Personal Responsibility

by HeartOfMan

Jinx makes a different choice following the death of her father. With a new goal in mind, she sets out to make things right. While this happens, Vi and Caitlyn become more involved in the conflict between Piltover and the Undercity, with Jayce and Viktor deciding how Hextech should be used after the mistakes both men have made. Nothing is certain, except nothing will be the same.

13. The Case of the Split Violin

Hey everyone! I'm back at the very end of February, mostly because I started writing this chapter later than I'd wanted to, but also because I needed more time to really get this chapter right. You'll see why soon enough. Honestly, today went a bit shit so managing to get this done has helped my mood a huge amount. Failing a driving test will do that to you. Anyways, something comes up in this chapter that I'm pretty sure some of you will dislike, and all that I ask is you read the note at the end as I'm gonna explain that there. Still, I'm really happy with this chapter and I hope you all enjoy reading it!

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If someone asked Caitlyn Kiramman what the best part of being Sheriff was, she'd have a pretty decent list of things to say: the ability to coordinate the Enforcers so they could go where they're needed most, the power to directly call for change with the Council, the position that meant she could punish any abuse of authority as soon as she learnt of it, among other things.

But deep down her favorite part of being Sheriff was, without a doubt, the fact that she got her own office. Caitlyn liked to think she worked well under pressure and with distractions, but she'd always preferred working in quiet solitude. The silence helped her get her thoughts and other ideas in order, which was incredibly important when working a case. She could and had done without it, especially when Marcus shoved his nose into her cases, just because she was a Kiramman. He'd wanted to make sure she was living up to Enforcer standards, standards that he and many other Enforcers actively chose not to hold themselves to. The fact that Marcus lectured her on relying on her own merits and not on her connections, when he only got the job because Silco had effectively given it to him, pissed her off beyond belief.

But Marcus and Silco were dead now, and it was her responsibility to clean up the messes he made, alongside Vi and the others in their little group. That meant spending endless hours in her office, even when she'd rather be out working the streets with her Enforcers, solving any number of old or new cases, but Caitlyn had a duty to make sure all the department's paperwork was up to snuff. That, and she'd personally taken to going through all the official documents Marcus had signed over the years, because his corruption meant that every action he'd taken as Sheriff was under scrutiny. Besides, it wasn't like she couldn't work cases from her office. It just meant she'd be spending more time going through case files than crime scenes, but that was the price of being at the top of this particular food chain.

Caitlyn's office represented a private space for her to focus, and as far as she was concerned the room was worth its weight in gold. The only problem with spending the majority of her time in one room, though, was that she became really easy to find. Sometimes that was a good thing, especially when her Enforcers needed her assistance and they couldn't afford to wait, so knowing where she'd be would only save time, but it wasn't always that easy. Having her own office meant dealing with people she'd usually be able to avoid, like her overbearing mother or any of the other Councillors who were trying to find reasons to have a go at her, and somehow always coming up short.

Recently, however, Caitlyn had been dealing with something a bit more… sensitive than ignorant bureaucrats and pencil-pushers.

Right then she was going over scouting reports at her desk, her ink pen held in her left hand as she flipped through half a dozen files or, written by Enforcers and Firelights alike. That in of itself wasn't unusual; her, Vi and Ekko had put a lot of effort into scouting the Lanes and the rest of the Undercity in their efforts to root out the Chembarons, and they'd practically tripled their efforts in the two days after the breakout in the Dredge. Honestly, Caitlyn still wasn't sure about all of that, and the fact that she was unsure kind of bothered her. She'd known that the relationship between Piltover and the Undercity was bad, even if she'd only come to understand the nuances of the situation after meeting Vi, but every action she and her friends had taken since then was to fix that. Caitlyn couldn't undo years of systematic oppression and financial inequality in three and a half weeks, it just wasn't possible, but the only way any of this worked was if they trusted each other. Ekko hiding the existence of an underground prison full of cyborgs, who all probably hold a grudge against Piltover and the Undercity for their incarceration, felt a little bit like a breach of that trust.

The fact that she'd only found out about the Dredge's existence after everyone inside had broken out was beyond ridiculous, and as far as Caitlyn was concerned signified the first cockup in her career as Sheriff. The Council had not been pleased with that to say the least, and since they were unwilling to blame Ekko, a Councillor in his own right with direct support from Jayce and Councillor Medarda, the blame had fallen squarely on her shoulders. Councillor Hoskel and Salo, for example, each made a trip to her office the next day to chew her out for her "failure", as they called it. They kept telling her what she could have or should have done to prevent the prison break, but funnily enough both of them fell silent the second she asked what they wanted her to do next. They were typical politicians through and through, throwing their weight about the moment something went wrong, but doing nothing to help fix the situation. Hoskel had even threatened to fire her, but while Caitlyn hadn't voiced the thought at the time, she was pretty sure it would take something more than this debacle to lose her job.

Caitlyn didn't know if it was latent arrogance or some form of cold pragmatism, but with her mother and Jayce on the Council, with Councillor Medarda backing him in turn, she figured she'd be safe unless she really fucked up. And not for something completely out of her control, either. Something like, oh, she didn't know, corruption? Part of her felt bad for feeling so secure in her position, like she was taking it for granted somehow, but the rest of her was just happy she could focus on protecting her home without worrying about being fired every day. Still, it didn't make getting dressed down in her own office any easier, especially in front of Lieutenant Calloway and Vi in turn, and Caitlyn had bit down on some very harsh remarks. If her mother had taught her anything it was the importance of remaining professional, especially in tough situations, and if she couldn't handle a bit of shit from her bosses, then how could she remain cool in a firefight or the like?

She'd appreciated Calloway's words of encouragement after Hoskel left her office, telling her that it was just part of the job and that more than a few of the Council members had no clue about the work they did, to the point that they'd blame her for something she had no way of preventing. He'd said the best thing to do was to hold her head high and to keep up the good work, since, according to him, she'd done more for the city in twenty-five days than Marcus had done in eight years. It wasn't a high bar and they both knew it, but she understood the message: let her work speak for itself. Vi's suggestion after listening to Councillor Salo chew her out was a lot more straightforward, mostly amounting to letting her kick the shit out of him, and while Caitlyn couldn't help but appreciate the thought, she'd told Vi she didn't want to break her out of Stillwater a second time.

Caitlyn smiled as she thought about Vi, her partner in work and in life, drawing her away from the files on her desk as she sat back in her chair, glancing out of the window to her left and seeing the clear, sunny sky above the city that she loved. Vi was out there, somewhere underneath the earth in the city that she'd grown up in, one that they'd both sworn to protect after being made Sheriff and Deputy. She felt a pang of something akin to fear or worry in her chest, small and needless because Vi was the toughest person she knew, especially with her Atlas Gauntlets and the squad of Enforcers behind her.

Vi had survived in the Lanes as a teenager with not even half the resources, equipment or experience that she had now - patrols like the ones she was doing then were child's play for her. But having seen the reports from the Firelights and her own scouts, detailing the explicit lack of known activity from the Dredge escapees, it left her worried. Whether or not these ex-prisoners had stuck together or scattered to the wind, they were an unknown factor in an already volatile situation, with the Chembarons all fighting for territory in the wake of Silco's death. They might try and form their own gang, finding territory and forcibly taking business from the gangs already established there, or they might even join up with one of the many Chembarons in the Undercity, bolstering their forces in preparation for a battle that Caitlyn was growing less and less certain they could prevent.

Gods, it was probably stupid, but she didn't want her getting caught up in all that. If Caitlyn had her way, the two of them would be living it up in a nice home somewhere, where Vi would want for nothing ever again. After everything she'd gone through, Caitlyn felt she deserved that and more. But now Vi was the second highest ranking Enforcer in Piltover, heading up the operations in the Undercity because, quite frankly, they needed her. She was the only one with the skills and knowledge for the job and they all knew it, but that didn't change the fact that she loved Vi, even though they hadn't been together all that long, and she'd always want her to be safe. Now, with the situation in the Undercity spiraling even further out of control, Caitlyn couldn't help but worry that Vi might not make it back from patrol one day. And because of her position as Sheriff, working from her office most of the day, she might not be in a position to help Vi should she truly need it. She'd gotten lucky the day of the firefight in the Lanes, joining her for the midday patrol after finishing her work early, but that wouldn't always be the case.

Part of Cailtyn felt like she wasn't putting enough trust in Vi, or that she didn't have enough faith in her abilities, but that didn't feel entirely honest. If Vi was her Deputy and nothing more, Caitlyn didn't think she'd get this worried because, objectively, Vi was incredibly skilled. But it seemed to her that, when you truly loved someone, the fear came as naturally as breathing. Far off circumstances and worst case scenarios suddenly became all she could think about, drawing her attention away from her work and onto the red haired boxer who'd found her way into her heart. Caitlyn had been so mad when her parents had her fired from the Enforcers, but now she understood. After Jinx's attack on Progress Day, they wanted to make sure she was safe beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that meant forcing her out of the job she'd worked so hard to get. It had hurt at the time, the sting of betrayal aching in her chest because how could her own parents do that to her, but when they felt they had to choose between Caitlyn's job and her life, they chose her life without a second thought.

