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Chapter Text

Sheriff Jinx was just leaving the Council chambers after delivering her latest report when she saw a woman pulling along a crying child beside her walking towards the entrance of the chambers.

The young girl sniffled and sobbed while the woman with her - her mother, if Jinx were to guess - lamented the girl's inability to stop sobbing.

"Clara, please," the woman said. "You're better than this."

"Hey," Jinx said, getting down on her knees to get closer to the child's eye-level. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the woman hissed.

"I lost my dolly," Clara answered.

The woman sighed. "Clara, the Sheriff of Piltover has far more important things to be doing than looking for your lost doll."

"The Sheriff of Piltover will decide what is and is not in the Sheriff's interest, thank you," Jinx said with a harsh glare that shut the mother up. Jinx would have some words with her later. Not now, though. Not in front of her daughter, though only for her daughter's sake, as the words Jinx wanted to exchange involved several swears, and she would rather not be the one to teach them to Clara.

"Where did you lose your dolly?" Jinx asked.

"Just outside," Clara answered, pointing down the hallway. "We were late getting here, so my mom rushed in, and I think she got caught on a hedge ..."

"What does she look?" Jinx asked, whipping out her notebook.

"She's small," Clara answered. "Red hair."

"Plastic or cloth?" Jinx asked.

"Cloth."

Jinx nodded. "We'll find her. I'll put my best people on it right away."

Jinx got up and gave the woman a courteous tip of the hat. "Come find me later, miss. I want to discuss your idea of priorities."

The woman's face turned flush and red as she realized she had done something to earn the Sheriff's ire. She quickly ushered her daughter inside the chambers to attend to her original business for being here.

Jinx began her way down the hall when footsteps echoed and she was soon joined by Councilor Mel Medarda.

"Councilor," Jinx said with another hat-tip. "Good to see you. I was just about to go looking for a doll. Care to join me?"

"If I see one, I'll let you know," Mel answered, walking in lockstep with Jinx. "I wanted to talk to you, Jinx. What's this I hear about you requesting three weeks off?"

"I'm getting married," Jinx said casually as she exited the council building and started looking around for the doll around the topiary at the front door. "It takes awhile to plan a wedding and carry it out. Three weeks is the barest minimum I could do, and even that's me trying to rush it."

"Piltover cannot go without a Sheriff for three whole weeks!" Mel said.

"And it won't," Jinx answered, kneeling down and finding the doll lodged in the bushes. "I've been training Mir and Keppel to watch over things during my absence. They won't let you down."

Mel pursed her lips. "I suppose ..."

"I have been working on a successor," Jinx said. "One day, Medarda, I'll retire - or get injured in the line of duty. I'm going to see to it that Piltover is in good hands by then ..."

Jinx contemplated the doll, giving a deep sigh.

"Not to mention my ... delayed trial."

"Yes," Mel said, suddenly shifting her gaze. "There is that."

For a moment, silence triumphed, but not for long.

"How old is Ren now?" Mel asked.

"About twelve, I think," Jinx said.

"My goodness!" Mel said. "That old already? It seems like only yesterday I saw her clinging to Marcus's ankle."

Jinx frowned and hung her head.

"I'm sorry," Mel said. She looked at the ground.

"It never gets easier," Jinx said. "You would think that with enough time, it would stop hurting ... or at least hurt less, but ... I still miss him. It still hurts."

Jinx clenched her fingers around the doll before catching herself and easing her grip on it.

"I'm sorry," Mel said. "I know it doesn't seem like at times, but ... I know what it's like. Not to lose your father, no, but ... to see violence, to have it ... burn into you like a hot poker ... so I understand at least some of what you're going through."

Jinx hugged the doll close to her chest.

"I'd do almost anything to have him back," Jinx said.

Mel nodded.

Clara and her mother stepped out of the building, their business done, and Jinx gave Clara her dolly, which Clara responded to which much jubilation.

After that, Jinx left the Council building campus.

"Good morning, Sheriff!" a woman watering flowers on her balcony shouted from the rooftops.

"Good morning, citizen!" Jinx waved back.

"Good morning, Sheriff!" said another person, and that was just the start of the cavalcade, as Jinx found herself being absolutely bombarded and blasted with good morning sheriffs and g'mornin'-sheriffs, and about a dozen other variations you could care to name.

"Oh, Sheriff!" a burly male approaching and set a box into Jinx's arms. "Here. There's a baker's dozens of donuts in there for you and yours. You take that onto the precinct now and share it with your boys, you here?"

He gave her a clap on the should before leaving.

"Goodness," Jinx said. "Have I really made such an impression on everybody?"

"Yes!" came the united answer from behind Jinx of several citizens who overheard, startling her and almost causing her to drop the graciously gifted box of donuts, but someone came running up to her and helped her get balance and keep the box off the ground.

"Thank you, citizen," Jinx said.

"Thank you, Sheriff," the citizen said. "For keeping Piltover safe."

Jinx, overwhelmed from all this adulation, walked as briskly as she could while still carrying the box of donuts to deliver it to the precinct.

"I have donuts for everyone!" Jinx shouted once she was inside the precinct. "Form an orderly line, please!"

Jinx oversaw and made sure the donuts were distributed evenly and fairly, then she left the precinct, with everyone understanding that she was going to go home to check on her daughter.

Jinx returned to her apartment, where Ren promptly ran up to her and wrapped her arms around Jinx's torso, hugging her mother tightly and abandoning whatever game she had been playing with their adopted cat Yuumi beforehand, to the cat's disappointment.

"You're back!" Ren said.

"Yeah, just for a minute, kiddo," Jinx said, ruffling Ren's hair. "Wait. Since when you do come up to my stomach? You're growing up so fast!"

Ren blushed.

"Honey, don't take this the wrong way, but you are kind of ... short," Lux said, holding her hand up from her spot on the couch while she browsed through wedding magazines.

Jinx shot her an annoyed glare but quickly let it go.

"Soon, I'm gonna be old enough to be an Enforcer!" Ren declared. "And then I can help protect people just like you, Mom!"

"What?" Jinx answered. "No. No, no, absolutely not, that's way too dangerous for a girl like yourself."

"Why not?" Ren asked. "You were an Enforcer the minute you were old enough!"

"I had training," Jinx said.

"So train me!" Ren said.

"No, and that's final," Jinx said.

Ren glared resentfully at Jinx. "Dad was an Enforcer. You're an Enforcer. Why can't I be an Enforcer?"

"That's exactly why!" Jinx snapped, pointing a stern finger at Ren. "I already lost your father! I can't lose you too!"

Ren froze up. Realizing she had crossed some sort of line, she slinked off to her room, head bowed low.

Lux pursed her lips, unable to offer meaningful feedback on what just transpired.

"Any updates on the wedding plans?" Jinx asked, eager to change subjects.

"I can't decide on a venue," Lux said.

"Noted," Jinx said. "I kinda meant more like, what are Vi and Caitlyn thinking about the double-wedding idea?"

"Vi seems open to it, but Caitlyn is a little more bullish, like you anticipated," Lux said. "She said she wanted to make her wedding, and I quote, 'big and loud and not fit for a Piltover Sheriff to be associated with.'"

"Yeah, that sounds like Caitlyn," Jinx said. "I guess we'll have to do separate weddings after all."

"Don't be so sure," Lux said. "I'll keep working with her. I can be very persuasvie, you know!"

This made Jinx envision Caitlyn on the floor while Lux pummeled her until Caitlyn agreed to the double-wedding, and Jinx shuddered at the thought.

"Lux, I was looking to save a few bucks and maybe help our friends save on ticket prices," Jinx said, going to pour herself a cup of orange juice. "I don't want to force Caitlyn or Vi to do anything they don't want to."

Lux huffed a sigh while Jinx sipped from her cup.

"You don't trust in my negotiating skills?" Lux asked. "It's just as well. I was wondering if we couldn't have our wedding in Demacia."

"Demacia!?" Jinx asked.

"Yeah," Lux said. "It is my homeland, Jinx."

"That's awfully far away ... and I don't know anyone there outside of your family, and of that, I don't know them all that well," Jinx said. "Everyone that I would want to be there is in either Piltover or Zaun."

"But you know how things can get between Piltovans and Zaunites!" Lux said. "Wouldn't Demacia be a nice compromise so neither side would feel like you were slighting the other by choosing to host the wedding there?"

Jinx tapped a finger to her chin, having an idea.

"You know, that's a great idea," Jinx said. "What if we had the wedding on the bridge?"

"The bridge?" Lux asked.

"You know, the one that connects Piltover and Zaun?" Jinx asked.

"I know what you meant," Lux said. "I don't know that's a good idea. We'd block traffic ... and I really don't want to fall off the side. That's a long drop, and not everybody knows how to swim."

"Ooh, good point," Jinx sipped her cup again. "Oh well. We'll figure it out. Love you."

"Love you too," Lux said as Jinx smooched on the cheek before heading out the door and returning to work.

Jinx was feeling particularly tired and affectionate that evening, so she knocked off work early so she could return home to her family and cuddle with her fiancée. She wouldn't admit it, but the wedding planning was starting to weigh on her mind, and she wanted to spend less time on patrols and more time being around the people that she loved.

Unfortunately, her plans to cuddle with Lux on the couch while listening to the radio were cut short by her own tiredness and Enforcer discipline, which resulted in her tucking into bed early. After a good night wish from both Lux and Ren, Jinx tucked herself under the covers.

She didn't sleep for long. Jinx felt something was off and opened her eyes just slightly, being careful not to let whatever alien presence she had detected pick up that she was awake.

Keeping her eyes sharp, Jinx saw movement in the corner of the room.

Acting with lightning-quick reflexes from growing up in the rough Undercity and followed by rigorous Enforcer training, Jinx grabbed a side-arm that she kept in a hidden compartment just above the bed and fired at the intruder.

"Well," came a rough voice after Jinx's shot did no damage, "that complicates things."

Standing in the room was a buff, shirtless man with shackles hanging from his wrists, fuzz around his face like he had to make do with whatever shaving implements he could get his hands on, and oily dark hair.

"Who are you?" Jinx asked, mindful of the fact that her bullet seemed to have done no damage to him.

"I suppose it can't hurt to tell you. I'm Sylas."

"Why are you in my room at this hour of night, Mister Sylas?" Jinx asked.

"Ah, yes, messy business, that," Sylas answered. "It's about your sister."

"What about my sister?" Jinx took aim with her gun.

"Well, you see, Sheriff, I'm in the midst of a little trouble in Demacia," Sylas answered. "I'm trying to start a rebellion among the mages, you see. And it just so happens that your sister is a very powerful mage, so I was hoping to recruit her and hope she would lend her considerable power to the cause."

"None of this explains why you're in my room between seven and nine PM," Jinx said, getting up from the bed.

"You can tell what time it is?" Sylas asked, sounding impressed.

"In my line of work, you learn to keep a tight schedule, a good internal clock ... and be a light sleeper," Jinx said. "Where do I come in all this?"

"Oh, right, that," Sylas said. "Well, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but the mage rebellion is only just starter, and King Jarvan has already increased his calls and given new funding to his Mageseekers, so I can't afford for Vi to say no. So I was going to kidnap you to force her hand."

"Are you insane?" Jinx asked. "Even if you can kidnap me, it would turn Vi against you. I cannot think of anything that would make her want to help you less than kidnapping me."

"Not insane, Sheriff - just desperate," Sylas asked. "And desperate men take desperate actions."

"Well, you can forget about this desperate action," Jinx said. "Leave now, and I won't shoot you again and I'll talk to Vi about your situation in the morning."

"Ah, no, that won't do," Sylas said. "The clock is ticking, Sheriff. What was it you said just a moment? Something about having a tight schedule to keep?"

"Afraid you'll have to miss it," Jinx said. "You're not anywhere now."

Jinx fired a lethal shot straight at Sylas's head, but Sylas's head dispersed into shadow and mist, causing the shot to pass through without harming him and the bullet instead embedding into the wall rather than his skull.

"Shadow magic," Sylas said. "Nice fellow loaned to me. And I'd suggest you'd quit firing. We wouldn't want to disturb the rest of your family, would we?"

Jinx started looking around for another weapon - maybe if a gun wouldn't work, a blunt object would fare better against Sylas's shadow protection. But Sylas melted into the floor, emerged from Jinx's own shadow, and wrapped his arm around her neck, shadow tendrils appearing from his body and wrapping around Jinx to bind her.

"Easy," Sylas said as Jinx struggled. "Just go to sleep now, and this will all be over before you know it."

Jinx continued to fight, but Sylas kept her in a choke-hold and soon had her unconscious. With his task done, he threw Jinx over his shoulders and sank into the shadows on the floor, bringing Jinx with him through his portals and doorways of darkness.

"Jinx?" Lux asked, entering the bedroom moments after they were gone. "Is everything all right? I thought it was just the radio show on the first shot, but I realized something was wrong on the second ... Jinx?"

Lux looked around, but found no sight of Jinx.

Just a slip of pink paper on the bed.

Lux picked it up and read it over, and she grimaced at the note's contents.

Chapter Text

Lux ran a thumb over note, frowning and sighing to herself.

Another day, another misadventure, it seemed.

The door creaked, and Lux turned around and hid the note behind her back.

Ren looked around the room. "Where's Mom?"

"She ... went out," Lux lied, trying to spare Ren's feelings and keep her calm. "An old friend of hers' came by so she went out for dinner."

"She went out?" Ren asked. "But there's only one door. So either someone was both invisible and soundless came in and sneaked into Mom's room while both you and I weren't looking, convinced her to go out for dinner without telling either of us, and left without either of them making a sound, or you're lying to me." Ren crossed her arms. "What is it? What trouble is Mom in now?"

Damnit, Jinx, Lux found herself thinking. Why did you have train this kid to be so smart?

Lux handed Ren the note.

"This is terrible!" Ren declared after reading through the note. "What are we going to do?"

