Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One of the things Jinx dearly missed from her old life was the freedom to lose her mind, fuck up, and kill self-important street trash when they annoyed her too much, safe in the knowledge that Silco would make it all okay.

Ah, the not so good old days.

She’d always know Silco wouldn’t be with her forever though. Even when she was pretty young, she spent her days anxiously watching him in fear he’d drop dead like everyone else in her life. Parents always die, she’d had 4 and they’d all proved this theory right. And before they die, they mess you up in interesting and complex ways and leave you to deal with their unfinished business.

This is why she didn’t want to be a parent to Isha. She took care of her a little like a parent would because the kid had nobody else to fill those shoes, but she hoped Isha saw her more like an older sister. In her experience, older siblings also fucked you up but they never really leave you. Even when they left, they came back. Even when they died, they lingered. Even when you hated them, they were always with you. That was the best she could hope for when it came to Isha and the kind of impact she had on the kid’s life.

Everything Jinx did these days was for Isha. There were other reasons, dead family she hoped was a bit proud of her if they were watching from hell, but Isha was alive and here and thus her first priority. It was for Isha that she was trying to make Zaun a less hellish place to live, no matter how arduous the task was and how useless it seemed to be. It was for Isha that she’d been keeping her head tightly screwed on and her urge to destroy things in check. It was for Isha that she was refraining from killing this idiot even thought he was clearly asking for it, for the love of-

“You’re not listening.” The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation (the audacity of this bitch, she was the one who deserved to be annoyed) “We need this loan, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you the importance of morale in this community?”

Jinx took a deep breath, reminding herself that no, she can’t kill this guy, and no, she can’t drag him to hell and back.

So, she did the next best thing.

“Oh, do enlighten me.”

She smiled wide, showing off the sharp rows of teeth and resting her chin on her hand.

“Of course.” He scoffed, muttering something under his breath. “With the war going on-”

“With the war going on,” She spoke through gritted teeth, barely holding back from snapping. “It is more important than ever that we concentrate our funding and income on weaponry and warriors, not-”

“Okay.” The man laughed lightly to himself, leaning forward and invading her space. “I’ve been trying to humor you so far, but clearly this isn’t working. Listen girl, I know you’re Silco’s heir and all, but there’s a way we do things here. Silco knew-”

The thread of her patience snapped into two, and before she knew it she was slamming her hand down on the table between them and standing up to her full height. The poor thing startled, but it should’ve known better than to test her limits.

“No, you listen up, you miserable bastard.” She hissed, the metal claws of her pretty gloves scratching the hardwood and leaving indents in it. “Silco never had to deal with a war like this, with Piltover breathing down his damn neck and Noxus squatting by the bushes, waiting for the perfect opportunity to blow us up sky high. And the only reason we’re kind of holding our ground is that I’m here babysitting this city. And you were clearly just waiting for him to kick the bucket with some grandee delusion that you could order some poor, little girl around… because he was too tough to take it, right?”

The man sputtered indignantly, opening his mouth to protest, but Jinx cut him off by slamming her hand on the table once again while glaring at him sharply in warning. He closed his big mouth so fast that his teeth clinked audibly, probably painfully too.

“Well, you’re forgetting one thing.” She reminded him, crossing her arms. “I’m not some random little girl, I’m fucking Jinx! And I run this place now, whether you like it or not.”

Walking out from behind the table with sharp clicks of her heel, she closed the distance between them, an air of finality in her tone.

“I’m not giving you 30% of our total assets just so miserable addicts can get their daily fixes in slightly higher quality.” She stated, practicing her ‘Head Chembaron speaking, you better fucking listen’ voice. “Much less so you can stuff your pockets full of cash and drink your fancy wine while the rest of Zaun suffers the price of our independence. I’ve told you once, and I won’t tell you again, if we fail to fulfill our end of the bargain with the Pilties they will ring. my. fucking. neck. And without me? You suckers are done for.”

Jinx snapped her fingers, summoning her trusty right-hand (literally her trusty right hand, that arm is her baby, second only to Isha. And Pow-Pow. And Fishbones. And-), who was at the chembaron’s back in a flash.

“He’s giving you trouble?”

“Yes. His ugly face is making my eyes hurt.” Jinx scoffed, glaring down at the excuse for a man like one might look at shit they accidentally stepped on. “Show him the exit, we’re done.”

Sevika smiled shark-like, delighted at getting to commit some violence after a slow day.

“Now, wait a minute! You can’t treat me like-” The guy sputtered indignantly, jumping to his feet. Sevika grabbed him by the shoulder, unyielding metal digging into flesh. It was just a hand because Sevika had insisted in having boring fingers, but said hand dwarfed his shoulder and the threat was clear. The guy’s face went pale as a ghost and he fell quiet for the first time in an hour.

“You heard the boss. You’re done here.” Sevika said in a grave warning tone, and started dragging him out. He was just smart enough to go obediently.

As the door of her office closed behind them, Jinx got up and walked around, rolling her neck to try and alleviate the stiff feeling from sitting in a chair for hours dealing with idiots. The day was over at last. She started undoing the straps that held her leather gloves with sharp metal claws and metal enforcing, both armor and weapon. Being the boss was weird in many ways, one of them was that she had to start walking around more armored and more armed than ever. She couldn’t hide in the shadows anymore after all, she had to be seen to be followed, and there was a giant target draw in her back now.

Sevika walked back in before as Jinx dropped her right glove on the desk, so she kept the other one on.

“You want something?” She drawled, hopping onto the desk and stretching out her arms. “Dunno if you ever learned to read, but there’s this sign outside, it says ‘visiting hours are from-’”

Sevika rolled her eyes in annoyance, giving Jinx the perfect opportunity to gasp dramatically and pull a gun on her, waving it around in a seemly careless manner that still kept it pointed at some body part of Sevika’s.

“I’ve already faced such a tiring and grueling day, and now my Right Hand plans on betraying me and starting a rebellion-”

“Cut the crap, Blue.” Sevika grumbled, but she could see the hint of a smile on her face. “What was that for, anyway?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.” Jinx smirked, looking at her knowingly. “I know you’re a little freak like that.”

She clicked the safety off for emphasis, aiming it squarely for Sevika’s forehead.

“I never said I didn’t.” Sevika countered, walking over to her side, unbothered even as the muzzle of the gun touched her skin. “And if anyone’s little between us, it’s you.”

She was still growing! It wasn’t her fault Sevika was a unit of a woman.

“He was getting on my nerves.” Jinx finally responded. “Just wanted to remind him who’s boss around these parts.”

Sevika scoffed, shaking her head.

“As if there was ever any question of that.”

Jinx internally preened in satisfaction, a genuine smile lifting her lips for the first time that day. A cocky genuine smile, but genuine nonetheless. But there was an undercurrent of something else in Sevika’s tone, as if she was holding her tongue. A less perceptive woman would’ve thought nothing of it, but she was Jinx. Of course she had to poke and prod into every piece of information that made itself known, that’s what made a genius inventor. And a vicious leader, but she was still working that part out. She tilted her head, not unlike a predator analyzing its prey before pouncing.

“You know, Sevika.” She drew the syllables out, swinging her legs on top of the desk and pushing herself up with her arms to stand on it. She put her pistol back in the holster, safety on. “You’ve been such a good Right Hand Woman for me.”

She paused for dramatic effect, kicking a few documents aside and stalking over to the center, casting a shadow over Sevika’s form and peering down at her curiously.

“If you ever had a problem with my leadership, you’d tell me…right?”

Sevika was forced to crane her neck to look up at her insane boss, trapped in the shadow she cast. Jinx expression was expectant, innocently curious. She could’ve stood on top of the table just because she had a fascination with perching in high places but Sevika knew it was deliberate. Jinx had learned that dramatic flair from Silco and she’d witnessed it for years. She was being playing with and had no choice other than to let it happen.

If a year ago someone told her that she’d willingly follow the pest Silco took in like a stray, she’d have killed them on the spot. But Jinx was the only player currently on the board who was worth anything. She was as brilliant as she was insane, and accomplished in her first year of ruling what Vander and Silco spent their lives reaching for. And worse, Sevika had grow fond of her, allowed Jinx to wrap around her life like a snake, and now she lived in this deadly embrace. It was a good thing she was so good at surviving under the thumb of dangerous people. She’d lived like this her whole life, going from one boss to another, being unfailingly loyal as long as she believed her leader had Zaun’s best interest as a priority. Jinx had yet to disappoint her in that.

“Your leadership isn’t the problem.” Sevika said as she crossed her arms, not bothering to hide her discontentment. Jinx tilted her head to the side as if to say ‘go on’. “When will you finally lift the ban on shimmer for me?”

“This, again?” Jinx exclaimed, rolling her eyes and finally breaking the intense eye contact. Sevika wouldn’t admit being relieved but Jinx’s freaky eyes were unnerving, as if she was pinning you to be studied like an insect under a microscope.

“Of course this, when you have yet to see reason!” Sevika growled, too angry to let it go despite the small voice of reason that told her to. Maybe this time the talk would end differently than the last hundred times she tried it. “You prohibited the sellers from selling to me. Everyone else under your employments gets discounts and free access, but I’m turned away at every selling point!” She slammed her fist onto the desk beside Jinx’s feet, hard enough that everything on top of it bounced in place except for the girl herself.

It was infuriating that Jinx thought she could control her like this. But even while the city was divided and many people didn’t support her, no one would dare go against her direct orders. Sevika had humiliating arguments with every seller in this city but after the first few times and whatever talk Jinx had with each seller who disobeyed her, no number of threats made anyone risk Jinx’s wrath to sell to her.

Jinx met her indignant gaze and her gritted teeth with an unimpressed expression.

“Mark reported back to me that you tried again.” Jinx said, dripping condescension like poison from a snake’s fangs.

They had no one named Mark so she must’ve been talking about Michael, the guard of the selling point from which Sevika tried to subtly pocket a few vials in a fit of desperation a couple days ago. It had been a bad day and the withdrawn shaking made her drop a vial and get caught.

Jinx extended a hand and sent an expectant look at Sevika. Even furious, Sevika wasn’t going to ignore such a small request, she kept her defiance for things that mattered. She offered Jinx her arm, her flesh arm on reflex, and the boss’ eyes went half lidded and satisfied. She gripped Sevika’s arm harder than she needed to, with the one hand still wearing the small gauntlet she’d taken to wearing everyday, an accessory as pretty as those claws were sharp. Jinx kept it from cutting into her skin and used her as support to hop down from the desk.

The world was set right again when she looked up at Sevika, a small girl with a presence larger than life.

“You’re not one of those cannon fodder goons who need to cheat to hold their own in a fight.” Jinx gestured to her right arm demonstratively, as if that was supposed to make her feel better. “You don’t need shimmer.”

Her hands remained still, her vision remained clear, no nausea climbed up her throat and no sweat rolled down her neck. Deep down, she knew it was true, she’d admit it even. But this had nothing to do with what she supposedly needed. Her veins thrummed and her skin itched from the inside out, everything was too tame, too normal. Maybe she didn’t need it, but she desperately wanted the rush that shimmer would give her, the way it made her feel alive and made her blood sing. Gone were the days where she could pull the lever on her arm and control her intake when and where she wanted, and the reason why was standing right before her, nonchalant and uncaring.

“FUCK what I need.” Sevika growled and before she could think better of it, she was crowding Jinx against the desk, setting one arm on each side of her so she couldn’t escape. Jinx went with it, didn’t tense up, didn’t look worried. Sevika was torn between being flattered that Jinx knew no matter how much she might lose her head she wouldn’t attack her, not while Jinx was still a worthy leader of Zaun, and being offended that she’d lost any ability to intimidate the girl. Then again, Jinx hadn’t even been intimidated by her when Silco was still around.

“I want it.” Sevika hissed. “And you have no right to control me like this!”

“Oh, but I do.” Jinx replied in a soft whisper, infuriatingly unreactive. “I don’t care if anyone else wastes away or gets cancer or overdoses on the drugs we’re selling because they’re replaceable. You aren’t. So, if you can’t control yourself, I’ll do it for you.”

Sevika bristled in offense. She had been the loyal and noteworthy right hand of Zaun itself from the moment it resembled a shred of what it looked like today, she had remained by the side of countless idiots and still executed her job perfectly, she had urged Jinx to join the revolution, giving them the freedom they had today.

And Jinx? Jinx was less than half her age.

And she thought she could take away her freedom?

“You think I can’t-”

“Enough.”

Before she knew it, Jinx had her grabbed by the throat with her fucking knives-for-fingers glove, tugging Sevika down to her level and standing up on her tiptoes until she could feel the girl’s hot breath on her lips, separated only by a few inches of distance.

“I know you can’t, darling.” Jinx cooed, patronizing, making her blood boil. “Last time I found you with unauthorized shimmer you were passed out in the back of Babbette’s, everything in your room was trashed and you hadn’t done your job in two days. Mark told me you bought four times the usual dose, and when I got there, it was all gone.”

The unfamiliar feeling of shame weighed on her chest.

“I had to pay for damages, even though a baby would’ve known that four times the dosage was a death wish.”

“That was once-”

“Don’t forget, Sevika…” All pretenses of cheeriness were gone, replaced by a firm reminder. Her shimmer pink eyes glowed in warning, words dancing with a promise and a threat that the cold sharp metal pressed against the sides of her neck backed up. Sevika was drawn in like a sailor helpless to the mythical siren’s call. “You belong to me.” Jinx reminded, lips brushing against her earlobe faintly as she whispered with vigor. “I have no use for you as a washed-up shimmer addict, you’re my second in command. And Shimmer is beneath my second. Understood?”

Sevika wanted to protest, retort, anything that wasn’t in agreement with the hypocritical notion. They were the owners and legal distributers of shimmer, damn it. But her head simply moved in a slow nod, captivated.

“Good girl.” Jinx purred, patting her cheek in a condescending manner but her unarmored hand was warm and gentle. “I know how much you like being useful.”

Her throat worked in a swallow, breathless.

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Jinx flipped their positions almost too easily, caging Sevika in with her arms and mirroring their earlier exchange. Her head tilted again, a predatory smile playing upon her lips accentuated by the moonlight peeking over Sevika’s shoulder.

But just as she was finally about to close the remaining distance between them, the door slammed open, revealing a very flustered looking underling.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-” They paused, taking in the scene. “Am I…interrupting something?”

Was this guy new here?

Sevika resisted the urge to roll her eyes, scoffing at his fate. New or not, they were all held to the same standards. Don’t enter unless you were explicitly invited, don’t question the boss unless you’re Sevika. Jinx sighed in annoyance, straightening and waving her arm at Sevika to escort him out. She raised her eyebrows in question, but Jinx merely shook her head, settling back into her plush leather seat and crossing her arms expectantly.

Oh, well. At least she had already gotten her violence fix for the day.

“You heard the boss.” She marched over to the door, grabbing him by the arm. “Out. And don’t do this aga-”

“W-wait!” He panicked, addressing Jinx directly. Did this guy not listen or-? “It’s important!”

“Tell him I’m done for the day, Sevika.” Jinx yawned, unbothered. “I’m at my idiot limit.”

“Word of advice, kid.” She grunted, trying to pull him out and scowling when he resisted. “Everyone thinks they’re the most important. Come back tomorrow.”

“Please, miss- ma’am?” His eyes flickered nervously between Jinx and Sevika, earnest enough. “My boss will have my head if she doesn’t hear back-”

“Sevika.” Jinx hissed, and she could see her patience running thin. “Get him out. Now.”

She grinned in sadistic delight, clamping her metal arm around his bony excuse for it and beginning to haul him out.

“I-It’s about ‘your fighter’!?”

See, normally, Sevika didn’t care about the ramblings of madmen. She had seen and heard enough to know they were mostly useless, anyway. But she paused when she noticed that Jinx perked up, eyes brightening in interest. The boss held up a hand, her curious gaze trained on the blubbering messenger.

“One minute.” She declared, tapping her watch. “Go.”

“T-thank you! I won’t be long-” He stumbled over his words, holding out a binder with shaky hands. “It’s about the profits the Crimson Hound-”

“Scarlet.” Jinx corrected coldly, sounding strangely pissed off about the mistake.

“R-right, sorry, the Scarlet Hound’s bringing in too little profit, she said. Was all up in a rage about it too, you’d think she went crazy, she was ranting about how she was too wasted to get into the ring tonight, you should’ve seen it-”

This guy was definitely new, green and untested and even stupider than he seemed at first impression. It was unspoken but widely spread knowledge that you didn’t speak ill of your boss, no matter how you may feel about them. Common sense, one might say. What you felt inside, stayed inside, unless you were in a position of high enough power to challenge their authority. Sevika faintly wondered whether he would learn quickly enough to spare his own life, or if his big mouth would end him landed in an early grave.

When she tuned back in to the conversation, Jinx was listening with intent focus, nodding slowly and twirling a stray strand of hair in what seemed to be contemplation. Her eyes held a familiar spark of manic joy, prompting Sevika to internally question who was about to be on the receiving end of this curse (or blessing, depending on how you looked at it).

“Gimme.” Jinx extended her arm and gestured at the binder, waiting for it to be placed in her hand. The underling side-eyed Sevika fearfully and she scoffed, pushing him forward not too gently. He stumbled but caught his footing and stopped in front of the desk, handing the binder to Jinx with care not to touch her, as if she’d eat him alive. Maybe he wasn’t entirely braindead.

Jinx opened the binder and skimmed through the pages inside, an amused smile playing at the corner of her lip that got wider and meaner with each page she flipped.

“Too wasted to get into the ring, you say?” Jinx asked in a conversational tone.

Sevika leaned against the door, arms crossed, watching the interaction like one might watch a snake about to pounce on a rat. Her curiosity was peaked but one didn’t simply question their boss in front of some fool in the very base of the hierarchy. Not even Sevika had that privilege.

“How so? Don’t you guys throw your fighters into the ring no matter what state they’re in? ‘If they’re standing, they can fight’ is practically your motto.”

“Y-yes, but… she wasn’t standing...” The guy hesitated, fearfully studying Jinx, looking for a clue on whether or not continuing would piss her off, but she didn’t even look up from the binder. “She was completely wasted. Got to the pit late, started yelling and swinging at security… They dragged her to the ring but she stepped inside, threw her guts up in front of the crowd and passed out. Had to be carried out and wouldn’t wake up no matter what we did.”

Jinx let out a surprised, mocking laugher as she snapped the binder shut. She had that gleam of madness and savagery and scheming in her eyes that made her look every bit the woman who wrestled all of Zaun under her command and got the Undercity its long overdue independency.

“The boss is asking if she can terminate the fighter’s contract.”

By that they probably meant terminate the fighter. It was known that no one caused such a scene in one of the pits and got out of it unscathed. No one got out of the nastier fighting pits at all.

“No.” Jinx declared, smiling with all her teeth. “Tell your boss to bring her here, to me, tomorrow. Alive. But she won’t come willingly so I’ll look away if you need to rough her up a bit.”

“Thank you, ma’am, I’ll relay your orders.” The guy seemed relieved to at least have a concrete answer to give his boss. He reached for the binder but Jinx opened a random drawer and dropped it there like she didn’t see his hand at all. He aborted the movement in an awkward jerky way and glued his arms to his side again.

“You’re dismissed.” Jinx said.

Idiot walked away as fast as he could without outright running, doing his best not to touch Sevika as he went through the door. Sevika sent Jinx a questioning look.

“You can follow him if you want.” Jinx said, in a sing-song voice. “Teach him a lesson for his insolence.”

Sevika was obviously being humored, offered a chance to take out her frustration in this way since it was clear the earlier tease wouldn’t pay off. Possibly even as a way for Jinx to avoid any questions about this exchange as well. But she was pent-up, and the guy was the one who ruined her chances of getting laid. She’d find out what this was all about and who the fighter was the next day, regardless.

She would be doing him a favor. Maybe this would teach him to mind his manners and his tongue so he wouldn’t need to learn at his death bed.

She nodded once at Jinx in acknowledgement and followed him out.

Chapter Text

Vi tried to breathe through the nausea, head tilted back to help control the urge to vomit. Her chest was coiled up tight and uneasy, a dull weight settled on it that was choking her inside out. There was nothing else in her stomach to come up by now so this feeling should’ve stopped already. But nothing worked in her favor so why would her body be different.

Her stomach rebelled against her for once not because she’d had too much to drink, but because she hadn’t eaten anything at all, not that she believed anything she tried to eat would stay down. She hadn’t been able to leave her room today, to get food or do anything else. Chara’s men were standing guard at her door and keeping her inside like a prisoner, like she was back in fucking Stillwater and it made her skin crawl, made her want to burst the door down and beat all of them to a pulp. But she didn’t want to further jeopardize her job.

The other times she showed up in a state for one of her matches, they waited for her to be knocked unconscious and gave her a shimmer injection, since she wouldn’t let them do it while she was awake. She hated it but it made whatever injuries she had from fighting at the pits or in bars heal instantly, made pain new and old disappear for a while; and as much as she hated to say it, it helped her breathe easier (ironically enough). This time there had been no injection, they hadn’t even patched her up. Dread sat heavy in her mind, and she rubbed cold sweat out on her pants.

What were they planning to do with her? Beat her up in punishment? So similar to the talks the Warden had with her all these years. She could take it, no fucks given, but she wished they’d get it over with so they could all get on with their lives. Instead, they were playing these annoying mind games, fucking with her head.

She pushed herself up to her feet unsteadily, holding onto the bedframe with a white-knuckle grip for support when her vision went dark, a sudden overwhelming bout of nausea leaving her breathless. When she could at least see through the dark spots, she slowly made her way to the bathroom.

