Noxus slowly turned her head toward Yin.
He was lying motionless on the floor, surrounded by broken pieces of the control panel.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
Her glowing yellow-orange eyes remained fixed on his unconscious body.
Then...
Her expression changed.
The memories of the past began to return.
Long ago...
A much younger Noxus walked out of her laboratory with excitement written all over her face.
She hurried toward her team, proudly carrying a strange machine.
"Guys!"
"Look what I made!"
She placed the machine on the table.
"I just made this awesome water generator!"
One of the team members looked at it and scoffed.
"What can it even do?"
Noxus smiled brightly.
"Here."
"Give it some of your auris."
She placed her hand on the generator.
A small stream of auris flowed from her body into the machine.
The generator suddenly began moving.
Whirr...
Whirr...
The machine hummed before a small stream of water came out.
Noxus's eyes lit up.
"See?!"
"It works!"
One of the team members stared at it.
"...Lame."
Another member laughed.
"Hahaha!"
Noxus's smile slowly faded.
She looked down at her invention.
Before she could say anything, the team leader walked over.
He looked at the generator for a moment before shaking his head.
"You know..."
"This won't give us an advantage in winning the contest."
Noxus looked at him.
"But..."
"We could decorate it."
"Or maybe you guys have another idea?"
The team leader sighed.
"Sorry, Noxus."
"But I don't think this will ensure our victory."
He turned around and walked away.
The other team members followed him.
Noxus remained standing alone beside her generator.
The laboratory suddenly felt much quieter.
She looked at her invention.
The machine continued producing a small stream of water.
Noxus lowered her head.
"..."
She slowly sighed.
Her excitement was gone.
She gently placed her hand on the generator.
"...Maybe next time."
Noxus carried her generator outside the competition laboratory and toward the nearby river.
She carefully placed it on the ground.
"...Let's see if it still works."
Noxus poured some of her auris into the machine.
Whirr...
The generator began moving.
A small stream of water flowed from it.
Noxus's eyes brightened.
"It works."
She crouched beside the machine and examined it.
"Hmm..."
"Maybe if I add this one..."
She picked up a small gear and carefully placed it into the generator.
Suddenly—
"Hi there."
Noxus froze.
"Huh?!"
She turned around in surprise.
Her hand accidentally struck the generator.
Crack!
The gear on the left side broke.
Noxus stared at it.
"...Oh."
The boy standing behind her immediately raised his hands.
"Sorry!"
Noxus looked at him before shaking her head.
"It's okay."
"I can fix it."
She reached toward the broken gear.
But before she could do anything—
"Let me help."
The boy crouched beside the generator.
His hands quickly moved through the machine.
Click.
Clack.
Whirr.
In only a few seconds, he finished repairing the broken gear.
Noxus stared at him.
"...Wow."
"You repaired it in a second."
The boy laughed.
"It's nothing."
He looked at the generator.
"So..."
"You're using this for the competition?"
Noxus suddenly became quiet.
She looked down at her invention.
"...No, actually."
"This is just for my room."
The boy nodded.
"I see."
He smiled.
"I'm Yin."
"And you?"
Noxus looked at him.
"Noxus."
Yin smiled.
"Great name."
He pointed toward another device he was carrying.
"How about you help me with my device?"
"It's a little complicated."
Noxus looked at the machine.
Then she smiled.
"Sure."
Inside Yin's laboratory, Noxus looked around curiously.
On the table sat a strange watch-like device.
She picked it up and examined it.
"...It's just a watch."
Yin laughed.
"On the outside, yes."
"But watch this."
He took the device and placed it around his wrist.
Click.
The watch activated.
A hologram suddenly appeared above it.
A scientist materialized in the projection, speaking to another scientist as if they were standing right there.
Noxus's eyes widened.
"Whoa..."
Yin grinned.
"That's not all."
He turned toward a training dummy.
Yin raised his wrist and aimed the watch at it.
"Watch closely."
A tiny missile shot from the device.
Whoosh!
It struck the dummy.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Noxus stared at the destroyed dummy.
"...Wow."
Yin proudly held up the watch.
"This is the Destroyer Watch."
He paused.
"...Is that too cringe?"
Noxus suddenly laughed.
"No!"
"It's perfect."
Yin smiled proudly.
"See? I knew it."
