Can You Feel My Heart?

by Nikradical

Summary:

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm a slug-eating crab with.. razor spikes!"

Powder shrieked again, whining. Violet hushed her, and Powder cried louder; pointedly.

"Okay! Okay, shh." Violet ducked under and around the hammock for her own glorious introduction. Powder's crying stopped almost immediately. "Ha! It's me, your hero! You can call me Vi." She tapped Powder on the nose, getting a reluctant wave-off as Powder hung onto the hammock and her words. "And Vi, stands for Victory! Get out of here, bad guys. You ain't gettin' my sis while I'm around." Violet put her hands on her hips, and then mimed a heroic cape behind her. Powder gave out a soft giggle, and added the final touch.

"Swhishshwish." Ah yes, the dramatic wind.
--

Dialogue-for-dialogue novelization of season 1 AND 2 from Vi's perspective.

Notes:

Timeline Context - We'll begin how the show begins, for nostalgia.

Disclaimer - TWs will be posted at the beginning of their respective chapters. Double-check story tags and yourself.

The video below might also help set the tone for your journey here. I kissed the brick before launch. <3

Chapter 1: Season 1, Episode 1 "Across the River"

Her skin tickled every time the bright orange flecks of dust rained on her. They made her eyes burn, and her lungs sore. Not like the smell of The Grey or the stuff that filled their house when Mom or Dad heated the house in the winter.

This was fire, and... something else. Like someone was cooking meat on a stove. She saw a couple of piles of burning someones. Violet checked Powder's face to make sure her little sister didn't see anything. She had just stopped crying.

Someone screamed on the other side of the bridge through the smoke and ash.

"Don’t look,” She whispered, “Just… Sing something, Pow. Anything." Something. Anything. Maybe it might help their mom find them.

"Dear friend across the river, my hands are cold and bare,"

Violet started them across, hoping Powder's voice could carry over the distant gunshots. It never occurred to her at the time, that maybe the fighting wasn't over yet. She didn't know why her parents left to fight. But she had been told to stay put until they got back. And it had been hours.

"Dear friend across the river, I'll take what you can spare."

A gunshot, once. Then twice. It was closer than the others, but still a ways away. Still, Violet flinched like it happened right next to them. Powder continued singing like she hadn't noticed.

"I ask of you a penny, my fortune it will be, I ask you without envy,"

A breeze cleared some of the specks away from them. Violet was able to see more than just heaps. Piles of junk, and broken metal was everywhere. Little fires that kept burning. She knew they were on the bridge - she'd been here before to look at the ships sailing underneath. Her mom let her hang from one of the wires holding the bridge up. It was so big. And while the beams and stone were cracked, everything except the actual bridge was destroyed. The previous memory was unrecognizable through the aftermath of battles. These weren’t silly little chalk drawings. Those weren’t named heroes going back to their families.

These people looked like people she might know. Neighbors or family friends. But none of them were the two people in their world they were looking for.

"We raise no mighty towers, our homes are built of stone, so come across the river,"

Violet stopped walking. The smoke kept moving out of the way, unveiling more destruction. More explosions somewhere, more alarm bells, more bodies.

"And find.."

Violet didn't realize that Powder stopped singing, or that her sister had started looking. Vi squeezed Powder's hand tighter.

Clank.

Clank.

Someone made a sound back at it. Like the wind got knocked out of them.

Violet tore her eyes away from the bridge to their left, looking through some of the smoke at someone still fighting. Or rather, who had just won a fight. He looked back at them, and Violet's heart skipped a beat. For the first time, she remembered they weren't supposed to be here.

She pulled Powder closer. He walked closer to them, and when Violet blinked, she saw his face. Vander. She was happy to see him, but not here. Not on a burning bridge.

She looked around, knowing that wherever she'd seen him, her own parents usually weren't far behind. She couldn't recognize anyone to their left, or their right. So, the only other option was to look to him for the answer.

He nodded his head a ways away to the only heap in the center. Their mom looked up at something while on her back. But not really seeing.

Violet knew it was just like the other piles of people. Except, she was looking at the two people she didn't think would be like them.

They came all this way, waited, searched. Just to find them.

Violet's knees gave out, and she cried. Powder hugged her, but this time, Violet was the one who couldn't be consoled.

Vander picked her up, and then Powder. The last several hours caught up with her. She rocked back and forth as he carried her. It lulled Violet through the haze. Eventually, the broken chunks of stone were normal. No more tiny fires, no more piles of.. her people. He was taking them away from their parents. But what was going to happen next? Violet looked up as movement brought her attention to the only people standing on the bridge.

Through the smoke and fires, metal monsters held guns and angry faces. They turned away like Violet wasn't watching. No more fighting. Her people lost.

Above them, the topside of the city looked normal. Like they didn't care or see all of the fires Violet had seen. Couldn't hear the screaming or the crying. Instead of Powder's hand in hers, she squeezed her fingers into her hand. Vander had been showing her how to fight. Maybe this was why.

Chapter 2: Pre-Season 1: "Let Sleeping Vi's Lie"

Vi had no shortage of long mornings. The days were flying by faster than she wanted them to. It was always one thing after another. First, Vander needed help prepping some spouts for the new beer dispenser. Powder’s friend, Ekko, broke his arm. Vi’s knuckles were always bruised and that wearing a wrap around Powder was more normal than keeping her hands free. At least her knuckles weren’t getting split every other day anymore. Vander said she was growing ‘calluses’. Which was cool. Natural armor. But getting there hurt like hell. And today, all Vi wanted to do was have a break.

Of course, a break wasn’t in the vocabulary of a sumprat when your new housemates-bar mates-friends wanted to have some fun.

“You’re always busy.”

“You should try it sometime. Vander could use some help with,” Vi waved here hand lazily over her head as her forearm rested along the bridge of her nose, “whatever.”

Mylo’s whining continued at a more prominent gripe. “Just a few hours, please?”

“No, go away.”

“I bet if Powder came along you’d be all for it.” Well, duh. But Powder wasn’t going, so Vi wasn’t either. Vi should be so lucky.

“Go where?” Came the small voice from the bed under her own. Mylo groaned, as if just now realizing his mistake.

“You can’t come, big kids only.”

“If I can come, she can come.”

“Mhm!” Powder chimed in excitedly. Mylo made a similar sound. Mocking.

“Let me enjoy my day off, Mylo. I’ll go check out the water tower tomorrow.”

“You said that last week.”

“Well, how can I enjoy anything with you constantly up my ass about scoping places out.”

“We’re setting up territory.”

“Like a gang?” Powder’s quiet metallic motions halted for a brief moment. Mylo made his mocking sound again. Vi removed her arm from her face to look at him. Even sideways, Vi could see him retreat just enough to look caught in the act. It prompted Vi to sit up on her elbows with a sore wince.

“Claggor already tagged it with some color.” His eyes flashed down to Powder, whose silence meant she was oblivious to the theft. Vi made a note to resupply Powder’s stores of crayons before she noticed.

“What color?”

“Pink.”

“Pink.” Vi repeated, unimpressed, “You tagged a water tower with ‘pink’.”

“Well, yea, no one fucks with us. And when you beat the snot out of that one kid, he went home and his dad came to The Last Drop and they were talking about you. They didn’t get a name, so he just said ‘the punk with pink hair’. So, we figured you’d be our poster child.”

“I don’t want my rep to be ‘pink’. At least do.. Red, or something, I don’t know.”

“But your hair’s pink.”

Vi groaned, “I’ll check it out tomorrow.”

“Vi!” He whined.

“I can’t just leave Powder here, stupid.”

“She can look after herself for a few hours.”

“She’s eight.”

“So?”

“So,” Vi covered her face again and fell back into her mattress, “I’m not leaving my sister alone while you waste my day off with tagging bullshit places where no one’ll see with pink writing and dumb plans.”

“It’s not just- Vi!” Mylo’s pleading turned pointed, but she cut him off with a loud snoring sound. Mylo growled, “Ugh, fine, asshole.” A regret the second it left his mouth.

“Come again?”

“Never mind.” His tone spoke more apology than an actual ‘sorry’ would have. Vi was already jumping down from her bunk.

“No, I’m sorry, Mylo, I didn’t hear you from my bed.”

Mylo retreated to the door, with Vi nearly on his heels, “I said never mind. We’ll just show you tomorrow.”

“Nuh-uh, you’re really gonna call me that and run away with your tail between your legs? I can find actual rats with bigger balls than you.”

“Vander said-” A small voice behind her. Overshadowed by Mylo slamming the door just shy of a hair from Vi’s nose. She swung the door open, only to see Mylo sprinting up the second section of stairs toward the main barroom. Like Vi wouldn’t give chase.

The thick clouds of smoke and noise met her ears after the music’s upbeat lyrics did. Mylo began phase two of ‘escape Vi’ by setting a chair between his back and her front. Vi saw it coming, but with the little room to maneuver, she was helpless to avoid it. As Vi tripped over it, Mylo booked it around the nearest pool table, searching for allies. He, unfortunately, had plenty.

“What’s the problem, now, short-stack?” Lenny, a regular, chuckled as Mylo brushed past. Mylo’s eyes remained on Vi as she found her feet. Vi kept her own on her target, and took off at breakneck speed. Mylo would have made it to freedom somewhere, if he didn’t realize that Vi was perfectly fine vaulting over the pool tables to close the gap.

Shouts rang out behind her as Vi tackled him to the ground. She pulled back, finally prepared to deliver a short-term reminder that there was a reason why she spent hours upon hours punching a boxing machine. On the wind back, however, something soft caught her arm.

“Let go!” Vi grumbled. Lenny’s face filled half of her vision. The other half was Mylo getting pulled to his own feet.

“Vander’ll have my hide if I let you put a shiner on your brother.”

“He’s not.. my brother!” Vi wrestled herself free, finally earning the freedom to get her breath back and shout at Mylo, “He’s a little shit!” Vi made for Mylo, when a wall of a hulking man blocked her path. The immediate reaction for her was to flinch. The scent of a familiar pipe tobacco and dish soap assaulted her nose. A half-moment before she looked up to a stern expression.

The fight drained out of her like the fucking beer running through the pipes.

“What did I tell you about getting into fights with Mylo?”

“He’s the one who was being a di-”

“Vi!” His bark made Vi flinch out of her name calling.

“Ugh!" Vi turned around to stomp back to her bed.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To my room!"

"Get back-" The door slammed behind her. Powder sat harrowingly in the middle of her mess of toys. Machine parts, with a collection of recognizable and metallic creatures. Little doodads that she’d been playing with. With them out and sitting at attention, Ekko was likely to be coming over sometime today. Powder smiled as Vi gave her a reassuring smile of her own. She just wanted a day off. From working with Vander, scouting The Lanes, patrolling the fissures, hell, even babysitting her little sister. But if she had to keep one obligation over another, she’d choose to stay and look after Powder. At least for today.

Powder was smart enough to know when to stick around, at least.

Vi climbed onto her bed and fell face-first into her pillow and grumbled tiredly into it.

Powder wasn’t smart enough to know when to let sleeping dogs lie. “You can go hang out with Mylo, you don’t have to babysit me.”

Vi frowned into her pillow and turned her head. Though she couldn’t see Powder, she replied anyway, “I don’t want to hang out with Mylo. Or Claggor, or anyone else. I want to just.. Rest.”

“It’s okay, though. I won’t get into trouble.”

“Pow-pow. I wouldn’t trade any time away from you for the world.”

There was a long pause before Powder replied. “What do you mean?”

“If you think you’re dead weight, you’re wrong. I wanna be here with you. Mylo’s just being needy and he'll get over it. Vander probably has him on dish duty or some-"

The door opened to Vander hovering at the door. Vi turned over to face away, uninterested in a lecture on how to treat Mylo or some shit. Powder shrieked in excitement, and Vi nearly felt the room shaking as Little Man jumped into the basement. He greeted Powder with similar gusto, as if they hadn't seen each other like, yesterday. Something warm comforted her arm. Her still sore as fuck arm.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Grr."

Vander chuckled and gave her arm a final pat before leaning onto her bed and pretending to not notice Vi anymore. Vi managed to have a silent conversation with herself over whether or not she should take the bait and apologize for blowing up on Mylo or owning it and just not giving a fuck. An apology would be the right thing to do.

"I say we sell Mylo to the topsiders and we split the profits." Vi grumbled.

"What makes you think they haven't been paying me to keep him down here?"

Vi tried really hard not to smile. "I just wanted a day to relax and he wasn't leaving me alone."

"Hm. And you asked nicely?"

"With a cherry on top and everything."

"Bummer. I'll keep him busy the rest of the day, how does that sound?"

"Like topside."

Then, Vander turned away, "Come on, you two, I could use your help cleaning some pipes upstairs."

"But we were gonna make a foldable tool-thingy." "Pipes, then cookies, then your gadgets and thingamajigs."

"Cookies?!" Ekko cheered, "Powder, let's hurry up and get what Vander wants done so we can fuel up before mechanics."

Powder made mechanical whirs, "Bzzrt, Understood!" Their feet padded up the stairs without Vander moving from his spot beside Vi's bed.

"Here you go kiddo, get some rest." Then, another pat on her arm. Vi tucked her arm under her head and heard the door open as Vander spoke up again, "And no practicing your hooks on Mylo." He added as the door shut with Vi already dozing off.

Chapter 3: Season 1, Episode 1: "The Heist"

Notes:

Shot-for-shot after the credits, until "The Chase".

Vi could already taste the crisp air before she could see the sky. The vents pushed wind downward, and if anyone had asked her opinion about it in the fissures, she'd scoff.

But today wasn't the first time she'd come up to topside. It was, however, the first time Powder would be tagging along.

Vi loved climbing. The views weren't always worth the effort but in a city where going up meant opportunity, Vi might become obsessed to keep chasing the high.

"We're almost there." She said, swinging lightly from her anchor.

Claggor was below Powder, and Mylo below him. They'd climbed up and through vents, ladders, balconies, and scaled walls to get here. Every time Vi looked down to check on their progress, she saw Powder smiling up at her. A new bead of sweat on Claggor's face. A deeper frown on Mylo's. This wasn't quite payback for his stunt at the water tower, but she wanted him here. Maybe then, he could see that Powder was growing up.

Finally, Vi hoisted herself over the ledge and her first full breath nearly made her lightheaded. Massive puffy white clouds soared over the city. Even with the sky so open, she couldn't see all of them. When she was younger, she always wondered what they must smell like. Clean water? Pure heaven? Only Janna might know.

"Hey Powder. Come take a look."

The building stretched forward in a way that Vi remembered seeing for the first time she'd made similar climbs forever ago. No one forgets their first time looking out over topside on this side of the bridge.

She walked to the other end of the roof, soaking in the matching colors. Symmetrical buildings, almost pure white stone and vibrant colors. No part of the buildings were hodgepodged together out of scraps.

"Whoa." Her sister agreed.

"It's nice getting above it all, huh?"

Far off to the left, Vi could see land outside the city. The actual horizon.

Claggor joined them, silent as a mouse. Or maybe his steps were drowned out by the airship coming from behind them. It was low over the building, but plenty of space away. They were in no real danger, even if its presence shook the building beneath them.

It flew even further into Piltover, leaving a stream of air in its tracks. Not only could Piltover have the sky line, they harvested the air from it too. This might not have been the first time Vi had seen one, but she'd never been so close. Close enough to hear it. To feel it push away the wind like water under a boat.

"One day, I'm gonna ride in one of those things."

Mylo stepped forward, making an appearance, "And one day, I'm gonna shoot one of 'em down." He made a shooting pose with his fingers, and Vi shoved it as she passed. She knew he said that because of what Powder had said. The more they lingered, the more likely Mylo would fill the gaps.

"Vi are-are you sure about this? Look, if we get caught we're-"

"We're not gonna get caught." Vi shut his anxiety down. She hopped down the ledge onto the next roof and tracked on, briefly remapping where Ekko had told them where to go earlier. "We'll be in and out before anyone notices."

They would need to jump across the street to the next block. It was a descent jump to make, maybe even risky, but Vi knew she could make it and if Powder saw her, then.. monkey do.

"Alright everybody, follow me." Vi double-checked the backpack behind her was secured, and readied herself for the jump mentally. Below, she caught sight of the people going about their day. Tiny ants, at this height. She mapped the slide, swing, drop over the railing, and finally, the jump. Best not to let it get to the others, "Just, don't look down."

She slid, grateful for the gutter to hold her weight. The swing went smoothly, and the railing was a little loose. Vi launched herself from the balcony, and landed on the roof opposite with a victorious thud. Perfect landing. She looked back confidently, and waiting.

Claggor stepped forward, but Mylo pushed him aside; cracking his knuckles. He followed Vi's route to a T. Claggor did the same, except he lifted a cupcake from the balcony on his spin around the balcony. He looked up at Vi, "Couldn't we have just walked there?"

They could have. If they weren't planning on coming back out alive.

"Gotta stay out of sight for this one." It wasn't like some heist in the undercity. They were dressed like sumprats. Acted like sumprats. And when in Piltover, they stood out enough as it was. They had to do this quiet, and quiet meant taking longer. Anywhere they could lower the risk of being seen, they'd have to use it.

Vi had been expecting Powder to follow Claggor, but as Vi looked back to the other roof, Powder hadn't moved an inch. Her eyes had gone where Vi's had, and instead of recognizing the danger and moving past it, Powder stared down in fear.

Mylo came to the same conclusion, "Called it." He looked back at Vi, shrugging any responsibility, "This is on you, Vi."

The gears were already turning in Vi's head. If Powder turned back, this moment would be all she'd remember. But they couldn't leave her there. And there was no way she'd be making the jump on her own without someone saying something.

Claggor spoke up with resignation, "I'll get her."

"No," Vi stuck her hand out to him and called up to Powder, "Powder, look at me. What did I tell you?"

C'mon, Pow, you've got this.

Powder met Vi's eyes, "That.. I'm ready." She looked back down at the street, but the fear didn't grip her as much. Vi couldn't help the smile.

"That's right! So?"

Powder fell forward, and slid down the roof. It was clumsy, shaky. And Vi had to trust that she'd catch herself. She did, breathing a victory on the swing. Powder brought herself to the front of the railing, and jumped.

She made it! But then, her balance fell through as she realized the roof was slanted just enough against gravity and Vi jumped forward to catch her arm.

I gotcha, Pow.

Vi smiled down at Powder, holding her there. Giving her sister a moment to really understand that Vi wouldn't let her fall.

"Thanks." Powder sighed happily. Vi leveraged her backfoot and pulled them upright.

See? Powder could make it. She wasn't gonna learn if she didn't get out more, anyways.

They crossed a couple more streets with more ease than that first. It tooks them several minutes, though, and Vi grew more anxious at each passing building. They traversed closer to the center of the city, which meant that they'd find more and more expensive things, sure. It also meant heavier security and less viable escape routes.

It wasn't just Powder who had never been here before. Now, Vi's knowledge was being put to the test. Having to compare with what she knew about the city above ground and how it might line up with what she knew below. Problem was, she didn't know topside as well as she'd like to.

Finally, they'd made it to the right section of the city. The people below were in more than just enforcer uniforms, they wore suits and matching outfits. They were youngish, and Vi knew they were probably students of some kind. In the end, it didn't matter so much, as long as no one dared to look up. Then again, why would topsiders think to do that?

"What if Vander finds out we're all the way up here?" Claggor broke through Vi's thoughts again. Between him and Mylo, Vi was having trouble keeping her thoughts from spending the loot in her mind already.

"Look around you. You think anyone topside's going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the sort of job Vander would've pulled when he was our age." Vi looked over the ledge, knowing there was no going back from here. "I'm going." She looked back at her brothers, "Are you with me, or not?"

Claggor looked to Mylo, who shrugged. At least he was definitely on her side. Claggor sighed, "Vander's gonna kill us."

"Yeah, only if we screw up." Vi punctuated her statement, "So don't screw up."

She swung down to the balcony, knowing they would wait for her signal. She couldn't hear anyone nearby, no voices or music. She risked a look into the balcony doors, to no movement. She stepped around to the window, and made the same observation.

"All clear."

Mylo swung down first and inspected the door, "Ugh, who locks their balcony?"

Vi helped Claggor bring Powder down, and made sure he made it himself after before checking on the door. Mylo had already stuck his lockpicking tools into the keyhole. Claggor looked down over the balcony's railing, "Whew. There's tons of enforcers down there."

Vi checked on the nearby windows for any sign of a nosy neighbor, "Means we're in the right place." She looked back at the door and Mylo, "You gonna get that door open anytime soon?" Every second they wasted outside, meant more time for prying eyes to find them.

Mylo grumbled, "Working on it.." He forgot to go back to work, choosing to complain instead, "Seeing as I'm the only one who knows how to pick locks, I'd suggest-"

Vi kicked the door in, impatience winning over. She was the first to step inside, and the first to pick her jaw off the floor.

The stuff in this room alone made Benzo's place look like a candy shop. They were surrounded by ticking noises, but even with that, Vi couldn't see an actual clock in sight. Walls of books - walls of books! - just sat on shelves. Some on their side, or leaning on each other. Vi gravitated toward them, wondering not just how much they cost to collect, but where they were found. Did the same person write all of them? Or were they just.. there?

She recognized the word 'Hook' from a title. Her eyes scanned another book, and another. Each a different name, but similar theme despite not a single book looking like another. These weren't anything like the action books she'd read, or the fantasy ones Claggor chewed through.

She grabbed one on its side, and opened it to a new chapter. Something about harvesting crops in Ionia, and the blueprints of mechanical tools used to do so.

She heard Mylo talking to Claggor, though her curiosity made her forget their mission here. If only for a brief few moments. Based on what Ekko told her, and the wall of drawings, Vi tried to make sense of all the little numbers and words.

She couldn't, and that was fine. Her imagination could fill in the blanks.

"Must be an inventor."

Powder added, "Whoa, I think this is a real Valdiani."

Whatever the hell that was. Vi caught her appreciating the small music box.

Mylo chimed in, "Oh yea? What about this?" He showed off a small tool, cranking it into motion with a few presses of a button.

"That's a nose hair trimmer." Powder let him down easy. Out of the four of them, Vi felt that Powder had the best idea on what could be actually expensive. Her and Ekko spent so much time around Benzo, that it almost felt like he was in the room with them, pointing Powder to the things that would be worth it.

"Keep an eye out for anything that looks valuable, Powder." Vi gave Mylo a mischievous side-eye, "Before Mylo fills the bag with junk." She went back to searching near the drawing board when Mylo spoke up again.

"Uh.. guys?" Claggor and Vi looked over, equally curious at what he'd found. A small glowing blue crystal ball on some kind of platform on the table. It was no bigger than a chunk of coal, but brighter than any gemstone.

"Wait, Vi, how the hell did we find this place?"

Mylo stuck his finger near the crystal, and it looked like it shocked him. They might not know what it was, but they knew electricity. Danger.

"It was a tip, from Little Man." She replied, not thinking that he'd send them into any actual danger besides some topsiders. Mylo repeated her.

"Little Man?"

"Just - Leave it. C'mon." The sooner they were out of here, the sooner they'd be back home.

Claggor and Mylo were off in their own world.

"How could anyone have so much stuff?"

"Simple. Just get born lucky."

Vi shrugged their conversation off, catching the top of Powder's head making way deeper into the apartment. She took note of Powder's whereabouts, and dug into a drawer.

More tools. She found one that might be useful to Vander's place, though she'd have to come up with a good excuse as to how she found it. She put it in the bag.

Mylo had taken Powder's colors a couple of weeks ago, maybe Powder could have some fun with the chalk. Half-used or not, Vi found a spot in the bag.

The rest of the odds and ends she found that made it into the backpack were highly selective. It filled pretty fast, and they still had to make the journey back to the undercity.

Vi inspected the bag, and Mylo tossed a ball to her. She caught it, giving in to him. She'd at least find a spot for it.

Something dropped loudly outside the main door. It echoed down the hall, and Vi listened for what inevitably followed.

The apartment's resident. Returning. The shadow of someone just outside the tiny window of the door blocked out the light, and Vi pointed at Mylo's chair.

"Mylo!" She whispered, and he sprung into action. He'd had plenty of practice locking chairs under the door of the bathroom to keep her out anyways.

Time was up, and it was time to dip.

Vi ran halfway down the hall, "Powder, we gotta go." She called urgently. She almost went into the room herself, but Powder darted out and met her in the hall. She wasn't the fasted runner, though, and Vi grabbed her hand to pull her sister along.

That door wouldn't hold up for forever.

"C'mon." Mylo hurried them, and Vi rounded the corner to yank Powder in front of her. Behind them, the owner battered at the door. Each bang knocking the chair a little more loose. Vi stopped at the bag, and tied it closed.

"We'll be fine, just get back on the roof." She picked up the bag, hoisted it over her shoulder, and checked on the door. Still closed.

And then, blinding light. The force of some explosion behind her nearly knocked her into the wall. It stole her feet from under her, and her ears rang. It didn't just bust the chair away from the door, it broke the door outward from the force. Vi couldn't help but check on the guy dazed outside the room. When he fell over, unconscious, Vi remembered it was time to get the hell out of topside.

She didn't know what caused it, but all three of her siblings were likewise on their asses on the balcony.

Powder? fine. Mylo? Fine. Claggor? Fine. But then a rumbling quaked beneath their feet. On the balcony. Like blue bolts of lightning, the flooring shook and cracked.

"Hold on!" Vi stepped back, feeling Powder's arm brush against hers for just a second. She chanced a look over the hole in the balcony, and her heart dropped at just how much damage had been caused.

And then, the real mistake kicked her heart back up again. Enforcers looked up at her.

"Shit."

Alarm horns started. And the chase began.

Chapter 4: Season 1, Episode 1: "The Chase"

Notes:

Follows "The Heist" chapter, and leads us across Piltover until we get to looking for Powder after the fight.

The enforcers lost sight of them for just long enough. Vi couldn't tell anyone how they managed to scale down the buildings onto the streets so quickly. But she knew she cut her pinky on some metal. Bruised her hip catching Powder when she pulled her down.

Even though they were already huffing, Vi dragged Powder to start running toward The Pilt. The bridges that kept the two city-sections apart were the first think Vi looked for over the buildings. If only they weren't so tall.

Still, she made an educated guess and they booked it. People were on high alert every time they ran past. The alarms never stopped following them, like a warning that enforcers were closing in. Dread filled Vi's chest every time she heard them beating.

This time, they weren't just outrunning eyes, they were outrunning grown adults. The echoes of commands to stop, the sound of boots always chasing a little too close to their group. And as desperate as they were, there weren't open streets to just run through in the undercity. And topside was sold out of shadows and vertical travel.

Vi led them through the main plaza, risking more eyes but also a more direct route to the bridge. Every staircase slowed them down, and every time Vi looked back, she'd see more enforcers. When she looked up, enforcers studied or called out to her from catwalks. And each time they passed more, new methods to try and stop them were thrown at them.

A net nearly caught Mylo by the arm. A bola missed Powder by only a couple of inches. She could heard more nets, more bolas be thrown at them. But every time Vi looked back, she still had two brothers and a sister close behind.

They made it to the start of the bridge, nearly gassed. The extra weight on Vi's back wasn't helping her adrenaline, and she was thankful that she was in shape. Never mind how Claggor must feel right now.

Even though they were closer to crossing the bridge, footmen kept up with them. Passersbys started to not know why they were being chased, and Vi bumped into one of them, not paying all of her attention to where she ran. She looked forward, and the bridge started to raise for an oncoming ship.

They could make it. It might even be too far for the footmen to follow. Vi kicked her burning legs into gear again, spurring the four of them on decisively.

The made it to their side of the bridge, and Vi knew exactly which way to go. Just a few more streets, alleys, and turns.

The only problem, is that with the buildings being more compact, every straight meant the enforcers gained ground. And the alleys forced them to follow Vi one by one. Vi punched at a steampipe, giving them just the smokescreen they needed to get out of sight.

She stopped hearing enforcers behind them, and pulled open a trash chute when it failed to budge.

Mylo leaned into the escape hole, knowing exactly what Vi's route intended, "Oh man, not again. I just got this shirt-"

Vi kicked him into the hole, shutting him up. Powder followed swiftly behind, and although Claggor grimaced, he fell in. Vi moved the lid closer to the entrance, hoping they wouldn't suspect it and swung the backpack protectively in front of her.

If it meant they'd get off the radar, then they could always argue showers later.

Vi landed on the trash heap, still a little winded from running. The first person she looked for was Powder, and the first person she heard was Mylo.

"I thought last time was the last time we were gonna do this."

"Well this time's the last time."

Claggor ignored their jabs at each other, "Guys what was that? What the hell happened back there?"

Everyone, including Vi, looked over to Powder.

"I don't know, I didn't do anything."

"Could fill a damn library with all the things you didn't do."

Vi tried to bring up their spirits, "Guys. We just emptied a Piltover penthouse right under the enforcer's noses." She felt a small measure of pride; being able to say that, "So, if you're done beating yourselves up, let's get this home."

The trash tunnels were mostly barren. She knew folks came through to dig at whatever Topside might not want anymore like buried treasure. Vi had come here a couple of times herself, but she never found anything worth the trouble.

By the time they came out one of the service tunnels, it was early evening. It would already be dark in the undercity, and if they weren't careful about time moving forward, Vander might start wondering where they'd run off to.

They could finally breathe. It wasn't quite fresh air, but now they were all on the same page as to how to get home. It was just a matter of making sure there were no stray enforcers along the way.

Still, Vi couldn't keep her guard down on this side of the bridge either. And her suspicions were made reality when some guy struck a couple words at them.

"Nice haul?"

Mylo had to make things worse, "You could say that."

Vi kept walking, but turned back to shoot him a look he didn't see. Just shut up, Mylo.

"I heard there was some action across the river." He was playing with a coin, looking casual. But Vi had heard his like before. And the feeling in her gut was anything but casual. "Someone uh, someone really kicked the nest, huh?"

Vi turned back, looking to let whatever he'd be saying slide off her and just go home. Ignore her own temper for once. "Is that so?" She looked up, and two others, maybe a few years older than her blocked the street.

Realization had already hit her. They weren't going to be able to just talk their way out of this. And Vi sized each of them up. And the odds.. weren't great for her group. It was three on three, and that's with Mylo's shoddy self-defense.

He stood up from his lounging and continued ever smug, "But now you're.. You're draggin' this mess of yours through my streets."

Vi bristled, "Your streets? What makes you think-"

Claggor interrupted Vi, playing mediator, "Yes-Well-We-We don't want any trouble, okay?"

A fourth goon joined up beside the ringleader, "You hear that, Deckard? They don't want any trouble."

The big hotshot weasel, Deckard, added, "You know, in my experience. Trouble. Finds you." He shrugged and faked nice. "There's no reason this has to get ugly. How about you share a little taste of your treasure there, and we'll call it even."

Mylo argued, "No, no, no. We worked too hard to-"

Vi stepped forward, and put a hand on his shoulder. He shut himself up, and Vi pulled the bag from her shoulder. She stepped close enough, willing enough, and looked up at him from the bag.

"Just a taste?"

Deckard smirked over to his buddy, feeling like he was about to taste victory. And he was. But Vi was serving up some 'fuck you' for desert. If he wanted a fight, she'd give him one but not before swinging first. He was just a little too slow to catch her swinging.

"Juuust a-"

The backpack knocked him flat on his stomach, making him eat whatever metal trinkets were in the bag and the dusty ground. Vi tossed the backpack to Powder for safekeeping, knowing that the other three bozos would focus on Vi, Mylo, and Claggor before going after the loot.

Deckard got to his feet, and Vi ducked under his arm. She shoved him off, but her hands lacked purchase and she couldn't see the fist until it rammed into her cheekbone. It stunned her enough for Deckard to spear her onto her back.

Vi rolled away from him, but he kept going at her too fast for her to get any good shots on him. She caught him in the rib, but he returned the favor to her gut and she wretched instinctively.

He sent her an uppercut, and she fell back onto some crates. She saw his arm up too much as he swung at her again, and Vi closed the distance. She swung under his armpit and kneed him in the stomach. Grabbed his hair and pulled. Hard. Throwing him into the same crates face-first.

Before he had a chance to get up, she kicked into his back hard enough to shatter the crates under him, causing them the break around him with dust.

She spat out, tasting blood, and took a breath.

A few feet away, Mylo fell onto his back. He looked up at his goon with all of his confidence drained out. Vi looked around for something, anything, and broke off a plank from one of the crates.

She ran at the goon, and as Mylo shoved the goon's face up and away, Vi swung the plank at him, ending Mylo's fight for him. To be sure, she used her shoe to lift the idiot's head up. There was no way his nose wasn't broken.

Claggor dumped the third goon beside Mylo, clearly taking out his own trash. It seemed they were done here.

Mylo made a comment, "This day's turning out alright after all."

"Wait!" Deckard called pointedly. Vi turned around, seeing that Deckard was wanting to raise the risk even more.

It wasn't the first time a knife had been pulled on her. And she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She walked up to him, and bent down enough to hold herself up on her knees. Bring herself to his level.

"Wanna see how that ends?" She looked to the blade, and back to him, hoping, willing his confidence to crack. Because he sure as hell wasn't going to break hers by pulling out a knife. He stared into her eyes, and not once did she blink. Not even when the cut from her eyebrow bled down the side of her eye.

She knew the odds. Even if he cut her, it was now three against one instead of three against four. She heard him fleeing, but she looked around and couldn't find their own fourth.

"Where's Powder?"

Chapter 5: Pre-Season 1: "Shower Rights"

Notes:

This takes place somewhere after Vander adopts the kids, but before "The Heist" in Episode 1.

“But it’s my turn to go first.” Mylo’s whine stopped Vi from leaving for the one joy she’d get out of today.

“You didn’t even go with us.”

“-Yeah, cause you made me babysit!-”

“So that means I smell like shit, which means I get first dibs.”

“No, I called it first last time. You always go first, then Powder, and then Claggor and then I’m left with all the cold water.”

“You said it yourself.”

“Vi!”

“Mylo.” Vi turned serious, warning Mylo of the implications of standing his ground.

“Screw you, I’m taking a shower.” Mylo pushed past Vi, but she pulled him in with an angry hug. Mylo’s arm shoved back and slipped past her side a moment before Vi’s leg caught his own. Neither really put the effort into hurting the other, but Mylo growled in frustration just as Vi pinned him beneath her. Despite the few extra pounds on him, Vi struggled to keep him from wiggling out one way or another.

“What’s going on?” Vander’s voice boomed into the room, interrupting the scuffle. Vi was forced to crane her neck as her arms tangled with Mylo's legs. She squinted through his fingers splayed out over her face to find Vander freshly dressed and hair soaking wet. Mylo spoke for her.

“Vi said I could shower first, but-”

“-but I just got back from helping Benzo move the-”

“-You promised!” Mylo shouted up to her. Vi leaned out of his hand, readjusting her own to shove his cheeks into the floor.

“I didn’t promise anything! I said I'd try.” She growled down at him.

“Violet!” Vander barked. Vi froze at her full name, already loosening her grip. Mylo took the opportunity to kick her off, earning his name shortly after.

“Mylo!” Vi flinched, but went after his retreat in reignited annoyance. That was Mylo's mistake. Vi's weight crashed onto his side and forced both of his shoulders to fall down, helplessly pinned on his chest.

The next thing either of them knew was the world shifting as Vander pulled them apart into his own inescapable arms. The air squeezed out of Vi until she thought her eyes would pop out. But then the pressure stopped, and she sucked in a heavy breath. It settled over her lungs like a blanket. Oddly comforting, but faint drops of cooling water dripped into the back of her head from above.

“That’s enough.” Vander ordered. Vi looked over to Mylo, who seemed similarly affected before she glanced up to Vander’s stern expression at her, “Mylo goes first this time. Even if you do smell horrible.” Vander wrinkled his nose, eliciting a smirk from Mylo. Vi glared at the little shit, but accepted her fate with a bitter taste.

Chapter 6: Season 1, Episode 1: "Underdogs"

Notes:

This takes place immediately after "The Chase", and follows them until Vander comes in for his 'with great power, comes great responsibility' speech.

It was getting dark, and as much as Mylo voiced his desire to go home and leave Powder overnight, Claggor made suggestions and excuses for them to keep looking. Eventually, Vi sent Mylo to check out the nearby roof. Just for some stupid quiet. Only for Claggor to fill the silence.

"She's smart, we'll find her safe and sound."

Vi rubbed at the dried blood along her cheek, and cleared the corner of her eye from similar debris. She sighed. "You think she's looking for us?"

"Maybe we should stay put, in case she comes back."

"She doesn't know these streets yet." Vi bit her tongue in annoyance. She should've brought Powder up here sooner. Maybe then they could have planned a fallback plan better. Fuck, maybe Powder shouldn't have come at all. But maybes weren't gonna help them find her sister. "Mylo's looking from up top, I'll try the streets over 'til the sinkhole and come back. You stay here, and when I get back if she's not here, I'll check out the ridge in case she went east for some reason."

"You're sure we should really split up?"

"Powder's ten, I'll take my chances."

"Good luck."

"Oh, and Claggor, thanks for tanking them back there. You really kicked their asses."

Claggor smiled, "Heavier than they looked."

Vi's nerves kicked in again, feeding her legs to go off. On her way to the sinkhole, a couple of fishermen talked about their poor catch of the afternoon. Vi caught wind of their melancholy but no sign that they'd seen a blue-haired kid anywhere nearby. She wished them better luck tomorrow, and they wished her likewise for her and hers.

She stopped an old woman hanging clothes on a line, but her cloudy eyes and bad hearing only slowed Vi's return trip down. Forced to repeat everything she said, including goodbye. She turned back once she made it to the sinkhole and no Powder in sight. She'd sleep like a rock tonight, that was for sure. The thought of enjoying their spoils helped keep her spirits up, too.

One of the books she tossed into the bag was from the same author that she'd read from before. The prospect of something new was exciting. And the look on Vander's face when she'd reveal the tool to him in some clever way put a pep in her step. Wrap it as a present or maybe hide it under one of the almost-empty barrels like hidden treasure.

Vi was out of breath when she jogged back to Claggor. Not so much gassed as spent. And then she remembered she hadn't eaten since this morning. Suddenly, Claggor's snag of a cupcake on topside was something to envy.

Claggor was joking with Mylo, probably distracting him from the fact that Vi ran off. Mylo animatedly planned for what he'd do with some of the money he'd get after they fenced most of the goods. Claggor seemed of the opinion to use the items for their family. Repurpose the things they could, hoard the rest. He was just under Vi's age by a few months, and like Vi, he'd been forced to resort to using what they could. And now, they would have some better means.

"Okay, I'll head to the ridge, then."

"We're definitely getting a new shower drain. I for one am not snaking wire through the pipes every time I take a shower. Girls shed so much."

Vi ignored the complaint, and nodded to Claggor as she sped off again. The sea docks gave way to disjointed piers and half-connected boats. Vi hoped that Powder didn't make it into the water herself. The Pilt was infamous for infection and sickness on this side of the river. And that was the last thing they needed. Ever.

"Vi!"

Powder called from a street over, stopping Vi in her tracks. Relief hit like a punch to the gut as she turned and opened her arms. Her little sister was shaking, and apologizing. It didn't take more than a moment for Vi to connect the dots on what could have happened. Whether Powder dropped the stuff, or one of the assholes took it, the answer would be the same. They climbed up topside, spent the whole day hopping rooftops, blew their cover, chased by half of Piltover, and fought through an ambush. For nothing. No, they got something. Heat. She could hear a preview of tonight. And Vi couldn't even be mad. Just monumentally let down. Vander would be pissed, though. Fuck, they would be in deep shit when he found out. If he didn't already know.

Vi tugged Powder along without saying much. What could Vi even say? Powder's just a kid, and shit happened. Honestly, it could've happened to any one of them. Powder's stomach growled, but it would have to wait until they made it home. Not like they had anything to barter for a good meal on the way down.

Mylo and Claggor's relief quickly fell when Mylo started asking questions. Vi kept walking, not quite able to look at Powder as Mylo ran his mouth.

"Where's the loot?"

"I threw it in the water."

"You did what?" Mylo got in Powder's face, and she shrunk away.

"I'm sorry. I tried to fight him off with Mouser, but.. she didn't work."

Mylo shrugged in pointed disbelief, "Who saw that comin'?" He spun around, raising his hand like someone would humor him.

Claggor rubbed at his own neck, mirroring Vi's earlier thoughts, "We never should've gone over there."

Vi's own hunger started gnawing again. She shoved the annoying feeling away. Vi glanced at Mylo's theatrics and tried to keep them moving, "Doesn't matter. The stuff's gone." She tried to make Powder feel less shitty. "It's alright, Powder. At least you're okay." She put her hands over Powder's shoulders and lifted her head up. Ugh, this really was an awful mistake. But there was no use in beating her little sister up about it. Accidents happen. Even if they happened a lot when you bring a kid with you.

The east-side elevator was one of the safest routes down. She knew everyone would be too tired to climb down and they were in too much hot water to consider the main stairs. It would put them down in The Lanes, though. So, no side stops or chit chat. Get home, and sulk.

"Okay?? What about us? I get my face bashed in, and she just gets a pass?"

"Yup." Vi said simply. Powder wasn't the only one who made a mistake on the job, but Vi tried to not blame Mylo for bragging. The thugs would've jumped them anyways, probably. The way they blocked the exits had to mean they were waiting for prey.

Everyone filed into the open side of the cart. It had plenty of spec for the four of them, and Claggor took a seat on the only chair. Powder claimed the wall furthest from the entrance, while Vi and Mylo took opposite corners.

She pulled the lever and the mechanics ground them to descend as expected. Vi used to like going up in the elevator. She wondered what it would be like to dig it out of the stone, and how satisfying it would feel to be the first person to ride in it.

"Every time." Mylo began, "Every time she comes, something goes wrong. She jinxes every job."

Vi looked back over her shoulder, tired, "Just drop it, Mylo."

She couldn't blame him for thinking that.

Powder left evidence behind when they snuck into the tailoring shop above Old Parkway. Sure, Vi and Mylo each got hand wraps, but Powder lost her shoe. And Vi couldn't do anything for two weeks with her elbow after Powder tripped and Vi fell into the countertop.

Powder hoisted up a lampshade in the bedroom filled with confetti. When Claggor stepped into the room, the line caught the door and instead of the confetti sprinkling down, the whole setup swung down from the corner and gave him a busted lip.

Powder's box of nails and parts fell onto Mylo's box of spray paint cans. It cracked them open at the seams and Mylo still hadn't replaced the cans yet.

Powder wasn't subtle enough to lift the fruit from one of the carts and not get them caught.

"Against the fence."

Vi shoved back, refusing to let them search her. She had money on her, today, destined to spent what cogs she'd earned from moving the clock into Benzo's shop. If the enforcers found it, she knew the outcome.

"Honest mistake, peabrain."

Powder was searched first, with nothing on her to incriminate her. Vi was turned and pushed into the fence beside Powder, and she gripped the chain links. Vi looked down, holding her tongue. Powder knew she'd fucked up, but now wasn't the time or place to get on her about it.

Instead, Vi looked through the metal holes and felt her pockets be relieved of value. Hours of work, gone. And when they made it back home, Vi ripped her a new one. They were in the upper levels, of course there was gonna be enforcers. How could she not see them? Check the corners, track their routes, make sure the stupid coast was clear. Vi could remember feeling guilty for shouting at Powder after it. Vi just had to remember that her kid sister was just that; a kid.

The old wooden support beams and metal framing cracked open into the first views of the undercity. The city glowed from below, as if the people themselves created their own sun from the core of Runeterra. Above the green haze, Vi saw the skyline peak between the fissures. She couldn't feel the lightheaded air anymore. Something tight welcomed her throat back down to The Lanes.

Their elevator passed catwalks and bridges along the way down, and as they sunk lower into the city, those bridges felt more real. The faces of the underground started noticing them, and Vi remembered their heat from the day. And just because they weren't being watched by enforcers didn't mean there weren't sellouts lingering around.

She met eyes with one man who'd been chatting with someone on a nearby bridge. They followed his gaze, and Vi slipped her hood to cover her face. It didn't help that her hair wasn't particularly easy to forget. Powder's wasn't either, but Vi hoped they could blend into the evening crowds all the way to The Last Drop.

The elevator slowed the last few feet, and Vi shuffled over the edge and down the ramp before it landed. She checked on the boys behind her before assuming the lead. She had to give Powder one thing. She always stuck close by when she could. Vi rarely had to worry about that and it helped not having to hold Powder's hand through the people anymore. It gave Vi some relief. Gave her some breathing room to let her own eyes wander their surroundings.

It also helped that it meant Vi could keep track of the shifty peddlers. They passed food carts with food for the taking. Vi tried not to look at them, and instead kept their path clear past the sizzling stalls.

As they walked past Babette's, Vi smirked at the man getting dragged into the brothel by a Lady. The place was well-known for being a good balance of business and class. There wasn't a street without some shade of red on someone's neck or basking in the neon lights reaching out to people. And their desires. Vi hadn't known Babette for long, but she knew good people. After today, maybe Vi could see what odds and ends she could do for the madam to make up for the lack of goods. Y'know, move a couch. Keep an eye on the Ladies to make sure they're safe.

The warmest light in the fissures was orange, though. The closest thing to actual sun was home. The Last Drop boasted the corner of The Lanes' forking cliffs. Vander's territory, and with it came the expectation of honesty. It was the undercity. The line got moved, but you still didn't cross it.

A bunch of patrons who'd already had their work finished hung around the entrance outside. Vi kicked a loose rock away from the door and quietly shoved into the bar. They were so close to the bedroom. Vi could feel the atmosphere buzzing, like the whole room was still recovering from a pin drop.

The first place Vi looked at for him was the bar. She scanned the room, and found him sitting with Huck in the corner. Like some freakish instinct, he caught her looking at him and his face said two things.

You're in deep shit.

And I'm about to tell you how much.

Chapter 7: Season 1, Episode 1: "Leadership"

Notes:

This chapter takes place immediately after "Underdogs", and follows Vi until just before her conversations with Powder.

Vi trudged down the stairs in growing acceptance. He didn't yell at her very often. In fact, he'd only do just enough to snap her out of whatever stupid fight she'd gotten into with the boys. All it ever took was a short but loud bark of her name and Vi's whatever-emotion crumbled her into childhood again. But Vi learned early on that it was so much worse than actually getting yelled at to see the disappointment looking down at her.

She turned the table lamp on and sat down for the first time in forever. Powder sulked on the couch to her right with her leg tucked up and under her chin. Claggor put his goggles down on the table as Mylo propped his feet onto it to his left.

Vi warned them before Vander's inevitable entrance, "Vander learns none of this." She looked pointedly at Powder, silently including Ekko into the conversation for her.

"No worries there," Mylo teased, "Powder took care of the evidence."

Vi closed her eyes, not liking the taste the memory brought up.

Powder defended herself. "I tried, okay? You don't get it." Vi looked up, brought out of her gloomy thought, "You're older, you're bigger. It- it isn't fair!"

Mylo shot his feet down, waving his arm around, "So stick with us. Take a punch or two."

Vi opened her mouth to defend Powder because she'd rather Powder not have to fight at all. But then Vander barged in and the room deflated. Vi looked away, not willing to invite the shame for as long as she could. He started lightly, like it was normal to casually leave the bar unattended to check in on his kids in the basement.

"Everyone alright?"

Mylo sighed, "Never better."

"Good!" He pulled his hands back behind himself and strutted around the couch Powder curled on. "I don't suppose you can explain why it is that I'm hearing about an explosion and a foot-chase topside?" He ran his fingers along the top of the couch beside Powder's head. "Four children fleeing the scene."

Vi's skin crawled over her bones. She simmered in it, and hated every second. She tried to keep everything going their way, and shit still went sideways. Vi refused to break under Vander's pause.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He accused dropping the pretense.

"That we can handle a real job."

"A real job?"

"We got our own tip, planned a route, nobody even saw." Vi explained.

Vander turned toward her fully, his arm chopping at the air in punctuation, "You blew up a building."

Vi didn't know how it happened. She didn't even know if it was Powder's fault. Powder didn't seem to know what happened and it was like Powder said earlier. Her little grenade didn't even work. So how the hell could the only person in the room who made them blast a chunk out of topside like it was a stick of dynamite?

"That wasn't-"

"Did you even stop to think about what could've happened to you? Ay? To them?" He gestured to the rest of the room.

And Vi's stomach knotted like she'd been hit again. Because she didn't. She ignored Powder's fumbles on the way there. Too buzzed to really stop and make sure Powder could even make it. She really wanted her sister to make it. While Mylo didn't want Powder tagging along, he wasn't exactly opposed to Vi's plans. Claggor was the only one asking questions. And all Vi did, was shrug them off.

Vi covered her mouth and steamed silently, unable to meet the eyes of anyone. Not Mylo, or Claggor, or Powder.

"Where did you even get this tip?"

Powder spoke up quietly from her knees, "We just heard it at Benzo's shop."

"From?" Vander asked. Vi couldn't help but feel her frustration come back, because she knew exactly where this was going.

"Little Man." Powder gave up their informant reluctantly. Powerless to go against Vander's ire. Just like Vi knew she would. Vander sighed, and Vi had enough.

She slammed her hand on the armrest on her way up, standing in front of Vander. "I took us there. If you wanna be mad, be mad at me. But you're the one who always says we have to earn our place in this world."

"I also told you time and time again the northside's off limits. We stay out of Piltover's business!" Vander's tone lowered into something more than thinly veiled stress. Vi heard it, and it set her teeth on edge. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite able to translate how it bothered her.

"Why?! They've got plenty, while we're down here.. scraping together coins!" Vi just couldn't see his angle on things. It was clear as black and white for her. Topside wouldn't have even missed the stuff they stole. Meanwhile, it would've been such a huge improvement in their lives. Why was Vander spewing bullshit about independence, and yet was going back on his word about it like it was a dance. Just move the stupid line. "When did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?"

And for once, Vander didn't have something to say. He just.. watched her. Saw her. And she let him. He knew exactly what she meant, and no one in this room had anything they could say to help prove her wrong. It wasn't a good feeling, to win the argument. It felt like she'd been put on a pedestal and now she was finally seeing something she wasn't meant to see from the height.

"Everyone out."

Vi ignored them dipping like their tails were between their legs. She stood her ground, not willing to give an inch as she stared at Vander. Because, she saw him, too. She'd seen him all her life. He protected everyone and everything and what she hadn't seen herself, she heard from people who knew him before she knew him.

The Hound of the Underground. A freedom fighter, and pillar of their community. From the ground up, not handed to him like the Pities up top. Where was he in there? Why wasn't he doing anything? And what could Vi do to help fan that flame for them? For all of them?

When Vander spoke, his voice was soft again, "Sit down."

Ugh, now she was a child again. Great. "I'm fine."

"Sit. Down."

Vi sighed, finally giving in. Like clockwork, Vander picked up a bottle of alcohol nearby and one of the rags pinned up for exactly this occasion. Recovery. Now he wanted peace. Vi wanted peace too, but she wasn't really satisfied with what she still wanted to say. There was so much she could even put to words, let alone find the guts to air out. Not even to Vander.

She slumped into the chair again and waited as he took a seat on the table in preparation for the kind of conversation she used to look forward to. Just not this time. This time, it felt different. Heavier. Memorable.

"Those kids look up to you."

Vi sat back, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, I know." They never stop. One of the joys of being Vander's favorite, Vi guessed. Maybe because she was the oldest, and smartest fighter they had.

"Yeah, you know, but you don't know." He chided, "When people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish."

That couldn't be less true. Vi always put everyone first. Bought shit for other people. Helped them out with their problems. She might as well be married to half the undercity with how much she had in common with everyone.

"I'm not-"

"You say run, they run. You say swim, they dive in. You say light a fire, they show up with oil." The words turned darker, hinting that Vi'd taken a step closer into uncharted territory. Because he was right, and she hadn't considered just how far they would go to do just that. If she asked any of them to jump, they would ask her how high. "And whatever happens, it's on you."

And then Vander circled back, "Just like it's on me whatever happens to us down here. We make ourselves a problem for Piltover, and they will send the enforcers."

"So? Why answer to them? These are our streets; someone should remind them of that." The enforcers didn't have to give an arm and a leg for their safety. They just took everyone else's. Just because they had guns, and numbers to keep their own peace. Even when it meant disturbing the undercity's.

"You're not hearing me. That path." Vander reached down and grabbed Vi's wrist, and she looked at the dried blood soaked through her knuckles, "This. It's not gonna solve your problems. Just makes more of them."

Vi inspected the bloodied wraps, soaking in the lecture. This was it. Life. Growing up and being taught one thing and then being a hypocrite about it? To defend herself, but also pick her fights. Vander wouldn't caution if he didn't really mean it and Vi took it to heart. She would tread lightly, then. The fire in her hadn't died, just returned to a general warmth.

"We clear?" It sounded like a statement, leaving Vi no room to argue even if she had it in her. Not today.. she was done for today.

Vander pulled the cork by his teeth and Vi waited expectantly for the burn of alcohol to touch her face. Even though he brought the soaked rag to her eyebrow gently, Vi flinched with a hissing inhale.

"How'd you get this?" He smoothed, changing the subject. The second pat wasn't as bad.

Vi scoffed, "Some idiot was following us." Vi stretched her fingers, knowing they'd be aching tomorrow. For now, her joints and skin were still giving her dull pain from the extreme use.

"On our side? Who?"

"I don't know. He was after the stuff." The idea that they walked into the trap like rats remained a rock in her shoe. They, Vi, was so busy avoiding the enforcers that she hadn't been paying enough respect to the other rats on their side of the bridge. She wouldn't be making the same mistake twice.

"And where is it now?"

Vi felt the sting of the rag along her cheek. She couldn't quite blame her little sister for it. Vi threw the bag to Powder in the first place. "We lost it."

Vander met Vi's eyes, searching carefully, "All of it?" She knew if she had lied, he'd know. Vi was a shitty liar, but she knew if she was a great one.. He'd sniff through it. She nodded, still salty about having nothing to show for everything. Vander put the rag down, satisfied. "Good." He put the bottle down and brought his full attention back to Vi. "Nothing can tie you to what happened up there. You're gonna have to lay low for a bit. Understand?"

For the first time since he entered the room, Vi felt like they were on the same page. Because, as much as she was willing to fight for their lives.. their quality of lives, the simple truth at the end of the day was that Vi didn't want to make anything worse. It was important to her that they earn their place but now wasn't the time.

"Okay." Vi knew it was serious, "We're gonna be fine, right?" They hadn't pushed back too far, right?

"I'll take care of it." Vander left his seat on the table and scooped up a bag and started filling it with stuff around on the shelves. Her mind wandered to Powder. She'd have to check on her later, but she might need to eat before doing any of that. Her stomach wasn't just empty, it was making her light-headed. "Oh, You did put that idiot on his ass though, right?"

Vander looked back over his shoulder, and Vi smirked and shot her sore eyebrow up in silent confirmation. She did, decisively, knock him down a peg he wouldn't soon forget. She almost wondered if the next time they crossed paths - if ever - that he'd think twice about messing with any of them again. It gave Vi a small smile, because she at least did something right today. Mylo and Claggor got scuffed; hell, she did too. But Vi's practicing on the machine and her free time around Vander had helped her today.

She hoped he was proud of her for that, at least. Vander took the bag upstairs with him and closed the door. For the first time today, Vi sat in the room alone. The lantern hummed softly on the table and Vi enjoyed the quiet moment to reflect.

Even though they had brought a world of shit to their doorstep, Vi was hopeful about the future. She'd figure out a way to make it up to Powder and the boys. Like Vander said, they'd follow her into hell if it meant it and she wanted to show them a way to prove her gratitude.

Once the heat was off them, her earlier thought of helping Babette solidified. Bring her some legitimate money in. They weren't likely going out on another job anytime soon and Mylo would find them something when they did. Or Ekko, or Claggor. They could keep their ears to the ground in case a safer means wandered past them.

The door opened to Mylo, and Vi's musing soured. Like seeing his grumpy-ass face reminded Vi that she was mad at him. He found his handball and bounced it against one of the wall targets. The sound was loud in her ear but Vi found his complaining to be far more annoying than the constant banging throughout the room.

Bang. "She's a problem."

Here we go. Vi sighed with her head already in her hand. She was too tired to be dealing with this right now. She asked him to drop it earlier, but now was his chance to really dig into Vi with his opinion. Something he never had a problem with in the first place.

"Mylo, I'm really not-"

"Do you remember what was in that bag?" Bang. "Biggest payout we've ever seen, and she just lost it." Bang.

He never cut Powder slack, and it only made Vi more annoyed. She cut him slack earlier. All day, in fact. "She made a mistake."

"Name one time she hasn't." Bang.

"She's young." Vi stressed.

"Don't bullshit me. You were twice the person at half her age." The banging grated even more, somehow. The hell?

"You know what, Mylo, you're right. There's a bunch of things Powder just can't do."

"You don't have to tell me twice." He agreed easily. Bang. Vi rubbed at the muscles under her brow before looking at him in annoyance. Bang.

"Like complain about everything." Bang.

"What?"

Vi sat forward, continuing the judgement, "And brag nonstop."

Mylo rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay, I see where this is going." The smile hadn't left his face and Vi stood up. He tossed the ball again, but Vi caught it.

"Pick fights with the group when we need to focus," Vi listed, remembering his comment to Deckard earlier. Mylo's light confusion cracked as Vi stepped closer. He knew she was far from just dropping this and she couldn't just let him talk his way out of what needed to be said.

"Vi, I-"

"And tell strangers on the street that we got a nice haul?" She questioned him as if she might get through to him. Even if they hadn't been ambushed, he chose to risk their asses for his ego. Vi bounced the ball away, taking another step closer. Mylo shrank away. They'd fought before. But not like this. This time, Vi's temper had a better foundation under it. There wasn't a catalyst to set it off, she let off steam with far more control than he was used to seeing from her.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Powder's my problem, okay, your problem," Vi stuck her finger in his face and loomed over him, "is never knowing when to shut up. But!" Vi lifted her voice like she was offering a way out, "I'm gonna help you with that! Ready?" Her eyebrows shot up like she was dealing with a toddler. It definitely felt like it half the time, "You see this look on my face?" Vi glared at him, turning her finger to her own, "This will always mean it's time to shut up!"

