Two Player Mode! Fight!
Abandoned Arcade: Undercity; Late Afternoon
“That should do it…” Powder said aloud, pulling the last gear frame out of the console, and examined the broken teeth on individual gears. She gave them a spin, confirming that the frame was still workable, and placed it in the order that the removed them, her head bopping with the song that was running through her head.
She stuck her head back inside the cabinet and used the cross-blade spanner to unhook the chem-battery that powered the lights and the program rods, which really excited her. She loved cutting in the notches that made the entire system work, the literal brain of the game. Between her and Ekko, they’d really make something special out of this old machine, making it super cool if she could get the parts to move even smoother and blend into all the actions the clockwork Teemo piece did. Maybe if she could get it up and running, she could debut it in the Last Drop on her name day, which was coming up quickly. She was going to be twelve, and the same age as Ekko for a few weeks before his name day.
To get the console over to the Last Drop, she’ll have to get Vi and Claggor, and maybe Vander to come over and pick it up, unless she could somehow make something to lift it over there. Maybe if she had a hand cart, she could move it a little easier. If Steve was back by then, he’d just carry it over himself she grinned. He mentioned that he let his government experiment on him because he wanted to fight in the worldwide war where he came from, that he started out super sickly. It made him crazy strong, able to pick up the boxing machine, and move the Teemo game around like it was half the weight. She hoped he’d be back before her name day.
It was silly, she knew. Steve had a lot of things going on, and probably wouldn’t have time to see them, but she’d really like it.
She released the chem-battery from its mooring and scooched her way out of the console with the heavier than she thought power source. Powder cleared the inside of the console and putting the battery with the rest of the parts, she looked around and realized that it was later than she thought. The light from the window illuminated the room, but there were more shadows in here when the chem-lamps were off. It was a little spooky, and not the fun kind. She stood up and started walking over to the chem-lamps next to the boxing machine.
Powder shuddered, as a sudden chill ran down her spine like there was someone standing behind her, breathing down her neck. She stopped and whirled around, the spanner still in her hand. No one there. She looked around, not moving to see what could have given her the willies…
Nothing.
She took a couple of steps backwards, the spanner at the ready to throw. Powder had been here by herself several times in the past few days, but this was the first time that the lights were out or any kind of spooky things before now. Maybe it was her imagination. The girl shook her head, she was acting like a baby. Someone would have mentioned it before, especially Claggor, who has an overactive imagination like her.
Hey
She spun around and swiped the empty air with the spanner. Her eyes darted around, looking for anything that could have made that noise. If she made it up to the chem lamps, she could turn on the lights, and all the spooks would be gone. Spooks can’t exist in the light...
Shuffling behind her and the feeling of cobwebs on her neck caused her to spin around again and trip over her own feet, crashing onto the stairs and throwing the spanner across the room. It clattered across the wood floor, and into the far wall as she scrambled back up, rushed up the stairs to the chem-lamps next to the boxing machine.
Powder grabbed the lever and pushed it up, opening the fluid line when the lever contacted the spark plate allowing the illuminated chemicals to full the tubes. Light flooded the arcade, and a sigh of relief escaped her. She’d collect her tools and leave. They were right over by the Teemo machine, just grab them and go. Powder turned and started down the stairs...
The lamps turned off with a thunk, plunging the arcade into darkness again and froze. This time, it felt even darker than it had been before. The shadows seemed deeper, and it was getting cold. It felt like there was a grip around her heart as she took a step towards the Teemo machine.
No
Powder heard the voice coming from where her tools were laying and stopped deciding that she can get them in the morning. it was time to go. he door to the street was wedged shut, and impossible to open ever since they started using the place as a hideout without a prybar, so she’d need to use the door to the alley. No problem, just run past whatever horrible thing was wandering around their safe space and get back to the Last Drop. She started towards the back, one step at a time. She just had to get out.
She heard shuffling again and creaking of the floorboards halted her. Whatever was here was there now, all around her scratching like something wanted to get out? Rats?
