Chapter Text
Weeks passed before anyone could understand what happened that night. Lux had seen it all. She watched from perches overlooking ruined Piltovan wards and Zaunite neighborhoods as the people there went about picking after a war that the vast majority of them had never wanted.
Jinx had spent those weeks working double-time alongside Ekko and, surprisingly, Heimerdinger to repair the damage in Zaun. At the same time, Jayce, Vi, and Caitlyn returned to Piltover, with the foremost and the latter looking almost sorry they’d ever agreed to help. It wasn’t as though any of them really had a choice, though. For as much damage as had been done in the end, a god-scale Camille with power over storms would have been far more destructive, and that was just in the short term. In the long term, Camille likely would have provoked another Rune War, although with the League of Legends splintering, it was possible that might happen anyway.
Now, the real work needed to start.
According to Piltover, the war ended in a stalemate, but no one really bought that. Demacia had pulled out the remains of its armies a week ago, and now there was nothing left but the splintered remnants of the cadre and a lot of blackguard corpses. Zaun, on the other hand, still had quite a few horrors up its collective sleeves, and to everyone’s surprise, it was Seraphine of all people who had shot down that ‘live and let live’ proposal.
Truthfully, Lux could’ve taken or left it, but given the choice, there was no chance she would have allowed the Piltovans to retain any control. Not after what they’d made her do. None of this needed to happen, but thanks to a bunch of greedy bureaucrats and one psychotic, overengineered spymistress, it had. Lux was not in the business of repeating mistakes. That, among other reasons, was why she had joined Jinx and an honor guard of Glascari Veterans of the Eastern Sungate to approach the Council spire.
The remains of Piltover’s leaders were waiting in the chambers of the former council, its dark depths now filled with light from open windows that looked out over the ruined city.
There was no council in attendance, of course. They were all dead, thanks to Camille. All but Jayce, who emphatically did not want his job back. Privately, Lux agreed. The man was earnest but far too good-intentioned to be an effective politician. Caitlyn and Vi were there, too, primarily for support but also because, with the former council dead and Camille rendered unto a fine mist, they were the closest thing to leadership the city had.
“So,” Jinx said as she tugged her father’s twice-mended jacket more tightly over her shoulders before dropping down into one of the council seats across from Jayce. “How’s things been?”
Jayce looked like he hadn’t slept since they’d returned from Stillwater, nor did Caitlyn or Vi. The people of Piltover were not accustomed to living so hard.
“Not…Not great,” Jayce admitted. “But I'm doing my best until we elect some new representatives. So, as uhm…interim chancellor, I’d like to get this out of the way as painlessly as possible.”
“I understand Seraphine rejected the peace proposal,” Caitlyn said tightly. “Can you tell me why?”
Lux chuckled. “Because it wasn’t fair. Piltover lost. It was no stalemate, and you know it, and so do we.”
“So that’s it?” Caitlyn glared at her. “Now that the nightmare is finally over, we’re just going to go back to picking the meat from each other’s bones?”
“Uh…not exactly,” Jinx muttered as she worked a finger around inside one of her ears. Then, she popped it out to examine it critically for a moment as deafening silence filled the room.
Vi cleared her throat emphatically. “Hey, uh, s-sis? The way I heard it, you were gonna…that is…y’know…are you still Chemlord?”
“For now,” Lux replied, “but she’s officially divesting herself of the authority today.”
“Fuckin’ finally,” Jinx muttered.
Unsurprisingly, all three Piltovans sagged in relief, which Lux thought was a little unfair. Sure, Jinx wasn’t exactly made for administration, and frankly, Jinx had always loathed that part of the job. But she wasn’t a half-bad baron, and her people loved her, and that was more than many of the provincial governors of Demacia’s various territories could claim.
“Then I’m gonna put a baby in my wife!”
“JINX!” Lux swatted her upside the head.
Vi just grimaced and said, “Right, uh…congrats?”
“But since you still are,” Caitlyn pressed, “couldn’t you override Sera…Baron Glasc’s refusal? Just this once?”
Jinx dropped her hands into her lap and stared Caitlyn down, then said, “Why should I? ‘Cause we fought together once? Nah. Look, I don’t wanna kill any more family, and you married my sister, so you’re family. But I ain’t gotta like it…besides, even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Why’s that?” Jayce asked wearily.
The council room doors boomed open, and a flanged, respirator-mangled voice answered. “Because I would have just overridden her a few hours later.”
Seraphine Glasc strode into the room, her heels clicking with sepulchral finality against the cracked marble tiles. She was almost unrecognizable. Her once-colorful wardrobe had been replaced with monochrome and gold. She wore a stark white blouse under a black corset with gold buttons and a long white skirt that flared out over pitch-black leggings. At her chest, throat, and shoulders were deep, purple gems the exact same color that Renata’s eyes had been, and wrapped around her face from nose to chin was the old Baron’s rebreather that wheezed air beneath her black-pinned blue eyes.
