Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They had failed the job. Blown up a building, been chased by enforcers, and lost all the stuff to some pricks. Vander was annoyed, and Vi can’t help but think that he’s right, that she needs to stop failing the others and get her shit together. She needs to do something, make up for her failure.
She’s been hearing whispers around the bar of a shipment of a new piltie medication, a painkiller of some description, that’s coming through in a day's time. A crate of painkillers like that could sell for enough to keep them fed for months, with some left over. If she leaves now and goes in alone, she can get the crate, be back in a day's time, and then her family will forget anything bad ever happened. Maybe she could even get Powder some actual tools to make her bombs with.

She heads back downstairs, leaving a vague note for the others. As much as she loves them, they can’t know where she’s going. Mylo just doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut yet, and she can’t risk word getting out. She stuffs enough supplies into her bag to last her, and heads back out through the bar and outside. She glances back at The Last Drop, where her family is somewhere inside. She’ll see them again in a few days.

She’s never going to see her family again.
“What?” Her voice cracks, and she tries not to let her knees buckle at the news. She stares up at the man with the weird-ass scar down the side of his face. He’s lying, he has to be lying. Her family wasn't dead, they couldn’t be dead.
“I am sorry, Violet. There were enforcers down here, trying to arrest the people who robbed the penthouse topside. Mylo and Clagger fought back, to try and defend little Powder and Ekko. Vander tried to break it up but… they were shot. All of them. We thought the enforcers arrested you, since no one knew where you were, so we already buried them.”
“Who even are you?”
“My name is Silco. I was a friend of Vander’s, but we had a disagreement on how best to run the Lanes. He was always more peaceful, but I’ve seen the injustice of the system that makes people down here suffer. It is time for the nation of Zaun to rise. Although I regret that you and your family suffered before it could. If you like, you could join me. We could make the enforcers, the whole of topside, pay for what they’ve done to you.”
“You would let me join you?”
“Of course. We can do this together. For Zaun.”
“For Powder.”

“Powder?”

“Ekko?”

“Where are we?” Powder sits up, trying to get her bearings. They were in a dark room, with only a pile of blankets and a bucket for company

“Is this a cell?” 

Then she remembered. Vi left on a job, and Vander handed himself in so the enforcers wouldn’t try to take Mylo, Clagger, or her. Someone else took Vander, a weird dude with a scar and glowy eye. Mylo and Clagger went  to save him, and she followed, even though Mylo said she wasn’t allowed to come. They were trapped, and so she used her monkey bomb… 

And killed them.

She had killed her family. They were dead, and it was all her fault, and suddenly Ekko had been there, and they were running, but some enforcer dude found them and…

Now they’re here. In a cell. Probably in stillwater.

“What are we going to do?” She tried to keep her voice steady. Vi would want her to be brave. Maybe Vi would come break them out once she realised they were missing. Of course Vi would save them. Ekko seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

“Vi will come save us, right?”

“Yeah. Vi will always save us.”

Chapter Text

One year later:

“I want to help you”

“Violet?”

“You said I could help you, and yet all I’m doing is beating up people who mention bringing us down. I’m a glorified security guard. I want to actually do something.” She looks Silco in the eye, not about to back down. Surely he would let her, right? She wanted them to succeed almost more than he did. She had spent so long trying to prove herself, but it had been a full year since the enforcers murdered her family, and she was still no better than an entry level goon. So now she was just straight up asking. And Silco was saying… nothing? She opens her mouth, ready to defend herself, but Silco gets in first. 

“It seems I owe you an apology.”

“What?”

“I’ve underestimated you, Violet. You’re right, you’ve been doing exactly what I’ve asked of you, but you were made for more. We were both made for more.  Come, I'll find you some better clothes and you can come with me to my meetings.” 

“Really old man? I look like a younger you.” 

“You look like someone people will respect.” Vi adjusted her coat, trying to get used to its strange weight. Silco had given her a full set of clothes that looked more expensive than anything she had ever owned. They fit well, and she was still adjusting to the fact that they didn’t hang off her body or wrap too tightly around her. 

“Do I really look ok?” She asked, surprising herself. She normally didn’t care about her appearance, but she was about to meet with people twice her age, and she didn’t want to let Silco down. 

“You’re more than ok. I'm sure that you will do great.”

“Ok then. Let's do this.”

She was finally going to make a difference for Zaun. I promise you Powder, She thinks, I’m gonna make sure the Pilties get what they deserve for killing you.

“What are you doing here, runt?”

Powder jumps back and spins to face the warden. Crap, she hadn’t meant to get caught. She had been hanging around the guards who stayed in a group in the prison cafeteria, hoping to overhear something that she could use for her benefit. If she didn’t respond to the warden soon, she was gonna get beaten up for sure. 

“Huh, I could ask you the same thing. Or maybe I could ask you why you’ve been kissing the red hair guard,” she motions towards a tall guard, one of the few female ones at Stillwater, “When you already have a wife?”

His face lost all his colour, and he took a step towards her, and he was definitely gonna punch her now, unless she acted quickly enough. 

“I'm not going to tell anyone! Well, I mean, I probably won’t. It would be such a shame if it accidentally just… oops! Slipped out and somehow made it into a letter slipped in with mail from the guards?”

“What do you want, rat?”

“Leave the kids here alone. That means no punishments, and if you see us do anything, then no, you didn’t.”

“Why shouldn’t I just kill you now?”

“Cause I’m not the only one who knows. If anything happens to me, the news will get back to your wife before you can even blink. Do we have a deal?”

The warden grunts. “Deal.” 

Powder grins and sprints off between tables before he can change his mind. She dodges other prisoners and keeps to the guard’s blind spots until she reaches the corner of the room. There was a group of around 15 kids there, all talking amongst themselves. She slides up to Ekko, sitting next to him and turning to face the group. 

