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Masochistic Impulse

With the discovery of Gnar, many scientists of Zaun became thirsty to learn more about the ancient genetics of the yordle race and the power that they held. Unfortunately for Jacob, he was one of the leading experiments for their research. After being kidnapped at a young age by Zaun's infamous procurers, the scientists were able to find and revive some semblance of the "rage gene" in the modern day yordle. It proved unstable and Jacob's body couldn't handle the sudden transformation of his small body. The powerful surge of muscle and strength caused his heart to burst and flesh to tear. Fate had other plans for him, however: a prototype hextech heart had just arrived. Not wanting to lose their valuable test subject, Jacob was fitted with it. This time, the scientists took precautions and imbued Jacob's flesh with synthetic threads to assist in the rapid expansion of his body--they finally found success.

Pain. It was all he knew at the time. As a child, Jacob had never known the warmth of a mother's caressing hands or the strength of a father's proud smile. At least, he didn't remember very much before waking up in a back alley of Piltover. At the age of six, Jacob was lost--not only in location, but mind as well. The only things he could remember were blinding lights and pain. Everything before that was blank. There was a metal contraption embedded into his chest which emitted a pulsating glow of cyan. It was heavy; the pain was still there.

Making his way through the streets, many looked down on him with disgust. While yordles were popular in standing among the City of Progress, but being draped in rags with a Zaun-like protrusion coming out of one's chest were hardly beneficial for one's image in any case. Jacob had no idea that he was still being tracked--the scientists wanted data on how his new heart and activated rage gene would affect his everyday life. They were considerate enough to provide him a sack of gold, however. After a proper meal and a comfortable bed at an inn, the pain lessened, but the aches were ever present.

After a few days of exploring the unfamiliar streets, his sac of gold was considerably lighter. Despite being a child, Jacob needed to find work. Going through the trade district, he managed to find a few errand jobs and refilled his gold satchel with ease. His strength was considerable for a being of his age and stature and he impressed many of the merchants he assisted. Proud of himself, the young yordle continued in his small jobs to make a name for himself.

Months had passed and the Zaunite scientists were increasingly bothered by the success of Jacob's endeavors. Nothing seemed to be affecting the yordle's negative emotions to fuel the rage gene. Deciding to intervene, they hired a mercenary to stir up trouble in Jacob's vicinity. Gathering information on one of the yordle's deliveries, they sent the hired hand to the package's intended receiver. While being told not to kill the target, the agent was given permission to do "whatever was necessary" to traumatize the young yordle.

As Jacob brought backpack of goods to the large gate, he whistled a bit at the sight of the large house. This was his first delivery to a Noble. He adjusted his dirty shirt and pressed the buzzer on the gate. After no response, Jacob noticed the gate was partially open already. With a shrug, he trotted up the long path, examining the small fountains and trimmed bushes along the way. It wasn't long before the yordle was knocking on the door, only to find it also opened. Growing a bit more cautious, he pushed the door open, seeing a suited man being head-locked with a knife at his neck.

"What--" Jacob stammered.

"Stop! Stay where you are or the Noble gets it," the hooded man announced.

"Please! I'll give you anything! I'll pay you double what they offered!" the Noble gagged.

"Shut up, old geezer. I don't want money," the assassin growled.

"Let 'im go!" Jacob shouted, though it was more of a squeak--he had never been in this type of situation before.

"This man is in this situation because of you, little rat," the hood barked.

"W-what...? Why? What'd I do?" Jacob asked, suddenly quivering.

"Shouldn't have taken the job! Now he's going to die! Because of you!" the assassin shouted.

"That's not fair! He didn't make me do it! Leave him alone!" Jacob shouted, taking a few steps forward.

The Noble blinked at the reason the assassin gave. The delivery was merely a few raw materials for medicine making--what exactly was going on?

"It's too late for that! This man is dead!" the hooded man shouted, raising his knife into the air, acting as if he were about to plunge it down.

Jacob screamed.

There was an electrical eruption of cyan that extended from the yordle's chest. It engulfed him--the sounds of leathery stretching and crunching, popping bone echoed through the large halls of the Noble's abode. The scream got deeper until it was a beastly, wall-shaking roar. The electrified figure expanded in every direction with muscle packing on muscle. It filled the doorway until the exit could not be seen any longer, despite its oversized frame. As the light dimmed down, a monstrous figure stood where Jacob had been.

"Let him go," the beast growled, barely understandable, while taking a step forward.

Needless to say, the Noble had gone pale and the assassin immediately dropped his knife.