“Vi?” She said aloud, though it was little more than a whisper. She would be so angry if her sister was messing with her. She hugged herself as she took some steps back away from the prize room looking into the darkened corners of the arcade. “Please stop.” She whispered, her body beginning to shake uncontrollably. The darkness of the corner had a darker shape as the scratchies formed around her peripheral vision. No no NO no no notnownotnow.. “Leave me alone.”
Die
She burst forward, panic taking over and sprinted to the prize room. All she’s must do is jump the counter and blow past whatever was back there. Powder had to get out the door, she didn’t have a choice, she had to get past whatever it was, get past it. Run. Get to Vi, Run!
Her body suddenly stopped working, her limbs frozen in place mid run and fell forward hit the ground hard like a rag doll. Her face scraped on the wood and could feel the splinters in her cheek. She could move her eyes, but she couldn’t move any other part of her body. Out of the farthest corner of the arcade where she saw the shape came a burst of flame that illuminated a tall man with wild hair and a chilling smile. The flame ball wasn’t fire, but an orb of purple light, spinning and following him as he walked towards her, illuminating the area around him. He was wearing workers clothes, but he didn’t look like any worker from the lanes. He looked like a monster, with the scratchies tracing a skull around his face. No, the scratchies wasn’t him, it was her imagination. He wasn’t a monster; he was a man who wanted something. Tears streamed down her cheeks and nose, dropping onto the floor as she tried to move her limbs, but the most she could do was shift her legs a little bit.
He kneeled next to her, and with a sharpened fingernail, traced her eyebrows before pushing her forehead hard. “Useless.” He spoke. “You don’t deserve the power you received.”
Powder whimpered, unable to say anything. Whatever happened took he voice too. What power was he talking about, she didn’t have any power. She was powerless, useless.
He looked at her, cocking his head. “You don’t realize what happened, do you...” and smiled. “You pathetic little sump rat. Maybe I’ll blow you apart like I blew apart the pink haired spy.” He shrugged “Hopefully you didn’t know them.” And stood up. “You're going to tell me who cast the spell...” he said, standing. She didn’t hear him, all she heard was ‘I blew apart the pink haired spy’ This man killed Vi... There was a roaring in her ears, and her vision started to blur.
“Liar...” She managed to get out. There was no way this sleemo killed Vi, no way no way no way no way no way
The man glared at her and reached down grabbed her by the front of her shirt, lifting her face to face. He was stronger than he looked, holding her up with one hand at eye level. She was skinny but she wasn’t THAT skinny. His luminescent purple eyes bore into hers, judging her. “You shouldn’t be able to talk...” he said. “Not until I tell you that you can...” She could feel the cool air on her now exposed belly. She wanted to pull her shirt down, but she couldn’t move.
“stop” Powder said, she could feel her face flush with shame and embarrassment, all mixing with the fear and resentment and refusal to believe his words. He didn’t kill Vi.
“I see...” he said, his eyes flashing purple, “The power you absorbed is giving you some resistance.” he smirked. “I’ll just have to take that from you. A little Trencher like you doesn’t deserve it, only Magicborne should own the Arcane.” He chuckled. “Do you know anything about this place? Who owned it before you and your little friend took it for a club house or whatever you do here?” he said, taking the sharpened nail on his off hand and traced the course of her tears. “Andor left his trophies here, buried under the floorboards. Maybe I’ll bury you here.” He spoke. “Or you can tell me what I want to know…”
Powder willed herself to nod, and this time she was able to do it.
“Speak, who cast the spell.” The magicborne commanded. Powder suddenly felt her throat and mouth release, and she was able to talk again.
“I... got a rune from an old man.” She whimpered, trying not to hyperventilate though she wanted the scream at him. She wanted to rage at him. He squinted at her. “A rune? On a stone?”
“Canvas.” She managed. She wanted him to put her down… “I made a wish...” She could move her foot a little bit, maybe she could kick him.
