Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She wasn’t coping well. The war had taken its toll on her, and losing her sister was her breaking point. It was months before Vi did anything other than drink, fight, or cry. She came back to Caitlyn's home bruised up from the pit more times than she could count.

Vi wondered if this was how she would spend the rest of her life. Fighting ghosts. It wouldn't be the first time she devolved into her basic instincts to dissociate from reality, but it had been the worst.

One particularly bad night in the pit is what changed her routine. Vi had just finished beating the brakes off some punk when she saw it. Her favorite shade of blue hair under the dim bar lightning. A woman drowning in an oversized cloak with blue hair peeking out from under the hood.

Sure, a lot of people had colored their hair blue since Jinx became a symbol for Zaun's revolution, but this was different. Vi knew this was her. She could just tell this was the real deal. So she followed her.

The cloaked woman moved through the sea of people effortlessly. Vi nearly lost sight of her several times trying to keep up. Vi thought the woman got away after getting stuck behind a couple making out on the dance floor, but she caught a glimpse of her exiting back door.

Vi rushed forward, bursting through the back door that led into the alleyway to continue her pursuit. She followed the cloaked figure through the streets of Zaun until they came to a junkyard. This was Powders favorite spot.

She would spend hours looking for different parts she could use to build her next invention. Powder was here so much she and little man set up a spot in the middle of the junkyard to hang out. They had a few chairs and a couple of broken tables they would use to tinker with whatever project they were working on.

The cloaked woman turned to Vi before she dashed into the junk yard. Vi hurried to follow her. When Vi finally caught up to her, the woman was sitting in Powder's seat.

"What did you bring me here for?" Vi panted out.

"Everything used to quiet down when I was tinkering away. Maybe it could work for you too, sis?" Jinx said, lowering the hood from her head.

Vi's throat tightened as she saw her sister's face. She had waited so long to hear her voice again. Without warning, she rushed forward to pull the girl into a bone crushing hug, only for her to trip over the chair and fall head first into the dirt.

Vi looked up confused. She knew Jinx had shimmer in her system, but she never saw her move. Vi looked around for her sister, but the young woman disappeared. It only took a moment for Vi to understand what happened.

Laughing bitterly Vi got up, "Guess I'm just as delusional now, huh Jinx."

After that Vi stopped going to the pit. She couldn’t turn a corner in Zaun without seeing her sister's face. So, instead of chasing after her delusions, she hid away in Caitlyn's library. Vi read every book she could get her hands on.

Reading had always been one of her favorite things to do besides fighting. Usually, she would read fiction. It was a way to escape the tough reality she lived in every day. But after that encounter with "Jinx" Vi decided to learn everything she could about engineering.

Powder was always the one with a head for this type of stuff. Vi loved listening to her ramble about one of her new ideas. Vi was smart, no doubt about it, but this just wasn't her thing. But now that her sister was gone Vi yearned for a connection to her. So if the only way she could keep her sister alive was to learn what her sister did, Vi would read every book she could get her hands on.

Vi started small at first. Finding things around the house to fix. She usually made it worse, way worse before she figured it out. It helped. But it wasn't enough. Fixing the broken record player wasn't intricate enough to keep her demons at bay. Vi needed something harder, more detailed, something that she could obsess over to keep her busy.

So naturally since Jayce was dead and no one else knew how to fix her gauntlets she decided to do it herself. She had to sneak out his designs for the gauntlets. Read more books about welding and forging but it helped. She was so involved reading Jayce's work about the gauntlets and hextech that she barely felt the icy cold numbness that burrowed itself into her chest when Jinx died.

Having access to Caitlyn's private library certainly had its perks. But once the gauntlets were finished Vi needed something new, or the crushing weight on her chest would settle back in.

She didn’t intend to snoop. Vi didn't like lying or sneaking around if she didn't have to. She was just awake, unable or unwilling to lie in bed and wait for the inevitable nightmares to take hold. So Vi chose to walk around the mansion.

She didn’t expect to see Caitlyn pull out some weird key nor did she expect her to gain access to some hidden part of the library. It was clear though, whatever information Caitlyn had stored away in there would definitely be something Vi never saw before. Which means it would be a big enough distraction to keep her mind busy.

Vi felt bad stealing the key from Caitlyn the next day. However the fact that it was so easy to do so without her noticing was a problem. She was going to tell Caitlyn to be more careful with her things after she gave it back to her. Though Vi never expected to see the things she did.

