Scrapyard Angels [League of Legends Insert]

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 9

Machines can often come as miraculous things when you take a look at them. You know why they work but the how is entirely lost to you. You might see a phone and knows it runs on computing and electricity but how does it exactly work. You can't simply take a device and replicate it if you havent studies about it

This was exactly what I felt when I looked down on the crystal before us. It glowed but that was all it could do for us.To own a Hextech crystal was one thing, but to use it was an entirely different matter. Much like Chemtech and various other arts, it's not exactly something you learn unless you're exposed to it.

"I don't think we can use this. Should we sell it?" Vi asked as she took one of the crystals from the box in front of us.

"Well… we can sell it… but just imagine the cool stuff we could make now that we have a crystal to work with!" Jinx was the ever optimist among us with it

"Do any of us know how to use this?" I asked. It was completely out of my depth. My plan was supposed to be to learn how to read and do magic in the elementary before shifting jobs to the university if a part time custodian job opens up and then learn some hextech from observation and maybe reading some of the books written in the Zaunite text. The Hextech crystal was supposed to come after that

"I just hand tools in the Chemtech shop I work in" and Chemtech was as similar to Hextech as Dieselpunk is to Atompunk. They might have the same concept but far different ways

"So… we can't make Zap guns?" As much as I want to Jinx…

"Well… we can't right now but I think I can learn how to do it. Teaching you would be the easy part afterwards"

"What can we do with it now then?"

I hummed for a bit, thinking of how the device used to measure my magic worked. I could feel some resistance around the shell while it felt like all my magic was going to the crystal inside it so…

Grabbing one of the gems, I pushed my magic into it. The effect was immediate when the crystal flared brightly, momentarily blinding us. All it did was shine brightly and there was the lack of ozone in the air to tell me that I didn't miss anything else

"Damn it Ark! Warn us next time!" Vi rubbed her eyes as she tried to blink the black spots in her vision

Jinx on the other hand blinked before looking at the crystal intently.

"Jinx, Vi, I was going to try and teach you how to do magic once I got the basics done but we could do the first step now" I was reluctant to teach them magic as it was akin to teaching someone how to use a gun while still learning how to use a gun. Feasible but irresponsible

Gently grabbing Jinx's hand, I placed the crystal on her palm before holding her hands between my own. Her hands felt warm to the touch. They no longer felt bon to the touch

"Your hands feels tingly" Jinx says as she held onto the crystal

"Now, I want you to feel what I'm about to do. If I'm correct, you should be able to feel this" Much more slowly this time around, I pushed my magic towards the crystal. Vi leaned closer as she watched her sister do something utterly magical

"Is it supposed to feel like something's flowing?" Jinx asked as the crystal glowed ever so softly, growing brighter and pulsing, as her eyes widened in wonder

"Yes, it's like something you always felt before right? Like you always know that's there like breathing or your heartbeat? Now, I want you to hold on to that feeling and let it flow. Just follow what I was doing with the crystal ok?"

Jinx nodded as she stuck out her tongue and concentrated at the crystal in her hands. Slowly I pulled away from her hand and the glow dimmed.

"No!" Jinx's face scrunched up as she tried to hold on to it. It pulsed, beating faster until it grew brightly once more. It wasn't blinding but the color changed ever slightly towards Jinx's color.

Vi pulled Jinx into a hug as she shouted "My sister's going to be a mage!"

"But I want to be a Hextech Mechanic!" Whined the girl as she now looked at the crystal in betrayal

"You can always be both you know" As much as Hextech can help those who didn't have the mana pool to fuel magical spells, it can still be used to enhance what's already there

Jinx was grinning ear to ear at that little fact. Now it was Vi's turn

"Now do me!"

"Gladly~"

"Not like that y-you dolt!" It was always fun to tease her now and then. She was making it too easy

"Fine. Now, let's do this"

Doing it a second time was a bit easier now. This time around however, it didnt grow that brightly. It barely blinked at all but at least it did have a pinkish tinge to it.

Vi looked a bit crestfallen that the crystal she held wasn't glowing as brightly as ours. "Well, it did felt like I didn't have any magic in me"

"You do have magic, albeit only a little. You can one use one spell though"

"One spell?"

Grabbing her hand, I lifted them up for all of us to see. "You can cast fist!"

That broke her out of her melancholy as she guffawed at my little joke. "I do cast a lot of fist alright"

"And break noses"

"And break noses" She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless

"And protect us with it"

"Off course it's going to protect both of you"

"And give me kisses"

"And give you-!" I winced as I got punched once again.

"Almost!" I snapped my fingers at the missed opportunity.

"Get a room, you two!" Jinx shouted as she covered her face. I laughed as we continued our banter with Jinx soon joining in as well. Life here down in the Sumps isn't that bad if you have something or someone to live for.

-x-x-x-

Learning a new language is always a pain, especially when it involves new letters. Thankfully it wasn't that different from English when it comes to writing it down. They do have some novel letters here and there like the thorn but they were few and far inbetween. Zaunite is quite removed from Piltovan so there were some quirks here and there

Reading had always been my passion and the few times I had the library to myself was always fun when I could read in peace.

Shaping mana with my left hand, I read one of the kids books inside the library. "Anivia grew annoyed at her brother Ornn for felling her favorite tree when he decided to make a house…" I wrote down as I read, using the chalk I bought on one of the slates in the library. The crooked lines I made as pressed down on the slate with my chalk was barely legible at best

I had a book on language that compared Zaunite to the New Piltovan, a script that was becoming more common, beside me while I read the Freljordian myth. Without it, I would have been lost. I was about to erase my slate clean when a hand grab my wrist

"Hmmm, whoever taught you how to read and write must either be the cruelest teacher there is or just simply a misguided fool" Spoke the Principal as she took my slate and inspected it.

"I thought it was strange you never touched the older books but now I see why" Sitting down, she returned the slate back to me. Her eyes locked on the wavering circle I was making with one hand.

"It seems that you're doing well enough in your magical practice so let's see if I can teach you how to read and write properly. Your wasting too much chalk with how you write right now"

I looked down, not really liking criticism yet it was something that was needed. I needed to improve, always.

It was a bit weird having the principal taught me personally but maybe it was because she was bored? Who knows what goes on in her mind. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth after all and what not.

"Tell me Mr Ark, Why do you insist on working? Why work yourself down to the bone?"

"I could probably lie to you Ms Irine"

"You could but I feel like you can be a bit candid at times"

I paused for a bit, wondering what I would say before speaking my mind. "It's all part of my stupid plan Ms Irine"

"Hmm?"

"Yes, an elaborate plan to climb up the ladder that is life. It probably wouldn't work but at least it's something Miss Irine"

"Humor me then Mr Ark. Tell me about this plan"

"Ehh sure…" and so there I sat telling my plan on how to succeed. I kept things short and sweet to make it easy for myself. It all boiled down to a list. First is learning how to read and do magic, then get hired in the College of Techmaturgy. Eavesdrop on lectures in the college and maybe read some of their books in secret before trying out on their entrance exam to one of their scholarship programs.

"It's not exactly a half bad plan, if a bit half baked. You can certainly learn enough from eavesdropping and reading but you just one have glaring problem" She had me erase my slate and had me write what she was to say down

"You don't have a sponsor. As much as the College tout their meritocracy, they're still inherently nepotistic like much of Zaun. You might pass but you can easily get bumped out of the list if someone with a sponsor needed a slot. Your simply not well connected" Isn't that quite a cold bath to remind me of reality.

"It's not exactly impossible but you really must excel to the point they simply can't ignore you" There was a slim chance then. I was pretty confident in my odds then

"Well it's time for the school to close for the night. You've been an adequate student as always. Now let's clean this place up"

Returning the books allowed me to think of another option to really get in. It was still a far off thing for the future. I still had plenty of time to catch the eye of someone. Who that maybe remains a mystery but that was for future me to decide.

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 10

The dump was the best place to find broken hextech and chemtech in Zaun. There were various dumps all around Zaun thanks to non-existent health and environmental law. It's toxic, it's dangerous, and very deadly if you don't know what you're doing but you can find a lot of the things there. I'm not looking for something to sell however but looking for any pieces of tech to work on be they Hectech or Chemtech

The Northside Heap was the best place to find stuff due to its close proximity to the University of Piltover. It's where students' failed inventions come to die. Gears and scraps of all manners are dumped regularly on the massive pile of metal. A

The sound of metal crunching under the boots of stilt walkers as they wade through the toxic pools where few dare to go could be heard even from above the heap. There above I scavenged with Jinx beside me.

Vi's new job had an erratic schedule but the pay was just too good to stop now so here I was helping Jinx learn more about sump scrapping.

The heavy boots and thick gloves helped guard our hands from the sharp edges of the sometimes twisted metals of the dump. So far it was just all scrap metal and that meant I had to deal with a bored Jinx

"Have you found anything yet?" Jinx asked as she dug in deeper into her spot.

"No" It was the 42nd time and it was just as frustrating as the last time.

"But it's been hours and we haven't found anything!"

"We found a lot of copper coils?"

"But that's so boring! Where is the cool stuff?"

"We just have to be a bit patient Jinx"

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Yeeaahhhh… no"

"Awwww"

I was sorely tempted to just call it a day when he heard the klaxons of the steam Golems that haul a new set of garbage into the pile.

Jinx got up quick and made a mad dash for the fresh pile.

"Dang it Jinx! Don't run!"

"But the other kids will get the better stuff!" Shouted my little sister as I tried my best to run after her. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the other kids making a mad dash for it as well

The girl had the nimbleness of a cat as she jumped and skipped along the various jutting trash along her path. She was determined to get there first. It was like watching a rabbit sprinting across a field filled with sharp knives.

