Archive of Our Own

It was dark in the lab. Deep, seething, whispering dark that clung to corners, swarm-like, so that the beam of Caitlyn's torch couldn't quite dispel the shadows. As she swung it slowly across the room, edges swam into clarity, beakers and bottles suspending cruelly dissected creatures sat beside animal skulls and stones with strangely unsettling symbols etched into their surfaces. The light wandered back to her eyes tinged green or purplish-black from gruesome stains left unthinkably long on the steely edges of metal tables. Spiders had made their homes there in cathedral criss-cross edifices that snaked between the cracks so that every book and dust-ridden contraption was shored up with spider silk to save it from decay.

It was the sort of place her breath should have misted the air in front of her, but it didn't. like everywhere in Zaun, the room was oppressively hot like standing beside a beating heart, and Caitlyn was grateful to be wearing a simple shirt under her enforcer jacket instead of the turtleneck she always used to wear. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her horribly bare neck prickle upwards as her light glanced off the eyes of dead things that hadn't been allowed to rot.

The lab once belonged to one doctor Revik, who vanished soon after the war with Noxus had ended, leaving his grotesque projects in a cruel stasis. Caitlyn had thought that all of these spaces had been thoroughly dismantled in fear of someone stumbling upon something as deadly as shimmer, but apparently not. This laboratory now stood as the one final remnant of the mad scientist's sick experimentation, all in pursuit of the most elusive prize. Before his mysterious disappearance, the doctor searched tirelessly for a cure for mortality itself. Perhaps he had finally found what he was looking for, and he had saved his daughter, before they disappeared from Zaun completely, leaving the chaos of war in their wake.

Caitlyn breathed slowly in the dusty darkness, trying not to let her unease show in her rigid posture and betray the frantic beating of her heart. There was nothing down here, there never had been in any of Revik's secret labs, which is why the sheriff felt it reasonable investigating this place alone. Nevertheless, she kept her eye moving, trapped inside the beam of her flashlight as she roved it slowly across the room. A flash of movement caught her eye, and she snapped her light back in time to see a furry thing crawling back into the darkness behind the eye socket of a human skull.

Taking another breath, she pressed forward. She wasn't afraid per se, but she certainly felt a creeping sense of unease in this place. It didn't help that she had to watch her blind spot, and her head flicked to the left every few moments as if she could catch something lurking in her peripherals.

She recalled her first visit to one of these labs, where the man himself had brought her through to his secret room where his daughter floated silently in a vat of something crystalline, and told her about love.

She shivered at the memory, which pressed cold against her spine, and stepped towards the door at the end of the room. She'd still been wearing that cloak then, trying to drown herself in work like it could stop her from remembering how much of a monster she'd become. She was better now, not wholly, and as Vi had told her, the hole would never be filled, but she was getting better, slowly. No longer did she have to pretend to be someone she wasn't just to feel like a person again.

The door stuck, and she had to shove all of her weight against it, bare fingers clasped tight around the cold metal handle before it sprang open in a cloud of dust that shimmered in the steely beam of light before her. She looked away to stop herself from sneezing, before lifting the light to see inside the new room.

It was about as cluttered as the last, with more iron benches supporting all manner of needles and tubes connected to unidentifiable devices claimed by spiderwebs and time. Things glinted, not menacingly, but with a kind of eager excitement as they realised they'd been found once again, and they could begin their cruel work anew. An iron cage hung in the centre of the room, completely still. One side of it was warped open, thin metal bars split and curved jaggedly outwards. There was however nothing inside.

She lifted the beam to run it around the ceiling of the room, to peel back the shadows that had been left to fester there, and for a fragile second, she illuminated the form of a creature that hung from the ceiling, staring back at her with glowing red eyes. It's body was covered by thin black fur, and it hugged itself with two great leathery wings. Nothing moved, and then without warning, it screamed high and piercing at Caitlyn's intrusion, flying toward her face. She jumped backward, dropping her flashlight, which crashed to the floor as the bulb smashed, and the room fell to darkness.

She cursed loudly, feeling the thing flap about her head with an ugly beating sound, but unable to make it out in the now complete blackness of the room. She stepped back, and her hand caught a cobweb, which threaded around her fingers, yanking a glass something from the table with another shattering noise as she jerked away. The thing screeched, and she lifted her arms to fend it off, searching for the outline of the door to escape through.

