Arcane: I have Plasmids F*** YEAAAAAAH!!!

The Shimmer factory stank of oil, sweat, and fear.

The pipes hissed. The floor groaned. The air was thick with heat, the glow of molten metal casting deep shadows on the walls.

It felt like the whole damn building was holding its breath.

Vi was alone on the catwalk.

Her knuckles were bruised, her breath ragged. Vander's gauntlets felt heavy on her hands, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

She had to hold the line.

Behind her, Milo was bent over Vander's restraints, hands shaking as he worked the lock.

Claggor was at the wall, shoving a rusted pipe into the cracked concrete. Every hit made the hole a little bigger.

They were running out of time.

And at the far end of the catwalk?

Silco watched.

His single eye was unreadable.

Sevika stood beside him, silent.

She took a step forward—

But Silco stopped her.

His fingers twitched.

"Not yet."

Vi barely had time to register his words before another figure stepped forward.

Deckard.

A vial of Shimmer gleamed in his palm.

Vi's stomach dropped.

"No—"

Too late.

He drank it.

---

Silco exhaled slowly.

This was it.

The last loose end.

Vander's children, his legacy, would be erased tonight.

'I'm sorry Felicia...I cannot stop now.'

Silco watched as Deckard transformed.

The veins in his arms bulged and twisted. His skin split, muscle expanding, thickening. His breath came in horrid, guttural gasps.

Then, finally—

He roared.

It shook the metal beams.

Silco tilted his head.

It's Beautiful.

He turned toward Vi, still standing on the catwalk.

She lunged forward, throwing the first punch.

Her gauntlet slammed into Deckard's face.

And nothing happened.

He didn't even blink.

She staggered back, eyes wide.

Silco almost felt bad.

Almost.

Because then—

Deckard grabbed her by the throat.

Vi kicked, clawed, struggled—

But his grip didn't loosen.

Not even a little.

She could hear Vander shouting.

Desperate.

Terrified.

"SILCO, PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS!"

It didn't matter.

Silco inhaled through his nose, finally relaxing.

This was the moment he had waited for.

It was over.

He had won.

And then—

(START BLASTING 'X GON' GIVE IT TO YA')

The factory exploded.

---

The entire roof collapsed inward.

A hurricane of shattered glass, steel, and debris rained down onto the catwalk.

Silco stumbled back, shielding his eye from the dust.

Sevika cursed, raising her metal arm.

Something tore through the air—a black blur, moving too fast to track—

And then—

CRASH!

A monowheel.

A FUCKING monowheel.

Slammed directly into Deckard's skull.

The impact sent him flying off the catwalk, crashing into a pile of machinery below.

Vi fell to the floor, coughing violently.

Everyone else just stared at the scene.

And standing there—

At the center of the wreckage—

Lukas Fontaine.

Gun in one hand, static crackling around the other.

His coat fluttered from the force of his entrance.

He ran a hand through his hair, wiping away the dust.

Then—he smirked.

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

---

Silco's breath hitched.

For a second—just a second—he couldn't process what he was seeing.

This wasn't possible.

He had watched Doctor Reveck gas him into oblivion.

Had left him shackled to a wall, his mind drowning in chemicals.

So how the fuck was he standing here?

Strong. Smiling.

Lukas turned his head toward him.

And Silco felt it.

That gaze.

That unyielding, fucking impossible will.

And for the first time since this all started—

Silco felt something unexpected.

Something he had not felt in years.

Fear.

---

The factory stood still.

Dust and smoke still curled through the air. The monowheel—now bent and wrecked—lay beside Deckard's crumpled body, the shimmered-up teen barely twitching.

The only sound was the sparking of broken wires and the faint, high-pitched hum of Lukas's EVE-charged fingertips.

He rolled his shoulders, eyes sweeping the room.

Vander—restrained.

Milo—still working the lock.

Claggor—still hammering the wall.

Vi—pulling herself up, staring at him like he just descended from the heavens.

Lukas exhaled.

"Looks like I got here just in time."