"You'll get yourself hurt!"

"I'm invincible!"

By the time I caught up to her, she was already elbow deep in the pile. I had to push and elbow the other kids that got aggressive when scrapping

The fresh pile of junk was dirty and the owners of the trash sure as hell don't know how to segregate trash with the broken shards of glass and rusted bird cages mixed in but digging through the pile was well worth it.

"Got one!" There in Jinx's hand was a half broken clockwork toy owl with its chest ripped out. All trash was harvested before they even got down below but they often leave stuff they deem to be no longer salvageable. Their lost however as there was plenty of stuff for us to to harvest



I reached in deep and found a handle to grab on to. It was a smooth ring that didn't feel like normal scrap which were often twisted and distorted from the great heat that often accompanies their failure. Gripping it tightly, I pulled back my hand and out came an open hextech lamp. Its gilded cage and the empty socket inside was unmistakable

"It's intact!" It lacked the core but it didn't matter as we finally had something intact.

We found more parts after that, various spares parts and gears that could help us. We even found half a wing of something. It was quite a haul and both of us had to get it back to our home.

We had to hurry up as I felt eyes upon us. It wasn't just my imagination however as there had been more gangs present. "Security" had been ramped up recently and people had been rather jumpy after the death and disgrace of one of the chembarons.

I looked away as one shop owner got accosted by these thugs for "rent". I looked ahead ignoring the commotion before guiding our loot into one of the many entrances to the service tunnel

Our little hole in the wall was thankfully undisturbed by the time we got back. The new furniture we bought really brightened the place up. The boxes I used back as furniture ended up being storage boxes for our scraps.

"Jinx, its best you bath first"

"But I don't want to take a bath! Why don't you go first!"

"I still have to sort our stuff"

"I can do it!"

"Nope! You'll just mix it up like last time"

"It was one time and my system was obviously better!"

"I had my system and you messed it up!"

Jinx screamed out and stomped her feet but I would not budge. We stared at each other but she was the one that gave in first

I dragged our loot to the boxes and started sorting them while Jinx went to get herself clean. Having a regular source of soap helped a lot in keeping ourselves clean especially when we had lubricants and oils leaked from every which part we found. Sure it was more of sponge bath and a rinse but it was a bath

It wasn't even five minutes before Jinx came back. "Done~!"

I gave her a flat look and found her wanting as she didn't wash her hair. "Oh no we're not. We need to get your hair washed"

"But it's so hard to wash!"

"There's a reason why Vi and Cindy have short hair!"

I sat up and set aside my work for now as I dragged Jinx back to the faucet to get her properly cleaned up. I just had to wash her hair. Getting her to wash seriously without getting wet myself was next to impossible when she tries to take shortcuts in everything

Thankfully Vi came back soon enough. She was dead on her feet but even then she helped me out with our sister. She was far better in getting Jinx to do stuff than I was.

"Works tough?"

"Yeah, I had to run more than I planned today." Vi plopped down on one of our chairs after we got Jinx properly cleaned up

"No trouble at work?"

"You worry too much Ark. Yeah sure there's some fighting in the streets but I just carry letters and stuff."

"If you say so. Say… where do you usually deliver your message?"

"Well I get the message usually from this place which I think is their hideout in our area…"

Our conversation lasted a bit longer until it was time to sleep. I tucked both of them in before heading outside with a box of choice scraps. Working with the crystal inside our little home would make it hard for them to sleep so I opted to just do it outside

I burnt through the midnight oil working with the machines. Fitting the crystal in the tiny undersized sockets to see how some of the scrap works. The human bracken is back!

It's so weird though. Why can you be compatible with me?

For some reason, the crystal's light dimmed when I didn't touch them. I could feel a slight draw from the crystal as I kept working but nothing too draining. I feel so weak inside the device but being connected to him makes me strong!

Is he supposed to be my successor? Did I die? I haven't even had my namestone yet!

For a fuel source they sure don't feel like the best way to fuel devices. Needing contact for the best result is something you can work around with but why do some of these devices feel like they had their crystal inside them rather than outside? Am I a namestone now? Does that mean I need to pass on my dreams to this person?

No matter. I only need to learn the basics. How can I run if I don't know how to walk after all? You seems fun though so I wouldn't mind having you as my partner

For now, I leave it for future me to figure out. I soon joined my sisters in bed. My eyes felt heavy and my body felt like lead and only the comforting pulse of magic from our crystal made the weariness lighter on my body. All I could think of now was to sleep. Slowly my eyes closed and that night I dreamt of crystals. Even if you can't hear me right now, I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun together. We're now soul buddies, All three of us

-x-x-x-

I slept peacefully that night despite the dream I had. It was a weird dream but I didn't dwell on it too much as I concentrated on the new task ahead.

"Today we'll move on from simple circles to far more complex shapes" Miss Irine slowly coaxed the circle in her hands to change shape. The circle of mana bulged from the center, becoming rounded as if filled with mana from within.

"Many practitioners would often skip this stage and go straight to slinging spells citing it's simply the same thing but they're the same as the fools who skipped channeling mana all together and just cast with intent" She went on tangent abit but thankfully we went back to teaching

"This is a bit more complicated so I need to have you do it with two hands. Now, simply channel like before but imagine pulling at it with the connection you have and filling the space within."

Holding my hands together I weave my spell, pulling the disc while letting more mana in the shape. The center of the disc as the disc spun parallel against my palm. It felt like holding a balloon that was being deformed from within. The roiling mana from within spun in unison with the shell

It warbled and bubbled yet it stayed in its shape for now as it steadily became brighter but not overwhelmingly so. Miss Irine nodded as she inspected the little ball of light I made

"You could work a bit better… but you did well Mister Ark" For he had praised me. It felt… good.

"We're fast approaching your last lesson Mr Ark. After a few more lessons, I will have nothing to teach you"

This was just a temporary job after all and all we agreed upon was the absolute basics. More complex spells were a thing that either masters worked on and passed on to their apprentice or their personal work. There were books of spells but they were expensive. On the day our lesson ended, I will be on my own.

The glowing sphere between my hands all but answered any doubt that our lessons were about to end. I would no longer have someone to guide me yet I feel I've learned enough. I now have the foundations to experiment on my own and from there maybe I'll do something great

A/N:

There's invisitext by the way there. I tried working with it and hopefully its not too vague or overly mysterious. Now what this means? Heh, I'll leave you guys guessing but its something for the future so dont dwell on it too much.

So its time for me to take a break. See ya guys in 3-5 days. Dont worry, I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can.

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 11

The first thing I ever made with our new found Hextech crystal was a belt of all things. It was probably the most Zaunite thing I ever made but it was tiring having to touch the crystal constantly so I had it physically strapped to me. The length of the belt could be swapped out so I can use it to hold up any piece of clothing

Belts are extremely useful. Why, I wear no less than seven at a time. I had two belts on my waist and 2 belts on each leg to hold up my knee length socks and boots in place and one belt around my wrist. Those who don't know how useful belts are clearly haven't experienced having to strap things together or having something to hold objects on. It wasn't merely a fashion statement but a lifestyle

"You have way too many belts" Vi, the heretic, shouted as she lounged on the chair. Whump sat on her lap, sleeping peacefully

"Belts are kinda cool though" said Jinx on the other hand as she played with the tools we were slowly amassing. The twisted metal having been forced back to shape with liberal use of electricity and bashing them against the wall. They will never be precise but who needs precision anyways?

"This is the reason why Jinx is my favorite sister. Let me give you a hug!" Vi rolled her eyes while Jinx whined at my hug. She was just so precious

"Yeah yeah, at least Jinx knows who's her favorite sibling is right?" Jinx looked away after I pulled out a bun from my belt poach and handed it to her.

Vi clutched her eyes in mock pain as she looked at Jinx. "Jinx!"

"Wha?" Replied Jinx as she had quickly stuffed her mouth full of bread.

"As you said, Jinx knows exactly who's her favorite sibling" my grin was all for her to see

Vi apparently took that as a challenge. "Hey Jinx, is Ark your favorite sister?"

"Yup! He's the bestest! He even helps me braid my hair, play tea time with me, play with my do-!" I placed my hand in Jinx's mouth to keep her from saying too much but it was too late

Vi was laughing her ass off. She was bent over, wheezing while Jinx merely smiled. Whump was jolted awake by the guffaw and went off to lay down beside Jinx.

"Your such a girl Ark'' Vi wiped away a tear from her cheeks

"At least I don't eat like a pig"

"At least I don't use up almost all the water in the morning!

"Why don't we just collect more water anyways?" Asked Jinx

"Because the rats would start heading for our place" Vi and I replied. Leaving a lot of water around was just an open invitation for rats to come and find water to drink and those rats. I still shudder in revulsion at the thought of meeting them again

"Ok then" Jinx replied as she went back to tinkering. I tousled Jinx's hair. Her long locks flowing down her back as she tried to emulate how I kept my hair nice and long. Getting water for both basic bathing and drinking was a bit hard when you have a limited amount of bottle to keep the water nice and sealed

Pulling away, I went back to working on my belt. Just a few more things before it was ready

"I really need the belts though. You never know when you need them. Plus! I don't have to hold my crystal in place!" I lifted the large bulky belt up. It was made of alot of scrap metal but it helped connect me to the hex crystal that seemed to be attuned to me.

The belt had some primitive looking "sockets" which is just basically a place for me to jam copper wire to connect to the devices we've repaired. It was naked but magic didn't have the shocking properties of electricity even as it got conducted along the length of metal to what device we managed to salvage

"I don't know, seems kinda unnecessary? Then again, you did say that that crystal seems to work with you" Vi leaned forward and inspected the little device. She does have an eye for engineering and she helped me shape the metal.

