Chapter One:

Caitlyn climbed out of the carriage, immediately lifting a gloved hand to cover her nose. Her eyes cast a quick glance over the grimy streets, the gutters piled high with garbage and slime between the cracked stones of the road were exactly what she'd expected. And yet, as her skirts swooshed around her heels and she thanked the driver, a collection of butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Finally, a real job. A real adventure!

The direct call from the council that had forced her to come to the disgusting and smelly town of Zain had caught both her, and especially her parents, off-guard. Why they had chosen her, a fairly new investigator to the Piltover Safety Unit, she wasn't sure, but was deeply grateful for it. There was nothing her mother could say to her leaving for Zaun. Cait knew in her heart, however, that - despite her mother being on the council - she wouldn't have voted for her own daughter to investigate a crime in Piltover, muchless their sister city, Zaun.

As the carriage rumbled away, Caitlyn gripped her free hand around her rifle strap that crossed her chest. The leather calmed her, knowing that if she needed it, her trusty rifle was by her side. Her gaze lifted from the streets to the collection of people nearby, gathered around a dusty alleyway. Their titering and gossiping wasn't something that Caitlyn loved, but it was a nice reminder of home.

Pushing through the crowd, she made her way toward the mix of enforcers and whatever the Zaunite version of police was. They didn't look like much more than a group of gang members. Just as she was about to cross into the crime scene, a stiff hand shot out. She bumped into the sudden barrier, turning her shocked expression to the enforcer who stopped her. Instead of eyes, she was met with a reflection of herself in the protective eyewear. She steeled her expression immediately once she saw how afraid she appeared.

"Authorized personnel only, ma'am. Please step back."

Caitlyn unlatched the pouch at her belt and held up her badge. "I am Caitlyn Kiramman. I've been sent by the council to investigate this crime."

After a moment to look over her identification and another moment to study her face - no doubt recognizing her due to her uppity mother - the enforcer pulled his arm back. "My apologies, Miss Kiramman." 

Caitlyn stowed her badge away, giving the enforcer a once over before continuing forward. There was an individual writing something down on a clipboard while another had a large camera, the flash going off every couple of seconds as they photographed the crime scene. Neither of them were close to the body, however. The only person close enough to the body to do any real examination was a pink-haired young woman. She was crouched next to the body, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands laced together. She had tattoos. Caitlyn could make out the art tracing along her neck and disappearing under her collared shirt. Instead of a dress, the pink-haired girl wore a pair of stained trousers and a creme button-down with leather straps. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, exposing her forearms. The tattoos from her neck must have continued, as the intricate gears and smoke on the back of her arms matched her neck. A gun hung from her hip, but the unworn leather holster told Caitlyn that this woman didn't use it often.

"Excuse me," Caitlyn started, "Are you the agent I'm supposed to meet up with?"

The pink-haired girl finally tore her gaze away from the body. Her eyes met Caitlyn's. They narrowed, tracing everything from Caitlyn's hair, to her rifle, to her dress, to her heeled boots. Caitlyn forced herself to stay still, to stay strong under such a scrutinizing gaze. With the amount of intensity that this woman used to analyze her, Caitlyn could get an idea as to why she had been put on this case.

"The name's Vi," she finally said. She looked away, her intense glare turning back to the body.

Caitlyn followed her gaze to the body on the ground. This had been the second victim in the last week, and it was just as horrifying as the last two. What had been assumed as a once-off murder by a very passionate killer had turned into a second victim. Its condition was worse than the first. And now, a third.

The first victim had been a woman named Mary, a simple barkeep who had been found in the alleyway between The Last Drop and a local junk shop in the center of Zaun. The crime wasn't out of the ordinary for such a crime-ridden city, and most had brushed it under the rug. It wasn't until a wealthy baroness from Piltover, Annesta Chapman, had been found in the same condition in her gardens that major attention was given to the case. That was when the council got involved.

Now, back in Zaun, another victim had joined the roster.

The body was barely recognizable as one. The chest cavity of the poor victim had been sliced open, her intestines thrown over her shoulder and multiple organs torn out - completely missing. The excess blood and the depravity could have been enough, but it was the spray paint that covered the woman's pale skin and the ground around her that haunted Caitlyn the most. Childish scribbles and drawings covered everything, from the ground to the wall to the dumpsters nearby to the wide-open, lifeless eyes of the body at her feet.