She avoided staring at her reflection on the mirror above the sink, turned on the faucet and bent down until she could put her head below the delicious cool running water, a luxury half of Zaun couldn’t afford.

She earned this.

She earned this, doing the only thing she was good for, hitting with her fists. She stood out during her first months in the pits, with a long unbroken winning streak that had the richest sponsor in Zaun take notice of her and offer her a deal. A great deal. She got a nice apartment, electricity and running water, a gym to train at, someone to patch her up after fights, and on top of all that, an allowance to eat three meals a day and keep herself clothed and entertained. It was hers, undeniably hers, and no one could take it away.

She might’ve fucked up once yesterday – or maybe a few times in the last few months – but it was just a bad spell. Everyone had off days. She always recuperated from those and started bringing in victory after victory again.

She lifted her head and day-old paint dripped down her face and neck together with water, soaking the bandages covering her chest.

A low whine escaped her, miserable, frustrated, and uncomfortable. Her eyes started burning despite herself, the familiar feeling of tears trying to build up, a scream crawled up her throat, but she refused to have a break down when Chara’s men would hear everything from outside. She might’ve sold her dignity long ago but she needed to keep something to herself.

As the catastrophes in her life always happened with perfect timing, at that exact moment the door to her apartment opened, and Vi stepped back into the main room in time to see Chara herself walk in. A tiny white woman with far too much ego, with a pointy chin and pointy nose, a bird-like face Vi had always wanted to punch, with short black hair and short bangs bleached white. Her appearance was well-kept and her clothes visibly expensive, pretty but unpractical. She never had to step foot into the fighting arena but a good chunk of the earning disappeared in her bottomless pockets.

She was not the actual owner of the fighting pits, she simply managed the one Vi had a contract with, but she sure as hell acted like she owned the place.

Behind her entered two burly men that made her sizable apartment seem small. Vi had no doubt there were more outside.

She leaned back into the wall in a way she hoped read as relaxed and unworried rather than about to fall to the ground if she had no support.

“Chara.” She nodded once in greeting, smiling her not-nice, don’t fuck with me smile.

The chembaron’s pet glared at her with the heat of a furnace and so much disgust.

“Pest.” Chara hissed. “You know, after yesterday’s humiliation, I hoped I’d get to take care of you myself. But no matter. Your fate will be far worse now.”

Vi barely had time to register the words, as her stomach fell to her feet and a burst of adrenaline gave her a second’s breath to push away from the wall.

“Wha-”

“Grab her!”

Her hackles raised almost immediately, lips pulling into a warning hiss and uncomfortably tugging at the dried face paint and makeup. She backed herself into the dresser as one of the men approached, reaching his gloved hand out for her as if she was a fucking stray. He rolled his eyes, having the gall to look annoyed as he roughly gripped her by the arm.

Oh hell no.

The brawler raised her free arm to aim a hit right in his stupid ugly face, almost getting her dreams of breaking his nose come true before her wrist was abruptly secured by another hold. She growled in warning, eyes flicking over to Chara for a minute. She knew even before she opened her mouth that this attempt would be futile, but she’d try anyway, if only to spare the effort it would take to beat these bastards to a pulp. Her head throbbed from the nasty hangover, eyes feeling heavy from exhaustion. Vi wasn’t in the best condition to fight, whether she liked it or not.

“You have five seconds to get your hands off of me.”

She warned, addressing the goons but keeping her gaze trained firmly on Chara. The unpleasant woman merely scoffed, examining her fingernails and ignoring the scene entirely.

Right then!

Vi took in a heavy breath, loosening her fighting stance and posture going lax. She let herself close her eyes for a moment, hearing a small, mocking laugh before she felt herself being pulled across the room. She knew that the doorframe was close from memory, just a few steps ahead…

“Looks like you do know what’s good for yo-”

Her head collided with the man’s in a single, brutal strike, pounding even harder with the combined effects of the force of impact, her hangover, and the blood rushing in her veins. Heartbeat drowning out the shocked yells and rushed footsteps, her fist met the man’s nose with a satisfying crunch, probably the happiest she had felt that day. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion, making her limbs lag in executing their commands but giving her ample time to plan her moves. She mirrored his mocking chuckle as he choked on his own blood, side-stepping and letting the other guy’s momentum do the work for her as he went stumbling into the wall. Vi grabbed him by the shirt before he could recover, slamming him back into the wall once, twice, then putting him a headlock as he struggled and choked.

“Did you forget, Chara?” She yelled over the commotion, teeth bared in a manic grin as she cut off the man’s blood circulation until she felt him go limp in her hold. “You came to me with that contract for a reason.”

The other man surged up towards her from his spot on the ground, staggering back when Vi threw the first one into him. She kneed him in the groin, targeting his jaw with a well-practiced uppercut and flinging him back into the old wooden table. His face was barely recognizable at this point, blood pouring out from his nose and mouth in rapid rivulets. She landed one last strike to his broken nose, sick satisfaction welling up inside her when he made a garbled noise of pain. She blindly fumbled around for a weapon on the table, fingers closing around the cold circumference of an empty glass bottle. Vi raised it high over her head, bringing it down on the man’s with a deafening CRASH.

He slumped onto the table, unconscious, and Vi stumbled back with a tired groan. The ache in her joints made itself known again, creeping up alongside the other symptoms of her dreadful hangover now that the threat had been dealt with. She turned around with some effort, noticing that Chara was now standing hesitantly next to the door, eyes ever so slightly widened. Vi barked a triumphant little laugh, wiping the blood from her lips and grinning cockily. She stalked forward in a lazy fashion, panting like a rabid wild dog and relishing in the tiny twitch of the woman’s body as she fought against the urge to flee.

“You know,” She hummed, wrapping the bandages around her hands even tighter. “I always have wanted to punch you. You look like you’d scream nicely.”

She had barely taken a step past the bedframe when it happened, a sharp pain at the base of her spine that made her drop to her knees with a broken gasp. It radiated upward to her entire body in seconds, neurons carrying the pain impulses faster than she could blink, black spots dotting her eyes. The hammering in her skull increased tenfold, ears ringing louder than the faint voices in the background, and the last thing she heard was quite literally the last thing she wanted to hear.

“…Jinx…”

…

“You’re… even more dressed up than usual.” Sevika remarked first thing upon seeing her, one foot in and one out of The Last Drop.

The bar’s official opening time wasn’t for an hour yet and Jinx decided that for the day it wouldn’t open at all until night. They were completely alone except for her men doing security outside, not even Chuck was in yet.

Jinx smiled wickedly, and slowly whirled around to give Sevika a full view of her get-up. As Silco used to say, appearance is important to project authority and power. Besides, being the leader of Zaun was hard and boring work so she might as well serve cunt while doing it.

“You like it?” She asked cheekily, batting her eyes exaggeratedly at Sevika, who simply rolled her eyes. But Jinx saw that little fond smile she suppressed, and even more how Sevika’s eyes lingered appreciatively, taking in the way the long black dress hugged her body, and the deep slits that left her tights almost completely bare. Her makeup was a little more elaborate than usual and she’d put on the highest heeled boots in her closet. Her hair was styled in its usual “got shit to do” braided bun. She looked worth a million bucks.

“Do we have a meeting with the pilties you didn’t warn me about?” Sevika asked as she closed the door behind her, all serious and work mode already. Jinx supposed one of them had to be but Sevika was no fun when she was like this.

She sighed then gestured for Sevika to come closer with the crook of a finger. Soon as she was within grabbing distance, Sevika wrapped her arm around Jinx’s waist, pulling her in until they were glued to each other. Jinx let out a surprised airy laugh. The outfit worked better than she expected. With one arm under her ass, Sevika pulled her up, lifting her off the ground enough so she could bury her head in Jinx’s neck, and took a deep breath. A shiver ran down Jinx’s spine.

“You smell good too.” Sevika noted.

“I always smell good.” Jinx shot back. She had put on the specific perfume Sevika always complimented, but like hell she was gonna admit it.

Sevika clashed their lips together roughly and Jinx kissed back with the same intensity. Sevika was a great kisser, she knew how to steal a girl’s breath away. Jinx only pulled away when she felt Sevika’s hand sneaking onto her nape.

“Hands nowhere near my hair!” She snapped.

Sevika huffed but immediately retreated it.

“Right. My apologies for forgetting it, princess.”

“Not accepted.” Jinx bit out. “And the King’s dead, sweetheart; it’s ‘your majesty’ to you. Now put me on the ground, this isn’t why I asked you to come closer. And extend your arm in front of you.”

Sevika followed her orders without protesting, though she sent her a questioning look. Jinx pretended not to see it and started checking the arm over, making sure everything was in place and working correctly.

Sevika had taken surprisingly good care of the arm since their last check up, a month ago. Not that there was much for her to do, except keep its exterior clean and oiled. She couldn’t take it apart to clean it properly like Jinx could and although she’d learned to do basic repairs in the last arm, and had an army of Silco’s mechanics to do the rest, this one was Jinx’s design and only she knew her way around it. Jinx was too possessive to let anyone else get their hands on her weapon any way.

They were overdue a proper deep clean and check up at the workshop but this would do for now. Maybe she would compensate Sevika for all the work she’d been doing lately. Getting to take the arm apart then put it back together was first, second and third base for the mechanic in her so she could reward Sevika in multiple ways.

“We don’t have a meeting with the pilties today.” Jinx said as she replaced the arms’ stock of small explosives, then closed and locked each of its panels. “Remember last night’s situation?”

“The chembaron of the fighting pits?” Sevika asked.

“No, that idiot you got to beat up.”

“Ah. Chara’s boy. What about him?”

Jinx was done, so she took a step away and encouraged Sevika to test it. The older woman rolled her shoulders back, her muscles bulging from the effort of lifting the arm and giving Jinx a very nice view. Sevika moved the prosthetic this way and that experimentally, testing to see if everything felt right, and hummed in satisfaction. She did that every time, like a big dangerous cat.

“Everything in place?” Jinx asked, an amused smile playing at the corner of her lips.

“Yes.” Sevika confirmed. “You didn’t answer me.”

Of course she caught on to the evasiveness.

“The fighter he was talking about…” Jinx started, slowly, searching for any words that might make this easier. There weren’t any so she decided on the ‘rip-off the band aid’ approach. “It’s Vi.”

Sevika changed instantly, contentment disappearing and her expression going forcefully blank. For several seconds, she didn’t say anything.

“Your sister?” Sevika said, incredulous.

“Yep.”

“Your traitor sister who turned blue belly, was complicit in the poisoning of our people, and nearly killed you?”

“… Yes.”

Sevika’s face contorted in fury and disgust, she straightened up to her full weight like she was warming up to a fight. And Vi was not even here yet.

“Why?” Sevika asked, packing this one word with so much frustration, anger, and resentment. It was not news that Sevika hated traitors and in her eyes, Vi had committed betrayal of the highest caliber.

Jinx got closer, putting herself directly in front of Sevika and grabbing her face to make her Second look at her. Sevika tried to pull away, to take steps back, probably so she could pace like a caged animal or break something, but Jinx followed her, kept her hands right where they were and didn’t give Sevika a choice other than facing her.

“Chara’s men are gonna bring her here today, so I need you to get your shit together because I need you with me.” Jinx said seriously, putting the appropriate emphasis on the words. She didn’t know if Vi would try to kill her again on sight after all, and underestimating her sister was a death sentence.

“To kill her?” Sevika snarled.

“No. Not to kill her.”

“Last time she came back into our lives, you lost your shit and she nearly killed you!” Sevika reminded her, like she was explaining math concepts to a child. Jinx could see her gearing up to lash out, could hear the mechanism in her arm working double time. “Did you think at all how having her here again will make Isha feel?”

“Don’t bring Isha into this!” Jinx hissed, glaring right back at Sevika.

Of course she’d thought about Isha, which is why the kid was home with her tutor and not here. But there was something implicit in this phrase, a “or me?” that Sevika wouldn’t voice because she didn’t want to be the first to admit she cared. That maybe their fucking around was turning too… too much for being just fucking around still.

Jinx was letting it go for now because she didn’t want to admit it either.

She ran her hands down Sevika’s cheeks, down her neck, and rested them on her upper arms, one hand placed conveniently near the mechanism that would disarm Sevika’s prosthetic and turn it into useless dead weight, just in case. Sevika wouldn’t want to lose her shit with Jinx this close. But being paranoid was what kept her alive so far.

Sevika took the proximity as permission to put her hands on Jinx’s waist and she let it happen.

“She’s my sister.” Jinx said in the almost non-existent space between them, knowing that this was too little, but it meant too much for someone who knew.

Jinx wasn’t sure if Sevika knew. Her Right Hand had no blood family alive now, the only family she ever spoke of was a father that must’ve died many years ago, and even then, it was in sparse mentions. Sevika made Zaun itself a stand-in in the place most people held for family. In a strange way, Jinx was pretty sure that Silco and herself were the closest Sevika had for family for years. Now it was Jinx and Isha.

“I know it’s stupid sentimentality…” Jinx started, “But I followed her sometimes, saw her fights, saw her in bars, getting so wasted every night that she couldn’t hold herself up. And I didn’t want her to die choking on her own vomit, or pass out in sketchy places when I wasn’t there for every creep in seeing distance to have their fill of her.”

Saying all of that felt weird but freeing. She hadn’t had the chance to speak of it before. Seeing Vi at the bottom of a bottle and feeling an urge to protect her from herself had turned her world on its head.

“So, I told them to give Vi a contract.”

They had already been considering offering Vi something by then, because she’d been winning almost every fight she got in for months, but Jinx told them to go for the golden contract, that Vi would be worth it. And if she wasn’t, Jinx assured them she’d foot the bill. And she had been footing the bill of every one of Vi’s fuck-ups for the last few months. Waiting for the right time, when Jinx’s power was consolidated enough and Vi had time to get her fill of the meaningless miserable existence she was leading and dig a deep grave for herself.

In the beginning, Jinx had no idea what lead Vi to make the decisions she made, from the outside it looked crazy, stupid, like she’d really let herself be corrupted by pussy from a girl she knew for a month. After observing her for months though, and after one very enlightening conversation she had with a thrice drunk Vi that thought Jinx was a hallucination, she realized it wasn’t senseless.

Vi was the same she’d always been. She was emotional, she made decisions with her anger or out of fear then convinced herself they were the right thing. What she wanted more than anything was to hold a position of power that gave her respect and admiration, allowed her to beat others to a pulp, made her feel useful and like she was protecting someone. Everything she tried so far, from being an enforcer to being a pit fighter was an attempt to fulfill these desires that turned out to be smoke and mirrors. But Jinx could give her all of that!

Vi could be a good a fighter for Zaun, and she’d be happier for it then she was wasting her life at the pits. Jinx was sure of it. She just needed to break Vi down enough that she’d stop being blinded by pride and would give in to her. And Jinx already had experience breaking prideful warrior women down to realizing that she was the best choice.

Even if Sevika didn’t agree in the end, she only needed to trust Jinx. Or stay quiet about it and follow her orders. Any of the two would work.

“She fucked up though, as you heard yesterday. Now I have to deal with it.”

“And you think when they drag her here in chains, she will be grateful to you?” Sevika asked, tone dry as the desert, but she did seem to have the anger under control so Jinx counted it as a win.

“No.” Jinx let a mean smile show. “Especially not when I get revenge on her.”

Sevika let out reluctant, albeit deep chuckle, her face lighting up with the prospect of getting to satisfy her sadistic side. She never looked hotter than when she was eager to commit violence.

Jinx calculated the risk of ruining her get-up and decided fuck it. They had plenty of time before Chara’s men got here.

Chapter Text

When the first streams of consciousness trickled into her mind, she thought she was at her apartment.

Most of it felt ordinary enough. The dull ache in her limbs, the steady nausea, her parched throat struggling for air, the occasional hunger pangs agitating her stomach and a head that was heavier than lead to lift. These were all a standard part of her routine in her brand-new life (or lack thereof).

What wasn’t ordinary was the deep-seated pain at the base of her spine, reaching into its very roots and tugging at the nerves until they screamed. Her body felt sore all over, more than usual, and she couldn’t even bring herself to lift a finger experimentally. There were parts of her that seemed entirely numb, utterly irresponsive of her commands. Even trying to take a breath felt like a gargantuan task, each inhale drawing less air than the first and making her dizzy.

She thought it was a fight gone wrong, a particularly brutal beating. Each time felt worse than the last, even though pain was supposed to get easier with time. Bullshit, it was all bullshit, the pain had never gotten easier with time.

“See…shortly…”

The low whisper of gruff voices drew her attention, her fight or flight response flaring up in subconscious recognition. Why, she was unsure, but her gut had never led her wrong. She tried moving instinctively, purely out of the inherent need to survive, get out of here, but found that the most she could manage was the twitch of her toe. Right or left, she had already forgotten. Her second attempt yielded nothing and only made the stiffness in her joints worse. Her back flared in sharp pain and she let out a pained exhale, shifting in discomfort with increasing urgency when it wouldn’t subside.

Her movement did nothing to quell the pain, but it seemed to have achieved something else, because the dull background noises of conversation halted abruptly. The skin at the back of her neck prickled and a sick feeling of dread curled up in her chest, subconscious sensing something inherently wrong. It was only then that she registered the lack of vision when she opened her eyes and the chaffing of rope on her bare arms, her body bound tightly to a metal chair and feeling as taut as a string. Alarm bells went off in her head, the biting chill in her back and the ache in her limbs manifesting as a desperation she could feel deep in her bones.

Oh, fuck.

She struggled against the binds, not thinking not caring about the pain, because she needed out and she needed out now- she didn’t care where she was as long as she could fucking leave and-

Vi froze when she felt an arm on her shoulder, large fingernails digging into her bruises and pushing her back into the chair. She struggled against it when she regained her senses, but the pressure only increased and her spine was slammed back into the chair hard. A choked gasp escaped her lips, vision whiting out from the pain and making her even more useless than she already was. She wanted nothing more than to get away, punch the motherfucker holding her back until their face was no longer recognizable, but her muscles protested every time she so much as thought of moving. She wasn’t fond of playing the waiting game but…

Shaking off the thought, she at least tried to focus on the conversation around her, which had started back up and gradually got louder. Some wariness lingered in the air, probably about her, but it dissipated quite soon when she didn’t move. She could hear enough to realize that it was indeed words that they were speaking, but her knowledge ended there. None of them made any particular sense to her, and even when she concentrated on one word with all her effort, she’d forget it the next moment. They sounded tense, she noted, nervously exchanging hushed whispers and going quiet when footsteps walked past. The conversation itself seemed to be more of an argument, people talking over each other often.

She didn’t have enough time to ponder over it, because the next moment a pair of sharp heels clicked into the room and everything went quiet. The silence was overwhelming, putting her on edge, it almost felt like she was surrounded by a bottomless abyss where anything could happen. She didn’t like it.

And rightfully so.

She snarled like a cornered wildcat when she was lifted roughly, every fiber of her being crying out in pain as she was thrown over someone’s shoulder. The precarious position only served to further rile up her panic, thrashing around in the hold that only tightened around her thighs. The warmth and sweat from the bastard’s hands lingered uncomfortably on her skin and she was really regretting wearing ripped jeans now.

Vi didn’t even have a moment to think – much less retaliate – when she was let down, pushed to her knees immediately after. She went with a small thud, jostling all the aches in her body and irritating her bruised knees. The blindfold(?) was yanked off abruptly and she blinked in confusion from the sudden rush of colors and textures. It left her feeling more disoriented than ever, walls stretching to the sky and floor swaying unsteadily beneath her. It almost looked like-

She snapped her eyes shut tightly, taking a deep breath.

It’s not real it’s not real it’s not re- it can’t be-

Swallowing her doubts, she opened them with a shaky confidence…

…One that fell apart immediately.

An involuntary gasp escaped her throat when she saw the familiar walls of the Last Drop- of her home, grotesquely modified but still undeniably the same. Anger gripped her heart instantly as she recognized the offending pink liquid on the table, resolving to make every one of those assholes pay for what they did to-

And that was when she saw it.

She was hidden well enough in the darkness, Vi could admit. The shadows seemed to suit her well now, clinging to her form like a second skin and giving her the perfect cover to observe her prey. But the hair. The hair always gave it away, the bright electric blue standing out in the darkness and drawing attention to her. The same sickly purple-pink shone in her eyes, almost glowing in the darkness of the room.

Her memory stirred in recollection, the events of the past morning slowly resurfacing in her head.

“Take her to Jinx.”

It had been pretty clear why Chara’s men had shown up at her doorstep, her losing streak was costing them way too much money. She hadn’t won a match for the past three weeks, and the fights were a daily event. She had expected them to, even. They were hovering more than usual lately, and Vi could sense that they were just waiting for an opportunity to grab her.

Her little stunt last night was unfortunately the tipping point.

But what she would’ve never expected in her wildest dreams was to be brought to answer to Jinx of all people.

She knew, of course. She knew. She fucking knew that Jinx had taken over Silco’s position as Head Chembaron, that she ran virtually everything in the undercity now. Vi thought it was a fucking joke, it was part of the reason why she didn’t want to come back. But this was her home, and not even Jinx being at the helm could change that. Silco certainly didn’t. But her presence was everywhere. Whether it was the whisper of rumors in the club, the gigantic murals that spanned every single wall in the damn city, or the dyed blue hair she’d catch in the corner of her eye every so often, Vi could never seem to escape her.

Vi snapped, a sudden burst of adrenaline powering her reflexes as she shot up to her legs and made for Jinx. She struggled when a metal hand clamped around her neck, dragging her away as she struggled and kicked her legs in vain. The blood in her veins boiled even hotter when she looked back for a split second and saw Sevika. Her chest heaved with the effort of her heavy breathing, tightening with a storm of unnamed feelings. Vi bared her teeth in a ugly hiss.

