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Chapter Text

A Kiramman's Grief - With white and stone

Clonk... Clonk... Clonk...

Caitlyn's boots were heavy and one could hear them deep into the dungeon.

Now that Piltover was recovering, she could finally do what she had been dreaming of for so long.

She could go down.

Deep into the stones that held the worst people that tormented Piltover in the past.

There was no light, no sound, just shadow and the mumbling of those that had not yet lost their mind.

Her mind wanted to think of something nicer.

Vi, oh her poor Vi.

The doctors still wanted to keep her in bed but of course Vi didn't want to. So she recovered unnaturally fast just to spite them. It didn't spite Caitlyn, but gave her hope.

She needed Vi more than ever before, needed her hug, the way she smelled. But that could wait.

Not even that red haired angel, she got blessed with would fill the hole.

That hole, Jinx had opened up.

A single tear escaped Cait's eye and she swiftly got rid of it, drying it up in her cape.

She hated it actually but at least for her tears it was of use. She didn't feel as if she had a choice, she needed to wear it.

The people of piltover needed someone strong someone to unite behind.

Caitlyn wanted the council back.

It was a pain in the ass but now Cait had to bear all of the weight herself.

Maybe in a few years the remaining would allow her to split the leadership again.

It was strange, the darkness she thought.

It was so dark she almost thought she could see with both eyes again.

Caitlyn stopped and set a lantern ablaze, which earned her a few cries of anger from the sides. There were bars and things moved behind them, trying to escape the light.

Caitlyn continued her way, being the only light the inmates had gotten in years, maybe decades.

The guards that were working in this place were not much better than the ones they looked after. That was a too kind word for it.

But they didn't need any light, their eyes could see in the dark.

Wood and rope waited for Caitlyn at the end. She opened the door of the old elevator.

It had been years since Cait used one of these.

Piltover was so advanced for their age, she was surprised something like that even still existed. But as long as it brought her further down she'd be fine with it.

The ropes began to move. The stone was getting less edgy as if water had rounded them.

Groundwater, it was used all over piltover but now mainly to cool the hextech generators. Caitlyn nearly fell over her own feet as the contraption stopped.

She had arrived. Caitlyn lifted her lantern to see what laid ahead.

The brown colour of rusted metal greeted her.

Normally a place like this would scare her but not today.

Caitlyn swore herself not to be scared, maybe she was just too angry to be.

Caitlyn stepped through the metal gate which woke the thing inside.

There it was.

A white thing.

Caitlin's eye couldn't move from it.

A body cuffed in chains, sunken to the floor. You'd take it for a corpse if there wasn't it's voice.

"Isha ? Is that you ?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 A drop of mercy.

Three... no.

Two knuckles slammed into her face.

Jinx could feel the pain, but it didn't matter as long as she didn't have an answer.

That was what she was struggling with the most these days.

Her eyes could catch some fabric moving in front of her.

It was someone, a human for sure, but she didn't have any strength in her neck to lift it and look up.

At first, she was counting the seconds, the minutes, but after the third or second day she gave up.

Counting numbers in the darkness of wherever she was, didn't help her to keep the bits of sanity together.

The two... no stop counting ! Stop ! The knuckles hit her face again.

Suddenly she could feel something hot on her cheek.

Was she bleeding ? It had to be her blood.

She couldn't find another way of something warm getting into this place.

Jinx suddenly became really sad.

Not because of the pain, or the blood but because that meant it wasn't Isha.

She could hit but not that hard.

The figure kneeled down, and now the lantern was shining onto its face.

This girl's face looked familiar.

Jinx tried to place it where it belonged, but her memory wasn't the best since that flash of light.

The girls voice cut through the silence, but Jinx could nearly hear the the hate drip off it.

"Look at me !"

Jinx wanted to follow these words, but her neck gave out at the attempt, so the hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head upwards.

Jinx was feeling out her vocal cords.

They felt strange, like a meeting with friends you lived yourself apart from.

The figure seemed to notice her struggles and took something off her hip.

It was a bottle. Fingers clawed their way into Jinx mouth.

They tear it open and suddenly a gush of water made its way down Jinx's throat.

Jinx was shocked at the sensation.

All the water she had gotten was from the walls that sometimes had water running down.

She had gotten pretty good at telling when it would be the time, although the chains didn't make turning her head to the water easier.

She choked at the amount, and she could hear her insides gurgling.

Jinx managed to push out some words after the water was done flowing.

"W-Who are… You ?"

The girl wasn't moving for a second as if she had gotten the worst insult of her life.

Then the beating began.

Jinx could feel the chains move as her head began to hurt more and more.

She hoped to get knocked out at some point, but something in her veins just wouldn't let her.

After a while the girl in front, was panting and standing again.

Her sounds were like that hurt animal Jinx and that red haired girl had taken care of.

Jinx couldn't remember which animal it was nor the name of the red head.

Only that she was her sister.

Jinx would have loved to think about if that sister was still alive, but she didn't trust her mind anyway, so what use would that have been.

A red filter had gotten over Jinx right eye, she blinked a few times trying to get a glimpse of the girls lips.

Finally, they moved again.

"Are you kidding me ? You killed my Mother !"

A picture of a middle-aged Woman got shoved into Jinx's face.

She didn't know what to say to that.

It explained why she was here and why the girl was so angry.

The girl quickly pulled the picture away and tried to get a few drops of red off the picture.

Jinx threw herself into the raging stream that was her memory and she could find a few shards that reflected the truth.

She was sure that the girl wasn't lying, and her memory told her that she had certainly killed people.

A single hand closed around her neck and began to press the life out of her already weak body.

"Do you even know how much pain you caused ? I don't think I'll be able to show it to you in a lifetime."

Jinx didn't want to die but if she believed the girl choking her, maybe she deserved it.

But she couldn't go... Isha was still out there.

Maybe even her sister, they couldn't be saved with her as a corpse.

"I..." Jinx was pouring all her energy into her potential last words. It didn't even amount to a full sentence. "… Sorry..."

The hand let go off her.

Jinx was surprised, she didn't take herself to be someone that was good with words.

The girl closed in on her ear.

"I will have the guards cut your skin, break your bones, rob your lungs of air. They will show you the same mercy you gave my mother !"

"You should be praying I am too busy to do it myself then you might live a lot longer."

Jinx thought that she had lost her fear a long time ago, but this girl terrified her.

She wasn't yelling at her, not threatening her... she was promising her.

Jinx wanted to beg the girl for any better fate, but the red marks on her neck were refusing to let any sound out.

The girl got up and just left.

Jinx was looking at the back of the monster moving into the darkness it came from.

She needed to get out of here.

Her face was burning, and the dripping blood was too loud.

Jinx wanted to scream, but her body was the perfect prison.

Why did this have to be that way, she wanted to shatter the rest of her mind.

Maybe then she wouldn't have to be afraid of the truth anymore ?

Her last bit of cape got devoured by shadow.

The girl was gone just as swift as she came but left behind only her pain.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 A disappointing shower

Vi's hand closed around the bed covers, It felt so good to be here again.

The sun was already saying its goodbyes, and it became dark around Piltover and yet her girlfriend wasn't back.

Vi grew worried, she had to fight off a horde of doctors to be let go just 2 days earlier.

She wanted to surprise Caitlyn, she visited Vi as often as she could but Piltover, the consuming monster that it was, took up so much of Caits time.

Vi never thought she could be jealous of a city.

Vi got up and took a look out one of the windows.

Piltover was still rebuilding, everyone was willing to work for a time of healing.

At least Vi hoped so.

If the events of the close past and Cait couldn't unite this city maybe nothing ever could.

She just didn't want Powders death to be in vain.

Vi had asked Mel to take into the city's politics while she was bound to the bed, but ever since she got these powers she seemed to have grown to hate politics and Vi had no strength to argue with another high-born.

The sound of the heavy oak door surprised Vi.

The sound never grew on her since for the past she sneaked in over the balcony.

Vi moved to the wall of the bedroom door and waited.

Waited longer, at least now Caitlyn would have entered the bedroom, Vi would have guessed her girlfriend was gonna be very sleepy in the evening.

So with as little sound as she could make, Vi made her way into the living room.

Water was flowing from somewhere, it was the bathroom.

Vi peeked around the corner and saw Caitlyn standing over the sink and the edges were coated in red.

Vi's heart sank, and she nearly tripped over her own legs trying to storm into the bathroom.

"Cait ! What happened ? Are you fine ?!"

Caitlyn turned around to the redhead and screamed from the sudden not-so-stranger appearing.

"Vi ! You scared me !!"

Vi rushed to her girlfriend and pulled her from the floor.

She saw that Caits hands were coated in dried blood and fresh drops were pushing out of cuts on her wrist.

"Don't worry Vi ! It's fine... The cuts aren't deep. I was... just stupid. Please calm down !"

Vi felt insulted.

"C-Calm down ?! Cait you're bleeding what the fuck did you do ?"

Caitlyn looked at her feet that were now free of her boots but still trapped in silk.

"I... I got angry on my way home and had to hit something... Let's just say the wall won."

Vi sighted and her arms let go of Cait's wrist.

"And I thought, I was had anger issues..."

Caitlyn smirked and wanted to brush over Vi's cheek but kept a few inches between her fingers and Vi's skin, since she didn't want to stain it red.

"Maybe someone's rubbing off on me…"

Vi pulled Caits Hands back under the water flow.

"Oh yeah… Very Funny !"

While Cait didn't dare to move her hands, Vi looked through some drawers and found the bandages.

"That I could find these so easily is disturbing Cait !"

Caitlyn put on the most innocent face she could muster.

"I promise it was the first time... I'll never do it again !"

Vi pulled her girlfriends hands out the water and got them closer to her lips.

"Promise ?" Vi pressed a soft kiss on the now already healing wounds.

"Y-Yes... Promise !"

She was blushing and Vi was very proud of herself every time she did.

"Did they release you early ? I was told you had two more days."

Vi's eyes were focused on bandaging Caitlyn's hands.

"I... uhm... didn't leave them a choice."

Cait threw her head back and had to laugh out loud.

"Oh... Vi... if I'll have to get you back because one of your stiches tore..."

Vi finished the hands.

"Don't worry... I won't give them their "Told you so".

Vi helped Cait out of her heavy clothing.

Caitlin visibly lost a bit of weight and so Vi already knew that she would cook some real food tomorrow morning.

Caitlin pulled Vi a bit closer with one of her bandaged hands on Vi's butt.

Vi was surprised, but it was feeling a heck of a lot better than the hospital bed.

"Do you... want to shower together ?"

Caitlyns eyes screamed out that showering would only be a tiny part of their time there.

Vi bit down on her lower lip.

"Doctors said no showering until in two days..."

Caitlyn's forehead made Little chasms of disappointment.

"I hate doctors."

She proclaimed that as if it would make doctors as a concept cease to exist.

Vi got her fingers into the blue that was Cait's hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I'll still be here in two days, Cupcake !"

After a while Caitlyn was somewhat satisfied and threw Vi out the bathroom.

Vi was feeling better now, although she would have given A LOT to be in that bathroom.

Vi made her way to a laundry basket and threw the pile of old clothes in there.

They smelled of work and Vi was for sure not just gonna stand by and let Caitlyn carry Piltover on her shoulders.

It took Vi a moment to find the balcony again since she wasn't used to such big houses.

But there the city laid bare, always, moving, never sleeping.

