Arcane: Bond Beyond Death

Bael's eyes shot open, his body feeling weightless as he floated for a moment before the magnetic force of the machine yanked him back down. He slammed into the floor with a thud, groaning as he shook his head to clear the fog from his mind.

He glanced up, his vision blurry at first, then focused on Jinx, who was laughing manically as she fiddled with the control panel of the device. The chaos in the air was palpable—everything around them seemed to be floating, drifting slowly as if gravity had completely given up on them.

"Jinx, what the hell are you doing?" Bael's voice was a mix of confusion and frustration, his body still trying to adjust to the strange sensation of weightlessness.

Jinx's wild eyes met his, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. "Oh, you know, just playing with the machine! I thought I'd see what happens if I change a few settings, and—" She gave the dial another twist, causing a nearby toolbox to float up and spin lazily in the air. "—well, this happened."

Bael rubbed his forehead, groaning as he sat up. "This isn't playing, Jinx. We can't have everything floating around like this. The whole damn place is about to come apart!"

Jinx hopped up and down, clearly having the time of her life. "It's fine! I'm just testing it! Besides, look at it! It's like one of those weightless simulations you always see in those fancy Piltover tech demos. Just a tiny little glitch."

Bael sighed deeply, pushing himself to his feet and grabbing onto a nearby desk to steady himself. He looked at the machine—its humming was louder now, and the lights flickered as the unstable gravitational waves continued to ripple through the room.

"Jinx, you've got to turn it off. Now." His tone was firm, but there was an underlying edge of panic. They were testing something too dangerous, and with the way the device was malfunctioning, it could easily go from a fun experiment to a disaster.

Jinx pouted for a moment, but her grin quickly returned as she darted over to the machine's control panel again. "Fine, fine! But you're no fun, Bael. Where's the chaos?" she teased as she began twisting the dials back into their original settings.

Bael blinked, momentarily stunned by the abrupt shift in conversation. Jinx was bouncing on the balls of her feet, her wide, excited eyes locked onto him. She looked like she was about to burst out of her skin with anticipation.

"It's time," she said, voice bubbling with glee. "I need my hair done, Bael! You know, like the look! The one you made for me. I want it perfect today."

Bael raised an eyebrow, wiping a hand over his face as he took in the sight of Jinx's wild, untamed hair. "Are you serious? Now? After all this, you want me to give you your hair?" He glanced at the machine she'd been playing with earlier, then back to her, rolling his eyes.

Jinx put her hands on her hips, grinning mischievously. "Yes, exactly. It's always time for my hair, Bael! Don't be so boring. I'm gonna look amazing, and you're gonna help me, or else I'll make your life more chaotic than it already is."

Jinx squealed in excitement. "Yay! I love it when you do my hair. You're the only one who gets it, Bael! You know me better than anyone else." She hopped over to him, her wild energy turning into a near constant stream of happy chatter.

Bael smiled despite himself, pulling out the clippers and starting to trim the edges of her hair. It wasn't a bad job—it actually felt like the one thing in the world that could bring a bit of peace to this chaos. He worked quickly, molding the strands into place as he thought back to when he first gave her the iconic hairstyle.

It was during those first few days together after Powder disappeared and Jinx emerged—when everything felt like it was on the brink of total chaos, but she was still his closest companion. He remembered how she'd asked him to make her look different, like a new version of herself.

He'd designed the look for her, a bit of hair spiked on one side, the rest wild and untamed, a symbol of everything she was—unpredictable, dangerous, and free.

Jinx turned her head, peeking at herself in the mirror on the wall. "How's it look, Bael?" she asked, leaning in eagerly.

He stepped back and gave her a nod of approval. "It's exactly how you wanted it. You look unstoppable." His voice softened, the weight of their shared history hanging between them.

Jinx laughed, flipping her hair dramatically as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Of course I do. I always do." She gave him a wink, then grinned as she did a few spins in front of the mirror, admiring her new look. "I'm gonna go out there and make sure the world knows who they're dealing with!... By the way you remember the first time you did this work?" She asked.

"Cuz I'd never forget to be honest..." she recalled the first time.

...

Bael finished trimming Powder's hair, stepping back as she admired the spiky chaos that now framed her face. But as she spun in front of the mirror, her eyes glinted with more than satisfaction—there was something else brewing.

"Bael," she said, voice soft yet bubbling with manic energy. "This isn't enough. I need more. I need everything to scream me."

She marched toward him, her eyes gleaming with that familiar, dangerous spark. "I want tattoos. Everywhere. All over me. Arms, legs, neck—hell, even down there. You know the cloud ones, right? Make me perfect."

Bael blinked, slightly stunned, but before he could process, she leaned in close. "You know what would be fun?" Her grin stretched wider, and it almost looked like she was daring him. "Let's make it matchy-matchy. Do my back too. Tattoo you while you're at it. I want it all, Bael."