"Look, I know you were talking a big game about becoming an Enforcer like Jinx," Lux said, "but you are going to do nothing, you understand?"

Ren glared accusingly.

"Ren," Lux said firmly, "Jinx has been kidnapped. We can't afford to lose you too. Promise me you'll stay here - home, where it's safe."

Ren pursed her lips.

"Ren," Lux snapped. "I can't go after Jinx unless I know you're going to be safe."

"Fine," Ren said. "I promise."

Ren left.

"Teenagers," Lux muttered under her breath. "And she wants to be an Enforcer now. Why couldn't she find something normal to be rebellious about? Like rock music? ... Wait, I like rock music, maybe that's why."

Lux regarded the note, then tossed it onto the bed, almost like she was using it in place of Jinx as she crawled under the covers, not even bothering to change out of her clothes.

"As much as I want to take a dive and swim all the way to Demacia and strangle Sylas with my bare hands," Lux muttered to herself, trying to assure herself she was making the right choice and reminding herself of what Jinx would want her to do, "it's better if I want till morning, then I can tell the others and we can ask the Council for help."

Morning came, and Lux found Vi and Caitlyn and showed them the note and informed them of her current plans to visit the Council for aid and preparations.

"Ooh, this Sylas fellow!" Caitlyn fumed, steaming with rage. "I don't know who he is, but for the heinous crime of interrupting mine and Violet's wedding planning, I'm going to whip up a special batch of chems, use it to melt his face right off his skull, and hang it up on my wall!"

Vi cleared her throat. "And, also, you know, kidnapping my sister? That's kind of a bigger deal right now, Caitlyn."

Caitlyn blew a raspberry and waved her hand dismissively. "Jinx will be fine. I've kidnapped her loads of times!"

Vi sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Forget it. Let's just see what the Council can do."

They entered the building, approached the Council and showed them the ransom note.

"I was just telling Jinx yesterday Piltover cannot go without a Sheriff," Mel said.

"I'm sure Keppel and Mir will be able to hold down the fort until Lux and her friends are able to get Jinx back," Heimerdinger assured her. "You are planning on getting Jinx back, aren't you?"

"Yes," Lux replied. "That's why we're here, Council. We wanted your help."

"Whatever you need, it is yours," Mel said.

"Let's start with a ship," Lux said.

"I'll send word to the docks that you are on a mission of great importance and are to be allowed to commandeer any ship that you prefer," Mel said.

"Is this not the second time that someone has kidnapped one of their friends and we've needed to send them to Demacia?" Hoskel said. "At this rate we should give them their own ship!"

"I agree," Mel said, "but time is of the essence so we will have to make do. You'll find your own personal ship waiting for you once you get back from this mission."

"Thank you, Council," Lux said with a gracious bow. "We will need provisions as well."

"You'll have them," Mel said. "Whatever you need to bring our Sheriff back."

Lux gave them one last salute, and they headed outside to go to the docks.

But when they exited the Council building, they were confronted with the sight of an assembly of townsfolk, all equipped with various tools and instruments.

"What is this?" Caitlyn asked. "Is this an angry mob? Ooh, I've always wanted to be part of angry mob!" She pulled out of her chem-vials. "Who are we angry at!?"

"Why are you all out here!?" Lux shouted.

"We heard what happened!" one of them said.

"News travels fast," Vi muttered.

"We want our Sheriff back!" one of the other townsfolk said.

"We're coming with you!" another said. "Just consider us your personal army!"

They raised their improvised weapons and began shouting and clamoring for Sylas's head and for Jinx's safe return.

"NO," Vi shouted, in a voice so thunderously loud that it did the seemingly impossible job of quieting the crowd.

"Vi, are you sure?" Lux asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Vi said. She pointed her staff at the crowd. "You all know that I'm a mage, right?"

"Yes? And?" the crowd replied.

"You all know how powerful I am, right?" Vi held her staff up and put on a display, pink lightning and electricity hissing and crackling up and down the length of the staff.

"Yeah?" the crowd said.

"Sylas is another mage!" Vi shouted, pacing back and forth. "For all we know, he could just be as powerful as I am, and there's big difference between him and me! He doesn't care about your lives! He doesn't care if you get hurt, but I do! I know my sister, and Jinx would never forgive me I used you, the people of Piltover, as cannon fodder to rescue her! Most of you aren't even fighters! You!" Vi pointed at a random face towards the front of the crowd. "What do you do for a living?"

"Bake," the man sheepishly admitted. "Why, just yesterday, I gave Sheriff Jinx some donuts!"

"And you?" Vi asked, pointing the staff at another.
"I'm a botanist. I grow flowers ..." the woman said, already beginning to see Vi's point as she lowered the trowel she had grabbed with the intent to use as her weapon in Vi's would-be army.

"I know you want to come together," Vi said. "I know you care about Jinx, because she's your Sheriff and a damn good one, but you're no army. You're not soldiers. You're not even minutemen or militia. You can't all come with us to Demacia to fight."

The crown sagged. Many of them contemplated the weapons they were holding in, all improvised and borrowed from their professions from botany to painting to baking and gardening.

"But!" Caitlyn shouted before the wave of gloom and dejection could fully embrace the cloud. "The three of us are going on our super-special stealth infiltration mission to get Jinx back, and we could use supplies! We need enough provisions to last for a sailing trip to Demacia, so that's food, water, enough cash to match the Demacian exchange rate."

The crowd looked to each other. Like a swarm of active bees working in their hive, they set out to make care packages to send with Vi's team, all of them chatting over what they that they could afford to give away and discussing how they would package it up for transport.

"Wow, Caitlyn," Vi said. "That was a smooth move."

"Yeah," Lux said. "You channel their righteous anger into something more productive and gave them something to focus on."

"Well, you know," Caitlyn said with a shrug. "If I couldn't be part of an angry mob, I'll take what I can get." She regarded the chem-vial she had pulled out with the hope of angrily mobbing, then, without a care in the world, tossed it at the ground anyway and walked off. Vi quickly summoned a shield to contain the chem and its effects while glowering at Caitlyn from behind.

"My future wife the litterbug, everybody," Vi muttered while she waited for the chem to decay and lose potency inside her bubble.

Sometime later, Lux was sitting on the port bow with her head resting on her hands while the waves rocked behind them on their ship.

"Just once," Lux said to herself, "I'd like for all of us to going to Demacia not because someone kidnapped one of us. I promise you, we're not all this crazy!"

"Yeah," Vi said, pacing and passing by Lux. "Yeah."

Vi stopped, looking out to sea.

"Vi?" Lux asked. "What's the matter? You look like you've got a lot on your mind?"

"Sorry," Vi said. "It's just ... you brought up memories. Like you said ... not my first time dealing with Demacian kidnappers."

"Vi," Lux said in pleading, "I promise we're not all like that."

"Aren't you?" Vi said bitterly. "Maybe you don't remember. Maybe we've been pals long enough that you've completely forgotten how much you hated me when we first met - just for being a mage! How you didn't trust me and called me a freak of nature."

"I ..." Lux stammered. "I'm sorry. I know better now."

"Yeah, you do," Vi said. "But how many other Demacians still feel the same you did? Or even worse? How many of them hate and fear mages? And how many mages are suffering because of it?"

Vi grabbed at the railing on the side of the boat, squeezing it like a stress toy.

"I don't want to like Sylas," Vi said, "and I definitely don't want to trust him after he took Jinx. But ... he and I were in that Demcian prison together, and I can't help but think maybe ... maybe to him, this seems reasonable. Maybe he's so desperate for any advantage, any ally that he can get, that he's been forced into this."

"Vi, you can't feel sorry for him," Lux said. "He's the bad guy. He kidnapped Jinx, remember? He killed two guards during his escape!"

Vi looked at her. "No he didn't. Katarina killed those guards."

Lux laughed. "I forgot how much of a comedian you are, Vi! Katarina du Coutea? The Shadow Assassin? No one's ever laid eyes on her! If you'd seen her, you'd be dead before you could tell the tale!"

Vi stared hard.

"No way," Lux said. "You've ... seen Katarina? And she let you live? Why?"

"Probably because she wanted to use me as a weapon against Demacia," Vi said, "and you know something? If you and Jinx hadn't shown up to take me away and whisk me back to Piltover when you did, I might have let her."

Lux put her hands together and stared at the ship's floor.

The ship came to a stop, pulling into a harbor.

"We're here," Vi said.

She, Caitlyn and Lux disembarked the ship.

There on the harbor, waiting for them was a woman with dark and darker clothes, with purple streaks around her face and black fuzz accenting parts of her outfit.

"Who are you?" Vi asked. "Wait ... I think I've seen you before. Lux, do you know her?"

"I've never seen her before in my life," Lux said. "She almost looks like Morgana, but that can't be right - she's a myth. She disappeared from Demacia a long time ago, if she ever existed in the first place."

Morgana nodded. "I am indeed known as Morgana. Come." She extended her hand. "I will guide you to where Sylas is keeping Jinx."

"You know where they are?" Vi asked.

"Can you take us straight to Jinx?" Lux asked.

"What would happen if I threw this chem in your face?" Caitlyn asked.

Lux and Vi glared at her.

"What?" Caitlyn asked. "One of us has to ask the important questions, you know!"

"I am sorry," Morgana said. "My sympathies with Sylas's cause. I regret that it has come to this, and I apologize for the pain separating your sister from you has caused. But Sylas has placed in trust in me, and I will not break that trust now by showing you a path to Jinx that does not involve him."

"So you're working with him," Vi said bitterly. "You're one of his underlings."

Morgana laughed. "Underling? If anything, he is my underling, carrying out events set in motion long before any of you were born. I am far older than he. Now ... will you accept my offer to escort you, or would you prefer to find your path?"

Vi, Caitlyn and Lux all exchanged looks.

"What have we got to lose?" Lux asked.

"She could be leading us into a trap," Vi said. "Could have found out about Sylas and us on her own and is trying to take advantage of it."

"Violet, please," Morgana said. "I wish to see the mages protected just as much you. I understand you have reason to mistrust me and anything I say, but follow me, and no harm will come to you. And if you choose to find your own path, I will protect on it how I can."

"Why does she keep talking like that?" Caitlyn whispered. "Find your own path'? What does that mean?"

"All right, lady," Vi said, stepping forward. "Take us to Sylas. But I'm warning you now, if I find out you're playing us ..." Vi pointed her staff at Morgana.

"You need not worry about that," Morgana said, "I am not ... playing you. But while I would never want to infringe on your freedom to choose, I must warn you against any path that would lead you to try and strike me and make an enemy. I promise you, it will not end well for you. Now, shall we go?"

"Uh, yeah," Vi said, a little put-off by Morgana's casual threat.

Morgana led them to a mountain and on a winding path that wove in and around that mountain before bringing up towards the base of one.

"We're here," Morgana said.

"We are?" Lux asked doubtfully. "There's nothing here. Not even a cave."

"There's something," Vi said. "I don't know if it's an illusion or the rock is enchanted to move, but there's something. I can sense magic here."

Morgana smiled. "Right you are, Violet. I'm sorry, but we have become distrustful of non-mages as of late, so I would ask that your companions remain here to wait for you."

"Nun-uh, no, not happening," Lux said. "We're going to stay right by Vi's side, thank you. That was a mistake Sylas made when he kidnapped Jinx. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

"Well," Caitlyn said in a tone that made it clear her heart wasn't in it.

"Caitlyn," Vi chided.

"All right, fine," Caitlyn said.

"Your committment to your comrades is admirable," Morgana said with a smile. "Exscuse me while I talk to Sylas and inform of your arrival."

Morgana put her hand on the side of the rock, then stepped forward and disappeared into it, slipping through it as though it were merely murky water rather than solid rock.

They waited, but Morgana did not keep them waiting for long, seemingly stepping right back out at once.

"Sylas extends his greetings to you," Morgana said. "All three of you. Come in and welcome."

Vi led the way, stepping through the rock, Caitlyn and Lux following when Vi assured them it was safe.

Entering the mountain, despite what it looked like on the outside, inside was a complex and spacious network of caves and caverns lit up by pink torches colored with the unmistakable hue of magic.

Whoever besides Sylas had taken up residence in this cave had taken measures to sculpt and carve it into something livable and worthy of being a base of operations. Vi spotted at least two guards standing watch over ragged railing that seemed to be twisted from the rock itself.

"Welcome, welcome!" Sylas said, greeting them with an exuberance more befitting the host of a lavish mansion than the desperate, cutthroat leader of a fledgling rebellion.

Vi, Caitlyn and Lux all took up fighting stances.

"Ah, so it's going to be like that, is it?" Sylas said. "Pity we couldn't start our partnership on a more trusting and comfortable note. You're welcome to despise me as much as you wish, but I would strongly discourage you from opening fire. There are several mages here who are ready to fight for their freedom, and as much as I would rather have you with us than against us, if we have to disarm you instead - or worse ... so be it."

Lux looked to Vi for directions.

Vi lowered her staff and gave Lux a nod, and Lux reluctantly lowered her fists.

"Will you at least show us where you're keeping my sister?" Vi asked.

"That I can do," Sylas said. "Come."

Sylas started walking, and Vi's group followed him. Along the way, Vi regarded the two guards keeping their overlooking watch, and sensed not only that they were both mages, but that they were also many other mages lurking nearby, hidden. Perhaps with the same magic Sylas had used to kidnap Jinx with barely a sound.

Sylas brought them to a prison cell built into and out of the rock of the mountain, where Jinx was lying on her side. For a prison cell, Sylas and his troops had done their best to make it comfortable, as Jinx was lying on two pillows and there was a folding chair in the cell.

"Jinx," Sylas knocked on the cell doors, making quite the racket when he banged the bars with the manacle on his wrist. "You have visitors."

Jinx remained still on the ground.

"Jinx," Sylas said. "I've been watching you. I can tell when you're faking it so you don't have to talk to me. And I should mention that your visitors include your sister."