"Think we can add a spool to help keep the wires neat?" I asked as I mentally pictured how the metal spool could help keep all the wires nicely packed in my belt.

While we tinkered with the simple device, the lights then started to dim noticeably. The lamp we had been using finally ran out of juice inside its simple chemical battery

"The light's going out! Do we have extra candles?" Jinx asked as she got up and started searching. She had been playing with some of the scraps, making a shark head from a broken plague rat trap when the lights gave out

"Umm, we don't have any here? Hey Ark, weren't you supposed to buy wicks?"

"No, it was you"

"Well we don't have any"

We all collectively groaned at the prospect of such a dark night. The lamp we bought back then was nice but it had only so much time left till it's spent.

Grabbing the offending thing, I tossed it in the pile of scraps. We really need a better source of light. It'll be a long time before I ever come close to making a light bulb

"Hey Vi, can you remind me that I have no work tomorrow?" I asked as the room slowly plunged to darkness. Magic was amazing when it comes to plants. The thing we used to make them bloom fasterz it seems kinda expensive though considering the guards they had podted while we applied them

"Eh sure" Vi replied as she slipped in our bed with Jinx in tow. I soon joined them and that night was another crystal filled dream

-x-x-x-

The night had been dark and quiet thanks to the lack of light. Sleep had come easy but the dreams came back again. It wasn't disturbing my sleep but there were just a lot of hex crystals in my dreams. There was also that familiar voice… an angry voice that was reaching out to me from the south?

I tucked in my sisters as I got ready for the day. A certain something just says there behind the back of my head. I try to not dwell on it too much as I hitched a ride

I felt like I needed to remember something, something important. Was it something that happened in my dream or...

My train of thought was derailed as an explosion rocked the carriage I was riding on. The passenger screamed as the building beside us exploded into a fiery ball of green alchemic fire. Badly dressed and laughing hooligans came streaming out of the building, mildly signed yet fine as.

Whoever they were, they were dead men as the Vereza men were going to respond to the insult. Nobody messes with a chem barons territory unless they have someone backing them or clearly insane and they might just be insane as they reached for their packs and huffed something from a canister

I wasn't able to see more as the carriage sped away, the driver clearly eager to get out of harm's way.

That was one way to start a morning. That was quickly left behind as I dropped off my stop and gave a mocking salute to the driver as I headed to the Cultivair.

Things have been a little charged lately. The way people traveled in groups, huddling together with some preferring to be in sight of the Vereza thugs and Vigilnauts.

"At least they aren't mugging us like those sump humpers. Ruining the day of us Entresol lads" whispered a group of factory workers as they passed by them. The symbol of the Vereza proudly displayed on their jackets and coats.

I couldn't help but agree. It was annoying how one can't feel safe walking in the alleys with these upstarts moving about.

Getting to the entrance of the Cultivair, I was greeted by a pair of Vigilnauts standing guard at the entrance. They were a new addition to the building. Tall, menacing with glass helmets filled with performance enhancing chems. Their faces was covered by this thick green fog inside their helmet making it hard to identify them at times

"Morning Tweedledee, Tweedlledum!" I greeted them as I hurriedly passed by them. I didn't like Vigilnauts a lot. Absentmindedly rubbing my side, I stepped inside to be greeted by screaming and buzzing.

I felt like I should have stayed home today as my boss rushed out of one of the doors leading to the door. There was a look of confusion before recognition washed over her face.

"Miss Carmen?" I asked as I peered behind her. Did I forget something?

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you all that todays a rather busy day?" The woman replied as she tried to make herself a bit more presentable

"I might have forgotten?" I replied with a wry smile. Going to work had become ingrained into my body and the fact that they fed us and allowed me to bathe at times made the routine stick fast.

Looking at the door behind her, I asked "So did the bee's for the Vanilla plant get loose?"

It might have not been the brightest idea as her eyes narrowed at my words. Was it not common knowledge here? It was hard to pin the technological level of Runeterra as it seemed to be so advanced in some areas while lagging in others.

"How did you know about that?" She asked with a dangerous tone in her voice.

I swallowed thickly seeing how I landed myself in thin ice. "The Vanilla flowers are turning to pods this past month?" I wasn't all too confident with my answer but I can't stop bullshitting now.

"The Vanilla vine started making pods a few days after you told us not to come to the Cultivair and there's bees behind you so…"

The woman seemed to relax after that and sighed. "We weren't that secretive were we then?"

"Not exactly?"

"Have anyone told you you can be quite frank with your answer?"

"A few?"

She sighed as she waved me off " Well no matter. You were always the smart one among your peers as dumb as they are…"

I didn't know if I should feel praised or insulted but let her go on. You don't interrupt your boss after all

"As you can see, we're in a bit of a situation here". She gestured towards the metal behind her with the loud awful buzzing that could be heard even through the thick iron doors

"Those sound like a lot of bees."

"You have no idea" She reached for her forearm where a nasty welt was slowly rising. The dark stinger embedded in her chocolate colored skin was barely visible with how thin it was. She pinched on it and pulled out a big stinger whose length was similar to that of a rose thorn and dripping with a fluorescent blue venom.

"Do you need medical attention?" Venom shouldn't be even visible let alone glow blue.

"Oh no, nothing to worry about. Just a small sting, that's all." She waved off my concern as if she wasn't in pain. She was sweating a bit and a bit pale but nothing too serious I think?

"If you say so"

"Such a lost!" She shouted as she threw her arms in frustration. "I was going to add you to my list of personal assistants so you might as well know what happened. I also need someone to rant on because…" she screamed in frustration

"Hear those bees behind us? They're supposed to pollinate some plants. I think you're familiar with how we used some chemicals to make them docile enough to have them do their work without the risk of them hurting us but somehow one of my assistants forgot to use it before they released them and so we're here" She ranted as I stood there

"Can't you smoke them out?"

"They're not normal bees"

"Forgot I asked then ma'am"

"They're highly territorial and aggressive and it's going to take some time for them to calm down enough that we can send someone in'' I nodded. Those stingers looked like they could punch through a lot of things

"But by then we'll lost an entire batch of Vanilla! This was the last day to have them pollinated but damn my incompetent assisstants"

I hummed in agreement. That was pretty bad but… maybe I can take advantage of this situation. The lessons on the vanilla plant were a bit brief, the memories of the edible garden a bit fuzzy but I remembered how these plants were fertilized. On one hand, you have bees. On the other hand, you have a toothpick

"Well… I've been keeping this for a while but I think I have a way to solve your problem ma'am"

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 12

I had to admit, making deals was not something I was good at. I was far less cutthroat than what was needed in Zaun and I couldn't quite gauge the value of what I was offering. For all I know, I was at the disadvantage despite having something to offer.

There was the fact that I was going to deal with someone closely associated and is in fact a relative of a Chem Baron. Chem Barons weren't just your typical CEO's, they were more akin to the Titans of the Gilded Age. They were the Rockefeller's, the Carnigie's, the Morgan's of Zaun and they were far more violent and more overt about it and the Vereza's were one of them.

Her eyes locked onto me as I spoke out, offering something she clearly wanted yet there was not a hint of any emotions in those cold blue eyes. "Go on, I'm listening"

Sweat dripped down my brow as I made my pitch. My hands trembling slightly as I put on my friendliest smile and the false bravado of a snake oil salesmans.

"Ma'am, how attached are you to the bee's currently infesting your greenhouse?"

"Are you suggesting that we kill them? Kill every last bee whose worth far exceeds your life?"

"I'm not exactly suggesting it but there's not exactly a way to stop them right now as you say. Our window to fertilize these flowers is closing fast and while it might be expensive to stun or possibly kill these bees…" I clasped my hands before pulling them apart to let her see the sparks arcing between my hands. "My process will far outstrip these natural pollinators. Ma'am, you are currently in a position that many would kill for. You have the chance to not only be the first to employ my method but outright corner an entire market. The Vereza's can have a monopoly on the Vanilla market with how much Vanilla I can guarantee you"

My heart was beating hard against my chest while my feet felt colder than ever before as I extended a hand towards her. "So what do you say ma'am? Do you trust me to show you the future?"

There was silence between us and only the buzz of the swarm of bees behind those doors was all I could hear.

"Mr Ark, if you were any less competent, I would chalked off your speech as nothing more than the rambling of a sump rat yet…

I feel that it is in the best interest of the House of Vereza to accept this offer. Name your price Mr Ark but be aware that the generosity of House Vereza can only go so far"

"Before I speak about my price, why don't we write this deal down Ma'am?"

The woman smirked as she replied "Are you insinuating that I would dare tarnish the honor of House Vereza?"

I raised my hands in an appeasing manner. "Oh no Ma'am, like the denizens of this district, I find the Vereza's to be the best among the Chem Barons but I'm just being a realist ma'am. I believe that it would be the height of foolishness to not define the parameter of my service. After all, how can I know that I'm under performing if all we had are vague words"

The woman narrowed her eyes a bit, daring me to stand with those words but I dared and stood my ground. I was not to be pushed around when I have the cards in my hands

After what felt like an eternity, she finally relented and nodded. "Very well then. Why don't we drop by one of the offices? Going to my office would take far too much time to go to"

I agreed and soon we'll find ourselves in one of the many offices of the Cultivair. The structure wasn't just a pleasure garden after all but an actual business. Each and every expense is recorded by the clerical workers employed by the Cultivair which made almost everything recorded on paper.

Once we were inside and Miss Carmen was drafting the contract, I made my demands. "First of all, I want the Veraza family to sponsor me in the upcoming scholarship program of the College if Techmaturgy"

"Reasonable"

I started my demands as high as I could. was an untested individual, an unknown who didn't even have an education background in this world. I was a risk that they would take, I-... Wait what

I slowly turned towards her, confused at the turn of events. "Aren't my demands high?"