"But-!"

Vi pointed harder.

"I-!"

She brought her other hand up and pointed again, shaking them over her expression so he would finally get the point. Her patience wore thin, now. Thankfully, he scoffed and accepted the last chance he had before Vi escalated further. She wasn't allowed to put a shiner on him, but no one said anything about shoving that stupid bouncy ball down his throat.

This time, Vi left him to think about things as she slammed the door behind herself for extra emphasis and scrounged around the bar for leftovers. She found some pretzels, water, and a can of mixed meat products; too tired to make anything else and too hungry to venture outside the bar for different options.

Chapter 8: Season 1, Episode 1: "Bad Days"

Vi was already cleaning her bowl when she heard the basement's music playing lightly. Things were quiet in the bar tonight. Lenny tended to it while Vander was out on some errand. Mylo left on his own to haunt some poor bastard's wares. Or think about today. Vi didn't know, but she trusted him to not to go too far or do something too stupid. If Claggor was with him, then they'd be just fine.

She felt much better, now that the food had settled in her. Her bruises ached, but blood wasn't dripping down her face anymore, and she'd gotten some strength back over the last hour. It was a short rest, but well utilized. Vi put bowl and fork away, wiped up and around her spot at the bar, and headed down the stairs to check on Powder.

Powder's suitcase was open, the boxes of trinkets she'd been repurposing were spread out just over the side of her bed for easy access. Vi remembered how long she'd spent tweaking and adjusting the little contraption she named Mouser. They were cute, and honestly, Vi could see some potential in Powder's obsession with figuring it out.

Vi wondered if it was the same focus she felt when free running, or practicing her moves in the arcade. Because, if it was, Vi would support Powder's ambition. Honestly, she figured she'd support it even if it was half true.

For right now, though, Powder's energy was deflated. Probably from feeling like a screw-up today. Vi made sure she'd change that. Vi leaned onto the top bunk, watching Powder draw on a new little grenade with the fresh colors Vi gave her a week ago. Just in time, too, because the last thing Vi wanted Powder to find was missing supplies after a tough day.

"What're you calling this one?" Vi smiled, and Powder looked up. Her face was neutral, but her voice was flat.

"Whisker." Powder went back to working on the device.

"You wanna talk about today?"

"What's the point?" Powder sat up, "I ruined everything. I always do."

"Nobody said that." Vi lied.

"No. Just that you were 'twice the person at half my age'."

Vi looked away to the floor. Of course Pow'd heard that.

"You heard them." Powder closed the lid and locked it in place. "I'm not a fighter." She bumped her forehead against the toy, and closed her eyes. Vi didn't believe that for a second. At least, not completely.

"You don't have to be." Then, Vi smiled, because everyone had different strengths. And Powder needed to hear it from Vi. "Look, I've got these," Vi made a fist and showed it to her sister, "and you've go those." Vi bumped her fingers pointedly to the growing collection of metal experiments. Once Powder figures out the mechanics, she'd be unstoppable.

"They never work."

Vi turned her head back to Powder in determination, "They will."

Powder wasn't getting it, but an idea popped up in Vi's mind. She could just show Powder. It was already pretty late, but they'd be back before anyone missed them. Even if it was just a quick run up the fissures.

"Come with me."

"What?" Powder looked up from her knees, and Vi crossed the basement toward the door.

"Come on." She enticed, smiling. This was a good thing. Powder could use the lesson, and get out of her own head. Win-win.

Faithfully, Powder moved from the bed and the light behind Vi dimmed the room to darkness. She just walked them to the top of the stairs, outside the bar, and down the street. Vi took the easier route this time, still worn down from the crazy day. People kept to themselves, and Vi's shadow followed without so much as a peep.

This was nice. The night was quiet, some dogs barked somewhere, but no one batted an eye at them as they made their way up the slopes and stairs to the rooftops of decomposing buildings and rundown streets. Not many people lived here anymore, as the main Lanes and fissures supported most of the population of the undercity. This was an older section, and with it, a lot more memories and likelihood of running into enforcers.

The sky was clear, and stretched forever in every direction. Below the horizon, on their side of the river, the lower city's rooftops made a massive patchwork of quilted colors. Always some shade of discolored metal or rust. None of them were uniform, or even clean. Even the lights on every street flickered or were just one shade off from any surrounding colors. The other side of the bridge was opposite in every way. Tall, gilded, bright, and almost a single entity across a forest of scrap.

Vi knew she'd be relatively safe up here with Powder. No one would think twice about looking up at these rusty old boxes. The best part was that Vi knew the route like the back of her hand. Unlike Powder, Vi had a few years head start in these nooks and crannies. She'd seen busted lamps slowly get replaced, could place where old potholes used to be before someone was kind enough to chuck a bunch of whatever to bury the reminder of moving cautiously nearby.

She rubbed the back of her neck, still a little nervous about being outside tonight, but she wasn't going to get them caught, and neither was Powder. Vi took a seat on the edge of the roof, enjoying the ambiance of the upper end of the lower city. Steam clouds and crickets, the clicking of some bugs at the lamp just a few feet below them. Every little bit, someone's voice broke the air but it still made the warm air somehow welcoming. Things just fit up here; even Piltover's bridges and brighter lights as they filled the horizon across the river.

Powder sat down to Vi's right, and Vi was content to sit until Powder said anything. Just sit, and relax for a moment. "What're we doing here?"

"See that gutter running along the canal?"

"That's where Claggor got his foot stuck running from enforcers. They thought it was funny, so they left him there." Vi remembered finding him in the early morning. They'd been caught tearing down a wall that no one used anymore. It just made their trip to the ocean less convenient, and they figured if they broke open their own shortcut, they could slowly make the street better. The cops got wind of their destruction, and chased them out. They got separated, and Vi doubled-back when the coast was clear and still couldn't find him until she heard him in the morning. Ragged, and dried up tear trails down his face. She remembered the first thing on his mind was to find a bite to eat and she knew he'd be okay.

"He was out all night before we found him." She reminisced.

Vi pointed her eyebrow over to the next spot. Powder brought the rusty pole to her eye and Vi angled it for her. "That sign?" She moved the pole across the buildings to the old art wall. "You see it?"

"Uh-huh." Powder studied through the tube as Vi continued.

"Mylo tripped over his own paint bucket and nearly fell off trying to draw a giant middle finger." Vi didn't find it funny at the time, considering she was against the idea in the first place. Then, at the end of her climbing up to drag him down, a bunch of paint spilled over the ledge and Mylo shrieked in surprise. His foot swung into Vi's back and she had to steady his slippery shoe on her shoulder to keep him from falling.

She got him down, and they both ended up fighting over who would get the shower first. Vander told Claggor to hose them both down outside instead, and Vi found herself laughing about it tonight. Powder giggled beside her, and Vi's heart soared.

"And that?" Vi motioned to the wires just in front of them, only a solid jump away. Vi's old stuffed bunny hung permanently between their parallel destination. Vi let out a soft huff at the distasteful memory. "When I was a kid, some guy took my favorite toy and threw it up there." She wasn't sure how old Powder was, but it was before their parents died for sure. Maybe even before Powder could walk, or somewhere around there. Vi couldn't remember his face, but she remembered crying about it. Begging her parents to get it, and when they couldn't figure out how to get it down safely, Vi had to watch it hang there rain or shine for years.

"I used to come out here at night and stare at it, hoping the wind or a bird might knock it down." It wasn't the end of the world, though. "We've all had bad days." Even if some of us have had really bad days, "But we learn," Vi pulled Powder in close, tugging her fingers around Powder's shoulder, "and we stick together."

Powder was already smiling, and Vi smiled back. Things would get better. Powder might not see it yet, but she will. Things would change, and they would both find their footing. Then, Powder jumped softly under Vi's arm.

"Oh, I forgot." Powder leaned to her side and brought her hands back in front of her; clammed over something, "These were in my pocket."

Three blue crystals, filling her palm with an unmistakable blue shine. They looked like magic, if Vi had ever seen any before today. But she'd seen the electricity jump out at Mylo's finger and felt the explosion on Topside.

"They're from the apartment." Powder seemed excited about showing them to Vi, and Vi couldn't help but squint her eyes at them for some kind of illuminating thought. She'd never seen something like this before today, and she didn't know what to make of them.

"What are they?" Maybe Powder found some note about them. Their uses, or even some kind of value to them. But then Powder closed her hand and inspected one of them similarly with a curious shrug.

"I don't know." Powder looked up at Vi, "Should we show Vander?"

Vi's breath caught, "No." It was obvious that Powder didn't realize what they could mean, or what they already meant. She said it too forcefully, though, and tried to smile back again; refusing to let Powder know how much something like this could scare her. Powder didn't need another reason to doubt herself, just like how how Vander couldn't find out that Powder had stuffed her pockets with something that the topsiders might actually want back. Cause if he found out, Mylo and Claggor would, too. Things would fall apart, and if Vander was in the dark about this, then it was one less thing for him to worry about.

"Let's keep this our little secret." Vi leaned in secretively. Powder followed, agreeing with childish enthusiasm. "Mylo's wrong, Powder. You're stronger than you think." Even if Powder ditched the backpack, Vi knew Powder was smart enough to pocket something like this. Something far more valuable than anything in that backpack if Powder somehow blew a hole in the side of Piltover's pretty penthouses.

Maybe, just maybe, Powder could use it. Learn from it. Experiment with it enough to master it. Shoot, maybe this was exactly was Powder needed to get her steam back.

"And one day," Vi stood, vowing to herself as well, "This city's gonna respect us." Both sides of the bridge would learn that Vi, and her sister? Together? Unstoppable forces spurring the city into change.

Notes:

I'm currently sitting on like, 4 chapters drafted for season 2. I won't post them til later, since I want to maintain some semblance of time here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We've officially finished episode 1! (oh my god we still have so much more holy-)

As I'm writing these chapters, feel free to point out tags I might have missed, or should adjust the labeling on for the story. There're obvious ones, but anxiety dictates I keep checking in.

Chapter 9: Season 1, Episode 2: "Cops and Robbers"

Notes:

Things are picking up!

There was one thing Vi couldn't handle, and it was sitting in the same room, with nothing better to do than hear Claggor turning pages in his latest book or watch Mylo's invisible punching bag somehow come out on top. Vi had posed the question only a moment ago, to sneak down to the arcade. No one answered, but when she stood up to head over herself, everyone acted like they'd already agreed to go. Powder kicked her supplies under the bed, Claggor already had his goggles over his face, and Mylo... Eh, he just stood there letting his opponent take a nice long look at his back.

They made it over to the arcade in peace. Only a rat squeaked at them on their way, but Claggor shoo'd it off. The prospect of getting some practice in on the boxing machine definitely put Vi into a better mood. It wasn't about beating her own high score - Claggor had tried a few times but Vi still easily soaked up over half the board - or proving a point. She wanted something to do with her hands. Wanted to move.

Everyone assumed their usual positions. Claggor enjoyed watching Vi shadow box, and he remained content to lurk along the wall. Vi booted up the boxing game and secured the gloves around her arms. She felt their form perfectly cushion around her hands. Vi let out a breath, waiting expectantly for it to throw the first punch. The timer was never the same, and she loved that. Vi swerved her head to the side, just barely missing the fake arm shoot at her face. And the game was on.

Vi sent jabs at it every chance she could, but the real scores and goal was to hit hard and fast. Powder nearly skipped and flew over the fake shooting range to fiddle with the mechanics and get the thing running again. Mylo was Mylo. Vi didn't pay him too much mind as an unfamiliar series of swings forced her to duck and weave to escape the hits.

All of Vi's muscles burned, including her feet and back. She used ever muscle, balancing and counter-balancing her stance to accommodate the machine. People weren't as fast as this, but that was part of the point. She had to find those weaknesses, and those points any way she could. The biggest boost to the scoring was hitting the crudely engraved likeness to Mylo. Vi always enjoyed finding the opening to the face-punch.

Near the end of the round, Vi was already disheveled. Her vest was lopsided, and her hair stuck to her forehead.

"Remind me why we bother with this dump?" Mylo asked whoever.

Vi had to step back and catch her breath. As well as remind Mylo why they weren't even supposed to be out of the basement, apparently. "Vander said to lay low. Enforcers never come down here, so this is as good a place as any."

"Oh, what's the matter, Mylo? You worried Powder's gonna beat you again?"

"Hey! If she didn't keep fixing these things, I wouldn't keep missing."

The nagging thoughts came back, as Vi remembered why she'd wanted to get out of the house in the first place. Vi unstrapped the gloves and stretched her fingers, "You guys know I wouldn't take you on a job you couldn't handle, right?"

"Are you kiddin'? That was the best job we've ever done!" He shot a few neon pellets down range and had to keep talking, "Just maybe don't take Powder next time."

Powder responded by setting her gun and aiming down the range. Vi knew she was a crack shot at it, and she enjoyed the spectacle of Powder shutting Mylo up with her skill. She walked away from Mylo, and Mylo rolled his eyes at Vi like she would say something.

She pointedly massaged her wrists, letting Mylo stew in silence. She watched Powder start a round on the Mushroom Catch game. And Vi fixed one of the wrappings when Powder's voice started stepping away from the window.

"Hey, guys? You should see this."

Something massive burst through the window, and rolled across the room to the foot of the counter at the shooting range. Vi leaned over the boxing ring's railing, and saw Glasco unconscious but breathing. Oh shit- She whipped her head up to see a pack of enforcers not just looking where they'd thrown him. They looked into the arcade. Only one didn't have his plated eyes over his face. He held a book in his hand, and every bit of his uniform screamed superior to the other several enforcers. The leader shut his notebook pointedly.

"Search them." He ordered. The enforcer piled in slowly, even as Vi's heart started racing again. They didn't have anything to incriminate them with, but she knew they were the exact teens being hunted by topside. Someone would definitely recognize them. Vi's mind searched the room for potential routes of escape. They would have to outsmart the fuzz, but how?

One approached Powder, who slunk back into the counter until it forced her to stop. She reached back to her pouch, and Vi's heart sank further. Why the hell did she bring them with her??

"Go ahead, idiots. We got nothin'."

Powder looked over to Vi, sheepish, and shared the regret with her. For only a moment. The leader loomed over Powder, and Powder looked back to Vi, fear-stricken. Vi shot her gaze to Claggor, and he yanked the lever down behind him; bathing the room in fragile darkness. The floor and blacklit paint glowed around everyone, but it surprised the enforcers just long enough for everyone to get a jump on them.

Powder was the first to bolt, and Vi caught sight of Mylo kicking off the enforcer closest to him as he rolled backwards over the counter.

Mylo shot pellets at the enforcers like they'd do anything, and when the two enforcers stepped toward him, unharmed, Vi launched it at one of their heads.

"Stop!" Claggor shoved past a couple more as he raced to the back exit. Vi ran back to grab the face plate from the boxing machine.

The enforcer buckled, and Vi was glad that the remaining enforcer changed targets as she booked it away, too. She lost sight of everyone else, as she hopped over the railing and jumped onto the enforcer gunning for her. Their shoulder dropped under her weight, and Vi kicked off to swing to the other side of the corner.

Powder's scream filled the room over the mechanical whirring's. Vi caught up with Claggor a second later, and the leader cried out in pain as Powder activated the jaws on one of the targets around his arm.

"Come on!" Vi pulled Powder away from the room toward the exit. Every second they spent here meant one less second they'd have to escape. Even down here, the streets weren't easy to escape a foot chase. Not like The Lanes.

"Get them!" The leader called behind them. Vi wasn't sure exactly how many were chasing them, but she was happy to not stick around to find out. When she looked down the street to figure out which way they'd need to go, two more enforcers held up a trencher against the wall. Vi held her arms out, nearly screeching her boots to a stop. No way they'd all make it past them. Three of them might, but Vi didn't want to risk losing one. Any one.

Vi started reversing back up the alley, and caught herself from taking more than a step. The main enforcer group had them stuck between a rock and a hard place. Someone whistled from up above for their attention. Vi looked up to the savior, and a ladder quaked down for them to climb.

"Over here!" Ekko called down to them with wide eyes. Vi jumped up, her weight pulling the rungs far enough down for Powder to reach. No one argued over who'd climb in what order, they all just did it. One sumprat after the other filing up and away from the fire. Powder came in last, just as the enforcers caught up to them.

The closest jumped onto the ladder, jostling the bottom set under Powder. She saved her own footing, not letting him get any distance to her as she clamored up. Vi stood at the top, waiting anxiously for Powder to crawl over the ledge. The enforcer made it just a few feet from them, but Vi kicked the ladder loose and watched him fall on the pack beneath him. The ladder fell onto the leader, too, and Vi stared down at him in somber achievement.

He'd seen their faces, but now, he knew they weren't going to just go quietly, either.

Vi turned back to Powder, "You need to hide those crystals."

"Yeah, no shit."

Vi stepped into the pipe after Powder. No way the enforcers would be following, even if they climbed up. Vi and Claggor were struggling to not half-crawl through it as it tightened around them. Ekko led the way, with Powder quickly taking her spot right behind him as they all crouched in steady silence.

"I thought you said they wouldn't think twice about coming down here." Mylo teased Vi.

"How was I supposed to know they were gonna put Glasco through the window?"

"Since you know everything."

"Mylo, what did I tell you?"

"Just saying it like it is, Vi."

This time, Claggor slowed down, giving some distance between Mylo's back and Vi's growing temper.

"If it wasn't for Ekko, we'd all be screwed." Vi pointed out, pushing roughly against Claggor's back. He started walking again, and Vi heard a chorus of 'thank you's fill the pipe. Claggor stole a glance back at Vi and pretended he hadn't looked back at all when she caught him.

"I was gonna come get you guys, but you saved me the trouble, I guess. What'd you even take that's got Topside all the way down here looking for it?"

"Powder blew up a building, and then fenced the goods at the bottom of the river after leaving us in the dirt." Mylo explained.

"Ouch." Ekko's whisper made it all the way to Vi's ears in the back. They turned a soft corner, and Vi could see the end of the pipe leading out to the main fissures. The sound of people started bouncing around in the metal like music.

"It won't be like that next time. You'll see." Powder sounded certain, and Vi was at least happy that her little pep talk had given Powder some confidence back.

Mylo continued, "We did what Vander said to do, and look where that's got us. Things are getting worse, not better."

Vi had no argument this time. Claggor slowly increased his steps, excited to leave the piping. Ekko waited until Vi was free to say anything. Vi caught him whispering something to Powder, and she smiled. Whatever it was, Vi didn't dare interrupt him as she waved the group down the side streets back home.

Notes:

Next chapter will be published on the 17th to give you guys some breathing room.

Chapter 10: Season 1, Episode 2: "Deal's a Deal"

Notes:

I lied, today's the publication date for this chapter, because I guess I can't auto-upload into the future. Sadness. But joy, because more publication! Just double-check what you've read so far if you're coming back. :)

For the first night in years, Vi heard no music coming from the bar. It was dark already, and the lights outside The Last Drop were eerily quiet. Barely anyone lingered, or if they did, they found their motivation to keep moving once the feeling sunk in. Vi was the first to open the door, and she was the first to probably know what was happening. The bar was silent. No one drank anything, no one stood in line for another game of cards or pool. And yet, every seat was packed.

The gang slipped to the back of the bar, and each took a spot up in the doorway or the wall next to it behind Vander.

This wasn't just Vi stewing in malcontent. It was half of The Lanes. And Vi could recognize a good portion of the people here. Some represented their blocks, or a landlord in charge of a street's worth of folks. Benzo, Vander, Lenny, Huck, Sevika, Glasco, Babette... Everyone faced the bar, where Vander and Benzo leaned. It was validating, to look around the room and see the scowls and jeers putting together the same arguments Vi had given Vander yesterday.

Vi hadn't ignored Vander's lecture, though. She crossed her arms and listened. Patiently waiting for the record to start over in other words. Other voices.

"We should hit them back. We've got the numbers to beat 'em." Sevika started. Vi didn't know her well, but she was a regular, even if her nights of gambling were less frequent over the last few months.

Someone else, one of the market's vendors echoed her words, "Yeah. Let's teach them what it means to mess with us." These were their streets, after all. Vi tasted her own words again.

The room unanimously agreed with him, several people voicing it directly. All except Benzo who stood with his arms crossed and Vander to his left. Vi couldn't see all of his face, but that didn't matter. She was sure it was the same face he pulled on her when she said the same thing.

He lit his pipe, something he only ever did when Vi caught him in a sour mood. Maybe not sour. Just.. a tense Vander, like the conversation stressed him out and the smoke took the edge off.

"You sure that's what you want?" He asked the room.

Someone called in the back of the room, "Let's do it!"

Vander nodded expectantly, "We crossed that bridge once before, and we all know how that ended."

Vi flinched. She glanced over to Powder, whose focus remained on Vander. Same with Claggor and Mylo. Ekko was the only one looking away from the bar, silently scanning the room. Vi looked back to Vander just as Glasco gave his two cents.

"You're just protecting your kids."

Vander turned his head just enough to look back at the group, and stood up from the bar, "I'm protecting our people. I'd do the same for any one of you." Vi believed him, too. "We look out for each other. It's the way it's always been."

Vi could feel the room tense and relax at the same time. For once, Vi had to agree with both halves. Yes, she wanted to fight. But Vander wouldn't be here, guiding all of them if he hadn't earned everyone's trust. Vi listened, even if she could feel where this was going.

"This will blow over. We just need to stand together."

Sevika spoke for the half that wanted blood over safety, "The Vander I knew, the one who built the underground, wouldn't be afraid to fight."

Vander stepped closer to her, almost as if to challenge Sevika outright. Vi hadn't seen this in him, and yet she wasn't surprised when his question sparked an answer out of Sevika.

"Do I look afraid?"

"No. You look weak."

Vi frowned. That couldn't be further from the truth. Vander was stronger than anyone down here, and not just physical prowess. He always knew the right things to say at the right time. The best leader the could've hoped for. And Sevika thought he wasn't living up to things? Sevika whistled sharply, drawing a few others out of the room behind her as she left.

Claggor spoke first, "Why isn't he doing anything?"

"We kicked the enforcer's butts with just the four of us. Imagine what the whole of The Lanes could do."

Vi agreed, they'd given them a run for their money, and everyone else saw a gang of ragtag kids. Maybe if they were just smart, they'd be able to figure things out on their own turf, too. Vander said Topside was off-limits, but Vi would be damned if they let them just waltz around like they owned the place.

"Jeez, even Powder wants to fight."

"So, why aren't we?" Vi asked into the air behind them. Mylo and Claggor already made their way downstairs, and Powder started to follow, but out of the corner of Vi's eye, Ekko stayed put.

Vi did a double-take, not sure if she really saw him through his mask before she paused and leaned back through the doorway. The moment she stepped back out of the hall, he tried to hide the panic of her attention on him. Now, Vi truly sniffed out the suspicion rolling off his sweat. Powder creeped around the doorway too, curious.

"Spill it, Ekko." Vi prompted. Ekko put up no fight, although his nerves made him look small.

"Um.. Okay, well, um. Vander's got a deal with the enforcers." His face pinched, as if saying it out loud was uncomfortable.

"What deal?" Vi asked without thinking, and Ekko looked over to the bar where it might bite him. Vi gave Powder a pat. "Give us just a minute, Pow-pow."

"But-."

"I'm sure he'll tell you later anyways, I just wanna have a chat one on one with our informant."

Powder sighed dramatically, and stomped down the stairs. Vi jerked her chin to the side exit behind Ekko, and he hung his head as he led the way. She closed the door behind them and checked both ways down the street before starting her interrogation.

"Alright, tell me exactly what you heard."

"The sheriff said if he kept us out of Piltover, she'd let us do our own thing. I guess that place I told you about wasn't just some random person's place. It was one of the Kiramman's."

Vi tried to remember what she could about that name, but nothing came to mind besides a vague association with the governing body of Piltover... So, they didn't just steal from some rich Piltie elite's place. They stole from the rich Piltie elite's place.

"What else?"

"The sheriff looked spooked, too. I don't think she wants bottom to fight back."

"What did they say?"

"She was looking for someone to pin things on. Told him that either he turns you guys in, or they'll come back with an army."

Vi ran her hand through her hair, "That's why the enforcers were so deep in the fissures today."

"She gave him an 'out', though. In case he changed his mind. One of those little message tubes. Maybe we can-"

"No. No, he.." Vi ran through the tense meeting a few minutes ago. "Vander said things'll blow over. If he's in league with them, then he's gotta have a plan." Vi definitely didn't like defending Vander's decision, but she didn't have much of a choice, did she?

"Okay, then what should we do, then?"

"Follow Vander."

Ekko started to head back to the bar, but Vi gently held the door shut, covering her bases, "Hey, don't tell Powder about the tube. Everything else is fine, just.. She's not in the best headspace after things yesterday. We don't want her to think Vander might give us up."

"But he won't, I know he won't."

"I know you know. I know too, but I don't want there to be any doubt planted in her head, okay?" Vi leaned down, meeting his caring eyes. She knew Ekko cared a lot for Powder, and while it wasn't something Vi would ever tease him about, it brought the two of them closer than Powder to Claggor or especially Mylo.

Ekko was Powder's only real friend outside her inventions. She might have Vi to look up to, but Vi understood it was important to have someone Powder's age to keep her young. To at least slow Powder's eyes to the horrible sights Vi had to see. Vi needed to see her little sister to stay little as long as possible.

"Alright. Fine."

"Thanks, Little Man."

He grumbled, but shoved Vi's hand off his head lightly. Her chest still felt heavy, even heavier, now that she had another burden added to her load. Vander wasn't just in their shadow, he was in cahoots. How did the world flip so quick?

Chapter 11: Season 1, Episode 2: "Common Ground"

Not all of Powder’s inventions worked, but even Mylo couldn’t deny the utility she brought to their lives. her inventions could use some tweaking, but fixing things? Powder could fix anything. Everywhere the gang went, Powder somehow found a way to make things work. A loose screw, a singed wire, a missing piece. So, when her and Ekko developed an alarm, Vi never imagined they’d need to get use out of it. Afterall, no one was stupid enough to mess with Vander’s kids when he was around.

Ekko'd been hanging around all day, keeping Powder entertained as she showed off Whisker to him. Claggor stuck his nose into one of his books, and Mylo preened over his freshly washed clothes. Vi lingered her mind over the meeting last night, and her conversation with Ekko after that. She hadn't figured a good angle to approach the topic with Vander yet. She didn't want to 'out' Ekko, but it was something big enough that she might just do it anyways. How could he not tell them? Or at least Vi?

A literal symbol of alarm, Powder’s toy monkey sprung to life. Vi’s brooding would have to wait. “Everyone, hide.” Vi whispered, already running to turn the lamp off. Mylo was the first to find a spot. He wrapped himself over one of the heating pipes above, and Vi caught sight of Claggor following him. Powder found her own way, and Ekko crawled under Powder’s bed.

“Ekko.” Vi heard dreadful boots making their way to the door. Ekko didn’t stop to argue, instead letting Vi pull him out and half-throw him up to Claggor. Ekko’s feet caught on their bunk bed’s ladder as Claggor pulled. Vi climbed expertly up to her bed and up into the pipes.

No one was left in the room with Powder’s monkey alarm dying out. Then, the door to the basement shot open to reveal an enforcer. Of course they would come looking for all of them. But Vi didn’t think they’d actually pay Vander a visit. The only reason why they remained locked up here was because they were safe. They all thought they were safe. The enforcer searched through every nook and cranny, looking for any evidence or excuse.

Vi had learned something about topside. They rarely looked up. She thanked her lucky stars for pulling Ekko from under the bed when the enforcer shot down to wave his torch underneath.

“Mmm, you be careful with that.” Vander warned lightly above them. Vi glanced up to the thin streaks of lighting that peaked through the bar into the rafters. They would hear them down here if anyone made noise. And for the love of Janna, Vi prayed no one sneezed.

“Nearly forgot. I ran into an old friend of yours. He had some stories.” Vi could hear the taunt roll off his tongue. A thudding protest paved the way for several chairs to echo through the bar. The distinct series of clicks as a baton unfurled. “You weren’t always the peacekeeper, were you?”

“Yeah, well, you can’t escape the past, right? Be a shame if I had to put them on again. Cast iron's, well, it’s hard to clean.”

Vi glanced at a small sound behind her, Ekko, his face anxious as he directed her attention to the pipes across the room. Powder held onto the pipe for dear life, and even Vi had to grimace at the use of what muscles Powder had to be flexing to keep herself from falling. Worse yet, Vi could see Powder’s entire being shake. Vi knew she’d fall.

Vi couldn’t do more than hold her breath, willing Powder to not let go as the enforcer made his retreat with agonizing slowness. She looked up, watching Powder’s hands slip, her face joining the fight to hold on. The door slammed shut, and Powder muttered on contact with the floor. The door never opened, and Vi sighed in relief. Above them, however, the leading enforcer aired his thoughts.

“You people down here are all the same, mistaking arrogance for bravery. You think you’re standing up for something, but we all know there is a crime behind every coin that passes through this place. You’re just a small man in a little hole the world forgot to bury.” A crash as glass shattered, “And I’m gonna bury the lot of you!”

No one moved an inch, except Powder who shrank so small behind the couch. She kept her eyes up on Vi, and held one of her hands out to keep her there. If an enforcer came in, Vi was in the perfect spot to at least give everyone else a shot at fleeing. She recognized the pounding footsteps down the hall storming to them, though, and Vi was allowed to suck in a breath. She knew they had to let things cool down, but with this stunt down here?

All they'd done was piss her off.

The door swung open, "You all okay?"

Vi dropped down from her roost onto the floor. She had to bend all of her limbs to ease the drop, but she stood up in no time to begin round two with Vander. "No, we're not okay. They almost saw Powder, what if they took her?" Someone turned the table lamp on behind her, but Vi kept her eyes on whatever excuse Vander would say. It didn't matter, really, cause Vi wouldn't buy it. Not this time.

"No one is taking any of you. I'd never let that happen."

"It's already happening! You heard him, they won't stop. We need to fight back!" Vi punctuated her truth by slamming her knuckles into the wall. Like most things down here, dust puffed out from the force.

"And if you won't," Vi grabbed her wrist and closed her fist in it, hyperaware of what it meant after Vander's lecture, "I will."

"I've heard this kind of talk before."

"Then we need to do something about it."

"Vi.."

"No, you're not hearing me."

"Let's go for a walk."

Vi shook her head, not taking any means of placation. Enough was enough. Their own room? None of them were safe, not even Vander, so who the hell was he to act like he could protect them? This was bigger than him. And Vi saw it now. It wasn't just an uneasy truce, it was a handshake with crossed fingers. Of course topside couldn't be trusted to uphold their end of things.

"Please."

Vi's thoughts halted. He'd never asked anything of her, ever. Vi closed her mouth, and in no amount of stunned confusion, she dipped her head in acknowledgement. Vander looked around the room, and no one followed. Vi put her hood up the moment they stepped into the bar, still blinking away the image of Vander asking her to follow him. Not telling her, not convincing her. An equal footing request.

They took a different route from when Vi brought Powder up toward topside last night. Vander led her through the uptown streets, taking the streets that weren't quite alleyways but also wouldn't have too many eyes. He walked with confidence, and something Vi wished she could muster as the bridge came into view.

It had been what, five? Six years ago, now? People had built memorials and stuck pictures, candles, familiar trinkets, and tokens of the fallen along the start of the bridge. Everything around them cooled from the earlier rain but still, rain or shine. Candles and lanterns were lit.

Vander stepped onto the bridge, and paused only to face the wall as he half-leaned on the inner railing. If he meant to give her another lecture, here of all places, Vi might just walk away. She was still steaming from earlier, but now the coal felt damp as she soaked in the heaving silence around them.

The sky was cloudy, like that day, but the air was clear in her lungs. That didn't mean Vi wasn't struggling to breathe.

“M-mommy!” A hiccup. Everything was too loud for her. So many crashes, and shouts. Other people crying for help. Just like Powder was.

But Violet shushed her urgently. And for the millionth time, “It’s okay, mom’s coming back in a little bit, we just have to stay here. She said to stay here. She’s just out looking for dad.” Violet lied. They told her they were going to go yell at the bullies across the river. But then the sky grew a hazy grey, then orange and finally red. Violet thought she heard fireworks. But people didn't usually run away screaming when there were fireworks.

“M-m-m-”

“Shh, Powder. Hey.” Vi leaned around her shoulder, garnering her attention, “Wanna play a game?”

Powder blubbered, scared. Vi was scared too, and Powder tried to stand and go to the end of the alley where their parents left them. Mom and Dad weren’t going far.

Vi yanked Powder back into her arms, and the two played a match of tug-o-war until Powder’s limbs jerked free. Vi caught her by the time she made it to the mouth of the alley.

“They’ll be right back, Powder!”

“Mommy!” Powder shrieked. Vi’s hand muffled the rest of her crying.

“Okay! Okay, just- stop crying, please?! We’ll go look for them.”

“I want mommy.” Powder hiccupped again, but momentarily subdued.

“We’ll go find mom and dad, ‘kay Powder? Just don’t scream like that.” Vi looked to the end of the alley, to the thickening smoke. They’d been here for a couple of hours already, and whether they found one or the other parent, Powder’s hysterics were gonna cause problems.

"Okay, new game. If you cover your eyes, I'll lead us to mom and dad, okay?" It wasn't until they started the journey over the bridge that Vi told Powder to sing a song so she would stop jumping every time she heard the thundering explosions nearby.

Vander half-sat along the railing as he faced Vi. She heard thunder in the distance and closed her eyes. She could still feel the way the smoke burned her eyes. The pounding headache from trying to find them. The way she flinched at the gunfire. And the lack of life in all of the piles of bodies she'd passed by just to be carried right back the way they came again.

"Why're we here?"

Vander sighed. "You still don't understand."

"What I don't understand," Vi started, still muted, "is how you can work with them." Surprise flashed over Vander's face, but Vi continued, "We were here. We saw what they did. I grew up knowing I'm less than them, that my place is down there." Vi waved her hand toward the undercity.

"I want Powder to have more than that, and I'm willing to fight for it." She finished. Vander spoke again, and Vi felt like she was tired again.

"So was I. I was angry, just like you. I led us across this bridge, thinking things could change. If I hadn't.." Vi met his eyes, full of something else Vi hadn't seen from him, "Your parents would still be alive. I know you wanna hurt the topsiders for what they've done to us. But who are you willing to lose?"

Vi watched him with wavering conviction. She'd already lost so much. Too much.

"Mylo? Claggor?"

And then Vi saw the pattern. He still said her name, knowing Vi's answer.

"Powder?"

No. She wasn't willing to lose Powder over it. She wasn't willing to lose Powder over anything. Not unless Vi died trying, but she couldn't protect Powder if she was dead.

Vander joined her softly along the wall, kicking his boot up against it as they faced the same way. No longer opposing sides to the same question. Just now of one mind, and Vi didn't realize how dangerous her tunnel vision had been.

"Nobody wins in war, Vi."

Vi wasn't one to seek out affection, or validation. But there was one universal truth in the undercity. And that was connection. Vi lowered her shoulder and bumped her head onto his upper arm. She felt him relax at the gesture and Vi stayed there, oddly comforted in their somber bubble.

"What're we gonna do? The enforcers will come back."

"I.. I don't know," Vi looked up from the bridge as if he'd broken a rule she hadn't considered. "I'll uh, I'll figure it out." And then, it hit her. Of course he wasn't just a leader, or pillar of their community. He wasn't just a father or teacher. Or a bartender or folk hero. Just a person. Someone trying to play a hand of cards he'd been dealt.

If no one wins in war, then how can there be peace? Vi could hear him turning away from her, thinking. Something she'd seen him do twice in one week. The last puzzle piece clicked into place as Vi put her finger on it. He simply didn't have an answer. Well, what if.. what if she threw a wrench into the mix. Vi was willing to fight - and die - if it meant a better life for Powder. It all started with Vi leading them topside. It didn't matter that Ekko told her. Something similar would have happened to them, in some other way on a different day. The result would be the same and Vi would still be here on this stupid bridge making another decision for the same reason.

It started with Vi, and maybe it could end with her.

Vander didn't speak much on the walk back down home. He didn't try to make Vi feel validated or seen by her father. Nor did he give her any advice on what to do next like he'd done the other day.

Vi wasn't much up for conversation either, as she prepared to leave her life behind. Piltover would probably put her in prison. She didn't know how long of a sentence she'd get for their stunt - her stunt on topside. Vi would need to get used to confessing. The whole plan, her new plan, was founded on her taking the blame. Not some, not most. All of it. Hell, she'd confess to more if necessary.

The faceless masks of the enforcers at the arcade crossed her mind. She'd seen the eyes of one of them, stared him down from the top of the ladder's broken hooks above him. He would know her face well enough. The heist was her plan. She convinced a few other random kids to join her. Didn't know them, didn't care to learn their names. The more distance she put between herself and her family, Vi realized, the safer they'd be for it.

She didn't want to be forgotten by them, though. Especially not Powder. It was a baseless thought, to assume Powder would forget Vi. But she was old enough that Vi hoped their bond was strong enough to endure whatever punishment the enforcers threw Vi's way. She remembered the after-dark conversation with Powder, and her eyes pricked. Vi forced the tears away with a few blinks, and muttered ahead to Vander's back.

"I forgot something. I'll be back later."

"Don't be out too late."

"I won't, promise."

Vander accepted the words easily, and Vi shoved her fists into her pockets to avoid suspicion. When she left him, she already missed him. The tears almost came back again, because the thought of those being her last words to him stung. She should have said something more meaningful. But that would give everything away.

Vi looked up to the electrical wires in a different eye. Before, she'd used it as a means to think back on her life. Remind herself that some things were out of her control. But today, Vi meant to take control back. And so, she searched the alleyway for signs of loose debris and launched them at the wires until the bunny slipped through its noose.

The once-soft patches of lumpy stuffing features was so worn by the weather that Vi truly appreciated her father's skill with needle and thread. It had survived, and Vi hoped her sister would take good care of Vi's heart while she was away.

Notes:

Bruh, I am not looking forward to writing episode three. I've written like, 20k words of a bunch of other chapters and still I've been avoiding episode three. We've got a few heavy chapters ahead of us. Don't worry, things get better! It might take like..... 10k words..... ;-;

Chapter 12: Season 1, Episode 2: "Autonomy"

Vi snuck in from the side entrance on her way back. Vander cracked a joke to Lenny as the bar wound down. He'd be closing soon; probably assume Vi was in bed already by the time he'd figure out her plan. She'd accepted her fate by the time she made it down the bottom of the stairs. Still, Vi knew she wouldn't just miss Powder. Mylo and Claggor would be here, though. And Ekko. Powder'd be around good people. Well-loved, and well cared for. And who knows, maybe Vi would only get a year or two and she'd be released on good behavior and they'd find each other again like nothing ever happened.

Opening the door to the basement was still hard, despite her decision. She took a breath and faced the music.

Mylo and Claggor sat around the table with energy. It was late, and yet they looked up with eased faces. Claggor held a knife, and Mylo was mid-wrapping his knuckles.

"Vi! Where ya been?" Mylo cheered.

Claggor put his blade down, "Rumor is, the lanes are gonna fight."

Vi didn't spare them more than a passing glance as Powder prepared her own battle plans from their bunk beds. She was happy. Only ten years old, and happy. Excited to help; to participate. Vi committed this to memory. Gone was Powder's doubt and bad self-esteem. She was just a kid messing with toys from her toybox.

Powder didn't look up until Vi was about to sit down next to her on the bed. "Look, I made them for the enforcers." She reached over her leg to show off her little arsenal. Vi put the bunny on the bed for a moment, to hold the decorated tin cans Powder was already handing her. "These are smoke bombs," They felt heavy, and Powder continued without missing a beat, "and those two are full of nails." She shook the next one she picked up and seemed to appreciate the rattle. She laughed a small breath and Vi couldn't help but feel her own crack her sadness.

Vi glanced at the toybox and found a few more either already made or next in line to be prepared. Vi knew Powder would probably be up all night working on them. And then in the morning, and evening. It was a family trait, Vi suspected, to get tunnel vision. For Powder, it was her inventions. For Vi, it was exercise. Two different worlds meeting in the middle.

"They're gonna work this time, I know it."

Vi smiled, "Me too." She scooted closer, wiping the hair from Powder's face and Vi's heart soared at the love looking back at her. Vi handed over her own gift into Powder's lap. Powder cradled the bunny, and Vi took her sister's hand into her own. "You know, Powder, what makes you different makes you strong." Vi squeezed pointedly at the end. She saw the wisdom hitting Powder. It sobered her as she listened with an open mind. "Always remember that, okay?"

Powder smiled down at the bunny and that was the last of Powder she dared to see. She didn't say anything to the boys; didn't look at them. But, it was the first time she shut the door so quietly.

Upstairs, Vander had emptied the bar of patrons and started his nightly cleaning routine. Vi waited until he brought the rag and bucket upstairs before she started snooping for the enforcer tube that Ekko had mentioned. She was surprised to not have to look more than a few seconds. It stuck out like a sore thumb under the bar. Its little blue and gold metal screamed Piltover.

She lifted it, and checked for Vander's shadow upstairs. When Vi was sure he was unaware, she quickly ducked through the side exit again and headed for the nearest mail depository. Vi hadn't used the pneumatic tubes in a long time, but it wasn't too hard. It had the sheriff's stamp along the side, and Vi hoped it would be self-explanatory. Once she locked the tube into the socket, Vi paused and stared at it. This was it. No going back. It was going to fix things, damn it. Just send it up. Pull the lever. Go up to down. Pull.

Vi closed her eyes and tugged roughly. The lever clanked and the booth sucked up air as the tube exploded upward like a harmless firework into the glass pipes. And in an instant, it was gone and Vi ditched the booth to book it to Benzo's.

She didn't stop to appreciate anything else. She just ran, and ran until her lungs hurt. The fastest and most direct route still took her a few minutes to reach his shop. Vi made it in record time. Probably beating any record any of them had made ever. Vi wasn't as close to Benzo as Ekko or Powder were, but she still apologized to his front door. Nothing he couldn't afford to repair. It wasn't like she kept the front door keys on her or anything. And besides, that was meant to be her M.O., right? Breaking and Entering. It'd make things more believable for the enforcers if they found evidence of her busting into Benzo's.

A few dogs barked outside, woken up by the crashing. No one came to interrupt her as she took a stool and sat down. And waited in the dark for the footsteps that came not even an hour after she'd sent for them. Her knee burned off the excess energy until she heard them step up to the door.

Vi stood, as ready as she'd ever be. She wasn't ready to see Vander, or Benzo behind him as the door swung open.

Chapter 13: Season 1, Episode 3: "Stained Window"

Notes:

Welcome to Episode 3.

"Vander?" Vi's thoughts kicked up, this wasn't the plan, she'd already sent for the enforcers. They'd be here any second. How'd he find out?

Vander sighed and closed the gap between them, "We don't have much time."

"How did you find me?" Vi's mind quickly ran out of grease. She hadn't told a soul. Vander ignored her words, and took her by the shoulders.

"I'm proud of you," Vander's hands jumped up to surround her head and face, making sure Vi could still hear, "always have been."

Thoughts kept moving, but Vi could only sputter. She wasn't sure how to get him to leave, or convince him. She wasn't sure. And there wasn't time- "I'm sorry, I.. This is the only way to protect the others." She finally landed on truth. She remembered him holding her in his hands like this once. When she'd been consumed by grief. This time, Vi had the presence of body to reach up and hold onto the back of his hand. This time, she was trying to recall the good-byes she thought of earlier. Only this time, his whole frame filled her vision and the hands around her face stifled the uncomfortable thoughts.

"Vander." Benzo barked at them. Time was up. Vi still had a chance to get him out. But nothing stuck. Vander pulled her forward pointedly, wrenching her from her thoughts and she instinctively held onto his wrist at the tugging. His hands were unusually damp, like he'd been running.

"You've got a good heart. Don't ever lose it. No matter how the world tries to break you." The pit in her stomach yawned, and Vi caught up, finally. There was a good-bye in his face. "Protect the family."

"What're you-" Vander pushed her back, and Vi had no choice but to awkwardly step with him as he shoved her deeper into the shop. He only let go of her head to open the door to the basement. Vi protested, but he pushed again, forcing her to tumble a step down the stairs, and then another. "No." A final push, and Vi fell onto the concrete with a huff. She hadn't been down for more than a moment before the door slammed and the lock cracked. Deafening silence. "Vander! Let me out, this isn't right!"

Vi uselessly tried the handle, and fought against the hinges. The door didn't budge, and of course it wouldn't. Benzo kept a lock on the stupid door for a reason. No glass, though, and Vi beat her fist to try and get a reaction.

"I'm guessing that's for me." She heard through the door. A woman, with a voice like sandpaper speaking through a pipe. Not just an enforcer. The Sheriff.

Vi dug her fingers around the handle, helpless, and bubbling with frustration. Everything was going to shit! Vi looked around the basement for anything that might help her break down the door. Old equipment and dusty sheets. There was a window on the other side of the room, but Vi knew she wasn't small enough to fit through the space, and the angle, and the height.. The deputy spoke up this time.

"Are you gonna let us make the arrest or not?"

"You'll oblige a doomed man one last smoke.. won't you?"

"I'm not putting you away, Vander."

"The council needs its pound of flesh."

"Without you down here, it all falls apart." Vi didn't even have the pride to hate that she agreed with the fucking sheriff. Keep him home, please don't take him.

"Benzo will handle things." Vander joked, and Vi pounded on the door again. She couldn't let him talk himself into taking the fall for her, "He may not have my devilish charm, but he runs a tight ship."

Vi stood back and ran at the door. Her weight wasn't enough to crack any of it, just slam noise back into the basement. "Vander, no! You can't do this!" Another hit to the door.

"You won't be coming back for a long time."

"I know."

Vi could barely hear him, and she ground at the handle again. The fading chance to set things right was leaving with him. Just let her out! Desperation cycled over and over again, and she beat on the door, pulled on the handle, rammed her shoulder into it, dug at the hinges, and repeated. She made noise, called out, and made sure everyone in the shop could hear her.

"Why?"

"It's the only way."

Vi resorted to bargaining, "Benzo! Open the damn door!" Properly, Vi punched the door and the pain cracked her fervor. The basement was stuffy enough, that she realized her breath couldn't keep up with attacking her only way out. She could have heard someone calling out in pain. "What's happening?"

She wasn't sure who could hear her, and she wasn't even sure if she cared. Her gut was one hell of a good judgement tool and it had her honing in on the outside of that window in suspicion. It was in those few moments of pause that shadows ran across the front of the window. Vi stumbled to the window, and looked through the dirty multi-colored shards for a better look. An enforcer held his gun out.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Crimson sprayed over the window so loudly, Vi gasped backward. Her eyes locked open in shock as lines of blood trailed down like thick paint. No one spoke fear into the street, and the air outside the window hushed from death.

Through the small window, tinted red, Vi only caught fragments of words and shadows. She could see a stand-off, hear Benzo's voice shout across the street.

"...Go crawl back into whatever hole you came out of!" He stepped forward into the bloody frame, preparing to attack.

Vander called somewhere to the framing's left, "Benzo, stay back!" Then, rushed, "Wait-"

Something roared, Vi wasn't sure what it was, but she watched as Benzo's silhouette was joined with a hulking mass before he crumpled. Vander cried out the denial Vi felt as the glowing veins of some kind of monster dropped him. She'd never seen something like it before. She couldn't even have imagined it if she was given a description of it from some picture or myth. Vander fell to his knees, and Vi realized he'd been in at the very edge of her view through the window the whole time. Himself the outer edge of her view. The lieutenant waved his arms around him.

"...This wasn't the deal!" A thin shadow stepped into the frame, and tossed something to him. Money?

"No.."

She'd never seen Vander so broken, and yet he looked up to the creature as it stalked forward.

Vi shouted louder, "No!" She slammed closed hand against the wall, overtaken by the need to do something about it. She couldn't reach them, but also couldn't just watch. The dread just savored the moment. The creature pulled a fist back and faster than Vi thought possible, cracked its fist into Vander's face.

Vi's legs gave out as Vander fell over. Lifeless. There was no holding back the tears or sobs. No one would hear her, and no one cared. No one would save her, and no one was even there.

How could things have gone so wrong, so fast? She was turning herself in! Now, several people were dead and she was trapped in this fucking basement! Vi shrieked rage into the air below her. Then, the anger flash-froze back into grief. She couldn't help. No amount of planning or strength could help her climb out and save Benzo or Vander. She'd lost more, trying to do the right thing.

It started to get hard to breathe again after a couple of minutes. The pressure in her head made her lightheaded and dazed. She moved her hands tangled in her hair until she pulled her knees up and hung her head between them. It darkened the red light like a blanket. She sat with her back to the stone wall. There was nothing to do; she'd tried the door, there was no way she'd get out through the window from down here. The thought that no one would even find her until tomorrow made her throat dry up. She didn't tell anyone where to find her, because she didn't want to be found. She hadn't told a soul.

The basement door clicked unlocked. Vi wiped her tears away, and looked at her hero.

Ekko took the stairs one by one. His eyes stared somewhere in the middle distance, unable to process what he might've seen. But he'd definitely seen something he shouldn't. He looked up to Vi, and she knew.

Oh, Ekko.

Vi crossed the room, and he started breaking down just before she got to him. They embraced, both needing just a few moments to share what they'd seen. Silently, and connected by pain.

"I saw everything." He sniffled into her shoulder, "B-Benzo, they..." He clung tighter, and Vi grimaced as she held the back of his head. Cradled it as Ekko hiccupped into her. Now what?

"What about Vander?"

"Th-th-they took him."

Vi swallowed, and her throat finally found the air she needed. "Where?"

Ekko whimpered into her chest with a sound so small, Vi wasn't really sure she heard it. This wasn't a job to make their lives better. This wasn't some scheme or plot to improve their world. It was life and death. Vi could almost forget the topside and bottom shitstorm raging around the city. It wasn't usually us vs. them until a few days ago. Not openly. Because until the last week, Vi was used to a more familiar sentiment.

Us vs. us.

And that scared her less than any army Piltover could muster.

"The old can factory next to the docks. The people who left the bar. A few others, too. I heard them.. Banging metal. I think making weapons, I.. I couldn't see more without getting close."

"What would we do without you, hm?" Vi pulled away, just enough to try flashing a smile at him. She didn't care that it was fake, and he didn't seem to care that she was trying to. "Go.. Go home. I'll rally the troops, and we'll get Vander back. We'll get him back, I promise."

"What if-"

"We'll get Vander back."

"What if something happens to you?"

"I'm tough as nails, you know that."

"But that monster. I don't want you to die, too."

"Ain't gonna happen, Little Man. We'll get through this, we always do, yeah?"

Ekko wiped the snot from his face and tears from his cheeks. Vi moved her hands down the sides of his face, and to his shoulders, and as she felt the roles reverse with her in Vander's position, she squeezed.

"You go home, and meet us at the bar in the morning. Vander might have a wicked headache, and Lenny'll have to tend the bar for a bit, but Vander'll be there." Vi said the words with such conviction, she almost started believing them herself. But they'd done their purpose, and Ekko nodded. Vi stressed the important part, again, though, "Go home, before your parents figure out you're not there."

Ekko led the way to the front door. He jumped over the dead bodies of enforcers, unable to look at where Benzo had to be. Without looking back, he broke off into a sprint down the street, toward where he'd be safer. Not safe, just safer. Vander was taken. Nowhere was safe anymore.

Vi counted six enforcers, all mangled and open on the street. A couple of batons, a few broken chunks of armor, and their masks separated from them like busted bolts from a steam pipe. Vi stared, and stared at the carnage. At the horror that would await her at the cannery.

What the hell is she thinking?

That she can handle a fight.

As much as it pained her, she left all of them untouched in the street. The longer she took to get to Vander, the more likely The Lanes would lose their leader. And she'd lose another father. Vi ran up the street toward The Last Drop already knowing what she'd be looking for. Weapons.

Chapter 14: Season 1, Episode 3: "Gauntlets"

Notes:

TW: We're at the cannery, now. Arguably one of the heaviest events in the show. Double-check the tags.

This is also one of the longest chapters published so far. It's long and it's grueling.

The nightly fog had rolled in as the fissures hummed into what was the closest Vi could think of sleeping. Homes set their steam baths, cranked the stoves on for last meals, and the air around the stone walls of the undercity brought in a sour mixture of chemicals. It wasn't as dangerous as the The Grey, but Vi's stomach always roiled when she'd been caught in it.

This time, her stomach clenched just enough and her nerves from the last half hour did the rest. Vi stopped to empty her stomach onto a pile of trash in the alley. By the time she'd finished, she was already stepping away and the knot bent her over again with a cramping round two. Vi defeatedly locked her elbows and half-stood, hunched over as her body took control of her mind.

You can't outrun this.

Vi kept swallowing the Foul-fog down until she stopped tasting bile. Her heart skipped a beat, and if Vi thought better, she might sit down for a quick breath. But she couldn't. Whoever - whatever - took Vander wasn't going to wait for Vi's nerves to stop telling her body something different than her head.

The last leg of the run back to The Last Drop was slower, but Vi was relieved to see everyone had gone home for the night properly. Even as she snuck in with the hidden key they kept tucked between two bricks for emergencies, she planned. Get the gauntlets down from above the bar, scout the cannery for a way in and when things got hairy, that's what the gauntlets were for.

No one was in the bar, but Vi hadn't expected the gauntlets to be missing as well. Well, shit. There was no way anyone would dare touch them. Not even the regulars. Maybe the boys...

Vi would have to face them again.

She bounded down the stairs to the basement and after opening the door, did the same to the final section.

"Vi?"

Vi stopped, looking between Mylo and Claggor who could see something Vi wasn't trying hard enough to hide on her face. She pulled on the railing for balance, "Where's the-"

Vi heard Powder a split second before Powder slung her arms around Vi's ribs. "Oh, you're back!" Vi had just felt Ekko's arms around her, and Vi's already shaken expression broke like crumbling chunks of concrete. Powder pulled her head back and smiled and then it dropped as their eyes met.

She couldn't face her little sister. There was too much going on, and not enough time to talk anything out. And yet, Vi knew she had to be the bearer of bad news. Not yet. Save Vander. Then, mourn. Vi pushed past Powder, and reached a hand down for what she'd been looking for on the table. The boys had a few other weapons out on display, like they'd been waiting for her.

Mylo's hand shot out and held Vi's wrist before she could grab the gauntlet. She didn't give any fight, as he pulled it away and opened his mouth. "Hey, those're Vander's. Slow down. What's going on?"

"Benzo's dead." Vi rushed out.

Behind her, Claggor whispered, "Dead?"

Vi continued, holding onto hope for dear life, "They took Vander."

"Who took Vander?" Mylo asked.

Vi shook her head, "I don't know, but I need to help him." That monstrosity practically gutted Benzo. She didn't realize she had seen Benzo fully on the ground, but his face filled her mind like she was walking past him. Absolutely zero question about whether he could be saved.

"We're going with you."

"Whatever killed Benzo was like nothing I've ever seen." Vi took a step forward, willing the images to move behind her, too, as the grief returned. "It tore him apart." She sucked in a breath, and again. Shame shadowed the grief, and Vi had to close her eyes to keep from breaking fully. She swallowed the lump in her throat and focused on the soreness in her knuckles and fingers to blink the tears away before they could fall.

"You're not doing this alone, Vi." Claggor's hand warmed along the top of her spine.

Mylo's hand filled in the space at the base of her head, "He's our father, too."

The touch grounded her, pulling her away from the bloody street and back to the warmly lit pile of weapons and tools in front of them. They were right. And she shouldn't do this alone.

"Do we even know where they took him?" Mylo asked. Vi felt the resolution steady her again. Just enough to give her a second wind. And it was exactly what she needed.

"Ekko followed them," Vi packed the mining gauntlet into the bag with the rescue flare. It might be a good distraction, or cover. Smoke them out, or keep them guessing just long enough, "The old cannery next to the docks. He said.." Vi trailed off next to the railing, realizing that Powder was already packed and waiting. Hanging on every word.

Vi didn't want Powder anywhere near them. Vander knew her answer to his question at the bridge earlier. She wasn't willing to lose Powder. But this was a problem between their own, not a revolution against Topside. She'd been schooled on the result of fighting them. In the undercity, however, the rules were different. As much as Vi hated enforcers, she trusted them to not kill her on the spot. Someone like Powder was fair game with the gangs on this side of the bridge. No chance she'd risk Powder for this.

She knew Powder wouldn't take things well.

"I need you to sit this one out, Powder."

"What?"

Vi stepped closer, leaving no room for miscommunication, "You're not coming."

"I'm not afraid."

"It's too dangerous."

"But families stick together, you said it yourself."

"I know what I said-"

"I want to fight, I can help!"

"You're not ready." Vi cut her off sharply. It took the wind out of Powder's sails, and Vi amended, "You're all I have left. I can't lose you." She hated being the one to bring tears to Powder's eyes, but she couldn't think of any other way to make sure no one could use her against them. Vi, Mylo, Claggor, or even Vander. Vi would never forgive herself if Powder got hurt because Vi was too reckless to not consider that she might.

"Here," Vi handed over the flare, "If they come for you, take this and run." Something to keep Powder from freezing if things went sideways. Some sort of back-up plan in case Vi and the boys didn't come back in the next few hours. "Wherever you are, light it up and I'll find you. I promise." She leaned her head down and held their foreheads together.

The gesture was sacred enough, that words rarely meant more than it. It was theirs, and Vi never lied to Powder when she made them. It was statement enough that Powder'd gone quiet.

