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Chapter Text

Claggor had finally knocked down the last brick needed to escape. Their hearts beating loudly as they heard the sound of the monstrous Deckard pounding on the door. After a bit of fumbling Mylo soon managed to get the last cuff off Vander. Vander quickly rushed to help Vi keep the door closed from Deckards constant pounding.

Vander looked around at the panicking situation before giving his instructions. “Okay listen closely everyone. I need you to go through the exit Claggor made and run until you find somewhere safe. I’ll keep the door closed then I’ll find you.” He instructed as he looked at everyone.

“Vander, let my sta-“ Vi started to insist but Vander interrupted before she could finish

Vander put a hand on Vi’s shoulder “No, the others need you. Powder needs you. I’ll follow from behind, just go” Vander repeated with a serious look

The others silently agreed and though Vi hesitated she also agreed. As they started to leave Powder sat on the window of the other side of the building and wound up her monkey bomb and started it march, unaware of the others escape.

First Claggor jumped down to safety

CLINK

Than Mylo jumped down to saftey

CLINK

Finally as Vi finally started climbing down the monkey gave its finally step.

In the blink of an eye the small blue orbs started flying everywhere. The building was torn apart and covered in smoke and debris.

Vi’s ears buzzed as she heard her friends calling out her name. She took deep, heavy breathes in the dusty air. Her friends helped remove the ruble from on top of her. Her whole body ached and she had cuts and scrapes everywhere but besides that she had no further injuries. As she got up she quickly realized someone was missing.

“Where’s Vander?” she grunted in a demanding but worried tone.

Claggor and Mylo looked away awkwardly with tears in there eyes

“Where is he!” Vi demanded again as she look around the ruble and debris in panic

“Violet, we’re sorr-“ but before Mylo could finish his sentence Vi found something in the rubble

Vi collapsed to the ground with tears in her as she sat on her knees next to the still body of Vander. The man who had raised her and her sister as a child and was the one keeping the undercity from falling apart. Suddenly a familiar voice rang out from around the corner.

“Vi! Vi it worked!” Powder yelled out happily as she ran toward Vi, avoiding the ruble and trying not to trip.

Vi stood slowly and looked towards Powder. Her head spinning in the confusion “What?”

“My monkey bomb finally worked!” Powder said happily with joy in her eyes

“You did this?!” Mylo yelled out in anger from the ruble

Powder looked around worried as she tightened her hug on the plush bunny. Suddenly her eyes fell upon Vander. She took a step back with tears forming in her eyes.

“No! I-I was trying to save you!” Powder cried out through the rubble “I only wanted to help!” Powder sobbed as she started taking steps towards Vi

“I told you to stay away!” Vi yelled angrily as Powder yelled

“I only wanted to help! I only wanted to help!” Powder kept repeating as tears ran down her face.

“I told you to stay away!” Vi repeated and took a step towards Powder, striking her across the face. Powder fell to the floor with a cry”

“Why did you leave me?!” Powder yelled out angrily, her dirty face was covered in snot and tears and she tightly hugged the plush bunny.

Vi crouched down to Powder, grabbing her face “Because you’re a jinx! Ya hear me?” Vi snapped angrily as she yelled into Powders face “If you had done what you were told and stayed home Vander would still be alive!”

Vi stood and walked over to Mylo and Claggor. The three started walking down the alley, leaving Powder behind with Vanders body.

“Violet please! Vi!” Powder called out but she felt too stiff to move. She cried into her knees begging her sister and friends to come back but soon the three were out of sight. She cried and cried into the empty allyway illuminated by the light of the fire. As rain started pouring down.

As Powder cried soon Silco and his workers approached her, knife in hands. Upon seeing Powder alone and crying Silco crouches down to her level.

“Where is your sister” Silco asks with a neatrul look on his face, hiding the knife behind his back. “Your friends?”

Powder sat there sniveling before she pounced onto him into a hug, grabbing him tightly. “She left me.”Powder whimpered, her voice broken with sadness. “Th-They all left me.”

Silco took in the situation, seeing Vanders body behind Powder. “She is NOT my sister anymore” Powder choked out as she hugged Silco.

Silco looked down at the small girl and returned the hug. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered “It’s okay, we’ll show them. We will show all of them.” He hissed as the girl hugged him tightly.

Chapter Text

Powder gripped Silcos hand tightly as they walked to their new home. When Powder was younger, probably about 4 or 5 she had remembered that Silco used to be a good friend of there family. He used to hang out with her parents and occasionally she would see him, scribbling notes at the bar of the last drop. He never said much and he always looked very neutral and serious. Now she could see how much he had changed. There was a rotting scar over his eye that crept across his face, his eyelids seemed to have been gone. His eye was black with a bright orange iris. Back then, at the bar he used to have a messy ponytail in the back of his head but now his hair was short and clean with graying streaks.

