the demon, screams of panic and fear buried beneath the blasts of gunfire as more of their numbers fell.

"Get away from here, Ekko!" Those were Shirou's last words before he threw himself at the demon, his fist smashing into it's arm hard enough to clearly break bone and send it skidding backwards. "Deckard, is that really you? You're looking extra ugly this fine evening!"

Dodging back from a flaming swipe, Shirou landed a vicious roundhouse kick into the demon's ribs before having to dodge a bullet that would've hit his head. "Hey!"

Marcus gave no apology, his eyes wide as he kept firing in the demon's direction.

"Ekko, get away from here!" Benzo ordered before picking up one of the fallen Enforcer's baton, making his way towards Silco. "You animal! What hell did you crawl out of to bring that with you?!"

"You fool." Just as Benzo stepped too close and swung, Silco smoothly caught the large arm and elbowed his face hard enough to crunch the nose. Even as Benzo fell down, Silco didn't pause in his offensive, swiftly pulling out a dagger and stabbing it deep into Benzo's chest as he looked him in the eye. "You act as if I ever left the hell."

"Benzo!" Shirou and Ekko screamed, the former ignoring Deckard to leap at Silco with magical electricity trailing his body as he slammed hard into the black-eyed man and rained heavy blows into his face. "You bastard! You devil!"

When he was about to go for a third hit, Deckard slammed his fist into the side of Shirou's unguarded face. Before his body had even finished tumbling, Deckard raced past him and slammed a devastating clothesline into his chest, smashing him deep into the ground.

"That's enough, Deckard. I need him alive." Silco spat some blood aside before regarding Ekko. "Ah, yes... The little one. I suggest you run on to Vander. Be a good little messenger and tell him the bad news. A little reunion at the old cannery next to the docks is in order if he wants to see Shirou again. Now..."

Silco crouched down, bringing his face close to the paralyzed boy's. "Run. Run away, Ekko. And do be quick about it."

Giving a quick look at Deckard who approached with his unconscious brother in his hand and at his dead foster father, Ekko's tears started to flow as he finally ran away towards The Last Drop.

"This entire time, I thought I needed to dampen the oscillations, but to go right in the opposite direction..." Jayce gasped as he looked over at Viktor's calculations on the board.

Eager to start, the two men had gotten right to calculating where Jayce had stopped in managing the Hex crystals, even now that it was getting late at night.

"The crystals will only stabilize at high frequency." Viktor surmised as he stopped writing. "You have to..."

"Crank it!" Jayce chimed in eagerly.

"...yes. Yes, you have to 'crank' it." Viktor accepted with a smile.

"It works." Jayce believed.

"Eh... In theory." Viktor countered.

"Then get to practical."

Jayce sighed as he turned around to regard the third person in the classroom with them, both him and Viktor staring at Artoria as she stared back at them while remorselessly eating a snack.

"You two became friends awfully fast." Artoria paused to take another bite. "It took me a week to warm up to Caitlyn.

"I'd like to consider this a good thing." Viktor took a seat himself. "Jayce is rather upcoming with his theses and actually accepts criticism well."

"I'm just glad that somebody other than me is taking this seriously, from a scientific purview, I mean." Jayce sighed as he beamed at the board filled with their calculations and notes. In one day, they had made as much progress as he would've alone in weeks. It was really nice, having a peer to bounce ideas back and forth. "We could test it tomorrow with my equipment."

"...or we could test it right now." Viktor raised up a whole mess of keys. "I very much doubt either of us will be able to rest, being too eager for tomorrow."

Artoria looked between the two eager men. "You do remember that my sister gave you a whole two months, right?"

Jayce gave her an incredulous look, barely unable to believe her words. "So? This is... My life's dream is advancing into reality. I can't just... slow down!"

Viktor placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, looking at Artoria. "It may not mean as much to you, but Jayce's project is a completely unexplored venture. Scientists seek discoveries, ways to better the world we all live in. Jayce's Hextech ideal? At the very least, this will alter the very structure of both scientific and magical studies for years to come."

"Our Hextech ideal." Jayce gladly corrected, nearly tearing up from how touched he was.