“A wish? A WISH??” he shook her, now holding her with both hands. “A WISH!!!!” His eyes flashed dangerously. “Who gave it to you. Ryze? That Demacian Bitch? Do you know what you’ve done?” He shrieked; his eyes wide with outrage. “You depleted a Mana vein for, what, a doll? Some food you don’t need?” He pulled her close enough she could smell his horrid breath. “A MANA VEIN!” his voice cracked from his shrieking. “You absorbed all that energy, but don’t worry, I’ll relieve you of the responsibility of Mage craft.” The scars on his hands began to glow, and she suddenly felt like her skin was covered in ants, while all the air was being pulled from her. Powder started to feel very sleepy, and like she was being pulled by her chest as the world started graying out...
And she was suddenly free, falling to the ground as a blurred figure crashed into the man’s face, spinning him to the wood floor. Powder looked up from where she fell, and all the color returned to her world and her body responding to her again.
Vi slid to a halt near the stained-glass window and launched forward slamming into the man, knocking him off kilter. She grabbed him by his hair while he was off balance and began punching the man in the center of his face until there was an audible crunch as his nose broke. The man snarled, and backhanded her sister in the face, knocking her back and rolled up onto his feet as his face gushed blood, she could see his eyes swollen shut. Vi closed the space between them as he released purple energy from his palm, barely missing her as she ducked out of the way. The energy burst hit the boxing machine, blowing a hole into it and a bright flash from the chemical burn off.
Vi grabbed her arm, pulling her forward and sprinted towards the prize room as another blast exploded next to them. This bolt was powerful enough to splinter the doorframe and get a sound from both the sisters. He released magic bolts wildly as Vi yanked her towards the shooting gallery and the sisters leaped over and hid behind the booth, Vi holding a hand over Powders mouth mouthing ‘he can't see.’ A couple more energy blasts exploded around the arcade, splintered wood and burning splinters rained down around them. It was quiet for a few second until they heard another crunch and a pained cry.
“You broke my nose, Trencher Trash!” he snarled; his voice effected by the broken nose but still filled with vitriol. “I am no longer interested in being reasonable.” They heard him say as Powder suddenly felt itchy again, like ants were crawling all over her and now her teeth itched. Vi glanced around to find a way out, pointing at the small crawlspace panel against the shooting gallery's wall. Powder nodded, mouthing ‘Chemical Room’ and stated crawling slowly towards it, using he targets as cover. “It's time to share Andor’s hidden secrets, and he had so many.” they heard him cackle, and the gallery was bathed in a lavender hue. The girls knew it was a bad idea, but they had to see. The sisters peeked around the target they were hiding behind.
“He killed so many people...”
The man was glowing, multiple scars on his face and hands flared purple as a visible energy pulsed from around him, various ghostly glyphs faded in and out of existence as a wave of energy issued from him, expanding through the arcade like a bubble. Her eyes wide, Vi patted her leg and they started towards the crawlspace again as quickly as they could on all fours. In an explosion of splintered wood and dirt, a skeletal hand shot up through the floorboards, followed by another as whatever it was began pulling itself out of the ground. Dead, desiccated eyes glared up at the sisters as a human head broke the ground.
Powder screamed, and she was sure Vi did too as another blast of the mage’s energy bolts hit above them, ripping a hole in the wall. They pulled the crawlspace cover off and the pair scooted inside as another set of hand burst from beneath the floorboards nearby. A skeletal hand grabbed Vi’s ankle, strangely strong as it started pulling her back out of the crawlspace. The teenager smashed her foot into the undead creature until the fingers broke and it finally released her. They quickly skuttled into the crawlspace and Vi followed her to the Chemical Room…
The last of the creatures had dragged themselves from under the floorboards and shuffled around the arcade as the Magicborne continued to channel mana into the spell. The arcane knew his intent, and now that was to destroy the trencher trash that was now somewhere in the walls like the vermin they were. He should burn the place to the ground, Urnst thought as he willed several of his skeletal golems to the back rooms while leaving the remaining out on the game floor to catch them when they surfaced.
The magicborne was still flabbergasted that these two children were giving him so much trouble. He had assassinated far more important government figures from Freljord and Noxus with nary a thought, but these sump snipes had broken his nose, enraged him to the point of breaking his own spell and expose himself in front of the little cretins. The Maestro would have something to say about it, he was certain, and it would be an unpleasant conversion. The Raav siblings had fared better than he topside, he hoped.