The fact that it hadn't been their choice to make was irrelevant now. Losing her job had driven her to Stillwater where she met Vi, and in the end the love they now shared was worth the pain…

Caitlyn drew in a deep breath, running her palms across her face as she tried to force the worry from her mind. She knew that fear for a loved one was natural, good, even, but that didn't make it any less helpful. Especially when she needed to be as objective as possible when looking through these scouting reports. Any detail missed, any flaw in the Enforcer's response, it could cost the people of Piltover and the Undercity their lives, and that was something she refused to let happen. It was her responsibility to protect the people, a burden she shared with Vi, Ekko, Jayce and the others.

Vi will be fine. Caitlyn thought, reaching forward and turning the page on the report from Scar, the Firelight's second in command. She always is. Really, I should be more worried about the property damage down there. Stars know those Atlas Gauntlets make a mess…

She spent the next thirty or minutes reading through the different files, making notes and circling important pieces of information she'd need to come back to when planning out Enforcer movements down in the Lanes. When she finished going through a file, she placed it neatly by the framed photo of her and her parents that she kept at the corner of her desk, forming a neat pile next to the only personal item in her office. The furniture in the room, from the rather ornate chair and desk to the dark brown grandfather clock, were all things carried over from Marcus' time as Sheriff. Her parents had told her shortly after accepting the position that she needed to add some personal touches to her office, otherwise it might give the impression that she was only borrowing the space, because if she didn't make the Sheriff's office her own, how could she make the position hers at all? Even Vi had said something similar, the first time they were alone together there. According to her, it was about being recognisable as Sheriff, like how people knew Vi was Deputy by her gauntlets, if not her bright red jacket which wasn't the standard uniform for an Enforcer.

Caitlyn liked to think she was distinctive enough with her Hextech rifle and pistol, even more so now that she was wearing her top hat again, but she could see where Vi and her parents were coming from. She'd properly decorate her office sooner or later, when she wasn't constantly trying to stop a civil war or something similar from happening. Some people might call that procrastinating but it was the best Caitlyn could do, given the situation she was in.

Closing the last file file, Caitlyn ran a hand through her hair, brushing dark blue locks over her shoulders. She used to wear her hair in a ponytail, back when she was a low-ranking Enforcer, but that look just didn't work with her top hat, and honestly she preferred having her hair down. Once she'd done that Caitlyn set down her pen and stood, picking up the stack of files and moving towards the cabinet in the corner behind her desk. Then she opened the drawer one down from the top, where she kept relevant scouting reports for Piltover and the Undercity, and began filing them by date. It was only when she'd finished sorting them that the door to her office slammed open, turning to see Lieutenant Calloway barging into her office with a panicked look on his face.

"The Hexgate's been attacked!" He called, and Caitlyn slammed the drawer shut with a snarl. Then she moved towards the large cabinet to the right of her desk, throwing open the doors and looking upon her own personal armory. Inside were racks filled with boxes of pistol and rifle bullets, shock mines that Viktor had made for her, and a couple small boxes containing her own Hextech Healers - a gift from Jayce. At the bottom of the container were a series of leather holsters and bandoliers, though Caitlyn's eyes fell to the back wall of the cabinet where her Hextech rifle and pistol hung, held up by a small series of metal hooks.

"What do we know?" Caitlyn asked as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out her two leather holsters, strapping them to her back and waist.

"Not much." Calloway began, stepping further into the office and waiting just in front of her desk. "The two Enforcers stationed at the Hexgate's main entrance called in after a bystander pointed out the Hexgate wasn't firing on schedule. They looked up, saw an airship waiting to be launched and decided to check it out but the interior entrance was locked."

"The Hexgate was put on lockdown?" Caitlyn asked, looking over her shoulder as she grabbed her rifle and slung it over her shoulder, holstering the weapon. Calloway nodded and Caitlyn turned back, mulling the information over for a moment. Jayce had explained the lockdown protocol to her a few times over the years, once when he was overseeing the Hexgate's construction and again when she became Sheriff, because it might help her someday if the facility was targeted. It looked like that information would come in handy today, though there was something that was missing… "Why haven't we gotten the automatic distress message?" She called over her shoulder as she put on her combat belt, grabbing her pistol and sliding it into the holster on the side before picking up a few spare magazines, slotting them into their respective holders. Then she picked up the Hextech grappling hook Jayce had given her, a brown and blue leather bracer, before strapping it on her left wrist.

"We're not sure." Caitlyn heard Calloway say from behind her. "Whoever's in the Hexgate must've disabled it somehow." He theorized, and Caitlyn let out a curse under her breath. The Hexgate's schematics were a closely guarded secret as far as Caitlyn was aware, and while she wasn't entirely sure how Jayce and Viktor kept the whole thing under wraps, they had both assured her that the security was extensive. Either their security wasn't as foolproof as they thought, which was a real possibility as much as she hated to admit it, or whoever broke into the Hexgate was somehow clever enough to disable the distress signal before the lockdown took effect.

Caitlyn spent the next few moments loading spare rifle rounds into her bandolier, shutting the cabinet when she was done and turning to Calloway. "We need to organize a response. Pull some squads together and get them in the garage. We leave in two minutes." She ordered, stepping past the Lieutenant and towards the coat rack, plucking her top hat from the hanger and placing it atop her head.

"Already on it boss, boss. Got two squads gearing up as we speak." Calloway responded, moving past her and opening the office door before stepping into the main office space of the Enforcer's station. Normally at this point in the day the room would be abuzz with activity, with Enforcers going to and from patrols or other calls across the city; that or writing up reports at their assigned desks. Now though, more than half of the desks were empty, with bits of paperwork and other items strewn about, the Enforcers who'd been sitting there clearly having left in a hurry. Caitlyn spotted a few still by their desks, hastily grabbing their gear before rushing off in the direction of the garage. The Enforcers who hadn't been called up by Calloway were continuing to work, but more than a few of them looked a little put off by the sudden news of the attack on the Hexgate. After all, Piltover's monument to Hextech had stood tall for nearly six years without incident. The building tension in the Undercity had lots of the Enforcers on edge already, and for good reason - this was only fuel for the fire.

Caitlyn paid that no mind, forcing a smirk that she'd seen on Vi all too many times to her face, trying to quell the fear growing in her chest. This whole situation terrified her, she refused to lie to herself about that, because even now she could feel her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest. But she was the Sheriff of Piltover and, while that title may have been tarnished by Marcus over the years, Caitlyn believed in the role she played. She'd sworn to protect Piltover and the Undercity, and she couldn't do that if she looked like a quivering wreck. No, she had to be strong and resolute, just like her treasured Deputy.

The fear that had grown inside Caitlyn shrunk into something manageable as she made her way to the station's garage, drawing measured and steady breaths as she walked. On the way, she heard four or five Enforcers fall into step behind her and Calloway, probably having been a little slower to gear up than the others, but that wasn't a big deal right then. They pushed through the ornate glass doors leading from the station proper into the garage, a large, concrete-floored space with automobiles of all kinds, walking straight past the clerks in their office who organized and distributed the different vehicles, trusting that they'd sort out the paperwork for them. They walked by cars, vans, small trucks and even a few motorbikes, each parked neatly in their bay before Caitlyn spotted a large group of her Enforcers, rushing into a couple of the black and blue vans parked by the garage bay doors. Without a word, Caitlyn, Lieutenant Calloway and the other few Enforcers joined them, jumping into the back of the third van, one of the Enforcers closing the steel door behind them. "That everyone?" Caitlyn asked.

"Everyone we could spare." Calloway answered and Caitlyn leaned to the side, reaching across the Enforcer sitting to her right and rapping her knuckles on the wall separating them from the driver's cabin. A moment later she heard the van start up before they drove off. From the low rumble of engines sounding from outside, the other two vans had begun to follow behind them, all slowing down after a second as the garage bay doors opened, judging by the noise Caitlyn heard. She leaned forward and rested her forearms on her thighs, seeing a couple of her Enforcers turn to her out the corner of her eye. They hid their unease well, keeping their expressions carefully neutral, but Caitlyn could see the nervousness in their gazes, and she forced a casual smirk to her face.

"We don't know what we're walking into, but it won't be anything we haven't trained for." Caitlyn called, watching as the rest of the people in the van turned to her. "Keep your eyes open. You see anything out of place, you report in and then check it out. Information is key here - the more we know the faster we can resolve the situation." She explained, and the hesitant Enforcers hardened their expressions, either steeling their nerves or making the effort to not screw up in front of their boss. They and the rest of the group nodded, some calling out "yes, Boss" or words to that effect, before breaking out into quiet conversation. Caitlyn listened in though she didn't join in, hearing questions about what might be going on and the things that they might be dealing with. Lieutenant Calloway jumped in every now and again, either to steer the conversations back to relevant topics or to offer his own insights.

"What do you think's going on?" One of the Enforcers sitting opposite Caitlyn, a light haired woman named Eria, asked. She was looking at her with a tight expression, her brow furrowed and her lips thin, but her blue eyes were resolute.

