Chapter Text
Jinx did a lot of horrible things. She destroyed, she killed, she stole, she helped a horrible man. But everyone knew this wasn’t her, this wasn’t the person they learned to love. Jinx and Powder were two different people, but Powder was gone.
Or so most thought.
Ekko noticed that helpless and begging look in her eyes, the same one Powder always had when she was scared. When Vi would lose her temper and yell at her, she always had this specific look.
“Powder’s gone, Vi. All that’s left is Jinx and she belongs to Silco—”
“You’re wrong. She’s still in there, I can reach her.”
“You can’t.”
You could. Deep buried underneath all the ideas Silco had been feeding her the past eight years or so, was that innocent and cheerful girl, one who wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose, only to protect the ones she once loved.
Ekko saw Jinx reach for something, but her hand fell limp and her eyes shut. Ekko checked if she was still breathing; she was.
He couldn’t leave her, she couldn’t be taken by Silco again. It was a stupid idea, but he had a sense of hope now. Maybe, just maybe he could get Powder back. The girl he had a crush on as a kid, who once kissed him because both were curious about what it felt like after hearing about love, who was kind and gentle to everyone she loved. Powder wasn’t gone, not completely at least.
So, he carefully took her into his arms, ready to take her to the Firelight base. Maybe they could get Powder back, or at least a bit. He had hope. He saw it with his own eyes that she still was Powder, not just Jinx.
It wouldn’t be a long walk. He had to make sure no one knew about this, Vi would obviously be an exception. He noticed how she stopped walking with that enforcer girl to look at what happened, she clearly still cared for her sister. It was like they silently agreed to meet up soon. And then they went their own ways.
Ekko made it to the base without any issues. Everyone was usually asleep during this time, so he was able to take Jinx to his apartment without many problems. The firelights unfortunately had to be put under curfew, for their own safety since it got twice as dangerous at night. They didn’t wanna risk anyone getting hurt, so usually at ten P.M everyone went into their homes for the night unless you were on patrol.
He placed her on the table there. Despite the fact that she looked half-dead, there was something about seeing her unconscious that reminded him of Powder.
The winters were usually the hardest for the undercity, because there was often a lack of food and it was cold. There wasn’t much to steal or grow, and everyone was sick easily.
One year, Powder contracted some kind of fever. If the girl wasn’t asleep she was coughing and shivering. They didn’t have much to treat it, herbs were expensive and hard to steal. It was the first time Ekko had seen Vi so stressed and worried during the winter. She always asked if he had heard a tip to get food or medicine, but nothing came for a while. It was the first time Vi proposed the idea of going across the river, but Vander shut their plan down.
“I’ll try and trade something for her.” Ekko told Vi as they both sat next to an ill and sleeping Powder, bundled up in all the blankets they had extra.
“Ekko, it’s fine. I’ll figure something out.” The older girl said, getting up from the bed. “You just stay here with her. I’ll see what I can find.” She added, grabbing her jacket off of the chair it was slung over. Ekko knew better than to argue with Vi back then, he looked up to her and assumed she knew best.
Ekko stayed by Powder’s bedside, making sure she was okay like Vi had told him to do. He couldn’t help but notice that despite the sickness, she looked peaceful, like sleep was an escape from the awful reality they were in, where basic needs were hard to get.
Ekko had seen how desperate people can get around here. People begging for something as small as some fresh bread to feed their starving children, or to have water to clean themselves. Ekko hated Piltover for this reason; they had everything while people were starving. He had seen parents getting sick from lack of food because they chose their children over their needs, but he knew he would do the same if he had children.
No one wanted to bring a child into a world like this, letting them know they would suffer while others had it better than them. But all they ever got told is that love was a hard thing to resist.
But seeing Powder asleep, blissfully unaware of the world around her was giving Ekko a sense of clarity. He liked Powder; he thought she was cute and smart. Vi always teased them about it, how if they were in Piltover they would get married, because people never got married here. They were together, but didn’t have any celebrations like that. Maybe he would, but something like that seemed so stupid to him. Why celebrate the fact you wanna be with someone for the rest of your life?
Ekko gently brushed his hand over Powder’s head, like you would do with a sleeping cat. He hoped she could stay asleep like this forever. He didn’t wanna see her awake while sick, he just wanted to see her like this. And just like Vi told him, he never left her side, even for a moment.
Just like that moment years ago, the blue haired girl seemed peaceful with her eyes shut as she was oblivious to the world around her.
He quickly grabbed the small stash of medical supplies he had. It definitely wasn’t as good as what you would get topside, but it got the job done. Their medical supplies usually consisted of weird mixtures with herbs and a small stash of bandages made with what they had, while Piltover had all kinds of strong medicine that could ease pain for hours and good quality bandages. It pissed Ekko off that they had it so good while they were suffering twenty-four-seven.
Ekko grabbed a small cloth and poured one of the herb mixtures onto it. He gently went over Jinx’s wounds, treating them with care. He was surprised to see she was still out; most people flinched because the wounds stung once it came in contact with the mixtures.