Unable to resist the pull of her insane enthusiasm, he simply nodded, a little too numb to argue. She giggled, hands already reaching for her tools, her energy coursing like an unstoppable wave.

As the needle buzzed, the ink began to stain her skin, and Jinx's transformation became complete. But she wasn't just changing on the outside. She was becoming the embodiment of chaos—and Bael was with her every step of the way.

...

"Good tiimes y'know?" Jinx remembered.

But then, Bael's hand instinctively reached for his steam-powered gun, the metallic hiss of the weapon readying itself cutting through the silence.

His sharp eyes darted toward the cave entrance, which was shrouded in shadow just 30 meters away. The faint echoes of movement—boots crunching against the damp ground—sent a chill through the air.

"Jinx…" Bael said quietly, his voice steady but firm.

Jinx tilted her head, a wild grin already tugging at her lips. "Ooooh, company?!" she whispered gleefully, her hands twitching toward her pistol holster. "I love when people come to play…"

"Stay back," Bael ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument as he began moving toward the entrance, his steps slow and deliberate.

Jinx pouted but didn't argue—much. "Fiiiiine," she hissed, crouching down like a feral predator. Her eyes gleamed in the dim light as she whispered to herself, "But if they think they're leaving here in one piece, they've got another thing coming."

Bael reached the edge of the cave's interior, pressing his back against the jagged wall as he strained to hear more. The faint murmur of voices reached him now—men talking in low tones, their words indistinct but their purpose clear. Silco's men.

"Figures," he muttered under his breath.

Jinx had crept closer, ignoring his warning entirely. "Should I say hi? Or maybe 'bye-bye?'" she whispered, giggling softly as she motioned to the cluster of grenades hanging from her belt.

"Not yet," Bael replied, his voice a hushed growl. "Let's see what they want… then we'll decide if they're worth keeping alive."

Bael walks towards the entrance of the cave and uses his mechanical hand to light up the space. He starts looking at the familiar place, approaching the sound of men murmuring.

However, what was strange was that, no matter who much he walked, he didn't find a single person. He was almost at the exit and yet no person, even though the sounds were there.

"Am I being schizophrenic?" He asks.

'...But Jinx clearly heard that sound too...' He says in his mind.

Suddenly, he turns around and hears a very very small indistinguishable sound, it was impossible to hear for the average human, but for Bael who worked with those sorts of devices everyday for a decade now, he knows exactly what's that.

His eyes lift up them he sees plenty of C4 explosives on the ceiling of the cave.

'Holy fuck this place is about to explode!' He shouts in his mind.

BOOM !

The explosion sent Bael flying backward, crashing against the jagged cave wall. He groaned, his vision blurry, dust and smoke filling the air. His mechanical hand sparked faintly as he tried to push himself upright, pain lancing through his body.

"BAEL!" Jinx's frantic voice pierced through the chaos.

She appeared through the settling smoke, her usual grin replaced with wide, panicked eyes. "Oh no, no, no, no! BAEL! ARE YOU OKAY?!" She dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling as she grabbed his face, frantically checking for injuries.

"I'm... I'm fine," Bael managed, though his voice was weak, and his breathing labored.

Jinx's eyes filled with tears, her usual wild energy replaced by raw fear. "I—I didn't hear it. I didn't see it. I—I was so off-guard!" Her voice cracked as she clutched his shirt tightly, shaking her head in disbelief. "I let you go out there alone, and it almost—IT ALMOST COST YOU YOUR LIFE!"

She started sobbing, her shoulders shaking violently as she buried her face against his chest. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry, Bael! I should've been there! I'm supposed to have your back! You're all I've got, and I almost lost you!"

Bael winced but lifted his good hand to rest it on her head, gently stroking her hair. "Jinx, I'm okay. I'm still here."

Her tears dripped onto his shirt as she clung to him like a lifeline. "I don't care! I should've been paying attention! I'll never let this happen again, I swear!"

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her face up to meet his gaze. "We're a team. We survive this together. Just... next time, stay closer, alright?"

Jinx nodded, wiping her tears with shaky hands. "Yeah... yeah, I will."

But as she helped him to his feet, her sorrow burned into a smoldering fury. Whoever had planted those explosives wouldn't get away with this. Her blue eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. Silco's men had made a grave mistake—and Jinx wouldn't let them live to regret it.

When the mechanical hand sensed the homeostasis change in Bael's body, a small dose of modified shimmer came out from the shoulder, which injected itself in his body, it cured all of his wounds instantly and made him able to walk again.

"Heh... Forgot your arm can do that." She says.

"...I gotta be well prepared shouldn't I."

Company was here.