Vi's jaw tightened. "Where the hell have you—"

"Long story." He cut her off, His voice dropped into something cold, razor-edged. "Go, help them."

Vi hesitated.

Lukas's fingers twitched.

He raised a hand—

And the cracked wall behind Claggor?

Exploded outward.

The hole was wide enough to escape.

Vi's breath hitched.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!'

He just did in two seconds what Claggor was struggling to do for an hour.

'Was that magic?!'

Milo gawked.

Lukas turned toward them.

"Milo, get those fucking locks off Vander NOW."

Milo jolted into action.

Lukas looked Vi in the eyes.

"GO. NOW!"

Her hands clenched—then, finally, she nodded.

She ran to the others.

Lukas turned back to Silco.

---

Silco kept his expression calm.

But his mind was spiraling.

Lukas was supposed to be at the warehouse, contained.

Even if he had managed to escape from there—he should have been weak. Sluggish. Barely standing.

Instead—he looked stronger.

More dangerous.

And that grin—

That goddamn grin.

Silco's fingers curled.

He couldn't let this continue.

His plans were unraveling.

The boy should've stood by his side.

He needed him for his plans for the future of Zaun.

SO WHY?!

WHY DOES HE KEEP STANDING AGAINST HIM.

Silco took a deep breath.

'Scorched earth it is.'

---

Silco exhaled slowly.

Then—he nodded.

Sevik hesitated, but stepped forward.

Lukas stared at her.

'Holy shit, I Totally forgot about her.'

(Fuck)

She pulled out a case of purple vials.

He immediately knew what it was.

Shimmer.

Oh, come the fuck on.

Silco tossed the case to the ground.

The remaining lackeys hesitated—but only for a second.

Then—one by one, they drank.

And changed.

The sound of bones snapping, muscles tearing, skin stretching filled the air.

A grotesque, inhuman growl echoed from the transformed lackeys.

Lukas sighed.

"Well. Fuck my life 2, Electric Fuckaloo.."

---

(Start Playing ' Resident Evil 2 Remake Ost- 3rd Malformation of G Theme' fellas.)

Vi had just reached the others when she heard the growling.

She turned—

And her stomach dropped.

Five of them.

Twisted, monstrous, barely human anymore.

Lukas stood there—alone against them.

Vi took a step forward.

She had to help.

She had to—

Then she froze.

Because Lukas?

He wasn't running.

He wasn't backing down.

He was grinning.

"Oh," Lukas cracked his knuckles, his hands sparking with electricity.

"Is this supposed to scare me?"

They just stared at him.

The sparks of electricity in his hands were increasing in size.

Lukas took a deep breath.

And Then—

"I'll Take you All On!"

He charged.

Vi stared.

He was actually going to fight them.

She took another step—

"Vi!"

Milo's voice snapped her back.

She turned—he had nearly gotten Vander free.

"Help me with this!"

Her chest tightened.

She looked back—Lukas was already in the thick of it.

Surrounded.

Overwhelmed.

Vi hesitated.

Then—

She clenched her fists.

Trust him.

'Please don't die Lukas.'

She ran back to the others.

If Lukas said he'd handle it—then he'd handle it.

For now—

She had to get them out.

---

Lukas moved first.

He had to.

Because if he didn't, he'd get ripped apart.

The first shimmered-up brute lunged—fast, faster than something that size had any right to be.

Lukas ducked low. The monster's fist tore through the air where his head had been a second ago. The wind from the swing alone made his coat whip back.

"Holy shit. What the fuck did they feed you?"

(Shimmer, you Dumbass.)

Lukas didn't wait for an answer. He countered.

A quick one-two punch—one hand crackling with Electro Bolt, the other already reaching for his gun.

The first hit stunned the bastard. The second?

Didn't even make it flinch.

Well. Fuck.

The moment he hit the first one, the others moved.

Lukas barely had time to breathe before another came barreling toward him, this one on all fours, bounding across the catwalk like a rabid dog.

Lukas twisted, raising his hand—

Incinerate.

A wall of fire erupted in front of him. The shimmered goon shrieked as flames swallowed him whole.