The place where she grew up and now for the first time in her life she was feeling hope making it's way through the streets like a bunch of playing children.

Although many in the hospital had told her about the mourning times that were held once a week.

Vi was wondering how the others were doing and if the Undercity had already found a new leader.

But that all seemed so far away now and the voice of Caitlyn that told her to join her in bed was much more appealing than thoughts of what might be...

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 The flow of grief

The wood was looking better than yesterday.

Checking the tree's health had become a ritual for him.

Ekko needed rituals right now. His breathing was flat, and the air was old.

He hadn't left his room since he lost her.

He knew that the other firelights were beginning to worry, but he didn't want to know anything knew about the world.

The reality of the past was more than enough to keep his mind awake.

Ekko was bend over a pile of metal, everything that was left of Heimerdinger's work.

Maybe if he'd stare at it long enough his friend would appear from the other World but Ekko knew that his little Mentor was gone forever.

He wanted to follow in Heimerdinger's footsteps, but they were growing bigger with every blueprint Ekko tried to replicate out of his mind.

He needed the work, if they ever wanted to heal the tree completely they'd need to advance, and Ekko wasn't going to trust those up there to make the right choices for the future.

He just hoped that Vi would get happy and don't forget about her people.

Ekko could have hit himself.

Why was he thinking that off her.

She had lost a sister, he had lost... Ekko couldn't find the right words in his mind to describe the Jinx he got to know.

Maybe he'll never be able to.

Iron hinges screamed and light floaded his room.

Ekko's eye hurt from the sudden change and turned around to see Scar standing in the door frame.

Scar entered and put a little plate of food on Ekko's table.

"You didn't eat the old one..."

Ekko couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Sorry... I lost the time again."

Scar pushed the old food into the trash.

"You tend to... ever since you became yourself again."

Ekko took a bite of an apple to show Scar that he could eat if he just thought of it.

"The others told me to throw you into the river. Maybe that would wake you up."

Ekko smirked, but it got lost in sadness quickly after.

"Don't be mean Scar... I don't tell you how you should grieve."

Scar sat down with Ekko, and sometimes it seemed to Ekko as if Scar was the better fit for first command.

"You know Ekko... They say time heals every wound, but I don't think you want to hold yourself to that rule."

His eyes looked over to the pile of what was once time itself.

"What am I supposed to do ? I saw what could have been... We're never gonna get that back Scar !"

Ekko's voice was beginning to break and a single tear was gliding down his skin.

"I'm never gonna get her back !"

Scar placed his hand on Ekko's shoulder.

"You should know the best that the future isn't set in stone ! As much as I hate Jinx for what she did, do you think she'd want you rotting away over some metal ?"

Ekko knew that he was stupid for ignoring the world for so long.

"Let's go for a walk..."

Ekko nodded and got himself up.

His joints were hurting, but he knew if he didn't leave his home now he'd be stuck in here forever.

The sun felt too warm on his skin, but the air was light. Lighter than it had ever been.

"The coal mines of the lower level got shut down."

Scar sounded unnaturally happy.

There they all were, the closest thing Ekko had to a family looking up at him as if he was some kind of hero.

All he was, was a failure that got the wrong person home.

He wanted to believe that, no matter what others told him.

Scar walked him to the river that was the main water source for their people.

The water was clear and Ekko could see his own reflection inside it.

"I look awful..." He noted and Scar laughed and hit him in the side.

"Yeah you do !"

They walked for a bit entering the city that had now free view on the sky.

The black vog of poverty was gone.

"Some kids fainted from the sudden sky..."

Ekko got sad again, they lost so much time… All of them.

The water flow finally got them to a group of people that were standing in front of big stones.

"What are they doing Scar ?"

Ekko tried to get a better look at them.

There were names… In alphabetical order, hundreds of them.

"All those that died, Ekko… They are all here."

The sheer amount of names hurt to look at but Ekko noticed that names that weren't given to anyone from the Undercity were right with theirs.

"Can we go ?" Ekko asked as if he wanted to leave a bad memory behind.

They returned with the against the river's stream.

"At least you got to see healthy grieving before you go back into your cave !"

Ekko looked Scar in the eyes. "I got it Scar... I won't close the door anymore."

Scar pushed him into the river and the rest of Ekko's friends jumped right after him, had they been waiting for the two ?

Ekko laughed, the first time in weeks.

He didn't laugh because the past wasn't hurting anymore but because he could let go of the selfish thought that he was alone in his suffering.

They all returned exhausted that night.

Ekko fell asleep on his table, still in his wet clothes.

He always hoped that in his dreams he would find a way back to heaven, but today he dreamed of building his own.

Right Here. Right now.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 Half a world of pain

She had grown bored of screaming.

The pain never left, but Jinx no longer saw any use in it.

She couldn’t remember the last time she slept, and she had to tolerate a vile presence.

The guards took turns with her—torture-wise, not sexually. She thought so, or they did it while she blacked out, what happened pretty often.

Although, at this point, she’d have even taken that over the same gruelling routine, again and again.

She hated herself for thoughts like that.

Even she was surprised with how little her own body began to matter.

Thankfully, she had no eyes in the back of her head.

Otherwise, she would have to look at what was once her back.

The canvas of cuts, bruises, and burns was not something anyone would want to see.

At least, Jinx imagined it that way.

The guards followed a pattern, and Jinx was now very familiar with it.

They pushed one part of her body to breaking point, only to leave it alone again.

She felt like cattle being worked on by a butcher who never finished his work.

However, one good thing came out of all this pain: it was proof that she wasn’t dead yet.

Trying to move hurt, so she played the statue most of the time.

The guards told her they would spare the parts they liked to look at.

Jinx would have killed herself a long time ago if it wasn’t for Isha, out there somewhere.

Maybe she just had to suffer enough pain, and then the stone would open up and let her out into the world again.

Every day, she prayed that it wasn’t the girl’s boots making their way back down, because she knew that the day she heard them a second time, her day of death would have come.

Today’s boots were just one of the guards again.

The few times Jinx caught a glimpse of their faces, she had vomited.

Pieces of flesh with skin pulled over them.

It disgusted her.

It was a face that only seemed to exist as proof of them being somewhat human.

In their eye sockets, dark orbs resided and looked down at her.

They devoured every bit of blood she bled and every tear she shed, as if the sight would bring light back into them.

The guard carried something in his hand.

Jinx knew it and its purpose very well.

She had used it in her past to drive screws into their sockets.

“Good morning, little one!”

Somewhere in the pile of meat, a tongue moved to speak to her.

“We’ve got very nice news. For us… not you.”

Jinx didn’t really care to listen and kept dangling from her chains.

She had listened to a lot of monologues during her time here.

One was always flirting with her, another kept calling her his mother’s name.

Whenever they cut pieces off, they would let them fall to the ground and shortly forget about them.

Jinx did too, for a while, until they poured alcohol over the wounds to prevent lethal infections.

The burning was a strong reminder of exactly where another few grams were missing.

Sometimes her body didn’t even feel like her own anymore, just her mind being webbed into this useless flesh bound to share its torture.

“I… get to keep your pretty eyes!”

Jinx opened them.

None of the guards had ever kept pieces of her, or taken any of her senses away forever.

That could only mean one thing.

Death was coming. The girl was coming.

For the first time in a long while, Jinx’s heart began to beat faster.

If she couldn’t keep buying time with her pain, she couldn’t just die… she couldn’t allow herself that release.

She had resisted the temptation for so long, all this couldn’t have been for nothing.

The guard’s swollen hands caressed her cheek and pulled her head up.

“Shh… we’re going to scoop these out… but don’t you move, I want them nice and round!”

Jinx could feel her eyelids being pulled apart, and she felt like vomiting again.

These faces were just that ugly.

“Why?...” Her lips were dry and split open.

“Because…”
The guard seemed to savour every word.

“I want you blind. Animals deserve to have eyes when they die. Not you! No, no, no… not you!”

He had saliva dripping from his mouth. It wrenched of old fish.

His hand moved up and gripped the tool, trembling with excitement.

Jinx focused on the tip. It was cold, and it grew and grew.

No… she refused this, all of it.

Jinx was done begging, crying, or even bleeding for this world.

She willed her muscles to move and flooded them with strength she wasn’t sure existed any more.

She waited for the right moment.

She had to do something, anything at all, but she had to do it now.

Before the girl came and put her into the ground.

Jinx lunged forward, her fingers closing around the tool.

Then half her world went dark forever.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 The ringless hell

Caitlyn hadn’t closed her eyes all night.

She couldn’t even enjoy Vi’s company that morning.

Caitlyn wouldn’t lie to herself. She knew Vi had noticed.

She was evil for sharing the same bed as the girl whose sister she had thrown into the deepest hole she could find.

She knew it was wrong, but she needed to avenge her mother… and yet, here she was, on her way to end it all.

Maybe Jinx had suffered enough, maybe, just for her and Vi’s love, she needed to let go of her hate.

Jinx was supposed to be dead anyway.

The decision to save her and then put her through all this was selfish—Caitlyn knew it.

She had known it all along.

A pair of seagulls screamed at her from high above, and Caitlyn felt she deserved that bit of shame.

It wasn’t a long walk down here.

She could even do it on foot, reach the heavy door guarding the entrance.

It came into view, and Caitlyn prepared herself.

This was the day she’d kill Jinx.

She had even brought her rifle, it weighed heavy on her shoulder, heavier than usual.

Had she become weaker?

The city fed on her energy every day.

If Vi weren’t waiting at home, maybe Caitlyn would have run away a long time ago.

Yes… just her and Dad, enjoying an easier life somewhere far, far away from all of this.

Her soles left deep imprints in the earth beneath her boots, and the seagulls were still following her.

Caitlyn was intrigued by animals.

Maybe they just wanted to make her jealous of their wings.

It was working.

Caitlyn turned her head away from the birds.

She didn’t dare look at them any longer.

She knocked on the door with her foot.

She didn’t want to ruin Vi’s handiwork, much less get her sister’s blood on it.

No, this whole sad story needed a clean ending, a clean shot.

But, like the wind messing with a bullet and causing it to miss its target, the door swung open almost mockingly.

Caitlyn was surprised, normally the guards never forgot a single lock.

Why would they forget all of them at once?

Caitlyn pushed herself through and saw a trail of blood on the floor.

Whose blood was that?

She knew the guards had a messy attitude towards their work, but not even cleaning their hands before walking around?

Then an awful thought crawled out of Caitlyn’s mind.

She ran towards the guard's quarters.

The door was hanging from a single hinge, broken open by brute force.

The stench was gruelling: dried blood and bodies everywhere, ripped open, stabbed, and sometimes simply crushed.

Someone had used their own tools on them.

Not a single one was mounted on the walls anymore, but instead found in at least one of the guards.

This place was designed to be secure, she never thought the prisoners could escape and start a breakout.

Caitlyn pulled the rifle off her back and readied herself to fight.

She wandered back into the main hall, looking for movement in the shadows.

Like the first time, she made her way down, but this time the blood became more and more.

Her boots turned red and she almost slipped a few times.

These parts were moister and the blood hadn’t dried yet.

It felt like walking down into hell itself.

She knew these prisoners were crazy, but crazy enough to kill each other even with an open door in front of them?

The bodies she left behind were mangled in the same way, some of them still in their cells.

The deeper she went into the belly of the beast, the more bodies she had to step over.

There were too many bodies, it almost made Caitlyn believe no one had made it out.

