Chapter Text
Jinx had said she'd be back.
To give her some time to get her head back under control and then she'd return to help her figure this shit out.
A month.
That was a fucking month ago and the brat was nowhere to be found.
Streets said she ended up in a ditch, got overpowered by some wanna-be chem-baron that left no body to be found.
Sevika knew better than that.
Jinx was a crazed maniac on a good day. On a bad one she was what nightmares were made of.
She'd been spreading the word, her beliefs that their blue-haired hero hasn't kicked the bucket, and at first they had lapped it up like honey, the Jinxers. Stupid name if you asked her, but nobody did so she just scoffed.
But their hope was fading after a month of no sighting and nothing to survive off of but rumours. She'd heard a group say that they heard her voice in one of the alleys west, but when Sevika had gone to look for her she found nothing but kicked up dust.
Now, whenever Sevika tried to make the hope take root again, she was mostly met with eyerolls.
"If she wanted to help us, she'd be here."
"Can't believe we ever wanted her to take the chair."
"We need her and she's nowhere."
Some still believed. Some still held onto hope.
Queen of the Lanes, they called her in those circles. The royalty of Zaun.
The groups that still believed in her survival were one third of their numbers at the beginning. Most of them were the people they had busted out of Stillwater.
They continued to dye their hair blue and left graffiti in her name all over the fissures, on every possible building.
They had painted a mural of her onto the town square, in front of Vander's statue.
There she was depicted with a crown atop her head, blue dripping from her body and pink marking her face. Well, they got her eyes right, that's for sure.
A pink that still haunted her in her dreams sometimes, they even got the flecks of recklessness, that had given Sevika so many grey hairs, right.
A few of them wanted her to take up the mantle, but she wasn't made for that kind of shit. Even just listening to all the talking, back when she was Silco's right hand, had annoyed her. No, she'd rather have died than done any kind of that talk herself.
She was a fighter, a protector, even.
She was meant to be a right hand, the many years at Silco's side had proven that, and she was a good one. Nobody did any shit when she was near, they feared her.
(More importantly, nobody touched a hair on the brats head when she was in charge of protecting her. She remembered very clearly how they cowered whenever Jinx skipped through the streets and cackled at the paint splotches she left behind.
Yeah, they'd known better than to mess with her.)
The cigar smoke in her lungs was a weight that brought back some clarity. She snarled at herself. No use in mulling over the past. She had to find the brat before everybody lost hope.
She'd already checked all of the old hideouts that Jinx used to frequent. The propeller, the place with the half functioning boxing machine, the beams in Silco's old office, the other dozen knooks and crams she had taken to. Nothing.
The sliver of hope she still grasped in her hands were the tunnels, were the old ventilation system used to be.
Jinx had taken Isha there once, made a game out of finding the way back, and Sevika had almost teared through the cement walls when after five hours there was no sign of them. They came back, of course. It had taken 15 years off of her life anyway.
Sevika didn't like the tunnels. She could still recall how the Grey used to spill from them, back when neither Vander nor Silco stood to protect them. Yeah, she didn't have fond memories of the gaping mouths that took more than they gave.
But fear wasn't something she knew, had cut it from her flesh and her soul when she was 17 and saw her parents slaughtered. A brighter future was all she had to cling to, and at the moment that future was painted in pink and blue. So she set out.
--------
Lonni was on guard duty.
A group of Firelights had left the tree earlier in the day to scope out another Shimmer shipment and to check out some sort of disturbance at the town square, and Lonni had been tasked to guard the gate in case they came back, or worse, something followed them.
They were only a third into their shift and didn't expect the group to return for another few hours when there was heavy pounding from the other side. Their eyes widened, unsure of opening because they had a code, a specific pattern of knocks, and this pounding was not resembling anything near it.
With a sharp whistle they caught the attention of Hattie, who was re-building the training area from the morning exercise.
Once they caught her eye they signalled towards their leader, Ekko, who sat on the steps and watched the kids do handstands and play tag.
Hattie nodded and rushed off towards him, grabbing his arm and pointing towards Lonni, who was still eyeing the door with suspicion.
"What's going on?"
"There's someone at the door, Boss, and it's not one of us.", Lonni muttered, jutting their chin out towards the continuous pounding.
Ekko's face hardened.
"Get Zeri here, now.", he mumbled, a hand inching to the short knife he always carried at his side.
Lonni nodded and hurried off to find the other Firelight.
Ekko slowly pressed his ear to the wood, listening for the scratching that emitted from the other side.
A groan reached his ear and he furrowed his brows.
Zeri appeared behind him, her own weapon at the ready but he held a hand up.
"It could be just an animal."
"Jinx!"
He staggered back from the door at the roar.
"If this is your sick idea of some sort of hide and seek I'm gonna kill you!"
