Arcane: Bond Beyond Death

The tension in the vault was palpable, thick with the scent of shattered glass and the acrid bite of spilled Shimmer. The chaos between Bael and the Firelight chief only escalated.

Each punch from the chief was a blur, a strike that carried the weight of years of battle experience. Bael blocked, dodged, and countered with precision, but it was clear: this man was not an ordinary foe.

The sound of their clash echoed through the vault, creating a symphony of violence. The impact of their fists, the ringing of metal, and the deafening noise of Shimmer bottles crashing made the entire factory feel like it was on the verge of collapsing.

But then, with a quick flick of his wrist, the chief drew a katana. The blade shimmered in the dim light of the vault, its edge gleaming like a deadly promise.

Bael's eyes narrowed. "So that's how you want to play it, huh?"

He didn't hesitate. With a sharp exhale, Bael activated Overdrive, his mechanical arm surging with heat and raw power. Steam hissed, the plating of his arm glowing red-hot as the markings across its surface became a blazing warning.

The chief immediately adjusted, understanding the danger of the hypercharged arm. He circled Bael, never letting the mechanical limb get too close.

But Bael was no rookie. He anticipated each strike, dodging with an agility that defied the limits of his mechanical enhancements.

Then, the chief made his mistake.

A swift horizontal swipe of the katana tore through a shelf of Shimmer bottles, the glass shattering with an ear-splitting crash. The liquid spilled across the floor, glowing with an eerie intensity, and Bael's fury ignited. His body surged with raw emotion, the battle with the chief now more personal than ever.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Bael growled, his voice a low snarl.

With a roar of defiance, Bael's mechanical arm shot up. The heat was unbearable. Steam exploded from the joints as the arm locked around the katana, gripping it with an intensity that made the air crackle. The blade began to melt in Bael's grasp, the steel warping under the unbearable heat. The chief's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How is that possible?" the chief muttered under his mask, his own weapon melting in Bael's grasp.

Bael's grin was feral, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. "Science, my friend."

Before the chief could react, Bael's fist crashed into his face. The blow was brutal—crushing, unforgiving. The chief's mask cracked under the force of the punch, the once flawless surface now marred with a menacing boom-boom tattoo.

The chief staggered back, dazed. Bael towered over him, the deadly sigile embedded in the cracked mask, waiting for the final moment. One signal from Bael, and the chief would be nothing but smoke and rubble.

"I'm done playing the reasonable mother fucker I'm blowing your face tonight my friend." Bael said, as he prepared on imploding the boom-boom tattoo on the chief's face.

But just as Bael raised his arm, something caught his attention...

A Firelight member appeared in the entry of the vault, rifle raised, charging a shot that would surely end Bael's life.

'FUCK...!!!' Bael cursed innerly, as he tried to dodge the shot... but failing.

Time slowed as the gun fired, the bullet tearing through the air. Bael instinctively raised his arm to block, the bullet striking the metal.

The force knocked him backward, sending him crashing into a rack of Shimmer bottles.

The impact was violent. Glass shards exploded around him, embedding themselves in his skin, the acidic Shimmer seeping into his wounds. Pain surged through him, and he screamed—his body wracked with agony as the chemicals burned through his flesh.

His vision blurred. The vault was falling apart—pieces of the factory collapsing in on itself as flames began to lick at the walls. Through the haze of pain, Bael saw the chief scramble to his feet. He stared down at his broken mask, realization flooding his eyes.

Without a word, the chief tore the mask off his face and threw it to the ground. The mask clattered against the floor, the boom-boom tattoo fading away, and for a split second, Bael could see the chief's face.

The shock hit like a punch to the gut.

"Ekko…" Bael whispered in disbelief, before passing out.

...

In the dark void, a flicker of light appeared.

Bael blinked and found himself standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking an unfamiliar landscape. Below, a ruined city stretched as far as the eye could see, crumbling. Silence.

"Where… am I?" Bael muttered, his voice barely breaking the stillness.

He looked down at himself. His mechanical arm was intact, its usual powerful design now glowing faintly with a strange, ethereal light. He flexed his fingers, feeling a surge of power flow through him, but something was different. This felt more than just enhanced strength—it felt like his entire body was connected to something far larger than himself.

Suddenly, a shadow moved in the distance.

Bael's eyes narrowed as he focused. There, walking toward him with slow, deliberate steps, was a figure cloaked in black.

"Who are you?" Bael asked, his voice cold.

The figure didn't answer immediately, only continuing to walk toward him. As they got closer, Bael could feel an unsettling sense of familiarity—like he had seen this person before, or had known them for a lifetime.

Then, the figure stopped just in front of him.

For a moment, there was silence.

"I was wondering when you'd come," the figure said, their voice hauntingly calm.

Bael's eyes widened. The voice was unmistakable, yet he couldn't place it. "Who are you?"

The figure finally lowered their hood.