“You.”

The laugh of her nightmares echoed around the room, low and amused. She clenched her fists in fury, biting on her tongue until the taste of copper filled her senses. It made her want to throw up. Jab a knife through her sternum and cut out the roiling emotions that made everything so damn difficult about dealing with this woman.

“Me.”

Jinx repeated in a mocking tone, idly twirling a pen around with her long fingers.

The movement made something on her hand sparkle, drawing Vi’s glare to the pointed silver accessories donning her hands; they caught the warm light from the candle sitting on the table, looking almost like claws as they danced with the shifting patterns of fire.

Vi thought it looked fucking pretentious.

Takes a whole new meaning to never getting dirt under her fingernails, huh?

“Replacement for the finger?”

She snarked, just to rub salt deeper into the wounds. There were many things she regretted about that day, many things she’d rather forget entirely, but Jinx getting some level of payback for her crimes wasn’t one of them.

That was Powder’s finger, once.

She bit back the nausea, barely suppressing a wince as she was pushed back onto her knees, hardening her glare.

“Unlike you, sister, I don’t pretend to have things that I don’t.” Carefully removing what Vi now recognized was a glove, Jinx lifted her middle finger, and it took Vi a second to realize that she wasn’t flipping her off. She was showing off a metal finger with a smiley face drawn over it. “I make them bigger and better.”

Vi scoffed, briefly noting that not only was Jinx only wearing one glove on her left hand as she put it back on but also that three of her nails were clipped shorter than the others.

It looked vaguely famili-

...Oh. Oh.

She shook her head, scowling, disgusted that her mind had latched onto that.

“Funny.” Vi spat, pulling hard on her arms abruptly enough that Sevika’s grip faltered on her. “Since you don’t have a sister.”

The smile remained on Jinx’s lips, but it grew tight, pressed into a thin line. Vi could practically hear her teeth grinding together and it made a tiny tendril of satisfaction rise up in her chest.

“No, I second that.” Sevika spoke up from behind her, and Vi could feel something sharp pressing against her back. “You aren’t her sister. You’re a fucking traitor, and you know what treatment we give traitors down here in Zaun, don’t you, kid?”

She tensed up when a shock of pain ran through her system, trying to move away.

“Go- hngh- Go to hell-”

“Sevika.” Jinx spoke low, a warning note in her tone.

“Not a chance.” Sevika gripped her by the neck, squeezing hard enough for her to choke. “Since you’ve already been down there with the demons though, you can tell me what it’s like. Tell me, did you enjoy the fresh clean air and water while the rest of us wasted away down here? I can’t say, since you went out of your way to gas and kill the innocents just trying to get by? Have you already forgotten your roots? I was a ‘traitor’ for the sake of Zaun, your self righteous ass was a traitor for, what? Some topsider bitch?”

It sunk in a little deeper, making her grit her teeth. Her willpower was slowly fading away. She could ask about Sevika’s own betrayal, scream at her in righteous anger for having a hand in destroying her family and life, but she never thought…

“You’re lying!” She yelled, breaths coming quick and sharp. “We didn’t kill anyone, we just-”

“Sprayed them with a highly unstable toxic gas?” Sevika laughed, a short, cruel thing. “Grow up. You know damn well that no zaunite had the privilege of a clear airway, that shit took out a third of the miners and left the rest with permanent damage.”

Lies! Lies-

“You lot of junkies want to blame Caitlyn so bad for your fucked up body while jabbing factory grade drug needles into your arms left and right!” Vi snapped, outrageous. “Ever thought about the fact that not all your problems were caused by topside, but that excuse of a man you flocked to after killing Vander?!”

Sevika went quiet, and Vi tensed when she felt the bones in her wrist pop under sudden immense pressure.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Sevika growled, low and threatening. “Having the nerve to utter her name down here. The fuck is wrong with you? Topside doesn’t care about us, they never have and they never will. Not a single one. Are you really so oblivious that you’re still trying to defend her after years of watching Stillwater prisoners get used as human lab rats?!”

What?

“They see us as animals, and you were a scruffy little pet at best.” She spat, and Vi’s eyes widened in horror as she recalled fuzzy memories of convicts who would seemingly disappear only to return with missing body parts and a faraway look in their eyes. But- no, they couldn’t be related, no. “You talk so much shit about your sister but she’s done more for Zaun than you could ever hope to, while you were busy murdering babies and beating people up for having a fucking backbone and fighting back against your oppression. Wake the fuck up. You have blood on your hands.”

NO! She won’t fall for it!

It was because of Jinx, she only wanted to stop Jinx from doing any more damage, they didn’t have a choice-

Even with her back to the woman, she could still hear the venomous contempt and barely disguised fury dripping from her words.

“Let me deal with her.”

Vi cried out against her will when the blade broke through skin, hunching over as agony wracked her entire body from head to toe.

“Sevika, stop!”

There was a small pause in the blade’s descent, before she heard a disgruntled huff. It retracted almost instantly, leaving her shaking and sweaty. Her hair stuck to her face, falling over her eyes and obstructing her vision. In a way, she was grateful for it, a brief reprieve from meeting anyone’s eyes as she reeled from…everything. Was it true, even a little? Caitlyn had told her that it would blind them and make them cough at best, knock them out for a few hours at worst. She had insisted that there were no long-term effects, asking Vi if she had really thought that she would sink so low…

But…

She was willing to kill a child.

How much did she not know?

Vi fell forward with a strangled gasp, pressing her forehead against the cold hardwood floor to help the pounding in her skull and the vomit climbing up her throat.

“You were the reason I-”

Her eyes widened and she felt the familiar acidic burn filling her mouth before she was hunching over, puking her guts out on her knees in front of fucking Jinx and Sevika. She hadn’t eaten anything in days, so the burn came out stronger and sourer than ever. She grimaced when bits of saliva and puke stuck to the side of her lips, tiny hiccupping breaths escaping her.

…She hated everything about today.

There was a small, disgusted noise behind her, and her defenses raised immediately.

“Shut…the fuck up.” She hissed, embarrassment heating her face. “I didn’t complain when I saw you sticking your filthy fingers down some girl’s cunt in the back of the bar’s bathroom. There were children here.”

“Children? It’s a bar.” Sevika sounded skeptical until Jinx cleared her throat. “Oh, d’ya mean that little blue midget? Please, with how fucked in the head your sister is-”

“Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that!”

Sevika rolled her eyes, but relented, still standing a few feet away from Vi as if she’d catch germs. Vi turned back, feathers ruffled, only to find Jinx looking at the interaction with amusement.

“I stopped coming here for that anyway.” Sevika added, pinching Vi’s neck like she was an unruly cat. She hissed in warning. “They just don’t do it like the girls at Babbette’s.”

For some odd, inexplicable reason, Jinx laughed, eyeing Sevika slyly.

“That so?” She purred, beckoning…Sevika…? With a crooked finger and lidded eyes. It was Vi’s turn to watch the exchange, though with more confusion and anger than anything. “Not even me?”

What the fuck-

Jinx stood up, and to Vi’s absolute horror and disgust and every other horrified adjective in the book, kissed Sevika’s cheek.

This has to be some sort of trick-

Vi blinked and blinked and blinked, several times, she would’ve rubbed her eyes if her hands weren’t bound, and scowled when she realized that the scene before her was in fact, real. On top of that she noticed for the first time, because she had not been paying that much attention to Sevika and a couple bruises wasn’t strange for people like them anyway, that the side of her neck looked like it was mauled by a wild cat. It was one big bruise, with four bright red scratches evenly spaced that made Vi’s mind flash back to Jinx’s weird glove.

“Why-” She spluttered, simply unable to make sense of it. “Why her?”

Jinx glanced back at her, a cruel smile on her lips and an unsettling blend of resignation and deep sadness in her eyes. It threw her off a little.

“Why?” Jinx repeated softly, mockingly. “It’s really none of your business. But I’ll tell you. She sees me. She doesn’t make up a romanticized version of me in her head and whine about her being dead when she gets a reality check. She was there for me when I was growing up, and she didn’t leave me behind. And I know for sure that she’d never leave me for a fucking cop.”

Vi let out a short, disbelieving laugh, eyes roving over Jinx’s expression to find something, anything that could make sense of this bizarre reality.

“I left you the night she killed our family!”

“Oh?” Jinx tilted her head, acting surprised. “It’s ‘our’ family now? What happened to ‘You don’t have a sister’?”

Jinx walked out from behind the desk slowly, each thump of her platform boots reverberating around the empty room. Vi frowned, turning her head back and forth to examine the place and seeing no sign of her previous captors. The room itself was larger and more expansive than it used to be when she was here last as a teenager, but she’d never felt trapped in it before now. She tensed when Jinx stopped by her side – though unable to muster the energy to push herself upright – careful to avoid the puddle of vomit. Vi had to crane her neck back to look at her, both because of her angle from the floor and because Jinx looked much taller than she remembered. And she wasn’t risking not looking at her in a position like this.

Now that she wasn’t hidden behind darkness and a big wooden obstacle, Vi could see her much more clearly, and Jinx also looked much different than she remembered. A long black coat flowed behind her like a second skin, as if it was taken and woven from her own shadow. The bright scribbles dotted here and there were the only things that broke the illusion. The crop top and cut off pants were gone, replaced with an all-black dress made from a soft material like silk or satin, Vi wasn’t sure. Didn’t have that kind of luxury you see, and the closest she got was probably taking a peek into Caitlyn’s wardrobe (A place she was certain to never visit and a woman she was (hopefully) certain to never see again, that was for sure). The long blue characteristic braids were pinned back into a neat bun, a few loose strands framing her face and highlighting the ethereal look of her intense pink gaze.

Vi didn’t explicitly register the slit in her dress until the exposed leg was reaching out, rising further and further until…

Oh. No-

The tip of the heeled boot grazed her jaw, right before her face was being tilted back roughly.

“F-fuck you.”

“Gotta get in line, sis.” She tilted her head towards Sevika, smirking when Vi looked away in disgust. Unfortunately for her, the only place to look at was down, where she could see suggestive purple bruises on Jinx’s thighs. “Heard about your little accident at the pits yesterday.”

The strain in her neck was starting to get uncomfortable, so she attempted to move away from the shoe. Jinx seemed to have a similar dilemma, because she lowered her leg; Vi was relieved at the prospect of breathing normally before pointed fingers were gripping her jaw tightly, keeping her head tilted back so their gazes didn’t break.

“Don’t you get tired of causing messes?”

“Why am I even here anyway?” She demanded, “Or does the boss care so much about a single fighter losing somewhere ten positions down the hierarchy?”

“Boss.” Jinx hummed, contemplative. “I don’t hate it. I mean, I imagined something a little different, but if you’re into that.”

Jinx suddenly seemed to snap back into the present, looking at her with a demeaning smile.

“Did you say ten positions?” She inquired with a mocking laugh, patting her cheek patronizingly. “So, you can be funny. You’re talking to the big ol’ ruler of Zaun. You would probably be…oh I don’t know…fifty positions down? Minimum.”

“Don’t see why it’d matter to you then.” Vi remarked bitterly.

“Oh, calm down.” Jinx clicked her tongue, releasing the hold and tracing down her carotid artery with her blade tipped finger instead. Her heart (ever the traitor) quickened for some inexplicable reason, but it was not fear. She wasn’t scared of this bitch.Vi cursed when Jinx’s lips quirked knowingly. “Drama queen. You should know I’m soft on you by now.”

What a fucking joke.

“Softness on a mass murderer psychopath?” Vi raised her tone, shaking her bound wrists pointedly. “What does that look like, not murdering me?”

The demon hummed, thoughtful.

“Kinda. If you were anyone else, you’d have twenty holes in your body just for that mouth of yours alone.” Vi shivered in disgust when Jinx ran a finger over her bottom lip, looking oddly…transfixed. She sighed with a tired look a moment later, straightening her spine. “But no. Since you still don’t seem to understand…”

Jinx gave her one last cryptic look before striding away, facing the large windows.

“I think it’s about time you knew the truth.”

Chapter Text

The truth?

What truth could Jinx possibly have to tell her? Jinx had no grasp on reality and knew nothing about her life. Jinx lied to her from the moment they reunited, playing some cruel manipulation game to give Vi hope that her sister was still in there, only to kill that hope violently shortly after. Vi was beyond done with this little theater she’d put together for her own amusement! It was just like that disturbing horror show of a tea party all over again. It wouldn’t surprise Vi if it went just as wrong and someone else ended dead by the end, or at least badly fucked up, and experience told Vi it was going to be herself. She never got out of any meetings with Jinx unscathed.

Fuck it, if Vi was going to be a corpse before this was over, she’d say her piece before that! Jinx deserved to hear the real harsh truth she was too delusional to see.

“This is ridiculous-” Vi affirmed viciously, stretching her neck and pushing herself up with great effort, a task made even harder with her hands tied behind her back by rope. She stood on her feet unsteadily, breathing heavily, mind hazy and disoriented but crystal clear on what needed to be said. “You have nothing to do with my life! Everything I have now, I built up from scraps bit by bit from the second I left that goddamned island, I fought with everything I have and I earned it.”

She took careful steps towards Jinx, fighting to keep her balance through dizziness and the pain rolling through her body in waves. A little bit of blood tickled down her back from the shallow wound Sevika inflicted on her, wet and irritating. Jinx didn’t move away or closer, she stayed in place until Vi was right in front of her, only a couple inches between them. In her peripherical vision, Vi saw her raise a hand in Sevika’s direction, to signal her body guard to let this happen. Curiosity colored her expression lightly, like she found this whole scene entertaining

Vi took a deep breath before continuing, unsure if she was airing her grievances at Jinx or at the universe in general.

“Meanwhile, you sit on your cozy plush chair and blow things up when you get bored. You terrorize people for a living, took over for daddy’s little drug business to get more people addicted, and you’re acting like you’re the fucking queen of Zaun. Half of them don’t even like you. Some kind of leader. And yet, I’m sitting here in restraints answering to you, as if you’re worth a damn!”

To her surprise and fury, Jinx just laughed, the crazy, manic kind that she remembered. At the very least, these waters were charted.

“What was that?” She crooned, gliding over to the table and searching for something. Sevika handed her a document from the side, which she took with a brief ‘thanks’ and a giddy smile. Disgusting. “I couldn’t hear you over the ownership agreement you signed.”

“What bullshit-“

 “I own you, darling.” Jinx stated, looking way too pleased with herself, as she fanned herself with the papers. “Legally.”

“Shitty work standards in Zaun change nothing.” Vi snarled. The audacity of her to think she could own Vi just because she owned a few sheets of paper. She didn’t know Vi at all.

“Perhaps not…” Jinx nodded in faux understanding, unsettling Vi greatly, before perking up exaggeratedly. When she spoke next, her voice was deadly soft, strangely sweet like the aftertaste of poison in your favorite drink. “But have you ever wondered why you got that sponsor deal? A golden ticket handed to someone with no connections, no history in the rings, someone who just got there and trampled all over their carefully manipulated betting pools. Anyone else would’ve gotten an assassination attempt but you got a lift to the top of the pit-fighters’ ranks. That never strike you as strange?”

Vi went quiet, the only sound she could hear was the erratic beating of her heart. Confusion and dread slithered up her throat. A long pause followed where it became clear Jinx wasn’t going to continue before Vi bit the hook. Even reluctant, she gathered what was left of her fire and bravery to move forward.

“The fuck does that mean?”

The entire identity she had clawed out of the underground, the entire purpose of her current existence, was stripped naked and laid bare in front of Jinx’s discerning gaze. Her sense of self and control was slipping away by the minute, desperation clawing at her ribcage and begging to be cut open and let out, because she couldn’t deal with this right now, she couldn’t. She wanted to yell, to deny the obvious conclusion Jinx wanted her to reach, to accuse her of lying but it made sense. Of course, she’d found it strange, and fucking Chara had given her the contract to read but Vi was almost a decade out of practice so the tiny, tiny letters all became blurry and mixed up in her mind while that despicable woman was staring at her impatiently, so in the end she’d just signed it. It hadn’t matter at the time because she could fight her way out of any problem that came up, right? And if she didn’t, what difference did it make? She had nothing to live for and there was no one to mourn her. But she’d been on guard for a long time, watching and waiting for the next show to drop, and she did find it weird when that shoe continued stubbornly in place while she kept losing match after match to her “just one more drink” habit.

(And in the end, maybe Jinx wasn’t the person who had lied to her the most. Maybe that was hersel-)

“What was it that you said?” Jinx recalled, smiling deviously. “You earned it? Hm… But did you, really? Or did you just conveniently happen to be related to the current boss, who was kind enough to give you a good apartment, food every day and running water?”

Kind? Kind enough to let Vi believe that her life wasn’t directionless after all? That she had a purpose and there was hope for her existence yet when she was able to cultivate all that she had? Kind?!

After everything that happened with Caitlyn, after Caitlyn, Vi thought that she had finally, finally made something for herself. It wasn’t much, it was ripping apart at the seams, she was trying to find life’s spark again at the bottom of a bottle, but she was managing and she was holding it together and she finally had something that was her own. She worked under someone, sure, but who didn’t? She had bad days, but who didn’t? She was content with what she made, the bed she painstakingly put together to rest in while her wounds healed, the shaky routine she established for herself. And now Jinx walked in and shattered any illusion she had of having a life that she built for herself, and not something that came from someone’s fucking coattails.

Jinx was no different from Caitlyn, in this matter.

And Vi was bound to it for life, whether she liked it or not.

“I didn’t ask for it.” Vi said, shaking her head in denial, though it was a weak defense and she couldn’t put conviction behind it. “I didn’t ask for any of it!”

She hadn’t even wanted to be an Enforcer! The whole time she wore that uniform it felt too tight, too itchy, too suffocating. She’d only endured it by reminding herself that it was her fault Jinx was like this and her responsibility to stop her. But it was still something, something to do other than waste away in her misery, and people saw her coming and greeted her in the streets of shiny Piltover, thanked her for her service. She’d told Powder long ago that someday that city would respect her and she made it happen, however briefly that lasted. The people of her own city, kids like her and her siblings had been once upon a time, all cowered away and that stung. But Vi wasn’t like those Enforcers, she’d never gone after kids, only the members of the gangs that followed Silco, only people who could have a clue about Jinx’s moves. She’d been doing something good. She’d thought so at least.

Despite not wanting it, despite the fact every second she wore the badge felt like a betrayal to herself and everyone she’d loved, it still felt like another loss to have it ripped away, another devastating blow. Her life since she got out of prison, since she got any semblance of life back, had been a series of trying to find firm ground only for it to crumble beneath her feet again.

Why did she even keep trying?

“I didn’t ask you for anything!” She repeated, louder, more forcefully, but her voice shook no matter how hard she bit the words out.

“Nice try, sis, but you did.” Jinx said, in the soft poison filled voice that reminded Vi of-

You never left. I always heard you. Shadows on the street. Prickles on the back of my neck. Your voice, pushing me, picking me up when all the colors were black. You are the reason I’m still alive.

Reminded her of lies.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Is this another one of your delusions?”

“It’s another one of yours. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, Powder. I miss you. You don’t need me now, Caitlyn never did in the first place. I have nothing to fight for anymore…”

Vi reeled back like she’d been slapped.

“Stop!”

But Jinx didn’t have any mercy in her blackened little heart. Of course she didn’t stop.

“I’m afraid I’m gonna waste away and die in this shitty apartment alone and no one will even care. You could always fix everything. Please, tell me what to do to stop feeling like this.” By the end of her little rendition of Vi’s shameful blabbering in a moment of vulnerability, Jinx sounded… weird. Vi would’ve called it sadness if she thought this monster capable of it.

She shook her head violently as if that could shake her memory of the last minute and make the words disappear. Powered solely by desperation, Vi launched herself towards Jinx, snarling. Before she made contact, Sevika’s metal arm grabbed her in a death grip and shoved her down onto bruised knees. Despite herself, Vi made a pained noise.

“Stupid thing to try, bitch.” Sevika rumbled, pissed off but amused.

Vi ignored her, only paying attention to the cause of all her emotional turmoil.

“No, that wasn’t- it shouldn’t have been you!”

“Who else, Violet, would put up with you at your worst?” Jinx asked, and the words sounded like the final nail in a coffin, like a stab on the front.

Vi remembered, in a blurry way, the way she remembered dreams and the precious few memories of early childhood, hands that helped her off the ground. One of her arms around someone’s shoulders, their arm around her waist, blue hair and the smell of axle grease in her nose. It happened on the worst night at the end of a long line of terrible nights she had after Caitlyn left her. She’d thought it was another hallucination. Jinx was different, a dark cape keeping her identity concealed, hood over her head. Vi could’ve swore her eyes were blue as well but that must’ve been the illusion if nothing else.

She’d spoken softly, condescending words but her velvet voice was enough to make up for it. Mocking coos in her ear called her pathetic but did it matter as long as Vi was being held? The illusion- Powder- Jinx helped her get home, put her to bed. She even cleaned the paint from her face with a wet rag, revealing the tattoo of her name (her reminder during those years of hell that she’d been someone before she was prisoner 561, and she’d be someone after it if only she could get out). She’d hummed the old lullaby their mom used to sing to them all the while. It was the first time since Caitlyn left that Vi had someone take care of her, be careful and gentle with her, and totaled two people who’d ever done it since she ended up in prison. To Vi, it felt like a small fragment of herself, her miserable self who’d long ago broken into a thousand little pieces, had glued itself back together.

But Vi had let all of that happen because she was sure it wasn’t real. That it wasn’t Jinx. That Jinx would never do it, wouldn’t even be capable of being that caring towards someone. She’d been so sure that even waking up in her bed, face clean, glass of clear drinking water on the table, hadn’t made her consider the possibility that it was real.