"Oh not at all, it's perfectly reasonable actually and you do know what this entails right?" She asked as the scribbling of her fountain filled the room

This wasn't just a financial investment from a rich family, it was a two way street as the benefactor is obliged to serve the families interest. Who else was going to take them in after they graduated. It was akin to swearing fealty to a family and it also entails the consequence of reneging on this ancient tradition"

"Off course ma'am"

"Mhmmm, Is there anything else you'd like to ask for Mr Ark?"

I was tempted to ask for an apartment and allowance from this but I had another thing in mind already

"I want to keep my job here Ma'am."

"You do know that the College of Techmaturgy is a full time commitment"

"Yes but I could always work part time and I would like to earn my keep"

She smiled softly as she wrote it all down.

"I'd also like to do this alone ma'am"

This had her frowning slightly as she stopped writing. "Why is that Mr Ark?"

"I would just like to have an assurance ma'am." As much as the Veraza's were nice to their employees, I still keep my guard up. They were still Chem Barons.

Her brows scrunched up before she sighed as she nodded and continued working on the contract.

"Now we move on to collateral. So Mr Ark, what can you offer in case your idea fails. While the bees might not try and feed from every flowers as we would have intended while controlling them, they would have still pollinated some flowers

Your method might ruin an already ruined batch even further so we want something Mr Ark, something that would reassure us that we will have something of value in the off chance if things dont pan out. Trust but verify no?"

It was already hard to be on the receiving end of your own words but I don't have a choice on this matter. This was as close as I could get to getting an easy way out of this life and I'll hold on to it with my dear life.

"I offer myself in bondage and everything I have as I have nothing else to offer" This was my deal and only I will have to deal with the consequence

A quick contract and copy of the contract was drafted. I had to sign in triplicates and my New Piltie signature sure did stand out in a Zaunite document. That got me a raised eyebrow but for all intent and purpose, Piltovan was still an accepted language in Business.

With all that done, my work started. Electricity arced between my hands and soon it spread across my skin. My hair flowed like I was underwater as I covered myself in electricity. Doing this wasn't too hard as it was merely a full body exercise on making my magic flow.

"I know I'm letting you in without supervision please do try to hold back Ms Arc" The Woman said. What was it with these people? Can't they decide on my gender already? It was far too early for me to complain about this

I entered without much fanfare and was greeted by the biggest bees ever seen. It's one thing to see a bee that was as big as your thumb, it was another to have them fly at you. They're large bulbous eyes honed in on me as they flew right at me. I could see my reflection in those eyes as they hit my field.

Their black gossamer wings singed as the electricity dancing across my skin licked at them.They dropped like a fly against a fly swatter as I walked deeper into the Rainforest section.

There were some unconscious, I do hope they were unconscious, bodies here and there. From here, I could see that some of the workers had jumped into the river to try and lose their insectoid pursuers. It looks like I have some people to rescue

Shining brighter than even the strong chemtech lights inside the massive greenhouse, I've made myself quite the target for these bees. They swarmed towards me and for a brief second I thought they'd overwhelm my defense as my vision was blotted by the cloud of insects only for them to start dropping around me as they got too close. It took a while but soon enough I managed to stun the majority of them.

I'm not sure if they're still alive but I still had work to do. My nose wrinkled as the stench of burnt chitin seeped through my mask.

"It's ok now to go out!"

Soon, the workers that were hiding in the river came out as the smells spread throughout the greenhouse. I garnered some thanks from these workers as they went to father the bees and get out of the greenhouse after some prompting and prodding

I found myself a sturdy enough stick from one of the palm fronds and got to work. The Vanilla flower was weird. Why evolution made it so that it cannot self pollinate was beyond me. Just looking at it gave me a headache. The only thing stopping the stigma from meeting the anther was this membrane. I had to lift this membrane and then make the stigma meet the anther.

The first one was botched as I tore through the flower thanks to my shaking hands but I managed to calm down enough by the second one to start doing it properly. I kept going, pollinating more and more flowers. It felt like hours doing it alone but it was necessary. I didn't want to teach it to her and get screwed so did it alone

Finally, after what felt like a hundred flowers, I finally managed to pollinate them all. I destroyed my little tool before walking out. Miss Carmen greeted me as I walked out

"So I take that you're done"

"There was one mishap but all of them are fertilized ma'am"

"Understood. I take that you're tired. The workers lounge is open to your use then. There are some snacks there and some water. You'll find better use for it compared to my former employees"

"Thank you" I was sincere in my gratitude. While I love staying inside the Rainforest, it was far more tiring compared to the other sections due to the humidity.

As I walked away, Miss Carmen reminded me "Ms Ark, you do remember what's at stake right?"

"Of course."

And so I walked out of the room with the heavy spectre of my contract hanging above me. The weight of the possibility of failure clings to me. I know that it can work but there is always doubt in that little corner of my mind

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 13

As soon as I left the Cultivar, I felt like every bit of strength left in my body melted away. It was only after the fact that the reality of the situation I was in finally sunk in. I felt both elated and scared as adrenaline coursed through my body

Finding a hole to lay in for a while, I sat there just giggling at my situation. I couldn't help but laugh as I tried to calm myself down. I was sticking my head out in the chopping block both metaphorically and literally with that deal.

I didn't have any fantasy that the piece of paper hidden inside the poach could even sway a baron but I held on to the hope that the Veraza would find use in me. I was useful, I could help them. By asking for an education, I wasn't only showing that I was smarter than most people but also have more to give.

I snuck out some pieces of candy and cookies from the longue and that at least helped calm my nerves. The strong sour taste of the lemon drop filled my mouth. After so long, the flavor seemed overwhelming but it did its job.

I could have pawned the crystals but it wasn't mine to use. It was something my family owned together plus I do not want to know what would happen if a family decided that we stole it.

Picking myself up, I crawled back up the surface so I could take a long walk. Since technically I wasn't supposed to work today, I got out of the Cultivair rather early. I had time to burn so might as well wander around aimlessly

This part of town was controlled by the Veraza's. From the banners over some buildings down the design of the the street signs and the symbols on the sidewalk, the Veraza's made sure everyone knew who own things

Thugs were often common but they didn't exactly harass people who came from this area. They were Veraza "employees" who were just there to "enforce the will of their employers" and "keep the peace". The matching theme of their uniforms made them almost like the police which made me wonder why they weren't called the police in the first place

While the Veraza owned this area and had men to enforce it, that doesn't mean that there still wasn't crime happening. Opportunistic thugs and criminals often happen to find themselves in the area before melting away back to where they come from

Speaking of thugs, my eyes soon find a group of men huddled together in an alleyway. Almost immediately one of them spotted me. He was a wolfish looking man with a gray shaggy mane that reminded me of that of a dog. His eyes were gold and the sneer in his face showed the elongated gold canine he had.

"What are you looking at, girl? Scram!" He growled out as he straightened up. I immediately booked it once I saw the bandalore of guns and explosives strapped across his bare chest.

They did not look friendly and I wouldn't want to be near where they were as I remembered what happened earlier.

Even with all the money flowing in, it seems to have only made greedy men greedier. All this violence just for a larger piece of pie.

Maybe talking a walk wasn't the best idea

-x-x-x-

The day passed by relatively fast. All that excitement from earlier made things go well. Even the usual excitement of playing with magic felt dampened.

I walked down one of the many entrances of my home and made sure I didn't enter the same one as before.

Something didn't feel right however as I heard some skittering chirping sound, a sound I had grown to hate. There was a plague rat nearby. I picked up my pace before making a run for it.

The sounds grew louder as I got closer to my home making it even more apparent that one of these pests found my home. The light coming from inside the room showed a large curled up silhouette My suspicion wasn't unfounded as I saw the biggest rat I ever saw in my life

Plague Rats were not your typical rats. They were your common rats, bigger and meaner cousins. I wasn't even sure if they were still rats as they were easily the size of dogs and this one was even bigger than normal. Its sharp beady eyes immediately honed in on me and it bared it razor sharp teeth

My eyes wandered around the room, trying to find traces of Jinx but finding none. What made my heart freeze was the pile of fur by the side. There was something over it, thick chunks of red covering parts of the pile

I saw red as I pulled out my knife.

"You killed Whump! Now I'll kill you!"

We circled each other, sizing each other up. I couldn't quite commit with how big the rat was and how limited my reach was with my shiv but I'll find a hole.

I was about to lash out when I heard someone call out behind me.

"Sir Floofington! Don't you dare bar your teeth on my brother!" shouted Jinx as she ran past me and straight for the best.

I was momentarily confused but seeing the beast cower before Jinx made it clear that it was at least friendly to Jinx. Even as she raised her hands at it, it still refused to attack

"But what about Whump?!" I shouted as I tried to process everything

Jinx tilted her head and it was now her turn to look at me in confusion. "What about Whump?"

I blustered and sputtered at her nonchalant comment as I waved my knife at the pile of fur.

"My new hat?"

"Hat!?"

"See?" She walked over to the pile and picked it up. She brushed away the red chunks before placing it on her head. I felt like I was going to faint at the sight of the fur hat. "Hat! Doesn't it look good? There's some tomato chunks on it but it still looks good"

"To… mato chunks?"

"Yup! May or may not have borrowed this which had some nasty shop owner throw rotten tomatoes at me but we have a hat!"

"But Whump?" I was honestly too dazed right now to even reply properly

'"Are you looking for Whump? Cause he's up there" She pointed up above the room and right at the mess of pipes above.