Caitlyn drew in a breath and considered her options, noticing the hush of chatter all around her as the Enforcers waited on her words, because she was Sheriff - what she said mattered. She wasn't a rookie Enforcer exchanging idle gossip here, so she had to be careful and precise with her words. "Making assumptions can create needless problems no matter how innocuous they may seem, so always try to be impartial when entering a situation. Based on the current instability between Piltover and the Undercity, however, and within the Undercity itself, there is a decent chance this is the work of a Chembaron trying to obtain Hextech to use against other Chembarons in the wake of Silco's death." She explained, feeling the weight of the eyes on her, and she saw Calloway give a small nod out the corner of her eye.

As Sheriff, she was Calloway's superior officer, but for the longest time he had outranked her, and in the years before her promotion she had valued his insights and his experience on the job. Even after Progress Day, where it felt like her understanding of the world was irrevocably changed, she found herself looking to him for guidance when she found herself in a situation she wasn't quite sure how to handle. She never asked him for it, and he never explicitly offered his help either, not like before, but it was always there when she needed it. Whether that be a little bit of advice in her office or by seamlessly taking charge of a squad of Enforcers to ease her workload, he helped without ever undermining her position; something she was more than grateful for.

Considering what she now knew about his personal life, though, she shouldn't be so surprised…

Eria nodded and leaned back in her seat, going back to the conversation with the Enforcer next to her, and the remainder of the journey to the Hexgate passed with gentle, if tense, conversations. Then, a good six minutes later, when even Caitlyn's nerves were beginning to spike, three loud knocks sounded from the driver's cabin to her right. "Alright, we should be pulling up on the Hexgate now. Keep your firearms ready but remember, we don't know how many civilians will be in the area, so follow your gun-safety training to the letter. Fingers off of triggers and keep your barrels pointed low, unless there is a direct threat." Caitlyn heard a chorus of agreements from her Enforcers as they prepared to move, drawing rifles and pistols but watching their weapon discipline, with Caitlyn drawing and preparing her own Hextech rifle.

Even before she learned about the variety of issues plaguing the Enforcers department, Caitlyn had always felt the Enforcer's skills with guns were sorely lacking. Sure, a few like Calloway knew the proper way round a rifle or pistol, but it honestly seemed like the majority felt knowing where the trigger and the barrel were was good enough. After purging the department of those with a known history of abusing their authority, she had installed mandatory weapons training and tests, focusing somewhat less on accuracy and more on safety, like when it was better to open fire and in what situations it was acceptable to do so.

Less than twenty seconds later the van began to slow down, with the two Enforcers by the doors grabbing the handles with their free hands, pulling and throwing them open right as the van began to stop. The squad rushed out, pouring out each side of the van and into the open air of Piltover's streets, and the paranoid part of her brain that Caitlyn tried her best to ignore screamed that they were walking into a trap.

But as her squad rushed past the front of the van and towards the Hexgate, the single tallest building in all of Piltover, carrying arcane potential unlike anything the city had ever known, all Caitlyn could feel was the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. Beyond that, everything was quiet, save for the sounds of people walking past the building all around them, watching their procession but knowing not to get close in case something happened. The only other thing that caught her eye was a girl with long, pink hair, the color catching her eye. She was sitting on one of the benches outside the building - benches that had been placed there so people could watch as airships were launched across the world.

Everything felt normal to her, but Caitlyn knew that things weren't always as they seemed, so she kept her guard up and her senses sharp.

Caitlyn heard the other two vans parking behind them as they crossed the twenty or so meters to the Hexgate's main entrance, seeing her Enforcers scanning their surroundings from the corner of her eye. Caitlyn did the same, keeping watch for potential threats with her rifle held in a strong grip, the comforting weight of her pistol hanging from her hip. Then her eyes fell on the open archway that served as the main entrance to Jayce and Viktor's flagship project, seeing two Enforcers standing just in front of it, alongside a short, tan-skinned man dressed in a simple shirt and pair of trousers. The shifts at the Hexgate tended to rotate around the same batch of Enforcers, so Caitlyn recognised the two Enforcers immediately, though she didn't recognise the civilian with them.

"Squad one", she called to the squad she'd rode in the van with, "you're with me. Squad two, I want you to form a perimeter of the Hexgate. No one goes in or out unless they're an Enforcer or a member of staff here, and even then I want it logged. Keep in constant communication and report anything odd you see. Squad three, I want you canvassing the area and speaking to witnesses. Any information you can get is invaluable right now, so report in to Lieutenant Calloway or I if anything pertinent comes up." She ordered, pointing to the other two groups of Enforcers respectively, the ones who'd ridden in the other two vans. The two squads nodded, heading off to carry out her orders while her squad fanned out behind her, waiting for her next order. Calloway, however, followed the other two squads and stood out in the open by the parked vans. It was an effort to be visible and in turn easy to find, in case anything came up that needed to be reported quickly while Caitlyn and her group dealt with whatever was going on inside the building itself. That done, she turned to two of the Enforcers assigned to the Hexgate, moving from their post to meet them halfway. "Nyla, Darid, report."

Darid, a lanky, somewhat pale man stepped up, holding his rifle low but clearly ready for action. "Sheriff! We received a report that the Hexgate wasn't going off on time and checked in with the clerk at the front desk", he explained, gesturing to the short man beside him and Nyla, "and we discovered that the Hexgate was put on lockdown. We then checked in with the Enforcers stationed at the West, East and South entrances, except the two Enforcers at the Southern entrance were unconscious when we arrived." He elaborated, and Caitlyn had to force down a curse. "They each had needle marks in their necks and there were signs of a small struggle, though nothing that can be used to identify the culprit. The Enforcers from the West entrance are taking them to the hospital now, while we had the other two searching the perimeter. They're probably checking in with your squads now."

Caitlyn nodded and made a mental note to check in on the two in the hospital once all this was over. She then filed the rest of the information away before turning and looking down at the clerk, and she could see just how nervous he looked, a bead of sweat running down his cheek as he clenched his palms together. "Working the front desk here means you should be alerted the second the lockdown protocol is enacted. Any idea why you weren't?" She asked, and while Caitlyn kept her tone neutral, she was aware of the veiled accusation in her words. As an investigator she couldn't leave a single stone unturned, especially in a situation like this, and if someone wanted to break into the Hexgate, bribing or threatening the clerk so they didn't call the Enforcers was a decent, if heavy handed way to go about it.

The clerk's response was instant, stuttering as he gave his side of the story. "W-Well I hadn't seen anyone come inside in over twenty minutes, and since the alarms were quiet I had no reason to assume anything was happening. When these two came in and informed me of what was going on, I checked the doors, which was when I realized the building had gone into lockdown." He said, the distress and confusion clear in his voice, and Caitlyn felt he was either a very good liar or he was telling the truth. "I offered to open the doors manually from my end, as I'm meant to when you guys get here, but these two told me to wait for backup to arrive." He said, gesturing to Darid and Nyla who were standing beside him.

"That was the right thing to do. Rushing in could've cost you your lives." She said, her tone grave, and she watched as the clerk paled before nodding rapidly. Then she turned to the two Enforcers in front of her, speaking after a second. "What're the odds someone could've broken in through the South entrance without being seen, even after incapacitating the guards?"

"The South entrance hasn't got nearly as much foot traffic as the other three", Nyla, a shorter woman with dark hair that fell to her shoulders, jumped in, "so if someone waited for the coast to clear and managed to sneak up on the two outside the entrance, they could probably get in without being spotted."

Caitlyn considered that for a moment, thinking back on the few times she'd walked past the South entrance of the Hexgate, whether that be on patrol or any other circumstance. It would be much easier to get in unnoticed there than any of the other entrances, even in broad daylight, but the fact that the assailant hadn't even attempted to hide the unconscious bodies of the Enforcers struck her as odd. Ordinarily, Caitlyn would chalk such a thing up to carelessness, but not here. Whoever broke in had somehow knocked out two of her Enforcers without anyone noticing, then entering the building and somehow disabling the alarm system before the lockdown was enacted, so the Enforcers would take longer to arrive. If anything, that said that whoever did this was aiming to be in and out before anyone even noticed, and considering what she'd seen so far Caitlyn believed that was a very real possibility. "Have you heard anything from the people inside the Hexgate?" She asked, looking to confirm her suspicions.

The clerk looked at Nyla and Darid before meeting Caitlyn's gaze, answering her question after a moment. "We haven't heard anything, though that might be because they think the alarm at my desk had gone off like it should have, and are waiting for you guys to go in. If they weren't, I figure they'd be knocking at the door and asking to be let out by now."

Caitlyn took a moment to think, looking through the archway and past the clerk's station on the left, fixing her gaze on the large steel doors that barred their way into the Hexgate. If the people inside the Hexgate, scientists and engineers charged with maintaining the technology within the building, had failed to call out, that meant one of a few things. Either they knew the Enforcers were on the way and were waiting the lockdown out, when the clerk entered the code to open up the front entrance, or something was stopping them from calling out. Something like them being held hostage by whoever had broken in, but considering how quickly and quietly this mystery person or group had broken in, turning around and taking hostages just didn't make sense. If this were some sort of political attack, where the assailants were looking to gain something in exchange for the lives of the people of the building, they almost certainly would've made contact by now.

No, if the people inside the Hexgate were unable to call for help, Caitlyn doubted it was because someone was stopping them. Despite how much the idea sickened her, it was much more likely that they had been killed, so they couldn't disrupt the assailant's escape. It was a theory based on flimsy, unproven evidence, but that didn't mean Caitlyn could dismiss it as a possibility. She had to be prepared for any eventuality as an Enforcer, no matter how grim or outlandish.