Even if the moment was almost ruined by another loud and crunchy bite of Artoria's snack.

When Shirou woke up, it was to dull pain in his head and one of his arms. The sound of a hammer striking red-hot metal nearby ran through his skull, albeit doing well to wake him up as he regained his bearings.

Being dragged along a catwalk by one large gangster he barely recognized- Lock, if he was correct, Shirou dimly frowned at the sight of the factory he was in. There were weapons being forged, and suspicious chemicals being brewed and stored everywhere. One could've confused it for a Chem-Baron's haunt, if not for the fact that Shirou could feel his Od writhing just from him looking at the chemicals.

"Awake already, Shirou?" The man with the orange-on-black eye, Silco, noted his consciousness and actions. "It's a little crude, I'll admit. The base violence necessary for change. But as Benzo's boy, you know as well as I do, that Piltover will never listen to anything else from those literally beneath them."

Shirou grunted in pain as Lock dropped him down roughly when Silco stopped moving, the burn on his arm flaring up. "The moment... I get back on my feet... I'm snapping that spindly neck of yours. Whatever problem you have with Piltover, it has little to do with what you did to Benzo."

"On the contrary, it has everything to do with Benzo. Both him and Vander, in fact." Silco countered. "Traitors like them deserve their deaths."

Twisting to his feet, Shirou swung his handcuffed hands right against Silco's face, only for the man to casually lean back from the weaker-than-normal movement before driving his knee into Shirou's stomach, causing him to recoil and fall down to his back.

"Such spirit." Silco smiled in approval. "While you were unconscious, I drugged you as much as I could without killing you, but you're already up on your feet, fighting the foreign substance in your system! It is disgusting how much they've wasted the potential of the sole Zaunite mage we have."

"What... What is your deal, anyway?" Shirou coughed as he struggled to breathe while sitting up against one of the catwalk's railings. "What's your connection with Benzo and why did you kill him? Who were you to each other?"

Silco took a while before answering. "We were brothers once... Once. Brothers of an old dream. Old, but not forgotten."

Silco leaned back against the catwalk, his gaze looking to the side as he called up his memories. "You see, long ago, before the fires of industry consumed topside and our people were forced to work in the mines, the Zaun district was the center of the city. Back then, it was called Oshra Va'Zaun, and it was the connective tissue between Valoran and Shurima. A powerful city-state that dominated trade between the continents. There was no 'separation' between the districts, no bridge to divide the uppercity from the undercity. Money flowed well, with no children being brought up to work in the mines or adapt to the Zaun Grey that would mercilessly choke even babies."

Silco turned his heated gaze at Shirou. "And best of all, there were no nobles to look down on others for being born different, or Enforcers to shoot down men and women that wanted a better life or were 'in the way'."

Shirou flinched violently, hating the satisfaction that gleamed in Silco's eyes at his reaction. "The Dawn of Liberation was a group of like-minded individuals who sought to return us to that golden age. For years we fought for equality and justice. Eventually, our goals shifted to that of independence when it became clear that the Piltovan Council would not heed our demands. We were so close. The founding of the Zaun Nation was at hand! All of our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the Dawn were to be vindicated! And then-!"

Whatever strange and rapturous energy that had taken hold of Silco suddenly faded. His face became slack, his shoulders slumped as he looked down at the ground like something painful had shoved itself to the forefront of his mind.

But Shirou needed to know.

Even with his hatred at him for Benzo's death, Silco's story had pointed at an unfinished tale regarding him, his foster father and Vander, and he needed to know how such a beautiful dream of an ideal Zaun came to an end, if only for Janna's sake. "And then, what? What did Benzo do?"

"Our dream was betrayed. By a man I trusted. Who I loved..." Silco laughed mirthlessly. "It's funny. People change sometimes. Yet remain exactly the same as you knew them to be."

"But you're still fighting for that dream." Shirou pointed out, gesturing to their surroundings. "You're still reaching for the Dawn? Even like this?"

"Ah, of course, you're still as Ionian as you're Zaunite." Silco chuckled. "You people who declare certain methods of fighting good and others evil, acting as if there were some nobility to the battlefield. Such illusions, perpetrated by heroes throughout history, have led countless people to their bloody deaths, all for the sake of this valor and glory."

