Manic || Arcane Fan Story (Silco x OC)

Chapter 1. The Past Becomes the New Future

A red haze filled the air, flames licked my bare skin as i walked through the carnage that occurred on the bridge. A bridge that once linked my brother and I together, now destroyed by those who were meant to protect us. I winced in pain as I stepped over another dead body, only to be surrounded by dozens more. Why did Zaun have to fight Piltover? I look back at the city where Viktor, my twin brother, now lives before I kept walking towards the Undercity. I grimaced with pain with every step I take, as I walked through the red smoke back to my home.
"Dear friend across the river..." I heard a soft voice ring out through the chaos, before a explosion send me flying into a pillar on the bridge. I scream in agony as my body collides with the stone structure, before watching the enforcer walk by me, killing someone else and walking off again. I slowly stand up as my arm fell limp. I looked at it, to see my arm broken. I scrolled as I kept walking, but not before seeing a man with metal fists, killing one of the enforcers and two little girls amongst the chaos. I sigh as I slowly started making my way back to Zaun again.
But it wasn't long before I was stopped, an enforcer blocking my path. I watched as his feet step closer to me, before a force knocks him off his feet. I look up to see a woman with short brown hair kill the enforcer before looking at me. I stand still for a moment, not wanting to move, but she gestures for me to get to Zaun. I nodded as I run back to my home, the pain causing me to be slower than I usually am. I look back to see the woman who saved me, following me out, along with the man, carrying the two girls. I saw the enforcers retreating back, as if they weren't going to go any further. Why would they? They've already killed enough of us.
I wasn't even meant to be a part of the fighting, it just occurred. I went to go visit Viktor, as we promised to do every day. At the bridge that we separated out. That was five years ago.

[Flashback]

Viktor and I had just finished building our greatest invention yet, a mechanical leg that could move on its own, allowing the wearer to rely on it to walk again. It also was able to help those with no legs to be able to walk as well. Viktor mostly used it, replacing his previous frame from ten years before. I smiled as we went to the bridge, in order to test it out on a flat surface. I watch as my brother, who have been struggling with a limp all of his life, was able to walk normally and run. I cheered as he ran back across the bridge before crashing into me, giving me a tight hug as tears escaped our eyes.
"I must say, that invention is impressive." We heard a little voice say. We look down to see it was Councillor Heimerdinger.
"Councillor Heimerdinger?" My brother and I said at the same time. We looked at each other, pinching our arms. "Ow!" We both exclaimed as we rub the pinched area. We look back at Heimerdinger, who looked at us strangely.
"Yes, I am very much a real person." He chuckled at our actions. He walked closer to us, and admired the mechanical leg that we made.
"You two made this... mechanical advancement." We just simply nodded.
"We've been making this together since we were three years old, when our father left us." I said, smiling at the memory of our first invention. It was a smaller version of the boat we had when we first met Singed, but it couldn't run and float on water. In a sense, it was a prototype.
"Amazing. But why are you testing it on yourself? I think that there may be other people who could benefit from this type of invention." Viktor and I looked at each other before looking at Heimerdinger again.
"It's... because of my limp. I've had it for as long as I remember. We've been trying out different inventions to help those, like me, with a limp or missing a leg, or legs, to be able to have a normal life again. To walk and run with ease." Heimerdinger just watched, as my brother explains the purpose of our inventing, and it was true. We were just trying to better life in the Lanes.
"Hmm..." He thought for a moment, looking between the two of us. "Unfortunately, the Academy only accepts one boy and one girl from Zaun to be apart of the program every ten years, and we've already chosen our female recipient-"
"Viktor will go." I said, cutting off the small councillor. They both looked at me with shock.
"No, Rose. I'm not leaving you in this hell hole." Viktor retorted back, a scowl appearing on his face.
"Yes you will. I'l be fine down here. Between Vander and Benzo, I'll be fine on my own. You need to help everyone, including you. You don't know how much longer you can survive in the fissures with that leg, let alone your condition. Please, brother. I just don't want to lose my twin." His eyes filled with tears, as well as mine, before we hugged each other tightly, like there was no tomorrow. It could be like that one day, where neither one of us sees each other again, but I pushed that thought away as I hoped for the best of my brother. We pulled apart, only to see Heimerdinger wipe some tears of his own away.
"Such beautiful love between siblings. Especially twins. Almost completely inseparable. Well, if it's decided then, you two go home and rest. I'll meet you back ont he bridge tomorrow. Have some things packed, and the rest will be provided. Have a good day, Viktor, Rose." He nodded to the two of us before walking back across the bridge to Piltover. I still couldn't imagine it, my own twin finally living his dream. We looked at each other before heading home, laughing and talking the whole way home.