Caitlyn drew in a breath and ran through her options but, no matter how she looked at it, there was only one way to go about this. "Alright, get that door open." She said to the clerk who nodded breathlessly, rushing through the side door that led into his little office. Through the bars on the little window, Caitlyn saw him open up the panel of some kind of box on the side wall, revealing a long combination lock built into the back, beginning to enter the twelve digit code straight from memory, by the looks of things. Then she turned back to her squad, looking over the group of Enforcers she'd rode in with. "We're heading in now." She announced, seeing Calloway turn to her briefly from across the way, before moving off before barking out his own series of orders to the other two squads, rapidly relaying the information. "We're using standard breach-and-clear tactics here, but be careful; we have no idea exactly what's going on inside. Like before, you report anything you see, and be ready for danger around any corner."

Her squad nodded and Caitlyn turned, approaching the large steel doors with her rifle held at the ready, though with her finger off the trigger, and planting herself to the left of the door. The Enforcers behind her quickly fell into line, posting up along the walls left and right of the door, readying their own weapons. Then a resounding clunk sounded from the door, the clerk having finished manually unlocking the door, and Caitlyn placed her left hand on the handle, the Enforcer opposite her doing the same with their right. She looked eyes with them, mouthing the words three, two, one before slamming open the door and pressing forward into the room, rifle raised as she scanned for threats.

Caitlyn was greeted by the open, courtyard-like interior of the Hexgate that she had seen all those years ago with Jayce, and not much had changed. The walls were lined with large, glowing blue cables, interspersed by closed ports where the Hextech Gemstones that powered the Hexgate were placed. Her eyes roamed across the ground floor, seeing the desks and cabinets lining the space in neat, orderly rows, along with the curved steel stairs that snaked along the walls, rising up to a mezzanine that overlooked the floor she was on. The stairs continued on a little later, rising up to a second mezzanine, then a third and a fourth, until she could no longer count each floor. It became nothing more than a blur of blue light and dark walls that stretched impossibly on, like Hexgate had somehow pierced the sky. But as Caitlyn and her squad flooded the brightly lit room, spreading across the round space as they looked around for threats, there was only one thing that caught their eyes.

Bodies littered the floor at their feet, scientists and engineers alike slumped and unmoving on the cold concrete, and as Caitlyn looked up across the mezzanines above, she saw the partially obscured forms of more unmoving employees. The next moment passed in ominous, tense silence, where Caitlyn and her squad got a lay of the land, until she spoke up. "You two are with me." She ordered, pointing to the two Enforcers closest to her. "Everyone else, I want you sweeping from here to the top floor." Caitlyn finished as she turned towards the body closest to her, rapid footfalls sounding out from around her as the rest of her squad began climbing the stairs. She then stepped towards the figure, a woman in her mid thirties wearing a plain white shirt and dark trousers, with a pale lab coat on top of it. The employee's brown hair had fallen across her front, laying up and facing the distant ceiling with closed eyes, and Caitlyn squatted down next to her with a heavy heart, reaching out and brushing the hair away from her neck, looking to take her pulse.

It was only then that Caitlyn saw the woman's chest rise ever so slightly, taking the shallowest of breaths before exhaling, the air leaving her open lips. Caitlyn might have sighed in relief, if she weren't so confused. Instead, she raised her head and called out: "She's only knocked out, maybe even asleep."

"Same here, Boss. No visible injuries or anything." One of the Enforcers who'd stayed with her, though she didn't know which, responded from somewhere else in the room.

Caitlyn's mind became a whir then, going through a dozen different theories until her mind fell to the only logical conclusion, because she knew of only one way to make a whole building full of people fall unconscious at the same time. "Someone go outside and find the clerk." She ordered. "Ask him if it's possible to access the ventilation system from the South Entrance."

"Sheriff!" The other Enforcer called out from behind her, rushing out of the room, though Caitlyn could already guess the answer he'd return with.

Whoever had broken in had pumped some sort of gas into the ventilation system, knocking out the entire staff inside and giving them free roam over the Hexgate, since they almost certainly would've brought a gas mask with them. They'd have all the time in the world to disable the alarms that were linked to the lockdown system, do whatever it was they wanted in the facility, then activate the lockdown themselves so they'd delay the Enforcer's response, allowing them ample time to escape.

Whoever this was is either an absolute genius, or they have some way of accessing secret information. Caitlyn thought, rising to her feet. Maybe even both. Either way, they've made absolute fools out of us, and who knows what they'll do with whatever they've stolen.

That was the only reason Caitlyn could think of to break into the Hexgate like this, and she knew exactly what was stolen: Hextech. Whether it be a bunch of gemstones or the schematics for the Hexgate itself, the thief had blown Jinx's theft on Progress Day right out of the water, because they'd done it without being noticed until it was far too late.

That small, selfish part of Caitlyn pointed out that the blame for this would probably fall on her shoulders, and she could expect even more visits from angry Councilors, but she ruthlessly shoved that part of her down. That was the least of her worries, now that a second criminal had successfully gotten their hands on Hextech, and the only thing they knew so far was that this wasn't Jinx, for the simple fact that Vi's estranged sister would never have the patience for a task like this.

Those were worries for later, however. She still had a crime scene to investigate.

I hope Vi's having a better time than I am, right nowr… Caitlyn thought, before drawing in a deep, calming breath and getting to work.

…

It took over two hours for Caitlyn and her Enforcers to conclude the initial investigation. The majority of the time was spent scouring the crime scene, gathering enough information to paint an accurate picture of the robber's entry, their path through the Hexgate, and then their subsequent exit. That meant splitting up her squad and having them run a comb through each of the four entrances, while she and the rest of her group searched for evidence on every floor of the facility, along with searching for anything that could identify what exactly had been taken. All this had been done after they'd called in medical personnel and worked on evacuating the Hexgate, making sure everyone who'd been affected by the gas got the attention they needed.

Thankfully, the effects of whatever the employees had been exposed to faded as quickly as they appeared, and soon everyone inside had woken up and was able to leave the building under their own power. From there, the squad assigned to interviewing potential witnesses had shifted their attention, gathering statements from everyone who worked at the Hexgate. To make a long and repetitive story short, they all remember working and beginning to feel dizzy, and next thing they know they're waking up surrounded by Enforcers, which means the thief was smart enough to wait for the gas to fully take effect before fully entering the Hexgate.

And just like Caitlyn had suspected, the South entrance also led to the Hexgate's central maintenance room, and when a bunch of her Enforcer's investigated the area, they found a bunch of large gas canisters funneling into the ventilation system, along with evidence to suggest that the alarm system had been sabotaged directly from that room as well. Caitlyn would need to speak with Jayce and Viktor so they could come up with some sort of improvement or redundancy in the security system so this couldn't happen again, but that was relatively low on her list of priorities right then. At the top of that list, however, was finding out what had been taken; something that proved harder than anticipated.

See, at a basic level Caitlyn and her Enforcers were peacekeepers and investigators - not scientists. Hextech was pretty much beyond them. Caitlyn was the closest among them to understanding the mechanics behind it all, but that was because she'd picked up some knowledge of the science over the past few weeks, with each evening spent in Jayce's factory with their group. Viktor had given her a sort of crash course, too, some time after giving Caitlyn her new Hextech weapons, but none of that translated here. In the end, she'd gone outside and asked for assistance from any of the employees willing to aid the investigation, and honestly got more help than she expected. While most of the workers were being transported to the nearest hospitals, more than a few had opted to stay even before Caitlyn requested help, since it seemed they wanted to find out what had been taken just as much as her.

So, nearly twenty minutes later, the Hexgate's personnel finished running a system check to try and discover what had been stolen, and it looked complicated enough that Caitlyn seriously considered putting it down as witchcraft in her report. Like, maybe it was arrogance on her part, but Caitlyn knew she was an intelligent woman. The stuff that went on in the Hexgate was on a whole different level, though, and she and her squad were more than happy to sit on the sidelines while they did whatever it was they were doing. All she knew was that it involved a bunch of weird looking scanning devices, along with some sort of massive terminal that was kept in one of the side rooms. Still, they soon had a full list of things that were taken, and Caitlyn really wasn't sure what to make of it.

They were missing one imperfect Hextech Gemstone, one of hundreds that made up the Hexgate's standard power source, and one perfected one. According to one of the employees, they'd gotten a few four days ago in order to test whether they were a more efficient power source than the imperfect ones. Apparently he wasn't at liberty to say anything more about that, it being a city secret and all, but that information wouldn't have been relevant to the case anyways. The only other thing taken was a series of schematics for the Hexgate itself, which admittedly threw Caitlyn through a loop. Sure, they'd be worth a whole lot on the black market for anyone trying to break into the facility itself, but they would have to know that security would be tightened up a massive amount after something like this. The only thing that made sense to her is that the thief wanted everything for themself. The gemstones and the schematic - they were going to be used to reverse engineer Hextech, just like Jinx had done after Progress Day.

Sure, the plans for the facility wouldn't make much sense to someone without prior understanding of the science, but they were a start, and Caitlyn had met more than enough geniuses in her life to know that it was well within the realm of possibility. How far this mystery thief would get was up in the air, but considering how easily they'd gotten into the Hexgate and then disappeared without a trace, she figured they were more than capable of making something out of what they'd stolen.