"Get her here.", he said, eyes searching for the blue haired girl and finding her involved in some sort of game with Isha and bugs.
"Jinx, I swear to Janna, your head will end up on a spike if you're behind there and don't open this fucking door!"
"Yeesh, what's got her right arm in a twist?", muttered Jinx once she popped up behind him, teasing smile filling out her face.
"You know her?", Ekko asked, astonishment colouring his voice.
"Course. It's just Vika."
"Sevika?!"
She frowned at him.
"You know any other ogre I should know about?"
"No, but-"
"Then chop-chop, let her in. Isha will love to see her again."
"She just threatened to cut your fucking head off and you want me to let her in?", he hissed, pupils doubling in size.
Jinx cackled.
"She doesn't mean it. Just let her in before she takes the door off its hinges."
The gate groaned and Jinx was met with murderous eyes.
"Vika! How nice to see you agai-"
She couldn't even finish her sentence before she was thrown onto the ground.
"Now that's just rude.", she coughed, the metal hand around her throat making speaking difficult.
"I'm gonna fucking murder you.", Sevika snarled, fingers tightening around her neck.
"Not in front of the kids, Lefty.", she choked out, eyes catching on the seven pairs of curious and apprehensive eyes that stared at them.
The woman narrowed her own before shoving her away with an annoyed huff.
Jinx coughed for a second and after getting her bearings back together stared at the hand in front of her.
"Missed you too.", she muttered, grabbing it and letting herself be hauled up.
"Where've you been?", Sevika snapped, staring at the girl in front of her.
"Uh…here?"
"You said you'd be back! You told me we'd figure the shit that's going on out there out together!"
Jinx seemed to shrink into herself.
"Yeah…I did say that, didn't I?"
She scratched the back of her head with one hand, staring at the ground.
"In my defence, it's been a rough time, okay?"
Sevika clicked her tongue. She took a look around, staring at the people that gathered around them. She rolled her eyes at the hostility in their gazes.
"You at least got the kid with you?", she asked, voice low to hide her words.
Jinx grin bloomed across her face.
"Who do you take me for?", she asked before turning around and whistling.
"Ish! Come say hi to your babysitter. She came to visit!"
"I'm not a-"
She grunted when a body collided with her legs. She took a stumbling step back before looking down, seeing brown roots and faded blue colour and then golden eyes staring up at her in utter happiness.
"What happened to your hair?", she asked, taking a loose strand between her fingers and twirling it.
"Hey, don't touch-"
Ekko got interrupted by Jinx.
"It just grew out some, sheesh, Vika. What happened to hello, how are you?"
Sevika rolled her eyes before lifting the kid and letting her feet dangle in the air.
Isha giggled, small palms patting her scarred face in delight.
"You're good?"
Isha nodded with a grin.
"She took care of you?", she asked, chin pointing towards the blue haired brat who wore an offended expression.
Isha giggled again and kicked her feet in the air.
"Yeah, alright, missed you too, kid.", she muttered before setting Isha back down on her feet.
"Double rude. A few weeks and you're questioning my parent skills? I'm hurt, Lefty."
"I'm questioning your skills altogether, brat. Now tell me why the fuck I've been turning the entirety of Zaun on its head looking for you while you've been here playing house?"
"I told you! Had to get my noggin back under wraps.", she said with an exasperated groan, lifting Isha clean off her feet and dangling her upside down in the air.
"And you needed a month to do that? Girl, the people are either screaming for you head or for your to show up, and you left me alone out there to handle it!"
"What else is new, though?", Jinx grumbled, expression switched out to a grin at Isha's shrieks of delight.
"You know what they call you? Your people? Queen of the Lanes. They want, they need, you in that chair and the longer you wait to state your claim-"
It was fast. Too fast for Sevika. The way Jinx shoved Isha into the arms of the kid with white hair and got up in her face with a speed akin to that of a bullet. The pink of Shimmer still sparked off of her.
"We're not talking about this in front of her.", she growled, hand splayed out towards Isha who stared at them with wide eyes at the sudden change of the atmosphere.
"Then where?"
Jinx groaned, unhappy that Sevika just wouldn't drop the topic, passing her hands over her face. She blew her bangs out of her eyes before spinning around on the spot and beginning to walk towards the other end of the place.
"We're hijacking the War Room, Little Man. Keep the Bug busy."
"Pow-"
She held up a hand and glared at him. He shut up.
Sevika was impressed.
Jinx crooked a finger and Sevika was following her.
Ekko was impressed.
He looked down at the child in his arms and was met with big eyes staring up at him.
"Guess it's you and me, huh, Lovebug?"
---------
"My people.", Jinx scoffed, slamming the door to the room shut behind the two of them.
"I don't have people. They're Silco's."
