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“All right Kiramman listen up. You’re an elf, I’m an orc and we’re going to show those Piltovan scum who's boss!”
“Wait, can I be a witcher then?!”
Both Vi and Caitlyn look at Jayce who’s just pulled a giant sword out of God knows where and is in a fighting stance. Or at least he thinks he’s in a fighting stance, Vi is pretty sure he’s just imitating a baseball player.
“Jayce, we’ve been over this. We’re doing the Elder Scrolls, not The Witcher. You have to pick a predefined race.”
“Also,” Caitlyn begins tapping her foot impatiently, “witchers aren’t a race, they’re a genetic mutation.”
“Come on…. This is all fantasy anyway. What’s the harm in letting me be Geralt?”
“First of all,” Vi dramatically raises her right index finger, making sure Jayce knows she’s serious, “as Cait mentioned, witchers aren’t a fantasy race. You’d just be a human with cat eyes. Second, if you are a witcher you’d just go around trying to kill us. Third, and most importantly, you ain’t got shit on Geralt.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll be a human and just have the background of a monster hunter. You two are no fun.”
Vi looks over at Caitlyn, who’s attention has turned to testing out her new bow. Caitlyn had recently saved up for a short bow that she swore would be more efficient in sneaking situations. To prove her point, Caitlyn had given Vi a mini physics lesson on how the difference in mass would affect the inertia of arrows shot from the short bow vs her previous longbow. Vi truly couldn’t care less, if she could yell “boom headshot!” whenever Caitlyn sniped the other team all was well in the world.
“Can we please get on with it? My mother is already angry I’m on the Zaun side and if this takes more than a couple of hours, she’ll send an entire squad of enforcers down here.”
It was the fifth annual charity Piltover vs Zaun live action roleplay (LARP) and Vi refused to lose. Four years Zaun had lost. Four years! This was completely unacceptable and Vi swore she wouldn’t lose for a fifth time. Each year various teams representing Piltover and Zaun would compete on a fantasy journey out of one of the alternating cities. Players from the sponsoring city had to make it from a designated starting point to the bridge separating the two cities. Players from the opposing city would try to stop the others from making it to the finish. For the host city to win, at least two-thirds of the players needed to make it to the bridge before sundown. Last year Piltover was home for the competition and this year they were back in Zaun.
Registration had to be in teams of three and Vi took recruitment seriously. For the previous four years it had been her, Powder, and Ekko but due to “unforeseen circumstances” that wasn’t going to work this year. No matter, Vi had a foolproof plan to win. First, she needed someone who could attack at a distance.
It took months but Vi finally convinced Caitlyn to participate. Caitlyn already knew how to shoot a bow and was lanky as an elf so what was the problem? Well, Vi realized calling Caitlyn “lanky as an elf” to her face was a problem and probably not the best idea. Luckily the thought of being able to use her bow outside of a target range won her over.
Next, she needed brawn. Vi was good at melee, but every balanced team needed a tank. Recruiting Jayce was more of a desperation play. Vi already knew he was a total nerd and got kicked out of the Piltover team, so he no longer had allegiance there. Plus, once he knew Caitlyn was participating Vi could easily convince him to join in. Worst case scenario, Vi and Caitlyn could use him as a distraction if they ever needed to escape a fight.
“Alright we have home field advantage so here’s the plan. We need to leave Helgen, traverse through the Embershard Mine, get to the Plain District in Whiterun and climb to the worldly summit of Skyborn Range!”
“Were we supposed to understand that?” Jayce was back swinging around his sword while looking at Vi in confusion.
Caitlyn rolls her eyes and turns towards Jayce, “What she means is: we have to go from The Last Drop, through the maze of the Northside Heap, survive the Bridgewaltz entertainment district, and take the elevator near the Tower of the College of Techmaturgy to the bridge.”