Vi's grip tightened around the book in her hand. Nothing could have prepared her for its contents. She must have reread it 100 times before the truth of the matter settled in. The uncomfortable realization seeped into her stomach like poison. The initial sense of disbelief ebbed away, opening itself up like flower petals for an all too familiar feeling.

Vi was fuming, and the walk to the enforcers station did nothing to quell her anger. Her mind was moving a mile a minute. Flashes of everything she's done, the choices she made, the people she lost. The things she did that were diametrically opposed to her own personal wants and needs. She pushed her own trauma and pain to the side for the sake of helping someone else navigate through theirs and for what?

Vi didn't even speak to the woman at that front desk. This wasn't like all the other times she walked into the station these last few months after the war ended. She didn't have time for small talk. Vi had one thing on her mind, and the rage inside her begged to be unleashed.

Vi was given bewildered looks from the enforcers as she stormed towards the sheriff's office. It was clear she was on a warpath, and no one wanted to be caught in the crossfire. Vi barged into Caitlyn's office, ignoring Seb, who was in the midst of a conversation with her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Vi screamed at Caitlyn.

The loud, unexpected outburst startled both enforcers.

"Vi!?" Caitlyn asked in shock.

"I thought I knew the type of person you were, but clearly I was wrong. I should have trusted my gut when we first met," Vi sneered.

Seb rose from his chair and looked from Vi to Caitlyn before quietly exiting the room. This was clearly not a conversation he wanted any parts of. Caitlyn followed behind Seb, closing the door as he walked out and spun around to face Vi again.

"You need to calm down! Whatever," Caitlyn motioned towards Vi, "this is about shouldn't be handled here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, cupcake. Are you worried about your little enforcers hearing about the fucked up person their sheriff is?," Vi replied.

"Violet, I truly have no idea what has gotten you so riled up," Caitlyn said, walking back behind her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Vi slammed the book on Caitlyn's desk. Caitlyn took one look at the pages the journal was opened to, and her face dropped.

"You've been lying to me all this time," Vi said.

"Vi, you need to let me explain," Caitlyn said softly.

"No, go ahead, Cait. Explain to me how after months of me grieving. After all of the nightmares you helped me calm down from, all of the tears, all the nights I came home bloodied and broken and drunk beyond comprehension, you could keep this from me!" Vi bellowed.

Caitlyn was stunned silent. She didn't plan on this being the way Vi found out. She wasn't even sure if she ever wanted her to find out at all.

"6 fucking months Cait. You knew for 6 months that my sister was alive! Why the fuck didn't you tell me!" Vi asked.

"It was just a theory at first. I wasn't sure if it was even possible. I didn't want to get your hopes up for it to be fasle." Caitlyn answered.

"Do you think I'm dumb? That the ex con from undercity isn't smart enough to understand the words YOU'VE written clear as day."

"I never said that Vi. I know you-"

"Clearly, you know nothing about me because you thought keeping this from me was a good idea. You suspected she was alive from the very beginning. And then you sent someone to look for her. Did you plan on killing her and not telling that either," Vi said through gritted teeth.

"I wanted to confirm my suspicions. I never intended to hurt her if she was found. The mission was recon only," Caitlyn quickly responded.

"And why should I believe you? You were willing to possibly shoot a child. You convinced me to use the Grey against my own people, you became a gotdamn dictator all with one goal in mind."

"I wasn't in my right mind I was grieving-"

"I have never stopped grieving! I have lost my parents, Vander, my brothers, my sister. I lost 7 years of my life, MY CHILDHOOD, in that fucking prison. Everyone in Zaun is in a perpetual state of mourning. That doesn't give you the right to lie to my face."

"And what would you have me do Violet! Tell you your sister is out there somewhere like I haven't watched you spiral out since the day it happened."

"She's my sister. I have the right to know."

"If she wanted you to know she wouldn't have let you think she was dead."

Vi flinched at Caitlyn's words as if she were struck. Those thoughts had been swirling around in her head as well. Just as biting as the fact that Caitlyn knew she was alive but chose to hide it from her anyway.

"This is about your actions, Cait, not hers."

"If I told you, you would have left.

"Like you left me in the tunnels?"

Caitlyn's eyes filled with remorse at the mention of their break up. Slowly Caitlyn walked around the desk towards Vi, hoping they could resolve this somehow.

