Chapter Text
Ekko didn’t get it, he just couldn’t understand. Ekko hadn’t seen them die. Hadn’t seen the fire and felt Vi’s rage as she grabbed her face. Nothing good could come from the hextech gemstone and she wasn’t going to let it take more of her loved ones. To keep the stupid pilties from doing that she had to take it! He could be mad at her all he wanted, but she had to take it!
Yeah, but it was you who killed us with it, Milo felt the need to remind, so is it any safer for them if it is in your hands. Jinx hated that Milo had a point, but she had simply been too scared to leave the gem with Ekko. If she had left it with Ekko what was stopping him from turning it back over to the pilties in the name of peace?! Nothing, that’s what. So after their… disagreement she had to take it with her! The look Milo gave her out of the corner of her eye told her Milo did not believe her for a second. Before the two could get into a fight over it there was a booming crash that startled her out of the fight. Looking around, in the distance she saw what looked to be a purple lit up tower falling down. If she remembered correctly, that was the shimmer district that her and Ekko had often helped out. Ignoring the ghosts in her head, and pocketing the gem in her cargo pants so its glow could not be seen, she went to check it out.
Once she got closer she saw some people whispering and huddling about. It seemed people were putting together pieces of what happened. Jinx approached the nearest group and inserted herself into the conversation, “So, what was that all about?” The people turn to yell at her, but upon seeing the blue hair done in a braid and her unique tattoo they recognize her instantly. Afterall, she had helped many of the people in the undercity against Silco.
“Silco is fighting Vander’s girl, I think her name is Vi?” the woman said and looked at the others. They seem to confirm what the woman said. There was no way it was Vi though, right? She had died. That was why she hadn’t come back that night. That’s why she never had come back.
“Oh? What she look like? I have a thing for knowing people ya know,” Jinx tried her hardest not to let them see that it got under her skin that it may be Vi. Still her hand went to her tattoo that had the blue smoke clouds all over the left side of her body.
“Short pink hair, she had gray eyes I think too. Not to mention a tattoo that said Vi on her face,” the man supplied. Biting her lip she tried not to get her hopes up, but that sounded like her sister. She could even see her sister getting some stupid face tattoo of her own name too.
“Though wasn’t she with an enforcer?” the woman said. At that her blood ran cold in her body. Enforcers were nothing but bad news. In fact her and Ekko had found most enforcers were in Silco’s pocket and if Vi was with an enforcer…
Looks like Vi changed for the worse, Milo cackled in her ear. No way, she wanted to scream at him, Vi would never do that. Enforcers killed their family and Silco took their home from them. Surely if Vi was alive she was not with an enforcer and not working for Silco. Then again with the way rumors flew around in the undercity it may not be her dead sister at all. She flinched slightly when she saw the ghost of Vi from the corner of her eye glaring at her again. At least this time she was quiet.
“Thanks for the info folks,” Jinx told the small group before leaving them be. As she walked she took out the gemstone and looked into its blue glow. How could something so beautiful be so deadly? Though wasn’t that also what Ekko said about her? Looking around she saw a tall tower in the distance and suddenly her other pocket felt heavy. The pocket that held the blue flare that Vi had given her all those years ago.
Wherever you are, light it up and I’ll find you, Vi whispered in her ear. Once again she was just out of the corner of her eye. Never where Jinx could see her, but always where she could hear her. There was one way to tell if the group had been right, but she only had one shot at it. Making up her mind she took off running to the large tower in the middle of the city.
Climbing the tower wasn’t much of a chore considering the stairway. Once at the top she looked out at the undercity and was once again taken by its beauty. Even though she often rode around on her hoverboard, or with Ekko on his hoverboard, she never got over the view. Then again the view also tended to shut the ghosts up so that certainly helped. Clutching the gemstone in one hand she took out the flare she always carried with her, but never once dared to set off. If they were wrong she would lose the last thing her sister ever gave her. However, if they were right, then she was finally going to see her sister again.
I’ll find you, Vi whispered to her again and Jinx made up her mind. With a deep breath she pointed the flare to the sky and set it off. The blue clouds that came from the flare looked exactly like how she had always imagined them. Silently she begged for the rumors to be true and for her sister to see the blue smoke. All too soon the smoke was gone from the flare though and she was left with an empty metal container. Worse than that she was left with an empty feeling in her heart. From behind her she could hear Milo’s laughter as she threw the empty casing off the tower with a shout of frustration. Looking at the gemstone it seemed to mock her even more. After all, without it she wouldn’t have heard those rumors about her sister.
“Powder?” came a voice behind her. This voice wasn’t soft nor was it whispered directly into her ear like all the times before. Slowly she turned, terrified that the ghost of her sister was playing tricks on her. Instead she saw someone who was a lot older than the last time she saw Vi, but still 100% her sister.
“Vi?” she said softly, still scared. It could simply be the fog making this person seem like Vi, or maybe she had finally snapped.