Vi followed the boys up the stairs and looked back one last time. Not just to make sure Powder wasn't following, but also for herself. She needed to see the heartbreak in Powder's face to remind her that she had to come back with their dad. She had a promise to keep, now, and the threat of breaking it could make the difference between life and death.

On the street, Vi took a full, thick gulp of air. And somehow, she felt better. Claggor remained silent, and Mylo bounced anxiously in place, opening and closing his hands like he was gearing up to fight. Vi took a step, and they wordlessly climbed the fastest route out of the fissures. When they made it to the surface, she led them down the same street she'd pulled apart to get the bunny down.

"Clag, this could come in handy." She bent down and picked up the loose pipe. He stuck it in his backpack.

Mylo kept his head on a swivel, and Vi continued toward the factory. The streets were clear, but Vi crouched anyways. She felt more than saw Mylo and Claggor behind her; lined up. Their trio fit into a groove on the long resume of what worked and didn't. This was different, and also familiar. Vi knew it was Mylo who tapped her left shoulder before she rounded a corner.

Vi sank back into the shadow and carefully turned her attention to the left. The same bozos who'd jumped them the other day. Only two of them, though, playing a game on some crate and smoking through banter. Vi waited until their game picked up, and crossed the street. She chose a wall to scale, hoping the height would give them a better understanding of any guards doing their rounds. She had to be careful not to give them away, considering it was an obvious route into anywhere in the undercity.

The alleyways were compacted together, making the jumps between the streets easy as they made their way between rooves and within sight of the cannery. It was an ugly metal junk dump the last time Vi and Mylo were here. That was a couple of years ago, before people started rumors of weird screams haunting the basement. Vi was never superstitious, but she also wasn't willing to test her own doubt.

The moon watched over their every step, and Vi had to avoid her shadow leaning out over the ledge. It was like Powder was right with her, keeping her alert and their pace calculated. Thunder rumbled in the distance, so they at least had their approach masked every once in awhile.

Finally on the cannery, Vi slid down to the only side with a good enough opening. All of the windows were busted in one way or another, except one, with the paneling missing completely. It wasn't the safest drop, but they'd gone through trash mounds, rusty pipe systems, and scaled walls so thick with oil and paint it was a miracle they didn't get sick from breathing the fumes. They could sneak in through one lousy window.

Vi didn't like the quiet, though. No guards walked over the catwalk, or protected where the basement had to be. She didn't dare doubt Ekko's intel, but they didn't have time to second-guess their opportunity.

"Let's get Vander and get out." She ordered, heading to the window for the drop down. He was probably hidden somewhere, stashed while they were out regrouping or rallying their own troops.

On the second floor, rounding the corner of the catwalk, Vi saw him. Bruised and alive, and very much secured. She took a final look around the walkway, and when there was no sign of anyone, she waved the boys to follow. Each step over the catwalk echoed enough for Vi to pinch her face as each set of boots thud across.

But, they made it. Vi stood up fully, almost overwhelmed with relief and sympathy as he stirred at their entrance. She pulled the hood from her head, and Vander spat a mouthful of blood over his lap. She knew she had to get him out, but in a moment of need, Vi rushed forward to hold him.

"Vi?"

Vi wrapped her arms around his neck, not caring that it probably hurt him, too. His head tucked into her neck in lieu of his arms. She could smell the tobacco in the crook of her elbow, and his beard scratch at the back of her neck. Not that it mattered. She'd never been so happy to hold him again. To feel comfort after a bad day. This time, though, Vi was here to save him.

She pulled away, smiling and holding the back of his neck to ease his nerves like he'd done so often for her. It didn't seem to affect him as much as her, but his eyes swam a few inches from hers. "What're you doing here?"

"We're breaking you out." Vi made the statement, no, the promise. The boys would do anything for her, and she'd do anything for him. They all would. They might not have brought any oil with them, but they sure as hell would bring a sure-fire attitude. First, they'd have to break the locks keeping Vander from moving. "Mylo." Vi stepped away to give him room to work.

"On it."

Vi inspected the rest of the room. A massive steel-tracked door was the only way in or out. Other than that, it looked like an empty torture chamber. Hooks hung from the ceiling, bars chained more in place probably to hold up fish.

"H-how did you get in? There's guards everywhere."

"It was easy. We found an open window and-" It was easy. Shit. Shit-shit-shit.

"Oh god. You have to get out. Now."

A voice called from outside the room, across the whole factory like an announcement, "Welcome."

Vi spun around, unable to pinpoint the voice. He seemed to lurk beyond the doorway, at the other end of the bridge. And then he started to clap. Slowly. Smug. And then Vi could see him, wiry and dressed like a Piltie. His swagger said undercity, and Vi knew he was the person who sent that creature loose at Benzo's.

"You have my congratulations." He leaned a hand onto the railing, like he'd already won. From behind him, Vi recognized the goons for who they were. Traitors. People who'd been helped up by Vander were walking out in force. A gross statement of denial for their escape. "But I'm afraid this will be a very short reunion."

Vi slipped back behind the door, as he continued running his stupid mouth, "Have you heard the rumor? Vander the coward fled town with his children. And they were never seen again." Vi had carried them plenty of times. Vi remembered her own mom letting her try them on before she died. Vander wouldn't let her touch them afterward, but they fit better than back then. Claggor used a knife to try and pry the metal arm restraints from the chair, and the blade broke.

"Claggor, see if you can find another way out of here." The place was old enough that if anyone could break them out, he'd be the one to find the weakest bricks. If things got too bad out there, they could shut the steel door and escape. Until then, though, Vi had to buy them enough time to get Vander loose. He muttered in agreement, and Vi stepped out from behind the door to face the traitors on the other side.

"You don't have to do this." Vander almost seemed to beg.

Vi paused to meet his eyes. For once, he looked scared. And for once, Vi felt strong. "Yes I do." She left the room, and when Vander called her name, she ignored it.

"Vi!"

There was only one way across. A single chokepoint, and Vi found at least a little hope that she might actually pull this off. They'd have to come at her one by one. She stepped over the bridge, gripping the bar in the gauntlets tight enough to convince herself that she didn't have hands anymore. They weren't tools to break rock into stones, they were boxing gloves. She'd put chains over the gloves before, experimenting with what added weight felt on her arms. This was no different.

Just another high score to beat, maybe. She took a measured breath, reaching the middle. The first guy, a towering mass of muscle, likewise met her there. He had a knife in his hand, but as he walked closer, Vi had to move her head to peer up at him. She stopped watching his hand, and glared at his face. Studied the nonchalance.

She'd have to make her first hit count well enough to not have to make a second. She only had one shot to surprise him. He'd underestimate her once, and only once.

Vander laid out the patched blankets over the floor, and waited for Vi to sit up. She'd been looking forward to this day for a while. It was one of the few things she'd been able to keep from before the... loss.

"Pretty soon, I'll have to cushion my hands for this."

"I'd hate to break them, old man." Vi teased, stepping onto the squares. There were plenty of falls on it, but Vi loved the uncertainty under her feet. It kept her from getting overconfident in her stance.

"Let me check." Vander beckoned her forward, and when Vi raised her right hand, he lifted an eyebrow at the missing wrap on her left.

"I gave it to Mylo." Vi shrugged with a smile, "I feel good with both hands, but my right has more power. I like having my left one free to grab."

"Hm." He approved and stood tall, towering over her. "Alright. You're small; use that. Big guy like me isn't used to getting hit by someone your size. You want to get me down as quickly as possible, so make every hit count. Don't get cocky, but be confident. Body shots on me won't do much, but if you get me here," Vander pointed to his chin, bringing Vi's knuckle to the bottom, "just right, my muscle won't do me any good."

Vi nodded, watching him rise up to his full height.

"At my hand, give me an uppercut." Vander held his hand up, high, with his palm faced down.

Vi gave him one. Vander shook his head, "Use your legs more. Anchor yourself, and focus the power up through your back and shoulder."

Vi gave him another. "Spring."

Another. "Guard."

Another. Arms up. Vander's hand jerked up from the force, and his other swung just fast enough to remind Vi to protect her face. He brought his hand up, and Vi prepared to uppercut again, but his hand shot out to her from the side. She "blocked" the almost-hit and sprung her arm into his hand just as he raised it again.

The smile beaming down at her meant the world.

Vi brought the gloves up in front of her, huffing in wait. The boxing machine never started at the same time. The window counted itself down to some random timer but when it shot itself forward, Vi was already moving. The big guy leaned his head back with a lazy frown. He had to look back for permission, and Vi tracked his eyes the whole time as he turned back to her.

The pulse in her chest beat fast, but welcomed. This was known, and expected. And Vi welcomed the energy as she kept the gauntlets at her face. Patiently waiting for him to make the first move. He sniffed and roared as he shoved the knife forward.

Vi ducked under the gauntlet, parrying the stab. He almost pushed down, as if testing her under the strength of his arm. Vi growled back and with as much power as she could beneath it, shot her right gauntlet into his chin. For a moment, she felt weightless as her boots replanted into the bridge.

When she looked up, the knife clanked harmlessly beside him. Belly up, and down for the count. One down. Vi stepped forward, tracking the next one running around him to get to her. Vi pulled her arms up without thinking, and took a few steps forward to close the gap. She lead the second goon to swing some sword-like-club at her left side.

Vi ducked under the arm and before they could swipe backward to hit Vi, she threw her own cross back. Their head wobbled as they fell over the railing.

The third goon was right behind them, and swung his left fist at her. Vi dropped the side of her right glove against his back and kicked her knee up into his ribs.

A leg rammed her into her right arm and against the railing. Vi caught herself over it, not letting her guard down on her left. She felt more than saw his arm slam into it; following the block with her right flying back at him. He fell hard against the left railing, and Vi's arms already burned.

The next guy was smarter, judging her for a second before he struck his fist out. At the last second, he grabbed the collar of her vest and pulled. She yanked herself back and out of his grip, slamming the gauntlet into his face and already looking for the next target. She wasn't used to the constant weight, and despite the years of building what muscle she could, Vi wasn't sure how long she'd be able to hold the gauntlets in her hands if she hadn't tightened the straps over her arms to keep them there.

They knew she wasn't going down without a fight, and she'd been giving them one. With the pretense of skill out of the bag, Vi conserved what energy she could, only raising the gauntlets when the next one stepped forward. He slammed a spiked club on the bridge, but Vi wasn't intimidated by the display. She weaved under the swing, and the next, as she kept distance between them. Whether to wait him out, or wait until he made a mistake, Vi made her own.

An arm swung around her neck, and pulled her back in a chokehold. She kicked her boot up into the nose of the clubbed guy as he stepped too close. Vi bent down, pulling her attacker over her back and jumped back into the railing. She might've fallen over the railing if she were taller, but instead she heard him scream as he fell to the lower level.

Huh, that was a good idea.

Vi punched at the next one, and used his momentum to swing his legs over the right rail. Between them, she caught sight of the next pair of arms swinging a weapon at her and Vi ducked under it. She hooked the gauntlet to the collar of their shirt and stiffed them at arm's length with a quick shot to their gut. Then, she shot her right gauntlet at their head before they could recover from the stun.

This time, two stalked forward. One guy with a knife, cutting his tongue on the blade as he licked it and a woman hovering in his shadow just out of sight. He jabbed the knife forward, and to the side, as Vi dropped her hands to dodge them. They were too quick to parry, until Vi had no choice but to bring her left arm up for a block. He struck under and around the gauntlet before Vi could pull away, and she slammed the right glove into her right to stop the knife from getting too close to her neck.

And then Vi's vision filled with the elbow of the second attacker's entrance. The force slammed Vi's cheek into the metal beside her. Almost like a blanket, Vi fell into the left railing, the gauntlets both blocking the knife from getting closer, but also her vision and the hit to her her jaw was followed by another. Vi's focus wavered as panic dripped into her veins.

She shoved the gauntlets forward, forcing distance as she wildly swung her fists at either of them. The glint of the blade was lost in the mess of motion, and as Vi leaned back, the pair of enemies leaned forward. The knife sliced over her right bicep. She ducked under a third fist. Punched into their chest and launched them back in front of her.

Her arms never returned to defend her face, as she only pulled them in to swing them out at the attackers. She couldn't see his face; zeroed in on the major targets. Avoid his hands. Ring his bell.

The two had dropped at some point, their spot filled in with the next guy. Vi's shot hit him in the shoulder clumsily, but she recovered enough to spring another uppercut into his jaw and stand over him as he, too, joined the rest.

The next guy, lean and shirtless, used his leg to kick Vi backward. She was powerless to really stop him, her exhaustion catching up to reason. She stepped back, shaking, but her feet weren't fast enough and she tumbled onto her backside. Vi pulled the gauntlets under her, and looked up to him as he planned his next move. the hammer in his hand rolled behind his back, and Vi scrambled out of the way as he brought it down to where she'd been only a second ago.

The last thing she wanted was to turn her back to him, and Vi pulled the gauntlet up between them as she retreated awkwardly along the railing. The hammer weighted in his arm again, and he swung at her head sideways. Despite still half-crawling, Vi ducked under it and shot her arm forward into his liver. He gasped at the hit, but Vi only managed to stand when he swung it down at her again. She parried the hammer with the gauntlets as it rattled her bones sharply underneath.

Vi used the last of her strength to hit him across the temple. No more goons. She curled over, unable to hold the gauntlets above her waist. And then she heard a shrieking roar from the other end of the bridge. Deckard, corrupted with purple veins and twitching as his muscles expanded into the figure she'd seen earlier. The monster now facing her.

Deckard stomped forward slowly, each step dripping with purple fluid from his mouth as he transformed. Vi could only pivot herself to watch him, fear keeping her from running away but also nailing her boots from getting closer. He yanked the head of one of the lackeys and tossed him over the right railing like he weighed nothing. And then Deckard calmed, staring at the catwalk dumbly.

Vi could only make her last stand, now. She brought the gauntlets up, ignoring the pain in her arms and shoulders from the weight. She ignored the tear in her bicep, and the ache in her cheekbones. The strain in her legs, the frayed edges of her nerves and lungs. This was it, the real fight. She charged forward, leaping up to the railing for enough height as she jumped off with both arms aimed at his skull.

Deckard's hand shot up, too long for Vi to reach her mark as he caught her by the neck. She had no time to counter, or pull away as he squeezed and her lungs pulled and pushed uselessly in her chest. The gauntlets, once her saving grace, prevented her from clawing at anything. Vi's palms remained in place over the bars underneath as her fingers dug at nothing but air. Vi kicked, but nothing fazed him. It was only a couple of seconds, but as Vander cried out across the bridge, Vi felt the world fade out of focus.

She choked, and fought against it, and the world below her flew away as Deckard threw her backward. A gauntlet slipped off her arm, and Vi dragged herself, heaving, toward Vander. It wasn't just the gauntlet in her left hand that weighed her down. It was the very air above her that suffocated her limbs and head. After a few skipping breaths, the fog lifted, but Vi's shuffled crawling drew Vander's voice to her own ringing ears.

"Vi!"

Vi followed it like a lifeline, and kept moving. Just a few more feet. Maybe the steel door could hold him off. It had to hold him off. She pulled herself up, and used her body to fall forward with the door as the track screeched from the effort. The door slammed shut, and Vi made sure to lock it before falling against it; her own body an added stake in the flooring.

Deckard slammed against the door on the other side, and Vi had to lean her head forward to keep it from hitting her head. With every following hit to the door, Vi's bones jarred in response. She tugged the strap over the remaining gauntlet off with her free hand, breathing in the stuffy air for her only respite.

Mylo had gotten through most of the locks, and Vander clenched his fist as his left hand slipped free. Vander nodded at Vi, "You did good." The fear in his face was gone, replaced by something more mild.

Claggor worked at a hole in the wall, the bricks crumbling one by one. Vi just had to hold the door shut. She winced as she stood, pain wracking almost all of her, but she felt the door bend behind her. The next hit snapped the metal somewhere above her and Vi looked up at the broken track. Her heart sank into her stomach. Claggor's progress quickened through the wall. The door shoved Vi forward, and her boots skid from the force of it pushing sharply against her shoulder. It was enough to send pain through her arm and back. For a moment, Vi hoped the next slam wasn't going to dislocate it.

There was a flurry of blows against the door, less powerful until they suddenly stopped. Vander yanked his arm out of the last lock beside Mylo. Mylo gave him a wary smile, and Vander nodded his thanks. Claggor kicked at the last chunks of bricks for a space large enough for them to escape through the wall outside. Vi could see the cloudy sky, and didn't care if they had to jump straight down onto the street. The mission was almost done. Claggor found a way out. Mylo broke Vander free. Vi gave them enough time.

Vander stood from the chair, his open eye meeting Vi as they shared her dread. Vi kept her arms in close, waiting with bated breath for the next slam. What she guess would be the final break against the door.

Vi flinched away as it came, somehow bursting through with blinding blue light. It didn't matter that her guard was up. Something crashed into her head and the world went dark.

Chapter 15: Season 1, Episode 3: "Get a Grip"

Pain. Searing, throbbing, bouncing around her head and everywhere. It overwhelmed her senses, filled her nose with gasoline and set fire in her chest. She couldn't move to feel where she was. Everything was dark, and yet blinding.

Vi opened her eyes, and a light nearby flickered. She cried, though the sobs did nothing to help ease the pressure on her legs or the pain in her shoulder. Nothing worked right. Her head was tilted, and the broken concrete and room had exploded inward. Debris filled the corners, and Vi's eyes latched onto the exposed arm of someone familiar to her.

She realized she was on her back, half laying on her right shoulder and she turned her upper body with a numb left arm through the fire in her veins. As the room spun with her, the air stuck in her throat. Trapped with her under something unmoving.

A different hand sticking out of broken stone. A boot just a few inches from the first arm. Claggor's face underneath a hole. He didn't move, and Vi stared at his lifeless body. The resting arm beside him was Mylo's. And it was the only thing she could see of him under the pile of broken concrete. He, too, wasn't stirring. He wasn't calling for help, or crying like she was. Just dead.

Mylo?

Claggor?

...

The lights flickered again, drawing Vi's attention downward to something closer to her than them. Powder's monkey alarm. Just the head, painted over with an angry face and missing the rest of its body. Something caught fire in the room and the world lit up in hot orange. The broken head joined them in unmoving death.

Powder?

Vi couldn't stop the tears from drowning her vision. She desperately searched the shadows for something, anything, that looked like it could be Powder. There was no blue, no other sign or sound with her. Just her alone, crying, under the steel door in pain and shock.

She couldn't be sure how much time had passed, too dazed and lightheaded to think anymore. She could have passed out, or been conscious the entire time. But the pain returned her to her senses again, and Vi struggled underneath the door as the fire spread inch by inch through the edge of the room.

A pounding sounded behind her, and she looked down at her feet as the door lifted from her. Deckard stared at her, and she flinched when he moved, instinct telling her he'd let it go. But he tossed it aside and Vi had no confidence left to fake. She was scared, and he was horrifying. She had no idea if he was in there still, and could come to some sense that she wasn't a threat. But then something heavier yanked him back through the doorway. The mass strung him up by the neck and Deckard's limbs went limp after the second crack into the top of the doorway.

Vi gasped at the comparison. She'd been terrified of Deckard? This monstrosity was twice his size. Broke his neck like a toy, and threw him somewhere with disgust. The creature stepped into the light of the fire, and Vi recognized the figure. Vander. Distorted and a net of glowing trails over his skin with the same corruption Deckard had. Except this time, he stopped himself in surprise as their eyes met.

As if he were in pain, Vander stumbled backward and out of the room. Vi could only see the faded outline of him as he left her field of vision. The smoke had thickened, and Vi took the opportunity to try and pull her legs under her. The building was filling with smoke, on fire, and it was only a matter of time before the roof caved in.

She heard a name calling across to the other side of the bridge. "Silco!"

But her muscles weren't working right. Her shoulder was probably broken. She tried to at least crawl, but everything gave out underneath her. Vi coughed into the stone, willing herself to try again. Someone dragged her weightlessly toward the opening in the wall so suddenly, Vi was only sure it happened when she felt the salted air burning her nose. Yet, in the next moment, she'd landed on the very person who pulled her out. In the fall, Vi's shoulder must have been put back wrong.

It was Vander who lay next to her, and Vi looked past the veins up his arm and ribs to figure out how much damage he'd taken for her.

"Vander." She sighed, watching the stones behind his head darken with blood. She whispered his name again, knowing that she didn't know how to help him. It looked bad. Really, really bad.

Vi helped him lift his head up as he looked for her. His face twitched. "Take care of Powder." His head lolled back into the stone, the sound sickeningly wet. Her hand jerked back and as she watched his eyes roll back into his head, the glowing purple veins just under his skin lost all their light like they died too. All grey.

Vi pulled back and screamed into the sky. Lightning roared back, and Vi collapsed over Vander's body with nothing to do about it. He wasn't breathing. She pushed up from him, and closed her eyes. She could almost hear explosions nearby. This was worse. She could almost hear Powder humming a lullaby through chaos. This was worse.

"Vi, it worked!"

She could almost hear joy in Powder's voice. This was somehow worse.

"What?" Vi turned around, and Powder continued.

"Did you see me? My monkey bomb finally worked."

Stunned, Vi asked the first question that came to her mind, "You did this?"

Powder was quiet, and Vi didn't know what to make of it. Powder's eyebrows moved, and she held something in her arms tightly, but Vi wasn't able to form much thought beyond why Powder killed them.

Vi closed her eyes as the monkey's painted features seemed to grin in front of Mylo and Claggor's bodies.

"Why? Why did you do this?" Vi finally looked at Powder, a new horror settling into her.

"I di- I did-... I was saving you." Powder looked away, and then her voice shot up as her own tears controlled her voice, "I only wanted to help. I only wanted to help," Powder's words rushed together, desperate, "Ionlywantedtohelp, Ionlywanted..." Powder's voice trailed off as Vi spoke again.

There was something else gnawing at Vi's emotions. Something she hadn't felt since inside the building. "I told you to stay away." Powder always listened. Why didn't she listen?

Powder was apologizing, but Vi's words cut over them in declaration, "I told you to stay away!" Vi stepped forward, not quite understanding how Powder fell backwards as she looked down into the eyes of her family's murderer.

"Why did you leave me?!" Powder whined.

Vi wasted no time hitting where it could hurt, "Because you're a Jinx. Do you hear me?" Vi shook the face in her grip, "Mylo was right."

Vi's hand strained shut around Powder's cheeks. Fresh tears wet her fingers as she held onto Powder's sobbing face. Vi's heart pounded through her neck and roared into her ears. The result of another dose kicking her awake. Blood streamed down Powder's nose, something that hadn't been there a second ago. She jerked her hand back as her palm stung from memory. She'd slapped Powder.

The last time she had really looked at her hands, Vander held her wrist.

That path. This. It's not gonna solve your problems.

Just makes more of them.

Vi turned her hand over. Regret seeped through the dirt over her hand through and through. She didn't mean to hurt Powder. Vi looked over to Powder still sobbing, begging for forgiveness. Powder wasn't even supposed to be here-!

"Violet, please!"

Tears welled up in Vi's eyes. She couldn't see past the anger still running throughout her. Still clawing and gnashing to be let out. Vi tried to reason with herself, and half a dozen thoughts roared over each other. Powder killed their brothers. Their father. Vi proved Vander right. Mylo and Claggor were dead because Vi didn't bring Powder along. Vi called her little sister a jinx. She didn't mean it. But she meant it. Vi was willing to lose everyone except Powder to keep Powder safe, but she hadn't considered that Powder would be the one to make her lose them all.

And Vi saw something in herself that she couldn't fight with her fists. She didn't have a defense prepared, or solitude to fall back on. She didn't know how to cope with this. Vi couldn't think of anything positive to say to Powder that wouldn't be a lie. And the only thing she could think to do was walk away. Before she said or did something else she might regret.

Vi heaved herself up; forced to put pressure on her bruised ribs to stand. Even hunched over, Vi limped down the street away from the destruction and death. Soft raindrops brought the smoke back to the ground. Vi couldn't feel them, but every step she took looked darker as the stones turned wet. It could have been raining blood, with all the iron on her tongue; sticky over her hands.

"Vi! Vi, come back! Please come back! Please, Violet, please! I need you, please."

Vi stepped under the tunnel at the end of the street, her body finally catching up to her thoughts. It was dark, cold, away. She had to stop. With a rough fall into the wall, Vi closed her eyes. The flood gates were breaking. She was breaking. Her legs gave out from under her and Vi cried.

They weren't gone, they were dead. Mylo was crushed under rubble. Claggor, too. She saw Vander die right beneath her. There was no one else to turn to. No reluctant arms for Vi to cling onto. She didn't even have the strength to hug herself. Her body disconnected from her as she sobbed under the torrent.

Powder shrieked her name from far away, still pleading to someone who couldn't be there. Not yet. Vi's body came back to her as her ribs broke her out of the stupor. She'd almost folded in on herself, and she sucked in painful air for a breath. She pushed up from the ground just enough to readjust her lungs.

She looked to her left for Powder, still checking in on her. Vi wasn't expecting someone else looming above her little sister. The downpour of rain outside the tunnel framed the silhouette of the worst person she could allow between them.

“Powder..” Vi gasped, already clawing her way back through the tunnel.

“Pow-!” She started to call out to Powder from the tunnel. To look up, run, see the danger just in front of her. A handful of cloth blocked her airways, but Vi screamed through it regardless. Powder had to look up! Powder! Run away! She heard him speaking into her ear, but the words meant nothing to her. The man's breathing mask whirred, but Vi muffled through the gag.

His grip held her to him easily, and Vi's limbs weakened against her will. Her heart raced, still running down the street.

“Powder!... no… Powder…” She was forced to take in another breath, and the tunnel tilted. Instinct sucked in another gasp for air, but only delirium filled her vision. And the darkness swallowed Vi in her last taste of smoke-stained rain.

Chapter 16: Insanity

Summary:

Vi adjusts to Stillwater Prison.

Notes:

TW: Added tags
- Enforcer Brutality
- Torture
- Prison

This is a very long chapter for me, over 10k words. If the TW makes you nervous, you can skip this chapter, as all of it takes place in Vi's 7-year prison life. Next chapter she meets Caitlyn, so if you're here for the show's dialogue/action being written out in my words, then this is filling in the time skip and episode 4.

A light somewhere flickered. Long lines of dancing shadow bent sharply at the corner of the floor and upward along a wall she faced. Vi blinked, slow to come-to. For a long while, she stared at the discolored white flashes. She could hear it buzzing with energy. But that was all she heard. Her jaw dragged open as she pulled her head up for a better view of her surroundings. That was it, those were her surroundings.

Vi groaned on her side. She was hungry, and beaten, and she couldn't remember ever being this sore. She couldn't remember much of anything this time.

Finally, her hand had fallen from beneath her head. She'd thought she'd been sleeping with a pillow, but her right hand felt the cold bite of stone under her fingers. Cold? Vi splayed her fingers, staring at the rock like it was some puzzle to solve. No, it was stone. Three walls of flat, plain stone. No, this.. She had to turn her head around to confirm the truth.

Bars.

"Help!" Vi wheezed through them, unable to hold herself up well enough to twist her body behind her. Her legs and arms felt like lead, and her head.. Slow and steadily humming. Vi's mouth fought against the thick fog. She tried again, but could only cough and wheeze into the dust beside her numb shoulder.

Something moved on the other side of the bars.

"Good morning." It was a masked enforcer, but their eyes were covered. Vi had to roll heavily onto her back to see them better. The effort was exhausting, and she had to focus on breathing as they leaned over and onto the bars casually, "Let's get the formalities out of the way, shall we? Hey." They snapped a baton against the metal and Vi winced as the sound echoed. "Listen. Work with me. Get your feet under you, and we'll be taking a walk."

"Where's Powder?"

"No clue what that is."

Vi felt her heart picking up again, her fingers regaining feeling and her boots- no, she was barefoot. Vi looked over herself. Someone had put her in striped pants and a barely-fitting sleeveless tank top. Vi shook her head in compounding horror.

"Don't like them? They're the latest style." The enforcer almost sang.

"I have to get to Powder." It took three attempts to wet her lips. Vi sat up again, feeling violated and cornered. She must be in topside, even if the air was stuffed heavily in her throat.

The enforcer hummed, "Alright. Let's go, then." They pulled a set of keys out and unlocked the gate. Vi nodded her thanks, wary but accepting. She couldn't remember exactly how she got here, but she knew the last thing she saw was Powder in the street. Vi's breath hitched at the memory of who stood between them. The enforcer used the baton to open the bars more, and Vi stumbled to the exit. They slammed it against the end, almost clotheslining Vi as she made to leave. It made her eyes water and her head ring from the sound. She almost didn't hear what his next words were. "Put them on."

Vi held her hand out to the door to steady herself, too slow to feel her wrists being shoved together and locked in front of her. When she did, Vi shook her head again even as the enforcer yanked her out by the middle of her shirt.

She wasn't in prison, this was just a fake-out to scare her. That was an empty box she'd just stepped out of, though. They were walking her past other empty boxes of stone. There weren't any other prisoners. They probably thought she started the fire. The fire. There was more than just a fire. The metal end of their baton jammed between her shoulder blades. Vi jumped forward as it jolted pain up and through her shoulder. Her shoulder. Vi's eyes took in the plain hall, fear following her where she couldn't see the enforcer. She had to see them.

Vi craned her neck back, but the baton left the skin at her back and raised over her vision as a threat. Vi instinctively shied away, and pulled her arms up over her chest. She felt metal around her fingers.

"Don't get any ideas." They warned. Vi stared back, not registering the motion against her left shoulder until it was being shoved forward. Muscle memory jerked her from the touch. Weave.

The enforcer reached out for her hair, but swiped uselessly at the short patch. Vi shot her fist at their helmet, but the restraints pulled on her wrist and she cut her knuckle on the edge. They grabbed the cuffs and pulled roughly. Vi grunted in pain, and fell forward. She kicked away, but the enforcer dropped under her as she toppled over them. The baton crashed somewhere next to them.

They reached somewhere to her left, and Vi slung her arms around the side of their neck to hold herself up and off the enforcer. The helmet blocked her from putting her full weight into it, and the searing trauma to her shoulder wasn't doing her any favors. They rolled over her, and Vi struggled to breath from underneath the added weight. It only added fuel to the fire. Desperate, Vi squeezed through the pain, and just when she thought she might have gotten a good enough angle to knock them out, back-up arrived.

"NO!" She screamed, picking her feet up and kicking out. Two of them hesitated, just out of reach, but then the limbs above her went limp and the group jumped forward. She kicked, slipping out of one pair of arms only for another to lock their grip around her knee. They shouted orders at her, but the sound was drowned by Vi's own. She wasn't sure how many there were any more. She was brought upward, and her legs pulled back. Vi felt the lightheadedness return, but she kicked a foot loose and they briefly dropped her hard on her left knee.

"Let me go! Stop! I.." They recovered faster than her, and her leg left the ground for her to struggle uselessly at air and overwhelming force. She squirmed; trapped under something unmoving.

...

Powder?

"Powder!"

Vi's voice echoed down the hall. Her vision blurred again. Everyone stopped moving and Vi shrieked with rage from a prick into her thigh. She doubled her efforts and they pulled in every direction again, dragging her through the air down the hall. Vi's heart raced, still running down the corridor until she blinked.

--

Vi woke up groggy again. The cage was darker, the light flickered like the last one, but with less effort. She was already on her back this time, and alone. After several minutes calling out through the new set of bars, she heard an elevator crank open.

"Where's Powder?"

The masked enforcer held no expression, just blank and serious at the same time. They wrote something down on a clipboard, and walked away. Vi asked again, not caring that her bare feet were bruising on the metal. "Don't go! Please! Where am I?"

They didn't turn back.

"Say something!"

--

Vi inspected the metal gate. It had to be heavy, almost as heavy as the steel-tracked door. They weren't just going to leave her here. She listened, grinding her fingertips into the stone for any loose bricks and weaknesses in the framing. She pulled at every crack, and slammed her palm into everything in reach until her muscles screamed under the skin. No one was coming for her. No, that wasn't right, someone was. Vi heard the boots on the other side of a door. She could almost hear it swing open. Vi opened her eyes, expecting Vander and Benzo somehow. She beat into the bars weakly at the lie.

All she needed was one more minute to have gotten back to Powder. She could've avoided getting arrested, or at least die trying to defend her sister.

--

"C'mon, you rusty piece of- shit!" Vi hissed at the bottom of the track, where her fingers had been a moment ago. It had taken several minutes to lodge them between the metal and just when she readjusted her grip, the side of her palm caught on a toothy corner.

Through the headache, Vi picked her breathing up, forced to retreat her hand or risk something worse. All it would take is an enforcer to come by and open the door. Then, she wouldn't have to worry about having fingers anymore.

Pulling her hand loose had been far easier than wiggling it in, but Vi knew exactly why, and instinctively curled her hand shut when she pulled it out. The metal groaned at the release, echoing down the empty hall with a loud and ignored grunt.

It bled long enough to warrant tucking her hand into her shirt to clot it. And in the end of the time-out cell, she was clutching a hand caked in heaping layers of blood and a dyed top soaked through her chest and down her front.

--

It was smart to wait her out. Vi hadn't eaten in so long, she had nothing in her but to comply. Her heart skipped a beat as the enforcers slung her arms behind her. Their hands gripping her like talons under her arms as they pulled her somewhere. Her knees locked backwards twice as she struggled to keep up with the pace. Each trip brought a shocking pain up her leg followed by the too-tight jerking of her arms and through her wrists as the enforcers shook her upward. Never once slowing down, or letting her fully get her feet under her. Vi squinted as the door opened into another hall. This time, filled with people who wore the same two-piece clothes as her.

It was too much, too bright. Vi focused on her feet, but the enforcer's boots flashed the long piped lights as they stepped. The tiles beneath her feet gave a dull reflection up as well, like even the bottom of her feet were filthy wares on display.

Howls laughed. Whistles stabbed at her ears. Most from across the room. Someone drummed excitedly on a table as if powered by mining equipment and zero safety concerns. All sorts vocalized and gazed into her. Through the thin shirt and pants. She didn't know she was so dirty, or scratched until the cuffs behind her zipped open and she pursed her lips at the raw bruises that traced her bare hands. A striking bracelet of polished sweat had cleaned the dirt and skin off her wrists. Everyone was watching her. Some of them looked bored or curious, but a couple, a few, looked hungry.

"You get one plate."

Someone said behind her. Vi looked back, realizing it was an enforcer who'd said it. She searched the room, past the tables and to the other end. The room was four times the size of The Last Drop, both across and up. A second floor above the hall was well-protected by slowly pacing guards, the only thing telling them apart was a numbered uniform. Still, not a hair stuck out of their uniforms. The same level of protection they'd went into The Lanes with as far back as she could remember. This time, though, she could see their armor bright over the white walls and even as they patrolled on the second floor, Vi found several more on her level.

The only personality in the room was the colors of people in her sheet-thin shirt and striped pants. She wasn't the smallest here, but she was one of them. Lines of people waiting their turn for a small meal to hold them over.

A yordle shuffled a deck of cards on one of the far-end tables. A couple of muscles competed in a push-up contest, their crowd carefully cheering them on from the nearby tables and never blocking the view for the enforcers. A few stragglers hugged themselves in the edges of the large room, and a few walked along the outskirts of it like they had somewhere to be. Groups of people maintained their own conversations again as Vi prepared to wade through the inmates. She didn't need to trip on someone's foot or bump someone's back to know that she'd probably get a less-than-friendly reply here than at The Last Drop. Reality beckoned her stomach across the mess hall, between the awaiting chairs. Vi squared her shoulders like it was another walk through the lanes.

--

"Whew, look at that face. Get your hand caught in the cookie jar?"

"Piss off." Vi glared into the slop as she ate, forcing the taste to go down with it. She felt sick through the first few bites. Her muscles felt overworked and somehow underused, and opening her jaw after every bite reminded her that she'd probably been clenching her jaw in her sleep again. Well, whatever amount of time she managed to be not awake. The cages they put her in were never dark enough to sleep in. And there were no beds to rest on. Another aching swallow.

"You're in my seat." Vi glanced around her, knowing she'd picked a spot out of the way. This was just a test she'd have to pass, to earn her place here. And she couldn't come up with a decent escape plan if she didn't have the strength to outsmart the guards somehow.

"Didn't see 'dumbass' written on it." Vi really didn't want to push him into a fight, but she wasn't looking to get pushed around herself. Trouble might as well get comfortable.

He was alone, but Vi felt more than his eyes on her as he stepped above her. She took a purposeful bite and when he slung the tray across the table, Vi frowned up at him.

"Pick it up."

"You pick it up."

He got as far as fisting her shirt when she shot her own into his rib. He retreated, and Vi stood, both of her fists clenched as she waited for him to come back at her. He didn't, and now she was out of a meal. A couple of people regarded them carefully, but Vi only walked laps around the perimeter of the room to cool off. Each round marked less time, and Vi decided she'd be eating quickly to get the hell away from the tables. Too many places to trip, or get surrounded.

--

Her second meal in the mess hall set a different tone. The congealed bowls of some mixed meat-pudding would be just enough to hold her over to the next meal. A different face. Vi thought she smelled like she'd crawled out of a sewage pipe, but this guy... The hairs on the back of her neck stood and she nearly gagged through her bite.

The second thought following, was where she could clean herself. She asked the guard escorting her carefully back to the cell, but instead, they pointed her to a very occupied room branching from the mess hall. Several pipes angled downward, and Vi averted her eyes respectfully as she saw the naked bodies answering her question. This room was only through a set of doors from the mess hall. Guards were posted up on either side of the doorway, with nothing to give anyone privacy. The closest thing was a few half-walled stalls near the end of the room in full view by whoever stood at the doorway. Or, in this case, blocked it. The pair of enforcers waved Vi nearby, wordlessly telling her to strip if she stepped closer. A pile of dirty linens littered the floor just like Mylo.. used..

Vi declined for two days before the cut along her bicep started oozing through the swelling. In her defiance, she kept the clothes on. And in her stupidity, the enforcers refused to give her a change of clothes.

She spent the third night shivering as she tried to find the best option out. Nothing stuck except the thought of trying to find the escape tomorrow.

--

Vi woke up to another trip to the mess hall. She had no way of knowing if they were taking her out more than once a day. Just that every time they came for her, she was already awake and waiting. She tries to get words out of the enforcers while they transport her. At every turn, they ignore her. She feels like a broken record, slowly crackling as each failed attempt forces her to skip more. The layout of prison made sense outside of the elevators. One end was the entry, the opposite the food. The next room to the left was for showers. Everything else were tables and petty criminals. Vi figured they weren't too violent, considering no one bothered her much after the first day.

The food dropped onto her plate was half of what they gave everyone else. Vi protested, half-heartedly, but a guard stepped forward and yanked the tray from her hands. Vi escalated, and the very same guard brought her back to her cell without supper.

--

Her muscles were sore hours ago from the shivers that kept her from sleeping. It made the after-process of healing so much more painful, longer, and all around regressive. Can’t move from exhaustion, but too exhausted to rest. And too much pain everywhere. Particularly in her ears. It made existence truly compete with whatever ‘hell’ ten-year-old-Vi could conjure. That was soul-crushing. This was undoing.

Her split lip from Deckard hadn’t even been healed yet. Her shoulder still tinged up when she didn't stretch it enough. Her ribs were probably splintered if they still hurt like she'd just gotten them. Today’s failed escape attempt also gave her an assortment of bruises over her feet and back. She probably shouldn't have yanked her hands out of the rail. The skin around her wrists were raw, her right foot looked like it had frostbite if not for the knowledge that solitary was just above whatever temperature frostbite came at. And also Vi was pretty sure the enforcers literally stepped on her toes with their boots. Moving them hurt so much, they might actually be broken.

One more. All she needed was one more eye on Powder before she ran off. Vi could've stopped her from wherever she went.

And yet, not a single tear fell from her eyes. Vi wasted no time on airing her thoughts. Aimless questions just shooting at anything that moved. Enforcer, inmate, shadow. Someone had to know someone who could take her out of here. No matter how many times Vi tries to get words out of the enforcers as they transport her; she's ignored at every turn. She feels like a broken record, slowly crackling as each failed attempt forces her to skip more. This was a mistake, she shouldn't be here. None of this should've happened, why were they letting this happen?

Vi knew she'd end up in prison by the end of that night. Planned for it, expected it, but this wasn't something she could imagine went on. Anywhere. Least of all, Piltover. The undercity was jagged and she could scrape by on poor treatment. She didn't think no treatment could be worse than bad. It laced every interaction she had with the guards and other prisoners with something that wasn't in her vocabulary. And it ate at her.

What did they get out of ignoring her? When they did pay any attention to her, it was to shut her up. It was like she was being punished for living, and yet, she kept waking up with the bare minimum of medicine to keep her from slipping into oblivion.

Something about teetering on either side of the line was fun when the attention was what they kept giving her. When she'd learned how to get it properly.

It started out as a joke.

Vi chose, for once, to not eat. It's the thought she has while staring at her monochrome plate that clicks reality into her, one blink at a time. They weren't letting her wither away, so she left her uneaten plate and conveniently walked away to get some exercise. She woke up that day to a determination that she had been fearing would consume her. She wasn't allowed to control much of anything anymore, but the moments Vi walked across the mess hall burned her chest as she acted on the defiance.

A single door - one she for once wasn't planning on trying to get through - stood on the other side of the two enforcers. They were the two best guards in the room, not shirking their watch for even a moment. They're given plenty of space, and the one time some grown man steps too close, they flip out the batons. He doesn't get the hint, and they strike him even as he's too unconscious to feel it. It's a terrible lesson, and Vi's conviction wavers as they don't move from their guard after he's sputtering onto the tile. They simply catch their breath, and pull their shoulders back.

No one risks their ass that day to drag him away.

Vi figured they were put here as a reward for some reason. She never saw them hold back when an inmate overstepped. Vi had watched the line shrink over the last several meals. Something was really tugging on the guy who stood on the right.

And Vi.. she wanted to help him decompress. Let things out.

Of course, the room quieted down as she stepped up to juuuust before the line. The batons remained closed, and Vi looked them over. She was testing them. They knew she was, and she knew that they knew she'd picked today to really press her luck. It was just a matter of who'd cave first. The guy on the right, clearly itching for some entertainment, or the guy on the left. The wildcard.

"When you were my age, did you ever think to yourself 'you know what I'd love to do when I get older? Babysit the shit-stains of the undercity.'" Vi let it hang in the air, unchallenged, "Problem about that," Vi mocked a grimace, "is you gotta wipe everyone's ass all the time."

When they didn't respond, Vi took a purposeful step. She could swear she saw the left guard's breathing pick up under his gear.

"'Oh, don't get too close.' What're you gonna do about it? Throw me in prison?" Vi stepped again, definitely in that line. The guards remained unmoving, and Vi swore the right one relaxed.

"Knock it off, 516."

Someone chided behind her. It was surprising, to hear an inmate of all people telling her to chill out. He wasn't particularly sickly or old like most of the other inmates, but he wasn't well-off to back up his bravado to Vi, of all people. His hair was curly and short, like tiny unkempt strands of barbed wire, his face was rounded enough that had Vi wondering if he still had food in his mouth as he scowled. Then again, she hadn't been trying to fight the other sorry sacks in here on her own time, so he was absent from her short list of relationships to work on. The real assholes were the ones locking the door.

"You gonna make me?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of hearing you run your mouth. It's disturbing my meal."

Vi left the enforcers behind her, to join the inmate... 333 beside the table. He'd already eaten, but Vi could probably dig her fingers into the corners for a really satisfying slap. In a second, though. For now, she wanted to push his buttons. It was the most excitement she'd had all day. "Cut you a deal. I'll give you three chances. One," Vi pointed to her left cheek, "Two," Her right cheek, "Three." She pretended to dislodge some food from between her teeth with her fingers and when her hand left her mouth, she flipped him a bird proudly.

His face scrunched, and just as Vi thought he'd back down, an oily yellow-tinted glob of spit landed into the corner of her nose and eye. She stopped thinking after that, forgetting the original plan to slap him and instead wailed on his face in return. The vision over her right eye came back as his arm swiped over it. Not out of kindness, but because he couldn't do much else in the moments after she'd brought him down. Still, the slime half-remained coating her eyeball in a way that had her fighting twice as hard to finish the fight.

He clawed at her ear, his fingernail scratching into her scalp just before his hands fell away with his consciousness. Vi panted, and really filled her mouth before returning the favor. Two other inmates nearby ate hungrily at their plates, watching the show unfold as Vi made to stand. She looked back to the enforcers who had their batons out, but otherwise kept their composure. Still glued to the entrance.

"Anyways, as I was saying." Vi rubbed out the spit over her eye with the base of her wrist, not wanting the blood over her split knuckles to mix with his filthy mouth-juice, "Maybe we can be friends. Afterall, we both like getting fucked around here. You with your boss, and me with this crummy scrambled mold abomination your chef thinks is edible. I'm pretty sure I ate someone else's kidney stone in yesterday's soup."

There was no sound, except a quiet pair of boots approaching. Vi made the mistake of stepping close again, even though it wasn't the left or right guard coming up behind her. Vi flinched into the crack of the baton over her eyebrow. A boot hooked around her ankle and despite catching herself on her elbow on the way down, the metal connected with her jaw. The enforcer was faster than she was, trying to catch up. It split her tongue on her teeth and Vi fell onto her back as she squinted up at the mask with one eye open and a mouth numb around fluid.

"Was that your recipe?" She heard herself slur.

It earned her another swing across the face, although Vi couldn't quite feel it. A boot rammed into her stomach, and Vi choked blood through her sinuses. Thank fuck she went without dinner.

Nothing. Then, a darker cell.

--

When she gets physical with the guards, they flick their batons and Vi starts to expect the thin welts over her skin when she hears it. Like the drumming in her chest as she squares up to the next person who picks on her. Less frequently around the time when she learns that the food has bits of flavor on certain days. That its mushy yellow-green seems more green, and less yellowy. It's the thought she has while eating the crunchy gruel that clicks reality into her, one scratchy mouthful at a time. The only times she isn't alone, she's surrounded by hostility. Vi resorts to talking to the most likely friendly face she can find. A vastayan with bat-like features and a far-away stare.

Vi doesn't get far past small talk when they grumble about being bothered.

--

She kickstarted a fight by walking too close to someone's seat and tripped as they swung a leg out. Her tray flew into the back of another prisoner, and Vi sighed painfully as her shoulder growled at her.

The table behind her laughed, but the man whose back she painted with what morsels she'd left on her tray.. Vi got on her feet immediately. He jabbed his fist at her jaw, and Vi slipped underneath. She was tired of the bullshit. It felt like she was on the bottom of the sump, having to fight her way out for scraps of peace in the mess hall. She was too busy watching her back, that every time she dropped her guard, someone tried to drop her. Enough was enough.

Vi felt his nose break under her knuckle. The force shot pain through her finger, but Vi hit him in the eye anyways. The pain exploded in the bones behind knuckles, deep into her hand. Vi stalked forward, even as he stepped back. She didn't see the fight leave his eyes, but she took his hesitation as a sign to stop. She ignored it, and shot her fist into his liver. He bent over, and she punched into his side. He fell, and she towered over him. Her arm rounded like pressurized gearwork, repeating the same punishment until thin steel unlocked her stance in the corner of her vision. She saw batons and armor swinging at both her and her mark until one of the guards dragged her off him.

--

Today, Vi is feeling chatty. She tries to talk about anything, anything while they strain her balance forward toward the mess hall. For once, they don't ignore her. Instead, they make a silent unanimous decision to turn the escort around and Vi fights twice as hard to drag her own ass to the elevator.

One more. She just needs to talk to someone, anyone. One more face to react to her. Something to break the pattern. Old memories aren't enough. Vi craved new ones, but as she pleads to behave, they shove her onto her front and slam the door behind her.

--

The next meal break brought the enforcers into her cell to collect her. Her fingers were numb, and she knew she'd tweaked her shoulder in the fall. She tried to stretch it any way possible, but she thought twice about scratching any words out. Too strung. They really shouldn’t have kept the cuffs on behind her back for so long.

--

Vi came back to herself as a sharp crescent pain bit down into her arm where the memory of a knife's blade still tickled her from a while ago.

"Did you just-" Vi hissed, breaking herself out of wherever it was she'd gone to.

The bitch had. Apparently, when you find yourself mid-fight in the mess hall, people start to resort to biting if their meal is interrupted. Vi hoisted them both up, straining her back against the tile. She wasn't even sure how the fight had started, or how she'd been so reckless to be caught pinned into the floor being eaten alive.

Vi grunted, slamming the woman's back into the rounded edge of the table. The jaw around her arm loosened, and Vi followed the move with a heaving knuckle sandwich since the chick was so hungry. Her arm rounded like pressurized gearwork, repeating the same punishment until thin steel unlocked her stance in the corner of her vision. She saw batons and armor swinging at both her and her mark until one of the guards dragged her off the starving woman.

No, no, no, one more. All she needed to get in was one more lick. Her heart was leaping for the first time in...

Nothing. Then, a darker cell.

--

This time, Vi woke with chills. Her head hadn't stopped pounding since leaving the mess hall. She couldn't even be sure how long she'd slept this time, but the cage was different. For one, the bucket wasn't beside her comforting her awake like a bad dream. There was no Vander to knock on her bedframe. No Powder calling up from below to start the day.

She was on her left side, the cold stone beneath her cheekbone could almost make her believe it was ice underneath her. If she closed her eyes, maybe she could hear someone complaining about the temperature.

Nothing. The same cell.

Vi dragged her head downward, reminded of her prison clothes still draped on her like sheets. She didn't like not having the feeling in them enough to be able to curl them. Her right arm was the biggest problem. Her shoulder was stiff and swollen from overusing it to try and get out of their grip, she assumed. In the end, she'd only made it worse. Her bicep was an added reality to worry about. It wasn't just swollen. It was colored with an angry yellow. For once, Vi longed for Vander's post-fight recovery sessions. The importance of hygiene and cleanliness wasn't to be understated, and now Vi groaned into the impressionless stone next to her face.

She tried to turn from her side, but only her fingers twitched.

Get up.

I'm trying.

Just do it.

I feel sick.

The floor pressed into her face when she could finally turn her neck to the side. Lead had been needled into her, she was sure of it. One more. All she needed was just one more bottle of alcohol on her skin, to make up for however many painful reminders she'd collected here. She never even thought to count. Drown in it; let it pickle away the dirt, blood, and pain.

"Powder." Vi sobbed, a cloud of dust huffing out beside her mouth. It tickled her nose, and Vi grimaced as the floating flecks sank into her eyes. When was the last time someone had cleaned the cell? Vi wasted no time answering her own question. ...

After several... Vi could sit up if she held her fingers tightly to the back of her neck. It soothed the headache just enough to let her sit and think. She never thought she'd miss living in the undercity so much. Her worst day there was better than her best day here. And it had definitely been at least a day she'd been here.

Vi had to remind herself that Powder was strong enough to had evaded him. She grimaced in the darkness, not knowing how long it had been. Her hair was long enough to see whisps over her right eye. This couldn't be it. Just a vicious cycle.

"I'll hold down the fort, sis."

Vi sighed with her head settled in the most comfortable dib in the flat stone, "I can't believe I was almost made into lunchmeat."

"Vi?"

"Yea, Pow?"

"What about the monsters?"

"I'll take care of them, don't worry." The words hushed automatically, well-practiced and steady.

"Is that what you're doing?" A gravelly, deep shadow hummed from outside the cell's bars. She'd never seen him before, but Vi immediately skipped over what her conversation had been about. He had a face. Holy shit, an enforcer had a face. He was huge, almost as imposing as Jericho. Outside the cell, his body - uniform and all - blocked out the faint flickering light just out of view. She couldn't even stand, too weak to leave her ounce of warmth in the far corner of the box.

"Why am I still here?"

"You're making trouble."

Something in his eyes flickered a fuse in her chest.

"Forgot to drop the trade on my way in."

"Well. The next time you make me clean up after you, I'll be having a chat with you about manners."

"You can't keep me locked up forever!" Vi called after him, forcing tears away and out of her voice. His silence said everything it needed to.

He already was. One more. One more lifeline. All she needed was one more reason. She was done keeping herself from making things worse. If he wanted her to to go away, he'd have to kill her. Until then, she'd do what all of the fuckers in here thought they were experts on already. Vi could terrorize. Harness Mylo's words for once. Make people fear the punk with pink hair.

--

It's the thought Vi has when she's eating the creamy gruel that fills her stomach with purpose, one spoonful at a time. For once, she's listening.

Vi doesn't dare turn her head, but her ears would be angled backward if she could manage it as something filters through the noise.

"Saw 704 coming out of the courtyard with a pep to his step."

"Probably 816's smokes. You know she's got that hookup with the docks."

"Bullshit. If she had a way out, she'd be long gone."

"Not out, dumbass. She's running inside. Have you seen the way the enforcers face her when she goes out there? They gotta be in on the spoils somehow."

Their voices start whispering, and Vi picks up her plate and moves across a few tables to another duo. It's a fidgety scrapping kid just older than her, and an older inmate. The kid's number says 981, the older guy's number is too faded for Vi to get a good look before having to sit down to avoid suspicion.

"When do we get recreation?"

"Rec- ha. Bunkie, you're looking at it. There's the cafeteria, and showers. Trust me, if they start putting you below level 20, they'll be forced to segregate you from the general population. If you're put on cleanup duty, it's the least of your wants."

Vi spoke before thinking, "Where's the courtyard at?"

The old man stuffed a bite of food into his mouth as he looked her up and down. "You gonna pummel me, too, if I don't tell you?"

"I-" Vi didn't recognize him, but she shook her head, "No, I just want to fuck with the pricks who deserve it. If the real stripe winners aren't even here, how come we don't get access to the courtyard?"

"Well," He huffed into his spoon and swallowed before talking again. Vi and 987 listened like he was the most interesting storyteller alive. For her at least, he was, in this moment. "There was a riot about two years back. Something big went down in the undercity, and even Stillwater shook from the fallout. They had to use firepower to stop the prison from being overrun. The old warden didn't want to risk another, so he had them seal the doors. The new warden seems excited about reopening them. I don't recommend pushing your weight around. Your life's not worth any street cred you kids always rave about."

"Wait. Stillwater? We're in Stillwater prison?"

981 shoots her a look that reminds her of Claggor. Silent disapproval before he speaks up, "Everyone knows about Stillwater."

"Of course I know about Stillwater, I didn't know we were in Stillwater. I thought we were in topside."

"Sure, call it topside if you sail in the wrong direction."

"You really want to make fun of me when I have a spoon in my hand and plenty of ideas of where to shove it?"

The old man grabbed the kid's arm and swung it promptly to force him forward and over his own plate. Neither spoke after that, and Vi had no choice but to move on to a different table.

When she sat down, it's the thought of recognizing the particular shade of the already eaten streaks of her creamy gruel that ticks a hand down on her imaginary clock, one heartbeat after another.

A couple of years.

Powder's had to survive on her own for years. Vi's been gone for years. Powder was waiting for her for over years. Vi's been missing her for years. One less. All she needed was one less reminder of what was waiting - still waiting - for her to come back.

--

A sharp metallic crack woke Vi like a gunshot.

Usually, she was already awake when they came for her. Not always alert, but awake. The unmasked vastayan confidently unlocked the cell door, and stepped in like she'd invited him. Vi resisted the urge to scramble around him to escape. He was too big, and she was definitely not going to be fast enough.

"Enforcers are untouchable. Untouchable. You get one hour a day with outdoor access. This is your one and only warning."

"I'm getting to go outside?"

"Play nice." He gave her a toothy grin and tapped his cane along the stone beside her feet. The sound echoed painfully, like smaller less immediate gunfire. It pulled the hairs up over her neck. It was close enough to the sound of a baton in her book. She was well-aware he had no qualms using it like one.

--

Her first taste of a breeze was marred immediately by an otherwise subdued feeling of happiness. Subdued, because Vi thought if she smiled, someone might walk up to her. An enforcer. Anyone who'd rip the stone beneath her feet and suck the last remnants of life. Well, most of them. Vi figured she could keep living without ever smiling again. She'd reserve that for when she next saw Powder.

The instant hackles were brought on by a single name, from the lips of someone wearing the numbers 816.

"Silco pays loyalty back tenfold. Can we count on you when you're out?" The voice was almost haggling with a clearly interested party.

Vi took her next breath, savoring the air before turning around the doorway she'd walked through. She hadn't even had a chance to look around the courtyard. It was nighttime, and blinding lights still projected off-white light onto the concrete. She did, however, make sure she memorized the face sneering up at her as Vi shoved the woman backwards.

Reputation for smuggling or not, Vi had to know.

"Where's Powder?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

"One way or another, I'll make sure you never get another customer in here."

"This is a bad way to get drugs. Just run along and play. Some bozos at the weights could use your help shitting bricks." A couple of people laughed at the joke, but Vi kept her eyes solely on the brown eyes not taking her seriously. Vi nodded.

"Besides you, who works for Silco?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Jonesing for some shimmer?"

"Jonesing to beat the shit out of you if you don't tell me anything I want to hear."

"Pick your battles, hot stuff. I'm not losing my first day back outside because you can't take a hint that I'm not selling to you."

Vi agreed, only feeling the high when she'd been torn off and dragged away from 816. It wasn't enforcers, it was 816's lackeys. And Vi was outnumbered and pinned into the ground for the second time in... She blinked. Her arm rounded like pressurized gearwork, repeating the same punishment until thin steel unlocked her stance in the corner of her vision. She saw batons and armor swinging at both her and her marks until one of the guards dragged her off them.

Vi was awake still when they dragged her by the wrists under and through the doorway; through the mess hall. Her eye was swollen shut, but she felt victorious. She managed to snag a glance at the lackey's numbers. 937, 600. On the way across the hall, she caught 981 watching her with horror. She spat the iron in her mouth back out into the mess hall like it was a statement.