"If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong." Shirou shot back, the Ionian proverb his mother had taught him slipping out easily. "But you must also be prepared to raise your blade against another who is just as right."

"A proverb from your homeland?" Silco crossed his arms. "Pray tell, what is the teaching behind that?"

"It means that just because you're right, doesn't mean that somebody won't have a justified fault with your viewpoint." Shirou calmly answered. "Also, you're an idiot for not paying proper attention to the boy who's foster father you had murdered."

Before either Silco or Lock could respond quick enough, Shirou, having healed his burn and injuries to a manageable level, snapped his cuffed arms free and stomped hard upon the catwalk after crushing Lock's nose with a backhand that sent him flying off his feet for a few meters until he crashed against the wall.

While the catwalk shook precariously but didn't break apart, Shirou was still launched upwards until he was able land atop one of the factory's trusses. While the punks beneath shouted and rallied about, Shirou wasted no time in Tracing an Enforcer's rifle and aiming at Silco. "Looking rather surprised there, Silco."

"Nonsense." Silco calmly replied as he observed the still groaning Lock. "If anything, this is something to have expected of Zaun's mage. You may have the blood of Ionia flowing in you, but I see that there is also plenty of Zaun in your heart. Despite being Benzo's boy, I actually see more of a younger Vander."

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "With my handsome looks or ripped muscles?"

"No, no. I speak more of that fierce brutality you both bury beneath you. Remember Vincent? I know I do." Silco's answer was like an unexpected snakebite, Shirou stilling at the memory. "One of Deckard's thugs. Has a habit of preying after vulnerable girls... Well, 'had', thanks to you."

Shirou could remember it vividly. It had been one of their usual encounters with Deckard's gang, with Vincent being his opponent for the first and last time in his life.

"Boys will be boys, being crass with each other. But then, Vincent went and said something he shouldn't have. Something completely unforgivable, given your reaction to it."

Vincent should've known better than to say that. Mentioning how cute Powder's lips were. Mentioning what he was going to use those lips for. Vi would've probably killed him had she heard what he heard.

"It was amazing in a rather morbid way. To actually see a person hit hard enough that he gets flung off his feet and cartoonishly imbedded into a steel wall, albeit with many of his ribs shattered... but then... you didn't stop hitting him, nor did you lessen the force of your blows at all."

Blood spilled out from the impact, splattering the wall, ground and Shirou himself. Of course, it spilled. Regardless of how muscular Vincent was, Shirou could dent steel with his Reinforcement. Human flesh was a joke on durability when compared to steel.

"Even with both your friends and Deckard's group screaming and trying to stop you, you didn't stop."

He punched forward. More bloody red in his vision. He punched forward. More blood. More red. He punched forward. Blood. Red.

He punch- Ah.

He'd broken down the building's steel wall. And Vincent's body didn't look like a body anymore.

More like a pile of mashed up meat, not dissimilar to a butcher's work upon a rather tough cadaver.

Shirou felt no disgust or guilt at his actions. In fact, he felt rather-

"Were you not satisfied? At the complete annihilation of the enemy that wished atrocities upon your dear family?"

Taking a deep breath, Shirou shook off Silco's words and glared down.

"Ah, there it is." Silco spread out his arms in satisfaction, even as the men around him suddenly took many nervous steps back. "You probably don't realize this, but has anybody ever told you that those golden eyes of yours glow silver whenever you feel particularly murderous?"

"Has anybody ever told you that you're a good talker?" Shirou fired a warning shot, tsking at how Silco didn't flinch when the warning shot passed by his ear. "Talk. You didn't give me your life story out of reminiscence's sake. What's your intention with me?"

"Cooperation." Silco smoothly replied, raising a hand towards him. "I want you at my side, Shirou. One way or the other."

*BOOMF!*

Shirou startled as something hit the truss next to him and exploded into colored smoke, wincing at the smell and following the trail to a man in glasses and a dirty lab coat putting down a launching weapon. Turning to aim at him, Shirou suddenly swayed as he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea.