She thought she saw it, and raced forward, but suddenly there was a sharp piercing sensation in the back right of her neck, and she cried out in pain. The thing, whatever it was, swept from the room as quickly as it had bitten her, and she tried to follow, but the wound throbbed, and she sank to her knees on the dark and grime-ridden floor. Lifting her arm up to her neck, she felt hot liquid pouring over her fingers, and two small punctures. She felt dizzy, nauseous, and it was as if something cold and wet was slipping over the back of her brain like a glove, burying its fingers deep into her mind.

She was on the floor now, but she didn't remember sinking further than her knees. Her brain throbbed to something else's rhythm, and softly glowing lights swam into one another across the walls like mixing paint. She had to close her eyes in an attempt to slow the overwhelming flow of information assaulting her brain. Rolling onto her back, she gasped for air as her limbs began to shake, and bile pooled at the back of her throat. All she could feel was her own blood, running white-hot through her veins as the pulsing latched to the back of her mind intensified.

Her thoughts danced between fight and flight, half of her brain still clutching to her enforcer training, skimming through manuals for anything that could have prepared her for this. The other half fled to visions of Piltover's gardens in the sun, airships flying in a clear blue sky, Vi's beautiful face smiling back at her. All things she'd never see again, because she'd stupidly gone alone into a dark lab at the bottom of the world, and died on the floor

After an undefinable length of time spent writhing on the floor, screaming in pain, the shaking began to subside, and the agony ebbed away until there was nothing but a dull throbbing headache left behind. It took Caitlyn several moments to realize that she hadn't actually died, and when that fact hit her, she took a further moment to stare at the ceiling in disbelief. She felt like she'd been poisoned moments before, but now she was… fine. She felt fine right? Something impossibly wrong gnawed at the back of her mind, but whenever she tried to focus, clouds swept back in to conceal it.

With a foggy head, she managed to roll onto her front, then push herself up on arms that felt shakier than normal, but perhaps sturdier than they really should. She had to stop at kneeling because a new wave a nausea slammed into her head, and she almost threw up right there, throwing out a hand to catch herself on the stone floor, which came back stained in her own blood. Once her thoughts cleared up again, she lifted a hand to feel at her neck, the pads of her fingers playing over the twin punctures there. They weren't bleeding anymore. Perhaps she'd be capable of a more nuanced assessment if her head weren't still being waylaid by impenetrable mists that made clear thinking impossible.

She needed to get back, that much was clear. Whatever her body had managed to do had clearly saved her, but she needed medical attention. Her father. Using a metal bench for support, she heaved herself upwards, and teetering only for a moment, stumbled out of the room.

The walk up to Piltover was long, and yet when it had ended, Caitlyn found she held almost no memory of it at all. She recalled stopping occasionally as her head screamed in pain, and she fought to hold back the vomit, but by now the pain had receded entirely, and she was just left with that dizzy mist that clouded up her thoughts just enough to be disorienting.

By the time she had reached the Kiramman mansion, she was breathing heavily, although she no longer felt the compulsion to lean on anything in sight in order to steady her swaying mind. It was still light now, at some point in the late afternoon, she posited, but the exact length of her return trip eluded her entirely.

Her head snapped up as the front door opened at the top of all those steps, and a worried Vi took them three at a time in order to catch her at the bottom, panic clear on her rugged features. "Oh my gods, Cait, come inside, where have you been? I heard you hadn't made it back to the station and then- Fuck, is that blood?" she gasped, wrapping an arm around Caitlyn's shoulders, which she could hardly protest considering Vi's strength, and helping her up the stairs.

"I need to get to my father," she said, voice firmer than the thoughts behind it. "I got bitten by something."

Vi started hauling her faster despite her own legs working perfectly fine. "Was it poisonous?" she said in a shaky voice.

"Venomous, darling," Caitlyn corrected, "and I don't know, I think maybe. Can you just get me to my dad?"

Caitlyn could hear the raw fear laced into Vi's unsteady breathing as she practically carried Caitlyn through the house, now confident with the route she needed to take to find her father's room. She didn't bother knocking, and he did seem momentarily to rise in anger, but he calmed, going three shades paler, the moment he saw Caitlyn's bloody shoulder.