"Vi please-"

Vi backed away from Caitlyn's outstretched hand.

"If I make a mistake, if I choose wrong, that's my burden to bear. But at least it was my choice."

Caitlyn lowered her hand as she stared into Vi's eyes, silently pleading for her not to do this.

"I thought this would be different. Guess I chose wrong again, huh?"

"Violet, no, I can fix this. I know I've made mistakes, but I'll do anything to make it up to you."

Vi snatched the book off the desk and looked at Caitlyn with indignation, "The only thing I want from you is for you to stay the hell away from me."

Vi walked out of Caitlyn's office. She didn't have time to waste being angry with Caitlyn anymore. She needed to get her stuff and get on the next air ship out of here. She wasn't going to lose another second of her life away from the one person who mattered to her the most. Vi was going to find Jinx if it was the last thing she did.

Chapter Text

The sun beaming on her skin through the window only heightened the anger Vi felt boiling in her blood. She was livid. Her body vibrated like there were thousands of bees hovering just beneath her skin. How could Caitlyn do this to her? Her mouth was dry. After everything they’ve been through, after everything she did because of her. Her breaths quickened trying to make up for the lack of air. The maids were in a panic trying to get Vi to relax. Vi ignored the yelling from the maids as she tried to calm down.

“Focus on what you feel,” Felica said in a soothing tone.

“I feel like a building clasped on me,” Vi answered through gritted teeth.

“Then focus on what you can see. What’s around you?” Felica replied.

Vi’s vision was blurry and her chest was tight but she did what her mother suggested. Frantically Vi’s eye darted around the bedroom. Her room looked like enforcers had ransacked it. Papers and books were everywhere. All of the dresser drawers were open and her desk chair was smashed to pieces next to her closet. The huge dent in the wall courtesy of Vi throwing said chair in a fit of rage

Vi took in everything. The color of the drapes, the sound of pages from Caitlyn’s stolen journal fluttering in the wind, the broken pieces of wood from her desk chair. Anything that would pull her out of this panic attack.

“This isn’t working!” Vi said, frenzied.

“Then talk to me. I’m sure there are lots of things you wanna say to me right?” Felica tried.

“Ha, ya think? My whole life has been a wreck since you died. You were gone and I was all Powder left. She didn’t even understand what was happening on that bridge. And Vander left too. I wasn’t enough for her. I couldn’t do what he asked. I- I can’t do this. I can’t. It’s too hard. I can’t breathe,” Vi panted out.

"Dear friend across the river. My hands are cold and bare. Dear friend across the river, I'll take what you can spare. I ask, of you a penny. My fortune, it will be,” Felica sang.

Vi closed her eyes and listened to the lullaby her mother used to sing. Her voice sounded just like Powder’s. Maybe it was Powder’s voice. Janna knows she can barely remember what her mother actually sounded like, but it helped. Vi’s breathing slowed down and her heart stopped racing. She could finally feel her airways opening up and she gulped down as much air as she could. When her eyes finally fluttered open her mother was gone.

“I’m fine!” Vi yelled to the maids.

She wasn’t. Not by a long shot but she would be. She just needed to find her sister and everything would be okay. Slowly started packing all of her things. It didn’t take very long as she didn’t have much to her name. Caitlyn always offered to take her shopping but Vi rarely went. It was odd walking into shops in piltover she would have had to steal from when she was younger. She felt like she didn’t belong there.

She had new clothes and make up though. The few things she always wanted when she was younger instead of handmade outfits from Vander’s old clothing. When she was younger she didn’t have time to worry about makeup or new clothes when they had to scrounge up enough money just to eat. Vi finished packing her bags, put her gauntlets on the new hostler she built and took one last look around the room she shared with Caitlyn. Her eyes welled up at the thought of losing another home but she took the next step out of the bedroom door anyway.

“So it looks like the first place they think Jinx went was bilgewater,” Vi said aloud as she read through Caitlyn’s notes.

She was walking through the city making her way to the docks. She didn’t have a concert plan but how could you plan for something like this. Her sister was in the wind, had been for months. She was just going to go where Jinx had been and ask around. See if anyone had any information on her whereabouts. Follow any trail she left behind.

Vi had enough money to do that at least. Anytime she declined to go shopping, Caitlyn would just leave money in Vi’s nightstand in case she changed her mind. Vi hated it. She felt like a charity case when Caitlyn did that. She knew it was out of love but it still hurt her pride. She had always found a way to earn what she needed. And yeah she knew stealing wasn’t really “earning” it but the time and effort she put into planning her heists felt otherwise.