"You will be helping us reach the Dawn, Shirou." Silco's voice sounded slightly apologetic as Shirou swayed and fell. "Your willing cooperation... isn't really as necessary as you believe."

Shirou hit the catwalk, unmoving.

Powder cried as she raged about in her room, Ekko being nigh unresponsive nearby. "They left us! How they leave us?!"

Ekko still didn't respond. After telling Vander and the others what had happened, he'd shut down. Even the sight of Powder's meltdown evoked no reaction from him.

Grabbing her bag, Powder heaved as she lifted it over her head, about ready to slam it down when her gaze landed on the headless monkey toy she'd earlier thrown down. Feeling a fresh wave of sobs, Powder dropped the bag and fell to her knees-

*bing-THROOM-bing!*

-only to still at the feel of... something when four of those powerful energy-filled crystals tumbled out and sparked a little from the small impacts of their movements.

While they stilled and slowly calmed down, Powder froze as she remembered the scientist's apartment. Back then, when she'd felt that swell of energy right before the explosion. The same energy that Powder normally felt from Shirou whenever he used his magic but a looooooot stronger and wilder.

Giving the crystals a quick count, she found that she had only four, despite stealing five from the chest. Which the explosion had been... "I did that... I can help them."

Powder's smile widened as she turned her gaze to Ekko. "We can help them! C'mon, Ekko!"

Powder ran up to him and shook his shoulders until he was looking up at her. "We can help in saving Shirou."

Finally, Ekko gave her his full attention, his red-rimmed eyes narrow. "How?"

"Okay, I'm done." Jayce pulled back from the apparatus he'd finished preparing, putting the blowtorch away.

"Let's get started, then." Viktor handed over the last of the Hex crystals to Jayce while making a mental note to procure more with Jayce. Standing back, he watched Jayce carefully slot the volatile crystal into place, the apparatus immediately lighting up from the energy flow.

"It's time to crank it." Viktor hid his nervousness by loudly closing his book.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jayce asked.

"And that is my cue to put myself behind this." Artoria called out from behind a transparent but very durable shield that Viktor wished he'd had the foresight to get for himself.

"Sh-Should we get shields, too?" Jayce apparently shared the same idea. "Cait and I got really lucky the last time a crystal exploded nearby."

"It'll be fine. Probably." Viktor activated the apparatus, which released the now hovering crystal from it's slot as the apparatus started to wind up. As the apparatus sped up, the crystal spun just as fast, energy crackling off it in rapidly increasing surges.

Behind them, Viktor barely noticed Artoria wincing a bit as she clutched her chest.

"I don't think it's gonna hold!" Jayce shouted over the loud humming and crackling. "Look at the buildup!"

"The resonance will stabilize it!" Viktor shouted back. "Trust me."

"I don't share that confidence!" Artoria sidled up to them and placed the shield between them and the apparatus, making Viktor rather thankful when a tendril of energy crackled against it, clearly aiming for his walking stick.

However, just as he calculated, both the crystal and the apparatus calmed down. The crystal itself thrummed in place as it hovered within it's own gravity, constantly 'drawing' shapes based on it's rough surfaces. If only they had a mage to interprete them... "I told you it would work. All yours."

"Wow." Stepping from behind the shield, Jayce moved closer to observe the results. "It's never done that before. Alright. Here we go..."

Getting a quick refresher from his notes, Jayce adjusted a dial on the apparatus, causing some of the small metal plates at the sides to flip over, having been forged with runes cut out of them.

In response to his manipulations, the crystal rose even higher within the apparatus, taking center spot. However, it's volatility increased sharply, spinning rapidly again.

"Disengage!" Viktor yelped, his voice barely audible over the din.

Artoria yelped as the magical energy surged out wildly, gravity and space failing around them as the crystal sent out a powerful pulse.

Then the pulse reversed directions and came inwards, bringing in the various items that had floated off the ground and would have hurt them had Artoria not placed the shield before them.

Taking the chance, Jayce slammed his fist down on the apparatus's button, putting a stop to it all.

"...incredible." Viktor marveled. He probably deserved the dopeslap Artoria gave him.

Vander sighed heavily as he, Vi, Claggor and Mylo made it to the cannery, sneaking through the window. "Listen up, kids. We find Shirou and get out. Any hint of a fight, you leave me behind. Got it?"