“We must stay alert at all times. The Piltovan scum will be hiding out, just waiting to make their move. Cait: you’re the sniper so you should take the high- “
“Vi,” Caitlyn raises her hand in the “stop” gesture, “we went over this. I am not going to break my legs trying to parkour across the rooftops.”
“Fine but stay out of sight. We’ll need you to catch the enemies by surprise. Now you!” Vi continues her theatrics and turns towards Jayce, “We’ll need you to be back-up. I can run in and be the swift brawler, but you need to be more the brawn.”
Before Jayce can speak, Caitlyn butts in, “Jayce, should you really be using a sword? You have no idea what you’re doing.”
Many “weapons” had been provided for the LARP, but most participants had already taken them. Vi frantically starts looking around and finds the perfect complement for Jayce.
“We’re going to make some changes. Here,” Vi throws an oversized Warhammer at Jayce. “You are no longer just a human, but a Nord. Take your Warhammer and fight for Zaun!”
“Hell yeah!” Jayce grips the Warhammer, turning his knuckles white in the process.
“Oh, for the love of…” Caitlyn starts walking away from both Vi and Jayce, “Let’s go!”
--
What Jayce and Caitlyn probably thought was just geeky excitement was a lot more for Vi. Lately she had been hanging out more in Piltover and hadn't really taken the time to explore Zaun like when she was younger. There was a part of her that wanted to return to running through the city streets, avoiding food stalls, and being chased by whatever shop keeper she had previously stolen from. She wanted to relive the feeling of returning home and finding she had stepped in a puddle of something she probably didn't want to know where it came from. The pressure on her lungs as they try to keep her from suffocating from the toxic fumes. How she would parkour between shop overhangs, balconies, and eventually following the rickety pipes to see the entire city. A city where the skyline was barely visible through all the pollution and dust but would always be home.
The grime was what made it nostalgic for Vi and fueled her excitement for the LARP. Piltover was too clean, too shiny. Zaun had the grit and grime of an abandoned fantasy location. Granted it was more Midgar than Skyrim, and you needed to ignore the neon signs and jerry rigged beeping hextech toys littered about, but besides that: the city was perfect.
By default, Vi took the reins as navigator. Although Caitlyn had been to Zaun many times, it was always with Vi and they both knew leaving her in charge of directions they’d end up in a septic reservoir or a brothel. Probably a brothel. Yes, Vi was sure it would be a brothel. On second thought, it would be very on-brand to make a pit stop at a brothel but they also needed to move fast and Vi wasn’t in the mood to drag Caitlyn back on track.
“Vi, we’ve passed this same trash heap three times. Are you lost?” Jayce was holding his Warhammer close to his chest, eyes darting back and forth.
“I’ve already told you; we’re in a maze and things look the same to confuse you. These are different trash heaps, it’s just all the same trash.” Vi was pretty sure this was the third time they had seen this trash heap, but there was no way she was admitting that to Jayce.
Vi recommends they travel near the edges of the Northside Heap and not through it. The Northside Heap was filled with scrapped metal and junk, piled higher than they could see over. All around them they could hear the crunch and clatter as metal pushed upon metal. Although all of Zaun was dark, this area was not meant for living and the low lights made it creepy and ominous. Forget the Piltovan scum, Vi was more worried they’d come across actual threats who would have a field day attacking some random LARP nerds. This was an area of hardcore shimmer addicts who had little sanity left and would truly fight to the death. Thus, they all agreed they’d rather take a bit more time staying on the outskirts and not try their luck going straight through just to save a couple of minutes.
Even on the outskirts, the pathways are narrow and filled with detritus. They are right at the divide between the junk of the wealthy stores on the main road and whatever junk was composing the heap. Either way, this helped them avoid a random shimmer-addict attack and stay out of sight from any lurking Piltovan scum. Although Vi was ready to punch something, she wasn’t that stupid. She also knew Caitlyn would not hesitate to snipe her in the back of the head if she thought Vi was about to do something risky.