“I need a ticket for your next airship to bilgewater,” Vi said to the ticker agent.

“5 cogs! The next ship leaves in 20 minutes,” The agent said back.

Vi fished around in her pocket for the money and mumbled how she thought it was too expensive. She’s never ridden on an airship though so she really has no frame of reference for how much it should cost. She paid for her ticket and made her way to the airship at the end of the dock.

“You planned on leaving without even saying goodbye?” Ekko questions.

Vi whipped around to see the boy with his arm cross and a smirk on hsi face.

“Ekko? What are you doing here?” Vi asked.

“You think I wouldn’t hear about your buggin out at the enforce station,” Ekko replied coolly.

“Ugh no. Why would you? I didn’t even destroy anything like I should have so it shouldn’t have been that big of a deal,” Vi shot back.

“Yeah well I’ve been keeping my eyes on the enforcers. I know we have this “peace” with piltover now but I still don’t trust them,” Ekko said with clear disdain on his face.

Vi laughed and shook her head, “ You really can’t trust them. Not Caitlyn anyway.”

Ekko’s brow furrowed at that admission. After the war ended and he went back to the firelights, he heard about everything that happened in his absence. He knew that Vi and Caitlyn were a thing. So much so that Vi chose to don that uniform of their oppressors. He was disgusted by her actions no matter how brief it may have been, but she was still like family to him. After losing so many people he didn’t want Vi to be another one.

“I could have told you that. Actually, think I did tell you that when we first met. But you were very adamant that she was. So what happened?” Ekko asked.

Vi clenched her fist as she felt the anger begin to rise in her again at the thought of what Calityn withheld from her.

“Jinx is alive and Caitlyn knew. She’s known for months and chose not to fucking tell me!”

Ekko was stunned silent. The mention of Jinx sending a flood of emotions his way. He had mourned her just like Vi did. No, that wasn’t right. He mourned her in ways Vi couldn’t comprehend because he mourned not only the person she was here but the version of her he left in that other universe. He had loved jinx since they were kids and she was just powder to him.

“You- you’re sure about this? That she’s really alive?” Ekko asked, desperation lacing his tone.

Vi’s eyes softened, “Yeah. She sent someone after her. Apparently she wanted to be sure and they got confirmation that she’s alive but that’s it. Or at least that’s all I know.”

“I’m going to bilgewater. That’s the first place she went to when she left 6 months ago. I’m going to find her,” Vi added.

“I’m going with you!” Ekko blurted out.

“What?! No Ekko, you can’t,” Vi said.

“Why not? I love her too Vi,” Ekko exclaimed.

Vi smiled and pulled Ekko into a hug, “I know you do little man. But Zaun still needs you here.”

“And they don’t need you?”

Vi scoffed and released him, “No one here needs me. When I was a kid I wanted to turn the world on it’s head. To make everyone in piltover respect us. To know we were equal to them. But after I went to prison, I just wanted my family back.”

“Ekko when you were missing, I did things. Some fucking terrible things I can never take back. Even if I wanted to help our people, I don’t feel like I have the right to,” Vi said, her eyes downcast.

“I know what you did Vi,” Ekko said tilting her head up, “I was so pissed at you. I couldn’t believe you would do that to us. But you’re wrong. As long as you are alive you can make amends for that. Jinx was trying to. You can too.”

Vi took in a deep breath, “ I hope you’re right about that but I can’t do that knowing Jinx is out there somewhere. I have to find her Ekko.”

“All aboard! Last call for bilgewater passengers!” A fat man called from behind them.

Ekko nodded slightly with a sad smile appearing on his face, “When you find her, you make sure you tell her I miss her too.”

Vi grabbed Ekko into another hug this time holding tighter than before, “Of course.”

Vi released him and turned to walk off to the airship.

“You’re wrong about another thing Vi,”Ekko shouted to her, “ You’re my family too. As long as I’m in Zaun, there will always be someone here who needs you.

Vi boarded the ship with a smile plastered on her face. Finding Jinx felt like a daunting task. Like looking for a needle in a haystack but even though he was doing it by herself she didn’t feel alone. She still had a family even if they were scattered to the winds. And Vi was willing to fly to the ends of the earth to find them.