6. The Fuse Is Lit
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Act 3, Chapter 6: The Fuse is Lit
POV: Ashryn / Silco / Vander / Vi
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[POV: Ashryn]
Ashryn twirled a gear-shaped datapad between her fingers as Callum stood before her, posture sharp despite the exhaustion lining his face.
"So that's all of it?" she asked, upbeat but focused.
Callum nodded. "Confirmed movements from the enforcers at the Glimmerdocks. They've set up a temporary command post in Stillwater Hold. Their advance squads are probing deeper into the Lanes. And... they've got a target. Vander's crew."
Ashryn grinned. "Figures. They'd rather fight yesterday's war."
She flicked through Callum's report, pausing at a name.
"Finn?" she asked.
"Former chem-baron. Intelligence broker. Bit of a ghost. He reached out to Silco, trying to reenter the game. Apparently, he's the one who warned Silco about Piltover's quiet mobilization."
Ashryn leaned back, arms crossed.
"Then we're not the only ones getting ready. Let's move."
Her eyes flicked toward the map hovering above the command table. A flick of her wrist highlighted several zones.
"We're going recruiting. Champions don't wait forever."
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[POV: Silco]
In the depths of an abandoned cistern-turned-lab, Silco watched as the final Shimmer vial was sealed by Singed.
The chemist didn't speak. He never did unless necessary. But the glint in his eyes said enough: the formula was stable now.
Silco picked up the vial, rolling it slowly between two fingers.
"Power," he murmured. "Refined. Contained. Unforgiving."
A half-dozen of his soldiers stood at attention—barely human anymore, their veins pulsing faint violet under the skin. Enhanced. Ready.
Finn entered from the door and whispered to Silco.
Silco smiled thinly.
"Weakness invites revolution."
He gave the signal.
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[POV: Vander]
Vander stood in the center of the Last Drop, hands clasped behind his back, eyes on the old Zaunite banner above the bar.
Benzo entered, wiping grime from his gloves. "We've got movement. Enforcers. Not patrols. Armored squads."
Vander's jaw tightened.
"Evacuate the younger ones. Vi, Powder, Claggor, Mylo. I want them hidden."
"And you?"
Vander didn't answer immediately. He pulled an old key from his coat and pressed it into Benzo's hand.
"In case I don't come back."
Benzo swore under his breath. "You're not serious."
"I am. But I'm not giving them my people without a fight."
He turned as the floor began to tremble—the march of iron boots.
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Location: The Last Drop – Ground Floor
The front doors of the Last Drop exploded inward in a hail of boots and steam.
Dozens of Enforcers poured in, gas masks gleaming under flickering light, batons charged and shields raised. Their approach wasn't subtle—it was war.
Vander stood at the center of the tavern, flanked by Sevika and her crew. A calm brawler's stance. Gauntlets on. Eyes sharp. The man who once ruled Zaun's chaos now looked like a wall of resolve.
"Well, hell," Sevika muttered, cracking her knuckles. "Looks like they brought the whole damn block."
Vander didn't respond. His eyes never left the Enforcer in front—Captain Marcus, face obscured, voice flat.
"Vander," Marcus said, tone mechanical. "By order of the Piltover Council, you're under arrest for harboring terrorists and possession of illegal Hextech."
"And what terrorists would those be?" Sevika shot back, stepping forward. "Or is Piltover just tossing darts now?"
Marcus ignored her. "Surrender peacefully. Or we take you by force."
Vander rolled his shoulders. "Only me," he said, voice steel. "Leave everyone else alone."
Sevika glanced at him sharply. "Vander—"
"No," Vander snapped, firm. "You hold the line. If they take me, they think this ends."
Before he even surrendered.
The first tear gas canister hit the floor. Sevika's men lunged before the smoke even settled.
Now he has no choice but to fight.
A brawl erupted—chaotic, brutal. Brass clanged against steel. Batons cracked ribs. Enforcers were trained, but Sevika's crew was savage.
Vander fought like a force of nature, shoving three Enforcers back with a single swing of his gauntlet. One crumpled; another hit the wall hard enough to dent plaster. But the swarm kept coming.
Sevika's blade flashed, drawing arcs of light as she cut through a shield line. Her mechanical arm hissed and slammed a helmeted skull into the bar counter.
They were holding their own. Barely.
But the Enforcers didn't stop. And there were too many.
"Fall back!" Vander yelled over the chaos.
Sevika hesitated, blood on her lips. "We can still—"
"I said FALL BACK!" Vander roared.
One by one, the fighters dropped back—wounded, panting, eyes burning.
Vander turned to Marcus, chest heaving, gauntlets flickering with spent power.
"I'll come with you," he said. "But the fight ends now. You leave them out of this."
Marcus gave a cold nod. "You've made the smart choice… for them."
They shackled Vander and dragged him toward the street. The door slammed behind them.
Silence fell.
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Location: The Last Drop – Basement
Downstairs, in the wine-damp dark of the basement, Vi slammed her fist against the door again.
"Let me out!"
"It's done, Vi," Benzo said quietly, arms folded. "He told me to keep you here. Told me to smuggle you out the second it's safe."
Claggor sat beside Ekko and Powder, both silent, both trembling.
"Safe!?" Vi shouted. "They just took him!"
Benzo didn't reply.
Vi's chest rose and fell with fury. Her fists clenched and unclenched. "He went up there knowing this would happen. He let them take him. For us."
Mylo looked up. "We can't just sit here."
Vi turned. She looked at each of them—Powder's tearful eyes, Claggor's bruised face, Ekko's clenched jaw.
"I'm not gonna be the reason he dies in a cell."
She faced Benzo. "Open the door."
Benzo hesitated. "Vi…"
"Open it."
With a sigh, Benzo moved. The latch clicked. The basement door creaked open to the smoldering ruins of the bar.
The group stepped into the silence.
Sevika stood by the counter, wiping blood off her mechanical arm.
"They took him," she muttered. "Your dad."
Vi didn't hesitate. "Then we're getting him back."
Sevika gave a thin smile. "Knew you'd say that."
She turned to the others. "Grab what you need. I've got a safe route. But once we start, there's no turning back."
Vi looked at Powder. "You with me?"
Powder nodded fiercely.
Claggor and Mylo exchanged glances, then grabbed their gear.
Ekko whispered, "Let's go."
But Benzo cut him off, "No you're not. You're staying with me, we're going back to our shop to keep a low profile."
The rescue had begun.
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As she rallied her gang, a distant tremor rippled through the air.
Silco's shimmer-army.
Ashryn's crew.
Two forces converging.
The fuse was lit.
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