Chapter Text
They Cannot Be Changed
Jinx sits on a roof and watches the comings and goings of Piltover alone. . Vi was getting later and later these days. As if she had something else to do.
It was weird. But nice.
There was someone whispering beside her. Pretty big. Probably Vander.
Might have been nice to sit with him. But he wasn’t real. And whatever he was whispering, good or bad, wasn’t real. And Jinx liked real. So Jinx taps the head of her monkey and looks for her anchor.
"Hey."
There. Real. Jinx scooches over and Vi plonks down beside her.
"Sorry, sorry! There was a rehearsal for the ceremony last night and it went over..."
"Ceremony?"
"Yeah. They're giving me an award. Piltover's Finest. Cause I fought in an Enforcer uniform. Can you believe it?"
"Well, some guys have started calling me the Champion of Zaun. So weird."
"No, I thought it was cool. Appearing like that to save us."
A smirk. From someone who now wields her heroism as if it were something she had known all her life.
"I know."
They take a breath. Then they lean back and watch the sunset.
"So what now?"
"I think I'm gonna go with Silco. In Zaun."
"Zaun?"
But there is no anger or hatred now. Only curiosity.
"Well, Silco said I could go anywhere. Even back to the Academy, if I wanted to."
A cackle.
"They wouldn't dare kick me out now cause I'm Silco's daughter. And I could, like, light a path. For other Zaunites to follow. But, nah. I don't think that's me. Not anymore. I wanna go back to Zaun and help him rebuild."
"I didn't know you liked Zaun that much."
"I don't! But he nearly died for it! Which means it must be worth something, right!"
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess."
Vi traces a line on the roof tile beneath her.
"So, listen. I'm doing Enforcer training now."
"I know."
There is a frown, deep enough to blot out the morning sun.
“I thought it would be like. A fresh start. And…And I know what you’re gonna say. They killed Mum and Dad. But…But Cait wants to reform them. And I saw them. In battle. I fought with them. I saved people with them. What I’m joining now. It’s not gonna be the same.”
A shrug. But if Jinx could return to Zaun with Silco, then Vi could join whatever she wanted to join. So she grunts.
“Fine. Whatever.”
"And um...they're already suspecting. That Silco's violating the treaty. That he's restarting Shimmer production."
This time, Jinx laughs out loud.
"What’re you gonna do? Arrest him?"
"I might have to, Jinx. If I'm an Enforcer, I might really have to."
"Oh, sis. You can't catch me. I'm too quick for you. Shimmer Speed, remember?"
"Oh please."
But Jinx is already on the other side of the roof, her laughter trailing after her. She holds for a moment, then she is back where she is. Beside Vi.
"I got another thing, Vi. I gotta go."
Vi rises too.
"Yeah, I gotta head off too."
"I'll come visit you again."
"Drop by Cait's. I’ll be there."
"Oh."
Vi smirks and mutters something. So softly that Jinx has to lean in close.
And then she smacks the back of Vi’s head.
"You told her you were the dirt under her fingernails?! Vi, that's disgusting!"
They Hate Us
Silco crosses the Lanes with his retinue and the questions come, thick and fast. There have been questions, they say. About how justice will be meted out in this new Zaun.
He strikes a match, he lights a cigarette and he flicks the match end aside. His answer is simple, one which will be mimicked far into the future.
"Ask them if they would prefer the systems the barons had in place."
They nod, they leave. In their place, Jinx. She slows to match his pace. And is immediately denied.
“No.”
“But…”
“You arrived to save us, Jinx. The song you chose to accompany your flight is neither here nor there.”
“But now everyone knows it! It can be our new anthem!”
“I will not have Zaun represented by a shrieking banshee.”
“I told you! They’re called The Wyrd Sisters! Not Shrieking Banshee!”
“They should consider changing their name.”
A long sulk as they continue to walk on the earth and the gravel.
“Can I submit a second…”
“No.”
*
They are at the fringes of The Lanes. The refugee tents and shelters, torn down and displaced by a great shadow in the distance. The largest construction project in Zaun’s history. A military base, to rival Piltover’s.
“A symbol of our military prowess. A celebration of what our men and women have achieved in the great war.”
Zaun agrees, of course it does. History is already being rewritten. Jinx had saved them. While Piltover stood by and did nothing.
A contingent of soldiers march pass them. There will be a military parade soon. In the name of the Champion of Zaun.
*
Jinx selects the photograph for the newspaper a few days later. Silco and her in long coats, walking at the head of the military contingent. It will be published in Zaun, picked up in Piltover and syndicated across Runeterra. They openly call it Silco’s inauguration. He does not correct them.
Silco’s speech to the nation comes at noon. Jinx and him wait by the wings with the lighting technicians and the sound crew. Only a logistical presence hovers backstage for now. The army of regime officials and political fixers and secret police and propaganda staff and state broadcasters will fill in, years later.
“And I just gotta stand behind you right?”
“No.”
He smiles at her as the curtains crank open.
“You stand beside me, Jinx. Always.”
She takes his hand. Together, they step onto the stage, and into the arms of a grateful Zaun.
Enemy
In the end, there is The Last Drop, rebuilt. Silco would have preferred to preserve the old layout. A little slice of history, he says. But Jinx immediately proclaims that that was for old men. She redesigns it her way, and her punk aesthetic and graffiti define Zaun for the next decade.