Spellcasting was flowing much easier when he was calm, and now that he could think straight again, he could finish his task and began constructing the spell he would need, and his golems would ensure he was undisturbed.
Ekko approached the arcade at a trot, his tool bag flung over his shoulder and after today he was ready to take on the Teemo machine. The pickup took way longer than Benzo has said it would and he had to make three trips on his disk runner to get it all back to the shop. His ride was now in need of a recharge of the chem-battery, but it was good salvage, and it would bring a nice profit once it was torn down and cleaned. Maybe if the Weirdo came back, Ekko could get double again! He just dropped it in the back doorway and booked it after grabbing his bag. Benzo, Vander and the Sheriff were all talking over some stuff while working on the bottle of hooch Benzo kept under the counter for just such visits, and they all seemed profoundly serious about what they were going over so he just shouted he was back and headed over to the arcade on foot.
He turned into the alleyway that led to their entrance, well off the beaten path of Ochre Street and stopped suddenly, looking around. Did he just walk through a cobweb? He shuddered and wiped off his face frantically. He hated cobwebs, they made him sneeze and they were just gross. For that matter, he didn’t like spiders either, they ate the firelight bugs that came out at night around the runoffs.
Of course, so did Powder.
He shook his head, laughing at the image of his friend opening her mouth and the glowing bug crawling in. The look on her face was priceless as was the sounds as the little bug did whatever it was doing in her mouth and just as quickly flew out. She sputtered and spat for several minutes until the giggles caught her and they both laughed hysterically. She said it tickled. Shrugging, he reached the door and grabbed the handle.
He ran his tongue over his teeth as his gums started itching as he wrenched the door open.
“Hey Powder! You In Here!” he shouted as he stepped across the threshold...
The thing that lurched at him wasn’t human, or maybe had been at one time but was far from it now. It was wearing the remnants of Sump Scraper overalls and burned boots, and wild red hair and beard still attached to a mummified head, drooping into its face as its skeletal mouth gaped at him, swiping its desiccated clawed hand at him. Ekko backed up, barely avoiding the attack but stumbled over alley trash and landing on his butt. The thing kept shambling towards him as scrambled on all fours barely keeping out of reach.
“EKKO RUN!!!” He heard the voices of Powder and Vi screaming at him, the thing almost on top of him and as if it wasn’t bad enough, he hit cobwebs again! He heard the door slam shut as he continued to move as the undead thing kept advancing.
The creature followed him farther down the alley and just as suddenly as he attacked, it fell to the ground like it was a puppet on a string that just got cut. It fell apart, the head rolling closer to him with its dead eyes looking at nothing.
What the serious fuck...
He looked at the door and realized this wasn’t something he should be doing on his own. He needed help, and quick. He also had to prove it...
With his gloved hand, he grabbed the head by the hair, and sprinted towards Benzo’s shop...
Powder and Vi broke through the wall plate that covered the crawl space in the chemical room, and the sisters piled into the darkened room. Vi reached the metal door and shoved the slide bolt in place and slid down the door to sit legs splayed. Her ribs were killing her, and she could still taste blood from the cut inside her mouth from the assholes backhand. Nothing was broken she was glad of as she did a body check. Everything was moving properly, if not a bit stiff from the fall from the wall. How she survived, she had no idea. It had to be blind luck, or she had Janna’s mercy going for her. It that was the case she hoped it would keep going for a bit longer. Powder turned the wheels on the main line to get the power going.
The room brighten considerably as the chem tubes filled with the fluorescent chemicals, and she could see around her. The chem room was the pumping station for the building, and the pipework threaded through the entire structure. The Crawl hatch in the main junction pipe looked too small to get out of, and she had no idea where it was going to go even if they tried to use it as an escape route.
Face it Vi, your trapped now.
Powder wrapped her arms around her and squeezed which brought a lance of pain through her body and winced. She sucked air through her teeth trying to lessen the pain. It didn’t work. Powder sat back and looked at her with wide eyes. Her hand shot up to her mouth, stifling a gasp.
