Arcane: The Young Hound

(LN- Bit of length to this one, felt like yall deserve it. Totally not because I had nothing better to do 👀)

(1st Pov)

(Small Time Skip)

I have a few plans, believe it or not. The first one is exactly why I'm introducing electric engines to Runeterra: I want my fucking computer back.

I am sick and tired of having to do endless calculations by hand AND I want to create a version of Spotify. I've already made a rudimentary neural link, so I might be able to extract some of my favorite songs out of the back of my stupid ass fat ass head.

...

Sorry for the outburst. Anyway, I've spent the past week or so cooped up in the lab with Jayce and Victor, and all I can say is that these two assholes are genuine geniuses. I mean I am too, but I at least had an idea of what I needed to create. These dumb fuckers are just winging it.

First of all, the giant Hexcore station is only being drawn up right now, as well as the potential applications alongside it. Jayce was in charge of designing that, while Victor was working on the actual Hexcore itself. By that I mean the inferior version of Axel.

Speaking of, that little sneaky bastard had somehow managed to not only escape from my workshop, but he made it all the way over here without getting caught. I'm starting to think he managed to teleport...

Axel, who was once a floating ball of very small pieces, had finally changed his looks. Now, he looked like the metal equivalent of an eastern dragon. A long flexible body like a ferret, four stubby legs, and a dragon head complete with sharp eyes and even sharper teeth.

As for why I'm calling him a little shit? Because that LITTLE SHIT revealed himself to Victor, who's been studying him non stop.

"I ask you again, how did you create this creature?" He asked me, looking into Axel through a magnifying glass.

Groaning, I replied the same way that I have for the past three days on a row. "Look through the notes and you'll understand how I crafted his frame. How he changed? No idea. That's why I left it up to you to discover the cause of his evolution."

You catch that? Hint hint: In a future timeline not only is he essentially a new god of the Arcane, but that's only after becoming the Machine Herald! Did I mention that I really like Victor yet?...Pause.

In reality though, that seemed to do the trick and got him off my ass long enough to think about some more plans.

'I know at somepoint l need to deal with Silco. He's relentless in his pursuit for the betterment of Zaun and while I respect that and would love it for him to keep up his work, I need to make sure that Vander and the rest are safe... Speaking of, I need to go visit them. It's been a while.'

Getting up from my desk, I waved Jayce and Victor goodbye as I headed for the bridge. I don't exactly remember how the city was laid out in the show, but there's a small part of Zaun that is actually above ground, though it's separated from Piltover by the canal. Beyond that is where Zaun was swallowed in the earthquake, sinking it down below.

The caverns below Piltover were pretty spread out too, even some parts connecting over to each side of the canal via old subtunnels and ones dug out by smugglers. Though, most of them were abandoned and in dire need of repair. Like the hideout that Ekko finds and uses as a base for the Firelights.

Shaking my head of my thoughts, I soon arrived at The Last Drop, only to find it a ghost town. Sniffing, I also keenly noticed the smell of iron in the air.

"...Shit."

---

(3rd pov)

In an old warehouse in the darker parts of Zaun, the figure of Vander could be seen tied down to a chair. He had been there for quite a while and one could also see that parts of his face were quite messed up. Currently, he was only just waking up.

"It's a little crude I'll admit. The base violence needed for change. But we both know the topside won't listen to anything else." A lanky man with a messed up eye monologed as he watched his men haul weapons and vials of purple liquid around. They were preparing for war.

"Even with your monsters, you won't win in a war against Piltover." Vander said, strong yet beaten.

"I don't have to, I just need to scare them. They won't dare set foot in the underground again."

"You'll get people killed. 'N for what? Pride?" Vander asked incredulously.

"For respect!" Silco said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Oppertunity. Everything they've denied us."

"Nah you HAD my respect, The Lanes's respect. But that... that was never enough for you."

"We shared a vision, Vander! A dream of freedom. Not just for The Lanes, but for the whole of the underground. United as one." Silco said, both fanatical and surprisingly calm. "The Nation of Zaun."

"Do you even remember?...I trusted you... and you betrayed me."

"What I did to you, I've never forgiven myself. You were my brother."

Silco looked deep into Vander's eyes, before sighing and shaking his head. "No, you still don't understand. Can you imagine what it's like? When your blood mixes with the filth and the river toxins eat through your nerves."

"Oh, I hated you for what you'd done." He continued. "But as time passed, so did my hate. And I was left with an understanding. The only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear. I hated you, but you kept my respect... untill you made peace with them. Played laptop after everything we suffered."

Vander grimaced, remembering all the things that he'd done these past years against what he had promised his younger self. "I had no choice."

Silco seemed to seriously consider that. "Perhaps. But now you do." He said, raisin up a purple bottle. "Shimmer. We have the power. We can finally realize our dream, brother."

"...Look at what you've done. Benzo. The kids. In fighting topside, you'd sacrifice everything that we are. It's not the way, can't you see that?"

"Kill me, if you have to. But please spare The Lanes."

"You'd die for the cause, but you won't fight for one?!" Silco asked angrily, getting in Vander's face, but before he could say anything else a voice interupted him.

"He won't have to." Following the voice, a figure dropped down from up above landing next to Silco before kicking him away. "At least for now, I'll fight for him."

Getting up from his new spot on the ground, Silco looked up to see a man dressed in red and black. Mostly, it was a mix of armor and free fitting cloth that allowed for extra movement. The metal was painted black and had red highlights going throughout it akin to cracks in a volcanoe. His gauntlets were extra thick, allowing for extra blunt damage, and if you looked close enough you'd notice the fingers had claws attached to them. On his face, was a metal wolf mask.

"And who would you be?" Silck questioned, his men pooling behind him.

The man paused for a moment as if to consider how to answer that. "...Warwick."

Silco raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that you're surrounded, don't you?" He waved to the hundreds of men all around.

"They don't matter," Warwick said, shrugging. "But I can tell that you really want to hurt him, so why don't we get this overwith?"

Frowning, Silco waved a hand and his men followed the silent order. Silently, Warwick dropped Vander a vial of blue liquid. Breaking that silence immediatly, he figured that the stalwart man wouldn't drink it.

"It's adrenaline. Stab the pointy end into your thigh and get your lazy ass up...Hound."

Vander's eyes shot open. Only one person called him that anymore, and it was always when he managed to pass him off. Frowning, he decided to trust him this once. "We're going to have a very long talk after this, aren't we?" Warwick muttered just loud enough for Vander to hear, to which the older man sighed.

"Don't die for me kid."

Nyx smirked under the mask. "You think these scrubs can kill me? Even after that stunt with the enforcers? Man, I seriously need to up my street cred!"

Vander grunted as the adrenaline burned through his veins, giving him the strength to stand up with the help of the railing. Glancing back, Nyx stopped him just before the fight started.

"Don't even think about it. I see that bullet wound." Sighing, Vander forced himself to turn away from the kid that he'd raised for years as he fought for both of their lives, and he could feel a part of himself wear away inside.

'Is this all I am now? Someone so weak that my kids have to fight my fights?' He asked himself.

What he didn't know was that at this moment, an ember began to burn behind his eyes, soon to grow into a great inferno.

(P.S. This might count for tomorrow's post. I'm visiting family and don't know if I'll have much of a chance to write. But who knows, I'll probably write an extra chapter after this to make this little point, well, pointless.)