A giant paw reached forward, gripping the hooded coat before the assassin could run. The huge yordle lifted him up, giving a heavy snort as saliva dripped down his chin, causing the hooded man to whimper. Turning, the giant Jacob reared back and threw him into the nearby garden wall, making a dent and shattering some of the bricks.

The mercenary fell to the grass in a heap with fractures through his body--he was out cold.

Jacob slowly turned back to the quivering Noble, giving (what he thought was) a sheepish smile. It only made him look fiercer with his sharp teeth and the large tusks that were pushing up past his lips. It didn't last long, though. His grin faltered and turned into an expression of discomfort.

"Sorry... for the trouble... sir," Jacob grunted, swaying in place before he fell to his knees. His body shimmered and snaps of cyan electricity moved about his body once more. Jacob shrank before the Noble's eyes, looking like elastic bands pulling slowly back together. Eventually, the small yordle was back to normal, lying unconscious on the floor with rags of his former clothes draped over him.

"What the devil?" the Noble murmured, cautiously stepping forward and examining the small figure. Had he just witnessed another "mega" yordle? He knew of Gnar, but didn't have much experience with him--he knew that the yordle was feral in mind, but this one... he was a modern-day yordle. Not only that, but this one saved his life. He had to repay him somehow.

Gently scooping up the small male, the Noble looked over his form and examined it. Everything seemed in-tact. The metal piece at his chest was giving a dull glow, throbbing at the pace of a heartbeat. The Noble took the unconscious yordle and went to one of the many guest rooms in his house, settling him in the mattress and blankets. Tomorrow, he would attempt to hire a new bodyguard.

*****

Pain. It was a familiar feeling, but strangely... not unwelcome. It felt good. Perhaps it was because he knew he did a good thing, but he wasn't exactly sure what happened. Opening his green eyes, Jacob looked at the ceiling. He slowly brought his hands down to push himself up--his muscles were sore. It felt as if he made a whole day's worth of deliveries two-times over. Sitting up, he looked around the decorated room and then blinked at the sight. There was a large platter of breakfast food on the nightstand. Then, he noticed the Noble in a white lab coat.

"AUGH! Ow!" he jerked, almost falling off the bed, but froze from the sharp pains that moved through his over-worked muscles.

"Whoa! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Your body came under a lot of... stress last night. Do you remember what happened?" the Noble asked.

"No sir... I remember looking down and... wait, where's that guy? The guy I... I threw him, right?" Jacob asked, a blur of images coming to him.

"You certainly did. You got... big, to put it in laymen's terms. Do you know about the rage gene?" the male questioned, adjusting his glasses.

Jacob rubbed his head, combing his blond hair back while he looked down.

"I think so. I think I heard it before, but I dunno where. I dunno what is it. ...what it is," he murmured, rubbing along his tensed arm, wringing his fingers as he did.

"It causes your kind to undergo a transformation to a ravenous beast. Or, at least, one known case of it does that. Now there are two," the Noble murmured.

The yordle lifted his head and blinked.

"I turned into rav... a ravens... a beast?" Jacob's voice quivered. That didn't sound good.

"Mmm... not exactly. I mean, from first look, yes. You seemed... coherent, though. You were aware of me and even apologized," the man chuckled somewhat.

"Did I do anything bad?" Jacob asked, seeming to be on the verge of tears.

"No, you saved my life. I'm Jeremiah Lynnos, a doctor of Piltover. Quite a good one, if I do say so myself," the Noble stated, pressing his glasses up a bit more.

Jacob seemed relieved, looking down at his paws.

"Here, eat," Jeremiah murmured, sliding the platter toward him.

"H-how much?" Jacob asked, voice quivering again.

"How much?" Jeremiah repeated, tilting his head, "I owe you my life, little one. A meal is nothing compared to what you did."

Jacob blinked and then smiled slightly, soon taking the platter into his lap and began to eat, sniffling in the meantime.

"Thank you," he murmured with his mouth full.

"What's your name?" Jeremiah asked after letting Jacob eat some of his meal.

Jacob jerked a bit, looking to the doctor. In the months he had worked, no one had ever asked it.

"M-my name?" he repeated.

"Yes. What is it?" the doctor asked, tilting his head somewhat.

"I-I... I dunno. People call me 'yordle'. Or 'boy'. I dunno my name," Jacob murmured, continuing to eat as he looked down.

"I see... where are your parents?" Jeremiah asked, treading a bit more carefully.

"I dunno..." Jacob murmured, slowing in eating his meal. His sniffles continued.

"Do you... have a home?" Jeremiah continued.

"I stay at the inn near the trade district... They give me a discount. 'cus I stay there so much," Jacob murmured.

