JINX

"There you go... that's it.", she blew to put the fires out, and kissed the forehead, smiling. "How you're doing, daddy?"

And like a plushie she just got on a celebration or holiday, Jinx hugged tight her stitched and slighly burned up foster father's head, breathing as if she were in relief. While the apparitions did haunt her, for once the Silco within her was useful as a reference, and did it look, as Jinx would describe herself too, perfect. At least those others didn't disturb her much since the return home, to the hideout, where music was playing high.

She got on her feet, taking the plushie head to the workshop, where she'd, in a few moments, start the work of her life - which of course meant more Chompers and rockets for Fishbones, all just waiting to give their warm 'hell-os' to those Pilties.

"Body's coming up later.", she said, smiling to the head. "In the meantime, oughta be ready. Never know when the Dreadnought fella might show up..."

'If he ever shows up.', and then came that voice, a second later. 'Guess he would've already if he was real, huh?'

Jinx groaned. She knew those minutes of serene silence were too good to be true.

"He WILL show up, alright!?", she retorted, starting to rummage through the crate for some metal plates and getting the pliers. "Those wackos wouldn't just worship nothing outta nowhere!"

'They might be worshiping washing machines, for all we know!', the Mylo retorted. 'Another brilliant move from Jinx Mismanagements...'

Jinx pretended to ignore Mylo and started working on twisting the plate to form up another monster face for her Chompers.

'Wackos can't be trusted.', the Vander started.

Jinx started becoming annoyed. "It'll take some time as it did before, but you'll be back in your hole...", she muttered, shaking her head. "That way you don't annoy me instead of being useful, like Silco!"

'Focus, Jinx.', the Silco said. 'Think of topsiders. All they did. All you'll do.'

Jinx nodded, grinning. "Yeah...", she said. "All I'll do... And then, when I'm done they'll know just where to shove all their stupid little blue bal-"

Suddenly, a noise was heard close by, far by the wooden catwalk, getting Jinx off-guard.

Another noise, just similar. The door.

'You didn't order any food today, did you?', the Cleggor asked, and Jinx immediately shushed him.

Suddenly, a breaking sound was heard at the door, as if something was ripping through it.

Jinx didn't think twice or waited to see whom or what was it. She readily dashed to the bathing tub she rarely used, where she picked Pow-Pow and then dashed back to the centerfold of the turbine where was her workshop. She hid herself from the door's sight as it was pushed open, and someone emerged from it.

She seemed like a woman, more or less in her thirties, all as pale as Jinx was and bald, with a black dress and metal pads and shoulder armor, her eyes surveying the place like a predator seeking it's prey. Jinx noticed one of her hands had about the longest nails of all time, also of metal.

Jinx stopped peeking, starting to wonder. "Don't look like a Dreadnought...", she mumbled, trying to peek again, only to notice the woman was gone.

Jinx' heart raced and eyes widened open, before she instinctively turned around, Pow-Pow in hand.

The machine gun found it's target right before it, staring at Jinx as if unimpressed.

"So thin and frail...", the pale woman said a second later, apparently unfazed by the rotary cannon before her. "And clearly altered, the smell of chemicals, as the daughter of a Baron is..."

Jinx tilted her head. "You coulda knocked...", she said, as the pale woman just stood there. "Gotta say, miss Dreadnought, I expected a bit more too."

"If only *I* were the Mighty One, Baron-kin.", the pale woman replied. "I am but a Hand of his, and now he chooses me to pick you and take you to him, even as undeserving as you are."

Jinx stared at the pale one for a time before lowering her machine gun. "Okay.", she said.

Final Notes:

(Conclusion post-March 2022, far before either the Convergence game or Riot deciding Arcane was canon)

Phew! Holy chain-smokers, that one was long (estimated almost 150% the size of the first one), and I know I'm accountable for it. But, a lot of things to set in place for the final third of Act IV, plus concluding an origin story and establishing a character and setting her in action, so it couldn't be avoided if there was to be nothing left in the way for the next chapter.

Now, going piece by piece, as the butcher shop would (Ba Dum Tss), for starters - Yes, I did check on Ziggs' background and even read the 'Paint the Town' comics associated to it, so much so that it clearly drinks from it but still changes a lot of things for it - the mustached customer being from a side character to a directly involved one with Ziggs' origins, for an example - to fit with this story's scenery, and I'm one to believe this one fits the Arcane bill quite well. Truth the told, I like to believe the LoL world in which Arcane is set is rather alternative and separate from the OG one, and there's more than enough clues backing that fact, with Piltover not possessing the Sun Gates for sea shipping lane, but rather the Hexgates for blimps, Jayce being the 'inventor' of Hextech when it was synthesized by Clan Ferros through Chem-tech and alchemy from Brackern remnants for decades, Heimerdinger being the founder of Piltover when it was formed by the Merchant Clans out of Zaun via the profit of the Sun Gates, and the list goes on. Thus, it made sense for elements like Ziggs origins and, in particular, how he'll still meet with Jinx, diverge but also in a way being faithful (at least I hope so) to most of the original lore.

Secondly, while that previous explanation may somewhat make the newest addition, Camille, somewhat invalid for this universe (especially the part where it wasn't the Ferros that created Hextech decades ago), this is addressed by the fact that they've still been power players since before the Hextech Revolution, but not to the point where they're involved with the Council, until now, that is. The part where she gets the augmentations, especially the Hextech heart, can be explained well enough for the seven-year gap there was between Acts I and II of Season 1, but I can elaborate it much later in future installments. Just not now, as to avoid giving away too much. And yes, the time gap also fits well for our main villain and his setting, the Dredge, which can fit well if done right (which will be the case in the next chapter or the fourth one).

Finally, believe it or not, out of all the scenes that took the most time to consider, surprisingly it wasn't either Vi and Caitlyn's survival run, the side-arc between Jinx and Sevika, or Viktor's escape or Ekko's heist. It was the conflict between Jayce, Mel and Ambessa, and even more how Camille got in the middle of it. Some would say it'd be pretty easy to just pin the blame on one side of the arguments, especially and in particular the Noxian element, but one of the things that grew on me was that it was just too cheap to just set Ambessa as a villain, when it's shown on just two episodes she's a MUCH more complex character, her reasons are validated just as much as Mel's. And it took long exactly because I had to consider the arguments to show neither side was on the right or fully on the wrong in this, just as much both Vi, Caitlyn or Jinx' sides are, on their part. Maybe I might share more of the thought process if I get to write 'development logs' detailing the thought processes behind this scene and all others.

Until the next chapter, where we finally get the intended pay-offs and set the go for Act V.