This roused Jinx, and she opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Vi was there. She got to her feet.

"Vi," Jinx said.

"Jinx," Vi said back. "Sylas, could we talk alone?"

Sylas pursed his lips.

"Please," Vi said.

"On one condition," Sylas said."You promise me that you will not do anything to break her out while I leave you alone."

"You have my word," Vi said.

"Excellent," Sylas said. "I'll leave you be. But I'll be close by, so don't try anything."

They watched closely, making sure Sylas went far enough for their liking.

"All right," Jinx said once they were sure they were as alone as they were ever going to be. "So, what's your plan to break me out of here?"

"Plan?" Vi asked. "There is no plan, I gave Sylas my word."

"So?" Jinx asked. "He's a criminal, Vi! You can't trust him!"

"So were you!" Vi said. "Remember? We did that job on Jayce's penthouse when we were younger! And I was still a criminal for years after we got separated! Do you not trust me?"

Jinx tightened her fingers around the bars of the cell.

"I do trust you," Jinx said. "But Sylas ..."

"What?" Vi asked. "What has Sylas done that I haven't done, Pow-Pow?"

Jinx narrowed her eyes. "You never kidnapped me from my home."

"I have held people hostage before," Vi said, "working for Mylo and Claggor."

"You almost sound sympathetic towards him," Jinx said.

"Well, maybe I am!" Vi snapped. "You're the only who's been kidnapped by Demacians, remember? They grabbed me in the dead of night, crossing the sea just to lock me up for being a mage! I can't imagine what Sylas did, or rather, didn't do, to be locked up the way he was when I first saw him!"

Vi tightened her grip on her staff.

"Maybe I shouldn't help Sylas," Vi said, "but Demacia is cruel to mages, for no good reason I can see."

Jinx pursed her lips.

"Vi," Lux said, but Vi waved her hand and rebuffed her attempts at comfort and left the room.

"Sylas," Vi said, calling his name when she found him.

"All done with your family chat already?" Sylas asked.

"For now," Vi answered. "What all do I have to do to get you to let my sister go?"

Sylas narrowed her eyes. "You're willing to cooperate?"

"Yes," Vi said. "That is why you kidnapped my sister, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sylas said. "I just wasn't expecting you to be so willing. I'd expected that we have to fight and argue and negotiate a lot more."

"Maybe I would have helped you outright if you had just asked," Vi said.

"You have to understand, Vi, a man in my position has to take certain risks," Sylas said. "I couldn't take the chance that you would say no."

"Uh-huh," Vi said. "So instead of asking me directly and taking the chance that I might say no, you kidnap my sister to force my hand, guaranteeing you my help but making me less sympathetic to you and resenting you."

Sylas's eyes widened. "Well ... when you put it that way, it sounds rather poorly thought out."

"Yeah. That's because - say it with me now - it was poorly thought out," Vi said, bonking Sylas on the head with the tip of her staff. Then she bonked him again. Bonk bonk bonk bonkitty-bonk.

"All right," Sylas grabbed the staff tip to stop Vi's scolding bonking. "You've made your point."

"Good," Vi said, placing her staff down.

"Are there ... any other mage cells?" Vi asked.

"Why do you ask?" Sylas replied.

"Because I'm wondering if I can help the mages without having to involve you," Vi said.

Sylas frowned. "Am I so repugnant to you?"

"You did kidnap my sister," Vi said. "Even if you do have a good reason for what you did, and I use the word 'good' loosely, I find that hard to forgive."

"Fair point, fair point," Sylas muttered. He cupped his chin.

"All right," Sylas said. "I admit, I may have made a mistake."

"You don't say," Vi said.

"Tell you what," Sylas said. "I'll make it up to you. Do one thing for me. Just one - and I'll let your sister go."

Vi raised an eyebrow, hopeful and intrigued but also wisely skeptical.

"Just one?" Vi asked.

"Yes," Sylas said. "I have plans for our rebellion tomorrow. I'm going to put on something of a demonstration. All I ask you of you is for you to give out a signal with your magic."

"A signal," Vi said.

"That's it," Sylas said. "One signal, and you, your sister, and your other friends are free to go."

"I have your word?" Vi asked.

Sylas laughed, then extended his hand. "My word."

Vi went to shake his head, then narrowed her eyes, remembering his abilities, and instead used the tip of her staff to substitute for her hand.

"So that's it, then?" Lux asked after Vi had briefed her and Caitlyn to bring them up to speed. "You're just going to work with that maniac?"

"I don't know that I would call him a maniac," Vi said.

"Vi," Lux said in pleading.

"What? What, Lux?" Vi asked. "Are you going to tell me he's a criminal?"

Vi waved her staff at Caitlyn's direction.

Caitlyn waved and smiled, happy to be the subject of Vi's attention, even if it was only for Vi to make a point.

"I'll do this one thing for him, and then we can go home," Vi said.

"Supposedly," Lux said.

Sylas's group furbished Vi's team with decent lodgings given what they had to work. The rock-shaping mages made beds that, while being made of rock, were not totally comfortable, were at least smooth, and their blankets weren't much, just whatever cloth they could scrounge.

Caitlyn had no problem with it. Vi supposed Caitlyn gotten used to sleeping whereever in the Undercity. Lux tossed and turned. She hadn't been to her family's bed in some time, but she was still used to Piltover apartment beds and was having trouble with solid rock.

Vi, however, did not sleep. Vi paced and walked about in their room.

"You do not trust Sylas."

Vi spun around and pointed her staff, sighing when she saw it was only Morgana.

"Not the biggest fan of people who sneak up behind me at night either," Vi said.

"Forgive me," Morgana said. "It was not my intent to alarm you."

Vi lowered her staff. "What do you want?"

"To talk to you," Morgana answered.

"What about?" Vi asked.

"Your commitment, I suppose," Morgana asked.

"I don't know," Vi said. "Lux and Jinx keep telling me I shouldn't work with him ..."

"But you have witnessed the treatment of mages," Morgana said.

Morgana sighed.

"Sylas is not a perfect man. He has become embittered by his many years in prison. I believe he does still truly desire the mages' liberation. For that reason, he has my support. But he has become too willing to towards cruelty and brutality when he need not, and I worry he may decide to sacrifice something or someone when sacrifice is uncalled for."

"You sound like you have a lot of conflicted feelings," Vi said. "Why support him at all?"

"There was a time, Violet, when mages walked freely in the streets of Demacia, and magic was used everywhere," Morgana said. "I would see that time return."

"Could I ask you to call me Vi?"

"Apologies," Morgana said. "I can abide by such a request."

Vi let out a wolf-whistle, just noticing the wings tucked in by Morgana's sides.

"Damn, lady, you got some nice wings," Vi said.

"You like them?" Morgana asked. "I must admit I'm not fond of them myself. I'd remove them if I could. But such a thing was beyond my power, so I settled for binding them."

Vi looked Morgana, only now noticing the chains that followed her being.

"Why?" Vi asked. "If I had wings like that, I'd use them. I'd fly everywhere."

Morgana smiled softly.

"You still walk with a staff," Morgana said. "Yet, as I understand it, you've mastered control over your magic. Why is that?"

Vi held her staff up.

"To remind myself, I guess," Vi said. "That just because I can access my full power, doesn't mean I should or have to."

Morgana nodded. "And so you find the answer to your question."

"Hmm," Vi said.

"I believe I've taken up enough of your time," Morgana said. "Sleep well, Vi. Get some rest. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yeah ... yeah, I should do that," Vi said. "Thanks," she added, but Morgana had already gone.

"So run this by me one more time," Vi said as she followed Sylas through a Demacian village.

"Must I? The King is supposed to be in this village today to extract tribute and generally make a big showing of how holy and kingly he is," Sylas answered. "I merely intend to talk with him. All I ask you to do is protect me with your shield magic and send the signal when I ask - if I ask."

"If?" Vi asked.

"I'm not some unthinking violent brute, Vi," Sylas answered. "My intent is to appeal the king and ask him to stop the persecution of mages."

"And if he doesn't?" Vi asked.

"That's why you're here," Sylas said. He held out his hand. "Wait. Stop. We need to hide. Quickly."

Sylas pulled her behind a house.

"Not that I'm not used to hiding," Vi said, recalling when she hid from Enforcers fairly regularly under Vander's care, "but why?"

"Look," Sylas pointed, and Vi saw a trio of purple-clad fellows with masks that covered nearly everything but their mouths going around and knocking on doors, flashing their badges and asking questions.

"Mageseekers," Sylas said. "They prowl around the countryside, looking for signs and hints of mages and magic so they can chain it or kill it."

"And they're just allowed to go around knocking on random houses?" Vi asked. "That doesn't seem fair."

"It's not," Sylas said with a deep rumbling growl that made clear to Vi that, for as much as she had seen of Sylas, she had yet to see him truly angry. "All the more reason us to do what we're doing."

They waited and watched as the mageseekers carried a young man off while his parents watched, helpless, then Sylas led Vi outward and they found a wooden platform in the middle of town.

"Town square, perfect," Sylas said, helping Vi up onto the stage.

"People of Demacia!" Sylas called, and several passers-by stopped to give him their attention.

"For too long now has King Jarvan the IV hunted down the mages and their kin! But I am here to tell you now, as a mage myself, you have nothing to fear from us! All we want is to live in peace. Simply give us this simple courtesy, and we will not hurt you. We desire the same things as all of you - a roof over our heads, food in our bellies. We do not have your destruction in mind, no matter what Jarvan and his minions put into your heads!"

Sylas smiled as the King rode up on a horse, flanked by guards and staring at Sylas.

"And here is the good king now!" Sylas said.

"Why is this criminal being allowed to roam the streets?" King Jarvan asked. "Is there not a brave man among you? Or are you all mages and mage-hiders?"

"Your Majesty, please!" Sylas said. "I am here to ask an appeal of you."

"An appeal," Jarvan said disdainfully. "Very well. Speak your appeal."

"Your Majesty, great king Jarvan, fourth of his name," Sylas said, "I know a mage took your father from you. But that was the action of one man! I ask you, stop this crusade against my kinfolk. Give us peace, and we will give you peace in return."

"Bah!" Jarvan said. "I will not. Every one of you mage is a dangerous insurgent - a time bomb waiting to happen! You can't control your magic, and you can't control yourselves."

"So," Sylas said, "you will continue to hunt us? To hound us and threaten us with petracite and being burnt at the stake?"

"It is what I must do to keep Demacia safe," Jarvan said.

"So because one mage hurt you, all the mages must suffer?" Sylas asked. "The many must suffer for the crimes of the one?"

"Naturally," Jarvan said. "That is the nature of mages."

Sylas chuckled, frowning before breaking into a smile.

"Well, it's unfortunate that we couldn't come to an accord, Your Majesty, but I'm glad to hear you say that, so I can do this without regrets," Sylas said. "Vi! Send the signal!"

Vi tapped her staff to the ground, and a strike of pink lightning shot up from her staff and into the sky.

"What have you done?" Jarvan asked, having to work to calm his horse.

"Congratulations, Vi - you're free to go," Sylas said.

"That's it?" Vi asked.

"That's it," Sylas said.

An explosion rung out from behind them, the smell of smoke and fire filled the air, and the ground shook and rumbled.

"What have you done!?" Jarvan repeated as the sounds of chaos erupted around them. Pillars of smoke rose in the horizon, thunder crackled overhead, and all around could be heard the sounds of normal, every-day Demacians, crying out for an impotent king to save them from the mages' wrath.

Chapter Text

Katarina's blade embedded itself in the side of the training dummy, striking what would certainly be a lethal blow. But the blade struck and Katarina had to pry and pull to get it out, meaning its performance was unsatisfactory. Katarina was no mere executioner, she was an assassin. She did not have the luxury to pause and savor her kill. She needed her blades to cut through, cleanly and swiftly, and pass through with ease that she could recover her weapon and move on to the nex.

She jerked it her weapon free of the training dummy and carefully tapped a glove hand to the edge of the blade, testing its sharpness to see if she could make the necessary changes by herself with a grindstone of if she was going to have hire a professional. She established relationships with a few. When one is Noxian, it pays to not only have a good working relationship with the providers of services, but to cultivate allies, and multiple allies, should one of them prove treacherous and increase the need to rely on the others.

"Sister," Cassiopeia said, slithering into the room, "I've just received a most curious report from our spies! Apparently your girlfriend has returned to Demacia."

"I've had many girlfriends," Katarina said. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific."

"The shield mage," Cassiopeia said. "The one with the pink hair? What was her name?"

"Vi?" Katarina said. "How did you forget her name? She literally has it tattooed on her face."

"She was your girlfriend, not mine," Cassiopeia said.
"Also not my girlfriend," Katarina said. She examined her reflection in one of her blades. "Just someone who could be used against Demacia ... speaking of which, do we know why she is in Demacia?"

"As of yet, no," Cassiopeia. "My spies are trying to figure that out."

"Well," Katarina idly sliced across the training dummy's head with the tip of her sword for her amusement despite her prior dissatisfaction with the sword's performance, neatly beheading the dummy, "perhaps we should go pay her visit and she'll be so good as to tell us."

With smoke still drifting through the skies, Jarvan's eyes burned with fury and hate, yet also something else, at least to Vi. Vi thought she saw something else besides anger in them - something like regret, or fear. Or perhaps that was wishful thinking on her part.

Jarvan and his escorts flinch as another deafening boom rang across the sky.

"Again I ask you," Jarvan said, pointing his sword at Sylas, "what have you done!?"

"Oh, grow up!" Sylas snapped. "Did you think the mages would be content to live under your brutality forever, Jarvan? You ... you're the new king! We all hoped that you might be different - that you would bring in a change to the regime! But you're intent on keeping the things the same as ever, and for some of us, that just won't do! You can't lock us up and torture and bully us forever and not expect us to fight back. This was always going to happen - all I did was push the time table up a little."

