Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 25

The first thing I felt when I plunged down into the rivers of chem was just how warm it felt. The polluted waters of Zaun almost felt like a warm bath as the monster and I both sank into its depth. Any pleasant feelings I felt however only lasted for mere moments until I felt my eyes and nose burning. The sensation I felt as I plunged into the green river was unlike anything I’ve ever felt.

Everything felt like it was burning. My eyes, my nose, even my very skin felt like it was burning. I tried to swim against the rapid current, desperately trying to get out of this noxious river. My limbs felt leaden as I paddled blindly against the viscous river. I dare not open my eyes in fear of what the water would do to such sensitive organs. I felt my consciousness slipping away as my lungs threatened to burst. I reached out and there I found hope as I breached through the water's surface.

I let out a gasp as I found myself carried off by the river torrent. My lungs greedily sucked in air as I tried to keep myself afloat from half remembered swimming lessons. I forced my eyes open as the current dragged me away. My eyes scan for any signs of the monster before I lose sight of it.

There in the distance I saw its half submerged bulk, Its head impaled upon a twisted steel beam as it layed there unmoving. It was dead but so was I if I didn’t get out of here. I felt my body lurch as I plunged down a small waterfall, submerging me once more.

The waters were unforgiving as they were deadly. Trash and detritus slammed against my helpless form as I struggled to stay afloat. As much as I wanted to fly out, I couldn’t with my reserves empty. I finally knew the limits of my reserves but I found out about it at the worst possible moment.

I coughed and sputtered as the sour tasting water found itself inside my mouth. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for too long as the waters sprayed and froth as I was dragged deeper into the bowels of Zaun. My limbs flail about trying to find anything to grab onto yet every ledge or rock I found slipped from my grasp. Half blind and gasping for breath, I was at the mercy of the waters.

I could hear a roar from the distance and dread filled my veins. The current was picking up, the water dragging me tirelessly while my limbs could no longer fight back. Still I struggled, trying in vain as the sound got louder. The roar quickly became deafening as I approached the end of the tunnel I found myself in. The end of the tunnel opened up like the maw of a beast as I got closer. I screamed as the river beneath me gave way to an endless abyss.

My scream filled the cavern as I fell down. My wings were all but useless as gravity’s inescapable grip pulled me deeper until I knew no more. The last thing I saw was the glowing river before everything faded into black.

There in the blackness I dreamt, my body floating in an endless sea of darkness while I stared up to the vast star filled sky above. It was a totally alien sight with stars and galaxies encased in bubbles as they floated just out of reach. I didn’t know where I was yet I felt like I’ve been here before.

I did not know if I was still alive or dead but the mere fact that I was still thinking gave me hope. I wanted to desperately wake up, yet I felt neither weary nor tired. Slowly, I sat up and looked around me. There I was sitting in a shallow pool of clear water, barely even an inch in depth. It was utterly dark yet my eyes could see into the void.

“It’s nice meeting you again traveler” Whispered a soft melodic voice from the distance. The femine tone of the voice was calm and collected unlike the other being that spoke soon after.

“You seem to be lost... again. How many times is it now?” Growled out a rough masculine voice. Terror ran down my spine as I felt eyes upon me.

I whirled around, getting up to my feet, as I searched for the sources of the mysterious voice. It was then I noticed the feathered wings in my back and how I was naked as the day I was born. I was utterly defenseless without any tool nor any weapon in my person right now. This has to be a dream right? Right?

“This is their second time but you forgive them, it's not like they intend to be here”

“A little too much I say. I say they had enough chances. It’s not like they’re alone. There’s three of them there!”

“Aren’t you being a bit too hasty dear? It’s still not yet their time.”

“Where are you! Show yourselves!” I shouted as my heart raced inside my chest. I felt ripples spreading behind me as they washed against my feet making me whirl around.

I felt my heart still at the sight in front of me. Two pairs of glowing eyes, one peaceful as the night sky and the other baleful and burning like the flame of the stars if seen up close, stared back at me. I knew who they were the moment I laid my eyes upon them. A pair unlike any other.