"What happened?" he demanded, slipping into cool professionalism, and vacating his seat so that Vi could lay Caitlyn down on it like she couldn't walk perfectly well on her own.

Resigning herself to cooperation for now, she began to answer as Vi perched beside her, beseeched by worry. "I was down in Zaun, and I got bitten by something. I think some kind of bat. I was collapsed for a bit, but then I started to feel better, and I made it back here on my own."

Tobias exhaled calmly. "Alright, that sounds like some kind of venom I suppose. May I see the bite?"

Caitlyn nodded, lifting her hand. "Yes, it's right…"

Her fingers found no marks.

She could still feel the dried blood on her neck, but no punctures at all. "Right…" Pressing on the spot where her bite should have been stirred a vague sense of nausea in her stomach, but otherwise the skin was entirely healed over.

"Cait?" questioned Vi, looking down at her with deep concern.

She felt stupid voicing the thought, but, "It's gone."

"Gone?" asked Tobias slowly?

She frowned, staring at her fingers for several seconds. "It's healed. There's no mark there, but I remember it," she insisted, sounding to herself like a petulant child, arguing with the teacher.

Tobias seemed unconvinced. "Let me see?" he asked, and she pulled back her hair for him to view the bare skin. "And how long ago did it bite you?"

"You don't believe her," Vi accused. "She's covered in blood, Mr Kiramman."

"Oh for the sun's sake, call me Tobias, and yes I am a little sceptical. I've never heard of a bat biting someone before, and as you can plainly see, there's no wound. There don't even seem to be any symptoms."

Vi stood up to pace about the room. "She remembers it happening! Plus shimmer could have healed something like that."

Caitlyn missed her own window to interject as Tobias countered, "Shimmer that she doesn't remember taking. None of this makes sense. How can you be poisoned one minute then fine the next."

Vi crossed her arms. "It's not poison, it's venom," she said bitterly.

"Well, I feel fine," interrupted Caitlyn. "I've got a headache, but it's fading, so if you're not worried then I'm not."

Vi looked extremely sceptical, and Tobias frowned in thought. "Well there isn't anything I can do to treat a wound you don't have and if you really had been… If there really was venom in your system, then you would have all kinds of symptoms that you just don't have. I can't see what else there is to do."

He stroked his chin. "I'll have to suggest you take the week off work."

Caitlyn glared at him.

"Worth a try," he sighed. "Just look after yourself, ok? I'm going out for dinner with Camille tonight, but you make sure Vi looks after you properly."

Vi, who had been pacing around, looked almost offended at the suggestion that she might not be up to the task of looking after Caitlyn, but her face quickly switched back to concern. "You sure you're ok, cupcake?"

Caitlyn felt one last time at the mark on her neck. She felt… fine. There was nothing wrong with her. Nothing wrong at all. So why did she feel so uneasy? Like darkness was lurking just in her peripherals, waiting to seep in through the cracks one drop at a time.

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said, nodding enthusiastically.

*

Vi made dinner for them both that night. Caitlyn still insisted that the chef was happy to do it, and that she didn't need to work so hard in the kitchen, but secretly she preferred Vi's cooking anyway. She'd made them fish pie, and it looked exquisite. A layer of golden mash potato topping a rich creamy filling, which steamed slightly on the plate.

She'd wanted to just eat in the kitchen as they usually did, the dining table feeling far too vast without her mother's presence at its head, but there had been a smell that Caitlyn couldn't quite ignore, acidic and burning in her throat, which demanded they choose a different room. They'd spent a few minutes trying to locate it, and it appeared to be coming from the cupboard where they kept onions, garlic and potatoes amongst other things that didn't need the fridge. Vi hadn't been able to smell it at all, but Caitlyn had always seemed to be unfairly affected by particular sensations, and they were both already tired so they paid it no mind.

Now they sat at one corner of the ridiculous table, and clinked wine glasses, Vi enjoying the theatrics of playing rich for now. The silverware glinted in the warm light of the chandelier hanging from above, and as she picked it up, Caitlyn felt a sharp coldness as if it wanted nothing to do with her. She tried to ignore the sensation as she speared a piece of cod, and lifted it to her face, but when she parted her lips it was as if she could sense each knife-like prong entering her mouth, scraping her tongue, screaming against her teeth.

Vi's brow furrowed with concern looking at her. "Everything alright Cait?" she asked probingly.

