MEL

Mel couldn't tell what disturbed her the most - the silence now, or the all the noises that were before.

As much as they tried, the sounds of the cells below Central Precinct couldn't filter away all the gunfire and distant, almost dim shouting from the outside, clearly indicating a heavy fighting did indeed occur within the City of Progress. A clear invasion, given that Central, as was implied, was far within the northern isthmus to to be easily reached.

And she couldn't tell what happened, or why, or who did it, because she was locked up, ever since. The only time she left was indeed to see Jayce, when all the world went down, and he made that question concerning Viktor. That question she ended up realizing she might've given the wrongest of all answers...

Jayce was clearly testing her loyalty, else he *wouldn't* have made that question. And Mel *knew* she should've seen that.

Camille must've poisoned his mind. Poisoned with doubts. With presumed second intent, behind Mel's deeds.

And the worst of it was that Camille wasn't fully wrong - Jayce was indeed, at first, a means to an end, to be able to grasp the potential of Hextech after it's initial success.

Except his naive innocence and genuine optimism did allow her to open her heart for once, something she wasn't used to do, not in a field as hazardous as politics was. And now she genuinely felt for him, as she did to the people of Piltover and even the undercity, for once.

The issue now was trying to explain that to him. If she were *ever* allowed that chance, again. And assuming Camille didn't take this chance to poison his mind further...

Mel rubbed her arms, realizing how cold it was, now, when she then heard steps approaching her cell. She looked at the cell bars and gate, a trio of enforcers standing as one of them opened the cell.

"On your feet, Medarda.", the enforcer ordered.

Mel's eyes slightly darted aside before she did as she was told, and the enforcers approached to cuff her hands.

"May I simply know where to, this time?", Mel deadpanned, as she saw the enforcer ahead of her ready up a bag, to be used as a mask to cover her sight and face. "Typical..."

The enforcer covered her face with the bag as she felt herself being grabbed and taken by the other two enforcers to outside the cell and somewhere else, listening only to the openings and closings of doors before they then stopped.

She heard some steps from likely the enforcer ahead of her, as then the sound of something dropping into his hand. Clacking metal, all together at once. Coins on a bag.

"The city of Piltover thanks your preference.", the enforcer said.

"What's going on?", Mel asked, before she felt herself being released and then pushed ahead, as she was grabbed by another set of hands. Stronger ones, this time. "What, what is this!? WHAT'S GOING ON-"

She suddenly felt something quick, and heavy, landing on her left cheek and chin, suddenly feeling a pain unlike any. A fist. And suddenly, her cheek could feel itself being grabbed.

"You want another one, princess!?", a voice, far more brash, asked. "Then keep your mouth shut, the whole travel!"

The stronger hands took her somewhere, as her heart raced, before she was grabbed and lifted, and then thrown at what looked like to be a wagon.

Mel's breathing increased in pace as did her heartbeats, as she started feeling the wagon taking off, to only the isthmus' local deity, Janna, could know where.

And even though she had her suspicions, she couldn't know until she could see it.

That's what disturbed her the most.


SEVIKA

With everyone focused on the battle that was raging on topside, no one could notice the airship that flew off from the Hexgate Aerodrome and towards the southern isthmus, all on it's own, landing close to a small warehouse that looked open since it arrived. The look of it did remind Sevika of whom took the first airship and how it did use it. A sight that would indeed haunt her for days, in addition to the... visit, far before.

The ship's anchors dropped as the engines were cut off and the gas mixes were set to sustain the flight as the airship was lowered as best as possible, given the blimp couldn't much fit within the building. The loot within the vessel was of little matter, either, as Sevika had jumped down by a rope, leaving Dib and Dunn to 'clean up'. And again, with everyone distracted by the fight, it was as a covert way back down to the Lanes as it was climbing, before.

Sevika said nothing, an almost somber face as she walked on a steady pace towards the front doors of the Last Drop, on which the doors were opened to her, by couple of Chem-Thugs with guns whom had noticed their boss' face and were as silent as well.

The whole bar floor was packed with Chem-thugs sitting on the tables in groups, counting ammunition and loading guns, engaging on silent conversation or having a drink or a card game. Over three days before the same floor was packed with people lying down on the floor, the very refugees of Urgot's zealots' first strike, some using their own blankets as makeshift mattresses or pillows as what food there was was shared. Sevika had to do her best to ignore those faces. She hardly needed that on her mind. It did recall of... better times, far before.

"Boss.", Thieram started, in high spirits. "Welcome back, congratulations on...", he stopped on noticing Sevika's somber face as she went past the front and went up the stairs to the upper floor, towards the office.

As she entered it, she sat down on the chair, weary and attempting to internalize all the events that just occurred. That explosion, the battle in some respects. That engagement with the Noxian, Ambessa, and what she said at the near end. How it made sense, and how that disturbed Sevika, as it suddenly became more complicated than she thought.

The office doors opened as Thieram walked in with a tray, containing a bottle of liquor and a glass and rested it over Sevika's desk before he turned around to leave.

"Thieram.", Sevika called, and the bartender turned around. "You served Silco and cleaned up after him, here.", she waited as Theiram nodded. "Has there ever been a time he admitted he might've overstepped?"

Thieram took some seconds, thinking on how to answer it, searching memories. "There was one.", he nodded. "On a night I was cleaning up after Jinx, before... she became it. Boss admitted he might've 'miscalculated' on his plan to pump Shimmer on Vander. How it might've galvanized the Lanes in uniting against whomever did that, rather than playing along and considering Vander a monster and flocking to Silco."

Sevika nodded to that, contemplating. "Good to know.", she said, humbled.

"It went wrong, didn't it?", Thieram asked, prompting Sevika to stare at him. "The raid?"

"Worse.", Sevika said, a second later. Even if she had every right to say nothing to him, at least it'd be better to get that off her chest, and let her get her head back on the game. "It would've worked *too* well. Just like Silco's plan you mentioned."

"Too well?", Thieram asked, dumbstruck, and received nothing but silence. "So now what, boss?"

"We adapt to it.", Sevika answered. "And we fight on. But we can leave topside to itself, for the moment. We've got enough shit to handle down here..."

Thieram nodded as he turned around to leave, leaving Sevika alone with her thoughts on all that.