“We’re pretty far off the main road Vi. Should we have at least brought gas masks?” Caitlyn stares up at the vents above their heads. Although the ventilation system was meant to push chemicals out of Zaun, it wasn’t doing a very good job. The thick green haze descending upon them was evidence enough of that.
“Oh man, we should have! That would have been so cool! Just imagine: the adventurers traverse the poison swamps lucky to have stolen protection masks. Using sheer ingenuity checking the conveniently placed chest, in the conveniently placed shack, right next to the conveniently placed save point they had unwittingly found the quest items. What they don’t realize is that the masks are only good for so long and they must make haste! The crafty orc had used her ability points to slow the rate of toxicity but alas, the elf and Nord were not so smart.”
“Vi, I’m serious, are we getting poisoned?”
“Nah we’re far enough away from the chemtech plants for the air to be hostile. Worst case scenario we’re breathing in metal shavings from all this trash. Plus, you’ve been down here enough to have built up a bit of ‘Zaun-immunity’. Now Jayce…”
“Don’t ‘now Jayce’ me,” Jayce freezes as his eyes get bigger by the second. “Did you bring me down here to get poisoned and die?!”
“No Jayce. I did not bring you down here to get poisoned and die. We need you as the brawn so even if you’re poisoned, we’ll get you back to Piltover.”
Caitlyn turns to Jayce with a dead-pan expression. “If you do die, I’m leaving you here. No one will find your body. No one.”
Jayce stares at Caitlyn, who’s expression does not change. Even Vi pauses and stares. Vi and Jayce share a glance with a mutual understanding: don’t piss off Caitlyn today.
---
“It’s quiet… too quiet…”
They had finally got out of the Northside Heap and entered the Bridgewaltz entertainment district ( away from the brothels thank you very much). Vi really wished they turned off the neon signs to at least try to make it fantasy, but also realized that without them it would be pitch black. Thus, she could suspend her disbelief just long enough to act like they weren’t there. Or better yet, let’s just make them bioluminescent plants. Final Fantasy pulls that trick all the time and Vi was not going to let lazy event organizers ruin her fantasy immersion. Even though the lights were still going full blast and Vi could hear a radio playing from somewhere, she had never experienced this part of Zaun so quiet. It was as if the neon lights triggered a universal alarm in all three of them. Vi could feel the tension coming off Caitlyn and Jayce as they stalked into the open.
They eventually eased into the area and got into proper formation. As agreed, Caitlyn spent most of her time in the shadows with an arrow at the ready. Vi and Jayce remained in the open trying to draw the enemy out. They didn’t want to go looking for trouble (although a tiny bit of Vi did), but it would be easier if they had to fight in Bridgewaltz versus the Northside Heap. If someone had been following them, now would be the time to fight. Vi could almost taste the excitement of getting into a fight. She had been waiting for this, not just winning, but also getting the chance to legally punch someone without-
Vi freezes as two arrows go flying from behind her head. Her eyes quickly refocus, and she sees two Piltovan scum dressed in enforcer uniforms roll out from behind a barrel, groaning in pain. It should be clarified that Caitlyn didn’t shoot them with actual arrows, but rather specially made arrows for the LARP with rounded tips covered in red paint. This way no one got really hurt and the paint signified they had been hit. The one problem with that, is that Caitlyn was such an excellent shot her arrows seemed to have more strength than others and usually left a bruise. It only took two arrows flying mere centimeters from her head for Vi to appreciate Caitlyn’s precision with a bow.
Jayce and Vi quickly get into fighting stances upon hearing the rumblings of other Piltover scum in the background. The third enemy charges out of a side alley heading directly at Jayce. Their weapon of choice is a riot baton that is pulled back at the ready. With a quick turn Vi manages to barely miss Jayce's face and catches the Piltovan scum with an uppercut (with her very not padded fists) right to the chin. Jayce makes himself useful as a fourth, fifth, and sixth enemy comes running out of the side streets. Vi was happy they had upgraded Jayce to the Warhammer (the padded Warhammer) as with one quick sweep he was able to send the three enemies flying.
