A Jinxed Heart (Arcane - GirlxGirl)

Dustend

The roar of the waterfall was deafening as Jinx plunged over the edge, her body spinning helplessly in the air. She barely registered the pain as her head slammed into a rock at the base of the cascade. Darkness rushed in. Her vision spinning and then vanishing as she was carried by the powerful current.

For a long time, there was nothing. No sound, no feeling-just the cold embrace of the water, dragging her deeper into the abyss.

Hours passed. Jinx's body was carried along, until finally, the waters spat her out onto a desolate shore.

She layed there, motionless, her head resting in the dust.

__________________________________

Jinx woke slowly, disoriented. She blinked against the haze, struggling to focus on her surroundings. Where the fuck am I?  Her throat was dry, and the air was thick with dust, scratching at her lungs.

The sight that greeted her was... bizarre. It didn't look like Zaun or Piltover. Hell, it didn't look like any place she'd ever been. It was old, broken, like something left behind long ago. The ground was dry and cracked, the dust hanging in the air like an ever-present fog.  Above her, trees with crooked roots were bending in unnatural ways to survive. 

With a groan, Jinx pushed herself up, her head pounding like a drum. Every movement was a struggle, and her fingers brushed against something rough on her forehead. A bandage. The touch made her wince, the pain stabbing deep into her skull. What happened?

The bandage felt coarse, wrapped hastily around her head. She could feel stitches under it, tight and uncomfortable. "Who the hell did this?" she muttered. She glanced at her reflection in the river nearby. Her messy tresses stuck out in ridiculous angles, half-covered by the sloppy bandage. She let out a bitter laugh. "Great. Fashion-forward head injury." She poked at the bandage again, grimacing. Whoever patched me up had no sense of style.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to remember how she got here. The last thing she remembered clearly was the explosion - the missile she hads fired at Piltover. The flames, the chaos. For a moment, she'd felt triumphant.

And now she was... here. Wherever here was.

In fact, Jinx had been carried downriver to an underground town, deep below Zaun and Piltover. This hidden place was shaped into the earth by the very river she fell into. Over the centuries, the water had carved a network of tunnels through the earth, carrying a constant flow of dust through these caverns. This ever-present layer of dust gave the town its name - Dustend.

She scanned her surroundings, feeling the unease creep in. This wasn't right. There was something... off. It felt too quiet, too still.

A flicker of movement caught the corner of her eye.

Jinx's instincts kicked in. She reached down for her gun, ready to unleash hell. But her fingers met empty space.

No bombs. No gun.

Her pulse quickened. She patted herself down frantically, searching for any weapon, any explosive—but there was nothing.  Everything's gone. 

"Seriously?!" Her heart raced as panic clawed at her chest. Her bombs were her power. Without them, what was she?

Her mind spiraled into anger. WHO - THE FUCK - TOOK - MY STUFF?!

She clenched her fists, eyes narrowing as her rage bubbled up. The last time she felt like this was when Vi had called her a jinx, and abandoned her. No control. No weapons. She'd been powerless then, and now... now she was here again.

Jinx spun around, eyes wild, trying to spot the culprit. She saw nothing but the mysterious town rising before her. Bridges above her crossed te river to get from one tunnel to another. Whoever had helped her... patched her up... they were watching. She could feel it, lurking in the shadows.

A dry laugh escaped her lips, manic and unhinged. "Alright, whoever you are... You think you can mess with me, huh? Patch me up, steal my shit, and leave me here to rot?" She raised her arms dramatically, spinning in a slow circle, her voice echoing through the dusty air. "Come on out! Show me what you've got!"

Nothing. Silence.

Jinx's grin widened, eyes gleaming with the thrill of the chase. "Fine. Hide all you want. I'll find you, and when I do—"

Her voice trailed off as she moved toward a dark cave at the opposit of the city. The thick trees around it made it nearly impossible to see inside. But there, faintly glowing through the leaves, was a soft blue light.

Her breath quickened. She patted the side pocket of her jacket, expecting the familiar touch of the Hextech sphere. "I can tear this place apart with this small—"

Her hand froze. 

The sphere was gone.

No, no, no!

She stumbled back, her heart pounding louder ever. Her last sphere—the one that could restore her power—it was gone, too.

"You don't get to take this from me!" she screamed, her voice raw. Her body trembled with rage.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the trees. Jinx stopped, trying to see what made that noise. "You're gonna regret this!"

Before she could react, something snaked around her legs, pulling her toward the cave.

What the hell?  She fought against the pull, kicking and struggling, but the grip tightened. It felt alive, tightening like vines around her arms, dragging her closer to the cave's entrance.

Could this be—magic? No, that's impossible.

A voice echoed in her mind. "YoU'Re sO ScrEWed."

"Shut up, Mylo!" she snapped, shaking her head — only for the motion to make her wince as the pain shot through her skull.

Before she could make another move, a root curled around her neck, squeezing, cutting off her air.

Jinx gasped, clawing at it, her vision starting to blur. Just as her legs weakened and her body began to give in, she saw a figure emerging from the shadows — a feminine silhouette glowing faintly blue.

Jinx's smirk returned, even as her air was choked out. Her voice rasped with defiance. "Kinky, huh? Choking me without even offering a drink first?"

And then, everything went black. Again.