“Never one.” replied the lamb with the mask of a wolf.

“Without the other.” added the wolf with the mask of a lamb.

The caprine woman stood on one leg while holding onto a bow while her companion lazy floated around her. She was calm and serene unlike her companion. The wolven man was merely a head floating about whose wispy body trailed around him yet the menacing aura he carried with those eyes sent shivers down my spine.

“Kindred.” I whispered as I backed away but was rooted on the spot by the duo’s gaze.

“Ahh, so you remember us.”

“Or maybe they just know our name? It’s good that we don’t need another introduction” Wolf replied as he snapped at me causing me to flinch.

Saying that I was scared right now was quite the understatement. There standing in front of me was Runettera’s very own version of the Grim reaper. Once a whole being but they willingly split themselves out of loneliness or so their lore goes. Their presence, or rather my presence, here is quite concerning

”I’m… I’m still alive right?” I asked, wanting to believe I was still alive.

“You won’t be once I’m done with you!”

“Peace Wolf, he does not mean to intrude. He merely found his way back here.”

“Sometimes Lamb, I think you’re far too nice for this world.”

“So you say Wolf.”

Their answers made me feel a bit better. I was still alive I think yet their reply also brings up so many questions like the fact that I met them before?

“I’ve been here before?” I asked, curious at the possibility.

“Why indeed. We couldn’t forget such a unique soul from the far beyond’. Was I a soul right now? That might explain the lack of clothing and the wings behind my back. It should be safe to say that souls are the manifestation of one’s self right?

“And how you disturbed us in our sleep.”

I winced at Wolf’s reply. Now I know why he looks so pissed off seeing me right now. “I’m… sorry?” I apologized.

“No worries.” Lamb looked more amused than anything really with how I see their eyes lit up with joy.

“He should be worried!” Wolf fired back. As fun as it was seeing the two, this is still an utterly terrifying experience and I wanted out right now. I didn’t want to deal with them in any matter or form considering what they represent.

“You said I did not belong here right?” I asked

“Yes./YES.” They both replied

“Why don’t you send me back?” This was their domain right? They should be able to eject me anytime they want.

“We can’t. Life is not our domain afterall.” Either this wasn’t their domain and simply a place they could visit or maybe they truly can’t. Both prospects don’t bode well for me.

“But I need to go back.” I had to get back. I simply can’t stay here, wherever this is, when my family’s out there.

“You will, eventually. You’re not exactly dead after all.”

“As much as we want you to be.”

“Nor are you fully alive. You’re somewhere in between.”

“Thus you find yourself here in the inbetween, at the very edge of the world.”

“Limbo...” I knew I fucked up but I didn’t expect to fuck up this much. I hate myself knowing this, if only I didn’t go out that night. If only..

“I… I do not like that word.” Wolf replied before Lamb let out a soft chuckle. I frowned a bit before finding myself chuckling at that. What a weird word.

Still, I had a lot of questions

“Did you bring me here? To Runeterra I mean?” It did not hurt to ask after all, especially when I could find some closure. I’ve already accepted my situation, yes, but would it hurt to know?

“As flattering as it is for you to assume we’re all powerful, we did not.”

“Nor do we know how you got here. Does it even matter though traveler?” She asked before adding “You’re already here after all and you’ve been making your own choices. Living, breathing, and falling in love.”

Memories of all the good times I had were brought up. My meeting with Jinx, my first kiss with Vi, our times together underground... All of these things I now had could all easily be lost once more if I ever fucked up. I need to focus on the here and now else I lose sight of the reason why I even look back at the past and peer in the future. I really would not want to go back here and be unable to go back the next time around.

Speaking of our current location, where am I exactly? This place was just as mysterious as the presence of them two. If this wasn’t the afterlife, then where is this place? It was then that a sudden realization hit me.

“Am I dreaming?” I do remember falling from a great height. Maybe this is all just a dream, an illusion my mind conjured up to rationalize the events that had happened as well as to keep me from mentally breaking down.

