Asteria: Yellow Diamond (Part 5)
Asteria: Yellow Diamond (Part 5)
It does not take long of no contact, both via communications and any gems they sent, for Yellow Diamond herself to show up to earth to dispel the crazy rumors going around and fuss Pink about her disaster of a colony. They have heard rumors about the situation, but all of them seem so outlandish that they disbelieve all of them. Yellow barges in demanding to speak to Pink, and to her frustration the gems bring her to another gem instead. To her shock and disbelief she finds out that some of the rumors were indeed true. Not wanting to believe that Pink is gone Yellow throws a fit, intending on shattering this gem that for some reason manages to strike fear in her, but she is no match for Asteria who just bubbles her before she can do any damage. Yellow manages to pop it once or twice in fits of rage, but Asteria just makes thicker ones in its place.
She is brought to the correct room and restrained. There is also a camera that Asteria turns on. The video will be edited later to look like it was stolen and then leaked out so that it can be seen without pinning the blame on any particular gem that it got out. Yellow Diamond starts her Taming full of anger and frustration and just a slight bit of fear. But a slight bit for a diamond is unusual enough that it might as well have been ocean deep. Asteria starts her work, slowly and steadily trying to bring Yellow into a state of calm.
Yellow is having none of it, and her struggle quickly starts to make it look like she is in pain. Her thrashing gets less angry and more desperate or instinctual, actively having to fight the new Diamond's song. She is more immune than most as she is another Diamond, but it still affects her and Asteria's song is like no other in this world. After a while of Yellow stubbornly putting up as much of a fight as she could, Asteria started to kiss little packets of information over to her. Each time she did this was jarring for Yellow, forcing her to stop her thrashing and fighting for a few moments each time as she blinks through the information and shock. Along with that the information itself becomes more and more distressing.
Over the course of several kisses Asteria shows Yellow not only that Pink is dead, but that she didn't think they would care if she died. She thought they had not cared about her, and therefore would not give much care for her death. She had agreed with Rose Quartz, had tried to get them to stop the colonization, but they had thought she was just being difficult. And now she was gone, her power given to make this new being. She was truly gone, and never coming back. As good as shattered. All because she thought they didn't care. That they would prefer a Pink Diamond of greater power, that they would listen to someone of greater power. The only thing Yellow could think of was that she had been right. Asteria did not keep pushing for calm as Yellow broke, dismissing her helmet and running claws through her hair as she sobbed out her regretful anguish. Yellow sobbed and cried and screamed for a long time, frightening any gem near enough to hear her.
Eventually, after her cries had started to slow from exhaustion, Asteria once more pressed a soothing calming song into the larger Diamond's gem. This time Yellow welcomed it, letting her turbulent mind be calmed and allowing her form to go lax. Asteria whispered soothing nothings and encouragement to her, occasionally giving her a less distressing kiss. Nothing much so soon, but small things like Pink's joy at seeing the simple beauty of a flower, and Rose's determination to protect the Earth's beauty in its unique life.
Eventually Yellow was coaxed into moving, and brought to a room with a soft place to lie down big enough for a Diamond. Yellow faceplanted into the closest thing gems had to a mattress and let herself fall deep into the well of the other Diamond's power. Asteria knows that Yellow is hiding from her emotions, but seeing as she has already cried once and Asteria would not let her hide forever, she let the larger gem be for now. She visited every once in a while to pull Yellow out, introducing her to the ideas of things like fusions and organic life and free will from a more positive perspective, adding restraints if needed while the other Diamond was made to work through at least some of her emotions, before she was submerged back into the calm. The process was helpful for many reasons, and Yellow didn't fight as much as she had been expecting. The poor thing hasn't had a proper break in millennia. She also took the time to remove some of the Diamond's clothes, her gloves and heels taking priority after the helmet. It wasn't much on the outside, but Asteria could tell it helped to make Yellow Diamond both more physically comfortable and more emotionally vulnerable.
Yellow lay on the plush surface in the quiet room provided to her, floating in the calm nothingness of the new Diamond's power. She had come here with the intent of bringing things back to order, by force if necessary, but instead she had learned a horrible truth that left her world in pieces. It had not taken long for the new Diamond to go from an enemy to an ally. She could not handle the weight of her grief, her anger, her horrible bitter self-lothing. Here, deep within the soothing song of the other gem, only the slightest touch of it could reach her. She knew it would not last forever, but for the time being she cherished the time she had before she had to face the consequences of her actions. She knew once she came out there was nothing she could do to soothe the ache of what her negligence had lost.