There nested among the protective metal pipes was a hissing Whump who looked bale fully down from above. It was then that all the adrenaline started to wear off

"You know what… just wake me up when Vi comes home"

-x-x-x-

"And so that's how I tamed the great Sir Floofington and why we should keep him as our pet!" Exclaimed Jinx as she finished explaining how she found Floffington, where she found him and yes it's him, and how she tamed it.

Vi was still staring at her dumbly and I can't help but empathize with her because why? Even Whump gave her the look. I gave him a gentle pat while he glared balefully at the rat.

Jinx did give us an impromptu lesson on Plague rats which was mildly impressive on its own with how coherent it was.

"So Vi, what do we do?" I asked her

"Adopt the rat! Adopt the rat! Adopt the rat!" Chanted Jinx as she wrapped her hands round the happy looking rat's neck. Whump was vehemently against it as he chittered away while waving his hands in front of him.

"I really want to say we need to get him back to where he comes from…" Vi said cautiously before Jinx interrupted her

"Booo!" Jinx then grabbed the highly decorated box and then opened and closed it repeatedly, trying to make it seem like it was speaking as she impersonated high Zaunite speech "I say, we must adopt the rat!"

Jinx jumped up and gestured at the box. "See! Even Mister Sparkles agrees with me!"

Vi facepalmed and so did I. "As you can see Ark, we can't convince her otherwise"

"I can see that Vi. I can clearly see that'' Whump cried out in dismay, holding the back of his hand against his forehead before falling backward. You silly whump, so dramatic

Jinx jumped up and down in celebration. "Yes yes yes! Take that Fishbone! You always doubted me but I got a pet! I got a pet" She shouted in glee as she danced around the twisted metal bear turned shark face

I couldn't help but grin as he reached for my poach. "Hey Vi, hungry?"

Jinx turned toward me while Vi perked up. "Yeah, got something?"

I pulled out my poach and opened it. "Cause your such a good girl, I want to give you this"

"What the hell Ark, I thought we were through this… ohhh" Vi's eyes widened as I opened the poach to reveal the food inside. They were simple Lady Fingers and Butter Cookies but for us Sumprats, they were way more valuable than gold at times.

Jinx gasped out as she reached out for it only for me to stop her. "I said it's for good girls''

Vi couldn't help but join in as she nodded eagerly and said "Yup! Only good girls''

"But I'm a good girl! I am the goodest girl!" Whined Jinx as Vi grabbed one of the cookies and ate it. She made a show out of it as she savored every last bite.

I gave Whump a puffcap both as a bribe and to distract him from the cookies. He did prefer them a lot more than other food

"These are good! Where the heck did you find them? These are way too expensive and they're often next to the bakers''

"Gimme gimme!" Said Jinx but I kept her at arm's length just to tease her more.

"I got them from work. I did some things at work and my boss was impressed. If things fall through, things will get better!" I conveniently left out the part where the collateral might just be my head but they don't need to know that. There was already enough worry in our lives.

"That's great!"

"Come on! I want my cookie!" Jinx shouted before pouting at both of us. I chuckled as I finally gave in, not wanting to push her any further

"Well you were a good girl… so go ahead!"

"Cookie!" Jinx grabbed the biggest cookie and started munching on it with gusto. I ruffled her hair while Vi shook her head with an amused smile painted across her face.

The small things in life are what makes things bearable. Their smiles and their laughter is for one's soul. I wouldn't trade this away

I nearly jumped as Floofington decided to try and sneak towards the cookie. Vi kept the cookie poach out of reach

"No Mr Floofington! Bad Mr Floffingtin, That's human food!"

"How do we even feed this… thing!" I asked. Even if we accepted the rat, I still have reservations towards it. I really don't like the idea of sleeping with the rat nearby

"Oh that's easy, I just take him to the dump! Cindy actually taught me a lot about Mr Floofington"

And just like that, my headache returned. of course Cindy was involved. At Least I know now what Jinx often does when we're out working. The things I do for love

A/N:

So here's the new chapter. Hope you like it. Jinx gets to show why she's the goodest girl and why she deserves head pats. Give your Jinx a head pats, do it now

Welp, hopefully my schedule couls return back to normal after this. See ya later, now I eat breakfast

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 14

Jinx's little stunt would have me and my family visit the cause of Jinx's newest obsession, Cindy. Our trip there would be a fun distraction from the contract I made.

There we were in Bob's workshop with me thinkering away outside after I borrowed some of Bob's older tools, Jinx playing around in the dumps and Vi keeping watch. Bob was out visiting a colleague of his leaving us with only Cindy.

Cindy sat beside me smiling nervously as Mr Floofington snored near both of us. I've decided to allow Jinx to bring her pet over.

Sure the beast was friendlier than usual thanks to looking like it was well fed, probably being able to muscle out any rats from their lunch. Vi was a bit apprehensive about it, I didn't like it, and Whump absolutely hated it but Jinx loved it and I didnt have the heart to say no especially when Jinx apparently just takes it to the dump to feed it.

It was scarily smart as well as Jinx easily commanded it. We could touch it after Jinx made sure to remind it that we were "family". I do not trust it one bit

"I never knew they grew this big" Cindy replied as she eyed the Plague Rat warrily. Floofington was tied to a nearby pole but it looked like it could just easily snap the pole.

"Yes, indeed. Still think it was a good idea to tell Jinx about Plague rats without discouraging her?" I asked while trying to make an electromagnet. Simple enough right? Just run a coil around a piece of metal and it'll start attracting metal?

"I already told you, I just described to her what a plague rat is! I didn't expect her to actually get one and tame one all by herself!" Cindy defended herself

"Well now we're stuck with Floofington"

"You guys seem fine"

"Jinx was so much calmer before"

"I just made her more outgoing"

I rolled my eyes as I went back to doing stuff. I had the makeshift electro magnet attached to my crystal via the wire loop in my belt

"Boring! Make it spark or something. Are you going to be a Voltician?"

"Aren't you supposed to talk Targonian?"

"Nah, they got bored. They're so… primitive. They don't like gears!"

I snorted at that. Well Pantheon was just a literal spear chucking warrior while Leona was a Solari something. They can be quite conservarive considering they're persecuting the Lunari heavily.

"How often does Jinx go down here?" It might have been a bit of a mistake leaving Jinx back at our home and expect her to stay part

"She comes like every other day. One day we were working and then suddenly Jinx just came out of the sewers!" Cindy animated replied as he pointed at the manhole Jinx supposedly come out of

Well, I did show Jinx about the service tunnel map. I didn't expect her to use it to go down to Bob's workshop. Still, a smart decision on her part considering it's far safer than going down here alone.

"Thank you about keeping Jinx entertained" and Safe which was left unsaid

"Oh that? Pfft, I should be the one thanking you instead! She makes my day way more fun. She could make for a competent funsmith one day and not just thode quacks who tinker with things like monkeys with a wrench."

"That she could be. She's one smart cookie"

"Speaking of cookies, you still have one? Jinx kept bragging about it earlier"

I rolled my eyes before shaking my head "Nope, I have this though" I replied as I gave her a piece of candy to appease her.

"Gimme!" She eagerly grabbed the lemondrop. For a few moment w ehad silence befire she said "So have you heard the news?"

"The bombing in the Veraza district?

"No, the other news! Pops have been scaring me about kidnappings happening again."

I frowned at that. That was new and so something I haven't heard about. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey Cindy, if it isn't too much, can Jinx stay here most of the time? I'll be sure to pack her lunch so it wouldn't be a bother to you guys"

"Well that'll be up to pops but I'm sure he'll be fine so long as I don't teach Jinx chemtech… but he didnt said I couldnt teach her basic engineering!"

I smiled at that before I got back to work.

I placed a magnet nearby my electromagnet, a simple iron nail wrapped in copper wire. I had the two on the table just far enough from each other that the magnet wasn't pulling the iron nail. I concentrated on the crystal and poured in my mana, letting it burn bright

There was a loud spark before the nail and the magnet was violently flung apart. The iron nail slipped through the coil and rocketed away towards the nearby wall while the magnet did the same.

Everyone heard the sound as Floofington jumped in alarm and ran off, snapping its leash in the process, while Jinx and Vi took cover.

I grabbed Cindy as the magnet ricochet against the sheet metal wall of the house. We hid beneath the table for a while before we both peeked up from our hiding spot

The nail flew off to who knows where while the magnet laid on the ground wobbling after being flung away from each other.

"That… wasn't supposed to happen" I whispered as I tried to wrap my head around just what happened.

"Maybe it's repealed?" Cindy cautioned as she picked up the magnet. I shrugged before pulling out the embedded nail.

"Take two?" I asked as I redid the coils around the nail

"Let's tape it down?" Cindy suggested as she pulled out a roll of tape.

"You know what, let's make a shield first"

With the help of Vi, we managed to make a makeshift barrier. Jinx was off to the side comforting Floofington.

I doubled the length of the wire. That should add more resistance but then again, this was magical lightning so… might as well. This time around, I was writing things down.

"So in theory this should weaken the electromagnet right?" I said out loud as I peered out of the cover. Thankfully, I remembered which magnetic pole was facing the magnet when we first tested things out

"Just get on with it!" Shouted Cindy as she covered her ears.

"Three, two, one!" I counted down before I sent a current down the line. There was a spark before the two magnets clanged against each other. It should have been the end of it until the magnet decided to act weird as it ripped itself from the weak tape and started floating.

It was an utterly baffling sight as the thing floated with the electromagnet on top while the magnet was pointing down.

"No bang?" Asked Jinx as she stared at the thing. Even I was expecting a similar result from earlier but things just got a lot weirder.

"No bang…" I cut off the power and the two pieces came back down to the surface of the table. Some people would have been fine with that but I felt like I haven't really completed the entire makeshift experiment. Sure the poles were probably just different but this magnet was acting way weirder than anything I could think off

I did one more run, this time flipping the two magnets so that the other pair of poles were facing each other.