“You could be.” Lamb enigmatically replied, staying vague with her wording.

“Or you could not be. Want to find out? I have ways to show it to you.” Wolf replied as he grinned, barring his maw filled with razor sharp teeth that could easily tear me to shreds. I didn’t know just how big Wolf was until I saw him in person. His head was bigger than my torso and his teeth were longer than my fingers.

“No, I’m good.” I replied, contenting myself with the fact that I knew nothing and there I stood with Kindred just a few paces away from me.

There was nothing I could do right now nor do they want to do anything with me, with the exception of Wolf. I was truly in a state of limbo with nothing else to do and thus silence reigned uninterrupted for a while between us. I paced around while they stood in place

“... What do you mean there are three of us here. Are you talking about us or is there someone else in here aside from me?” I asked, breaking through the silence. Their words confused me.

“Did we stutter?”

“Now Wolf, place nice.” Lamb admonished her companion before answering my question with another question.”Do you ever wonder if you only have one soul?”

I frowned, musing at her question. Can a being have more than a single soul?

She brought down her other foot and walked up to me. I kept my eyes on Wolf even as he kept his distance. She lifted up her hands and pointed down at my chet and there I noticed the Hextech crystal that had been almost like a part of myself for the past few months. There it floated just a few cm away while a small interceptable thread connected the crystal to myself.

“You’re not exactly just one, traveler.” Was… Was the crystal alive?

“Ahh, you notice.”

“The poor soul bonded to you is a rather chatty little thing. Might be a boon that you don’t hear them clearly but you still do.” I was bonded to them? All my questions lead to more questions and I fear that I could ask away and still be asking questions.

“The heart of a brackern is a precious thing. Their voices might be faint but you have bonded with them at a more intimate level than you’ve realized. A rare occurrence if I say so myself. Maybe in time you’ll hear their voices.” brackern … Skarner? The image of a massive crystalline scorpion bigger than any man was something few could forget. I haven’t read his lore but the fact that Hextech crystals are alive is making me a bit queasy. If they’re alive then why are we using them in our technology?

“But that only makes us two? There’s only a single soul in the gem right?” I pointed out. It's not like wolf said there were multiples souls inside they gem

“That is correct. You were lucky to find a brackern who had yet to find their own name stone before they became name stones themselves.” She answered yet it still left me wondering. As I mused about my soul, I noticed something in the water.

I was so focused on the pair that I missed something I should have seen already. Looking down, I found myself staring back at my past. The face was blurry however, like looking back at a half forgotten memory. Am I still the same?

“Who am I exactly… Am I still me or am I a different person altogether?” I asked. I was a being of three souls. Am I the present, the past, or maybe even a whole new person brought about by the crystal. Am I an amalgam or maybe I’m a parasite? Questions whirled inside my head, almost overwhelming if it were not for their question.

“Again we ask, Does it matter?” Wolf asked as he floated mere inches away from me.

“Would it change anything if you knew?” Lamb asked in tandem, driving the question deeper, forcing me to look into myself and reflect.

“Would you act differently?”

“Would you be changed by the knowledge”

“Would your next actions be any different if you knew?”

To all these questions, I knew the answer. The answer naturally came to me and it was a clear and concise “No… nothing would really change.”

“What matters now is what you do with it.” Lamb replied as she gently flicked me on my forehead. I winced before I found myself starting to fall down.

“Life is fleeting after all.”

My body felt like it was caught in a current as was gently pulled down. I couldn’t fight it nor do I want to because I knew where I was heading after this. My body plunged into the shallow water, going deeper inside until my whole body was submerged in the pool. Even as water surrounded me, I found myself at peace as the two looked at me from beyond.

“It seems our time is up. You still have a lot of things to do here traveler. I do hope we don’t meet so soon after this.” Lamb replied as their voices became more distant.

“For your own safety.” Wolf added as he gave me a toothy grin. It was then that I finally woke up. I woke up screaming.

