Crescendo, Chapter VI:
Her name is Powder
Jinx was panicking.
Not even ten minutes ago she was on her way back to her campside when she heard the shots from within the garrison. She knew the only person in this place to have a gun would be Samira, yet she had hesitated, debated whether or not she should run back to see what was happening. Only when the alarm bells started ringing did she make a decision and sprinted back towards the building. Now she stood in the middle of a battlefield, metal strewn across the room along with what looked like sawdust and the air itself tasted like blood. She arrived just in time to stop the armored freak from splitting Samira's head in two, but the mercenary might still pay the price for her indecisiveness, as she slid to the ground unconscious, bleeding from hundreds of cuts all across her skin.
Jinx's breathing accelerated and she could feel her vision drifting out of focus. Was this her fault? Did she Jinx someone else yet again? Did it not matter where she was or what her intentions where, would death just follow her wherever she went?
IT'S ALL FOR NOTHING! THERE WILL BE NO HAPPY ENDING FOR YOU! EVERYONE THAT KNOWS YOU WILL DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!
She grabbed her head in both hands as the all too familiar cacophony of screams returned. Struggling to stay upright, she tried to force them back, opening her mouth in a silent scream. Through her blurred vision she saw a figure shakily getting up before her. The rage of the voices mixed with her own as she charged Samira's attacker with speed they could not hope to match. The air around her assumed a purple hue as she kicked at the other person's face, only for her foot to meet a thick layer of metal, pushing it back but not quite touching them. Even through her rage she blinked in surprise for a second, locking eyes with her enemy, whose golden eyes looked back just as surprised. How did she...
The other girl swung her left arm towards her, metal parts from her armor connecting in the blink of an eye to build an impromptu blade in her hand. Jinx lept back, the blade missing her by an inch only thanks to her speed. The other girl stumbled forward on one knee, the momentum of the strike putting her off balance. Her right arm was clutching her side, blood trickling from it and forming a small pool underneath her. She looked like she might collapse at any moment, yet she slowly forced her way back up. Jinx's eyes narrowed. She needed to end this quickly if she wanted any chance of saving Samira. The girl seemed to be able to control the metal around her, which made her incredibly dangerous. She had seemed surprised at the power she struck her with however, maybe she could just overwhelm her in her current stage?
The mage flung her hand forward with a yell and the debris in the room shot towards her. Jinx leaped up and flipped in midair so that her feet connected with the ceiling, then pushed off as hard as she could leaving behind cracks in the stone as she shot herself at the injured girl. Clearly surprised by her speed, her enemy could only build up a thin layer of defense before Jinx barrelled into her, pushing her back. Refusing to give the other girl time to breathe, Jinx closed the gap and bombarded her with shimmer powered attacks, kicking and punching her in rapid succession. The small metall fragments surrounding the mage shielded her from most of the impacts, tearing up Jinx's shins and her already busted knuckles. Every other attack though she connected with some part of the other girl's body, getting a pained groan or yell in response.
Jinx could see the desperation in her eyes even before she made a wide motion with her hand and seemed to pull it back in, so she knew what was coming even before all the debris in the room shot for her once again. Before the first debris could impact her, she dashed forward and over the mage, landing behind her, back to back and pushing her forward. All the girl could do was lift her arms in a panic to try and defend herself against her own attack. But she was too exhausted and injured already, so many fragmets found their way through with sickening sounds. There was a moment of silence only filled with Jinx's heavy breathing and raspy gasps from her enemy, before the girl began sliding down her back and fell on the ground.
Did I just ... win a fight? Holy shit, I forgot how great that feels.
Her celebration was cut short when she remembered Samira's situation and rushed over to the mercenary, only now noticing multiple wounds on herself where the mage's attacks had hit. This girl was scary and she only fought her when she was already injured and exhausted. How in the world was Samira not a pile of bloodied sawdust right now? Jinx came to a halt next to her and checked her quickly. She breathed a sigh of relieve when she felt a pulse. The mercenary didn't appear to have any lethal injuries, but the ridiculous amount of cuts and gashes made it appear like her entire skin was bleeding. If the bleeding wasn't stopped she would die of blood loss before long. Jinx didn't bother looking around the room for anything to bandage her with, even if there was some piece of cloth that miraculously survived this metal inferno, there was no way it would be enough for the amount of wounds she had. Instead, she picked the taller woman up and ran for the exit, surely this place had some sort of infirmary, right?