I counted down, peering up from the shield until a moment that would be embedded in my mind happened. The same damn spark happened before the nail and magnet were flung away from each other. This time the electromagnet just stayed up in the air instead of flying off. It was far weaker this time around but the results were clear as day.

We did the test again and again, trying different configurations but for whatever reason, the electromagnet rejected one pole but was attracted to the other. No matter what position I did, the result was the same. Finally we brought out a compass.

"There's no way this could only have one pole" I said as I looked at the compass

"It kept flinging the other pole around so it must have only one pole" replied Cindy

"Well, lets see if it's that the case"

"Are you betting against me buster?"

I snorted before bringing the magnet close. I figured out pretty easily that I could regulate the power of the magnet as I was the source of the electricity after all so the needle wasn't in danger of flying off towards me… I hope

As I circled around the magnet, the same pole kept pointing at it. Even if I started with the other pole, it still ends up in the same pole it's attracted to. Over and under and side to side, nothing could make it change.

One thing was clear, I accidentally made a monopole and I don't know how it even works in the first place. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. They were the find of the century but now what. Jinx however gave me an idea thanks to one innocent question

"Can we make wings out of them? I want to fly!"

"Jinx you're a genius!" I kissed my sister in the forehead, making her blush and giggle before looking back at the flying magnet. I wasn't really sure if it was a monopole magnet but it was as well be one plus I wasn't complaining that it could somehow float

My head was awash with ideas on making something an impossible device. It will be more magic than tech but it will be something that I created.

I added another goal to my list of things I wanted to do and flying just became one of them. It will not be just floating above the Grey and smog choking Zaun but I will be a powered flight that would reach even beyond the clouds.

While I dreamed of touching the sky with my family, I wasn't going to be a modern day Icarus that would fall to his death just because he ignored his limit. I will rigorously test this device until I reach its highest potential.

With copper coil on one hand and a weird crystal on my belt, I went to work. Metals of all shapes and sizes were made into monopole electromagnets, testing things just to see what would happen. It was a crude experiment but it was baby steps on the way to progress.

Time would pass by quickly. Until I knew it, it was already getting late and was time for us to go back home. With the sound of Old Hungry echoing in the distance, it will soon be night time.

We left Bob's workshop soon after saying our goodbyes with Cindy and Jinx hugging each other like sisters.

"You guys can always come back here ok? Especially my bestie Jinx!" Cindy said as she nuzzled against Jinx's cheeks

"Cindy! Space!" Jinx shouted but she looked like she wasn't too keen in getting Cindy off

It was honestly a touching thing to see. It was also comforting knowing that there was at least another person in this world that cared for Jinx.

The walk back home gave me time to think. All it ever did however was give me more things to think about. There were so many questions and things I could pursue now but I had to remember to take one step at a time. I couldn't exactly fly just yet but soon, I would be. It just a matter of effort now

 

[SirBearington]

Interlude 2

I watched as the girl came running off. I wasn't afraid that she'll tattle about us, Sump-snipes are far smarter than other Zaunite kids after. Snitches get stitches and whatnot

Speaking of smarts, it's something I wish my underlings had. I grabbed one by the neck before giving him a slap.

"Didn't I tell you to make it look like an accident!" I whispered harshly, trying to get the point across

"But boss! We burned it anyways? Why the fuzz?" He asked and he had the audacity to look confused. I growled out in frustration as squeezed down on his neck

"Because the boss told us to make it look like an accident!" The creaking of his bones and his gasp for air showed him his error "And because I told you so. Now look at what you've done!"

The Veraza's were now on high alert snd the only reason we weren't murked here was that their patrol group did not pass through this area

I throw him against the wall. It was therapheutic throwing my incompetent men against the wall. The sickening crack of bone echoed in the alley. I looked around, daring my incompetent to say a word

That's right you're miserable fucks, all of you are expandable fodder "Toss him off to the heaps. I don't care if he's still alive, I'm sure the Plague Rats wouldn't mind having their meal twitch from time to time"

We headed back to our base of operations, a repurposed warehouse just outside of the Veraza's control. We were not in the bosses territory so we had to be extra careful not to fuck up in this araa or else we'll have two Chem barons breathing down our necks. Having one is already bad enough as is

I walked back to my "office" to nurse my growing headache with a glass of alcohol only to be greeted by the man himself.

Sitting right in my chair was my benefactor. He was a tall thin rakish looking man with hair immaculately combed back. He probably thought it looked stylish but it only made him look weak and pathetic. He must have spent hours in the bathroom to get everything done right. He looked like a foolish crow with his long beak-like nose and dark attire.

I held my tongue for now. He paid well. He might call me a dog but the gold in my pocket made for great earplugs.

"What the fuck was that" my bosses growled out no doubt angry about my underlings little stunt. I was tempted to just back hand him but I knew full well that these people don't really travel alone

"I already took care of the problem" Throwing them off the cliff can solve that problem pretty fast

"The problem? The problem is that you're getting too overt with your actions. I wanted the Veraza's weakened yes but being implicated with that will have dire consequences!" Then you shouldn't have probably started this war in the first place.

"We didn't get caught" I growled out

"For now at least. You at least knew to hit them across their territory." I might be just an attack dog but I know that I was a bit smart when it comes to getting things done

He stood up before walking over to the map to the far right of the room. Slamming his hand against the large canvas, he asked "Why don't we give you a refresher on why we're doing this hmm?"

I bared my teeth but didn't reply "The Veraza's for too long have been a dominant part of the market. We need to put them down a peg. Simple enough for you?

We strike at them, nipping away at their heels, tiring them down until we can crush them once we have manufactured the proper casus belli. If they become a hive of scum, unable to control their vast holdings, maybe it's time that somebody else takes their reign from them"

The man rubbed his face before adding "We already did this once. One Baron down and my reign secured. Why are you making it impossible to do it again"

"If you give me better me-!" He hushed me with a wave of his hand.

"I don't care about your excuses, I want results!" He shouted. We glared at each other for a while, neither of us backing down. If he didn't have the money, I'd gut him like the worm he was but we both have use for each other

"You'll get better men once you prove you can handle this scale of operation Mr. Warwick. You might be my best enforcer but that doesn't immediately translate to being a competent Lieutenant" I'm having second thoughts in this gig now but the pay was way too good and the blood I could spill was too tempting to pass up on.

He turned his back on me before he walked out the back door. Just as he was about to grab the doorknob, he turned back and said "Before I go, one more thing. I need you to send more test subjects back to my research facility. Make sure they're the two legged variety"

Kidnapping again? I was sick and tired of that job especially with all the screaming and squealing. I still don't get how some of my men find some entertainment from them. To each their own I suppose

With a heavy slam of the door, I was finally left to some peace and quiet. I plopped down on my chair. Fuckers sharp ass dented the cushion

Pressing a buzzer on the table in front of me, I called one of my messengers. They didn't took long to arrive

"You called Sir?" One of the new kids came. She was a girl called Vi and she had and smart to boot. She knew her numbers and had deft hands in fixing small things. Sump snipes were always the best

"Send this letter off to the guys at the pound, tell them I need more strays for the medicine man" I gave him a small letter further detailing that order. It was sealed and the boys would know if it was opened before they went there.

She nodded before dashing off to deliver my orders. I looked back at the map, studying it intently. My eyes locked onto the Cultivairs and the Rose sigil of the Veraza's. The chaos will be glorious

A/N:

Dum dum dummm! New Interlude. Finally got to show who's causing all the chaos in thr background

Thanks to that one interlude, I kinda decided to make interludes a regular thing every 7 chapters. As for the next chapter, hehe about that. It'll come out tommorow. Welp, now I go back to sleep

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 15

For every technological achievement in history, there's at least a hundred failures behind it. Every tech had to go through several testing and prototyping before one could achieve some viable results. If I was to unlock the secret of my accidental discovery, I had to work tirelessly on it

Currently, I decided to test out just how much it could lift. Reproducing the results of my accidental discovery on a bigger piece of metal needed some trial and error but it seems the monopoles can only be made from iron and steel. Weird magical laws but hey, Magnets are made out of Iron and some other metals which I do not know.

Whump chittered happily, almost laughing as Mr Floofington stood in the center of our room. He was rather twitchy, fidgeting a lot while glancing over to Jinx

He stood on all fours while a harness with a crude metallic wing was attached to his back. There were exposed wires everywhere. There on the bottom of the pack was a long thin copper wire that will hopefully break if it shot up way too fast. He was also given a crude helmet for safety reasons. I had to give it to Jinx, she made it look decent compared tl my orignal sheet metal design experiment

"You can do it Mr Floofington! Believe in yourself" Yes Mr Floofington, believe in what Jinx is saying. Your baleful glare will only make this worse

"You really don't like him dont ya?" Vi asked as she looked amusedly over at our little experiments. I turned towards her before tilting my head

"Whatever made you say that? I like Mr Floofington" He's the perfect test subject after all. Turning back to my experiment, I rubbed my hands eagerly as I begin the experiments

"I mean, just look at your first experiment" She gestured at the sack of bricks and the crack at the roof.

"That was why we had to do test without live subjects"

"You almost had Whump strap to that" I gave Whump another Puffcap. I was running low on the stuff and might need to go harvest more of it down at the lower levels

"Well I made precautions this time and I'm regulating the amount of mana I pour into it"

"If you say so. Just don't come back to me when you get yourself electricuted or something"

"Aww you do care! Come here" I walked over her as she scrambled back as she waved her hands with threat of violence

"Don't you dare!"