It was maybe a week after that when Chara approached her with the contract.

“I said all those things to Powder!” Vi hissed.

Jinx rolled her eyes in disdain, and crossed her arms as she stared down at Vi with a condescending, disappointed expression.

“Wake up, Vi. The Powder in your head isn’t real.”

Jinx walked towards her, the clap of heels announced her closing in, but Vi didn’t want to look at this impostor with her little sister’s face a minute more. She lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly. When the sound came to a stop right before her, she felt fingers tangling into her hair and pulling, forcing her head up. Vi kept her eyes closed, a little bit of defiance she knew was useless but insisted on anyway, face contorted into a hateful grimace.

“The grave you’re crying on top of is empty. I’m different but I’m here. I grew up, so what? Everybody does that. Now how about you open your eyes and see me.”

But Vi couldn’t, she didn’t want to. She felt at the edge of an abyss, another ground-shattering change in her life she wasn’t ready for, and this drop just might kill her. And if it didn’t, it would hurt so much. Vi was tired of hurting. She’d spent years mourning Powder without quite knowing if she was dead or alive. Then she found her only to lose her again, had to mourn her again. What was she supposed to do with all this? Just accept that this horrible woman who was enjoying humiliating her was the sweet little sister that used to look at Vi like she had all the answers in the world? How could she accept that?

Soon, Jinx got tired of waiting for her to figure it out.

“Open your eyes, Vi.” She snapped, voice dripping authority. Vi couldn’t stay there forever so, reluctantly, she opened them.

Jinx was as she’d always been. It’s not like she’d have changed in the last minute. Same ethereal appearance, her features deceptively soft except for her eyes, always sharp with intelligence and cruelty.

“Why did you bring me here?” Vi asked, her eyes trained on Jinx because she couldn’t look away now. “If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with.”

Much to her surprise, Jinx didn’t laugh at her or made another mocking remark. The contempt disappeared from her expression to be replaced by sadness, the kind that’s deep and old and exhausted. Like the way she had been right after the tea party, right after Silco died, but then it was naked for all to see, and now she was trying to hide it. Vi could only read it because it was an expression much like the one Powder used to wear when something was terribly wrong, when one of them were sick or hurt and Powder was ill with fear but trying to hide it.

“You really don’t get it, huh?” She whispered, bitterness dripping from every word and coloring her expression. Vi was too shocked by the glance of her little sister to think of a witty remark.

But too soon, like a spell was lifted, Jinx’s expression hardened again.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I could’ve even just washed my hands off you and let you do the job yourself.”

“Then why bring me here?” Vi asked insistently. “Torture? Or do you want me to work for you? Because it’s not gonna fucking happen.”

Jinx let out a little, airy laugh that sounded like she wasn’t all there, like she was a little high or lost in her own world of delusion. She let go of the grip on Vi’s hair, finally, leaving her scalp stinging after the mistreatment.

“No, silly, I don’t hire people who will just fuck up my business. You see, I bought you here because I wanted you to know who is footing the bill of your little… self-discovery moment.” She said, amused, like she was talking about a teenager with a porn magazine phase and not Vi’s entire life that she was toying with. “I guess it’s fair. You didn’t have room to grow up so now you’re 27 and still acting like 17 years old Violet. And even though you caused thousands and thousands on losses, it’s pocket money for me. So, for now, you can keep impersonating a washed-up alcoholic loser who’s only good for punching. For now, you can keep pretending that the cheers from the crowd can substitute the validation you crave so much. Just be careful not to become the lie you’re telling, Vi. My patience with you won’t last forever.”

“Fuck you. You think I wanna go back to Chara?”

“Oh, no, they don’t want you back. Even if I paid for the losses, the public embarrassment wouldn’t compensate.” Jinx shook her head and chuckled. “You’re being transferred to a smaller pit that only attracts local crowd. The maximum betting amount there is smaller, the fighters mediocre. You might even beat them while dead-on-your-feet drunk-”

As she spoke, Jinx started circling Vi to make her way back to her desk. But she completely forgot the puddle of vomit on the ground until she stepped on it and slipped, a loud and disgusting wet noise and Jinx’s surprised squeaking sound out in the room as her arms shot out to the side and she barely managed to keep her balance. She froze, shoulders around her ears. Vi could only see her profile but that was unmistakably a disgusted grimace, mouth slightly open in shock, and eyes wide as dinner plates.

Near the door, Sevika snorted, then put her hand in front of her mouth as she bit off laughing, and her expression went forcefully blank.

Vi had no such reservations and broke down into a fit of cackles, unworried about sparing the ego of a megalomaniac. This was the first time all day that she felt some positive things: amusement, a little bit of vindication, just the smallest amount of payback. Hell, she was going to enjoy it.

Jinx whipped around to glare at her, eyes wide and unstable. But as Vi laughed and laughed, bending forward from a lack of air, Jinx slowly recuperated her composure. When Vi’s fit had slowed down to just a few snorts, Jinx was simply glaring at her with a soul-freezing look, the bottom of her fancy shoe smeared with puke.

“You done?”

Vi threw her a smirk. “Maybe. It will probably come back.”

“I’m glad one of us found it funny. Maybe I just need a change in perspective.”

Vi knew Jinx wasn’t letting her get away with that unscathed. She calculated the risk, and it was absolutely worth it. Not like she couldn’t take a hit.

Jinx shoved the dirty shoe on her chest and pushed her down on the vomit, back first. She slid back a little because the puddle was slippery, disgusting, and smelled nauseating. Of course, it also made her sore back light up in pain all over again, but she could deal with that. The disgust and humiliation were harder to take.

Sevika wasn’t shy about laughing this time, so loud that it seemingly shook the walls of the fucking office. Vi gritted her teeth against the feeling of shame and tried to ignore the damned woman. Jinx glared down at her and rubbed the bottom of her shoe against Vi’s chest-wrapping and stomach, cleaning it on her. It was a weird sensation. The firm rubs weren’t painful, and not exactly… unpleasant either. Aside from the- the wet. She was probably going insane from having nobody touch her except to beat the shit out of her in so long, hell, if she ignored the brief few times with Caitlyn, it had been literal years. Vi tried glaring back at Jinx but for some reason she couldn’t meet her eyes and ended up glaring at her collarbone instead.

Then Jinx went too far up her chest, and Vi hissed.

“Don’t fucking step on my titties!”

“You’re ridiculous! I don’t know why I even try with you!” Jinx snapped. She lifted her fucking foot up from Vi, and circled her to reach her desk. “Sevika, get her out of my office!”

Sevika instantly stopped laughing, sending Jinx a disgusted look that Jinx made a point to ignore.

With no other alternative, Sevika came close and grabbed Vi by the arms, trying to haul her up while keeping her as far away from her body as possible but Vi wouldn’t be herself if she didn’t make it difficult. Even if Sevika was taking her out of this damn place, where she wanted to go right now.

She managed to get most of the puke on Sevika.

The woman cut the ropes keeping her arms bound, the blade coming a whisper from Vi’s skin, and pushed her out the door. Vi regained balance after stumbling a little, and remained standing instead of falling flat on her face in front of The Last Drop. It was maybe midday or later, and several people passing by stopped to watch the scene.

“And don’t you fucking come back!” Sevika growled before slamming the door on her face.

The audacity-! Vi didn’t want to be there in the first place!

“And Violet!”

Vi looked up to see Jinx, upper body inclined out of the open window of her office.

“Here’s your new contract, Miss Pig!” She waved a bunch of papers tied together and threw it down. It fell to the ground, but Vi made no move to get it.

“I don’t fucking want it!” Vi yelled back.

“Be homeless, then!” Jinx scowled and closed the window.

Unfortunately, Jinx was right. If Vi didn’t take the contract, she would be homeless. No other pit would take her, and there weren’t a lot of working opportunities in Zaun, except the army that was recruiting in mass now, but that would be the same as joining Jinx’s gang. She wasn’t that desperate yet.

She scowled at no one but herself, the little pieces of her pride that she was still clinging to stinging badly, and bent down to pick up the contract.

“Bitch.” She said bitterly, glaring at the closed window.

She hurriedly got up when the window was slammed open again, and the devil glared down at her.

“I heard that, you bitch!”

She flipped Jinx off with both her hands held as high as she could reach, because some of them still had two middle fingers, frowning even deeper when Jinx retaliated with her tiny prosthetic before slamming the window shut. Vi turned her back and started walking away as fast as she could without outright running, pretending she couldn’t hear the people around the street whispering and laughing behind their hands. Probably afraid to be the next target of Jinx’s ire if they did it openly.

She hated this day so fucking much, and it wasn’t even over yet.

Chapter Text

Ten months ago...

It wasn’t any different from the other nights.

Thunder boomed overhead, a flash of lighting ripping through the sky and briefly illuminating the dark alley ahead. Her boots sloshed through the mud and dirt, rain pelting down on her bruised and aching body, harsh and unrelenting. Each droplet of water hitting her skin felt like a tiny rock, slamming down onto her injuries and intensifying their ache. She couldn’t even see her way forward through the heavy storm, only the vague silhouettes and outlines when lightning decided to strike. Usually, she would rely on her memory of the undercity to be able to get around even blindfolded, but things had changed. In more ways than one. She was no longer in territory she was used to and Zaun was no longer what she once knew. Vi didn’t bother trying to stay dry, she had no reason to protect herself from nature’s severity and no means to either.

She may have tripped a few times on her path, but eventually she emerged out of the alley into a warmly lit street. Most of the shops were closed early, likely from news of the impending rainstorm; but the glass window of her usual bar glowed invitingly, beckoning her into its shelter and alluring stash of alcohol. A small voice in her head, the sane part of her mind, tried to reason that she hadn’t eaten all day (had she eaten yesterday?), she’d get sick if she knocked down all those drinks, and she’d be miserable and clutching at her sink for dear life and there would be no one next to her to help. But she quickly shut it down. What a joke. She’d be miserable and alone whether or not she was wasted, so she might as well enjoy some aspect of her meaningless life. Drown in the booze a little, not have to think too hard about anything. Sure, she threw most of her winnings in the bar, so what? Vi didn’t do nice things, this was the most tangible thing she’d get.

She began to hobble her way over, slipping on some mud a few steps in and stumbling back against the wall. Her foot…Vi winced, experimentally putting weight on it and withdrawing instantly when sharp pain shot up her ankle. She had won tonight, but her body had paid the price for it. Being up against a large fighter meant that a split second of hesitance was a death sentence, so she hadn’t hesitated when she had to choose between a broken ankle and a broken spine. It wasn’t hard to snap the bone back into place, she barely felt a thing up until this point. But she was starting to realise that it may have just been the adrenaline.

But no one was going to help her, and she’d sooner swallow petroleum than willingly take shimmer into her veins, so she might as well get this over with, use the alcohol to numb the pain, and go home.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, a chill running through her body that had nothing to do with the cold. Vi shielded her face from the rain with a hand, squinting at the shifting shadows around her. They weren’t close, dancing at the very edge of her vision. But it was enough to unnerve her, for some reason. She usually didn’t feel this way, but she’d trust her gut.

“If there’s anyone here, quit being a coward and show yourselves!”

She yelled, clenching her free hand into a fist. The shadows seemed to pause, eventually fading away into her periphery. Her own misty breaths were the only response she received, so she scowled and pointedly stomped her way on over to the bar. In a roundabout way, it was fortunate, because the brief surge of adrenaline gave her the boost to make it to the entrance without collapsing in pain.

The bar wasn’t as occupied as usual, again, presumably from the rain. A few small groups sought shelter close to the entrance, glancing at their watches then out the window again every so often. Some people settled for dinner on the sparse dining tables, and the others were scattered across the bar stools and nursing a drink to appear busy. Vi dragged herself onto the corner-most stool and signalled for a drink, several seats away from the nearest patron. Good, because she would punch anyone who even brushed against her right now. The bartender ambled over, a somewhat burly man in his late 40s. He took one look at her and raised his eyebrows, slinging a towel over his shoulder.

“Rough night, eh?”

Vi briefly glanced down at her drenched clothing and the rivulets of water dripping off of her onto the floor, shrugging. He set the whiskey down in front of her without further question, which she was grateful for. Talking to any bartender left a sour taste in her mouth, bittersweet memories resurfacing. She didn’t want anyone to take Vander’s place, and she didn’t want to forget him either. Honour his memory, somehow. Vi startled when she felt a towel rubbing at her wet hair, blinking up at the man as he clapped her shoulder and tossed her the cloth.

“Take care o’ yourself, kid.” He gave her one last meaningful look, “Here’s the bottle. Coins in the register, you know where it is.”

Fumbling to catch it, Vi nodded, waiting for him to disappear behind the door.

Well then.

She downed the glass in a single gulp, pouring herself another and tossing the coins on the counter. They clattered incessantly as she slammed back another, then another…then…she groaned, covering her ears and glaring at the unmoving coins which were still making so much noise. Vi dropped her head onto the dirty countertop, the chillness from the surface seeping into the skin of her cheek as she stared blankly at a wall. The ringing in her ears grew louder and louder, until everything else was a background noise to the high pitched, piercing shriek. Vi roughly pulled at her hair, suddenly dizzy; the floor gave out beneath her and her world swam, bright colours and shadows the only conceivable thing she could make out. She shut her eyes tightly, gasping against the onslaught of a terrible migraine.

She’d be here a while.

–

Caitlyn…

Vi jolted upright in her seat, almost falling over and catching herself on the wooden countertop at the last second. She shook her head vigorously, breathing heavy and heart beating a mile a minute. She propped her head up with a grunt, cautiously scanning the bar around her only to find that most of the customers had left. The few remaining ones were either fast asleep or deep in conversation, and the bartender was nowhere to be seen. Rain still beat down on the windows and blanketed the city in a cold mist, and she had no idea of how much time had passed. As far as she could tell, it was still sometime in the night.  She was surprised that no one had come to wake her up or kick her out, but she wasn’t complaining. Walking home with a broken foot in this weather didn’t seem particularly appealing to her, even if she could do it if needed. Vi stretched her arms out, blindly reaching for the whiskey bottle on her left.

“Finished with your surveillance?”

Vi fell back with a surprised yell, hitting the hardwood floor in record time and hissing when her injuries flared up.

“And I thought you had given up the enforcer act.”

She scrambled to get up on her feet, pulling her ankle out from the stool with a pained whine before she stood herself upright and threw a punch. Her would be assailant dodged easily, sending her crashing into the countertop. The alcohol in addition to her wounds made her sluggish, head spinning as she tried to redirect her attacks. They on the other hand, simply claimed the seat she was sitting on moments ago, twining their fingers together on the table. Vi backed away slowly, clutching her head and struggling to identify them through her blurry vision.

Her breath caught when she could make out a loose strand of electric blue hair.

“Bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?”

The woman looked at her curiously, patting the stool next to her. Painted fingernails pulled her hood back ever so slightly, just enough to get it out of her face, revealing a single side braid tucked into her robe and striking azure blue eyes. Vi almost fell to her knees right then and there.

“Powder…”

She stumbled forward, wrapping her sister in a tight hug. Powder froze before gingerly patting her shoulder, face caught halfway between shock and disgust. Her lips opened and closed around what she assumed were words, but Vi couldn’t quite register what she was saying as she cupped her face carefully, as if she’d break from one wrong move. It had happened before, after all. The biggest mistake of her life. Vi’s eyes slowly traced over her face, over the soft and rounded edges and the kind smile and bright eyes. 

“…Are you real?”

She whispered, gently brushing her thumb over Powder’s cheek. In a blink, Powder’s expression shuttered into emptiness, a blank look on her face. She stared at Vi long and hard, something that almost resembled…regret dancing in her eyes. Before Vi could ask what was wrong, an easy smile snapped back into place, shoulders lifting in an airy shrug.

“Guess so.”

And she believed it.

For a few minutes anyway, before awareness came crushing down on her. Vi dropped down onto her knees, laying her head on Powder’s chest and listening to the steady heartbeat. She should’ve known it wasn’t real. Nothing good ever was, these days. Or maybe it had been that way for a long time now. It had been happening more frequently. When she had stepped out of Stillwater, she assumed that her days of hallucinating her loved ones were over, but it quickly became apparent that they were not. Not when the woman who dragged her out of the depths of hell just pushed her back in deeper.

But sometimes, even her own memory shocked her.

The distinct scent of axle grease and baby powder tickled her nose, making her bury her face deeper into the robe. Powder was warm and nice and Vi didn’t realise that she was shivering until she had gotten a taste of warmth. She felt a hand on her hair, tapping to get her attention. When Vi made a questioning noise, Powder started talking.

“Not that I mind the sight of you on your knees,” She commented, running a hand through Vi’s hair. “But you should probably stop making that leg worse. You can still nuzzle me like an overgrown lap dog on the stool.”

Vi was only half listening to her because the nails scraping against her scalp felt absolutely heavenly. Her ankle was fine…it barely hurt.

“Vi.” Powder stressed, unusually stern. “Up.”

Vi groaned and glanced up at her with a ‘do I have to’ expression, blinking her eyes innocently. She hissed when Powder tugged harshly at her hair, pouting.

“Fineee…”

She acquiesced, dragging herself up onto the stool beside Powder. Almost immediately, she enveloped Powder in a bear hug and buried her face into her neck. The warmth from her skin seeped into Vi’s cheek, a content hum escaping her. Powder shook with a small laugh, tangling her fingers back in Vi’s hair and resuming her ministrations. The only thing in her head was background noise and exhaustion.

The sudden thought that this could be Jinx made itself known. It had her freezing and recoiling from the touch, fingers twitching erratically with the itch to protect herself. Powder frowned at the abrupt change, a look of confused concern in her gaze. That was what had Vi relaxing. She shut the idea down as soon as it arose, taking a deep breath and reminding herself that this was her sister. Jinx wasn’t soft features and gentle touches and twinkling laughs, she was sharp edges and rude words and mocking chuckles. Never in a million years would Jinx see Vi in this state and not take advantage of her, let alone help her out in any shape or form.

“You ok?”

She questioned, voice a little too hoarse. Vi nodded slowly, before tilting her head in curiosity.

“Are you sick?” She asked, briefly touching Powder’s face. “You sound weird. Like. You haven’t had water in days or something.”

Powder’s eyes went wide and she scoffed in offense.

“Says the woman who looks like she just got her ass kicked!”

Vi bristled.

“I did not-”

“And I’m not sick, end of discussion.”

“Okay, okay…”

Vi relented, dropping her head back onto Powder’s chest and hiding herself beneath the black robe. Cape. Whatever. Interesting fashion choice by Powder, but Vi wasn’t going to test her limits any further. Powder huffed in annoyance, probably from earlier, but ultimately snaked her arms around Vi’s torso, resting her chin on the older woman’s head. It was perfect.

They stayed that way for a long time, blanketed in a comfortable silence filled with more meaning than any amount of words could convey.

She took her chance when it came.

“I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, Powder.” She mumbled softly, slightly shifting. “Everything’s just so…bleak.”

Powder didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to. She was a figment of Vi’s imagination anyway, nothing she’d say would be something that Vi didn’t already know. But it had been so long since she had someone to talk to, so long since she could speak her fears and concerns aloud to someone who actually cared, even if they weren’t real. Even if they were gone, because of her.

“It feels like I have all this anger and sorrow and pain and I just…don’t have anything to fight for.” She continued, pressing her forehead above Powder’s heart. “I’ve lost you because of my stupidity. I never had Caitlyn to lose her. I don’t have a sense of identity or purpose anymore, at least in prison I still had you to fight for.”

She shut her eyes closed tightly, desperately trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

“But then I got out and I found her and you were just…gone.” She sniffled, laughing wetly. “I never got to say goodbye. I kept telling myself that I’d have the chance to make it up, make things right again. But no, the last thing you remembered of me was when I failed to protect you, protect you from me, and ran away like a fucking coward.”

Powder’s hold tightened in her hair.

“And I…I’m scared.” She confessed, wiping her eyes. “I’m scared that I’m going to die alone in this shitty apartment and no one will even know or care until they have to haul my rotting corpse out. I’m scared that I’ll be killed for some crowd’s sick entertainment and join the other nameless body bags. Hell, maybe I’ll deserve it. But I don’t want to.”

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks, defenses laid bare in the presence of the one person hallucination who still loved  understood her. She clenched Powder’s robe as tightly as she could, bruised knuckles white and shaking.

“I don’t want to die…” She muttered through a thick throat, sounding like a madwoman. “not when I finally got out…”

Jinx hold tightened around her, grounding. When she spoke, her voice was soft, just barely audible over the howling wind.

“You’re not going to die.”

“I just feel so…lost.” She admitted weakly, “I’m so lonely. There’s nobody here. I wish you were here. You always made everything better. What should I do? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

There was a long silence, in which she was starting to wonder whether Powder would respond at all. Or maybe her time was up and her mind had decided to stop playing such cruel tricks on her. Finally, she heard a quiet sigh, somewhere between fondness and exasperation.

“You’re not going to die, Violet.” Powder declared, resting her hand over Vi’s hair like it was a crown. “You’re the most resilient person I know, you’re like a freakin’ roach. You’ll figure it out, ‘kay? You’ve made it this far, don’t tell me you’re giving up now.”

“But-”

Jinx cut her off with a finger placed on her lips.

“You’re going to make it out of this.” Jinx reassured, voice firm and tone leaving no room for argument. “You’re strong and skilled and you will make it out of this. I don’t care if you have to claw yourself out of rock bottom, covered in blisters and bedrock. You will do it, you hear me?”

Vi lowered her eyes.