Over the next couple days Powder was quiet and timid. She crept around the building, watching the people work but if any of them looked at her she would quickly run away. She had created her own little hideout atop Silcos desk in the ceiling. Silco studied the timid girl, he didn’t mind the clingy girl or her hideout. He would try his best to comfort her but he wasn’t the best with children.

After 5 days of wandering the house and watching everyone Powder approached Silco. It was late at night, Silco had been looking through paperwork when he heard the creak of the large doors. He looked up from his papers, his eye were tired from the long day of work, when his gaze fell upon the blue haired girl he had found a couple days ago. Her hair was certainly more messy than the previous days. She slowly walked to his desk, each step she took made a clicking sound of her boots.

Silco watched as the child approached him and stood next to his chair. Finally she talked “Um, mister… i-I don’t know how to” Powder hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should ask “I-i can’t do my hair” her words were quiet and soft but there was a small quiver of fear. She looked down at the ground, avoiding eyes contact.

Silco looked at the small child, his face was still neutral but softened a bit. “It’s alright Powd-“ Silco had started to say but was quickly interrupted by the girl.

“That’s not my name anymore” She blurted out quickly. Silco looked at the girl intrigued.

Silco thought for a moment and studied the girl. “I see… well then I guess you need a new name” he replied, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You must take your flaws and make them your greatest strengths, Jinx?”

The girl thought for a moment before looking up with a smile “Jinx… yes I am now Jinx!” She announced with a nod.

Silco patted Jinx on the head. “Now then, let’s get this mess taken care of.” He opened the drawers of his desk, rummaging through the items until he came across a hair brush and a few rubber bands.

Jinx climbed up and sat on the desk in front of Silco. Silco brushed his hand through her hair before taking the hairbrush and gently brushing her hair. He was able to get rid of most of the knots and tangles as she hummed softly. Silco placed down the table and separated her hair in half. His lanky fingers neatly braided her hair into two short braids. When he finished he held up a mirror to Jinx.

A big smile jumped onto her face as she looked in the mirror at the two braids. “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!” She repeated quickly as she pounced onto him into a hug.

Silco patted the child on the back and nodded. After a few minutes Jinx wandered off again, markers in hand and ready to cause chaos.

…

After a couple of days Powder wanders into Silcos office like usual but instead of being met by the tired man in his chair, she found a tall, annoyed woman speaking to Silco. Silcos eyes glanced down at Jinx as the door peeked open. He continued his conversation as Jinx slowly crept up to his desk. Sevika continued her report, occasionally glancing down at the child. Silco continued to listen to Sevika while Jinx slowly walked up next to him and sat on her usual position, continuing there routine where Silco would gently brush and braid Jinx’s hair.

Sevika finished her report of the undercity and was about to leave the room when Silco spoke up. “Sevika, this is Jinx. When I am absent I would like you to take care of her.” Silco spoke up, his voice was stern and he looked up at Sevika.

Sevika looked at the girl confused. She used to hang out at the last drop a lot and was pretty sure her name was Powder? She nodded and directed her gaze at Silco again. “I will” she stated in agreement to Silcos instructions. She opened the door and walked out of the room, continuing her duties.

Silco looked down at the child sitting in his lap. “That was Sevika. She is one of my workers.” He explained calmly. “When I am not here she will take care of you okay?” Jinx nodded with a smile and continued to doodle on Silcos desk. Silco was fine with the child doodling on his expensive desk and watched intently as she doodled with her markers and crayons on the different objects. Jinx wasn’t always the best at explaining her emotions with her words so she often doodled and drew on the walls and other objects.

…

Today Silco head a very important meeting with the other heads of Zaun. Unaware of this Jinx searched the building for him to continue there usual routine. She searched every room in the building but he was no where to be found. Panic grew upon her when all of the sudden she heard a voice behind her.

“You really think he would stay?” A mocking voice echoed in her mind. It was the voice of Mylo…

“Of course he left you.” Another voice echoed out in her mind. It was the pink haired sister, Vi.

Tears started rolling down Jinx’s face as she looked around the building in panic. She walked into Silcos office and was met by the tall woman she head met the other day. The woman’s eye brow raised in confusion as she looked at the panicked child. Jinx ran up to Sevika and hugged her leg. Sevika was shocked by Jinxes sudden hug but sighed and hesitantly patted her on the head.

“What are you doing in such a panic kid?” Sevika crouched down and asked the messy child.

Jinx looked up at Sevika. She was no longer crying but she sniveled a bit. Her face was red and she explained to Sevika. “S-Silco does my hair in the morning… and I can’t find him” Jinx sniveled as she stared at Sevika and fidgeted with the end of her messy hair.