“I got the warden to agree to our terms. We’re safe from him for at least a little while.” she announces to the kids, grinning as they celebrate. 

“It looks like we’ve got a gang over here.” She giggled, turning back to talk to Ekko. 

“Huh, we kinda do. I mean, we’ve been working together for how long now? Months?” Ekko points out with his own smile.

One of the girls, who Powder think’s named Anya pipes up. “If we’re a gang, you guys are definitely in charge. You’re basically the boss of all the kids ‘round here.” 

Powder immediately pauses. “What? I can’t be in charge. I’m a jinx.” 

“Powder, you’re not-” Ekko starts before Anya interrupts him.

“But you’re already in charge! Before you came here, most kids wouldn't make it 3 months in here, and now we haven’t been dying anywhere near as much! If you’re a jinx, then we should call ourselves the Jinxers!” 

Wait, we’ve actually helped you that much?” 

“Anya’s right, Pow, there’s been less and less kids dying ever since we came here. Also, I do like the name Jinxers.” Ekko says. “And think of how many more kids we could save if we made our group official and coordinated better.”

“Huh. Maybe it could work.” A slow smile creeps across Powder’s face “I guess we’re the Jinxers then.”

Chapter Text

Two years after Silco took Vi in:

Vi never used to spend so much time staring at her reflection. It didn't seem so important before she started joining Silco in meetings, and she just didn’t really care. Now she has to make sure her appearance is perfect. Silco had helped her to pick out the clothes, and had explained how much impact it could have on how people saw her. She let Silco’s style influence her, and had chosen a waistcoat and jacket that matched his, only the waistcoat was red instead of black. She wonders if Powder would recognise her like this, in clothes nicer than her little sister had ever even seen. She brushes the thought away. She was doing this for Powder, for her family. They would know that. She straightens up her collar and strides out of the room. 

She walks into Silco’s office, to find Sevika and Silco talking in low voices. 

“What’s got you two so stressed?”

They both look up, and relax when they see her. 

“We’ve got a traitor.” Sevika says, looking ready to punch something, or more likely someone. Vi freezes, and her voice turns deadly. 

“Who?”

“Ozo. One of the fools I had managing parts of the shimmer factory.” Silco answers

“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Sevika says, her voice low and dangerous. 

“Actually,” Silco turns to Vi, “I’m going to let Violet decide what happens to him.” 

Vi nods. Silco had been leaving more and more up to her, and she was glad he trusted her, especially with this. She had already lost one family, and she wasn’t about to lose another, especially not to some weak traitor. 

“Who is he working for?” She asks, completely calm. 

“Some new gang, the Firelights. We don’t know nearly enough about them though.” Silco answers, watching her carefully. 

She doesn’t hesitate. 

“Bring him here, have someone interrogate him. Make sure to find out where he was meeting with them. Once you’ve got all the information from him, kill him and leave his body in that spot. We’ll show the Firelights not to fuck with us.” 

“I’ll give my men the order.” 

Vi blinks, realising she just sentenced a man to his death. And she didn’t feel bad. In fact, she felt a small smirk on her lips. He was getting what he deserved, and her family would be safe. And, why not admit it? She liked the sense of power it brought. 

“Let me know what he says about the firelights. We should get rid of them before they become a pain in the ass.” 

“Of course. I’ll call a meeting with the Chembarons tomorrow morning to discuss this new gang.”

“I’ll be there. I’m gonna head to the shimmer factories for now, make sure the rat didn’t cause any damage.”

Silco nods. “I don’t have any meeting tonight, so get back in time for us to have dinner.” Vi smirks at his tone. Not many people would guess that the leader of the undercity had a parental side, and yet here he is, making sure she’ll be back for family dinner. 

“Sure, Pops.”

She made it out of his office before she realised what she had said. She called Silco ‘Pops’. Sure, she had jokingly called him ‘old man’ before, but this was diffe

rent, this was an actual acknowledgment of the fact that, yes, she saw him as a father figure. She had only ever referred to Vander by his name, and she wouldn’t get a chance to call him ‘Dad’, or ‘Pops’, or any other name. She was never going to be able to change that. Her first and second dad were both dead. But Silco had taken her in. Done everything a dad is supposed to do. Why shouldn’t she call him ‘Pops’? It’s not like she’s replacing her first two fathers, just adding another. She takes a breath. This didn’t change anything, really. Silco had been her father for the last two years. She was just acknowledging it now. 

Vi shrugs it off and heads to the shimmer factory. She had work to do. 

“Ekko?”

“Yea Pow?”

“Do you think Vi’s dead?” 

Ekko looks up from the piece of scrap metal he had found.

“What?”

“It’s just… she never came for us. And she would, if she knew we were here, she would save us, right?”

“Yeah. Vi wouldn’t have left us. I just don’t want to believe that…”

“That she’s gone too?” Powder leans against the wall of the cell they had managed to get to themselves. They had enough blackmail on the prison guards that the other cells in the corridor all belonged to Jinxers, so she wasn’t worried about being overheard by anyone she didn’t want. 

Ekko nodded, eyes downcast. “We already lost Benzo, Vander, Mylo and Clagger. I can’t-” he takes a breath “I can’t lose Vi too.”

“I know. But she hasn’t come, Ekko. And if she hasn’t saved us then… then am I just not worth saving?” 

“Pow, no. You are worth saving, Vi would never leave you behind, I promise. You meant more to her than anything. She would save you, save both of us, if she could.” 

“But if that’s true and she’s not here…”

“Yeah.” 

Ekko’s gaze hardens. “If Vi can’t save us, then we’re gonna have to do it ourselves. You know that, right?” 

“What do you have in mind?” 

“I don’t know yet. But we’re gonna get out of here, and take the Jinxers with us.” 

