Arcane: INSANE (OC X JINX)

A deafening explosion ripped through the air, shaking the entire building. The walls groaned under the force, and the ground beneath their feet trembled violently.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Vi screamed, her voice barely audible over the chaos.

Bael froze, his face pale. He looked at the crystal in his hand, which had stopped pulsing and tingling. "The blue crystal... it imploded," he muttered, his voice hollow.

Before anyone could react, a massive section of the ceiling collapsed. Claggor and Mylo, who were ahead of them, turned just in time to see the debris crashing down.

"NO!" Vi screamed as the rubble buried them completely, the sound of the impact drowning out everything else.

Vi's eyes widened in horror, her body trembling. "Claggor... Mylo..." she whispered, her voice breaking.

Bael, less affected by their loss, grabbed her hand. "We need to go. Now!" he urged, dragging her toward the exit as the building continued to crumble around them.

But as they ran, a large piece of debris crashed down, pinning Bael's arm beneath it. He cried out in agony, collapsing to the ground. Blood pooled quickly, and the pain was excruciating.

"BAEL!" Vi yelled, rushing to his side. She tried to lift the rock, but it was too heavy.

"Leave it!" Bael gasped through clenched teeth, his face contorted in pain. "Just... get me out of here!"

Vi shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not leaving you!"

With no other choice, she braced herself and pulled him free, the weight of the rock tearing his arm from his body. Bael's scream of agony echoed through the collapsing building.

As more debris rained down, Vi used her body to shield him, the impact bruising her back and shoulders. She gritted her teeth, dragging Bael toward the exit.

They barely made it out, collapsing onto the ground outside as the building crumbled into dust behind them. Bael clutched his bleeding stump, gasping for air.

Vi knelt beside him, her body shaking. "We lost them..." she whispered.

Bael didn't respond, his focus entirely on the pain. In the distance, the shimmer of Zaun's dim lights flickered, indifferent to the tragedy that had just unfolded.

"HEEEELPP!!!" Vi shouted desperately, her voice raw with panic. But no response came. The silence was deafening, save for the faint crackling of flames and the groans of the crumbling building behind them.

Bael lay on the ground, clutching the bloody stump where his arm used to be. Tears streamed down his face as the searing pain coursed through him, tearing at his nerves and breaking his composure. His cries of agony filled the air, each one sharper than the last.

"VANDER!" Vi screamed again, her voice trembling with both anger and despair. She knelt beside Bael, her hands trembling as she tried to stop the bleeding with her own torn sleeve. "Stay with me, Bael! Stay with me!"

But there was no one coming. No heavy footsteps. No reassuring voice. Just the weight of the moment crushing down on them.

Bael choked back a sob, his body writhing in pain. "I... I can't... I can't take it," he whispered through gritted teeth, his vision blurring from the sheer agony.

Vi clutched him tightly, tears in her own eyes. "You're not dying here. Do you hear me? You're not dying!" she said, her voice breaking.

As Vi frantically tried to figure out how to save Bael, a familiar voice rang out behind her. "VI! YOU'RE HERE! MY GADGET—IT WORKED! THANKS TO BAEL, I FIGURED IT OUT!" Powder's voice was filled with pride, her steps quick and excited.

But when her eyes fell on Bael lying motionless on the ground, his severed arm surrounded by blood, her entire world seemed to shatter. The joy drained from her face, replaced by utter horror.

"BAEL?! NO! NO! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!" Powder screamed, her body shaking uncontrollably. She stumbled forward, her hands clutching her head as tears streamed down her face. "NO! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! PLEASE, TELL ME THIS ISN'T REAL!"

Vi turned to her, her expression cold and furious. "You… did this…?" Vi's voice trembled, her disbelief sharp as a dagger.

"I-I ONLY TRIED TO HELP! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!" Powder cried, grabbing at Vi's arm, desperate for absolution. "PLEASE, I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAVE YOU! I WANTED TO HELP! I JUST WANTED TO HELP!"

Her words were cut short as Vi's hand came down hard across her face, sending her sprawling onto the rubble. Powder let out a sharp gasp, her sobs growing louder and more frantic.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY HOME!" Vi screamed, her voice trembling with rage and heartbreak as her hand lashed out, slapping Powder across the face.

The impact stunned Powder, her cheek stinging red, but it was the words that shattered her.

"YOU'RE A JINX! MYLO WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU, AND NOW HE'S GONE! THEY'RE ALL GONE!" Vi yelled, her tears blurring her vision as her anger spilled out.

Powder's eyes widened as the full weight of Vi's words hit her. She stumbled back, her body shaking as sobs erupted from her chest. "NO! NO! VI, PLEASE, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!"

Her voice grew louder, more frantic, each word breaking into hysterical wails. "I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN! PLEASE, VI! DON'T SAY THAT! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

Vi turned away, her back to her sister as she clenched her fists. "You've done enough, Powder. Just… stay here." Her voice cracked before she walked away, leaving Powder screaming after her.

"VI! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" Powder's cries tore through the air as she collapsed to her knees, pulling at her hair and rocking back and forth. "I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I'LL FIX IT! I'LL FIX EVERYTHING!"

As Vi disappeared into the distance, Powder crawled to Bael, her hands trembling as she touched his chest. "BAEL… PLEASE, WAKE UP! PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" she cried, her voice breaking into a choked wail.

She buried her face into him, sobbing uncontrollably. "DON'T LEAVE ME TOO! YOU'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT! I'LL MAKE THIS RIGHT, I PROMISE! PLEASE… JUST STAY WITH ME!"

Her hysterical cries echoed in the crumbling ruin, her heartbreak and guilt filling the empty air with a sorrow too deep to bear.

Bael's body trembled with every movement, the pain from his amputated arm nearly bringing him to his knees, but with an incredible effort, he managed to get on his feet. The blood loss, the agony, all of it blurred in his mind as his thoughts focused solely on Powder's broken sobs.

"Powder..." Bael rasped, his voice hoarse as he took a few unsteady steps toward her. He could barely stand, but somehow, he found the strength to move.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief, tears streaming down her face. "Bael... you're... you're still alive?" Her voice cracked, her breath coming in desperate, shallow gasps.

"Yeah... I'm not going anywhere." He forced a weak smile, though his insides churned with confusion and pain. "I'm not leaving you. You've got me. Always."

But even as he said the words, his mind struggled to make sense of what had just happened. Vi—Vi, the one who had always been his strength—had actually left. The thought lingered, unsettling him. "I didn't expect her to just walk away like that…" His voice was quieter now, heavy with both pain and disbelief.

Powder, hearing the hesitation in his voice, clung to him even tighter, her sobs growing more frantic. "Please... don't leave me too. I—I can't lose you too, Bael. Please..."

Bael gently pulled her into an embrace, his uninjured arm wrapped around her as he leaned into her, trying to comfort her despite his own suffering. The world around him seemed to fall away, and the only thing that mattered was that they were together, even in the aftermath of everything that had gone wrong.

"Vi will come back... she just needs time," Bael murmured, though he wasn't entirely sure if he believed his own words.

The words felt empty, even to him, but in that moment, he needed to hold on to something. Powder needed to hold on to something. And for now, that something was each other.