Sevika nodded as she listened to the situation taking in the child’s problem. “I see… Well Silcos gonna be gone for a couple of hours but I can’t find him give it a shot.” Sevika sighed and explained.

Jinxes eyes widened and she smiled. “You’d be willing to do that?” Jinx asked happily.

Sevika looked around the room and nodded. Jinx bounced up happily and ran to get the hair brush that Silco uses to brush her hair which was of course, covered in doodles. She gave Sevika the brush and Jinx sat down on the floor, criss cross. Sevika kneeled down and started brushing the child’s hair. Sevika herself didn’t really know how to do hair either with her very short hair but she tried her best. Jinx hummed softly and when Sevika finished she looked in the mirror at the two loose, messy braids and a smile beamed on her face. She tackled Sevika into a hug. Sevika rolled her eyes keeping up her tough attitude but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Chapter Text

As Vi, Claggor, and Mylo walked away from the begging blue hair girl they walked down cold tunnel. They were bloodied and bruised, covered in soot and dirt from the explosion. Vi took deep breaths in the air which was thick with smoke to try to clear her head. Tears dripped out of her eyes and down her cheek, plopping on the ground. She quickly wiped them away. She glanced back at start of the tunnel, the sight of little crying Powder in her mind. She looked down at her hand which was still bloodied from striking Powder and a pang of guilt hit her. She turned back once more to see Powder only to see Silco standing in front of her, knife in hand.

Panic filled her mind, they shouldn’t have left Powder behind. “W-we have to go back.” her voice was pained and worried. Claggor and Mylo stopped walking and looked at Vi confused. They looked down the tunnel to the rubble where they left Powder and realization struck them.

Suddenly they heard a noise coming from further down the tunnel, the clicking of shoes on the ground and the deep hiss of a gas mask. The air becoming thicker and a deep smoke filled the air. VI’s lungs burned and she coughed, she felt her eyes droop. She tried to fight it and stumbled across the wall but soon everything went black…

Vi squinted her eyes and slowly woke up from the surprise attack. She quickly shoots up her head and looks around the room for her friends. She was laying down on the couch in a living room. She turned around and say behind the living room, at the kitchen table sat Mylo and Claggor. There was also a man with short black hair in an enforcers uniform sitting with them and a woman at the counters cooking with long ginger blonde hair and in a flowy red dress.

Mylo turned to look at Vi “Bed Bugs finally up?” He joked with a smirk. The man who had taken them here looked at Vi and studied her. He looked at her mannerism and movement and gave a guess on how she was taking this.

Vi rolled her eyes and looked over at the man. “Who the hell are you anyway and where are we?” Her voice was cold and sharp as glass. She looked serious and intimidating but this did not worry the man.

The man nodded having guessed she may be confused from the current situation. “My name is Marcus and that is my fiancé Rachel.” He pointed at the woman at the counter. His voice matched VI’s seriousness. “I had to get you somewhere safe, if Silco had found you you’d be dead in seconds.”

Vi raised an eyebrow at him. “And why would I trust you?”

Marcus grunted and sighed, putting and hand to his face. “Look if we had it my way you’d be locked up in Stillwater but Rachel wanted to know why 3 kids were fleeing from a burning building of the eye of Zaun.” His words were blunt and sounded annoyed.

Marcus looked around the room at the three children. “Look, I won’t put you in Stillwater but you have to stop causing trouble. Okay?”

Vi clenched her fist and looked down. She was filled with anger, guilt, sadness, and fear from the sheer amount that happened in the past few days. “And what’ll happen to us!? Where are we supposed to go?” Her voice was broken with anger and confusion. They had no family or friends they could go to and they wouldn’t survive Zaun.

Marcus felt a bit guilty for them, they were just kids and they’ve already had to go through this much. “Ya know, I wasn’t always Piltie Officer, I originated in Zaun and spent my entire life working my way up the ladder. Maybe you could be an enfo-“

Vi quickly interrupted him. “I am NOT going to be an enforcer.”

“I know Zaun doesn’t get along well with enforcers but you could really help. Not all enforcers are the brute killing machines you think of. You could even help the Undercity.” His words were lighter than the tension of his previous tone, he sounded more reassuring.

Claggor and Mylo looked up at Vi. “Vi, we can’t just be petty criminals forever.” Claggor reassured.

“Yes we can! And I can do that alone!” Her words shot like poison stingers as her mind spat out words. Her head was hot with anger. She walked up to the door and walked out o the home down the streets of Piltover, slamming the door behind her. She ducked into an alleyway and the weight of the situations she had been experiencing the last couple days crushed her.

