Crescendo Chapter IV

One day at a time

The sound of splintering wood echoed through the clearing every time her fists impacted the tree before, with a satisfying creaking sound it slowly began to fall. It hitthe ground with a loud thud, leaving Jinx standing next to its stump, fists still half in the air and breathing heavily. She listened to the drumming of her own pulse in her ears slowing down steadily. After about a minute she slowly forced her fists open and inspected her bruised and busted knuckles. She started to understand why her sister enjoyed punching things so much, it was almost cathartic. Maybe she should take a page out of Vi's book when it came to dealing with her issues? Images flooded her mind of when she seeked out her sister to search for Vander, and the state she was in. Drunk, beaten to a pulp and smelling like last weeks garbage while sleeping on her own vomit. On second thought, maybe Vi and her anger issues were not the best role model.

With a painful sigh Jinx sat down against the freshly destroyed tree and took a look around. About a dozen similarly destroyed stumps greeted her, proof of her hard work this evening. Slowly clenching and unclenching her aching hands, she once again mourned the loss of her trusted weapons and equipment. Normally she would've shot some things, or maybe even tinkered with them to help distract herself. Without any of these options Jinx had to resort to more primitive methods. Wouldn't be long now before she was running around town with some ridiculous metal boxing gloves. She gave a tired chuckle at the idea.

Jinx knew she shouldn't be this stressed out, she had achieved pretty much all she had set out to do today. She had eaten, gotten a lay of the land, a long and boring history lesson on Noxus and found a way to make some coin to finance her new gear before continuing on. The problem wasin the strings attached to the last point. She had really wanted to avoid anyone in this town taking note of her whatsoever. But then eye-patch lady came along with all her fancy weapons and immediately zoned in on her with a death stare. Seriously, what was her issue, was it illegal to sit in a stupid tavern? At first Jinx had been sure the woman had recognized her, but by the end it almost seemed like she amused her. And when the other woman finally made to leave and Jinx started to feel a sense of pride for staying collected throughout the exchange, stupid Ricar just had to open his mouth. She knew that guy would screw her over, she just hadn't expected it to be by being an idiot. Now her hand was forced and she had to either play along for the time being or make a run for it, potentially putting herself on some wanted list yet again. Jinx dragged her hand across her face with a frustrated sigh.

Oh, poor little Jinx. Thought she could disappear into the wilderness without having to speak to another living being ever again. Whatever will the poor baby do now that she's faced with other humans?

She stared at the figure in front of her in annoyance through her fingers. It was an all too familiar young, fair-skinned boy grinning at her. Ugh, part of Jinx really preferred it when Mylo was just screaming insults at her, instead of stopping by for a chat. She had forgotten how obnoxious and annoying the guy was.

"It's not about the people you idiot, I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I'm doing here, but I'm pretty sure I don't wanna be a cog in the machine of these noxian birdbrains. But if I just up and leave they might -"

I don't get what all the fuss is about anyway, you just do some mechanical what-nots and continue on, it's not like you gotta care about any of these idiots.

She rolled her eyes at the oversimplifications. "Thats not -"

Besides, it's not like you have a great plan to begin with, what you want to just wander off into the wilds never to be seen again? Yeah that sounds like a fulfilling life. I'm sure never talking to anyone but us is gonna be exactly what you need.

She knew this was her brain trying to tell her to stop overthinking. But why did it have to be this asshole telling her in his condescending way. The boy in front of her gave a shit-eating grin. He knew her thoughts of course, he was technically one of them.

You know what they say, don't kill the guy if you can't handle the ghost. But seriously, what's wrong with going with the flow for a while? Check out what these fartfaces can offer and maybe get some actual ideas on what you wanna do before you freak out about someone stopping you from doing it.