At least Piltover wouldn’t have to catch that many after all.

But still, no white corpse, no blue hair except her own.

Caitlyn tried to reassure herself.

The last of them had probably taken the wooden lift down and killed her before fleeing.

Yes, that’s how it must have been.

Jinx was the only female here, after all, it would only make sense.

The lift was waiting for Caitlyn.

She stepped in.

It took so long—too long—but maybe she had to blame her own adrenaline for that.

Time was slowing down, and Caitlyn felt like she was moving through water in her wooden cage.

It came to a halt and Caitlyn’s breath was visible again.

It was truly cold down here.

She walked through more metal and then her worst fear came true.

All that was waiting at the bottom of the hole was another dead guard, although this one was in the worst condition of all the corpses.

Caitlyn thought she had a strong stomach, but even she vomited over her rifle the moment she saw the truth.

She was the only living thing down here.

She stared at the blood-soaked chains and the pieces of flesh on the floor.

They had already started rotting.

The gruesome picture of her choices was laughing in her face, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Caitlyn screamed as she had never screamed before.

At the entrance, two seagulls flew off, scared of whatever could make such a sound.

Caitlyn sank to the ground, she felt as if she was dying, she felt sick.

It wasn’t because of all the dead flesh around her, it was because of the taste of truth.

She didn’t want to think about it.

All of this was the result of her mitakes.

Jinx had escaped.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 No roof too high

Vi was marching up the street, a soup of anger and concern brewing in her stomach.

Cait hadn’t come home last night, so Vi was on her way to the place Caitlyn spent most of her time: the council building.

If she were still living in the undercity, it would have taken half a day to reach it, but from Caitlyn’s house, it was just a few minutes.

She feared Cait was being pushed into workaholism.

Whoever kept her there so long would lose some teeth, that was for sure.

That’s what Vi would have liked to do.

The place was as impressive as ever, although Vi never understood why anyone needed such tall buildings.

She could see that the guards recognized her, straightening their posture as she approached.

Whether they had fought together or just knew she was living with their boss, she couldn’t tell.

Just to be sure, Vi drew her enforcer’s badge.

The symbol itself disgusted her.

In her mind, she kept apologizing to her parents, but it opened a lot of doors—and if it got her closer to Cait, she was willing to use it.

The guards nodded quickly, and she was let in.

Vi stepped into a beehive of bureaucracy, she could almost feel her social battery draining by the second.

She hated it, but what wouldn’t she do for love?

Hands in her jacket, she made her way up the stairs.

They were too smooth for her taste—sometimes, she could swear she saw her reflection in them.

The higher she went, the more paper she saw, being carried like infants through the halls.

Vi was impressed, there was some system to it, after all.

Then she reached Caitlyn’s workplace.

After stepping through a wooden gateway, she found herself in a bustling workspace.

The sound of typewriters came from left and right, almost numbing Vi’s head.

At the end of the hall stood two more guards—a bit much for such a little door.

Her girlfriend’s name was printed onto the wood in golden letters.

“Violet?”

She turned around.

Vi only knew one person who called her that, ever since he’d asked for her full name.

She couldn’t blame him, if she’d found her daughter with a stranger, she’d want to know their full name as well.

Vi heard he was back, but still...

“Tobias... give me a moment. I need to speak with Cait first.”

Vi turned to face the guards.

“Please let me through. I need to speak with your commander.”

The guards looked at each other uncomfortably.

“W-We have orders not to let anyone pass. You were specified...”

Vi felt like punching the guy.

“I don’t believe you.”

The guard seemed to burn through all his courage to apologetically shake his head.

“We are ordered to...”

Vi knew better than to cause a scene.

This explained why Tobias—she still felt weird using his first name, but he had insisted on it—was here, sitting on a chair as if he were waiting for dental care.

Vi sighed and turned away.

Tobias had already prepared a seat for her.

“They didn’t let you in, as well?”

Vi nodded.

“She’s been left alone for too long...”

Vi couldn’t hear any accusation in his voice.

Caitlyn had him evacuated from Piltover before the war.

Vi understood that Cait couldn’t focus on fighting while worrying about her last parent.

But still... it had taken four enforcers to pull Tobias into the Hexgate that would bring him to safety.

Strength, Vi hadn’t expected from him.

Then her wounds, and the doctors.

Mel, who was now focused on calming the minds of Piltover.

Without her, the fighting would have started again.

No one could wake her from that trance.

That much was told to everyone who needed to know.

Not her, of course—not the girl from the undercity.

She’d only learned the news through Caitlyn.

“Did you speak to her?”

Tobias looked to the ceiling, searching for an answer tangled up there.

“Yes... but she didn’t respond.”

That didn’t help to calm Vi down.

“It’s shameful for a father to admit this, but I can’t reach her, and I have neither the strength nor the right to push her further.”

Vi could see how much it hurt him to admit that.

She wouldn’t give up.

She knew that Cait needed her, even if Caitlyn herself believed otherwise.

This was one of those moments—a problem Vi couldn’t solve with her fists.

She hated those.

Vi looked around.

There was a window open, fresh air was the lifeblood of all the typists here.

Otherwise, they’d overheat.

Normally, Vi would have chuckled at that thought.

“Tobias... can you...”

Vi began to whisper something in his ear.

Tobias looked highly uncomfortable hearing what was needed, but Vi knew he wouldn’t let that stop him.

He got up from the chair and put on the angriest look he could muster.

Vi never understood people like him—strong out of nowhere, then back to calm faces and few words.

But it seemed fatherhood tore down those walls as well.

“I want to see my daughter!”

Tobias walked up to one of the guards and punched him right between the eyes.

His partner looked hesitant to restrain the father of his commander and let him go rampant inside the building.

The few seconds were all that Vi needed.

She swung herself out the window, pulling herself onto the roof.

Vi was thankful that Cait’s office wasn’t higher up, the building continued another ten levels or so.

Even now, this was the highest she had ever been.

It reminded her of the old times, climbing over Piltover.

She shook off the memories like a wholesome pet.

She was going to break through the roof if she needed to, but luckily there were windows.

Vi closed her fingers around the frame of one and pulled it open.

They were nicely oiled, so they didn’t make much sound.

Vi threw herself down into the office.

She didn’t land elegantly—quite the opposite, actually.

“Missed me, Cupcake?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 Grassbusters

A final paper joined the pile of work that Sevika had been tormented with ever since she became a council member.

They had pushed the Kiramman girl into the public eye like a war hero.

It disgusted her.

The highborns were eager to glorify the war they had fought, but she had only finished counting the names two days ago.

At least they would be set in stone for everyone to remember.

It was an open secret that the undercity had lost far more people than the so-called city of progress.

The eye of a highborn didn’t change that.

Sevika stood up and left her desk.

She felt heavy, as if she had aged twenty years since the war ended.

It was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.

Sevika sat on her bed, the council insisted she should reside somewhere closer to the public, but she felt much more at home down here.

Sevika was just about to lie down when a pair of hasty footsteps approached.

It was a gutter kid—she had tried to organise some work for them, but for now they were simply her eyes and ears.

Although she forbade them from doing anything dangerous, she wanted to keep them active.

She knew all too well what foolish things children could get up to if they were just bored enough.

She could hear the child coming up the stairs.

She looked at her old arm—she hadn’t changed it after the war, but now she had a hextech one.

It was better, but she missed the personality that came with the old one.

Perhaps she was just nostalgic.

The child was panting for air outside, knocking twice every five seconds.

That pulled Sevika back to reality.

She got her bulky frame off the bed and the child nearly fell into her room as she opened the door.

“S-Sevika! A ghost! I-It was so fast…” The child’s eyes looked up at the grumpy woman.

The ghost was almost less frightening than the look on Sevika’s face.

Her cheekbones seemed to ask: Precisely why did you stop me from a well-earned sleep?

“What ghost, Tungo? There are no ghosts.”

Sevika couldn’t believe a ghost was keeping her from her rest, and she wasn’t even a child any more.

But Tungo was a child, and a frightened one at that.

“I’m not the only one who saw it! Our neighbours’ food was stolen. They swear they saw a ghost!”

Sevika was getting annoyed.

Food disappearing because someone was hungry was nothing new down here, although she had managed to keep the crime rates at an all-time low.

At least, that was what the enforcers told her.

Sevika suspected they were just sucking up to the new council member.

“Tell them I’ll pay for their lost food. Now go, I need to sleep!”

Tungo was holding his tongue, as if there was something else to reveal.

“I know that face… spit it out.”

He looked down at his feet.

“D-Don’t get mad, Sev…”

Sevika crossed her arms, knowing now that most of the truth was about to spill out of the boy.

“The ghost left a trail of blood. I f-followed it.”

Sevika’s expression darkened.

She grabbed Tungo’s small wrist.

“How many times have I told you to stay out of trouble!”

Tungo’s eyes lost focus, as if he seriously wanted to count.

Sevika had to shake him back.

“What did you see?”

Tungo was beginning to shake again.

“The ghost, Sev… It was u-under the bridge, eating away…”

She didn’t know much about ghosts, but it would have surprised her if ghosts needed to eat—let alone bleed.

“Bridge? What bridge?”

Tungo’s lips were shaping into a smile, as if Sevika’s concern meant he had done a good job.

“The one by the tavern…”

Sevika wanted to at least go and look, no one down here could afford any more trouble right now, and bleeding, food-stealing ghosts were not good news in Sevika’s book.

She got up and pushed Tungo into her room.

“You can eat the rest of my food, then go home!”

She knew this would work—he was always hungry.

Tungo’s eyes lit up and he saluted Sevika as if he were a soldier, a little one at that.

Sevika threw on a coat and stepped outside.

It was already dark, but the streetlights kept the streets bright.

Her feet and the road had a silent conversation for a while, but then she arrived at the tavern.

The bridge was old and the metal was already rusting, since most of the rainwater was channelled under it.

She had to climb down a ladder and then cross a pile of rope until she reached the little patch of land.

She hadn’t even known there was any land under this bridge, which was surprising, since she knew all the hidden places from her childhood.

Tungo hadn’t lied.

Sevika could even see footprints—they seemed to be from a female foot, but they were uneven and misplaced most of the time.

It reminded her of how her drunken father used to walk.

That old bastard.

A few drops aimed for Sevika’s forehead and landed on it.

Rain had come early…

This night really was full of surprises.

But she blamed herself—she was on a ghost hunt, strange things were bound to happen, right?

Sevika followed the trail like a hound until it ended.

She looked around—just tall grass and moss.

There was so much grass, and Sevika was so sleepy, that nature was almost presenting her with a bed.

Sevika accepted the invitation.

She laid down in the grass.

All of the stress of the past days, the strange stories about ghosts, and all this responsibility—the green seemed to suck it all out of her.

Her hands grasped the water pearls on every leaf and then… hair.

Sevika opened her eyes.

Blue hair.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 Couple Therapy

The plans were already spotty, since Caitlyn had been crying onto them for an hour.

She didn't want Vi to see her this way.

Caitlyn was surprised and not surprised at the same time; of course, she couldn't keep Vi away.

She wanted to get up, but only managed to throw documents onto the ground.

Suddenly, her legs were left with no strength at all.

"Cait! What's going on?"

Caitlyn had no answer and just kept crying.

Normally, she wasn't one to cry that much, but she felt so guilty.

She had eaten it all up inside her, and the worst part was that she wasn't even sure if her mother would want any of this.

