Crescendo, Chapter IX:

What happened to this girl

The soft music played soothingly when Vi regained consciousness, almost beckoning her to keep resting just a little bit longer. Her eyelids fluttered open hesitantly, unwilling to give up this feeling of warmth and security, and she was greeted with the familiar wooden ceiling of the Piltover Academy. When she had first been to the academy she had struggled to understand why the building where scientists did their – often times explosive – experiments even had any wooden structures to begin with. The simple and disturbing answer she got was a finger pointing towards the ruins of the hexgate. When any of their truly dangerous experiments failed, the structure of the building wouldn't matter it seemed.

She smiled at the once so unsettling idea and even chuckled a little. The sound seemed to catch the attention of the person being responsible for the heavenly music, and they stopped abruptly, before a female voice spoke up excitedly.

„Oh thank goodness, you're awake!"

Vi felt a small rush of sadness as the music stopped. Only for about a second however, as a mixture of realization, panic and anger shot through her in an instant. She all but leapt off the small bed she had laid on and launched herself at the source of the voice, before she could brainwash her again. She could see blue eyes widening as she collided with the other girl and pinned her her to the ground, with one hand pressed on her mouth, the other securing her left arm while Vi's knee was pressed on her right hand. She stared down at the other woman angrily.

„What the hell did you do to me?"

„Mmhmpff" the girl answered eloquently, looking up at her with frightened eyes like she hadn't just subdued her with her siren's song.

„What happened with the ice mage? Was that you as well?" The siren nodded rapidly, even as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.

Vi's eyes snapped up to take in her surroundings and she froze. Her brain had gone from calm and relaxed to panicked and potentially fighting for her life in a split second, so she needed a few moments to remember the fact that she was at the academy. She looked back down at the girl, with her slender, almost frail form, long pink hair and giant blue puppy eyes that stared up at her in fear. This wasn't the look of a psychopathic evil mindcontrolling mage, was it.

Oh crap…

„Are you with the academy?"

Another hurried nod followed and Vi cursed inwardly before taking her hand of the girl's mouth. The moment she did so the songbird began speaking in a pleading voice.

„Please … my hand … it hurts." Vi looked over to the hand she had secured with her knee, only now realizing she had pinned the girl's fingers to the ground in a painful position, almost threatening to break them. She jumped backwards off the other woman, who immediately began cradling her hand with a soft whimper while shifting into a sitting position.

„Shit, I'm sorry, you alright?" Vi asked carefully. She felt like crap for assaulting the other woman, but at the same time was still somewhat apprehensive of what the apparent mage could do in retaliation should she want to.

The girl however simply smiled up at her with somewhat teary eyes, before replying. „Oh yeah, it's nothing to worry about. It hurt in the moment, but I think I just need to stretch it for a bit now." She slowly got up to stand before Vi and carefully flexed her hand as if to prove her statement.

„See? All good. Anyway, I'm really sorry for startling you like that. I felt bad for knocking you out earlier so I tried helping you with my music, but I didn't think about how weird that would be for you when you wake up. I hope you can accept my apologies?" She looked at Vi with a hopeful look in her eyes, who stared back a bit dumbfounded.

„Uhm, sure? I mean, yeah, of course, you were just trying to help I suppose. Sorry for jumping to conclusions." The girl gave her a bright smile. She couldn't have been more than a few years younger than Vi, but she radiated such hopeless optimism that the brawler couldn't help but think of her as a child.

„I'm glad we got that sorted out then. Oh, my name's Seraphine by the way. And you're Vi, right?" She opened her mouth to ask how Seraphine knew her name just to close it when she remembered the obvious answer.

Written on my face, yeah, yeah, whatever.

Instead she affirmed the other girl's assumption with a nod, to which her smile seemed to grow even further. What was her deal? No one should look that happy, especially when they were in tears just moments ago. She shook her head, focusing on the more pressing questions.