Getting nods from them all, Vander led the search. It seemed empty but he knew better of Silco's habits. Looking around carefully, they continued their search until Mylo hissed loudly after opening a door.

Rushing to his side along with his other kids, Vander shared Mylo's sentiments as he stared inside. Chained to a chair and barely conscious, Shirou blinked blearily at the sight of them while a container sent glowing orange fluid directly into the veins in his arm through a tube. "Hey, guys... Is Ekko okay...?"

"He'll be better after we get his brother back to him." Vander replied before giving quick orders. "Mylo, Claggor, get to it. Vi, you're with me."

""""On it.""""

While the boys went about trying to free Shirou, Vander and Vi kept watch.

"Vander... Silco mentioned... something about a dawn..." Shirou slurred while Mylo fished out his lockpick to start on the arm shackle. "Said you were... a traitor..."

"...he wouldn't be wrong about any of that." Vander sighed. So, Silco had indeed tried to recruit Shirou. What a mess.

Vander glanced down at the jury-rigged mining gauntlets hanging off his belt. They'd come through quite a journey up to this point. From tools from a desperate teenager making a living in the mines, to bloody weapons of a gangleader, to unique symbols when he became one of the rallying points of the Dawn of Liberation.

Now, they hung heavy as a constant reminder of the things he'd done with them, all in the name of liberation.

"You kids shouldn't be dragged into our mess." Vander growled, directing a glare forward as familiar footsteps reached his ears. God, he still had the same gait that made one unwilling to look away from him out of self-preservation. "Our kids have no relation to the past other than being casualties."

"On the contrary, they're far more than casualties." Silco countered, his men gathering behind him, all of them armed on the other end of the catwalk. "Whatever the new era holds, they'll be the ones living it."

"Here it is!" Ekko panted as he and Powder slowed down, eyeing up the cannery. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah." Powder nodded after taking a breath.

Hearing the snap of Claggor's knife breaking against a shackle, Vander redirected his efforts while putting on his gauntlets once again. "Claggor, leave that for Mylo and find another way out. Vi, stay back."

"What?!" Vi glared, pausing in tightening the bandages around her fists. "I can fight, too! You can't take on that many by yourself!"

"Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Vander stalked forward just as a particularly big gangster did the same, meeting each other at the center of the catwalk. Eyeing up, Vander didn't hold back the smirk at the sight of the pierced man's broken nose, especially with the busted nose ring. "Shirou did that to you?"

The man sniffed angrily as he held up his dagger. "I'll remedy the pain with your head, Hound!"

When he thrusted his dagger forward, Vander smacked the arm aside before landing a vicious cross right into his face, busting up the nose even further and sending him flying off his feet. "Son, you can't handle me as a remedy."

Rightfully nervous at the sight of their biggest guy being felled so easily, the gangsters took a nervous step back before rushing forward as a group. Unfortunately, it was still a disadvantage to them, considering that the narrow catwalk still ensured that Vander only dealt with a maximum of two at once.

Still, his stamina wasn't how it'd used to be-

*BANG!*

A bullet whizzed past his cheek, punching into the skull of the thug about to stab him. Looking back, one of Shirou's arms was now free and aiming a familiar pistol that was now smoking while Mylo worked on his feet shackles. Behind them, Claggor was working on breaking apart the wall which Vander knew led directly to the outside.

"Silco, I'm back."

"Dr. Mundo."

Just after he knocked his fifth opponent off the bridge, Vander glared as an unfamiliar man in a lab coat approached Silco and handed him a vial filled with black and red liquid, before waving at Shirou eagerly and then stabbing another vial into an unsuspecting Deckard's shoulder.

"Oh shit." Shirou went wide-eyed at the sight of him before firing at Mundo, who barely dodged the shots. "Vander, that's one of Silco's chem experts! He's the guy who drugged me!"

Nodding in acknowledgement of a new target to hunt other than Silco, Vander punched his seventh opponent clean off the catwalk before stomping onto the railing and leaping right at Mundo with a bloody gauntleted fist cocked-

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH!"