The next day came too soon for me, but I was excited for Vik. We packed the last of his things before we had our final breakfast together. It was sad for the both of us, we haven't been apart since birth so this will be different for the both of us. Even Vander and Benzo came to say goodbye to their "Golden Boy". We laughed at the nickname they gave him as we all walked to the bridge, making jokes and trying to lighten the mood. We soon reached the bridge, where Chancellor Medarda and Councillor Heimerdinger were waiting. Vander and Benzo waited at the end of the bridge while Vik and I walked towards the pair standing in the middle, the line that separated out two worlds.
"Are you ready, my boy? For a life of curiosity, adventure and science?" Heimerdinger asked Viktor.
"I am." He smiled before turning to me.
"Thats's good. Now say your goodbyes, but don't worry, you can still see each other on the bridge if you choose."  Chancellor Medarda said to the two of us, smiling softly. I hugged Viktor tightly, trying not to cry. Today was his day, and I wasn't going to ruin it for him. He hugged me back just as tight, as we said goodbyes.
"Let's make a pack, sister. Every day, we'll meet on the bridge for lunch. Deal?" He held out his hand, that wasn't holding his cane, out to me. I grabbed it tightly, squeezing it slightly.
"Deal." We let go as the two of us walked back to our sides of the bridge, him going to Piltover to start a new life, and I to go back to Zaun, where my life will be the same. We looked back once more, waving goodbye before leaving it at that and walking away. I ran up to Vander, hugging him hard as the tears fell. That day will always be stuck in my mind, as the hardest day of my life. Leaving my own twin brother.

I stood at the each of the bridge, holding my damaged arm with my other, looking at the carnage that the so-called peace keepers made. I sighed in defeat before walking to the Last Drop, my new home since that day. I couldn't go back to our home, so I grabbed my things and left to go stay with Vander. He was fine with it, as along as I helped out in the bar downstairs. Of course, I agreed to it, but I never expected to get harassed as much as I have been. Thank god for Vander, or some of them would have broken noses.
I limped into the empty bar, just as Vander came from the upstairs area.
"The two girls ok?" I asked him, sitting at the bar and resting my broken arm on the bar. I winched as I sat down, my slightly burnt skin starting to blister. Vander looked me over before grabbing his medical kit, taking the stool next to me.
"Yea. They've just been through a lot. To have seen that, at such a young age, I couldn't imagine what they're going through. But I bet you can." I rolled my eyes as I winched from Vander putting the burn ointment on my wounds, being wary of my broken arm.
"Losing one parent to childbirth, and one ran away, doesn't shape up to losing your parents to the bloody peace keepers of Piltover." I explained, trying to not punch Vander in the face for the pain all over my body.
"That can be true, but still losing both parents can't be easy. At least they have each other, like you and Viktor. Speaking of, did you manage to see him before the war started?" He asked, as he put away the ointment and wrapped my arm in a splint and sling. I punched the bar in pain as he did that.
"Yes. I was heading back when it happened. Got caught in the middle of it. I would be dead though, if it wasn't for Sevika." I felt Vander stop for a second before walking back around the bar, pouring us a drink.
"Sevika? Didn't think she would do that for you. Considering her dislike for, well, everyone." I chuckled at his response, and he chuckles as well, pouring us a glass of whiskey each, handing one to me.
"You and me both, Vander. You and me both." We clinked our glasses together before taking a sip. I sighed in content at the burning feeling down my throat. I smiled as I relaxed slightly, continuing my drink until it was finished. I yawned slightly before standing up.
"I'm gonna go crash, Van. I'm exhausted after today." He nodded, grabbing my glass and cleaning.
"Night, Rose." I smiled before heading up to my room. I closed my door before I started slowly getting undress, wincing whenever I moved my left arm, which was the broken one, and pulling my clothes over my burns. Soon I was left in my underwear as I pulled an oversized shirt over my hand and laying down on my bed.
I looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to fall asleep. Because every time I close my eyes, all the flashes of the fires, the explosions and the screams of agony and heartbreak filled my head. But I must've fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up to a dark room, a cold sweat covering my body. My heart rate was fast, and my breathing near hyperventilating. I slowed my breathing down, removing the covers to allow my body to cool off. I sighed as I soon drifted off to sleep, a dreamless one, but sleep nonetheless.