"Less kissing, more experimenting!" Jinx shouted impatiently, looking eager to see her creation fly as well. She made the designs, I made the stuff. I ruffled her hair as I turn back to my stuff

"Test run on Monopole wings beginning in Three! Two! One!" With a pulse mana, Mr Floofington started to float. It began slowly as if an invisible hand pulled at the wing in Floofingtons back. The rat scrambled for
purfaches on the ground as he was lifted up in the air. He struggled mightily, chittering angrily and probably cursing me and my ancestors, until he could no longer hold on.

"He's flying! He's really flying!" Jinx shouted as she circled around Floofington who was on the verge of panicking.

"Well at least we know that my magnets could hold up Floofingtons weight" I held onto the line and carried Floofington around like the world's ugliest balloon. Everyone was happy but not Floofington.

"Now we should discuss the landing strategy"

"Landing Strategy?" With Jinx's question, Floofington went into full panic mode afterwards

-x-x-x-

I held back a smile as I stared at the growing fruit in front of me. It took several days but once the flowers fell off and the pods began growing, it was clear that almost the entire flowering batch was fertilized.

Standing beside me was Miss Carmen who inspected the plants in front me with barely concealed wonder.

Rows after rows of vanilla vines with tiny developing pods. It was one thing seeing it in pictures and another to see a whole garden of it up close.

I couldn't help but feel happy at how things was going but the decision still rest upon the Veraza's if they see me as a worthwhile investment

Schooling her features, she nodded as before gesturing me to follow her "Come on Mr Arc, there's someone who wants to meet you"

I swallowed nervously as I followed her closely. The Cutivair I worked one wasn't just one single cultivair but a collection of them. 6 cultivairs arranged in a hexagon with a central tower at the center. Mazes of corridors and tunnels spiral around the the various Cultivairs allowing for easy access to anywhere if you know where you were going

Now, we were walking up various flights of stairs and passing people I haven't even met before. Their judging stares made the walk rather uncomfortable. I resisted the urge to wipe at the the oil and grease in my shirt as it would jsut be useless

Finally after what seemed like a dozen stairs, we reached the top of the main tower. The windows by the side of the room showed the various domes of glass below. They looked like giant steel bird cages from up above.

"In here Mr Ark" Miss Carmen reminded me as she held the door to the only room atop the tower.

I walked towards the door as she opened it and entered inside. A dark, dimly lit exterior greeted me inside. The dark wooden furnishing adorning the walls was decorated with designs inspired from plants but mostly flowers. Books of various kinds lined the walls with titles that escaped me. Vases and stutrs from the various cities sat in displays for all to see. All of this was illuminated by the yellow light of Chemtech lamps lining the walls.

The display of wealths showed the disparity between the common Zaunite to the rich Barons. They own all the cards and we just had to play by their rules.

"Ahh the man of the hour, Mr Ark was it?" Replied a familiar voice. My eyes focused on the figure behind the massive mahogany table near the back of the room. Her short stature, the dark skin with barely any wrinkles and the fine silken white hair on top of her head made her an unmistakable figure to anyone that worked long enough in this part of the town.

"Madam Corazon! Good morning" I hastily gave a respectful bow to the Veraza matriarch.

Beside the woman was a short girl who was right around Vi's age. She looked like Mrs Corazon's mini me but way younger and with curly black hair. The look of disinterest on her eyes was more apparent as she looked around in boredom with eyes passing over me as I sneaked a glance

"Enough groveling. You and I both know that it's nothing more than useless pleasantry" I straightened myself up and gave a nod to the woman

The smile on her face didn't make me feel any more comfortable around her considering who she was. "So, you're the little girl that's causing all this fuss, hmm?"

I bit back a retort as I just nodded along.

"I'm going to be honest with you girl, what you did down there might just be revolutionary so why, why only show us this method. You could made a bidding war over this but you chose us"

Why? "I took a leap of faith Madam. Out of all the choices, you had the best track record. Even factory workers wear your sigil" The Veraza's took care of their workers. As much as they also control their territory with violence, at least they hold a carrot on the other hand

There was silence between us as the inhabitants of the room stared at me. Sweat started dripping down my brow as her eyes bore into me. Even the mysterious girl besides her focused on me

The corners of Madam Corazons eyes crinkled as she started chuckling, her laughter echoing in the room until it was a full blown laughter.

"I couldn't believe that Singed was right about someone. He's not really a peoples person you see" She laughed, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eyes

"You might just be either the most daring or foolish person I have ever had the chance of meeting and we both know which one of you are Mr. Ark" I was the biggest fool of them all but I also like to think I'm a risk taker. A foolish risk takerx what a horrible combination

"You choose well Mr. Ark. You have Moxie kid and I like that. Lets see if you're actually worth the time" Madam Corazon reached for something beneath her table before pulling out several items; a letters, an envelope and a small poach.

I could hear the clinking of coins from within the poach as she pushed the three items towards me.

"Written within this letter is my personal recommendation to the College as well as the proof of the Veraza's backing.

Congratulations Mr Ark, you just earned your chance to be a researcher for the Veraza family"

I could scarcely believe it. Walking closer to the table just to be sure. The letter there ok the table had the seal of the Veraza boldly stamped on the smooth surface of the vellum. It was all I needed to see to know that I had official backing from one of the powerful families of Zaun.

She gestured for the girl beside her to fold the the document and insert it inside the envelope

I watched numbly as the girl poured red sealing wax over the seal before stamping it with the Veraza rose. There was a breif glow beforr something malicious wrapped around the envelope

"Just your standard curse. Prevents talentless clerks from tossing away letters of recommendation. We experienced those enough times to make these specifically. You should have seen them dance" The dark toothy grin in her face made me shiver in fright

"I won't let you down, I promise" I already wasted enough chances on one life. I won't let it happen on this one

She gave me a snort of amusement before waving me off "Carmen dear, take him back down to the workers lounge"

I was given the letter and the poach before being guided back down. Just before I got out, I caught a brief instance of conversation between Madam Corazon and the mystery girl. "Now this is why we treat our workers fairly Corina"

-x-x-x-

Corina's POV

"Now this is why we treat our workers fairly, Corina" Said my great-grandmother. I knew well enough that you can get more out of a horse with a carrot than a stick but a sponsorship?

"Grandmother, do you think it's a bit too hasty giving this boy such a thing? Also, do you think it's a bit too… juvenile for you to joke about his gender?"

"What? It's not my fault he's making it too easy and you'll understand why I act like this when you get to my age" I shivered at the thought of growing so old and wrinkly

I just nodded along before asking once more. "We could have saved money if we just killed him off. We already hd the family intelligencer just waiting for your signal"

The sight of the end of gun just barely sticking out of a painting still made me shiver at times

"We could, after all it's not exactly uncommon for one hit wonders to come from even the most unexpected of places"

"But you didn't"

"No I did not"

"But why? The records showed he had no educational background, nothing."

"Corina, consider this. A boy who barely worked in the garden for several months managed to not only figure out something, which took as more than a year to steal, just from various circumstantial evidence but also give his own novel solution to one of our problems all the while having shown no tangible evidence that he worked for another garden or was the assistant of a Horticulturist"

I had to give the boy credit where its due. "So he's merely has a green thumb"

"And there's his clothing dear"

"His clothing?" I tilted my head in confusion. "It was oil stained and had grease marks all over it. Probably from his own hands thanks to the size of his fingers"

"Exactly. Plants might not be his only interest. If Singed was right and my own gauge is true then we might just found ourselves a very interesting researcher"

I was quick to apologize for my oversight "I'm sorry grandmother, I didn't mean to be so quick on my judgement"

"That's why I brought you here dear. You need experience and one of our relatives might just help you in that. The rare plants of Runeterra could only extend my life so much" The reminder of her mortality dampened my mood a bit

"Of course grandmother. I assume that I'll be here as well to watch over your latest investment?"

Grandmother gave a nod. I prenned at her silent compliment only to be flustered by her thanks to a comment

"Who knows Corina, maybe he'll be your relative if he proves to be extraordinary. He could very well be your husband!"

"Grandmother!" Why must I have such a teasing grandmother? Well, it's not like the boys ugly or anything. He looks rather cute in the girlish way

"Enough teasing for now then and let's get back to business." I nodded as I straighten my posture and standing in attention

"Some whippersnapper's getting a bit uppity around my territory. I may be old but I'm not blind to a challenge. Young Marvin might have fallen for this mystery baron's tricks but not me!"

"What are we going to do about it grandmother?"

"War dear, we will have war." It seems that my stay here in the Entresol wouldnt that boring after all. With a cute boy to look at and a warnon the horizon, my days will be rather interesting

A/N:

I knew I forgot to post something.

And so the there will be war. In the streets or in the shadows, things will get heated soon enough. Tears will be shed and blood will be spilled and in the middle of the crossfire is one innocent family.

Welp, that was hard. My posting schedule is way too hectic. I need to slow down or I burn out. Starting today, I'll be posting every two days. Who knows, maybe I could finally get a back log.

 

[Miho Chan]

stop: banned word
Trap is a slur we don't allow on SV. Yes, it's a slur, yes, it's been prohibited here for literally years now, and it's even specifically used in the rules as an example. We've had Staff and regular posters have that screamed at them IRL as an insult and worse, so it's not just a fluffy anime term because it's used that way on some sites or forums.

This has come up before. I'm just going to reuse the words one of our directors used in a similar case a while ago: The term isn't a mystery. A lot of the trans people we have on SV are themselves otaku and familiar with the term, the character type it refers to and so on. It's not some mystery that they, or us for that matter, had never encountered before.