(Direct inspirational quote) "You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you." Yellow doesn't fight Asteria even when she does things that make her mad because she understands that this is what Pink died for. To make them, to make her, listen to what she had to say. Asteria will absolutely chain Yellow down if she throws a fit over what she is trying to tell her, and Yellow can't stay mad for long because she is upset at herself and ashamed that the other Diamond has to resort to such measures just for Yellow to hear her out.
At some point Yellow is in a deep almost coma-like state because she discharging lightning to the point she's hurting herself. Asteria makes special restraints to syphon the electricity away before it could cause damage and keeps Yellow deep under so that she can't feel it. Between the glowing restraints, the Diamond's blank eyes, and the small twitches from the electricity, any onlooker is petrified by the sight.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
More Posts from Blackfoy and Others
The Sheriff and the Hound - Chapter 1 - BlackFoy - Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) [Archive of Our Own]
https://archiveofourown.org/works/62321236/chapters/159459262
Tags and sneak peek beneath the cut
The Eye's Hound
A world where Silco saw the letter but he and Vander are still not on the best of terms gets visitors. He is feared as the Eye of Zaun, and few people know that he no longer has the Hound by the leash. (And while I doubt he knows this, he definitely still has some control over the Hound. If he were to beg Vander for help, he would get it. Vander never stopped loving him, and would do almost anything to make it up to him.) He spends time with Powder the most, and she's the only one close enough to him to sass him fearlessly. Then Silco from another universe shows up. He's not from canon, but it is a bit of a closer timeline. There is some confusion about this older version of Silco, especially with his blatantly startled reaction to Vander, but they don't get very far before his Sevika shows up. She's also shocked by Vander, but quickly moves on and basically tells Silco to get his Fucking Dog. Silco whistles and Warwick comes barling in, a whirlwind of teeth, fangs, and claws. The people of that world are horrified to find out that this is Vader, or what is left of him, made into a literal hound for Silco's use.
Arcane Vampire au
Zaunites are vampires and Piltes are hunters. So Jayce is a human and Viktor is a vampire, Caitlyn is a human and Violet is a vampire, ect. The two cities are much more insular which changes politics and such.
Universe A)
Viktor never left Zaun, but somehow him and Jayce still end up meeting. In the end Jayce sets up a secret lab in the undercity where him and Viktor can work. Viktor struggles to feed himself since hunting in the state he is in is almost impossible, so Jayce allows him to feed on him in return for help with his work. They become very close over time, even with the huge amount of stigma a relationship like theirs has. Jayce maneged to keep Viktor a secret, but then one day Caitlyn is at his door and he knows he needs to figure something out quick. Thankfully he had thought of something like this happening and has a semblance of a plan he can throw together. He asks Viktor if he trusts him, which of course the man does, and he gives him a quick apology before shoving a gag in his mouth and attaching him to the wall by his brace. Viktor is trying to trust, trying not to panic, but he hates being helpless, and this is basically his worst nightmare. Jayce makes sure he isn't hurting in the position he's in (it's actually pretty comfortable, it stretches and decompresses his spine in a way he didn't know he needed), before going to let Caitlyn in. Except Caitlyn isn't alone. Caitlyn has fallen into a secret affair with Vi, but now the girl is injured and she doesn't know where else to take her. She's hoping that if she covers her mouth then she can get away with making sure Jayce won't ask questions by promising not to tell about his secret lab to her parents. And for a while it seems like it might work, but then they see the gaged vamp hanging from the wall. And like hell is Vi leaving one of her people here to be experimented on by a Piltie, and Caitlyn understands that this is a person Jayce is doing experiments on. Vi wants to do a jailbreak immediately, but Cait manages to talk her out of it. 1, she's injured and the whole reason they are here is for medical attention. 2, Caitlyn knows Jayce, the man is practically her brother, and she knows that if she can convince him that vampires are people, he won't keep experimenting on them. She wants to try and do this without a fight, but it's also a huge risk. He could tell her parents; he could try to hurt Vi if he finds out what she is; there are so many things that could go wrong. But even if they free this vamp Jayce could just capture another, so she has to at least try. All of these plans would have gone better had they not discussed them in Viktor's presence. Viktor waits until Vi has gotten medical care to take out his gag since his hands aren't tied up and interjects into the conversation. There are a few minutes of confusion and panic from both sides, but eventually, they all figure out that they are all on the same side.