She hated Mylo. Which meant she hated herself. Which wasn't anything new. But she had to admit he had a point. She never actually thought past getting away from everything, so there really was no reason to worry about failing her own goals. Jinx had also never really minded to "go with the flow" before, but something about this fresh start made her think she needed to have it all figured out from the get go. Maybe the best thing she could do right now was not to think too far ahead and just take it one day at a time. She saw Mylo's grin grow at her thoughts. Of course he'd like it, he literally never did anything else but live one day at a time.

"Why are you acting so different recently anyway? What happened to all the angry shouting and insults?" she asked the hallucination accusingly, to which the boy just shrugged.

Hey I have no idea, maybe putting some distance between us and Zaun actually helped calm a few things down? Or maybe it was just getting boring. Honestly, I've been living in your head rent free for years now, and some of the stuff in there still scares me, so don't ask me for explanations.

She rolled her eyes at the dramatics. "Well, fell free to move out any time you like."

Hah, you wish, someone's gotta keep the Jinx in check after all.

The Jinx shook her head, but felt a bit lighter nonetheless. As far as internal conversations went, this had been an exceptionally productive one for her. She couldn't deny her reservations about walking straight into a military compound belonging to a morally questionable superpower – some of the stuff Ricar had told her about Noxus was fucked up even by her standards. But maybe it could help her in finding out what it was she wanted to do with her life anyway. A mad giggle escaped her lips. Hopefully it wouldn't end with her shooting up another government though.


"I told you, I'm here because Samira asked me to."

Out of all the problems Jinx had worried about the nightbefore, simply not being allowed entrance to the garisson she currently stood outsideof certainly wasn't one of them. In front of her stood a tall, broad shouldered guywith the intellectual capabilities of a newborn Murkwolf and the selfimportance of a man who had absolutely nothing else going on in his life, staring at her like she just declared war to the entirety of Noxus.

"Yeah right, like we're just letting in any hillbilly off the streets that has 'met Samira'. Legends like her don't call for scum like you."

Jinx's mouth twitched as she fantasized about shoving her metal middle finger down this peculiar idiots throat. What was it with random guards roasting her, wasn't she supposed to be scary and intimidating? She was doing her absolute best to stay patient but by the gods she was seconds away from obliterating this guy. Some of her bloodlust must've shown on her face as the guard finally had the decency to look at least a little worried and slowly inched his hand closer to his weapon. But the fun would have to wait.

"This one did, and I'm sure she would be very unhappy if she found out I was here and was denied entrance. How about you just make sure you're not making a huge mistake and ask her whether she is expecting someone?"

She was trying to use simple words but it still took him a minute to process what she said, before mulling it over in whatever counted as a brain in his case. Eventually he looked back at her, narrowing his eyes.

"And who's saying this isn't just a prank to make me look like an idiot in front of Samira?" Jinx couldn't suppress her laugh at the question.

"It's cute you think it'd need a prank for that." Maybe not the wisest thing to say, but there was only so much being nice she was capable of. The knucklehead's brows furrowed.

"Leave now or I will have to take you to the dungeon." Ah well, she tried. In an exasparated manner she turned around and spoke as loudly as possible without shouting.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn ya though. She's gonna be real mad if she learns you sent -"

"Hey, if it isn't the feisty kid from the tavern. Powder, right? Didn't think you'd come."

Both Jinx and the guard startled, him because his apparent idolsauntered up next to them, her because she almost just broadcasted a name that she didn't want bouncing around outside a military complex. Jinx was the first to recover, giving a grin and a little mock salute to the new arrival.

"And miss on the opportunity to meet all the competent members of the army? Not a chance." she answered while looking over to the guard, whose brain was doing the best it could to solve the puzzle in front of him. The tanned woman, who just now seemed to even register his presence briefly looked his way.

"Any problems here, pal?"

Jinx could swear she heard the guy whimper.

"No problems at all, ma'am. I was just having a chat with this young lady to make sure everything was in order." He seemed to almost look at her pleadingly now, before paling at her devilish grin.