Caitlyn continued being the secret weapon as she was able to pick off any enemies trying to sneak up while Jayce and Vi were preoccupied in close range combat. Vi only became distracted once, as she caught the sight of a Piltovan scum jump on a food stall and began lunging at both Jayce and Vi. He was holding what looked more like a blunted sphere than a riot baton and could easily knock them both out in one swing. Thankfully, right when Vi realized her reaction time was not fast enough to block the attack, an arrow came flying out of the shadows, hitting the enemy dead between the eyes. Vi was caught between laughing at watching the enemy drop mid-lunge, but also wondering if Caitlyn had actually blinded him. Regardless, that was the seventh knock-out they had collectively achieved.
A couple of stragglers try their luck and soon experience the same beating as their predecessors. It's at this moment that current Vi is thankful for the strategy of past Vi deciding to recruit Jayce and Caitlyn. Vi and Jayce did not come out unscathed, but it would have been a lot worse if Caitlyn wasn't in the background. A couple of scrapes and bruises would easily heal and plus, they would have the scars of victory to carry with them. The three of them were totally in sync and there was no way the fight could have gone better.
It took a while, but the Piltovan scum began their retreat. Vi counted thirteen total knockouts, but may have missed a couple Caitlyn had sniped in the distance. Her adrenaline was pumping and she wanted to keep fighting. They had already shown their collective might against the enemy and she was ready to take on the entire city of Piltover. It had taken them so long to get into a battle and she didn’t want it to end. The Piltovan scum should not be allowed to escape.
“Vi! They’re running in the opposite direction! There will be more enforcers to punch along the way! Don’t be stupid!”
Caitlyn finally reappears from her hiding place watching Jayce comedically try to hold Vi back.
“Were either of you paying attention? How did you not see the two enforcers hiding behind the barrels?”
“Okay Ms Eagle Eyes,” Vi finally breaks free from Jayce and reorients herself, “did you forget? You’re the sniper, your job is to see the things we don’t catch. “
While Caitlyn and Vi bicker about how Vi wouldn’t notice danger coming if it walked up to her and smacked her upside the head, Jayce sees something glistening out the corner of his eye and heads over to it.
“Hey, so I guess this is…” Jayce returns with a small box that has seen better days.
“Treasure!” Vi ignores Caitlyn, pauses to do the Zelda item jingle, and runs to grab the box out of Jayce’s hands. It’s covered in glitter which Vi assumes is the LARP’s way of making it look mystical. Besides the fact her fists are going to be covered in the stuff, the excitement of finding a treasure box outweighs everything else.
“What do we get? Coins? New weapons? The return of our dignity?” Caitlyn crosses her arms watching Vi marvel at the box.
“Even better…. Potions!” Vi throws a bottle each at Caitlyn and Jayce. It’s green, bubbling, and looks like nuclear waste. Caitlyn twirls her bottle around, noticing “po-shun” written in chicken scratch across the side. Vi quickly opens hers and downs the drink while Caitlyn and Jayce just stare.
“You first.” Caitlyn turns to Jayce with a look of both fear and curiosity.
With a deep breath, Jayce puffs out his chest and takes a giant gulp of the drink. Caitlyn looks at him expectantly, waiting for some type of reaction.
It doesn’t take long as Jayce quickly gags and hurls the drink, along with the contents of his breakfast and yesterday’s dinner right in the middle of the street.
“It… it tastes like carbonated vinegar, onions, and squid!” Jayce starts dry heaving while Caitlyn backs away with a look of horror on her face.
“That my friends,” Vi triumphantly raises her empty bottle in the air, “is a Zaun specialty. Meant to revitalize the spirit and cure all ailments. Us finding potions is a good sign. A very good sign. I can feel it in my bones. Cait, do you want yours?”
Caitlyn silently hands her bottle over to Vi, still staring as Jayce has crawled into a fetal position and is borderline dying (and crying) in the middle of the street.