„So that was you earlier then. What happened? Is the situation under control?" That seemed to dim her smile a little, as she glanced to the door briefly before turning back to face the brawler.

"I was able to make both you and the awakened fall asleep. I'm sorry for influencing you, I don't have a lot of control overmy abilities yet, especially when I don't have time to prepare or focus. Sadly the ice he created didn't dissipate when he lost consciousness, so the people he hit in his initial outburst had to be freed by the enforcers afterwards. Some suffered severe frostburns and might lose a limb." The girl stopped and fidgeted, breaking eye-contact. Vi realized that something was missing from her report.

"Did anyone die?" Seraphine hesitated for a moment before looking back up and giving a nod.

"Three people were fully encased by ice. There was ... nothing we could do for them."

Vi cursed and sat back on the bed, putting her head in her hands. She had seen them when she tried to get to the guy earlier, but she had hoped despite herself that it wouldn't have been too late. She heard feet shuffle as the other girl took a step towards her.

"B-but from what the other trapped people said you rushed right in to try and stop him. You probably saved lives just by distracting him." She looked up to see another smile, if somewhat unsure. In truth, Vi didn't think she had managed to slow anything down, the guy had barely noticed her, but she didn't feel like discussing that with a stranger, so she simply gave a small shrug, before getting up and preparing to leave.

"I guess the enforcers brought everyone here then?" she asked as she stepped past Seraphine, who rushed to get her instrument and made to follow her.

"Yup, the injured people are in the hospital wing and the mage is somewhere within the science department. They're probably making sure to dampen his abilities before he wakes up, so that he doesn't accidentally uses his magic in a panic. You know, again."

Vi nodded along. The academy had been in a hurry to come up with some countermeasures to the awakened and, to their credit, had come up with the power dampeners incredibly quickly. They weakened the affected magical abilities, giving them a chance to learn how to control the magic before it could overwhelm them.

Thinking about the variety of magical abilities she had encountered over the past two weeks made her remember what the younger woman, who was currently struggling to keep up with her, did earlier and a question popped into her head that she probably should have asked sooner.

"You're one of the awakened, aren't you?" The girl seemed to shrink back a bit at the question, her gaze lowering to the ground.

"Uhm, yeah. My powers appeared a few days after the battle. Although in hindsight I might've always had them to an extend." Vi nodded to herself, that wasn't unusual. A lot of the awakened had some magic abilities throughout their life and simply didn't realize. Most of the time they were small things that one could easily overlook. The mage she just fought might have simply had a higher tolerance to cold weather before.

"What are your abilities anyway? Manipulating minds?" Seraphines eyes widened as she shook her head vehemently.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's ... a bit complicated. My dad said I can hear the little magic flares around people when they're emotional. And influence their emotions to a degree. I'm not sure I understand it fully just yet to be honest." After seeing the brawler's confused look she added. "Oh, my dad is a scientist here at the academy. He helped me build these dampeners."

She moved her hair to the side and pointed to her ear, where Vi could just make out a small contraption peaking out from her inner ear.

"So you manipulate emotions?" The smaller girl gave a small sigh before nodding.

"I suppose so, but I have to really focus in order to do that. Mostly I just get an idea of what someone is feeling. All I hear from you is confusion and frustration for example." She hesitated for a moment, before adding "And sadness."

Pretty accurate summary, she had to admit. Vi side-eyed the girl that was still following her, before giving a joyless chuckle.

"Seems like a useful trick, I could've avoided getting beaten up a few times if I was able to do that. Although I probably would've used it to rile people up even more to be honest." She expected a laugh from Seraphine at her little joke but only got a confused look in return.

"Usually people are a bit more reserved when I tell them I can hear how they feel. You're not concerned at all?" Vi turned to look at the mage with a grin.

"Seems like a pointless question given you're abilities, no?" This time she did get a small laugh from the younger woman.