Before she could take more than two steps towards the exit however she was met with multiple heavily armored guards coming to a halt before her with blades drawn.
"Ugh, seriously? Now you show up? The fight's already over ya idiots!"
They remained in front of her, blades pointed at her.
"Who are you? What happened here? Where is Captain Dellox? And what have you done to Lady Samira?" Jinx left eye began twitching as she stared at the soldiers in frustration, before awkwardly fishing for the little badge Samira had given her while keeping hold of her and tossing it over to the guy in the front.
"I'm her – uh, student." Gods, that felt wrong, but it was the easiest excuse at the moment. Shaking off the unpleasant feeling she continued.
"Her student, right. She was fighting that psycho over there who turned your captain into part of the decor." Audible gasps came from the guards and a few began rushing over to where she gestured. Jinx nodded towards the limp body in her grasp. "She needs help quickly, where's your infirmary?" The soldier who was looking at the coin she tossed jumped to attention.
"Of course, follow me ma'am. I will show you the way." he said before starting to run off. Jinx almost dry heaved at being called ma'am, but nodded and started running after him. As they left the chamber of horror and destruction behind she heard one of the guards shout in surprise.
"Bloody hell. I think this is the mage that's wanted by the Trifarix. Quickly, secure her!"
Great, so much for not attracting any attention. If Samira survived this she would have to get some answers out of that woman.
Samira had learned early in her life that waking up in pain was a good thing, as it meant you were still alive to feel it. The first instinct she had when she came to and felt her aching body was therefore to smile. It wasn't her time just yet as it would seem. She tried opening her eye and immediately got blinded by the bright daylight shining through the window next to her. It took a few tries to adjust before she could take a look around the room and realized that she was in an infirmary of sorts. She hadn't been in this one of course, but they all looked familiar. It was a fairly big room with about two dozen beds lined up on either side of it, a few cabinets towards the far side as well as a door leading – as she knew from past experiences – to a storage room for all kinds of medical equipment.
The mercenary slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, ignoring the headache she got from the movement as well as the pain in her right handand scanned the room further. In the past, whenever she found herself in a place like this it was usually packed with soldiers and medics, as they had just partaken in some battle. This time however it seemed like she was the only one here. She could hear noises coming from outside, but in here all that could be heard was the sound of her own breathing. It was almost a bit off-putting, waking updazed,a bit confused and on your own. What had happened? She remembered fighting the mage and getting a good shot in, before things got out of control. The last thing she could remember clearly was her target towering over her, axe in hand and ready to end her. And then ... a flash of purple? And had it been Powder's voice she heard?
Taking a moment to attempt to clear her mind she finally looked down on herself and winced. Almost her entire body was in bandages, some of them looking slightly bloodied, with two fingers on her right hand bandaged tightly together. She looked like one of these ancient mummified rulers that her parents told her about when she grew up. Shaking her head slightly at the memory and instantly regretting it, she instead pushed the blanket off her and slowly got out of bed. She stumbled a bit as she dragged her bruised body towards the exit. About halfway there however, the door opened and an older looking woman walked in, looking at her in surprise.
"Whoa there, you should not be up and about right now, Miss Samira." she scolded, as she ran up next to her and attempted to drag her back to her bed. Samira didn't really resist, her head still spinning from getting up. Instead, when the woman gently but decisively led her back, she tried to formulate a question.
"What happened?" It was not the most eloquent she ever was and it came out slightly slurred, but it would do. The woman looked at her with a soft smile. She must've been in her fifties, with shoulder-length gray hair and simple clothes.
"My apologies, you must be worried not knowing how things played out. You were fighting a known criminal, the mage that has been terrorizing the empire for the last year. I believe the soldiers called her Rell. We do not know all the details yet, but your protégé filled us in on a few things." Her protégé? It took her a few seconds to realize she was most likely referring to Powder. "She was the one who brought you here after the fight, poor thing was so worried she didn't even realize she had part of a lance stuck in her stomach." Samira's smile turned into a frown, that did not sound like a small injury but the woman continued on before she could ask.
"We treated her and asked her to stay here as well, but she refused. Vehemently. Since her injuries were almost healing up faster then we could clean them we instead told her to come back today for a check up. Fascinating regeneration I must say, almost makes you jealous."
That was an implied question if ever she heard one, but even if she would know what this woman was talking about, she had no intentions of making Powder any more interesting for the empire. She shrugged the comment off and asked a question of her own.
"This Rell. What happened to her?"