--
Vi convinces Caitlyn that Jayce isn’t dead and she reluctantly agrees to help move him. They manage to drag him off the main street and find a place behind a food stall to drop him. This was not only done for safety, as Vi and Caitlyn needed Jayce just in case they were ambushed out in the open, but also the pungent smell of Jayce’s vomit was making them both sick.
While Jayce remains passed out, Caitlyn and Vi keep busy. Caitlyn spends her time recovering arrows from the previous fight, while Vi goes scouting for any hidden enemies. Jayce had woken back up by the time Caitlyn returned, and they both sat around waiting for Vi. Vi eventually comes back with another treasure chest that was filled with what she called “nutrients”. She promised they were vegetables, but the fact that there was no unpolluted soil nor sunlight in Zaun, Caitlyn and Jayce refused to eat it. Even though they were both starving, just watching Vi eat the food sent Jayce right back to dry heaving.
Once Jayce had finally regained some semblance of colour in his face, the three of them set off again.
—
In comparison to the creepiness of the Northside Heap and the excitement of Bridgewaltz, the last step of the journey to the Tower was proving to be pretty uneventful. The scenery was bland, the streets were bland, the homes were bland, and even the polluted air was bland (as bland as Zaun could get). They had one brief moment of excitement when Caitlyn happened to discover there were traps hidden after she stepped on the wrong pile of linen and ended up strung up in a net. After Jayce was finally able to set Caitlyn free, they all paid a lot more attention to where they stepped.
Vi tried to spice things up a couple of times by recommending they should go hunting for "Piltovan scum". She was quickly overruled as both made a point that they were too close to the end and trying their luck by getting into more needless fights would benefit no one. Alas, Vi resigned herself to the quiet march.
The good thing about having the Tower as the last stop was that it could be seen from any point in Zaun, so there was no way they could miss it. The three of them debated if they should continue in a straight line or try to approach from a different angle. No one knew what they'd encounter at the end, whether it would just be a straight shot up the elevator, or if they'd have to survive anything else.
"Vi, you're the pro at this, what do you think will be at the Tower?" Vi could tell Caitlyn was annoyed, but keeping to herself. Caitlyn did get to use her bow in a combat scenario, so at least there was that.
"Honestly, I don't know. I would imagine we may have a gang of enemies to fight. The elevator is the official last stop, so once we're in we've won."
"But it really can't be that easy, can it?"
After the battle in Bridgewaltz they heard more and more commotion from behind. Jayce assumed that the rest of the Zaun team must be moving as a larger group and the Piltovans were leading a large attack. Although Caitlyn was skeptical of breaking off from the main group at the beginning, the decision seemed to pay off. The Piltovan scum weren't going to waste that much time on three random people when they could attack a large group all at once.
As the Tower became larger in the distance, Vi could taste a mixture of victory and fear. The fear she felt became heavier as it seemed like every house they passed had something lurking in the windows. It was probably just her imagination, but the combination of the quieter streets and general creepy ambiance was making her uncomfortable. There was also a sense of familiarity about this fear,
To say Vi had gotten used to Caitlyn’s arrows flying past her head would be an understatement, so when she felt two arrows fly by she thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until she heard a loud, British “ow!” that she realized the shooting was directed behind her and Caitlyn wasn’t the one shooting.
Vi and Jayce quickly went on high alert, standing back to back, looking at all the roofs and windows but not able to see anyone. Another two arrows flew by, still aiming at Caitlyn who had managed to duck behind a small barrell on the side of the road. This time both Vi and Jayce were able to follow the arrow to a shop overhang to see a crossbow aimed directly at them.
“Powder, you can’t PVP your own side! What are you doing?!”
“You’re a traitor Vi! How are you fighting for Zaun when you’re with that Piltovan enforcer and the lackey?!”
Powder was on top of a shop overhang with a giant crossbow in her hands. Next to her was a giant sack of arrows, so she was ready to be in this for the long haul.
