Chapter Text
* * *
There’s a bunch of things Powder just can’t do.
Jinx ran through the pipes, feet slapping against metal.
Jinx, there are some things you just can’t do.
She couldn’t escape it.
“Of course you can’t,” Mylo snarled. “You can’t run and you can’t hide. Not from the truth.”
“SHUT UP!” Jinx screamed.
Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them spill. She wasn’t a weak crybaby, not like she used to be. She was Powder but better.
“You’re worse,” Mylo growled. “So much worse.”
Jinx shook her head, braids bouncing behind her as she just kept running.
Why’d it have to be now?
After I left them there?
With him?
“Because you’re a jinx,” Mylo hissed.
That fact was damning in it’s simplicity.
Smack!
Jinx physically flinched at the mere memory of it.
In the utter darkness of the pipes, she saw Vi turning and walking away . . . and though Jinx poured on the speed, she never got any closer.
She tried, she tried so damn hard, she tried so hard it hurt!
But . . . nothing.
Jinx, there are some things you just can’t do.
Silco said it.
Silco!
“Your hero,” Mylo said sarcastically. “Just like-”
There’s a bunch of things Powder just can’t do.
Vi.
Agreeing with Mylo!
Vi!
“She hates you,” Mylo sneered. “She used you to get out of Stillwater, and now what?”
Jinx hadn’t noticed the tears start to flow, nor the wail that was ripping it’s way free from her and echoing down the pipes.
“He’s better than you,” Mylo crowed. “Better in every way.”
Jinx shook her head wildly.
“You had Silco giving you everything, and he only had scraps,” Mylo growled. “But he made better things than you. And he made a community, something strong enough to stand up to Silco, while you can’t even deal with some memories!”
There was no light in the umbra of the pipe she ran through, but she saw them. All around her, the Mylo’s glared . . .
“She doesn’t want you!” Mylo screamed. “Silco doesn’t want you! You betrayed them both!”
Betrayal.
“Because you’re a jinx!” Mylo roared.
Jinx’s foot caught on something -on her other boot- and she tripped.
At her speed, she just slammed straight into the grimy muck at the bottom of the pipe. She would’ve screamed if she could, but she couldn’t.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her chest was tight.
Her everything was tight.
All she could do was tense and writhe on the bottom of the pipe, trying to breathe but failing.
And there was nothing around her.
Not even Mylo.
She could only hear the sounds of her own not-breathing. The strangled little gasps as she tried to . . . but failed.
There was no light.
She couldn’t see.
All the colors were black.
She could’ve been dead.
But inside her was a beast.
A monster.
It raged at the insides of her skull.
Every nerve alight.
Have you had enough?
Jinx screamed, but she didn’t.
Couldn’t.
Wouldn’t it be easier?
She writhed.
Tried to breathe.
Let me take it away.
Jinx shook her head.
Her braids, dirty from the muck.
Vi or Silco? With Ekko and Ren around?
Jinx couldn’t breathe.
She felt lightheaded.
You can’t make that choice.
There was nothing.
Everything was darkness.
It’ll just hurt you. Why try?
Jinx refused.
She refused.
Why? No matter what you do, you’ll lose.
There’s a bunch of things Powder just can’t do.
Jinx, there are some things you just can’t do.
Wouldn’t you rather just let go?
Jinx curled up on the bottom of the pipe.
Maybe she would die here.
But it wouldn’t be her choice.
I’ll do it.
Because maybe Vi didn’t believe in her. Maybe Silco didn’t, either.
But it didn’t matter.
Her lungs burned.
She couldn’t breathe.
Time was passing.
She didn’t know how much.
It could’ve been forever.
She wouldn’t be able to tell.
But her lungs burned.
Her mind buzzed.
And a warm hug settled about her shoulders.
“It’s okay, Pow,” Vi whispered. “Everything will be okay.”
Jinx shuddered, and instinctively relaxed.
“I’m here,” Vi promised, her breath warm on Powder’s skin. “What’s wrong?”
But Jinx couldn’t reply.