Jeremiah frowned. This yordle couldn't be more than six-years-old and was working to stay alive. That chest piece had to come from somewhere, though.

"What'd you do before you started doing errands?" the doctor continued his line of questioning.

"I dunno... I woke up in the alleys one day. I dunno what happened before that," Jacob murmured, "I just remember lots of lights and hurting. I dunno where I was. I can't remember..."

The sniffles turned into a slight sob. He gripped into the platter as tears began to flow.

Jeremiah reached over, trailing his hand gently along the yordle's head.

Jacob winced at the hand, but relaxed soon after, wiping the tears on his arms.

"Do you want to stay here?" the doctor asked.

Once more, Jacob jerked and looked up.

"For real?" he asked.

"Yes, for real," Jeremiah chuckled somewhat, "I wouldn't mind having an assistant around. I can send you to school and teach you a bit of medicine. You can even practice... ah... transforming in a safe environment. How does that sound, Jacob?"

"Jacob?" he asked.

"You need a name. Do you like it?"

"Yeah... yeah, I like it. Jacob," the small yordle murmured, grinning.

"Finish eating, then. We start today."

*****

Pleasure. Every day over the next few years, the yordle and doctor grew closer. It wasn't long before Jeremiah officially adopted him as a son--neither of them cared about the strangeness of the arrangement. The doctor taught the young yordle all of his medical secrets. With his assistance, Jacob flew through one of the top Piltover schools and universities, graduating at the top of his classes. He managed to keep his transformation a secret from most of them.

Regardless of his "quiet" school years, Jacob noticed familiar, hooded figures periodically watching or following him through his ventures between Piltover and Zaun. He often tried to dismiss it as being paranoid, but it happened too occasionally to be coincidental. He was being watched. They never approached him, however, so he kept to himself. If anything, it further inspired him to train his body to transform. No one would hurt him or his father.

The pain was still there, but Jacob grew used to it--in fact, he began enjoying it. There was a twisted sense of satisfaction in growing into a powerful monster; people called it a "mega" form. With his age, his experience grew; his hextech heart was a muscle he could control. The yordle was able to shift his growth into separate parts of his body, causing separate limbs to erupt with strength and size. He could lift a pallet of crates or jump expanses between buildings--all without fully transforming into the mega form. It took less energy, but it was always fun to let loose.

After becoming satisfied with his control, Jacob decided to confront one of the hooded stalkers. They disappeared over expanses of days, but finally, one showed himself. A few clever steps into an alley led him to pin a gigantic arm against one of the tailing people.

"Who sent you?" Jacob asked, his voice deepening.

"Release me, Arsenic!" the man snarled, trying to push the powerful arm away.

Jacob blinked, perking his ears before he growled again, sounding even more dangerous.

"Arsenic?" the yordle repeated. He didn't have time to further his question before he felt a prick in his bulging forearm, wincing and staring at the syringe sticking out of it.

Numbness spread through him and it caused him to drop to his knees, muscled arm falling limp and steadily retracting to its regular size.

"W-what... did you just..." Jacob quivered, suddenly falling to his side.

Darkness.

*****

Pain... or was it pleasure? It was hard to tell anymore. Those blinding lights were awfully familiar.

"My head..." Jacob groaned. He went to rub it, but he couldn't move his arms. He couldn't move his legs. He was restrained on a table.

"Welcome back to the world of the living..." came a deep voice from all around.

"The hell is going on!?" Jacob exclaimed.

"Hush, dear Arsenic. No harm will come to you," the voice called out.

"Can't say the same about you," Jacob replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Oh please, we're the reason you have such strength," it stated.

Jacob tensed up. No reply came, however.

"That's right. We installed the hextech heart that beats in your chest."

"Oh, so you're the ones that dumped me into that alley. Turn this DAMNED light off," Jacob shouted.

The light dimmed, but didn't shut off entirely.

"We would've intervened if you had not successfully started your life, dear Arsenic. Needless to say, you've made quite a life for yourself. We do not want to interfere with that, now that you're involved with Lynnos," the voice stated. Now that the light was dimmed, the dark-skinned, bulging man came into view. His lab coat was straining.

"Oh, well then, good for me. Why're you calling me Arsenic? Where am I? Why am I here?" Jacob snarled, his arms starting to visibly pulse--blue veins were slowly creeping along his arms.

"Calm down. We will release you soon. Arsenic is your birth name. You're deep in a Zaunite laboratory under the leadership of Dr. Mundo. Perhaps you've heard of him?" the man stated, raising an eyebrow.