"Horrible," Caitlyn muttered, pulling her eyes away.

"Not the worst I've seen," Agent Vi said. She pulled herself to her feet, dusting off her trousers.

"This is one of the most horrific things you could do to a person," Caitlyn said. She looked at the Zaunite agent. "Who is she?"

After a hesitant pause, the agent relented. "Liz, a young woman from the local brothel."

"How far is that from here? Have your teams found any leads?"

Agent Vi scoffed, rolling her shoulders and neck. "If you think the brothel manager is going to squeak about what specifically happens in there, you're more crazy than I thought. There've been enough rumors that come out of that building that we could practically walk in any direction and someone would have something to say."

Caitlyn furrowed her eyebrows. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Listen, cupcake, I'm sure you've got a tea party to get to, so why don't you run along back across the bridge from where you came from? I've got enough on my plate that I don't need to be babysitting an investigator who's never been in the field before."

Caitlyn opened her mouth to argue, but she forced her tongue from spitting an insult in return. How this agent had been able to tell she'd never been to a real crime scene was enough to infuriate her, but she knew better than to get into a shooting match. Agent Vi stepped around the body and sauntered toward a nearby dumpster, leaving Caitlyn to fume.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before saying, "Whether you like it or not, I have been assigned to this case."

"Great. So go back to your mahogany desk in your perfectly spotless office and write up your report. Don't forget to say that I was a jackass and not worth getting your perfect uniform wrinkled."

Despite the harsh jab, Caitlyn could hear a smirk on Vi's words.

Caitlyn sighed. This wasn't worth arguing over. Instead of pressing her luck with the smartass Zaunite, Caitlyn turned her attention to the assistant nearby with the clipboard. She approached, and after a quick word with them, she had the clipboard in her hand. She flipped through the notes.

"Similar artwork has been spotted at both crime scenes," she read aloud. "All victims are women, so far. Each was from the supernatural community, two werewolves and one vampire. Other than the usual gossip and discrimination discourse, not a single connection between the women other than age and being otherworldly."

"It's only believed that Annesta was a vampire," Vi replied, kicking a piece of garbage near the dumpster. "Nothing in the autopsy was able to prove her supernatural connection."

"And our friend Liz here?" Caitlyn asked, gesturing to their victim.

"Werewolf." Vi turned around, looking back at the body. "The canines are a dead giveaway."

"Well, there are more werewolf victims than there are vampires. I say we find where the werewolves gather and we see what information they can give us. See if anyone-"

"Hold your horses," Vi said, cutting her off. "Us? We? No, you're not helping with this."

"But I-"

"I don't care what your fancy council says," Vi snapped. "This is my town, my streets. What I say goes, and I say that you're going back across that bridge."

Caitlyn stiffened her shoulders and set her jaw. "With all due respect, Agent Vi, I'm not going anywhere. It's not just your people who are being killed by this murderer. Whether you like it or not, I'm here to solve these crimes. And I'm not leaving until we have the murderer - the Ripper - in shackles."

The two stared each other down. Eventually, the person who'd held the clipboard stepped forward. His dark skin practically melted into the shadows but his eyes were a sharp green, giving Vi an intense glare.

"Vi, she's right. She's our ticket to investigate the surface. Let's not cross the Piltover council if we don't have to."

Vi let out a long sigh, her shoulders dropping. She waved a hand. "Fine, but she's going to be your responsibility until I feel like dealing with her, Echo."

Caitlyn was barely able to let out a trapped breath before Vi pushed past her. As she disappeared into the crowd, the guy - Echo, Vi had called him - stepped next to Caitlyn.

"Sorry about that. She's a hard person to work with sometimes. Gets stuck in her ways easily."

"It's alright," she said, though she didn't quite mean it.

Like Vi, whether she liked it or not, this was going to be the adventure of a lifetime. 

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Oooo, it feels so good to be back! I haven't written or posted something like this in a very long time, so it's amazing to be back here again. I hope you all are excited for this new story - I know I am! I was up really late last night writing this and plotting the whole story out, and even after I tried to go to bed, I barely slept. I just have to get this on the page! 

There won't be a set upload schedule for this story because I'm trying not to push myself creatively. I am here to enjoy the journey, not stress over it. 

I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on what's been written so far! Thank you, friends!