Light tears dropped from her eyes as she fell to the floor. She had lost her family and the little safety she had in just a couple days. Not long after she closed the door she heard it open again and the sound of foot steps running behind her. She quickly brushes her tears away and looks up at the two figures of her brothers in front of her. She stands to her feet and looks at them. Her shoulders were tense, she shouldn’t have ran away like that…

“Vi, the past couple days have been… a lot. But the only way we’ll get through this is if we can stick together.” Mylo said and nudged Vi a bit.

“We can continue doing are theft but just until we’re able to buy our own stuff.” Claggor explained and Vi nodded.

The three agreed on their plan to continue theft until they all got real jobs. Then there was the problem of where they would live. They had tried looking for Ekko but Benzos old shop was abandoned to rot and Ekko had been missing since the day Benzo died. They decided their old hideout where they would hide from the enforcers. Even though it hadn’t been that long since they were there, probably a week, but the amount that’s changed since the gave the room a sour nostalgia. All of Powders machines were there but they were messed up and broken since the enforcers raided the place. They boarded up the broken window and got the lights working again. The place needed a bit of work but soon it would feel like home.

Chapter Text

Jinx had found an abandoned area over the fissures that she turned into her own little hideout. There she was free to doodle anywhere she wanted and was able to tinker with her bombs. For the first couple weeks she spent a lot of time happily tinkering and creating new designs for her bombs.

The hideout was filled with the sound of Jinxes soft humming and the occasional sound of a test bomb going off. Eventually when she was happy on how she decorated the place she went to show Silco.

The girl approached the large doors of Silco’s office and slowly opened them as to not make a noise. Despite her sneaking attempts Silco still managed to notice Jinxes blue haired head peaking past the door. He continued to look over the files as Jinx approached his desk until she finally jumped up on the desk and crouched down on her knees.

She leaned into the man’s ear and whispered excitedly. “I have a secret hideout” she said with a big smile across her face.

Silco nodded as he listened to Jinxes ‘secret’. “And where may that be?” He pried further and raised his eyebrow, playing along with the child’s game.

Jinx cocked her head and giggled. “I can’t tell you silly, then it wouldn’t be a secret!” Her smile widened a bit and she returned to her hushed tone, looking around in thought. “Maybe if you promise not to tell anyone…”

A small smile pushed at the corner of Silco’s lips and he held out his pinky. He spoke in a serious voice “I won’t say a word”

Jinxes smile beamed again and she held out her pinky as well, securing the deal. She grabbed his arm and dragged him through the halls and the building to her secret hideout.

Jinx opened the door to the hideout and Silco looked around the large cavern. He had forgotten about this area, it had been abandoned years ago but now Jinx has found it and given it a new purpose. Drawings and doodles were scattered across the floor along with little inventions Jinx had been testing. Her splatter bomb had clearly worked in one corner of the edges which was spattered in various colors of bright paint. It was definitely quite impressive but the thing that confused him the most was a corner of the room with three dolls hanging. A boy with goggles, a girl with violet hair, and another boy with bushy eyebrows. After a moment he recognized them as the other children of Vander and he looked to the girl who was looking up at him with pride.

He cleared his throat and spoke down to the girl with a nod. “This room is very impressive with the work you’ve done.” He spoke with a neutral tone and face but his words were true.

Jinx jumped up excited with a big smile and leaped a hug into Silcos legs. Silco patted the blue haired girl on the head and nodded as he looked around the area again. After a few more minutes of playing about with Jinx, Silco had to return to do his work in his office. Jinx continued to tinker and come up with ideas for bombs and traps while her soft hum echoed through the cavern.

Jinx spent the next couple days tinkering with new bombs and testing them out on either enforcers or Sevika. It ended up an all out prank war between Sevika and Jinx with Jinx covering Sevika’s prosthetic arm in doodles or Sevika stealing Jinxes markers. They had to call quotes though when after a glitter bomb Sevika was sent into Silcos office for a report covered in shiny pink glitter when they were forced to make a truce. Either way Jinx was still able to mess with the enforcers and ruin their uniforms with paint and glitter.

Eventually Jinx remade the paintball gun she had made a couple years ago put this time it would splatter more and cause a bigger mess which meant she was able to shoot enforcers from a larger distance. She would often mess with Marcus because of his affiliation with Silco and how he would often visit to give reports to Silco.

As long as things didn’t go too far Silco would watch the chaos and occasionally step in to tell Jinx if someone was off limits. The amount of chaos such a little thing could cause was quite surprising and her nimbleness often helped her with escaping from situations. Though it all seemed like fun play to Jinx, Silco saw its potential and how it was helping her for bigger jobs when she was older. She could find escape routes in Piltover and the running and escaping helped her train. The only thing Jinx wanted was to have fun and cause Inconveniences to piltover.