“Oh Powder!” the person said and rushed her. Strong arms enveloped her and in her shock she dropped the gemstone she had been glaring at mere seconds earlier. Tears started to flow down her cheeks as she hesitantly hugged her sister back. Breaking the hug she held Jinx’s face and wiped the tears away. “I tried to come back, I swear that I did. But I got arrested and then I was stuck in jail,” Vi started to ramble to her sister. For the first time that she could remember her sister’s eyes were filled with tears, “I never thought I would see you again.” Once again Vi embraced her and held her close. This time she couldn’t bring herself to embrace her sister back though, one question weighing heavily on her mind.
“Are you real?” she whispered. This wouldn’t be the first time she saw or heard ghosts from her past and without Ekko here there was no way to see if someone else could see her too.
“Yes, of course. It’s me, Vi, your sister. I’m here now, I’m right here. I am not going anywhere else,” Vi told her, keeping a hand on her shoulder. It then hit her how strange she must have looked to her sister now all grown up. Her hair was no longer short, but now extremely long and in a braid. Now she sported a crop top that showed off her tattoos on the left side of her body. Not to mention the tattoo that was on her was a mixture of blue clouds and firelights to show her love for the two most important people in her life.
“Things have changed since you’ve left. We’ve all changed,” Jinx told her, not being able to stop the tears. Even if it was in the name of protecting people she has hurt many people. Not to mention Ekko who had become a lot more hardened from when they were kids from all the stress. Oh and of course the ghosts who constantly tormented her.
“I know, I know Pow-Pow. I have too. We did what we had to to survive,” Vi told her. Never before had she realized how much she wanted to hear that from her sister. Hear that what she was doing, the people she had to hurt, that it was okay. “What matters now is that we are together,” Vi tells her and holds her close once again. This time she lets herself hug her sister back again, overjoyed by the fact she was finally here. Sadly the joy did not last. Her eyes snapped open as she heard what sounded like running footsteps up the tower. Where her sister had stood moments ago, in the fog at the top of the stairs, stood a near figure. One she did not recognize. Pushing Vi away Jinx grabbed one of her guns from her many pockets. Silently she scolded herself for not grabbing Pow-Pow and only having Zapper on her when she left the firelight compound.
“Who is she?” Jinx asked her sister, keeping Zapper leveled at the stranger. Distantly she heard Milo begin to laugh, which was never a good sign for her.
“Who are you?” the woman in the hood asked. By voice alone she could tell she was a Piltie. When she walked closer to her and her sister she saw the hooded woman was almost certainly an enforcer as well.
“It’s okay, she’s a friend,” Vi said, trying to calm her down. Pure shock shot through Jinx as she looked to her sister. The distant laughter from Milo was becoming much louder and much closer.
“The rumors were true? You’re with an enforcer?” Jinx said, stunned. Now, not knowing who to trust, she leveled zapper at Vi instead of the enforcer girl. Vi was closer therefore the bigger threat. As she moved to level her gun at her sister she knocked the gemstone lightly with her foot. It had been forgotten in the commotion since she dropped it. Seemed the enforcer had not forgotten about the gemstone though when she immediately looked at it rolling.
“Your sister is a firelight?” the enforcer seemed to realize. For a second she wondered how the enforcer knew, but then she remembered she did graffiti their symbol all over the lab where she had taken the gem. Maybe not her smartest move.
“Caitlyn, just listen, we can work this out,” Vi said to the enforcer. At least the nameless enforcer had a name now, but that also meant her and Vi were very close. Closer than Jinx would ever want her sister to be with an enforcer that was for certain.
“This is a trap isn’t it? You two are trying to play me!” Jinx spat at the two. Rapidly she moved zapper between the two, unsure who to hit first. How could her sister do this! Was she working for Silco too?! Was all this just some ploy!
She chose a Pilite over you! How rich! Bet she didn’t even get arrested. Afterall, who wants to be with a JINX anyway, Milo cackled in her ear.
“Shut up!” she yelled at Milo, “I am in no mood!” Now was not the time for him to be acting up!
“We didn’t say anything,” the way Caitlyn said it so softly and calmly caused Jinx more anger for some reason.
“I wasn’t talking to you!” she spat at the enforcer. Now she leveled zapper straight at the enforcer. Maybe if she got rid of the enforcer then Vi would come home with her? Milo’s laughter at that thought did not strick confidence in her though.
“Powder, it’s okay,” Vi said to her. The idea of Vi calling her something so personal suddenly felt wrong. Only those really close to her could call her that! Only Ekko called her that…
“Stop calling me that!” she snapped, “It’s Jinx now. Powder burned away in the blast.” While she didn’t completely believe what she said she knew she was a lot different than the little girl Vi remembered.
“You’re not a jinx,” Vi said calmly, walking closer. The tone was like she was talking to a scared animal or a small child, “God I never should have called you that.”
“Stop talking to me like I’m a child!” she yelled, aiming zapper at her sister. Since she was so close zapper was nearly touching her sister’s head. Her trigger finger suddenly felt a little twitchy. “Was that the real reason you came back? For that stupid gem!” she snapped.
