Arcane: Bond Beyond Death

Bael worked swiftly, his mechanical hand steady as he flipped the tension meter. The machine roared to life, sending focused streams of gamma rays into the blue orb. It began to pulse, the light growing brighter and more erratic with each passing second, bathing the lair in an eerie electric glow.

"If this works," Bael said, his voice sharp with focus, "we'll have our first refined Hextech orb. This is it, Jinx—a step closer to changing everything."

Jinx perched on a nearby crate, her legs swinging idly, though her wide, unblinking eyes betrayed her bubbling excitement. "Come on, come on," she whispered to herself, barely able to contain her energy.

The orb pulsed faster, the tension meter maxing out. Bael moved quickly to the pressure reliever, adjusting the flow. "It's not about brute force," he muttered to himself. "It's about balance... precision."

The machine gave a low whine as the reaction stabilized. The orb shifted from a chaotic glow to a steady, vibrant light. Bael took a step back, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Jinx," he said, his voice laced with triumph. "We've done it. The first Hextech orb... refined."

Jinx sprang to her feet, clapping her hands together. "Hell yeah! That little blue baby is ours now!" She leaned in close to the orb, her grin wild and unrestrained. "Oh, the chaos we're gonna cause with you!"

Bael looks at it, he grabs it with his bare fingers, he knew it would do no harm, the equations, they proved everything. So he was right all along!

"Fascinating, now that it's in a stable form, we can use it to empower various things."

Jinx jumps around in excitement, "WHAT'RE WE WAITING FOR?! LET'S START MAKING MASS DESTRUCTION WEAPONS!!" She shouts in excitement.

Bael looks at her then back at the orb, "Are we really going to use this power for bad? We're making an important decision here..." He says.

Jinx froze mid-bounce, her grin fading as she looked at him. Her wide eyes narrowed, a serious glint replacing her usual mania. "Bael," she said, her voice lower, steadier. "The world gave up on us a long time ago. You know it, and I know it. They turned their backs on us, left us to rot."

She stepped closer, her hand resting on his mechanical arm. "So why should we give a damn about them? They don't deserve this power. We do. You and me—together. We'll take what we deserve and show them what happens when you mess with the outcasts."

Bael looked into her fierce eyes, her conviction burning brighter than the orb in his hand. He sighed, the last shred of hesitation slipping away. "Alright," he said quietly, gripping the orb tighter. "We'll do it your way."

For the next few hours, Jinx and Bael have been working on Pow-Pow, making a new type of Hextech bullets that were very easy and fast to make as well as ten times more destructive and potent than the regular steam steel ones.

Modifications came one by one and Pow-Pow soon became their first hybrid Hextech weapon.

When Bael was about to place the refined blue crystal in the energy reserve, he reminds Jinx, "One is sufficient for now." He says.

Jinx tells him to quickly put the orb in there, which he does.

Pow-Pow starts shining in blue colors as Hextech is poured into its system.

It was time to test Pow-Pow, their first Hextech weapon. Jinx's eyes sparkled with manic excitement as she hefted the glowing minigun onto her shoulder. Around them were a collection of crudely assembled metal dolls—her makeshift targets—scattered throughout the lair. Some had mismatched limbs, others had faces crudely painted with clownish grins. "Time to rain hell on these tin-can losers!" Jinx cackled, spinning Pow-Pow's barrels experimentally.

"Say goodnight!" she shouted, pulling the trigger.

The sound was deafening as a torrent of glowing Hextech bullets erupted from Pow-Pow, each shot leaving a streak of blue light in its wake. The bullets tore through the metal doll, shredding it into unrecognizable scraps within seconds. The force of the recoil was powerful, but Jinx held steady, laughing hysterically as she swung the weapon toward her next targets.

Bael watched in awe as the other dolls were obliterated one by one. Hextech energy arced and crackled with each shot, the raw destructive power exceeding anything they had ever created before.

Jinx, completely lost in the thrill, unleashed wave after wave of destruction, leaving nothing but smoking debris in her wake.

Finally, the barrels of Pow-Pow slowed, and Jinx stood amidst the chaos, breathing heavily, her grin wider than ever. "THIS. IS. AMAZING!" she yelled, spinning Pow-Pow in her hands like a trophy. "They didn't stand a chance!"

Bael approached, surveying the carnage. "Effective," he said with a smirk. "Though I think we'll need sturdier test dummies next time."

Jinx chuckled, slinging Pow-Pow over her shoulder. "Nah, I'll just aim for live targets next time," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Hmmm. I'm thinking the fully automated Hextech Pow-Pow should... be portable in the pocket, have no regulation system, except for some runes for limitation, and a special ability...

THAT'LL BE AWESOOME!!! She shouts shooting her minigun into the ceiling of their lair which made debris fall and cracks appear everywhere.

Jinx stop!! Bael shouts.

Jinx just laughs and bombards everything with her minigun. Jinx's laughter echoed through the lair as she swung Pow-Pow wildly, firing into the ceiling. Cracks began forming, and debris rained down, threatening to collapse the entire cave.

"JINX, STOP!" Bael shouted, his voice cracking with panic.

But Jinx was too far gone, cackling as if the chaos was a symphony and she was the conductor. She pointed the glowing Pow-Pow at the walls next, sending another volley of Hextech bullets flying.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME! I CAN'T STOP!" she shrieked, her finger glued to the trigger.

Bael had seen enough. With a sharp motion, he raised his mechanical hand and aimed it at her. A faint glow emitted from his palm, and in an instant, Pow-Pow's Hextech crystal was snatched from its chamber, the energy flowing into his hand like a magnet.