Seeing the potential Silco supplied Jinx with the materials she needed to make her bombs. Because of the shimmer supplies and sales money wasn’t a problem. Now Jinxes chaos could be produced at a full potential with maximum annoyance to Piltover and anyone who got in her way…

Chapter Text

Jinx stood atop one of the bridges that ‘connected’ Piltover to the Undercity watching the enforcers from above. A mischievous smile spread across her face as her blue waist length braids blew in the chilly night air. She was just wearing a faded blue T-shirt with a black cropped tank top over it and ripped brown pants but the Undercity was far colder than Piltover. The clips of her belt and in her hair shined in the moonlight of the dreary night, bombs hanging off her belt. She unclipped one of the bombs from her belt and held it in her hands.

She braced herself and dropped down the bomb. She looked down at the chomper  “You got this Chomp-Chomp!” The moment it hit the ground a blast of powder erupted out in pink-green-blue, covering the bridge and all the enforcers patrolling it. She laughed hysterically as she started climbing down from the top of the bridge. Before she jumped the finale part to the bridge she lifted up her gas mask and snapped her goggles over her eyes. She navigated across the colorful bridge. Occasionally dropping a splatter bomb or two.

She continued skipping across the bridge in joy until suddenly a bang went off and she felt a pain shoot through her leg. She looked down at her leg to see one of the enforcers bullets had skimmed her leg. Panic started filling her mind as she started walking as fast as she could to the other side of the bridge. Pain was shooting through her leg with each step and the warm blood dripped down. When she finally made it to the other side of the bridge she walked along the coast to her home.

Her steps were slow and painful as she walked along the murky water filled with pollution. Suddenly up ahead she spots someone. A tall broad figure approached her. Jinx felt her head spin from the amount of blood she had lost. The figure gets closer and closer, running full sprint speed towards her. Jinx feels like at any moment she might collapse until suddenly the figure grabs her and carry’s her away. In her confusion Jinx looks up at the person. Short brown hair, brown skin, deep eyes, and an ice cold arm. Her mind prices the person together until it clicks.

“Sevika?” Jinx mutters at the figure

The woman looks down at Jinx as she continues running. “What the hell did you do? Silco’s gonna kill me when he sees your leg.” Sevika grunted, she sounded annoyed and angry like usual but this time there was an underlayer of worry too, though Jinx couldn’t tell  because of the pounding in her head.

“S-sorry, I wa-“ Jinx struggled to speak but was quickly interrupted

“Don’t was your breath kid, we’ll be home in second.” Sevika butted in before Jinx could finish. Sevika opened the door of a workshop and placed Jinx down on the table. She grabbed a medical kit and placed it next to Jinx. Jinxes headache and dizziness had gone down for the most part so she sat and watched Sevika as she cleaned up Jinxes leg and bandaged it. When Sevika finished Jinx smile and looked up at Sevika.

Later that day at dinner when Jinx walked in Silco immediately noticed the slightly bloody bandage around Jinxes leg and sighed. Jinx sat down humming quietly to herself as they all ate In silence. Silco looked over at Jinx again and cleared his throat “So what did you do?” Silco asked her, his voice was deep and serious.

Jinx looked up at him and stopped her humming. “Uhh, I fell?” She said very unconvincingly and tapped her fingers on the table.

“Yeah, you got THAT from falling?” Silco pried sounding unconvinced and raised his eyebrow. “And it has nothing to do with the explosion of color I saw on the bridge?”

Jinx looked around the room awkwardly and bit her lip. She looked down at her bandaged leg. “Well it’s not that bad” she stretched the vowel of each word and Silco rubber his forehead.

“You left a trail of blood in the lobby.” He pointed out flatly.

Jinx chewed on her cheek “Well how was your day?” She leaned her head on her hand.

Silco sighed “You need to be more careful or you’ll have to start going out with Sevika.”

Jinxes eyes widened and Sevika glanced at Jinx. “I don’t need a babysitter, I’ll be more careful next time.” Jinx said defeated and she took a bite out of her bread. Silco nodded in agreement and the rest of the dinner was filled in silence as they ate their food.

Jinx returned to her hideout and stared up at the ceiling of the cavern which she had hung up fairy lights and other various things. The floor was cold and hard but gave a sort of comfort and feeling of stability to the girl.  She held her Chomper bomb in her hand and fiddled its mouth open and closed. She dropped it down off the edge into the darkness until the click of it hitting the ground could be heard and a ray of glitter floated from the bottom. She took out a crayon and doodled on the floor a bit thinking of what her revenge on then enforcers would be but until her leg healed she was stuck at home. She quietly hummed to herself and the fissures hummed back as her voice echoed through the cavern. As she drew on the floor a bug stopped by and crawled up to Jinxes markers. She swatted the bug away annoyed and it flew away below the hideout.