“You think I can?”

“Hey.” Powder brushed her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek. “I know you can.”

They stared at each other for a few long moments, before Vi nodded hesitantly, strangely soothed. She pushed Vi back into her chest, humming a quiet tune. Her eyes automatically slipped shut, darkness clouding the edges of her mind. It was fine, her sister was here. She was safe. Powder didn’t utter another word after that, but Vi was content to laze in her arms. They descended into a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional yawn from Vi. Her eyelids were so heavy…

“Go home, Vi.” Powder suddenly suggested, rousing Vi from her half sleep. “You need rest.”

“Will you be there when I wake up?”

“…We’ll see.” Powder replied. “Good night, Vi.”

Powder removed her arms, looking down at her expectantly.

Was she getting kicked out from her sister? By her sister? In her own mind??

Vi huffed in offense, refusing to move. Powder poked at her experimentally.

“No.”

“Alright, hard way it is then.”

She yelped when Powder casually picked her up, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Her surroundings were blurred out for a few moments before she was standing upright, a hand around her waist and her hand around Powder’s shoulder. Vi blinked, looking back and forth between her feet and her sister.

How-

Powder took a step forward, forcing her to do the same if she didn’t want to fall. Then another. And another. Vi hastily stumbled along to keep up with Powder’s quick strides, hobbling on one foot when her ankle protested. Soon they were at the door to the bar and she was letting Vi go.

“Go on then.” Powder snapped her fingers, pointing in the general direction of her apartment. “Shoo.”

Vi grunted in discontent, shooting Powder a dirty look before she attempted another step.

She managed to take two before her world faded to black.

Chapter Text

Ten months ago...

Vi took a couple of wobbling baby deer steps, tilted sideways, and fell face first on the ground with a thud. Jinx’s lips pulled back in disgust as she glared down at her sister’s prone form, then sighed. Pitiful but unsurprising. Vi was gulping down cheap alcohol in that bar for hours before she passed out on the table and Jinx grew bored enough to show herself.

She’d caught sight of Vi out and about in Zaun only a couple weeks after the unsuccessful attempt to ambush her that nearly ended with Isha dead. With all of Piltover after her, she would’ve sworn Vi was right beside her bitch tyrant sugar mama, sticking Jinx’s Wanted posters to punching bags. She followed as a precaution, to learn what Vi was doing down with the trenchers and if she had any leads on Jinx. But Vi wasn’t searching for her, she spent her nights in the fighting pits and bars, and her days locked in a rundown one room she rented, passed out or passing like a caged animal.

At first, Jinx had been delighted. She was right about Caitlyn Kiramman all along! Vi was put out like yesterday’s trash as soon as she displeased her precious Cupcake! It was hilarious!

The feeling faded far too quickly.

Jinx shouldn’t be sympathizing with Vi. She sold herself out to the pilties cheaper than a desperate whore because she wanted to. Silco trained her out of this weak, stupid sentimentality early. That’s the destiny of traitors: they end up dead, or they end up in the gutter first, alone, purposeless, constantly on the run, and dead shortly after.

But Jinx was bad at hating Vi. She tried multiple times and it all fell apart as soon as Vi was in front of her. No matter how furious she was, or how Vi changed to the point of having nothing of the sister Jinx loved, she didn’t want her dead. Being attached to ghosts was nothing new for Jinx.

Now, passed out on the sidewalk with no signs of stirring, Vi was awfully... defenceless.

Vi’s winning streak was attracting bad attention. Those fighting pits were one of the main breeding grounds of small wannabe gangs who made a profit by throwing the results of the betting pools. Vi was unaffiliated and winning every single fight. Soon she would either get offered a contract that was the closest thing to slavery accepted in Zaun, or get black marked by every gang around.

Her sister could rock the shit of a few nobodies even while wasted and injured, about this Jinx had no doubt, but not if she wasn’t even conscious. No matter how strong the fighter, all it took was one lucky shot or stab, and boom, Vi would die the most embarrassing death ever.

Damn Vi for making Jinx deal with her problems. Damn her for acting like Jinx was the Devil reincarnated because she killed a few Enforcers and a few rich assholes, then turning around and helping her girlfriend poison their whole city.

She poked Vi on the butt with the tip of her boot but didn’t get even a twitch in response. Leaving her passed out in this dark, filthy, sketchy street wasn’t an option, sadly. Jinx knew the way to Vi’s excuse for an apartment that she shared with a family of mega zaunite rats, and it wasn’t that far. But because Vi was bigger than her, any way she tried to hold her would be awkward.

Fireman carry it would be, then, just like the good old times when she kidnapped three people bigger than her. At least Vi wasn’t Sevika-sized, she’d be sleeping in the street if that was the case.

Jinx crouched down in front of her, put both arms under her sister’s armpits and started lifting. The slightest movement warned Jinx that Vi was waking up, and she barely dodged the punch aimed at her throat, dropping Vi back to the ground in the process.

She took a couple steps back in case the nap had finally snapped Vi out of thinking she was an hallucination, tense as a statue as the shimmer in her veins went wild and begged her to attack attack attack.

“Wow. Ungrateful. See if I help you again.” She huffed theatrically, making sure her cape and hood were still in place, and subtly palming her gun.

Vi raised her head, alarm disappearing from her expression when she saw Jinx, being replaced by hope.

“Powder.” Vi breathed out, like a little prayer, a single name packed with so much relief.

Jinx’s mood soured even further. She forced her face to remain neutral with some effort. Vi hadn’t snapped out of anything then, she was still thrice drunk and stupid.

Vi rolled onto her back slowly, with a pained grunt, her eyes never leaving Jinx. Her wide, shiny, and adoring gaze hit Jinx like a bucket of icy water on a winter day. Jana, you’d think she was having a religious experience, was that damn kid really so amazing that Vi made her into a saint? She had knocked Jinx onto Jana’s altar when she intended to kill her. Freak.

“You are still here.” Vi noted, her busted lips stretching into a small smile.

“Yeah, sure. Me.” Jinx snapped, bitter and short of patience. “I’m getting you home. Get up.”

Vi’s joy dampened a little with the rude treatment. Good! She closed her eyes and threw her arm over them, and Jinx no longer felt like she was nailed to a cross for admiration.

“Nooo.” Vi groaned, deep in her chest, arching her back a little from the ground in a way that also bared her thick throat. The bruises in her neck could’ve been from a hook-up if Jinx hadn’t seen her get them in the fight earlier.

“Are you gonna keep being a little slut right here? In public, for anyone to see?”

Vi’s head snapped up to look at Jinx, wide eyed and her mouth slack in shock and confusion. But she didn’t seem disgusted.

“Powder, since when do you have such a dirty mouth?” Embarrassment was clear in her voice.

“I’m a figment of your imagination, ain’t I?” Jinx asked with a straight face. “Why do you have such a dirty mind, sis?”

Vi’s expression became worried and horrified, her brows furrowed, the overall appearance was of an alarmed dog. Jinx couldn’t stop her laugh.

She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath to get herself under control. At least drunk Vi was great entertainment.

“That aside, I’m not asking, Vi, I’m telling you. You’re getting up and going home.”

Vi set her jaw in a familiar expression of bull-headed stubbornness and defiance, that childish need to prove no one could tell her what to do even if it was what was best for her. Jinx did that too but it was so annoying being on the receiving end of it.

Funny thing about being responsible for a kid is that Jinx was realizing that Powder with her sweet obedient nature and dislike of violence was probably Vander’s easiest kid to parent. Vi on the other hand must’ve been the reason for most of his grey hairs and stress lines.

“Or what?” Vi said, a dare more than a question.

Jinx considered kicking her sister in the diaphragm. That would probably ruin the whole hallucination charade but it might be satisfying enough to compensate this.

Vi had gladly given her an ace to win this argument, though, hadn’t she? If it didn’t work Jinx would consider the kick to the diaphragm.

“Or I’ll leave. I’ll go poof and you’re gonna stay all by yourself in this place that smells like piss.”

Vi’s stubbornness gave away instantly, replaced by a bitter glare. But when Jinx simply stared her down serenely, she started the slow process of pushing herself up. She had a worse time of it than an 80-year-old with back problems, all the while grunting from the effort and biting back groans. If Vi sounded this pornographic from being in pain, what sounds must she make in pleasure? Jinx let her eyes linger on the hard lines of Vi’s body, barely concealed by the tight black jacket and the bandages, her muscles tensing and contracting.

When Vi managed to get her hands and knees under herself, she leaned one hand on the wall for support as she made to stand. The attempt failed when she tried to put weight on her injured ankle and she fell back to the ground, her knees taking most of the impact. She took a pause, panting, head down and large shoulders hunched, hair falling in front of her face so Jinx couldn’t see what kind of expression she was making. The back of her neck was shiny with sweat.

The free show might’ve been worth the hassle after all.

Jinx crouched in front of her and put a hand on her lower back.

“Poor baby.” Jinx cooed, right next to her ear. “Do you need help, sis?”

For a moment, it didn’t even seem like Vi heard her. Then, a reluctant nod. Jinx smiled in satisfaction.

“Just ask, Vi.”

“... Pow, will you please help me get up?” Vi asked, so embarrassed and dejected that Jinx decided to take pity on her and not laugh.

“Put your arm around my shoulder.”

Though hesitant, Vi followed her instructions, and Jinx circled her waist. She hauled Vi to her feet with a burst of strength, letting out a heavy breath. Vi clutched at her shoulder, her other hand firmly on the wall.

“I could’ve helped.” She complained.

“Your ankle will thank me that I didn’t let you. Or not. Let’s go already, we’ve been wasting time here for too long.”

Jinx was paying attention to their surroundings the whole time, of course, but being still on a random zaunite street in the middle of the night was asking for trouble to find you. She made sure her shooting arm was free, her gun holster always in easy access, and pulled her hood a little further to hide her face. Then began the long trek to Vi’s apartment.

It was hard work, made harder by Vi’s stubbornness and drunkenness. Her equilibrium was shot to hell by the alcohol so they were stumbling from side to side, being surpassed in speed even by ants. To make matters worse, she refused to put any weight on Jinx, so every time she stepped with the injured ankle, she’d grimace in pain, and more than once she nearly fell and dragged Jinx with her.

Jinx was already pissed from being down in the street instead of on the rooftops, out of sight. It was Zaun, this hour of night was the perfect time to stalk in alleyways and wait for an unlucky idiot to rob, or beat up for the fun of it, or rape. More than once she had to stare down and pointedly palm her gun when someone stared at them a little too long. They’d give up then, there was easier prey to jump.

This continued for a while until Jinx’s short fuse was used up. She pinched Vi’s ear and pulled her down and closer by it.

“You’re gonna knock both of us to the ground if you keep this up. Lean on me.” She hissed on Vi’s ear.

“You’re too bossy for someone who isn’t even real.” Vi complained, grabbing Jinx’s hand and pushing it away. Jinx didn’t fight it but she made sure Vi saw her death stare. While Vi attempted to return it, her eyes were watering from the abuse she insisted on putting her already injured ankle through, little droplets clinging to her eyelashes, so it was as effective as a kitten glare.

“We’re nearly there. Five more minutes. Don’t be a big baby or I’ll leave you here.” Jinx warned.

Vi didn’t seem moved, because of fucking course, so Jinx changed tactic.

“Violet...” She purred in her sweetest voice. “I know you can do it but let me help. I don’t wanna be in this place any longer, it’s giving me the heebie-jeebies. Let’s hurry home.”

Vi melted. Her eyes softened, fixated on Jinx with a look that she had no interest in deciphering. Vi was the first to break eye contact as, finally, with a defeated sigh, she leaned on Jinx.

From there it was a little easier.

Climbing the stairs to Vi’s decrepit second floor room was a challenge in itself. When they were at the door, Vi fished the keys from her jacket’s inner pockets. After two failed attempts by her sister to fit the key in the hole, Jinx grabbed them out of her hand and opened the door herself.

The bed was all of five steps into the room. Jinx guided her there and Vi took her arm from her shoulder, and fell ungracefully onto it. She didn’t take off anything, shoes, jacket, or even got under the dirty sheets, she just shuffled up until her head was on the pillow. Her eyes were closing even as she fought to keep them open.

Jinx briefly considered helping. But she’d already done so fucking much and for what? For Vi to give the credit to “Powder”. Maybe she wouldn’t even remember this whole thing when she woke up. And if she did, she’d surely realize Jinx couldn’t have been an hallucination and the memory would be tainted. No, it was better if there were as little clues as possible that Jinx was here. And it didn’t make a difference, right? Taking off her shoes or her jacket, what would that change? Nothing.

“Well, my job here is done.” Jinx declared. “Sweet dreams, don’t let the rats bite ya, etc.”

“Wait!” Vi exclaimed, her eyes flying open as she grabbed Jinx’s wrist with a white-knuckled grip. “Don’t go yet! Please...” The little please trailed off, with warring hope and resignation that she wouldn’t be getting what she wanted.

Jinx should resist and go on her way. She’d wasted enough time with Vi. Isha freaked out if she woke up and Jinx wasn’t there. And what if the first rays of daylight broke whatever spell Vi was under to believe she was Powder? Would she attack her, try to kill her again? She wasn’t a serious threat in this state but it would be a slap in the face after all this trouble.

But it was Vi. And Jinx knew she’d never get another moment like this.

Jinx reluctantly sat down on the edge of the bed. Vi smiled at her, content, her eyes going half-lidded. She tried to shake off Vi’s hold on her wrist but her sister gripped it tighter and brought her hand, or better saying, Powder’s hand closer to herself.

“You’re so pathetic.” She whispered, disgustingly fond despite herself. Vi squeezed her eyes shut, ashamed. “At least you’re one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen, so I guess it cancels out.”

Vi’s gaze snapped open wide in shock. Jinx rested the hand Vi was holding hostage on her cheek, and rubbed at it with her thumb to see if the black goop came off but only succeeded in smearing it around. Vi had dyed her hair, changed her style and started wearing all this face paint that covered her tattoo and most of her features nearly everyday since coming back to Zaun. Could it be to avoid being recognized as an ex-Enforcer? Or maybe an identity crisis?

Despite her touch being far from soft, Vi leaned onto it all the same, sighing.

“I’m so fucked up.” She said, seemingly to herself.

“Why?” Jinx asked, curiously.

“Don’t make me say it.”

“Now I wanna know.” Jinx brought her other hand to Vi’s face too and cradled it, making Vi look at her as she leaned far closer than necessary. “Don’t leave things unfinished. What is it?”

That look on Vi’s face told Jinx she regretted opening her mouth but seemed to be enjoying the consequences of it. She sank her teeth on her lower lip, and without thinking Jinx put her thumb to it and dragged it down. Vi groaned, the sound a little too... pleased to be mistaken for frustration.

“I’m so needy my brain is making an hallucination of my sister flirt with me. And it’s fucking turning me on.” Vi whispered incredulously, her gaze fixated on the ceiling, her ears were flushed dark pink, and seemed to be spreading to what little could be seen of her cheeks and neck, not covered in black paint.

Jinx let out a low, dark chuckle, and patted her cheek condescendingly.

“You might wanna talk to a head doctor about that. Sounds serious.”

Vi laughed too, self-depreciating.

“I’d rather die than tell anyone about this.”

Jinx hummed to show she’d heard but didn’t say anything else. She even leaned back to give Vi some breathing room.

A few minutes passed like that, with the silence being broken only by Vi’s heavy breathing being slowly wrestled under control, and the occasional yelling, barking and hissing that was common of Zaun’s nightlife.

Until Vi started looking sick, her face contorted in discomfort and disgust.

“Pow, I need the bucket under the bed, now.”

Jinx jumped off her seat, fearing Vi would be sick on her if she didn’t get out of the splash zone. She took a quick look and grabbed the old bucket then held it out. Instead of taking it, Vi reclined over it and threw up. After a long moment of disgusting retching sounds, Vi rolled onto her back, looking even more exhausted than before.

Jinx looked down at the bucket in disgust. The smell was atrocious. She grabbed it by the handle with one hand while the other pinched her nose shut, holding it as far from her body as possible. She couldn’t believe Vi was putting her through this.

The building Vi’s rented room was located on didn’t have piped water in every apartment, instead it had a common area to fill containers to take to their rooms, with sinks to wash clothes or dishes. Jinx disposed of the waste, quickly rinsed the bucket, and even grabbed Vi a cup of water.

She fully expected to find Vi sleeping when she came back. But as soon as she opened the door, Vi opened her eyes to watch her.

Jinx put the bucket to the side of the bed, easily accessible if needed, the cup of water on the old table, and sat beside Vi again. Her hand was immediately claimed back.

How could Vi still think she was an hallucination? This was ridiculous hours ago but it was getting seriously worrying now. Even Jinx could tell her hallucinations apart from reality most of the time. It could be that she’d figured it out at some point but was in denial. But Vi didn’t have one bone in her body capable of tolerating someone she hated, and man, did she hate Jinx.

After all this trouble, though, didn’t Jinx deserve something in exchange? She’d wanted answers since she first saw Vi in that Enforcer uniform, it didn’t make any sense. In their childhood, Vi hated Enforcers with ferocity. And if she was to be believed, she’d gone to Stillwater in the meanwhile. She should hate them more now, not be lining up to join them!

Even if she hated Jinx that much, she could’ve gone after Jinx herself.

What did Caitlyn Kiramman had to make it worth turning into an Enforcer? No pussy was that good!

Jinx could never ask Vi. They’d never have a civilized conversation again, unless, apparently, Vi believed she was Powder.

Who knew if she’d have such a perfect opportunity again? This might the only chance to get some answers out of her.

Jinx was sure she wouldn’t like those answer but she wanted them still.

“Vi.” She called, softly, to test if Vi was still awake or had fallen asleep. If she had fallen asleep, then... Jinx would just leave and forget this whole night ever happened.

“Uh?” Vi hummed, encouragingly, clearly not asleep.

“Why did you become an Enforcer?”

Vi tensed up from head to toe, squeezed her eyes shut, her grip on Jinx’s hand tightening so much it felt like something would snap. A shiver of apprehension climbed up Jinx’s spine, after all Vi wasn’t currently aware her bones were real to be broken.

“I- you already know.”

Jinx gritted her teeth. No, I don’t, she wanted to scream, because I’m not a figment of your fucking imagination!

“Say it anyway!” Jinx growled.

Vi gasped, as if the words had been a physical blow instead.

“I thought I’d be able to do something good.” She let out in a single breath, hurriedly, like she just wanted it to be done with. “That I could stop her from hurting more people so you’d get to rest and I could mourn you in peace.”

Mourn?

In PEACE?

“The people she killed were Enforcers and Councillors.” Jinx whispered, icily, having frozen over her rage to contain it. “People who’d killed far more zaunites than they’ll ever know and didn’t bat an eye. Their mansions and fortunes are built upon the corpses of us trenchers! What gives them the right to hurt us but makes it so wrong to retaliate?”

No, she didn’t regret it. What was there to regret? That for once in their lives, piltoveans felt an ounce of the horror, pain, fear, and uncertainty that haunted her whole life? Jinx wished she’d lost her parents as an adult, her future guaranteed, had the privilege of burying them and mourning them. That she had something more left of them other than the vague memory of an embrace that made her feel safe, the smell of axle grease on her nose, tugging at her mom’s braid. What did Piltover know about suffering?

“And you.” She hissed, poison dripping from her voice, leaving a sour taste in her mouth. “You dressed up like the monsters that made our life hell. You came here wearing that uniform, poisoned us, vandalized the streets, beat and terrorized people-”

“We were only searching for her!” Vi interrupted heatedly, shaking her head, and brought Jinx’s hand to her mouth. Jinx tried to tug it back, but Vi didn’t even seem to notice. “I swear, we only beat up gang members or the people that got in our way, people that might know where she was, I would never go after kids-”

“Oh, it’s fine if they’re guilty? And what about the kid in the factory? What makes his life not count?”

“We weren’t aiming at him, he was in the way, we couldn’t have stopped it! I had to do something against Silco!”

“So everything is justified when you do it?”

“No! No, it’s fucking not!” Vi yelled, her eyes snapping open and her hands flying to Jinx’s shoulders, holding her in place when she flinched away. Jinx tensed up, free hand grabbing her gun, and the only reason she didn’t raise it was because Vi didn’t seem angry. She was manic, wide reddened eyes and a pained expression.

“I made another wrong choice, another mistake! I thought I was doing something good! Protecting good people, building something worth it, like Vander! I thought maybe... Dad would be proud.” She sounded strangled by the end of it, blinking rapidly to stop tears from falling.

Her hands slid from Jinx’s shoulders down her arms, like a caress, and finally Vi took them back and Jinx was free of her touch. Immediately she got up and put some distance between them, cradling the hand that Vi held hostage. It was sore, would probably bruise up, her shoulders too.

“He’d be so ashamed of me now.” Vi finished in a whisper.

Jinx licked her dry lips, turning her back to her sister. She couldn’t think of Vander without the creeping feeling that he was looking down on her, always so much bigger, stronger, and better than anyone else, endlessly disapproving of everything she’d become. Who knew she and Vi still had something in common?

“You loved me once, right?”

Jinx blinked in surprise, and apprehensively stole a glance at her sister over her shoulder. But Vi wasn’t looking at her, even as she spoke, her chin was tucked into her chest, one hand covering her face.

“You needed me. You thought I was... Cool. Mylo and Claggor did too, I didn’t make that up, I didn’t- I used to be good. At more than just hitting things. I was worth something. Wasn’t I?”

Those last two words were whispered like a prayer. Instead of the hopeful content prayer packed into Powder’s name earlier, now it was the kind of prayer people made to Jana during flooding time, as their house fell around them, as their babies turned blue and they couldn’t do anything about it.