--

The same cell.

Vi was in the middle of nursing the split lip she'd gotten in the scuffle when a metronome clanking reminded her of someone walking with a cane. The warden, she figured, and Vi frowned at him as he pulled the keys out.

"My bad." She apologized lightly, knowing it wasn't going to do any good. It didn't.

The warden never struck her head. He was careful to keep her conscious, and Vi was powerless to fight back after only a few swings. Every time she tugged her knees in to protect her organs, he found a new spot that had her breaking her silence and begging for whatever came to her mind.

Clang, clang-clang, clang. It was always the sound of the cane rebounding off her and into the stone. He always chose different areas, wherever inspiration took him, but there was one spot which Vi always snapped Vi into pleading. Just at the back of her right shoulder.

Sometimes mercy, sometimes to die. He only gave her one more beating. One more visit.

--

Vi wasn't a masochist. She wasn't; couldn't be. She hated being in pain. And yet, it was all she ever thought about. How to lay there avoiding it, how to stalk the courtyard to inflict it, how to find where all those nerves that the warden struck on her in the mirrored stance of whichever inmate she'd be gunning for.

There was a routine in it, and here in Stillwater prison, routine was just one. more. All she needed was to repeat the cycle. Join the population, play nice for a few days, and get an answer out of someone. Something about teetering on either side of the line was fun when the attention was what they kept giving her. The inmates didn't always clam up when she made for them. A couple would see her - make eye contact - and they'd step up to her only to roll over another inmate.

She couldn't even prove any of what they said was legit, but she grasped at the hope that one of them had to be telling the truth. Someone had to know someone who could tell her.

It started out as an experiment.

Her hair was longer, her arms sculpted differently. Her chest more defined. She'd gotten good at this. She'd learned when and where to push peoples' buttons. To find the perfect chinks in their armor to exploit.

With the population, the wares were often flesh for favor. And soon, after what felt like years, things felt transactional. Time spent whisked away in the corners of the half-walled toilet stalls. Posted inmates as body shields for those with enemies and enough wealth to hire protection when the showers and toilets were occupied. The weights were territory for anyone willing to stand their ground to maintain good behavior. And Vi rarely missed the opportunity to exercise her right. And her left. And her skull, knees, elbows. Even with the knowledge that each fight meant solitary.

Solitary meant an inevitable visit. A visit led to a haze filled with every physical pain imaginable to drown out the emotional ones hunting her during the few stints of solitary without a visit post-fight. Was it still solitary if that was her normal cell? Was it more normal to get visits than be brought back on her own two feet? It was hard to tell what amounted to good behavior. Sometimes, she got a visit anyway.

But every once in awhile she'd indulge with a bird in the showers. Too human to resist, and at the same time, unable - and unwilling - to fully give herself over to her own songs. She only ever gave the women what they wanted. And for a time, Vi was content to build a wealth of favors in order to sustain her greed in other ways. Where women sang for her, the true satisfaction she gained was the payoff. And every payday ended with Vi in solitary confinement for often days or weeks at a time. The only indicator was whether it took minutes or minutes to scrub the dirt from herself in the showers.

The weight room, the mess hall, the courtyard, all of these places were prime hunting ground for Vi to shop at. Where she'd hear whispers of new inmates brought to the lower levels, she hunted and captured prey. Their one transgression? Association with Silco. Whether they'd stolen for him, smuggled, enforced, Vi didn't care. She was happy to sell her own skin to ensure their asses were hers.

Time was a fickle friend. Vi couldn't track it right anymore. The names of inmates rarely stuck to her ears. It was their numbers, because she could see the same number with different faces. Inmates rotating out as they transferred out of Stillwater, or were set loose. Who knows, maybe they died in the same cloth the next one wore. Sometimes, Vi would ask her current alliance or shower partner what the date was. After a few..., Vi stopped asking altogether.

Each burning altercation ended the same. Vi standing above them, her knuckles bruised and bloodied. Her face usually touchless. And whatever Silco goon she'd beaten was either unconscious or regretting any history with Silco because of it.

When opportunity arose, Vi added ink to her skin. She drew the designs herself, but it would be impossible to self-draw them onto her back. And finding the right person... that was expensive. Not only was her tattooist in high demand, but she charged for things out of Vi's price range for her own amusement. There wasn't much Vi wasn't willing to do in the general population. Most people were afraid of Vi to begin with now. But asking her to drop a fucker because he'd helped himself to an unattended portion of grub from 725's plate? It wasn't going to be worth Vi's time.

"I don't see why you won't agree." 725 whined through Vi's breaths. Vi refused to close her eyes as she dropped her shoulders backward. Paige was good for more than just tattoos, and a fleeting moment of passion. She was the first person in a long time that Vi managed to remember her name. Plus, she loved to talk shit about Silco just as much as Vi loved to hear about it. And Paige was always willing to let Vi hook her toes under her knees for crunches.

"The guy's a knucklehead. He doesn't know his ass from his hand."

"Then why won't you?"

"He's not who I'm looking for." The numbers struggled to come to the front of Vi's mind, but she knew she'd find the right set she'd be looking for when she read them over someone's back. Vi caught up to her breath and pulled her chest to her knees again for another cycle. Paige tilted her head with unimpressed green eyes tracking Vi's own. Vi kept up the staring match, unwilling to give in on her side. Paige couldn't hold a candle, and cracked.

"What if I draw on you, and then you pay me." Vi still stared, but raised her eyebrow through the returning burn in her stomach. She missed doing crunches. There was nothing in her cell to hold her feet to the ground long enough for Vi to really lose herself in them. Paige was great at that. She held Vi's feet and often her knees like a carrot on a stick. Besides, Vi enjoyed the conversations they'd get up to. Hadn't she just thought on that?

"Just because he stole your food?"

"What can I say? I'm petty. And besides, I can give you a few more reasons why it'd be worth it." Paige trailed a suggestive finger over Vi's kneecap. Vi huffed properly, out of breath and equally bored at the offer of intimacy in the moment.

"And what's that?"

"He's one of Chross's. I don't doubt that you can connect the dots on that information." Vi stopped her rhythm. She panted into her own knees as Paige sat back to give her some air. Paige was one of the few ones in here who didn't take kindly to the degeneracy of Stillwater. That's what made her so expensive to have as a friend. You piss Paige off, and half the fuckers around want to rock your shit for her good graces.

Paige also had a wealth of her own. A former Lady from Babette's and the steady hands of a thief. She used her experience for the pleasure of inmates and the pain over their skin. Vi never asked how Paige got tossed into Stillwater, and she hadn't heard wind of Paige doing anything to warrant Vi's bloodthirsty attention. So, it was an easy alliance. Albeit grounded in small talk and circumstance.

Vi hummed, "Alright, but make sure you take your time. I don't know when I'll be seeing you again afterward." Somehow, Vi knew that Paige was perfectly fine with never seeing her again, and knew herself well enough that she was too. It might be more disappointment to have an unfinished canvas than cut ties with 725.

"Honey, it'll be my best work ever." Paige grinned.

Vi didn't have access to a mirror. They never had them in the showers, or public areas. High security meant no broken glass around. When she twisted and leaned, her back had eventually healed enough to tug at her own skin again without risking anything. By some miracle, she'd been able to heal from the constant 'appointments'. Days, weeks of Paige slowly and carefully inking her back and neck. The guards never asked questions, and Vi spent the entire time festering like a pent-up beast. Waiting until she could act.

This was the longest she'd had good behavior for, and the lack of steady progress was frustratingly stagnant.

--

It had healed, and now Vi pulled her shirt up and over her head over her front to give the artist one final look before re-entering the wild.

"I'm gonna miss you."

"Sure." Vi shrugged, "Good work. Just don't sit in the front row, you might get wet." Vi stood to her full height, relishing in the small enjoyment she'd find at the end of the rope. The enforcers had their guard down, and even the inmates stopped flinching every time she walked past. Too comfortable in her recent choice to be forgettable.

"I'm already there."

Later that week, the gears aligned perfectly. Paige had been watching her creation steam and stew for weeks. And now, Vi crossed the courtyard to inmate 430. Vi felt at least one enforcer catch onto her unusual plan to wander over to the heavy weight machines. No one else used the other two sets, and considering 430 set up in the middle section, that was how he wanted it. He'd been spotting for his buddy, which also happened to be on Paige's shit-list. And at this point, Vi didn't quite care if Paige was even telling the truth. Vi was hesitant to beat some random bozo to a pulp when she knew she'd be tossed in the box for it. It would always have to be worth her time. But this, she'd make it so.

"Hey." She greeted, unassuming.

430 kept most of his attention on the bar in front of him, not paying Vi the proper respect she'd earned.

"I didn't think they locked up little kids." He scoffed, still watching the bar move slowly over 248's chest.

"They don't."

"Huh, I must need corrective lenses. You sure look like a kid. Grumpy little boy."

"You gonna keep commenting on my size or are you gonna tell me what I want to know?"

430 laughed, still keeping his eyes down casted. He watched for another rep before glancing up at Vi.

"I know what you and your buddy are in for. I know you work for Silco."

430 shrugged the name off like he truly didn't care, "If you already know all that, then what could I possibly tell you?"

"Where's my sister?"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about." He jerked his chin away, not even bothering to actually wave her off.

"Powder. Where is she?" Vi stepped closer, within her arm's length. She'd take the few less inches to get started. And he let her, unintimidated.

"Alright, this ain't amusing anymore. How about you bother some other fucker?"

"I've got a better idea."

Vi threw the first punch, taking 430 by surprise as he flinched away. She hit her mark, and her blood began to boil with the familiarity. The steam pumping into her veins, and Vi felt the closest she could to enjoyment. After so long without the high, Vi let him get a swing on her. Just once. Just enough to let him get cocky. She swung violently into his stomach and he doubled over. And then he took a knee when that didn't bring his wind back.

She remembered his buddy, who was now looking up from pressing iron. Vi took the easy route and shoved herself onto the bar. He gave her almost no resistance as it slammed down onto his clavicle. The bar angled halfway off him and onto the floor. The weighed plates barely missed her toes as the metal rang throughout the courtyard like a bell. Vi was surprised when he found his muscles again, and started pushing back. 430 started to get up again; bile drooling down his lip.

Vi stepped back then, finally faced against the pair. The world around their pocket of war was ignored. And no one dared intervene on anyone's behalf. Even the guards stood by, watching the entertainment play out. Either 516 got humbled, or two grown-ass motherfuckers would. There was no room for in-between. She had no need for hard-earned wraps today. She wanted to feel the pain long enough through her hands that she'd be able to feel the reminders by the time she left solitary for this.

They closed in, each time missing her. Vi bounced under, and around expertly. Until 248 made his mistake. He swung too hard, too far, and Vi grabbed his wrist and spun him into 430. They bashed faces roughly, both grunting and collapsing.

She didn't bother with them after that, satisfied that the now-unconscious fuckers were sleeping in the dirt. The enforcers chose then to do their jobs, rushing in as if the fight had just begun. And Vi went quietly, sending a final kiss through the air to Paige who was somewhere behind her.

"Relax, guys. I got all I wanted."

--

Visit.

The cane was louder than Vi's sobbing moans into the stone. She'd been able to drop two fully-scaled men without much of a scratch, and yet one enforcer with a loud metal stick could drop her in one hit.

Nothing. Then, the same cell.

--

Vi had been right about one thing. She never saw Paige after that fight.

It wasn't every day they came by to replace the bowl of slop for her, or swap out the half-full bucket she always made sure to utilize. She wasn't even sure how long ago this became her 'assigned' cell. One day, they stopped putting her in random ones deep under ground.

Vi also wasn't sure when she'd picked up the hobby of beating her knuckles bloody into the wall for entertainment. But she did, almost religiously. Janna wasn't her goddess. It was a wavering haze tricking her into believing she needed to pray by pounding her knuckles into rock. Even under wrappings, Vi managed to feel cuts under the callouses she'd built.

The wall was her family. She teased it like a brother, hugged it like a sister, shivered in its shadow, and had no other choice but to accept its integrity. It never broke, and so neither would she.

Well fuck that. She still had a sister to get back to. Or didn't. Maybe Powder died that night. But Vi wasn't going to let forty floors of stone stop her from always trying.

So, the cycle never broke. Always find a problem, beat the shit out of them, and impatiently wait for the visit. Sometimes, her day would brighten at the sight of a shiv or makeshift weapon. Her victims weren't always unassuming or unarmed. Those ones made things interesting, but she'd reign victorious. Taking their power from them and adding them to her growing collection of trophies. The small hole in the corner of her cell - concealed by the only loose stone brick - filled a hole in her chest artificially. It was something to do, something right to do.

On the nights where the enforcers must have been feeling generous, Vi would be escorted to the elevator and prodded out onto the roof. Clean-up duty, Vi's favorite. Oftentimes, after a particularly harsh storm, chunks of roofing gave in or risked further damage to the lower levels.

It happened after Vi's "good behavior" gave her a shot at inmate 1982. She saw the lettering on his uniform, and for a moment, wondered just how many prisoners were there in Stillwater? Or, more unnerving, how many prisoners still remained from before she got here? Was there a 515? 514? 513?

1982 sounded pretty fucking loud for someone who worked for a guy who didn't like talkers. She'd been assigned to maintain the prison's roofing, but on nights like tonight, the guards let them roam the tops; eager to see which one of the prisoners exercised their only free choice with a jump and a quick way down to the sea cliffs.

Over the distant waves crashing, over the angry winds above, over Vi's thundering heart, she just wanted to talk. Her approach wasn't planned out like she used to. Too eager to 'get on with it', not patient enough to savor or convince herself what she was doing was helping anyone. She was beating up prisoners, for Janna's sake. They were already being punished. The thought twisted like a knife in her gut because she knew there were some prisoners that just weren't punished for their crimes well enough.

The man had been doing what was expected of him by the guards. Unfortunately for him, he just wouldn't shut the fuck up about the latest tech in Piltover, soon to be revealed by its elite.

Vi kicked his brush out of his hand, the man already on his knees as she interrupted him blabbering about 'hextech'. He reached for his brush, hoping that the inmate Vi knew he'd been warned about needing to avoid was right above him. In his defense, he tried to diffuse her. In her offense, it wasn't going to matter.

She slammed her shoe over his hand, shouting over his cries to the guards.

"Okay, mouth, tell me where my sister is!"

"I don't know you, please."

"My sister looks like me, asshat, start talking!"

"I-wait-what-NO!" Vi lifted him up, and dragged him - kicking and screaming - to the edge for some motivation.

"Answer me!"

"Help! I don't know you!"

Vi shoved him forward, shaking from the effort of holding him over the edge and no longer caring if he slipped from her grasp. She did, however, ask again. With a cherry on top and everything.

"Maybe she's with your parents?" He begged, reaching for Vi's shirt. She snarled and dropped her hold.

The enforcers brought her back to her cell with a newfound nervousness. She knew what she'd likely done. And she'd be lying if she said she felt bad. He was in Stillwater for crying out loud. He probably deserved it. But then they raided her cell, checked every crack in the box. It wasn't an original idea, to stash things like she'd done. But when they left her, there was nothing to keep her company. Nothing to hold onto. Nothing to remind her of what she despised.

Visit.

--

Chapter 17: Season 1, Episode 5: "Pretense"

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left.. Right..

Vi beat at the stone, her wraps giving her just enough protection for her to continue the pummeling. She was off-kilter, like a loose stone underfoot.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

At least she knew the last thing he'd tasted was her knuckles; the tray forgotten once she'd gotten him to the ground. She couldn't remember the last time she'd lost herself in a fight. But she found herself eventually. Right here, left here, grounding herself in the deafening echoes around her. Not like she had anything better to do with her time. Maybe decide how smug she'd be when they sent in the Warden. Stop beating the shit out of my inmates, he said. You know how hard it is for me to stop this, he said. Fuck that piece of shit. Vi was feeling extra rebellious tonight. He'd have to tie her to the gate again if he wanted her awake while he beat that stupid cane over her bones.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

The elevator opened and closed, but no pitched metal crack accompanied it. Whatever. Probably the guards trying to scare the new guy by letting them hear Vi's punishment into the stone. Listen to her relive the last incident over and over and over and over and over... She should've questioned him first. No punk was going to let her near him again as long as they were both in the bowels of Stillwater. No one here played well with others. That's why they were fucking here, Vi. Oh, right.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

A shadow tried - and failed - to stalk her outside the cell. An enforcer, someone green and far too.. maskless. Vi hadn't seen one of their faces in years, save for The Warden. A woman at that. Dark blue hair and actually not bad looking at all. Fuck, Vi shoved that feeling right back into her stomach.

"Who the hell are you?"

But she had to move. Too wound up to just stand there slack-jawed and quippy. So, Vi started pacing. And the enforcer started chatting. Vi's heart tapped to the words in a twisted sense of glee for conversation.

"I took a look at your file. There's no record of you, or your crimes. What are you here for?" Vi caught the nervousness. Geez, was this her first interrogation? That, or Silco sent a black widow to try and get something out of her. Vi decided to play along. It might make for a funny story later. Vi knew the flickering lights down the hall would get a kick out of her jokes. Or worse, a reason for her to wake up in the late hours with a thumping heart and lonely need to imagine other scenarios.

"My sunny personality." Vi replied lightly, turning around.

"You attacked an inmate. Why?"

Vi turned, "Why not."

"He was a witness in an ongoing investigation." Vi turned.

"Hm," Vi shrugged, "bummer."

The enforcer sighed, already defeated. That easy, huh? "This was a waste of time."

"Couldn't have put it better." Vi added tauntingly, "Hey, give Silco a kiss on that winning eye of his, will you?"

The enforcer stepped back into Vi's field of vision, her eyes thinking.

"Silco, the industrialist?"

"Okay, this is getting old. Can you just send in whoever's gonna kick the shit out of me so I can get on with my night?"

Vi lost track of how many times she'd turned around. But she found herself stealing glances at the woman, who clearly didn't belong here. She caught the cogs grinding through thoughts over her eyes. There was something human behind them. Like she had her own thoughts somehow. Was... considering something. And then the enforcer took a step over the red line. Ohhh, fuck. What a thought. Vi didn't need to see her do it to hear the boot making contact one step closer to Vi.

"Does this mean anything to you?" In the enforcer's hand, she opened a notebook with papers taped between pages. Drawings and notes. A haunting photograph.

Vi sprung forward, catching herself on the bars for a closer look. The enforcer flinched back, and then wisened up.

"Where did you get this?" Vi asked, not caring to hide her need to know. When she looked up, the enforcer's face turned professional.

"My question first. He worked for Silco?"

"Uh, they all do. How could anyone not know that? Where did you find this?" She rushed the answers. Desperate to get the useless information out so she can ask the real questions. Inmates never helped her. Could an enforcer know? Know how she can know? Willing to tell her? Willing to even consider telling her?

"There was an attack." The enforcer held up the closed notebook, "This is evidence. I need proof, if I'm to believe what you're saying about Silco."

Vi scoffed, "I could get it for you. Just," Vi pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. Her fingers still clinging to the bars, "not from in here."

The enforcer laughed at the stupid joke, "In what mad world would I trust someone like you?" She rolled her eyes.

Vi met the enforcer's eyes, "Someone like me?" The enforcer was shitting her. No way she was that dumb or naive. Vi reflected the venom back, "You enforcers are all the same. Just asshole criminals in fancy uniforms." Then, Vi dropped the pretense of hope. "You know what? Find Silco yourself."

As if actually agreeing with Vi, the enforcer turned toward the elevator like it was a flawless idea, "I will, thank you."

Vi leaned against the bars, already knowing what would happen if the enforcer actually went into the fissures. She huffed a smirk, "Undercity's gonna eat you alive."

The enforcer left. Big whoop. The closest thing to a lead Vi had in years, and she fucked it up by telling the uptight Piltie princess to piss off. Well done, Vi. No, tonight at mealtime. Two fuck-ups. She stood there, replaying everything again. Left the cold metal, replaying everything again. Studied the cracks beside her calloused toes, replaying everything again. Over and over, until the elevator opened some time later. It really could have been a few minutes or a few hours. Vi blinked and rolled her shoulder in preparation for pain. The cane's tempo drew saliva into her mouth.

Visit.

Except, when the cell door opened, the cane slowly cracked away. But the door was open. Who the fuck was coming into the cell?

Vi looked back, and it was the woman, measuring her with a stony expression. She scoffed. She.. walked away?

There was no one in view, and the door was open. Vi's first instinct wondered what game they were playing at. The door was open. What kind of idiotic plan was it to let a lifer loose? It only started to make sense when Vi remembered what the enforcer had said earlier.

In what mad word would I trust someone like you? This was a mad world. Crazy, fucked up, and wretched world. Vi was wretched. She could hang with fucked up. And crazy was practically family.

She took a step out of the prison cell, unbound for the first time.. ever, in the hallway. The enforcer waited alone at the elevator for Vi to make her way down. The dripping echoes fell further and further and further behind her. Each step of her bare feet felt cool to the touch. No chipped or bloody toenails from them dragging her unconscious back to her cell after an unscheduled reprimand.

The enforcer's eyes never strayed too long from Vi. That made sense. Vi was a wild animal, after all. Neither of them closed the gap. Who would make the first move? The enforcer didn't even have a baton, or cuffs. Nothing to defend herself or.. no, she did have a weapon. They looked at each others eyes for long enough that Vi felt the confidence harden in the enforcer's face like she was steeling herself under scrutiny. Likewise, Vi donned her own mask of humor and playfulness. Guards hated it more than quiet compliance. Vi peered curiously at the hidden chunk of something in the enforcer's long flat backpack. And the wordless spell broke.

"Is that one of those foldable chairs or something?" Vi reached up to inspect, and was surprised that the enforcer shied her back away. The enforcer's face remained cold, though. If Vi squinted, she seemed uncomfortable, too. Vi wasn't sure she'd ever seen one of them look unsure. It was exhilarating.

"It's a rifle."

"And you're planning on bringing it to the undercity?" Vi lifted an eyebrow. She realized she wasn't sure what to do with her hands in the elevator for once, briefly trying out what fit well. It was only when she swung them backward that she realized why and kept them firmly to her sides.

"Yes."

Vi shrugged, reading the elevator passing the floors. She didn't feel much about it, still not believing - letting herself believe - that she was being what? Released? Escorted? Each thudding hammer passed the time and Vi's ears popped somewhere around level negative twenty.

"How is that not a good idea?"

"Well, for starters, someone like me would be looking to close the distance. If they catch wind of that," Vi tilted her head pointedly at the folded barrel, "they're not taking chances."

"That's the point."

"You still don't understand." Vi chided softly. If the enforcer was gonna get anywhere, Vi wasn't going to let her crash out on day one.

You still don't understand.

What I don't understand is how you can work with them.

"This is different." Vi argued, not entirely to the enforcer.

"If you're trying to scare me, it won't work. I'm not fre-"

Vi stomped forward, her fist cranking back but locked there. The enforcer stiffened in her dress. Her eyes, though. Vi dropped her arm immediately. Try as the enforcer might, Vi had seen her features break character. Her eyes squinted, eyebrows pulled together, nose and mouth tense. Different from the first gasp of surprise. This time, Vi felt almost rude about causing the reaction. Almost guilty.

The enforcer schooled her expression again, "I'm not fresh out of the academy. You're not as intimidating as you think you are." Vi was too distracted by the discomfort in her stomach to say something snarky again. She shut her trap and clenched her fists to her sides again. Watched the thudding numbers count the last few floors to zero.

The elevator stopped, and opened. Vi was used to the red fluorescence, and the off-white lights in the mess hall or infirmary. This was the first time since ever, that she'd seen soft white lights here. It was the same hallway they'd escort her to get to the mess hall. Had they changed the pipe-lights? When? Why the hell weren't they harsh like normal?

The enforcer stepped out first, taking a sharp turn right through a set of doors already open and guarded by a single enforcer. His mask bowed to the enforcer, but Vi watched his hand clench around the baton in its holster. She soaked in the two enforcers, trying to decide if he'd do anything, but the faceless enforcer never stepped off from his post. And the pair kept walking down the hall. Vi checked where her hands were. She moved them back to her sides.

Lanterns posted on tables and benches as they walked past some sort of changing room. The enforcer approached a series of lockers. Plain, small, and numbered in the hundreds from floor to ceiling. Nothing but a long-ass hall of tiny jails for the belongings for the people who were in jail. It was pretty ironic, that even their clothes were locked up and forgotten by the world.

"You don't have any valuables stored here. But we need to get you out of.. those." The enforcer looked down at Vi's black and grey stripes. And somehow, Vi soured at the clear distaste.

"What's wrong with my pants?" She defended.

"It's an inmate uniform. You can't just walk around looking like that. It's too.. risky. Someone will think you're an escaped convict."

"But I will be." Vi read the numbers on the locker. Oh, she knew someone in the 700s. Vi browsed down the line, and bumped her covered knuckles along the right locker, "Try this one. It might have something for me."

The enforcer looked unimpressed, "That's not yours."

"Duh. It's a friend's stuff. She'd want me to have it."

"I'm not helping you steal another prisoner's personal effects."

"Just open it." Vi sighed impatiently. "Don't think there's a tailor around here, do you?"

The enforcer pursed her pretty lips like she was gonna argue again, but she pulled a key from her pocket. When the locker opened, Vi tilted her head; smug.

"Would you look at that. They'll fit." Vi tugged the boots out of the locker, and a thin long-sleeved shirt remained. Vi pulled that out too, feeling giddy at the prospect of wearing something different for the first time in years. "Gotta hand it to thieves, Piltie. They sure do know how to dress."

"And how do you know those will fit?"

"She's my size."

"You know that from looking at them." The enforcer remarked to the boots, unimpressed.

"I know that from showering with her."

That shut the enforcer up. She made no more complaints, and when Vi lifted her shirt up, the enforcer averted her gaze too quickly for Vi not to comment on it.

"Prude."

"Exhibitionist."

"Whatever." Vi didn't know exactly what that meant, but she slipped through the shirt and closed her eyes at the comforting fabric. The arms were a bit suffocating, so she promptly tore the sleeves off and tossed them into the locker. The hood stayed, though. For the final touch, Vi put the prison uniform's shirt back on over it. She hiked the bottom of her pants up and put the boots on. They fit, just like she predicted, and when Vi was all done in her new outfit, the enforcer hadn't budged an inch.

"Tada." Vi waved her hands mildly. This was so worth playing along. She'd be thinking on this dream for weeks. Even if Vi turned her head into the flash of a cane or fist. Even if she was more deranged than she herself knew.

The enforcer walked with a stick up her ass to the door leading somewhere. For once, Vi didn't know where it went to. She'd never been here, and Vi put her fists to the side again. The haze after this particular visit had been so weird.

It was a relaxation room for enforcers. They dealt cards, smoked, ate actual solids that looked closer to real things that grew out of the ground. Laughed. Until The enforcer stepped a few feet into the room with Vi on her heels, clearly allowed to follow. They changed their expressions. Fear, nervousness, and when they landed on Vi, her presence started hushed murmurs.

She could see the faces of the guards watching her more than the enforcer now. It wasn't just a trick of the light or a turn of the head. They had blue eyes, green, brown, orange. Pale skin, dark skin, blue. Vastayans, human, all with different features. So many colors. Some had beards, piercings, tattoos. But none of them had masks on. And even though it unnerved Vi to see them without their helmets, the one enforcer beside her still looked like a fish out of water.

She looked like decoration rather than something meant to knock people around for loitering. What the hell was this lady meant to keep peace around? An upper city lunch cart? She walked like royalty. Sounded like it, if Vi could put her finger on it. She had to be filthy rich, for sure. Except, enforcers weren't rich. Just picking on people less fortunate than them. Piss-poor bullies. Maybe that's why Vi couldn't get a good read on her.

No one stopped them. So, they had to be 'in' on it. Vi never looked back at the doors they walked through. Too stubborn to let the facade slip that she really couldn't believe she was seeing this for the first time. Must be shimmer. She thought, forced to consider the possibility that maybe they were experimenting on her while she slept. Maybe they ran out of rats.

The echo of a cane stomped down the hallway somewhere.

Visit...?

--

Vi was on a boat. Holy shit, her stomach was churning. Vi made to latch onto some edge or cold hard surface, but she'd already been doing that apparently. Her fingers could only tighten on a strange sensation of wood. The enforcer sat on a row ahead of Vi, facing her, but not looking at Vi. Her eyes stayed on Stillwater behind them, while Vi struggled to keep the few bites of food she managed to stuff down before seeing red in the mess hall.

"How much time?" Another thought occurred to Vi. How long had it been? How long was it since she'd gone nowhere.

"Just before midnight. Why?"

"Just making conversation." Vi lied. She wasn't entirely used to actually having someone to hear her in her cell. Her conversation partner might start thinking she's weird. Vi didn't want to risk her imagination judging her, too, after all. She still had standards to maintain.

"Why?"

"Are you always this curious?"

"Are you always this grating?"

"I told you I have a sunny personality. Not my fault you want to believe it."

"You're not as funny as you think you are." Ouch.

"And you're not as smart as you think you are."

"Not everything needs to be argued."

"Am I getting under your skin?"

The enforcer's voice came back clipped, "No." But then, she went back to studying the horizon and they were both silent. Vi missed Mylo. She missed someone to go toe to toe with her. Someone who, on rare occasion, would stand up to her. As if to question Vi's nausea, the enforcer's eyes slid back to Vi before darting away like she didn't like Vi's expression. "How's the seasickness?"

Vi shook her head at the reminder. The last thing she wanted was to spill out over the edge. Not when the next time she'd eat was likely in a few days. Hash marks on the wall only made a habit. There was no way to really know it was a new day.

When they docked, Vi jumped out of the boat first, hoisting herself up and onto the pier like her life depended on it. The enforcer followed after with steady ease. Could money buy grace?

"The sun will be coming up in a few hours."

Vi slowed her steps down the pier, pulled from looking through the planks into the seafoam below. She hadn't seen the sun in years. Holy shit, she hadn't seen the sun in years. Vi stared at the wood, unwilling to look up at the sky in anxiety. What a time for her to wake up. This is where the dream would end. She'd open her eyes and 'the sun' would be a blurry red hall light. Not because the light was red, just that the blood swelling and leaking into her eyes tinted her world.

And for the first time, Vi did not appreciate this shit. How the fuck could her own brain do this to her? What kind of sick, perverted, desperate creature had she become to trick her own self into finding joy in- in what? A hallucination of freedom? The self-directed disgust flickered as Vi turned her frustration outward with no where else to go.

"You think that's funny?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Uh huh. I finally jumped off the deep end. Y'know, I had to have seen your face before. I knew this was too good to be true."

"How long have you been in Stillwater?"

"At least a day." Vi shot back. The last time she'd heard anything close to a date was some time before she last saw Paige. And that was however long and there was just time, time, time. Nothing to track it and no reference point to follow it except scratch worthless lines on the wall to make herself feel better about not really knowing. Of course it was more than a month. Definitely over five years. Over a decade, though?

"You- How old are you?"

Vi did the math, but she leaned over the edge of the pier. Tiny waves of foam and seaweed floated around the foundations. Their vague dark outlines swaying beneath the nighttime air. She found her defense with shaky energy.

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady that?"

"Just making conversation." The enforcer tried to play nice, but Vi sobered out of the watery plants. This was torture. So, Vi looked up from the shore to the shoreline. She tracked the horizon, and saw no island. No Stillwater Hold. She did see a darkness where it should be, swallowing the ocean like it'd swallowed her.

In defiance, Vi turned around to face Piltover. For the first time since stepping on solid land again, she cared what the city even looked like. She briefly wondered what the fuck took her so long to look up.

It wasn't how she remembered. They were on Piltover's side of the bridge. A single massive - and Vi really thought she knew what a tall height was - tower buzzed over the city. Around the glowing blue magic circle, airships slowly circled it. One of them floated into the center and the tower flashed.

For a moment, Vi felt the vibrations in the air from it. She remembered feeling the blast along her skin moments before nearly throwing herself down the side of a building to start booking it toward the undercity. And she decided she didn't like whatever the fuck that tower was about.

"The hell's that?"

"The hexgate?"

"Do you ever not ask questions? Yes. That."

"It facilitates trade across the world. Well, halfway across the continent." The enforcer's eyes hardened then, and Vi poked.

"And the airships are fine? The people on them are fine? No broken buildings or explosions every time it goes off?" Behind her, Vi's neck trickled as the hexgate boomed into the night. If Vi kept the enforcer talking, it dulled the distant booming enough to trick her into forgetting about it ever going off. Again, and again.

"No, I hear it's completely safe."

"Too chicken to try it yourself?"

"No, I trust the men who designed it. I just never considered traveling that way." The enforcer's face definitely said she was now, though. Vi shrugged.

"You can say it; you're too broke to afford it."

"I'm not." The enforcer replied. Poshly.

"Oh?" Go on, let me know just how well-off you are.

The enforcer caught on like a true detective, "Stop trying to derail the mission." She ground past the fluster faster than Vi hoped, but it somehow felt real. A real person, not just Vi's starved imagination filling in blanks. The threat of waking up in her cell still hovered behind her. Vi couldn't shake the reality of spending so much time clawing, fighting, suffering, ravaging for an escape. Just for coincidence to shrug and give her a sucker for the trouble. No way Vi was that gullible.

Pretense, right.

"You're the one letting me." Vi sang, very excited to get moving toward the undercity.

Notes:

Is it slow burn if it took 40k words for them to even meet? ;-;

Chapter 18: Season 1, Episode 5: "Reflection"

"Where're you planning on us getting shut eye up here?"

"I.."

"Let me guess. You thought we'd go down there guns blazing and be back before sunrise."

"No." Came the clipped defense.

Vi tilted her head forward, "Okay, then would you prefer something on this side, or southside to sleep at?"

"This side."

"Good answer. You got enough to hook us up with a couple of rooms?"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight just for you to run off on your own."

"Why would I? You still haven't shown me your diary and I haven't slept since.. well, that doesn't matter. I'm tired. We'll both need rest if we're gonna be on our A-game tomorrow."

"I don't have much money on me."

"Broke."

"I'm well-off, thank you very much."

"Piltie, ol' jack ain't gonna give two shits how much money you have on you when he sees you. With that stick up your ass, anyone can smell the ransom money alone. Not to mention your outfit."

"My clothes are perfectly fine."

"Uhuh, that's the problem."

"I'm not showing you where I live."

Vi swiped her hand down her face. This was going to be a long night. She let the topic drop, more interested in finding a place to sleep than stand outside with the hexgate discharging every few minutes.

The enforcer led her down the docks to a lower-end inn. The concrete was chipped along the corners, and one of the windows in the bottom floor had been replaced recently with a slightly off-color pane of glass. Vi was happily impressed with her choice, and surprised that she was being honest about not carrying more than a few cogs on her. Vi paid close attention to how much the enforcer did have, though, because not everything was going to go their way. And as much as Vi was in the habit, she couldn't just punch her way out of everything.

The receptionist remained neutral, offering them a kind welcome for their choice of stay. Vi winked at her, making the smile widen into something more genuine. She looked cute, but more importantly, Vi couldn't find any suspicion on the lady. As the enforcer climbed the stairs, Vi waited for her to open the door.

"I've never been more excited for a shower in my life."

"The conditions in Stillwa-"

"Okay. Let's get something straight. You busted me out to help you with your case. I'm here because you need me to protect you from getting shanked in the streets down there while you stick your nose around. I don't ask you about your life on topside. You don't ask me about my life in Stillwater, or bottom."

"It would be detrimental to not learn about your experiences down there. As you keep reminding me."

"Stillwater is off-limits. Nothing happened in there that gets us any closer to Silco. Got it?"

"Alright, I'll respect that."

"And no more pity-looks. Every time I see you feel sorry for me, I'm taxing your coin purse."

"I have ground rules of my own as well. Don't test this.. alliance. It's my duty to prevent harm and protect our laws. If I see you breaking them, I'll have no qualms about dragging you to the nearest station. Your record may be clean until this point, but I'm not stupid. Or blind."

It wasn't really a fair rule, since Vi wasn't sure what laws had even changed while she was away. Obviously don't kill or steal, but she just threatened to steal money a few seconds ago. The enforcer had to have taken it as a joke; even if it was anything but.

Vi searched the enforcer's face for ulterior motives, and there simply was no sign. Was she being honest, or was Vi looking at the only cop who actually believed in right and wrong? Couldn't be.

"I'm a very light sleeper." Vi warned, moving on and toward the bathroom. In her sweat-dried clothes, Vi peeled the layers off and left them on the floor. There was a small chunk of soap and a rag set aside. Her thoughts immediately counted the cost of such luxury. She'd have to drop a couple of lower grunts. Nothing too taxing, but if she related it to ink.. It was probably worth about an inch of filled lines. A few meals tossed at her through her cell's bars for an extended stay away from others.

She stayed under the water for longer than she meant to. They're the thoughts Vi has while watching the dark brown, nearly black, trails of dirt into the drain that her allow water to fill over her eyes. Drowning the truth she wanted to hide. She raked her fingers over her neck, into her scalp and washed, rewashed; until the skin under her nails stung. Every inch and hair. Some spots defied her desperation, and it was only when she'd started bleeding over a few on her forearm that she realized she'd been burning her own freckles away.

It wasn't going to be for several future showers that she wouldn't feel like she'd been spending years sleeping in the same hole. She knew that, and couldn't face it. Her face...

The thought sparked urgency to leave the pale corner as Vi hurried to turn the water off. In doing so, Vi misjudged the texture of her footing and only stopped herself from splitting her own skull open by taking a knee and both hands forward. It was loud, and Vi might've ignored her heart ignoring her brain that she was fine, if there wasn't a tapping on the closed door and an ever-loving-questioning-fucker on the other side.

Was the enforcer making up for lost time? Damn.

"Are you okay? Did you fall?"

Vi rolled her eyes at the pang in her knee as she stood, naked, "The floor's wet."

"Are you hurt?" It took way too long for Vi to understand the concern in the words. Mostly, she recognized the verbal equivalent of uncertainty.

"I am not going to outlast a third of my life in Stillwater just to slip and die on my first real bath in years. I think I'll survive." Vi soured. She was getting way too comfortable. Stop bleeding your thoughts, idiot.

Vi found her way carefully to the sink and stared at her outline in the mirror. It only covered her upper half, but she only really cared about what she looked like chin up. Ever so slowly, the clouds of steam cooled around her and Vi stood through the shivers until her skin dried and she refused to drop her eyes. The mirror blurred her features, but she could see the way the fog lifted around her eyes, her nose, her lips. It was undeniable, this was a face she looked at. But it wasn't hers. She tried on different expressions, remapping the tugging in her upper lip and eyebrow scars to the way the muscles shifted in the mirror. She scowled, bared her teeth, and when it came to the smile, she tried thrice with hardly any sensation of happiness.

Is that what Powder would find when Vi found her today? A barely-there smirk? A half-crescent mime? Whatever. Vi was tired of trying. And cold. And still naked. The full range of motion in her hands was less than usual, but Vi drowned the sink water and soaked her hands until her fingers pruned. She didn't care how long she'd been in the bathroom. The enforcer gave her an inch, so Vi would remain locked up for as long as it took. She still had to pretend she really believed this was reality.

She didn't have a change of clothes, so she put the same ones on and drained the water. They were as clean as she was gonna get them, so she'd work on putting them back on and let her legs rest. Something as simple as leaving the bathroom on her own free will caused her to turn back and look at the doorway.

Vi had already lost count how many doorways she'd gone through in a few hours. Why'd this one feel more important?

The enforcer tapped her pencil on the edge of her book as she studied it, oblivious to Vi's reflection. Vi took a spot on the floor, enjoying the feel of the rug under her knee and tailbone. Just enough softness to be kind to her bones. She slowly turned the strips of cloth around her forearm and laced her fingers. There was comfort in the motion; something familiar.

As they sat across the room from the other, Vi watched how the gentle lighting filled the room. Soft light, something Vi wasn't sure she'd get used to for awhile. The enforcer minded her own business, probably filling her book with the new information about Vi.

Why Vi? Vi practically told the enforcer to go fuck herself. She came back and released Vi. Obviously, VI was getting played, but she couldn't squash the curiosity.

"What changed your mind?"

"You said you didn't want to talk about Stillwater."

Silence. The hexgate very faintly shot off in the distance. Vi had no more wrappings to tug at. She shifted to lay down along the far wall, away from both the window and the door. For whatever reason, if someone broke in or the front door was actually the cell door, Vi could wake up in time.

This time, the enforcer spoke up, "How do you know Silco's behind the attacks?"

Vi shrugged, "That thug you were asking about? Last time I saw him, he worked for Silco."

"Wherever we find shimmer, it's a lead to follow."

"No one's rolling over their dealer." Vi scoffed, shaking her head lightly as the enforcer searched for a new question to ask.

"Who do you think we can count on in the undercity? We should have a back-up plan in case we need to retreat."

"Even if your people were down there, there wouldn't be anyone to help you."

"That's why I said 'we'."

"We aren't a 'we'. It's you, and it's me. Just because we're both looking the same way doesn't mean we're looking at the same thing."

"We're doing this because we are hunting down Silco. Otherwise, you don't get your answers."

Vi waved her hand off her stomach, "I'll take a look when you're asleep."

"You need the sleep too."

"Enforcers need more sleep than inmates."

"You're not an inmate anymore."

"I know." Vi's reply was automatic enough to slow her mind down and glance over to the enforcer on the bed. A hawk watched her every breath, tucked under the top layer of blankets and an empty human-sized section of the bed between them.

"Any tips for tomorrow?"

"Don't be a hero."

"Something more specific would be helpful."

"Keep your mouth shut. Fancy words make people feel stupid, and some people tell you how they feel with what they do know."

"You don't seem to mind my vocabulary."

"Low standards."

Quiet filtered in through the glass window. They had a few hours before the sunrise, if it really was after midnight. Vi wasn't sure when they'd be able to actually tell from the bay. There were a lot of things Vi was eager to learn and relearn.

What did Powder look like? For once, Vi mused over how long Powder's hair must have gotten. The last time Vi could remember anyone mentioning a haircut, it was Mylo. Granted, he was threatening Powder with scissors after she took paint to his bed frame. Vi was okay with whatever choice Powder had made.

Did Ekko save her, since Vi obviously couldn't? Vi hoped they lived together. Got out from under Silco's influence (whatever it may be)
together, or found a steady job. They were smart way back when. No way things weren't going to look up. If something needed fixing or made, it was only a matter of time. And the more Vi thought about it, even if they both were struggling to make ends meet, Vi was more than happy to pitch in; dig her heels in to the bone if it meant her family was alive. What was the saying? Something about carving blisters from bedrock? Vi could live with herself again, once she saw Powder.

A small measure of doubt sighed in the corner of her vision. Vi pulled her head up, looking closer into the room. Nothing had changed, just the aftershock of the hexgate again. The enforcer still faced her, but she looked sound asleep. Not a care in the world. Vi scoffed at the comfort she was so easy to melt into.

Vi blinked at the doubt, again. Its fluffy pillows; cushioned mattress. Its clothes stripped of armor and oppression. Vi trailed her eyes down the bed, and found the pile on the only dresser in the room. The enforcer's armor protected the stashed gun. She couldn't help but envy whatever made the lady feel secure enough for not even caring about self-preservation. And yet, Vi wasn't looking forward to being dragged down by someone who wasn't going to let her out of her sight. Whatever. Vi could just ditch the princess at any time and it was the home stretch.

Or, just let the fantasy play out. She tucked her arm under her head and shuffled back into the wall tighter. As much as she wanted to look at the book for her answers, sleep was a fickle ally and hallucination be damned if Vi wouldn't get something out of it. Even if it was a few hours of fake sleep.

Chapter 19: Season 1, Episode 5: "Resurrection"

Vi heard no echoes in her cell. That startled her the most. The visit left no bruises or fuzzy memories. Just quiet. Just quiet. One by one, her senses piled over each other. The silence felt like she'd stuffed cloth into her ears. It was fresh air in her lungs instead of mold and lingering sewage. Beneath her left hip and arm was a solid wood foundation. Not even a hint of a hint of termites. That wasn't to say Vi hadn't heard the even breaths into the pillows on the bed. Or smell the scent of another person nearby. Today was a day for discovery and rediscovery.

She'll be able to see Powder today. Feel the sun on her skin, eat real food, run, be spontaneous, talk to people, do things, see things, feel things, hear things, touch things, think things..

Vi didn't know her eyes were even open when the bed shifted. The enforcer sat up, her elbow digging into the bed as she surveyed the room in confusion. It was a little funny, to see the thoughts float around her head. Vi almost spoke up to tease her, but the enforcer looked past Vi somehow and cussed into the morning with her first word.

"Damn it."

She shot out of the bed and stumbled bleary-eyed to the dresser as she packed the armor back on. The enforcer paused, though, her hand hovering over her notebook like it was something precious. Her fingers tapped the untouched top, and Vi felt like a kid, watching from some hiding spot in wait. The enforcer scanned the room more closely and her jaw slacked when she found Vi very awake and watching her.

"Morning, sunshine." Vi croaked. She cleared her throat and sat up for the first time. She felt lightheaded, but that was probably the high of freedom trickling down her spine and not her stomach nibbling at itself. Vi could read the suspicion in the woman’s eyes, but also find some amount of - dare she consider - curiosity in them. Or maybe the kind of curiosity that someone has when they tell you not to stick your hand on that wire but you do it anyways cause why the fuck not, and everyone’s waiting for you to learn your lesson the hard way.

"You're so small."

"Odd way to say hi."

"Sorry, I- Why're you huddled in the corner?"

"I was sleeping."

"You slept on the floor?" She looked to the bed behind her and answered her own question, "Why?"

"Why not?"

The sleepiness gave way to a humorless blink. That was okay though, because Vi grinned as she carefully stood. The sky already teased the blue into the room.

"Well, we better get a head start. You know what they say about early birds."

"You don't want to go over this?" The enforcer tapped her thumb over the book.

Vi held her hand out for the enforcer to give it up. She did, all-too-trusting. Vi weighted it pointedly and smirked. The enforcer strapped her gear on her while Vi flipped through pages. Her first book in years, and all she could read were scribbles and numbers. Vi squinted at the handwriting.

"The fuck kind of writing is this?" Vi judged the fancy curves, but pieced the letter together enough to get the gist. Her eyes kept sliding to the monkey face. A small pang of familiar anxiety bounced and rebounded in her stomach each time. But the motion was automatic. Until finally, Vi had to turn the page and read different notes.

The enforcer had suspected a crime syndicate was behind the shimmer smuggling. Obvious bribery or extortion. The explosion at the Progress Day festival was premeditated. The notes didn't say what was stolen, but Vi studied the coloring on the desks and walls. Just more evidence of Powder's creativity.

There must have been a damn good reason for Powder to come to topside armed like this. Were things really this bad down there?

"There's not much to go off from here."

"Why do you think you're here?"

Vi nodded, giving her that, "There were two attacks?"

"Yes, the Progress Day massacre and the smuggling operation at the Hexgates."

"Was there shimmer at both, or..?"

"Only burned off shimmer residue from the Hexgates. Those bullet casings match some of the grenade designs from the massacre. The airship also had crystals thrown onto the deck. Each were used to subdue people. Only the customs agent was witness, and he claims the ship was attacked but won't say by who."

"Rival gangs?"

"Could be. Or a defector."

"What color are the crystals?"

"Lemon. Why does that matter?" Just making sure they're not blue.

"All of your pictures are in the same color. Can't tell from them. Stuff like that's important, y'know." Vi committed the masked photos to memory, curious if they might've been related to the only idea she had. Babette used masks to maintain anonymity for customers. Maybe they could start there once Vi figured out where she'd get breakfast. There were other snapshots of the crime scene at the Hexgates, but nothing as thorough as the ones taken by this enforcer.

"Why do you think they're doing this now?"

Vi shrugged, and slapped the book shut. "Only one way to find out."

The enforcer tucked the book into her rifle bag and led the way out of the inn. The same woman sat behind the counter, tired from the night's watch as Vi passed her. Vi received a deflated smile in greeting; too groggy to pretend to be awake at this hour. Now that her skin was clean, Powder might actually recognize the pinkish-haired punk of an older sister. Vi practiced her smile again.

Vi stuck her boot out the door. Left, right, left.. Right..

The sun had already come up between the buildings, but Vi shivered at the warmth it gave her. Something as simple as basking made her breath skip under her ribs. Her skin was too pale to be hers. Before Stillwater, she had a slight color somehow. She rarely spent time even halfway up the fissures and yet her skin now looked sickly in the early morning. The muscles in her forearm and bicep were taut, like she was dehydrated.

Vi forgot about the enforcer for only a moment, but it was long enough to return to herself and feel the Piltie's eyes on her. Vi kept her hands splayed out, and ignored the staring. Not even an enforcer could take away this moment from her. It was almost foreign in her fingertips. But Vi could remember what it was after another moment or two. Joyous bliss.

Neither of them spoke for a long time after that. The enforcer led them to the bridges, where Vi made every effort to look past the concrete and water beneath their feet.

Her world had grown too fast, about halfway across the bridge. Too much open sky, only two directions to move. The sun's comfort had lost its novelty too quickly, and despite forcing herself to study her hands, Vi hated seeing them shake. She didn't know what this was, how to stop her own bones from wanting to split outward; to splinter and explode. She hadn't felt this kind of waiting before. And it wasn't a good waiting, either. Not by a long shot.

Every sixth step meant Vi had to force herself to not expect to walk into a wall. The ceiling - the sky - was the wrong size. Vi was still walking, keeping pace with the gilded heeled boots in front of her own steel-toed ones. Vi felt the need to run. That's what this was. To run, jump, fly.

"...industry and distribution of goods would give him remarkable reach. It would explain the tight lips and corruption if it's infiltrated across the water. There must be some benefit, some angle to the reasoning for the attacks. There're too many variables. Are they trying to prove something? What could they gain from getting topside's notice.." The enforcer mused aloud. Her voice clear and confident in the humming spews of the railway climbing back up nearby.

They weren't crossing the bridge anymore. In front of Vi, past the very boots she'd been keeping her eyes glued to, was a pit. A glorious, dark crack so large, the shadow's shadows were hiding. Familiarity beckoned beneath. Just out of reach from the cliff. She could breathe again. The taste of reluctant fumes settling over the multicolored tints and carvings of homes. Stacked pipes led everywhere, and nowhere in the generational scramble for their search of where to be of use. Most hung short of new buildings, but some had withstood the test of weather and wear.

Concrete cracks in the earth grinned with green-hued teeth. Weeds, Vi recalled. Strings of clothes dried out in the pale morning sun. Railway cars pistoned slowly up and down the edges of the fissure like well-oiled clockwork. And the air, the air carried everything else on it. Harmless steam clouds and faint hints of salt and freshly caught fish. Something.. Vi hadn’t smelled on the other side of the river. It burned her nose with faint smog, tickled with seasonal change, kissed her with a cool and undeniable welcome home. Must be Janna saying hello.

Notes:

Next up, hArDcOrE pArKouR!

Chapter 20: Season 1, Episode 5: "Home Sweet Home"

The enforcer seemed almost as excited as Vi was to get down into the fissures. Almost. She struck up questions, but Vi's lack of reply never deterred her. And yet, she'd wandered off assuming Vi was going to take them the easy way down. Vi wasn't going to make things necessarily harder for herself (she wasn't going to let it bite her in the ass later) but Vi had several years of pent-up strides to make up for. Piltie just had to keep up or get left behind. If she really wanted this, she'd have to dance, too.

The railway's bell announced its arrival and the enforcer called for Vi's attention. "I heard the bathysphere has a nice view. That could be a good way to get a lay of the land."

Vi turned her head, catching sight of a couple of tram's tickets in her hand. Oh yea, definitely not that route. I'm not standing for half an hour in an elevator with a cop. Vi threw her own words back at her, "Too risky." Threw on the hood, and hopped down the ledge.

Her weight jarred into her bones and she held her hands out as she crossed a beam to the other side and over a roof. Flip and slid down its side and wasted no breath springing to the roof back across. She rolled over the mismatched paneling, feeling the rust and tang along her back.

A quick roll onto her feet brought her to the edge again and Vi mapped and remapped with every glance. Not the quickest route. No, she wanted the funnest. Something to lead her over as many streets and crannies as she could manage. She knew just how far and wide the rock-laden cliffs were, that could possibly cram the undercity's populace, and she was pretty sure The Lanes hadn't gone anywhere. Pipes became monkey bars. Ledges and beams into a webbing network of steely-cold ideas to swing, land, balance, and control her falls into. Her jumps. Her flight.

Vi bridged another gap in the fissure, this time wider and she peaked up through the hood to find that the enforcer was actually playing along. It was slow, awkward, and pleasantly surprising. It might be a few weeks, but Vi would find her once she'd reach the bottom. Vi smiled and kept on. Leaping from ledge to ledge, letting the enforcer read her own route and make her own judgements on the best way down. Vi had the coordination before, but now, now, she had power over her bones. She hadn't ran in Stillwater, and didn't need to. Years of testing and straining her limits meant this would be a cakewalk.

She never once lingered after that pause to look up. No longer caring to be seen or tracked. She slid down ladders, swung feet first onto balconies, and on the upper streets of the entresol, she sprinted the straights and flats, not letting wall or railing stop her wherever she countered. Nothing chased her, only her chasing oxygen and unrestrained free will.

Below, the densely stacked towers slowly gave way to proper structures. Roads and entire blocks of buildings built before she'd left. And yet, there were new storefronts. New coats of paint and hundreds of crackling little neon signs below. Signals to draw attention and scream 'look at me, there's something interesting here'. Vi really leaped over a street and she swore she flew. Her arms balanced her in the air as the wind roared into her ears. Weightless and free.

And on top of the arc, she knew she had absolutely nothing to fear from where she'd touch down again. When she did, she rolled into it and exploded back onto her feet. Never stopping to worry over her own safety. Alive and very much out of breath.

Soon, despite knowing it was very much still daytime, not a single ray of light from the sky peaked through the upper levels. Instead, the city's own collective lamps and fluorescence brightened the world from below. An abyss of ever-humming noise and life. Equally alive and buzzing as Vi finally filled her lungs with a heaviness she had missed. Enveloped in a darkness she'd needed. Entire columns of built-over-and-through rock connected old sidewalks to each other like an underground hive.

Vi was reminded of her last elevator ride down, grateful that they'd stayed off the beaten path. This was safer, one hundred percent.

She took the final few ledges down into an alley, landing the final jump with a thudding sigh. She managed to fill her lungs with oil, feeling like her own muscles and bones were freshly greased, too.

Someone whistled for attention.

Vi looked over, immediately unimpressed by the call. A couple of opportunists, looking to score an easy mark. Vi remained loose where she stood without an ounce of fear as they sauntered closer. Just picked the wrong person fresh out of Stillwater, and the perfect day to be wearing clothes that.. would definitely fit someone she'd just met recently, actually.

This day just kept getting better and better.

The guy teased a finger over her shoulder, and flicked the hanging hair beside her face. Vi felt his partner in crime slime up behind her, letting him lead. Vi kept her cool. She even complimented him. She'd been taught manners, what was the point in not using them at a time like this?

"Nice jacket." Vi smirked. A second later, she jabbed into his jaw. The pipe behind her swung over her as she ducked, and Vi punched into his gut as his accomplice hit him instead. He dropped before Vi could finish turning, but she sprang upward into the vastayan chin.

And just like that, both bozos were sleeping. Vi went to work on the vastayan first, not caring about the nudity as she stripped the limp limbs from cloth. Vi even taxed the pendant with a shrug. The enforcer might like to look nice, y'know? And Vi smiled to herself again as she heard thundering echoes of the very person making her clumsy drops down onto the street.

When Vi was done with one, she dragged the other piece of trash and hoisted him up and into the dumpster. There. She was cleaning up the streets. The cop would be proud.

Vi let her breath for just long enough against the wall, clearly wiped and put-off by the experience of free running. She'd made it, though. No cuts or breaks. It took time, but not nearly as long as Vi first figured. She'd be damned if she let the Piltie relax, though, as Vi slipped on the blazer and tossed the heaping pile of new clothes into her chest.

"Welcome to The Lanes."

The enforcer accused like she hadn't actually come down on her own, "You almost got me killed."

"My little sister could do that when she was seven." Vi leaned forward, watching the enforcer flinch back as she continued, "All us fissurefolk can." The motion felt too invasive, somehow, and Vi quickly stepped away with as much nonchalance as she could muster, "Don't you wanna blend in?" Besides, Vi wasn't gonna be cutting corners, here. Piltie needed to get the hint faster than getting them discovered. They planned to keep things on the down-low, but something was going to give eventually, and Vi was tired of seeing the navy blue and polished gold out of the corner of her eye every two seconds.

"C'mon, sooner you get out of those, the better you look." Vi purposefully leaned along the mouth of the alley, keeping her eyes on the opening. Behind her, the enforcer hadn't moved more than a few inches as she gave her the privacy to change. And Vi was an excellent guard dog. Listening to every scrape of metal as the enforcer piled her uniform together. Outward, steam warmed the empty streets and besides the low grumbling moans of the two opportunists down the street, Vi waited for her with a patience that surprised even herself.

And surprise Vi she did. The get-up was a perfect fit. The enforcer tugged and pulled at the fringes like she just couldn't shake the habit but even with her back ramrod straight and her expression still frustrated as fuck, Vi caught two things almost simultaneously. One, the enforcer had buttoned up the window to her chest - something the vastayan paraded openly. And two, the pendant added just enough realism into her costume to fool Vi for a half-second that they might actually be able to pull this stupid shit off. The enforcer had strapped her gun pack over her back again and Vi noticed she'd relaxed just enough to look the part.

Vi's stomach reminded her of the priority order. New destination: old haunts.

