Chapter Text
* * *
Jinx closed her eyes.
BOOM!
The heat of the explosion washed over her, followed by the blast that tore her apart. There was no pain -it happened too fast for that.
There was only . . . peace.
Then warmth, like those stolen moments where Jinx would be in the sun. And a cool breeze blowing over her, like it would carry her up and away. Jinx had never believed in Janna, the spirit of the winds who was the patron deity of Zaun. It was said that her winds took the souls of the dead above the clouds, to freedom.
It was a nice thought, and Jinx was almost tempted to open her eyes-
“Hey!” came a shrill, demanding female voice. “Get up!”
The voice was coupled with something hard poking into her side, shaking her!
What the fuck?!
Jinx’s eyes shot open, just in time to see . . . something. It was a purple, partially translucent blob of something.
Did someone’s grape jelly get mixed with the Hexcore?
Then the blob tensed before leaping through the air, and landing on Jinx! The moment it hit her, there was a hiss of acid -and Jinx yelped in pain!
Shimmer burned in Jinx’s veins as she leapt to her feet, but the blob was stuck on her! Whatever it was made of, it was sticky as hell!
“It’s a void creature -don’t let it get close enough to hit you!” the same demanding voice said, but now tense with worry.
“Get it off me!” Jinx yelled, shaking herself as much as possible -as if it would get it off.
Bonk!
Jinx grunted as a staff -probably the same one that was shaking her earlier- hit the creature and also went through it to impact Jinx as well!
“Don’t hit me, idiot!” Jinx hollered.
“I didn’t mean to!” the voice said, high-pitched and stressed. “Close your eyes!”
“What?” Jinx exclaimed.
Suddenly there was a bright glow, so bright that Jinx’s undercity-tuned eyes burned with pain -and her body did, too, as a bolt of light hit the slime and her! Jinx shrieked in pain, but at least the slime’s skin hissed as it was boiled alive! It fell from Jinx’s front with a thump, but that didn’t change the fact that Jinx’s skin was burning!
“Oww!” Jinx yelled, blinking her eyes opened. “What’d you do that for?!”
“You weren’t killing it,” the voice answered, a bit snooty. “And you’re supposed to be the hero!”
“That was a one-time thing!” Jinx protested. “And only ‘cause my little sister was in prison!”
Jinx’s eyesight was blurry, but she could make out the indistinct shape of a person standing in front of her. A little taller than she was, dressed in armor and holding a double-ended stave . . .
“Your sister was in prison?” she asked.
“I tried to keep her away -I told her! But she just had to go off and . . .” Jinx trailed off, shaking her head. “Y’know what, I’m not gonna finish that sentence ‘cause that’s gonna feel weird considering what my sister told me not to do.”
The young woman furrowed her brow. “Your little sister-”
“Big sister,” Jinx corrected. “Doesn’t matter. Where am I, and why aren’t I dead?”
“I suppose introductions are in order,” the woman said, smiling. “You are in the land of Demacia, and you aren’t dead because I killed the void . . . thing.”
Jinx’s vision cleared enough to see the woman before her.
Standing a few inches taller than Jinx was a woman clad in a steel breastplate over some kind of tight black bodysuit. A mantle of white and cold hung from her shoulders, connected to her armor, while more of the same fabric hung from her hips. Steel and gold vambraces clung to her forearms, while she clutched in her hand a staff that was maybe a meter and a half long, topped with scepter-like gold ends.
But what Jinx focused on most was how her shoulder-length blond hair fell in waves around her head like soft, spun gold. And her eyes, bright blue and enchanting -though tinged with annoyance at the moment. Perfectly pink lips adored her fair skin and were spread in a rehearsed smile that almost reached her aristocratic cheekbones.
She was beautiful . . . but beautiful in an extremely Piltie way, so Jinx just scowled and turned away.
Step by step, Jinx started going through the grassy field she found herself in. In times past, she would’ve been amazed at the sight. All the verdant greenery, the sun shining down from above, a breeze playing with the wildflowers -all things that just weren’t seen in Zaun. But at the moment, Jinx didn’t care -the only reason she was walking was because she saw smoke in the distance.
“So, hero, what’s your name?” Lux asked, walking alongside her uninvited, her voice suddenly cheerful and peppy.
Jinx didn’t dignify that with a response.
About a minute passed in silence.
“Okay, then,” Lux accepted, not seeming put-off by Jinx’s lack of response and keeping her bright tone. “I suppose I’ll explain a few things. I . . . may have used the Sword of the Veiled Lady to cut a hole through reality and summon a hero, which . . . may have bound our souls together in some way. But it’s for a good cause! These people have faced much peril: Prince Jarvan IV oppresses them, his mageseekers constantly rooting out any who are suspected to have magic and locking them up. He’s opposed by Sylas, a mage whose methods of rebelling hurt the innocent as well. Worse, invaders from afar have come time and time again. And of course, we can’t forget all the monsters. That void creature was an anomaly from using the Sword of the Veiled Lady to cut through the Void to you, but . . . there will be other monsters.”