Caitlyn shook herself from the trance and made to scoop up some potato. "Of course." After all she felt fine. There was nothing wrong with her. The not-bite on her neck felt as if it quivered. Nothing wrong at all.

Vi insisted on washing the dishes despite how useless it made Caitlyn feel whenever she did. She usually helped with the drying at least, somehow unable to get past the sensation of touching wet food underwater, but that horrid smell still lingered so she waited for Vi in her study, sorting through paperwork until her girlfriend returned.

Vi lit the fire, and refilled their glasses so they could sit and chat for a while longer before bed. Caitlyn told Vi about the laboratory and as many details as she was comfortable sharing around the bite. Vi told her never to go anywhere alone again, and she agreed wholeheartedly, but soon the conversation dwindled and Caitlyn found herself staring into the flames. They flickered and swam around themselves like tendrils, and although there was never any discernible pattern, she found herself transfixed, unable to avert her gaze. All she could see was fire, dancing flames, sparkling embers, twisting, writhing, hating her, and she kept staring as everything around collapsed away into blackness.

"Cait? Caitlyn?" asked Vi, and her attention snapped away from the fire to focus on her girlfriend instead, a new headache blooming now behind her working eye. "Gods you look tired. Are you sure you're ok? I know what your dad said, but I'm worried about you."

She sighed, exhausted. "You're right, tired. I should really get to bed, I've got to be at the station early tomorrow."

Vi's frown deepened. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"I feel fine, Vi. It's just been a long day."

Vi sighed thoughtfully. "Sure whatever. Just see how you feel in the morning ok?"

Caitlyn nodded, standing and leaving the fire behind, flickering at her back with cruel red light.

She made her way upstairs, and went to get ready for bed, slipping into a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt before going to brush her teeth. For just the faintest of moments, she thought she saw something, or possibly… didn't see something, but a few glances around the room showed her nothing out of the ordinary at all so she dismissed the slight feeling of lingering unease. She brushed her teeth carefully, taking exactly two minutes before she set down the brush, but just before leaving the room, she ran her tongue over her top row of teeth, feeling a vague… tingling there.

Looking into the mirror, she could see nothing wrong so she left, settling into bed, where Vi would soon join her, but even as her girlfriend settled beside her, making the sheets dip with her weight, Caitlyn still ran her tongue against her canine teeth, trying to combat the subtle itch buried deep in her enamel.

"Night cupcake," said Vi, snuggling up behind Caitlyn, who lay facing away tonight even though she usually preferred to play the part of big spoon.

"Night," she whispered, letting her tongue fall to rest in her mouth.

*

Caitlyn woke to a paper-thin crack of sunlight stabbing at her eye from a gap between the curtains. She almost recoiled, hissing as it stung her vision, and she rolled over grumpily to face the other way.

Vi lay there, beautiful as ever in the soft morning light, and Caitlyn stole a moment just to watch her. Her chest shifted noiselessly as she breathed, deep in peaceful sleep, the light dusting of freckles covering the bridge of her nose looking simply angelic beside her pretty, scarred lips. She could see Vi's pulse throbbing in her neck, and she watched fascinated by the tiny movement, so regular and… enticing.

Vi's eyes opened slowly, and Caitlyn moved her own to gaze into the familiar pools of wonderful grey that softened just gazing back at her. Vi's lips turned up into the shape of her signature crooked smile. "Hey, gorgeous," she whispered, and somehow Caitlyn managed not to blush like she did every morning they woke up like this.

After an all too finite moment, Vi's endless eyes shifted minutely and also completely so that she now wore an expression of concern like she had for most of last night. "How do you feel?" she asked, and Caitlyn dropped her gaze, disappointed.

"Fine," she insisted, but Vi looked less than convinced.

"You look kind of pale, Cait." She sighed sadly. "I don't like this at all."

Caitlyn huffed quietly, sitting up on the other side of the bed, and turning back to face that piercing sunlight. She lifted her eyepatch from the stand beside her bed, and slipped it on, carefully adjusting the strap so that it didn't dig into the top of her ear. "I feel completely normal," she countered. "There's nothing wrong with me."

She heard the creak as Vi sat up behind her on the bed and felt the warmth of a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just worried, ok? If you get to spoil me then I get to spoil you right back."