-when a flaming fist smashed deep into his chest, sending him flying into the wall next to Vi. Lumbering into view as he burned from within once more, Infernal Deckard roared out his triumph while Vander coughed with his broken ribs.

"Vander!" Vi rushed to Vander's side as he tried to get up.

"I'm fine!" Vander sputtered unconvincingly, blood dribbling down his lips. "How are Shirou's cuffs coming?"

"I'm down to one!" Mylo shouted from within as fresh shots fired ineffectually at Deckard while he menacingly stalked towards them.

"Get in there!" Grabbing Vi by the arm, Vander got them both into the room before locking the door behind them.

Ekko and Powder gasped at the sight of Deckard slamming against the locked door, the former turning to the latter in worry. "We need to do something! They're trapped in!"

Powder pulled out a monkey bomb and then fitted it with three crystal-

"No!" Ekko grabbed her hands before she could finish it. "You said that just one of those blew up a building! Three of these at once will kill everybody!"

"Then what do we do?!" Powder hissed back. "You saw Shirou's bullets bouncing off that thing! We need something as strong as these to hurt Deckard!"

"...no." Ekko answered as a realization came to him. "We just need one to kill the one who gives Deckard orders. Shirou and Vander together can at least hold Deckard off, but Silco's still the one who started all this and is the one commanding Deckard and the rest."

Ekko looked back inside, glaring at the man with the orange-in-black eye. "Silco's the one who's gotta pay. And as far as we know, he's not bulletproof."

Nodding in acceptance, the two kids crawled to the side upwards even more until they reached a higher window that gave them a clearer look inside.

"Here." Ekko fished out a flare gun from his pouch and gave it to Powder. "You're the best shot right after Shirou. ...aim for the eye, if you can."

Nodding in agreement, Powder put the crystal inside and aimed. Apparently, Silco was just as Zaunite as them all in sensing killing intent aimed right at him because he immediately looked up just as she pulled the trigger.

"I think we've got it this time!" Jayce commented as the apparatus revved up into full power again, a lot more stable than the previous time. He especially fought the urge to beam when the crystal started displaying more runes than what he'd carved in. 'Is it actually creating a spell or sequence on it's own?'

Closing his eyes in concentration, Jayce thought back to the mage who saved him and his mother, recalling those runes and glyphs.

Adding Imaginary Axis into the Instrument Variables.

The crystal exploded into electrical arcane power almost immediately, shocking both Ekko and Powder as it destroyed the firearm and traveled it's intended path towards Silco as an unstoppable bolt of magical energy.

Jayce twisted the dial to the right.

Randomized Bridging of Established Spaces commencing.

Seeing certain death hurling towards him, Mundo grabbed the nearest human shield that wasn't Silco to save himself.

Sevika died almost instantly as the energy bolt vaporized her upper half and continued undeterred to hit the two men behind her.

Jayce twisted the dial to the left.

Unknown Target Coordinates locked on.

Upon impact with Silco's face, the energy blasted out in a powerful electrical explosion that had Silco crushing the vial in his hand to be burned into his body. Mundo himself got blasted into a massive vat of boiling Shimmer. Sparks from the explosion proceeded to set it all ablaze, the flames rushing outwards to incinerate everything within the laboratory, including Singed.

Vander and his children weren't safe either within the room as two bolts of energy easily seared through the door, electrifying Shirou, Vi and him.

Jayce twisted the dial to the right, with all of the apparatus's runes locking into place.

Initiate.

A massive glyph appeared right above their heads, mostly circular compared to the mage's polygon. Azure light blazed as space warped and gravity vanished.

The same massive glyph appeared right above the cannery. Azure light blazed as space warped and gravity vanished.

Then all of a sudden, Ekko's body glitched into light and vanished upwards into it, leaving Powder as the only one to witness his disappearance.

...and Marcus, who saw it from the docks.

When Shirou woke up, it was to the room destroyed with rubble everywhere. Casting a quick look around, Shirou noted with some relief that everyone around him were all still breathing. With a soft groan, Shirou yanked out the orange-filled tube from his arm and heaved out of his spot while gently carrying out Mylo.

"Shirou..." Vander gasped as he tried to push the rubble off him. "Are they...?"