Another two arrows fly out towards Caitlyn, completely avoiding Vi and Jayce.
"Vi, get your bloody sister!" The barrell Caitlyn was hiding behind was one of the smaller ones and probably wouldn’t hold up for much longer. If she tried to move to a better hiding place, Powder would definitely be able to snipe her. Caitlyn was completely pinned down. With all of this, Vi could tell Caitlyn's anger meter was rising as her British was starting to get thicker.
“Powder, can’t you tell they’re on our side? We’re going towards the Zaun endpoint. If Caitlyn was an enforcer, why wouldn’t she be in an enforcer uniform?”
“You left me Vi, we were supposed to be teammates! Now you’re trying to protect her?!”
Powder raises the crossbow again, but luckily doesn’t fire anything.
“Oh man...” Jayce grips his Warhammer and gets into a fighting stance, “This must be the boss fight.”
“Powder, what are you talking about, I didn’t leave you. You and Ekko missed the registration deadline so of course we couldn’t be teammates.”
Once they had noticed where Powder was, Vi and Jayce had moved into a side-by-side formation. Originally, they both subconsciously thought this may help them block the arrows getting to Caitlyn. It wasn't working.
"Uh, Vi." Jayce leans over to Vi, hissing in her ear "Maybe we should have taken your advice and gone looking for enforcers. Perhaps grinding a few more levels would have better prepared us."
"Yeah, well, you both wanted to be spoil sports so here we are."
"We're in a fight where we're completely underleveled and failure is inevitable. Vi, we only have one option left." Vi turns to Jayce with one eyebrow raised, both intrigued and a little afraid of what he's going to suggest. "Let's give up Caitlyn."
"What?!"
"Your sister doesn't want you and I, she only wants Caitlyn. If we both charge Caitlyn at the same time we can use the earlier net to catch her. We then offer her up to Powder and waltz out of here"
Before Vi can react, yet another arrow goes flying and manages to strike Jayce right in the back of the head.
"Boom headshot!"
"Jayce you bloody bastard. I swear if you ever try to offer me as ransom again..."
A hail of arrows rains down on them right in the middle of Caitlyn speaking. A majority are still aimed at Caitlyn, but a couple land right at Vi and Jayce's feet. Vi takes this as a sign that she's not as immune to Powder's violence as she thought.
"Even if you took Hammer Boy's advice and handed over the enforcer, that wouldn't be enough Vi. You chose her over me!"
To say Vi was at a loss for words would be an understatement. Yes, she knew she took the LARP more seriously than others but Powder seemed to have gone completely off the deep end. A part of her felt she may actually be trying to kill Caitlyn with the consistency in which she was shooting arrows towards her. Although Caitlyn was still pinned down behind the barrel, if Powder left an opening, Caitlyn could probably beat her. Powder was good when it came to spray shooting, but if it was precision, Caitlyn would definitely win. If this was any other day, Caitlyn would ignore Powder since she was Vi's sister. The problem is that Powder would not stop shooting at her and there was only so much someone could take.
“Alright Powder, let’s come to an agreement. You can join us, and we can all go across the finish line as a group. No one has to get hurt and we can win as sisters.”
“As… sisters?”
“Of course, but you also have to let Caitlyn go with us.”
“No.”
“Powder, come on!” Vi was going from afraid to pissed off.
“Leave her and Hammer Boy. Just the two of us.”
“Powder, they helped me the entire way. I can’t just leave them.”
Powder lifts up her crossbow again and by this time Vi is completely annoyed. Before Powder properly aims, the shop overhand she is standing on begins to wobble and creak before completely breaking apart. Part of Vi wants to make sure Powder is okay, the other half knows she wasn't that high and it serves her right after shooting at them so much.
Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce all look towards the collapsed shop overhang. There's dust particles floating around obscuring their view. Vi and Jayce back up towards Caitlyn's hiding place, still facing the collapsed shop overhang.
