League of Legends If Route: Bond of Dawn ~The Two Not Chosen by Fate~ - I'll protect everything.

The deep, rhythmic hum of the reactor core slowly wound down — *gooun, gooun*. The shattered remains of the control rod Vi had snapped lay scattered across the floor, still giving off a faint green glow. Caitlyn still had her Hextech rifle raised. Her finger rested on the trigger, motionless. (*…It stopped.*) Her heart was pounding. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. "Hell yeah! We did it!" Vi grinned, still gripping the broken control rod in her hand. Her steel-gray eyes shone with pride. She was covered in wounds, Shimmer fluid still seeping through her bandages, looking like she might collapse at any moment. "You—" Caitlyn was about to shout at her. *What do you think you're doing, you're injured, you almost died.* But the words caught in her throat. That was when it happened. Jillian Vero quietly raised her prosthetic arm. The side panel on the right of the prosthetic clicked open. Inside, a tangle of complex wiring and a small green capsule were visible. A secondary explosive — an independent system capable of detonating even if the prosthetic's main functions were disabled. "Breaking the control rod only stops half of it." Jillian's voice was quiet. No — too quiet. "The reactor is temporarily stable. But at this rate, the core will go critical again. To stop it completely, there's no choice but to use this explosive — along with my prosthetic — to deliver a direct impact to the core." Her amber, feline eyes stared straight at the reactor core. The light from the reactor dyed her short, silver-gray hair a pale green. "Jillian, you—" Vi took a step forward. "Don't come any closer." Jillian's voice cut through the air like a blade. "Vi… I'm glad I got to see you. This is the only thing I can do. I'll end it all, right here." The capsule inside her left prosthetic began to vibrate faintly. The activation sequence was running. The usual provocative smile had vanished from Jillian's face. All that remained was an expression of utter exhaustion — and yet, somewhere in it, a hint of relief. Something inside Caitlyn shifted. (*—Luca.*) The words she had heard in the clocktower at the boundary zone echoed in her mind. *'The control rod at the center of the reactor… but it won't stop it completely. Jillian's prosthetic — the crystal control valve at the joint on the inside of her left wrist. The outer casing is thinner there, and only there.'* Luca's voice repeated in the back of her mind. The blue light of his prosthetic eye. Those pale lavender pupils. *'Seize it with your own hands.'* (*I won't let you die—*) Caitlyn leveled her Hextech rifle horizontally. She peered through the scope. At the edge of her vision — Jillian's left wrist, the inside of the prosthetic. Right there, the color of the metal was ever so slightly different. "Cait, can you make the shot!?" "Be quiet." Caitlyn answered with just those two words. The sound of the world vanished. The deep *gooun* of the reactor, the pounding of her own heart — everything faded into the distance. Inside the scope, only the crystal control valve stood out in sharp relief. Her thumb unconsciously brushed the scar on her left temple. *A habit of mine — only comes out when I'm concentrating for a sniper shot.* Breathe. She took one deep breath. Her finger pulled the trigger. *ZPAAAANG—!!!* The explosive crack. The recoil of the Hextech rifle slammed into her shoulder. The bullet flew straight and true, piercing the crystal control valve. Sparks scattered inside the prosthetic, and green Shimmer fluid sprayed out in a fine mist. The activation sequence light — went dark. The vibration of the explosive — stopped. The prosthetic sputtered its last few sparks and fell silent. A single thin wisp of smoke drifted lazily from the rifle's muzzle. "…Holy shit." Vi's mouth hung open. That was all she managed to say. Jillian stared slowly down at her own prosthetic. A lump of metal, its functions dead. Nothing would happen now. No self-destruction, no self-sacrifice — all of it, ended by that single shot. "…Why." Her knees buckled. Jillian collapsed to the floor. Her silver-gray hair spread out across the grimy surface. Caitlyn slung her Hextech rifle across her back and ran. "Jillian!" She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Jillian's shoulders. A faint, acrid scent of Shimmer fluid reached her nose. But that was all. She was breathing. She was alive. "…Don't get in my way." Jillian's voice was hoarse. Her amber eyes looked up at Caitlyn, unfocused. "Why… I was supposed to die. I was supposed to end it all, right here." Caitlyn held Jillian's body tight. "I'm an Enforcer. Of course I'm going to protect you too." She could tell her own voice was trembling slightly. (*Why… am I about to cry?