Jarvan narrowed his and tightened his grip on his weapon's hilt.

"Perhaps you're right," Jarvan said. "Maybe this was inevitable. Then again, perhaps the mages will learn their lesson and go back to the way things were when I show them your head, murderer!"

Jarvan's horse charged, and Sylas dodged out of the way, but for all the criticism that could be levied at Jarvan for his kingship, his horsemanship skills were much better, and he turned around with ease and went for another pass faster than Sylas could duck again, and would have killed or at least seriously injured Sylas, were it not for the sudden appearance of a sparkling pink barrier that absorbed Jarvan's blow.

"What sorcery is this!?" Jarvan shouted.

"Yeah, hi, that'd be me," Vi said, Jarvan turning his gaze to her.

"And you are?" Jarvan asked.

"Name's Vi," Vi answered. "Stands for vindication. I won't let you hurt Sylas. He's right. You and your Mageseekers are so cruel to mages, and for what? To hold on to your power? To punish them for something they had no choice in? No one chooses to be born a mage."

"This man is a murderer and a dangerous rebel who threatens Demacia," Jarvan said, pointing his weapon at Sylas. "Whatever he's told you, he's lying. Help me arrest or dispose of him, and I will see to it that you are treated fairly - perhaps even given a reward."

"So you're not even consistent," Vi said. "Some mages get rewarded and others get punished? Is that what it is? Is the only difference whether the mages work for you or not? Thanks, but no thanks, you giant hypocrite."

Jarvan sneered.

Vi flicked her hand, and Jarvan shouted and cried out in alarm when he was encased in one of Vi's bubbles and was subsequently floated off his horse and down onto the ground before Vi dismissed the bubble.

"Very well! If it's a duel on foot that you want, I'll oblige!" Jarvan said, raising his weapon up.

"Nah," Vi said. "I just wanted to be sure I wasn't going to hurt your horse."

Vi thrust her palm forward, and a lightning bolt shot out from it and struck Jarvan and sent him flying.

Vi ran over to Sylas and helped him up.

"Time to go," Vi said.

"Agreed," Sylas replied, and they started running.

The Mageseekers they had seen earlier blocked their path, the group running towards the sounds of the commotion and drawing their weapons.

"Careful, Thundercloud," Sylas said. "They have petricite weapons. They can deflect your magic and it won't work on them."

"On just the weapons?" Vi asked, smirking. She waved her hand and an arc of lighting from her fingertips and struck each Mageseeker in a chain, the lightning bouncing from one to the other until they were all seizing up from Vi's electrocution. Their bodies fell over in smoking, crumpled heaps, and Vi and Sylas ran past, stepping over them.

"I'm impressed," Sylas said. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I've spilled blood before," Vi said, "but these days I try to be better than that. I didn't kill them, Sylas, I just knocked them out."

"Shame," Sylas said. "Three less Mageseekers in the world could have only been a good thing."

"Yeah, maybe," Vi answered. "Come on."

Sylas and Vi returned to the enclave.

"They're back!" a mage announced. "Hey, everyone! Vi and Sylas are back!"

"That went well, all things considered," Sylas said.

Lux approached and crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Yes, there is the slight matter of your Sheriff," Sylas replied. "Of course I had been considering letting her go, but given what happened during our mission and the fact the boy king might have speared me if it hadn't been for Vi, I'm beginning to think that perhaps I should keep her awhile longer instead."

"Sylas, please," a mage said, a young man with curly locks. "You promised."

Sylas exchanged looks with a disgruntled Vi and glaring Lux.

"Fine," Sylas said. "Very well. Come with me."

Sylas raised his hand and made a few signals, and a pair of mages approached to join. He escorted Vi, Lux and Caitlyn towards Jinx's cell, and there the other mages reshaping the rock until the bars were cleared and Jinx could easily step out of what had once been her prison cell.

"Thank you," Vi said, "for keeping your promise."

"Even if you needed a reminder to do it," Lux said.

"You're ... welcome," Sylas said in a hesitant voice that gave away the fact that he wasn't used to people expressing gratitude for his actions.

"So, shall we go home?" Jinx asked.

"Yes, please, I'm so tired of this musty cave," Caitlyn said. "You'd think I'd like being in a dark, cramped place like this, but there's just some charm to Zaun's alleyways and sewers that this rock lacks."

Jinx, Caitlyn and Lux all started walking towards the exit. But it didn't take long for them to realize Vi wasn't with them.

"Vi?" Jinx asked. "Are you coming?"

Vi curled her fingers around her staff and pursed her lips.

"Vi?" Jinx asked with concern.

"No," Vi answered. "I'm not. I'm staying."

"What?" Jinx asked.

"Look, is Sylas the greatest guy in the world? No," Vi said, pointing her staff at him. "Was it rude for him to kidnap you? Yes. Do I trust him? Also no. But things are bad for the mages here. I've see what the Mageseekers are like. I watched them patrol the streets. So ... I'm going to stay here. I'm going to help for the mages' freedom."

"Really?" Jinx and Sylas asked in stunned disbelief.

"Really," Vi answered, nodding sagely. "I know you'll want to get back to Piltover and Ren, Jinx, so I won't ask you to stay and help me. But I can't leave yet."

Jinx looked at Lux and Caitlyn.

"You don't have to," Jinx said, walking back towards Vi. "Ask, that is. I'm staying here with you. I'll help you and the mages."

Lux sighed. "And you know if Jinx is staying, I'm staying."

The three of them looked at Caitlyn, noticing that she was being much slower to stay and offer her assistance than the rest of them.

"What, so because you all are forgoing the comforts of home means I have to as well?" Caitlyn groaned. "Okay, fine, I'll stay and help with your dumb rebellion. I'd miss Vi if I went home by myself anyway. Besides, you should be flattered, Sylas - you'll never win this fight without a genius like me helping you!"

"Oh, I'm sure," Sylas said, his doubting tone making it clear he knew about Caitlyn's reputation.

"Honest!" Caitlyn said. "In every fight we've been in, these three would have been helpless without me to back them up! Right, girls?"

All three of them, Vi included despite being Caitlyn's fiancee, all twiddled their hands and hemmed and hawed.

"Oh, who needs you?" Caitlyn said, storming out of the room before walking right back in. "Oh right, I do. SIGH."

"... did you really just say 'sigh' out loud?" Sylas asked.

"Yes," Caitlyn said. "It's called communication, Sylas. It's what people do to express their thoughts and feelings. You might try it sometime."

Sylas gawked, jaw dropped.

"Is she always like this?" Sylas asked, pointing a thumb at Caitlyn.

"Oh, you have no idea," Vi answered.

"Sometimes she's worse," Jinx said.

"If you're going to fight with us, you may as well know our names," Sylas said, bringing the group out of the room. He clapped his hands twice, making an echo that carried throughout the cavern. "Everyone, listen up! This fine people from Piltover have decided they are going to join our cause."

"For real?" asked the young mage from before.

"Yes, little one," Vi said with a bow. "For real."

"Their names are Violet, Jinx, Lux, and Caitlyn," Sylas introduced them. "And these fine mages you see before are Aiden, Gideon, Yops. Leilani, and Rukko."

"Hello, mages!" Caitlyn said with a wave. "Science is so much better than magic, and I pity all of you for having been born the way you are - but fear not, I will share my gifts and insights with you and show you the path to true power and lift you up from your inadequacy!"

"Please disregard my colleague's insulting and insensitive statements," Jinx said. "She can be a useful ally in your fight, even if her behavior can be a little ... erratic. We understand the struggle you're going through and are willing to do what we can to help - but I have one small request to make before we."

"And that would be?" Leilani asked, stepping forward.

"We cannot operate fully comfortably in this group while Sylas is the leader, and I request he step down before we help you," Jinx said.

Leilani laughed.

"Where did you get that impression?" Leilani said. "Sylas isn't the leader. I am."

Jinx looked at Sylas, who looked bashful, and Leilani.

"You are?" Jinx asked.

"Yes, and I try to keep an open ear," Leilani said. "I would rather we have a council and communal leadership, but our numbers are too few for that to be effective."

"I ... see," Jinx said. "Well, that's acceptable, then. What can we do for you right now?"

Leilani motioned for them to follow her, and they began making plans and carrying out tasks.

Sylas was brooding by himself under the door to his room, no matter how he tried to spin to both himself and others that brooding absolutely, totally wasn't what he was doing.

"Hey," Jinx said, approaching him. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about the whole kidnapping thing," Sylas said with a dismissive wave of his hands. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about," Jinx said.

Sylas raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "All right, Sheriff. You've piqued my interest. Go on ..."

Jinx went to stand under the door frame opposite of Sylas. She cupped her chin, struggling to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"You don't have to be like this," Jinx said.

"Pardon?" Sylas said. "I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate."

"This," Jinx said, gesturing to him in a way that he didn't particularly helpful or clarifying. "You don't always have to straight for the maximum, most cutthroat play imaginable. I understand you were alone for a long time. You spent several years in a prison by yourself. But you don't have to so hard and cold and cruel in order to get what you want done. Despite your flaws, you are fighting for a just cause. You have that working in your favor. So you don't always have to look into the most extreme option as your first choice. You're not the leader, but you sure let us think that. Did you even tell anyone else about your plan to kidnap me? Hell, did you even tell Morgana, or did she just figure it out on her own with her magic?"

Sylas didn't meet Jinx's gaze.

"I've talked to the other mages here," Jinx said. "A lot of them look up to you. That Rukko boy, especially. A lot of them were starting to lose hope that they could win, or even make progress, until they had a big-profile person like you join them. You inspire them."

Sylas raised his brow at her. "And the reason you're telling me all this?"

"The way they talk about, you seem like a hero who crashed out of the sky and into their lives to give them hope again," Jinx said. "That doesn't sound at all like the desperate, immoral criminal I know you as, so I have to wonder what you're showing them that you're not showing me."

Sylas pursed his lips.

"I'd like to meet this hero Sylas," Jinx said before leaving him to stew and mull over her words.

Recovered from his ordeal with Vi and Sylas and returned to his castle, Jarvan Lightshield the IV stood on a balcony overlooking the kingdom - the kingdom that he had never wanted to preside over, and especially not at his young age compared to when his father or grandfather had ascended to the throne. He had long hoped that his parents would spawn another heir and that he could then leave the kingdom to pursue his own interests while his sibling would be left holding the crown. But no such heir ever materialized, and while he had his own wants and desires, he still had enough of a sense of duty to not abandon his post and take the throne when his father, Jarvan III, was cut down. He presumed, by mages, because no one else could have possibly have entered the castle, killed the king, and left without a trace, without being seen. No one could have possibly gotten through a castle this size and with this many people living it, without being observed unless they were magic.

Though ... in his dark moments, Jarvan would admit to doubts. To considering that maybe there was an assassin, or worse yet, a guild of assassins, who were just that skilled, and that it was a mage was just something one of the Mageseekers or some other noble had concocted and sold to Jarvan to advance their own agenda, and Jarvan, poor, young, pitiable, prince-ascendant Jarvan in sore need of guidance and consolation, had fully accepted and publicly endorsed this story, fully internalizing it in the midst of his mourning and never thinking to question it in his grief. But now ...

Jarvan sighed. At least most of the immediate fires had been put out, and there no longer pillars of smoke all over the country. Stray wisps still smoldered here and there, but for now the worst of the mages' opening salve had been defended against and neutralized, and the Mageseekers had caught at least few of the mages involved in the attack.

But what about the next time? The mages weren't going to make a public statement like this and then just stop and back off. This was all but a declaration of war. That they were tired of living in the shadows, scurrying like rats, eking out meager existences off the generosity and secret-keeping of others. They had enough, and they were willing to fight for better conditions and treatment, or die or be imprisoned in the process of earning such things for their fellows.

Jarvan didn't know what to do. He had seized on the campaign against the mages since that was what his advisors were telling him, and, at least at the time, it seemed a good way to rally the people to his side and ensure his ascension to the throne would not go unchallenged. Now it seems it had bought him the loyalty of some, while forever earning him the scorn and resentment of others.

He needed advice. He needed guidance.

He needed, he realized, to call a meeting.

Jarvan called the voices he trusted, as well the voices he would need to cooperate with him if he was to take any meaningful, decisive action against the mage rebellion. The voices who he knew could undermine his authority or maneuver their own agents and assents around him in ways he wasn't politically savvy enough to see.

Shyvana, his love, of course. Lord Eldred of the Mageseekers. Tianna and Garen Crownguard, the latter Captain of the Vanguard. Wisteria and Killian of the Mageseekers were in attendance as well. The reason for Killian's presence eluded him, but he understood Wisteria as Eldred's understudy.

"Thank you for answering my summons," Jarvan said. "No doubt you are all aware of the violence that happened earlier today."

"Several of my men had to answer to that violence," Garen said.

"Yes," Jarvan said. "I've called you here to discuss what we will do about this violence. The mages have rebelled before, but never so loudly and boldly in such a ... coordinated assault. Demacia can ill afford for the mages to present a united front, so I would have you advise me on what to do."

"What do the mages want?" Shyvana asked.

"Excuse me?" Wisteria asked.

"What are the mages motivated by?" Shyvana asked. "Perhaps if we knew what they wanted so badly they were willing to stage an attack like this, we might be able to negotiate with them - even if we can't fully give them what they want, perhaps we could come to an accord."

"Your pet dragon suggests allying and giving in to terrorists, my king," Wisteria said.

Shyvana glared at her.

"Here is what I propose," Wisteria said, speaking as though she had command of the Mageseekers already. "Mass executions to warn away any of those who would consider giving the mages aid and succor. The Mageseekers have keeping a list of suspected mages for just such an occasion as when we would need their numbers. We can have them arrested before down."

"Mass executions!?" Shyvana said. "Listen to yourself!"