Bael's breath caught in his throat as the face of the stranger was revealed.

It was a younger version of himself.

But there was something off about it. The eyes—there was a coldness in them, a darkness that didn't belong to him. And the smile... it was twisted, mocking.

"You've been running from your past for too long," the younger version of Bael said, his voice dripping with disdain. "But it's always been with you. You've never truly escaped."

Bael staggered back, his heart racing. "No... this can't be real."

"Oh, it's real," the doppelganger whispered. "You created me. You're the reason I exist."

Then, the scenery warps to the Last Drop where the terrific scene unfolded; Vi, Vander, Claggor, Mylo, and Powder, stacked one on top of one, lifeless, hopeless, and powerless. Fore ignited the building and the heat got to Bael's head.

"You can't outrun your mistakes, Bael," his doppelganger taunted, almost causing him a panic attack. Stepping forward, "And you can't save them. You're alone. You've always been alone."

The nightmare tightened around him, the ground beneath his feet crumbling. The figures in the city grew closer, their eyes hollow, accusing, like shadows reaching out for him.

Bael fell to his knees, clutching his head as the voices of his past filled his mind, screaming at him, drowning him. His vision blurred, the world spinning in and out of focus.

"Wake up, Bael," the figure whispered, its voice morphing into something darker, more sinister. "It's all your fault."

A final scream echoed in the abyss.

...

Bael jolted awake, gasping for breath.

His body trembled as he slowly registered his surroundings. The pain was still there—an agonizing burn from the Shimmer, but he was no longer trapped in that nightmare.

What the hell was that?

He glanced around, seeing only the remnants of the Shimmer-filled vault, the crumbling walls, and the wreckage of the factory. The explosion, the firelight, and the fight with Ekko—all of it flooded back into his mind.

But that dream… the vision. The other Bael, the city… Was that a warning? A reflection of everything he had done wrong?

But as he stood, his heart still pounded in his chest, the weight of the nightmare lingering over him.

When Bael got up, to his surprise, all his wounds were cured. The burns disappeared.

He flet like vomiting, he threw up shimmer.

"FUCK!!" Bael realized that concentrated shimmer was inside his body. The particles had entered his body through passif diffusion.

But... why isn't he dead. All the shimmer he consumed should be way more than enough for an overdose.

He threw up again. He started hallucinating, seeing things that aren't there.

Then, he remembered Ekko, his face in front of him, distorted.

He felt anger, rage, his childhood friend, betrayed him, but that hatred was secondary division important right now, as the Shimmer inside his body was a bigger concern.

...

Jinx sat cross-legged on the cluttered floor of their lair, surrounded by the remnants of her boredom-induced creativity. Scraps of cloth, wires, gears, and bolts littered the space as she held up two crudely made dolls—one resembling Bael, the other herself. The Bael doll had a tiny mechanical arm crafted from leftover parts and a serious face drawn with exaggerated, furrowed brows.

Jinx held the Bael doll in her hand and deepened her voice to mimic him.

"Oh, I'm Bael, and I know lots of stuff! Look at me, I'm all serious and boring, and I can't even throw a proper party!" she said, making the doll wag its finger disapprovingly.

She snickered before grabbing her own doll, which had a wild mop of blue yarn for hair and a crooked smile painted on its face.

"And I'm Jinx! I'm fun, fearless, and I make everything go BOOM!" she exclaimed, flailing the doll's arms dramatically.

Jinx pressed the dolls together as if they were arguing.

"Oh, Jinx, you're too reckless! You need to think before you act!" she said in Bael's gruff voice.

"Pfft, you're no fun, Bael! Stop being such a nerd!" she replied in her usual tone, waving her doll wildly.

Jinx then made the Bael doll fold its arms.

"And you're a loose cannon, Jinx! You need to stay put while I handle everything like a responsible adult!" she mocked, rolling her eyes.

She slammed the dolls together in mock combat.

"Oh no, Jinx is too awesome, I can't handle her! Help, I'm a boring nerd with a fancy robot arm!" she said as she made the Bael doll flop over dramatically.

"That's right, Bael! Bow down to Jinx, your queen and one and only lover!" she shouted triumphantly, holding her doll above her head like a trophy.

But then, as the room fell quiet again, Jinx's grin faded slightly. She set the dolls down and let out a long sigh, flopping back onto the floor and staring at the ceiling.

"Stupid Bael, who won't let me go with him…" she muttered, fiddling with the yarn hair of her doll. "What's the point of having all this firepower if I can't use it?"

She tossed the Jinx doll into the air and caught it, her eyes narrowing mischievously.

"Well, whatever. He'll be back soon, and then we'll blow something up together! Right, Mini-Me?" she asked her doll, making it nod eagerly.

Jinx snickered again, her boredom momentarily forgotten as she plotted her next round of chaos for when Bael returned.

...

(A/N: Are yall fine with Bael having intimate relationship with Jinx? I'm talking about smex)