"Of course I'm concerned. Not as much as I was when you put me to sleep and serenaded me like in one of these horror stories." Seraphine winced and broke eye contact to look at her feet.

"But between your powers and some of the other awakened that I had to fight cause they accidentally brought down a few buildings by exploding the ground, it seems a lot less dangerous." The songbird looked back up with a small smile.

"That's fair. And I really am sorry for how you woke up. When they brought you here I felt so bad for knocking you out before, so I wanted to help with your injuries." She gestured towards Vi's hands that, as she only now realized were free of bruises or frostbite.

"Wait, you can heal people? Shouldn't you be with the civilians that got hurt then?" The other girl shook her head softly.

"I still don't really understand how it works, so anything beyond some scratches I won't be able to help with. And it does take a lot of focus, which is why I was playing when you woke up. The music helps me concentrate."

Vi shook her head in disbelief. This girl didn't seem to understand just how scarily powerful she was. Not only could she read and manipulate people's emotions, but she could heal injuries as well? She could understand why people would be scared when she told them about her abilities. It was bad enough with the other awakened who typically showed incredible physical power. But to be able to invade someone's mind and take them out without moving a muscle was a scary prospect. Thankfully the girl seemed way to naive and good-hearted to be using her abilities for her own benefit. Still, Vi was surprised Seraphine hadn't been recruited by the enforcers, or even the council directly, to roam the city listening for any ill intended individuals or even just look for criminals that were still on the run.

The brawler slowed down as her brain caught up with her own thoughts. She turned to look at the other girl who came to a halt next to her and looked at her in confusion.

"Is everything alright? You seem conflicted about something."

Of course the mind reader could hear her internal conflict. With her abilities Seraphine might be able to hear Reveck in a heartbeat if she brought her along to the sewers. Additionally she could easily warn them of approaching threats without having to see them. However, abilities or not, the girl was not a fighter. If she came along and they ended up getting attacked they might not be able to protect her. Vi shook her head, she had enough blood on her hands as it was. Just as she was about to tell Seraphine not to worry about it however, the songbird beat her to the punch.

"Oh, I definitely want to help." The brawler blinked at her several times.

"I thought you said you couldn't read minds."

"I can't but it felt like you wanted to ask my help for something but decided against it."

"You have no idea what it's about?" Seraphine shook her head.

"But you want to help?" This time her head bobbed up and down.

"It could be nefarious." The other girl smiled at that.

"I'm pretty good at reading people, and I don't think it will be 'nefarious'"

Was little miss sunshine giving her sass now? Vi's eyes narrowed.

"It will be dangerous, and I can't guarantee your safety." Seraphine paused for a moment.

"Will it help people?" Memories of Reveck and his "creations" shot through her mind.

"More than you know."

"Then I want to help." The younger woman put her hands on her hips and stood tall, only to shrink back a bit after a moment under Vi's glare. "I mean, if you'll let me. Please?"

Gods, do I attract strays or something?

She pinched her nose before turning around and marching off. After a few steps she called back over her shoulder.

"Come on then, songbird, I'm on a tight schedule here. I'll fill you in on the way."

She was no mind-reader, but even she could practically feel the excited energy radiating off of her new companion as she rushed after her.

"Where are we going?"

"The Kiramman mansion." Seraphine looked at her wide-eyed.

"You know the head of the council?" Vi couldn't help the smirk forming on her face.

"Oh, I know her alright." Glancing at the girl that no doubt felt her emotions, Vi could see the furious blush appear on her face and laughed. Maybe this would be fun after all.

"You know, all things considered this was a pretty fun trip, don'tcha think?" The blue-haired girl was met with an icy stare from both Samira and their prisoner. A stare much befitting the cold climate they had just left behind, with the snowcovered mountain range of the Great Barrier still looming behind them. They didn't have to climb the mountains for the most part of course, that would have taken months. Instead they took some of the lesser used mountain passes, to avoid running into people as much as possible.