They'd passed alleyways and streets without much trouble beyond Vi's initial encounter. A wary glare or altogether ignored presence suited Vi's nerves just fine. And her tail never strayed too far, despite Vi knowing she was weaving through the crowd with a bit more subtlety than the undercover cop that followed her like a neon shadow. Throughout The Lanes, Vi caught herself giving the upper levels a good map-over. Sure, the vast majority down in the bottom had remained mostly unchanged, but holy fuck, she’d been gone long enough for the city to expand, contract, and improve. Cars, once a rare sight at any level beneath Piltover now drove through several streams of foot space with occasional ‘honks’ to usher people out of the way. And on the sidelines, people boasted chemtech like the rest of the city couldn’t get enough of it.

There was always more to find. More people, more color, more tattoos, more trash.

For once, Vi wasn’t sure she entirely belonged, even with the shoddy shower regiment and her own collection of tattoos. Some kid surfed on a flying board with a green chemtrail over the street in a perfect slipstream to wherever her destination was beyond the ground’s touch. Vi watched her fly into a sea of pipes before remembering that she wasn’t down here to lose herself. When Vi turned back to the cop, she at least didn’t have to worry about being the only one with open-mouthed fascination.

“Makes you feel like we’re just a bunch of ants, don’t it, topside?”

Vi tugged on the frill around the enforcer’s arm, returning them to the original objective. Still, Vi wasn’t quite sure how she’d repay ‘Enforcer-long-legs’ properly. One thing was for sure. The enforcer needed to lighten up. Walking around with her back as stiff as a baton up her ass wasn’t gonna do them any favors. And a little bit of fun in the meantime might give this chick some insight on what to expect down here. Vi would be damned if she didn’t give Miss Piltie a proper introduction to the undercity cuisine.

Vi’s mouth watered painfully at the hints of spices, juices, and meats piggybacking off the deep-level fumes. It kept the flavors and stomachs stuffed in a giant humid oven. Even after years, Vi could feel the grease and textures recoating her skin at the hours she’d spent here. When washing it away was impossible, the only scent stronger for her was the smoke and booze of The Last Drop. And that was a visit once Vi put some fuel in her own tank. On the low-end of the afternoon, Babette's once prime real estate had been overrun with an ink parlor. So now, Vi had even more reason to slow down and start sniffing.

Vi confirmed that the shop she'd once practically guarded was open and in business. She'd caught his storefront signage through the crowd, and by the time their eyes met, the cop was just an afterthought. Shadows weren’t so bad when they knew to be quiet.

"My man! Mind hooking me up? Fresh out the slammer; I'll eat anything."

Jericho roared in excitement, shoving Vi forward with a single hand and nearly headbutting her in a half-hug. Vi couldn’t help but stumble onto the stool with a goofy grin plastered over her face. He wiped his hands on his clothes, and within a matter of moments whipped up Vi’s old favorite like she’d been coming here on the daily her entire life. Knowing that she nearly had until prison was an odd comfort when the rest of the city felt oddly new. His grumbling and gurgles were like an old language that Vi would never quite remember the words to but knew exactly what he meant. For a moment, Vi wondered if she’d ever actually forget it.

Vi thumbed over to her companion, “She’s a tourist. Don’t mind the walking kabob.”

Jericho gargled as he poured the sauce into her bowl. Vi shrugged.

“Bit of a pitstop. Babette still around? It looks like she relocated.”

He grumbled happily and stared into Vi’s soul as she unceremoniously dug in. By the second bite, any and all nerves she had were washed away faster than Vi could chew. Her shadow grew restless as Vi enjoyed her first real meal in years.

“Oh! Jericho, have I missed these!” Vi struggled to keep the food from spitting out of her mouth as she did her best to compliment her chef. Jericho returned to chopping up his wares with a cackled string of appreciation. With her initial hunger satiated, Vi offered a strip of heavenly meat to the Piltie. She was happy to share, even knowing the enforcer would refuse. Food always made the shittiest days bearable, and when she was skating the clouds, nothing could bring her down. Not even a high-strung rich Piltie cop looking for answers and finally losing her temper.

“No. Thank you.” Called it.

“You’re missin’ out.” Vi stuffed it into her mouth, certainly not wanting any of it to go to waste. The enforcer lowered her voice; conspiratorial.

“Are you going to question him?”

“About what?” Vi asked innocently and knowing Jericho was in full earshot, “The meat?” Jericho scratched the back of his pants absentmindedly, but Vi continued, “Definitely not above board.”

“Silco; his connections. Isn’t that why we’re here?”

Vi put things in simple terms, “We’re here because I’m hungry. Do you know what prison food is like? No, of course you don’t.” Even with Vi's explanation, the cop’s frustration bubbled over in a sizzle of exasperation.

“Unbelievable. I didn’t break you out of jail to eat-” Vi let her run with her tangent, “slop! I knew this was a terrible idea; you don’t actually know anything, do you?"

C'mon, have faith, princess. Hm, Vi would need to work on a better nickname. That didn't quite fit her. To be honest, Vi refused to even ask her for her name. Too stubborn to bring it up, and too mischievous to not find just the right tagline to get under the enforcer's skin.

With the main course inhaled, Vi drank the rest of her bowl with all her heart’s joy. She spoke only to Jericho, “Better than I remember.” He turned around to fling his butcher’s knife into his shoulder-board. It made the enforcer jump back in surprise, but Vi watched as he replaced her bowl with a drawn-on napkin with a vaguely familiar icon. She'd even been there. A bunch of tightly-packed apartments on the lower end of The Lanes. Most lamps along the street gave the district its unique and flirtier moniker; The Red District. More than just brothels, but a great area to hide away when you're looking to keep things hushed when it's not playtime. The Piltie was gonna love this almost as much as Vi. And she smirked to herself, keeping her head down as she walked with her fists dig into the jacket. Should Vi send her into the wrong room and book it the first chance she got? Hm. Vi's conversation with Babette might be too close to her chest. She'd have to think of something.

It was on the other side of The Lanes, which in Vi's favor meant they'd get to pass by the bar first.

Vi kept her eyes peeled after the hoverboard lady. The enforcer wasn't perfect in following Vi through the crowds. Vi figured she wasn't used to people not giving a shit about her status or something. Based on the amount of times Vi had to step between an apology and annoyance. The third time marked a different taste on Vi's tongue.

They'd been en route to The Last Drop, one of the final stretches, when a pair of kids sounded a little too rowdy for Vi to not turn her head to follow them. A shadow sprinted past her, to the enforcer. Vi reacted just in time.

The enforcer's attention shifted a second too late to catch the kid's motion, but Vi snatched his wrist out of the air and held it; red handed. In his soot-dried fingers, clutched the enforcer's coin purse. Unfortunately, his escape wasn't quick enough.

"Ah-ah-ah." Vi scolded, taking the pouch in her other hand. His own free hand tugged uselessly to try and pry her fingers off his arm. Vi relished the lesson both for the enforcer - who'd looked like she was more confused than upset - and the kid - whose entire frame screamed 'please' a million different ways.

Vi figured a mutually beneficial trade was in order. With her free hand, she opened the pouch and pulled out a few cogs. Only a couple left, now. Still, for someone like the enforcer, they weren't a difference to her livelihood. Vi handed over the pouch to the enforcer, and spoke to the kid first.

"How many buddies you got?"

"None." He squeaked. Vi tilted her head, not believing it for a second. "Three- no, four." Honesty won out.

"Home sick?"

"Working."

"But not with you."

He shook his head, still small. Vi had been in his shoes before, and she was done shaking him down for it.

"Well, here's this." Vi slapped a couple of the cogs into his trapped hand and eased her own over his wrist. "For the almost perfect mark. Too bad for you, she's got a guide, so you don't get the whole thing. Next time, don't let me see you first." She let him run off without a thank-you and turned back to find that the enforcer looked absolutely pissed off. Again. Vi waited for the shots to miss.

"Encouraging theft-"

Vi rolled her eyes, "You had to pay me your tax anyways. For this morning outside the inn."

"You encouraged it."

"He's working." Vi shrugged, "How else is he gonna get anything?"

"Stealing is wrong."

"I stole as a kid; all the way up into teens in the fissures, and through adulthood so far in Stillwater. In fact, you broke out a real obtuse criminal. Bet that stings."

"I beg your pardon?"

"For the record, I did warn you. And you thought I was joking."

"Of course I did. Who jokes like that?" The question was rhetorical, but Vi answered anyways, still gloating.

"Thieves, do, hon. They convince law-abiding citizens - like yourself - to get them into.. prisoner lockers. They know the darker streets.. how to defend themselves. How to run through the fissures faster than the enforcers can keep up. Am I painting a good mural?"

The enforcer sighed, "Don't give out our money like that again."

"Don't make me tax you again."

"We need that money."

"You need to shut the fuck up so we can get where we need to go."

"You're the one incapable of silence. And yet, you still haven't told me where we're going in the first place."

"You'll just have to trust me-"

"Trust? You've given me ample reason not to trust you. Ditched me for one. You've been dragging me through streets- we're moving away from the main fissures."

"Exactly. You think we're gonna find anything on him in the main streets? Wake up and smell the smog. Shady people work in the trenches. Get used to being uncomfortable or walk your precious ass back to the nearest railway."

"I'm more likely to drag your arse back to the nearest station than let you think you're getting off scot-free yourself."

"You wanna try me?"

"No, I want to solve this bloody investigation and whatever gods there may be deemed it funny to pin me with your obstinacy." The enforcer heard her own words and pinched the bridge of her nose, finding lid to her head as she shut her eyes.

"Don't tempt me." Vi broke away from the banter, starting their route again.

"How do you know about the painted scrawls and doodles?"

"Nothing; I thought I recognized the masks in the picture."

The enforcer wasted no time tearing Vi's argument to shreds, "That's several pages earlier. I know what page I showed you, and you're certainly not playing this charade because you liked my handwriting. You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"Maybe I did."

"So are you insane, or lying?"

"Why not both?" Vi smirked back over her shoulder. She instantly regretted it as the enforcer brushed her fingers forward, making Vi's hackles stand up.

"This is serious; just - stop for a moment?"

Vi did so, turning back to face the woman full-on and backslid into a dark expression. Something that might say she'd rather burn the shelf than sit around having to smell the shit on it. Vi forced her fists down again, forsaking the jacket's pockets for gloves. She didn't care that the enforcer was just now realizing touching was off-limits. Something Vi hadn't realized at the time was a bit hypocritical on her own end.

The river their conversations had waded through found an unsteady balance. The slow-moving layer of oil above the surface had been coasting over the undercurrents in a careful alliance. But all it would take was one of them to toss in a brick with careless abandon. And she swallowed her heart down her throat. Had to ease the pistons tensing over her back into something less reactive. It wasn't the practiced avoidance of hitting gilded blue. It wasn't the feather-light touch of someone's hand over her shoulder. It was the searing flash of remembered pain in one specific spot. Touched in a moment of retreat. Too sharp. Too deep. Too vulnerable.

The enforcer's breath picked up, expecting something Vi was all-too-accustomed to giving. But she recognized her reaction in time to school and temper the feeling. It didn't do anything to her heartrate, though. When the enforcer spoke up again, her voice lost its edgy pitch. Something softer and purposefully gentle. Kind, almost.

"People are dead because of these attacks. Innocent people who never came home to their families at the end of the day."

"People die every day. That's nothing new."

"And yet lives were affected. Just because you're jaded about your life doesn't mean we can't take this seriously."

Vi frowned, "I am taking this seriously."

"Then why won't you tell me about the photo?"

"Because this is my life." Vi lolled her head, "So, shut up and let me do what you wanted me to do so I can get back to whatever's left of it." The enforcer remained unmoving, so Vi encouraged her, "We good? Any more questions? Can we crack on?"

"Where're we going."

"To check out if an old bar is still standing. Your culprit would've grown up around it. Probably. It was pretty popular last time I was there." Vi had to give her something.

"Thank you."

"Yeah." Vi shrugged, leading the way again.

Her boots clicked over the concrete over several slight changes in height and shade. Vi walked with her own thoughts for proper company again. The temper in her soothed in the distraction of movement. Like a muted humming walk in Vander's arms. One foot in front of the other.

"Vander.."

Vander inhaled loudly, and Violet hesitated in the doorway; still unsure if she really wanted to bother him. She turned back into the dark hallway, where her nightmare still lingered down the hall in her and Powder's bed. Violet knew her parents would be working late, but she didn't want to wake Powder up. But she also wanted something to help get herself back to sleep.

"Violet?"

"I.. I'll go back.."

"What's wrong?" Worry woke him up further, and he sat up as he squinted into the darkness of his makeshift bedspread beneath her parent's bedframe. Something about old habits and long nights in the tunnels. "Are you okay?"

"Nightmare." Violet choked her bunny even tighter.

"C'mere. You want to talk about it, kiddo?"

"Powder was eating her for dessert and I tried to stop her but mom and dad weren't doing anything about it."

"Hm, your stuffy?"

Violet teared up just thinking about it; watching Powder stab a fork into her leg and hold her over her face. Slowly munched on the hanging ears.

"Sounds to me like we have our work cut out for us."

Violet shrugged. Mostly she wanted a hug, but he'd never been wrong before. He might have a better idea on how to help Violet stop seeing teeth gnashing over the seams.

"May I?" Vander held his hand out and Violet place the bunny onto his palm, letting his fingers pinch softly at her lumpy little arms. "When the going gets tough?"

Violet answered, "The tough get going."

"Right. And when there's nothing going right?"

"We go left." Violet stood and waited as Vander pulled the bunny's arms back into a boxing stance. It was strange, how his huge fingers moved to and fro to make the bunny stand on her left paw. Her right paw. And suddenly, Vander put it all together as he prompted.

"We go..?"

"Left."

Vander whooshed a left jab out of the bunny. Violet smiled.

"We go..?"

"Right."

Vander whooshed a right jab. Violet's smile remained.

"Maybe she'll listen to you. Here, I'll dummy."

Vander wiggled his fingers just like her mom, and Violet held the bunny up, playing along with Vander's little game. She hit him every time, and every time he coughed 'oof' or mimed tiny blows hitting his fingers out of the air. Only to bring his hands back and entice Violet again. It didn't take long for her to feel better. Maybe next time, her bunny could bap Pow-Pow from trying to eat little helpless rabbits. Well, she was getting a really good education on fighting. The best of the best, here.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

There was something wrong about walking down the street she'd practically grown up on. For one, it was smaller. And two, despite the shrinkage, the place was hauntingly quiet. The fork in the road split the lane, and The Last Drop's now neon-glowing signage seemed to ward off the customers instead of welcoming them with open arms.

A car was parked outside, being worked on. Its fancy-ass metal somehow blending into the stone beneath. It was definitely expensive, and still looked like shit. Some bouncers were posted outside the front door; a thought Vi took offense to. It was The Last Drop, not 'The Last Coin', hellbent on keeping anyone who couldn't afford it out of the bar.

An angry customer stepped up to one of the bouncers and he grabbed the poor guy only to shove him on his back and away.

Vander had to be rolling over right now at the state of it. This had to be a massive 'fuck you' to him. It had Silco written all over it.

"Well that place does look like it has bodies buried in the basement."

For once, Vi tried to squeeze the life out of a metal railing. She shoved off, "You don't know anything." Vi wasn't in the headspace to chat more over her old home, so she shoulder-checked the enforcer and made for Babette's without another word and a foul mood to boot.

Notes:

This has been one of my favorite chapters to work on so far. I've been practically frame-by-frame pouring over this show (even after all these years since I first saw it drop) and episode 5 was one of the biggest question marks for me. They don't know each other for more than a day, and yet things that Caitlyn and Vi say later on imply that they've not only had more conversations than we got to see, but something like Caitlyn saying "Despite it all, I can tell. You've got a good heart."

We saw Vi give us nothing on-screen to support that. We as the view definitely *know* she does, but Caitlyn wouldn't unless she'd seen and/or heard Vi back her words up.

So, I think of all the chapters, this is one of the top three that I really wanted to chew on. And yes, I know Cait's not been named yet. That comes in ep6, and until then, I don't think Vi's fully humanized her. She doesn't really connect with Cait. She kinda just strings her along, and makes assumptions. Also hence why I've been leaving out a lot of important character descriptors for her. Vi'd care about the bare minimum. At first it was out of denial, now it's out of spite (and no small amount of avoidance to being vulnerable).

Next comes the fun part. Just in time for Valentine's day! \o/

Chapter 21: Season 1, Episode 5: "Catching Feelings"

Notes:

I'm so happy we made it to the brothel scene just in time for Valentine's day. <3

Vi stayed out of sight of the main street, checking to make sure the hood over her face covered her stupidly obvious hair. The last thing they needed was to get mobbed by anyone Vi had sent to the infirmary. By now, the evening crowds were probably the closest Vi could remember to being a sleeping street. She knew that once the sun really set up top, people would filter downward for more light. It was always cheaper to piggyback off someone else's lamp fuel if you weren't willing to work in darkness.

They did need to cross the street eventually. Babette's old place was up the street, too, and Vi figured if she ever earned enough money, she'd check the ink parlor out. There was just one growing problem that Vi had checked off her own list that needed to be addressed. The enforcer hadn't eaten today. And damn, Vi already knew where the rest of the money would be burned.

The enforcer tried to hide it, Vi thought, not wanting to disturb the uneasy quiet around them. Vi stopped along the side of the street and sighed pointedly through her nose. It earned her a curious eyebrow.

"Go on, then." Vi pushed down at the corners of the jacket, using her concealed fists like a makeshift expression, "Fuel up."

"I'll be fine."

"We don't know when we'll next eat."

"The human body can survive a good while without food."

"Okay, tell me how many meals you can go without before you get the shakes? How many days? You're not impressing anyone if that's what you're looking to do."

The woman pursed her lips like she was going to argue but thought better of it. Which was good to see, because Vi already had three other things ready in the chamber to say. The Piltie led the way down the street, letting Vi saunter back as she took stock of what was on the table. Mostly seafood. A couple of stalls claimed to have real fruits and vegetables, but Vi hoped she'd steer clear of those. It wasn't the veggies that were fake, and if they were real, it'd be the fruit with patches of fur. Food poisoning wasn't going to help their odds.

She let the lady make her own choice of food, and was surprised to find two grilled fish kabobs in the woman's hands. Vi scoffed at the sight, hiding her amusement with a careful turn of her frame. No one around them gave a shit. But that didn't stop Vi from finding the crowd's diluted noise something to keep her gaze from drifting back.

The enforcer hummed for her attention through a mouthful of food.

"Keep the stick; you can use it as a toothpick." Vi ignored the tendrils of hunger tickling her nose. She already ate today. Now wasn't the time to be greedy. She heard another hum, and Vi rolled her eyes just as temptation wiggled a juicy, perfectly seasoned variety of meat two inches from her nose. Vi tried to glare through the dripping chunks of heaven to resist. "What."

With a too-long pause while the topsider finished chewing, she swiped the corners of her lips with her pinky before tilting the kabob in offer. Oh, duh. Vi wasn't used to receiving.. gifts.

"Peace offering. You haven't eaten since this morning."

"I already ate today." Vi argued against herself, half-wondering why she was being so stubborn over something as obviously delicious as a longfin grouper..

"You can eat your words after this, or I just throw it away-"

"I will actually commit murder." Vi rushed, taking the kabob and shoving the end into her mouth. The enforcer smiled next to her, and took another careful bite. Careful because she'd already eaten half, and skewering her cheek wasn't part of the plan.

Fuck, this is better than sex.

"What was that?"

"I said we'd better dip out."

The enforcer narrowed her eyes, preparing to take a calculated bite. Only she'd inspect stabbed meat for the 'proper' way to eat it. "This isn't half bad. I can't remember the last time I've eaten street food."

"What, like popcorn or hotdogs?"

"No, I think it was a churro."

"I don't know what that is." Vi nearly choked getting the words out, but she had somehow already started walking. And her tail kept pace on her left a little too slow of an eater.

"It's fried batter rolled in cinnamon. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside." The topsider mused. Vi tried to imagine it, like a ball or a cupcake- "It's almost as good as sex."

Vi dropped her head back, groaning, "Why're you busting my balls, man?"

The topsider stifled the flash of her tooth gap behind the last morsels of fish and a moment later it softened into something more practiced. It felt nice.. this. Something Vi chalked up to the second free meal she'd had today.

By the time they'd made it to the red district, the enforcer had caught wind of exactly where Vi was taking her. She looked uncomfortable as fuck. Good. Keep her off Vi's back so Vi can sneak off and get back to her own agenda. Pfft, agenda. What she really meant was objective. No, something less.. topside. Mission. Task. Job. Errand. Eh, nothing fit.

Vi found the napkin's little drawing on the peephole of one of the doors, and she knocked gently. She might finally get some answers here. Just gotta figure out how to lose her tail again.

The peephole slid open, and a narrow green eye greeted Vi when she looked up. She nodded knowingly at him, and her confidence skyrocketed the moment the door swung open with loud hinges. Vi realized a second later that it wasn't really a loud door so much as the hyena-like laughter echoing from within that made it sing.

"The one place where all the secrets are spilled." She stepped in, taking in warm hall's suggestive decor. She passed by a few hanging masks, all just a little too playful to really mean Babette had anything to do with the attacks on topside. No biggie. It was a stretch in the first place. Rooms on either side were occupied. To the right just a few steps later, a couple shared a shimmer-hued smoke in complimenting masks. It seemed Babette hadn't just moved from street-level clients; she'd gone classy with the more discrete crowd. A bubble bath with a ridiculous amount of bubbles to their left if Vi's glance could judge. That sounded like an expensive luxury.

"How, exactly do you propose we go about this?" Topside asked. A yordle in a bondage suit hummed a cheery tune on their way to a room behind them. Vi made no attempt to stop them as she picked her approach.

Hm, set the Piltie loose.

Vi planted her boots and twisted her back to swing her pockets out, "Let 'em think you work here."

The Piltie's head nearly exploded. "Excuse me? I will not."

Vi stepped forward, happy to help, "You know what your problem is?"

Topside looked amazingly done with Vi's shit at this point, rolling her eyes with zero interest, "Please. Tell me."

She slowly circled the awkward woman with a teasing song, "You expect everyone to give you what you want. If you really want people to talk to you," Vi enjoyed her listening in on the advice; hanging onto her words, "you have to let them think you have what they want."

"And what do I have?"

The enforcer was just too innocent to not waltz right into Vi's point. Maybe she was just a little too unsteady underfoot. Vi made no attempt to hide her gaze into the woman's chest, really wishing she'd kept the window open now. And then, another memory rose up and into Vi's pleasantly buzzing head. What was that about pinning, earlier?

"You're hot, Cupcake." Vi nearly closed the gap between them, but the woman tripped backwards in surprise? Confusion? Vi briefly made sure she wasn't about to step on the lady's toes. It would definitely ruin the joke. She did slap her left palm into the wall beside the woman's head. Judged for fear and almost found something akin to shock. Vi at least eased her right hand up to the other side with no less eye contact.

Her eyes. Wide, and shifting over Vi's face every which way. Looking for an 'out'. Holding her breath while Vi lowered her own.

"So, what'll it be? Man, or woman?"

"Um..." A few light footsteps behind Vi gave her the idea to force the woman's hand. She hooked her hand around the only customer's elbow and spun him around. Like an eager novice, she could hear his tentative smile from behind the mask's painted one.

"Hi! I-I-I'm Pim. What's your name?" Aw, he was perfect. Vi said the most topsider name she could come up with.

"Matilda! But," Vi tilted her head, subtly bringing the enforcer - still staring at Vi, by the way - into the conversation, "you can call her whatever. You. Want." Vi glanced at the enforcer pointedly, and back to Pim. Play along, hot stuff. It'll be good for you.

Topside gasped like it was a good idea. She found her voice again, singing to Vi's tune, "Yes! Matilda! Mah parents naimed me Matildah after mah great grandmothah Matilda the.. uh- pirate." Vi smiled at the shitty impression that reminded her of Vander. She'd left the two shaking antennas in the hall to the back rooms where she'd find the mistress.

This one looked the part. Vi slipped in through the heavy curtain half-tied up. Not down enough to keep privacy, but not expecting any company.

On the other side, Babette looked up from her ledgers; forgetting them immediately as Vi smiled at another friendly face. "Would you believe it... Have a seat; make yourself at home." She grabbed a smoke and lit it as Vi sat into the couch along the wall. Babette took up the one opposite, "I haven't seen you since.. how long has it been? Just over seven years?"

Seven. Vi's new least favorite number.

"Just about. I.. I just made bail." Vi knew she wasn't going back. Under no circumstances real or imagined.

"Sweetheart, I was real sad to hear about Vander. And the kids." At least someone mourned the boys. Vi remembered a lot of bad. And no one deserved what they got. Accident or not, they were gone too soon. "Just terrible."

And yet, the fissures moved on. "By the looks of it, no one lifted a finger to stop Silco."

"A few tried." She waved her smoke like a feather, "But Silco's got the muscle, and the money; took over the last drop."

Vi scoffed lightly, leaning onto her elbows over her knees, "I saw."

"Things have changed without Vander looking out for us." Babette lamented quietly.

Vi moved on, "Have you heard anything about Powder? I think Silco has her."

And Babette needed to think only for a moment before shaking her head no and Vi had to figure out who else might know. Ekko, if she might be able to find him before Powder. Where the hell could he be? Probably daydreaming on some cliff or elbow-deep in some project in some room no one would ever find him in. In any case, he'd be a tough find, too.

"I have to find her." Vi hoisted herself to her feet, unable to stick around and reminisce. She knew at least had one ally down here. One thing that hadn't changed with her.

"Silco's number two's a regular." Vi stopped and spun around on her toes in surprise, "I could have Miguel tell you where to find her."

Holy shit, a lead. If she was money, Vi'd been hanging around money all day. Money knew money. But if it was muscle, Vi'd find her herself just fine. Vi whispered back, "I owe you." and left to check on the Piltie.

Babette was a yordle, something Vi knew admittedly little about, but she knew one thing. She was unusually long-lived, and if something like that night - someone like Silco - had forced her into digging into the bedrock for a place, Vi knew she had to tread carefully. Silco had already caught her in one trap. Fool her once, shame on him. Fool her twice-

Someone giggled to Vi's right. She glanced into the open room on instinct, drawn to the light sound.

Hold up.

Vi turned her head, disbelieving.

Two women, one couch, and a whole lotta flirting. The topsider had a customer-woman-whoeverthefuckshewasaroundhere hooked in. Eating out of the palm of her hand like it was the easiest thing in the world with a gaze like that. Where was that fucking confidence ten minutes ago?

Like she belonged right on that couch. Not just comfortable, but inviting. Vi tilted her chin away; giving a hearty step down the hall. I'll be damned, there's the answer. Vi couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from tugging on their own. Same team.

And it was like a wave of something was wading through her chest; just off-beat enough for her to recognize that she might've been a bit blindsided by something. By someone. By someone who wasn't taking Vi's shit. Or threatening violence when she didn't get her way. Or giving instead of just taking.

It's the thought she has a moment before finding Miguel that really solidifies the nickname. Cupcake was perfect for her.

"Got something for me?" Vi leaned her good shoulder along the wall, smiling at Miguel's grumpy green eyes. He sounded nice, though. Must have resting-asshole-face. In any case, he wore it well.

"Sevika gambles most nights she isn't working. One or two haunts near the fringes. No one bugs them. Just a few blokes who'll spook. A few streets south of The Last Drop, a few north of the fringes. All along them."

Vi knew those streets. Smack dab between both of her childhood homes.

"Anything else?"

"She's forgone payment a few times. I'm sure Babette could sleep better if you're planning on catching some luck." He wanted Vi to out-gamble a gambler? There would be nothing but Vi's magic touch on the cards for Sevika. She wasn't even planning on talking. It was going to be on-sight. The questions could come later.

"Oh, Sevika'll catch something." Vi wiggled her fists in the jacket pockets.

"You know not to come back here if you do." Miguel warned.

Vi nodded, "And risk Babette taking heat? Never. She's got enough on her plate."

With that, he opened the door and let Vi loose out into the wild.

And she missed her shadow. Fuck. This is stupid. She knew it wasn't the best idea to go off on her own and leave Topside to her fun. But then again, maybe she just needed to get laid. Hell, maybe Vi needed it too. The thought wasn't particularly warming. More automatic and less than any of her priorities. Maybe sometime, when all this was over. She could find someone, make a life for herself, feel proud to share happiness in a bed. But first, crack a skull. Then, get to Powder.

Vi ignored the band blasting their instruments as she passed them. She heard their lyrics, and didn't stick around long enough to even give them a thumbs up or listen to the words. Just slowly making her way to her destination. No rush; she couldn't rush the build-up. The box was going to be worth it... No box, Vi. There wasn't going to be a cell for anyone to drag her victorious ass to after this. Fuck, what would that feel like?

She kept her eyes glued to the stone path she followed. Her hood did the talking for her to anyone who might not think twice to sell her shit or buy shit from her. Some guy didn't see her, as her shoulder knocked him off balance. He grumbled back, but Vi was on her scent and looking for a face only a mother could love.

Vi almost stepped around a corner when she made her mark. Sevika sat back, basking over a table with a cigarette. Vi swore she could smell it from here. Cheap. She was playing card with a couple of duds, but Vi was already moving.

She took a few racing breaths to prime her heart, and ran at the table in full-sprint. Vi once heard the strongest bone in her body was the femur. And Vi made sure to knee Sevika's temple hard enough to remember it later.

Both Sevika and Vi slid on the concrete. Sevika on her side, and Vi over her boots. The two goons did exactly what Miguel said they would and scrammed. Sevika looked up, nursing her jaw as she announced the name of the ghost who'd gotten the drop on her.

"Vi?"

Said ghost wasted no time getting closer, ducking under Sevika's draw back with her only arm. Vi growled, as energy from her knuckles reverberated back into her arm as she punched Sevika properly. Her head turned, and Vi yanked her ponytail back to swing her face into the wall. Held her head shoved into the concrete.

"You filthy traitor." Vi chastised. She felt metal under her hold over the muscle's back.

"Vander had his chance." Something purple lit up underneath the shawl of her left shoulder. Vi had no time to figure out how until the metal under her hand rotated upward and into her nose. Dazed, Vi stumbled back and flew as Sevika spun a kick into her chest. It took Vi's breath away, but more importantly, she'd been thrown onto her back. Vi inched onto her knees as her head pounded through disrupted motion.

Sevika tossed away the shawl, revealing a shimmer-fueled chemtech arm. At least Vi knew she was used to hitting metal. Sevika folded her fingers, taunting Vi to get closer. And Vi took the bait, standing up and shrugging her jacket off for better range of motion. She skipped forward, and tested her knuckles over the bronze. Right. Over Sevika's right arm. Left. Both remained unmoving. Vi felt Sevika parry a left jab, but Vi followed with a the right and-

The arm's inner locks rotated at the elbow and trapped both of Vi's against Sevika's side like a bola. It locked Vi in place with no way to protect her face and Sevika with a gloating window with nothing to stop her right arm from whatever the fuck she wanted to pummel. Vi pulled, and squirmed at the feeling.

Instead of swinging her free arm into Vi, Sevika spun them around. Vi's boots caught; unable to keep her from retaliating with anything. Just about to find out. "I see you never learned patience."

Sevika's head shot forward into Vi's. Blinding pain through Vi's nose. Again. Shooting up into her head. Vi hadn't even been able to fall before the copper knuckle plate pistoned into Vi's stomach. She fell back against the wall, sucking in a stinging chest full of air. Only tasting the smell of blood as an afterthought. The metal arm whirred, and Vi came back to the fight.

She ducked, hearing the clawing screeches of Sevika's arm into the wall where her face had been. Vi returned the favor into Sevika's stomach, and followed with another into her face. They each exchanged punches until Sevika over-extended with her mechanical arm. Vi latched onto it with one hand, shooting her right fist underneath it like a bar for a solid uppercut into Sevika's face.

And Sevika started shaking in the knees.

She threw a haymaker. Vi weaved out of the way. Body shots. Stumbles. Jaw. Grunt. Sevika rocked backwards on her feet, fight-drunk, and Vi jumped up and shot her fist hard enough into Sevika's head that she fell down onto her hands and knees in the dirt.

The arm dispensed another dose of shimmer through the vial at the top, and Vi gasped as Sevika shot to her feet fast enough to blur. She picked up one of the nearby barrels and punched it at Vi, who had to run just to avoid being crushed. Sevika rammed her weight into Vi against the wall, which was just as bad except her metal arm sliced through the air to grab Vi's neck into a chokehold. Vi felt her skin burning over the metal, as if it was overheating. She resisted the warring urges to stop touching hot metal under her hands, and needing to pull the arm away from her neck.

Sevika picked her up, and Vi felt powerless to stop the world from spinning as Sevika violently threw her back over a crate. Splinters stabbed into Vi's back like shards of glass hungry for her flesh as Sevika dragged her through the rubble. Somewhere on the ground, Vi'd dropped her hands, and she brought them back to the metal with even more desperation. A hot metal cane-

--

Bright purple light. Searing hot, burning skin. Too painful to ignore. Vi looked back into the face on the other side of the heat-fumes. She wasn't dying to this piss-poor excuse for muscle.

Vi kicked her knee up, hard into Sevika's crotch and as she bent down in pain, Vi broke her hands across her back and looped under the throw the dirty sack of shit against the wall behind them. The effort made Vi lightheaded, and she was forced the pant against the edge of a long column to catch her breath. Sevika wasn't out yet, but she was slow to get up, for sure. This was the longest fight Vi's had in years. And she knew it was the shimmer giving Sevika the edge. Vi was barely holding her own. If Sevika took another dose, Vi might not bounce back.

Sevika looked up, and Vi waved the thick-headed goon forward. She played her exhaustion up, pretending to be more gassed than she really was. Mostly, Vi's head hurt like a bitch.

Sevika took the bait, getting up with less grace than greasy feet on polished brass. Vi slunk back into the crease behind her, welcoming the familiarity in the enclosed space. Like it was her unspoken territory, now. Guard up. Assess.

Weave. Jab. Uppercut. Sevika's head lolled. Vi did her a solid into the wall, feeling something crack under the force. She didn't care if it was Sevika's skull or the concrete. Sevika tried to punch out, but Vi parried the half-hearted attempt and grabbed the right side of Sevika's head. Here, let me get the other side.

Breath. Left. Right. Body shots into her makeshift punching bag. Felt hard like one too, and Vi slapped her with a closed fist when Sevika started to remember where she was again. Vi kicked Sevika's shin back, and Sevika nearly drooled over her own knee before Vi rammed hers into Sevika's head again. Vi felt high, and ruminated in bitter relief and the drowning music in her chest.

Everything hurt, and yet everything was alive. All gears greased, pipes pumping, steam powering, mechanics in their prime. The pressure in her head was nothing compared to the dose of adrenaline racing through her. It fueled everything; relief, exhaustion, primal rage. Vi rolled her bad shoulder, making sure she stayed loose. Sevika crawled to her feet. Something Vi wasn't willing to allow.

Vi ran forward, and drop kicked Sevika hard enough to blast Sevika through the wall. Planks and dust flying out onto the street with her. Vi stalked forward, stepping onto Sevika's arm just before it whirred for a dose. With Vi's right hand, she tightened around Sevika's neck. In her left, a hovering reminder of what she would feed her if she didn't answer.

"Where's my sister? Where's he keeping her?" Vi threatened.

"Keeping her?" Confusion. "You mean Jinx?"

Vi bared her teeth in a scowl. No one knew about that. Was this just a nightmare?

"She works for him." Sevika smiled, and Vi sighed back, hurt more than she realized. No, that wasn't what a nightmare would say. Or maybe it would. Powder wouldn't couldn't be in cahoots. It'd be worse than if Silco had actually stabbed-

Vi staggers in place, not expecting fresh and searing pain over, through, and under her skin; just below her ribs. Vi's heart skipped into lower gear, now making her ears ring and the sight of Sevika sitting up from under her a lot harder to track. Sevika leaned her lips near Vi's ear, whispering, "She's like his daughter."

And Vi was shoved off, onto her back and she rolled onto her stomach. Not because she meant to, either. She'd lost her momentum. Sevika won out. She had no steam, no heat or fuel as if it'd been confiscated. Her insides drag and shiver at the humid opening. Nowhere to retreat, and nothing to combat the exposure of certain doom. Just like Vi.

Vi clutched her stomach, crawling, knowing she had to get away. The boots strutting up and around her head made her slap a hand into the concrete beneath. Sevika grabbed under Vi's jaw, and Vi's vision wavered up with no where to look except into the eyes of the woman who would do her in.

"You did good."

Sorry it wasn't good enough, dad. Vi rushed in her own head, not sure if her voice could make it out. But, she still had to tell him.

"Eh, what's one more round." She could hear him shrug behind her.

Powder's gonna be upset.

"Only if you don't make it back to her."

As if Sevika'd been reading her mind again, "I'll give her your regards." Her arm locked back, preparing for the final strike. Inched down toward Vi-

A gunshot.

Sevika jumped back, but Vi weakly turned her head back to follow where the noise came from. Cupcake, putting her gun to good use. She shot again, and again. And every time her bullets hit into the arm. Not even the same spot. And she missed all the important bits, too. Like Sevika herself. What shitty aim.

Sevika booked it into an alley, and the enforcer only came down when she'd run off out of sight; still wary as she hunted for shadows in the street. Her savior was purposefully not shooting to kill.

“Why did you let her go?” Vi gave her a side-eyed glare, as if to silently add ‘dumbass’ to the end of her question.

“Do you ever say ‘thank you’?”

“He’s gonna know we’re here now.” Vi almost sounded like she was whining. It would suck to have Silco’s goons hunting them down. But now, Vi had four more holes in her than she had this morning and fuck if she wasn’t looking forward to hiding while also figuring out how not to bleed out in the middle of the damn street.

“Whose fault is that?” Vi couldn’t help but blink down and shrug casually. Okay, fair point. Also, she really just folded her gun and put it away like Vi wasn’t painting the ground? And a final tug at her clothes to top it off? It wasn’t until Vi felt a ghost of warmth trickle down her arm that she remembered she probably should at least meet her hero halfway.

“You’re an alright shot.” Vi was already smiling before the smugness corrected her from above.

“I’m an excellent shot.” She also couldn’t help the airy chuckle before she reached upward. Willingly. A small hope, because she wasn't dead yet.

“You gonna help me out, Cupcake?”

“Stop calling me that. My name is Caitlyn.” They clasped hands, and resisted as she may have wanted, Vi huffed as she was pulled upward to wrap her arm around Caitlyn’s shoulder. Why be boring?

“But you’re so sweet. Like a cupcake.” It earned Vi a small measure of warmth back into her body to hear a humored mumble from Caitlyn. Vi learned she liked breaking the ice on that front. It made her wonder what she might say or do next that could bring another bout. If Vi would even make it long enough for the next one. This was fine for now. Helped take her mind off of her biggest problem at the moment.

“Hm. Shut up.” The enfor- Caitlyn tried to sound like she was done with Vi’s shit again but Vi knew what a smile sounded like.

Chapter 22: Season 1, Episode 6: "A New Light"

Streets were clear, as far as she could tell. Vi couldn't remember the last time she was so flipped-shit down a cliff. She'd been battered, bruised, cut, and tilted. Broken bones had nothing on this. That was loud and obnoxious, but she could trick her own brain into forgetting about it. This was sharp. Jagged. Like some guard who once woke her up what felt like every hour on the dot to rewake her up just for shiggles. Always fresh pain. Always just enough movement to break the pattern. The thought coughed a small sound out of Vi.

"We need to find you a doctor; shelter. It's getting late, and the investigation can wait. Do you know where we can go?"

Oh, right. Tourist. Vi looked up from her own boot. It kicked at a stray crack in the ground and the pair nearly tripped forward together. Vi blinked and looked back for another look. Caitlyn urged her forward, but Vi recognized it with a delayed gut-to-brain note. She squeezed her hand around Caitlyn's shoulder, "Not much of a hospital, but I know where we can lay low for the night."

Vi swayed, but pointed down the alleyway. Three streets over, the fissures cracked into the cliffs. Just a few flights of stairs down was a ghostly home. Half-carved into the bedrock. Vi already started for it. Diluted oil puddles littered the street. It'd be easy to track them if they weren't careful, and Caitlyn helped Vi balance between the bits that she couldn't step over alone. By the end of it, Vi felt cold. They'd walked beside steam vents and boiling pipes and still, Vi felt cold. Sure, she was definitely bleeding out. But c'mon, between bleeding out and freezing to death, which was the bigger fish? Definitely freezing. Wait, the other way 'round.

Their tail started calling out not long after, and Vi kicked her boot into the ground harder. Caitlyn kept their pace steady, but Vi knew this wasn't just a simple sit-and-suffer-til-supper kind of injury. Despite walking, her blood ran - no, sprinted. Each step felt like they were barely moving and yet Vi wasn't sure she welcomed the rush when their snail's pace just wasn't going to cut it. And it wasn't just the adrenaline dump that she'd read in stories as a kid. It was the chill at the back of her neck that was doing her in. Her body going into overdrive to keep upright. That instinct she had down shakily. Her fingers kept slipping from her side. She tried to tie the holes closed in the shirt but she wasn't sure where the holes even were. No, the chinks in her armor were the words bouncing around between her ears.

You mean Jinx?

Just as Vi shivered, the thought floated away, courtesy of the next wave wracking through her body. Some things ceased to bother her. No more bravado. Too expensive. She didn't dare speak over a whisper. Even with nothing chasing them, Vi couldn't waste the precious breaths she already couldn't track. Behind them somewhere, lackeys searched down streets and fissures. Their voices echoed off the stone walls she grew up around. She looked into the jacket but couldn't quite pull forward enough to see her side.

Her hand moved out when she figured that might be easier. That fight was exhausting, but holy hell, when did she start growing extra fingers on her hand? I'm fucked, aren't I? She promptly put it back though, hoping she'd just make it back home in time.

"Silco's goons aren't far behind. We have to keep moving." Caitlyn tugged Vi along, maintaining their course. Vi looked up, unable to come up with something stupid to say. All she could do was take more steps, and stare. Vi couldn't think of the word that came to mind. But it was a nice one. Something she was probably not gonna remember later. Y'know, on account of bleeding out.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

It was nighttime, but something flickered ahead of them. It looked like a star, or maybe an eye. It kind of... blinked like one. She might've seen something like it somewhere else down here. Second opinion?

"The hell's that?"

"The sign?"

No, the focus in your eyes. The muscle in Vi's side started tangling with her organs. Basic needs. Right. Need. Home. Just down there.

"Never mind. Just help me to the edge." And Caitlyn did. Vi soaked in the distance between the planks. First one would be easy. Just bend her knees, swing down and hang from the second. Repeat on the third beam. The ground might be a bit far, but that's what sliding was for.

Vi pulled away, standing on her own again. She hated the way it made her cold again. Bend, swing, hang, bend, swing, hang, slide. Bend-swing-hang-bend-swing-hang-slide. No room for doubt anywhere in there.

"Can you do this in your-"

Vi jumped off with a huff, and bent to catch herself on the first of four beams. It jolted her too much, despite knowing she could've made it. The second beam flew up too fast, and she clutched at it to slow herself. Her feet swung forward, and the whole tower shook. Vi couldn't risk swinging on this one, and hung down. When she let go, the third beam flew up. Her feet missed. By a lot. It slammed into her chest, and before she could even feel the breath knock out of her, the plank was out of reach again.

And then the ground came up, and she was too dazed to pull her feet under her. The only thing she could do was let it roll her down and leave her like a fallen pebble somewhere in the dark.

When she stopped rolling, she started hearing the dregs. The walking dead of sickness and outcasts. People who'd been tossed out and left to rot. No one made it out of here once they got here. And no one bothered looking down at the reminders.

Vi made it to her knees, at least, when Caitlyn's shadow joined her. Vi still felt dizzy, even though she didn't think she hit her head on the way down. Could've been Sevika's thick-ass skull. Forget the cold, now she really was spent. She let Caitlyn pick her up this time. Not just as a crutch but really use some strength. Caitlyn wasn't the one who had her shit rocked. No bother looking up.

She heard them coughing and moaning. The dust burned her throat, too, but it was a familiar kind of burn. The stone reminded her of Stillwater, too. There was an odd sense of noiselessness in the darkness suffocating them. Vi hated that she'd grown used to it.

"What is this place?"

"It's where the kind of people you topsiders don't want to think about wind up." Vi muttered, too tired and cranky to keep the venom out of her voice.

Vi saw a shadow approach them. His fingers clawed upward to catch anything that might fall into them. Caitlyn pulled out her flashlight and turned it on, giving Vi a clear view of his features. She definitely recognized those purple-pink veins. He fled like a roach under the light. Shimmer addicts. Instead of goons who'd gone and sampled the goods and landed in Stillwater, these were victims. Just decaying.

Caitlyn moved the light to the next closest. And then to another. And then Vi could see dark shapes in front of the air. It took her a second to process that the shapes were the corners of tents. Many tents.

"It was never this big, though." Vi turned back to the immediate concern behind her, "There." Home, just a few feet away. Bathed in flickering purple light and bittersweet as they came. The door wasn't locked, but then again, they were lucky there was still a handle on it. Caitlyn opened it and took in the room with the flashlight before dragging Vi to the table. Better than Vi could hope for.

Vi's side felt numb now, but she'd be lying if she didn't see something else in the room that Caitlyn had missed. Someone. Vi sat down and searched through the fog. Things started getting fuzzy, and she groaned as her stomach turned at the movement. Above them, the sign lit the room where the upstairs used to be.

Her legs shook, and as her chest heaved, Violet lifted herself up to the maze of planks above the dusty home. One… more… Ugh! Finally!

The sound of someone blowing a raspberry into the air made Violet turn her head.

“Fee-fi-fo-fum!” She growled angrily, mashing her teeth and flexing her fingers into the air as her eyes roamed the layers of broken wood and metal sheets. This room, above their parent's, was small but theirs. A little collection of panels and boards for them to catwalk and perch. And to find a little blue mouse! Powder knew exactly which areas Violet was too big to step on, and which ones she herself was smart enough not to trust.

Violet crawled over the same planks she’d grown up climbing herself until Powder came along. At least, that’s what she thought she’d done before then. She couldn’t remember much of a time without Powder’s little giggles and raspberries filling their home.

“Gotcha!” Violet pulled back the old sheet that Powder usually chose to hide under. But nothing but a cloud of dust billowed out from the air at her. Violet coughed, already moving to the next hiding spot. Then, she heard the board behind her creak at the unexpected weight of a little blue-haired scaredy cat.

Violet whipped around and charged at her little sister as carefully as she could. Powder shrieked herself into a fit of giggles and threw herself off the platform onto their parent’s bed. Violet followed, feeling the bed’s already weak framing crack from her momentum. She winced, hoping they wouldn’t notice when they got back.

The giggling quieted, and Violet returned to going on the prowl for that mouse.

Across the room, old colors sharpened and faded blearily along the wall. Caitlyn walked in front of where Powder'd once swung in the patchy hammock their dad sewed.

"The mega ultra chomp master!" Violet roared, gnashing her teeth. The crab had been a frequent feature in the wall of battles. It was the best one Powder had drawn yet! Powder leaned forward, pointing to the slug monster she drew earlier. Violet chomped at it with her fingers, pretending to eat it like the crab. That is, until Powder shrieked in frustration.

"I- But then we have the water goo uh, slug monster! He.." Violet picked up the yellow color and used the last of the chalk to draw drops beneath it. "has poison and can't be chomped!"

Powder cried out for her monster, "No! I'm a slug monster with venom for ooze! I'll eat you!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm a slug-eating crab with.. razor spikes!"

Powder shrieked again, whining. Violet hushed her, and Powder cried louder, pointedly.

"Okay! Okay, shh." Violet ducked under and around the hammock for her own glorious introduction. Powder's crying stopped almost immediately. "Ha! It's me, your hero! You can call me Vi." She tapped Powder on the nose, getting a reluctant wave-off as Powder hung onto the hammock and her words. "And Vi, stands for Victory! Get out of here, bad guys. You ain't gettin' my sis while I'm around." Violet put her hands on her hips, and then mimed a heroic cape behind her. Powder gave out a soft giggle, and added the final touch.

"Swhishshwish." Ah yes, the dramatic wind.

Vi blinked, pulled out of the thought as her head grew too heavy to really hold up. She felt cold still, but wet; like it'd been raining. It took another few seconds to process that it was sweat. Wait, she's sitting on a table? Her legs were definitely hers, but she couldn't quite move them. Couldn't feel her toes wiggle in the boots. Why's it so bright in here?

Focus. Don't die in this pit.

Caitlyn leaned forward, hand extended to wipe at Vi's searing cold cheek. It brought her back up from sinking just a little bit. She put her arm up; blocking her face. Why bother cleaning her up? She was gonna die here anyways. The last thing Vi wanted was to be pitied by a Piltie. Caitlyn didn't move away, so Vi shoved the hand away. IT was more of an arched fall of her own hand, but the message got across.

"I know you have your reservations about me. This only works if we can trust each other." She stood slowly, like she wasn't upset that Vi pushed her off. And Vi clung to her anger like it might save her instead. It'd certainly got her through seven years of Stillwater.

"It doesn't work." A breath. "It never has." Another. "You topsiders always find a way to screw us."

Caitlyn stood, "I suppose topside is to blame for all your misfortunes." She sounded sad about it. But Vi still found a way to argue. Even through the haze.

"No," She remembered Powder humming a song Vi taught her, "Not all of them."

"We're not monsters, you know. We're people. Just like you." Vi wasn't a people, no matter how hard she tried to be.

Vi swallowed, "You don't know anything about me..." Powder leaned around Caitlyn, peering. Curious. Bittersweet. That's what Vi was tasting again. She fought the heaviness, but it was a losing battle. Of course she was losing. Losing family, friends, her temper. She was the monster that night, scaring her little sister. "I shouldn't have left you." She couldn't hold Powder's eyes anymore, as the guilt ate at her guts, legs, fingers.

"It's alright," Caitlyn... was comforting her right now? "Despite it all, I can tell." Vi looked up at her for the first time since coming into the empty building. She was smiling. Sweet, again. And Vi realized that they were having two different conversations. But then Caitlyn said something that really took Vi off-kilter. Or maybe she was already on her way down. "You have a good heart."

It took Vi's breath away. She sucked another one in but her thoughts gave out from under her.

You've got a good heart.

Notes:

In Legends of Runeterra, and in Vi's official lore of course, Vi and Jinx have a very 'cat and mouse' and 'catch me if you can' kind of relationship. Something that I think mirrors the Ekko vs. Jinx scene on the bridge, too. A couple of kids playing a game, and as adults has a very deadly and tragic irony to it. My two cents. :P

Chapter 23: Season 1, Episode 6: "Reunion"

There hadn't been a single pipe she left unexplored. Deep in the tunnels, Violet crawled through the cracks and inspected every interesting chunk of rock. It was just her and her mom, one of the few times Violet was allowed to roam along the tracks. Always stay on the track tunnels. But the track ones were boring. They didn't have anything shiny when you waved a lantern around. The miners left earlier, and it was her turn to dig for buried treasure. Powder might like something shiny, too, if she found any. Violet heard her name, something that reminded her that she needed to come back near the start of the tunnel. Violet ignored it. A few more minutes wouldn't kill her.

There was a blast hole that Violet could climb down into. She'd seen them before, big ol' testing spots to see which way the grown ups wanted to dig. If they didn't like what they saw, they moved on. Suckers.

"Violet, come here right now!" Her mom sounded scared, so Violet tried to argue back up through the child-sized crack.

"I just want one of the green ones!" Violet peered through the chunk of muddy green crystal. She pulled, and the stone was stuck for only a couple of seconds before it made a little pop and she fell back into the curved half-wall like her hammock. Behind the rock, a dark little air pocket. It made its own fog, falling down like a tiny air waterfall. Violet kicked at it in fascination, but her mother's voice changed tune.

"Please, baby, you know you're not supposed to be in these tunnels." She sounded closer, like she might've heard the rock break, too.

"I found-" Violet cut herself off, tasting what she could only describe as bad air. She coughed, and it started tickling her eyes. Pulling away from the crystal dragged the wispy cloud with her, and she couldn't help but cough more. "Mo-m!" She looked up, through the crack as the air darkened around the little space. Violet reached up to pull herself out again, deciding that a pretty rock wasn't worth dying for. But she lost sight of the exit, no matter how close it seemed before.

The fog choked her. It made her lungs heavy, and her throat wet as each cough didn't seem to clear her chest. Drowned her. And she hadn't even gotten to see the river yet.

"Violet! Hold your breath!"

She shook her head, wheezing and sputtering in panic. She felt her mom's hand pull her up by her elbow. Tears boiled in her eyes, her nose felt like she'd stuck a red chunk of coal into it. Around her, Violet saw the dim tunnel filling with the same grey-green air she was suffocating in a second ago. Her mother tucked her into her chest, and Violet held on for dear life, wishing she was home.

In her mom's arms, they ran back home and she set her onto the kitchen table trying to talk to Violet. Something about Violet scaring her. Something about things being okay.

Everything hurt. To move, to breath, to see. When she opened her eyes, the light cast Powder with worry, just as her mom over her.

"Vi." Another beckoning call. To stay, instead of drift. She felt something lift to her lips. The taste of burning liquid and gentle hands told her it was some kind of medicine, or water. She'd take anything to soothe her aching throat.

Everything ignited all at once. Every nerve blasted alight, muscle clenched like she'd been electrocuted. Violently ripped and sewn back together in a single refreshing breath. A full blast of relief dunked her with no greater ease than a sheet of paper in water. Vi heaved forward, unable to outrun the intensity.

The blinding high flickered an instant later, and Vi caved onto her back, reeling. Something tugged her shoulders backward. She'd almost folded in on herself, and she sucked in painless air for a breath. She pushed up from the table just enough to readjust her side. An odd discomfort shifted where she had been draining before. Like a cork being twisted into her, hollowed out, and her insides squeezing shut around a paper bag.

"Easy, easy, easy."

Vi felt the knots in her stomach mending, or closing. She wasn't sure which. But pressure over her cheeks won her attention to the outside world. The space just in front of her face was full, and warm. Only a nose away, less than a hand, and with mixing breath, her eyes were right there. At first, Vi assumed it wasn't a real image, but Caitlyn smoothed her thumb under Vi's eye and stared. Open, and honest and yet, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. They both held, until Caitlyn blinked and retreated.

Vi's skin chased the warmth, as if Caitlyn's own body tore some blanket away and Vi stared at the space she'd just been looking at. Missing it. Like she'd been starving for it and didn't know how to act on it. It wasn't lust. Something deeper, and Vi wasn't sure if it was the medicine she'd just swallowed or the fervor hanging in the air.

That.. What the hell was that? She was so close-

"We need you back on your feet." Caitlyn turned away, nervous, "What was the name Sevika gave you? Jinx?" Unlike Vi, who stewed in the weird soup of unfamiliar and pleasant.

Vi felt at her stabbed stomach, and her fingers were dry. Nothing leaked out of her, not even sweat or whatever gut juices she might expect to find dripping from her hand. Vi sat up, feeling at her stomach and its surprising lack of discomfort. She felt invigorated, really, but the fading energy was replaced by the ironic mention of bad luck. "Right. Jinx." Even saying the word out loud was a horrible memory. "How could I forget?" If only I could.

"We're going to have to be more careful now. Silco will be watching." Caitlyn leaned back along the water tower's foundation and flinched away as even her thin frame shook the pole. Something along the bottom caught her eye, and Vi followed her gaze to the faded names and numbers. If she thought about it, she could hear the line being scratched over her hair. Feel the excitement at growing taller. Vi found herself staring blankly into a stone crack as the enforcer continued, "You used to live here.. Who's Powder?"

Vi wrapped a truth in a lie, "My sister. I thought she died, but, now.. I have to try and find her." There was an answer in Sevika's words. If Powder was trying to scare people with some nasty remix of a stupid word...

Caitlyn couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea, "How do you not know if your sister is alive or dead?"

Of course she couldn't. Vi stood, willing to enlighten topside, "It's hard to check up on people from inside a concrete cell."

"What, you don't have parents?" She wanted to know so bad?

Vi closed the distance, waving an arm like the words on her tongue were just as meaningful as a she would wish they weren't true, "No." She made sure to look Caitlyn in the eyes when she informed her, "They were killed by enforcers." Caitlyn's inhale was loud in the silence. Vi watched her come to terms, genuinely learn that something like that could happen. Or that something as simple as assuming that everyone had parents was so taken for granted that she couldn't fathom Vi not having them anymore? If Vi admitted it later, she'd remember seeing Caitlyn's eyebrows pinch together in easy sympathy. Not pity, but compassion just before Vi heard something ominous outside their simmering bubble.

Her gut was never wrong, and the echo sounded a lot like someone was disturbing the sump rats. Vi stepped away, holding her hand out and flat to keep Caitlyn quiet as she listened for a pattern. Straight ahead, on the other side of the door, they crowed and moaned. She opened the door and instead of some fight for scraps or desperate need to flee from the nearby cliffs, stood the devil himself.

Silco. Two goons. A vial of shimmer in each hand, lording over their promise to the groveling poor. Waiting. Fucking waiting for them.

His split ugly mug smirked at her, "Vander's prodigy."

She faced him, dropping her hand from the door and clenched her fists to her sides. Nothing but dirt and blinking purple fluorescence between them. Her gut said flee, her nerves said charge, her brain said stay. Wait him out. Trap. Don't move; don't bite.

One of the misfortunate clutched upwards, and he dangled it out of their reach, laughing. Looking up again, "I've regretted that we've never had the opportunity to speak." Behind him, behind his lackey, Vi recognized a face filled with the reflection of shimmer being handed backwards. Huck, accepting a trade. Trader turned traitor. Just one more. One more person corrupted by this slimy piece of shit.

Vi took a few steps forward, half-interested in closing the distance properly, but needing to hear him make a mistake. Fuckers like him liked to talk. If smug could sing, so could he. "What have you done with my sister?"