Pain filled every inch of my body as I found myself back in the land of the living. Living was agony yet pain was a good indicator that I was still alive even if I’m not well.

Everything was assaulting my senses. The bright yellow light above burns my eyes while the antiseptic scent of a hospital burns my nose. Noise like that of a large crowd assaulted my ears and the sheets I found myself in felt uncomfortable. I could even taste the very air and I found myself nearly gagging at the metallic taste of it.

I tried to turn to my right to get up but the pain became worse. Even as I tried to push away from the bed, I found my right hand seemingly finding no purchase. It’s as if I’m pushing against the air even though I knew I was leaning on my shoulder.

In my agony as I heard the thundering footsteps of several people. I quickly found myself restrained as I writhed in pain. Tears clouded my vision as it felt like I had hot poker piercing through my right shoulder yet even as my vision swam, I could still distinguish the familiar color of Vi and Jinx’s hair.

I felt rough yet gentle hands grab hold of my face as they tried to keep me still. Her voice was so loud but it was clear. My family was here.

“Ark it’ll be alright, we’re here so don’t panic.” Vi shouted as I tried to distract myself from the pain. My eyes and ears focused on her face and her voice. Blue locks quickly filled my vision as I felt Jinx’s soft hands wrap around my neck

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” She cried out and I felt tears against my neck. My right arm was all but useless but I still had my left hand to brush away her tears. With shaking hands, I tried to dry her tears.

“No crying.” I whispered through gritted teeth. Her soft laughter was like a soothing balm to my soul.

“You’re one to talk, you big dummy.” She replied before she buried her face against my chest. I was still in agony but this was ok.

I felt a pin prick jab in my right shoulder before I felt liquid relief flood my veins. Soon the agony slowly melted away making it seem like it was just a distant memory.. It almost felt like an eternity but after a while I was all but numb to the pain

“I would appreciate it if the patient's family would wait outside” Said a familiar voice. The deep baritone tone and cultured accent was unmistakable

“We’re sorry Doctor Singed.” Jinx replied

“It’s just we heard Ark’s in pain so we came running!” VI defiantly answered back.

The esteemed doctor let out a sigh as he replied “I can’t fault you for that. Despite what some people would believe, I know the value of family. Now carry along. As you can see, the patient still needs time to rest and recover”

“I’m ok now. The doctor’s here so everything will be ok.” I tried reassuring them but I wasn’t sure I was exactly ok now even if I was in a hospital or clinic.

There was some grumbling but the two relented but not before Vi and Jinx left me with a kiss. One on the lips and one on the cheeks. I hear the door closing behind as they leave, leaving me with just the good doctor. There in the privacy of the room, I could now ask the doctor.

“How bad is it doc?” I asked

“All things considered Mr. Ark, you were lucky. You almost left unscathed if not for you right arm and leg along with some minor cosmetic changes and mutations”

“... They’re gone aren’t they?” I could still feel, my mind kept telling me but something felt off. I didn’t dare look at my right side as I waited for the doctors answer

“We couldn’t save them. They were far too mangled and had been left soaking in the river to even salvage. It was even a miracle that the stump on your right side didn’t get too badly damaged from the Chem runoffs. If I wasn’t in town to buy some materials for my project, I fear the damage would have been more extensive.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes before letting it out. As Doctor Singed said, I was damn lucky… just simply lucky to even be alive.

“It was a foolish decision and it took something from you. It was for the best that you only lose an arm and a leg.” The doctor added before I heard him pick up a vial.

“As much as I want to keep on lecturing you young man, It’s best that you rest for now. Best to leave your questions about what happened tomorrow.” Singed said as I heard him flick at something.

“You should be thankful to your patron, especially how much they’re willing to pay for your treatment.” He said as he approached me. A quick jab to the arm before drowsiness sets in. The thoughts about the Vereza’s and my family soon faded into black as I lost the battle to keep myself up. There I lay in a bed as I was rewarded with a dreamless sleep.