Work Text:
"Balance."
How Syndra hated the word.
To others in Ionia, it was something to aspire to - something to live by, an indication of complete and utter harmony in all aspects of one's life. To Syndra, it was disgusting. To her, it meant nothing but a useless prison - an illusion created by people with next to no power to contain those who did.
The elders had tried to shackle her with restraint, attempted to bind her and limit her growth - but she was going to have none of it. Casting off those chains, her power swelled to its full potential only after she truly freed herself - the fact that the Celestial Fortress was now flying over the rest of Ionia was a testament to her power. Syndra was determined never to let herself be tied by anyone again, no matter the cost to herself. She would rather be dead than be shackled and normal.
"Balance."
The word was particularly displeasing to Zed's ear. There was no such thing as balance. To be 'balanced' one had to intentionally dumb one's self down, to be on the same level as people who did not deserve to be there. There was nothing to be gained from being balance, except weakness and an unending stupidity. In hindsight, he was glad to have been banished, for it meant that he no longer played by the same rules everyone else did.
He too, was free of shackles and come hell or high water, he was going to keep it that way and heaven forbid someone try to stop him. He was a well of untapped potential and she had unlimited resources. It was really powerless to stop whatever threads had bound them together, for them to meet was inevitable.
"Balance."
Though they both hated the word, they found it in each other. Both discarded by the people who were supposed to mentor them, and even their form of retribution was similar - death was after all the great equalizer.
Floating towards the man before, Syndra placed a deceptively gentle hand on Zed's face plate, smiling as she did. There were no words exchanged between the two of them - it wasn't necessary. They both simply understood one thing - destroying the balance meant not just freedom for themselves, but for the others that lived under its tyrannical rule. And they were more than willing to do anything to do so.
Syndra knew she had a new ally in Zed and he thought the same of her. If them being in each others' company meant that balance was shifted away from and it tipped the scales in their favor, then so be it.