“No, I don’t even know what that is,” Vi tried to tell her. This time she didn’t need Milo telling her this person was lying to her. Why else would she be here with an enforcer!
“Oh you’re a class act sister,” Jinx spit in her face. “I know a liar when I see them now sister,” her finger tightened on zapper’s trigger.
“Powder! I am here for you and only you!” Vi was still talking to her like she was a child. Vi then knocked zapper to the side and got closer to Jinx. “You can fire that if you want, but I am not going anywhere! I am not going to abandon you again,” Vi promised her, her hand ghosting over Jinx’s tattooed arm. When Vi’s hand finally did touch Jinx’s skin, she had put zapper down when Vi had knocked it off to the side, the boys exploded.
LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR! They chanted together. It wasn’t very often that Claggor joined in on Milo’s yelling, but it made everything that much worse. Yet despite their words Vi had seemed so sincere about it and the way she touched her had been gentle. If she wanted to grab her, Vi easily could have. Yet she didn’t. The more she thought that maybe Vi was telling the truth the louder the boys got. It got so bad that her vision started to go blurry and her drawings merged with reality. For the life of her she couldn’t remember the last time this had happened, it had to have been a couple months at least?
“Everyone shut up!” she yelled, shutting her eyes and slapping Vi’s hand away from her. “I need to think,” she said softer, mostly to the boys than to her sister. Though as soon as the boys quieted even a little she heard a very distinctive humming she hadn’t heard with her eyes open. Though it didn’t make sense for any firelights to be in the area, they didn’t have a raid planned. Had someone stolen their gear? “Did you guys hear that?” she asked suddenly. Now on high alert to brought zapper back up and looked to the sky for the intruders on her moment.
For a couple moments all was quiet and the two other women looked at her strangely. Soon though a very familiar green light lit up the fog and she saw the intruders come into view. Unlike the thieves she expected to find piloting the hoverboards she saw that it was Ekko, Scar, and a couple of other recruits. Seemed Ekko must have gotten worried about her being gone and started to look for her with some of the others. Before she had time to be touched though the enforcer once again ruined the moment.
“Vi! Be careful! Those are firelights, they’re dangerous!” Caitlyn yelled to her sister. Jinx thought about arguing, but she supposed to a Pilite her and the other firelights would be dangerous. Not to mention the fact they were extra dangerous to enforcers and those working for Silco.
“Powder, get behind me,” Vi said as she moved Jinx behind her. When Vi’s hand grazed her arm again she flinched back, making the boys once again start back up. Sadly her flinching away from Vi did not go unnoticed by her lover and he swooped down to get in between her and Vi.
“Wait,” Jinx tried to start, and Ekko did turn to look at her. However Milo was screaming at her that Vi had changed and she was probably working for Silco and she didn’t want anything to do with her and it was all her fault which made it hard to actually form any words to either her sister or boyfriend. “Shut up!” she snapped at Milo, turning to glare at the ghost. Seeing his girlfriend so frazzled, and knowing she only got this bad when she was pushed to the edge, Ekko seemed to get even more angry.
“Get away from her!” Vi yelled at Ekko and she swung straight for his face. Faster than Jinx could stop it the two had gotten into a brawl. The only thing Jinx could count as lucky was it didn’t appear that Ekko had brought his bat with him when looking for her. Also he was probably pulling his punches since it was Vi. For a second she thought about stopping the altercation, till she saw that Scar and the other firelight had decided to take on Caitlyn. There was no doubt in her mind that those two could handle an enforcer, but Caitlyn was simply dodging. Following the enforcer's line of sight she saw that she was aiming to grab the gemstone which had been knocked by either Vi or Ekko and was once again rolling.
Boom, Milo cackled in her ear.
“Not gonna happen,” Jinx said and ran towards the gemstone. Caitlyn noticed that Jinx had caught on and tried to shake off the firelights fighting her. Scar though saw through her moves and swept Caitlyn’s feet out from under her with a quick move of his spear. Caitlyn fell to the ground with a satisfying, at least to Jinx it was satisfying, thud as Jinx grabbed the gemstone before it fell over the side.
“Caitlyn!” Vi yelled and Jinx was not happy with how upset her sister sounded at the Piltie getting hurt. There wasn’t much time to think on that though as Ekko took the moment of distraction to land a solid punch to Vi’s gut. Despite the fact she still wasn’t sure they could trust her sister she hated seeing Ekko beat her up. Vi could always take a hit and was extremely quick to deal a blow right back to Ekko. Watching the two trade punches was like something straight out of her nightmares though.
“Stop!” she desperately yelled at the two. There was only so much Jinx could take of this.
“Powder,” Vi started, putting her guard down and moving towards her sister. This turned out to be the wrong move as Ekko took the opportunity to clock Vi right upside the head. The last thing Vi heard before she passed out was Jinx’s scream.