Warm hands pulled her into Vi's lap.

"Shh... Cait, please... It's fine, I am here... I am here!"

Vi's lap was soft, like a big pillow that didn't care about the world, only about her.

It reminded Caitlyn of how her mother used to comfort her.

Whenever she came storming out of the bedroom because another nightmare had woken her up.

Vi didn't seem to have the right words, but Caitlyn could feel her fingers running through her hair.

She wanted to stay like this forever, headfirst in the lap of her girlfriend.

But even her tears ran out eventually.

She got turned around by Vi's arms, made to look right up at her.

Caitlyn's cheeks were shiny and she felt pathetic.

Vi let her palm rest on Caitlyn's tummy, it made hungry noises.

Did she forget to eat?

"See... I can't survive a day without y-your food."

Now Vi's tears fell onto her face.

Did she deserve her tears?

She had tried to keep Vi away, lied to her about her sister being alive.

Yet here Vi was, crying for her.

"No, please... stop, I have cried enough for the both of us."

Caitlyn tried to catch the tears on Vi's face, if only she could hold onto them, she could push them back where they came from.

She wanted to confess—oh, she wanted to.

The truth was hovering over the couple like a guillotine, ready to end Vi's love forever.

"Whatever it is, Cait! I..."

Her voice broke and she pulled Caitlyn closer.

"I'll never leave you. Together we can do everything!"

Caitlyn wanted to believe her.

For Vi, it was the truth, but Caitlyn knew that reality could shatter Vi's view of her into a thousand pieces, and Vi was not someone to pick out only the pieces she liked.

She saw her whole; that was why Caitlyn fell for her in the first place.

Having to hide that whole from her was brutal.

Her reason, what was left of it, told her so many things that could turn in their favor.

Maybe Jinx died of her wounds.

Maybe she lost her mind.

Maybe there was a future where they could be together.

"I know... I am sorry, Vi."

She could have apologized a thousand times over, and Caitlyn would not have felt any better.

"There was a breakout..."

Vi sighed and pulled Caitlyn back onto the office chair.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Caitlyn couldn't tell the truth.

The chance of any amount of time that she could spend with Vi was too good to turn down.

Because it was your sister that broke out...

That sentence would have taken it all away.

"I know you are strong, Vi... but I couldn't bring myself to ask any more of you.

Piltover cost you so much.

The least I could do was not make you worried."

Lips pressed themselves onto Caitlyn's forehead.

"You've failed big time then."

That was the truth.

Caitlyn knew what she wanted now.

She would leave it in fate's hands if they were meant to be.

She knew that she only deserved one of those endings, but she knew life wasn't fair.

For the first time, that might help her.

Whatever the future held, she was going to hold onto her luck for as long as she could.

Going after Jinx would only damage her relationship more.

"I know... I'll ask for your help..."

Caitlyn needed to feel her.

She needed her.

"I love you!"

Vi was surprised at Caitlyn's change of heart.

"Cait... are you sure?"

Caitlyn was sure.

Sure that she wanted to be with Vi.

Because tomorrow the truth could end them, and Caitlyn was ready to take the fall for it.

Just not yet.

She could feel the strength return to her legs and wiped the last bit of tears from her face.

Vi seemed to know what she was getting at.

A wide smirk appeared, as Vi let herself be pushed into Caitlyn's chair.

"My turn..."

That got Vi blushing, and all of this were the first minutes of the day that felt right.

"Cait... your dad... He helped me get in here, but..."

Caitlyn chuckled.

"My door's locked... and are you really scared of my dad ?"

Vi shut herself up and joined in Caitlyn's attempts to loosen her belt.

"This isn't how I imagined my first day at your job..."

Caitlyn knew her girlfriend was just teasing her.

"I imagined it just like that..."

Vi's pants fell to the ground.

Caitlyn got between Vi's legs and locked eyes with her.

The thought she could lose that person hurt more and more.

But to lose her now would have been unbearable.

Caitlyn began to kiss the insides of Vi's thighs.

Was this the first time they did it since the prison ?

Caitlyn was shocked to admit that it was.

"Fuck... Cait..."

It was warm in Caitlyn's office, and Vi's blood seemed to be boiling—else Caitlyn didn't have an explanation why Vi began to take her shirt off.

Not that Caitlyn was complaining, but it was distracting.

The absence of Caitlyn's lips made Vi pout for a bit.

"Caaaiiitlyn..."

The pleading undertone in Vi's voice was intoxicating.

"Someone missed me..."

Vi scoffed but couldn't argue back since Caitlyn's tongue began to send jolts of joy through her.

"You'll get your shirt out of my office later..."

Vi bit down on her lip.

Caitlyn knew that it wasn't a fair discussion, having Vi's most sensitive part all to herself.

But she eventually got tired of holding Vi's underwear off and ripped it apart.

"How dare you !"

Caitlyn knew those weren't Vi's favorites.

"We'll buy you new ones. I didn't like the black color anyways."

Vi fell into the chair, as defeated as she could be.

"You know I'll get back at you for this!"

"I hope so."

Caitlyn began to eat out her girlfriend.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 She was dead

Her golden feet carried her forward.

Everything else was dark.

She was her own light.

She was searching for souls.

Every one or two eternities, she got lucky and found one.

Right now, she was lucky.

But it left her as soon as she stepped closer.

This girl's soul was broken.

The girl was dragging the pieces over her wrists.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"I have two of them."

She felt as if she knew her from somewhere.

"Well then... what are they?"

The girl smiled at her.

"Sorry, my dumbass forgot both of them."

She looked down at what was once the girl's soul.

"We'll just have to work twice as hard then."

She couldn't help herself, a chuckle escaped.

The girl resumed rubbing one of the pieces on her skin.

"Are you trying to cut?"

The girl nodded eagerly.

"You won't have any luck with these then."

She pointed at the girl's soul.

"It's just not in their nature."

The girl looked at the piece in her hand, like a child who had grown tired of a new toy.

"So it's useless."

The girl raised her arm to throw it into the dark.

She stopped her throw and gently took the piece out of her hand.

"No, not at all. Why are you trying to use it for cutting?"

The girl looked at her, confused.

"Because I want to feel something. Stupid question."

She sat down with the girl.

"All you'll feel is pain. Pain is something, but nothing more."

The girl stared at the pieces of her soul.

"Why are you glowing so bright?"

She was surprised no other soul had asked her this before.

"It's just my nature. I hope I don't blind you?"

She looked at the girl.

"No..."

"You have beautiful hair!"

The girl wrapped some of it around her bare body.

"T-Thanks."

She took some of it as well.

"Would you like me to braid it?"

The girl pushed her an eternity away.

"Damn it..."

This meant she had to find her way back again.

"Oh, there you are!"

The girl smiled. It had been so long.

"Hey. Can I braid it now?"

The girl looked at her hair.

"F-Fine."

She had never seen such beautiful hair.

To touch it, to feel it, to braid it, felt wonderful.

"Thank you for letting me do this."

The girl sat around, looking into the dark.

"Sure... just be gentle."

She made the best effort she could, but there was so much hair.

"I will... just tell me when we need to make a pause."

The girl was beginning to breathe more shallowly.

"You're not as good as him."

"Who's him?"

"What?"

Now she was confused.

"The person you spoke of."

The girl's eyes were as innocent as ever.

"I didn't speak since you started."

She understood now.

There were fewer pieces left.

They sat there forever.

The girl began to breathe faster.

"I am scared."

She knew that it had begun.

But she couldn't stop now.

She had to keep braiding the girl's hair.

Otherwise, they would be here forever again.

"That's good. It means you are alive."

The girl began to cry.

"I don't like it. Make it go away."

"I can't."

The girl's hair was tamed.

The girl began to scream.

Life was being woven back together.

Every hair a memory.

All the pain and everything else was the girl's right again.

She was scared, she had never heard someone scream that way.

Not even in this place.

"They are all dead! All of them!"

She just stood there and watched the girl throw herself around in pain.

"No, not all of them."

She didn't know if that was true, but it had to be, it just had to be.

The girl's soul was whole again.

"Wake up."

"No!"

"Please?"

Jinx woke up, her body coated in bandages.

She knew this room.

It was where Caitlyn—no, Singed—had given her shimmer.

She wasn't alone.

There was someone else.

She remembered now. Isha was dead.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: A daughterless mother

Sevika was still in shock.

Carrying the girl in her arms didn't feel real, as if she would return to the land of the dead if anyone touched her.

She didn't know what to do, who to call, or where to go.

So she did only one thing: she called no one and went to the only place in Piltover where she knew no one would be waiting for them.

She picked Jinx up, wrapped the girl in her coat, and got moving.

It was dark, and everyone knew better than to be on the lower levels this late.

Sevika wanted to run, but Jinx looked awful.

She didn't dare to go faster.

Then there was just work and wonder.

The wonder that Jinx was still alive.

Sevika rolled her out onto the table.

There were so many wounds, burns, and things she didn't dare to think more about.

This couldn't have been from any war.

This was torture, simple and brutal torture.

Sevika got emotional.

It was as if she was staring at a piece of Piltover's suffering itself.

She had to stop thinking about all of this, all that counted was Jinx and that she would survive tonight.

But the questions were building up and threatening to bury her.

Sevika searched every drawer for needle and thread.

Even after she found them, her hand was shaking too much to even start.

How could she do anything, when just a little mistake could kill the girl?

"Why did you have to die..."

Jinx needed her father, not some shaky hand.

Then again, her other hand didn't shake, but could she trust the machine?

Sevika's heart sank.

She would have rather fought another war than push the needle into Jinx's skin, or what was left of it.

Her hands began to move, slowly, but she didn't dare to stop, to stop meant the death of Jinx.

Sevika had buried so many of the people she now called her own, and not just those she shared a city with.

She wouldn't lose another one.

Not the girl because of whom so many fought.

Not the girl because of whom they won.

The needle stung, and the thread followed, getting stained with red.

Sometimes her eyes would slip away to face Jinx.

Why was she looking... calm?

It was as if she was at peace with... everything.

It made Sevika feel insignificant.

Her work didn't matter; Jinx was fine with dying on this table.

Her smuggling didn't matter, and even now, what was she working for?

Yet her hands kept working as if they never needed a reason.

Sevika cut the last piece.

She was done.

She closed everything she could.

It was awful.

But it was enough.

She gave Jinx a chance.

Sevika felt as if she could never sleep again.

The view made it impossible.

So she covered Jinx and the history she carried.

Sevika fell onto the ground.

Did she do the right thing?

If she had learned anything over the past months, it was that healing was never bad, so why not try to heal the girl?

Jinx's face didn't seem to refuse that future.

Now her hands were bandaging every inch of Jinx's body.

There was no question if a spot needed them because the place probably didn't have enough anyway.

Then Sevika finished that as well.

Now it was almost morning again.

Her life screamed for her to come back.

To go back to the paper.

Nothing seemed so far away as paper right now.

But Sevika knew that her absence would cause trouble.

She didn't dare to move the white body off the table.

But at least she used anything she could find to make a pillow for the girl's head.

Sevika felt pathetic since that was all she could do right now.

But pathetic was better than absent perfection.

So Sevika returned to work and to her life, but alive she only felt when she came back.

This time with soup and everything else she might need.

Sevika made sure that no one saw her enter.

All of this was exhausting, it felt as if she became a mother, and for the first time in her life, she understood why her mother left her.

This was so much, and she felt as if she was doing everything wrong in a matter where only doing nothing was wrong.