Jinx’s skin still burned from it -or rather, from what Lux did to kill it.
“But don’t worry!” Lux said brightly. “I’m here to help you every step of the way! I can use my light to restrain our enemies, slow them down, damage them -or just protect you.”
Jinx snorted at that. You hurt me more than the void thing did . . .
“I’m sorry about that!” Lux apologized, her voice still cheerful. “I thought you’d be able to handle it, then it looked like you couldn’t, so I overreacted.”
At that, Jinx had no reaction. But just as she’d hoped, the smoke she’d seen curling into the sky came from chimneys. There was a small village, and it wasn’t far away.
“It looks like you’re healing on your own!” Lux recognized, still way too bright and chipper. “How are you doing that? Do you have magic, too?”
No response. But Lux was doing just fine at carrying the conversation herself.
Lux’s bright smile twitched a bit, but she kept it up.
“I’d like to know what you can do, hero, so that we can work together to save this land,” Lux said. “We’ll be facing a lot of danger, and if we don’t cooperate, innocent people will die.”
Jinx just kept walking. The village was close, now, and Jinx could hear the ringing of metal striking metal -a blacksmith.
Perfect.
“By innocent people dying, I also mean us,” Lux emphasized, her smile becoming strained. “In case you need that clarified.”
That’s plan B.
For now . . .
Jinx walked through the houses of the village, which was a profoundly weird experience. They were all made of wood -a rarity in the undercity- and with thatch roofs -another rarity. The structures were all much more spaced-out than anything Jinx was used to, even in her forays into Piltover. All that was combined with the stench of mud and shit.
Fortunately, the symbol of a hammer and anvil was common even in Zaun, so Jinx knew exactly where to go to find the blacksmith. She pushed open the solid wooden door and stepped inside.
The blacksmith’s shop was large, large enough to hold their bellows, forge, anvil, tools, and everything else to work the trade. Currently hammering away at some horseshoes was a burly woman wearing a leather apron over simple clothes, her sweaty black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She noticed them as they walked in.
“What can I get for you?” the smith asked, putting the horseshoe into a bucket of water to cool.
“Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal,” Jinx said. “And a mortar and pestle.”
Lux furrowed her brow, her smile faltering further. “What are those? Are you going to draw something with the charcoal?”
Jinx promptly ignored her.
The blacksmith moved around her shop, grabbing what Jinx wanted and piling it on the counter.
“How much d’you need?” the smith asked.
Jinx looked at what was arrayed before her. “That’ll do.”
Her hand drifted to her waist, but-
Her pistol was gone.
Jinx closed her eyes as she remembered a brave, brilliant girl grabbing it from her . . . putting three hexgems in, running towards a monster-
“Pleasure doin’ business,” the smith said.
Jinx blinked, seeing Lux handing the smith a few coins -and some of them were gold.
Not surprising, it looks like she has a lot of it . . .
Then Lux turned to face her, those bright blue eyes interested -and that damn smile was gone, too. “I can help you carry-”
But Jinx picked it all up with nary a grunt, her shimmer-enhanced strength more than up to the challenge.
From there, it was easy for Jinx to step outside again and -in a rare show of consideration- step away from the village.
“Stay here,” Jinx ordered.
Lux stiffened. “As the local here, it’s my duty to guide and protect you-”
“Just stay,” Jinx muttered, tiredness thick in her voice. “Hurt enough people already.”
“What are you doing?” Lux asked, the smile nowhere to be seen.
Jinx didn’t answer -she just kept walking.
“I paid for all of that,” Lux reminded her. “I think I should at least know why I bought it for you.”
Still, no response.
“It was expensive!” Lux protested. “Well, not really expensive. But there was only so much I could steal -umm, liberate- when I . . . nevermind.”
Jinx sat down and started grinding up the ingredients. They each needed to be a fine powder-
Huh . . . a fine Powder . . .
Jinx smiled sadly.
A better Powder.
You were so much better than me . . .
But I’m coming to see you soon. I promise.
With steady motions, Jinx ground her purchases to dust. It was slow, but she had nothing else to do.
“Are you making something to fight with?” Lux asked, confused. “When we went to the blacksmith, I thought you want a sword -or maybe a spear. Not . . . this. Whatever it is.”
Mostly saltpeter, around fifteen percent charcoal, and about twelve percent sulfur.
Easy.
She hadn’t done it a million times, but this wasn’t the first.
Soon enough, it was done. Before Jinx was a large pile of finely ground black powder, all of it mixed together.
“What are you doing?” Lux asked, her voice slipping into annoyance.
With deliberate slowness, Jinx laid down on the black powder, trapping it between herself and the ground.