"I agree," Garen said. "That is outrageous. We should be trying to save Demacia, not cover it in more blood!"

"Killing the mages is saving Demacia, and it saddens me to hear you don't realize that, Captain," Wisteria said.

"If you kill anyone you even suspect of being a mage, who are you even protecting Demacia from at that point?" Shyvana asked. "Do the lives of the people mean nothing to you? Do you insist on seeing every last mage dead, even if you kill the entire population in the process?"

"Don't speak to me of protection, beast," Wisteria said, "and I know you have a personal stake in this."

"Hmm," Jarvan said.

"Jarvan, you can't seriously even be considering this!" Shyvana shouted.

"What would you have me do instead, Shyvana?" Jarvan replied. "I need solutions and I need them quickly!"

"I will grant that an extreme approach is not out of the question, but perhaps a more measured response is called for," Tianna interjected. "Rather than mindless executions, we could simply crackdown and arrest more of the mages and their suspected allies? That way we would still send the message across that aiding the mages will not be tolerated, but the people would still understand we are on their side - so long as they abide by our laws, those same laws will protect them."

"Listening to all of you makes me sick," Shyvana said. "I thought this meeting was to figure out how to stop a rebellion and restore peace, not find ways to entrench your power and flex your muscles!"

"You seem to be under the mistaken impression there is a difference," Tianna said.

Shyvana huffed, fire shooting out of her nostrils.

"I am leaving this meeting at once," Shyvana said. "If and when you are willing to consider actual solutions, and not just how you can better impose your will on others, you may consider recalling me."

"Shyvana! Shyvana, wait!" Jarvan called in vain as Shyvana left the room, the doors slamming shut behind her.

"It is for the best, Your Majesty," Wisteria said. "Someone like her was never going to put forward the solutions that we needed."

"Still," Killian spoke up after being silent for so long, "I think perhaps she has a point. Responding to this escalation of violence with yet another escalation of violence does not seem a wise path."

Wisteria glared at him. "Whose side are you on, Killian? The mages, or Demacia's?"

"Demacia's," Killian assured her. "But unlike you, Wisteria, I'd like to believe there exists a future for Demacia that involves less violence, not more."

"There is one thing I still don't understand," Garen said. "You said there was a shield-mage with pink lightning in the village, Your Majesty?"

"Yes?" Jarvan answered.

"Throughout all my career and from all my reports, I have only ever heard of one mage who matches that description - and she is a citizen of Piltover, not Demacia," Garen said. "What would have compelled her to come here, much less join Sylas in this attack?"

"Does it matter?" Wisteria asked. "The fact is she has cast her lot in with that terrorist. That alone proves her guilt."

"Well, Shyvana certainly had the right idea about one thing," Jarvan said, getting up from his seat. "I'm leaving this meeting. I find that the events of the day have taken their toll on me, and I have a headache and am in sore need of rest. I will sleep on it and hope a better solution appears to me in the morning with a clearer head. You're free to use the room and continuing discussing the matter without me - but do not take any actions without my approval, understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," echoed throughout the room.

"Sylas!" Rukko came running to Sylas with a flier. "Sona's holding a concert! Attendance is free! Can we go?"

Sylas took the flier and looked it over with an expression of concern. "I don't know ... this seems like a poor time to be going out for pleasure, and there's a chance you'll get caught."

"But Sona's doing this because of what we're doing! See?" Rukko tapped the back of the flier and Sylas turned it over. "She's trying to raise awareness of the issue and bring healing! I've always wanted to go to one of her concerts, but the tickets were too expensive."

Sylas read the flier over. "Based on this, Sona seems ... well-intention, but misinformed. Most people are aware of the issue. What they don't know is that mages aren't the radical, feral monsters the Mageseekers make them out to be - or don't care."

"Please?" Rukko said. "I'll be extra careful, I promise!"

"I think we should let him go," Vi said, stepping into the conversation. "We're doing this so mages can be free. What good is that if we can't stop to enjoy life's pleasures here and there?"

Sylas frowned.

"I'll go with him and watch over him," Vi said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sylas asked. "You did just attack the king in public."

"You saw how effective my magic was against those Mageseekers, even with all their fancy toys," Vi said.

"I'll go with them as well," Jinx said. "I haven't been seen with you yet. No one has any reason to think I'm associated with your cell. I'll watch over Rukko personally and Vi can stay hidden in case things get really hairy."

"You have my blessing," Leilani said, entering into the room.

"All right, fine," Sylas said. "But you keep that boy safe or I'm coming for your heads."

Sylas must have been hallucinating, because he thought for a second he saw Jinx smile at him.

"That's a good start, Sylas," Jinx muttered under her breath as she and Vi escorted Rukko out from the caves.

Vi procured a hood and sequestered herself between nearby houses.

Jinx looked at her and flashed a thumbs-up before bringing Rukko closer to the ever increasing crowd, all of whom had come to watch Sona perform.

The stage was simple, hewed from wood and quite possibly only constructed in the last day or so. It was a humble stage and not the kind Sona usually performed on, the Ionian muse having enjoyed the full pleasure of her status to perform in concert halls for lords and nobles.

Sona fiddled with her instrument on the stage, then gave a smile to the crowd. She started signing at them. Jinx tried to follow what she was saying, but Sona's sign language was too different from Undercity sign.

"Thank you for all being here," Sona's interpreter said on the stage. "I know things are crazy right now, but I'm hopeful we can all come together and just enjoy some good music. This concert is open to all - mage, Demacia, immigrant - and it is our hope that with this concert we can mend the rifts torn between us."

"Do you think she can really do that?" Rukko whispered to Jinx in the kind of hope for a better future that only a child could express.

"Well, maybe if she was Seraphine ..." Jinx muttered before shaking her head. "It takes a lot of work to change things, and not all of us have the ability to fight like my sister. Sona's doing what she can with what she has, and that's admirable in its own way."

Sona began playing, and several of the people there held up candles that they waved around in tune with the beat of Sona's tempo.

Jinx smiled, beginning to enjoy herself despite the tension for the reason she was here at all being to make sure a young mage wasn't discovered and taken away.

It didn't last, as she was still Jinx, the Sheriff of Piltover and former Undercity street rat. She had learned to tune her senses and keep a sharp ear out for sounds of danger, and through the music she heard the trod of heavy footsteps long before anyone else did.

"What is that?" Jinx asked with worry, looking around and seeing a group approaching from the east.

"Rukko," Jinx said, patting him on the shoulder. "We have to go."

Rukko groaned in disappointment. "Do we have to? The concert just started!"

"Yes," Jinx answered. "It's my job to keep you safe, and right now -"

"Attention, concert-goers!" boomed a loud authoritative voice, interrupting Sona's music and drawing all eyes to her, revealing the arrival of a large squadron of Mageseekers.

"This concert is an affront and a threat to Demacia," Wisteria said. "You lot are hereby accused of sedition and treason against the throne and are all under arrest. Do not resist."

"What?" came a voice from the crowd.

"No. Really?" said another.

"I can't go to jail! I have work to do in the morning! Important work!"

"All we're doing is listening to the music!"

"Well, she's a Mageseeker. She must have a good reason, right?"

"Enough!" Wisteria shouted. "Take these people into custody. Kill any who resist."

The Mageseekers drew their swords and produced cuffs and began to advance on the crowd.

Jinx looked for Vi, found her, and they exchanged grim nods. She grabbed Rukko , swung the boy up over her shoulders, and began running. Other people in the crowd followed her example, and what had been a calm, lovely concert devolved into a stampede of panicked people trying to flee. Others simply got on their knees and raised their hands, submitting to the Mageseekers' judgment out of trust and respect.

"Let none escape!" Wisteria shouted.

Vi thrust her hand towards the air, and pink lightning strikes rained down on the Mageseekers' forward flank. Wistera grimaced and began searching the area for the mage responsible, weapon raised and ready do some beheading.

Vi conjured up a force field to protect the rest of the fleeing crowd before making her own retreat, making sure to keep to shadows whenever possible and weave between houses.

"I told you going would be too dangerous!" Sylas shouted once Jinx, Vi and Rukko were safely returned. "I told you!"

"And you were right," Jinx said. "We're sorry. We don't know what came over us."

"Save your anger for me, Sylas," Leilani said. "I was the one who gave them my blessing to go. We have such few moments of joy these days, I wanted something nice for Rukko to enjoy."

"Well, that sure worked out, didn't it?" Sylas grumbled.

"I can't believe they arrested Sona, of all people," Lux said. "I always thought she was a nice girl. Never liked her music much, but she was pleasant to be around the few times we interacted."

"When you interacted? When did you have the chance to interact with her?" Sylas asked.

"You know," Lux said. "At events and stuff. Balls and galas."

"That's right," Sylas said with slow dawning realization, prompting curious stares from the others. "You're Lux. Luxanna Crownguard. I'd forgotten, you've been away from home so long."

"Yeah?" Lux said, balling up a fist behind her back already in anticipation of needed retaliation. "What about it?"

"Your uncle, Lord Eldred, was the very Mageseeker who imprisoned me in the first place," Sylas said. "Perhaps if we took you hostage, he might be willing to offer some concessions ..."

"Hey," Jinx said, she, Vi and Caitlyn rushing to Lux's side and defense. "Back off. We're willing to work with you, Sylas, but only as long as you remain reasonable."

"Of course," Sylas said, raising his hands. "Forgive me. I don't know what I was saying."

Sylas backed away, a smirk still on his face. Until he noticed Rukko looking at him with a disappointed expression, and the smirk faded fast.

"Although, he does raise a good point," Lux said. "I am still a Crownguard, and like Jinx, I haven't been marked as a member of the mage rebellion. I'm still a noble with access to the castle. Perhaps I can talk to my uncle and open the path for talks. We're not really close, so I don't know if he'll listen to me, but I can try."

"And trying is certainly the most we can ask of you," Leilani said.

Lord Eldred shifted through papers on his desk when his assistant entered the room.

"Yes?" Eldred asked.

"Your niece is here to see you, sir. Shall I let her in?"

"Niece?" Eldred asked.

"Luxanna Crownguard. Tianna's niece? Augutha's daughter?"

"Oh yes, Lux," Eldred said as the memory came back to him. "I thought she'd moved away?"

"She did, but she's here now. Will you see her? She says it's important."

"I will," Eldred said, and Lux entered the room.

"What curious clothes you're wearing, Lux," Eldred said.

"They're comfortable," Lux said. "Piltovan fashion. They're not important. I wanted to talk to you, Uncle, about the mages and their rebellion."

"Do you have some sort of information on their leader?" Eldred asked. "If we could locate him and make an example of him, I'm sure it put this whole affair in order - or at least into a more manageable state."

Lux pursed her lips.

"I was actually hoping we could discuss something more along the lines of peace talks," Lux said. "The mages are fighting for their freedom. Maybe it's time Demacia considered giving it to them? Even the Mageseekers just being less harsh and vindictive would go a long way towards calming the mages down."

Eldred glared at her sharply. "You've been away from home too long, niece. The mages have no place in Demacia. You know that."

"Then why do they keep showing up?" Lux asked. "The Mageseekers would have nothing to seek if they didn't. But why is Demacia so full of people who 'don't belong here,' then?"

"Enough," Eldred said. "I foresee this discussion will go nowhere, and that living in that foreign country has put strange ideas in your head. It was good to see you, niece. You are dismissed."

Lux grit her teeth and fumed. If she had her Atlas Gauntlets with her, she'd take them and smash her uncle's desk into pieces, but she was here to talk, not to fight, so she left them in the caves.

Lux stormed of the office and made her way down the hall. She didn't get far before she noticed footsteps following her, and she turned around to find another Mageseeker on her tail.

"What do you want?" Lux asked.

"Pardon me," the Mageseeker said. "My name is Killian. I hope you will forgive me for eavesdropping, but I overheard what you said to Eldred, and unlike him, I'm in a mind to agree. The Mageseekers have been operating with far too little oversight for far too long. So if you are willing, I'd like to take you to the king. Maybe with me vouching for you, he'll listen to what you have to say."

"Hmm. All right," Lux said. "I'll try it. But what do you hope to get out of this? Aren't you a Mageseeker yourself?"

"Long ago, I had a protege," Killian said. "Something terrible happened, and I ... I did not protect him. I'm not sure I could have. But I have long hoped that one day, I could do something to make it up to him. I hope today is that day, and that this will be enough."

"What have you done!?" Shyvana shouted at Wisteria.

"I have made an example to those considering aiding Demacia's enemies," Wisteria answered calmly.

"Oh yes," Shyvana said. "Demacia's enemies. Famously including its own people and musicians!"

"The Mageseekers have long had evidence suggesting that Sona Buvelle was a mage," Wisteria said.

"Wait, she's a mage?" Garen asked. "Is that how she floats?"

"Yes?" Wisteria answered. "How did you think she did it?"

"I thought it was with wires!" Garen said. "You know, because she's a performer!"

"It is that sort of rock-brained thinking that has allowed the mages to get as far as they have," Wisteria said. "I will see an end put to it today."

"What did you just say?" Garen asked, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword.

"As I was saying," Wisteria said, "given Sona's high position in a family of influence, she was protected by her status until now, when it seemed I was the only one willing to overlook money and power for truth and duty."

"There was a good reason for that!" Tianna shouted. "I understand politics are not the skills for which you and the Mageseekers are employed, but do you have any idea how bad it looks on the throne to both the citizens AND foreign nations that you've arrested an Ionian refugee!?"

"And a mage," Wisteria said.

"There's more to being a person than just being a mage," Garen said.

"That is why there are several suspected, and I must emphasize suspected mages that the Mageseekers have not been authorized to place under arrest," Tianna said. "You have my sympathies, Wisteria, but Demacia is a country with laws, and we cannot go around subverting them whenever we feel like! The people must trust that our institutions have their best interests at heart, or else it won't only be the mages who are in rebellion!"