From this point though, Caitlyn knew there wasn't anything else they could do at this point. They'd been through the crime scene and interviewed everyone within the Hexgate and nearby; they knew how the thief got into the facility and what they stole, so the only thing left at this point was the paperwork that came with a crime like this. That, and she needed to figure out what she'd say to the Council when they inevitably came knocking at her door, like when Hoskel and Salo got on her case after everything with the Dredge.

With that, Caitlyn left the Hexgate in the care of Lieutenant Calloway and left the facility, stepping out into the light of day and drawing in a much needed breath of fresh air. She trusted him to keep the site contained until they'd finalized everything there, especially after making sure he knew how important it was that the employees could get back to work as soon as possible. Obviously, more than half of them were still at the hospital, but the Hexgate was incredibly important to Piltover's international business, and Caitlyn really didn't want the headache that came with keeping it shut down for more than four or five hours. But as she walked past the vans they'd all rode in on, intent on taking the long way back to the station so she'd have time to think, Darid and Nyla rushed up to her.

Caitlyn honestly considered directing them to Calloway, because she'd left him in charge here for a reason, but there was something urgent about the way they looked at her that made Caitlyn stop in her tracks, turning to them with what she hoped was a patient expression. It had been a long couple hours, though, after an even longer morning, so who knows how she looked at that moment. "Sheriff! Can we speak for a minute?" Nyla asked, tilting her head towards one of the nearby vans. "It's kind of important." She pleaded, arms stiff at her side, and Caitlyn glanced at Darid standing beside her. He looked nervous as well, meeting her eyes before glancing over her shoulder and across the street to something she couldn't see. In the end, Caitlyn nodded and followed them towards the side of the van, which she noted put them out of view of the majority of the Enforcers stationed nearby.

"Well, you have my attention." Caitlyn spoke up, adjusting her top hat before folding her arms across her chest. "Is it something to do with the case?"

"Yes and no." Darid answered, looking down at the ground and wringing his hands for a moment. "It's about a witness; the one who noticed the Hexgate wasn't firing on schedule and brought it to our attention."

"Is there something wrong with their statement?" She asked. This person's statement would've been the one they collected first, since they were the one to alert the Enforcers to the break in in the first place, which was why Caitlyn was surprised when Nyla responded.

"Well… Darid and I…", she trailed off, glancing at her shift partner, "we made sure no one took her statement." Nyla explained, and Caitlyn just stared the two of them down for a moment, searching for any explanation in their expressions, before letting out a deep sigh.

"You two have good records from what I've seen, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here." Caitlyn said in a quiet voice, looking at Nyla and Darid in turn. "Why did you impede the investigation like this?"

The two went silent for a moment before Nyla jabbed Darid in the side with her elbow, drawing an annoyed glare from the taller man before he turned to Caitlyn. "We were waiting for you to finish up inside the Hexgate, since this witness… She's kind of in a delicate situation." He explained, meeting Caitlyn's gaze. "We felt like you'd give this the care it deserved." Darid said, and he spoke with a respect that Caitlyn would never admit to appreciating. She was fully aware she'd been given a position that technically should've gone to someone with more experience, someone like Calloway, and that going from rookie Enforcer to House Talis and then Sheriff in the span of a week would earn her some resentment from a few of her colleagues. She'd been surprised by the lack of hostility from her new subordinates, taking that to mean she'd somehow managed to earn her place in the wake of Marcus' death and exposure as a corrupt Enforcer, but actually receiving praise like this? It was more than unexpected.

"Well, I'm going to need more information before I do anything here." Caitlyn said after a few seconds, and Nyla stepped forward with a relieved, almost eager look in her eyes.

"So about two years ago, this girl started hanging around here, just taking a seat and watching the Hexgate do its thing, you know?" She began. "She'd usually stay for a few hours around midday, sitting on one of the benches nearby and eating her lunch, and we figured we'd just leave her be. No harm done, right?"

"Right?" Caitlyn agreed tentatively, genuinely unsure where this story was leading to. Darid took the chance to continue the story, then.

"Well, here's the thing: about nine months later one of the Councillors rocks up-"

"Councillor Shoola." Nyla interrupted, earning a stern look from Darid before he carried on.

"And we think it's no big deal. Those guys have a lot of business running through this place, so it isn't weird that they'd oversee the paperwork of some of their more important shipments, if you see what I'm getting at." He said, raising his brow, and Caitlyn certainly understood. She didn't know which Councillors used the Hexgate to transport illicit goods, but she'd become aware after her promotion that more than a few abused their position to rake in some extra gold on the side.

The naive, childish part of her heart hoped Jayce and her mother weren't involved in any of that, but Caitlyn liked to think she'd grown up since her first trip into the Undercity. The world was much more than the black and white painting she'd believed it to be before meeting Vi, and not everything was as it seemed. She'd promised herself that she'd investigate everything one day, after everything with the Chembarons, the Dredge and the growing tension between Piltover and the Undercity had been dealt with, because what were illegal wine shipments compared to all that? Still, the thought of launching an investigation into her mother and her brother in everything but blood - it made her stomach churn. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about." Caitlyn answered, voice just a little tight, and she pretended not to see the sympathetic looks Darid and Nyla sent her way. Everyone knew about House Kiramman and House Talis' close relationship, after all, and the unique position it put her in.

"Well, our witness really stands out", Nyla spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had formed, "and she'd been hanging around a bit closer to the Hexgate than usual. It's pretty much a permanent gig, being assigned here, and we'd all gotten used to this girl wandering around. But Shoola took one look at this girl and decided she didn't like her and, while she didn't do anything for the next two days after that, the fourth day she'd brought Marcus down."

Caitlyn nodded, glancing down for a moment as she recalled the memory. "Shoola came in one day when I was on lunch and left with Marcus. Was that it?" She asked, and the two Enforcers opposite her nodded. "He was really pissed when he came back."

"Well, we were too far away to hear what they were saying, especially with all the people walking by, but the argument got pretty heated." Nyla confirmed, and Caitlyn tilted her head down to the ground for a second, hiding the wry smile on her face. It seemed like new things were coming to light every day, or at least to her attention. There was no telling how much stuff her Enforcers knew, and just weren't willing to bring to her attention for some reason or another. "A few minutes later Marcus was screaming bloody murder at her, while she just watched the Hexgate from her seat on a bench. Then he leaves and, the next morning, he calls everybody with shifts at the Hexgate into his office and tells us to arrest the girl if we see her here again."

"It was absolute shite." Darid mumbled under his breath, and Caitlyn let out a snort, speaking up next.

"And did anyone try to arrest this girl?" Caitlyn asked, though considering the circumstances she figured she knew the answer already.

"Permission to speak freely, Ma'am?" Darid asked, a smirk spreading across his face, and Caitlyn consented with a nod. "Marcus was a cunt." He swore, and leaned back a little in shock, eyes widening.

"Darid!" Nyla hissed, jabbing him in the side with the back of her fist, but Caitlyn held out her palms and drew their attention back to her.

"It's alright. While I wouldn't use that language to talk about the late Sheriff", Caitlyn began with a quiet laugh, leaving out how she wouldn't use that language about him in public, "I will admit to feeling much the same. He tried to shoot me literally twenty seconds before his death." Caitlyn added when Nyla looked ready to interrupt, and now it was their turn to look at her with wide eyes. Whether or not it was at her admission itself or the fact she was speaking to them so casually, Caitlyn didn't know. "But other than Marcus' less than stellar personality, can I ask why you didn't follow his order? Regardless of your personal opinion of the man, he was still your superior officer."

The two of them stared at her in mild disbelief at that point, glancing at each other briefly before Nyla turned back to her. "You really don't know? Even with how much you pissed him off?"

"Cut her some slack, Nyla." Darid butt in right before Caitlyn asked what that meant. "Everyone knows Marcus was too scared of the Council to put a Councillor's daughter here."

"Hold on, what are you two talking about?"

Nyla shrugged, looking a bit sheepish as she shoved her hands in her trouser pockets. "Before you became Sheriff, it was pretty much an unofficial rule that whoever pissed Marcus off got put on permanent duty at the Hexgate. It meant that you spent most of your day bored out of your mind, dealing with every kind of person who wanted to see Piltover's newest wonder, all while never getting the opportunity for promotion because we physically couldn't close enough cases to be considered for one." She finished explaining, and Caitlyn looked towards Darid for some form of confirmation. Seeing the honesty in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders, Caitlyn pressed her forefinger and thumb to her brow with a grimace.

"This was going on the whole time Marcus was Sheriff?" She asked, more disappointed than angry, though who Caitlyn was aiming her ire towards was up for debate. Was her anger pointed at Marcus who was responsible for this misconduct, or was she disappointed in herself for not noticing this happening before and after she was made Sheriff? It didn't matter, not as long as she made it right. "Well, I would like to formally apologize for allowing this to happen under my watch, especially since I didn't switch up all of your assignments even after the changes I made to the department." Caitlyn announced, and the jaws of the two Enforcers opposite her dropped.