She smiled slightly at the remark, snuggling into the warmth of Vi's hand against her bare neck.

Vi winced. "Wow, you're cold Cait. Do we need another blanket?"

"You hated how soft these things were when you started living here, now you want more," she said teasingly.

Vi chuckled, drawing back her hand, and climbing out of bed in the other direction. "I told you didn't I? You're spoiling me."

Caitlyn laughed, looking over at the mirror on her nightstand. When she looked, she saw her reflection, and she always had, because otherwise that wouldn't make sense. It had been right there all through the conversation with Vi. Right there.

Vi was right, she did look pale, but it was nothing that a spot of makeup couldn't fix. She had quite the range of products she could deploy to cover up bags under her eyes or hickeys or… well it was mostly hickeys. Even so, it was nothing compared to the extensive array of makeup owned by her girlfriend. She considered for a moment before deciding that she likely was best off covering up. She'd had enough of Vi's pestering questions and she didn't need more of that all day.

Running her tongue along her teeth, and pointedly ignoring the faint tingling which had persisted since the previous night, she rose from the bed, and opened the curtains. She thought better of it immediately as she was blasted with radiant sunlight, and she cringed back.

Vi laughed at her, hair a mess from sleeping on the non-shaved side. "Gods you spend too long behind that desk cupcake. You've become a hermit."

Caitlyn blinked to clear the spots from her vision, while she hid around the corner. She wasn't the best at witty comebacks usually, and with the memory of the sunlight still stinging it was hopeless. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Violet."

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of motion so routine now that little of it found a foothold in her memory. The smell from the kitchen had doubled in intensity, and although Vi couldn't detect a thing, Caitlyn had to choose a different room again in fear of throwing up last night's dinner. Before too long, she was kissing her girlfriend goodbye and pushing open the front door into uncomfortable sunlight.

Perhaps she'd had too much to drink last night, and she was slightly hungover, or perhaps summer was truly underway and that's why she felt as if she could actually feel her skin burning away, but whatever it was, she found herself sticking to the shade on the other side of the street to her usual route, and turning up her collar to keep the rays off her neck.

By the time she made it to the station door, her skin felt itchy and hot, and she couldn't wait to step inside the building where it would be cool and dark and she could close her office blinds to keep out the sun, but then she just… stopped.

She was right at the threshold, but it was like she'd forgotten quite what to do next. She made to step forward then found herself standing still again, feet planted firmly on the floor. She frowned, staring at the doorway a little confused. Why was she hesitating? What was going on?

"Morning Sheriff," came a voice from inside, cutting through her thoughts, and she glanced up at Maggie, the receptionist, as she smiled from behind her desk. Caitlyn's expression must have still been a little unsure because Maggie spoke again some moments later. "Everything alright Sheriff?"

Caitlyn paused, staring again at the stupid doorway, which felt as if it was shrinking back away from her into the distance. She looked up to meet Maggie's eyes feeling slightly… ashamed. "Can I come in?" she asked uncertainly.

Maggie blinked. "Ahh, well I should think so yes Sheriff, um, you may come inside…" she trailed off, looking more than a little bewildered.

Caitlyn shook her head, stepping through the threshold easily. "Right." She cleared her throat and schooled her expression back to neutrality. "Yes, thank you Maggie." She ignored the look she got back, and headed straight for her office.

For a moment she considered opening her blinds, but one peek outside dissuaded her. It was too bright, and electric bulbs had been invented for a reason. Everyone was probably doing it today anyway.

She buried herself in paperwork throughout the day, glad to feel her skin cooling down a little in the dimly-lit room. She had to abandon her third cup of tea halfway as it seemed to be making her teeth feel worse, and from then on she found herself absent-mindedly pushing against them with a finger whenever she was engrossed in something else, trying desperately to ignore the persistent itching tingle that had wormed its way inside. Whenever her tongue touched the ends of her canines, she marvelled at how sharp they seemed to be, and she could almost imagine they felt… longer too.

By the time it came to seven, when she would normally think about leaving, the sun was still far from setting, and peering through a crack in her blinds, Caitlyn saw that the sunlight was far from diminished. In fact it seemed even more radiant and fiery than before, making her shrink back as it stung her skin, and she felt as if she was about to blister.