“This isn’t a time to rest,” Lux protested. “We need to work out a plan -or at least learn about each other!”
But of course, Jinx just didn’t care.
Why would she?
It wasn’t hard to make a spark, and Jinx closed her eyes.
Time to finish what I-
“No!” Lux yelled-
There was a flash of golden light all around her-
BOOM!
The heat of the explosion washed over her, followed by the blast that flung her into the air! She was remarkable intact for being blown up, but the golden light that surrounded her had to be some otherworldly, celestial prescence, right?
Didn’t think I’d go anywhere good after I died . . .
There was only . . . peace.
Then Jinx gasped as she hit the ground with a meaty thump. Her eyes flew open, her gaze darting all around-
To see an angelic face look down at her, frustration and annoyance writ plain over her features!
Damnit.
* * *
When Lux tried to summon a hero to save her homeland of Demacia, she had no idea what would come out. Probably someone like Garvan: Large, male, square-jawed, all that.
This is definitely better. Lux decided, her eyes raking the newcomer’s body from head to toe.
Her hero was a gaunt young woman with bright blue hair, her bangs going low on one side. Scorched cloth wrapped around her chest, and left her stomach half exposed -something that Lux was not staring at! Not at all! Just like she wasn’t staring at the tight black pants that looked practically painted on.
Damnit, I can’t be thinking of how she looks right now! Stop being gay, Lux, and focus on the fact that she just blew herself up!
WHY?!
Lux stared down at the woman, whose pink eyes opened blearily before looking up at her.
“And what was that about?” Lux asked, crossing her arms.
The blue-haired woman huffed. “Isn’t it obvious, Blondie?”
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Lux questioned incredulously.
The woman rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Again, isn’t it obvious?”
Lux stamped her foot in frustration. “You’re the hero! You can’t kill yourself!”
And at that the woman sprang to her feet and leaned in, her pink eyes staring intently into Lux’s blue ones!
“Why not?” she demanded, her breath hot against Lux’s face.
Lux blushed, looking away. She’s so close . . .
“You . . . you did something?” she growled, then shook her head. “Whatever. I’m gonna go back to the blacksmith, make more gunpowder, do this again, and this time, don’t do . . . whatever that was.”
“No!” Lux objected. “You’re the hero! We need you!”
“Nuh-uh,” she shook her head. “I did that hero thing once, and that was enough for me.”
“Why?” Lux asked. “Surely you saved lives.”
“Oh, sure, a lot of ‘em,” she growled. “I even kept trying. I made good with my sister, I tried to get my father somewhere safe! But d’you know what all my efforts got me? A dead sister! A dead father!”
Lux stepped back in the force of her rage and pain.
“If she just listened to me and stayed home, none of it would’ve happened! She’d still be alive, Vander might’ve been alive too,” she yelled, then crumpled, tears flowing from her eyes. “If I listened to her and stayed home, maybe they’d still be alive . . . maybe Vander . . .”
Lux’s breath caught. The pink-eyed young woman slumped to her knees, stifled sobs wracking her body as she tried to get control of herself. But self-control had never been her strong suit . . .
Sinking to the ground next to her, Lux put an arm around her shoulders to offer what scant comfort she could. The woman tensed-
“I’m sorry,” Lux murmured.
“Then let me die,” she choked out, her voice ragged.
“I’m sorry,” Lux whispered. “This world needs you.”
“I don’t care,” she growled, voice cracking. “Find someone else.”
“I can’t,” Lux confessed. “What I did to summon you, I can’t do again. The Veiled Lady’s sword was destroyed in the process, and I don’t think she’ll give me another. I just . . . wish it hadn’t picked you.”
“Probably wanted my older sister,” she muttered. “She’s the hero type.”
“My older brother is, too -his name is Garen,” Lux confessed. “Tall, broad, strong. A jaw like an anvil. Maybe not the sharpest sword on the rack, but he has a heart . . . and he knows how to fight like no one else. Everyone looks up to him. Garen, my perfect older brother . . .”
Her words seemed to have helped. The other woman relaxed in her half hug, no longer crying.
“D’you ever wonder why it happened?” she asked plaintively. “Why they’re so perfect, and we’re so . . . us? What’s wrong with us?”
“I know what’s wrong with me,” Lux murmured.
Jinx’s breath caught.
There was someone who got it. Someone who understood.
Which meant, for a moment, she didn’t feel quite so alone.
For a moment, her rest could wait.
She snorted. “Guess I know too. Somehow jinxed my own suicide. Guess it’s not too late for introductions . . .”
Lux smiled softly, extending a hand. “I’m Luxanna. Call me Lux.”
The other woman took it, giving it a weak shake.
“I’m Jinx,” she murmured. “Call me Jinx.”
A soft giggle escaped Lux’s lips at the weak joke.
“Jinx,” Lux said, tasting the name. “I like it.”