After cleaning her wounds, he wrapped bandages around them. Some wounds were still bleeding a bit, and he hoped this would stop it. Ekko couldn’t lose Jinx, not again at least. Now knowing that Powder wasn’t truly gone, he wanted to do nothing more than try and bring her back.
Ekko gently lifted Jinx up from the table and placed her in his bed. She still wasn’t stirring, so he checked if she was still breathing. She was, she was just knocked out.
He silently hoped that when she woke up, she wouldn’t immediately wanna go away and look for Silco.
Vi was left alone in Caitlyn’s room, laying on what was probably the most comfortable bed she has ever laid on. God, topside really had it nice. Caitlyn had to talk to her parents, which gave Vi time to reflect on everything.
She has never seen Powder—Jinx, she reminded herself—like this; wanting to hurt someone so badly, having an almost murderous look in her eyes. Sure, she was always up for wanting to hurt enforcers, but never her own friends or sister.
Maybe Ekko was right, maybe she was truly gone.
The thought made her heart ache and made her fill up with guilt. She should’ve never called her a jinx, she should’ve never punched her, or left her. Vi wanted to scream and cry, destroy everything in this room. How could she be so stupid to let this happen?
She turned over so she was laying on her stomach. She looked down at the map that was on the floor, red lines connecting locations and photos she added. Caitlyn was smart, she managed to figure this all out without going to the undercity. That was impressive.
Caitlyn eventually walked into the room. “We can present our case to the council tomorrow.” She said, though Vi wasn’t thrilled about it. The last thing on her mind was convincing the council. She just hummed in response, her mind clearly somewhere else.
“Well, I gotta get going. I promised Ekko that we would meet.” Vi eventually spoke up. She almost didn’t wanna get off of this bed, but she had to. She sat up, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Wait.” Vi stopped in her tracks hearing Caitlyn’s voice. The pink haired girl looked over, confused at why she had to stay. “At least let me come with you.” Caitlyn said.
Vi couldn’t help but smile a bit at the offer, but she couldn’t make Caitlyn go over the bridge and back again. “I’ll be fine, cupcake. And I’ll come back.” She responded before actually getting up. She walked over to the window, which was the easiest way out to her.
“Okay. Just be on time for the case.” Caitlyn told her, to which she let out a small chuckle. She wasn’t sure if the case was really the reason she would go back, that enforcer left quite the impact on Vi.
“I will, don’t worry.” Vi said, climbing out the window. “Just don’t lock this thing.” She added before leaving completely, sliding down the rooftop like it was nothing.
The walk back to the undercity was weird. The bridge was scattered with carcasses of enforcers. The corpses didn’t bother her; she didn’t feel much seeing it. Growing up in the Lanes, death was a usual sight. Usually, it was starvation or overdose. Vi saw it all, even when she was a little girl who often still went by Violet.
There were marks of the fight between Ekko and Jinx, which mainly consisted of blood stains and bullets, and in Vi’s mind the whole scene replayed. Her sister, laying on the ground like she was at death's door. And she didn’t blame Ekko for fighting her either; she was dead set on hurting Ekko herself.
When she got to the Firelight base, it was dead quiet. She saw a few people with masks, the same type Ekko had, walking around. They all looked over at her, probably wondering why someone came in. They didn’t try to approach her, and she didn’t try to approach them.
She eventually reached Ekko’s apartment, where she was nervous to see whatever sight was in store for her. Maybe her sister had died, or was close to death. Vi almost felt sick at the thought of losing Powder completely. There was a chance to get her back, at least, she had hope there was. She couldn’t lose her.
But once Vi entered the apartment, she was met with screams. Screams of pure fear and terror, and that voice was all too familiar.
“Powder?” Vi spoke up, quickly following the noise. The screams had died down and had turned into sobs. She walked into the room where the source of the sound was. Vi saw Ekko holding Jinx close, while she struggled against him.
“Let me go, I don’t know who the hell you are!” She spoke in between sobs. She seemed so scared, terrified even. Vi wasn’t sure what she walked in on, but it worried her.
“Hey, what the fuck happened? Is she okay?” Vi immediately asked Ekko, who was holding Jinx tightly, refusing to let go no matter how much she cried or protested.
“I don’t know, she woke up and kept talking about how she doesn’t know who I am or what’s going on.” Ekko told her. Vi wasn’t sure what to think. She has never really seen anyone this hysterical over not remembering anything. And if someone didn’t remember anything at all, it was usually because they were blackout drunk before they went unconscious.
Jinx’s eyes landed on Vi, and the pink haired girl could only describe her expression with confusion and fear. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I’m Vi, I’m your sister.” Vi responded, slowly approaching Jinx and Ekko. She slowly sat down next to them, noticing how Jinx was beginning to give up on her struggle. “You’re safe, you’re with a good friend and me.”
“How am I supposed to trust you?” Jinx responded, her speech becoming more slurred, like she was about to fall asleep. She heard that type of mumbling before, but not with so much fear. Powder always did it, asking their mother to sing one more song, even though she was practically asleep. Just like Vi thought, Jinx passed out in Ekko’s arms.