As the days past Jinxes boredom grew and when Jinx is bored you do not want to be within a 2 mile radius of her. When the mind is bored that is when the ideas can rush through one’s mind. Pages were scattered across the floor filled with designs and plans for revenge. Something fun, chaotic, and ready to act out now that her leg has healed…

Chapter Text

Caitlyn had been guarding a local pawn shop at the night shift. She was doing enforcer training and had to do an internship as an assignment. Even though it was a small job she was still super excited. She had a lot of trouble convincing her Mother to let her do the enforcer training but with some help from her father she was able to talk her through it. It was an old shop with lots of small gadgets and gears but recently they had been experiencing some break ins.

The building was a small one in a secluded area, every inch of the walls were covered in various supplies. There were gears, metals, fabric; anything you’d need for building. Caitlyn wondered what a thief would want from here or if they’d even come back. She stood in the dark shop, light in hand when she suddenly heard the click of the back doors lock. There were a few more clicks of the door lock and the sound of people whispering. Caitlyn quickly went behind the counter to hide and see what they’d do. After a few seconds of silence the door gave its final click and the door nob turned slowly. Caitlyn waited in bated breath as a boy with bushy eye brows peaked his head in and walked in assuming the building was empty. Behind him a girl with violet red hair and a boy with goggles followed behind. The group all looked about her age more or less. They quietly shut the door behind them and looked around the room. The violet haired girl threw a brown satchel on the ground in the center of the room.

“Okay, we need to be quick. Place only what you need or what looks valuable in the bag.” The Violet haired girl instructed. Her voice was serious and flat.

The boy with bushy brows rolled his eyes. “Relax, the place is empty anyway Vi .”

“Is it?” Vi glared at him and slammed her fist in the counter of the shop. Caitlyn held her breath as Vi looked down at her hiding.

Caitlyn jumped to her feet. “Everyone freeze!” Her voice was demanding and no nonsense.

The violet haired girl, apparently named Vi, looked at her amused. “And what are you going to do if we don’t?” She smirked in confidence at the enforcer.

“What are you doing stealing from a Piltover shop?” Caitlyn replied with her own question.

“They pay well.” Vi shrugged. Her answer was simple but true.

Caitlyn looked at the group confused. “Well why don’t you get proper jobs?”

The bushy browned boy scoffed. “You may not know from the comfort in your life but it’s actually hard getting a job in the undercity.” He spat as he looked at the enforcer.

Caitlyn thought for a moment. Theft does seem like the easiest option. Especially for someone her age. She wanted to help them, but how? “What if you worked for my family ? We are a bloodline of wealth and can pay you a hefty price.”

The group thought for a moment. They had planned to stop stealing and get real jobs eventually; it also might  be worth it for the pay.

“Well what work would we do?” The boy with goggles questioned.

Caitlyn thought for moment. “Well, what are your names and talents.? I’m Caitlyn.”

The violet haired girl spoke up first. “I’m Vi. I can fight.” Caitlyn looked at the makeshift metal fighting gloves she had attached to her belt. Vi still didn’t fully trust Caitlyn so she watched her intently.

“I’m Claggor, I build stuff and can carry heavy stuff. That’s Mylo he’s our pick-pocket and lock pick.” Claggor pointed at the other boy.

Vi glanced over at Mylo and smirked. “Though his egos bigger than his brain.”

Mylo looked back a Vi annoyed. “Well at least I don’t have anger issues.”

Caitlyn watched the sibling bicker and thought about what jobs she could give them. Vi could help train her physical fighting, Mylo could test our security systems. Claggor could help design and make weapons

Caitlyn finished putting her thoughts and interrupted the siblings fight. “If you want to work for me you have to promise me one thing, you have to drop your crime work.”

The group looked at each other and nodded. Caitlyn accepted there nods and spoke again. “Meet me at 17:00 tomorrow for dinner at this address.” She handed Vi a piece of paper with her address on it.

Vi took the paper and looked at Caitlyn, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “And if we don’t come?”

Caitlyn looked down and bit her lip. “I’m afraid I’d have to send you to Stillwater…”

The group nodded, silently acknowledging their options. Vi picked up her bag from the ground. Mylo and Claggor were the first to leave the small shop. When Vi reached the door she turned to Caitlyn and smiled. “See ya later, Cupcake.”

Chapter Text

Vi, Claggor and Mylo stood at the door of the Kiramman house. They had expected Caitlyn to be rich but they didn’t know she was as this rich. The lawn was green and freshly cut and there were luscious trees and bushes everywhere. Not to mention the fact she lives in a mansion big enough to hold the entire Lanes.

Vi hesitantly raised her head and knocked in the door. They heard the noise of scuttling and the door quickly opened. In the doorway stood Caitlyn with a polite smile and an older woman behind her. Caitlyn’s clothes were much nicer than her enforcer clothes and the woman was wearing a formal working outfit which suggested she was one of the Kirammans servers. The woman stared at the filthy children in front of her, wide eyed and nose scrunched up.