"I don't know where that explosion came from, but we're all still alive." Shirou smiled at how Vander nearly sagged from relief and nearly let the rubble bury him again. "But I see Deckard from here, and he looks fine despite taking that blast head-on."

A little distance from them, Silco growled in pain as he clutched his face while black smoke poured off his form. "ARRGGHH! K-Kill them! Kill th-them all!"

Acknowledging the garbled order, Infernal Deckard lumbered towards them, with a few of the awakening and still alive gangsters getting up to join in.

Dragging himself out, Vander panted before taking off his left gauntlet. "Get the others out of here."

"No shit." Shirou scoffed. "We'll be-"

Shirou blinked as Vander grabbed his spare hand and dropped a jangling bunch of keys into his palm. A bunch of keys which opened doors only within The Last Drop... Wait... "When Vi wakes up, tell her it's now her turn for everything to be on her, whatever happens... Look after each other, okay? Protect the family."

Shirou's eyes widened. He couldn't be... "Vander, what are you doing?"

"I'm 'just protecting my kids'." Vander answered just as one of the gangster's rushed inside only to get knocked out.

In both manners of the phrase, as Vander stomped out right over the guy's face and brutally uppercutted another gangster out of the way.

Showing little pain as he caught Infernal Deckard's flaming arm and trapped it into a hold, Vander drove his gauntlet into his gut, enjoying the loud crack he heard while Infernal Deckard choked out a strangled yelp and spat out glowing spittle that melted a bit of the railing like lava.

Refusing to release him and being unaware of the arcane energy crackling off him, Vander kept punching again and again with each hit breaking more and more of his opponent's body.

Having taken enough, Infernal Deckard ripped his arm free and slammed both down on Vander's shoulders, dazing him long enough that he was unable to defend against the brutal headbutt that followed.

"Vander!" Vi cried, weakly trying to get away from Shirou's arms. By now, it was just her that needed to be freed from the rubble, with her foster brothers unconscious near them.

"C'mon!" Shirou dragged her back. "We need to leave! I'll carry Claggor, you get My- VANDER, BEHIND YOU!"

Vander turned around at the warning, but it was too late to stop the knife that pierced into him.

Ripping it out, Silco stabbed his dagger again into Vander's chest, determined hatred oozing off his burned visage. Even as Vander clutched Silco's neck tight, neither of the men let up their glares into the other's eyes. Eventually, Vander's grip slackened as the blood loss got to him, leaving Silco to carry his weight.

"There's that familiar brutality of yours. I knew you still had it in you." Silco gasped before letting Vander fall off the ruined catwalk, watching him crash into a crate of Infernal vials.

"Kill them all, except for Shirou."

Shirou stared silently, a loud ringing in his ears as he stared over at where Vander had fallen. His vision was going black. His chest felt like something was threatening to burst forth from it as he looked back to the man who had taken away two paternal figures that night.

A searing blackness writhed under a burning sky with gears in the clouds.

"I... am..."

Infernal Deckard lumbered towards them, gnarled claws clenching.

"I... am... the Bone..."

Beside him, Vi staggered to her feet, glaring hatefully at Silco and the Infernal. But Shirou...

Something within kindled into clarity, the Infernal serum within him finally latching on to his Od with scorching glee with an unfamiliar and hateful Aria speaking unbidden from his lips.

"The starting number of Penalties is Five."

The wide teeth-baring smile that stretched across his face had nothing to do with the Ionian battle mage or the Zaunite gangster.

When Shirou snapped out of it, he was laying face down. Silco was laid down at his side, the movements of his chest being the only sign that he was still alive in his current state. His jaw was mangled and cauterized. His arms were horrifically burned. His legs had been broken up in five separate places.

The vicious aftertaste of satisfaction Shirou felt was shameful. Hearing a pair of footsteps approaching them, Shirou turned his head to regard Marcus. A quick check of their surroundings showed that he'd somehow taken his rampage all the way to the docks.

Nearby, a burning pole crashed down noisily as the two stared at each other.

"Is he..." Marcus swallowed, looking rather pale with all of the blood and grime of his comrades all over him. "Is he dead...?"