“Ekko, that’s a lot of people. I’m not saying we leave them behind, but pulling that off…” 

“It’s going to take time, I know, but imagine if we actually managed it. It would be the biggest Stillwater breakout in history.” 

“Well, we should probably figure out a plan then.” 

Chapter Text

Three years after Silco took Vi in:

Those fucking firelights again. Vi sighs as she assesses the damage to the shipment. The Firelights had been doing their best to damage operations for around a year now, but they were mainly just an inconvenience since they lacked the materials to pull much off, as well as the fact that their number dropped every time they went against Silco’s people. Vi doesn’t know why they still bother, honestly. All they were going to achieve was to lose more and more people until there weren't any of them left. Clearly they had started to realise this too, since the amount of attacks, if they could even be called that, had been dropping over the last few months, to the point where this one was the first in over a month. 

One of the goons targeted in the attack had actually been useful for once, though, and had followed some of the injured Firelights as they had tried to escape. He had finally found one of their safehouses, a small apartment behind one of the shops that had been closed down after the owners had gotten addicted to Shimmer. Once Vi had gotten all the information off him, she heads to Silco’s office to give him a report, so they can plan an attack on the safehouse.

She heads through the back door, and into his office. 

“Hey Pops.” She sits on his desk. 

“Violet.” He sets aside the letter he was reading. “I trust there wasn’t much damage?”

“Of course not. Those Firelights were useless, even when we hadn’t gotten rid of half of them. One of your men even managed to get more intel from them. What are you reading?” 

“Another letter from the Chembarons. Ever since I refused to let them kidnap children to use as free labour in the shimmer factories, Margot has been attempting to turn them against me.”

“They want to use kids?” Vi slid off the desk, fire in her eyes. She knew she didn’t like the Chembarons, but this was a whole other level of fucked up.

“I refused to let them. But they have not been happy about that. I’m going to have a word with them, so I don’t think I will be home until late.” 

“You’ll be back tomorrow?” Vi tries to ignore the same knot of anxiety that appears every time her family leaves, even if it’s only for a day.

“I promise. Now, what was the intel you had on the Firelights?”

“We’ve found one of the safehouses they're using. I’m going to take a team to attack them once we’re done here. It’s long overdue.” 

“Not today.”

“What?”

“I want you to wait until I get back. Just in case.” 

“Why? I’ll be fine.”

“Please, Violet. I do not want you getting hurt when I’m not here.” 

“I won’t get hurt! I’m not a kid!”

“You will wait until I get back to attack the Firelights, and that's final.”

Vi glares at him, but he doesn't take it back. 

“Fine.” 

“Thank you, Violet.”

It’s not like she wants to ignore Silco. He’s just being stupid. She isn’t going to get hurt, it’s fine. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the anxiety she still felt at the thought of Silco leaving for the day, or the fact that sitting still while her family was in danger sounded worse than being in danger herself. It was just the logical choice. 

She manages to rope two of Silco’s men, Slide and Kan, into coming with her. She had already grabbed Vander’s old gauntlets on her way out. She didn’t use them often anymore, focusing more on meetings and the organisation side of things with Silco, but it was always nice to punch stuff.

They make their way to the safehouse, barely even discussing a plan. It was going to be simple. Get in, kill the Firelights that are there, gather any information left around, then get out. Simple. 

It was not, in fact, simple. It starts well. They get in to find two Firelights tending to another one, who’s leg had been sliced open in the attack. They don’t even see Vi, Kan and Slide coming. Vi takes on the oldest, a girl who looked around 16. Vi managed to punch her gauntlet-covered fist into the girl’s head before she even turned around. It only took a few hits and the Firelight was gone, eyes staring blankly ahead as she hit the ground. Vi moved on to check out the safehouse, trusting Kan and Slide to take care of the other two. That was her mistake. The injured Firelight had somehow managed to grab a hold of something, and threw it at Vi. Fortunately, his aim sucked, and it hit the wall. Unfortunately, it then exploded, causing stone to rain onto her. She only had a split second where she realized that maybe Silco had been right before everything went black.

She isn’t sure how much time passes before she wakes up. Her head’s pounding, her right leg feels like it’s on fire, and she can’t see anything, only able to tell that she’s laying in an air pocket under rubble, with a damp spot spreading from where a pipe must have burst. She tries to scream, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her, but all that comes out is a choked breath before she starts coughing. Once it finally feels like her lungs aren’t full of dust, she takes another breath and tries to move. This time she does scream. Her leg’s stuck under the rubble, and her foot is definitely pointing the wrong way. And what she had assumed was water from a burst pipe is maybe-probably-definitely blood from the same leg. 

She’s about to panic when she finally hears the rubble shift and a small amount of light shines through a gap. She almost cries when she hears Sevika’s voice, panicked and, is that worry Vi can hear? She’s shouting Vi’s name, cursing under her breath. 

“Down here” Vi hates how weak her voice is, but at least Sevika hears her. A large piece of debris shifts, revealing her to Sevika, and Vi winces at the sudden brightness. 

“Shit, kid. Your Pops is gonna kill us both after this. Let me move the stuff off your leg, and we’ll see how badly you fucked up.” Vi just groans in response. She should probably be worried about the fact that her vision’s slowly going dark again, but she’s just too tired to care.  

“Kid? Shit, ok. One second.” The pile of rubble that had been on her leg finally was moved. Vi cried out, instinctively trying to move away. 

“Stay still, or you’re just gonna make it worse.” Vi thinks Sevika keeps talking, and something’s wrapped around her leg to keep it still before she’s picked up and starts moving, but everything’s starting to get fuzzy, and, you know, maybe Vi should sleep. She’s tired, and Sevika will keep her safe. Yeah, sleep sounds great, Vi decides, just in time for the world to fade away completely. 

