His head hurt.
Xander groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, skull pounding like it was about to split open. Every muscle ached after the four-hour ordeal and the stench of rot still clung to his nostrils.
He blinked again, vision blurry, and movement sluggish.
There's Vander… still in the corner.
His head turned. Powder was resting next to him, her small frame looking utterly exhausted. If nothing else, she looked cute while sleeping, he thought with a faint smile.
Up on the boxing ring, Vi was sleeping on her arm with drool marks down the vinyl. There were dark rings under her eyes and her hair was disheveled.
Grunting, he started to sit up- then froze.
A faint shimmer flickered in the corner. His eyes snapped open, confusion twisting into a cold, crawling fear deep in his chest.
A little girl silently stood there. Her dark hair hung over her face, her small body swaying gently with a blood-hued dress. She was barefoot… and her feet-
He blinked, and suddenly she was standing right in front of him.
"Shi—"
"Shh…"
She pressed a small finger to his lips, the sound of her voice soft and hollow as it echoed in his mind.
"It's alright…"
His body trembled. An unknown terror gripped him tight, his breath catching as he tried to see her face but her hair swallowed all light.
I'm hallucinating. F-from all the fucked-up shit! Breathe. BREATHE! BLINK!
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing a deep breath. When he opened them again- she was still there.
"They can hear us," she whispered, her voice echoing in his mind. Her hands rose slowly, cupping his ears like cold glass.
"Don't listen to the voices."
"GUH—!"
Xander gasped, sucking in air as she vanished. A hand gripped his arm.
"Hey, are you alright?"
His head snapped to see Powder sitting up, rubbing her sleepy eyes and staring at him worriedly.
He was covered in cold sweat, shaking, his pupils wide.
She giggled softly, eerily childlike, and her hand gently brushed his cheek.
"Did demon boy have a bad dream?"
---------------
~Piltover: Kiramman Manor~
"Caitlyn Kiramman, do not leave this house unless you want to be punished!"
Cassandra Kiramman's voice rang through the marble hall, sharp and cold. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, knuckles pale. The pristine elegance of her attire was frayed, creases down her sleeves and a stain near her cuff. Her hair was still neat, but her face told another story.
Sleepless, worn, and furious.
"Then punish me," Caitlyn shot back, pivoting toward the manor's doors. "What are you going to do? Our Sheriff is corrupt and we have no proof!"
"Don't be foolish," Cassandra snapped. "Every house has access to private security and internal resources. With patience, I can pull favors, have them watch Marcus and his closest officials for suspicious activity."
"You don't get it!" Caitlyn's voice cracked with frustration. "By the time they find anything, Vi and everyone who helped me could already be dead! I have to go back. He—"
She froze. That single word slipped out too easily, too instinctively.
"He has a plan to subdue Silco. Or worst case… put an end to it."
"He?" Cassandra's tone dropped several degrees colder. "I thought you said she. Vi?"
Caitlyn blinked rapidly. "I—I did. But there were others who helped as well."
Her mother exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So you still haven't told me everything. That's even more reason you should stay. You're not thinking straight."
"I'm thinking just fine," Caitlyn muttered, though her voice was hollow and strained.
Soft footsteps echoed from the upper stairs. Tobias Kiramman appeared, Caitlyn's father and husband to Cassandra, and descended slowly. His robe hung loosely on him, his eyes sunken and red.
"Didn't sleep well?" Cassandra asked, her sharpness fading to worry.
"No." Tobias rubbed his temples, wincing. "Couldn't sleep at all. I don't know why…"
"Same here," Cassandra murmured, glancing toward Caitlyn. Her tone softened, though her gaze was still heavy. "It's worry. Worry that our daughter will run off again and get herself killed."
Tobias frowned, hesitating. His lips moved as if to speak but he stopped himself. He simply looked at Caitlyn, searching her expression maybe for understanding, maybe for something else.
"You're leaving again?" he asked quietly. "It's dangerous."
"I know." Caitlyn's defiance faltered, her words less steady now that both of them were standing before her. Both tired, anxious, and afraid. "But there's no other way."
Cassandra turned her back on her. "There is," she said coldly. "You just don't want to hear it."
"Waiting will only lead to more death," Caitlyn whispered.
For a moment, none of them spoke. The clock on the far wall ticked, loud in the silence. Tobias's eyes flicked toward it, his brow furrowing faintly.
"…Strange," he murmured. "It feels like it hasn't stopped ticking all night."
-----------------------
~Undercity: The Last Drop in Silco's Office~
"Still nothing?"
"No."
Silco let out a weary sigh. He slumped back in his chair, exhaustion and worry etched deep into his expression. The workload from the explosions topside, caused by Jinx, had only made things worse.
Even so, his eyes stayed sharp, darting toward Sevika's equally tired face.
"You worked hard," Silco muttered after a pause. "Thank you."
"That's rare coming from you," Sevika said dryly, letting her exhaustion bleed through as she dropped into the couch against the wall. "We searched everywhere. Some of the men thought they saw her, but… she vanished again."
The silence that followed hung heavy until Silco's lip curled in restrained fury.
"It's all because of that thing," he spat, his tone venomous. "When it's found, I want to be there. I'll kill it myself."
Sevika studied him quietly, her expression unreadable before nodding once.
"Trust me," she said. "It'll be my pleasure to watch."
The quiet lingered again, broken only by the slow whir of the ceiling fan. Then Sevika pushed herself up with a grunt.
"I'm getting some shut-eye," she said. "Been up all night trying to track her and that monster down."
"Couldn't sleep?" Silco's tone carried a trace of genuine curiosity, a rare occasion from him.
"No…" Sevika stopped at the door, glancing back.
"Mm." Silco leaned forward slightly, rubbing at the side of his face. "An unusual number of our people had trouble sleeping last night. I slept fine but I can't have you suffering with everything going on."
Sevika snorted. "Can't have your workhorse dropping dead, huh?" She shrugged. "I'll check with the ventilation engineers before I get some rest. Some chemical is probably leaking through the lines again."
A low chuckle rumbled out of Silco as his gaze drifted up to the slowly turning fan above them.
"That's all too often the case," he said softly.
"Another one of Piltover's runoffs."