"Ah yes, good old Brutus here and I had a lovely talk and he had just decided to let me through, isn't that right Brutus?" Jinx had no idea what the guys name was, but based on his facial expression it was not Brutus. Somehow she had a feeling he wouldn't disagree though.

"Yes, of course, please have a good day and welcome to Stonehaven garisson." he all but forced out between clenched teeth, before turning and stoically staring the other way. Smooth.

"Thank you Brutus, you're too kind." said the other woman with a grin of her own and a wink at Jinx – or maybe she just blinked hard, it was hard to tell with the eyepatch and all – before turning back towards the massive rectangular stone building and beckoning Jinx to follow. With a stuck-out tongue she marched past the guard and caught up to Samira, who gave her a sidelong glance.

"Brutus?"

"Eh, had to think of a name on the spot, he should be glad I thought of a guy's name in the first place." The other woman chuckled as she lead Jinx through the large iron gate adorned by the noxian emblem, two merged golden axes over a silver and red shield, giving the impression of a skull. Based on what Ricar had told her yesterday it was supposed to be a symbol for the Trifarix, the three leaders of the empire.

"We can work on your naming abilities in the future. I guess the fact that you're here means you're confident in your mechanical abilities, eh?"

Jinx gave a quick nod while looking around. The inside of the buidling was about as minimalistic as the outside had suggested, dark grey stone with small windows and red banners every few steps showing the symbol of the Trifarix. It was about as bleak and militaristic as Jinx had assumed, and the attitude of the many soldiers roaming around the place matched the asthetic. Everyone seemed to move around with a clear purpose and serious expressions. Strength above everything, that was the noxian way of life according to Riccar, and it was clear to see here.

"Why is everyone in full armor in this place, you expecting to get attacked?" she turned to her companion, who in turn gave a quick look around, before giving a shrug.

"It's part of the training, if you spend all your time in your armor it becomes like a second skin and doesn't bother you in a fight."

Jinx took a closer look at her aquaintance, who was currently walking next to her in a black and red sleeveless shirt that barely covered her ribcage leaving her abdomen revealed, as well as a pair of shorts that might as well have been underwear, barely covered by a skirt of comparable length. By far the most fabric she wore was in her boots and the leather thigh-highs connected to them, secured by what looked like a pair of belts. Add to that the multitude of tattoos on her arms and the extravagant weapons on her hips and back and she could not have looked any different from the other soldiers. Jinx simply raised an eyebrow while looking her up and down. Samira looked down on herself for a moment before grinning back up at her.

"You don't need armor if you never get hit, you know?" Jinx stared at the eyepatch and raised her eyebrow even further. The other woman rolled her remaining eye with a small smile.

"Hah, that didn't exactly happen in a fight. And to answer your unspoken question, I'm not actually part of the military, just a gun-for-hire, so I can dress and behave however I want. Well, mostly."

Huh. That was actually quite calming. If Samira wasn't a soldier that meant less complicated ties to this empire. Plus she wasn't likely to stand in Jinx's way once she had enough of this place and left.

"So what do you do when you don't vaguely threaten innocent people to forcefully enlist them toyour service?" she asked while continuing to look around the garisson. They rounded a corner and she could see some sort of drill ground through one of the windows, where multiple soldiers where currently sparring. The mercenary next to her barked a laugh.

"You know what, I like you. You're more fun than any of these guys." she said while gesturing wildly. "So I'm afraid I can't tell you what my mission is, cause I really don't want to have to kill you, eh?"

Jinx grinned at the idea of anyone in this building being able to kill her. "Couldn't have that." she replied sarcasticaly, which the other woman either didn't notice or chose to ignore as they stepped through a smaller side exit and back outside into the sparring area she had just seen. She looked at Samira in confusion.

"I thought you wanted to show me where I can tinker? Or do you want me to kick someone's butt here first?" Samira shook her head with a chuckle.