“Vi, your bleeding...” Powder said, moving next to her and looking at her side. “…Everywhere.” She slapped her sister’s hand away and got a hand slap in return and after a moment lifted her shirt. There was deep cut in her side, not deep enough to be dangerous but it would need cleaning. “What happened?” as she grabbed a cloth from where Steve had been sleeping and pushed it onto the wound. Vi held it to her side as her sister grabbed another cloth and pushed it on her forehead.
“I got blown off a roof by that Sump Sucker and a bunch of Enforcers when I was spying on them.” She said, trying to calm down. “That asshole is a mage, and he’s after the guy who gave you the Rune.” And pulled the cloth away from her side. The blood was tacky and was clotting. That was good, at least it wasn’t too bad. Unless she was just running out of blood.
“I don’t even know who that guy is, we just helped him out!” Powder whispered and shook her head. “I wish we hadn’t.”
Vi shook her head. “You don’t mean that, Pow.”
“Things were going great too!” She spoke. “I had a great talk with Vander, and he likes me, Mylo was acting less Myloish, and We got to meet Steve. I was feeling great!” her attention suddenly locked onto the door handle which was rattling. Vi finally saw the scrapes on her face, which was starting to bruise. That scum hurt her sister.
She had to get her little sister out of her.
“Ok, here’s the plan. Ill draw them off, and you run out and get help, ok?” and started to look around for something to use as a weapon. Maybe she could wrap her hands in the cloths and save her hands from getting bit by one of those zombie fucks. The thing she had to worry about was the mage. Those blasts were deadly but she’d broke his nose so his aim would be off…”
“No” Powder said, shaking her head.
“What?” Vi asked, broken out of her planning. “No?” The door handle began shaking more violently, and now sharp fingers were scratching the metal door.
“We’re leaving together, got it?” Her sister stated and turned to the Crawl Hatch on the pipe junction and opened the access cover.
“How do you expect us to pull that off...” Vi said, rolling her head back, they didn’t have time for this, and if they didn’t act soon, they’d would never get away from here.
“With these!” and pulled out an armored shirt, a helmet and a red, white and blue shield. “These are Steve’s!” she said, and Vi sat forward. “What is it?”
“It’s his Magic shield, and I have a feeling that it will stop the magicborne’s energy! Look, its vibrating and glowing.” She said, ducking it into the shadow and the shield had a slight blueish. “Steve called it Vibranium...” She moved away from the Crawl Hatch and heard Ekko through the opening...
“Hey Powder! You In Here?” followed by the sound of scrambling and gasping in horror!
Vi and Powder looked at each other, wide eyed as they heard him through the pipes. Both girls scrambled to the port and screamed “EKKO RUN!” repeatedly as the pounding on the door increased. The door frame was starting to weaken, the bolts rusting metal giving away from the constant pounding. Vi stared at it for a moment, and knew that it was time to do something, anything…
“Ok, Let's do this.” She said and was handed the helmet. “Hold your arms up!” Powder told her, and put the oversized Armored Shirt over her head, and buckled it on the back and the arms. The soldier was definitely bigger than she was, but it would fit well enough. “What is this made of?”
“I dunno, magic other world shit.” While she pulled the last strap into place. “How do you know how this goes on?” Vi asked as she looked inside the helmet. It was padded and had a strap. There was a large glyph on the forehead and a pair of wings painted on each side.
“Ekko and I tried it on, and it was way too big on me.” She said, as she grabbed the helmet and shoved it on her head. Powder stopped her from taking it off. “You wear it, Vi.”
“You got nothing on, what’s going to protect you?” and let her cinch the chinstrap down. It actually fit fairly well; the eyeholes lined up with her eyes. The soldier must have a tiny head, or her head is unusually thick. Powder handed her the Shield. “You’re My Armor.” and gave her a hug. “Don’t die.”
“You either...” returning the hug and holding her at arm’s length. “I’m proud of you Pow Pow,”
“STooOOOp! I don’t want to cry right now.” She said, wiping her eyes and picked up a prybar and nodded as Vi put on the gloves. They were armored too and had metal plates in the knuckles. Nice! “I’m Ready!”