She couldn’t-
Breathe.
Undercity air had never tasted so sweet.
Jinx coughed pathetically, then sucked in another breath.
For a minute, she just panted.
“There we go,” Vi encouraged gently. “Just let yourself feel better.”
But Jinx didn’t feel better . . .
Getting the wind knocked out of her was just annoying -it wasn’t the real problem.
And yet . . . with her breathing returning to normal, she wasn’t as anxious anymore. Her mind was clearer-
“And you’re still useless,” Mylo sneered.
“Don’t listen to him,” Vi replied. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t choose,” Jinx whispered.
“You can’t choose between the man who gave you anything and the sister who left you like trash,” Mylo snarled. “You can’t choose between the monster who ruined your life and the woman who practically raised you!”
“Then don’t choose,” Vi urged.
“I . . . I know,” Jinx murmured.
“You can have it all,” Vi promised. “If you just try.”
“I will,” Jinx promised. “I’ll . . . I’ll make it work.”
“You’ll ruin everything,” Mylo promised, his voice dark and low.
“You can do anything you set your mind to,” Vi promised, her voice warm and comforting.
“I’ll show ‘em,” Jinx said to the darkness. “I’ll show ‘em all.”
* * *
It took Ren a while to calm down and sleep. Much longer than Ekko had thought, at least.
Serah goes to sleep pretty fast if she’s got Scar, Swift or me . . . then again, I guess this girl doesn’t have her family anymore.
The Sheriff’s daughter . . .
The Firelights had taken in all sorts. Chemthugs, shimmer survivors, burglars . . . as long as they were committed to changing for the better, Ekko wasn’t picky.
It wasn’t Ren that Ekko was apprehensive about.
Vi, on the other hand . . .
Ekko still looked at her with suspicion.
She shows up with Jinx, and Jinx leaves her behind?
What finally made it click was just how little sense it made as a trick.
I know Jinx is smarter than this.
What could Vi do that’s worse than a surprise attack from Jinx and a dozen chemtanks?
She’s probably great with her fists, but I’d be surprised if a chemtank wouldn’t take her head off in less than a minute. If bullets can’t hurt ‘em, her punches sure can’t.
Which led to Ekko and Vi walking around the sanctuary together. It was getting close to dawn, but neither of them were tired.
“It’s a great place you have,” Vi commented, her hands in her pockets, her arms bare.
“It belongs to all of us,” Ekko replied, looking at the tree.
“Yeah, sure, I’m just sayin’ . . . I never coulda imagined a place like this,” Vi said.
“Neither could I,” Ekko agreed. “Still can’t, some days. Now I’m wrestlin’ somethin’ else unbelievable, though. You’re . . . you’re back from the dead.”
“Yeah,” Vi agreed, a little incredulous. “Can hardly believe it myself. It’s good to see you, Little Man.”
“Fuck,” Ekko cursed, his voice cracking.
He couldn’t stop himself from turning and wrapping Vi in a big, big hug. Vi chuckled a little, surprised . . . but returned the hug without hesitation. They both melted into it, seeking the affection they missed after so many years of loss.
The sudden need to hug took Ekko by surprise, but hearing his old nickname like that . . . said so warmly, like family . . . it reminded him of just how much he lost.
Benzo . . . Powder . . . Vi . . .
Tears welled, and he let himself cry. Let the emotion come out because he knew how much worse bottling it up was. Before he knew it, Vi was crying as well. It was quiet tears from both of them, the sorrow of loss and joy of reunion . . .
They didn’t cry for long, but hugged for much longer.
“How did you do it?” Ekko asked softly. “How were you so strong all the time? Such a good leader?”
“I wasn’t,” Vi replied, her voice heavy with guilt and loss. “I just pretended.”
“You were good,” Ekko insisted.
Vi shook her head minutely. “I took ‘em on things I was old enough for and they weren’t. And in the end . . . I took them on something none of us could do.”
“If . . . If Powder hadn’t . . .” Ekko trailed off.
Vi sighed, stepping back from Ekko but keeping her hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eye.