The minigun sputtered, its barrels slowing to a stop. Jinx stared at the weapon in confusion, then turned to Bael, her manic expression melting into a pout. "HEY! Give that back! That's mine!"

Bael's mechanical hand held the glowing crystal securely, the fused crystal retrieval system pulsing with light. His glare was sharp and unwavering. "Are you CRAZY?! You were about to blow the entire place to smithereens!"

Jinx crossed her arms, her lips twitching in frustration. "But it was fun..." she muttered, kicking at a piece of rubble.

Bael sighed heavily, lowering his hand but keeping the crystal in his grasp. "We agreed to test it, not level our home. You can't just go berserk every time you fire a weapon, Jinx. This place is the only secure spot we have."

Jinx looked up at him, her pout softening into a mischievous grin. "Alright, alright. You're no fun, Bael." She tilted her head, her blue braids swinging. "But, uh, can I have it back now? Pretty please?"

Bael hesitated, holding the crystal tighter. "Only if you promise to not act like a maniac... at least for today."

Jinx giggled. "No promises!" she chirped, reaching out for the crystal.

"So what's the next step of our plan captain?" Jinx asks.

Bael looks for a bit then replies. "We infiltrate the Shimmer factories discreetly and get as much information as possible..." He says.

Jinx looks somewhat confused, "Gathering information about shimmer? For what purpose? I thought we were supposed to destroy that thing." She says.

"...Yes but—" Bael gets interrupted.

"Haha not like I care or anything. Hey if you say we need more info about that crap, then let's get it," She replies.

She smirks as her gaze meets his, "But first... WE NEED TO CELEBRATE!" She shouts in excitement.

"Celebrate?" Bael raises an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Jinx continues, spinning Pow-Pow Zeta around her finger. "We made the FIRST EVER Hextech-powered weapon! Even those nerds in Piltover couldn't pull that off! We've got a massive edge over everyone now, and that calls for a celebration!"

Bael scratches the back of his head, her excitement starting to rub off on him. He had to admit, they had worked tirelessly all night, and with an incognito mission ahead, maybe a little celebration wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, Jinx," he says with a small smile. "We'll celebrate tonight. You're right—we deserve it. Where do you want to go?"

"To The Last Drop!" she responds instantly, her eyes practically glowing.

Bael freezes. "The Last Drop? Jinx, that's... risky. You know it's where Silco and Sevika operate."

"Pssshhhht," she waves him off dismissively, grinning mischievously. "If anything comes our way, I'll just rip it apart with this new baby!" She lifts Pow-Pow Zeta toward the ceiling, menacing to turn their lair into rubble again.

"OKAY! OKAY!" Bael quickly surrenders, sighing deeply. "I guess that place does hold some... nostalgia for you."

Jinx lets out a chaotic laugh, twirling away toward the workshop.

Bael watches her for a moment before yawning. "I'm going to sleep for a bit. We've been working all night."

Jinx suddenly stops, her mood shifting. She tugs on his sleeve, her voice shaky and unsteady. "Can I... join you in bed too?"

Bael turns to her, surprised by the softness in her tone.

"I just..." she starts, her eyes darting away as she grips his sleeve tighter. "I like... your warmth." Her voice cracks slightly. "When I sleep... it's..." She pauses, struggling to find the words.

"It's one of the few things..." Her fingers tremble as they clutch at him.

"...one of the few things I still..." Her voice is barely a whisper now,

"...look forward to in this shitty hell."

Her eyes meet his, glistening with a rare vulnerability that makes Bael's chest tighten.

Without a word, he pulls her into a tight hug, resting his chin on her head. "When the world goes against you, Jinx, you run back to me, okay?"

Her arms wrap around him fiercely, like she's holding onto the only thing keeping her afloat. "Fuck this world," she whispers, her voice trembling.

"Fuck this world," Bael echoes softly, holding her even tighter.

...

Caitlyn stood at her assigned position, her posture stiff, her expression blank. The noise of construction and the murmur of workers filled the air around the aftermath of the chaos Jinx and Bael had unleashed days prior. She let out a soft sigh, her hand resting on the hilt of her rifle.

The Sheriff's orders had been clear: "Manage the public and stay out of trouble." It was demeaning work—crowd control and babysitting civilians. Not the role she envisioned as an Enforcer, much less a Kiramman. But no matter her accomplishments or background, it seemed she always ended up with these scraps of responsibility.

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her rifle as her frustration bubbled beneath her calm façade. "This isn't justice," she muttered under her breath, glancing at the ongoing construction work.

Her gaze shifted, lingering on the debris and destruction. Images flashed in her mind—Bael standing alongside Jinx, his calculating eyes meeting hers for a fleeting moment during the chaos. He'd changed. So had she. But no matter how much she tried to tell herself she'd grown, facing him had left her paralyzed.

Her grip on her rifle faltered, and she clenched her fists. "A decade ago... I let him go," she thought bitterly. "Back then, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought he was just another orphan trying to survive."

Her mind replayed their encounter—his voice, calm and composed, as if every move had already been calculated. That same boy, now a man, had resurfaced as a force of destruction, leaving her powerless. "He's not just some street rat anymore. He's a threat—a genius who's using everything he's learned against us."

She exhaled sharply, her jaw tightening. "I couldn't stop him then... and I couldn't stop him now. What good am I if I can't uphold justice when it matters most?"

Her eyes scanned the site once more, catching glimpses of injured workers and shattered structures. A flicker of resolve reignited within her. "I don't care what orders I'm given. I'll find him, and I'll stop him this time. No more running, Bael."

Adjusting her rifle, she left her shift position, walking toward the ruins. She wasn't content to merely manage the aftermath anymore. She needed answers, and she wouldn't stop until she had them.