"D-do you think she was badly hurt?" Caitlyn slowly raises herself from behind the barrel.
All three pause straining their ears. It doesn't take long for them to hear slight movement in the rubble and confirm, yup, Powder is still alive.
"Vi, your sister is like a cockroach. Nothing will kill her."
"Jayce, shut up. We just need to get to the elevator."
While Vi and Jayce help Caitlyn up, the sounds in the rubble get louder and they can see a dark shadow appear. Although they can't see a person yet, they have all become acquainted with the crossbow that is once again, pointed directly at them.
While smoke and dust continue to rise from the rubble, they see a second shadow materialize behind shadow-Powder and grab her.
"Vi!"
Although she still can't see anything, Vi knows Ekko's voice. Where he came from and how exactly he found them, she isn't sure. One thing she can assume is that he was probably the reason they had not been shot yet.
The three of them watch as Ekko slowly pulls Powder out of the smoke and back into view. He's still holding both her arms in a way she can't aim the crossbow nor get away from him. She was trying her hardest to break out of his grip, but Ekko was much bigger and stronger.
"Ekko, why are you here? You didn't register this year."
"You're right, I didn't register this year but I still wanted to see the action. I was hiding out closer to the Tower," Ekko jerks his head over to the shadow of the Tower. "I started hearing some commotion and knew people were getting closer. I wanted to take a look and the yelling grew louder. Lo and behold, I see the four of you all having a western stand-off in the middle of the street."
"Ekko let me go!" Powder is flailing in Ekko's arms trying to break free. Ekko is barely flinching while Powder kicks at him.
"Calm down," Ekko tightens his grip on Powder. "Once I saw it was Powder going mad I figured the easiest thing to do was to loosen the bolts on the shop overhang. The fall wouldn't be enough to hurt anyone and would buy you all some time."
"So... Are you going to hold her while we escape?" Jayce looks up with a smile on his face.
"No." Ekko looks Jayce dead in the eye with a deadpan expression. "You all know outsiders aren't supposed to interfere. Tell you what, I'll hold Powder for 10 seconds while you all start running to the elevator. You all should be able to cover the distance in 70 seconds, so you'll just need to dodge for 60."
While holding Powder Ekko is able to reach into his jacket pocket and pull out a small pocket watch.
"Go."
--
Vi had never run so fast in her life. All three of them went into full track team mode, mentally counting down 10 seconds in their heads. What had felt like being so close to victory so turned into the longest distance of their lives. They were quickly alerted when the 10 seconds were up once the arrows started shooting towards them. Although Caitlyn had been in the back the entire LARP, she quickly began to outrun Vi and Jayce.
Jayce had abandoned the Warhammer about halfway in the run as the weight of it was slowing him down. Caitlyn still had her bow but outrunning Powder was a much smarter idea than trying to send return shots. Vi had her fists the entire day so she wasn't able to fight back nor was she encumbered. They were all carrying the least amount of stuff and going the fastest they could.
Caitlyn managed to reach the elevator first and began punching the button. Once Vi and Jayce caught up, she pulled her bow out, aiming in the direction Powder was. Vi continued banging on the button until they finally heard the chime of the doors opening and all piled inside. Jayce smacked the "close door" button but not before two arrows made it through the door. Luckily the arrows were aimed as if they were standing, and because they had managed to fall into the elevator, the arrows went over their heads.
–
The ride up the elevator is silent. All the excitement of the LARP has died away as all three struggle to catch their breath. Vi refuses to look down at Zaun.
As they get to the top, they see the winners' tent and soon find out they are the first ones up. Apparently, the other Zaunites had all banded together, making it easy for the enforcers to corner them and slowly start picking them off. A part of Vi was happy they had one, but another part couldn’t believe how stupid the others were.
“So… that was fun.” Jayce looks between Vi and Caitlyn. Vi looking like everything was a let down and Caitlyn looking like she was about to set the world on fire.
