Act 2 Chapter 3

The sight of progress day in Piltover was always something to behold. When I first saw it several years ago, it took my breath away and even now it still does. There was always something new, or in my case, something familiar just appearing around the corner. Even Jinx had to agree with me, skipping ahead to see every little display and leaving me with Pow who floated beside me. The day was almost perfect.

“Hey slow down, we have the entire day! What’s the rush?” I called out to Jinx and ran after her, only to bump into someone wearing white. I was about to apologize when an ear piercing shriek suddenly assaulted my senses. It was a mind numbing sound that made it feel like stakes were being pushed into my head.

I greeted my teeth as I soldier on even while my vision wavered and doubled before me. There was something off today, I could feel it down to my bones. Even Pow looked distressed as her eyes turned red while looking around.

I’d learned long ago to ignore their cries, as listening to them intently was a one way trip to insanity, but they weren’t the cries of pain today; they were the cries of fear. I couldn't understand why of all days this was happening as I reached out for one of the lamp posts for support. I felt like I needed to puke my guts out as the cries persisted before they were cut off with Jinx grabbing hold of me.

“Ark? Ark! Eyes on me, focus! Hey! Eyes here.” I heard Jinx ask as I felt her cup my cheek. I blinked away the tears from my eyes. My doubled vision soon focused upon the look of worry painted across Jinx's face.

“I-I’m fine” I replied as I slowly straightened up. “Just one of my headaches.“ I said, not elaborating on it any further. Headaches were always a staple for me around Hextech but today was a very strange one. I looked around, wondering where the stranger I bumped into was but they were already gone.

Jinx smiled yet the worry in her eyes stayed as she slung her arms around my shoulder. “A bad one today huh? We could… go back home? I wouldn’t mind.” She offered but I waved off her worries.

“It’s fine. I might just need to take some Aspirin.” I replied. They were a lifesaver and to think someone could synthesize it from Willow Bark.

“Hey now, I’m totes fine with it if you’re not ok. I promise.” Jinx replied as she traced a cross over her heart.

I grinned as I asked, “Really Jinx? Totes? Here I thought the Piltovan school would cure that.”

Jinx rolled her eyes as she declared “Oh please, it should be the girls at my school that should be worried about my influence! 100% Zaunite girl here baby! Down to the bone, right Pow?.” The automaton bumped up against Jinx’s fist as the bot's eyes turned back to a calm blue.

“Should I be worried about having to beat back girls instead of boys? I fear for the virtue of those girls considering sweet Seraphine.” I then asked, causing her to sputter in embarrassment in response.

“I’m not looking for a girlfriend, or boyfriend! Whatever! I'm just not interested in any of my classmates, ok?” She said she looked away while her ears were tinged red. “Also, I did not corrupt Seraphine. She’s still the sweet and innocent girl I met at the Promenade.” She then added.

“You checked?” I asked as a smug smile slowly spread across my face.

Jinx nodded with a smile as she replied “I check-! Ark! Ewww disgusting! Stop it!”. But it was already too late as I snickered at her expense

“Also, I don’t hear any denial.~ How would poor innocent Seraphine take the news that you’re seeing another girl?” I then teased, pressing forward as I straightened up.

“Arkkk!” Jinx shouted as she pulled away and shoved me with a pout in her face. She was all red and huffing in embarrassment now but it only made her all the more adorable.

“My Sweet Jinx, a heartbreaker. Who would have known she’d grow up such a charmer.” I replied as I staggered a bit before keeping my balance. I wiped a false tear away as Jinx stomped in annoyance before a dawning horror overcame her.

“Am not! Am I?” Jinx denied at first before questioning herself. “Oh spirits, did some of the parents of the girls in class visit you and Vi when I was away?!” She then asked as she grabbed me by the shoulders.

I couldn’t help it now as I went into a full blown laughter as Jinx gave me a look. “Really? Well, since you’re already in the teasing mode, I think you’re all good now.”

“Yeah yeah, sorry about that.” I replied as I took a deep breath to calm myself. “But seriously, are we going to have to talk to any parents aside from Seraphine’s?”

The punch that I received in the shoulder stung like hell with her bony fist but it was well worth it.

-x-x-x-

We didn’t have to wait for long before Vi came to meet us at our pre designated meeting spots. She didn’t come alone, however, as she had Seraphine and Cindy with her. The gang was all here and were all eager to explore this year's fare but first, Vi made it clear that she wanted to show Jinx what she was feeling right now.

We watched as Vi held Jinx in a choke hold and gave her a noogie. “Ow ow ow! I fucked up! fucked up! Now let me gooo-!” Jinx begged as she tried to pull Vi’s iron grip off her but Vi outmuscled us both by a wide margin. Only Cindy had more muscle but she was also way bigger so it didn’t count.

‘’Do you know how worried sick we were when we woke up this morning?! And what’s this I’ve heard about antagonizing Caitlyn?” She scolded Jinx as she kept her hold. I gently patted Pow who looked in worry.

