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Chapter Twenty-Five: Misunderstanding
"Phil was right after all; you've allied with the enforcers. Not just them, you've also teamed up with those Firelight flies," Jinx accused, recalling her numerous encounters with the Firelights, who have consistently opposed Silco. She even had the blood of Firelights' members on her hands. "This is a trap. You're all playing me," Jinx's voice wavered with instability. "Shut up! I don't want to hear it!" she screamed, the demons in her mind manifesting as auditory hallucinations.
"We didn't say anything," Caitlyn interjected, confused. "Shut up, I'm not talking to you!" Jinx retorted, her words only exacerbating her condition as she aimed her gun at Caitlyn. At that moment, Caitlyn noticed a box on the ground emitting a blue light—was it a Hextech gem? Caitlyn wondered.
"Powder, it's okay," Vi tried to comfort her. "Don't call me that! My name is Jinx now. Powder ended herself long ago!" Jinx enunciated each word with conviction. "You shouldn't be called Jinx. I should never have called you a jinx."
"Don't talk to me like I'm a child. Why did you come back? To arrest me? Or for this stone?" Jinx's voice held a trace of tears. Watching her, Ekko couldn't hold back as she pointed her gun at Vi again. He sped up on his board and charged towards her. With one swing, he knocked Jinx's gun upwards, just as she pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed Ekko's cheek, and he swiftly kicked Jinx away.
"Wait!" Vi shouted. "This is all a misunderstanding. Give me a moment to explain." Firelights' members, not just Ekko, hearing the ruckus, arrived on their boards. One leapt behind Jinx, bringing down an axe from above. Jinx tilted her head slightly, narrowly dodging the blow. "Explain? Is this your explanation, dear sister?" Jinx spiraled into madness; her machine gun hammered down on the attacker.
The gunfire erupted in flames. Firelights members dodged rapidly, but some still got hit and injured. The battle intensified beyond Vi's ability to mediate with words. Amidst the chaos, Caitlyn tried to retrieve the fallen Hextech gem and got shot in the shoulder. "Caitlyn!" Vi rushed to her aid, helping her to safety.
Watching this, Jinx inexplicably felt like laughing. As the bullets kept firing, her smile grew uncontrollable. Vi gazed at Jinx, fighting solo against many, feeling she was unrecognizable. Jinx mirrored Vi's agile movements every time Firelights approached. A Firelights member attacked; Jinx bent backward to dodge and tossed a chomper grenade onto the skateboard. With the explosion, Jinx moved with increasing fluidity and skill.
"You know, your members died the same way last time, trying to stop the Glimmer, then boom, they were gone," she taunted while pressing the trigger. Although the grenade only destroyed the board, Jinx's words infuriated Ekko. One of the first hit by her attack staggered up, wielding a blade towards Jinx's calf.
"Ah!" Jinx cried out in pain. Phil, unable to remain passive, piloted his mech to the battlefield. The Steelclaw mech landed with a thud, kicking up dust. He lifted the heavily injured assailant with one hand; his basketball-sized fist punched through his chest.
"Gnar! Reverse polarity!" Ekko cried at the sight of his fallen comrade, rewinding time. From one minute, to thirty seconds, then ten. Ekko made countless attempts.
"Back to the forty-eighth attempt." Each time Ekko rewound time, it consumed immense energy, and he was utterly exhausted by now. Yet, each outcome remained unchanged. The only difference for Gnar might be his method of death—be it by a punch through the chest or trampled underfoot. Regardless, Ekko's attempts to save him never altered the result. Watching Gnar die once more, Ekko wanted to initiate another rewind but staggered as he tried. His strength could no longer support another time rewind.
"Kid, rewinding time isn't all-powerful. People have to pay for their actions, don't you think?" Phil, noticing Ekko's sudden stumble, guessed what had happened. "He knows about my abilities?" Ekko's heart filled with surprise and caution. "Retreat!" With Ekko's command, three smoke bombs were activated, producing thick black smoke. In the chaos, Vi, Caitlyn, and the Hextech gemstone vanished.
Phil lifted Jinx, relieved to see that the wound on her leg wasn't deep. However, there was something off about Jinx's state, which Phil could sense. She was mumbling incessantly. Perhaps she was too exhausted, so Phil injected her with a tranquilizer, which seemed to help a bit. Jinx hadn't slept for a long time, so he decided to let her rest for a while. If she still wasn't in good spirits when she woke, they might need to cheer her up with a little magical girl transformation, he thought amusingly, picturing Jinx as a magical girl.
He carried Jinx back to her room and then proceeded directly to Silco's office. Exiting his heavy armor, Phil looked at Silco: "How's it going?"
"There's some trouble. The upper city is actively preparing for war. But there's an unexpected development," Silco turned to Sevika beside him, "You tell Phil."
"This morning, we raided some mid-sized and small merchant ships. But when we encountered a small merchant ship, we met resistance. The people on board were well-trained fighters, and we lost three brothers in that battle. Jinx destroyed that ship with an electromagnetic cannon."
"Well, if it's destroyed, it's destroyed," Phil said helplessly, "Let the upper city deal with the consequences."
"The issue is that the leader of that ship was named Urgot. The Noxus military said he was secretly coming to Zaun for a secret mission. Now that he was killed just as he was about to reach Zaun, Noxus thinks they have a mole within their ranks."
"That's tricky. Have they demanded any compensation?" Phil knew that Zaun could argue with Piltover not just due to the small difference in strength but also because the two cities are twin cities, and Piltover has to consider the impact of war. However, if Noxus' war machine came, Zaun wouldn't stand a chance. Of course, Phil knew that Noxus wouldn't invade for just anyone. Their invasions were driven solely by the desire for resources.