“Pop the door and get right on my ass.” Vi said, hefting the shield, and realized that it had a sharpened edge. Bet she could throw this thing, she mused. The thing was vibrating like her sister said, but it was also humming constantly. Maybe this thing was magic...
Power was at the door slide lock, and nodded to Vi, who nodded back and brought the shield to the ready, peering over the edge. She glanced down at a metal tag attached to the shields strap.
Property of Captain America. Weird, she thought Blondies name was Rogers...
The door opened, and three of the undead creatures rushed in, which were met by Vi slamming she shield into them and pushing back. There was a loud crack, and the first creature flew back into the following two, sending them off balance away from the door. Vi followed up by punching forward with it, the edge of the shield hitting the abomination in the neck, snapping it off and bounced off. Behind her she heard pounding and realized Powder was beating the skull with the prybar.
The two that was pushed back had their bearings, and Vi backhanded the closest one, the Shield responded to the kinetic energy and absorbed the creature’s impact and doubled the force of her swing, sending the body crashing and breaking into pieces into a pile. The other one grabbed her arm and went for her throat. Vi smashed her helmeted head into the desiccated Vastaya with a cracking sound, the head splitting. She followed it up with the edge of the shield, snapping the neck from the head, and there were more smashing sounds from Powders prybar.
“LOOK OUT!” Her little sister screamed and got the shield in front of her as a purple blast struck the alien metal, pushing her back. It vibrated violently for a moment before the energy was redirected back towards the mage, who himself redirected it towards them, but went wide and made impact over the alley door. The roof shattered and collapsed obscuring the door. Shit! Their exit was closed off.
“Where did you get that from, Little Thief.” The man said, no longer in sight. “You shouldn’t have that.”
More of the Undead came back into the prize room, and Vi braced herself for their attack. “Why don’t you... you... go to Demacia and…” she realized that everything she said made no sense whatsoever. “Fuck You!”
A blast hit the shield again, this time the star on the shield was pointed at the undead on the left which obliterated it. Another blast of the purple magic energy got reflected but this time missed and hit the prize wall as Splintered wood, old moldy toys and prizes flew around the room from the impact. The two remaining undead launched themselves at them, with Vi swiping the shield, the metal vibrating wildly and severing the undead arm as Powder smashed the prybar into the leg of the female undead, breaking it and sending it to the ground. She followed it up with smashing the brittle skull with the metal tool. Vi grabbed her and pulled her back behind her, reflecting another blast back at him. They heard the man growl in frustration and dived away from the magic energy. It struck high up on the stained-glass window, breaking it and spent the energy.
“New Plan, were going to go to the door, and you're going to use the prybar to get it open.” Vi said “I’ll cover you while you’re doing it and then we hoof it, got it?”
“Got it!” Powder answered, from the sound of her voice her sister was smiling. Apparently mortal danger was something that Powder was starting to enjoy. “How many more do you think there are?”
“No idea.” Vi responded, Powder once again behind her as she moved forward onto the main floor, checking left and right for anything that could attack them before moving forward. Small fires were still burning where the mage had blasted around the arcade looking for them and was starting to spread to the surrounding wood. The Boxing machine was emitting black smoke from the holes blown into it, and several of the targets in the shooting gallery were on fire. The air on the main floor was thick with smoke and chemicals, but they could still make out the four remaining skeletal trenchers shuffling around the corners, oblivious to them yet and gave them the chance to get to the wedged door. Powder whimpered as they moved carefully towards the wedged door.
“You, ok?” Vi whispered.
“Yeah... so much work...” Her sister muttered as she gripped the back of her pants.
“We’ll fix it, Pow Wow, All of us.” Vi smiled, as she was nearly at the door.
A sudden blast of energy pushed them back, and nearly off their feet as the doorway to the outside burst into electricity and flame. The shield was nearly uncontrollable with the vibrations, and the sound that came from it was harmonic but unsettling at the same time and felt like it was going to shake her arm apart. It seems the shield absorbs energy but doesn’t release it unless there is a violent contact. Fine, she can be violent!