Jacob blinked and remained quiet. He had heard of Mundo. He was crazy. Brilliant, but crazy. Sometimes Jeremiah would speak highly of him, but also fearfully. Was he a subject of one of Mundo's experiments?

"My birth name...?" Jacob murmured.

"Yes. You were procured from the outskirts of Bandle City when you were a baby. Keep in mind that I do not have control over what the Zaunite Procurers do. I simply run the experiments," the scientist explained, "they are thorough."

Jacob winced. While he had not thought about his real family in a long time, it was a bit of a blow knowing he'd never be able to meet them. It would've been awkward anyway, he supposed.

"What do you want from me?" the yordle asked, letting himself fall into calmness once more.

"Contact, Arsenic-"

"Jacob."

"Yes, your adopted name. Jacob. Anyway, contact, Jacob," the man stated with an impatient huff, "we will not force you to work with us. It would bring us great pleasure if you would willfully do so, though."

"And if I refuse?" Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow.

The man shrugged his broad shoulders.

"As I said, we will not force you," the man murmured, "it would take too many resources to overpower you at full mast. However, if you agree to work with us, you will access to an arsenal greater than you can imagine. You will have a library of chemicals and documents you can't find in Piltover. You will be able to bear the 'Mundo' name. The possibilities are endless, Jacob."

"Alright," Jacob murmured with a shrug.

The man seemed somewhat taken back by the quick reply.

"Alright?" the man questioned.

Jacob raised one of his large eyebrows.

"Sure. I've always been interested in Zaun's... black market, especially since I knew this thing came from here," Jacob gestured to the glowing window in his chest.

"Hm," the scientist murmured; he was somewhat bewildered, but he was pleased.

"I want all the documentation on me, this hextech heart, and Dr. Mundo's research for the chemicals he uses on himself," Jacob stated in an authoritative tone, "and get these damned clasps off me."

"Of course. They will be delivered to you by nightfall. I look forward to the results you give us, Jacob," the man stated, pressing a few buttons on the table. The clasps were released.

Immediately, a massive paw gripped the shirt of the man, drawing him toward the yordle whose eyes were glowing.

"And if you ever send another one of those damned hooded bastards without my knowledge, I will kill them. And then I will kill you. And then I will destroy this place. Do I make myself clear?" Jacob growled, his voice progressively getting deeper while his teeth seemed to sharpen. A test of intimidation, perhaps?

For an instant, Jacob could see fear spasm through the bulky man's face, but he regained his composure just as fast. Good, he could pull it off.

"Crystal, Dr. Lynnos," the man stated, not making any movement.

Jacob released the scientist's collar as his arm shrank back to normal size.

"Call me Arsenic around here. Or Sen. I like the duality," he murmured, hopping off the table and dusting his blue Noble jacket off before heading toward the door.

*****

Jacob was good at keeping secrets. He knew his father would be concerned with dabbling in Zaunite chemistry, but as a doctor, one must find optimal ways to help people. He made sure to separate his Piltovian and Zaunite lives and made sure that his contacts stayed on their side. He gained the attention of a few Principal Intelligencers, but he didn't mind. As long as he wasn't trying to tip the scales of balance, they kept to themselves. It was a thin line, but an equal amount of weight would keep balance, regardless of amount.

Everything seemed fine until his father fell ill. Living in Piltover had its dangers, especially because of the Zaun Grey. It wasn't uncommon for people to gain an incurable sickness or something akin to a mutation. Jacob did everything he could to ease his father's pain, but some diseases weren't curable. The yordle begged Jeremiah to allow him to install hextech technology to prolong his life, but the doctor wouldn't have it.

Jacob was alone again. Instead of wallowing, however, he continued his work. Death was a part of life no matter what way he looked at it, but he could try to stave it off. Combining his Piltovian and Zaunite work would further his research in leaps and bounds, though he knew neither side would like that. While Mundo's corporation wouldn't care as long as he got results, the main Zaunite and Piltovian houses would lose their minds.

He couldn't understand it, though. The two powerhouses of world-leading technology were too far up their own bottoms to work together, he thought to himself. He didn't want to be a key piece in the Great Machine, but he wanted to see both cities thrive. As such, he revealed his mega form to the public, announcing what the combination of the two cities could do.

While most were shocked by the appearance of another mega form, many of the citizens scowled at what he exclaimed--it wasn't unexpected. He didn't mind. It would take a long time to reunite the cities he enjoyed for the sake of a better tomorrow, but he knew it might not happen in his lifetime. Either way, Jacob would continue to work as both himself and Sen, uniting Piltovian and Zaunite technology to help people--through pain or pleasure. It was all the same to him, anyway.