A painful lump lodged itself in Jinx’s throat. She swallowed but it didn’t do anything to clear it. Heat was building behind her eyes but she refused, she refused to cry in front of anyone, much less Vi.

A long silence followed as Jinx tried to decide if she should leave, the door was so close and so tempting. She could leave right now. But she couldn’t make herself go. She was terrible at hating Vi. She didn’t want her dead or  miserable, she just wanted Vi to-...

What did she even want from Vi?

She’d spent years waiting for Vi to come back and love her. Say she was sorry, say it wasn’t her fault, that she shouldn’t have left, that nothing was more important than Jinx. When Vi did come back, nothing happened like Jinx wanted, and maybe it was a little Jinx’s fault because that tea party was a stupid idea but she’d died a few hours prior and she’d been having the worst episode ever for 3 days straight because shit kept happening to trigger her and the voices were driving her even more insane than normal and the shimmer built up and up and begged to be let out in a violent way and-

And Silco died. Because Jinx protected Vi. And she didn’t even regret it. Even though it felt like a betrayal, though she missed him so much that living with it was like trying to breath underwater, though Silco had loved her until his last breath while Vi didn’t... She couldn’t regret saving Vi’s life.

She had something good again. She had Isha. She had Sevika, surprising as that was. Soon, she would have the weight of Vander and Silco’s legacy on her shoulders and all of Zaun to rule over.

She didn’t need Vi.

She wanted her anyway.

She took a deep, deep breath, palm to her mouth, and turned her back to the door.

“You still are.” Jinx said, her voice hoarser than normal. “Worth something, I mean. Not cool. Don’t know where younger me got that, you were never cool.”

Vi sniffled but let out a little wet laugh.

Jinx was lying, of course. Vi looked pretty damn cool in the arena, kicking the butt of an opponent much bigger than her. Jinx hadn’t been able to resist the urge to bet on her.

“You were... Everything to me. And you can still be, you know. Long as you’re not dead, there’s still time.”

Vi didn’t look like she believed her.

It was worth a shot. Vi might not even remember this conversation. The important thing was that Jinx knew what she had to do, now.

She picked a hand cloth from one of her pockets, got it wet with some water from the cup she brought up. Then, trying not to be too rough, she rubbed it onto Vi’s face to clean it of the black goop.

Vi tried to bat her away, but a mix of exhaustion and drunkenness left her as weak as a kitten.

When enough of the makeup and paint had disappeared that she could now see her sister’s skin again, the “VI” tattoo visible on Violet’s cheek, Jinx let her go.

“That’s better.” She declared, running fingers through Vi’s hair to tuck it back. “I thought with a reminder on your damn face, you wouldn’t forget who you are. You’re better than this, I know it.”

Vi stared at her long and hard with an expression Jinx couldn’t decipher. Then she smiled, a small weak thing but there nonetheless, and closed her eyes, relaxing onto the bed.

“Thanks, Powpow.” She mumbled.

“Don’t thank me now. I haven’t even fixed anything yet.” Jinx replied.

Little did Vi know, that was a promise and a warning all in one.

Chapter Text

The fighting pit Jinx borrowed Vi to was a few streets down from The Last Drop, maybe 20 minutes on foot. It was logic to assume they should’ve bumped into each other at some point, in the few weeks since their “talk”. Jinx had been taking Isha out to Jericho’s frequently; it was improbable that she and Vi were never there at the same time.

There were only a few places in The Lanes you could get anything in the form of everyday errands done. The only explanations for the fact Jinx never even caught a glimpse of her sister on the streets were if Vi was staying home all the time or avoiding any place she could run into Jinx and walking/rooftop surfing an additional hour to do her errands.

Jinx knew Vi was stubborn and wouldn’t change her mind at a snap of fingers, wouldn’t come crawling back the very next day begging to join her. No matter that she was miserable at her pathetic job and Jinx was offering her a superior option on a silver platter. She knew her sister a considerable amount, even after all these years. Jinx predicted this and expected to play the long game. But she was running out of patience.

She was used to painstakingly laying down traps that took hours of effort and required patiently waiting for little pigs to get in place. She’d done missions for Silco that took days, weeks of her time, scouting and ambushing and spying for him, all as easy for her as children’s game. Her longest mission took a month and involved stalking an old Chembaroness to confirm traitorous intentions until she could report back: “Yeah, she was super planning a coup. Course I killed her. The blood? Don’t worry, it isn’t mine. The kill was messy. The lipstick stain on my neck...? You sure you want the answer for that, old man?” Silco hadn’t wanted the answer, upon second thought.

That had been a rare fun mission.

This time the waiting was not amusing her.

Maybe that was cause this involved Vi, and Vi woke up all the worst things in Jinx. (Except the murderous instinct but Jinx considered the murderous instinct a quality, really.) Perhaps her unwillingness to wait was because she’d already been waiting for Vi for years — her whole life — forever. The true answer laid somewhere between these three. She couldn’t be blamed for having no more self-restraint.

Were the clues she tried to give Vi too subtle?

Maybe it was time for another intervention.

This was how she ended up visiting an underdog fighting pit in an otherwise nice free night. And she dragged Sevika with her. For security reasons, and partly because if she had to suffer so had Sevika, that’s what it meant to be her Right Hand.

They took the rooftops from the bar to the pit but dropped down to street level a little before reaching it and approached on foot, bypassing the considerable waiting line to enter the place. People did a double take as they passed, swallowing whatever insult they were about to utter. The two men guarding the entrance, upon seeing them, stared with a wide-eyed dumb gaze for a long moment as they got closer, until one of them snapped out of it and said something to the other, then ran off. If Jinx had to bet, she’d guess he was going to get his boss. She could appreciate when someone had the bare minimum intelligence to realize they were too low status to be attending to her.

She could also appreciate when someone pushed a stinking hot shit of a problem on their boss to deal with (long as the boss wasn’t her, of course). She’d done that to Silco often.

He kept his eyes averted as he let them in ahead of everyone, and without asking for the entrance fee. In a respectful tone, he asked them to wait that the boss of this pit would come escort them personally.

They settled in a corner a few steps from the door. Sevika leaned against the wall in her fuckdyke pose, grabbing a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. She retrieved one and held it in between metal fingers as she lightened it up, then took a deep drag of it. Good, maybe after smoking she’d bitch a little less.

Jinx turned around to take a look at the space, analysing.

This particular fighting pit was deep in The Lanes, not quite in the lowest level of this hell but close. The show happened in an abandoned factory building, emptied and repurposed. The stands were metal structures that looked vaguely like death traps. Mismatched chairs were set in a line in front of the proper stands, everything to fit more people in here. More audience, more money.

A cage stood in the middle of the building, a huge, hostile thing with thick straight bars, and a giant lock that closed after both competitors entered and remained closed until the end of the fight. The metal was coated with an ever-present layer of brown, bloody iron mixing with jagged rust. That was the biggest attraction of this particular pit, the thing that got people coming back for more. Zaunites loved seeing a good dog fight.

Unlike the main pit, which was made to appeal to pilties that wanted some illegal fun in the Undercity, this catered entirely to their people. And it didn’t have anything like a VIP area you could pay to enter. No, this was for the depraved and the wicked, and down here? Privilege was earned.

Sevika huffed loudly, indicating she wanted Jinx’s attention. Jinx pretended to ignore her.

“I cannot fucking believe you dragged me here.” She growled, in the way that made grown men with a kill count piss their pants. Jinx felt the most lethal stink eye of the day burning on the back of her head, and smiled.

“I can’t drag you anywhere, Sev. Have you seen yourself? I’d need a crane.” Jinx replied drily.

In response, Sevika breathed out a cloud of cigarette smoke in her direction, like a sullen pet dragon. Jinx scrunched her nose up a little at the smell, kinda bad but strangely addicting, that she’d come to associate with Sevika.

She shouldn’t be smoking in a closed building but no one here except Jinx could make her stop, and Jinx was not inclined to. She looked hot doing it.

“I better get extra pay for this.” She grumbled.

Jinx faced her so Sevika could clearly see her pointed eye-roll, as she crossed arms in front of her chest. “You’re worse than a whore, everything’s always about money with you.”

“Of course. Did you think I was sticking around for your bright personality, doll?”

Jinx chuckled maliciously, but didn’t reply.

Sevika glanced around with such a look of distaste that it made Jinx think of a piltie madam turning her nose while clutching her pearls, which set her off into a fit of her public laughter, the high-pitched creepy giggles. Sevika stared at her suspiciously.

A stout man was walking in their direction but stopped abruptly a few steps away, probably from overhearing her. He was out of the bubble of space the crowd had naturally given them and nearly got knocked down by the newest group of people spilling into the building, before setting his feet and recuperating balance. Reluctantly, he approached them.

“Ma’ams?” He called, apprehensively. Had to be the main clown of this circus here to escort them. “I’m the supervisor of this pit, it’s an... Honour, that you decided to visit us.”

Jinx ignored him but Sevika put off her cigarette on the wall and took a couple steps forward, business face on. The man shrunk in on himself as Sevika stared him down, and she wasn’t even making an effort to intimidate him, that was just her resting bitch face. He was disgustingly sweaty from nerves, and his hands were shaking a little.

Obviously, he wasn’t used to dealing with their kind of people, powerful and influent. Of course not, what person with an ounce of respect to their name would visit this fighting pit out of all the options? Jinx was only here because she’d hidden a gem, her prized steed, in this hellhole.

“Our seat?” Sevika asked, in a bored tone.

The man visibly steeled himself by straightening his spine and clearing his throat before he spoke. “Yes, yes. See, Boss, we don’t have any seat in this house fit for such important people but I hope you’ll accept our sincere effort. If you come with me-”

“No,” Jinx interrupted. “I want to see my fighter first.”

Sevika side-eyed her with so much irritation that, had she the power to kill someone with her gaze alone, Jinx would’ve dropped dead right there. As it stood, she was still alive and showed her Right Hand a sharp smile.

Vi was the reason she was here, no matter how much Sevika hated it.

“Your…” The man stalled, hastily assembled composure disappearing from shock. “fighter? Sorry-”

“The Scarlet Hound.” Sevika snapped suddenly, causing him to flinch and Jinx to smirk. For all of her Right Hand’s huffing and puffing, she did her job perfectly.

She was obviously redirecting her feelings over being forced to attend. It was still entertaining to watch her be mean as fuck on Jinx’s behalf, regardless of reason.

“Yes, of course, of course.” He replied, evidently understanding nothing. “You can see her right away, she’s just up ahead, really-”

With that, he darted away into the emerging crowds, eager to leave as soon as possible. Sevika grunted in annoyance, watching him go long after Jinx had lost him. Sharp vision, that one.

“So,” Jinx started, ignoring Sevika’s warning glare. “Look who knows my sister’s ring name.”

“You’ve literally made it my job.” Sevika countered, scanning the perimeter and subconsciously shielding Jinx with her body. Wasn’t that cute. Didn’t even wanna be here but alert and obedient. “I wouldn’t need to if you invested in actually competent assets.”

“Vi has plenty ‘assets.’” Jinx argued, revelling in Sevika’s brief look of distaste. “I’m just sayin’, for someone who refused to call her any way at all a week back, you didn’t even need to think about it.”

Sevika rolled her eyes, face settling into a practiced wall of disinterest, probably in hopes of getting Jinx to leave her alone. Jinx’s dreams of further tormenting her ended when the same man popped back up from the crowd and began steering them towards the centre. As they went, she inevitably bumped into a few people, who all sneered on instinct before they saw them and backed away, eyes wide in recognition. She wouldn’t care much about it, except, well, people talk. And the talk would reach Vi before she did; provided she wasn’t passed out in the bottom of a mug again.

“This place is packed.” Jinx commented, breezing through the now parted crowd with a very unamused Sevika. “Maybe I should’ve put Vi someplace worse.”

“A crowd doesn’t mean quality, there’ll always be cheapskates.” Sevika scoffed, glancing at Jinx with a knowing look. “And you won’t do that. You’re too soft.”

Soft?!

In a flash, Jinx pressed herself up against Sevika’s side, raking her fingernails down the older woman’s lower back, exposed by her cropped shirt. Sevika’s breath hitched ever so slightly, no doubt from the outline of Jinx’s gun pressed into her thigh (freak). Her expression quickly morphed into amusement and she wound her hand around Jinx’s waist. Freak.

And the crowd goes wild. Literally. Multiple groups of people around stared openly and began furiously whispering behind their hands, like somehow this would make it impossible for them to know the subject of their talks. Most people were so stupid.

She ignored it, her eyes firmly set on her Right Hand, and spoke in a low warning tone. “You wanna say that again, Sev?”

“You are too soft.” Sevika doubled down, and Jinx gritted her teeth. Oh, Sevika would pay her for this later. Expensively. Then, she added: “For your sister. Get rid of her and you’ll be golden.”

Jinx made a show of thinking it over.

“Nah.”

“-Jinx?!”

Jinx perked up at the familiar voice, tugging Sevika along a little quicker until she caught sight of a familiar profile.

“In the flesh.” Jinx responded, still comfortably nestled into Sevika’s side. Several pairs of eyes shot to her, with varying degrees of surprise. Vi stared at her with a mixture of indignation and conflict, looking between Jinx, Sevika, and briefly at the hand on her waist in disgust. Really, both of her hounds were so dramatic.

Jinx glanced over at the opposing fighter, noting the hastily mouthed ‘holy fucking shit’ before she turned her full attention on Vi.

“Heard you were wasting my money.” She drawled, nodding to the healing bruises on Vi’s upper torso. “So I stopped by to knock some sense into you.”

“Did you forget? You’re paying me to do the knocking.” Vi snarked, subtly shrinking into herself and crossing her arms. Defensive. Huh. “Don’t you have more important things to do, boss?”

“You’re right– wow, I never thought I’d hear that from my mouth– you’re miscellaneous work at best.” Jinx fired right back, narrowing her eyes at Vi’s, all things considered, surprisingly tame demeanour. “Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be wasting my money. I have grown up stuff to invest in, you know. My factories, armament, fighters...”

Sevika’s gaze bore into the side of her head, probably trying to telepathically convey “That’s what I have been telling you!” But Jinx expertly ignored it.

“Fighters?” Vi snorted. “What am I then, a log?”

“I was thinking more of a nuisance.” Jinx deadpanned, as she took note of her sister’s appearance with a critical look.

Vi looked better, there was no doubt about that; the craze in her baby blue eyes had softened and she was no longer unsteady on her feet, dark circles and pale skin replaced with a somewhat fresh complexion. In Jinx’s eyes, she should’ve been brattier than ever. Which could mean either one of two things – she decided to come to her senses and join the right side (with Jinx), or a secret second thing that Jinx was currently trying to figure out. Because Vi would never make things easy for her, at least not on purpose.

“Oh, fuck you.” Vi responded, very eloquently. “What’re you even doing he-”

“Dude.” Some woman grabbed Vi by the arm, catching Jinx’s annoyance. She looked older than Vi, but in Zaun most people aged fast so that could mean nothing, and was entirely human far as Jinx could see. Her skin was light and her hair a dirty blond colour. Her nose had been broken too many times and lost the shape of ‘nose’ a little bit. She was the same height as Vi, and of a similar build too. “You never said you were being sponsored by the-”

“Stay out of this, blondie.” Vi bit, wrenching herself free and glaring at mystery woman. Oh, I see we’ve made a rival. “She wasn’t talking to you.”

“And you shouldn’t be talking to her.” She hissed, voice lowered and clearly not intended for Jinx to hear. Fortunately, or unfortunately, shimmer life came with peculiar side effects. And for some reason she couldn’t put a finger on, that statement annoyed her. “Are you insane? This is above both of-”

“Actually, that’s how a conversation works.” Vi retorted, smiling thinly and walking over to Jinx’s side (something Sevika didn’t seem to like, she noted. So jealous, both of them. It wasn’t Jinx’s fault that she had two hands.) “Now if you could fuck off, that’d be ideal. Bye.”

The other fighter opened her mouth, then closed it when her eyes landed on Jinx, a clear thoughtfulness behind them as she pondered her next words.

“You…you’re sponsoring her matches?” She spoke, making Jinx raise an eyebrow. “Do you just let her talk to you like that?”

“Why?” Jinx redirected her attention, tilting her head and letting her smile stretch a little too wide. “You wanna see what happens if you try?”

“I’m just-” She cut herself off, chuckling slightly to herself in a trademark unstable fashion. Jinx remained undefeated still, that was a weak laugh. It wasn’t disturbing at all, just pitiful. “Miss, respectfully, why her? She loses half her matches and can’t control her temper for the life of her- me and my mates have been slaving away at this dump for years and we’d kill for an opportunity like that.”

Vi bristled.

“What did you-”

“Cool sob story.” Jinx cut her off, examining her fingernails in boredom. They could use a new top coat. “Guess the world isn’t fair, huh?”

“Well, I’m willing to earn it.” ‘Blondie’ declared, scoffing at Vi. “Tonight’s the final qualifying match. Big rewards for the kill.”

Ugh. Jinx loathed when street trash thought they could impress her with bragging they couldn’t back up and stupidity they thought of as bravery. Not to mention, this place was small for a fighting pit, their “big” rewards were pocket money for her.

Her trigger finger twitched as her hand hovered just over for her gun. She was tempted to scare the woman a little, put her on her knees, give her a pretty bruise or two, make her shut up. Maybe seeing someone cry in fear would lift Jinx’s mood, it might be the only real fun she’d have in this shit-hole.

Before she decided one way or another, Vi surprised her by putting herself in between Jinx and the woman.

“She’s not interested!” She barked.

Besides Jinx, Sevika scoffed at the show which was just rich of her.

“Don’t turn your back on me!” Jinx snapped once the surprise disappeared and cleared way for irritation. She stepped away from Sevika’s hold and put herself in front of Vi, scowled at her sister. “You don’t decide what I’m interested in!”

“Are you considering it?” Vi questioned, voice going higher and dipping dangerously into accusatory zone. Fun. “What, you do charity now?”

“She only needs one fighter,” The woman said heatedly. “She might as well have one that’s worth the investment!”

Ha! The fucking audacity?!

Jinx geared up to give her the humbling of a lifetime but Vi was just a little quicker. Her head snapped in blondie’s direction.

“Is that a joke? Should I laugh?” Vi asked, giving the woman a mocking cruel smile. “Worth the investment? You’ve been stuck in this pigsty for years and wasn’t made it into the main pit!”

Blondie’s expression twisted into an ugly, bitter, furious sneer.

“Unlike you, when I make it, I won’t fuck it up!”

She came closer and Vi met her halfway, until the space between them was nearly non-existent. The Viper women was incensed, her muscles tense and fists squeezed shut, ready to hit. Jinx had to admit, at least her anger had presence. She doubted the woman could back it up with skill but it was at least hot to watch, especially when they were fighting over Jinx. As for Vi, she still had that smile that was more a baring of teeth on her face, smug like a cat playing with a mouse she intended to have for dinner. She hit the woman at her sore spot and she was damn proud of herself for it.

Jinx knew this song and dance, every bitch with an alpha complex she knew did that dick measuring contest right before coming to blows.

Interesting.

Jinx observed the proceedings closely, intrigued despite herself. She had no doubt Vi could beat this woman with a hand tied behind her back. The fight might still be worth watching though.

“I can fuck you up right now!" Vi snarled.

“Hound! Viper!” The supervisor shouted out from far away as he zigzagged in between the fighters on his way to them. “Separate! Now! Save it for the ring!”

The face of both women soured like a stinky cheese. Going by the distaste in their faces, obviously neither respected the man’s authority but they had no choice other than cooling it. Regardless, the blond woman shrunk in on herself and retreated more readily than Vi, who lingered and continued glaring openly.

Jinx kept her face carefully neutral, bravely resisting the urge to pout. She was watching that, how dare that pathetic little man interrupt?

Well, no matter. At least this gave her proof that she was in the right path.

Even at her worst, it was perceptible Vi still had fire in her, it just needed a little tending to. She stood out, she still had the posture of one of Vander’s heirs. She was in dire need of remembering who she was and a new goal to fight for.

If Jinx had doubted her plans even a little before coming here, said doubt died and gave away to satisfaction. If she pushed Vi a little more, her sister would soon be coming to her senses. To Jinx’s side, on the very top of this city’s power pyramid, where she rightfully belonged.

The supervisor reached them and his gaze flickered from Vi to the annoying woman, then to Jinx, in perplexity.

Jinx glared back and he quickly averted his eyes and straightened up, like he’d just remembered to keep some kind of posture in front of the Leader of Zaun. The brief pause seemed to help him get over the shock of their presence, at least enough that his professional facade was kinda believable now.

“Boss, your seat is ready. The first match will start in 5 minutes.”

Jinx hummed thoughtfully, and looked at Vi. Like she could feel Jinx’s eyes on her with a sixth sense, her sister met her stare with suspicion and lingering anger. Then, Jinx tore her eyes away from her to look at the other woman, who stood taller upon noticing she was being watched. An idea started taking form in her mind.

She clapped once, loudly, to make their considerably audience rush and pay attention. As if everybody’s attention wasn’t already on her like vultures on fresh kill. But a move like this one needed some flair.

“This was fascinating and all but I would much rather watch you two fighting in the cage, like I came here to do. I want a show. A good one. Don’t waste my time and my money.” Jinx declared, loud and clear, and her lips stretched into mean smile, wide enough to winkle corner of her eyes. “If someone here impresses me... We’ll see what happens.”

The crowd all broke out in rushed whispers, and Viper’s face lit up in smug delight. She sent a last Vi a smug look before turning on her heels and leaving. But Vi stayed, her eyes glued on Jinx, exuding incredulity and indignation.