As he spoke, he dropped his leverage into the line of begging hands, "I freed her. Candidly, I thought you were the prize of your secondhand family. But- Jinx." He tilted his head back, and the hunched few grew in height, shimmer oozing from their faces and twitching like she'd seen Deckard across the catwalk. Vi didn't feel fear, though, just brewing and (barely) contained rage as Silco hummed in apparent victory, "Oh, she's more than I ever imagined."

The thought of him using Powder in any way, churned her core into and over itself. In Vi's mind, it solidified him from some vague mock-up being of potential evil into the embodiment of everything wrong in this world, and city. He was cunning enough to know what he was doing, and rich enough to get away with it. He controlled and exploited people for his own sick and twisted gain. And without even needing to think about it, Vi dug a heel she didn't know she had planted. Because Silco was worse than any person she'd ever met, heard of, or feared. More than her grudge against any topsider, any enforcer, anyone someone like Caitlyn even cared about. Hunting him was priority number one. Not imprisoned, not taught a lesson. Dead. Destroyed. Forgotten.

Vi made her vow, "I'm gonna find her, and erase whatever fucked up delusions you put in her head. But first, I'm gonna bring your bullshit empire down all around you." Behind her, Caitlyn slammed into the water tower. It creaked in the air, and Vi watched his minions writhe and twitch forward as they turned into the grotesque and feeble-minded.

"You don't know your limits, girl. It's what got Vander killed; what drove your sister away. And it's why I'm here right now."

Speaking of things falling from grace, Vi had to put it out there as she heard Caitlyn use her body as a piston to tear the foundations. "Yeah, well," Vi put her guard up, "you talk too much." Vi bounced backward lightly, judging the stalking creatures as they stumbled with fading issue. Try as Caitlyn might, she'd never get that beam to snap. And lucky for her, Vi still wanted to fucking hit something.

She jumped back through the doorway and used every ounce of herself into her itching fist. Caitlyn's body had already been working in overdrive to lean against the pillar. Vi's exploding punch resounded upward and through the wood, bending the metal above as the tower leaned and fell into the ridiculous sign above.

A sea of metal, dust, stone, wood, and glass collapsed from sky to floor, and Vi let her gut, nerves, and brain align into one thought. She grabbed Caitlyn by the elbow, not risking any hesitation for her to linger as they fled the room and climbed out of what would certainly be a death sentence. Vi didn't care if Silco died in the collision, or if he lived. Everything he was and ever would be would crumble soon enough.

Caitlyn struggled in the climb, dust clouding any visibility as they paused only long enough to track each other. When it settled enough for them to see where their own hands were, Caitlyn's height gave her the advantage and Vi was forced to use power to make what clutches she could. Her fingers unused to gripping into stone.

Vi huffed the final ledge, her hands and arms unable to hoist the rest of her body as she let Caitlyn yank her arm up and hoist Vi over the top. It was sloppy, and they both fell. Caitlyn backward onto the safe and flat surface they'd entered into the fissure and Vi forward with a passionate desire to get the fuck out of the area.

They scrambled to their feet and Caitlyn's heels clicked as Vi glanced back to make sure her tail was hot on her own heels. She was, and struggling to keep up. She was dirty, but alright. And it meant they could really put some distance on Silco and the scene they'd created down there. They made it to a service tunnel, big enough for them both to slide down one at a time like a makeshift chute. Just as Vi shot out the other end, she was forced to use the body of some passerby who'd been staring into space.

Vi caught her feet, and heard the mechanics of his voice ground in annoyance.

"Watch it, slag." His saunter rubbed her just the wrong way. It would be petty, but Vi didn't care in the moment, temporarily distracted as she postured.

"You wanna go?" She threatened.

He stepped closer, "Do you?"

Caitlyn joined Vi out of the makeshift chute and caught her footing beside Vi. Vi shoved him roughly back out of her space and settled on a much needed statement.

"Fuck you." She flipped him off and Caitlyn swiped at her shoulder from behind. Didn't matter. Something caught Vi's eye from above, where the idiot had been staring.

Into the sky, like an unmistakable beacon, someone had lit a flare. Brighter than any of the lamps and lights in the undercity. And Vi's breath caught long enough for Caitlyn to remind her that they were running from Silco. Instead, Vi started running not away, but to. Not survival, hope.

Wherever you are, light it up, and I'll find you. I promise.

Vi didn't care to look back to make sure Caitlyn followed anymore. Vi was already gone. Climbing staircases, railings, wall jumping, anything to get to where she knew to go. Faster, running down the street with no weight left in her chest. Boundless strides between corners until the tower's stairs marked the next climb. The next easy obstacle. She wasn't going to wait for Powder to climb down. Vi made a promise, and she was going to get her ass to the top of the tower before the flare even fizzled out.

The air thickened the closer she made it, but she did. Her lungs burning and legs shaking. There was nothing left, but step out through the persistent blue haze. Vi took the last couple of steps up to the platform, and saw a teenager, donned with strapped machinery and cloudy tattoos. Her hair, in twin braids down past her knees. A few thick bangs hanging forward just like their mother.

"Powder?"

Vi stood, staring, soaking, and unbelieving. She'd made it in time. She made it. Powder turned around with wide eyes.

"Vi?"

When Powder didn't rush forward, Vi easily made the choice to do so herself. Joy filling her eyes and soul, "Oh, Powder!" Vi wrapped her arms around her sister, feeling the cool skin and she squeezed as tight as she dare. Unwilling to let go of her for even a second to waste on silly apologies just yet. Vi could finally look happiness in the eye in a moment. For now, she needed to fill the hole in her chest enough to breathe again.

Powder finally raked her hands over Vi's shoulder and neck as she made it out of surprise. Her little sobs were something Vi knew exactly how to counteract. And they held each other. Healed just a tiny bit again. Vi needed to clear the air. She pulled back, and cradled her sister's jaw and ear.

"I'm so sorry, Powder. I- I tried to come back, I promise I did. But I.. I got arrested." Vi explained, not willing to let the universe even think about tearing them apart before she'd say it.

"Marcus." Powder reasoned. Vi couldn't say she knew who it was, for sure, but, well-

"I don't know, I.." Vi realized she'd looked away for a second too long from Powder's slightly less childlike eyes and well- "It doesn't matter. I just," Vi let the tears well up, uncaring that Powder was seeing her so emotional. She could be open, now. Everything was going to be fine again. The world was a little bit brighter again. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Vi stole another desperate hug. Truly an addict for it. If she died right now, she'd kill whoever it was that stopped it.

"Are you real?" Powder asked into her ear.

Vi pulled back, never more sure of anything, ever, "Yes." Vi urged, "Of course. It's me, Vi, your sister, I'm-I'm-I'm here, I'm right here." Powder looked almost unconvinced, but Vi was floating, and had to remember to ground herself in the moment. They were together. Everything else could come later.

Powder's tears fell as she looked away, "Things changed when you left. I changed." She looked horrified for a second, and heartbroken. But not defeated, and Vi couldn't feel more proud. She'd done exactly what Vi knew she could. She found a way to make it, and as much as Vi never wanted her to have to, Vi understood exactly what she meant.

"I know. Pow-pow, I know." Vi brought her hands from Powder's shoulders to her face again, "You did what you had to do to survive." Vi scoffed, able to brush off everything through her euphoria, "Me too." Things were easier now, like she'd be able to lift the world if only Powder asked her to. "It's okay." Vi leaned in for another hug, and Powder accepted it naturally, "What matters is, we're together."

Just one more. All they needed was one more-

Powder tore herself out of Vi's embrace, snapping what Vi realized was some kind of three-headed gun. Powder's expression chipped into a face Vi hadn't seen before. Something sharply dark. Suspicious.

"Who's she?"

Vi looked back, half-facing the steps she'd climbed a minute or two ago to see Caitlyn still stepping up to the platform's main level. Like an inevitable stone over a cliff's edge, Vi's stomach dropped.

If Caitlyn figured out-

If Powder realized-

"Who're you?" Caitlyn asked.

Vi held her hand up carefully as she focused on keeping Powder from flipping her shit, "It's okay, she's a friend." Caitlyn wasn't going to hurt Powder, Vi just needed to explain.

"Sevika wasn't lying? You're with an enforcer?" Powder realized. She jerked her shoulder away from Vi's attempt to steady it, and aimed the gun toward Vi. Never-yes-Caitlyn-

"Your sister is Jinx." Caitlyn figured out.

"Caitlyn, just," Vi really didn't want to screw this up. "Listen," Vi wasn't above pleading for this, "we can work this out." Powder had to have reasons-

"This is a trick! You're playing me!" Powder's voice cracked, and she shouted at something not quite there, "Shut up! I'm in no mood." Somehow, the stone caught a boulder on the way down. Vi didn't need a mirror to know Powder wasn't all there. She knew what that stare sounded like.

"We didn't say anything."

Powder turned the gun onto Caitlyn properly, using her whole frame to turn it with heavy purpose, "I wasn't talking to you."

Vi stepped between them, slow in every way she could be, "Powder, it's okay."

Powder glared back, "Stop calling me that! It's Jinx now. Powder fell down a well."

Still, Vi ignored her gut, "You're not a Jinx, god, I never should've-"

Powder leaned, the barrels of her gun pointing into Vi's face, "Stop talking to me like I'm a child!" Powder skipped on, "Was that why you came? For this stupid stone?" She mocked.

A tiny blue orb beside their feet drew Vi's attention down, and she remained honest, "No. I don't even know what that is, I.." Vi's only reference were the ones Powder'd shown her years ago. The ones Vi told her to keep a secret. Maybe if she'd told Powder to fess up-

"You're a class act, sister." Real venom, not something Vi could shrug off, "Sister; thought I'd missed her." Her eyes darted to her gun, "Bet you wouldn't miss her."

Slow wasn't cutting it. "Powder!" Vi caught the engraved skull between the barrels, just as they started rotating and Vi shoved the weapon away. "I'm here for You! Only you." A more solid push-off to the machine, and Vi stepped forward, even as Powder stepped back. She was hesitating, and Vi could feel the disconnection as she oscillated between emotions. Maybe she needed to feel Vi. Feel grounded.

"You can fire that thing if you want, but I'm not going anywhere, I'm not going," Vi slowed down, "to abandon you again." She promised, touching her fingertips to Powder's exposed arm. Powder was listening. And then she flinched, and Vi knew Powder couldn't as she argued back against some delusion. Vi pulled back, only to watch Powder curl forward over her gun.

"Everyone shut up! I need to think." She straightened again, "Do you hear that?"

And Vi listened, like she'd lose something more if she didn't. Powder's anxiety crawled between them, and Vi had no other idea than to bring her own fists up, feeling defensive. She could hear it. Something whirring in the open pipelines nearby. Something approaching in the air.

Powder's gun followed her eyes, searching through the smoke-filled air. Vi trusted that Powder knew exactly how to use the gun if whatever had her spooked was really there. Vi's fists weren't going to be worth shit at that range.

Then, she saw them, more of the same new tech flying in the air like personalized air-boards. Powder's gun whirled to life, forcing them to explode into movement. Their green chemtrails swirled through the haze, blasting new puffs of smoke and forcing their cover back into the air above the tower. Vi stuck her back to Powder's, daring any of them to make the mistake of trying to touch Vi's baby sister.

She tracked them through the air, unable to hold eyes on any of them for more than a few seconds. They were surrounded, and it felt like Powder wasn't nearly as freaked about it as Vi thought she'd be. This wasn't entirely a surprise.

The attack at the Hexgates. The defector. Rival gangs. It was rival gangs. Avoid the yellow crystal bombs. Wait for a mistake. They'd have to get close sooner or later. Defend Powder. Defend Powder. Defend. Powder.

One of them dove in, around them both, right into Vi's reach. She greeted him with her fist, hitting him off his board and across the platform. Another swooped in, armed with a a baton- Vi flinched under the instinct. Bullets rained out and up into the air. The thug she'd knocked away got to his feet, and Vi took no time assessing him for what he was. A threat. He was taller, a vastayan, and gunning right for her for a piece.

Vi shot her left out, and he ducked around too close for comfort. She cracked her knuckles across his mask, and took a step back. He repeated, and she blocked his right cross with her own elbow. Followed swiftly with forced chest shots. Her feet planted and practiced. He started to fall away, but Vi grabbed his hand and jumped with another heavy jab into his head.

Left.

Right.

He stumbled, and the platform lit up in flashes. Vi turned back to Powder, blocking her face as bullets peppered around her. Powder's gun sprayed them, and Vi looked up from behind her arms. She blinked and felt horror.

Powder's face gleamed in the flashes, her shadows flickering upward as she lost herself in the chaos and violence. That was- wasn't- Vi knew that-

The thug shot out into Vi's vision, and she jumped back, narrowly dodging his claws swiping where she'd been. He swiped with his left. Weave. Jab. Stumble. He'd spun around, but Vi waited until he looked back. Cross. Stumble. Fuck, stop tanking them!

Vi didn't bother with the specifics, she fed him body shots, head shots, anything that kept her knowing he could still fucking speak. And when he finally did go down for a nap, Vi's arms were admittedly burning, and the air was a little too thick around her. She reached up and swiped at some loose spit in the corner of her mouth. When she looked back to Powder, the sight wasn't much better.

Powder's gun wasn't shooting bullets, but she'd repurposed it into a hammer, smashing it over the face of a different thug, twice her size. Blinded by bloodlust and battle fever. Quickly bridging the gap into dangerous territory. Losing herself.

"Powder." Vi tried, stepping closer. A flying thug shot between them, getting just close enough for Powder to switch targets as she whipped her gun up again. The bullets blew holes into the board, and a kid rolled onto his feet and scrambled across the platform. Powder didn't seem to care. She made to gun him down anyways as he fled. That was- wasn't- "Powder!"

Vi jumped forward, and-

Nothing. She didn't even feel herself falling. Crumbling. Landing.

Notes:

I have like, nothing, written for episodes 7, 8, or 9 so far, so it might be a day or two between chapters for this coming week. :)

Chapter 24: Season 1, Episode 7: "Rivals"

When Vi woke up, it was dark. No, the weight of a full-faced hood filled her vision. She'd been sitting upright, and her jaw was really fucking sore. And her cheek bone where she must've landed on.

Ugh, can't believe I got dropped like that.

Powder's tear-streaked face flashed shortly after. Vi blinked again, like she could see some kind of after-image in a stifled lantern. She couldn't, and Vi clenched her fists. Bound, behind her back. It painted a horrible dream. It was cold underneath her, the metal bit into her hands, her shoulder twinged, and the air. There simply wasn't enough of it.

She'd seen Powder again. She'd held Powder again. Powder was alive, they were both alive. Vi growled into the sack over her head hard enough hurt. Just once, just to get the feeling out of her throat. Burn away her own filling eyes. The acceptance afterward clicked into place again. She didn't even bother trying to stand. They'd probably locked her cuffs into the floor.

Vi knew, for once, she was definitely not in Stillwater. Powder was too real. And fuck, Vi wished she was back there again. She wished she could go back to the platform, speak faster. Or tell Caitlyn to wait at the bottom. What if Vi just shoved the thug off the ledge? Maybe she could defend Powder better. How could she not keep her eyes peeled? Did Powder even make it out? No. She definitely did. Vi had to believe Powder made it out. They'd just find each other again once Vi busted out of this stupid side-mission. It was just Vi's luck that the minute she finds Powder, that shit goes tits up. Ugh. Where the hell was Caitlyn in all that?

And where was her fucking firepower? Excellent shot my ass. It was probably buried under rubble. Upping the real estate value of the pebbles. Not helping shit, that's where it was. And stuck in the middle of some drama, Vi was clueless on how to go find Powder now. Maybe these firelight thugs knew something. Yeah. They had to know something.

But the pity party was over quickly, as someone else in distress wiggled and wormed awake behind her. Vi took in what details she could see in the tiny holes of the seams which... wasn't much. Caitlyn struggled in her own cuffs, and Vi wondered if this was the first time she'd felt helpless. It wasn't Vi's, and she made herself comfortable until their captors were ready to talk.

Caitlyn started vocalizing a couple of minutes later, moaning against her bindings a little too scandalous for Vi to not imagine other scenarios she might make those sounds. And Vi hated hearing the echoes enough to clear her throat, "I thought you'd be into this."

And then Caitlyn had to ruin the thought spurred on by boredom.

"I knew it was a mistake trusting you." One step forward, two steps back, apparently.

Vi turned her head back as if to look at her, scolding lightly, "You've been a real picnic yourself."

"I'm not the one who walked us into not one, but two of Silco's traps."

Like he'd not gut them the first chance he'd get. "This isn't Silco. It's someone else."

"How do you know?" Caitlyn seethed.

"'Cause we'd already be dead."

"Oh, very nice." Caitlyn went offensive again, "When were you planning to telling me that your lunatic sister works for him?"

"Just as soon as you came clean about what the hell you're really doing down here."

"I told you the truth!"

"Bullshit. What was that glowing stone." Vi knew she had her. That wasn't in any of the pages of her diary. A diary that was definitely confiscated - or with the gun in the sump - and now both of them were hostage to whoever the hell wanted Powder dead. People willing to capture them and kill Powder for the stone, she assumed. Couldn't figure out the reason, since there was so much more to things than Caitlyn led on.

"That's what I thought."

A heavy door ground open. Visit. It wasn't the warden. The thug, it was the thug.

"What's going on?" Caitlyn ordered.

Vi shrank away from the contact beneath her armpit. It didn't do much, her arms forced together behind her back as she fell back on old habits and filled the air with protest.

"Hey- stop! Get your hands off me!"

"Leave her alone!"

"Let me go!"

He dragged her ass out of the room, leaving Caitlyn alone. Vi fought for her feet, and earned them as he pulled and shoved her where he'd end up taking her anyway. The light was too bright. Daylight. Vi had to close her eyes and trust that her next step wasn't going to be off a cliff. That'd be a shitty way to go. And then she remembered they wouldn't have bothered with the theatrics if they wanted her dead. Which meant she had something they might want. Something Vi was racing to figure out how to leverage faster than they squeezed it out of her. Unless it had something to do with Topside in the dungeon.

He brought her to another heavy door and unceremoniously dropped her against some metal piping framework. The thing about the cufflinks, was that he hadn't tightened them all the way. And there was a nail digging into the floor. A forgotten little stick in the dark. Today, it'd be her best friend.

The bag over her head lifted too fast for her to keep up. She blinked and squinted, blinded by the artificial lighting of what Vi knew would be an interrogation room. She'd been through worse. She just had to figure out what they wanted out of her. And then she'd never fucking give it to them.

Above her, the vastayan rolled his jaw as he sneered downward. Vi matched it, and watched him walk over and tap at his boss's leg. Some scrawny teenager covered head to toe. A mask covered his face, and Vi made sure the fist-eater shut the door before turning her full scowl to the shot caller.

He sat, hiding in the shadows; under his mask. And only three kinds of people lived life like that. And she was pretty sure the air wasn't choking either of them out.

"You shy? Or just ugly?"

He stood to his full height, and set aside his metal club. It wasn't bad news, at least. Still, Vi had her hands ready to pull and push the nail through the mechanics. She just needed a distraction. He reached up and unclipped his mask. The following hiss filled the room, and Vi thought he might use it to swing at her, but it drooped harmlessly to his side with his hand.

The kid, young man, rubbed his neck and stepped out of the shadows properly, "You look good for a dead girl."

She couldn't quite believe it until she said his name, "Ekko?"

He stepped sideways with a stare that never dropped. A similar suspicion tightening his eyes and mouth. "What do you know about this?" In a sling over his shoulder, he cranked a lock open along a tube and it opened like a makeshift chest. Inside, that same stupid glowing stone everyone was up in arms about.

Why the hell was everyone so obsessed with this chunk of rock??

"Nothing! What the hell is this all about?"

Of course he answered her with another question, "What were you doing with Jinx?"

Vi stood up, apparently the only person willing to defend her sister, "Her name is Powder. And I just found her when you and your goons showed up." And why the hell were they even fighting in the first place? In case he'd forgotten, "It's me, Vi." She pulled forward, feeling the nail hook under, "Same person who used to take you down to the junk heap and hose you down and got covered in grease." The final push backward. Unlocked. Hidden freedom. Everything was going to be okay again. She just needed to convince Little Man.

His eyes softened, remembering. She knew she almost had him. She had to.

"That was a long time ago." His eyes slid to hers, "People change."

I changed.

"Yea, I'm getting that." He never wavered under her stare back. Neither were willing to back down, and for once, Vi knew he'd been through just as much as Powder, or herself. Except, he'd come out the other end with his own definitions.

"Are you working for Silco?"

What the actual fuck kind of question was that? "Fuck. You."

"I-I-I thought you were dead. Now you show up with a Piltie and give her a tour of The Lanes?"

"You were following us.. Why didn't you say something?" She should've figured someone had clocked them.

"I didn't know if I could trust you."

"So," Vi huffed, searching for his logic, "so you just come out swinging?"

"Gee, I wonder who I learned that from." There was a hint of a smile.

"Ha, well you shoulda learn more," Vi teased in annoyance as he rolled his eyes and turned away, "you still punch like a little boy."

She cracked his armor, and he spun around and squared up without a second thought, "And you still block with your face!" He didn't know she'd been letting him as she scoffed.

"I remember when you wouldn't stand up to me." He wasn't a scared little kid anymore. He was brought up, hardened by the very rocks and lessons she'd had to endure. It was too late to change the past, but that didn't mean he didn't need what she needed at this moment, too. Because if she wanted it, he'd probably gone a long time without one too. And the last time she'd hugged him, he'd lost a loved one. And then just.. didn't see her again either. Vi pulled her hands apart, and wrapped around his head. He was taller, but she didn't care that age had made them almost equal in height. He'd always be someone whose head she would cradle. Whose neck she'd protect. "I missed you, Little Man."

"How long have you had those off?"

She wasn't going to let him try and spoil the moment. Now was the time for reconnection, not yapping. "How long have you been whining?"

Slowly, his hands curled over her arms, and Vi decided she could forgive him for sicking his crew on her.

Notes:

I know episode 8's not for a couple of chapters, but I got distracted. Not away from writing, but I kinda forgot I still had to work on literally all of 7. And we all know where. XD

Up next, we're getting Vi totally-not-googley-eyes-at-cait-mcgee.

Chapter 25: Season 1, Episode 7: "Stubborn Seeds"

Ekko separated them this time, and with a smile on his face. He reached into his back pocket while Vi expectantly held her wrist with the remaining cuff.

"So, you really went from the back of the pack to the front."

"I think it's more that we share the weight."

"Sounds like it works." Vi remembered the crystals, "You were stopping the shipment at the hexgate."

"How'd you know about that?"

Vi shrugged, "Word gets around."

"Silco distributes it; produces it. It took us a long time to prepare that ambush. And we didn't all come out the other end." Ekko's smile faltered before he waved to the door. "Want some fresh air?"

"Hell yeah, Little Man. It smells like Benzo's basement in here." Vi looked around, and tracked the largest pipes through the flooring and up into rooms or fissures beyond. And she couldn't help but feel impressed that something as crazy as the idea of flying on a chem-powered hoverboard was made a reality in her lifetime. Even using the network of pipes in the undercity with them was top shelf thinking. "I have to admit, your boards are genius."

"Well, we needed something to get around. Not all of us are good at scaling the fissures like cave newts."

"Practice harder." Vi smiled, pinching the muscles of his bicep. Damn, getting clotheslined by him would suck.

Ekko swatted her off with equal mischief, "I bet you'd fall on your ass trying one out. See how tough you are then."

"I don't doubt that for a second." Vi agreed, "But I'm adventurous. Maybe when all this is done, we can trade some education."

"Deal."

Vi slung her arm over his shoulder, and shook him under her. He shoved her off, heading to the door properly. And as it cracked open, Vi tried several times to adjust to the daylight again. The muscles in her eyes hurt like they were underdeveloped - or underused. She was tentatively hopeful about getting used to it.

And then the color filled everything. Chunks of art had touched even the piping along the rounded edges of the community. Leaves and shapes bred a living, flowing canvas of decoration and expression. Across the way, over some lower floor where the ground had to be, they'd strung up clothes on lines and sheets of paper. No risk of someone stealing a single piece off the line.

Above them, rather than stacking mismatched blocks of weathered concrete, branches swayed from somewhere out of view. Not a stained glass sculpture, or clever twists of wire and shards of pretty metal. Like even the air was breathing without effort.

"Is that a real tree?" Vi had to shield her eyes, but she couldn't stop tracing the network of branches into each other. It wasn't just a stick planted into the ground. It was its own building with the truck growing seamlessly over and through the metal framework they called home. Not a treehouse, but treehomes. The beams of light looked like she was under water looking up at floating debris. But instead of streaks of oil or chunks of runoff and pollution floating in the currents, there were puffy green tufts of vegetation. Clean air. Dirt under her boots that was probably just dirt.

She followed him, openly gawking at the levels of care they'd put into building around the tree. The bare minimum, and their staircase wrapped around and up into the canopy. Surrounding them with flickering rays of sunshine through the tops and soft shadows once they slowly reached the end of their journey into the summit. Vi peered into the open workshop, knowing exactly who it belonged to. Yeah, there was no fucking way she'd find Ekko.

And just when Vi thought she was done soaking in the scene, kids flew around and through the tree in excitement. Playing some game, and carefree.

"Pretty cool, huh? When I first saw it, I knew this was the place. If a single seed could make it down here, so could we."

"You built all this?"

"Not alone. After Vander.. Died, Silco flooded the Lanes with shimmer." Ekko's number two stood next to a few kids testing out their balance on a board. It wobbled, and the board slipped out from under him; getting the small audience to laugh. The chirean held a baby in his arms. The board belongs to the kid who'd swung at Vi on the platform. The same one who'd ran for his life while Powder tried to gun him down. "He didn't care what it did to people. Everyone here was an addict or a victim. They needed somewhere safe to start again."

They might not, if Vi had been there. She could've brought Powder along, and in knowing where she was, could've prevented all the addiction, and ferality corrupting The Lanes. She knew she was important to so many, and it all started when she fucked up. Each time after was just one domino after another for everyone else.

"I should've been there. For you; for everyone." Vi knew exactly what she was to Vander. Someone he'd meant to follow in his footsteps and here she was, lagging behind everyone else. She blinked, remembering his hands ghosting over her jaw as his words in Benzo's shop were just that. Don't lose who you are. Protect the family. And so far, this was the closest thing to something positive coming out the other end. Without her. Despite her needed presence.

"That's a good way to drive yourself crazy," A firelight landed next to her hand. Like it trusted her to not squash it under such bloody hands. "If I just went with you that day, maybe none of this would've happened." Ekko mirrored her thoughts, and still, Vi spat out 'what if's.

"Or maybe you'd be dead, or.. changed." What really went on with Powder after she left? How deep did Silco dig his claws in? Vi looked at her palm, something that'd made so many things so much worse, and yet, too intertwined with who she'd grown up as to change herself. Too scarred to build, or invent. Too accustomed to breaking and destroying things.

"Powder's gone, Vi. All that's left is Jinx, and she belongs to Silco-"

Vi interrupted him, unwilling to let him keep telling himself lies. "You're wrong. She's still in there, I can reach her." She did. Vi knew she did. She wasn't more sure of anything, ever. Vi just needed to find her angle. Try harder. Keep defending her. Because if Powder had no one to protect her, Vi must be dead. Or worse.

"You can't!" Ekko argued. Knowingly. Something must have happened between them. Vi never thought Powder and Ekko would even be apart, let alone enemies. It was easy, to fall back on what she knew was right. Stubborn as Ekko was, Vi couldn't be convinced her little sister was a monster.

"I know my sister." Powder was hurting, and Vi made promises. Held Vander's final words like her own life depended on them. Even if the world burned; even if they were oceans, continents, worlds, universes, lives apart.

Ekko dropped it, "I got one more thing to show you."

He brought her to the base of the tree slower than they'd climbed up. It started as occasional candles, and evolved into several low-end shelving to hold the reminders of lost friends and family. Vi realized she had missed seeing it on the way up, but now it was like seeing her own again. Powder's childish half-smile, her own smirk beneath Powder's head. Both painted as permanent photographs from before. Vander's portrait in one corner, looking over and away. Benzo's smile so real, her heart jumped when she saw him looking at her. Claggor behind and between him and Powder, Mylo beneath Powder and between Vander and herself.

Those were the largest, brightest, faces. And around, beneath, beside all of them; the styles changed. Spray paint, actual paint, charcoal, colors, lines, shapes. More faces. More scribbles and reminders.

"This.. is everyone we've lost. The price of our freedom. Some of it was enforcers; most was Silco. Your sister works for him not because she has to, but because she wants to. I'm sorry, but that's who she is now." He was so sure of it, too.

Vi looked at Powder's bright eyes, her open and curious expression. So different than the anger, tragedy, and pain Vi saw last night. But it was.. it had to be Powder. Somewhere in there, hidden and locked away. Ekko didn't know everything. Vi was still going to figure out a away to her. Through to her.

This time, Vi blinked down to her portrait again. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled like that. She wished she could forget the clouded scowl she'd seen in the mirror yesterday morning. Her thoughts drifted to Caitlyn, whose own family must be missing her. The naive wannabe-detective probably really did think she'd be home by now.

"The Piltie with me, she's got family waiting for her still. What do I gotta do to take her back?"

"You really think I'm letting her blab about this place? Not just a topsider you're cruising with - don't think I don't know she's an enforcer - but someone who's important up there? We don't need any more shit. It's hard enough poking at Silco."

"Caitlyn's not like that. She saved my life."

"I saved yours from Jinx. We're even. I'm not risking our lives because you want to get in bed with topside."

"This isn't about some piece of ass."

"No? The last person I'd ever think who'd work with one of them was you. They killed your parents, you've been - where? One of them hole you up in their shiny towers and brainwash you?"

Vi's nose twitched. "I was in Stillwater for seven years, asshole. That topsider, that cop, that idealistic motherfucker is the reason why I'm standing here trying to decide if I wanna wring your neck or not. She's good for it." Vi would have been more taken aback by her defending Caitlyn, if her gut didn't speak for her. Besides, that didn't mean Caitlyn wasn't indirectly involved with a whole bunch of shit. But Caitlyn herself? Vi was willing to give credit where credit was due.

"I have questions for her."

"Oh, me too, don't worry." An alliance eased the anger boiling underneath Vi's skin. Cooled her back down to normal. She held her palm out for him to grab. "If you're done scaring the shit out of her, maybe you'll be able to see for yourself."

They left the collage behind, and Ekko whistled for the kid with orange hair to run off and grab a peace offering. He opened the door and sat down; a perfect mask of neutral. Probably a much milder face he'd given herself a bit ago. Vi leaned along the outside of the room, enjoying the sun on her skin when something small flew across the room and crashed somewhere.

"What have you done with Vi?" Caitlyn asked. And it almost sounded like she was pleading. Nah, couldn't be. "Listen, let her go. I brought her here. It's me you want." Well, that was a quick turn-around. And for Vi's sake, no less. Vi couldn't help herself and stepped in to lean her shoulder into the doorway. The sun heating her back through the jacket.

"My hero." Vi cheered, teasing. She couldn't see Ekko's face, but Caitlyn shifted through ten different thoughts before landing on confused accusation at Vi. And Vi wouldn't have it any other way.

"You- but I thought you- I thought they were hurting you!"

Well, how was Vi supposed to know she knew the gang's leader when he was covered head to toe and never stopped to ask her questions? Questions like 'oh my god, Vi, who's this stunning lady you're showing around? That wasn't an innocent question. Ekko would never ask that; why was Vi asking that? It could mean nothing. Was probably nothing. Actually, just gonna stop thinking about changing her opinion. Go back to being a judgmental shit. Cause that's easier said than done now, huh?

"Vi tells me I can trust you. You get a pass back topside, that's it. Let's go."

Vi waited patiently in the doorway. Watching Caitlyn's gratitude return under a disguise of frustration. And Vi could see the anger not quite hold over her eyes. And her frown, too flat to really mean much. Just a cute facade of embarrassment and relief. Vi's gut was a filthy fucking traitor.

You do not like her.

Okay, but even if you did, being on the same team and pitching the same game aren't the same.

You might like her.

She's too good for someone like you.

Someone like you, or someone like her?

Vi yawned, "Want some fresh air, or did we step through too many fumes yesterday?"

Chapter 26: Season 1, Episode 7: "Gameplan"

Caitlyn's eyes were looking upward, the same as Vi when she'd stepped out. Vi knew there were trees on topside and still Caitlyn must have found something like this was worth soaking in. And Vi had seen the look before, when they'd first seen the girl flying through The Lanes. Vi tried to ignore the feeling. She even interrupted Caitlyn to get their asses moving. Vi made sure to give her a respectful amount this time.

In all honesty, maybe Vi was being a bit of an asshole yesterday. She'd told someone who'd never seen her world to 'get over it' and move on.

"It's beautiful." Vi was still looking at Caitlyn, absorbing her wonder again in a different light. Vi tries to push down the idea that Caitlyn's really been more open about things than Vi has, and maybe Vi needs to chill the fuck out about it or she might as well be an asshole with good footwork.

"If your people had your way, it'd be rubble and ash." Vi caught his glare at Caitlyn, knowing all too well that she'd been giving her the same treatment yesterday.

"It's a misunderstanding. They think you work for Silco." They. Not we, or my people. Just as simple as stepping out of one pair of boots and into some high heeled high-rises.

"Your people hunt us." He stomped toward her, "Like animals." He shoved his face up to hers pointedly, "Silco pays them to do it." It made sense, it would give Silco a patsy.

"That's not possible." Caitlyn doubled-down, "You're wrong."

"Say that one more time." Okay, that's enough, tough guy.

"Ekko. She believes what she's saying, okay, she's not your enemy."

Ekko scoffed, "Oh, yeah? Then what's this?"

"You got it. You have to let me take that back." Caitlyn leaned forward, not quite reaching for it, but definitely wanting to. Telling both Vi and Ekko that Caitlyn really wanted it. Ekko stepped back with it possessively, and Caitlyn stopped herself.

"What is it?" Vi questioned Caitlyn, tired of being out of the loop.

"It's a gemstone. It was stolen during the attack; by your sister."

"You just forgot to mention that?"

"With this," Caitlyn not only spoke, but her hands mimed her own thoughts, and every time Vi tried to read Caitlyn's face, the movement reminded Vi just enough of someone raising their fists that she kept flicking her eyes up and down. Caitlyn's eyes were open; pleading. Her hands weren't weapons; explaining. "someone with the right knowledge could build any hextech device. If enforcers are becoming more.. aggressive, that's why."

"We could beat Silco with this." Ekko seemed to be trying to convince Vi, but she was waiting for Caitlyn's words to seep in for him. And Vi was too busy trying to listen for the bigger plan to come out. Vi didn't tell Silco he'd be dethroned. A bigger fish would just fill the void. Vi meant everything would be going down with him. Enough that there wouldn't be a crack deep enough for anything else to think about crawling back up.

"That won't solve things."

"Easy for you to say. Your people aren't dying all around you."

"Ekko. It's wrong, what's been done to you. You'd be well within your rights to keep it. I couldn't blame you." Vi listened, and heard Caitlyn not just giving up her own mission to bring it back, but also giving Ekko more than enough justification to use it how he wanted. She'd do that? Give it up for Ekko? Let the undercity keep an edge they didn't know they had? "But, if you do, this cycle of violence will never stop. This is our best shot at setting the record straight. This city needs healing. More than I ever realized. Please. Let me help you."

No, Caitlyn wasn't just giving an inch. She wasn't agreeing with him to manipulate him into giving it to her. Caitlyn wasn't being selfish or in some level of con against Ekko.

Caitlyn had every reason to be selfish and she just wasn't. She was a topsider, fed from silver spoon and probably never knew hunger until she met Vi. She almost died in the fissures multiple times, was a fucking saint for patience with Vi's antics, gotten in between gangs, almost been pickpocketed, and was probably never going to forget all of the bad shit that'd happened to her down here. She'd done all that for a little blue rock. And instead of thinking for herself, Caitlyn was willing to consider Ekko's perspective. Not just Vi who'd been attached to Caitlyn's hip out of survival. But someone Caitlyn had to trust Vi's judgement in order to be willing to do this for other people.

There was definitely one enforcer who wanted to do the right thing. One topsider who cared about someone else. One person who somehow wanted a better life for them; despite not knowing them.

"You got a plan?" Ekko asked after a moment. Vi heard a similar gear click in his head as he turned back to look at Caitlyn. Caitlyn nodded.

"I have a friend on the council. Let me take the gemstone to him." Vi knew that could backfire, and still, Caitlyn had suggested it. Caitlyn was still risking her own skin. "He'll listen to me; your people wouldn't have to hide anymore."

That was how Caitlyn wanted to take Silco down. Unite the undercity and topside against the right enemy. Turn the tides, and root him out of the fissures. And Vi knew she'd be more than happy to bust the right criminals. Until there was no more of Silco's stain left.

"One condition: I'm the one who gives it to them."

--

The tunnel stretched forward, full of old air and a dampness that clung to Vi's feet through her boots. She walked with her hands to her side, then in the jacket pockets, then again down at her hips. Caitlyn's boots kicked up an extra gear before matching Vi's pace. Vi greeted her with a bounce of her eyebrow and a tilt of her head. And a small lingering question lacing her every thought for the last couple of hours.

"You meant all that, huh? Back there."

"Of course."

"Even after everything you've seen down here? You don't think the undercity's a lost cause?"

"I can't pretend I understand all of it," Caitlyn admitted, "but that also doesn't mean I have to just accept it."

Vi hummed softly at the floating chunks of wood over one of the puddles. She stepped onto it, sinking so little, she wondered if it had any give at all. "Some things get easier when you just accept them. It makes the bad days tolerable."

"That's not enough for me."

Vi stopped trekking through the thin mud to look over to Caitlyn fully. Maybe it was the tight curve of the tunnel that forced them closer, or the way Caitlyn's eyes met Vi's in silent resolve instead of wide-eyed wonder. Vi tried to swallow, feeling her own words stick in her throat like her toes in her boots.

She almost said 'must be nice', but it wasn't just that. It was-

Ekko's footsteps splish-splashed from up the tunnel. The jogging huffs following close behind him and his whirring board. Beside him, the faint glowing chemicals provided just enough light to illuminate all three of them rather than any of them relying on their own eyes to see in the dark.

"Damn, you two like to move." Ekko muttered, "Thought I told you to wait up." He looked very prepared for the trip, holding the metal tube's sash with confidence. Vi grabbed onto the opportunity like a lifeline.

"Thought you were compensating." Vi jerked her chin and smile to his board, and Ekko stepped behind Vi only to shove her into Caitlyn. He took off running, and Vi - beet-faced and grateful as fuck that Caitlyn wouldn't be able to see it - gave chase.

"C'mere, you little shit!"

"You'll have to catch up, first!"

By the time Caitlyn caught up with them at the first turn of the tunnel, Vi had already caught her breath. Ekko had long since sat across from her on the dry curve of pipe; basking in his close victory. The run was nice. Definitely needed. Vi still wanted another, but the tunnel was split from here out and they both wordlessly chose to wait for Caitlyn before continuing.

When Caitlyn did meet up, Ekko groaned as he stood, "Right tunnel breaks open to a gaping abyss. Last time I was here, I only noticed the bottom was missing because my board dropped altitude from the density."

"So what you're saying is.. -Left.-"

"-Left.-"

Vi smiled, "Who needs a map, when we've got you looking out for us."

"I still don't know where.. she lives. So, I still have corners to fill in." Ekko started down the tunnel again. Vi knew exactly who he meant. And she didn't want to start another argument right now. Thankfully, the air lightened up in the pipe. It was still humid, but at least it wasn't stale. The tunnel snaked, and when they made it past the final turn, more pipes had joined along the walls. Each leading down into this one. The tunnel widened and grew upwards until the arch was impossible for anyone to touch without a ladder.

Out the end, it opened up to an alleyway that had been abandoned. A little crack that made Vi wonder just how many could there be in the undercity? How many other hideaways and havens. This was an explorer's dream tucked away at the beginning of a service tunnel and still somehow open to the night sky. Old planked bridges, moss, vines, catwalks had been left behind. Powder would love this.

They weren't alone, though. Dozens, no, hundreds - maybe thousands - of little streaks of green flittered around them.

"What are they?" Caitlyn asked, struggling to study any single one as they flew up and around them.

Vi wasn't sure why this place was abandoned, or what the secret lives of insects were, but she knew this shit looked cool, "We call them firelights. Never seen so many, though."

Eventually, the crack closed in around them and they passed under another tunnel. This time, it wasn't rounded like the other had been. It looked polished enough that Vi knew they were definitely closer to Piltover than The Lanes. She knew they were near the surface; something that meant The Firelight's hideout also must be true for.

None of them broke the eerie silence between them, now. Caitlyn remained at the back, with Vi starting each climb in an equally silent statement of 'step here' and 'this is the better footing'. She bounced her heels along the ledges both to steady her footing but make sure Caitlyn had caught the message. Very stable. Over massive interlocking gears, and through unpowered cables. It wasn't until Vi caught a glimpse of The Pilt to her right that she made the connection. They were climbing up from underneath the draw bridge.

Vi could smell the river below, a murky off-black abyss of water. Far enough below that she knew it must hurt like hell to fall into from this height. She'd seen kids break bones from the overflow pools closer to topside. Well, still very much undercity just; more sun than The Lanes. She knew they would be crossing the bridge at some point, but all it took was one stray glance upward at the buzzing lamps behind the approaching ledge that Vi realized she hadn't thought about crossing the bridge.

Notes:

Next up: Ekko and Jinx 1v1 ARAM. :Sad Kitten Yummi:

Chapter 27: Season 1, Episode 7: "Impossible Choice"

They were greeted by a blockade pushed open for half the bridge to be used. Vi hadn't remembered seeing them at all on the way down, and by the look in Caitlyn's eyes, she hadn't known about them either. Caitlyn's inspection traveled downward, over the stones just behind Vi's feet on the undercity's half of the bridge. Vi followed, and she frowned at the fresh scorch marks burned into the flooring. Smoke residue from tear gas spewing out from cannisters. She'd even felt their effects during a riot in Stillwater. And she wasn't going to step closer and risk tasting it on the air again, even hours after it'd dissipated. Similarly, somewhere behind Caitlyn's side of the half-blockade, tiny glistening chunks of broken glass, and burned-off alcohol had been baked onto the polished rock. One word. Riots.

Vi was the second one to stand completely on the bridge, but she was the last one to start walking over it. Besides the chilling wind and fog, all she could hear was the buzzing of insects and metal fuses giving the bridge lamps their humming sound. There were people to avoid, and distractions; a fresh appreciation of daylight the last time she walked on this battleground. Now, it was the middle of the night and so devoid of life that the lifelessness of that one thought forced Vi from looking up from her feet.

Left. Right.

"You're almost there, kiddo."

Vi swallowed, nodding.

"Why aren't I in the mines like my parents?" Vi stared at her empty cup; glared at it, really. Vander told her to park her arse there after Vi got into a shoving match with Mylo. Again. So, she was enjoying her meal of the finest pipe water around while Mylo was probably gloating with his soup in the basement.

Vander still looked disappointed, but hey, 'sharing is caring' didn't apply to her books. Books she stole fair and square. "The mines aren't a place for kids."

"I'm not a kid anymore, I'm thirteen."

"Sorry, teenagers." Vander's voice joked, but his face still said her name was Violet for the remainder of the night. Pfft. No one was gonna take her seriously; especially if they were getting their teeth punched in by someone named after a flower. At least Powder could be intimidating. Like a powder keg. Vander hadn't answered.

"You worked in the mines before bartending."

"I do more than tend the bar."

"Yeah, but you're not coming back with soot in your teeth everyday."

"How's this a problem, again?"

"Well, how come I'm not shoveling coal or digging for... whatever. Plenty others send their teens off to work. How come you haven't sent me off? You just let me do my own thing."

"You want me to make you split your nails, have to ignore blisters around your hands and feet, and come home too tired to even take care of yourself?"

"Well, no, but I just don't get why you haven't yet."

"I wouldn't make you work yourself to the bone. Why should I?"

"I don't know, it's what they did for a living."

"Well, that's not your job."

"Then what is? Where'm I supposed to make money? What shitty part do I play in this shitty story?"

"Violet." Ugh, there it was.

"What." Vi grumpily stared into the cup. Vander was going to be soft and sweet any second now, and Vi was just gonna feel guilty on an empty stomach.

"I just.. Your job is to take care of Powder. Don't worry about all that just yet."

Crackling - buzzing - fires nearby. Glowing purple veins fading to grey - grey stone underneath her boots. She was walking on the bridge, still walking, but instead of explosions, Vi could almost hear his heartbeat in her ears. Feel it give out under her fingertips.

"Take care of Powder."

"Vi?"

She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking. Ekko was asking, and Caitlyn was watching. But Powder was down there. Suffering.

"I can't leave her again."

"You can't change her." He might've convinced himself, but Vi hadn't given up.

"I have to try." Vi looked up from the bridge, to Ekko's knowing expression. He knew some thing just had to be, and this was one of them. Caitlyn had to understand, too.

"Don't get yourself killed." Ekko came to her for a hug for once.

"Hm, no promises." It might be a minute before they saw each other again, but Caitlyn would make sure he was taken care of.. Vi opened her eyes, feeling the weight of what she was doing start to sink in. Vi almost died in the undercity when she went off on her own against Silco. And this time, Caitlyn wasn't going to be around to bail her out of being a stone-cold-dumbass.

Ekko stepped aside to give Caitlyn a chance, and Vi felt the force of Caitlyn's hug envelop her. How could someone so new in her life fill such a gaping pit she didn't even know she had? Someone who knew what she had to do and somehow understood that she still had to do it; despite Vi not having all of her heart in doing it.

She didn't want to leave them. Leave Cait. But Vi had a responsibility. Vander's dying words. Something she's spent all of her earliest memories needing to put before her own wants and needs. Vi couldn't have it any other way.

"It's been real, Cupcake." This wasn't gonna be permanent. Vi knew she'd planned on coming back already. Hung onto the thought that Caitlyn would be somewhere she could find once Vi somehow managed to save Powder from Silco. But, just in case, "Thanks. For everything." She tucked her chin into the side of Caitlyn's neck, giving herself something to miss. The warmth of Cait's delicate skin, the tugging of Vi's helix-pierced ear between their heads, their chests joined in the middle on replying heartbeats. Caitlyn held Vi tighter before loosening her hold just enough that Vi felt the need to return a favor.

Vi thumbed over Caitlyn's cheek, not needing to tell her that they'd see each other again soon enough. Hell, Vi might even be able to have the best of both worlds. One foot with Caitlyn, and one with Powder. Vi had enough room for both in her arms. Something to look forward to. But first, she had to figure out how to even find her sister in a city that one, had changed and two, was going to be doing everything it could to stop her. It wasn't going to be easy. Vi huffed air through her nose. She'd fought worse odds.

Left. Right. Just one heavy-ass foot in front of the other. She almost made it back across the half-wall when she heard the distant crack of a single gunshot.

Vi whipped around, knowing exactly who did not have her gun on her, "Caitlyn!" She could barely make out any silhouettes over the bright off-white beams facing her at the end of the bridge. Ambush? It was bright enough that Vi would have wondered if they managed to bottle the sun into a lamp under different circumstance. Vi didn't know what she'd even do, but she was getting there.

Suddenly, a swarm of firelights rushed around and past her, drawn to the commotion. Vi watched their little wings flicker, but then she felt a couple touch her. And she felt metal. Then she heard the high-pitch mechanics, and all she could do was slow down in momentary confusion as the swarm continued along her same path.

They hovered in place for a moment and Vi's few seconds of hesitation probably ended up saving her life as the air in front of her exploded. Vi's body screamed hold, but only long enough for the tiny shards of brass to spray outward from themselves like fireworks setting off too early and too close to the ground.

"Ah!" Someone screamed on the other side of the bridge through the smoke and ash. Vi passed by a couple of unconscious enforcers, or dead. She definitely wasn't going to check on them. They weren't going to be Caitlyn. Another gunshot. From behind her. Someone was coming from the undercity's side, and whoever it was probably just turned those 'maybe's into 'definitely not's. And they weren't far behind Vi, either.

The inside of her cheek stung, and Vi wiped her face when she realized she'd bitten it. She took one last look into the fog behind her before continuing her run back to figure out what the fuck was happening. This time, the blinding light flickered. Blinding light, and blinding dark. Vi tried not to look into them, but with every jarring image, an equally painful after-image took its place. The flooring was littered in tiny brass debris everywhere. Vi felt them crunching under her boots; like broken glass and wired frames.

Bits and pieces of enforcer armor next to their owners. One of them propped up along the railing. Caitlyn the only one moving - very injured - in the middle of the bridge. Ekko nowhere to be found.

Vi didn't bother helping Caitlyn up at first. She slid on her knees, and tilted Caitlyn's chin up to see her eyes. Bloodshot, sure, definitely in a lot of pain. But her pupils were the same. And she didn't have any chunks of metal sticking through her head. She just kept her own hand clutching at her left leg where Vi caught some red when the dark shadows swallowed the light.

Right here, in the center of all the death, someone wasn't dead. Caitlyn didn't seem to be shot, so who had the gun? And where the fuck was the person down the bridge at? Vi settled under Caitlyn's arm, giving time for Caitlyn to prepare herself to stand. With a spectacle like that, they would need to get as far away from this as possible. There were... a lot of dead people here. Topside people. Vi recognized the only enforcer with no mask on, and she knew without needing to ask Caitlyn that it was the sheriff. Looking down at something, but not really seeing.

Vi pulled Caitlyn closer, another moment to prepare Caitlyn to move. When Vi blinked, someone was standing down from them on the bridge. Powder. Vi would have been happy to see her, but not here. Not on a scorched bridge.

Powder looked stunned, too. And upset. Angry. Jealous? She was looking at Caitlyn. Vi followed her line of sight, and Caitlyn had been looking up at Powder, too. Still reeling from the chaos. Vi's stomach dropped. Powder had been killing enforcers. Powder knew Caitlyn was an enforcer. Powder was going to kill Caitlyn.

Powder roared in frustration, and before Vi thought anything else, she shoved Caitlyn away as hard as she could. Bullets and tracers peppered the concrete a split-second later. Vi fell onto her side, but when she looked over to Caitlyn, she felt relief that none of them touched her. And then a streak of green caught her eye down the bridge.

Ekko was flying on his board toward them, and with the gemstone tube in his arm. He abandoned his board and skidded across the bridge just as Vi hooked herself under Caitlyn again. Ekko got to his feet, and turned his head back to face Vi and Caitlyn; throwing the tube at them. Caitlyn caught it, and Vi didn't like how that turned her stomach.

"Go!" He ordered. He was buying them time to escape. Vi had been in his shoes before. But now, all she felt was heartbroken. Like it was some record starting over again. More death. More tragedy.

Vi started to. She even took a couple of steps to slowly turn Caitlyn around in a way that wouldn't destabilize her footing. But Vi also knew who Ekko was facing off against. Powder. Or, maybe not the Powder Vi knew she could reach right now. She wasn't in her right mind. This was what Silco was trying to turn Powder into. And Vi saw someone who'd just tried to kill them. Someone who was about to kill the boy who used to have a crush on her little sister.

Vi had to save Powder.

But first, right now, she had to save Caitlyn.

Vi turned them around and put her left foot in front of her right.

Powder taunted Ekko behind them, "Oh, look who it is! The Boy Savior!"

Each step took them further from the pair. There was quiet, until Vi and Caitlyn stepped through the heavy fog near the end of the bridge. A gunshot, once. Then twice. Still, Vi flinched like it happened right next to them. She kept walking, knowing she was holding Caitlyn's wrist tight enough to hurt. Three shots must have meant that Ekko closed the distance.

BOOM

Vi's heart jumped, and she turned them around to look back through the heavy clouds of ash and flame-brightened smoke. Lanterns poking through the haze. She stared into faint shapes, carrying Caitlyn's weight over her shoulder.

Powder took another friend - more family - away from them.

No.

Vi just didn't save Powder in time yet.

Notes:

Including what's been published, I've written over 100k words for this story so far. Of what I've worked on, no on-screen shot has made me rewind more than Vi wiping her face with nothing on it? Didn't look like she got cut, so the only explanation I could come up with was that she bit her cheek or some shit. XD I tried. Maybe I'm too tired. Any other ideas? lol

Chapter 28: Season 1, Episode 8: "Topsy-Toury"

Caitlyn readjusted her pants at the bloody chunk of her leg, and Vi slung the gemstone tube over her shoulder. There weren't any more gunshots, or explosions. Still, Vi had to set Caitlyn down and Caitlyn needed a breather anyways.

The horns started, even though a crowd of boots chased time toward the bridge. An alleyway looked promising. Just out of the way that they probably wouldn't notice them. Probably.

Caitlyn used the wall to slide down to the ground. Cait's hand slipped, or maybe she gave up before Vi could balance them properly and Caitlyn dropped roughly onto her ass with a grunt.

"Will you be okay?" Vi checked the alley's opening a few feet where they'd come from. The voices were louder, but no enforcers yet. She checked back with Caitlyn, "I'll be right back."

Cait nodded, "Okay." Vi patted her knee in comfort. Just enough to really sell that Vi wasn't going far. She wasn't even going to leave her line of sight at this point. Bad shit seemed to happen every time she did.

She ran toward the opening just as the responding enforcers sprinted down the main street toward the bridge. Vi nearly slammed her head back into the wall, hugging the shadow of the corner as they ran past her; unseeing.

First, a pack. Then, a trickle of them. Vi risked a look over the edge of the corner, and one last cop darted past. Vi was already flat against the stone by the time he made it halfway out of her vision.

The enforcers disappeared into the smokey haze of the battleground. Vi checked back up the street for more of them, but the coast was clear. She peaked around the gated bars, half through them. Unwilling to leave the shadows, but needing to see something - anything - for herself. But nothing except the repeating defense alarm beat through the air.

Were they going to find Ekko dead? Was Powder waiting for them, to ambush and wait for the rest of Piltover like a predator in wait? No, there were too many enforcers.

And Vi wasn't sure why she felt relief that in the precious minute or two that followed, there was no violence. She hoped it meant Powder fled, somehow changed and seeing reason at facing against Ekko. Vi squeezed her eyes shut. Please, Pow, stop hurting people.

"It's gone." Caitlyn breathed behind her.

Vi looked back over her shoulder, "What?" The tube's opening was unlocked and shifted open with no glowing blue gemstone to bring light into Caitlyn's face. Somehow, Powder'd swiped it. So, she didn't flee the scene because reinforcements were coming. She left because she got what she came for..

"It was all for nothing."

Vi turned back to face the bridge like she could find an answer. Find some understanding in watching the flecks of ash and memory of blood tell her something about why Powder was acting like this. Ekko said the enforcers were hunting his freedom fighters; his perspective of them made total sense. Him, Powder, all of them grew up with a healthy fear and understanding of that dynamic. But Powder's resolve? There was only one person Vi knew who was willing to dig her heels in for a fight. Stare it in the face without flinching.

So, of course it was Vi's fault. Powder was doing what Vi'd always done. She backed up her feelings with action. Even though other people were getting in the crossfire. Vi just.. never thought she'd find humanity in the people underneath the armor. Fuck, Vi could still feel the cold steel of her prison bars beneath her fingertips-

She jerked her hands off the gate like it burned.

Okay, she'd admit it. That wasn't Powder. That was Silco's weapon; Jinx. Powder was still there, though, just buried underneath. If Powder fell down a well like she said, then Vi was going to jump in there with her and claw her way up with Powder roped over her back.

For now, Vi needed to commit to this with Caitlyn. They could find that angle. Plan something better. Caitlyn was cunning as hell, resourceful, and just as resilient as the next Zaunite. If anyone could convince people on topside, it'd be topside herself.

Vi clenched her fist, and took a deep breath; dragging - forcing - her lungs to fill with fresh air. It was cold, and wet, but that was something she'd have to get used to if she was going to be touring up here.

"Ready?" She held her hand out for Caitlyn to join her. Though she'd never felt this excited to get away from the bridge on this side of it, distance was distance. Cait nodded, and Vi steadied them as she braced Caitlyn over her bad shoulder.

There was a nagging sensation at the back of Vi's skull. She'd felt it since they left the bridge. Somehow, it wasn't the horns blaring like fireworks hadn't just tore through the air. If the explosions didn't wake up half the city, the stupid fucking alarms would. And people were cranky when they were scared out of sleep. So yeah, Vi figured she'd name that annoying little feeling while they shuffled over perfect stone. Something new, something old.

Inexperience.

Caitlyn had given Vi a small glimpse of what topside might be like, but she couldn't shake a lifetime of envy, distrust, and reinforcement at every junction. It made her shove the shitty thoughts out of mind and try to distract Caitlyn with the little things in life. Smiles were bonus.

"Cait, I don't know which is more annoying: those horns, or the hexgate." It was ironic that with just those two blaring sounds in Vi's memory bank on topside, that was all she could hear when they went off. Like all of the surface's noise was funneled into those two outputs. A magic blinking airway, and massive bugles crying for help.

There were hints of the undercity in the streets. Just enough imperfections that Vi hadn't noticed on her previous trips through. That didn't mean topsiders didn't try their damnedest to make everything even. The symmetry was so obvious, that Vi hadn't realized just how much of it encompassed her life as a kid. Everyone was used to sharing half of everything. Pairs were never pairs for long. If it came down to doing with part, or nothing, it was an easy option.

But up here, all of the windows in the same building were whole. Just like the gilding along the rooves, the aligned and entirely attached gutters that Vi just knew were cleaned with care.

"I couldn't agree more."

"How's the leg?" Vi looked down at the wound, watching it nearly brush against her own thigh with every calculated step. She could see the skin underneath the blood and torn fabric. But it wasn't going to make Caitlyn bleed out. Bet it hurt like a bitch, though. Cait was a trooper.

"I think there's shrapnel in the wound, but nothing broken."