“I gave her some medicine to keep her knocked out, she seemed a bit restless after a while and then woke up screaming and asking who I was. It’s like she doesn’t remember anything.” Ekko explained, putting Jinx down on the mattress and tucking her in again.
Vi could barely think. She always knew how to help Powder, how to take care of her and how to protect her, it’s what she has always done. She felt so out of control, and she hated it. “She can’t, she has to remember something.” She said.
“Well it’s hard getting any information out of her when she’s in that state.” Ekko responded before sighing.
“I’ll go back to Caitlyn, she probably knows something.” Vi said once she could think a bit more. Piltover had access to proper medical care and education on it. If someone knew what was going on, it was Caitlyn. “Just…stay with her.” She added before practically running out of the apartment.
Vi was fully dependent on adrenaline, running as if there was no tomorrow. Running across the bridge probably wasn’t smart, but Vi couldn’t let this problem go unsolved. Powder couldn’t forget who she was, at least Jinx knew Powder even though she said she was dead.
Vi couldn’t help but feel tears forming in her eyes as the worst possible scenarios entered her mind. What if she never remembered who she was? What if she went back to Silco and would only know a life with him? Then Powder was gone completely.
She shook her head as she ran to the Kiramman home. No time for tears or overthinking, her sister needed her.
Vi climbed on the roof and through the window, gasping for air from all the running she did. She felt sick from it, she could feel the adrenaline wearing off.
Caitlyn immediately got off her bed at the state of Vi. “Hey, what’s going on? Why did you come back so soon?” She asked, approaching Vi.
“My sister…she can’t remember anything.” Vi spoke in between breaths. She didn’t care about what a mess she was at the moment, she just couldn’t lose her sweet sister Powder.
Spring was Powder’s favorite season; the cold started to go away, everything felt better, there was a bit more food now. It was a time of new life and beginnings.
Powder and Ekko snuck off to sit on some sort of rooftop. This place looked over the river keeping Piltover and the undercity apart. They had decided this was their spot, Powder didn’t even tell her older sister about this place.
“I heard lots of flowers grow across the river during this time.” Powder spoke up, gently working on a crown made out of dried up vines. She knew little girls her age made these with real wildflowers, and she wished she could do the same.
“Well, maybe one day I’ll be able to give you those flowers.” Ekko responded, which got a giggle out of the blue haired girl. It was a romantic gesture sometimes to give someone flowers in Piltover, which made Powder wonder what love felt like.
She tried asking Vi, who didn’t have much of an answer except for what their mother once told them. Love was when you cared about someone, you had formed a strong bond with that person. You wanna do anything to protect them, keep them safe. But romantically, it could sometimes give you a warm and nervous feeling inside. You can get all happy and giddy over a person.
“Have you ever loved someone romantically?” Powder suddenly asked. She had always wondered if Ekko loved her. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling sometimes when Ekko was around her. She always thought that’s what love was, and she wondered if he felt the same.
“I—” Ekko was clearly caught off guard by the question. Powder didn’t ignore the faint blush on his cheeks.
“Ooh, you definitely like a girl!” Powder exclaimed, teasing him a bit. “And who’s the lucky girl who might get to be with you?” She then asked, keeping her joke going.
“I’m not telling you!” Ekko responded, poking her in the side for teasing him. It caused her to laugh like always, Ekko always brought the best out of her.
After Powder’s laughs quieted down, the young girl stared out into the distance. She couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy knowing Ekko could have a crush on another girl. She liked him, and she wanted him to like her back.
She wanted to know what love felt like, she wanted to know a love outside of Vi’s love, a love outside of that sisterly love she’s known for years. She knew people kissed to express their love for each other, and sometimes did other things too to express it, which grossed Powder out a bit. How could that possibly make you feel good and loved?
She honestly wanted to kiss Ekko to know if she could feel what love felt like. Powder was a curious, young girl. When the world wouldn’t give her the answers, she would find it out herself.
“Can we kiss?” Powder blurted out, which caused Ekko to give her a surprised look. She blushed, realizing it was probably a stupid question. “I just wanna know what love feels like, you know.” She added. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but—”
“We can kiss.” Ekko quickly cut her off. Now it was Powder’s turn to be surprised. And now came the questions. How does she kiss him? Just press her lips against his, right?
“Do you know how to kiss?” Powder asked.
“No, do you?” Ekko responded, to which Powder shook her head. “Then I guess we gotta figure it out together.”
Powder laughed again, though a bit more nervously than before. She moved closer to Ekko, and he did the same, until their shoulders were touching. Ekko placed his hand over hers, it warmed Powder up.
She just leaned in closer and closer until their lips touched. They kissed, right there in the small rays of the spring sunshine. Powder felt warm inside, just like her mother had described. She felt loved.
They both eventually pulled away, both a blushing and giggling mess. It was just a kiss, yet they felt so nervous. “At least you’ll have some experience for that lucky girl.” Powder spoke up.
If only she knew she was that lucky girl.