"I'd love to see you try, but no. You made a big show of being able to improve my weapons, right? Well I'm not gonna trust just anybody to work on my gear, so I prepared a little somthing yesterday."

With that the taller woman led her off to the side away from the sweating soldiers, to a small bundle of scraps and wires. Next to the heap of metal laid a small, slightly rusty construction that vaguely reminded Jinx of her trusted pistol Zapper – may he rest in peace – albeit in a disastrous condition. She knelt down and picked the weapon up gingerly, afraid it may fall apart at any moment, before looking it over. It looked like a very simple version of a gun, with a short, thin barrel that extended towards the muzzle in diameter, giving it an almost toy-like look.

"What did you do with the poor thing?" she asked Samira accusingly, who shrugged before responding.

"Blackpowder weapons are still quite the rarity in Noxus, the fact they had anything at all in a small place like this is honestly surprising. I assume this one got taken from some pirates that bit off more than they could chew. Chances are it didn't work properly and no one here knew how to repair it, so they just put it away. Think you can fix it?" Jinx looked at the other woman indignantly.

"Of course I can fix it, but with the shitty tools you brought along it's gonna take a few hours. You say these are using blackpowder?" she asked as she looked down the barrel.

"Well yeah, what else would they use?" came the confused response. Ah, right. Her own weapons had mostly worked on Shimmer, with a few Hextech improvements here and there. Since Silco made sure no one but the weird doctor knew how exactly Shimmer worked it never spread to the rest of the world, so naturally they had to use some other substance. She had heard of this "blackpowder" before and roughly knew of it's properties, so it shouldn't pose too big a problem. She waved her hand at Samira in dismissal, while starting to take the gun apart.

"Nevermind, I'll figure it out. Like I said it'll take a while though. You got any music in this place?" Her answer came in another laugh. Was she a comedian now or why did people think everything she said was funny?

"You want to get serenaded? Would the lady maybe like a fine wine along with the evening entertainment?"

Jinx looked up from her project with a blank look on her face.

"What?"

"No music."

"Ah."

With that, Samira stretched briefly and gave a relaxed sigh before adressing the smaller woman again.

"Well then, I'm gonna let you get to work while I take care of some boring mercenary business. I'll check back up on you in a few hours, it'll probably be best not to wander off too far."

Jinx waved her hand, already engrossed in what she was doing and only half listening.

"Oh, and make sure not to stay in the sun for too long, with how pale you are you're gonna get burned to a crisp in no time."

At that Jinx briefly looked up. "Why didn't you set this up inside then?"

"This way you don't have to worry about making a mess. Besides, a little bit of sun definitely couldn't hurt you." she answered with a grin that widened when she was presented with a middle finger.

"See you later Powder. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"So I shouldn't fix the weapon then?" she shouted back, but the mercenary had already turned around.

Jinx gave an exasparated sigh once Samira had finally left. That woman was a handful. She looked back at the gun she was trying to save and smiled. But she did bring her a new toy. Jinx continued to tinker off to the side of the noxian soldiers, while humming a tune to herself. Finally something she could work with.


Samira continued smiling on her way to the captain's office. She had honestly not expected the girl to show up today, and she had welcomed the distraction she posed. She knew there was still a chance this kid was a threat, but so far there had been no further clues suggesting so. Apart from that she enjoyed the banter. In a world where everyone wanted to either kill her or suck up to her it was refreshing to encounter someone you could just joke around with. Maybe she even saw a bit of herself in the younger woman. Not stylewise though, heavens knew she would rather be cut open from head to toe than to walk around like Powder did.

Ugh, am I getting sentimental? Is this what getting old feels like?

She shook her head and rounded another corner, the soldiers coming her direction all but leaping out of her way. She gave another smile. Nah, she'd still got it.