Moreover because we are familiar with the term we can say that the idea that it's not a bad term is somewhat naïve. Even setting aside that it's a gay panic joke where the gay panic has subsided somewhat, the character type itself - the otoko no ko - is very often used in pornography that sexualizes young boys or is pretty much rape. It's not all Juns and Totsukas. Moreover, it is not uncommon for transwomen to be treated like they're actually crossdressing men who catch men in insidious gay sex traps, so they're understandably sensitive about this. Considering the inherently negative connotation in the word 'trap', its origins as a gay panic joke, and the concerns of a significant portion of our userbase, we don't allow the word to be used.

 

[SirBearington]

Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 16

I came back to my home with the letter in hand and a pouch of gold in the other. It wasn't copper nor silver but actual gold. I hid our gold inside the decorated box while keeping my letter close

The last time I saw gold was when I managed to get up to the Promenade and begged for a while. The regulars there ran me off but I received some gold coins from kind passerbys. They might be suckers but I still thank them because of how long it lasted me and now I had gold once again.

Was it some kindness or just something the Veraza's give so that those that become indebted or those that swear fealty to rhem night get a taste of what it's like to serve under them. I didn well much on these thoughts as I just concentrated on the here and now.

As soon as Vi came back from work and Jinx came back from her trip down to Bob's workshop, I decided to tell them the good news. Vi seemed a bit distracted while Jinx looked a bit bored after coming back from a day of playing. Even Whump and Floofington then were bored enough that they looked like they were considering if it was worth playing. They're only considering it at least for now. My news should help make the mood less somber

I cleared my throat to get their attention which was easy enough. "Ok, Vi remember those cookies we had back then?"

"You have more?" Jinx asked as she leaned forward and gave me those big doe eyes of hers. I just gave her a pat in the head

"Well not exactly but I have something better. Jinx, can you open Mr Sparkles?" With my loot hidden inside, I think Jinx was going to find something interesting

All of us sat down as Jinx pulled out the box. Vi and I sat down behind her and hovered over her shoulder as she opened it. There inside she would see not only the other crystal but gold, piles of it for us to spend. The glittering pile lit up from the light of the crystal

I smiled as Jinx cried out in happiness. She reached down and grabbed a small pile and held the glittering coins between her fingers before letting them fall back in the chest..

"I impressed my boss" Sure it made for some nightless sleep but it was well worth it.

I could already see the various emotions in Vi's face as her frown turned to slack jawed awe at the amount of money we had. Yes we were doing well and were no longer sticks and bones but this was a major step up.

I was nearly bowled over as she launched herself at me. The feeling of her chest was what made the bone crushing hug worth it.

"Air!" Tapping at her back at least saved me from suffocating.

"Oh sorry, it's just I think we're finally going somewhere" she loosened her hold enough that I hugged back. It was… relaxing just holding someone.

"Group hug!" Jinx shouted as she joined the hug. The joy I felt was almost overwhelming. This might just be the second best thing that ever happened to me. This was second only to meeting Jinx and Vi.

"I'm so happy right now" Vi made it way to easy for her to tease

"Happy enough to kiss me?" I asked, making Jinx recoil

Vi stared back at my grin before she shrugged and replied "You know what, since you really want to do this"

I barely had time to think before Vi grabbed me by the back of my head and kissed me in the lips. Her lips still tasted of bubblegum.

"Ewww your giving each other cooties!" Jinx shouted as she covered her face.

"You really want to kiss me don't you?" Vi asked as she placed her hands on her hips. My goofy smile might have tipped that off.

"You are beautiful" I replied as I gave her a wink as Jinx just took the brunt of our flirting who wretch at the sight

"You're just teasing me" Vi replied as she gave me a light hearted shove

"Not lying, if you want we could have another round" I leaned close to her while wagging my eyebrow. Her laugh was sound like music to my ears

"Ew ew ew!" You'll understand when you're older Jinx

"What are cooties anyways?" I asked. I never understood that thing anyways, might as well as from someone who might know. That actually got Vi thinking as well.

"Cooties… cooties are…" I laughed as Jinx stomped her feet in annoyance."I know what cooties are! Just give me a minute!"

Never change Jinx, never change. "Stop giving me headpats! Vi, not you too! Ugh!"

-x-x-x-

Things settled down back to some normality. Sure gold was nice but it was a thing of folly to spend more when the windfall we received may just be temporary. I really hope this wasn't just a one of thing but for now, we might just have a bit more comfort

I worked in the green house. Most of my hours spent watching over the vanilla vines growing as well as chatting with some of my co workers

I studied magic, weaving my mana till I could do it unconsciously. It all felt like a breeze at this point as I headed back home. It felt like clock work.

My nights were spent teaching and taking care of my sisters. I didn't even notice how busy my days have become until Vi decided to drag me out of our home for some time to relax

"You're just trying to get out of my lesson aren't you?" No matter how you looked away, my eyes knew what they saw. I can smell the shame Vi even if we both wear gas mask

"Well what if I'm trying to get you to see that you haven't taken a break or played at all since we adopted you" I laid down, trying my best to be a nuisance so she might give up

"I feel like I'm the one here that adopted you" Vi didn't take no for an answer as she picked me up easily. Her rock hard muscles reminded me just how stupidly strong she has gotten. Three regular meals a day works wonders on a person

"Who has to take care of us then?"

"I do. I have to do the cooking and grooming. I also do the cleaning and the washing"

"Well who brings more money to the household" I stared at her asking her if she really want to go there

"Ok fine, you adopted us. Why do you even argue with me on this one? You have nothing to gain" I finally gave up on resisting and tapped on her back

She thankfully decided to put me down but not before grabbing my collar. "I thought that was going to work this time"

"You already did this trick once. We've been living together for months now?" Time does fly by if you're not paying attention to it.

"Fair and why did I argue with you? Well I just want something to be smug about" I received a knuckle to the top of my head for my sass.

"You like teasing way to much"

"What can I say, it's one of the few joys in my life"

"We have to fix that. Now come one, there's going to be some parade at a nearby district. The baron there might throw candy or something" She ran while dragging me with her.

Well, I couldn't argue with that and tried to get my footing as I ran with her. I might not be as strong as Vi or agile as Jinx, I was still fast thanks to how much I ran.

I kinda was thankful that Jinx wasn't with us. Less of a hassle trying to watch over here in a crowd when it was just us and Vi. I didn't really feel sorry for unleashing Jinx on Cindy since she probably like having Jinx around

The place where the parade was being held was a far cry from the violence that had happened here. There were still large swathes of burnt down factory districts but people were rebuilding. The new management at least made it their duty to clean up the mess I had to give it to them.

While the Veraza district was on high alert, this district looked a bit better? People were celebrating, streamers and banners livened the place up but there was a crucial difference to things. The people didn't really feel happy around the thugs but to each baron their own ways

We brought some coins with us so we had plenty of things to buy. We bought food with extra to give to Jinx once she comes home.

Finding a way up some of the abandoned buildings was easy. The ineffective yet omnipresent fire exits made for a great way to get up the roof tops. There we could have some privacy to ourselves

We sat down and watched the parade below. People watching was fun especially when we took turns guessing what the people down below did for a living

"So, what do you think of that one?" Vi pointed down at the man in overalls with a a large wrench and a hard hat. He was also currently eating citrus

"I think that guys a pirate"

"A pirate? I think he's a Voltician or something" Vi argued

"It would have been easier if we saw his arms but see the thing he's eating? If this guy was a Voltician, he probably would have eaten from one of those meat stand but he went for the fruits"

"He could really like fruits" Vi argued

"He could but why buy the more expensive ones when you have local fruits like apples and pears"

I then pointed at his waist "Also, where's his belt"

Vi hummed for a bit before nodding. We sat there in silence, watching as the main parade finally came.

First came a marching band of Vigilnauts in all their armored glory. Their glass helm might have shown their face if it wasn't for all the chems in the tank obscuring their faces to mere silhouettes.

They were accompanied by groups of armored men with guns who walked in formation, waving at civilians and throwing some treats here and there. They had the same look as the "cops" of the Veraza's but wearing the colors of another baron.
One person stood out from the rest of them and that was the same wolfish man from before who led a company of men in formation. I didn't dwell on him for to long as the crowd applauded, drowning out my thoughts

Finally, we saw who this parade was all about. There in the middle of the parade was a tall thin man with a prominent beaked nose. He looks kinda like a raven with all the dark clothing he wore or maybe a vulture with how long his nose was.

While people below cheered as order came back, all I saw was another dictator coming in to fill in the void left by the disposed one. Oh sure I supported one Chem Baron with my actions but that doesn't mean I approve of all of them. Heck, that person over there probably wasn't the Baron himself and more of a body double. He certainly didn't have the jewelry from the looks of it

My train of thought was broken when Vi suddenly asked me one innocent question. The most innocuous could often be the most meaningful "Hey Ark… do you really think I'm pretty?"

I looked back at her. Sure she cut her hair short and had a lot of sharp features but she looked roguish and handsome even.

I reached out to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Vi, don't let anyone tell you otherwise but you're pretty"

"Pretty enough that you want to kiss me?"

I chuckled before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. It was a mere peck but she got the message real quick

"Hey Ark… what are we?"

"What do you mean"

"Are we a family or something more?"

I paused for a bit and pondered the answer. The parade below us was now firing fireworks up above, illuminating our rooftop in a familiar red tinge that I grew to like.

"I'm not sure really but I wouldn't mind if I have you as my girlfriend"

"Naw, you're just teasing me again. Here I thought you were through that" She brushed her hair as she looked away, still smiling and blushing

Slowly, I reached out to her hand and held it. The rough feeling of her hand didn't make it any less exciting as we stared at each other. We leaned towards each other before our lips met once more. No more words were spoken afterwards

I didn't know how it exactly happened by the time we got out of that building, we were holding hands.