“You know, I’m very surprised you all made it to the end.” One of the organizers walks over to the three of them with a large smile on their face. “We weren’t expecting anyone to actually get in the elevator.”
“What do you mean...?” Caitlyn narrows her eyes at the organizer who shrinks back a bit.
“Wait, didn’t you all read the pamphlet for this year?”
Jayce and Caitlyn both turn towards Vi who looks as lost as them.
“Oh um,” the organizer goes to one of the tables and comes back with a small piece of paper. “This year we wanted to make it more difficult. You know since it’s the fifth anniversary and all. You all got past the final boss, right?”
“Hehehe, what up losers.”
“Vi… I swear…” Caitlyn throws a menacing glare at Vi before all three of them turn around to see Powder and Ekko.
“Do you all read anything? I thought you Piltovan scum would have read the pamphlet at least.” Powder rolls her eyes while walking towards them. “We only have a couple of minutes before we need to head back to fight off others, I just wanted to see your faces.”
“But, why were you all the final boss? Shouldn’t it have been someone from Piltover?”
“That would make sense, but we got paid to be the neutral party. The scum will pay anything to win.” Powder’s cheeky cheshire grin is really starting to get on Vi’s nerves.
“Ekko, you were in on it too?”
“Well, yes and no.” Ekko scratches his head avoiding the stares of Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce. “Powder and I were meant to be a two part final boss. You know, Powder would attack at range and once you all thought you were winning, I’d come in as back-up. Well, once I realized Powder was going a little overboard and saw you all on the receiving end, I stepped in to help. I couldn’t tell if you thought we were serious or not, Vi.”
“Of course, I was taking it seriously! Powder was shooting at us!”
“Actually,” Powder cocks her head and puts her hand on her hip, “the crossbow was only pointed at the Piltovan scum. I wasn’t going to hurt you or Hammer Boy.”
Caitlyn’s mouth drops open and her eyes get wide, “Why only me?!”
Powder takes one of her braids in her hands and begins twirling it absentmindedly, “I don’t like you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Caitlyn rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.
“So, what do we get for winning?” Jayce finds an opening in the conversation while Powder continues glaring at Caitlyn.
“Oh, um. Bragging rights?” Vi makes a nervous smile looking between Caitlyn, Jayce, Powder, and Ekko.
Jayce and Caitlyn share a look, and both turn around, taking the bridge back towards Piltover.
“Hey! Caitlyn! Can I still come over and play Skyrim tomorrow right?! I want to try the upgrade on PS5 and you’re the only person I know with one!”
Powder side-eyes Vi while Caitlyn continues walking away and waving her arm in the air mumbling, “Yeah, yeah…”
—
It isn’t until the next day that Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce find out the LARP was canceled not too long after they headed home. Apparently while Ekko was distracted, Powder got a little too enthusiastic with the next team to get to the Tower and ended up causing more damage than medical personnel were prepared for. To ensure the organizers didn’t get sued, it was agreed upon to abruptly cancel the event. Thus, Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce were the only winners of the LARP.
“You know, that was still pretty fun. All things considered.” Jayce was sprawled on the floor eating chips.
“Jayce, you got food poisoning and almost died. I got shot at and stuck in a net. How is that fun?” Caitlyn was laying on her couch with her feet on Vi’s lap, drinking a non-biohazard soda.
“Oh shut up, you both had fun and you know it. Plus, we can say we were the only winning team in the fifth annual LARP!” Vi was hunched over, 100% in the zone fighting skeletons in PS5-upgraded Skyrim (which, honestly, was no different than all the previous Skyrims, but Vi didn’t care).
“Vi, pay attention” Caitlyn points at the television with her soda, “you’re about to get attacked by a dragon.”
Vi lets out a low growl as she finally sees the dragon coming from the top right of the screen. As much fun as the LARP was, it was a lot safer playing an RPG in Caitlyn’s living room than being attacked in Zaun.