"Why she is imprisoned of course. She was knocked out after your fight as well, with some more serious injuries. We had to treather wounds as well,afterwards she has been put in shackles and is waiting for you in the dungeon." Samira's eyes widened. She had assumed the girl had fled the scene after she fell unconscious, but it sounded like Powder had somehow fought her and won.
"Has she woken up yet?"
"Not to my knowledge, though I don't traverse the dungeons often." The woman laughed at her own joke and didn't notice the look of concern on Samira's face. If the mage woke back up in a dungeon full of metal bars, confined by metal shackles and surrounded by guards wearing metal armor she could wreak havoc.
"You need to get her out of here as fast as possible." She tried to get up once more but was again pushed back into the sheets by the other woman.
"Now, now, what's with the sudden rush? Don't you worry, we can hold her here just fine."
"I saw the last compound that thought it could hold her. Or what was left of it. That woman is a powerful mage who can manipulate metal. See the issue?" She gestured around the garisson, filled to the brim with metal of any kind to make her point, but the other woman just kept on smiling.
"Yes we're aware, your young friend had told us about it yesterday. She's using very colourful language, that one. Luckily, just last week we had received a pair of shackles she might find a bit more challenging to manipulate." The woman leaned forward in an almost conspiratory manner and whispered. "Enchanted to block out magic."Samira blinked twice in disbelief. That was too much of a coincidence to not be sent from her employer. But if they knew what she was up against, why wouldn't they tell her and leave her almost unprepared for the girl's power. She shook her head and almost didn't regret it. Didn't matter right now. She didn't know a whole lot about magic but when she was part of the military they taught them a thing or two about handling rogue mages, so she knew that there was no way to block a mage's power completely. Not in Noxus anyway, the demacians had apparently found a way, but she doubted the Trifarix went ahead and asked their archenemy for help on the matter.
"That won't hold her forever though, we need to move her away from people and metal as soon as we can." she tried again, to which the other woman lightly tapped the side of her head, sending small ripples of pain through her body.
"Your feats as a fighter are legendary my dear, but even you need time to heal after such a strenuous battle. None of your injuries will take too long to heal, but you took a mean hit to the head and suffered from severe bloodloss. Had your friend not brought you here as quickly as she did we might not have been able to help you. What you need right now is rest." The dull pain all over her body as well as the fatigue proved the woman's point. She supposed Rell would also have to recover from her injuries, so she might have a little time at least.
"Fine, I'll recover for a day or two. At most!" she stated, to which the other woman laughed.
"I would have suggested more, but I take what I can get." she said while beginning to move towards the exit. "I will talk with the guards to let us know whenthe prisoner wakes up, so you can rest more easily. I will also let your friend know that you're awake once she comes by. What did you say her name was again?"
Samira's eyes narrowed slightly and she thought about ignoring the question, but multiple soldiers knew the girl's name already and wouldn't hesitate to tell her.
"Her name is Powder and she's a formidable young girl. I'm sorry, I don't believe I ever caught your name either?" The other woman, already at the door, smiled again. "Rebecca, pleased to make your acquaintance Lady Samira." she said, before softly closing the door behind her.
Samira was left alone once more, pondering the conversation she just had, before the fatigue gripped hold of her again. If she was forced to rest she might as well make the most of it. Just as she was about to fall asleep she remembered what the mage had said yesterday before she fell unconscius.
"This is the only reward you can get, serving the Black Rose."
Once she recovered she would have a few questions that demanded answers.
No one paid her much attention as she walked through the hallways of Stonehaven garisson. Just a friendly civilian woman doing her part for the empire by helping out in the medical field. She smiled as she stepped over the garisson's threshold and towards the nearby forrest, away from prying eyes. She took a deep breath as dark red mist seemed to hover around her and she surrendered herself to the magic, just like her master had taught her. It was not long before she felt his presence in her mind, like a ravenous storm, threatening to absorb her if she wasn't careful. She knew he could not see her, yet she still fell on one knee.
"Master, it would appear the mercenary succeeded. The escaped mage is imprisoned and her magic is dampened. The mercenary has been injured but will recover enough to move on within the next days."
She could feel his voice reverberate through her mind, sending shiver's through her body.
"Wonderful. She will be pleased to hear that, though I must admit I was hoping the fledgling would fail. It is always so fun to watch them wriggle when they have to explain themselves. Ah well, I suppose our fallback plan is no longer necessary. I do however have another assignement for you, my dear."
"I am at your service, my lord."