But it didn't stop him.

He ran straight through it.

His flesh peeled and melted, his skin turning black and charred—

And he still kept coming.

"Oh, come the fuck on."

Lukas barely managed to sidestep as the burning monster swung at him, claws raking through the air.

He didn't get a chance to recover.

Because another one grabbed him from behind.

Shit.

Massive, grotesque arms wrapped around Lukas's torso.

A second later—

CRACK.

A monstrous knee slammed into his ribs.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Lukas saw white.

Pain exploded through his body.

He gasped, choking on air.

Then—

He bit down his scream.

Pain meant he was alive.

And as long as he was alive—he could fight.

His hands twitched.

The shimmered bastard lifted him higher—intending to snap his fucking back.

And Lukas?

Lukas smiled through bloody teeth.

Big mistake, asshole.

BZZZT.

A violent surge of electricity erupted from Lukas's body.

The shimmered brute convulsed violently.

His grip loosened.

Lukas took his chance.

He grabbed the bastard's head with both hands—

And poured every last volt of Electro Bolt into his skull.

The shimmered goon screamed.

His brain fried from the inside out.

Smoke poured from his eye sockets.

Then—he dropped.

Dead.

Lukas landed on unsteady feet.

His ribs ached. His lungs burned.

But he wasn't done.

Not yet.

He turned.

The others were still standing.

Still waiting.

Lukas cracked his knuckles.

"You fuckers are persistent."

He grinned.

"Fine by me."

---

Powder watched everything.

She was ecstatic the moment Lukas fell through the roof.

He was alive.

Thank the wind Lady!

But now?

Maybe that won't be the case for long.

Her fingers gripped the window frame so tight, her knuckles turned white.

She saw Lukas fight.

Saw him take them on alone.

Saw him struggle.

He was winning—but barely.

He was hurt.

He was outnumbered.

And she knew—

If he didn't get help, he would die.

Her hands trembled.

Her breath came out fast, panicked.

"No, no, no…"

She had to do something.

Had to.

Her bag shook as she reached inside.

Her fingers wrapped around the cold, metal frame of her monkey bomb.

She yanked it out, cradling it like a lifeline.

Her voice wavered.

"Please work."

Then—

She turned the crank.

And everything changed.

---

Lukas moved like a man possessed.

Because he had to.

Every muscle screamed. Every breath burned. But stopping wasn't an option.

There were still three of them left.

Three towering, twisted, shimmered bastards.

And Lukas was running out of tricks.

One lunged.

Lukas sidestepped—barely.

His boots skidded across the metal.

He flicked his wrist—

A telekinetic blast sent the monster slamming into the wall.

The second came next.

Lukas turned—

Electro Bolt.

A direct hit to the chest.

Didn't kill him.

But it staggered him.

Lukas took the opening.

Gun up.

One shot.

Right between the eyes.

The bastard crumpled.

One left.

The final brute wasn't moving.

He watched Lukas.

Chest heaving.

Blood dripping from his fists.

His monstrous hands tightened.

Lukas exhaled.

He could feel the exhaustion settling in.

His body was giving out.

His EVE bar was running dangerously low.

But he was winning.

Barely.

One more push.

'I Got one More in Me.'

Just one more.

And Then—

A flicker of blue.

Something small.

Something walking toward them.

Lukas's stomach dropped.

His breath hitched.

His head snapped toward the movement.

And in that split second—

He saw it.

That little toy monkey.

The soft hum of the hextech gem in its chest.

Lukas's eyes widened.

"Goddammit Powder..."

---

BOOM.

The explosion tore through the factory.

A violent, unforgiving shockwave.

Metal twisted.

Glass shattered.

The entire catwalk collapsed.

Lukas didn't have time to think.

Didn't have time to move.

Didn't have time to do anything—

Because the force of the blast ripped him from the ground.

Flung him through the air.

The factory walls disappeared.

And then—

Cold.

Dark.

Water.

The fight was over.

The factory burned.

And Lukas?

Lukas was gone.

Sinking.

Unconscious.

Into the depths of Zaun's murky waters.