Well, she couldn't go out in that, she'd have to wait for sunset. With a loud huff, she paced about the room for a few moments before crashing back into her seat. Maybe there really was something wrong with her. She'd been feeling off for a while now, and even she had to admit it.

She groaned again as her teeth began to ache. It was like biting into something ice cold, and she felt as if her nerves were being overloaded. She pressed a finger to her upper left canine, willing the sensation to stop. There was definitely something wrong with her teeth. Something bone-deep and chilling like the dread of standing at the end of a corridor and watching each of the lights above blink out.

A knock sounded at the door, and she instinctively dropped her hand, taking a moment to compose herself before calling out, "Come in."

Maggie entered the room, small briefcase in hand with a coat resting over one arm. Caitlyn wondered how she could possibly want it in this heat. "I'm just closing up now Sheriff," she said with a friendly smile. "Don't stay too late now will you," she added with a wink.

Caitlyn gave the woman a tight smile, suddenly very conscious that she didn't want anyone seeing her teeth. Whatever was happening to them, she needed to know about it first. "Thank you Maggie," she said, with a hand raised slightly to cover her mouth. When the woman didn't move, she gave her a pointed look. "That'll be all."

Maggie nodded. "Of course ma'am." Then she exited the room, closing the door with a soft click.

Caitlyn exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. She didn't have a mirror here, but she needed to see for herself what was happening to her mouth. Glancing over the table she picked up a pen with a shiny metal grip, but she couldn't seem to find an angle that would show her anything reflected in its surface. It must have been too small or the room was too dim. She dropped it, and continued searching, grabbing the picture of her mother with its glass covering. Rotating it slowly, she still couldn't find an angle that seemed to reflect anything except the ceiling light and she huffed in frustration, placing it back on her desk where it belonged.

She closed her eyes, groaning at the ceiling. She'd just have to wait till she got back, but it was infuriating, not knowing, and just like anything that got lodged in Caitlyn's mind, it wouldn't leave her alone until she solved it so she paced, feeling completely restless and getting herself increasingly worked up until it was finally dark enough that she could justify the walk home.

She practically ran from the office.

After the scorching heat of the day, the night felt incredibly pleasant. It was cool and welcoming, almost like she truly belonged there, and she wrapped its shadows around her shoulders as she made the brisk walk back home to the mansion she shared with Vi and her father.

It stood framed against the darkness with its scattered few feeble lights glowing from one or two windows holding back the night. It looked even more imposing and lifeless than usual, but Caitlyn barely registered the sight, clenching her teeth hard as she took the stairs up to the main door two at a time.

She inserted the big brass key, and turned it with a loud clunk, hoping to make it to one of the many bathrooms without running into anyone, but luck was clearly very much against her as she swung open the door to find Vi standing right there in the hallway, looking more worried than ever.

She looked like she'd been standing there for some time, waiting for Caitlyn to get back, and her hair was ruffled by hands constantly running through it with impatience or nervousness. She was wearing a simple vest and her gear tattoo was visible right there on her neck.

"Cait?" she said, frowning.

Caitlyn could only focus on her neck. That tattoo hid something so incredible, a pulse throbbing gently beneath her skin, carrying something rich and beautiful.

"Caitlyn?"

Blood, yes that's right. Why had she never tried it before? It must be so delicious. She could practically hear Vi's heartbeat in her ears, thumping against her eardrums, goading her to move. She felt sick, and with all her willpower, she pushed past Vi, running up the stairs to her bedroom as fast as she could.

Vi's shouts were lost somewhere far behind as she slammed the door, flicking the lock closed. She turned into the room and froze. There was the shower in the corner, there was the pristine washbasin set into its marble counter. There was the mirror on the far wall, but nowhere was her own reflection. It was so unfathomably wrong, like an impossible staircase that climbs upwards forever. Ice crawled down the back of her neck as she stared at the reflection of the doorway, at the hole where she was supposed to be.

Her breath was coming out shallow and fast, her mind was racing uncontrollably down uneven river rapids, her heart was… her heart wasn't thundering in her chest. She put a hand to her breast, but she couldn't feel a beating at all through her thick enforcer jacket. Cursing, she ripped off her glove to try and test her pulse, and gasped at just how pale her hands were. They seemed paper-white and the veins were empty. They reminded her of her mother's hands, that final image of the coffin lid closing burned forever into her brain.