“Then what?” Vi asked. “That hole wasn’t big enough for Vander. And even if it was . . . that explosion didn’t even kill Deckard. I saw how damn fast they are -he would’ve caught up and torn us apart.”
“Vander . . .” Ekko trailed off.
“Vander wouldn’t’ve survived that,” Vi said, her voice cracking. “But the shimmer monster did. If it was just them and nothin’ else . . . Vander wouldn’t’ve won. He was already so hurt . . .”
Ekko sagged. “I just . . . I dunno. Wish I could go back, change things.”
“Me too,” Vi sympathized.
Ekko took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled himself together. He wiped his cheeks dry and took a few moments to just breathe. Vi did the same, feeling more calm than she had since Jinx appeared outside her cell.
“I don’t know what to do,” Ekko admitted. “This is so much bigger than anything I ever imagined before.”
“I hope you’re not expecting me to have answers.” Vi chuckled humorlessly.
“C’mon,” Ekko said.
He started off, and Vi followed.
Ekko led her into the roots of the sanctuary’s tree. They were huge tendrils of wood, often reaching out of the ground to form something of a small maze.
“I usually come to the tree when I need to think,” Ekko shared as they went in deeper. “It’s the center of this place . . .”
Vi nodded silently, not really knowing what to say to that.
Soon, though, they reached the trunk itself. Ekko hopped on his hoverboard, and looked to Vi.
“Want a ride?” Ekko asked.
Vi hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure.”
She climbed aboard, and Ekko took her straight up the trunk.
They reached a high, thick branch -almost unbelievably thick! Vi could lie down crosswise and even extend her arms and she wouldn’t reach it’s width. In fact, where it met the trunk was a small building, something that honestly looked like a shack made of scrap wood and metal.
Ekko didn’t approach, though. Instead, he just sat down on the branch, and Vi sat beside him.
Together, they looked out . . .
Below them was the sanctuary. A mishmash of buildings, and a quiet, sleeping community.
Above them, though, was Piltover. They had to stare upward and across the river, but they could just see the Western Armory, the Council tower, and a few other places . . . all emerging from a red haze.
“It doesn’t look good,” Ekko said.
“It isn’t,” Vi replied. “Piltover’s lost almost everything. Apparently . . . they’re just there.”
Vi pointed to the Western Armory.
“That’s the last place standing,” Vi shared.
“Damn . . . I thought they’d put up more of a fight,” Ekko murmured.
“Me too,” Vi agreed. “But I’m shedding any tears for ‘em.”
“I didn’t think I would, but . . . I saw the hexgate fall,” Ekko revealed shakily. “I saw it come apart. I saw pieces of it rain across half the city.”
Vi put an arm around his shoulder, and he shuddered.
“I can only imagine how many people are dying,” Ekko shared weakly. “The Council and the enforcers are pieces of shit, but the rest of ‘em? They didn’t deserve this.”
“No,” Vi agreed. “None of us got what we deserved.”
Ekko took another deep breath.
“I don’t know what to do, Vi,” Ekko confessed, sounding actually scared. “She knows where we are. I should evacuate, but . . . where would we go? Where could we? There’s nowhere to hide in the undercity, not for all of us. And outside . . . I can’t leave the city behind. I can’t leave her behind.”
“If she was gonna tell Silco where you are . . . wouldn’t she have done it already?” Vi asked.
“I don’t know,” Ekko replied. “What’s goin’ on in her brain . . . it’s so simple but so chaotic. Could change at any moment.”
“Can we get her away from him?” Vi questioned.
Ekko hung his head. “Maybe you can. I couldn’t . . . and I didn’t give up when I should’ve.”
“Did you really try to kidnap her?” Vi asked.
“Yeah,” Ekko admitted. “It wasn’t even a year since the cannery. I was . . . maybe thirteen? Dunno. I’d tried talkin’ to her, tryin’ to get her to leave . . . what was I supposed to think, with her in the Last Drop with Silco? But she wouldn’t come with me. I thought . . . I thought if I could get her away, she’d be better. I’d make it happen. She . . . she brained me with a wrench, and she just finished makin’ her pistol . . . she was sleepin’ with it under her pillow. Fuck, I still have nightmares about it sometimes . . .”