*) This woman was Vi's ex-lover. She had provoked Caitlyn, driven her mad with jealousy for weeks. And yet — right now, she just couldn't let go. Jillian's body went rigid. Then. After a long, long silence — Jillian's right hand reached around to Caitlyn's back. A slender, human hand, with no prosthetic. "…Nn." A voiceless sound escaped her. "…Ah… a-aaaaahhh." Jillian Vero cried like a child. Her usual self-assured smile, her provocative tone — all of it was gone. She just wept, tears streaming down her face, sobbing out loud. The calculated performances, the resolve for self-sacrifice — everything had been stripped away, leaving only the raw, unguarded Jillian. "Jillian…" Vi took a step closer, then stopped. Seeing Caitlyn holding Jillian tightly, she quietly averted her gaze. Her steel-gray eyes wavered, just slightly. That was when it happened. A faint electronic tone rang out from the reactor's speakers. The sound of every bomb, linked to the prosthetic's signal, disarming in sequence — from deep beneath Zaun, the distant vibrations of multiple bomb timers stopping traveled through the ground. Piltover, and Zaun — both were saved. A few days later. Fifth floor of Enforcer Headquarters, the forensic analysis lab. Hextech analysis equipment lined the walls, emitting a faint blue light. On the large screen in the center of the room, data extracted from Luca's prosthetic eye was displayed. "…This is irrefutable evidence." Haynes, the analyst — a former chemistry professor from the Academic District, now in his forties — nodded as he pushed up his thick-lensed glasses. He scratched at his graying hair and pointed at the screen with a tired expression. Obstruction of the investigation by the Council. Involvement in the erasure of Jillian Vero's records. Unofficial encryption keys issued from the codes of specific councilors —. The data Luca had left behind, at the cost of his life, was utterly flawless. Three days later, the Council held a press conference, announcing the suspension of the councilor in question and issuing a formal written apology to Caitlyn Kiramman. And then —. The morning edition of the *Promenade Times*. The front-page headline had been replaced: *Chief Investigator Kiramman Single-Handedly Prevents Catastrophe Beneath Zaun*. A complete reversal from the previous issue's headline, *Disgrace to a Noble House: Enforcer Dismissed*, in just a matter of days. Standing next to Caitlyn as she opened the paper, Vi burst out laughing. "Ha, look, you made the front page again." "Next time, make it a headline I don't want to see at the morning briefing." Caitlyn delivered the line with a perfectly straight face. But the hand pinning her returned Enforcer badge to her chest trembled, just a little. (*—I'm back.*) *As a professional, this is the natural outcome.* She told herself that, but she couldn't stop the warmth spreading deep in her chest. The rooftop of Piltover Central Hospital. A clear sky stretched out, endlessly blue. The sea breeze blowing in from Noctar Bay swayed Caitlyn's deep navy ponytail. Caitlyn had summoned Vi here with a single handwritten note. *'We need to talk'* — that was all it said. Vi had just been cleared for discharge. The rooftop door creaked open. "What's up, is this about training?" Vi grinned carelessly, her usual messy pink short hair playing in the wind. Caitlyn didn't answer. She stared at the clear sky for three seconds. Then — she turned around and looked at Vi straight on. "I'm in love with you." Her voice was small and trembling. But her dark blue eyes never wavered. "Not as a partner. As a woman." Vi's movement stopped dead. Her steel-gray eyes went perfectly round. One beat. Two beats. Three beats —. A cold sweat began to form on Caitlyn's forehead. Her heart was pounding far too loudly. (*Is it… no good…?*) That was when it happened. Vi's face turned bright red, all the way to the tips of her ears. "Y-you…! You say that kind of thing! Say it sooner, you idiot! Do you have any idea how long I've… I've been—!" "…You've been what?" When Caitlyn asked, Vi turned her face away and shouted. "Shut up!!" Her pink hair shook wildly. At that utterly Vi-like display of embarrassment — Caitlyn couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She felt like she might cry. *As a professional, I can't show a face like this.* But — *I guess it's okay*, she thought. A silence fell between them, the kind where real words had finally been delivered. Evening. As Caitlyn returned to Enforcer Headquarters, Haynes stopped her. He led her to the back of the forensic analysis lab, checked that no one else was around, and lowered his voice. "…Chief Investigator Kiramman, just one thing." "What is it?" Caitlyn leaned against the wall and folded her arms. "I analyzed Luca's ocular data further. And I found… the authorization code used to erase Jillian Vero's records…" Haynes paused for a breath, then continued. "It wasn't issued from a specific individual's code on the Council. It was issued from an unofficial encryption key shared by multiple individuals." The emotion drained from Caitlyn's face. "…Meaning there's an organized network behind this?" "Exactly. It's not just one corrupt councilor. It's something much larger—" Haynes cut himself off mid-sentence and shook his head, as if to say it was too dangerous to speak of any further. Caitlyn accepted the printed analysis logs. Strings of what looked like code were noted in the margins of the many pages. Fragments of data — the last thing Luca had left behind. "Luca… you were working right up until the very end, weren't you." Caitlyn folded the papers gently and tucked them away beside her Hextech rifle. She glanced out the window. In the distance, she could see the white building of Central Hospital, where Vi and Jillian were still admitted. (*The next fight — huh.*) A quiet resolve kindled in her chest. But for now — she decided she would rest, just a little. Just for today. Caitlyn let out a small sigh and left the forensic analysis lab behind.

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Episode 7

Name: League of Legends If Route: Bond of Dawn ~The Two Not Chosen by Fate~
Author: Novelia

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