"Uh, well, that's-that's very kind of you, Sheriff Kiramman." Nyla thanked her even as she fought to regain her composure, all while Darid floundered beside her. "But that's not why we're talking to you. Honestly, with Marcus gone none of us really mind being assigned here anymore. Not since we had to stop putting up with his abuse, if you could even call it that."

"It doesn't matter what it's called." Caitlyn cut her off, her voice stern, because none of this was okay. When she'd reorganized the Enforcer's department and gotten rid of those with problematic records, along with trying to organize a proper response to the situation in the Undercity, she'd written off the established roster for the Hexgate because, truthfully, Caitlyn had felt like it didn't need to be changed. None of their files gave her cause for concern so she'd just… let it be, especially since there weren't any requests for reassignment from them in any of her files. The reason for that was obvious now, however. "All that matters is that I made a mistake and I will be fixing it as soon as possible, starting with a formal apology to you and everyone else working the Hexgate shift. After that, you'll all receive the opportunity for reassignment and, should you not take it, an increase to your monthly wage."

"Oh, uh, wow." Darid said, shocked out of his stupor, with Nyla looking just as surprised by her words. "Thank you for that. We appreciate that, and I'm sure the others will too when they hear about this, but that isn't important right now." He said, trying to shift the topic back on track, and Caitlyn allowed it with a nod. "After Marcus told us all to arrest this girl, and we decided not to, things went back to normal but we… I guess we all just tried to talk to her, you know?" He said, before Nyla jumped in.

"I think most of us just felt guilty, so when she showed up the next day we told her she shouldn't be here and that she needed to leave for her own safety, because the Sheriff thought she was a threat." Nyla carried on, her voice tinged with worry. "I was the one who spoke to her, you see, girl-to-girl and all that, and I guess something about the way she spoke to me, the way she looked at me, it…" She trailed off, words fading into uncertainty.

"It made us worried." Darid finished for her.

"How so?" Caitlyn asked, already coming up with certain scenarios in her head, even though she knew she should wait for them to finish explaining things before coming to any conclusions.

"We don't think she's in any legal trouble or anything like that." Nyla clarified, holding one hand on her hip and running the other through her hair. "We think she's just… different, like in the head, if that makes sense."

Caitlyn nodded, bringing her hand to her chin as she thought. "You mean she's neurodivergent?"

"Right! That's what we're trying to say!" Nyla said with a smile. "We knew you'd get it. Just, when you're talking to her, be gentle with her. And don't lie." She warned, leaning forward as her expression darkened. "I'm not joking. She will know."

That's certainly ominous. Caitlyn thought. "Will she get angry if I do?" She asked, because if so she needed to be prepared.

"No, but she's called us out the few times we lied to her."

Caitlyn accepted the information with a deep, drawn out breath. "Alright. What does she look like, so I know who to speak to?"

"She's a young girl about Nyla's height, around eighteen or nineteen, with long pink hair." Darid described, and Caitlyn recalled seeing a girl who looked exactly like that, when she first arrived at the Hexgate a couple hours ago. "Like, really long, like she's never gotten a haircut in her life. You physically cannot miss her." Darid continued speaking, nodding his head in the direction he'd been glancing towards when the three of them first started speaking - towards where Caitlyn had first seen the girl, now that she thought about it.

"I'll go speak to her now." Caitlyn said, taking a step back and out from the cover of the van. "Got to get her statement before I start the mountain of paperwork waiting for me back at the station, and I've got to apologize for the stuff Marcus pulled." She added, words tinged with unsubtle dismay.

Right as Caitlyn was about to turn around, however, Nyla darted forward a couple steps, before catching herself and drawing a deep breath. "Thank you for listening to us, Sheriff Kiramman." She said, and the sheer honesty and gratitude in her voice stopped Caitlyn in her tracks. "Marcus never would've listened to us, or to anyone, really. But you're different, and I know a lot of us are glad you're running things now, so… thank you."

Caitlyn smirked, tipping her top hat towards them with her fingers before turning away. "Don't thank me; not for doing my job. Keep up the good work!" She said as she left, hearing the two of them break out into conversation behind her, though she didn't listen in. That had certainly been an eye opening experience, but she was pretty sure she was about to have another one in a moment or two…

The wind began to pick up a little as Caitlyn strode away from the parked vans, passing the Enforcers who were watching the perimeter along with finalizing whatever reports and interviews they'd been conducting. She spotted Lieutenant Calloway some distance away, giving orders to a bunch of Enforcers, though he didn't seem to notice her. Then she turned her gaze towards the bench she'd passed two hours ago, when she and her forces were rushing to respond to the break in, and Caitlyn saw the girl she'd been pointed to.

She liked to think she could read people pretty well, and get a good judge of their character by observing them from afar. Their mannerisms, the way they held themselves and looked at the world around them - even things as innocuous as the clothes they wore and how often they smiled. While it wasn't a perfect system of judgment, not with people who made a habit of lying to the world, it was an invaluable tool for judging how she should approach any given situation. It sounded obvious, but Caitlyn was always surprised by how little most people paid attention to those around them. Then again, most people didn't dedicate their lives to looking out for danger.

Yet, as Caitlyn looked this girl up and down, taking in every detail she could from around ten meters away, the only word that came to mind was bright. She was wearing a sky blue jumper that matched the color of her eyes, with little pink bows tied at the ends of her sleeves, along with a pair of baggy dark orange trousers. She sat sidelong on the bench, leaning back on the armrest with her knees drawn close to her chest, inadvertently showing off the bright pink and blue running shoes on her feet while her long, wavy pink hair hung like a curtain behind her. Part of it pooled on the bench while the rest of it hung a few inches off the ground, but the girl paid it no mind at all, hands resting atop her knees as her fingers tapped a rhythm into the fabric of her trouser legs. And she was singing, too, lips moving with words that Caitlyn couldn't make out, like she was listening to a song only she could hear.

She looked happy there, her eyes fixed on the clouds hanging in the sky above, the light of the midday sun only serving to highlight the gentle, serene smile on her face.

Then her gaze shifted right, ocean eyes falling to the space just below Caitlyn's as the steady drumming of her fingers drew to a stop, and she raised her left hand, waving at Caitlyn as her smile grew wide. Caitlyn couldn't help but smile back because, for once in her life, someone wasn't treating her with suspicion as soon as she approached them. Most people had nothing to hide and she knew that, but as soon as an Enforcer even looked their way, even the most law-abiding citizen would clam up. To be greeted with such openness, it wasn't something Caitlyn expected, or realized she hadn't experienced. So Caitlyn smiled back, a small curl of her lips that she hoped wasn't too unprofessional, as she crossed the last few feet to the younger girl.

That was her mistake.

She had been so focused on the girl that she'd completely missed what was under the bench, and right as Caitlyn was about to greet her, something small and furry darted out from behind the benches' leg, latching onto the top of her left boot with sharp claws. Caitlyn froze for a second, looking down towards this… was that a squirrel? Nope, she wasn't seeing things; the Sheriff of Piltover was being attacked by a fluffy brown squirrel. That single moment of hesitation, one Caitlyn spent trying to work out what the hell was going on, was enough for the furry beast to leap up and attach itself to her trouser leg, scampering up her thigh with dogged determination.

That was when Caitlyn decided to react, jumping back a step and slapping her hands down at her leg, but the little devil was fast and climbed up to her shirt, and she felt the eyes of some of her Enforcers turning her way. Honestly, she just was happy she managed not to scream. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the pink-haired girl scramble to her feet, wide-eyed with her arms held out towards her. "O-Oh dear. Acorn! Acorn, no!" She cried in a high and panicked voice, reaching out to grab Acorn as he darted up her chest, but he dodged her slender hand with ease so she ended up jabbing Caitlyn right in the tit. She drew her hand back like she'd been burned, locking eyes as her lips parted in shock and sudden fear, but Caitlyn was more concerned with the squirrel that had decided to sit on her right shoulder.

The girl's pet, because what else could it be with a name like Acorn, leaned forward as Caitlyn turned her head towards it, its beady little eyes fixing onto the tip of her nose. "Hello." She breathed, for lack of anything better to say, but the fact she was talking to a squirrel made it a moot point.

Acorn just stared at her for a long moment, its head tilting to the left ever so slightly, and its owner took the chance to lunge forward and try to grab it. The squirrel must've been an acrobat in a past life, leaping over the girl's outstretched hands and catching the brim of Caitlyn's top hat before flinging itself up, landing on the flat top of her hat with a triumphant little squeak. In a complete opposite series of events, the pink-haired ended up tripping over her own feet, falling into the side of Caitlyn's chest. In response she shifted her right foot back and caught the shorter woman with her arm, steadying her. "Bad boy! You get down here this instant!" She shouted, placing her hands on Caitlyn's bicep and pushing herself to her feet, glaring at the critter atop her head. "This is the nice Sheriff, how don't you get that?" She said with a deep pout, and despite the absurdity of the situation, Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle. Even when she was annoyed this girl looked so happy, her big, bright blue eyes shining as she stared up at her rogue squirrel.

"Does this happen often?" Caitlyn couldn't help but ask, smiling despite her confusion over everything from the last fifteen seconds.

"He's never like this, I swear." She pleaded as she reached up, cupping her hands together in an attempt to goad Acorn off her head, and Caitlyn noted how, even as she spoke to her, she never once met her eyes. "He's normally so polite!"