Sevika curses as Vi goes limp in her arms, despite her efforts to keep her awake. Her foot is pointing in the wrong direction, and there’s bone poking out of a long gash on the side of her leg. Somehow, other than a few small cuts and bruises, the rest of Vi seems relatively unharmed. Sekiva manages to get Vi back to Silco’s place, and sets her down on the couch. Sevika knows she’s going to have to set the break in Vi’s leg, and it’ll probably wake Vi up when she does it. Sure enough, when Sevika pulls Vi’s leg the bone slides back into place, Vi jolts awake with a scream. 

“You’re alright, you’re ok.” Sevika should hate how soft she sounds, but this is Vi, who she’s known since Vi’s parents had first brought her to The Last Drop, who she had watched grow up, and who was now seriously hurt. So instead of making a gruff comment to prove that no, she is in fact not soft and will kill anyone who says she is, Sevika just comforts Vi as she cleans out her wounds the best she can. It’s no good though. Vi is absolutely covered in filth from the explosion, and despite Sevika’s best efforts, she can’t be sure that Vi’s wounds are clean enough to keep out infection. She glanced over at Vi’s head to make sure she hadn’t missed any bleeding there, only to find that Vi had passed out again. Sevika sighed and sat down on the couch next to her, waiting for Silco to get back. 

Vi was happier when she was unconscious. It hurt fair less, and she didn’t have to put up with the yelling she could hear. She tried to tell them to shut the fuck up, but her body felt like lead and the only sound that came out was a whimper of pain. Gods, could she sound more pathetic? At least the yelling stopped, but now someone was trying to talk to her. She knows she should probably try to listen, but she’s too tired, and she lets that darkness take her again. 

When she wakes up again, she manages to open her eyes. She’s lying on the couch, and she can hear voices in the next room. Why is it so warm in here? She attempts to sit up, to try and figure out where the warmth’s coming from, but the door opens and Silco comes in. Vi frowns at how stressed he looks. Did something go wrong when he was talking to Margot? 

“Violet, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” He kneels down next to where she’s laying, and moves her sweaty hair out of her face.

“It’s really warm in here. Why do you look so stressed?” Her voice sounds raspy and weak, but she’s too tired to try to make it clearer. 

“Violet… I’m stressed because you’re hurt. I don’t want anything to happen to you because I care about you.” 

Oh, yeah, Vi forgot about that. She lets out a soft hum, not sure how else to respond to that. 

“You’re burning up. Hold on, I’ll get a cool cloth for your forehead. Stay awake, please.” Silco stands and rushes off to get the cloth. Vi tries to stay awake, she really does, but it’s so warm, and she’s so tired. She’s constantly tired since she got hurt, but she falls asleep before she can worry about it. 

She drifts in and out of sleep, only managing to catch a few sentences of the conversations around her before she falls asleep again. She vaguely recalls something cool being placed in her forehead, but the small amount of relief it bought was quickly overshadowed by the heat she could feel, as well as the throbbing in her leg. She gains consciousness again to hear a few sentences spoken in hushed voices. 

“Getting worse…” 

“… Can’t keep going like this…” 

“… we might have to consider…” 

“She won’t like it…” 

“I can’t lose her” 

She wants to ask what she won’t like, but sleep claims her again before she can. 

She’s woken up again too soon by someone raising her to a sitting position. She whimpers as the movement sends shots of pain through her leg, and even though she can hear mumbled apologies, she isn’t laid back down. Instead, there’s something pressed against her lips, and the voice is now telling her to drink, please. She manages to get her mouth to cooperate with her brain, and swallows the liquid. 

Cold pain laces down her body, fighting with the burning coming from her wounds. Everything becomes louder, clearer, and the world turns bright purple as her entire body is consumed with pain. She’s unable to move, only managing short, sharp breaths of pain, until the pain just… stops. Completely. 

Vi opens her eyes to see Silco and Sevika watching her. She should feel something, anything actually, but when the pain disappeared, it’s like her emotions did too. 

“What happened?” Her voice is monotone, lacking any feeling whatsoever. Sevika speaks up. 

“You were in an explosion, kid. Your wounds got infected, bad. We had to-” she pauses, and Silco manages to continue. 

“Violet, we gave you a variant of Shimmer to save your life. The side effects can vary based on the person. How are you feeling?” Vi pauses, considering. She felt fine, honestly. No pain, and no emotions. Logically, she knows that she would normally be angry that she was given Shimmer without being asked first, but the anger just wasn’t there. 

“I am fine. No pain, and no emotions.” Silco and Sevika are clearly about to ask questions about what she just said, but the door opens, and Vi feels her first emotion since waking up. 

Protectiveness. 

The person coming in could be anyone, they could try to hurt Silco and Sevika, try to hurt her family. She couldn’t let that happen. 

She grabs a knife off the bench (Silco’s habit of leaving knives around the house proving useful) and leaps towards the person as they enter the room. Not expecting an attack, the person freezes, and Vi drives the weapon directly into his heart. 

He hits the ground, dead, and Vi takes a step back. She did it. Her family is safe. She takes a breath, and suddenly all her emotions come rushing back. Shit. What the hell had happened? She dropped the knife, shaking, as Silco approached her. 

“Violet? Are you ok now?” 

“Y-yeah, I think so. W-what…” she’s trembling too hard to speak properly. Silco guides her back to the couch, and she doesn’t put up a fight. 

“It’s one of the rarer side effects of the type of Shimmer you were given. It causes temporary periods of time in which you don’t feel pain or emotions at all, normally triggered by fear or adrenaline.” Vi shakes her head. 

“It wasn’t… exactly like that. I felt protective. Of you guys. But that was it.” 