"Looks like the tables have turned, huh?" Vi stepped over a chunk of busted concrete, uniquely aware of the one they'd stepped over in the undercity. Vi felt a small desire to share that story. Maybe later. Caitlyn was talking right now.

"Oh, yes, I thought I'd go and get myself blown up by your sister again." Caitlyn grumbled. Vi rolled her eyes, even if Cait couldn't see it. Maybe she'd hear it.

"I get grouchy when I get shot at, too."

"She almost killed you." The attitude hadn't left, but Vi tried to keep her feelings locked away in her box.

"I don't think she was aiming at me."

"Vi, I know she's your sister, but you need to consider the reality of things here."

"I'll consider them when we get those munchkins out." Vi didn't really want to make light of that, but she was far from willing to have an argument that'd definitely come out of a statement like that.

"Munchkins?"

"Yeah. Where're we going? Everything looks the same, and I swear we haven't even fucking turned anywhere."

They passed by a full-windowed bakery when the smaller streets forced them to cross a major avenue. Not a single piece of food had been put behind the glass on display. Nothing waiting to be sold the next day. Despite the night and eminent morning, Piltover slept soundly. Maybe Vi saw one or two early birds trudging on sidewalks, but otherwise, there weren't many. And those few who moved with purpose ignored the blaring calls dampened by growing distance.

"A few more streets. We'll need to go through the academy district." Caitlyn looked up at a building, and Vi followed her eye into the weirdest deja vu she'd ever felt. A repaired-over wall among the unblemished concrete walls.

--

Enforcers, the next street over, raced past them as they searched for potential victims. Or criminals, Vi figured. One thing was for sure. Caitlyn wasn't leading Vi to an actual hospital, or the nearest station. If the sheriff flipped, it made sense. That gunshot couldn't have been from Cait or Ekko.

"What happened back there?"

"Marcus-"

"-Fuck.-" Marcus! Powder knew about Marcus- That was Marcus?

"betrayed us.. What? What's wrong?"

"He's the one who buried me."

"We don't have the time right now to unpack.. that. Right here." The alarms had stopped, but now they echoed in her skin. Somehow, twice as loud.

Vi steered them, forcing herself to not squeeze Caitlyn's hand again. She was really getting over all this fucking shit. Why did every street have the same man's face posted around? Wasn't Piltover governed by a slew of selfish pricks? The street turned onto an unassuming bookshop. As in, the store did not assume you needed to go anywhere else for anything related to studying whatever it was you might want to. Tattoos for their brains, maybe. Sky didn't seem to be the limit anymore.

"I feel like I'm dragging a sack of potatoes."

"You're not featherly, either, you know."

"This really needs to stop happening. Next time, stick to a papercut."

"Why, so you can kiss it better? One more, then left at the street post. We'll have to sneak in through the back once we're past the gate."

"Don't tempt me. Why're not just walking in?"

"Honestly, this has been such a horrible tour. I'm demanding a refund. And, I don't want to wake them up."

"You think the tram will take that as an answer? It's gonna be day soon, don't people I don't know, wake up in the daytime?"

"Yes." Cait said simply. She sighed a few moments later. "I want to at least sit down and gather my thoughts before facing the inevitable."

Oh, the playful double-conversation was over, apparently.

"I'll have you know I've got history breaking into places I don't belong. This'll be a cakewalk."

"Yes, tell me more about your criminal activities."

"Well, just saying.. maybe hypothetically, I might've scored a thing or two back in my day."

"With vocabulary like that, you might make a girl blush."

"Eviscerate. Obliteration. Malevolent." Vi rapid-fired words she'd read, and Caitlyn coughed a couple of small laughs over Vi's shoulder.

"Do you know any words that aren't morbid?"

"Cupcake."

"You're incorrigible-"

"-I'll even use it in a sentence.-"

"-Please don't.-"

"-A baker sells a cupcake."

"Oh. I expected you to say something crass."

"I was raised in a bar, not a stable."

"The saying is-"

"-You want me to say what I really wanna say?"

"You'd say it anyways."

Vi narrowed her eyes, "Where they been keeping you?" You, making me like... this. Sparring our words.

They hadn't passed any shops for a couple of minutes, and although they'd crossed at least a quarter of Piltover to get here, they were already feeling the honeyed morning lamps lose their glow. Instead of shops and the occasional markers for homes, Vi knew they were in a very different neighborhood now. Like an unspoken divide even among topsiders. Vegetation wasn't rare in general - though she hadn't seen more than maybe a few flower pots and bushes in passing - but a row of fully grown trees towered over a wall. They hid the building behind them well enough, that Vi only realized there was one behind the gentle branches when they slowed to a stop at a vine-covered gate. And through the gate, stood the proudest beast on the block; a mansion which definitely said Vi was too poor to even look at it. Vi absolutely gawked.

"Keeping me?"

There was a little too much attention on Cait's curiosity, and Vi moved on without leaving her gaze on the amount of detail in the front door, "Never mind. Which way now?"

Caitlyn stepped out from over Vi's shoulder, and unceremoniously waved her palms at the biggest fucking surprise Vi hadn't even heard of before. In fact, she was pretty sure this building could be seen from all the way across the bridge.

That was it! Vi'd already been looking at it her whole life. That pale chunk of concrete between the forests and the government.

"You've gotta be shitting me."

"The gate will be hard, but there's a lattice along the side that's sturdy enough to hold our weight."

"Both of us at the same time?"

"Uh, I've never climbed it myself."

"How do you know it can hold our weight, then?"

Caitlyn inspected the gate, softly pulling at it without really moving it. Like she knew it'd be locked but weak denial forced her to check. Cait's hand hooked between the bars, mentally preparing herself for the awkward climb. Vi rolled her shoulder, "Alright, let's get her highness into the tower."

"Just don't forget to keep quiet."

"I'll be silent as a mouse."

"Will you?"

"Yeah, Cupcake, Vi can be silent as the grave." Vi flinched. "Bad taste."

"A bit, yeah."

"More sneaking, less chatting."

Caitlyn limped onto her bad leg, struggled, and kicked off. Aaaand she fell right back less than half a foot up. Which meant Vi was going first.

"I can manage." Cait set her stare into the bars defiantly. But Caitlyn was a little too unsure, and Vi was a little too smartass.

Vi said nothing. Didn't have to. She kicked at the column wall, and scaled the gate like a ladder in seconds. She vaulted over the top, and bent her knees to slow her drop. Vi's smirk braved the glare she received on the other side of them.

"Now who's stuck on the wrong side of the bars?"

"I am cold. I am hungry. I am in pain. And you're making fun of me."

"Welcome to my world." Vi spoke lightly, finally starting to see the sunrise trickling up through a pair of buildings in the distance. She climbed up the gate again, careful to avoid pinching her boots in the corners, or - far more importantly - her crotch over the top of the spaded points.

It was a slow process, but they made it on the inside of the gate before anyone stepped out in the street. This seemed to be a peaceful pocket anyways. Still, Vi checked her corners and let silence speak. She followed Caitlyn's instructions to the side of the mansion, and Vi really took in something she hadn't seen earlier.

An emblem; a pair of crossed keys. Probably real gold. Definitely expensive. And fucking everywhere. Like some gilded dog had come through the place and pissed on everything to say. See this? This is my turf. In fact, Vi had seen tags posted, crude drawings, names, murals, signals in the undercity. Hell, even Silco seemed to have pissed on half the fissures. But this was just absolutely ridiculous. And in their own home? Who're they trying to out-measure their egos with? Themselves?

Vi tested her weight on the vine lattice. It was a sturdy metal net built into the wall. Just a bunch of ladders strung together, in Vi's opinion. Vi felt and heard no give in it either, when Caitlyn climbed up behind her. From below Vi's boots, came a hushed final step.

"Third floor; the window doesn't have a lock."

Notes:

I'm not sorry at all. Knowing Caitlyn snuck girls in? Vi knowing Paige's sizes from her time with her? The callback wrote itself.

I really want them to talk about the explosion from ep3, but I don't think it's the right time. But, it's the most recent and very memorable bit of Vi's time on topside, so. We'll see. I know at the end of season 2, they'd be able to finally heal and grow. We just have... so much more trauma for Vi to get through.

Next up: Title card! <3

Chapter 29: Season 1, Episode 8: "Dear Friend"

Notes:

TW: Added panic attacks as a tag. There won't be any more planned after this chapter, but it's here, so the tag is too.

One thing was for sure. This wasn't anywhere close to a business. Something about the importance of this place, and Cait's mention of the window not having a lock. Was it a community building, something for off-duty cops or maybe her friends to scope out? No, only one marker on everything. Was Caitlyn leading Vi into some councilor's place? Right into the belly of the beast?

The idea was certainly thrilling. How many people could say they'd broken into a councilor's place and and gotten out to do it again? What was that official's name? Kirmaran?

Vi pushed the window up a crack, and slowly lifted it enough to get a full hold on it. It was definitely the widest window she'd ever moved, for sure. She opened it the rest of the way not really putting much effort into it as she took in the room with disarmed suspicion.

A room as large as half the bar was wide. A massive bedframe, full-body mirror, half a garden tucked into the corner of the room. No seemed to be in here, though, so Vi hopped over the windowsill. With a final check over her shoulder, Vi scanned the shadows and held her hands out to pull Caitlyn up the last bit of the climb.

The sooner Caitlyn got her breather, the better Vi could breathe too. It'd taken them what, an hour to get here from the bridge? Caitlyn's shaking arms definitely longed for the end of their journey. Vi took up her spot under Caitlyn's arm again, and Caitlyn put more weight on her than before. Spent, probably. Vi still felt the buzz of excitement keeping her from touching the ground. Cait leaned forward to begin walking into the room properly.

"Who lives here? Another councilor friend of yours?" As much as Vi didn't plan on assuming this was a his space, the desk drowning in flowers screamed a her place.

In the next moment, the room's door burst open into the room. A woman - gun! - had kicked it in. She aimed it at them, her left eye shut and right trained over the sight. Vi and Caitlyn shared equal shock and statue for the third moment. Until the woman stood out of her stance, and a name on her tongue like the frozen deer over Vi's shoulder was in deep shit.

"Caitlyn!"

A man, with the same blue hair as Caitlyn's own, ran around the corner and Caitlyn lost her surprise to rush into his arms. The hug told Vi everything she needed. Not just anyone's home base, Caitlyn's home base. Those were her parents. Holy shit that was Cait's dad hugging his daughter. Cait's mom with a rifle in her hands about to fuck around if needed.

"Oh, we were so worried. Thank goodness you're safe!" He held her, and Vi's eyes trailed up the doorway. Another emblem; Caitlyn's emblem. She wasn't kidding, Cait really was 'well off'. Caitlyn was rich rich. Vi'd been hanging out with money and power.-

"And you found a stray." The woman filled in.

"This is Vi." Caitlyn replied, her tone just strained enough to draw Vi's attention away from the keyed gold over the doorway, "She's from the undercity."

"So I see." The woman smiled. Oh that was a good fake smile. "Could we have a word, Caitlyn? In private." Caitlyn rolled her eyes, and Vi stood in stunned silence even as Caitlyn's dad helped her out of the room. The left with the door open, and Vi just-

What the fuck is happening?

Caitlyn was the daughter of a councilor? That was how she knew about the gemstone. Her friend was on the council because she was in that circle. It wasn't even the money or the power that she had access to that perplexed Vi at this point. Because Caitlyn hadn't used any of that to get her way. She didn't brag, or throw her weight around. She could've. Vi would've. It would have made so much more sense to go in with force than solo. Unless Caitlyn was a disappointment to her family, too.

Someone who Vi was marching to the same beat with lately.

Vi's eyes hurt when she blinked. Standing in one place made her joints creak from overuse. She hadn't slept in a long while again. Maybe a few actual hours since Caitlyn lifted her out of the box. They still had so much to talk about, to work through. Time was their worst enemy at this point. Silco was making moves and right now, he had the advantage of Powder's ingenuity.

Right now, though, Vi inspected the room in the sunrise's fading shadows. She glanced up at the enormous cliff-like ceiling; an entire window in the top dedicated to lighting the room with sunshine. Well, at least once the sun woke up fully.

There was only one mess in the whole room, on the floor - in the middle - like a beacon. Like determination and passion made tangible. It made Caitlyn's diary a gross summary of everything here. Like she was in a rush to shove a bunch of pictures and notes into something only she could reference. And suddenly, the handwriting made sense.

The curved notes along articles, the comments tucked in on the outer edges of newspaper headlines about shimmer, the map itself was a remarkable web of targets getting marked. There was almost a curve to the mess. Sweeping right to left in an arch of oldest to newest and then jumping back over again with new and updated information. Dates spanning back a few years, and a couple of empty sections along the far left of the map waiting to be filled. Expecting to be filled.

Two words stood out in front of Vi's boot with a heavy emphasis on the bold. Stillwater Hold. And next to it, just what Vi had heard when they first met in said prison.

I took a look at your file.

Vi's life for the last seven years; reduced to a dusty old folder with frayed edges and a tear down the spine. Like she was barely worth the few pages. Curiosity got the better of her, and she bent down to carefully flip the folder's top.

Inmate 516... Three sheets. An enforcer transfer request, a prisoner transfer request, and a brief description of her when she'd been booked in.

The enforcer transfer request had been approved. In the paragraphs, a whole lot of legal jargon with the only things Vi seeing clear being that the reason wasn't mentioned and it was about Enforcer 703. 703.. 703.. There wasn't a mention about her, or her inmate number. But it was dated years ago. And Vi shuffled the paper behind the others.

Blocky chunks of text were blackened over in strips of privacy. Important things. Things like why she was brought in. Who brought her in. Anything about how he might've found her. Of course Vi knew now, but she also had no idea where she was until another inmate said something. She didn't want to imagine having to figure that out after even longer. They didn't even have the decency to tell her themselves.

The prisoner transfer was denied for insufficient evidence. In the report, Vi had to reread the paragraphs of blocky writing just to really let them sink in. PRISONER TO BE PLACED IN SOLITARY UNTIL SITUATION RESOLVED. The original request was posted several years ago, with three other re-denied stamps in the corner. Each reapplication had added a new comment to the reasoning. ...decreased morale amongst the ranks... The prisoner is deranged... ...no hope for rehabilitation...

And rather than spark anger, Vi numbly fingered the pages back. Aligned evenly, and slowly flipped the folder shut. They.. No one even tried. No one except Caitlyn. She forced a shaky, painful breath, and just pushed off from the folder was a letter. Something Vi latched onto after her own discovery.

Jayce,

The night my mother turned you away from our door, we both knew you couldn't just settle with hammer work and monotony. It's not who you are, and now I've turned you away for that same sentiment. I cannot settle with the status quo when I know there's more to be done. I swore an oath to protect and serve. Now you have too.

There was a witness I planned to question in Stillwater. In the bowels of that... dungeon, I've come across an inmate who's being held there with nothing but a passing mention. No due process, and no charges. To make matters more complicated, I think she may be exactly how I can crack this investigation. But that involves either breaking the law, or being a hypocrite. Still a misfit.

I'm getting her out. I'm using your signature to do it. If you hear from me in a few days, we can exchange dialogue properly. If you don't, well... Be honest at my eulogy.

Cait

This was even before all of this? Vi had already been grasping at straws. Little moments trying to find how Caitlyn might be lying, or fooling her. There had to be something underneath it all. There always was. But maybe that was just it. This was the underneath. Caitlyn was the hope that kept shit from breaking down. It was a mad world. Crazy, fucked up, and.. Vi had to sit down.

It was the best sunrise - Vi's second sunrise in a week, she realized with a small smile. Things ached, but she could push the discomfort into the box. She was surrounded by warmth. Colors, presence of mind, and the idea to lay down on her stomach for once was such a conscious desire, she did it. Vi could see everywhere in the room without needing to look. There weren't any lingering claws between the gilded metal frames. Nothing that she couldn't reason away with an easy blink.

It almost made her uneasy to consider that this might be what life looked like for someone who felt safe.

She dangled her right arm over the foot of the bed, her left under her chin. As comfortable as she was gonna get. With a quick swing of her knees, she pulled the boots off the bed. Wouldn't want to get any dirt anywhere. The discomfort came back, just a little bit. She shouldn't even be entertaining the idea of touching something like this yesterday. Relaxing was practically off-limits. Caitlyn's very own bed, something Vi considered so sacred as a kid, she almost rolled out of it. She would have, if the massive double-door didn't open with a newly-patched Caitlyn coming in. Same outfit Vi had grown more than fond of. Not in a way that made Vi first look at her. Yeah, it fit her in all the right places before. Those were shallow thoughts, and much easier to pin into Caitlyn than how she was seeing her now. Now that Vi was being honest and patient. And shutting the fuck up.

The outfit helped Vi stop seeing an enforcer. Helped her get over seeing a topsider who wore a costume. There wasn't a puppet playing dress-up. It was Caitlyn. Being Caitlyn.

Something her mess here told Vi so much more than she could say about her a few days ago. Actually true things; not just assumptions or prejudice.

"We'll present our case to the Council. Tonight." Caitlyn stepped into the room, and Vi realized she'd been staring a little too long at her. Don't be rude.

Vi waved her loose hand at the piles in the middle of the room. "You did all this yourself? Without even going down there?" It was its own art. And Vi was good at pointing out credit where credit was due. "And I thought Powder could get obsessed." A small joke, as Vi noticed Caitlyn coming over to sit on the bed. She could have rolled off - given Caitlyn her space back - but Vi felt too welcome. Too greedy to care.

Instead, Vi moved onto her back and looked up into the canopy. Like a blanket for the air above the bed. Something that reminded Vi of a simpler time. Strips of fabric fanning out over the fan above her bed. Hanging down just out of reach and yet comforting; shielding.

Caitlyn sat down, "What happened to her; it's not your fault."

It wasn't true, but Vi appreciated the gesture. "When my parents were still alive, me and Powder used to share a bed like this." Vi was pretty sure even as an adult, her limbs wouldn't even touch the corners of Caitlyn's bed, "Except, maybe, half the size. We played a game where we pretended to be bigger and bigger monsters." Vi smiled at the memory.

"So she would say," Vi huffed air out through her nose to get into character, "'I'm a slug monster with venom for ooze.' And I would say, 'Well, I'm a slug-eating crab with razor spikes.'" It sounded wild saying it out loud. Vi turned onto her side, facing Caitlyn who'd done the same to her. So many nights with laughter and joy. It was a lighthearted and carefully constructed bubble of her life before they died.

"Sometimes, I.. I'd get carried away and she'd get scared. I didn't want her to start crying and wake my parents up, so, I pretended to chase my own monsters away. I'd say, 'No monster's gonna get you when I'm here.'" Vi paused, skipping to the punchline. "Then a real monster showed up." The one Vi couldn't chase away, because, well, she couldn't see the blood on her hands until it was too late. "And I just ran away."

Vi closed her eyes. It didn't matter that the flames against her back felt different than the one in front of her. That fire would always be larger. Burn hotter. Sear deeper. "I left her."

Caitlyn's fingers brushed over her cheek. A small swipe over her face; just soft enough to remind Vi of what was in front of her. Vi smiled again, holding onto her hand just as she dropped it. No fumbling grasp, or shaking reach. No threat of tipping over. Solid ground.

Vi opened her eyes and an ocean had been listening. A kindness so sure, Vi's jaw slacked in awe. Caitlyn's eyes, with so much strength and resolve, it made Vi want to know what pulling Caitlyn closer might be like. Would it feel like scrubbing off years of insanity? Not caring where she'd land when she flew? Finding home when she looked into her eyes, or even more; thinking of her when she was low?

Did she feel this strumming energy? Was Caitlyn's heart about to explode, too?

Vi had gained too much momentum.

"Can you feel my heart?"

Wordlessly, Caitlyn pushed her hand closer. And Vi never let go. The back of Caitlyn's hand pressed into her chest, over Vi's sternum.

"Your heart's racing."

Vi hummed, growing uncomfortable with the statement. Caitlyn didn't seem too worried.

"I don't know why." Vi half-laughed, half-serious. "I'm not running. You're not even beating the shit out of me."

Caitlyn flicked her finger softly into the bone, and Vi knew it drew a smile out of herself. It was Caitlyn who said something, though.

"I guess I changed my mind about showing you where I live. It's only fair considering you took me to your old home."

"I did, didn't I?" Vi blinked, and her smirk widened, "Actually, I took you to both of them."

"I knew you grew up in a brothel."

Vi pulled her hand away, sitting up, "No, the bar." She side-eyed Caitlyn, and when she turned the sideways image of the woman in her head, Caitlyn's humored expression caught Vi by surprise. She told a fucking joke. Something Vi didn't think she'd find funny coming out of a topsider cop who just so happened to be practically an actual princess. "Things are different." This is different. My gut's never wrong, why's it not sitting right?

"Different is not always a bad thing." Caitlyn hadn't moved from her side, sticking to the bed and letting Vi build space.

"I don't know where to even start." What happens now that the sheriff is dead? What do they do now that Ekko wasn't coming back to the firelights? What should Vi say to them? What can she? Would anyone believe Vi if she even told them? How do they take Silco down now that their bargaining chip was still lost? What do they say to the bigwigs later? Are they really going to let Vi into that tower? What would they do to her if they found out Vi's the common denominator for all the shit hitting the fan right now? Every can of worms was opening up all at once, and Vi had no idea how to latch onto any one of them.

"Breakfast?" Vi had no home to go back to, where was she supposed to stay? Here?? In a stranger's house? Vi barely knew Caitlyn. Caitlyn wasn't going to open her doors for Vi; why would she, when Vi just spent the last few days telling Cait they weren't cut from the same cloth.

For once, Vi wasn't sure she even was hungry. "I'll pass for now." Homelessness was the real kicker. Vi had no money, no family, no friends, no job, no roof. This wasn't a fresh start, it was a death sentence. Taking Silco down wasn't going to happen overnight. And time wasn't just a we problem. It was a me problem.

Caitlyn sighed, like she'd been as breathless as Vi felt, "Well, I'm famished. Do you mind if I bring something back from the kitchen?"

"It's your house. Do whatever."

"I know.." Caitlyn hesitated and shoved herself off the bed. It looked heavy enough that Vi almost thought she was being awkward. Vi wasn't much better, and she stood from the bed just fast enough to make herself wonder what she'd even planned to do. It wasn't like Vi had anywhere else to go. Her body just told her to move. The brain didn't have a receipt.

"Would you like to join me?" Vi didn't mean for that to be an option, but seeing as how Cait made to leave and Vi got up; yeah, it looked like that, didn't it?

Why was this weird now?

Vi knew why Claggor always rubbed at his neck as she found her fingers already easing some of the tension just below the damp surface. She didn't find the idea of exploration any more appealing than eating, either. Her stomach was in knots, and she was practically dead on her feet at this point. The growing list of near-death experiences were catching up. Even more worrying, her heart hadn't gotten the hint. Reminding her head that she needed something to drink, actually. Still dehydrated, like she'd been chewing on dirt.

"No, I-I could use some water, I think. I'm not used to the air up here."

Caitlyn nodded like she felt it too, "That's a great idea, I'll bring a pitcher." She stepped around the mess and left Vi alone without another word.

In, out. No shuddering, just a moment. No shuddering. Stop shaking. Stop.

Room was spinning. Vi wasn't sure if she was concussed this time. She rolled her shoulder, hoping the ache could bring her back to the light stretching out along the bed and floor.

Too bright.

Vi sat down onto the bed again. She bounced slightly, but that made her vision wobble. Her thoughts backfired. She wasn't just nervous. That wasn't why she'd been weird with Caitlyn? Was something else going on underneath the tattoos and scars? Her own body breaking down? Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

Too loud.

She used her fists to push herself up from the bed, still sitting on it but with enough force to make dips into the cushion. Tried to imagine someone dragging her lungs back down under her ribs. But they stuck. Vi gaped like a fish, and squeezed her eyes shut to trick herself into seeing nothing. She would really appreciate blinking away a moment or two. But like an impossible ask, nothing but time passed with Vi painfully aware of every second.

Too much.

Vi jumped up and lost her steam immediately, nearly dropping onto the polished stone without knowing which of her limbs caught herself. Different from a fall. Floating downward. Thump-thump-thump. Thump.

Vi was definitely dying. She didn't even know how? Never had this happen in Stillwater. Never before. Was it the air? She could outrun it. She just needed a breather.

Too tired.

She did the only thing she could think to minimize it. Half-dragged herself across the floor and properly dug her back into the wall between a mirror and dresser. The light couldn't reach any tiles from the angle, and Vi's breath hitched enough to cough a gulp of air down. She pulled her knees up, and still, the dread crashed through her body. Tore nerves from her finger tips and froze her toes. Her lips lost feeling. Seasickness had nothing on this.

Too wild.

Vi punched weakly into her left knee.

Her right knee.

Left. Right.

Fu..

Vi shot forward onto her knees, unable to keep it bottled up, and coughed up nothing but air.

Too lightheaded.

Of course Caitlyn returned as Vi held her fingers on the floor spread out and shaking at the elbows. Sweat sticking to her neck, and refusing to open her eyes just in case it was the light, or the gold trimming on the dresser that brought this on.

"Shit."

"Mm." Vi clawed at the floor, feeling defensive and yet unable to control the room into stop spinning like a top.

"How can I help?"

"Mi-minute."

And Caitlyn posted herself at the corner of Vi's vision, half-facing the door and window.

"Say something. Anything." Vi swallowed, leaning back from an invisible ledge.

"I will never take a nap for granted again."

"That's what's on your mind?"

Caitlyn gave the mess a longing head tilt, "I briefly referenced my map in the undercity, when you were unconscious. Now, it's doing no good under a pile of rubble."

"Eh, bet you have it all memorized anyways."

"I don't know what to make of Marcus's betrayal. This corruption had to have been for a good while. Months?"

"This wasn't the deal!"

"I think, Cait, it's been going on since the beginning; just about seven years ago."

"No, Grayson wouldn't have allowed it."

"How long's she been dead?" Vi asked, already knowing the answer. "She was the sheriff, wasn't she? Just like Marcus."

"Yes. How, how do you know that? You've been.. away from the city for years, too. And Grayson wasn't corrupt. I'm sure of it."

Vi managed a little smile, "Y'know, I used to think things were clear-cut back then. All good, all bad. I think we can really do crazy shit for the ones we care about."

Caitlyn nodded, thinking so loud, Vi had forgotten about her throat, and ignored the silver tray of food and drink set aside when Caitlyn found her. "Why, indeed. He couldn't have been solely motivated by greed or power. Maybe once, but we've seen Silco's ruthlessness."

"Alright, catch me up to speed, Cupcake. I'll fill in what blanks I can."

"Silco, Jinx, Marcus. Silco and Marcus are business as usual. Whatever plans they've colluded on, it's careful and calculated. They've paid the right people. Silco uses the undercity as his ground zero. Keeping shimmer just out of topside's notice. They craft a narrative, and with Ekko's gang fighting back down there, it gives them a common enemy. It keeps the operation open for expansion. Ekko disrupts their supply out of the city, and it's enough attention that Marcus gets involved. I was already working on this investigation before, but Marcus pushes me out of it and then Jinx comes up here, and steals the gemstone. The council promotes Jayce, and I'm fired.-"

"You pretended to be an enforcer?"

"I was-am, I am an enforcer. It hasn't been announced yet."

"But they fired you?"

"Well, yes, but; we're derailing." Caitlyn waved off Vi so gently, Vi had no choice but to allow it. "While you and I are gathering evidence in the undercity, Marcus cuts off our only way back up. Whether Silco has anything to do with it doesn't matter because here's where Jinx comes in. Now, she's not only been involved in two major attacks, she's now responsible for Marcus's death. The council will be out for blood, and they won't stop until she's brought to justice."

"Silco's the problem, not her. He's got everything he needs to fight this against you; he's probably planned for something in case Marcus bit the dust. We can't let the council know about my sister. We have to throw everything we got on Silco to them. Make them believe us."

"I still don't understand why he's doing all of this in the first place. His ties with Marcus make sense. But what motivates a man to spearhead addiction and reliance on his own people; on the undercity?"

"Shimmer's not just an ordinary tonic. It's exactly what it is, what he's been trying to turn my sister into; a weapon. That's all this has ever been about. When the enforcers back then started combing through the undercity, it also dragged up a lot of grudges. People start getting mouthy, and then they start backing those words up. We saw the burn marks on the bridge, they've probably already started rioting."

"You think this is about civil war?"

"I think it's why he's making things worse. It makes him look better, stay at the top, while getting everyone else to do his leg work. At the end of the day, Silco swoops in and plays a hero and the undercity's too worried about topside that they let him call the shots. He's probably already been doing it this whole time, but with something like this," Vi gestured around the room, "It stokes the fires. If the undercity governs itself, Silco wouldn't have to keep tabs on eyes up here; he'd just.. redraw the line." Vi frowned at herself.

"I heard a name, in the brothel. Zaun. Who might that be?"

"It's a pipe dream. I've heard the name be tossed around a couple of times at the bar, but people don't like nosy teens listening in on their conversations."

"So, it's a place?"

"I guess it'd be the name of the undercity if we really did come into our own." Yeah, 'we' didn't really fit like it used to.

"It sounded like people are already believing in it."

Vi shrugged, not really opposed to the undercity getting out from under Piltover's shadow. If it wasn't just talk, and people were getting serious about it, then she supported it. Maybe not join them on the bridges-level of support, but who was she to deny that no one up here was doing anything about Silco until now. And it took Vi dragging one of theirs through the trenches for things to just now be on the table.

What a load of shit. Vi thought, still looking through the air between her dangling hands, between her pulled knees. I used to be just like that. Vi simply glared into the air, unwilling to expose the similarities between herself and Silco. Two figureheads, wanting to change the world. And willing to burn things down to get there. What if Vander didn't try to talk sense into her? Would she end up just like Silco? Worse, because she had something to not just die for, but fight for? But then Vander's hands would ghost over her knuckles; swollen even when dunked in a bucket of ice, or she'd hear him shooting pointers and teaching her how to fix her stance. He'd guided her, and tempered her.

And still, the fire at her back never lessened; just funneled like a gas spout. Waiting for the next ignition.

"We should go over what to say to the council. One slip-up, and they won't take us seriously."

"Yeah." Vi waved her hand loosely, and took a drink of the cup next to her ankle. She remained unmoving, though, choosing to instead lean her head back and watch Caitlyn do her thing. No, she wasn't anything like him. She'd never manipulate Powder, or try to convince her little sister to tear the world down. Vi would always want to push her to build, and nurture her gifts.

The room only had one voice to talk to, but Vi found Caitlyn's voice something to stop her mind from drifting backwards. Every new bout of speech preparation began with the same formalities. Even sooner still, Caitlyn seemed to forget that Vi was meant to be involved in the conversation just as Vi's caught onto the shadows under Caitlyn's sheets.

--

"Vi."

"What." Vi clenched her fists defensively, before blinking at Caitlyn's face between her and the bed. Vi's knees had flattened out, the tips of her boots pointing outward. In her own lap, Vi's hands hung loose save for her very tight grip into her palms. Vi blinked out of her stare, and Caitlyn's face remained etched in worry. If she'd been waving her hand in front of Vi's face, Vi didn't see it.

Every second that passed, however quickly afterward, her eyes roamed too much over Vi. Enough that the exposure reminded her of her first few days of prison. A feeling she knew wasn't going to go away now that she'd felt it. Vi wasn't sure what brought the memories of her navigating the mess hall to the forefront of her mind. But it did, and Vi was now intensely reminded that she was the furthest from home she'd ever been, in a place so isolated from anyone she knew, with a person she only met days ago, and a single layer of dirt under all three of those thoughts. Vi had no choice but to accept... this as her life now. Someone who didn't belong anywhere. Caitlyn steadied her balance out of kneeling, shooting glances at Vi even though she never stopped watching back. Each one in Vi's direction tore the wall down brick by brick until Caitlyn found her words again.

"I thought you fell asleep, but you were staring. It was.." Caitlyn finished her sentence with a half-flinch, half-confusion. She still wore her undercity clothes like they were either too comfortable to change or just not important enough to worry about. Lying was safer.

"Just waiting for you to get your words picked out, Cupcake. I'm bored." Caitlyn gave her a placating smile, but Vi saw the hurt there. She backtracked immediately, "Not from you, just - we've been going and going. I don't do waiting."

"Sure, right." She turned away, to a dresser. Vi searched for things to fill the silence. The house was colorful. Her stomach wasn't in knots anymore. The sun was higher in the sky. It was probably late morning by now. Chirping birds flew outside the window, but never landed near the windowsill. Caitlyn had a floor to ceiling bookshelf, much like the ones in the apartment so long ago. Books. What good would reading about things halfway across the world do to for her here?

Vi sighed and tilted her head back against the cool wall. She made sure to close her eyes this time.

--

"...expect you?" A man's voice, but soft enough to sooth Vi out of sleep instead of flash her awake. Like he was trying to not rouse her.

"We're almost ready, I think." Caitlyn whispered, "Just a little while longer?" A pause, and Vi almost didn't hear what she definitely could, "She needs the rest."

"Will you be leaving after your mother?"

"I'd rather avoid the perception of nepotism." Caitlyn scoffed, "That's the last thing we need right now."

"You know she won't go easy on you during the meeting. You have nothing to worry about."

"Vi and my mother in the same carriage? I don't know whose glare would triumph." Caitlyn's voice lifted, pulling Vi awake just a little bit more.

"That deadly, hm?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, I'll leave you to it." Vi cracked her eyes open, watching Caitlyn's dad hover in the doorway. Caitlyn's clothes had been replaced with her enforcer uniform. Of course she had back-ups. The only difference was her missing gun, and Vi was very sure it wasn't shoved up her skirt.

"Father?"

"Yes, Cait?"

"Thank you for earlier. And on Vi's behalf, too. She's.. I don't think she's used to anyone supporting her; even indirectly."

"I hope you two don't come home cross with each other again. Supper's warmer with you than without. Vi's welcome, too. I'm sure she's lovely if you're so..." He spoke in a different language, with Vi's only hint at his words being Caitlyn's reply in something Vi could actually understand.

"I'll tell her you said that."

"I'm not excluded from favoritism?"

"Absolutely not."

They shared a subdued laugh. It was only now that Vi even registered that the room had darkened. The sunshine of the day had been filled in with overcast. Vi knew the second she'd step outside, she'd smell the rain coming. And no matter how hard she would try, something in the pit of her stomach reminded her that bad days followed storms like crows to corpses.

Vi saw more than heard Caitlyn step closer, hover carefully. Caitlyn must have clocked Vi earlier than she thought. "You're a terrible snorer."

Vi couldn't even be mad. Eavesdroppers rarely heard good things, "What happened to being supportive?"

Caitlyn strolled to her own bed, somehow regaining her professionalism. She grabbed ammunition at the head of the bed. Vi plastered a shit-eating smirk, forcing Caitlyn to consider her target's feelings before firing. The pillow flew. Vi was done in by.. what was it made of? Clouds? It smelled fuckin' fantastic, and Vi completely forgot she'd been guarded by an enforcer the whole afternoon.

Notes:

I've been working on this one for a good long while. It's funnily enough one of my favorites. I think Vi is really good at rolling with the punches but even she would need time to process the last few days. I think it'd scare the crap out of her, too, that she's realizing she's falling for Caitlyn and can see that Caitlyn's doing the same (even if she's already been falling :P). I don't think she's ever felt this kind of bond before.

I love this chapter because despite realizations from previous chapters, Vi often shows us that she's contradictory. Repetition is a common theme for her, too, and spiraling is an unfortunate side-effect of solitary. I think that's why she is so verbal, and why being alone is a familiar-yet-powerful demon for her.

A final mention here, I think Vi suffers from PTSD - I mean, we even see her have literal flashbacks. PTSD manifests in other ways, too. Dissassociation, feeling disconnected from one's body, emotion going everywhere, confusion, gaps of time in memory, a bunch of things that point to her trauma and current inability to heal from it. It's a disorder; it disrupts her ability to live a normal life. And she tries, but there're things that we know will be coped with... dependency, later on.

Next chapter will be lighter. You can bill me for the therapy trip.

Chapter 30: Season 1, Episode 8: "Managing Expectations"

Notes:

Thank you for 2k hits! Comments been popping off, I've been giggling-kicking-smiling at my inbox after every chapter like a fiend.

Side note: I'm finishing up an edit for this story, I'll drop the deets within the next chapter or two. I've been working on it longer than this, honestly which has already been since season 2 dropped. Time flies when you're having fun!

Vi held the pillow, stuffing her face into it; breathing in again. A new scent, like some kind of ice-flavored candy. It was subtle before. Now, it overshadowed her senses like an empty stomach through the market. At least this time, she wasn't drooling like an idiot.

"Do you guys harvest clouds?" Vi spoke into it, feeling the muffled words vibrate up through her jaw.

"No." Caitlyn laughed, "It's just a normal pillow. Silk pillowcase."

"There's nothing normal about sleeping on a cloud." Vi pulled her head from the pillow with a loose jaw; the conscious release of tension tickled her ears with a shiver.

"Is.. there normal in sleeping on the floor?" Caitlyn hesitated just a fraction of a second too long. Vi gave the cloud in her arms another squeeze of comfort.

"No. Nothing normal about that, either.." Vi trailed off, before catching the silver shine of the untouched dinner plate. Despite the memory of retching earlier, Vi dragged it over the flooring closer. It shrieked, and she forsook the pillow beside her to carefully pick it up and set it beside the pillow. Vi lowered herself onto her elbow, and lifted the plate's top for a look underneath the surprise.

A very healthy-looking sandwich. Grapes, and a few other chunks of fruit. Half a rainbow on the platter.

Vi dug in, watching as Caitlyn stepped away from the bed with another deep look; this time at the door. Her arms crossed loosely over her ribs; thinking about something in the middle-distance of her mind. She stopped just short of it, turning around to face somewhere at Vi's left along the wall.

"When you're ready, I have a robe and clothes for you to change into while we launder and sew yours. Marlene is going to love the challenge in your shirt."

"Don't we have the meeting soon?"

"We'll be leaving at six, once the council's finished with their routine schedule. We have a few hours until then."

That didn't make the conversation she'd just heard make any sense.

"I thought we were leaving soon. It's dark outside, isn't it?" Vi checked, and double-checked the sky through the window; an ugly grey outside an otherwise unlit room.

Caitlyn turned her attention to something on the other side of the bed, "It's two in the afternoon. Just a rainy day."

It was so bright this morning.. "But I slept. Like, really slept." That only ever happened after the really shitty days as a kid. In the grand scheme of things, yesterday wasn't all too bad. She'd spent the day with Ekko. And even if she never got another day with him, the one she got was better than never seeing him again after Benzo's death.

Vi felt another wave of warmth as Caitlyn smiled at her. It was a knowing half-smirk this time, and Vi chewed on the grape while chewing on what that look might be about. Caitlyn's comfort was definitely sky high. She'd been smiling more than not since Vi woke up. It wasn't a bad thing, to see Cait lose the crease in her eyebrows. To not be the reason for them being there half the time.

The grape in Vi's mouth squished between her teeth. They were crisp, if she could call them that. Like the perfectly cooked skin on a slab of meat. Just - in fruit form. Was it because they were.. cold? Was fruit meant to be chilled in an icebox this whole time?

And then, Caitlyn hummed, "Next time, you're welcome to sleep where normal people sleep."

"Pretty sure I don't have a bed anymore."

Caitlyn darted her eyes away from Vi, but Vi almost caught it. Too busy enjoying the indecision of which kind of bite to take. Sandwich, this time. Heavy on the meat, just enough new flavors to make Vi open it up and shut it promptly a moment later. She didn't know half of what the cheeses or dressing was, but it didn't matter. It wasn't slop.

"Caitlyn Kirmaran, huh?"

"It's Kiramman." Caitlyn paced back toward her map from the door. She stepped up onto the tiny stool like it might actually give her a vantage point over the map. It almost made Vi laugh.

Vi shot her eyebrows up in silent apology, "Well, thank you for helping a stray." Caitlyn's face hardened just a fraction, and Vi realized her mother was maybe a little bit of a sore subject. Vi could see the corner of the map just around the bed's hanging sheet. Caitlyn's limp improved enough that Vi wondered just how much of her injury they'd healed for her. And it got her thinking about her own stomach. "You said something about a shower?"

"Yes, through there." Caitlyn motioned to the wall, but for Vi, it looked like a normal wall. She pulled herself off the floor and bent down to pick up the sandwich to-go as Caitlyn tucked an arm over her ribs and played with something in her hand that Vi hadn't seen there before. Something small, metal, and brass.

There was the focus again. From the fissures. Tunnel vision. Vi huffed through her nose and explored the next room.

Only once she stood up to the wall did she see the outline of the doorway. A bathroom connected to Caitlyn's own bedroom. Very convenient. Vi mused, pushing down the handle with her free hand. With the sandwich in her right, Vi took another full bite as she soaked in the magnificence of luxury.

Vents, in the ceiling, crisscrossing in a pattern that hid them well enough to create a centered piece of artwork. The design stretched beyond the vents into pristine tile along the walls, keeping them from Vi mistaking anything for boring. Along the back left corner, a sub-room, with a wall that likely hid the massive shower behind it. To the right, a stained glass window overlooked the outside with thick panes of glass. Even dry, Vi knew she couldn't see through them enough to tell what was on the other side, but they were grey enough to tell her it led to the outside world. The finest toilet Vi had ever seen, and the funniest thing Vi had seen today.

Two sinks, for an only child. Wait, was Caitlyn taken? Vi didn't see a ring. Not that it really mattered. They weren't anywhere close to being something. Still strangers. Still a couple of people who were from different worlds. This only reinforced the idea. A spare sink, but not for someone like Vi.

A basket sat over a chair at the back near the shower. A robe hung over a hook beside the wall just along the jointed shower and counter. Over the counter, a pile of toiletries had been set aside just separated enough for it to be put there on purpose. Several towels prepared. White.

"Fancy." All of that wonder, condensed into a single word for Caitlyn. "This stuff's for me?"

"Yes!" Cait shouted gently from the next room over, "There's a service lift behind a window in the back of the room. If you put your dirty clothes in the basket and put them in the lift, Marlene can get them fixed before we leave."

"You have an elevator in your bathroom?" Vi walked right to the mentioned window, and pulled it up. Sure as shit. Not even a pulley system, just mechanical cords strung up out of view of the open box. Vi almost pulled the lever before remembering she had to put the clothes in it. Wait, no, clothes in basket, basket in elevator. Then watch the magic.

Vi shoved the last of the sandwich into her mouth, and went to work on her boots first. She tore the jacket off, hiked the shirt up, rolled the jacket over her back-

"Cait, do my boots go in the basket too?"

"What?- Damnit, Vi."

Confused, Vi turned with the jacket still wrapping the front of her chest; binding her biceps together. The bottom back half of the jacket tightened under Vi's neck, "You can't see anything." Even so, Vi knew she probably looked ridiculous to Caitlyn. Caitlyn, who's face was unmistakably well-schooled into an expression of indifference. Save for the pink shadow in her cheeks.

"I wasn't expecting you to already be stripping." Caitlyn looked everywhere except at Vi, who remained locked in her restraints and feeling at least a little at-ease with fact that her shoulder was now noticeably free of pain under her skin. Something she never thought would go away.

"Sorry." Vi was very much not sorry.

"What'd you say a moment ago? I stepped away."

"Do my boots go in the basket, too?"

"Uh, sure, why not." Caitlyn blinked at the doorknob, looking for her escape.

"Aren't you gonna show me how the shower works?"

Caitlyn scoffed, briefly jutting her chin into the bathroom, "You're smart, you figure it out."

Vi sucked on her teeth, giving her that. "Can you shut the door behind you? I wouldn't want anyone to catch me indecent."

"Oh, shut up." Caitlyn laughed quietly and closed the doors only a second later. Vi filled the basket and watched the lift drop down with a careful eye at the mechanics. Greased gears, flowing effortlessly and without the identifiable mismatched jumps of catching over each other from parts that just barely got the job done. The cords even slowed to a smooth stop at the bottom. No final lurching stop. Just clean and effortless function. Color her impressed.

Vi had to close the window and get back to the task at hand.

The process of showering was a lot less.. turbulent than last time. Vi scrubbed again, but didn't bleed. The water poured over her like rain. It felt natural, like standing on the surface of some roof and being surrounded by an endless stream of fresh water. Cleansing.

The fading surface burn over her cheek had healed a lot more than she thought she'd been burned. The bruises over her shoulders and hands were reduced to slight discoloration. Less achiness. Less dirt. Old, clinging pains in her knuckles and released a tension she hadn't felt under the warmth the first time. Almost a lingering taste on her tongue of something electrifying. Strong, though not in the way alcohol burned her throat. She'd seen people become dependent on tonics from the bar. Suckers avoiding their problems and drowning themselves in it. Shimmer was.. food for the starved. Ice for the enflamed. Comfort for the pained. She already hated the feeling of curiosity behind it. The most curious injury, her stomach, was caked in layers of blood; though she realized she hadn't thought about it all day. Honestly, she'd forgotten about it yesterday, too.

Four faded-pink finger-width scars sealed over the skin. Vi had to sway in the light, through the downpour to even catch the off-tone color where she knew just two days ago was a mortal stab. She ghosted her fingertips over them, feeling nothing but the rough ends over her gut. No tingling sensation, no pain, and oddly enough no internal cork anymore. All thanks to Caitlyn.

There was the million silver cog question.

How the hell did she get the shimmer?

Vi's heart beat with solid purchase in her chest this time, despite the questions circling her brain. The proximity of time between Caitlyn healing her, and Vi opening that door to see Silco waiting on the other side wasn't a thought Vi considered until now. They weren't in cahoots. They couldn't be. But the seed was already planted that something else was getting a little too close. Caitlyn.

This morning shouldn't have happened.

It was a honeymoon glow. Vi'd been released, all those chemicals in her brain telling her to latch onto Caitlyn like a baby monkey. Vi set her fists into the wall to hold herself steady. The downpour fell over her neck and back in a constant barrage. Fresh, beating, punctuating her reluctance. Vi didn't belong on topside. Or with, for that matter. There were too many things that could go wrong; for either of them.

Caitlyn was opposite in every way. Stable. Functioning. Influential. Respected among the people.

Vi had nothing to her name, an ex-con whose only job was to protect her sister. And look where that'd gotten them. It was only a matter of time before Vi had to teach Caitlyn another lesson in how the real world worked. But Vi also knew what guilt felt like. Except this time, the thing she was guilty about hadn't happened yet. But it would. She didn't know when, but it would. The rain always flooded the sumps after a storm.

She turned the water off, and hurried to get out of the shower and away from herself. She felt clean, and dwelling on what will be wasn't going to make her mood better. You know what would? Mischief.

Vi ignored the blurry outline of herself in the mirror and drew a very crappy version of a cupcake. The frosting was a bit lopsided, and the cherry looked a bit.. suggestive. Vi grinned, drawing a second rendition next to it. This was art. She only wished Caitlyn could see it before the steam dried away.

A knock at the door barely cracked over Vi's violent drying of her hair into a towel.

"Marlene's sent up your clothes."

"That was fast."

"You've been in there for almost two hours. I would have introduced you to my father, but he's apparently spent the last few days hounding the station for signs of me."

"Shit, really?"

"What've you been doing in there, anyways? The water's been off for ages."

Vi glanced at the cupcakes, nearly dried into memory. The faint streaks of oil protected the glass from drops throughout the lines. It left a thick outline of Vi's artwork to stubbornly remain, even if the details were already gone. Thinking of you. "I was looking at the scar on my stomach."

"How's the recovery?"

"Soft as a baby's ass."

Caitlyn said something afterward, but Vi missed it from the closed door. She meant to ask about the comment after redressing in her clothes, but Vi put them on and all she could smell was Caitlyn on them. Concentrated, like the scent from her pillow. And Vi realized just how lonely she'd been. Too human to ignore the idea of lust like a phantom reminder. Same team. How many looks did she steal over Vi's body? A thief eyeing more than opportunity; but a repeat mark. Someone worth devouring at all hours. Someone who could finally make her soar- Hm, sore could do too. Fuck, this was making things worse. But it was so criminally good.

Vi needed two things. Air, and to get a damn grip on herself. The grip of the jacket nearly shoved into her nose told her she was being a little too desperate with wanting something. And also knowing she couldn't have it.

She didn't mean to step out of the bathroom feeling a little too jumpy to remember what she wanted to ask on the way out.

Caitlyn was plucking at the remainder of Vi's grapes, her uniform perfectly pressed into the bed as she read over some book; her left leg slung over her right. Vi caught sight of the edge of Cait's bandage under the skirt- Don't you fucking dare say a word.

"Whew." Vi sighed. Caitlyn's eyes flicked off the book. Vi didn't have a pitch-black tunnel to hide in, either. "I feel like a new woman. Ready to take on the sharks." She swung her hands forward, backward, and settled them over her hips. Hooking her fingers over the pants felt more right than sticking her fists in her jacket.

"Are you alright?"

"Just feeling spoiled." Vi searched past her actual anxiety and onto something she didn't actually find terrifying, "You know what's a good fear to have? Snakes. One minute they're a pile of harmless rope, and the next they're a jump scare with fangs. Bam."

"Then we'll be unstoppable." Caitlyn smiled, blinking back to her book, "Ready?"

"Absolutely."

--

Caitlyn led Vi through the house, checking back like she'd lose Vi in a crowd that wasn't there. But Vi kept up; she made sure of it. So much nothing in the hallways. Chairs set out that never looked like anyone ever sat in them. Paintings of figures who were important to them overlooked the hallway as it opened up with a double-cut staircase from the bottom up. Vi assumed this was their version of a living room, and Vi took the stairs one step at a time. Caitlyn still a few steps ahead.

"I knew we were affluent, that's a given, but- I can't help but feel this is borderline wasteful."

Vi nodded, "It's your home. I won't pretend to understand it, but I'll try not to hold it against you."

"I appreciate the willingness to be open."

"Eh, more like you scaled the fissures for me and I should keep your shoe size in mind."

"You should know, whatever goes on with the council - whatever's said in there - please don't forget that we're about to call them out on their lack of understanding."

"I'll let you do the talking. You needed a witness, yeah? I'm the best shot you've got at this point."

"The trust works both ways. I hope you can trust that they do mean well. They may be self-serving, some of them, but Jayce will see things our way. My mother knows this is important to me; she'll take it seriously. Heimerdinger's been on the council since the beginning. He'll likely motion to help; though the extent I'm not sure. I'm not sure which way Mel will swing. But she's from Noxus. From what I've spoken with her, she's a politician through and through. That leaves Shoola, who I hear is more compassionate but pacifist. I believe with the right amount of logic, we can sway Hoskel, Salo, and Bolbok. If we need to lean on how negatively Silco's plans undermine their own coffers, then so be it. But I know they'll be hard-pressed to maintain the status quo."

"That's almost an even split down the middle." Vi bounced her eyebrow, weighting the odds.

"Idealistically." Caitlyn stepped down the stairs nearly backwards now, "We.. don't need them all to agree to back us going after Silco's empire. We just need them to understand Marcus's role in this, the reality of the fissures, and.." She slowed the final steps, searching Vi's own eyes for a moment. "Vi."

"I'm listening." Vi continued over the rug, also searching for other lives here. It must be lonely living her life in a massive empty box. Its own prison.

"You can't protect her from this."

Vi ignored the eyes boring into her face. She kept her expression from cracking away, "She's still a kid, Cait. Brainwashed by Silco. The second anyone catches wind of her, she's never gonna have to stop running. I can't let that happen."

"Is protecting her more, or less important than saving countless lives under Silco's control? Of course she needs help, but she's not immune to accountability. She's aware of the damage she's caused. You have to see that."

Vi found herself looking at Caitlyn's thigh. Remembering the dread of finding her surrounded by bodies and learning that Vi's sister did that. She couldn't help but deny it. Because that wasn't her sister. It was someone else in her body. Some puppet being used and manipulated against her own will. It must be that, because the alternative simply was impossible.

"We're there to send them on Silco. Powder's my problem."

Vi rolled her shoulder, "We gonna be late, or what?"

"No," Caitlyn sighed, "we'll make it on time."

--

The mansion had one thing going for it. The decor gave everything a welcoming copper and gold greeting. The space was filled with meaningless items to add what, something to look at?

But the government building? Impressive and ugly. And the crowd. Even in the evening, with an escort into the building by Caitlyn herself, Vi felt that at any moment, some other enforcer might find her too comfortable in here. Never mind her hair color, or her jacket. The prison stripes over her legs, and the distinct step of her boots kept her eyes from not latching onto any person with gilded armor.

Other than the general wading through the bystanders making conversation, discussing their dinner plans after a long day in court or scheduling business for the next morning, Vi felt Caitlyn staying just out of her physical reach. And through the main floors as they waited at the elevator for the upper levels, Caitlyn hardly even looked at her. Still preparing her words, probably.

The faces around them noticed both of them, and gave them plenty of distance. Though most didn't bother avoiding and simply ignored Vi as she leaned over railings for the lift. Against the wall in the elevator. Forced to keep her elbows facing out to maintain space around herself for just enough comfort to ease the tension in her jaw.

This had to feel different for Vi being up here than Caitlyn being down in the sumps. Vi was used to discomfort in her surroundings. She was even used to apathy. But it was the judgement that sharpened her eyes at the suits and uniforms.

We're people. Just like you.

Then how were they able to see something I can't?

As the elevator rose, the fewer building regulars remained. They eventually left only Vi and Caitlyn with two other enforcers. Caitlyn visibly relaxed her posture as the floor's numbers rose with clicking reminders. Vi stole the corner of the elevator on Caitlyn's right. It kept Caitlyn closer to the other two, but most importantly, it made sure that all three were an easy glance away.

"It's nice to see you again, Taran."

"Likewise, Kiramman. I was excited to see your name on the docket today. This should be interesting." He smirked, but Vi saw the mockery in it. She hadn't stopped seeing it once she did. And Caitlyn smiled, too, oblivious.

"What's so funny?" Vi asked, not seeing the joke between them. A joke being played on Caitlyn, and Vi unwilling to be brought into it.

"Nothing's funny." His eyes lost their mirth, replaced by something he should've already been wearing.

"Uhuh." Vi nodded. Along the back of Vi's wrapped left hand, leather brushed enough to bring her attention to the enforcer on her left. Vi tensed, but saw Caitlyn wear the same kindness over her eyes. And suddenly, Vi knew exactly what she was thinking.

And Caitlyn was right. It wasn't worth it.

The elevator opened up after a stifling long moment. Another massive door, so heavy Vi wondered how many people it might take to open it. And yet, despite the size, Taran opened the door for them. Vi did her best to ignore him behind her as they stepped into the belly.

Notes:

Next up: Oil and Water. Can't have happy gays without a few sad days, am I right? ;-;

Chapter 31: Season 1, Episode 8: "Oil and Water"

Their voices echoed in the chamber; loud and clear. Each never speaking over the other and yet unable to stop themselves from chasing each other's words. Vi recognized one, Caitlyn's mother's words. They'd been talking before Vi and Caitlyn arrived, but Vi listened as Taran shut the door silently behind them.

"...greater concerns than a dip in profits. The sheriff betrayed us."

"We need better information."

"We need to act. Before anyone else gets killed." Vi tracked the voice to a man in white and red. The Man of Progress. The one from the flyers, the posters, the flags. Vi really wish she'd been given pictures to know which councilor was which right now.

"Perhaps Marcus was operating independently." A different man, almost posing his own words as a question. Caitlyn was already stepping forward into the room to correct him. Vi knew it. "What could anyone in the undercity offer him that he didn't have up here?"

Caitlyn answered, reaching their view with Vi only a step behind, "It's not what they offered him," Vi took stock of the thin blonde who'd been talking. He was definitely not the friend on the council. "it's what he had to lose."

Vi counted seven people seated. Not the eight they'd expect. Which meant if things came to a vote, they needed four. When they already hoped for four. But Vi kept her face from betraying the realization. They were here for a reason. They'd smell her caged up resentment if she wasn't careful. Better to play nice, than telling them how she really felt.

Around the room, the enormous windows looked far larger than she'd expected. Even across the bridge, she knew they were tall. Actually being here in this room was a strange knowledge of never having to wonder about them again.

"Councilors, my daughter has a unique insight into our situation."

In the center of the cog-shaped table, a couple of stairs led to a design that reminded Vi of a fighter's pit. The attention meant to be on whoever stood in the center for whatever trial they faced. And these officials, these sporters, would decide whether to applaud or hiss.

"Thank you." Caitlyn replied, "Councilors, this is Vi." Just Vi. Not an inmate, or number. "She was born in the undercity." Vi trusted Caitlyn wasn't going to spill details of her life to the literal government's ears, but this was about trust. And that meant Vi had to follow Vander's tried-and-true method of getting it. Starting with honesty. Caitlyn continued, "Even though we failed her in countless ways," Cait turned her head toward Vi pointedly, "she risked everything to show me what life is really like down there."

Cait meant it. And she didn't have to tell them.

"People are starving, sick, ravaged by shimmer. They live in constant fear of the coordinated efforts of violent crime lords. One man leads these efforts. Silco."

"Remember. Be patient, kiddo. You're not building trust with people you already know. If you're making friends, you'll have to take your time. It won't happen overnight."

Right.

"We've done investigations of Silco." A mechanical voice rolled out of one of the right chairs. The first time he'd spoken, and Vi knew immediately he was probably going to be one of the naysayers to convince. "They yielded no such level of organization."

Caitlyn lolled her head forward, "And who led these investigations?" Vi had to hold back her smile. Caitlyn was definitely not afraid of them.

The man of progress threw something from his hand onto the table and spoke up again, "What does this Silco even want from us?"

"He believes the undercity should be independent. He calls it the nation of Zaun."