"Well, you said I'm the 'nice' Sheriff, but maybe he doesn't realize that?" Caitlyn tried, regaining her composure as she reached up and took the brim of her hat in both hands. She then lifted the top hat from her head, moving as gently as she could so she didn't disturb Acorn, who began to shift his weight with the movement so he didn't fall off. She only hoped he didn't damage the fabric with his claws. A few seconds later, Caitlyn managed to bring the hat down towards her sternum, eyes falling towards the unrepentant squirrel who'd decided to curl up atop it, probably for no reason other than he could. "Just in case: I'm Sheriff Caitlyn Kiramman." She introduced herself, lips curled as she held out her hat towards the pink-haired girl. "You are?"

The girl had been watching her move with an intensity she didn't understand, her eyes flickering from her hands, her chest, her lips, and then to the squirrel she presented to her, but she never met her gaze. The moment dragged on in a silence bordering on awkward, the eyes of the Enforcers watching the two of them burning into Caitlyn's back, until Acorn let out a squeak, drawing her back into the conversation with a start, like she'd been listening to something else entirely.

"Oh, well, I-I already knew who you were." She stuttered with wide eyes and a small smile, accidentally and completely ignoring her question as she reached out and plucked Acorn off her top hat. The squirrel allowed the contact this time, leaping up and latching onto her jumper before climbing up to her shoulder, just like it did with Caitlyn. "But that isn't what you asked." She said, sounding almost embarrassed as she reached up and brushed locks of pink hair behind her ears, hair that the squirrel on her left shoulder immediately began to pull back around and begin fiddling with, though she didn't appear put off by it. "You've already met Acorn." She confirmed, reaching up with a hand and absently scratching her squirrel under his chin for a moment. "And my name is Seraphine." She finished with a wide smile, holding out her hand.

Caitlyn took it with a nod, gently shaking her hand before gesturing to the bench she'd just been sat on. "Well Seraphine, Acorn, it's lovely to meet you both. Why don't we sit down and chat?" She requested, stepping around the younger woman and taking a seat on the bench.

"What do you wanna chat about?" Seraphine asked as she joined Caitlyn on the bench, sitting to her right with her knees drawn right up to her chest and her arms around her legs, angling her body more towards the left. "The stuff from today, or that your old boss was gonna get me arrested if I came back here?" She continued in a cheery voice, leaning forward and pressing the bottom of her chin to her knee, tilting her head to the side so that Acorn had a little extra room on her shoulder. Her posture screamed defensiveness to Caitlyn, and from anyone else she would assume they really didn't want to talk to her, but from the look on Seraphine's face, so relaxed and open, she was more than happy to be there. Maybe she was just a really good liar, one who had managed to fool every Enforcer at the Hexgate and was currently fooling her, but Caitlyn dismissed the idea the second it presented itself. From what she had seen and heard, Seraphine was just a little… odd - nothing more.

"Both, if that's alright with you." Caitlyn said, pulling open her uniform jacket and reaching into the inside pocket, retrieving the small notebook and pen she kept on her at all times. "Though I would like you to know that only the information regarding the break in will be going on record, as that's currently an active investigation, so you have nothing to worry about from your experience with my predecessor."

Seraphine nodded, leaning back in her chair a little, looking up at the sky for a moment. "That's nice." She said before her smile dropped slightly, looking back down and towards the pen in Caitlyn's hand, looking lost in thought for a moment. "The old Sheriff wasn't a very kind man." Seraphine whispered just loud enough to be heard, the cheer that had seemed so boundless vanishing from her voice, and her entire body slumped forward a little. Then a moment later she drew in a breath, the joy returning to her eyes as the air filled her lungs, and the pink-haired girl smiled at Caitlyn, looking directly at her nose. "But I can tell you're kind, though." She revealed, leaning forward in her seat like she was telling some great secret.

"Well… I appreciate the compliment." Caitlyn said, hesitating as the grip on her pen slackened. She'd never met this girl in her entire life so she couldn't possibly know that much about her, yet, listening to her words, Caitlyn truly believed the girl was being honest. Either Seraphine was incredible at reading people, or she was hopelessly naive. "So, why don't you tell me your full name and age, just so the report is accurate." She started in as relaxed a voice as possible, trying to get the interview back on track.

"Seraphine, and I turned twenty two months ago." The girl in question recited, all smiles.

"No last name?" Caitlyn clarified, pen pausing just off the paper as she awaited her response.

"Nope." Seraphine explained, popping her lips on the 'p' sound. "Mom and Dad didn't have one, so I don't either. From what they told me, the Undercity isn't really big on family names."

"Your parents are from the Undercity?" She asked, keeping the conversation going as she jotted Seraphine's personal information down.

"They moved up here some time after they got married, around the time Mom got pregnant with me. Their business was starting to do really well so they moved up to Piltover - got a nice little place on the riverfront and everything." She said, shifting her arms as she moved her legs so her shoes touched the ground, folding her hands on her lap.

"That's impressive. I know it can be very hard to get a successful business off the ground in Piltover. Not without outside support." Caitlyn commended, genuine praise in her words, though she didn't write anything about that as it wasn't relevant to the report. "Can you explain to me what happened? Starting with when you realized there was something wrong with the Hexgate."

"W-Well", Seraphine stuttered, eyes darting to the right for a split second, towards the arcane tower, "I was watching the ships go by, like I do every day, when I noticed a skyship waiting in front of the launch gate. One had gone about two minutes before that so I was confused, you know. Normally that never happens." She said, glancing up at Caitlyn's hat for a moment, and she nodded in response.

"That's definitely out of the ordinary." Caitlyn agreed, noting everything down. "Skyships only go in to the top of the Hexgate at the designated launch time, where they'll usually get launched a couple moments later."

"Right!" Seraphine said with a little chuckle, right as Acorn decided to leap down from her shoulder and into lap, curling back up next to her hands. "I figured the people running the Hexgate were late or something, even though I've never seen it happen before, but twenty seconds later and the ship was still there. No blue lights shining up the side of the tower, no blue rings in the sky, so I went to Darid and Nyla." She pressed on, corroborating the two Enforcers' version of events, but Caitlyn decided against writing down that she knew Darid and Nyla by name.

She wasn't sure if Seraphine's… altercation with Marcus was in some file somewhere, stars knew she hadn't been able to read them all just yet, but she was certain the Council would take great interest in this case. And, considering how one Councillor had already taken issue with Seraphine's presence at the Hexgate, Caitlyn certainly didn't want to risk getting her into any more trouble. "They told me to go wait outside while they checked in with the employees, and next thing I know you all arrive here." Seraphine concluded, gesturing to the Enforcers all around them. Some were still watching them, though they all found somewhere else to look when her attention turned to them.

"And that's where your involvement ends?" Caitlyn asked after a moment, pen poised to take down more notes, though Seraphine just nodded.

"If you don't count this as involvement." She said, beaming, as she ran two fingertips down Acorn's back. The squirrel preened at the attention, nuzzling close to Seraphine though her attention was mostly on Caitlyn, or, more accurately now, her boots.

"Well Seraphine, thank you for the information." She acknowledged after a moment, shutting her notebook and clicking the end of her pen before returning them to her jacket pocket. Then she leaned a little towards the pink-haired girl, resting her forearms on her thighs and interlocking her fingers. "Now, would you be alright talking about what happened with Marcus? I know I said we'd talk about it but if you're not comfortable…" Caitlyn asked, giving her the out in case she wasn't up to it. From what she'd seen so far, Seraphine was pretty upbeat, but she'd gotten a glimpse of something earlier when she'd brought up the former Sheriff; something sad.

She watched as Seraphine drew in a deep breath and plucked Acorn from her lap, holding him in her left hand and petting him with the other. The squirrel reached up with its tiny paws, grabbing Seraphine's forefinger and running its cheek against it. Something about the interaction, where Seraphine physically reached out to someone during an upsetting situation, struck true with Caitlyn, reminding her of the way Vi acted when she was distressed. She'd go sullen and quiet for a moment before reaching out and taking Caitlyn's hand, drawing comfort from the warmth of another's body, but that only started happening sometime after they'd gotten together. Before, she'd just shut down, processing everything as best as she could - probably because that's all she'd been able to do when things got painful, locked away in Stillwater. Caitlyn didn't have the heart to bring it up to Vi, but part of her believed Vi's loneliness went beyond living alone for the longest time, and her near-aversion to physical contact came after a decade spent without any, other than the fights and beatings she'd endured.

Concern, or maybe even worry, found its way into Caitlyn's chest as she wondered if Seraphine was maybe in a similar boat. She certainly wasn't normal, not by any stretch of the imagination, but even then she was pretty much certain her joyful nature housed some deep-seated pain or anxiety. It would've been easy to dismiss Seraphine as some over-happy girl, to an almost childish degree, but people weren't two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. That glimpse of sadness when Caitlyn brought up Marcus, and the way she'd immediately gone to her squirrel for comfort; it spoke of a loneliness that Caitlyn recognised from the woman she loved. But just as she was about to take back her question, to move back to a safer topic, Seraphine looked back up at her.