“What the fuck?” She hissed, deeply offended.

Jinx chuckled and didn’t answer her before walking away, feeling Vi’s stare burning into her back. The supervisor ran to keep up with her, saying something about her seat that she couldn’t hear over the blood rushing in her ears. Sevika was beside her again in a second, with her freakishly long legs.

“What are you planning?” She inquired suspiciously, lowly so no one else could overhear them.

This woman knew her too well.

“You’ll see.”

This night just might not be as much of a bore as she thought it’d be.

Chapter Text

Her hands were shaking.

Vi paced back and forth on the cracked cement of her side of the cage, rhythmically clenching and unclenching her fists. Her nails had grown longer, more uneven and sharp; they dug into her dry and calloused palms and drew fresh blood. For once, the uncontrollable tremors that kicked her into overdrive weren’t from alcohol or injury.

They were from rage.

She stalked the length of the arena, feeling unreasonably– unexplainably pissed. Her heart was racing, her blood was boiling, her vision was blurred. The choice to avoid looking at Jinx was conscious, but when had her body ever obeyed her? No, they kept flicking to blue pink eyes and a sardonic smile, seeking nonsensical approval from the metaphorical tyrant. She didn’t understand anything about that girl, and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to.

But maybe, the most annoying part of it all, was that she couldn’t even understand herself.

She couldn’t understand the odd feeling of envy, the voice in her head that screamed at the thought of Jinx choosing someone else to be the main puppet of her stupid games, couldn’t understand the overlapping, feverish whispers in her head repeating ‘mine’ over and over again. They shouldn’t be here, they didn’t belong here. They carved their own damn spaces into her body without her permission and she couldn’t risk throwing them out unless she wanted to feel empty again. Unless she wanted to go back to cold floors and fragmented memories and chasing an early death.

But it wasn’t her fault, was it?

Before she knew it, her fist darted out to hit the metal bars, pain flaring up her knuckles. Good, a bit more clarity. Her ears rang. Someone was saying something.

No, it was Jinx’s.

From the moment she laid eyes on her sister – after seven, painfully long years blurred into each other, – and saw someone else, someone far more sinister intertwined with her soul, she knew something was wrong. Still, Vi had hoped. She had hoped with every fibre of her being that Powder could change, that she’d choose Vi over the person the world had disfigured her into. That maybe, all that suffering had been worth it, if they ended up together in the end.

But Jinx, Jinx ruined her so thoroughly that she wouldn’t be able to forget it if she tried. Jinx hadn’t killed her sister; she had done the painstaking job of disassembling her piece by piece and putting her back together in a grotesque imitation of a grown-up Powder, keeping and discarding whatever she saw fit. For better or for worse, she had chosen to keep the fragment of Vi’s soul that belonged to Powder. And not for a moment had she allowed Vi to forget it. They were stitched together through the shared caricatures of their memories, the grief, the loss, pain; so intimately that loosening a single strand would cause their entire beings to unravel.

And now, she thought she could just- replace Vi with some common bitch?

Hell no.

Who did she think she was?

Her gaze snapped up to the snake on the other side, slithering around the arena and eyeing her with a single-minded focus.

Too bad it won’t be enough to win.

Five…

Vi herself hadn’t been having the best winning streak. Her kills had been borderline and most of her efforts had been focused on pulling herself out of a slump and figuring out what the hell Jinx was planning. She wasn’t a fool to assume that she could keep doing this forever, nothing came without a price in their world.

They each squared up and discarded their jackets, with the buzz growing louder and louder until Vi realised they were chanting a name.

Four…

Viper.

Figures.

The surrounding lights dimmed and thrust them into momentary darkness, through which the only thing she registered was a piercing violet pink gaze.

Three…

Sharp, blinding fluorescent lights flickered on overhead, and her eyes zeroed in on the target. The cheers faded into background noise, her own shallow breaths echoing in her ears.

Two…

But if Jinx wanted a show, then that’s what she’d goddamn get.

…One.

The bell rang out.

Her body moved on instinct, reflexes trained and lightning fast. They had to be, when they were the difference between life and death. Her fist collided with a hard planed abdomen, catching sight of the briefest widening of eyes before she went for a sharp uppercut. Blood splattered across her face and she blocked the counter hit with ease, frowning at the weak response.

Oh. That’s right. She hadn’t gone offensive in this ring.

Oh well.

She turned around sharply when Viper escaped from beneath, coughing as she shoved her against the cage with a single, harsh kick to her back before retreating to the opposing edge. Vi scoffed, rolling her shoulders. Weak. No wonder she’d never made it to the big leagues.

They circled each other slowly, each one thinking the other prey. She could see her opponent recalculating, eyeing Vi cautiously as she wiped across her split lip. She was still arrogant, just…subdued. Vi tracked her movements, crouching carefully and planning her own approach. Viper and her were mostly matched in size and build – cornering her wouldn’t do much or even guarantee a win. On a good day, Vi would simply hang back and wait for an opening. The timer showed her plenty of seconds. Pit fights weren’t personal.

She leapt forward and revelled in the sickening crunch as her fist met Viper’s stupid fucking face, kicking a leg out from underneath her and kneeing her jaw back into the bars of the cage.

It just so happened that today was a very, very bad day and this fight happened to be very personal.

Vi forced out a hiss when she was kicked in the groin, stumbling backwards and grunting as Viper slammed her against the cage, repeatedly punching her in the ribs. She struggled to breathe, black spots beginning to pop up in her vision.

Strategized.

Vi had been nursing bruised ribs for days now.

Of course she had noticed.

“Did ya really think you could turn things ‘round in a single match, kid?” She spat blood into Vi’s ear, spinning her by the shoulders and pushing her face into the bars. Her left hand was crushed beneath a boot, dirt and grime stinging the open cuts. “You’re easy on the eyes, I’ll give you that. But if your mistress wanted a whore, she should’ve paid for one. Not thrown you into the ring to humiliate yourself.”

A hoarse cry escaped her throat when a heavy metal foot dug into the back of her calf, reopening the stitches on a fairly recent wound.

“She’s a smart woman– must’ve noticed it herself.” She remarked idly, tugging Vi back by the hair and slamming a fist into her cheek. Vi coughed up blood, feeling around for a loose tooth with her tongue and failing to hold back a whimper when her arm was twisted at an unnatural angle. Low blow, but she figured Viper wouldn’t care. “Probably hasn’t been getting her money’s worth for a while now. No matter-”

She grit her teeth, elbow twisted outwards and shoulder pulled in, winding her body into a tight spring and pushing herself as hard as she could against the metal cage for leverage.

“-I’ll be able to make her happier than you ever did.”

Vi saw red.

In an instant, her shoulder made contact with the woman’s jaw, breaking the arm lock and sending her staggering backwards. Vi delivered a sharp kick to her kneecap, swinging her newly freed hand in a harsh punch to the throat. Viper sputtered on one knee, dropping to the ground when Vi swept her other leg out and stomped on her ribs until she heard a crack.

We’ll see how the fuck you’ll be able to do anything when I’m done with you.

The distant sound of a bell rang in her ears, but she was already dropping to her knees and choking the bitch by the throat, bringing her fist down again and again into loose flesh until the scent of iron was nauseating- until she didn’t have to see Viper’s face anymore and the disgusting squealing had stopped and her hand was aching and Jinx was hers no one could ever replace her-

“HOUND- SCARLET! QUIT IT!”

The supervisor yelled somewhere behind her, barely heard over the blood rushing in her ears and the crowd’s screams. Vi didn’t give a fuck, that pathetic little man only thought he had any kind of authority over her, he wanted her to give his audience a fucking show, didn’t he? She would finish what she started.

Hands grabbed her by her arms and shoulders, many strange disgusting hands, making Vi snarl, incensed. She tried to fight it but her shoulder hurt so much that the agony threatened to make her vision white out. Still, she thrashed around, tried to throw herself back at Viper, intent on finishing the job she started to make sure the bitch would never dare to try and take hers again. Once there were a few inches between her and Viper, the men from security put themselves between them as they kept pushing and dragging her back, blocking sight of her target but not even that was enough to break her from the single-minded focus.

“Hound. Stop it.”

But her voice was more than enough.

She had not yelled but her voice was clearer than anything else in the arena, than the collective yell of the audience. As if she’d said it right beside Vi’s ear, as if they were alone. Vi’s head snapped in the direction her voice came from and there she was, pink eyes shining, a small satisfied smile on her painted purple lips.

Without noticing, Vi stopped fighting the men trying to keep her away from Viper. Her fury receded like the tides, enough for her to recuperate some clarity. Her job was already done. She’d won the fight, she’d proved no common bitch would replace her.

She watched Jinx walk up her, incapable of tearing her eyes off the woman.

“Let her go.” She commanded, to the security goons holding onto Vi and making her shoulder scream with the manhandling.

They followed the order, no protest. Of course, even if she took the opportunity to attack Viper again, being fired would be better than whatever Jinx might do if they disobeyed her so publicly.

The look in Jinx’s eyes was something Vi couldn’t begin deciphering. Jinx seemed satisfied, content. Had she gotten what she wanted? Her eyes still had the same shape, round and big, and they shined the same way as when she was a kid and good things happened, still crinkled in the corners. Except now they shined literally too, like glow in the dark bracelets, like little pink suns.

Jinx raised her hands up until they hovered an inch away from her face and Vi tensed up, thinking if she should grab her wrists or stepping back or run away. But she remained in the exact same place as small calloused hands covered in the blood of countless people settled on her cheeks and cradled her face, exactly like she used to do with Powder.

Her thumb caressed her skin, nice and soft and Vi’s mind dissolved, her thoughts and feelings became fuzzy and warm. A quiet chant started at the very back of her mind that sounded vaguely like the name of her tormentor, her legal owner, her Sister. And Vi was helpless to stop any of it, couldn’t come up with a single reason why she should, when she’d already played their game and lost, or she’d won, she wasn’t sure, but shouldn’t she get something nice out of it? Feeling nice was rare these days. So, she did something unthinkable, unforgivable, she leaned into the touch, eyes falling closed. The air held in her lungs since she heard Jinx say her moniker escaped at once, together with some of the tension from the night. Vi leaned closer to her unconsciously, brought her own hands up and held onto Jinx’s wrists lightly, as if to stop her from pulling away.

“Good job, Hound. You won.” Her sister whispered. Hers.

The thought broke Vi out of this second trance she’d fallen into, hypnotized by Jinx. Her eyes flied open and she stumbled back until Jinx’s hands left her face, until they were more than arm’s length away. Jinx stayed in the same place, and her smile remained but it turned dull.

Vi needed out of here. Now!

She caught sight of the door to the cage, open wide for her escaping convenience.

She fled.

In the way, she passed by Jinx, standing right in the way, and Sevika standing guard by the entrance.

Vi kept going, weaving through the crowd of people, out of the building and down the street until she reached an empty alley and felt like she could, finally, stop.

Thunder rolled in the distance, announcing it would rain soon, and the night was chilly enough to make her shiver at the breeze hitting her hot sweaty skin.

She sat by the sidewalk, exhaling heavily, and held onto her injured arm. It needed looking over but she didn’t want to face anyone right at that moment. She took deep breaths through her mouth, but couldn’t relax with the smell of Viper’s blood still clinging to her. Her hands were completely stained red. At least the silence helped clear her mind the rest of the way.

What the fuck had happened back there?

The last time she’d lost control like that was her first time against Sevika, when she thought she could extract out of her some kind of information about Powder. When Vi had earnestly believed they were keeping her sister somewhere and forcing her to make them weapons and Vi would sweep in like a big hero and rescue Powder, who’d be exactly as Vi remembered her except taller. The time before that was in Stillwater, when she saw the goon she fought the night her family died. These had something in common: they mattered; she’d been fighting for something, for justice and for her sister, she’d lost her head but it was for her family, not- not...

Not over the implied threat that Jinx was giving up on her.

“Now, I’m someone who appreciates theatrics myself...” Jinx voice rang out in the alley, leaning on the wall a few steps of distance from her. “But that exit was a little dramatic.”

Vi didn’t bother looking up. It didn’t surprise her she hadn’t heard Jinx coming, considering the number of times Vi had been caught in traps set up by her. The bridge, the tea party, Jana’s temple... This girl really was a ghost until she didn’t want to be, wasn’t she?

Vi decided she might as get some answers. What was the worst Jinx could do, lie to her?

“Did you plan this?” Vi asked, accusatory.

“Me?” Jinx repeated, a mocking quality to her voice, raising one dark eyebrow. “I’m flattered that you think I’m sooo powerful but I haven’t reached omniscience yet, Vi. How was I supposed to know you made a little rival, and she was going to challenge you like that?”

It was true, or at least, it sounded true enough. Viper had acted exactly as she always did, and Vi reacted accordingly. Maybe Jinx had feed the flame but they’d started it by themselves. But she didn’t like this answer, she didn’t like the notion that this was all her. If it was all her then so was the anger, so was the possessiveness, if it was all her then Vi was someone who lost her head and beat others to a bloody pulp for her own selfish gain rather than any reason worth it.

“Viper... Is she going to survive?”

“Remorseful, are we? Yes, she will. I told the supervisor to give her a shimmer injection, and take her to the clinic so they can salvage her nose into something she can breathe through. I even gave up my winnings, as one of the very few people who betted on you, to finance that and her recuperating period. Ain’t I nice?”

Vi snorted. “Right. You’re a fucking saint. And her becoming another shimmer addict who’s going to put all her money into buying your drugs was nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, for Jana’s merciless and fucked up love...” Jinx said, exasperated. It sounded like she’d continue, but instead she took a deep breath and let it out forcefully.

The silence stretched between them, heavy with expectation of a fight that Vi had no energy for but was dying to pick. When they were fighting, she knew where she stood, where her place was. She hadn’t been sure anymore ever since she became aware of this strange situation where Jinx was keeping her like a stray, fed and watered but out of sight and out of mind.

Finally, Jinx broke the silence.

“I saved her because I know you have weird ideas of who deserves or doesn’t deserve to die, and I didn’t want you feeling guilt about it. I came here because I wanted to see you. Everything else was all you.”

Everything else was all her.

It was the answer that made the most sense and the one she hated the most.

“Did you get the show you wanted?” The questions spilled out of Vi’s lips before she could stop it. She faced at Jinx finally, before she could think better of it.

Jinx hadn’t worn her fancy dress to come see Vi fight. Instead, she was wearing thick black pants with hip-windows and that same heavy jacket with her signature drawings that Vi had seen that day. Her hair was braided in a single braid and throw over her shoulder like their mother used to wear it. She looked more and more like a proper adult every time Vi saw her. Vi wished that meant she was losing resemblance to Powder but that didn’t happen, she looked more like herself every day. Like an artist sharpening their skills over years kept coming back to improve the same painting.

Jinx smiled and rocked on her feet like a kid, hands behind her back. Her eyes crinkled in the corner just like earlier. In the darkness of the alley, the pink shined all the brighter, like a cat’s eyes.

“Meh, it was alright.” She shrugged.

“You said you betted on me.”

“I always do.”

Vi frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean, always?”

Jinx chuckled.

“That wasn’t the first of your fights I watch, you know. This time I thought, well, since the sponsor is out of the bag, I didn’t need to be so secretive about it.”

Vi quietly digested that. Jinx had watched her fights since she was from the main pit, probably watched her get knocked out and stomped on, pathetically drunk. She winced, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. It had already been hard to drown the shame in alcohol when the only people watching her fall that low were strangers she didn’t give a fuck about but fucking Jinx was seeing that too? For how long? How many of her matches had she seen? How had she even hidden in the crowd without anyone recognizing her?

And if Jinx saw that, and probably lost money on her at some point, why the fuck would she take the risk again?

“If you saw me like that, why bet on me? What if I lost?”

Jinx frowned deeply and cocked her head to the side like a crow, like she didn’t quite understand the question.

“So what?”

“So what?” Vi repeated, incredulous. “You’d lose money, you’d turn into a public joke if the fighter you sponsored and bet on lost with you in the fucking audience. How were you so sure I was going to win?”

“I wasn’t. I don’t have a crystal ball.” Jinx replied dryly. “But I do know you, and I know you turn into a beast when you get doubted. Even then, it didn’t matter if you won or lost. I wasn’t going to put that blonde bitch in your place, of course.”

Vi stood and took two long strides to put herself in front of Jinx, facing her from less than an arm’s length away. Jinx became a little tense, and Vi ignored her hand casually positioned to take her gun out at any sign of a threat. Knowing Jinx saw her as a threat should make Vi happy, smug, vindicated, something like that, but it displeased her instead and she didn’t know why.

“But why take the risk when you had something to lose?” Vi pressed on.

Jinx had to tilt her head back to meet Vi’s gaze. She still seemed confused, like she was trying to read Vi’s soul and figure out what she wanted to hear. Vi didn’t know why Jinx was acting like this, like she was so hard to comprehend, and it frustrated her to no end. She always said exactly what was on her mind. Jinx was the one that played some kind of puppet game Vi didn’t know the rules to in every one of their interactions.

Jinx pursed her lips, seemingly thinking hard about whether or not to give Vi a sincere reply.

“I always have something to lose when you’re in the equation.”

Silence.

Lighting flashed overhead, painting Jinx in an otherworldly glow; her unnatural pink eyes shone with a startling genuity.

The skies opened the same as her decade’s long wound, ripped apart and drowning her in a storm she didn’t know how to navigate. Vi drew in a sharp, pained breath, but Jinx remained as still as ever, looking small and cold and like- she reached out in a sudden moment, with the same hands Vi had nuzzled into not ten minutes ago, painted nails brushing against the bruised skin of her cheek.

It knocked the breath out of her as effectively as a blow to the chest, to her heart, to the wound in the shape of Powder’s name she carried around and Jana, it hurt, it fucking hurt, it made her eyes sting and fill with water because Jinx was lying! She had to be fucking lying!

“Why are you doing all of this?” Vi asked in a low hiss, coming forward, forcing Jinx to retreat towards the end of the alley. “Do you think this is going to make up for what you did? That you can just pretend to care about me and I’ll fall for it?”

Finally, finally Jinx couldn’t keep up the innocent veneer anymore, her face contorted into a pained, angry sneer. And although all the blood drained from her face and her bottom lip trembled like she too would start crying and Vi felt it like a hand wringing her heart out, she didn’t back down.

“This isn’t- it has nothing to do with... I’m not trying-!” Jinx sputtered, the farthest thing from composed and arrogant, her shoulders pulled in and hands wringing nervously in front of her. She looked pathetically small and defenceless like this and Vi couldn’t believe she had the courage to come here alone, without her guard dog, like she could do anything to protect herself if Vi- if Vi...

“I’m not pretending! I do fucking love y-”

“Shut up!” Vi yelled, raised her fist to hit the wall beside them-

Jinx flinched back, eyes wide and hands half raised to protect her face.

Vi froze with her first in the air and the sound of rain and fire and her little sister’s cries in her ear that didn’t come from this night, but from one many, many years ago.

For a long moment, they stood there facing each other, mirroring each other, wide eyed and pale, shocked and deeply hurt.

Jinx blinked as if coming awake.

She stepped out of the alley hurriedly, putting distance between them.

Vi tried to find words to say over the blood rushing in her ears that would undo the last two minutes. Jinx was gone before she could, leaving Vi alone.

Chapter Text

There was a time in Vi’s life where she didn’t feel so damn guilty all the time. She remembered it, vaguely. Back when she was a tiny one-digit-old firecracker with a bad haircut, when her parents were alive, and she still had some semblance of childhood innocence. Back then, she loved Powder with everything her tiny body could give and that love wasn’t yet haunted by the feeling that if she took her eyes off her baby sister, Powder would die in some horrible way and it would be her fault. But that time was so long ago, she only had a few precious golden memories of it now.

Mostly what she remembered of her childhood was tinged with blood and grief too heavy for a child to comprehend. Vi couldn’t picture her parents mangled bodies in the bridge anymore but remembered in detail falling to her knees, crying, and Powder’s tiny arms wrapping around her in an attempt at comfort, how their roles were momentarily reversed. She was way too overwhelmed by grief then to think about the fact that Powder for some reason hadn't cried but as the day passed it became clear that Powder was strangely… fine. She’d hovered around Vi or clung to her all the time but had not cried or lost sleep or had any nightmares. Vi had been confused and hurt and bitter, felt incredibly alone in her mourning, had snapped at her baby sister in misplaced anger often.

Then, one day, she heard Powder bloodcurdling scream and before making any conscious decision, she was already running up the stairs and in its direction. She found Powder crying and thrashing in Vander’s arms, hurting herself and him.

“You’re lying! You’re lying! Why are you lying? They wouldn’t leave! They’ll come back for me n Vi!”

Vander had started crying together with Powder. It was one of only a handful of times that Vi had ever seen him cry. Silent tears fell down as he tried to console Powder, even as he kept his hold gentle and redirected her aggressive behavior towards himself. Vi hadn't understood that back then either. Now she wondered how he must've felt, suddenly trying to parent two kids while grieving his friends of years and trying to deal with the repercussions of their failed protest turned massacre and keep the whole city and them from falling apart.

She'd run up and grabbed Powder off Vander’s arms. Powder clung and cried and cried, she sobbed and sucked in loud breaths like she was suffocating, and it was horrible to hear. Vi was struck by deep regret and guilt for every time she wished Powder wasn't dealing so bloody well with their parents' death. It felt like her childish petty ugly feelings had been heard by some higher power with a cruel sense of humor and granted her wish, making her sister's breakdown her fault.