As she approached the captain's office her mind wandered back to the reason she was here. The captain hadn't had time to see her yesterday - which no doubt was just a bureaucratic way of getting back at her for being late – so she wasn't sure what was in store for her here. Would they have more information for her? And if so, why would they know something that Indari didn't? With these and a dozen other questions on her mind she finally knocked at the captains door.

"Come in." a voice from inside commanded. Samira opened the door with a loud creaking noise and stepped into the chamber. It was largely undistinguishable from both the rest of the garisson and every other captain's chamber she had set foot in. The windows were a little bit bigger, offering a view over the settlement, there were a handful of bookcases on the wall and a large oak desk in the center with the symbol of the Trifarix engraved in it, filled to the brim with documents. Leaning against the table was a one handed axe, with the man it belonged to standing in front of the desk, facing her. He was in his fifties, with short gray hair and the same expression of gravitas she had seen a hundred times.

"Ah, the mercenary, so glad you could make it this time."

She had forgotten the third kind of people she encountered it seemed. The ones that hated her for her high standing with Noxus despite not being part of the military. She smiled widely at the douchebag.

"Captain, it is a true shame you were unavailable yesterday but I am so happy that you managed to make some time for me today." Every word was laced with sarcasm, and judging by his frown deepening he realized it too. Don't start what you can't finish pal.

"I was informed of your arrival beforehand, but not of the purpose of your visit or why you brought an entire warship to Krexor. I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation?" So he had no knowledge of her mission at all? That was unusual, typically the highranking officers were informed enough about her mission so that they could be of assistance.

"I'm afraid all further information is classified, captain. Orders from high up, I'm sure you understand." Samira could hear his teeth grinding, but at least he remained professional.

"I see. Is there any way I can help you then?" She thought about it for a moment. She herself didn't exactly know what to look out for. And if this guy hadn't been given any information whatsoever then there had to be a reason for it. Maybe they didn't want the garisson to be on high alert.

"Have there been any unusual reports in Krexor as of late?" she settled for a safe option, knowing there probably wouldn't be anything obvious. It was rarely this easy after all.

"There has been an increase in refugees from Piltover throughout the last few days. Unsurprisingly they are not too happy with Noxus at the moment, so there has been some tension and we had to detain a few. Nothing too major though."

"Piltover refugees? What are they fleeing from?" The captain looked confused for a moment.

"Oh, I forgot you were traveling by ship for two weeks. The Medarda matriarch tried to either invade Piltover or instigate a coup there. Reports are messy and sometimes a little confusing, but the invasion was thwarted and the matriarch fell in battle. The city is being rebuilt as we speak but many families fled before the fight had started and have not returned yet, or lost their homes entirely and are hoping to make some money here to rebuild."

That sounded awfully familiar, both because it reminded her of what Powder had told her about why she was in town, and because it brought back memories of her own she'd rather forget. Noxus wasn't known for it's compassion, and the people on the bottom were usually the first one's to feel that. With a grim expression she looked back at the man in front of her.

"Thank you for the information captain. There is one thing I need your assisstance with. I have a young woman with me, a ... student of mine. Could you make sure she can also roam the facility unbothered?" With the question of why she was here being answered Samira felt she had to help the girl out.

"That should be possible, just head on over to Josephine, she was eager to talk with you anyway. There are a few things that still need to be managed, like the docking license for your ship or provisions and rooms for the sailors." For the first time since she entered the man was smiling. "I told her she could go over it with you in great detail."

Bureaucracy. Her worst nightmare. Typically she would simply skip that meeting until they would have to do it without her, but she had a feeling Powder would not get her clearance then.

"...Fine. Were do I find her?"

The kid had better be thankful for her sacrifice.


Authors note:

Another chapter done, thanks to everyone who continued to read the story so far. I don't think there is too much to say for this chapter, diving a bit further into Jinx's character as well as giving Samira some more screentime. Apart from that, hope to see you all for the next chapter and have a great day! Also obvious disclaimer, I do not own Arcane, League of Legends or any of their characters, they belong to Riot Games.