"Apparently there has been an incident at the Ravenbloom Conservatory. The entire place seemed to have gone up in smoke."
"Another incident? But my lord, between Roseguard Academy, the escape of your creation and now this..."
"It is a whole lot of bad luck, indeed. She has some ideas of who we might have to thank for it, though I do hope she is wrong about this for a change. Nevertheless, as you are currently closest, you are to head towards the Conservatory as soon as the mercenary has left. Find out what caused this "incident" and what the current status of the institution is. Once you have any more information, you are to contact me immediately."
"It will be done my lord." She hesitated for a moment as she felt his presence begin to retract from her mind, before continuning. "There is one more thing. I do not believe it relevant to the mission, but it could have interest to you." There was a short pause.
"Then by all means, go on."
"There was someone else with the mercenary, helping her."
"Helping? From all we knew about her she prefers to work alone."
"Indeed, there was a young woman that played some role in defeating the mage. I met her at the infirmary when I tried to look for more information."
"Very well. You may now begin with the interesting part."
"Of course, master. When I met her she was also bleeding from the fight and her blood felt ... powerful. She was clearly human and showed no magical capabilities, yet her blood seemed to almost glow with energy. Her regeneration is also remarkable, her wounds began closing in front of my eyes. I have never felt something comparable since you taught me this magic, so I thought this could be of interest to you and your experiments." There was a pause, her master pondering over her words, before he spoke back up.
"Fascinating indeed. For now the Conservatory takes precedence I'm afraid, but I will make sure to add this young woman to my list of potential subjects. You don't happen to have caught her name?"
"Her name is Powder, my lord."
"Hey, over here, found some stuff we can use!"
A few members of the group of people rummaging through the former "Haven of Zaun" came running over and helped ransack the small building that had gone unnoticed by the ones before them. No one enjoyed plundering from this place, but the sad reality was that the poor souls that used to live here wouldn't need any of their stuff anymore. With things in Piltover just beginning to recover from the invasion and Zaun still reeling fromthe piltoverian occupation they needed everything they could get just to survive the next few weeks. Still, everyone was quiet as they dismantled the small farming machine and scrapped it for parts. The things that took place here were vaguely known at best, but what little they had heard was enough to unsettle even the strongest minded ones among them. They had mostly stuck to the outskirts, looting the small buildings for valuable parts for the last few hours. One of the younger scavengers spoke up.
"Can we go already? We found more than enough scrap today." He was met with groans from his companions.
"Stop being such a scaredy-cat, we need to make sure we make the most of it before someone else takes everything." one of the older one's lectured for what must've been the fifth time today.
"But we can hardly even carry all this. How are we meant to - " He was cut off by a gesture from his friend who held a finger in front of his mouth.
"Do you hear that?" They all stopped as they tried to listen to whatever he meant. It took them a few seconds before they heard the soft thumping sound. It seemed to almost repeat rhythmically. Everyone began to look around for a source, but they were on the very edge of the ruins, there was next to nothing around.
"I think it's coming from underneath us." A young girl suddenly commented and everyone began to listen more closely.
"Yeah, I think you're right."
"What could that be?"
"Think it could be some sort of machine?"
"Whoa, that would be awesome, think it's still runnning?"
"It's still making noise at least."
"What are we waiting for? Let's dig for it!"
"Guys, I really don't think this is a good idea."
But they had already began digging up the area, trying to find the locate the noise.
It took them about half an hour to figure out the exact location, and with every foot they dug, the noise became louder. The louder it got, the more excited they all got.
"This is amazing you guys, just you wait, whatever we find here is going to make us -"
A hand shot through the ground, splattering dirt over the closest ones, who leapt back in shock and surprise.
Where am I
A ghastly voice shouted out. A second hand soon followed, by this point they began screaming and the first started to run.
Why am I not dead
When the hands pulled through the upper body of a noxian soldier, with deathly pale skin and milky eyes, they all followed.
WHY AM I NOT DEAD
They heard the creature scream as they ran away, and the screams would follow them for as long as they lived.
Author's Note:
Happy New Year everyone! This chapter had a bit of everything as I'm trying to introduce the bigger plot points. I would greatly appreciate to find out what you think about the pacing and switching back and forth between different characters and regions, so feel free to leave a review. Thank you so much for continuing to read this story, I hope you have a great start into the new year, and I'll see you next chapter! Also obvious disclaimer, I do not own Arcane, League of Legends or any of their characters, they belong to Riot Games.