There is a nation, forged in fire, formed of a new identity and belief. War. Strength. Violence. The only victory they have ever tasted is a victory won through blood. And so they continue, misled into thinking that victories can only be won through blood. That to be strong is to be able to take what they want. When they want.
There is a mirror, reflecting the city above. There is a Council. Filled with former Long Coats and future barons. There will be Houses, established in their name. But there is only one vote. Wielded by one person.
There is Shimmer, a gift to a non-existent economy. It will never be as great as Singed’s, but it is enough. And what it lacks for in its potency, it makes up for in its assembly. Here, Silco divides his production lines into ten, twenty, thirty, and Piltover is never able to find evidence of him breaching the treaty.
There is the gold which flows with the Shimmer and combined with Piltover’s economic reparations, transforms Zaun, like never before. There is food now. Water. Medicine and clean air. Spires of chrome and neon which reach the sky and are equals to Piltover in every way. The people sing Silco’s name and he gives them enough to thrive. But what he gives, he also takes away, and he wields this against those he deems disloyal. Follow me, he will say. Or starve, like you did before. Food replaces Shimmer as a weaponised means of control, and Zaun accepts this with open arms. For they have seen what came before Silco, and they say, vehemently, never again.
There is Caitlyn, Piltover’s new Sheriff, who continues to negotiate with Silco, despite growing calls for her to challenge his rule and investigate his production of Shimmer. But none see what she sees. That Zaun is now militarised and fanatical, and their worship of Silco and Jinx is the only thing which keeps them in line. Complicit! Other members of Piltover’s new Council will shout at her. Complicit! Some accuse her of protecting Zaun due to Caitlyn’s romantic entanglement with Jinx’s sister. She never dignifies this with a response.
There is Sevika, rewarded with the second largest turf in Zaun for her great loyalty. Her influence with Zaun’s army is unmatched and whispers soon fly that she could cast him aside, if she wanted to. Yet she does not, for an independent Zaun is her greatest reward and she knows none can command the authority that Silco has.
There are the Firelights, who splinter in two. Half follow Ekko, the other half follow Scar and rally to Jinx, where they form the backbone of Zaun’s troops. But they are their own greatest weapon when wielded against each other. For Silco knows Firelight will not kill Firelight and ignite a civil war.
There is Ekko, who refuses to be bullied out of Zaun, and who becomes the rallying point of those who want to oppose, but know not how. He will be the subject of a campaign of bullying and torment by Silco’s secret police. Yet he stays, he says, because he has seen what Zaun can become. And his presence stops Zaun from becoming the worst version of itself. He successfully, forcefully, argues against the use of recreational Shimmer on the streets of Zaun, a point which Silco finally relents on.
There is a brother, etched in stone and steel, now the centrepiece of a new Liberation Square. Behind it, a war memorial. What was once a flag etched onto cloth is now Zaun’s official flag, carved into marble. To the fallen dead. Glorious and eternal. Vi stands at the back of the crowd as Silco applauds the opening of the square with everyone. The only time she has ever returned to Zaun, willingly.
There is a sister, who pursues her sister, sometimes. Who shuts down her Shimmer factories, sometimes. Who defuses her bombs, sometimes. Who tries to arrest her, sometimes. Who fights her, sometimes. Who defends her in front of her adopted country, sometimes. Who has a drink with her, sometimes. And who laughs with her, all the time. For what else can she do? They are sisters. Always.
There is a daughter, who becomes a second. Who attends and leaves Silco’s meetings at will, because she can.. Who supervises Shimmer production, because she can. Who designs weapons, because she can. Who flies with her Firelights, because she can. Who stands at the new Fighting Pits, and complains that none of the brawlers can fight because she is measuring them against the greatest fighter of all - her sister.
There is a father, who sits in his office above The Last Drop. Who smokes a cigarette and drinks out of a coffee mug gifted by his daughter. Who establishes the grandest House for Jinx and himself. Who finds a nation and who entraps those within. Whose name some sing and others curse in equal measure. Who brokers no opposition, and who slaughters those that do. Whose price is tyranny, and whose price a nation will be content to pay, forever and always..
*
But that is for later.
For now, Silco has finished his speech and has retreated to his office. Isha knocks on his door. She will, one day, become his chief of staff. Because there is great honour in becoming a cup bearer, as someone once said. But for now, she remains a very enthusiastic aide with a penchant for note taking. The light above his door blinks. Red to green. She opens it and makes for his desk, signing and jabbing at her page. Here was the answer to his question on what they said about Shimmer production last week. Page fifteen.
“Good. Tell them we will maintain production at these levels, for now.”
Isha nods and records this on her paper, not noticing Jinx creep up behind her and poke her shoulder.
“Hey Isha!”
Isha beams.
“I just realised something!”
Isha signs. Huh?
“You’ve never had a gun! We never gave you one!”
She looks at Jinx, then at Silco. A quick sign. I thought the war was over.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need a gun!”
Jinx hands Isha a pistol. Dark ebony with a golden trim. On one side, Zaun’s new sigil. On the other, ISHA, in neon pink.
Isha takes it and holds it to the light, admiring its gloss and shine.
“This is Zaun. And one day, you’re gonna negotiate something for us.”
In Isha’s guns, and in all of their guns, the future.