"Jarvan, she disobeyed you," Shyvana said. "She'll do so again. She should be removed from her position at once before she hurts someone. I've read the reports - she gave a kill order at the concert, and even the ones who surrendered peacefully were treated poorly."

"You would listen to this dragon breathing poison into your ear, my king?" Wisteria said.

"Better the dragon's poison than yours," Lux said as she and Killian entered the room.

"Who are you?" Jarvan asked.

"This is Luxanna Crownguard, my lord," Killian said. "She wishes to discuss the matter of the mages with you."

"Lux?" Tianna said. "I didn't know you were here. You should have told me! I would have penciled you in for lunch."

"Do you have some information?" Jarvan asked.

"I have knowledge," Lux said, though no one quite understood what she meant by the difference. She glared at Wisteria. "And empathy, unlike some people. Please, Your Majesty. I've met with the mages. They don't want to be your enemy. They don't want to fight their fellow Demacians! They just want to live in peace, but the Mageseekers have forced their hand. They're not fighting to undermine Demacia - they're fighting just to survive. If you'll grant them amnesty, maybe reduce the Mageseekers' operations ..."

"I will do not such thing," Jarvan said. "I can't give in to them now."

"How is it giving in to offer peace?" Shyvana asked.

Jarvan frowned.

"I know you are a warrior in your heart," Shyvana said. "But that's just it - the mages are not warriors at heart, they're desperate people crying out for their king to protect them. The mages aren't Noxus - Noxus won't listen to reason, but it's not too late to negotiate with the mages. Offering them peace and protection isn't failing as a warrior - it's succeeding as a king. Please. They're your people."

"I think I've had just about enough of you, dragon," Wisteria said, her hand going towards the hilt of her weapon.

"Try it," Garen said, already drawing his sword out of his scabbard.

"You would defy the will of the Mageseekers, Captain?" Wisteria said.

"It is the will of the late king and of the Vanguard that no harm comes to any Demacian who sets foot in this room," Garen said, "even from another Demacian."

"Your Majesty! King Jarvan!" cried a guard who ran into the room.

Jarvan groaned. "What now? Can't it wait?"

"No, sire, I'm afraid it can't," the guard said.

"What could possibly be so important it has to interrupt this meeting?" Jarvan said.

"Noxus," the guard said, and a chill went through the room and all stood at attention.

"What?" Jarvan said. "All right. Speak quickly."

"Our scouts have detected a large force on the move, heading straight for our outer walls," the guard said. "At least two thousand troops - possibly more, and four siege engines."

"Aspects," Jarvan swore.

Chapter Text

"What am I to do?" Jarvan asked, pacing around the room. "We can't stand up to Noxus. Not now, like this. I already recalled several Vanguard soldiers from their posts in order to deal with the mage uprising. What's to be done? Our forces are spread too thin!"

"Because they attack your own people," Shyvana said. "Do you see, love? Are you finally beginning to see the folly of keeping to the old ways?"

"My lord, if you would just permit the executions like I suggested, I could have this matter resolved for you," Wisteria said.

Jarvan sighed and pointed at the guard who bore the bad news. "You. How far out are they? The Noxian regiment?"

"At least a day, maybe two," the guard answered.

"That's not much time to prepare," Jarvan said.

"All the more reason you must give me the permission to carry out my strategy so that I can start cleaning up this mess," Wisteria said.

"Some strategy of yours," Lux said. "Kill all the mages, and anyone suspected of being a mage, or suspected of possibly sheltering or hiding mage. At this point, I don't even know why Noxus is bothering! All they have to do is wait for Jarvan to let you off that leash that you've half slipped off already, and you'll kill half of Demacia for them!"

"What I do, I do for Demacia!" Wisteria said.

"We can't get the mages to stop fighting in time," Jarvan said.

"Or ..." Lux said. "Maybe we can. I have an idea. It's crazy. But maybe just crazy enough to work."

"Yes?" Jarvan asked, eager for any shred of hope he could get his hands on at this point.

"Sorry," Lux said, rushing out the door. "I have to go. I need to talk to the others first and get their approval. But we might have a solution for you yet, Your Majesty! So don't let Wisteria start with the executions until after I get back, you hear?"

"Don't worry, Sis!" Garen called. "I'll make sure of that." He glared at Wisteria, who glared right back.

"What?" Sylas asked, he, Jinx, and Vi all looking at Lux in disbelief after Lux had explained her plan.

"Think about it!" Lux said. "It's a great plan!"

"Lux, I admire where your heart is at, I really do," Jinx said. "But I don't think it's that easy."

"If an act of daring-do was all it took to earn our freedom, I think we would have done it by now," Sylas said.

"But look!" Lux said. "It's a great opportunity for you to win the king over!"

"Oh yes, because the king has always been such a staunch ally of mages," Sylas said with a roll of the eyes.

"You should have seen the look on his face," Lux said. "He's tired. He just wants this all to ... go away. The Mageseekers are practically driving him, not the other way around. Plus, we have him over a barrel! He'll have to agree!"

"Lux," Sylas said, "even if he did agree, think about what you're asking us to do. You're telling us to risk our lives for a country that has always treated at us with, at best, unmitigated contempt."

"I suppose that's true," Lux said with a frown.

Sylas let out a deep, deep sigh.

"All right, fine," Sylas said. "If you can get me face to face with him, I'll talk with him and we'll ... see if we can't work something out. But I make no promises, and if I don't like what I hear, I'm walking straight out and going back to what we were originally doing."

"Great!" Lux said with a grin. "I'll try and set up some arrangements. But ... you're right. Nothing about this is a sure thing, but I really, really hope it works. It'd be nice to use my family name for something more meaningful than just getting out of jail from another drunk brawl for a change."

Jarvan, Tianna and the rest all watched as Lux returned to the war room with guests.

"Who are these people now?" Jarvan asked. "Do we just let anyone into highly important meeting these days!?"

"Please, Your Majesty - these people are my family," Lux said. "You can place your trust in them."

"Are we not your family?" Tianna said and Garen frowned in agreement. Garen, in fact, looked on the verge of tears.

"Aspects, Auntie, I can have more than one family!" Lux said. She cleared her throat."May I present to you, Sheriff Jinx of Piltover, her sister Vi, and Caitlyn Kiramman, daughter of Councilor Cassandra Kiramman and Vi's fiancee."

"Wait," Tianna said. "I know this one. She's a mage."

"Not just any mage," Jarvan said. "The one who attacked me yesterday!"

"Please, Your Majesty," Vi said. "We did come to blows before, but now I come in peace."

"We are the foreign dignitaries of Piltover, so you'd better not do anything to upset us!" Caitlyn said.

"Please disregard most of what Caitlyn says," Jinx said. "We're not here on official business. But we only want to talk."

"I'm most displeased to see you bring that mage in here, Luxanna," Tianna said. "I thought we raised you better than that."

"Oh, you're going to love me then," Sylas said, appearing in the room and manifesting from thin air, at least to the naked eye, having borrowed the shadow magic he used to kidnap Jinx again.

"You!" Jarvan said. "Assassins! Guards!"

"Luxanna!" Tianna said, outraged. "Is this a coup!?"

"You've made a mistake, Sylas," Wisteria said. "I thought you knew better."

"Please!" Sylas said. "I know this will sound rich from my lips, but I come in peace! I only want to talk!"

"Talk?" Jarvan said. "With a murderer and a terrorist like you!?"

"Okay, not fully undeserved," Sylas said. "But yes, talk! I'm highly involved in the mage rebellion, Jarvan - can you afford not to hear me out on what I have to say?"

"Please," Lux said. "We're trying to do the most good for the most people. I brought Sylas here in disguise because I knew you would never agree to meet with him if I told you what my plan was."

"For good reason!" Jarvan said. He looked around the room. "Captain! Arrest these people!"

"My sister can be brash and impulsive, but I've never known her to be a fool," Garen said. "I think if she thinks it's worth hearing Sylas out, we can listen to what he has to say - even if we don't like it."

"And I, for one, would welcome hearing my old pupil's voice again," Killian said. "Welcome home, Sylas."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sylas said. "It'll be a long time before I call this place home again, if ever."

"He's sought you out under a banner of peace," Shyvana said. "Will you not hear him out, just for a moment?"

"Fine," Jarvan said.

"Your Majesty," Sylas said, his face scrunching up as he barfed in his mouth at little at having to address Jarvan so formally, "we come to you with a simple proposal. We know about the Noxian regiment approaching."

"You do?" Tianna said. "Luxanna. You should not be so cavalier about sharing state intelligence."

"All right, so you know," Jarvan said. "What of it?"

"We also know that with the Vanguard and other fighters called in to deal with the mage rebellion, your forces are stretched thin and you don't have the numbers to fight off a Noxian attack," Sylas said. "Here is our proposal. Grant amnesty for the mages. And in exchange, not only we will stop our rebellion, we'll fight with you and defend against Noxus at the gates."

"Ridiculous," Jarvan said.

"Is it?" Sylas asked.

"Think about it, Your Majesty," Jinx said. "If the mages were fighting for you instead of against you, you could return the soldiers to their post and muster up a greater defense."

"I do not approve of this idea," Wisteria said. "The mages will abuse this truce."

"No more than the Mageseekers would," Sylas said.

Jarvan pursed his lips. "I suppose ... it's possible that without the mages' attacks, we might have the men we needed to hold the gates ... yes. If we had the mages, the Vanguard, and the Mageseekers working together, we might -"

"Ah, no. No, no, no," Sylas interjected. "That won't work. We won't fight alongside the Mageseekers. Those hounds are too well-trained." He glared at Killian and Wisteria. "I should know. They'll turn on us and clap us in irons the second the battle is over - if not before the fighting is finished. Mages, or Mageseekers, Your Majesty. You can have one or the other fight for you, but not both. If we fight for you, the Mageseekers have to stay here."

"You are placing me in an impossible position here, do you realize that, Sylas?" Jarvan said. "I need every fighter I can get a hold of, and you're asking me to choose between either a small but highly trained and disciplined force, or a ragtag group of rebels with no training and who have every reason to mistrust the crown."

"The answer seems pretty clear to me," Sylas said. "The Mageseekers are talented, yes, but they're not trained for open warfare. But with my mages' magic, we could make up for that lack of training with raw firepower."

"My king," Wisteria said, "this is nonsense. We are wasting time. Let us execute these traitors and find another more sensible solution."

"I won't let you hurt my sister or her friends, mages or not," Garen said.

"Tick-tock," Sylas said. "Noxus will be here at any minute and ..."

Sylas's eyes went wide, and he placed his hands at the sides of his head.

"No," Sylas said. "Oh no. What have I done?"

"What?" Jarvan asked. "Before I could follow what you were saying, even if I didn't like hearing it. Don't start talking in riddles now."

"My fault," Sylas said.

"So you admit you're to blame!" Wisteria said, ready to charge at Sylas with her weapon.

"Sylas, deep breaths," Jinx said. "What are you talking about?"

"Think, all of you!" Sylas snapped. "Demacia and Noxus have been at each other's throats for years! Why escalate things now? Why send an attack of this size?"

"To ... take advantage of the chaos caused by the mage rebellion?" Jinx offered.
"Worse," Sylas answered. "So much worse. To recruit them."

"No true-born child son or daughter of Demacia would join those Noxian swine!" Jarvan said.

"Wouldn't they?" Sylas asked.

"Katarina rescued me from your prison, and I was fully ready to believe everything she said and commit myself to Noxus's cause after only four days of dealing with the Mageseekers' bullshit," Vi said. "I can only imagine what it would be like for mages who've been living in terror of the Mageseekers for years, decades even. If they offered me protection and freedom in exchange for fighting the people who were oppressing me, I might consider taking them up on that offer."

"It's worse than that," Sylas said. "It won't just be the mages."

"How do you mean?" Jarvan asked.

"Think about it," Sylas said. "Imagine you're a farmer."

"Why does it have to be a farmer?" Vi asked.

Sylas groaned. "Whatever! Fine! It can be a clothier or a blacksmith! The point is, you're an average Demacian, just trying to live your normal life. Not a mage, but not a Mageseeker either. You're just trying to get by, one day at a time. And then this whole business with the mage rebellion happens, Mageseekers are patrolling the streets in droves, everything's in chaos ... and then here comes Noxus, here to offer some stability in this trying time. Noxians have a lot of bad traits, but one compliment I can almost give them is this; they do not suffer chaos well. And, well, perhaps if I were a farmer or blacksmith, and a Noxian officer came up to me during all this and suggested maybe ... my fellow Demacians need saving from themselves, and there would be a reward in it for me if I helped Noxus do that ... I might just consider taking up that offer."

"Aspects," Jarvan swore.

"They're not just looking to get mages to use as weapons," Sylas said. "They're looking to get people who can provide them information on how Demacia works. Weaknesses it can exploit. Now, I have some ... teeny-tiny quibbles with the way things are currently being run in Demacia, that's true, but it's still my homeland, and I'll be damned if I let those Noxian dogs treat us like they treated Ionia."

Jarvan turned, facing away from everyone while he debated with himself as the only voice for once. After a moment, he approached Sylas and extended his arm.

"I see your point," Jarvan said. "I accept your proposal."

Sylas regarded him warily. "Really?"

"Really," Jarvan said. "You're right. I need fighters, Sylas, and I need them as quick as I can get them. I will agree to your terms."

"All of them? Just like that?" Sylas asked.

"All of them," Jarvan said. "Amnesty for the mages. The Mageseekers staying here. Whatever else you might care to demand when this is over."

Jarvan stepped closer, insistently offering up his hand. "Just beat those Noxian dogs back."

Sylas looked at Jarvan's hand in disbelief this was really happening, then finally wrapped his arm around it and they shook hands, sealing the deal.

"My lord, this is unwise," Wisteria said. "Allying with the mages will only lead to our eventual destruction."

"And a swell day to you too, old friend," Sylas said.