"Then why are they screaming for you and not for him? Or for anyone else? They painted the goddamn town square with your face. Two thirds lost hope of you showing face again, and everyday there're more."
"Maybe that's for the better.", she huffed, lounging on one of the chairs and resting her feet on top of the table with the maps on top.
"No! Because some swine's gonna go sit in that chair and destroy everything your father has been trying to build."
She scoffed.
"Which one?"
There was a moment of heated silence between them.
"I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? They're both dead. I killed both of them."
She mimed a gun with her fingers, a soft pew dropping from her throat.
"Maybe. Maybe it doesn't matter, and maybe you did, but that doesn't mean you can't build something from that. That chair is empty, and if you don't step up to sit in it some dumbass will. Some poor fucker that's in the pocket of one of the others. So it's gotta be you."
Jinx huffed.
"Queen of the Lanes.", she mocked, twirling a knife between her fingertips. Where she got that from, Sevika didn't wanna know.
"Royalty of Zaun as well."
The silence was long.
"They need someone that looks out for them, someone that's not after money or glory. And if you show face, they'll rally behind you, all of them. They just need something to hold on to. Someone to trust."
The blue haired girl puffed air into her cheeks before breathing it out slowly.
"I can't sit in his chair. I can't even go into his office anymore, I tried, y'know? But I can't. And all his stuff is there, the stupid documents and files. All his shit that was so fucking important, 's still there."
It was an empty excuse. They both knew that.
"I can grab it."
"What if something happens to Isha, huh? They all know she's with me. If we're out there, prancing around like all the others, she'll be in danger. Sooner or later they'll take her and if something happens to her…"
This one was more real. More dangerous. A possibility that neither of them wanted to entertain but had to.
"Then don't go prancing around like the others."
"Huh?"
"Stay here, stay somewhere, I don't fucking know. Work from the shadows, show up when they don't expect it and stake your claim that way. Be the loose cannon the other bastards think you are. Isha'll be safe here, and if I get you all the shit from the office you can do your job from here."
"But the others-"
"I don't give a flying fuck about them Firelights. Make a deal with them, I don't care. You need to be in that chair, and you needed to be there fucking yesterday."
Jinx sighed, slowly getting up and walking towards the door.
The empty space between them was loud with silence. Just before she opened the door, Jinx paused.
"You'll…you'll be there right? Like you were with him?"
Her question was soft, some kind of untended hurt opening up again.
Sevika stood up straighter.
"If you want me to be your right hand, I will be."
There was another moment of silence before a soft laugh escaped the girl with the pink eyes.
"More like my left one."
Sevika scoffed, following after Jinx who stepped back out into the open air.
"Where are you going?"
"Need to make a game-play, don't I? Gotta-"
She stopped, staring at the crowd that had formed around the Firelights that went out that morning.
Morse turned around at the sound of her voice, eyes wide.
"Jinx, there's a mural of you-"
"I know, I know. Vika already filled me in.", she interrupted, fingers clicking in the suddenly silent air around them.
"So what are you gonna do?"
Ekko's voice carried through the clearing. Isha was at his side, small hand grasped tightly in his own.
Jinx sighed, glancing at Sevika who stood at her left, glaring at the people around them.
Always the protector, she thought, a small smile playing at her lips.
"Guess I need to get to planning. Organizing. Whatever. I've got a chair to sit in, it seems.", she shrugged, hands reaching for Isha who reached out to meet her.
"More like a crown to wear.", somebody from the group muttered, and the glances fell onto her again.
She felt a tug at her belt and glanced down, seeing one of the other kids staring up at her.
"So it's true? They're really calling you the Queen of the Lanes?"
She passed a hand over the boys hair, making a screw appear from behind his ear.
"Guess so, buddy. Gonna go and find out though."
Isha's grip in her tightened and Jinx hoisted the girl up a little higher.
Looking down at her frightened expression, her heart softened.
"Feel like painting some buildings, Bug?"
Her face brightened, grin now spread wide with her enthusiastic nod.
"Good, but no vanishing, got it? You stick to me like glue, otherwise I'm not taking you with me."
The girl nodded, expression firm and serious now.
"Ekko-"
"I'm coming with, you're not doing that shit alone.", he interrupted and Jinx rolled her eyes.
"Catch up then, Boy Saviour. Vika, get me those papers. The sooner I know what the heck Silco got up to, the better."
"I'm on it, Boss.", she answered, voice steadfast, strong. As strong as her hand that's resting on the pale shoulder of the girl she'd been ordered to protect years ago.
She let it rest there for a second before messing with Isha's hair and disappearing through the gate of the base.
Jinx stared after her before turning back to Ekko who still stared at her, jaw dropped by a few inches.
Her voice was firm, and still, there was a teasing tilt to it when she asked.
"You've got some paint I can nab, Little Man?"