They had spent a day preparing, with Samira consulting both maps and the local hunters for the easiest way over the mountains. Unsurprisingly, most had told her to head straight north towards the city of Basilich. Not really an option though when you were transporting a prisoner that could dismantle the city and turn it into a living hurricane of death. Instead they took the long way north-west, travelling through the forest for a few days before making the crossing at what was probably both the highest and the widest point. Since they mostly stuck to the passes and didn't have to climb too high, the temperature didn't drop as low as it could have. Even so, it regurlarly went below the freezing point, and Samira simply wasn't made for that kind of temperature. Frankly, no human was in her opinion. If humans were meant to live or even survive in conditions like these, they would have been born with a lot more fur.

It didn't help that her "overcoat" was essentially just a thin piece of fabric, barely protecting against the cold. When she had sent Powder to purchase supplies and clothes for the trip she had been worried that they would look terrible, but since they needed to leave as fast as possible, she had bit the bullet. Safe to say she had been surprised when the young woman had returned with a very stylish black overcoat, with a golden engraving of the Trifarix on the back and red markings on the sleeves. It wasn't necessarily her style but she was touched that Powder had gone out of her way to find something that didn't look like it was pulled from the trash. That was before she had touched it and realized it was most certainly not made for harsh temperatures. By then their prisoner had already woken up however, so there had been no time to waste.

Now, with the evening sun lighting up the green forest around them in a golden hue, the wind softly sending leaves dancing around her feet, and the late-summer air warming her skin comfortably, now the overcoat was perfect. She took a deep breath, before looking back at her companion, who was still looking at her with a shit eating grin on her face. She was still wearing the massive purple jacket that she bought for herself. How she even found the specific colour in a town as small as Krexor, Samira had no idea. It was wide enough that the girl could probably fit inside of it three times, and most importantly, it had a thick lining, perfect for the cold weather. The girl had the audacity to claim it a coincidence, and that she had no idea how cold it would be. It probably would have been more believable had she not grinned the same way she was now every time she said it.

"As soon as I can feel my toes again, you're in for an ass-whooping." The girl cackled at her playful threat. Despite Powder's attempt at freezing her to death, they had gotten along nicely throughout the past two weeks. The younger woman remained secretive about her own past, which suited the mercenary just fine. They resorted to talking about fighting styles and weapons – Powder definitely had an obsession for firearms – as well as all sorts of random topics that came up. When they travelled through the forest, Samira showed her the basics of tracking and hunting animals. While they waited out a snowstorm in the mountains in their tent, which the girl thankfully remembered to buy, Powder tried to explain the mechanical workings of what she called a "minigun". Samira would be lying if she said she understood even half of it, but it seemed to make the girl happy just to have someone to talk to, so she was willing to listen.

Travellling through the wilderness had certainly slowed the healing of her injuries, but for the most part she felt like she was almost back to normal, and with the wretched mountains finally behind them, things were certainly looking up. It was only about a week of travel to the Conservatory if her memory served her correctly, mostly through meadows and forests, largely uninhabited. Samira might have been tempted to look forward to a relaxing few days, were it not for the sole reason they went on this journey. Her eyes flickered over to the blonde woman in a thick dark overcoat – even she had gotten one, damn you Powder - that slowly trudged behind them, only to find her already staring back at her. That seemed to be an unsettling habit of hers, and to her credit, her dark golden eyes were certainly doing a good job at intimidating someone. Especially once you witnessed what the girl was capable of.

For all that Rell was trying to intimidate them, she had been by far in the worst condition out of the three when they began traveling. It seemed she didn't receive quite the same amount of care Samira did, her wounds just barely taken care of, just enough to make sure she didn't die then and there. The first few days she stumbled behind after them, being dragged by the chains that inhibited her magic, while her eyes darted back and forth to things only she could see in her feverish delirium. It wasn't before she collapsed three days in that Samira took it upon herself to help her former assailant, checking and cleaning her wounds, and sending Powder on the hunt for some herbs that would help the healing process. It was Rell's luck that the mercenary had been in a similar situation herself more than once, and the following week her condition somewhat stabilized, even as they began trekking through the mountains.