“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” The mage taunted. “I’m going to burn you along with this forsaken funhouse.” The voice seethed. “My patience has worn out.”
“Good, let us out then, Sleemo!” Vi shouted, looking around for any sign of the magicborne. “Or at least let Powder go.” Which earned her a slap on her ass and a push, but vi would rather stay here with this maniac alone then her sister be injured. Or worse.
“No, Sump-rat, you and your thieving sister need to burn, along with the rest of the Undercity. You and your kind don’t know your place.” The voice taunted, as the undead took notice and turned towards them and began shuffling towards them. Vi and Powder backed up against the stained-glass window waiting for the next move. Vi glanced back at her sister and gave her a nod, who stared back for a moment before she understood the nonverbal communication to what was needed.
Powder started pounding on the stained glass with the prybar, digging their own way out through the thick glass as quickly as her little arms could while Vi kept an eye on the Undead advancing towards them along with watching where the next energy blast would come from. If the asshole attacked, she’d be ready. She braced herself for the onslaught of the four remaining undead that moved towards them, mouths agape and snarling. Vi kept an eye on each, ready to pound the first one into shards. The fires were beginning to spread inside the arcade, as the smoke was getting thicker. The mage would get his wish if they didn’t get out soon, either by the fire or the smoke.
“Good riddance Trencher Trash...” The mage whispered, and the purple orb that had been following him around appeared in the center of the main floor and began to expand as the undead got close enough to begin taking swipes at them. Powder broke the first hole in the stained glass, and suddenly stopped and whipped around as part of the roof near the Boxing machine collapsed, now fully ablaze. The orb was spinning wildly as it enlarged, crackling and discharging energy that disintegrated one of the undead.
“That thing is gonna explode!” Powder shouted, and Vi grabbed her close, making sure they were both behind the shield as the orb suddenly stopped spinning…
They could see the flash even with their eyes shut tight, then the moment of intense heat before the shield vibrated wildly and emitted a high-pitched whine as the feeling of being thrown back with the sound of broken glass and the roaring of the inferno for what felt like forever before the bone jarring impact as they hit the street. The sisters rolled to a stop, and Vi finally opened her eyes seeing the green hue of the Lanes. he suddenly looked over at Powder, who coughed and groaned nearby her blue hair singed a bit, and her face was dirty and had some small cuts but looked ok. Well, ok for just getting blown out of a window by a magic bomb, but she’d take it.
She looked around and tried to sit up and saw the burning husk of what their hideout had once been, gutted from the explosion and the mages blasts as smoke poured out of the destroyed building. Parts of the undead were scattered around the area mixed in with the glittering pieces of the stained-glass window. People were beginning to approach, wary of getting too involved but still curious about the burning arcade and the two kids laying out front bleeding. Vi winced as she scooted closer to her sister, who was waking up, and cried out as she tried to move her arm.
“Lay still, Pow.” Vi said, feeling her legs and her other arm. “Where else do you hurt.”
“My arm, really bad.” She whispered, holding it close to her chest. She was trying to keep a brave face, but Vi could tell she was in pain. “We’ll get it fixed.” She told the younger girl, and steeled herself to stand up, using the shield as a support as more people from the neighboring areas began moving closer, Babette was one of the first to check on them, saying something but Vi couldn’t make it out from her distance, her ears were still ringing from the blast. The Yordle stopped and looked at the arcade wreckage, a horrified look on her aged face and a sharp intake of breath which was mirrored by screams from the crowd.
Oh no...
Vi barely got the shield up in time as one of the mage’s blasts hit, knocking her back off her feet. The shield flew out of her grasp as she landed flat on her back, knocking the wind out of her. She brought her head up, pain lancing though her skull while trying to catch her breath as the Magicborne limped towards them from out of the burning building. She tried to clear her vision as the mage released another blast, exploding next to her, causing her to duck the pieces of dislodged cobblestones. The crowd dispersed in all directions as they ran for cover or just to get away from the scene unfolding before them.