“I’ll make sure that’s looked into. But for today, I’m just glad you are alright. We thought we were going to lose you, Violet.” Vi’s surprised by the vulnerability she can hear in Silco’s voice. She knows that he cares about her, but she didn’t expect him to be this… shaken by her getting hurt. 

“I’m ok, Pops. Really. This will take some getting used to, but I’ll be ok.” 

Chapter Text

Click to see the art :) - updated link

Hopefully this works? I've never put a link to images in a fic before so let me know if there's problems lol 

Chapter Text

Four years after Silco took Vi in:

The last year has been difficult. For some reason, killing anyone who approaches your family isn't beneficial to their jobs running Zaun. Who would’ve thought? Silco almost had to lock Vi in the house for the first month, because no one could get near him or Sevika without Vi immediately trying to kill them. Eventually, with a lot of help, Vi started to learn to control her episodes of no-feelings-just-protect-via-murdering-everyone. Since that name was a bit of a mouthful, Sevika had told her to “find a different goddamn name”, and Silco had suggested calling it ‘going dull’. The name had stuck, and soon Vi finally wasn’t murdering anyone who walked in the door, much to Silco’s relief. He had decided to start letting her go back to wandering the lanes alone, but with a few rules. One, if she feels herself start to go dull, she has to find either Silco or Sevika immediately. Two, if she’s going to kill anyone, try to make it people who aren’t on their side, since killing allies is a ‘bad look’ for Silco. And three… yeah no there really are only two rules. But now that she can easily stick to them, Silco’s more than happy for her to roam the undercity alone. 

She’s putting her newfound freedom to use by taking a walk through The Lanes, just for the sake of being in public again. She’s winding through the narrow pathways, just enjoying being able to move more, when she turns a corner to find a kid being dragged by a man with what looked like burn scars covering his face. He mutters under his breath, trying to cover the kid’s mouth to stop them from screaming. Vi immediately steps in, grabbing a knife from her belt as she leaps forward, slamming the man into a wall, causing him to let go of the kid. She holds the knife to his throat, applying just enough pressure that a drop of blood forms on the edge of the knife.

“Let me go. This does not concern you.” The man tries to shove her off, but Vi doesn’t even blink at the feeble attempt. This man is not a fighter. 

“The fuck it doesn’t. What are you doing dragging a kid around?”

“They won’t be missed.”

“So you were going to kill them?” her emotions are starting to drain away, but all she can think about is that this asshole was about to hurt a kid.

“If the serum works, they will live again.”

 Fuck, she was rapidly going dull. She really didn't want to now, not when there was a kid nearby. Well, the easiest course of action here is obvious. Kill the guy to satisfy the anger, then focus on making sure the kid’s ok. Hopefully this dickhead isn’t that important to her Pops. 

She slices through his neck, leaving him on the ground to die. She turns back to the kid, tucking the knife back away, and stepping away from the body. Hopefully she didn’t get too much blood on her clothes, it’ll be a pain to wash it out later. It might also make the kid uncomfortable. Oh well. 

“Hey, kid, you good?” She kneels down to get level with them. The kid slowly looks up at her, still shaking, before diving into her arms fast enough that she almost falls backwards. 

“Wow, kid, careful, or you’ll send us both flying. What’s your name?” A small sniffle comes from the kid in her arms, before a tiny voice answers her. 

“R-Robin. T-thank you, Miss. He was gonna, he was gonna…” Vi just held them tighter. They were so small, just like Powder had been. Just like Powder would be forever. Vi shoved the thoughts of her sister away, and focused on Robin. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” 

“J-just a few bruises.” They looked up at Vi with an expression that made her melt. She’s always had a soft spot for kids.

“Where are you staying kid?”

“The spot down near The Last Drop. There's a few of us there.” Vi nodded. Back when Vander was still alive, there were always homeless kids from around The Lanes hanging around, probably because Vander was known to give out food or blankets if he had any spare. They must have just never moved on after he was killed. She would have to make sure no one bothered them, and maybe start bringing some things for them now that she had plenty. She realised she had got lost in thought yet again and had forgotten to answer Robin. 

“How ‘bout I walk you back?”

“Yes, please.” Vi smiled at the kid. They were just too damned cute. She stood up and gently picked them up and settled them on her hip. 

“Let’s go.” 

When they made it back to the spot Robin was staying, a group of around 5 kids came up to Vi when they saw her carrying Robin. When she had explained what had happened, they had all looked at her with stars in their eyes. Vi had forgotten what it was like, for a kid to look at you like you have all the answers. She made sure they were all safe, before heading back home. It was time to talk to her Pops and do something for these kids. They deserved better. 

Powder is tired. 

She could have it worse, and she’s well aware of that fact. If it wasn't for the sheer amount of dirt the Jinxers have on everyone in Stillwater, on both guards and other inmates, all of the kids that are stuck here would be in a much more dangerous position. 

That didn’t mean that it wasn’t a lot of work though. 

She always starts her day at what seemed far too early (not that there was a way to tell time in the windowless hellhole of a prison), when the guards turn on the lights and unlock the cells for breakfast. From there it’s making sure all the Jinxers get enough food, and getting reports from any of the kids who had heard something useful during the night. She also gives out instructions to any kids who need something to do. She always makes sure that all the kids aren’t overworked, but she can’t take a break herself, not when they all rely so heavily on her. Normally when breakfast’s over she and Ekko would touch base with a few of the older kids, or sometimes just the two of them, to make sure everything was running smoothly overall, and that no one was in desperate need of anything. Ekko mainly sticks to leading a group of the more technical kids who help him build small gadgets from what little junk he can get his hands on. Powder loves to help him out whenever she gets a spare moment, but her days are just getting busier and busier. Ekko’s also taking on more and more work trying to make sure that all the other Jinxers were looking after each other, and spending time teaching the younger ones. Once Powder’s done making sure that everyone has what they need, there’s normally only time for reports from anyone who had a task during the day, and then it’s curfew, where she and Ekko stay up late compiling anything they have that can help with their escape plans. The main problem is that they aren’t willing to risk the loss of anyone, which means all the guards had to be distracted, and they just don’t have the means to create a diversion big enough for that. And then when she finally gets to sleep, it’s never long until her day starts again. 