It had been a balance between helping the girl out to ensure she wouldn't succumb to her injuries, and not letting her regain her strength too quickly. Even now, Samira could see her strain her hands against the chains, and she knew it was more than a physical gesture. She was continously assaulting the magical bindings, weakening them until they would inevitably snap. If she managed to break through the magic, her chains would ironically serve as the perfect weapon to attack Samira and Powder, making at least the older of the two women extra careful around the mage. Powder seemed to not be too worried at the idea of fighting the metal-wielder once again, on the contrary, it was like she was looking forward to it. It once again made Samira wonder just how strong the blue-haired girl really was, but these were all questions she could find answers to once her job had been completed.

"Can somebody take this bloody coat off me already? I'm gonna get a heat stroke." Rell's voice tore through the sound of their footsteps on the forest floor. Powder looked back at the mage, same grin still in place, and continued walking backwards, dragging the other girl forward like a dog on a leash.

"Aww, is it too hot now for poor little Rell? But just yesterday it was way too cold for poor little Rell. I even remember how poor little Rell asked me to close the coat properly, cause she was f-f-freezing." She pretended to shake and rub her arms at the last part. Gods, the girl really had a sadistic streak. Throughout their travels she hadn't missed an opportunity to pester the other girl, and try as she might Samira couldn't find it in her to feel sorry for her. Rell stared at the blue-haired woman in annoyance before letting out a massive sigh.

"Just take the coat off ... please." Powder revelled in her victory for a moment, before sauntering over to take the overcoat off their prisoner.

The mercenary could only watch her friend's antics with a smile and a shake of the head. In the beginning Rell had often threatened the other girl in moments like these, but she seemed to realize over time that if anything that seemed to edge her on even more. The past few days she had been far more docile, though she was no doubt fuming on the inside.

As she was pondering the past weeks, Samira pushed through a thicket and ended up in a small clearing. With a glance at the setting sun she turned to her bickering companions.

"Well, this seems as good a place as any to rest. Want to try and hunt something for us to eat, Powder? Maybe catch a few rabbits?" The young woman glanced over at her before taking in her surroundings.

"I guess I could try. Still not sure I got that whole tracking thing down. I'm gonna need a weapon though." she said with a grin, that quickly dissappeared however when Samira shook her head.

"Not happening, you know I don't have unlimited blackpowder on me, I need to save my ammo for when it matters, don't you agree." She evidently did not, as she gestured around wildly.

"Oh come on, what's gonna happen out here in the middle of nowhere?" The mercenary glanced over at Rell, who just sat down against a small tree and was busy checking her injuries. Powder's eyes followed hers and she gave an exasperated sigh.

"It's not like bullets helped you the last time." she mumbled, making Samira chuckle. Much to her surprise it was Rell who answered in a low voice.

"They did." she pointed to the wound at her side that had only recently begun to heal properly, before looking at the other two. "It won't help her again though."

"See? Even the edgy kid agrees, there's no need to save all your ammo."

"Did you of all people just call me edgy?"

"Would you prefer sad and alone?"

"I'd prefer alone over your company for sure."

"Aww, little Rell really does care!"

"Stop calling me little, I'm barely younger than you."

Samira tuned out the bickering. These two had bonded in the strangest of ways, and she wasn't looking forward to Powder's reaction when they had to hand the young mage over. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, the girl would have to get over it when the time came. Now was not the time to worry about what might happen. She glanced back at the two kids, who were still busy arguing and sighed.

Guess I have to take care of the food – again.

Her body ached as she stretched, the last weeks had been taxing. At least the thrill of the hunt would provide some distraction from her still somewhat battered body.