The Mage was in bad shape. He was burnt, apparently caught in his own explosion and his once wild hair was burnt down to the roots, his face was raw and blistered and bore rictus grin, burnt from the explosion. The work clothes were beyond recognition, but more surprising was the bright glow of energy emitting from his eyes as they burned into them with hatred while he readied another blast. Vi looked back to where the shield flew, and realizing that it was too far to get, covered Powder with her body.
The sounds of gunshots rang out as the Magicborne was hit multiple times as the remaining crowd screamed and ran for cover. Vi looked around, and saw Vander and Ekko rushing towards them, and a woman around Vanders age holding a pistol, carefully advancing on the now dead Mage. Vander was over her; he was speaking but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“Powder… Broken arm...” She managed to get out, as his thick fingers released the chin strap on Blondies helmet, removed it carefully and laid it to the side. It had a black burn mark on the side, but she didn’t remember getting hit. Mylo and Claggor rushed up as well speaking with Vander for a few moments before rushing off into the crowd, while Ekko had the Shield in hand, standing next to Powder who was now sitting up watching her as he helped her sister stand up, being careful of her arm and walking towards Benzo. Powder kept looking back at her as the moved away, like if she looked away Vi would disappear. She was going to be ok.
Janna’s grace she was tired...
The last thing she remembered was getting lifted and carried off by Vander, and she couldn’t help but remember the first time she was carried away by Vander... there was a lot of fire then too…
Vi’s eyes popped open and sat up abruptly, her eyes blurring as her head began splitting. She was in her bed in the Rumpus room, she realized after looking around for a moment. The chem-lamps were fairly low powered, but it helped her eyes focus as she saw the older woman who had shot the mage sitting in a chair near the bed. The woman looked over at her and turned towards her.
Her head was killing her.
“Where’s my sister?” Vi demanded, trying to keep her head up, propping herself on her elbow
The woman’s deep voice was oddly soothing and leaned forward. “With Vander. Powder is getting her arm looked at. Your brothers brought a physiker Vander trusted.” She said, taking a drink from a coffee mug and set it back down carefully. “The doctor said it was a clean break…” She said, picking up a glass of water and handing it to her. “She should be back to normal in a few weeks.”
Vi took the glass and downed it, and the woman took it back and sitting it on the middle table.
“Who are you.” She asked, pretty sure she knew the answer.
“Thena Grayson, I’m a friend of Benzo and Vander.” She said, leaning back. “We work together sometimes. You should get some rest. You have a mild concussion according to the doctor...”
“Yeah, I’ve had them before from fighting...” Vi said, “Fighting a magic asshole is a new one though.”
“Magic Asshole?” Grayson asked. “The one at the arcade? anyone else I might want to know about?” Vi looked at her and was about to tell her to pack sand. She knew what she was, but she wasn’t the typical enforcer that much was certain. Plus, she was a friend of Vanders whom he trusted, otherwise he wouldn’t have left the woman alone with her.
“Him and some Enforcers attacked me when I was listening into their meeting in an alley on market street earlier. I was trying to find out who it was that was going to shoot Powder and Ekko and I heard them talking about some secret society topside and in the lanes. They all had some kind of flower tattoo on their wrist, showed up when they passed some fancy stone over it.” She sucked in air as a throb about blacked out her vision. Grayson nodded and leaned forward in the chair. “One last question for now. Do you remember any names?”
“Ayres… Holland... the third one was just short...” Vi said, her eyes getting heavy. “They called the magic fucker Magus.”
“They met with him. The Magiker?” Vi nodded.
“They all fired on me when I was trying to get away, and I fell off a roof into a trash pile. When I woke up, I sprinted to the Arcade since they were looking for Powder.”
Grayson smile. “Thank you, Violet. I understand you need to rest. I’d like to talk more to you about what happened when you’re able.” And stood up, heading towards the door. “Let Vander know when if or when we can chat again, and I hope to talk soon.” Grayson exited the Rumpus Room, leaving Vi alone.
She laid in the darkened room for several minutes, thinking about the conversation with the woman. There was something about her that made her want to trust her, that the woman was worthy of trust. She was a friend of Vander and Benzo, but why hadn’t she ever met her before. Thinking hurt at the moment, so she just closed her eyes, and tried to rest…
Fucking Enforcers…