Universe B)
Viktor was a part of the Hounds pack up until his death. He ran away to avoid being killed by Silco's goons, and somehow meets Jayce. Jayce, of course, wants to help, but if he is seen doing so, it will cause all kinds of scandal. So he ends up pretending to keep Viktor for research purposes. The lab is locked, and anytime anyone wants to enter, they have to let him know so that he can "secure anything hazardous." So he has time to help Viktor put on his gag and situate him in his restraints. And nobody can try and say having the vamp doesn't do anything, because Jayce and Viktor work so well together that "Jayce's work" jumps in productivity and such. Of course everyone assumes that it is because he is experimenting on Viktor, not because Viktor is also a brilliant scientist. Several people see Viktor over the years. Both Himerdinger and Mel are unnerved by him. Himerdinger has tried to convince people before that Vampires are people, and hasn't made much progress. He hates seeing Viktor because he knows that his student is experimenting on a man, and there isn't anything he can do about it. Noxus also has much more lax ideals about Vampires, and while Mel knows better than to try and speak out in that area, it still unnerves her to see Viktor. She can imagine the pain that Jayce puts him through, and she doesn't like thinking Jayce capable of such things. Caitlyn has of course seen Viktor before, but she was never sure how to take him. Of course, then she meets Vi and understands that Vampires are people, and then she feels sick thinking of the poor, thin, sick-looking vamp that Jayce has kept locked in his lab for years. She wasn't planning on saying anything to Vi; she knew she would just get mad about it, and there wasn't anything they could do about it, but then, for their plans, they realized they needed something from Jayce's lab. And Caitlyn tries to warn her, tries to infuse that Jayce is a scientist and not a vamp-friendly one, but Vi doesn't really understand until she sees the man that was practically her brother gaged and hanging in a laboratory. At this point she's ready to fuck the plan, but before she can Viktor has tapped some instructions to Jayce. Jayce locks the doors at Viktor's command, not that the girls know that, and tries to ask Caitlyn what she's hiding from him. Caitlyn is trying to doge, scared that he knows Vi is a vamp, and keep Vi from pouncing on him as he goes over to mess with Viktor's restraints.
The King's Soulmate
Jayce is royalty, or close enough to it. Viktor is a prisoner from the neighboring kingdom of Zaun. Several Zaunites are brought before them, intended to be slaves to the highest in Piltover. The slavemaster doesn’t think Viktor is all that important, and with his disability, is prepared to kill him once he is not chosen. Much to everyone's surprise, Jayce chooses Viktor and will hear no other argument. He has visions of other worlds due to him messing with the Arcane, so he knows that this man will be the most important man in his life. Viktor has no clue why the King of Piltover calls him Perfect, and he is both flattered and terrified.
Nobody from Piltover knows that Viktor and Violet are the eldest Prince and Princess of Zaun. Zaun royalty does not dress like royalty, so they were assumed to be just another couple of citizens. Tensions rise even further between the two countries, war on the horizon, and Piltover doesn't even know what they've done. Zaun has no proof that they are the ones who took their Prince and Princess, so things build slowly over time. Viktor and Violet assume that Jayce and Caitlyn know what they have done, the statement they are making by keeping them.
Viktor finds out how oblivious Jayce is when Jinx/Powder breaks in to rescue them and kill their captors. Viktor is in the middle of trying to convince the youngest Princess not to assassinate the King of Piltover when Jayce wakes up, sees the armed intruded fighting with Viktor, and immediately puts himself between them, shielding Viktor with his body. This makes the younger girl very confused since she had been expecting a gaudy and snooty man who didn't care for their lives. Viktor manages to talk them both down, and their conversation leads him to figure out how little Jayce knows. Jayce finds out that the assassin was there to rescue the slaves, and while he's actually a little relieved and will make no move to stop her, he really doesn't want Viktor to leave, and makes this clear in his body language and hesitant words. In the end, Viktor stays while Jinx/Powder goes to find the other slaves and bring news back to the Kings of Zaun.