She made to call out to the two squabblers to inform them of her departure, only to pause. She could have sworn she just heard something through the underbrush. Her head swiveled left and right, trying to pinpoint the sound. It sounded like something was trudging through the forest nearby, and getting closer. Perhaps an animal trying to make them it's dinner. Samira unholstered Blaze and Thorn, slowly approaching the sound. This finally seemed to catch the others attention, as the blue-haired girl looked at her in confusion.

"What're you doing?" Samira gestured towards the forest without replying.

The closer she got, the less the noise sounded like an animal. Instead she heard footsteps, quite clearly a bipedal creature. A human. There was no other settlement for days, so either somebody ways incredibly lost, or they were looking for them. Samira pointed her weapons forward towards the edge of the clearing in anticipation of a fight.

Only to drop them almost instantly, when the small form of a young girl stumbled out of the forest and stared at her with wide eyes. She couldn't have been older than ten, with bright red hair, big bright blue eyes, her face and little dress covered in dirt and grass and her hands clutching a small stuffed bear to her chest. The moment she saw the mercenary, the girl seemed to freeze, her entire body tensing up. Samira quickly holstered her guns and crouched down, trying to look as unintimidating as possible. Her eyes darted behind the girl, but there was no one with her. This didn't make any sense. This far out into the wilderness was dangerous for anyone, but a little child? She was either incredibly lucky to be alive, or something else was going on here.

"Hey there kid, fancy meeting you here. Are you lost?" The child continued to stare at her in fear, but slightly nodded her head. Samira tried to give her the most calming smile she could muster.

"Well it's a good thing you found us, I'm sure we can help you out, eh? Where are you from."

The girl hesitated, before slowly opening her mouth to respond. Before she could say a word however, a sound from behind drew both of their attention. Samira looked back to see Powder standing next to a confused-looking Rell, holding her head and breathing heavily.

"Powder?" The girl didn't seem to hear her, as she began mumbling frantically, her voice gradually increasing in volume.

"No. No, no, no, it can't be you. You're not here. You died. Leave me alone. You died. YOU DIED!" With the last scream she pulled out her blackpowder weapon and aimed it forward. Directly at the young child, who took a nervous step back, more so because of the scream than the weapon, as she no doubt didn't understand what it was or what it did. Samira leapt up, trying to draw the blue-haired girl's focus, but to no avail. There was no way to get between Powder and the child for her without rushing forward. She had no idea what was happening to her companion right now, but she looked ready to pull the trigger at any sudden movement, so Samira stood her ground and slowly raised her hands in a calming gesture.

"What are you doing? Are you completely crazy?" The chained-up mage stood up a few feet behind Powder, apparently just as surprised about the young woman's actions as Samira.

"I - I can just go. I don't want to cause trouble." came the small timid voice of the young girl. Powder screamed back at her, with tears flying from her eyes as she shook her head.

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT REAL! I SAW YOU DIE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME AGAIN?" Her hand was shaking, at this rate she might shoot her weapon without even meaning to. Samira desperately tried to get the young woman's atttention.

"Powder, look at me. I don't know who you lost and who you think is haunting you. But this kid is real. We can talk about this, just please take the gun down."

For the first time, Powder seemed to acknowledge her, her eyes darting over to the mercenary. The normally deep purple eyes seemed to glow a vibrant pink and were bloodshot and filled with tears, with small purple-coloured veins pulsating underneath them.

Just what happened to this girl in her past?

Samira gave a small, lopsided smile to the girl, trying to calm her down. After what felt like an eternity, Powder smiled back at her.

Then she pulled the trigger.

Author's note:

Couldn't resist the temptation to end it on a cliffhanger, my apologies. Thanks for everyone who continues to read the story, and a special thanks to the few who commented and let me know what they thought about the story, it really means a lot. With that said, I will see you all next chapter. Also obvious disclaimer, I do not own Arcane, League of Legends or any of their characters, they belong to Riot Games.