Like a mother, she felt joy when Jinx drank from the soup.

Maybe drinking was the wrong word for it, but it entered her body and she didn't cough it up.

Just the head with the blue strands of beauty Sevika had to support.

The worst thing was that she couldn't tell anyone about how proud she was, what a great job Jinx did.

Sevika was afraid as soon as anyone knew, they would take Jinx away.

Jinx wouldn't survive that.

No matter how gentle anyone was with her, she would break.

Sevika was sure of it.

Even saving her that night had brought Jinx onto death's edge.

Then there was no work left to do.

It had been another day.

Now Sevika had to sleep.

She got into a chair and then she was gone.

But she didn't leave.

She didn't want Jinx to be alone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Tears and poison

"Who's there?" Hearing herself speak was strange.

She didn't like the sound of her own voice anymore.

Screaming and crying felt more familiar, but Jinx didn't feel like doing either of them.

The figure in the chair lifted her head, and now the figure screamed.

How dare it?! That was her thing.

Her ears began to hurt.

"S-Stop! Don't scream!"

Why was she even paler than normal?

She trailed her fingers over her second skin.

Sometimes there was no first, and then her fingers left the area hurting.

"Jinx! You're awake!"

A woman came storming to the table.

Jinx felt as if the sour face was part of her.

She tried to get up, but all she could manage was a trembling torso.

She searched her mind for the woman's name, and for the first time in a long while, it came to her.

"Sevika..."

"Yeah, it's me! What happened, Jinx?! Are you in pain?"

Jinx let her head rest back against a pillow.

"You got a new arm..."

Sevika looked at her, confused, and then at her new arm.

"Wha... yes..."

Jinx couldn't help but chuckle at the woman.

"What happened to my masterpiece?"

Sevika pulled the chair closer.

"It wasn't... good for my work... I am a member of the council now."

Jinx looked at her in disbelief.

"You? Yeah, sure... and I'm good at dancing!"

It all seemed too fake to her.

Then, no one said anything for quite some time.

They both waited for the other to speak.

Jinx stared her down.

"Isha is dead, right?"

Sevika's face turned away into the dim lighting of the place.

"Yes... Vi told me about her. She joined the others on the stone. We put them up for all that died. You're on there too... I guess we have to correct them..."

Jinx felt the right side of her face was layered with bandages as well.

She really was blind there.

The darkness didn't come from the bandages.

Then Jinx shook her head.

"No... Leave my name there."

Sevika looked at her in horror.

"No, Jinx! We can show them! We can get you a fair process... You might have to go to jail but... but you're going to see Vi again. I'm sure she can get Caitlyn to persuade the Council... and with my help—"

Sevika stopped as soon as she saw Jinx's eye.

It looked past her, past the walls, past everything outside of them.

"What happened to you...?"

Jinx shook her head again.

"Did you give me more shimmer?"

Sevika looked more confused with every word that came out of Jinx's mouth.

"No... I would have, but Singed took everything with him or destroyed it. I can try to find you some!"

Jinx breathed out in relief.

"It's poison, Sevika... nothing more. I'm glad you didn't find any. If you do, get rid of it."

Sevika slowly nodded.

"Where is he? You sound as if he left."

Sevika rubbed her shoulder uncomfortably.

"He wanted to leave Piltover. Well, his iron puppet—he calls his daughter—wanted to see the world. So, in return for the shimmer formula, the council granted him immunity, but he got banished from the city forever. I didn't think that man could smile, but that day he proved me wrong. Everyone says he went insane."

Jinx scoffed out loud.

"Sounds like the best end he could have gotten..."

But that meant whatever was left, she could use.

Jinx's mind was beginning to work, but it was slow and grueling to think.

Her thoughts tore through logic and emotion without deciding on either.

Sevika didn't know what to say.

"Jinx... if you're not going to tell me what happened... what do you want me to do?"

Jinx's chest was going up and down.

"I can tell you a lot of things I don't want. I don't want you to tell anyone I'm still alive! I don't want a trial! I don't want Caitlyn's mercy!! I don't want anything right now! I have no use until I can move again.!!! You can get me the plans of Piltover's ventilation system!!"

At the end, Jinx was almost screaming at Sevika.

Jinx banged her head against the metal of the table, and the sound resonated in the room until it got lost in the walls.

Jinx popped a blood vessel in her eye, and shimmer began to ooze out of it.

Sevika bent over Jinx's body.

Jinx began to calm down.

It seemed as if Sevika wanted to shield her.

"I-I'm sorry..." They said the same words.

The stream of shimmer made space for tears.

"I died a long time ago, Sevika..."

They stayed like that for a while, and Sevika didn't say anything against what Jinx believed to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"Then why are you still alive?"

Sevika sounded disappointed.

"I saved you... you are still here. Why would you insult me like that!"

Jinx's hand was moving for the first time.

It wanted to hold a bomb and turn it, blow it up and go out in a blaze.

But nothing happened.

"Because there are still hundreds of Isha's out there. I can't die yet. I don't have the right to die."

Sevika seemed to understand now.

"What about the others?"

Jinx said nothing but said enough.

Sevika nodded.

Jinx stared at the ceiling.

There was just one last thing on her mind.

It was clear to her.

The only thing that was clear to her.

"Do you have paper to spare? I need to write some letters."

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Names that make us cry

The steady stream of people pulled Vi with them.

Her muscles were aching to get off this bridge and take the fast way into the undercity.

But she had promised Caitlyn: no parkour after her recovery.

Even though Vi was feeling better than ever, she had a comfortable place to stay, all the food she could ask for, and more emotional support than she'd liked sometimes.

It felt as if she was fusing with a new world, but it didn't give her any purpose.

So why not take a stroll into the old one?

Maybe there she'd find some purpose.

It felt nice being under people again.

Vi never liked to stand out in a crowd, just for the guards, she had to lower her hood.

They quickly waved her through without even asking for papers.

That the bridge checkpoints were still up was much to her dislike—Caitlyn's too—ever since Vi explained the pain they had caused many of the people she knew since she was a child.

But as much of a symbol as Caitlyn was, she couldn't push through the council's bias.

But they were better, and no fights were reported for weeks, so maybe it was good enough, for now.

Vi didn't expect the city to open up so quickly, but it couldn't go fast enough for her.

The people of the undercity were now at risk of gang lords and bandits trying to fill the void Silco left behind.

Their infighting had paused for the war, but now Piltover's police force had more work than ever.

Officially, everyone was now a citizen of Piltover, with every right that came with it, but taking the neglectors off the streets would take time.

Caitlyn caught some of the breakouts as well, at least that was what she got told.

Caitlyn begged her not to come to her work again.

Vi forced herself to respect her wishes, as long as she'd be kept up to date.

But for the first time, Piltover was looking somewhat similar in both parts.

Topside had taken most of the damage, but that didn't mean there was none down here.

Whether caused by the war directly or by its outliers, Vi didn't want to know.

It was all the same to her.

Two things were on her mind.

She wanted to visit the stones and pay her respects.

She wanted to see Powder's name in golden letters.

Maybe it would make her feel a bit better about her sister's death.

The second thing was to pay Ekko a visit.

The boy savior was awfully busy from what she heard.

Sevika had introduced him to the council—a goos decision, not something Vi expected her to be capable of.

Not that she wanted to claim being a perfect example for that.

She followed the masses, and most of them seemed to have the same destination as her.

The atmosphere was strange.

It was as if the air held a silent prayer of the followers.

They all gathered around the stones, and Vi sat down on her knees, waiting for her turn to step closer to take a look.

Tall black pillars of dead people's names, under the ever-blue sky.

Vi wouldn't forget the view for her lifetime.

Her turn came faster than she expected; time seemed to fly by at a place like this.

Vi looked at the golden names trailing their ways over the stone.

They were in alphabetical order, and that provided her with the problem of two names.

But she chose to bend the knee to it.

Jinx would show up sooner, and as much as she didn't want to see that name on the stone, it came into view.

All the strength she had gathered to come up here gushed out of her.

Her head pressed against the cold stone, she began to cry.

This was what the world remembered of her.

That was the name her little sister had to wear now.

This was the first time she cried in public.

To be sad in public meant weakness, that she had learned as a child so long ago.

Tears were an uncomfortable accident, not a real solution to any problem.

Yet it absolved her of weight, crying at the pillar like that child that failed to hold hers back.

Maybe that's why there were so many, they had backed up her whole childhood and her whole prison stay, although the line got blurry whenever she tried to draw a line between the two.

Sometimes it felt as if her life only started when Caitlyn stepped in front of her prison cell.

How could it come to all of this?

The stone stayed silent and didn't give her an answer.

Vi felt eyes on her back, so many of them, and she got uncomfortable cowering in the very space that was made for that.

She pushed herself off the ground and wanted to return into the crowd, become just another face no one cared about.

A second grieving person took her spot, and Vi stepped down the stairs that led up to the place.

She felt lighter than ever, and just as sad as the day she lost her sister.

Between tears and the fact she had worn a bag over her head the last time she made the trip down here, it proved to be quite a challenge to find Ekko's home again.

A glowing firefly landed on her shoulder.

Vi brushed over her face.

So this meant she couldn't be far from it.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 Chains of family

Caitlyn was happy for the first time since... She wasn't sure.

It had been a month now since Jinx escaped.

The looming possibility that she would have to take the fall for her mistakes was becoming less likely by the day and Caitlyn was happy about that.

She knew that this made her a bad person.

But if it meant Vi and her could be together she would be willing to do it.

At least that's what she'd like to say.

In truth their happy life got just a little opposition every time Caitlyn had to lie or not say the whole truth.

But worrying about it wouldn't help her or the city.

All she could do was to keep it safe and be there for Vi with everything but the whole truth.

She had been brewing over more propositions and most of them were just nicer ways of asking for favors.

Maybe she would move her working space to the old fireplace, so Caitlyn could throw all these in there.

She had to chuckle at the thought, if this continued like this she might end up hating bureaucracy just as much as Vi despised it.

When Caitlyn was younger she had always listened to her mother telling her stories by the fireplace.

The Kiramman estate could get pretty cold in the wintertimes.

The doors to her private room swung open and the lack of knocking made her guess for Sevika.

Only she could be this loud.

Caitlyn was right as the bulky woman pushed herself through the doorframes and crossed her arms.

Caitlyn tried to put on a friendly face but as she saw that Sevika didn't try that she let go of her efforts as well.

They both knew that the two hadn't gotten over their fights in the past.

While Caitlyn understood Vi's reasoning behind someone like Sevika taking a place in the council Caitlyn never liked the decision.

She just couldn't understand how Vi put trust in a woman she had thrown hands with multiple times.

Caitlyn guessed that her girlfriend was just the less petty person.

Caitlyn didn't even mind admitting that.

After she sank down onto her chair and waved for Sevika to take the opposite one, Caitlyn tipped her nails on the wooden table.

"How can I help the council today?"

Sevika seemed extremely displeased to be thrown in with the council.

"I need the plans of Piltover's Ventilation System."

Just as blunt as ever.

At least Sevika didn't beat around the bushes, that Caitlyn liked about the woman.

A loud silence grew between the two as one was waiting for a reason and the other to be handed what she asked for.

"Why would you require these?"

Sevika leaned herself against the chair.

"Aren't you supposed to give them to me? I am on the council after all."

Caitlyn nearly scoffed at the woman.

"Not as long as my word carries any weight."