“She started it!” Jinx shouted before she tried biting her way out, but those were tightly corded muscles born from hard labor as a mechanic.

“I know you two hate each other like cats and dogs but can you just let it go! I don’t even know why you two hate each other.” Vi said in exasperation.

Some people were looking at the scene our group was making but we waved them along while giving silent apologies.

“If she stops being stupid and all fake princess charming then maybe I will!” Jinx fires back only to suffer another noogie for her trouble.

“God damn it Jinx. I don’t want to hear anything about you starting trouble again, you hear young lady!?” Vi shouted making it clear with the tone of her voice that she was only feeling merciful now.

“Ok! Ok! Just let me go!” Jinx finally relented. It was only then that Vi let her go.

Jinx stumbled to the ground breathing heavily as she reached out to me and the other as she said “Air! Sweet merciful air! I thought I was going to suffocate from Vi’s body odor!”

I snorted as Seraphine reached out to her hand and lifted her up. She could be quite dramatic when she wanted to be and very touchy as she latched onto Serpahine who only sighed as Jinx slung her arms around her shoulder. Pow floated over the two and happily flew around them.

“Oh grow up. I had plenty of hot water use since you spent the night uppside.” Vi replied before she ever so subtly took a whiff of herself just to check.

“So with that out of the way, who’s ready to have fun?” I asked before the group cheered.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

And so we went exploring around Piltover with my brief yet painful migraine all but forgotten. I listened for a bit more this time around, trying to hear that same shriek but I couldn’t. Thoughts about it were soon forgotten as the wonders of Progress day soon took over my thoughts.

Progress day wasn’t all about showcasing one’s fancy new inventions, there were also floats and parades. There were also various food vendors and game stalls. Progress day was the complete package, a mini world fare all on its own.

“Cotton Candy! Get your cotton Candy! Get a taste of the latest trend in sweets from Zaun!” Called out one of the vendors as we passed by some of them.

“Want one Jinx?” I asked as our group passed by the stand which was inundated with kids.

“Blech! Way too sweet.” Jinx replied as she stuck out her tongue in disgust.

“Ice cream cones! Now served in Waffle cones!” Called out another vendor. This caught the eye of Seraphine as she looked at the stand dreamily. Turning to the stand, I saw just why she wanted one. The large image of a plain banana split ice cream was truly a tantalizing prospect. The price though was outrageous. They could buy a half a dozen ice creams from the price alone.

“Ark… can you treat us to some ice cream. Please? For me? For Seraphine~?” Asked Jinx as she turned around with Seraphine bringing out her puppy eyes. Both of them stared at me expectantly, their big doe eyes begging for me to give up my riches and I, unfortunately, relented.

“Don’t worry about the price. Today’s my treat. No seriously, go nuts.” I was going to regret ever saying those words as the girls looked at me with dangerous glints in their eyes but the adorable squeal that Seraphine made was all too much to resist. The girl had weapon grade cuteness and Jinx taught her how to use it.

“I can already hear your purse crying in pain.” Vi teased as she slung her arms around my shoulder while we watched the girls all get their banana splits.

“I might have to bury him after this day cause he’s going to bleed out.” I replied as I led both of us to the both to get our own ice cream. I just bought myself a Cinnamon roll from a nearby stand and had the vendor place the ice cream in my makeshift sandwich.

With food in hand, and plenty of time before the lecture, our group then decided to try out some of the games. There was some conflict as Vi and Cindy both agreed that they wanted to try the high striker game while Jinx wanted the games that required accuracy. Seraphine meanwhile wanted some casual games.

“Ok Jinx, we’d be wasting our time arguing. Why not go with Seraphine's suggestion on the Ionian goldfish game?” Cindy suggested as she gestured at the stand manned by a masked girl who looked rather shifty as she glanced around and tapped her impatiently on the ground. She did have an interesting game where the pool usually containing live goldfish were replaced with some form of Hextech ones which didn’t feel hextech. Ionian blend of hextech perhaps?

Jinx however wasn’t paying attention as she looked over at the commotion happening over at one of the shoot ‘em up games.

“Mommy Daddy! I want the cuddly wugsy bear!” shouted the young girl sandwiched between the couple who failed to shoot the target. The girl was close to tears as she wanted it badly but it seemed like the couple was out of money.

I glanced over to Cindy and the others who noticed it as well. I gestured over at the stand as Jinx marched over to the stand.

“Claggor! Mylo! My dudes! Just the people I wanted to see~!” Shouted Jinx as they found a familiar face among the carnies manning the game stands. The two of them were manning the shoot 'em up game stand, the type of which Jinx absolutely loved to test her skills at.

“Oh hell no! You know you’re banned from ever playing in our games.” Shouted the wiry teen as he tossed the toy guns they had to Claggor so Jinx couldn’t reach it. Claggor was far too big and heavy for Jinx to out muscle.