What if it was? What if Silco'd gotten what he wanted? No, there was still time to dig out the corruption from living memory. The room went silent. Half of the faces almost looked offended at the suggestion. Notably, the two men on the far right. The mechanical one didn't have a face, but his hand mirrored the other two. The three women on the left remained still as statues at the words, considering. Their wildcard in the middle, and Vi's only point of reference for Caitlyn's connection, reached down beneath the table.

The closest one to burning with Vi in the room.

"What about these? Do you know who made them?" He dumped a grenade onto the table, and Vi's heart dropped away. Just behind it, she saw the painted butterfly of the same tiny, brass pieces of fireworks she'd ran over on the bridge. Evidence. And more evidence. They knew about her. But Vi and Caitlyn didn't know he had a fucking grenade as proof.

"No, well.." Caitlyn started lying. But fuck, they had to be honest. Vi took the spotlight from Caitlyn, and closed her hand over Cait's. She could take over from here. Caitlyn danced enough to the music, it was time for Vi to tap in. Give her a break.

"Her name is Jinx."

The man, Jayce, she'd read from Caitlyn's letter, met her eyes evenly.

"This Jinx has the gemstone." He guessed correctly. Vi sighed, watching Caitlyn nod in confirmation. Jayce stood from his chair, "Then we have to go in by force."

A new voice joined after him, Mel - the names were slowly trickling in as Vi remembered Caitlyn's breakdown of the council's temperaments. "That could trigger war." Said the Noxian.

Caitlyn stepped forward, trying to put her own words into the pot, "There are good people down there."

The middle man on the right scoffed, "Hmph. Bad ones too."

The middle woman on the right, the compassionate one, "Even if we wanted to invade, they have shimmer."

Jayce turned away from the window, making up his mind again, "We have hextech."

That wasn't what Vi expected, and apparently Caitlyn didn't either. She took another step toward the circle, almost into the pit. "What happened to you?"

He saw something that made him angry. Riled up. Right now, it wasn't gonna matter that Caitlyn wanted something done by the book. Jayce wanted action. And Vi wondered how Caitlyn could already forget about the torniquet over her leg. Vi hadn't. She could still see the open skin beside her striped pants. Knowing Caitlyn was pushing through to make it home.

"We've been talking about talking for weeks now." He remained standing, but approached his chair again like he was hyping the crowd, "They're still cleaning the blood off the bridge. When do we say enough is enough?"

Mel spoke from behind her hands, "Jayce, you don't know war. I do. It must be our last resort. There may be a diplomatic solution." Jayce looked away from her, to the other side of the table, and Vi followed. A tentative shrug. A lowered face. A roll of the eyes.

"She's right." One of the 'naysayers' agreed. Agreed with the Noxian? Shit, the other half of the table looked just as reluctant to suggest what they came here to do. It was the huffing eyeroll of Jayce giving in that really made Vi drop the pretense.

"What? You want to negotiate with him?" Vi spat out before she could stop herself. There was no way in hell all of them were settling. No way they'd known about all of this shit for however the hell long and still try to meet Silco halfway?

"It may be the only way to avoid further bloodshed."

Your fucking daughter almost died down there and you're just hoping it doesn't happen again?? Vi swiped at her temple, unable to understand how fucking stupid this was turning out to be.

"This is insane." Vi stepped into the middle, needing to be heard by the people who'd rather sweep the dirt under the rug than clean the mess up. Vi made sure she told them how horrible it reflected on them. "Did you learn nothing? You can't talk to him! He hates you. Everything you stand for." Vi knew that feeling too, and spoke to the Noxian; pointedly, "He will never back down." And neither will I.

A chair shoved back behind her, "Enforcers, please escort them out."

The fuck not. Vi rolled her eyes, giving up this stupid waste of their time. Waste of her time. "Forget it. I remember where your fancy damn door is." Vi walked away from the chicken-shit government, past Caitlyn, past a stone-faced Taran, toward the exit.

This was meant to be a step forward; rally the leaders to do something. Not less of it. Negotiating with Silco? It was only proving the fucker had even more power in his hands. It just meant that everything he'd been doing while Vi was sidelined was working in his favor. And now, Vi had no bargaining chips left. The only person in that room who remotely wanted to do something about it lost his steam at the first sign of trouble.

And the spout flared.

Vi yanked the door open, not even able to hear it slam into a wall on the other side. She refused to be stuck in the metal box again, and took the stairs nearly two at a time. Not quite running, but not willing to slow her motion. There were furiously following clicks of boots behind her, trying to keep up. But Vi ignored her shadow as she descended. Hope all she wanted to, hope wasn't going to make the lights turn on by itself.

That's what this was all about, wasn't it. She'd been lied to; convinced that the world was brighter than it really was. She really thought Caitlyn could convince them to see reason. But not even Caitlyn could do that. And there was no one else possible who'd even come half as far before. Let Zaun have its fucking day. Screw the fuckers who only ever looked down. Trying to make the world a better place? That was the real pipe dream. Maybe in a different fucking universe.

Caitlyn was still on her heels.

Not giving up.

Unaccepting.

By now, the people'd gone home. And Vi realized there wasn't an audience in the chamber. There weren't any witnesses to see just how out-of-touch their own leaders were. Was there any hope to begin with? Were they planning on not going through with anything from the start?

And of course it was fucking raining outside.

"Vi! Wait! Wait! Where're you going?" Vi sure as shit didn't have a good answer. She hadn't even asked herself that.

"I don't know, back where I came from? Seems like that's what everyone up here wants." Why face the problems, when you can negotiate with them.

"I can fix this." This is bigger than you!

Vi turned on her heels sharply, "You can't." Caitlyn stopped, surprised, a few feet away. Just far enough that they could both meet in the middle. If they could only ignore everything else going on. Why was it always Vi who had to dish out the bad news? Why'd the world pin her with the only topsider who still refused to know her place. "This is how things are, how they've always been. I was so stupid to think it could change."

"There must be something else we can do. Some other way. We'll make a new plan. We have to try." Caitlyn grasped at straws, now. But they weren't actionable enough to sway Vi from handling things how she knew needed to be handled. Not under the table, not empty promises. A heavy-handed fist.

"We tried, okay? It wasn't enough. Topside and bottom; oil and water. That's all there is." Vi knew a her words were a lie. Dishonest. But it could be just what Caitlyn needed to figure out that Caitlyn was too good to do what Vi was going to do. It was why Vi spent the long winding staircase trip down thinking of ways to say this. To break this. Everything leading up to this moment was a blink in topside's day. They'd get over it and move on by the end of tomorrow. Caitlyn was topside. She'd follow suit.

"What about us?" Silco's bigger than 'us'. Vi turned her head away, unwilling to risk being convinced that what she was already doing wasn't the right decision. Just a couple of suckers who can't accept the real world. Vi can't live up here, and Caitlyn can't live down there. It's just impossible, and Caitlyn needed to hear it. Rip the tape off, because it was gonna sting either way.

Vi looked up from the pavement as far as the tips of Caitlyn's boots before knowing she couldn't see up past them. Vi didn't want to see the hurt in her eyes, or risk seeing what it was like to make an ocean cry. "Oil and water." Even that was too much. She had to turn her head back, "Wasn't meant to be."

Caitlyn sighed, "You're just saying that." One more. She had one more chance to turn back. And as much as Vi wanted something with Cait, she needed nothing to happen to her. Not when Vi understood war was coming and the only option was to lose her shadow before her shadow was taken. Drive the nail in. Leave no room for interpretation.

"Do yourself a favor, cupcake. Go back to that big, shiny house of yours and just.. forget me, okay?" Vi put her hands into jacket. Her fingers were cold, now. Her clothes were soaked down, weighing over her. The thoughts she'd had fueling her resolve from the council weren't the ones making her boots pound into the concrete anymore.

The rain fell freely, prickling at her skin without gutters to catch it or steer it into cascading pipes for power. She heard thunder above, but never saw the lightning behind the cloud. All she felt was a fire being left unattended in the rain to be snuffed. She needed it to be. Looking back might remind Vi that her fingers were cold, or that her soul was shivering again.

Vi felt lost. And when she looked up from the concrete, she knew she was. Until the building several streets over just kept climbing through the sky and into the clouds. The Hexgate.

There was a flash in the clouds somewhere, and despite Vi squinting up into the rain, she knew it wasn't the magic tower's doing.

Maybe there was somewhere she could go, after all. And Vi swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd have to double-back. And tonight, she'd have to make Ekko proud. The only hazards she could consider, involved being seen. Pilties never looked up. But you know what they did do? Make their streets perfectly aligned. If she had to follow him out of the council building, then Vi really needed to hope her feet didn't slip in the rain.

Fuck it.

Vi judged the best route back to the councilor's building from the Hexgate. The thinnest streets, in case she had to jump across. Avoid the flat-faced buildings that blocked her view around the corners. In the few minutes of scanning the rooves from the street, Vi remapped the world as she knew.

The Hexgate, even here, was a good run north-west of the council. In her favor, she'd sprinted from the academy district toward the bridges before. So, on-foot might not be too difficult if she needed to run south-side. Caitlyn's house.. Vi couldn't help looking to the east, behind the walls and expressionless sky. The rain slowed to a mist, but no matter what she could do, seeing that mansion would be impossible now. But it was there. And Vi told herself if shit went sideways, she was going to have to remember which way south was. Even if she had to use the Hexgate in lieu of the sun.

Once she made it onto the rooves, she had to admit the city looked beautiful at night. Warm flickers of life in their windows and along the streets. How many of them wanted change like Jayce? If the people could have a say, would they sue for peace? Give their lives to defend their principals?

Vi let her thoughts drift away as she hunted for the council building. It wasn't too hard, but she wasn't taking her footing for granted. One slip, and she'd break bone over the street. There wouldn't be anything to catch herself on the way down. It drowned the last of the sky's tears to the back of her mind.

She didn't know exactly how long she'd been gone for, but a carriage rode from the east. A few. One of them rounded the corner just outside of Vi's eye, but she crouched just behind the false wall overlooking the council's front stairs. Vi blinked, confused. Standing beneath a lamppost, the same lampost, was Caitlyn. Drenched, and holding herself like the rain was still pouring. Shaking like it, too. Vi didn't have to sit in guilt for long, as the carriage rolled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs behind Caitlyn's shivering stillness.

Vi looked down the street, wondering why Caitlyn hadn't moved an inch from where Vi'd left her. It was only a few days, Cait. Vi pulled her eyebrows together, silently cheering her on out of view. The bittersweetness pushed Vi to almost shove her hands into the false wall like she could nudge Caitlyn into the carriage from up here. C'mon, go home.

Several enforcers filed out of the building, clearing the street of potential threats. Vi ducked behind the wall even more, pulling her hood down to hide everything it could as she watched their charge step out into the rain-soaked street. Caitlyn's mom called for her. Her voice a single name, and a lot softer than Vi was expecting; than Vi had heard before.

Vi briefly wondered if they'd exchange any words in the street, but Caitlyn hesitated only a moment or two before turning. Caitlyn stepped into the carriage, and her mom lifted her hand over the air behind her back. A silent hand Caitlyn would never see. But Vi saw it. And it made what she'd done ache a little less in her chest. Cait would be okay.

The enforcers remained, as the councilors trickled out to the stairs and awaiting rides. Never the guy Vi waited for. Until the carriages stopped coming and the enforcers split into three groups. One to stay, one to follow Jayce, and the third toward Vi's direction. It occurred to Vi in anxiety that she didn't know what enforcer stations looked like. And as much as the thought was a good thing on the surface, the last thing she wanted was to come across their nest unawares.

Still, she followed Jayce as he - thank fuck - chose to walk home. His posse of six faithfully escorted him as if to create a physical shield. Even in the quiet night in the heart of Piltover, their helmets scanned the streets. And on a few lucky occasions, Vi wasn't jumping across rooves when they checked the streets behind them.

They played this dance for several minutes. Long enough to make Vi wonder if the asshole knew she was following and was just going out for a stroll, but the buildings started to look familiar. Closer to the city's center than any of the three landmarks Vi knew of. South, but still a very hefty run south as the thief bolts. Less sterile, more variations in size. More reds, more golds, and more hammers in nearby structures. He turned down toward Vi's building, and she shot herself back along the side of the angled paneling to make sure they didn't catch her.

Now that he'd shown her where he was going, Vi really looked around her. And the familiarity clicked. A factory. His factory? It was probably the biggest building capable of housing a furnace large enough to work in if the hammer emblem really was his. Of course it was. He wasn't just a councilor, he was an engineer. The Man of Progress wasn't just the face of the Hexgates, he was the founder. The inventor-

Chalky scribbles all over a board, Vi making the connection between student and innovator. They'd almost met all those years ago. That guy was the idiot Ekko swindled??

Those crystals were Jayce's. Powder somehow activated the hextech. The gems back then weren't refined, but now, it looked harmless. Acted harmless. And Jayce had mastered his craft. He probably designed the Hexgate itself, if he was on the council and in charge of its ingenuity.

Vi lifted an eyebrow. And that's what he meant when he suggested they use hextech to combat shimmer. Vi was breaking into this factory, there was no doubt about it. And she knew just which strings she could pull to point him in the right direction. The same direction.

Hammer, meet fist.

Notes:

Ignoring the angsty batman following Jayce, I wanted to mention that I always wondered how Vi might figure out the connection that not only was Jayce the guy she once stole from, but also establish herself as someone who would seek him out for help. Obviously they share a brain cell for shit-starting, but I think the bookstreet allegations are a fun joke. Underneath, I think they're both very capable on their own. And in the same room. That being said, I have to say Jayce walking away from the shimmer tank and Vi going over to break it was such a 'fist-shaking in frustration' moment for me.

Time for some hextech shenannigans!

Chapter 32: Season 1, Episode 8: "Factory Reset"

The rhythm of metal on metal had already started. Vi climbed in through the vents before he started propping them open and lighting the furnace. Honestly, she would've been in more of a hurry if she realized sooner that the reason why it was so easy to climb through them was because only an idiot with a death wish would do it.

And maybe there was someone breaking in, not realizing that some people use their vents for ventilation up here and not decoration.

His workshop housed a dozen different tools and trinkets. Secrets locked away in filing cabinets, crates of scrap from his own creations tucked away for some later intention. And in the center, away from the wall was the massive fire hazard of a furnace. Even for Vi, she had to give him some credit. This was his personal space, and there was no joke to be found in his dedication to engineering. In fact, it made Vi feel closer to home. Her red jacket soaking in the wavering heat, the gears and mechanisms inked over her back; the machinations of the world helping to keep things moving.

If Caitlyn was the one to help Vi look past the blue and gold, maybe Jayce could help her in his own way, too. Definitely not in the same way as Cait, though. Jayce was right to want to do something. And the destruction from this morning really was more than just a few dead cops. It was the byproduct of years of manipulation and terrorizing of Powder. Of Silco's foul presence.

Vi knew now that she couldn't possibly expect, or want this path for Caitlyn. While Jayce carved drawings into his metalwork. Vi planned her next move with all the tender loving care of someone who had to put all of her money on the line. If this didn't work out, the only thing she'd have left was her original - reckless - plan to just punch her way to Silco. And even Vi knew that was not going to end well for her. Or Powder, for that matter.

Everything Vi knew about The Man of Progress was right here. Caitlyn trusted Jayce to do the right thing; had their whole plan banking on Jayce pulling through on that faith. Jayce had the knowledge, wealth, and influence to make weapons to put them on even footing. And the last, arguably biggest motive of opportunity? Vi had a neat little trick up her sleeve to seal the deal. Assume he's already going to do it; Vi's just, well, she's here to help him achieve his goals. Call it progress.

Vi left her warm, dry spot behind the furnace's main face. By now, her clothes weren't just dry, they were toasty and as much as Vi was enjoying the high-pitched hammering in her ears, the night wasn't getting any younger. Vi walked past the hanging rack of his tools; wrenches, screw drivers, hammers, hammers, damn, more hammers. Her fingers feathered through them, greeting him with a cascading tone of metal. She stuck her hands into the jacket, just to have a spot for them other than her sides. By the end of the counter, Vi joined him on the other side of the floor as he spun around.

"You wanna make Silco pay for what he's done?"

"I could have you arrested." Let me guess. Taken to the nearest station?

"You guys really like to bandy that threat around. You ever been to Stillwater?"

"No." Piltover's council so far removed, they didn't even know what went on down there. At that point, why not just kill her back then? Call it a day.

"So you just wave an arm, have someone dragged off. Don't bother to find out what it does to someone being stuffed in a stone box for weeks or months, or even years?" She knew, and even now there was nothing to really keep her from thinking she might just be crazy enough to imagine all this was within the confines of her box. Now that she'd had to witness the highs and suffer the lows of finding Powder and being found by Caitlyn.

Jayce sighed after a moment, "Yeah; I wanna make Silco pay." His resolve crumbled under Vi's accounting. Good. It meant he took her seriously enough. Vi gave him no time to second-guess it.

"I want in."

"There is no 'in'," Oh? Then whatcha working on? A hammer of negotiation? "You heard the council." And you're right here, doing what you said you wouldn't do. Hypocrite. Just like the rest of us.

"Fuck the council. You said you were tired of doing nothing. That's the only sensible thing that came out of anyone's mouth tonight." Vi stepped along the table she'd been half-circling, reaching her target. The giant metal glove with a distinct blue glow over the massive wrist. Plates to defend the precious hand meant to go inside it. It even had some kind of pressure gauge. Fancy. And so fucking cool.

"I'm not a vigilante."

Vi bent over, taking a look inside. The inside was cushioned, like he'd taken comfort in mind for its design. Not just a tool, but something to wear. Luxury disguised as utility. If Sevika had been using shimmer to power her chemtech arm, hextech could power this. But how'd it work? Make the flaps move? Was there a fan on the inside to keep everything from getting sweaty?

"No; you're a victim." Vi was not one to stick her hands inside a dark hole and not expect something to bite back. But this was hextech, and she figured Jayce got all the errors out of this already if he was moving on to other projects. At least, she hoped he wasn't like Powder; juggling any and every idea all at once all the time.

Her fingers brushed against the inside of the glove, and under her palm, she felt a bar stopping her fingers from reaching the end of the space within. She flexed her fingers open, enjoying the odd satisfaction of handing free movement for them. As soon as the thought of wondering how to turn it on came to her mind, the glove came alive. No, the gauntlet came alive.

The flaps opened, pistons hissed, and despite knowing something around her hand was powered, there was no heat; no sense of danger to the proximity. The cushion around her tightened just enough to hold her hand in place. Like the leather strap of Vander's gauntlets had done years prior. Or the ties of her boxing gloves before that. Cool, soothing air whirred over her hand as the steam pushed out from the side. The best she expected from the gauntlet's weight, though, was the biggest shock.

Because there was no weight to it. There was metal, and lots of it around her hand. She felt the pressure under her palm, over her forearm of the gauntlet shaking from its own power. But the most dangerous part was that Vi felt it glide through the air like it was her hand wraps; another layer of skin. He might not have known Vi was coming here to enlist him, but why the hell did this feel like it was made for her?

Vi raised it above her head, feeling the vibrations through her hand ease the joints in her fingers; her wrist. She opened her fingers off the bar, and the gauntlet opened its palm with her. And yet, there were no strings inside to tug. Like it had a mind of its own. Who knew, maybe it was reading her mind.

"This so people notice you when you raise your hand in the boardroom?" She turned it down, and over to get a look at the pistons underneath. The flaps opened, and Vi couldn't stop the smile still plastered over her face at the wonder of hextech. It was like Ekko said. We could absolutely beat Silco with something like this. Woe the guy who stood between Caitlyn and her bullseye if Jayce ever made a gun. She knew one thing for sure. Powder and hextech was a guaranteed nightmare. If things came down brass tacks, Vi had to admit Powder should not have the gem in her possession. Silco or no Silco.

"We built them for mining the fissures." He leaned down to sit over the tabletop behind him. Hm, that made sense. And of course he'd build something to make money move faster. Vi lightly punched her palm over the knuckles. It was solid, and despite meeting the metal on the outside, there was a give to the jutting knuckles of the gauntlet. Like it didn't want to hurt her as much as she didn't want to be hurt by it. The hydraulics were fascinating.

"Hm. Someone close to me had a pair of these." Repurposed mining gauntlets into something he'd used to defend himself with. Something Vi had done as well, and now she could carry on the tradition of protecting others. With these. Vi started to close the distance between them toward the anvil, "You're the first person Caitlyn looked for when we made it to topside. Of everyone up here, you're the one she trusted to do something."

Jayce sighed again, her words still getting through to him. He put down his hammer - Vi wasn't sure what he'd even do with it if he meant to use it as defense against someone like her - and stepped off the table. Good, interest. "What do you want me to do? Arrest him?"

"Silco controls the undercity with shimmer." Vi leaned in, and set her boot on the bench between them. The plan wasn't complicated. "Shut down his supply, and it's only a matter of time before his own people turn on him."

"And how do we do that?"

"Take out his manufacturing facilities. Hit him hard and fast before he can react." He looked over into the furnace. Chewing on her proposition-wrapped-as-a-gift. It was only when his eyebrows set firmly in agreement that Vi broke his mulling. "So, we got a deal, pretty boy?" She opened her hand, offering the gauntlet's palm out for a comically large handshake. Vi smiled again, pleased. If there was any doubt, this was Ekko's mark. No haggling necessary.

"That's going to take time to set up."

"Aren't you the literal power behind the brains here? Wave those enforcers around and get a few squads to break in."

Jayce shook his head, beads of sweat finally catching over his temple. Vi's covered hand felt perfectly cool, still, and she wondered if she stuck her hand into that furnace, would her hand be fine still? She wasn't gonna find out the hard way, that's for sure. Vi dropped the gauntlet and wiggled her fingers in it; experimenting as he replied. "It's not that simple. We'll have to go in when everyone's sleeping."

"The undercity's not going to ever go to sleep. So, unless you plan on having your guys fly down the fissures or can scale the rock, someone's gonna talk. You just need enough to get in and get out. We don't need an army."

"And where're you in all this?"

"Well, I figure it's Silco's pride and joy. He's not going to let his factory be undefended. You and yours break in, make sure the workers aren't gonna fuss, and we burn every vial of shimmer in there. You bring your tool, I'll bring mine. We'll punch out the details later."

"This kind of move is going to get me kicked off the council if you're wrong."

Vi shrugged, sticking her hand into the other gauntlet. Unlike the right one, the power remained off. Despite Vi's desire to get it moving. Maybe it wasn't powered by thoughts. "Then we better be right. 'Cause we don't have a lot going left for us." She must've said something right, because Jayce entered her vision with a gemstone held open in his palm. And she wondered just how many he had laying around?

"In here." Jayce clicked open the back of the unpowered gauntlet, and Vi watched as it woke up once the gemstone slotted in. And the weight keeping her 'hand' glued to the table fell away like dust and a full breath.

"How long did this take to make?"

"A few months. We've been pouring all our energy into making the Hexgates.. We're finally able to work on our own projects." 'We'?

"Who's the madness to your genius?"

"What're you talking about?"

"Oh, my bad, if you're the madness."

"I'm still not-"

"Never mind. It's just a saying." Vi tested the dexterity of the gauntlet, turning around to pluck a tool from the hook. Despite not feeling it grab hold, she couldn't help but somehow feel the texture beneath her fingertips. Some kind of signal that told her there was an object underneath. And Vi wondered if she could still get a fighter's high with these gloves. Feel the adrenaline through her exhaustion. Fight through overused muscle. "So, where're his factories?"

"You don't already know that?"

"They didn't teach Evil Mastermind Drug Bust Locations in Stillwater."

"Getting that information takes time."

"Well, we don't have that. Every second we waste planning is more time for Silco. We should head out tonight."

"You said the undercity never sleeps."

"Topside does. And if we're pulling this off, better when no one up here's looking."

"You're okay working with a bunch of enforcers? You don't look like the kind of person who would."

"I've been working with Caitlyn. You don't see me mad-eyeing her."

"You're right, I don't. I also don't see her being okay with you going behind the council's back for this, and I definitely don't see her here with you."

Vi picked at another wrench, using the very edge of the tip to pick it up. When the gauntlet caught it, she knew. And she couldn't even see underneath. This shit was freakishly.. smart?

"I told her to get some sleep. She's been through hell and back." Vi set the tool back down, adding more to remind herself, "She doesn't need to get her pretty nails scuffed up."

--

Vi blinked awake. What the hell was taking them so long? Get their asses on the train, break into the factory from the railway, and make sure no one pressed the panic buttons around every damn corner. She'd been stuck up on the cliffs for what, an hour? Two? Waiting for some sign that Mr. Progress was doing just that; making progress. Instead, Vi sat in wait for her own plan. Her muscles were starting to ache from sitting still too long. And there wasn't enough space on this ledge to pace. The only way was down through the factory's top vent. The one opening where Vi could see into the descending layers like a purple-hued hive.

The last conversation she'd had with Jayce played on repeat in her mind. Against her will.

"I can drop in from those south cliffs. You made these to play with rocks; best get some use out of them."

"And you're not going to hold out on me, right? I can trust you to not let us get blocked in?"

"Caitlyn cares about you. How does that make me look if I let you bite the dust down there."

"And our friends in blue?"

"They stay out of my way, I'll stay out of theirs. But if I catch a stray bullet, Caitlyn's gonna be the least of your worries."

"Point Jinx out if you see her."

That made Vi pause. "You don't know what she looks like?"

"No. Caitlyn mentioned seeing someone at the Progress Day massacre, but we didn't find anything on the bridge that could help us figure out her identity."

"Then how do you know it was her?" Caitlyn knew it. Vi knew it. But if there was some hope that Powder could stay under their radar, Vi wasn't going to start putting up posters.

"It's the same paint, same engineering as the ones from the massacre as the bridge. I wouldn't be surprised if she's the 'madness' to Silco's 'genius' as you put it."

"Just do your damn job, Pretty Boy."

"It's Jayce Talis to you."

"Clock's ticking, Councilor."

"Jayce. Talis."

"Stop. Stopping. You see how stupid you sound?" Ugh, this was so much more fun with Caitlyn.

They separated closer to the sea wall, and further from The Lanes' prying eyes. He brought two things with him. His hammer, and that pretty white coat. If only Mylo could see this ridiculousness. He'd have a field day picking his confidence apart.

Mylo tapped his fingers impatiently beside his face just behind the edge of the crate. Vi couldn't help but half-sit on her back leg; bouncing her knee to keep up. She hid behind the same crate, listening to the same shit on a different day. Today's mark was a market stall. She knew the owner wasn't under Vander's eye, and Mylo assured her that the guy was keeping his coin purse stashed back and behind his stall. The last time they tried this tactic, it worked like a charm until Mylo tripped halfway into the sumps and Vi had to spend the rest of her night blowing dust out of her nose from having to drag him back out.

"Don't blow it." Mylo muttered. Vi shot him a flat look, wondering why wasn't wearing socks to go with his cold feet.

"Me??" Vi punched his arm without any real effort, "You almost pissed yourself the last time we tried this."

"That was different." Mylo ducked behind the crate to give her his undivided attention as he swatted her knuckles away like she wounded him, "That guy had a knife."

"Everything in The Lanes has a knife. That's like, rule number one."

"Rule number two is don't get stabbed. I think I'm doing okay for myself."

Vi scoffed. That was true. At least he didn't get hurt. "C'mon, let's stick to the plan."

The plan was simple. Vi goes in, makes some noise; maybe fall over a barrel or "trip" into the stall. Make a fuss. Mylo swoops in from behind and they both split in two directions and meet up a few streets over for the payday.

Vi.. may have oversold the distraction. She kicked her shoe a little too hard, forcing the leg under the stall to wobble. As she turned back to begin causing her scene, the leg gave out. And the wares - three open boxes of some kind of berries - spilled out onto the street. She didn't see Mylo swipe the pouch, but she did see the merchant grab a fistful of his shirt. She didn't think, she launched back at the merchant. Her shoes slipped and she fell belly-first over the squishy stone.

The merchant slipped sideways, his own feet giving out as Mylo desperately pulled away. And then Mylo slipped out of his hand and onto his back. The three scrambled to their feet. Vi was first, using the merchant's own clothes to keep her footing. Mylo kept the pouch firmly in his hand; the other pulling at a crate to help himself up.

And Vi was grateful she wasn't behind him anymore as the crate flipped over with even more berries. More half-fermented projectiles. Vi nearly yanked the shirt off Mylo as they both tore back behind the next two stalls. Their wares were safe, except for the messy footprints. Mylo was already taking his boots off when Vi pulled at her own heels.

They hadn't made it a competition, to see who could whip off their shoes before, but if there was a record to break, they broke it. Double-time.

Mylo tossed Vi one of his shoes, and they ran through the nearby alleys with no trace except for the sharp pain of whatever debris was eating at their soft feet.

They retreated deep enough and away from the fissure that Vi broke into a fit of panting laughter. It was hard enough to catch her breath but being lightheaded made the fit even less serious.

"That went really well!"

Mylo didn't seem to think it was so funny. He slumped against the stone pillar of a catwalk from high above to catch his breath. The boot in his hand held just as tightly as the stolen bag of money. "Yeah, yeah, quit yappin'." He dragged the bottom of his boot against the metal, cleaning it off before Vi gave him the spare. She cleaned her own shoes beneath his; waiting for the reveal.

He gave it a hopeful jingle, and they shared a sigh of relief. He opened the purse and-

They stared into the pocket. A hefty handful of metal washers. Not even bronze washers. Regular washers. Worth jack-shit. Mylo grabbed a decoy.

And all Vi could do was laugh so hard, her cheeks hurt. "We almost got our asses beat over a bag of duds?"

Mylo groaned, but when he shoved her out of his space, he couldn't help but join in. "Shut up! This is your fault!"

"You're the one who grabbed them!"

"That's where he was stashin' the money!"

"You're sure he wasn't just bartering for supplies?"

"I- Well- he's broke now!"

Vi coughed heavily, the fog getting to her burning lungs. "Next time, pick a guy who doesn't sell cheap-ass food."

Mylo sobered a bit at the reminder of their purple-stained clothes, "Ugh! This'll never wash out."

"And to think, you've got a shit ton of washers out of it."

Vi wiped her eyebrow with her bicep. The gauntlet wasn't really made to get the grimy humid air-sweat off her face. She'd only blinked, and now, the enforcers were pairing up with people on the higher levels. Holding people at gunpoint. She didn't have time to grumble about them, though, as the factory alarms whirled and whooped. If Mylo was here, bored with her on a depressing chunk of stone, he'd still say something to pass the time.

"Don't blow it."

Vi sucked air through her nose. She held it. Released. And sucked at one of her canines, "Time to save the day." The gauntlets hissed in excitement. She pushed off the ledge and her fingers wrapped over the air to meet invisible resistance from latching onto the ledge. Despite her fingers holding open, there was a sensation of the stone ghosting her brain. Just like the tiny wrench a few hours ago. It was so strange but Vi couldn't linger up here with the alarms calling for her down there.

She launched off the ledge, free falling into the pit as the factory's roofless pillars flew up to meet her.

Notes:

Just a quick little note, I posted a fanedit of this fic that I hope serves as a good tone-setter for this story. :) It's at the beginning of Chapter 1.

Chapter 33: Season 1, Episode 8: "Side Effect"

The factory looked more like a giant tin can, half a dozen layers deep. Long catwalks connected the upper two levels and around the edges of each layer. The most important part Vi could see, was the overwhelming odds of some kind of full-body shimmer-suit versus a single white-suited hammer-wielding idiot. Standing in the middle. At least ten to one. Vi loosened her grip when one more stepped out from the edge of her view on onto the catwalk below. Behind Jayce. And the bastard wasn't watching his own back.

Sparks tickled her cheeks and neck. Tiny flecks of burning rain that she felt more than the empty air in her hands. She felt the bars underneath her palms, safely tucked beneath the glowing screeches.

She kicked off from the pillar and drew her right elbow. The world almost stilled for a moment; just long enough for her to lock her eyes onto her target. The chemtank sprinted forward over the catwalk toward Jayce, right where she'd planned to land. Which was very unlucky for him because Vi wasn't opposed to asking him to move. Cherry on top and all.

Vi flew down and with a shout, broke her fall with her right gauntlet over the bright pink glass of his face mask. The body resisted for only a moment; just long enough make her wonder if she'd fly right through him. But then the heaping armor exploded out from the catwalks and landed like a meteor on one of the lower levels. Vi caught her feet behind Jayce.

One, damn that felt good.

Two, C'mon hammerboy, we've got work to do.

Vi smiled and winked at him, enjoying the slack-jawed fish looking at her. He had a weapon too, just needed a little bit of a kick to get his brain started. Wake him out of freeze-mode. But the chemtanks weren't going to wait long before getting their own confidence back, so Vi turned to face her half of the catwalk. Guard up.

One hesitated at the end, and she judged the height with a carefully hopeful thought. They were taller; and their armor wasn't a few layers of clothes. Pink-tinted glass was the biggest flaw. Long blades at the end of their arms. Bad for gripping, great for slashing. Stay close. Shimmered out defense. Faster reflexes. Stronger constitution. No room for mistakes.

And behind Vi, she knew the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near where he'd be swinging. The catwalk was too much of a disadvantage for her, too. No room to maneuver. And these guys weren't gonna file at them one-by-one. Not this time.

She rolled her shoulder, pumped her arms, and charged.

The first swung too high, giving her a chance to duck beneath his blade and she shot her left into the pipe running along his mask. Testing. He moved from the blow, but Vi shot her guard back up in time for his left to swing back. In the air, she felt the force kick her back, though the gauntlets did the job. Parry to the right. Block top. Close the distance. She rushed forward, gripping the glass turtled him onto his back. Steam roared, and she dug in through as his face shield crumbled beneath. Chunks of concrete flew outward, and Vi heard the next mark step up.

She was low, no footing beneath, as the green chemtrail stabbed into the ground. Vi rolled away, hearing his blade flash into the concrete; felt the sparks over the back of her neck as she twisted. She had to get her feet under her-

The gauntlet exploded into the ground as the idea crossed her mind, and in the next moment, Vi flipped into the air, and landed on her feet. Guard up. Left blade, parry right. Right blade, parry right. Left blade, parry left. Wide right blade, weave. Left. Left. The knuckles of the gauntlet almost hooked under the armor itself, and despite the strain in her shoulder, the chemtank launched into the air with a busted trail of shimmered air streaking behind.

Vi took a breath. A sickly sweet, intensity burned her nose frozen. It vanished into the air mid-breath, but it was enough. Battle fever clouded her vision against her will.

Instinct caught the next chemtank, his blades shooting past her ears as she tucked her head down and forward. Her hands grasped at the blades, holding them suspended. Her knee stopped the momentum of his own armor from simply ramming her over the railing behind her. Her back leg firmly planted. Behind the glass, beneath a hairless head of veins and deformed mass, a pair of lifeless pink balls stared at her from their sockets.

She squeezed her hands around the metal bar and the blades shattered on both sides of her face. Shorter reach. She kicked the armor back a step. Blocked the overhanded swing. Close distance, shorten the reach. Vi stopped thinking, moved faster, followed his backfoot as she led the dance. He recovered fast enough to make one last swing, and Vi really drew her arm back. Rotated her wrist. Her elbow exploded forward, and as the minion flew back, Vi's balance nearly tripped her forward.

--

An explosion a floor up drew her eye. Blinked her back from wherever she'd gone. Forced her to face the unsteady shaking in her chest from adrenaline. On the same catwalk she'd left him on, Jayce swung his hammer from his hip. It had been split open, and Vi was already running to make sure he wasn't going to get surrounded again. But then a ball of blue energy shot out of the center, and Vi stopped dead in her tracks. Not from the explosion cracking into the stone, but the pink roaches scattering for their lives.

Fuck. Her eyes darted to the walls, to the hidden corners, to the shadows that might be looking for opportunity. One by one, pink and green glowing chunks fell from the upper levels. Each one, sometimes two, fell over the center hole. Targets not missed. A hammer made gun. The ones smart enough to find their escapes never re-emerged from the tunnels, the halls, the pipes, the cracks.

And then a chunk of metal exploded from above with shattered messes of piping and stone fell. No chemtank followed. Jayce's face bathed in blue reflection, and Vi recognized the fever taking him over as he swapped targets mid-track. His focus latched onto one, and he bared his teeth.

Quickly bridging the gap into dangerous territory. Losing himself.

Vi felt the explosion through her feet. The final shot hitting something in the layer above, but not the wall. Not a missed hit. And the body that followed wasn't green, or pink-hued. It was small. Vi steadied her balance on the railing, her heart dropping as she watched the body fall. And fall. And fall.

And the only feeling she understood was relief that it wasn't Powder.

Above and alone on the catwalk, Jayce stood in mortification, still staring into the abyss below as his reality corrupted. Despite the impossibility of seeing the damage at the bottom. Vi blinked down, not knowing exactly what he'd hit, but she knew it wasn't a chemtank or even an enforcer. A kid? A casualty. The first person he'd ever killed.

The thought gave her whiplash. Vi took a breath, and checked her surroundings again. Stone. Metal. Empty shadows. Around the edges of the walkways, the danger had fled; save for the enforcers slowly stepping out of the shadows. Hesitating to be seen, as if they, too, were unsure if the danger was fully hunting them through the pink-eyed stares.

One of them faced her, and Vi's back straightened, and she turned away to make her way deeper into the factory. Even though the minions fled, Vi wasn't going to get done-in by some shitty punk drugged up and dead-eyed. And every time she caught movement in her peripheral, it was someone trying to make themselves smaller. Day-to-day factory collars. Soot so caked into their fingers, a million topside showers wouldn't wash the dirt away. The little guys. The innocents. The no-other-options-left-workers. And to Vi, this was worse than miners. She grew up knowing mining was one of the most dangerous lifestyles in the undercity. But she could still feel pride in knowing her parents could go to bed feeling like they left something good behind.

How could anyone of these people say the same? That was no way to live. Forced to choose between a rock and a hard place. Living their lives in perpetual shit. If Vi had been in prison for her crimes, these people were in their own prisons. She could see it in the young faces she passed into the lower levels. Several enforcers had rounded up most of the workforce down here, and Vi let every one of them add a spoonful of oil onto her back. Something she could use later, when she finally took down Silco and saved Powder.

The few bottom floors had gained a collection of fallen pieces of armor in the centered balconies. Chemtanks and enforcers alike who'd fallen to their certain deaths if their wounds hadn't killed them before the broken falls. Disjointed limbs and gear dotting the factory floors. Most of them still coated in green chemfuel and chock full of holes in them from what actually killed them. Vi wondered if the remaining squads blinked an eye at this point. Or maybe why she couldn't stop seeing Caitlyn's features every time she saw one of them without their helmet.

Dead, alive, or injured; it didn't matter. Caitlyn left traces on all of them. Lingering thoughts that Vi could finally see as they rounded up the workers. And avoided Vi as the gauntlets remained firmly clenched at her sides.

The slight tremor in someone's hand as they held their rifle. Caitlyn looked very comfortable holding hers.

An enforcer was grazed in his calf. Caitlyn walked through half of Piltover with shrapnel in her thigh.

One of their medics was watching over a dazed victim of concussion. Caitlyn survived an explosion from Powder. It was more than other people could say.

So, Vi stopped looking at them. Forced her own gaze away to stop herself from wondering if Caitlyn was among the ranks Jayce brought. Somehow undercover or just out of sight enough that Vi wouldn't know she'd been here until it was too late. Vi returned to looking for hiding chemtanks in the corners. Expecting one to jump out and take her by surprise. They never did, and she patrolled layer after layer until she reached the second-to-last. A few enforcers had been rounding up evidence to bring back to topside. And that included bodies, so Vi sucked in her gut and checked corners again. Just in case she saw a couple of twin braids or a tri-barrel gun to finish the job.

Powder could be here.

But the important part, was that Caitlyn wasn't.

Booming mechanisms of the factory still pumped on their own, despite the workers stopping their progress. There weren't nearly enough enforcers here to arrest everyone and besides the obvious 'don't work for a drug lord' stamp in their memories from tonight, Vi wondered how this would affect them. Their families. They weren't here because they had other options. This was going to shake Silco, one hundred percent. But it was going to shake these folks first, and harder. And Vi hated that Silco was responsible for putting them into this situation.

Silence, cooperation, broken will, and resignation settled in the worker's eyes. The children's eyes.

"Hey, kid." Vi picked one of them out, hanging onto the rail for dear life as she cried over the top. This wasn't a good place for them by any means, but they also probably weren't expecting a massive shootout and shake down out of it either. The young girl turned to her, and squinted as Vi lowered the gauntlets on her approach. "Psst."

"H-hu-u-m?" She still stared at the body of the kid Jayce had shot, and Vi leaned her face in even closer, to earn the girl's attention.

"Wanna play a game?" Vi asked softly.

"N-no." Her sobs slowed just a fraction; long enough for Vi to push in for the opportunity of distraction.

"You sure? It'll help make you feel better."

"M-m-mokay."

Vi kept the gauntlets on, but leaned heavily on the railing. If she was being honest, she needed the moment to breathe, too. A couple of boys watched Vi step closer, and she kicked at the boot of a third who'd been looking between the enforcers at the bodies being dragged up from the bottom floor. Jayce was probably already on his way down, judging by the untouched globe of shimmer and whatever kind of breathing brain powered it. Vi figured they could regroup once he made his rich ass down the layers.

"Play the Piltie. Heard of it?" Of the four listening to her, two nodded. "It's simple. You pick a Piltie, say, that one," Vi pointed to the nearest enforcer, a stiff-armed kabobbed guy, - couldn't be Caitlyn under the armor because he was built like a boulder - "and you try to figure out their deepest secrets. Something they'd pay you to keep quiet. Something like.." Vi pretended to see beneath his armor. "He wears bunny slippers to bed every night. I can see it now."

"No he doesn't." One of them argued. Vi nodded, certain.

"Sure does. You know how I know? We got matching pairs." Vi paused, "Wait- I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

One of them caught on, whispering, "I'm telling everyone." He held onto the conspiracy, forgetting for just a moment about the scraping metal a few feet away. The enforcer beside them remained professional, not lowering his gun to give Vi even a hint that he'd let the kids leave. Or move. And Vi wasn't going to take the chance, so she deadpanned at the kids.

"You better not." Vi warned, making sure to not move her gauntlets an inch.

"Then you better pay up, Piltie."

Vi blinked. Wait. "I'm not a Piltie."

"Yeah, you are." The girl finally spoke up, her tears still wet over her cheeks. One of the boys bore his eyes into the blue glow hiding her hands.

"What makes you say that?" Vi replied to the girl, and reasoned with the staring boy, "I stole these."

"You came with them." The third jerked his chin behind Vi, to the nameless cops somewhere there. She had to set her jaw to keep from turning her head to look back.

"They came with me."

"Then how come they're listening to you."

"They're not-"

"Piltie, Piltie, Piltie."

Hissing steam blew out from the gauntlet, making all four of them jump back out of their growing collective brain cell. Vi glanced down, not meaning to activate them. When she looked up again, their eyes lost that brief camaraderie and had been replaced with jumpiness. Tightened tongues. Lost trust.

Vi sighed. Well, there goes that. At least now, the kids kept their attention on her, and not the disfigured sets of armor being brought up the ramp.

A lowered ring of blue waded through the sea, and Vi geared herself to face Jayce's fallout. Gone was the burning flame for action, and between the enforcers, Jayce walked without quite seeing through consequence. This could go one of two ways. Right, or left. She followed, checking and double-checking the cracks, the corners, the shadows. Even with the gauntlets, there could only be one person falling apart in the light of the massive tank of shimmer.

Jayce stopped in the center of the destruction. The bodies of chemtanks surrounded his last victim, a kid. Still barely alive and gasping for one more. Moment. Breath. He lifted his head, and Vi suddenly remembered what his wrist felt like in her hold. Knew exactly how many cogs she'd given him three days ago. Not enough.

The kid's head fell back, and Vi felt Jayce's regret. Deflation. Crumbling resolve. Shaking perspective. And with his heavy sigh, she knew which way he'd swing. And she knew it wasn't going to be in her favor. Not this time.

Notes:

The Jayce/Jinx parallels were lowkey crazy in season 2, but season 1? Absolutely wild.

Up next: Vi goes solo bot lane, 1v1.

With all jokes aside, Episode 9 is probably going to be one of the shorter sections of chapters, which means we're just about halfway there! I hope my perspective of Vi's perspective is holding up to her character. I've been burning through these chapters over the last couple of months and I still don't have a beta. Been reading through a couple of older chapters and I'm seeing at least one spelling mistake in every single one. It's driving me up the wall, but I'll go back and fix them later. XD

Chapter 34: Season 1, Episode 9: "Lessons Learned"

This was an important moment for Jayce, but above them, watching from behind the railings, their audience hadn't left. So, Vi took action. She stepped away from Jayce and found the closest thing to a leader among the enforcers. A pair were writing notes on a clipboard at the top of the ramp.

"The kids don't need to see this." Vi tilted her head to the groups still guarded, "The place is cleared out, they're not doing anything."

A voice droned from beneath, "I take orders from councilor Talis."

Vi nodded, playing along, "He told me to come tell you guys." She shrugged and splayed her fingers outward. The blue glow over the back of the gauntlets highlighted their boots, "Still take the dead topside, and collect evidence, just- get the kids away from all this. Councilor's orders." The enforcer refused to move, for only a moment, but wisened up by the next breath.

Even as Vi returned to Jayce, crouched over the boy, Vi needed Jayce to move on. Jayce needed to keep going, so they could get out of the factory before Silco got word. The last thing they needed was back-up to get here when Jayce lacked the headspace. If he didn't box it up for later, it could mean they both lose their heads. And there was no way in hell she was taking that chance.

"You didn't have a choice. He.." Vi searched for an out for Jayce, "knew what he was signing up for."

Jayce rose to his full height, simmering. "We're done here." And Vi knew he wasn't talking about the factory.

Vi shook her head, still hoping to reason, "We haven't even scratched the surface. Silco's still out there."

Her words struck him, "Do you not understand, I am part of this now!" Emotion drained the anger away, refilling with guilt. "The next parents who get a message their kid isn't coming home I- I don't even know where to take it. Do we just leave him here?" His hands waved around him aimlessly.

You still don't understand. Vi ignored the words. Words weren't helping, remember?

"You've always been a part of this. You just never had to look it in the eye." Vi leaned forward, the steam hissing out of her chest, "One dead kid? There's hundreds more where he came from thanks to Silco, and thanks to people like you who stuck their heads in the dirt."

Jayce turned back to her, locking his eyes to hers. Vi's pulse picked up, already choosing to dig her heels in.

"This is over." His head shook, never blinking.

"Not for me." Vi slipped back, rising to the challenge. She clenched at the bar over her palms.

"Take. Those. Off." Jayce threatened. Vi watched his hand reach for the handle on his hammer. Let him grab the leather.

Vi wanted a fight. Maybe not with Jayce, but there wasn't going to be a fight here. Jayce didn't have the stomach. And Vi? She'd chewed up and spat out rocks with more grit than him. The gauntlets pierced the air with a hiss, speaking for her conviction. But, just in case he hadn't gotten the message, Vi punctuated her statement. "Make me."

The hammer crackled awake, and Jayce lifted it from the ground. "I can't let you leave with them."

A joke. Because sure, big guy with a hammer versus little sumprat like her? Fucked up dozens of inmates and goons and enforcers, and shitstains. Against one man who spent the last few minutes sobbing over the first mistake he ever had to face? It didn't matter if he could use his hammer as a gun. Vi would drop him before he'd get a shot off. And she called him out on the bluff.

She took her stance. Guard.. hm, half. Just enough to let him know she was serious. Not enough to feel serious herself. "Then I guess you're gonna have to kill another trencher."

And they stared the other down. She was letting him pick this fight. What was she going to do with the gauntlets? Go on a killing spree? No, of course not. She was going to finish what she started. Even if the Man of Progress was too chickenshit to do it. Jayce took a deep breath, and the hammer locked into a dormant function. He stepped away, though Vi held herself even as he caved.

The defeated spoke over his shoulder, "You won't make it alone."

And now- now she was. But not really. There was still hope. It didn't matter that she was a stranger among friends. The living among ghosts. She still had to fight because someone had to. It wasn't a luxury she could afford like him, or Caitlyn. Vi took Jayce's place over the kid; his eyes closed.

She'd been here. It still stung, even if she hadn't pulled the trigger. Vi could take anyone, anytime, any place. One hand tied behind her back, or blindfolded; it didn't matter. But this.. Never this. All the fighting, all the misery, it wasn't going to be for nothing. She wasn't going to stand by and let kids be killed by some psychopath. It didn't matter that her and this kid brushed paths. The answer highlighting his face in sickly pink brought Vi out of her resolve.

The massive tank of shimmer. Cackling, shrieking, taunting behind the glass. They'd come all this way for Jayce to give up. But unlike this morning, Vi had a pair of reminders for Silco. A message of her own. Actions speak louder than words, right?

Time to tell him he was a dead man walking. Vi closed the distance to the tank, and pounded on the glass. One bad idea.

The shimmer exploded outward, nearly drowning her in searing neon light. She jumped out of the way, unable to stop the flood from filling her senses. Tinting her world. Fanning the flames.

--

"This was a weird stroke of luck." Vi yawned, feeling the warm metal of the gauntlets just on the outside of her thighs. Her feet swung loose, fingers wiggling without the feathery tendrils of non-touch over them. She continued, "I don't have much else to do. It's, ironically, all in a days work. Is that how it works? Ironically? I'll have to look it up."

A crashing bit of metal drew her attention beside her. It made her listen to make sure the weight hanging down on the other end was still there. If she wasn't laying down on her back already, she'd shrug. A bored hum would have to do.

"To be fair, I was minding my own business back there. You really saw these and thought 'you know what? That's a great idea!' like I don't know how to use them? C'mon, man. I know they're a prototype or whatever, but even I'm not that dense."

Another boom from below, louder; pointed. Vi opened her eyes in semi-dozing exhaustion. The second wind hadn't kicked in and Vi almost wanted to actually zonk out up here. But she wasn't that cruel.

"No, I get it. You made a mistake. Hell, I'm on a personal record here. But I just have one question."

Bang-bang.

"Am I the bad guy here?"

Bang.

"Is that a 'yes'?"

Bang-bang.

"No more miscommunication. Once for yes, twice for no. You gonna turn a new leaf, here?"

Bang.

Vi sat up, squinting in the morning sun as she leaned over the ledge and out of the shade.

"Stealing's bad. You're not gonna steal anymore, right?"

Bang.

"And Chross, if he wants you to do legwork for him?"

Bang-bang.

"Good answer. Don't let me catch you again. Kids get advice, adults get lessons."

Bang.

Vi stuck her hands into the gauntlets, every bit energized as last night. The blue hum woke her up just enough that she needed to sleep before going to the bar. If she was going full steam ahead, she needed every wire hot. Beneath the ledge, Vi unhooked the chain and in the gauntlet, the metal rushed out from between her fingers until feet touched the flimsy board below. The chain had enough give that should she decide to turn it into a whip, the windows below wouldn't fare well.

Once his feet were under him, Vi let the metal go; hearing the chains coil into the air and the goon unlocked himself from the makeshift cuffs. He looked up, and signed upward with gusto.

'Thank you'.

Huh, that'd explain why he wasn't much of a talker. Or maybe, it was the system of chemical tubes and machinery over his mouth and nose that should've tipped her off.

Vi flipped a bird at him, not knowing much more than a few other vulgar words with her hands. And she was pretty sure she'd look like an idiot if she settled with anything less than this message.

He took off down the street, cradling the chain like a babe and limping off the foot Vi kicked under him. The crack behind the billboard was enough to bring the thought of sleep to her mind again. Small, confined, and most importantly, unlikely to be disturbed. There was only one way in or out from the space. Dark enough to give her eyes a break. Secluded enough to not be woken up by anyone on accident. For someone who had no where else to sleep, this wasn't half-bad for a one-time nap. She retreated into the corner, and faced the opening. Comforted at least a tiny bit by the sliver of daylight just around the corner.

--

Except, only time passed. Long enough for the roaches in her bones to skitter up and down beneath her skin. The echoing, airy creak of the breeze tugging along the billboard above her. Vi twisted, keeping her hands in the gauntlets just in case someone did find her before she could put them back on. Her only company was a couple of metal mining tools. What else would she need to protect? Herself? Maybe if someone got them on before she did.. Nah, Vi could still fuck someone up without them.

Her legs hadn't settled yet.

Why did falling asleep have to feel like her back was sizzling on a grill?

Vi kicked out, trying to shake the feeling back into her toes. Tightened the muscles around herself to reset the strings. Finally opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. No ceiling.

"Powder, get the light, will you?"

Vi dropped her head lightly, feeling the vibration through her skull. Still buzzing, still awake. For once, though, Vi sat up to displace the gauntlets behind the space above her head. If someone came through the opening, she'd at least be between them and a hard time. One by one, she set them down and deactivated the power before taking her bed again. There was no restriction before, but that first whispering thought - the one that really had her moving the gauntlets away - returned. Her shoulder wasn't groaning into her spine anymore. A constant reminder so ingrained in her that she'd managed to forget about it going away two days in a row. It took until the shower yesterday for her to even know it was gone.

All thanks to Caitlyn. She curled onto her right shoulder for the first time in years. The equilibrium in her ears rang ghostly alarms, so used to avoidance that Vi stubbornly fought against the sensation of needing to got off her 'bad' shoulder. It was the shimmer, she knew, that took the pain away. But it must've been Caitlyn who kept her from remembering there was pain in the first place.

"Vi. Get your shit together." Think of Silco.

Instantly, any association with a blue-eyed sunrise vanished.

Replaced by a burning orange circle shrouded in scars and manipulations.

He made Powder go to the bridge. Probably his idea of damage control. Marcus was a great example of someone being under his thumb, and it didn't matter that Sevika was Silco's second hand.

She's like his daughter. Fucking bullshit. Sevika only said that shit to get under Vi's skin. Ekko called her Jinx because everyone else called her that. But that wasn't who she really was underneath. Just like Vi wasn't a number slapped on a sweaty half-rotten tank top. And because Vi knew that she wasn't really a Jinx, that Vi even gave the council the stupid name in the first place.

Maybe it was Caitlyn Vi had to convince differently, though. Somehow change her mind that Powder's not a Jinx. She's not really a murderer, or a- what? Terrorist, at this point? That's this other persona, Silco's mad dog. Making Powder sick where it hurt. Kept alive all these years just to try and make her mind destroy itself.

Vi flipped over to her left shoulder with a huff.

If only the boys were here, maybe Vi's job could be a little easier. Hell, she might even make it out alright on the other side.

--

Vi yawned, stretched out on her back over the couch. Her couch, if only for a little while. The lamp was lit on the table, helping Powder see her drawing and Vi by extension, her concentration. If Vi really wanted to be a pest, she could tickle Powder's arm pit with the tip of her shoe. Eh, Vi didn't have the mischief in her to disrupt the very serious scratches.

To their left, in Vi's usual spot, Mylo talked up to Claggor who leaned over the chair above him. Ekko sat opposite Vi's seat in the other chair but it had been mostly Claggor talking into the room.

"About three quarters empty. Maybe a finger left, and the whole thing came up and through her nose."

"I gotta see that." Mylo's laugh filtered after his words.

"I told her not to tilt the bottle like that. No one listens to Claggor these days."

"I do!" Ekko broke in.

Claggor continued, "Well, Vi swore off drinking. Guess we'll never know."

"All that while hanging upside down?" Powder mumbled, disbelieving over her page.

Vi blinked. Who was she talking to?

Ekko sat forward, his boot scraping off the corner of the table as he piped in again. This time, looking at Vi, "You gotta try it again."

Still confused, Vi picked her head up from the armrest and brushed the edges of her hair back. Resumed her lounging as she tried to play catch-up in the conversation. "Try what again?"

Claggor shifted his weight to his other foot, "I was telling them about the other day. You drinking that last bit upside down."

Vi shook her head at the memory. "That's not happening. I learned my lesson."

"So you really did it?" Powder looked back at Vi just long enough before swapping to a different section of her page. Vi nodded, and smiled despite still being able to feel Vander's hand tucking her hair back around her right ear as she emptied her stomach the rest of the night.

"It's not worth it. Really not worth it. It was fun for the first few hours, but you remember how I came in. Couldn't walk to save my life, puked my guts out the rest of the night, and spent the next day hugging my pillow. So yeah, maybe Mr. Bartender knows a thing or two about not wanting us sampling the stock."

Ekko kicked back into the chair again, "Claggor, did you do it?"

"Nope. Who do you think dragged her and Mylo home?"

"You did not drag me back." Mylo argued.

This time, Vi cut in, "No, you're right. He carried you 'cause you passed out. That's the only reason why we even stopped."

"I didn't pass out."

"Oh right, just resting your eyes." Vi closed her eyes, and drew a snore through the back of her nose loud enough to hear the choir please her ears. Powder smiled at her drawings and Vi almost heard the door of the basement creak shut. Almost.

--

Vi woke herself up. The back of her throat burned, like she'd been snoring. Puffed eyes, headache, sore throat, and the pipe filled with all three labeled 'tired' made Vi sit up and check around herself. Still daylight, in fact, it looked the exact same as when she'd clocked out. No one else around, just weathered stone to her left, old metal on her right, and the gauntlets above her head primed and ready for a moment's notice. Except maybe now she was even more exhausted.

She'd honestly give the gauntlets back if it meant she could get one more good sleep. And if Vi had to choose between trying to sleep again or getting back to work, she'd rather not wake up tired again.

Vi's hands slipped into the gauntlets, and she climbed down the billboard's ladder carefully, still seeing the remnants of the red paint flecking off the old chunks of metal as she lowered down the rungs.

On the street's level, Vi looked up at the billboard, flipped a bird up to it like it was tradition, and found her bearings in the alley just as quickly. A forgotten ledge of space still overlooked the city. Vi would be able to see Caitlyn's home from up there. But.. there was a little sister to save. And Powder wasn't getting any younger.

Respite was over. Time to go home.

Notes:

Next up: Round 2!