So, yeah, Powder is tired. But she doesn’t really have a choice. So she keeps getting up, keeps giving everything to the Jinxers, in the hope that someday they’ll make it out of Stillwater, and she can finally rest.

Chapter Text

Five years after Silco took Vi in:

Powder’s there. 

She swings a pillow towards Vi, and Vi laughs and lets it hit her. She swings her pillow towards Powder, letting it gently hit her in the side. 

But something goes wrong, and Powder falls to the ground, letting out a small ‘oof’. 

“Pow? You ok?” Powder’s not getting up. Why isn’t she getting up? Vi moves to kneel next to her, panicking when she sees blood. She needs to stop the bleeding, and soon. There’s so much blood. 

She rolls Powder over, trying to find where the blood is coming from. Powder’s eyes shoot open, and stare directly at her. 

“It’s your fault.”

Vi’s shaking. She needs to help Powder, she needs to stop the bleeding, but her hands aren’t moving, they aren’t doing anything. 

“It’s your fault I’m dead.” Powder says, her small voice so full of anger that it makes Vi flinch. 

“No, no, I didn’t know. Please, Pow, I didn’t know the enforcers would come for you.”

“You shouldn’t have left me. You should have stayed, and I would still be alive. It’s all your fault.” With those final words, Powder goes limp, her eyes blank. Vi jerks away from her baby sister’s body. She needs to get out of here. But suddenly Vander’s body’s in front of her. Then Claggor’s. Then Mylo’s. Then Ekko’s. Then Benzo’s. All her fault. 

Vi’s eyes fly open, her breaths coming in short gasps. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes. Dream-Powder was right. It’s her fault her family had died. It’s her fault that they are gone. The walls of her room seemed to be getting closer, she was going to get trapped again. Trapped like when she got trapped under rubble, the injuries from that forcing her to take the shimmer.

She can’t stand to be stuck in the room for any longer. Somehow she manages to stumble to her feet, and out of her room. She doesn’t know where she’s going until she manages to get to Silco’s office, and pushes through the door and inside. 

“Violet? Are you ok?” Silco’s immediately standing up, and crossing the room to her. He guides her back to his chair and lets her sit down. He could probably tell that there wasn’t much longer before her legs would give out. 

“Just follow my breathing. You can do it.” He starts to exaggerate his breathing, and Vi manages to suck in a slightly deeper breath of her own. 

“Good, Violet. Keep going. You’re ok, you’re safe.”

Eventually, Vi manages to get her breathing under control, and is immediately embarrassed. She was acting like a child, crying to her Pops after a nightmare. 

“I’m sorry, I can go.” She mumbles, starting to stand up when Silco lays a hand on her shoulder. 

“Violet, I’m not upset with you. In fact, I am glad you came to me.”

“Why? I’m sure you were doing something important, I shouldn’t have interrupted you. I’m not a needy little kid.” Silco looks at her, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. She doesn’t want to see the pity there, doesn’t need the reminder that everyone still sees her like that, the kind of person to be pitied. But when he doesn’t look away, and she glances up, there’s no pity in his gaze. There is care there, and the love that only a father can have for his daughter, but no pity. 

“Having emotions does not make you a child, nor does it make you weak. I am glad you came to me because I don’t like knowing you were upset or scared, and I did nothing to help. It doesn’t matter if you are a child, an adult, or an old woman, I will always want to be there, even if it’s just to help you calm down after nightmares, or talk about what’s bothering you, because you are worth every second of my time. I am deeply sorry if anything I said has ever made you feel otherwise.”

Vi feels her eyes well up all over again. She really needed to hear that, and she hadn’t realised quite how much. 

“You didn’t say anything. I just…”

“Feel like you should always be strong for everyone else?” Vi nods. That was… exactly right, actually. 

“It’s ok to relax sometimes. It doesn’t make you weak. I promise.”

“Ok. I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.” Then Silco hugs her, and she finally lets herself relax, lets herself feel safe. 

“Thanks Pops.”

“Hey Pops, what were you doing up so late anyway?”

“A scientist who was working for me has been missing for a year or so, and I was trying to figure out what happened to him.”

“Who was the scientist?”

“His name was Signed.”

“Weird name”

“It was a nickname. He had burn scars covering his face.”

“Was he, maybe, an old dude and a complete asshole?”

“Yes…”

“Yeah, I killed him.”

“Violet…”

“He was hurting kids!” 

Powder was in the prison cafeteria again. Ekko had convinced her to take a few hours where she wasn’t constantly managing the Jinxers, and had taken over the jobs she would otherwise be doing. She had just finished eating when she heard what sounded like a panicked kid, probably a young one judging by the voice. Powder was immediately out of her seat and towards the sound, finding one of the younger Jinxers, Emi, cornered by a prisoner that Powder didn’t recognise. Probably a new one then. The confrontation was clearly gaining some attention, but most of the prisoners who saw Powder approaching chose not to get involved. Smart move. A few other Jinxers also notice and come to join her as she approaches the guy cornering Emi. He seems to be annoyed at something Emi had done, but Powder can’t figure what. 

“Is there a problem here?” She raises her voice enough that it carries through the room, and most of the prisoners in the area fell silent. 

“Fuck off Shorty. This ain’t your business.” Ok, rude. Powder knows she’s short, all the kids who grew up in Stillwater are. Lack of sunlight and proper food will do that to them. But he didn’t need to say anything about it. 