Caitlyn could feel Sevika's eyes trying to rip her resolve apart.

"It's the weight of war, Kiramman."

Caitlyn nearly scoffed, not even the other council members called her by her family name.

"We've all suffered, Sevika. Now tell or leave my home."

Normally she wouldn't speak like that with members of the council but Caitlyn knew that Sevika wasn't going to like her no matter how polite she spoke.

"Two reasons. You still haven't found all the breakouts. I'll lead a group that's gonna search through the entire system. Since your people didn't seem to find them in the
streets..."

Caitlyn's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Also Ekko needs them to improve on the system or do you want another gray growing in there?"

To Caitlyn it sounded as if Sevika was genuinely asking if Caitlyn wanted that.

"No, I don't, but I can tell you that I have complete trust in our enforcers. I won't allow anyone in the system while the street search is still going on."

Caitlyn got up and waved Sevika to stand up.

"But fine... I expect Ekko to get them tomorrow at the latest. These are very important and they need to be returned to the archive. I don't want them laying around unused for too long."

Sevika let the child of silence speak for her.

"Now go wait outside. I won't have you around when I enter the archive."

Sevika rolled her eyes.

"Keeping knowledge to your family like your ancestors are you?"

Caitlyn just stared her down.

"How about privacy?"

Maybe Sevika didn't want to push her luck any more since she left the room.

It didn't take Caitlyn too long to filter out the needed plans.

It made her feel uneasy since the last time she used the Kiramman key it resulted in half the undercity getting gassed.

Every time she delved into the family archives it was as if she walked around in her family's hivemind.

So much that was forgotten, kept alive in this monster of knowledge.

Sevika looked out of place with her clothes that actively fought at being able to be called decent.

Caitlyn understood why she didn't want to fit in with the others of the council but still clothes like that were rare up here.

Vi would call it just another proof of social injustice and Caitlyn agreed somewhat.

She was still struggling to change her view on the undercity but Vi helped her a lot.

"There you go..."

Caitlyn handed Sevika the plans.

"I don't suppose you'll allow me to have guards protect you?"

Sevika shook her head.

"See you around, Kiramman."

Caitlyn watched as the figure of Sevika grew smaller and smaller.

Giving away anything from her family's archives felt bad and foreign.

It also didn't help that her mother told her again and again how important and fragile it was.

But Caitlyn saw herself that the old ways didn't work anymore.

Maybe they never did.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Two under the tree

Sweat was running down Ekko's neck as he fought with a metal piece that just wouldn't bend the way it was supposed to.

"You need some help with that?"

The voice sounded all too familiar, but he hadn't heard it in quite some time.

Vi's red hair came into his view, and Ekko immediately lost interest in his work.

"Vi! You're back!"

Ekko wanted to hug her but wasn't sure if that was appropriate.

Vi seemed to notice and hugged Ekko tightly.

"I am... sorry. I needed to figure some things out."

Ekko quickly made space for Vi so she could sit down.

"It's fine... Powder's death must have been..."

Ekko wanted to time travel and make himself never have said that.

But Vi seemed quite content.

"Yeah... I've visited the stones they put up."

Ekko's eyes lit up.

"You did? I didn't like it at first... but they did a good job in the end."

Ekko felt uncomfortable sitting with Powder's sister even though he was extremely happy Vi was down here again.

"We are making some great progress on the infrastructure. People will even get better air once we've improved Piltover's ventilation system."

Ekko pointed to a work area that was covered in documents.

"You know... the more I look into the plans, the more I get the feeling they were built badly on purpose."

Vi's eyes lost a bit of their spark as she heard that.

"You mean... creating slaves of air?"

Ekko nodded quietly.

"I'm sorry, Vi. I shouldn't push this on you. We're just beginning to uncover Piltover's ugly skeletons."

Vi's knuckles went white as she formed a fist.

Ekko felt a bit helpless in the situation.

"Did you want to see the tree? It has almost fully recovered."

Vi tried for a smile, and Ekko guided her onto a path that would lead them to the inner area.

"Sevika brought them here. The plans, I mean. You've just missed her by an hour."

Vi laughed out loud.

"I'd rather meet no one than her. Else she might want a rematch."

This made Ekko chuckle a bit as well.

"She should learn a thing or two from you. The council asks me to take her place twice a week."

Vi lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

"You in politics?"

Ekko shuddered at the thought.

"Not in this life anymore. Talking doesn't change the world. You know it just as well as I do."

Now they could see the tree, and it had Vi gasping for air.

"I-It's... beautiful!"

Ekko looked with pride at the tree's strong leaves and its large roots fanning into the ground.

Ekko completely agreed.

He'd maybe never get sick of that view.

"For you, it's even prettier than when you first saw it, right?"

"Yeah... sad to think it was already sick when I got kidnapped here."

Ekko's mouth fell open.

"Kidnapped is a big word, don't you think?"

Vi commented that with a punch into Ekko's side.

"I think it's perfect."

A few others waved at them, seemingly happy to see Vi's face.

"If you say so."

Ekko couldn't help but tease Vi a bit more.

"And how is life as a highborn now? I hope I'll be invited to the wedding."

Two other punches made Ekko shut up, but it had them both laughing under the tree.

"Sorry... Vi. It's just that many don't know about your hospital stay and thought you were enjoying your topside life."

Vi sat on the grass, a bit of dirt messing up her pants.

"It's fine. I won't lie, it's pretty neat, but I'd never forget about you all."

Ekko sat down too.

"I'm glad to hear that. Let's just hope you won't have to decide on sides anymore."

Vi didn't respond right away.

"Do you think there still are sides?"

Ekko sighed and knitted his eyebrows.

"I don't know, Vi. But I think we should be ready for when they resurface. With all respect to your girlfriend, we can't have our people's fate be at her mercy alone.
The council should have never trusted one person with so much power!"

Vi didn't want to fight with Ekko because there was truth to what he said.

But he didn't know what a good person Caitlyn truly was.

"She'd never let us down, Ekko!"

Ekko didn't want to let himself be swayed so easily.

"Like that time she freed the Gray? We still have children coughing blood because of it."

He could see Vi struggling to find an answer.

"I know, Ekko! But that was to find Powder, and you know yourself how unreliable the system is. That wasn't Caitlyn's fault. We all decided on it."

Ekko wasn't sure how to respond to that.

He knew that Vi would defend Caitlyn, but still...

"I didn't, nor did the people it hit the worst.
You have to admit that Caitlyn has a tendency for witch hunts, and you need to tame her. Because you know as well as I do that she will start another at some point."

Vi didn't say anything and let herself fall back into the grass.

"I know, Ekko... She isn't perfect. But honestly... she is Piltover's only chance."

Ekko joined her side and took a deep breath.

"Exactly that's what I don't like, Vi.
We can't keep creating centers of power only for them to turn into vacuums once they are gone. Do you remember how vulnerable the people were after Vander died?"

At the mention of Vander's name, a single tear escaped Vi's eyes.

"I remember, Ekko... I remember too fucking well! I got thrown into prison afterwards."

Ekko felt bad since they both only wanted the best they could carve out of the future.

"I'm sorry, Vi... maybe I am worrying too much."

Vi pressed out a weak laugh.

"If everything goes to shit, you'll have to take Sevika's place."

Ekko was trying to lose himself in the endless green of the tree.

"I really hope this day never comes."

Laying there in silence now, all alone as if no one dared to disturb the two.

"I miss her so much, Ekko..."

"Me too, Vi... Me too..."

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Her father in the shadows

Jinx's fingers were hurting.

She had been copying the plans out of her mind the whole evening.

Sitting upright was still painful but at least she could move again.

Sevika couldn't stay here too long anymore.

But Jinx liked it that way.

She didn't need Sevika's pair of eyes always staring at her.

She knew herself in what bad shape her body was.

Her back itched and after she grabbed onto one of the strings it just came out.

At least the tissue was healing.

Jinx's hand spasmed and the pencil broke in her hand.

That was the second one today.

Maybe a little pause wouldn't be that bad.

The plans wouldn't slip away.

She just felt so useless whenever she didn't move.

Spending days on trying to lift her head on her own and trying to eat were probably some of the most humiliating things in her life.

Jinx hated it.

She sat on a rolling chair since walking was still too painful.

Pushing herself off the table over to the food Sevika left for her.

Food...

Jinx never liked eating but now it was actually growing on her.

Or maybe her body just forced her to like it.

"Look at you enjoying food. I never got you to eat that much."

Jinx's head shot up and looked around the room but there was no one there.

"You aren't real! I killed you!"

Jinx had hoped her delusions would have stopped and they did, most of the time.

But Silco speaking to her was a first.

"Yes you did. But don't you worry I am not mad at you."

Jinx sighed and put another spoon of soup in her mouth.

"You can't be anything anymore. You're dead."

She wasn't really in the mood to talk to the dead.

Knowing that they were, took much of the fun out of it.

Fun...

What was she even thinking.

"You didn't break the cycle."

The spoon bent.

"I fought a war over it. How is that not enough!"

The door opened.

"Enough for what?"

Sevika was standing in the doorframe.

It was pretty dark outside so Jinx could only see her outline.

"N-Nothing..."

Sevika entered Jinx's place that she had transformed into a working space.

"Where's the bed?"

Jinx rolled over to give Sevika the empty bowl.

"Needed the space... it's not like I sleep anyways."

Sevika didn't seem to like that joke.

"Well... I've gotten the lenses you wanted."

Jinx looked a bit confused as Sevika opened her palm.

"Lense... I just need... this one."

Sevika looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh... right."

Jinx rolled over to something that looked like a framework for a mask.

"Thanks Sevika. I wouldn't know what I'd do without you."

Sevika looked a bit uncomfortable.

"I'll check in on you in two days then... I'll just have time to bring food."

Jinx nodded a bit absently, being focused on working the lens into the mask.

"So are you gonna keep standing there?"

Sevika caught the hint.

"Got it... Take care Jinx."

The door closed behind her and Jinx was left alone again.

"The war broke many cycles but it didn't do anything for you Jinx."

Jinx closed her eyes.

She was so sick of this.

"Shut it old man."

The shadows got longer as the last sunlight turned to night.

"That boy talked you out of what you wanted, how selfish of him. Don't get me wrong I would have done the same."

Jinx would have hit her head against the table if she had a gun she would have fired it into the shadows right now.

"Don't you talk about him! You know nothing."

The room was silent and Jinx almost thought that she had gotten rid of him.

"Copying my eye... it looks good on you."

Jinx smashed her head against the table again and this time a little cut began to spill blood.

"You are dead... You are dead..."

The blood trailed onto her nose and then drops fell onto her thighs.

"I am sorry daughter. You'll make the right decision. I'll love you forever."

Jinx curled up on the floor waiting for him to speak again but nothing made a sound.

Not even her lungs as she just stopped breathing.

After a while she had to and she slowly got up again.

Her legs were hurting from being angled out of nowhere.

Jinx grabbed onto the chair and tried to pull herself back onto it.

After a few attempts she managed to get up.

She felt awful but that wasn't something new.

What did Silco mean by that?

Jinx tried to make sense of it all but she struggled to understand him completely even when he was still alive.

Isha was the only one Jinx would have liked to talk to.

But that had never happened and she doubted it was even possible.

That little girl never had a voice to pass onto her.

Jinx turned to the only thing she now wanted to do.

Grabbing another pencil and returning to draw the plan out of her mind.