Powder started asking to go see their parents, to go where they were, and Vi was gripped by a chest-crushing desperation. It was as if giant claws were wrapping around her baby sister, ready to snatch her away. Powder didn’t know what she was asking but the idea alone had been enough to nearly send Vi into a panic.

“No!” She’d yelled. Powder had stared at her with wide wet eyes, confused and afraid. “You can’t go, you have to stay with me. You have to stay, Powpow.”

After this, it was like a dam broke in Powder’s mind. Finally she realized their parents weren’t coming back. She cried every day over everything, even minor things that didn’t matter, and she had nightmares about Enforcers often. Vi clearly remembered waking up often to Powder crying and trying to console her while guilt suffocated her. She used to think if only she hadn’t taken Powder to the bridge to look for their parents despite being told to stay at home, that wouldn’t be happening. If she'd realized Powder hadn't understood their parents died before and tried explaining it to her, that wouldn't be happening. If Vi had asked their parents to stay at home with them instead of going to protest, that wouldn't be happening. If, if, if, Vi fucking hated that word. That was the first of a long line of regrets that she carried around like heavy rocks of repentance or some such nonsense. Vi wasn’t even religious but she knew guilt intimately.

There were many other things she felt guilty about, some that were really her fault and some that she knew were out of her control. As a teen she hadn’t been able to get sick without feeling guilt over the money spent on meds, and the time and attention Vander had to spend on her instead of somewhere else. The feeling was made worse by Powder staying by her bedside all the time while Vi was sick or hurt from a fight, trying to distract her from how miserable she felt but also anxiously watching Vi from the corner of her eyes when she thought Vi couldn’t see.

Guilt was a horrible feeling. It was a specter clinging to her back and weighing her down. It didn’t leave her in peace. It whispered in her ear about how big a piece of shit she was, that she always made the wrong choices, that she deserved being alone after all. It said she was more fury than person at this point, that despite wanting so badly to protect, all she was good for was destroying. Everything she touched came to be ruins. Guilt sucked any good feeling she had away because she didn’t deserve feeling so much as fine for even a minute. Guilt made her wonder why she was still sticking around when the lives of everyone she’d ever loved turned worse when she was present.

But in the ocean of all the things she had to feel guilty about, it was absurd that she felt guilty over scaring Jinx that day. Jinx had subjected her to that horror show of a tea party and didn’t feel guilt over it. Jinx had backed her into a corner like a wild animal, she couldn’t complain about Vi lashing out.

And yet…

And yet.

Truthfully, Jinx hadn’t complained. Vi still had her job, she hadn’t so much as gotten a slap on the wrist over losing her shit and nearly killing Viper on purpose. It probably had something to do with the fact everyone was scared of her now but they couldn’t fire her when she was on Jinx’s payroll.

But it was so… Infuriating that this feeling wouldn’t leave her alone!

So, Vi did as she always did, like the sharks that can't ever stop swimming to keep alive, she kept living day by day and found ways to deal with her frustrations by hitting something. In this case, the punching bags and workout equipment used for training in the pit she was currently working at.

The streets were strangely empty that morning when she left her apartment and walked down the few streets until she was at the pit. During the day, the building was closed and the workout equipment was taken out of storage and was free for contracted fighters to use. There was always someone making use of it.

That day she found the building empty save for two guys she vaguely recognized as bouncers, who were locking up.

“Are you serious?” She mumbled to herself, sighing in frustration. Just when she needed to punch something. Well, might as well find out why, and when she could be back. “Hey, why is it closed today?”

One of them stopped what they were doing and looked back at her, a frown on his face.

“Didn’t you hear on the radio? We have a Grey alert. You should go home.”

“We have a what?”

“A Grey alert.” The other guy interrupted. “Air that melts your lungs if you breathe it in, ringing any bells?”

No, no, no...

Vi swallowed dry, trying to push back the horrible feeling trying to claw up her throat. She closed her hands into fists inside her jacket's pockets and sank her nails into skin, in the hopes the sting would ground her a little. No deal.

“But… the filtration system is working normally again.” She said, her voice rough because she had to push through the closing of her throat to get the words out.

The second guy, the asshole one, sent her an annoyed look and went back to his work, while the other shook his head and answered her.

“It’s been breaking down more and more often. Jinx and her people are already in the scene trying to fix it but it can take a while and The Grey spreads fast.”

Asshole guy snorted and started rambling in a low, furious tone. "Cunt Kiramman probably sabotaged it before handing over the keys. Fucking pig dressed up as a fucking politician wants us all fucking dead!"

Vi was too busy trying to get her head to stop spinning to feel any kind of way about that.

“The recommendation is to go as far away as you can from that point and keep an ear out for the radio news. Also keep a respirator on you, or if you don’t have one, wear a cloth mask, googles to protect your eyes, and as much skin covering as you can to protect from irritation. And leave any place as soon as you feel your throat closing up and eyes stinging.”

“And where is the leak?” She blurted out without thinking of it.

He told her, a stretch of streets about an hour from there on foot, less if you took the rooftops.

“That’s where everyone’s saying it started, at least. But the Grey spreads fast and doesn’t dissipate on its own, it’s gonna keep eating more ground until the leak is fixed and filtration is working again. We’re finishing the close up and taking the elevator to higher ground, I’d do the same if I were you. Lots of people had the same idea though, heard it’s hours waiting in line to even buy a ticket.”

Vi thanked him and left, but her feet didn’t take the path to her apartment.

She wanted to see with her own two eyes the damage that the Grey did. She’d heard what people said, of course, how could she not? She’d even seen the brand-new homages made in the streets for the victims, people of all ages that died because they couldn’t get out of the spreading zone or for later complications that they couldn’t treat. Improvised altars lit up by candles, and around them, drawings and personal belongings and even children’s toys left in offering, in remembrance of people that had been loved, had family, had a life.

Caitlyn had assured her anyone exposed to the Grey for only a short time would make a full recovery and Vi fucking believed her. They hadn’t stuck around long enough to see the damage back then, moving fast through the city in search of Jinx. What little Vi had seen of its effects had already been worrying, the hacking coughs and the breathless pleading had unsettled her to hell.

Even with the top-notch respirator of the Enforcers filtering the air, breathing in while standing in the middle of the Grey had been like trying to inhale water. It was so thick, like a mist, almost impossible to see through without special googles. Within a couple minutes of being exposed to it, people had grown too weak to run away or even crawl away, had fallen to the ground and stayed there, or where the Enforcers left them once they were done with questioning. Even back then, Vi had felt like shit over it but she’d felt like shit over everything happening so what was another bad feeling to ignore?

Now, she needed to see it in action for herself, she needed that proof of how badly she fucked up.

It was a dangerous idea, but Vi had nothing left to lose.

She went by the rooftops, hopping from one stretch to another and navigating with relative ease. Still, Vi couldn’t help but notice that she had to stop for air often, much more often than she had needed to when she was a teenager. She had been for a while now, ever since she came with Caitlyn and began readjusting to her old ways. In her late twenties and she was already acting like a grandma.

What’s she going to need next, glasses?

True to bouncer guy’s words, most of the taller buildings were packed full with crowds, with some groups making for higher ground near Piltover and others setting up makeshift tents for their friends and family. There were even outbreaks of fights over space, something she only noticed when a spark of fire in the distance caught her eye. Apparently, someone had broken an oil lamp and set the whole thing ablaze. The deeper she went, the less people she had to push past, until the only ones she saw were actively trying to move upwards, in her exact opposite direction. Maybe that would’ve deterred her even a few months back, made her rethink her stupid choices. But not now. Most of them don’t even notice, and the few who do barely spare her the raise of an eyebrow.

“Where’dya think you’re going?” Someone asks suddenly, grabbing her by the wrist and pointing to the way everyone else is climbing. “Shelter away from the death gas is that way?”

Vi stopped, looking up to find a middle-aged woman with a hard helmet and soot on her face. A miner, then.

“None of your business.” She bit, tugging her arm free and continuing forward.

“What the- lady are you fucking crazy?” She turned Vi back around forcefully, with one hand on her collar. “You’ll have the time to be drunk and make terrible decisions later, c’mon. You’ll be as good as dead if you stay here.”

She was not drunk. All of these terrible decisions were made with a conscious mind, thank you very much.

Vi let out a long-suffering sigh. She really did not feel like picking a fight today. Why was this random woman so worried about whether a stranger lived or died?

“I’m just going to check it out and make sure that the streets are clear.”

Silence.

“…Without a gas mask or goggles?” She questioned, sceptical. “Are you one of Jinx’s?”

“What?!” Vi sputtered, indignant. Why did she have to say it like that? “No! What gave you that idea?!”

“Jeez, calm down.” She held her hands up, showing Vi a small device with a terribly familiar signature. “Nothing personal. The boss sends people out with respirators to help us out, patrol the streets and all. Sounds an awful lot like what you say you’re gonna do.”

“To…help people?” Vi muttered to herself, surprised. There was no reason for Jinx to get people to lie in her stead. Which must mean… it was true. She scoffed. “Well, where’s she stealing all those respirators from?”

“She and her team make ‘em?” The miner frowned, narrowing her eyes. “You one of those people who got a weird vendetta against Jinx?”

Vi grit her teeth and remained silent, looking away. How much of it was the truth? Why would Jinx bother with saving people and making their lives better if all she knew how to do was blow things up for her own sick entertainment? Why did it matter to her? Why? People would only use shimmer more if they were sick or injured. If anything, this was prime market for her, not a concern.

“Oh, I get it now.” The woman huffed a humorless laugh, and Vi felt oddly offended. “Looking to snatch up some goods while the streets are deserted, are you?”

Goods? These were industrial areas, the only goods here were-

“I’m not a fucking junkie.” She spat. The very idea-

“Sure.” The miner drawled, clearly disbelieving, and she clenched her fists. “You got family?”

Vi froze as the sudden image of Jinx flashed in her mind like a lightning strike, severing every other train of thought in an instant. She hated that Jinx didn’t look so cutting edge in her mind anymore, that her features had smoothened out and the manic look in her eyes was replaced with a fond softness. That she looked like their mom and the sister Vi never had a chance to see grow up.

Family?

Oh, how she wished it was a simple yes or no.

The Miner wasn’t willing to wait for her to untangle years and years of unresolved issues in order to give her an answer though.

“…Eh, whatever. If you’re so keen on killing yourself I ain’t gonna waste my time on ya.” She paused, looking quietly somber for a moment. “Just…remember. It don’t take you long to make a reckless decision, but it’s gonna live with the people who loved you forever.”

What did Powder look like when she grieved, on that one fateful right?

…What would Jinx look like?

“Here.” Vi startled when the woman shoved something into her hands. “I got an extra when they were handing them out a few hours ago. Take it.”

“Why’d you get an extra?” She blurted without thinking.

“Ah…” A momentary flash of pain crossed her features, before she shrugged and headed off. “Force of habit. Stay safe, yeah?”

Oh.

Vi stared down at the chipped goggles and worn-out mask in her hands, running a thumb over the messy scratches in the metal. She didn’t…there was no need to do that. In Zaun, people fought tooth and nail for every scrap of their life, they didn’t just, give things away. Communities turned on each other in a second when times got desperate.

…And yet.

“Thanks.” Vi mumbled, tamping down the odd feeling of belonging rising in her chest, for the first time since she had to dye her hair and paint her face to avoid being recognised and beaten up. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

She thinks they’ve done enough for her in this lifetime.

—

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Vi could feel the stark difference in the air. It wasn’t unexpected, of course, she had seen the underlying streets shrouded in a murky, dense fog from a few buildings away. But it certainly wasn’t pleasant. She tied the gas mask tighter around her head and moved slowly, falling back against the walls to feel her way around in case the visibility went down. Her eyes prickled ever so slightly, but she ignored it; this was definitely not the worst of it. She’d know, this was the same she had felt when decked out in the best protective gear Caitlyn’s money could afford. She is not even close to the worst of it, and Vi reckons that the actual leak is concealed somewhere underground.

You have blood on your hands.

She shook herself off and kept moving, until the movement of a short silhouette caught her attention.

“Hey!” Vi called, moving closer to see an elderly woman leaning against the wall. “What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to seek high ground.”

The lady blinked sluggishly, staring at her with eyes that were a little too wide and remaining quiet. Vi started to feel uneasy, moving to reach for her when she fell into a fit of coughing. Each one sounded more painful than the last, and Vi winced as she offered the woman a tentative arm for support.

“Another one of those days, uh?” She rasped, looking a bit unsteady on her feet but latching onto Vi with a surprisingly strong grip.

“We have a Grey alert.” Vi said gently, guiding her away from the direct line of fire. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”

“Ah, that old thing.” She waved her hand dismissively, “Been around since I was a wide-eyed gal myself. At some point, you make peace with the fact that you’re gonna die here.”

Vi frowned as they went, thoughts running a mile a minute. As far as she could remember into her childhood, the Grey had never been a threat of this level. Of course, Zaun was wrecked with a myriad of other problems and her little family wasn’t exempt from any of those, but they had their ways of dealing with it. Mingle with the other kids to build immunity, don’t breathe in the factory fumes or step in weirdly colored puddles, bring a flashlight if you can’t see, stay inside when the adults tell you to (Vi had never been particularly good at that last one.)

It was never…this bad.

“Ma? Why do we have to celebrate Janna?”

“Because she keeps the winds fresh and the people safe, sweetie.”

Was it?

“Some kind of…long range biochem weapon. It’ll flood the streets.” Caitlyn declared, eyes hardening as they scanned the sheet in her hand. Vi looked over the various papers scattered across her desk, struggling to piece together the bigger picture through illustrations alone. Some of the pages actively seemed to be missing drawings. “It should immobilise them enough to get them to talk.”

“Weapon?” She repeated, confused. “You already have your rifle, and aren’t we going in to get Jinx? The others have nothing to do with this.”

“Be realistic, Vi.” Caitlyn walked away, buttoning up her uniform. “Most of them will be Silco’s agents and Jinx’s supporters, they can’t be reasoned with. If they could, we would’ve gotten a tipoff on her whereabouts by now. They’re protecting a terrorist– They’re dangerous, and unpredictable. We don’t have a choice.”

“Not all of them are with Silco! We don’t know who-”

“Do you want to stop Jinx or not?”

“Of course I do!” Vi yelled, throat closing up. “More than you could possibly understand!”

“Then this is the only way.”

Of course.

Enforcers.

Always the devils in blue, lurking around every corner and making their lives ten times worse in the name of the law. The excuses were endless; too loud, too dangerous looking, too quiet, too giggly, too suspicious.

And she became one of them.

“…You’re not going to die here.” She whispered, more to herself than anything. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“If you say so, dearie.”

There was a surprising amount of people caught in here, Vi realised, as she dropped grandma off near the elevators and spotted even more shadows shifting around. A woman who had lost her cane, a couple of guys who had been caught up with a commission (if they didn’t want to lose their jobs, asshole employers), kids separated from their parents. She walked with a few and gave the others directions, begrudgingly directing them towards the sounds of Jinx’s people a few blocks away and insisting that she was fine and definitely did not want to go along with them. For no reason, of course.

“Yeah, just up ahead.” She waved the last of them off, a group of disoriented teenagers. “They should still be there, but hurry, they’re closing soon for safety concerns.”

“Uhm, Miss Violet.” The boy scratched the back of his neck, looking around nervously. “One of our friends isn’t he-”

Just then, a sudden weight collided against her back and almost sent her to the ground, knocking her off balance. Vi grunted and turned around to see who she guessed was the missing friend, not too far from her in terms of height.

“Leah!”

“Guys, you gotta help me-” She gasped, frantically refusing the canteen of water they offered her. “It’s my sister, she’s- I don’t know where she is!”

‘Stay where you are.’

“Hey, relax.” One of the girls patted her on the back, “Good thing you found us, you’re just in time. You told her to go hide, right? She’s just a kid, they probably already found and moved her already. You’ll find her when we head up.”

‘I’ll come find you.’

“No! I know her, she wouldn’t-” She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders in resolve. “If she doesn’t want to be found, she won’t be. Simple as that. I’m afraid she’s stuck somewhere and waiting for me to come get her, but I looked everywhere and-”

Vi tamped down the rising panic in her chest that came with the unreasonably familiar story, considering her options. It just wasn’t wise to be here any longer, it had been more than a few hours since the leak happened. Even her eyes were prickling around the edges, and she had long since given up hopes of taking a deep breath.

“You can’t stay here.” Vi reminded gently, wrapping a cloth around her face and securing it behind her head. “You don’t even have a proper mask. It’s too risky, and besides, your friends are probably right.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

…Understandable.

“Violet’s the one who got us out of our hiding spots.” Someone’s supplied, “None of us realized what was happening until it was too late. Probably wasn’t the best game to choose, eh?”

“That’s great and all, but I’m not leaving without my sister.” Leah declared, resolved. “You all go ahead without me.”

“Wait.” Violet took her by the shoulder, taking a deep breath. Oh, she was really about to do this. “I’ll go look for your sister.”

The girl blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes.

“Why would a stranger take a risk like that?” She interrogated, veering towards suspicion. “For someone you met two minutes ago too. Don’t look like you’re with the new boss either.”

“I’m not.” Vi denied immediately, sighing when she thought of how it sounded. “Look, kid. I don’t really have anything to gain from going after your sister. She’s probably not even in there, I just-”

She took a deep breath.

“I know how it feels.” She admitted, half to herself. “I have- had one too. It’s too late for us, but it doesn’t have to be for you. You mean the world to her, think for a second if she’d want you to risk your life over a guess. Think about how she’d feel if you died down here looking for her while she was already somewhere safe.”

Leah faltered slightly, brows furrowing in distress.

“And what if she’s stuck in there somewhere, terrified and alone and struggling to breathe? What then?”

“Then I find her.” Vi assured with conviction. “When you’re near the elevators, go find Jinx’s people and ask them for a proper gas mask. You can wait on higher ground. If I’m not back in 30, you can start a suicide mission by yourself.”

She fully intended to return within that time, of course. There weren’t many danger zones she hadn’t scouted out by now, any slim chance of the kid’s sister being here were confined to a few select alleys.

“If you don’t come back…” The girl warned.

“You take matters into your own hands.” Vi replied without missing a beat.

“We have a deal.” She agreed.

Vi didn’t stick around to watch them go, taking off in the direction of the leak. The sooner she finished this, the better.

She didn’t realize how quiet the place was until she was completely alone. The streets were as empty as expected, stalls abandoned in a rush and banners swaying in the wind. It almost felt like a moment suspended in time, the murky fog casting the area in a ghostly glow. When she rounded the previously unexplored block, the skin of her arm prickled and itched, air thickening until every breath felt like drawing water through her lungs. Good, she was close then. Vi ignored the sharp pain in her chest and quickened her pace, checking every nook and corner as quickly as she could. It wasn’t easy – the walls were riddled with maggot infested holes and the trash followed her every step, but she managed to get past most of them.

She was about to venture into the very last street when she stumbled, vision blackening for a few seconds in such vivid mimicry of passing out that she gasped. Her fingers clenched around the rotting wood of a stand and she leaned into it to hold herself up, suddenly realizing just how much her skin burned and how hard it was becoming to stay conscious. Realizing that if she fainted here, there would be no one to bring her out and she would have made her own early grave.

The thought of dying didn’t sober her as much as it should’ve, but if she didn’t make it out, she’s also putting someone else’s life on the line. And if an adult could barely handle ten minutes of this hell, she didn’t want to think about a teenager. It’s that thought that pushed her forward, tripping on air and bracing her arm against the walls for support. When she pulled away and wiped her hands of Janna knew what gunk, hands burning like they’d been stung by fireants, Vi raised her arms to find reddened, peeling skin. She took another breath and leans against the wall, nauseous at the sight.

This is what you subjected innocents to.

Suddenly, she collided with the ground with a harsh fall, knees scraping through her ripped jeans and bruises most definitely mottling her battered body. Vi hissed as the gravel scrapes more skin from her arms, dusting the dirt off and eyes widening when she saw-

Oh…no.

There, tucked into the small space between two walls, laid a tiny little body with its foot stuck out- Vi didn’t even think, heartbeat thundering in her ears as she drew the kid out and checked for breathing, a pulse, anything. She didn’t stir in the slightest, laying unsettlingly still in Vi’s hold as her weak heart pulsed faintly against her neck. It reminded of being 15 and helpless as she watched her sister disappear behind a thunderstorm and the glint of steel clutched in a monster’s hand. Except, she was starting to think that maybe she had always been the monster.

Vi blinked the tears away and returned to reality with a strangled breath, wading through the fog in her mind to inspect for damage. There wasn’t much fabric to protect the kid’s arms and legs, rashes already covering her from head to toe. Frantically, Vi ripped some spare fabric and tied it around her legs, struggling to breathe and get the words out between her blurry consciousness.

“Hey, hey-” She rambled, words growing more incomprehensible by the minute. With a start, she remembered the gas mask on her head, ripping it off and securing it around the tiny face as gently as she could. Her hands trembled and she started feeling light-headed, reality distorting eerily similar to her dreams. “Wake up- you’re going to make it out, you’re going to be fine, okay? You have someone- waiting for you- and you can-”

Her voice cracked inexplicably and suddenly she was cradling blue hair and bleeding skin into her chest, choking against the scorching burn of her throat and eyes, wetness slipping down her cheeks. Dark spots claimed her vision and she shook the body, searching for any little sign of life, anything that meant that wouldn’t both-

“I’m sorry.” She confessed out of nowhere, delirium tasking over. She didn’t think she had ever admitted it aloud before. But she’d do anything if it meant- “Please- I never meant to leave you, I never mea- please I’m so sorry, please come back, pow-pow- come back to me-”

A sob shook her and something stirred into her chest, small and frantic. The last thing she felt before her vision blackened.

“Jinx…”