"Not allying with them now will lead to our immediate destruction. I will take the option with a delay so we have the time for more options in the future," Jarvan said. He looked out the window, not facing any of them. "Go, Sylas. Protect our people. Keep our nation safe."

"I ..." Sylas stammered, at a loss for words. "I will, my lord."

"We'll help too," Jinx said. "We won't let you down - Caitlyn, no! Bad girl! Down."

Jarvan turned around to see Caitlyn clearly trying to sneak up behind him and snatch the crown from his head.

"I just wanted to see if it would fit!" Caitlyn said with a disappointed croon, going to rejoin the group with a sag in her steps.

Katarina looked at the force she now led with a grimace as they marched across the plains towards Demacia's walls.

How did this even happen? She was an assassin, not a general. Her best skills were when she could sneak in, do her job, and sneak out without being seen. Having a regiment with her being made unseen impossible.

But what was she to do? Somehow or another, Swain had found out about her intent to visit Demacia and Vi besides. He made an oh so veiled suggestion that she and Cassiopeia should take a light escort with them, and one does not idly or casually refuse an army dispatched by Noxus's lord and master. And things just grew from there until she was marching out with an army.

She could only hope their mission would be a success, and then they could at last bring Demacia to heel with its very own mages.

Perhaps then she could finally have Garen Crownguard all to herself without the need for subterfuge.

"Are you serious?" a mage asked.

"Captain, I don't know that ..." the Vanguard soldier who had been tracking the mage since the rebellion begin, only for Captain Garen to appear and tell him to make peace. Sylas, Garen and the others were making rounds, informing as many of their people as possible of the current situation - mage rebellion on hold until further notice and Noxus turned away at the walls.

"Yes, I'm serious," Sylas told his mage agent.

"The mages will answer for what they've done," Garen said. "Perhaps Demacia will as well. But whatever issues we have with each other, we will sort them out among ourselves, like Demacians, under Demacian laws and guidelines. I understand working with mages is awkward, but we must come together as one to keep Noxus at bay."

"I ... understand, sir," the Vanguard solider said.

Sylas and Garen looked over to see Jinx wandering around the town.

"Ah," Jinx said, watching a group of children play, with of them chasing another with a slingshot.

"Excuse me!" Jinx said. "Excuse me, little boy! Could I talk to you?"

Both children froze up at the sight of Jinx hailing them. She was a foreigner to them, but they recognized her outfit as that belonging to an official officer of some kind.

"Sorry to bother you," Jinx said, getting down on her knees, "but I was hoping you might be able to help me with something. You see, I'm a wandering knight from a faraway land. I came to Demacia, but I lost my weapons overboard on the ship, and that slingshot would be a perfect replacement. I was wondering if you might let me borrow it?"

The boy regarded the slingshot.

"I'll bring it back to you, I promise," Jinx said with a trustworthy smile.

"Will you beat the bad guys with it?" the boy asked.

"I will," Jinx assured him.

"Okay. But you have to bring it back! You promised!"

"I did, and I will," Jinx said as the boy handed her his slingshot and she rejoined Garen and Sylas.

"I understand that Demacia doesn't quite have the same skill with producing firearms as Piltover," Sylas said, "but why go through all that business? Surely you could borrow a crossbow instead?"

"Maybe, but then it would be just a weapon, a tool," Jinx said, "by doing it this way, it becomes something more - that child's promise will guide my hand and keep my aim true. It's more than just a weapon - it's a hope. It's a promise. After all, I need to survive to give it back to him."

"You sound like Morgana," Sylas observed.

"Well, maybe she and I have been talking," Jinx said. "She has some exquisite tea blend recipes, if you're interested by the way."

"Noted," Sylas said.

"I must congratulate you again on your stratagem, Your Majesty," Lord Eldred said. "You may not be your father, but you are learning the game of politics well."

"How do you mean?" Jarvan asked. "I'm not sure I know what you're referring to."

"Letting the mages fight for Demacia," Eldred said. "Either Noxus's forces will take care of them for us, or they'll be exhausted after the fighting and the Mageseekers can move in and round them up. Keeping us separate will mean a delay, it's true, but we will be able to ride out as soon as the fighting is over but before the mages can return to their hideouts."

"Jarvan?" Shyvana asked. "Is that true? Was that your intent all along?"

"I ..." Jarvan said.

"Surely it is," Wisteria said. "You were not serious granting the mages their amnesty any longer than it took to employ their services against our enemies?"'

"Jarvan?" Shyvana asked.

"I don't know, okay!?" Jarvan snapped. "I don't know what I'm doing! I never asked for this! I never wanted to be king!"

"But you are king," Shyvana said. "And what you say goes - so I must ask you, my love, what do you say?"

And so a bizarre complement of Vanguard, mages, and some straggler foreigners took up their posts at the gates of Demacia's walls. A wall of infantry fighters and mages at the front of the gates, with Sylas, Jinx, and Garen standing at the crenelations on top of the wall to watch, observe and give commands on the battlefield.

"You know, if we were in Piltover," Jinx said, "I might want to talk with the leader and try to negotiate a peaceful resolution to this situation."

"You're welcome to try, but don't expect much," Sylas said.

"You may have been granted some latitude to operate by King Jarvan, Sylas, but I am still the highest ranked officer here," Garen said. "Any operations need to be approved by me first."

Sylas made a mocking 'yak yak' gesture with his hand.

"Permission to attempt to neogiate, Captain?" Jinx asked.

"Granted," Garen said, making Sylas wonder what the point of him making a fuss about it was if he was just going to approve it anyway.

The Noxian regiment arrived, and all of Demacia's defenders at the wall tensed up at the sight.

The report had been accurate. 2000 Noxian soldiers, arriving in squads of 500, each 500-strong complement towing a siege engine behind them that looked like a skull mounted on giant wheels and powered by ... were those chemtech pipes? Where did Noxus get that?

Demacian Vanguard gripped the hilts of their swords. Mages raised their hands.

"Attention, Noxian force!" Jinx called, thankful that despite Demacia's hypocritical reliance on magic over technology, they at least had gotten as far as megaphones. "I request to speak to your commander!"

"That would be me!" Katarina answered, appearing on the top of one of the siege engines and projecting her voice.

"Oh! It's Katarina!" Vi said. "Hey! Katarina! Hey! Hi!" Vi waved enthusiastically.

"Vi," Jinx said, "I know she rescued you from jail, but please try to remember that she's an enemy of the state."

"She's not that bad," Vi said. "Okay, she did kill those two guards, but -"

"Vi!" Jinx snapped. "She is actively leading an invading army right now!"

"Oh yeah," Vi said.

"Commander Katarina, what is your intention with this sizable force?" Jinx asked through the megaphone.

"Nothing serious, Sheriff!" Katarina answered with a smirk. "We just heard about the mage rebellion going on in Demacia right now, and we thought we would offer a caravan to any mages or other Demacians who might be looking to escape Demacia's internal conflict right now!"

Sylas grimaced at the reminder that his actions had set forward in motion Noxus's forces being here right now.

"It's a rather sizable caravan to escort fleeing refuges," Jinx said with narrowed eyes.

"Do you imagine a mage-hating place like Demacia would allow its mages to flee its borders without pursuit? Their hate of mages runs deep."

"That's a good point," one of the mages said, prompting looks from the Vanguard near him.

"You'll understand if the size of your escort leaves us feeling a little tense?" Jinx asked Katarina.

"I understand completely, Sheriff!" Katarina said. "Simply let us wait here and watch for any refugees, and this need not turn ugly! But if I may be so bold ... why are you here, anyway? Your sister told me about you being the Sheriff of Piltover. What's their interest in what goes on between Demacia and Noxus?"

"I'm here on vacation," Jinx answered dryly.

Forces on both sides stood there for a moment in stand-off, neither of them making any moves.

Until ...

"Forget this!" a Noxian soldier. "I came here to conquer and kill Demacians for the glory of Noxus! I'm going in!"

"Soldier, stay back!" Jinx shouted. "If you advance forward any closer than you are, we will have to take action! We can still turn this into a peaceful encounter!"

"That assumes we want peace!" the solider said. "FORWARD, BROTHERS! GLORY TO NOXUS!"

The battle-craving soldier charged forward, and Jinx nearly instantly dropped him with a slingshot rock sent straight into the eye, and he fell over.

The damage was done, however, as the rest of the Noxian troops charged forward, weapons raised and battle cries shouted, even without Katarina's explicit command. The skull-faced siege engines opened their mouths and began to belch out plumes of green flame.

"Charge!" Garen shouted, sword held high. "For Demacia!"

"For Demacia!" Lux shouted, following her brother into the fray with the Atlas Gauntlets on her hands.

"For Demacia!" Jinx added. "You know, I guess."

"For the freedom of the mages!" Vi shouted.

"For finally getting out of this stupid country and going back home with indoor toilets instead of these stupid outdated public outhouses and making out with our girlfriends on a real bed instead of on top of stone couches in a cave!" Caitlyn shouted, tossing a vial into the Noxian hordes.

"Uh," Rukko said, charging into battle alongside Sylas.

"Don't worry about her," Sylas said, before screeching to a halt. "Also, wait a minute. What are you dong here?"

"I'm fighting!" Rukko said. "The king said he'd give us our mages our freedom if we fought Noxus, didn't he? So let me fight!"

"Absolutely not," Sylas said, grabbing Rukko with ease and laying Rukko over his shoulder. "You are way too young to be risking your life like this. Go back and take care of the others. Let the adults handle this."

Rukko waved his hand, and a slipstream of water appeared in the air and carried him off Sylas's shoulder like a waterslide, depositing him on the ground.

"I want to help!" Rukko said, magic glowing around him in cyan and teal light. "I want to fight!"

"I know you do," Sylas said. "Believe me, I know. But I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt. Go back through the walls where it's safe."

Lux hopped onto a siege engine and began punching at its wheels, while Vi summoned bolts of lightning from overhead to blow up another one.

Garen charged forward, easily cutting a swathe through the Noxian forces until he arrived at the base of the siege engine where Katarina was waiting for him.

"Katarina," Garen said.

"Garen," Katarina said.

"What are you doing?" Garen asked. "This isn't like you."

"Afraid I can't answer that, Garen," Katarina replied. She drew her blades. "But perhaps our swords would be better served speaking for us?"

"Oh, there's no need for that, dear sister!" Cassiopeia said, wrapping her tail around Katarina and lifting her up and depositing her away. "I will fight the Captain of the Vanguard, you focus on leading the troops!"

Cassiopeia slithered down the war machine and approached Garen.

"I've read the reports of how you fight, Captain," Cassiopeia said with a hiss, "I know you've been going easy on my sister. Let's see how you deal with a real opponent."

"The mistake is yours then, Noxian snake," Garen said. "Katarina is a worthy opponent and has earned my respect. But I see no reason to extend the same courtesy to you and will fight you with everything I have!"

Cassiopeia hissed and charged forward, but Garen stood his ground and easily cleaved his sword through her midsection, driving her back with a grievous wound.

"Where are those sounds coming from?" Tianna asked.

"Outside the walls," Jarvan said grimly. "Noxus has arrived. The fighting has started."

"Now is the time to seize our chance and arrest the mages," Wisteria said.
"What?" Jarvan asked.

"Your Majesty, you can't expect us to sit idly by and let the mages 'earn' their freedom?" Wisteria said. "If word gets out of how the mages risked their lives for crown and country, public opinion on the Mageseekers will sour, not to mention all the mages we now have the chance to capture while they're all in one place!"

"I sympathize with your desire, but surely we should wait until after the battle is over?" Eldred said. "We may not want a victory for the mages, but we would desire one from Noxus even less."

Wisteria approached the doors.

"Where are you going?" Jarvan asked.

"I am a Mageseeker," Wisteria answered. "I go to seek the mages."

"I ..." Jarvan said. "Wisteria! Stop! As your king, I order you to stop!"

Wisteria looked at Jarvan with confusion and hurt in her eyes.

"The Mageseekers," Jarvan said with tense, deep breath, "will stay here, inside the castle, per the mages' request, until the battle is done." Jarvan drew his sword and pointed it at Eldred. "Not one of you is to set foot outside the castle until the fighting is over and we are damn sure that Noxus has been repelled, is that clear? That is my decree as your king."

"As - as you wish, my lord," Eldred said.

Killian smiled.

Wisteria looked around. "My king, you've given into madness. Perhaps the dragon has infected you with some sort of disease."

"No, Wisteria," Jarvan said. "For once, my mind is clear and made up. Your orders are to stay here, all of you. Any Mageseeker found trying to leave the premises will be stripped of their rank, any titles they hold, and charged with treason. So sayeth King Jarvan Lightshield the IV."

Wisteria's fingers tensed up. After a moment, she turned around and went for the door.

"Guards!" Jarvan ordered. "Stop that woman!"

Two guards came rushing into the room, but Wisteria jumped into the air and kicked them both in the chests, knocking them down and clearing her path out of the room.

Jarvan sighed.

"Wisteria is one of our best and most powerful members," Eldred said. "Perhaps it would be best to let her leave the castle unimpeded. I've no wish to disobey your orders, or abet my fellow Mageseekers in doing so, but tasking the guards to stop her will only result in more injuries."

Jarvan sighed, then glared at them. "And what of the rest of you? Will you also seek to defy your king?"

Killian bowed. "We shall remain here, Your Majesty."

"Good," Jarvan said. "After a stunt like that, you'll be lucky if I suffer the Mageseekers to continue to exist when this is all over."

Shyvana smiled. She approached Jarvan and took his hands.

"Jarvan ... my love ... I can go now," Shyvana said.

"Go?" Jarvan asked. "What do you mean, go? Please don't leave me."

"I won't," Shyvana said, cupping his cheek. "But I needed to see for myself if you would be true to your word - if you would keep your promise to the mages. And now that I have, I can join the battle."