Line after line Jinx drew the labyrinth that got air into the undercity.

She didn't really know why she could remember them all after Sevika had just shown her them for a quick while before having to get them to Ekko.

Of course she had asked if she really couldn't tell him.

Jinx made her swear on the war victims.

All that she wanted now was to know where the rests of the Gray were.

"Gray... Gray... where are you now."

Soft hands hold her shoulders and then she sank to the ground finally sleeping.

"Rest now. My perfect daughter."

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: We Hugged at Her Grave

The violets twirled around her feet.

Caitlyn was sitting on the ground.

A few feet from where she sat, she had carried her mother to her final rest.

Caitlyn didn’t know how she had gotten here.

Maybe she had always been here.

Or maybe she had never left since that godawful day.

“Don’t you cry for me, daughter.”

Caitlyn threw her head up from her knees.

There she was—her mother, standing in front of her.

“M-Mother? Mom!”

Caitlyn didn’t understand.

Was it possible she had carved her mother’s life back out of the wood of her own will?

“No, you didn’t. I am still dead. Now please get up, my beloved daughter. The Kirammans don’t belong on the ground.”

Caitlyn did as she was told.

“You can read my mind?”

Her mother gave her a rare smile.

“I am your mother.”

Now it dawned on Caitlyn.

“S-So I’m dreaming? Or am I dead as well?”

Maybe these were her last few minutes, her brain playing tricks on her to make death a little easier.

“You tell me, daughter... I’ve never quite understood the difference.”

That was so like her mother—evading every answer and tossing it back at her.

“I... don’t care, Mother.”

Caitlyn wanted to say so much, but now that her dead mother stood in front of her, everything seemed so...

“Insignificant?”

Her mother finished the thought for her.

“Yes.”

She took Caitlyn’s hand.

“There’s a beautiful bench over there. Would you mind?”

Caitlyn shook her head and let herself be walked like a little girl.

As a few steps brought them over, all Caitlyn could see was a rough bit of wood nailed together to sit on.

A bench far from being called beautiful.

“What? Don’t you like it? I know you never liked gold that much, but still...”

Caitlyn glanced once at her mother.

Then the simple bench was gone, replaced by something truly beautiful.

“Never mind.”

Caitlyn waited for her mother to sit down.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

Caitlyn didn’t dare to speak.

What were her problems compared to the death of her mother?

“I don’t want to talk about it, Mother.”

“If you say so. So tell me. Are you still with that girl?”

Caitlyn couldn’t believe her ears.

“Why, of all things, that?”

Her mother folded her legs.

“Why not? Doesn’t she make you happy?”

“She does... I just don’t think I deserve her.”

“You know, I always hoped you’d marry a man who could help your political career...”

“I have more than enough politics in my life. And you promised me not to bring that up anymore. Call her by her name.”

“I’m sorry... Caitlyn. You know how I feel about you and Vi.”

“If only you could see us now... You’d change your mind.”

Caitlyn felt so foolish.

Why was she trying to justify herself to her traditionalist mother when she couldn’t even justify herself in her own mind?

“I would ask for more time, but we’ve run out of it, Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn didn’t know how to respond.

Every feeling she tried to conjure up wasn’t enough.

What was she even doing?

Sitting here—wherever this was—chatting with her dead mother?

“You’re so much stronger than I ever was, Caitlyn.”

Her mother’s hand trailed along her cheekbone.

Her soft skin made contact.

It felt so real—a perfect copy shaped by Caitlyn’s own memory.

Exactly how her mother’s hand would have felt.

“I don’t feel like it, Mother. I went too far. I just hope I’ll still get a life worth living.”

“I know you will. We Kirammans never settled for average, and you won’t either. Sometimes the path to our future is hard and full of painful things. But you can’t give up, Caitlyn.”

But she already had.

Caitlyn knew she couldn’t say that aloud.

All she was doing now was living out the happy part of her life for as long as she could.

Her mother would have seen that as a pathetic way to spend precious time.

Almost as pathetic as Caitlyn’s wish to become a police officer.

Just another phase—something that would never save her from her predetermined function.

“Be happy, Mother... You got what you wished for. I brew over paperwork all day long and come home late into the evening.”

That earned her a spiteful look, but her mother dropped it quickly.

“I grieve for every moment you’re not happy, Caitlyn. I’m sorry I can’t be there for you anymore. It was all I ever wanted, and I failed too often.”

Were those the words Caitlyn had wanted to hear her entire life?

She wasn’t sure.

But they were the closest her mother had ever come to accepting her as she was.

Tears fell from her mother’s eyes.

It shocked Caitlyn into stillness.

She couldn’t move, else the tears might have stopped.

The last time she could faintly remember her mother crying was after she was born.

At least her father had told her that once.

Caitlyn was pulled into a hug she didn’t know could exist.

It wasn’t like the hugs Vi gave her, or the ones her father sometimes asked for.

She could smell her mother’s hair.

Feel her warmth.

“I love you, Mom...”

Time seemed to get lost somewhere between the words.

It felt as though Caitlyn could stay like that forever.

“I love you too, Cait... You’ll be alright. I know it.”

The wind carried more violets and white blossoms.

They swirled through the air until they reached their knees.

“Wait... What should I tell Dad?”

Only a soft chuckle came from her mother.

“Oh... He visits me often. I’m just glad we got the chance as well.”

Then they were buried in violets.

Caitlyn woke up in her bed, drenched in sweat.

She almost screamed, but the sound caught in her throat when she saw Vi sleeping beside her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: The monster under your feet

Vi rolled over and fell off the bed.

When was she going to get used to sleeping on such a high one?

"Cait...?"

But she was nowhere to be found.

Vi got herself up and saw a little note on Caitlyn's pillow.

A hastily drawn cupcake winked at the viewer.

Vi snatched it up, and the little gesture put a smile on her face.

Sometimes it felt as if Caitlyn was avoiding her, but she always managed to be proven wrong.

She opened the closet and grabbed some comfy clothes to throw on.

It was a sunny day, and after Vi had gotten used to so much sun, she had actually grown to like it.

As Vi made her way out of their bedroom, she strolled into the kitchen to make herself some coffee.

She needed to ask Caitlyn for another kind of beans since the old ones were a bit too sweet for her taste.

"Surprise!"

Caitlyn sprung out of a corner, and Vi made a little jump.

"Wha... don't you have to be at work?"

Caitlyn put Vi into her seat.

"Well... I would, but we found the last breakout! I'll take the day off."

Vi's face lit up at the possibility of not having to eat breakfast alone.

"That's nice, Cait... but you don't need to make breakfast. Let me help."

She tried to get up, but Caitlyn placed her foot on Vi's chest and pushed her back down.

"No. You will sit."

Vi loved to watch her work, and with how few opportunities she’d had in the past, it was just fine with her to sit.

Just this once.

"At least Piltover has a dozen evils less."

Vi raised her eyebrow and looked like she was thrown back into math class.

"Eleven... right? You told me eleven had escaped."

Caitlyn's hands became a bit slippery.

"Yes... eleven. I don't know where my mind took that other one."

Vi's worry began to linger behind Caitlyn's back.

"You really need a vacation."

That made Caitlyn scoff out loud.

"Vacation? Let's pretend that we could. Where would you want to go?"

The question was meant casually, but it sent Vi into deep thought.

Caitlyn finished the breakfast but tapped her toe against Vi's shin.

That threw Vi back onto the kitchen chair.

"Hey... are you still with me?"

Since when was she daydreaming on the long list of her quirks?

"Oh... yeah, sorry... I never really thought about other places. I was ready to spend my whole life here."

Vi had never thought she could see the world, but that notion seemed to hit Caitlyn right in the heart.

"Vi... if you want to visit anything... I'll manage to make time. That's a promise."

Vi watched silently as breakfast crawled onto the table.

Made just for her, made with love for her.

It was the complete opposite of the food routine she had adapted in prison.

Enjoying the food hadn’t factored in at all.

"Cait... I don't even know any place. I am happy how things are... where we are."

Caitlyn sat down right beside her, resting her head against Vi's shoulder.

"I am too, Vi... I'm just afraid our luck will end one day."

Vi could hear something in Caitlyn's voice.

"We'll make it work, Caitlyn... always. Let's eat or your work is gonna cool down."

Vi pressed a kiss onto Caitlyn's forehead as a little motivation.

Normally she was the one in the chokehold of morning sleepiness.

Their forks pierced through the egg's yellow, and it gushed out, eager for fresh air after being trapped for so long.

"Do you know where your dad is? I didn't hear him, and normally he's the first one up."

Caitlyn's eyelashes dropped at the mention.

"Probably still in bed... his sleep has grown longer and longer since we lost her."

Vi noticed Caitlyn’s mom — or rather, her death — creep back into her, making her devoid of the light Vi loved so much.

Vi quickly stole a piece of bread off Caitlyn’s plate.

"She's looking down at us, Cupcake..."

All Caitlyn was looking down on was the piece of bread.

"This would be a perfect day if she was still with us..."

Caitlyn's hand tried to snatch the piece back but missed by a few centimeters.

Vi wasn't sure if the day would be that perfect.

That Caitlyn had picked up a stray — as she liked to call Vi when she wasn’t around — still put a damper on things between Vi and Caitlyn's mother.

Maybe, in time, she would’ve accepted her.

They continued to eat and enjoy their rare time together, having no idea of the doom that was about to crash down on them.

Under their feet, a whole level lower, the pipe gave out.

A small amount of fumes began to escape.

The pressure didn't go away, and many others followed the example, puncturing and leaking the grey into the Kiramman estate.

The smoky monster almost seemed to grow more conscious as gushes of the numbing gas increased the creature’s size.

But the space shrank, and suddenly the whole system burst.

Vi had just finished her last bite when a strange smell attacked her nostrils.

"Do you smell that?"

Caitlyn didn’t seem to understand.

"How dare you! You're the one that hasn't showered yet."

Vi got up and lifted her head.

"No... it smells like..."

Caitlyn seemed to pick up on it now as well.

"Do you think Ekko damaged the system? Maybe he finally found the rest of it."

Vi's fear only grew as small grey tentacles began to pierce under the kitchen door.

"No. He'd never make a mistake like that! I think we'll have to run out."

Vi quickly opened every window, but she knew this wouldn't be enough.

Caitlyn nodded and readied herself.

Still in morning wear and with their sleeves covering their noses, they stormed through the door only to find themselves in complete fog.

A muffled scream from Caitlyn sounded through the invisible plain.

Vi had lost her and every other sense of orientation.

How could there be so much?

Vi tried to see her own hands, but all that was left was a gloomy curtain.

She tripped over something.

It was Caitlyn, coughing and crying on the floor.

Her face unraveling in pain.

Vi's strength left her, and she sank to the ground.

Caitlyn’s body didn’t move an inch, no matter how much Vi tried.

Her lungs gave out.

She leaned over Caitlyn, trying to protect her.

Something was moving in the fog.

Then the grey swallowed Vi whole.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Bleed us free

Jinx could feel her heart beating as it pushed blood out through the needle into a little vial.

The nice glass darkened as the thick liquid gently dripped into it.

At least all this torture had made her pretty… bored of pain.

Since there was no access to Shimmer, her blood would have to do.

Jinx would have loved to push what she needed to do far into the future.

The rhythm of her own heart was making her dizzy, and maybe she wouldn't need to do it today.

Just another day's rest.

As the vial threatened to overflow, Jinx took the needle out of her arm.

