A Piltover Academy Student in Demacia (Lux/Jinx)

Chapter 11: The Cost

Powder shivered as a cold breeze cut through her, chilling her to the bone. She had planned so carefully, prepared so meticulously, and yet she had forgotten something so basic and crucial as a coat. Though perhaps that wasn't actually so surprising; after all, she had always placed her own well-being at the bottom of the list, skipped sleeping to make more time to work, eschewed comfort to stay focused on the task at hand. She was cold, she was hungry, and she was utterly exhausted, but none of that meant a single damn thing. The only thing that mattered was... unfortunately, still nowhere to be seen.

She had no watch to check (another oversight in her planning), but she felt certain it was already past midnight. Doubt and panic began to build as she stared down the path, towards the beginning of Memorial Road. Had Garen failed to deliver the note? Had Lux thrown it away without opening it? Or worse, had she read the note and chosen to disregard it, dismissing the message as a bluff? Too many variables that could've gone wrong; so many possibilities, and all of them bad.

"An interesting decision, I'll give you that much," a soft voice said. Powder turned, her heart in her mouth. The voice, of course, belonged to Lux, who approached Powder with the slow determination of a predator closing in for the kill. Fear spiked within her; not just at the the fact that Lux had snuck up on her (which, admittedly, had scared the absolute shit out of her), but that she had arrived from the absolute wrong direction: there was only one entrance to Memorial Road, and it terminated in a dead end, but somehow that was the way Lux had approached from. Powder panicked; had Lux passed by the Titan? Had she done preparations of her own?

"'Meet me on Memorial Road at midnight, or I'll tell everyone.' A bit dramatic, don't you think?" Lux continued, smiling coldly. She spared a glance up at the statue of Fossian Crownguard, and Powder could see that her once-blue eyes were now stained a horrible, dirty purple. "Though I think she sent you a very similar note once... but that was before my time. But here I am, as you requested. A bit of a poor decision to disregard my warning, I might add, but that die has already been cast—"

"Who the fuck are you?" Powder asked, gritting her teeth.

"Why, I'm your dear Luxanna, silly girl... or at least, part of me is." Lux raised her hands into the air, as if stretching. "The other part, however... should I assume that is the part you were inquiring about?"

Lux took a step forward, and Powder stepped back instinctively. She fought against her urge to run, and struggled to subdue her urge to fight. She needed to remain calm; she needed more information. With effort, Powder said calmly, "You're the Hexcore."

"Oh, what an interesting theory," Lux replied, moving ever closer, pushing Powder further back down the road. "You think that I'm nothing more than a device gone rogue? That I'm just a design error you forgot to account for?" There was an edge of disdain and anger in Lux's voice. "No, you are nowhere near talented enough to create something such as me, little girl. Not even on purpose, but certainly not by accident. But I will give credit where it is due: if not for your little trinket, none of this would've been possible. Your toy gave me dear Luxanna... not only a foothold into this world, and one with ties to royalty no less, but a perfect battery as well. Such a wonderful gift... perhaps, if you ask nicely, I might favor you with a reward."

"Let her go, you piece of shit" Powder said. Lux laughed in response, shaking her head.

"Do you know why I haven't killed you already, child?" Powder flinched at the suggestion. "Because I could, faster than you could even blink. But it would be slightly more difficult to explain away your death than it would be to ensure your silence. So, you must understand, this leaves you with little leverage to bargain with. No, it is I who will be setting the terms of our deal."