"...nope." Shirou elbowed Silco's busted arm, earning a weak gurgle. "Still alive."

"...good." Marcus swallowed before grabbing Silco and dragging him away. "And if he can't even talk... or write anything in this state of his..."

Marcus paused to give Shirou one last glance. "With me taking him in, I'm sure it'll be a lot more peaceful down here... Sorry about your old man... and thank you."

Shirou's eyes narrowed. "Don't let me see him again."

Marcus gave a little dry laugh before dragging Silco away. "You won't."

Vi gasped as Vander, now burning like Deckard but also looking unbelievably lupine, growled in satisfaction as Deckard's neck crunched in his grip. Tossing away the now dead gangster, Vander directed his growls at them before giving his elongated ears twitched as loud cracking sounds came from above.

Just as the roof collapsed, Vi screamed as she and her brothers were lifted up into Vander's arms as he slammed through the wall.

Landing heavily, Vi shuddered as Vander released them and loomed over them, rumbling growls leaving his throat as he sniffed Vi.

"It's... on... you... now..."

With no further warning after those familiar words, Vi watched Vander leap up towards the nearest roof. With the backdrop of the full moon illuminating him, Vi watched him howl loud and deep into the night before leaping out of view.

"Vi!"

"Powder?" Vi turned at the sound of her sister's voice, shocked at seeing her here instead of at their home. "What are you doing here?"

"Ekko's gone!" Powder cried, tears running down her cheeks. "We were on the roof - and we shot at Silco - and this big circle in the sky-"

"Powder."

Both girls stiffened at the sound of Shirou's voice, it being gravelly as he almost seemed to appear out of thin air. Vi could still see the wounds from his earlier sickening one-man rampage against Silco and the few gangsters who had tried to stay between them, with them glowing orange red like fire beneath skin as they closed up.

Whatever stuff they'd given Shirou, either he was adapting to it better than Deckard had, or the stuff he'd been given was much better quality.

"Tell me, Powder." Despite the literal heat Shirou was currently giving off, Vi shuddered at how his eyes were a cold silver as they stared down at Powder. "What did you say happened to Ekko? Leave no details out."

Artoria, along with Jayce and Viktor, stared at the small dirty boy with dark skin and short white hair that had appeared into the currently wrecked workshop, his body still crackling with arcane energy. He seemed rather familiar...

"Okay, good news: We succeeded with Project Hextech, along with realizing it's spatial bridging function. Bad news: We've accidentally teleported a child here from... somewhere else." Viktor surmised, his serious expression at odds with the fact that he was hovering beside a sphere of blue light that had used to be the crystal.

Technically, they were all doing that, but Artoria believed that if she let the thought of Viktor looking odd occupy her mind, it'd let her ignore the fact that Jayce might have gotten an additional charge of literal kidnapping to his crimes.

"Wait, I think I know this kid." Jayce muttered, his hair floating freely in manners that defied physics. "Yeah, he was the one who sold me the crystals in the undercity."

"Now, I remember him." Artoria sighed in relief, as Jayce's words sparked her memories. "I don't remember his name, but he came with my swordsmanship opponent two days ago. He should still remember me."

"That's good." Viktor sighed in relief, letting himself lean back to enjoy the delirious feel of weightlessness. Considering that he normally required the use of a walking stick, Artoria had no doubt that he was enjoying the moment much better than she and Jayce were. "I'll leave that to you, then."

Awkwardly moving to reach the boy, Artoria grabbed his floating body and gently shook him awake. She needed him to give at least a name so that she could get him home and possibly have her meet with Shirou again-

Artoria's cheeks pinkened as she shook that thought away. "Wake up."

The boy thankfully woke up at that moment. "H-Huh...? Who are you...?"

"I am Artoria." Artoria gently replied. "You're quite far from home right now. What's your name?"

The boy frowned, his dirty face scrunching up almost cutely. "My... name...? What is my name...?"

Alarms started to ring in Artoria's mind. "Do you remember a Shirou? You are quite close to him, from what I saw back at the tournament."

"Shirou?" The boy blinked. "Who's that? What tournament?"

...shit.

KingVessel: Did you all miss me?