The little hole began to ache, but Jinx could already feel it closing.

Two pairs of soles hit the ground not too far away from the entrance.

"Fuck..."

Visitors were the last thing she could use right now.

Was fate really that determined to hunt her out into the world again?

The hope that they'd leave was shattered as a boot kicked the door open, the wood splintering at the side.

"F-Finn... This is a bad idea. I tell you!"

Jinx was slower than she thought, but she still managed to hide her body in the shadows.

"Then go back and start the bootlicking! We simply get what is rightfully ours."

Jinx could see a metal jaw glisten in the shallow light.

"But Boss... Sevika must have had a good reason to declare this place a no-go for everyone."

Jinx remembered Finn... not well, but well enough to know that he was a piece of shit.

How often she had eavesdropped on Silco's meetings.

Maybe they would just leave.

"Someone soldered metal in here..."

Why couldn't he have also gotten his nose ripped off?

"Don't know, Boss... but look! This mask is freaky!"

This made Jinx twitch a bit, her hand tightly holding onto the vial.

What wouldn't she have given for her pistol.

Or anything out of her old arsenal.

"Boss, look at that! Letters, someone was here."

Finn's oily black hair was slicked back.

"Is still here... Isn't that right? Come on out... wherever you are."

Why was he saying it so childishly?

"Come on out or we'll rip the letters to shreds!"

Jinx sighed in resignation and gently put the vial on the ground.

"If you see me, I'll have to ...hm... kill you."

The two pairs of eyes shot in her direction, but she didn't want to leave the shadows.

Finn pulled a knife, and the big muscle behind him made himself look even larger.

"What is a girl doing in a shithole like this?"

He was closing in on her, step by step closer to sealing his fate and that of his underling.

"Fleeing from the world... for a bit."

His tongue licked over the metal edge.

"Sorry, you brat... I don't buy it for one second. Now why would Sevika hide you here?"

Jinx stepped out, and four eyes widened as if they had seen a monster that accidentally stepped out of the tales.

But it was too late for the two, as Jinx's eyes began to glow and in one fast motion she tore open both their jugulars.

As light as Jinx felt, seconds after, her skin tore open.

The air was now burning her again, or at least her exposed parts.

So it had to be today.

Her luck wouldn't let it be any other way.

The two were on the ground.

"Why couldn't you just leave..."

Their bodies made the chilling sound of death, as their torsos began to lift themselves irregularly.

Jinx watched them until they were dead.

She didn't like the view of two red puddles, but she had taken life.

It felt wrong not to look at her actions.

Her body was in pain, but her mind at peace.

Or the closest she could come to that.

It had to be enough.

After wiping the blood off her palms, she began to pack.

Her mask wouldn't fit into the hand-sewn pouch.

So she just began to wear it.

The letters, the vial, and a few tools, and then the pouch was filled.

It was early morning.

So early it was really still night outside.

Good, no one to follow her then.

Jinx followed the plan she had woven in her head.

Again and again.

Her route through Piltover didn't feel real.

Maybe like wandering through memories and occasionally looking for some specifics you had forgotten.

Getting into the ventilation system was easy and her slim body fit.

If she had just waited a bit longer.

Maybe she'd made the best mistake of her life and crawled into Ekko checking for weaknesses she was going to exploit.

The tools made just a few adjustments, and the valves began to hiss.

All she had to do was keep crawling, her brain working in overdrive remembering every turn.

Her breath was flat but steady.

Now she just had to wait.

She didn't dare take off the mask since the system could burst at any moment.

The telling sound above her made her crawl out.

There was dirt and light.

She broke through old wood that was probably forgotten about generations ago.

Only a few rats ran around her legs, escaping into the hole she had just come out of.

This was it.

"I can already hear the cycle cracking."

"Me too."

She didn't care that the gray was causing her opened skin agony.

This was awfully close to a nightmare she had as a kid.

Only that she wasn't the kid anymore.

As Jinx stepped into the hallway, everything was already filled.

She saw the two fighting against the inevitable.

Jinx couldn't help but chuckle.

She would force salvation.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: Let's make the monster happy

Caitlyn's tongue tasted blood.

But as it traveled deeper, her whole nervous system was set ablaze.

Her eye opened and teared, but she couldn't see anything.

Waves of heat pulsed through her spine and up into her head.

Then she saw white fingers holding her chin up.

"Come on... every drop, else you'll nod back off."

Glass scraped over her tongue, and something was emptied inside her.

"Sorry... but I needed you to come back earlier than... her. I don't have the strength to face the both of you."

Caitlyn fought the ringing out of her skull.

A pale figure towered in front of her.

"My clothes don't really match the place... I would have dressed better, but time... time got in the way."

Caitlyn felt as if she was about to faint.

Only the growling fear that tore into her gut kept her awake.

"Jinx..."

Caitlyn tried to get off the floor, but her limbs refused her any service.

"Yeah... I hate to meet you again."

Blood splatters were spread over the filthy clothes Jinx was wearing.

"W-What did you do? I swear if you—"

Jinx cut her off and shook her head.

"Oh, don't worry... your father's not doing any worse than my sister."

Caitlyn began to breathe faster.

"Calm down, they are alright!"

Jinx took her and rolled her to the side.

The two were sat against the wall of the living room.

"Then whose blood is this?"

Jinx scoffed, annoyed, and sat down.

"No one you know. Can we concentrate on us now, please?"

Caitlyn tried to get a grip on the situation.

"What do you want?"

Jinx didn't say anything, but played with her hair a bit as if the answer would fall out after a while.

"Are you gonna kill me?"

A tear formed in Caitlyn's eye and met the ground soon after.

This was the end.

Even if she got out of this alive, she'd lose Vi the moment she would see her sister.

"Mhm... I really want to. Like... really... want to."

Caitlyn thought she had accepted that this could happen, but all the happy times she shared with Vi made it impossible to accept it, now that it was facing her.

"But she'd hate me for it. I can't have that. We're not gonna let that happen."

Jinx's fingers closed in on her face and gently lifted her eyepatch off her injured eyeball.

"Yours looks better than mine."

Jinx bound the eyepatch around her own head.

"Hope you don't mind..."

Caitlyn couldn't do anything but be subjected to the view.

"I am sorry, Jinx... I should've given you a fair trial."

Jinx let out a coughing laugh.

"You couldn't have stood it... seeing me there... and besides, you still make Vi happy... right?"

Caitlyn nodded slowly.

"I try to. She's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Jinx was staring at her sister as if she wanted to remember every detail.

"You don't deserve her... none of us do."

Caitlyn stayed quiet, but deep down she knew Jinx was right.

"I won't break up with her if that's what you want."

Jinx pulled herself from her sister's face.

"No... That would make her unhappy, and she's gonna plenty of that, once I am gone for good."

Caitlyn's pulse spiked at the words.

"You will be gone?"

Jinx began to stare at the ceiling.

"Not killing myself. I don't deserve that. But yes, I'll leave Piltover for good... But I want Vi to be happy."

Caitlyn couldn't believe her ears.

Those words were so far from the monster that killed her mother.

"How? I won't forgive you for what you did, Jinx! Never."

Jinx got on her knees and pulled Caitlyn up by her hair.

"You won't have to. But you'll have to live your life with a lie. Our lie, the truth isn't good enough. She deserves better, don't you think?"

Caitlyn wanted to resist, but her head was turned to face the only family she had left.

"I wrote letters... my last goodbye. You'll make sure everyone gets theirs. I'll just vanish. I gave Vi my blessing to be happy... with you. You will dedicate your whole life to her."

Caitlyn was sick.

She was asked to let the monster go.

"You killed my mother!"

Jinx's hand closed around her neck and pushed her helpless body to the ground.

"I have suffered enough! I am ready to leave it all behind. If you love my sister, you're gonna let me leave. If you won't support her... if you mess with any of the letters... I'll know. I am gonna burn Piltover to the ground. I'll take everything you have."

Caitlyn couldn't breathe.

She knew that she loved Vi enough to accept Jinx's proposal, but it didn't hurt any less.

"F-Fine..."

The hand let her go.

"Good... just give me a second."

Caitlyn closed her eyes.

She needed the darkness.

She could hear Jinx walk around in the living room she had spent so much family time in.

She would survive.

She'd even stay with Vi, but at what cost?

Jinx stepped into her view again.

"I... better go now. Vi should wake up soon. We can't have her see your work, can we?"

The monster tried for a smile.

"J-Just get out of here!"

Caitlyn didn't want to have Jinx here any longer.

Jinx's presence was mocking her mother.

"I hope you can let go. If not for your sake... then for Vi's."

Caitlyn bit down on her lips so hard it began to bleed.

Then Jinx's steps were echoing through the whole estate that was otherwise dead silent.

Caitlyn could feel her body fighting off the gray.

She began to crawl to Vi and her father, bawling her eye out at their feet.

She had really done it.

She let the monster free into the world to protect her own.

Vi's eyes opened.

She yawned and coughed.

"Fhuckgh... W-What's wrong, Cait?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 21: Goodbye

A cold briese blew into Jinx's face.

She had imagined it high but the view wasn't like anything she could have imagined.

Piltover was appering tiny and it's citicens like ants.

Stealing one of those things was pretty easy.

They lost almost any use after the hex gates were introduced.

But the airship would serve her much better anyways.

Jinx more or less navigated out of intuition but it felt right.

Being carried by the winds into the unknown.

Her mind wandered off to the many things she left behind.

Her sister, who she made her greeve her sister a second time.

But atleast Vi now knew that she was alive.

Her little savior, she would have loved to see him one last time but she knew that he'd manage to make her stay.

This city had took so much of her.

Poor Sevika...

Jinx knew that that woman would rather do anything else than be on the council.

But Jinx wasn't down there.

She was up here.

She made it, she got out.

Reality hit her for the first time since she left the Kiramman estate.

Jinx sank to the ground and began to cry.

She was grieving Vander and Vi.

She hoped that Vander would understand her decision.

She knew he could never hate her for it but still.

She griefed over Ekko with whom she maybe could have had a long and loving life, but not this one.

In this one she only got a taste of it and fought a war right after.

Jinx knew that she wouldn't have enough tears anyways but the thought that others were sheding any for her was bewildering.

She didn't deserve anything.

All she could do now was go out into the world and try to do anything of worth.

As hurt as her body was it stil functioned.

So what to do with a functioning body and a young life ?

Jinx didn't know the answer but cried some more.

Maybe she could stay up here forever.

The airship carried the girl into the sunsat where she hoped for a second chance at life.

_

Dear Vi

As you probably heard from Caitlyn I'm alive.

It took a while for me to get back on my feet after our fight.

I am sorry I don't have the strength to be with you but I hope you'll be happy.

If anyone deserves that, it's you.

Don't try to defend me infront of Caitlyn I made sure we were on the best terms we could be.

I'll try to find a new life and maybe we'll meet again one day.

I feel a lot better and worse already.

We'll be alright.

Your sister forever.

-Powder

_

Dear Ekko

I am alive.

Sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person but you know how good you are with words.

I am not, so I'll just ask you to be there for Vi.

She'll need you more than ever.

What we had was special and it will forever hold a very special place in whats left of my heart.

To all of your questions I have don't have any answers.

If I am ready I'll come and find you.

Until then, don't loose yourself in this city.

Only yours forever.

-Jinx

Chapter Text

She cried out in pain as she was pulled from the rubble...

The end.

_______
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