In the end, after some sneaking around of Vi and Viktor's parts, Zaun proposes a peace treaty to Piltover. It is a bunch of normal politics stuff, along with a double-arranged marriage. The King and the Head Guard of Piltover would marry the eldest Prince and Princess of Zaun. Both Jayce and Caitlyn protest, both wishing to be with their partners, but in the end they agree to the terms.
Part of the treaty was also to free all Zaunite slaves, and while Vi and Viktor had been practically free already, this just made it official. They hadn't been expecting the two to actually leave, and both become even more stressed without them. But then the wedding day comes, and the Zaunite royalty arrives, and everyone puts everything together. The main characters are overjoyed and in shock, and they all get married and one day unite the kingdoms through their adopted children.
(Currently working on a fic for this au. I have no clue when or if it will get posted, or how long it will be. Once it is posted I will link it here. Wish me luck!)
Caitvi kidnapping
The kingdoms of Piltover and Zaun have slightly different politics and events. The two are on the brink of war, with Piltover refusing to give Zaun an inch of the power they have a right to. Caitlin is off on a hunting trip or the like when she runs into Vi, and they become close. Vi realizes that they have the perfect blackmail and convinces Caitlin to become their hostage.
Asteria Dimond and the Era 1 war (part 1)
It is towards the end of the war that it happens. Pink Dimond, also known as Rose Quartz, does something both unexpected and unprecedented. Pink Diamond did not believe that the other Diamonds cared about her, and she knew that they would not listen to her as herself nor as Rose Quartz. But she had to find a way to make them listen. She knew she was defective, off-color, but maybe if she could find a way to increase her power the others would listen to her. And so she did. No one knows how. No one knows uf she knew the consequences. In all honesty, even if she had known, she probably hadn’t cared. She somehow became Steven Universe. But an adult Steven Universe who has long balanced himself to look more like his mothers' forms and who goes by Asteria Diamond in professional settings. Asteria sends out a message to all the gems on Earth, both the Crystal Gems and the Homeworld Gems. In the message, they state:
"I am not Rose Quartz. I am not Pink Diamond. I am not a fusion of the two. I am something never before seen by Gemkind. Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz are dead. I am taking their place. This war is over. All Crystal Gems are to give themselves over peacefully to Homeworld. All Homeworld soldiers are to gather up the Crystal Gems peacefully and bring them to containment in my ship. There will be no shattering or excessive force from either side. Crystal Gems, if the ones trying to take you in are being cruel, leave them and find someone else. Gems still loyal to the diamond courts, only use violence if absolutely necessary. I repeat, I want no shattering and no excessive violence. That will be all."
Pearl had been watching this all in horror from across the room, the only one aware of the fact that this could not be some kind of unknown fusion between Rose and Pink as they were the same person. She could tell that this being was not her, which had horrible implications on its own, but she could also feel that her gem had shifted in a way she had never experienced but knew what it was instinctively. This gem was her new owner. She shied away in fear as the new gem, the new Diamond, approached her, but she could only go so far as her back hit the wall. They made a deep purr-like sound she assumed was supposed to be soothing, and she froze as a white-clawed hand brushed over her gem. His song weaved into the core of her being, bringing with it a great soothing calm.
She was brought into a deep calm headspace, everything else chased away for the moment by the Diamond's song. She made no attempt to fight it, as it came from her Diamond, and let herself be picked up into her new Diamond's arms and carried away. Her Diamond purred deep in her chest all the way to the ship, almost rattling her body with the power it sung into ribbons twirling around her being. Her Diamond sat in a quiet and fairly dim room, and the soothing purring stopped. She started to come back to herself, but the entirety of her emotions refused to come back with the hand on her gem. As her grief started to hit her that touch quickly became a comfort, and she tried to lean further into it to try and hide from the pain of loss. Her Diamond did not take away her grief, or let her hide from it, but she held her and rocked her and comforted her as best as anyone can when faced with a pearl's fresh grief.
Eventually her Diamond laid her down and told her to stay and take deep breaths. She was all worn out emotionally, but somehow the unnecessary breathing helped to take the edge off everything. Her Diamond was somewhere in the room, dealing with reports and giving out commands. She had not been ordered to listen, so she did not bother too. Her programing would not let her miss an order if one is given to her.