“Oh come on, it was one time! Aren’t we friends~?” Jinx asked as she gave them her winning smile but the deadpan look Mylo gave her told them that they weren’t going to be moved.

“No.” Mylo replied as Jinx pouted.

“It’s not like I wanted to win the prize for myself, I was going to win it for that girl.” Jinx replied as she gestured at the young girl with a downcast expression who turned at hearing what Jinx said.

The hopeful look of the girl was absolutely heart rending. “How about this? You and Claggor block me while I shoot AND the machines are cranked up to max?” She said as she leaned against the booth.

“You two will have first dibs on selling one of my products” I added which caused Mylo to bite his thumb.

“We get the product win or lose” Claggor then demanded.

“As if I’d ever lose.” Jinx replied as she held out her hands for a handshake.

“Deal.” Mylo replied as she shook on it. Claggor gave Jinx the gun soon after as the booth was readied.

“Gather round, gather all! On this day we get to witness a rare occasion. The best markswoman from Zaun tries her luck against the hardest game this side of Piltover! Will she miss, come and watch to find out!” Claggor shouted as the two quickly capitalized on it. They were winning but a little extra wouldn’t hurt.

“Hah! As if.” Jinx replied as she held the gun with both hands and aimed. “Now let’s dance!”

As their little game started, the sound started ringing once again. It came slowly at first, enough for me to ignore. Seraphine noticed it as well as she glanced towards me with a questioning look.

“Hearing it too?” I asked as the ear grating sound came back with a vengeance.

“Hear what?” Vi asked in concern as Seraphine started to look a little bit green around the gills. I probably was as well as Vi grabbed me as I staggered around. Cindy helped Seraphine out as the girl looked close to puking.

“Something feels wrong. They’re screaming.” Seraphine whispered as she covered her mouth as she rushed to the nearest waste bucket and heaved.

“What screaming, wait you mean?” Vi asked as I nodded. Something was seriously wrong right now and we could literally feel it. My vision was spinning as the pain reached a crescendo. Everything felt like things were going to go upside down. Then I saw something that momentarily made the pain feel not so excruciating.

There standing beside the shifty looking goldfish game stand operator was a masked individual who might just be the worst person to meet in this world. The Golden Demon stood there talking with the stand owner before handing them a package. I could feel something wrong with that package as my vision wavered around the object.

The man seemed to notice my look as I saw him smile through his eyes before slipping away without much of a sound. The stand owner quickly stood up and left, leaving the stand unattended. As they left with the package, the sound quickly faded away leaving only silence.

“Ark! Talk to me!” Vi shouted as I turned my focus back on her. I looked around frantically, trying to find the two Ionians but couldn’t anymore with the sea of people walking about it. I silently cursed as a worst case scenario was currently happening and it completely blind sided me.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Is Seraphine ok?” I asked. The girl was the only other person he knew that could hear the Hex Crystals, maybe even more attuned with how she can hear the very music in people's hearts.

“Yeah, she's fine but what the hell was that? I know you react badly around Hextech but not like this.” Vi said as she rubbed my back.

Seraphine had recovered and was being attended to by Cindy. My eyes then shifted to Jinx was currently handing over the teddy bear to the girl before running towards us.

“Did it happen again?! Fuck, I should have noticed.” Jinx asked as she rushed towards me and checked my vitals.

I pushed her hands away from my face as I replied “I’m fine, ok, but things aren’t going to be if we don’t find two people right now.”

“Two people? Ark, you're not making any sense right now. Also what do you mean this isn’t the first time? Why didn’t you two go back home! You know what the Doctor ordered!” Vi asked in worry.

“I’m sorry but this is really important ok. Trust me.” I replied as I stared into Vi’s eyes. She grimaced as she nodded as she finally calmed down enough to listen. I gestured for the girls to gather because of what I was going to say.

Getting all in a huddle, I quickly dropped the bomb on them “Ok, don’t panic but a mass murderer’s on the lose and he has sights on someone in this area.”

There was some silence between all of them before Cindy replied “You really didn’t pull any punches on this one, huh?”

“So, who’s the guy or gal? Not Shadow Isle stuff is it?” Vi asked as she quickly recovered from the momentary shock of the information.

“I believe that Jhin the Virtuoso is in town. Either it’s the real deal or a copycat, either would be bad.” I answered to which Cindy and Seraphine gave us questioning looks.

“So Creepy Mask guy?” Jinx then said.

“What Jinx said. He’s an Ionian mass murderer known for mutilating his victims for art.” I added. This made Seraphine a bit green.

“I’m sorry I dragged you two into this but whatever this guys plan is, it’s bad news. We need all the people we can get if we need to take this guy out” I apologized as I asked for their help. Jhin was one slimy son of a bitch if it took the Ionian ninja’s to track him down.

“So, what’s the plan?” Vi then asked.

“We get more people involved. We need to ask the Wardens.'' I said as the group nodded. The Wardens were always a force people could look up to if they’re on the right side of the law. Hopefully Chief Marcus is in a listening mood today.”