“Leave the kid alone.” She doesn’t raise her voice any louder, and she sounds unworried. It’s the easiest way to show that she knows what she’s doing, and she knows she won’t lose. Not if the argument stays verbal, that is. It’s a good thing she’s built up enough debt and blackmail amongst the guards and the more intimidating prisoners, so if the fight did get physical, they would take over for her. Either way, the Jinxers don’t lose fights. 

“Oh, are you part of an itsy bitsy little gang? Don’t see why I should be scared of a few kids.” His tone was mocking, and Powder narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t suppose you’ve met any of the guards that work in solitary yet? Real big, mean guys? Who would just happen to drag you down to have a little… chat, if you don’t leave us alone?”

“You’re bluffing.” Powder smirked, noticing the tell-tale signs of fear he was trying so hard to hide. 

“Am I? It’s amazing what a little blackmail can do.” 

“Who the fuck even are you?” he was sneering at them now, but Powder could tell he was still afraid. 

“Most people call us the Jinxers.”

“S’pose you must be the jinx then.” 

“Maybe I am. Now scram.”

“Fine.” He finally leaves, mumbling, “Fucking Jinx” under his breath. 

She goes to check on Emi, but she can’t stop thinking about what the guy had said. Jinx. She kinda likes it…

“Hey Powder?”

“Yeah Ekko?” 

“How come half of the non-Jinxers have started calling you Jinx?” Powder smirks. The name had seemed to catch on quickly, and since she hadn’t been telling many people her actual name outside of the Jinxers, everyone else had just started to assume it was Jinx. 

“Some idiot called me that. ‘The Jinx of the Jinxers’ or something” She lowers her voice when she does the impression of that prisoner, and frowns to try and get across how grumpy he had been. 

“Does it… bother you?”

Oh. of course Ekko was worried about her. Classic Ekko. She grinned at him though. 

“I like it. The name doesn’t get to control me anymore. Not like when I was little. I’m gonna own it, and be the Jinx that all the grumps out there are all afraid of!” Ekko laughs at the last bit. 

“Ok. Just making sure. But you’ll always be Powder to me.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Little Man”

“Hey! I’m taller than you!”

Chapter Text

Six Years After Silco Took Vi In

The Chembarons are arguing again, and Vi just closes her eyes. As much as she likes having the amount of input into Zaun’s workings that these meetings provide, this is the fifth time in the past couple of minutes when the Chembarons have dissolved into yelling. She glances over at Sevika, who looks like she wants to punch a brick wall. Vi probably looks the exact same though, if she’s honest with herself. She’s about to tune out again when Silco stands up to try and take control of the room.

“There is no need to yell.” The room quiets, but Vi can feel that something in the room has changed, the atmosphere slightly more menacing, more aggression left over. Silco’s voice is calm as he tries to take control again, but as Vi looks at the Chembarons’ faces it seems to be doing the opposite. Silco still hasn’t realised it, and keeps talking, trying to redirect the group. Smeech speaks up, making his frustration known.

“Shut your trap Silco, before I put a bullet through your brain.” 

Fucking Smeech. Vi has gone multiple weeks without going completely dull, but his words made Vi instantly lose her streak. Sevika is already about to step in, but Vi beats her to it, grabbing the mutilated yordle by the throat with enough force that the chair he’s on gets knocked backwards, leaving him hanging in the air from Vi’s grip. The smug look drops off his face, leaving him snarling at Vi, who only squeezes his neck tighter. 

“I should kill you for threatening him.” She says it completely neutrally, like the fact it is. She should kill him, punch his hideous face until it’s so disfigured that even his own mother wouldn’t recognise him. It would at least make enough of an impression that the other Chembarons wouldn’t even entertain the thought of hurting her Pops. 

“Violet.” Silco doesn’t seem very concerned by Smeech’s distress. Vi turns her head to look at him, but doesn’t lower the arm holding the increasingly-panicked rat. “He would be a pain to replace at this point. I think he understands what happens to those who aren’t loyal.” Vi nods, and turns back to Smeech. 

“I’m not in the habit of second chances. So consider yourself lucky. But” she tightens her grip even more, cutting on any scraps of air he might have been getting, “if you so much as imply that you’ll hurt him, it’ll be the last thing you do.” She drops him, letting him fall to the floor as he gasps for air. She turns to the door, knowing after this display, the meeting is well and truly over. The other Chembarons do nothing but watch impassively, even though Vi can clearly see the fear that haunts their eyes, try as they might to conceal it. 

“And Smeech? That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.” 

With that, she walks out of the room, planning on heading back home. 

She heard Silco dismissing the meeting behind her, before his quiet, even steps caught up to her. 

“Violet, are you still dull?” Vi just nods, still walking. Silco calmly walks next to her, and they fall into a comfortable silence until they finally arrive back at The Last Drop, and head downstairs to the rooms that they had converted into their living area. It looked so different to when Vander was still alive, because for the first month after his death, Vi would refuse to even enter The Last Drop, because all she could see were the places where he stood, or the table she would sit at with Powder, and all the places her family had been where they would never be again, and it was just another reminder of the fact that they were dead. They were dead and they were never coming back. Silco had ended up completely redecorating the place for her, and while it had still been painful for her to be there, it was manageable. And even that faded with time, her heart finally accepting the fact that she had lost them forever. 

As she remembered those first few months after she had moved in with Silco, her emotions slowly came trickling back. Slow at first, but it picked up speed until she was back to normal. She sat down in one of the couches and put her head in her hands. 

“I was doing so well. I hadn’t gone dull in ages.” 

“I know. I’m proud of you, Violet. You’ve made so much progress.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. All it took was a few words and any progress I made was ruined.” Silco considers this for a second before speaking. 