Her cobalt eyes fixed on the bottom of Caitlyn's ear, her smile growing just a little bit somber as she spoke. "You don't need to be worried about me." She implored in a small yet strong voice, calling her out in the gentlest way possible, and Caitlyn blinked as she leaned back in her seat. How did she know? "I see it in your eyes; they're quite loud." She explained, answering a question Caitlyn hadn't asked, and now she was surprised for an entirely different reason.

"My eyes are loud?" Caitlyn repeated in a weak voice, but could you blame her? That was a weird statement, no matter how it was spun.

Seraphine's eyes went wide, expression going from soft to panicked in an instant as she began to sputter. "No no, see, I meant… I'm saying you're very expressive, you know what I mean?" She rambled, and the corners of Caitlyn's lips tugged up in a tiny, hesitant smile, a small laugh escaping.

"I'm not sure I do…" She said, reaching up with a hand and adjusting her hat as she spoke.

The pink-haired girl huffed, setting Acorn down on her lap and carefully placing her palms on her knees. Her squirrel looked up at her with betrayal in its eyes, obviously missing the attention, before it visibly stopped caring and curled back up on her thigh. Seraphine looked straight down at her running shoes, her cheeks reddening, and for the first time since approaching this girl, Caitlyn didn't feel like she was on the back foot. "Can I - can I tell you about what happened, now?" She pleaded, sounding honestly a little desperate, and suddenly Caitlyn felt like a right asshole.

"Of course. I'm sorry." Caitlyn apologized in reflex, before wondering if a Sheriff should be apologizing for something like this at all, but she took that thought out back and shot it dead. Having a high rank didn't mean forgetting about kindness; it was the opposite, actually. If she couldn't be kind to the people of her city, she didn't deserve to be Sheriff. "Go on."

She nodded, sucking in a breath and visibly composing herself. "Around a year and… three months ago? Yeah, so I'm sitting out here, watching the Hexgate like usual when I see this woman looking at me. I didn't realize she was a Councillor at the time, but she must not have liked me because every time she saw me over the next few days, she'd give me this mean glare. I don't know why, but eventually the Sheriff comes up to me and tells me I have to leave. That he has reason to believe I'm planning something illegal."

"Because you were sitting there and watching?" Caitlyn spoke up, and Seraphine let out a hum. "I'm sorry, but that… that's ridiculous. That should not have happened to you." She sympathized, but Seraphine just shrugged her shoulders, leaning back against the back of the bench and tilting her head to the sky. Her eyes drifted shut as long locks of her hair fluttered in the wind, and Caitlyn couldn't help but notice the way her fists clenched.

"It made me angry." Seraphine whispered, and Caitlyn got the feeling that this wasn't stating a fact, but rather admitting a secret of some kind. "So I guess I just told him what I thought of him. I told him about the conflict I saw in him, and that constantly following orders he didn't agree with would get him killed. He really didn't like that." She said with a wry smirk, even as tears welled in her eyes. "I know getting angry is bad, but he didn't know how much effort it takes to even be out here, or how much my parents worry when I'm gone!" She cried, voice rising into a shout, before she drew in a gasping breath, wiping her eyes with the back of one hand and blindly reaching down to Acorn with the other. He just nuzzled into her hand, grabbing her thumb with his little claws and Seraphine let out a choked laugh, sounding more like a huff than anything. "They think it's safer for me at home, where I can sing and tinker and sew to my heart's content, but I can't just stay there forever! I need to be out here - need to-to talk to people." She said, dangerously close to weeping, and Caitlyn reached out to place a hand on the crying girl's shoulder.

Caitlyn wished she knew the right words to say in that moment, but if there's anything her experience with Vi the night of Silco's death taught her, it's that words don't really matter in times like this. As long as the person knew you were there, what else mattered? Caitlyn had known Seraphine for all of seven minutes, but that was enough time to realize this girl was isolated from the rest of the world, and this was probably the first time she'd been able to speak up about her experiences like this; not even with her parents. After all, she'd said her parents worry, and if she was anything like Caitlyn then the last thing she wanted to do was make them worry. And if Seraphine needed a shoulder to cry on, then, Caitlyn was happy to lend that to her. It didn't matter that she was in public or that her Enforcers could see her being anything less than professional, she wasn't going to be like Marcus. She was going to be the type of Sheriff who listened to people's problems and did something to help, even if it meant listening to a stranger cry their heart out - especially if it meant doing that.

Seraphine sniffled and let her hang low, but as Caitlyn took in her expression, she saw a watery but bright smile on her face. "You're really kind. I mean that." She breathed, running her thumb under her nose. "Sorry for all this. I… I have problems." The pink-haired girl laughed a little brokenly, before getting back to her story. "Um, after Marcus told me I'd be arrested if I came back to the Hexgate, I went home. Then I came back the next day like usual, because this place helps me. Please don't ask me why." Seraphine cut Caitlyn off right as she opened her mouth. She nodded instead, drawing her hand back.

"I won't. And thank you for the help." Caitlyn stressed with a smile, leaning down towards the younger girl after a moment. "But, and forgive me if I'm being too personal here; loneliness is a heavy burden. I've dealt with it in my life and I know a few people who are trying to do the same", she said, thinking of Vi and the love they now shared, "and there isn't really a set way of making it better. It's just about trying everyday to build those connections, in whatever way you can." She said, looking towards Seraphine and being careful not to meet her eyes and make her uncomfortable, but found that the pink-haired girl had already met her gaze, locking eyes for the first time. There was a question there, one that Caitlyn couldn't figure out but, from the way Seraphine seemed to stare right through her, she felt she might've already found the answer.

Seraphine plucked Acorn from her lap and placed him on her left shoulder, standing up after a moment and smiling at Caitlyn. And while the remnants of tears remained on her face, the sadness had left her eyes, and Caitlyn stood up with her. "I didn't expect any of this when I came here today, but I'm glad I did. And I'm really sorry about everything, as well. That I couldn't be of more help." She apologized, looking down towards her feet. "I should go home now. My parents are probably wondering where I am."

Caitlyn nodded with a smile, slipping one hand into her pocket and letting the other hang by her side. "Then I won't keep you." She agreed, but something nagged at Caitlyn, deep down. She didn't feel right leaving things like this, not with what she'd just heard, and the questions that she still needed to ask - even if she didn't know them herself, yet. "But if you're coming down here tomorrow, at midday like you say you do, why don't I meet you here? We can talk or do whatever, if you want to."

Seraphine, who had been about to turn away, tilted her head to the side as she considered her answer, looking down at Caitlyn's hand as a bright grin erupted on her face, and she knew she'd made the right call in offering. "That sounds great! I'll bring lunch and everything!" She called, dancing back a couple steps as she began to wave, and Caitlyn didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned that Acorn began to mimic her perfectly. "See you tomorrow!" She called, taking a few more steps backwards before reaching up and pushing her hair away from her eyes, the wind having blown it into her face.

In the end, Caitlyn let out a chuckle and waved goodbye back, watching the younger girl practically skip away from her and the rest of her Enforcers. Caitlyn waited for a little bit, seeing her disappear into the crowd at the edge of the perimeter her Enforcers had formed, trying to get a look at what was going on, and only when she couldn't see the crown of pink hair through the mass of people anymore did she turn away.

What a nice girl. Caitlyn thought as she began her walk back to the station, because even after all this she still had paperwork to do. Definitely a bit odd, but I honestly like her.

The Sheriff of Piltover discovered two mysteries that day, in Seraphine and the break in at the Hexgate - if only she realized which one would have more of an impact in the times to come.

---

So, yeah…

Got our first non-Arcane Champion, and I'm willing to bet they weren't who you were expecting. Now I'm sure some of you are wondering why, out of all the Champions I could've picked, I chose Seraphine. There's a really simple answer to that question.

I like Seraphine.

I like her lore and her character design, at least the Legends of Runeterra version, and, I don't know, she just fits so well into what I have planned for this story. Obviously she's not going to be exactly like her League self, but none of the Arcane cast are, and I think that's for the best. All of the League characters are relatively one dimensional, at least not without getting too deep into the lore, because they're all designed to fit into some sort of mold. Sure, you can give them interwoven backstories and hidden depths, but in League Vi is literally nothing more than the Punch First Ask Questions Later cop, and Jinx is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl with high explosive ordinance. They're archetypes rather than characters in of themselves who get heavily expanded upon in the show. That's the idea I'm going for with Seraphine. I'm taking the basic end result of the character and writing the story of how they got there, like how Riot did with Arcane, and I'm adding in whatever changes come up as a result of that.

Seraphine isn't going to be Green Goblin In A K-pop Band like she is in League, not if I don't fuck this up. She's gonna have depth and a proper character arc, along with some pretty nifty changes to her canon powers, because they're waaayyyyyyy too gimmicky in canon in my opinion. I can't really say anymore without spoiling anything, but if you're thinking that we didn't get to see enough of Seraphine's pov here, that's kinda the point. For the story I want to tell with her, having us meet and get to know her through Caitlyn is much better than just throwing her into the story at the deep end. And, like all of the Champions in Arcane, she's got a long way to go before she gets anywhere close to where she is in canon lore.

So if you're considering dropping this story because of her, fair enough. I was more than aware of that possibility when I planned out the introduction of Seraphine. Maybe give it some time, though. Who knows, maybe you'll like what I do with her.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time!