"What?" Jarvan asked. He tried to keep Shyvana from climbing out the window. "Shyvana, no! I need you here! I need you to be safe!"

"Do not fear - I'll come back to you," Shyvana said, and she jumped out the window. Moments later, the sight of flaming wings could be seen flapping and making their away from the castle.

Jarvan sighed.

"Come back safe, then," Jarvan said. "What am I doing? I'm a skilled fighter! I should be out there fighting the Noxians myself, not using the promise of freedom to coerce the mages into doing it for me!"

Jarvan went for the door, but Killian put himself in Jarvan's way.

"Please, my lord," Killian said. "I understand how you feel, and you are a talented fighter, that much is true. But Demacia just lost one king, and you have no heir - it can't afford to lose another. I understand it must ache. It must burn you to know there's more you could be doing, more fighting to be done - but for the good of the people, you must stay here."

Jarvan sighed. "I suppose you're right. Spoken like words of experience, Killian."

"Well," Killian said, "perhaps I should tell you about my relationship with Sylas of Clegbourne. He was once a Mageseeker himself, you know."

"He was?" Jarvan said. "I can't imagine a man that impudent once belonged to an organization as prestigious as the Mageseekers ... then again, given what Wisteria just did, perhaps that should be no surprise."

"Wisteria ...yes," Killian said sadly. "She was Sylas's friend once, as well."

"Hmph," Jarvan said. "You understand I meant what I said? If she shows her face around this castle, all that she has is to be taken from her - her Mageseeker mask, her titles, her cloak."

"Yes," Killian nodded. "It's such a tragedy that Mageseekers keep turning out like this, isn't it? Perhaps it might be better if -"

"Killian!" Eldred said. "You had better not the sentence the way I think you plan to."

"So what if I do, Eldred?" Killian said. "Will you join your pupil in defiance? Strike me down before the king's very eyes?"

Eldred tensed up and fumed in silence.

"Aspects, these Noxians don't go down easy, do they?" Sylas asked, striking one of the Noxian soldiers over the head for the fifth time, and they still hadn't gone down. If anything, being hit and hurt seemed only to motivate the Noxian to fight harder and angrier. Sylas didn't like insulting his countrymen to this extent when comparisons to Noxians were involved, but it was like it took as much as effort to bring down 50 Demacian guards as it did one single Noxian trooper.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Rukko said, waving his arms and conjuring up a river to catch the Noxians by the legs and carry them off on a rushing current.

"What!?" Sylas exclaimed. "I thought I told you to go home!"

"And I thought I told you I wanted to fight!" Rukko sighed. "Look. We're not making progress like this, so I had an idea."

"I'm all ears," Sylas shouted as he struck another Noxian with his chains.

"Take my magic," Rukko said.

"What?"

"My magic!" Rukko said. "Take it with yours and then you can use it better than I can! Right? That's how it works?"

"Rukko ..." Sylas said. "Just because I'm older than you doesn't mean I can use your magic better. Absorbing it won't give me mastery over it, and besides, I ... I can't do that to you."

"Why not?" Rukko asked.

"Did I ever tell you how I used to be a Mageseeker? How I discovered my powers? There was a young girl," Sylas said. "A mage. I tried to arrest her. And I ended up absorbing too much of her energy and killing her. That's when I was kicked out of the Mageseekers and sent to prison. It was an accident, but they didn't care. I can't do that to you."

Rukko frowned. "But there's so many of them. How are we supposed to ...?"

An enormous shadow fell over the battlefield.

"What?" Sylas asked. "Rukko! Down!"

"What?" Rukko asked, as Sylas tackled him just in time to provide cover as a tornado of fire ripped through the battlefield, incinerating several Noxians, melting one of the siege engines and overwhelming the Noxians who didn't get caught in the direct blast with a heat wave like nothing they experienced, not even working in the hot, sweaty conditions of Noxus's factories.

"Is that a dragon!?" one of the Noxians shouted.

Katarina looked up at the sky in disbelief.

"Cassiopeia, can't you talk to it?" Katarina shouted.

"Oh, what? You think just because I'm part snake I know some secret code langague for anything with scales!?" Cassiopeia gestured to herself. "I didn't even know Demacia HAD dragons! I thought they were a foreign thing!"

"Commander!" a Noxian soldier shouted. "The dragon is coming back around for another pass! What do we do? We're not equipped to fight something like that!"

Katarina looked as the dragon's wings flapped and it turned around.

"Well, sister?" Cassiopeia asked. "What will be? Death or dishonor?"

Katarina surveyed the battlefield, grimacing at the sight. "We've already brought dishonor by letting so many fine Noxian lives go to waste. Sound the retreat."

"Retreat!" the Noxian soldier. "Fall back! Fall back!"

It took a moment for the orders to carry through, as would any for a sufficiently large army on a large enough battlefield, but eventually the message was relayed and the Demacian defenders cheered as the remaining siege engines turned around and the Noxian forces left the walls.

"Whoo!"

"Yeah!"

"We did it!"

"Yes, yes you did," Wisteria's cold voice said, cutting through the celebratory mood like an artisan dagger chopping through a block of ice. Her weapon glowed hot and ready with the aura of magic in her grip. "Now, Captain Crownguard, if you and your Vanguard will be so kind as to arrest these mages."

"What?" one of the Vanguard fighters said.

"Finally!" another said, with no objections to pointing his sword at a mage who he had been fighting side by side with a moment before. "I can't believe we teamed up with the mages in the first place!"

"What - no!" the swordsman from the village where Jinx borrowed her slingshot objected. "They may be mages, but they just risked life and limb to defend Demacia from its enemies! Surely that's earned them some reprieve? Even if it's just letting them go back to their hideout for today!"

"They're mages," one of the others said.

"Garen?" Vi asked. "They're your men. What are you going to tell them?"

"Captain!" Wisteria said. "Do your duty!"

"I will," Garen said. "And I remember my duty, unlike you, it seems, Wisteria. The mages will not be arrested today. They are free to go as far as I'm concerned."

"Traitor! Seize them!" Wisteria said. "Kill them all! The mages and any who assistant! Captain Crownguard, I relieve you of duty!"

The Vanguard fractured and splintered off into factions. Some laid down their arms, refusing to pick a side. More than a few attempted to attack the mages with their weapons, but still others rushed to the mages' defense.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way, Garen!" Wisteria said, jumping into the air with her weapon pointed straight at Garen's hand.

Sylas's chains came flying through the air, knocking Wisteria out of her jump and sending her plummeting to the ground.

"As am I, old friend," Sylas said, approaching Wisteria.

"You stopped being my friend a long time ago," Wisteria said, getting to her feet. "It's time you and all your rebellious mage friends answered for your crimes."

"No," Garen said, pointing his sword at Wisteria. "Not today. Not like this, Wisteria."

Wisteria roared, golden energy swirling around her feet as she charged up her magic. "Think about this. Do you really think you have the power to stop me, Garen?"

"If I do or don't," Garen said, "these mages have been fighting for Demacia, and I think they're owed something for that. I will protect them from you even if it means I forfeit my own life."

"And I'll protect you from her!" Lux shouted, running over to Garen's side and activating the Atlas Gauntlets' force field.

Wisteria raised her weapon up overhead, but multiple blasts of pink lightning converged on her position and struck her in the chest, sending her to her knees.

"Maybe none of you have the power to stop her," Vi said, approaching with her hand crackling with power, "but I do."

"I doubt that, storm mage!" Wisteria shouted, getting back to her feet.

"What does it take to put you down?" Vi asked. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. There's been enough bloodshed today, don't you think? Stand down before I have to add you to the pile."

"And let all these mages go free? When they're out in the open and the Mageseekers can finally cure Demacia of them? Absolutely not!"

Wisteria charged at Vi, who shot and struck Wisteria with impressive blast of lightning, but Wisteria just kept coming despite staggering.

Shyvana landed on the ground, and everyone took cover as she let loose with a blast of flame that enveloped Wisteria, Vi's lighting keeping Wisteria staggered long enough that Wisteria couldn't deflect or evade the blast of flame.

Wisteria, scorched and covered in soot and ashes, dropped to her knees, finally letting go of her weapon.

"Fools," Wisteria said. "The poison ... of magic ... will consume Demacia."

She fell on to her side, dead.

Sylas hung his head.

"Farewell, my friend," Sylas said. "You always hated what you were. Perhaps now you'll find some peace. May the Veiled Lady guide your soul."

With some assist from the mages and Vi in particular, the Vanguard members who didn't hesitate to turn on and attack the mage cohort were detained.

"Many of you have earned demotions, if not outright dismissal, in the Vanguard today," Garen said with a sneer. "Mages or no mages, I cannot abide men who refuse to follow orders and defy me - or choose to follow the orders of another."

"Is it over?" Rukko asked as Garen's loyalists began marching their chained former brothers through Demacia's gates. "Is it really over?"

"I think so," Vi assured him. "I think it is. The worst of it, anyway."

"Hear ye, hear ye!" the town crier said as King Jarvan and his retinue that consisted of Killian, Eldred, Shyvana, Luxanna, Tianna, and other Demacian nobles and lords arrived to make their announcement. Jinx, Vi, Morgana, Sylas, Caitlyn and Rukko watched from a safe distance.

"They are going to be some changes in Demacia, starting today," Jarvan announced to the crowd. "Earlier today, a Noxian army attempted to march on our gates and breach our walls. They were thankfully beaten back and repulsed due to the tireless efforts of the Demacian Vanguard ... and the mages, who we have we treated so unfairly for so long."

The crowd muttered and murmured and gasped.

"As of today, in thanks for their efforts in fighting Noxus, the mages are free and welcome in Demacia!" Jarvan said. "Any mage currently in prison with no other crimes on record is to be let free. The Mageseekers are hereby disbanded, and any noble who would ally with them and insist on their continued operations is henceforth my enemy, and I invite them to meet me on the field of battle! I recognize that this will be a great change for many of you. A difficult one. But I encourage you to keep open hearts and open minds, for if you look into the truth of the mages' hearts, you will find they are truly no different from us - as Demacian as any of you. That is all."

"It's a new day for Demacia, isn't it?" Jinx asked as Jarvan and the others left.

"Hardly," Sylas said. "You don't undo decades of propaganda and fearmongering with one measly announcement. There's still work to do to make it so that mages are equal, not lesser. The Mageseekers have been in power for generations and they won't give that up easily. But it's a start. We've punched a hole that wasn't there before."

"Well, we should be heading back to Piltover anyway," Jinx said.

"And if you need us," Vi said, "you can call us. And ask for our help. Not kidnap one of us to force it."

Sylas chuckled awkwardly.

Vi offered her hand in a gesture of intimiate trust that stunned Sylas as much as herself.

Sylas took her hand, and wrapped both of his hands around hers and shook it vigorously.

"Thank you, Thundercloud - Violet," Sylas said. "I won't forget this."

Vi saluted him, and she and her family went to go find a boat back home.

Morgana startled Sylas slightly when she appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You've done well," Morgana said. "You've grown."

"Have I?" Sylas asked. He looked over to Jarvan, and for once, looking at the king didn't make his heart rage like a tempest.

"Yes," Sylas said. "I suppose I have."

"That couldn't have been easy," Shyvana said, holding Jarvan's hand on their way back to the castle.

"It wasn't," Jarvan admitted, "at first." He smiled. "But through it all, I just kept thinking about you. About what this meant for you - what would happen to us. The nobles and the Mageseekers won't like it one bit, but ... someone, I think I can endure whatever they throw at me as long you're there to support me."

"And I will," Shyvana assured him, kissing him on the cheek.

"You are certain of this?" Swain asked, walking in circles around Katarina, who had come to his chambers and threw herself upon her knees at her feet.

"Yes," Katarina asked. "I have failed Noxus. I must be punished. My house servants would be too afraid to mete our the necessary punishments. My guards would over-correct and make it too strong."

"Have you consider asking your sister?" Swain asked.

"She doesn't understand why I have to be punished at all," Katarina answered.

"She is not a true daughter of Noxus, like you," Swain said. "You know it was her who made me aware of your plans, and about the storm mage you sought to employ?"

"That was her doing?" Katarina asked.

"Yes, and perhaps I deserve some punishment myself for going along with her suggestions," Swain said. "I am sorry, Katarina du Couteau. I should have trusted you to serve your country and left you to your own plots and schemes. Instead I saddled you with - with baggage and that has cost both of us dearly today."

"Yes," Katarina said. "But neither of us nearly so dear as those soldiers who I led to their deaths."

She handed Swain the whip, took off her corset and the shirt underneath, and presented her naked back to him.

"Seven hundred lashes," Katarina said. "One for each proud Noxian life that was lost today because of my hubris."

"Better make it seven hundred and one," Swain said as he cracked the whip to test its strength. "Counting the siege engine that dragon melted."

"I ..." Katarina said. "Yes, my lord."

Swain raised the whip up and prepared to bring it down.

"Whew," Jinx exhaled with a sigh as she, Vi, Lux and Caitlyn approached her apartment, back home safe and sound in Piltover. "I don't know about you girls, but I'm ready to sleep for three days straight after all that."

Sleep would not be forthcoming, as when they approached the apartment with the door open and Cassandra pacing nervously outside.

"Councilor?" Jinx asked.

"Sheriff," Cassandra said, her eyes nervously darting towards the door. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't normally anyone to be alone with Ren for any reason without your permission, but given the circumstances, I thought they deserved to have a chance to talk alone."

"What circumstances?" Jinx asked, entering the apartment.

Ren was sitting on the living room couch. Sitting next to her was a woman whose work-related outfit covered in leathers and straps, as well as prosthetic arm and leg marked her as being from Zaun.

"Who are you?" Jinx asked. Though with the woman's red hair, freckled face, and green eyes, Jinx had a pretty good suspicion about the answer even before the woman spoke and confirmed it.

"I'm Vanessa," the woman answered. "I'm Ren's mother."