Caitlyn gave a small bow. “We must hurry. There is an hour until dinner and a lot of work to do.” She tried to keep her voice neutral and polite but she was too excited.

Vi tilted her head confused. “What work?”

“Well you can’t go to dinner looking like that, we are trying to impress my parents.” Caitlyn explained.

The older woman turned around some younger servants and instructed them. “Ruby, go run a bath. Jane, go prepare their outfits in the guest rooms.” The girls nodded and went off to fill their out instructions. The old woman looked at the children on the door stop and raised an eyebrow. “Come on now, we mustn’t waste a moment.” She ushered the children into the mansion and down the hall.

Then the three were separated, each taken to a different bathroom. Vi was amazed, the bathroom alone was the size of their bedroom at the last drop. The servants took her dirty clothes and showed her to the bath that had been run for her. She was rushed into it and the servants surrounded her and soaps and scrubbed her clean. Vi was embarrassed by the people cleaning her knowing well she could do it her own but the servants wouldn’t let her. After a few moments in the water being soaked and scrubbed she was patted dry with a towel and dried in a matter of seconds. She was supposed by the softness of the towel, it was so fluffy and soft. Vi was wrapped around the towel and brought to the guest room. In the room was a rack of various clothes. They varied in formality, style, and color. They slipped a black dress onto her with red and blue highlights. It was fitted and buttoned in the front. They then sat her down at a mirror and brushed her wild red hair free of knots. They tried to give her a pair of black heels but she couldn’t take a step and managed with a nicer pair of black boots.

Vi looked in the mirror at the outfit she stood in. It was far more formal than she would usually wear but it did suit her style quite well. She thanked the servants and they exited the room. Vi followed them to the dining room. It was so nice, painting and crystal chandeliers hung. The chairs were soft and comfortable. Vi looked across the table to see Claggor and Mylo. Claggor was in a white suit with some yellow highlights, his hair was nicely combed. Mylo on the other hand was quite the opposite, he looked like a grumpy wet cat. His hair was fighting for its life and he wore a light blue suit. Vi looked at the seat next to her to see Caitlyn who was in a different outfit than earlier. It was a formal navy blue with gold highlights and white frill lining the bottom. Her hair was straight and neat that rubbed down touching her shoulders.

After a few moments two people entered the room, a man with a blue beard and short hair the same color as Caitlyn’s and a woman with short brown hair. They both looked to be in their late 40s, maybe early 50s with the occasional white hair. The man has a delicate smile on his face and the woman looked stern and serious as she looked at the children. They sat down at the heads of the table, they were elegant and refined; perfect posture.

Caitlyn looked at her parents and took a deep breath. “Mother, father, these are the friends that I was telling you about earlier. They are named Violet, Mylo, and Claggor.” She looked on the direction of the person when she said their name, her face calm and gentle.

Vi quickly spoke up. “We are very uh… grateful that you are willing to hear us out.” Vi tried to sound formal but wasn’t very successful.

Mr Kiramann smiled while his wife looked at Vi, seemingly trying to identify and threat or motive from the Zaunite but saw none and just nodded. “Now what are you hoping to achieve, what are your aspirations, your drive.” Her voice was stern and forcing.

The Underlings thought for a moment. They hadn’t thought about it much, but all had the same general idea. “We hope to save Zaun and return peace to it.” Mylo declared. The thought was a natural one that hadn’t been specifically thought about but had lingered in their minds.

Mrs. Kiramann raised an eyebrow, now seeming to be intrigued by the children. “And how do you children intend on doing that.” She found the thought of three children healing a whole nation almost amusing.

They thought of all the pain and suffering that occurred in the Undercity every day. The brutality of enforcers, the poor air conditions, and the rising addiction to shimmer. After Vanders death things started falling apart in the Undercity with new bosses and illegal business starting every day. The people got riskier and fought more against the enforcers. Claggor spoke up first. “I’d like to create something that could purify the air in the Undercity. People constantly get sick in the dense and smoggy air.” The others nodded as he spoke.

“And I’d like to stop the rising addiction of shimmer in the Undercity. It’s become a sort of drug and is tearing Zaun apart.” Mylo spoke up. He sounded confident and determined in his words.

Vi put her hands on the table. “And I’m going to create peace with Zaun and Piltover. The violence and constant conflict between the two are pathetic and needs to be stopped before we lose another generation worth of people.” A fire of determination lit between the three children to complete their goals and work toward them until they are completed.

Mr Kiramann chuckled at the children. “I’m impressed by your determination and enthusiasm. I see great potential to the progress you can achieve.” His voice sounded quite genuine and supportive. He looked over to his skeptical wife who was not fully convinced yet.