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Just tell the truth, girl."
"You'll never get him to admit it himself."
Yin immediately turned around.
"Hey! Shush it!"
Maxwell walked into the laboratory, shaking his head.
"I'm Maxwell."
He pointed toward Yin.
"And unfortunately..."
"I'm on his team."
Yin frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Before Maxwell could answer, another man walked out from the side of the laboratory.
"Hello there."
"I'm Brody."
Noxus looked at the three of them.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I'm Noxus."
"Pleasure to meet you all."
Another boy suddenly walked into the laboratory.
Noxus turned toward him.
Then froze.
"...What?"
The newcomer had the head of a deer.
Noxus stared at him in complete shock.
Yin casually pointed toward him.
"Oh, this is Fawn."
Fawn simply nodded.
Noxus slowly looked at Yin.
"Why does he have a deer head?"
Maxwell sighed.
"That guy is a lunatic."
"He experimented on himself."
He pointed toward Fawn.
"And look what he turned himself into."
"He's still alive..."
"...but he couldn't talk."
Fawn immediately pointed at Maxwell angrily.
Maxwell raised both hands.
"Hey, I'm just telling her the truth."
Fawn continued pointing at him.
Brody walked over.
"Just stay still."
He carefully examined the machinery around Fawn's head.
A few wires had become loose.
Brody pulled out a small tool and began repairing them.
Fawn suddenly winced.
"Urgh..."
Noxus stepped closer.
"Let me help."
Fawn immediately shook his head.
Brody looked at Noxus.
"Sorry, Noxus."
"He doesn't want you involved."
Noxus narrowed her eyes.
"Oh?"
She rolled up her sleeves.
"Watch me."
Before anyone could stop her, she stepped beside Fawn and examined the damaged wiring.
She carefully adjusted one connection.
Then another.
Click.
Clack.
She tightened the final wire.
Fawn suddenly grabbed his head.
"Ow!"
Everyone froze.
Yin's eyes widened.
"...Shit."
"You can talk!"
Fawn slowly looked around.
"Yeah..."
He touched his throat.
"...With my old voice."
Noxus's face immediately lit up.
She smiled proudly.
"I fixed it."
Fawn looked at her for a moment before giving a small nod.
Yin stared at the two of them.
"Well..."
"That was unexpected."
Brody looked at Noxus and smiled.
"We need her on this team."
Yin nodded.
"Yeah."
He turned toward Noxus.
"So..."
"What's your answer?"
Noxus looked at the four of them.
Then she smiled.
"Sure."
"I'm in."
The group immediately celebrated.
From that day on, the five of them began working together, spending countless hours experimenting, building devices, and improving their inventions.
The Competition
Eventually, the day of the competition arrived.
The team walked out of the competition hall carrying a small pile of coins.
Yin raised both arms.
"Yahoo!"
"Second place!"
"Let's go!"
Maxwell immediately reached for the coins.
"Hey!"
"Divide those coins properly."
"Don't take all of them!"
Yin casually pulled the coins closer.
"I will."
Maxwell stared at him.
"...You're unbelievable."
Nearby, Noxus suddenly noticed her old team approaching.
One of them looked at her and scoffed.
"Look at her."
"She's teaming up with some crazy dudes now."
Noxus remained silent.
Brody stepped forward.
"Hey."
"Back off."
He pulled out a syringe.
"Or I'll inject some serum into you."
The team member laughed.
"I'd like to see you try."
Suddenly—
Fawn walked toward them.
The group froze.
"...What the hell is that?"
Fawn simply stared at them.
His deer-like head tilted slightly.
The group immediately backed away.
"Yeah..."
"Let's go."
"These guys are lunatics!"
They quickly ran away.
Yin watched them disappear.
"Yeah!"
"Run away like cowards!"
Maxwell sighed.
"Can you stop yelling?"
Yin ignored him.
Instead, he looked at the others.
"Guys..."
"I think we should open our own laboratory."
Maxwell raised an eyebrow.
"Then what should we call it?"
Brody immediately answered.
"Destroyer Lab."
Yin's face went blank.
"Do that..."
"...and the police will arrest us immediately."
He thought for a moment.
"How about..."
"Sector X?"
Noxus looked at him.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I like the sound of that."
The five of them looked at each other.
And that was how Sector X began.