“There’s gotta be a way to get Powder back,” Vi said.
Ekko shook his head. “There’s no Powder. She is Powder, just . . . grown up and with Silco’s poison in her head. This is everything she wanted when she was Powder: She can fight, her bombs work, she’d a damn good thief . . . and she uses it all against Piltover. What about her would you change?”
“I’d make her healthy,” Vi shared.
“And she’d do most of the same things if she was,” Ekko said. “Face it . . . this is the sister you always had, just with a lotta trauma. Took me a long time to get it through my head.”
Vi sighed. “What else can you tell me ‘bout what happened? If we’re gonna come up with a plan, I need to know whatever I can.”
Ekko thought for a few minutes, then took a deep breath.
“Silco took over the undercity pretty soon after the cannery,” Ekko shared. “He had money to throw around, anf a damn big gang with Sevika onboard. That woulda been enough already, but shimmer on top of that? There was no contest. No one stood a chance of stoppin’ him, and most didn’t bother trying. Why would they? They didn’t like how Vander was doin’ nothin’ while the enforcers planted their boots up our asses.”
Vi distinctly remembered being angry about the same thing . . .
“Then here’s this new guy promising everything -but he wasn’t a new guy,” Ekko continued. “He was Vander’s brother-in-arms before the Bridge Massacre, and most people knew him. Apparently, he just disappeared, and Vander said he was dead . . . story is that Vander betrayed him, tried to kill him to stop him -and everyone else- from fighting for independence back then. Might even be true, but now . . . Vander’s not remembered fondly.”
Vi scowled, and clenched her fists.
“Then shimmer started spreadin’ on the streets,” Ekko growled. “And for what? He had the muscle, he had the money, he had the control. There was nothin’ shimmer got him that he didn’t have already! So why?”
“He’s a monster,” Vi commiserated.
“The worst,” Ekko snarled, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Whatever . . . I’ll get shimmer off the streets if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Not help Powder?” Vi asked.
Ekko shook his head. “I can’t have hope for that, Vi. Not anymore.”
The sheer loss in his voice made Vi tense, but she nodded as well.
With that, Ekko began narrating the longer stories of the last seven years. His endless clashes with Jinx, his relentless attacks on Silco’s shimmer operations . . . his many, many losses.
None of it was useful, though.
There was blood on both sides, and a lot of it. They had reasons to argue, to hate each other . . . but there wasn’t hate in Ekko’s voice. Not when it came to Jinx, at least. And the reverse might’ve been true as well.
In the midst of the twilight before dawn, Ekko shared his thoughts.
“She’s never killed me,” Ekko shared. “And my luck’s not that good. But there are times when she’s . . . low. When she’s not thinking, just doing. . . usually when somethin’ reminds her of you, and what happened. When she’s like that, we just run. But that’s all I can really think of.”
Vi sighed. “I wish all that could’ve helped me figure out a way to get her back.”
“I’d settle for a way to keep us alive,” Ekko replied. “I thought . . . maybe if the war dragged on, I could do something, but it’s basically over already. And now . . . don’t tell any of the Firelights this, but once Piltover’s dealt with, I’m pretty sure we’re next on the choppin’ block. Outside of Piltover, we’re the only organized force against him, and if he takes Piltover’s airships . . . he won’t need Jinx to tell him where we are.”
“Have you thought of anything?” Vi asked. “There’s gotta be some way to fight back.”
“If you’re up for a pointless suicide mission, we can go after Silco,” Ekko suggested. “He’s in the cannery, and there’s holes in the roof. If we fly in with surprise on our side, maybe we can get to him. We could even kill him . . . but there’s no way we’re gettin’ out. With him dead, though-”
“The undercity’s screwed,” came a new voice.
One that was as familiar as it was sad and tired.
Jinx.