Because the Crystal Gems are going to of course fight back, especially gems like Bismuth and Garnet, Asteria decides to use Pearl as bait to get the remaining fighters in. This is of course after Pearl has calmed down some and understands that Asteria doesn't want to hurt her or the other gems. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and only wants the war to end without bloodshed. He reveals his plans to her, explaining how he will be taking the Crystal Gems into his court along with Pink Diamond's gems, mixing the two together just like he was a mix of the two leaders. Pearl expresses her doubts, both with the gems who had just been fighting getting along, and the fact that Asteria is not actually a mix between Pink and Rose. Asteria assures her that they can learn to get along with help, and that he was very much like a mix between Pink and Rose seeing as they are the same person. This shuts Pearl up about her doubts. And so Asteria goes to his new throne and pulls Pearl onto his lap, having her in her rebellion garb. They need to make it seem like the Crystal Gem's sneaking onto the ship to rescue her was their plan. Asteria knew that Garnet would discount the idea of Pearl betraying them, giving them a strong advantage when it came to getting around her future vision. So a message about a captured and tamed Renegade Pearl is sent out.
Biggs came running up to them with the Crystal Gem's pirated communicator. It had been three days since Rose and Pearl had disappeared. It had been three days since the message from the fusion(/?) of Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond. Garnet hadn't been able to see much with her future vision as none of them could have ever seen this coming. What she could see wasn't good, and while it seemed like no one was shattered, many of them had been captured in the last few days. Bismuth could do nothing but worry and wait. They couldn't find their resident renegade anywhere, and none of them knew what to expect from "Asteria". She had asked Garnet her opinion, and the only thing the other gem could think of was some kind of heinous forced fusion. They knew that this was a dark and uncertain time, they knew that things were not likely to go well in this situation, but they fought anyway. And then Biggs, with her misty eyes filled with tears, handed her the communicator with another video from Asteria to all Earth channels.
Pearl sat in between Asteria Diamond's legs, a hand bigger than her entire head curled around her neck and up her chin. It was clear she was being held in place, and with more than the strong hand and sharp claws threatening her. Her eyes seemed hazy and far away, and she stared resolutely at the floor. Bismuth was aghast for a number of reasons, but a big one was her eyes. There was no spark of fire in them. No sparkle or otherwise rebellious look. She looked like-... like a pearl. Asteria Diamond spoke of their disobedience like it was utterly trivial. Like the entire rebellion was not only not a threat but something that would soon be neutralized. But instead of threatening them or ordering her troops to fight them once more, she reassured them that they would not be shattered. That there would be no need for them to be shattered. But the Diamond's "reassurance" only made Bismuth's mouth dry with horror. The Crystal Gems don't need to be shattered because they can be tamed. She could do nothing but watch and try not to gag as white claws and pink fingers traced over Pearl's gem. The Renegade shuddered and whined at the intrusion of the Diamond's power, her hands tightening in her lap, her eyes screwed shut, her body folding in on itself the best it could. But it was obvious she had long stopped fighting the control. The Diamond pushed, and the rebellious pearl shuddered and went lax, a low keen the only thing to show her discomfort. The Diamond cooed and pet her like she was a dog finally giving in and submitting to its abusive master. Bismuth didn't want to know how much Pearl had been touched and tortured to get her to this point. This was the fate the new Diamond had in store for them. To Bismuth, it seemed worse than a fate of shattering. But as the horrific message ended, there was only one thing on her mind. It looked reversible. Maybe not completely, but it was obvious that unlike what she had heard of White Diamond's mind control, Pearl was not completely a shell of herself. At least not yet. She turned to Garnet, who was clutching herself as she stared in open-mouthed horror. She snapped her out of it and got her to check her future vision. It didn't exactly look good for them, but there seemed to be a high chance they could get Pearl out, along with sabotaging the enemy. However, there was also a chance they would fail, that Pearl would already be too far in the Diamond's control, and they would end up captured. Seeing few other options, they planned their infiltration.
Asteria Diamond makes it clear that Pearl is fully allowed and even encouraged to fight the prejudices of other gems. After Pearl stabs the first gem who won't back down when she told them to, most of the others fall in line. Especially when her Diamond backs up her behavior. The gem was out of line, and Pearl ensured she knew that.
Pearl is seen as off by other characters because she is processing the change in owners and orders. Asteria takes the time to put a whole bunch of fail-safes into any direct orders so that Pearl can get around them if she needs to. Having all of these extra what-if's and stuff makes it a whole lot more to process, and Pearl will often use times when Asteria has used her powers on her to sort through stuff. She appreciates having the owner given power to circumvent her orders, and she also appreciates the concreteness that Pink/Rose often lacked, but it's still a lot.
