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A crimson flare tore through the smog of the Piltover sky, its light reflecting off the cold, polished steel of the Academy towers.
Camille, mid-stride on a rooftop near the border, paused as the light bathed her silver hair. She adjusted the tension on her grapple hooks, her eyes reflecting the glowing signal. "It's starting," she whispered. "The end of the gray."
On the bridge, the chaos was instantaneous. The street agitators and looters who had spent years harassing the border scattered like roaches in a sudden light. Among them were Chen's scouts and Urgot's zealots, both retreating into the depths of Zaun to prepare.
Urgot didn't wait for a plan. His radio crackled as he reached Chen. "Piltover has made its move. I'll lead the charge, Little Firefly! I will show them the strength of those who refuse to die!"
The Dreadnought lunged onto the bridge, his six mechanical legs sparking against the stone.
When the news reached The Last Drop, Chen found Ekko in the middle of a delicate calibration.
"Professor! Piltover is marching!" Chen shouted, his voice echoing in the bioluminescent treehouse.
Heimerdinger's ears drooped in horror. "Marching? To war? This… this is exactly what I spent three hundred years trying to prevent!"
"I don't have time for the ethics of it, Professor!" Chen turned to Ekko. "The experiment. Where are we?"
Ekko, his face pale, grabbed his Z-Drive. "I've done it once. I traveled back three minutes... but it wasn't stable. If you want a device that can anchor a timeline..."
"You and the Professor stay here," Chen commanded, his hands gripping Ekko's shoulders. "Janna will protect this grove. You are our only trump card. If we fall, you are the only one who can undo the massacre. You cannot die. Do you hear me?"
"No, Chen! I won't hide while you bleed out there!" Ekko tried to push past, but Chen struck him—a hard, flat-palmed slap across the face that sent the boy reeling.
"If Zaun is to have a future, you have to stay!" Chen's voice was a ragged growl. "Believe me, Ekko. I never lie to you. This is for Powder. This is for everyone. Finish the drive!"
Chen turned to Jinx, who was already loading Pow-Pow with a manic, tearful intensity. "Jinx! Call the Wildfire Squad! We're moving to the industrial sector!"
On the bridge, Jikegar—the ruthless Warden of Stillwater—leaned on his cane, watching the green-tinted horde of Urgot's cultists approach. In his hand, he held the first production-model Hextech Rifle.
"Time to show these sewer rats the light," Jikegar sneered. "Columns One and Five, advance! Columns Two and Four, cross the river! All forces... Purge!"
Urgot's men pushed forward behind massive Chem-Tech riot shields, confident in their durability. They had survived Shimmer; they had survived the Sump. They thought they were prepared.
They were wrong.
Under the hum of Hex-crystals, the Piltover Guard opened fire. Blue streaks of light—blaster bolts powered by crystal dust—tore through the air at supersonic speeds.
Psh-BOOM.
The "impenetrable" Chem-Tech shields were punctured like wet paper. A Hextech bullet struck the man beside Urgot, entering his skull as a needle of light and exiting as a jagged explosion. Heads were vaporized; limbs were severed by the secondary energy discharge of the rounds.
Urgot roared, activating his own personal Chem-Tech Shield, but even he felt the kinetic force staggering him. His followers were being turned into a fine red mist. The range of the Hextech Rifles was twice that of any Zaunite weapon. It wasn't a battle; it was an execution.
"The Dreadnought has fallen!" someone screamed as dozens of blue beams converged on Urgot's massive frame.
Urgot took thirty rounds to the chest and head. The energy tore through his rusted plating, exploding deep within his lungs. The giant collapsed into a heap of sparking wires and cooling meat.
By the time Chen and the Wildfire Squad reached the sector, Urgot's army was a memory.
"They're using Star Wars tech," Chen whispered, watching the blue bolts incinerate a barricade from two blocks away. "Range, fire rate, penetration... we can't fight them in the open."
He turned to his squad. "Guerrilla tactics! When they advance, we retreat! When they stop, we harass! Use the shortcuts! Jinx, take the high ground!"
They led the Piltover Guard into the labyrinthine alleys of the industrial district. Jikegar, confident in his firepower, pushed his men into the narrow corridors.
Clang-clang-clang.
A clockwork monkey gonged in a narrow pass. Jinx's explosives detonated, dropping a bridge on the First Column. As the Third Column rushed to help, Jinx's hoverboard squad appeared from above, raining lead with their Pow-Pows.
"Find cover! Counter-fire!" Jikegar commanded.
The Hextech Rifles snapped upward. Two Wildfire members were plucked from the sky in an instant, their boards exploding.
"Pull back!" Jinx screamed, tears of frustration in her eyes. "Retreat! Retreat!"
Chen saw an opening—the Third Column was retreating to reorganize. "Now! When they retreat, we advance! Charge!"
He activated Turbo Chemtank and Counter Strike, his lamppost spinning into a golden blur that deflected the first volley of Hextech fire. He slammed into the Piltover line, his Noxian axe swinging in a Decimate arc.
For a moment, it looked like they might win.
Swish! Swish!
Gunfire erupted from the second-floor windows surrounding the alley. Jikegar stood on a balcony, a cruel smile on his face. "Young man... you're clever, but you're not the only one who knows how to bait a rat."
The First and Third columns had been bait. Jikegar had ordered his men to stay in the kill zone just to lure Chen into the crossfire. Now, dozens of Hextech Rifles opened fire indiscriminately, shredding both the Wildfire Squad and the remaining Piltover bait.
A bolt struck Chen's left arm. It entered his bicep and detonated. Chen gasped, the world spinning as he looked down. His left arm was gone, severed by the explosion.
"UNBREAKABLE WILL!"
He roared through the agony, the rune-shields manifesting to buy him seconds. But his health was a sliver of red. He fell to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth, as Jikegar's men surrounded him.
"Tie him up," Jikegar commanded, stepping over the corpses. "I want him alive. I want to see how much 'will' he has left in Stillwater."
Chen looked up at the sky, a bloody smirk on his face. In his remaining hand, he clutched a signal beacon.
"Jinx!" he screamed toward the heavens. "Fire at me! FIRE AT ME!"
Jikegar's eyes widened. "No! Get back!"
In the distance, perched on a spire with tears streaming down her face, Jinx pulled the trigger of Fishbones. The massive shark-missile roared to life, its blue trail cutting a path through the smog directly toward the beacon.
"I will always love you," Jinx whispered, her voice breaking.
BOOM.
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