A thumping on the bathroom door ripped her from her thoughts. "Cait, let me in. If there's something wrong, I can help," Vi called out, rattling the handle. "Cait let me through the fucking door."

Caitlyn stepped towards the door, and her teeth sang. Blood, they cried, fresh blood. "No!" she yelled, backing away, whilst holding a thumb to her wrist, trying to find her pulse.

"Caitlyn, open the fucking door," shouted Vi, clearly agitated.

"Just go away!" she shouted back, but her teeth revolted. They wanted her inside, they wanted to taste her blood, and Caitlyn gasped in pain as they prickled angrily again.

"Cait?" came Vi's voice, heavy with panic. "I'm coming in." A loud crash sounded as Vi threw her weight against the door.

Caitlyn shook her head, but no words came out as she backed away, pressing her hands into the shower tiles behind her. They felt warm beneath her lifeless fingers. Another crash came as she brought trembling fingers up to feel at her teeth, and their tips felt cruelly sharpened fangs. She heard herself whimper, feeling like she wasn't really in control of her own body anymore and was instead a frightened onlooker somewhere far above.

"It's ok Cait I'm coming," came Vi's voice before another crash, which began to splinter the wood around the bolt.

Caitlyn's finger slipped downwards along the thin edge of the fang, feeling the pressure against her gums as if it really were attached to her own body. She reached the tip, and felt the sickening sharpness piece the end of her finger. Gulping back a cream, she shrank against the tiles, throat burning, eyes stinging with frightened tears, fangs itching with hunger.

In a cloud of plaster and wooden shavings, Vi burst through the door, which now hung limply on one hinge, swinging against the bathroom wall. She ran forward, and Caitlyn tried desperately to recoil further into her corner, but her back hit the wall again. "Don't look at me," she screamed, but realised too late that she'd revealed her fangs, and watched in a mixture of horror and relief as Vi froze, fear or disgust or something terrible evident on her face.

She tried to clamp her mouth shut but the damage had been done. Her fangs willed her to get up, to feast, but she ignored them shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she choked out, and it looked as if Vi's heart had been broken.

She crouched down, eyes darting over Caitlyn's body as she tried to writhe away in fear. Very slowly, Vi lifted her hand and placed it against Caitlyn's cheek. "I've got you," she whispered. Caitlyn's fangs screamed, but she kept her jaw clenched tight. "Whatever this is, we'll get through it. Together."

Tears now flowing freely down her face, Caitlyn let Vi lift her up, let Vi pull her into a warm embrace, let Vi hold her until she stopped shaking. "Together," whispered Caitlyn.

*

Caitlyn strode purposefully across the rooftops of Piltover, long dark cloak sweeping behind her, moonlight guiding her steps. She licked her lips, catching some more blood at the corner of her mouth and greedily swallowing it, savouring the sweet metallic taste that sustained her.

She spotted the window she needed far ahead, and she continued, footsteps soft as if she were gliding. Her fangs buzzed, satisfied by their latest meal, but she didn't react, staring off over the midnight blue darkness blanketing Piltover.

Immortality. That's what Dr Revik had been searching for. A way to cheat his daughter's death. He'd clearly found it, perhaps that's why he had taken her and disappeared, but some piece of the puzzle didn't quite add up.

Why, if he had found this power, would he leave it in a lab, abandoned? Why, if he had used his creature to cure his daughter, had it been kept so far away, in an entirely different part of Zaun? Why would there be pieces of repurposed hex-tech sitting in the other laboratories, a mark of Viktor's clear involvement.

Perhaps the doctor did have some shred of humanity left. Perhaps he realized that simply saving a life would not be enough. Perhaps he would rather his daughter never wake than live half of a life as some twisted monster, having to feed from the blood of animals, never being able to feel the warmth of sunlight again.

She crouched, lifting up the window and stepping inside. On the other side of the room lay a woman with greying hair. Her face was wrinkled with age, but her grey eyes still shone with that same deep kindness that they always had. The only warmth that Caitlyn had left.

"Hello darling," she said, stepping up to the bedside.

Vi's eyes moved slowly downwards, fixing themselves on her own unwrinkled face. "Hey, cupcake," she managed, smiling sweetly.

Perhaps Doctor Revik abandoned his research. Perhaps he never saved his daughter. Perhaps he realized that to live forever really is no life at all.