Rumors say Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz didn't fuse. They melded. Instead of their forms becoming one, able to separate if they wish, their gems melded together and they beget an entirely new being.
(This concept was based very very loosely on this fanfic. It's not all that similar in terms of plot, but it is very good!)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Baby Blue Protocols
(Please note that this was written without having actually watched Arcane and before season 2 started.)
Becoming a father changes Silco in ways no one could have anticipated, certainly not himself. But it had changed him, and with that, it changed the underground. Silco by no means stopped being a dangerous man, but he focused more on making the world better for Jink than he did on his own goals. From there comes the Baby Blue Protocols. Silco comes to rule the underground even more than he did before, and with that comes the strict rule that nobody touches his daughter. Even those not directly under Silco's rule come to respect this. Things change as Jinx gets older and is able to defend herself; if she starts a fight, then of course, the other party can retaliate, but everyone still understands exactly who they are dealing with and who stands behind her.
Things get messy when time travel becomes involved.
Vander and Powder wake up in a version of the Lanes they don't recognize, and anyone who sees them coming immediately runs away. Even if they weren't faced with Vander back from the dead, nobody wants to deal with getting too close to Zaun's princess while she's so small and fragile. Eventually, Sevika shows up all grumpy about having to deal with this mess, grumbling about them scaring the shit out of half the Lanes and bringing them to Silco. Vader is, of course, on high alert, trying to be prepared for anything through his old heartbreak, but Silco is kind with Powder and cordial with him, if not a bit cold still, and Vander allows himself to relax slightly.
And then Jinx jumps down from the rafters, and things go to shit again.
Powder's Jinxers
A bunch of Jinxers travel back in time. All of them are very confused, and it is causing chaos. Sevika manages to calm everything down by corralling them into the Last Drop and dropping Powder on the counter with some trinkets. She encourages her to talk about her inventions, and with a captive audience, she really gets going. After a while, Vander sends her to bed, and they have a meeting of time travelers plus Vander, since he’s one of the original revolutionaries and everything directly involves him and his family.
Isha Bunny's Adventure
Isha ends up in a modern au. Since she's not in her alternate body it is not difficult to convince them that she is from an alternate universe. They care for her while they try and find a way to put her back, but the more they get to know her the less they want to send her back. They get her a talking tablet to help her communicate, and some of the things she says can be... concerning. Like talking about how hard Vader can hit, about being in the habit of watching his body language to make sure he wasn't upset, just in case she needs to dodge. She is, of course, referring to Warwick, who does not have full control over his bloodlust and actions, but they do not know this, and with Vader having had an instance of domestic violence in the past with Silco, he knows he is technically capable of hurting his family even if he loves them.
The Dark Mage and his Prince
Viktor and Jayce don't die when they save the world together, which is a surprise for both of them. What is even more of a surprise is when they suddenly find themselves in the bodies of their alternate-universe selves. The problem is that they were mid-battle when this happened.
The Crown Prince of Piltover had taken a band of warriors with him to defeat the rumored dark mage whose castle sat not far from their border. Things had been going well up until a blast of magic left everyone, but especially the Mage and the Prince, disorientated. Viktor figures out what is going on before Jayce does and uses that to "capture" the Crown Prince in his magic. They both have blurry memories of the bodies they inhabit, so he knows that if he doesn't end things quickly, Jayce will be expected to fight him, and after everything that had just happened, Viktor had a feeling that Jayce would shoot himself before having to hurt Viktor again.
The Piltovians watch in horror as the mage snaps a collar of magic around the prince's neck and holds him hostage, demanding that they leave without him. Caitlyn would rather do anything else, but as the mage orders the prince around, orders him to stand and kneel and stop breathing and start breathing again, she knows they need to retreat and regroup. None of them had ever seen a magic spell that could control someone like that, and they needed to be smart, or the mage would kill the prince.
Of course, Jayce is really just doing what Viktor says because it's Viktor, which is what Viktor was counting on.
Caitlyn hadn't been expecting too much from the battle they had gone into. Maybe something crazy would happen when fighting the Dark Mage, or maybe it would be just as easy and simple as every other battle she had shared with Jayce. Up until a blinding flash of light and a snare of magic left the Crown Prince of Piltover in the Dark Mage's hands, seemingly unable to disobey him.