Hovering at her back were a pair of hextech sentries that had what appeared to be amplifiers built into them, and privately, Lux had seen the damage they could do. Under her arm, though, was an even deadlier threat.
A folder.
She tossed it down and sent it skidding over to the Piltovan side of the table. “Here. It’s non-negotiable.”
Jayce picked up the folder like a venomous serpent and let it fall open. He started reading, with both Kirammans reading over his shoulder. Their faces told the whole story.
“This…this is outrageous,” Caitlyn breathed as she looked up at Seraphine. “You can’t really believe we’ll sign this.”
Seraphine scoffed, and the respirator mangled the noise into something like a growl. “I can and you will because these aren’t peace talks, and this isn’t a negotiation. This is a hostile takeover because as of—” she looked down at Jinx, who nodded “—now, I am Chempress Seraphine Glasc of the Chemical Empire of Zaun. Those—” she pointed out the window “—are the Piltovan wards of Zaun. And you—” she nodded at the three of them “—are my subjects. None of you can be trusted because all of you had the chance to do right and didn’t. So now, it’s my turn. That’s the ink, and if you don’t like it, I can always withdraw every ounce of support and capital I’ve pumped into your failing carcass of a city for the past two weeks.”
“The people will never agree to this,” Jayce muttered, looking up at her in horror. “They will riot.”
“No,” Seraphine replied, “they won’t. Not when I start sending out stockpiles of food and clean water. Not when my siegesmiths start rebuilding their homes and businesses. And definitely not when my apothecaries start treating the sick and the wounded that you’ve left to rot. See, this is what you’ve never understood.” She raked her gaze across all of them. “This is what none of you have ever understood. That it’s not about patriotism or nationalism. It’s not about pride or morals or ethics. It’s certainly not about progress. It’s about two simple things: standards…and context.”
Lux couldn’t help but smile as the true meaning of defeat settled between the shoulderblades of the three remaining Piltovan ‘leaders’. They should be glad. This was never a good fit for them. None of them had the necessary bite to do the right thing at the right time.
“So?” Seraphine asked as she reached into her corset and drew out a long, thin metallic stylus. “Yes? Or no?”
Dragging a hand down his haggard face, Jayce sighed and said, “Mother forgive me…”
And he began to sign.
Despite the respirator, Lux could almost feel Seraphine smile under her respirator as the deed was done. Jayce pushed the copy back over for Seraphine to examine, which she did, at length.
Eventually, she lowered the treaty and said, “Good boy. I’ll have a copy sent to your office, assuming it’s still intact. Oh, and…Welcome to the Empire.”
On that rather deafening note, the three of them turned and departed the council chambers, leaving the other three defeated figures behind them. Lux locked arms with Jinx, pulling herself close to rest her head on her wife’s shoulders, then quietly said, “Are you sure you want to do this, Sera? An empire? You know Noxus and Demacia aren’t going to be happy.”
Sighing, Seraphine reached up and pulled the respirator free. “I have to,” she said in a softer, more pained tone that sounded much more like her old self. “If I want the power, the authority, and the…let’s be honest, the resources that I need to scour the world for a cure, then this is the only choice.”
“Well, you’ve always got us, Pinkie,” Jinx said with a grin. “Between the three of us? She’ll be awake in no time.”
“I hope so. But I have a feeling it’s going to take much longer than that.”
“Even if it does,” Lux said, reaching out and pulling Seraphine between them before kissing her brow, “we’ll be there for you. Both us. Jinx is right…however long it takes, we’ll find a way.”
“Thank you,” Seraphine said in a shaky voice. “I think I’m gonna need a lot of help in the next few months.”
Jinx chuckled beside her. “Well, good thing you’ve got Chuck.”
At that, all three of them burst into laughter. That much, at least, was true. The war was over, but the fight? Not quite. The world was more fragile than ever, and peace was hanging on tenterhooks, but Lux thought that at least for a time, Piltover and Zaun—or rather, just Zaun, now—were done fighting. That would have to be enough.
“Have you named her yet?” Seraphine asked. “Your daughter I mean.”
Lux nodded, and looked to Jinx who gave an answering nod, and Lux said quietly, “Zerianna Crownguard. But we’re just going to call her Zeri.”
“Zeri, hm? So…can I be…?”
“Godmother Sera, yeah,” Jinx replied with a grin. “No one better.”
The three of them emerged into the dusty sunlight of the Piltovan wards where a hextech auto waited for them with Chuck at the wheel. Lux shielded her eyes to the light, and smiled as she looked out of the expanse of the cities.
“Okay,” Lux said softly, “let’s go home.”