“Back when you were first going dull, nothing I could have said would have stopped you from killing Smeech. But today, I just had to say a few words and you were able to leave him alive, and deliver a very effective threat. I think that counts as progress." 

“If you say so.” Vi leans forward with a sigh, before standing back up. “I’m going to go visit the street kids. Do you want to come?” 

“You’re far more capable than I when it comes to those children. I’m going to make sure Sevika makes it back without punching Smeech. Be safe.” 

“Course.”

Vi heads towards what used to be Benzo’s shop, which they had converted into a makeshift home for all the kids who used to be on the street. It wasn’t a formal orphanage or anything like it, since those types of things were always so quickly corrupted in Zaun, but instead it was just a place where the kids could sleep and hang out, without worrying about all the people who would want to hurt them in some way. It had become a place that was passed along through whispers, a haven where the kids could come and be safe, be protected. Somehow Vi and Silco were still the only outsiders to know about it, and they would regularly bring supplies around, even though most of the kids were capable of finding their own. 

When she walks in carrying some supplies that she had picked up on the way, Vi spots Robin sitting with a few of the youngest kids. Robin has grown so much since Vi had met them. She still remembers the tiny kid who had shaken in her arms after she saved them, but now they’ve grown into a young teen who was rapidly becoming the leader of the kids who stayed at the shelter, despite the fact that a good few kids were older than them. The small things about Robin that would remind Vi of Powder had begun to fade away, until all that was left was echoes of who Powder could have grown up to be, if not for her life being stolen from her before she even got the chance to grow. 

“Vi! You were here two days ago. Did something happen?” Robin stands up and jogs over, and takes the box from Vi. 

“Nah, everything’s good. I was just bored and decided you lot were better company than my Pops.” Vi chuckled as she ruffled Robin’s hair. They had been keeping it short, and had somehow bent a bit of wire into a clip to keep the front from getting in their eyes.  

“Ok! Things are great here, ‘cause I know you’re about to ask. There haven't been any fights in ages and there’s been more kids willing to sleep here instead of freezing outside. There’s also one of the youngest kids I’ve seen alone in a bit, I think she’s around 6 years old or something? She doesn’t talk though, but we’re making it work. She doesn’t always stay here, just comes and goes like most kids.” 

“Sounds like everything’s going great. I’m proud of you, Kid. You’re basically running this place.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m almost definitely a teen by now.” 

“Are you sure? You’re still pretty short.”

“I am! Would a kid be running this place?” Vi actually laughs this time, instead of letting out her normal dry chuckle. Something about kids (or teens, as Robin insists) just makes her happy and more relaxed than she had been in years. 

“Ok, you win. You’re a grown up, mature, teenager and definitely not a child. Better?”

“Much. Now are you going to keep standing in the doorway like a weirdo or actually come inside?”

“Ok, Ok, I’m coming.”

Powder was overthinking. Again. It should have happened by now, there wasn’t much longer left of the day since dinner was already finishing up. Had something gone wrong, had the information not made it? 

Just as she was about to stand up from her seat to try and figure out what in her carefully crafted plan had gone wrong, four unfamiliar enforcers marched through the doors. They were clearly there for something important, and Powder smirked in anticipation. They approached the warden, who was watching the miserable prisoners with a smirk on his ugly face. The enforcer leading the group spoke up, voice cold with authority. 

“Warden Rooke. You are under arrest for embezzlement of money. You will be taken to Piltover to await your trial. Anything you say from this point forward can and will be used in your trial. You are hereby stripped of your title as Warden pending a full investigation and trial. Please follow us and we will return to the mainland.” 

Perfect. The man had been starting to test the boundaries of the rules that had been set out for him two years ago when he replaced the last Warden. It had gotten to a point where soon even the Jinxers wouldn’t be safe from the brutality of the guards, and Powder couldn’t let that happen. She had slipped out an anonymous tip to the Enforcers last week, and attached enough names of influential Piltie families that it could have been impacted by the embezzlement to make sure it was treated with urgency. When the Jinxers who were in charge of eavesdropping around the prison had told her that the Warden had been freaking out about an Enforcer visit today, she knew that the tip had worked. 

Rooke seemed to go through multiple emotions in a span of seconds. Confusion, denial, and now anger. 

“You can’t just do this! I am the Warden of this prison! This was clearly fake, fabricated in an attempt against me! In fact, I’ll bet you anything it was that fucking Jinx. She’s fucking insane, you can’t believe whatever information you were given! I will not stand for this!” The Enforcers just looked bored, if Powder was being honest. One of the Enforcers in the back stepped forward with handcuffs, and once they were on they led the ex-Warden away. 

The cafeteria was, for once, silent. Everyone had been watching the exchange happen, and now everyone seemed unsure of what to do. The silence didn’t last long though, with whispers starting to spread. Even if the enforcers didn’t believe what Rooke had said about ‘Jinx’, the prisoners who had first-hand experience with her were a lot more willing to believe him. Not that anyone would be sad to see him go. But people are getting scared now. Because if ‘The Jinx of Stillwater’ was able to get a whole Warden arrested, they might finally realise what she’s able to do to them. Powder had a funny feeling that the amount of prisoners going against Jinxers was about to reduce significantly, even if it would only be for a bit. 

The guards, who had been frozen up until this point, finally regained control of the room and started moving everyone back to their cells for the night. A few people tried to complain, but everyone still listened. It was just easier than trying to fight. Eventually Powder made it back to her cell block, and managed to check that all the other Jinxers had made it back safely before heading into her and Ekko’s cell. She said good night to Ekko before she laid down, trying to get some rest.  Eventually she fell into a restless sleep. She hasn’t slept well in years. And she knows she won’t be able to until all of the Jinxers are out of this shit hole that the Pillties call a prison.