“You are just children, why should we give you the support? Do you even have the skills to act out what you’re saying, or are these just empty promises?” She exaggerated her words as she said them, she did not trust the Underlings or their goals. She did not want to be responsible for when their dreams were crushed.

Mylo stood up with passion. “If we don’t have the skills to do it now we’ll work day and night until we’re able to. We know these are things that won’t just happen overnight and it’ll take years of hard work and dedication to finish; if we are to finish at all.” He believed in the words he was saying and even Mr Kiramann could see that. She nodded, these children were clearly dedicated to their work and may have some potential.

“The chance of this working is small-“ she started to retaliate before being quickly interrupted.

“And aren’t chances worth being taken? When we first found Jayce his goals were much more unrealistic than these threes, and look where Jayce is now! Not to mention the fact that they’re about the same age as him when we started supporting him.” Caitlyn spat out words as they came into her mind, not thinking about the consequences and just trying to prove the point she had supported.

Mrs Kiramann was surprised by her daughter’s sudden outburst but did consider the words she said. It had been a few years ago since she had first met Jayce and she saw the same spark in the three underlings as she had saw those years ago in the boy who had mysteriously appeared. Mrs Kiramann nodded as she finished her thoughts and came to her final conclusion… “As head of the Kiramman house I choose to accept your offer and endorse these children.” Her words were hesitant but she was reassured as she saw the sparkle in her daughter’s eyes that so rarely appeared. All of the children smiled at each other in relief.

“Welp, now that that’s finished let’s eat!” Mr Kiramann announced.

The servers walked around the table with carts of food. One cart had a giant pot of potato, carrot, and beef stew that the server would laddle into their bowls. The other carts carried things like crispy loaves of bread and fresh vegetables. One server came around the table with a pitcher filling everyone’s glasses with water (besides Mrs Kiramman who drank a glass of wine). The Zaunites experienced the most culture shock of their lives. The servers did everything and the food was warm and fresh. Not to mention the fact that there were about 10 different forks, knives, spoons, and other weird looking utensils layed across the napkin.

Vi looked down at the utensils confused and ended up just grabbing a random spoon. Caitlyn giggled as Vi picked up the spoon and used it. She scooted a bit closer to Vi and whispered “Wrong spoon, silly.”

Vi looked over at Caitlyn and smirked. “Well which one should I use, princess?”

Caitlyn gently took VI’s hand, removing it from the spoon she was holding and guiding it to the proper one. Vi was surprised by the sudden gesture by Caitlyn but allowed her to guide her. Vi picked up the spoon and scooped the soup into it. Caitlyn picked up her own spoon and took a scoop of the soup. She gently blew on it and ate it. Vi watched her and followed her lead. She blew onto the soup, a bit too hard making a drop fall of the spoon and back into her bowl, and placed the spoonful into her mouth. VI’s eyes widened at the taste of the soup. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted. The small bits of potato and carrot were soft but full of flavor and the meat was tender and juicy. Vi quickly took another spoonful of the soup and ate it.

The rest of the dinner went on well with the occasional banter or chatter of small talk going around. The three Zaunites savored the food deeply, they hadn’t had a proper meal in so long and never one so proper either. At the end of the meal Mrs Kiramman made an announcement.

She cleared her throat and spoke up, looking toward the servants to make sure they were paying attention. “I would like to announce that the three of you will be resigning into our house” she turned to the servers “I’d like three room prepared for our new members. They will be long term residents of our house so make sure they are comfortable.”

Most of the servers nodded and rushed off to prepare rooms or clean and others stayed for instructions. Everyone had finished their meals and it was getting quite late. Mrs Kiramman looked at the Underlings one last time before retiring to sleep for the night. “I have entrusted much faith into you, do not disappoint.” Her words were cold and sent a chill down their backs. She left the room with her husband and the dining room fell silent.

Caitlyn turned to the workers. “May you please guide these two boys to there rooms, I would like to speak with her for a moment.” Her voice was sweet like honey and soon the two boys were exited to their rooms. Caitlyn and Vi stood alone together in the quiet dining hall. Caitlyn took a deep breath “I would like you to follow me please.”

Vi nodded and smiled“Late night adventure now, are we Cupcake?”

Caitlyn hummed pleasantly“Not far… just to my room.”

Chapter Text

Vi followed the indigo haired girl through the long dark hallways of the mansions. Each step seamed to echo like a cavern as the moonlight peaked from behind the curtains of the windows that peaked above them. Caitlyn turned to one of the doors and gripped its handle, slowly and quietly turning it. Caitlyn quickly ushered Vi into the cold room. Caitlyn turned the nob of an oil lamp, filling the room with a warm orange light. There was a huge bed with drapes hanging from the frame and a clothing rack with a top hat sat a top. On the bed layed the finest silk sheets and a single bear above the pillow. Caitlyn sat on the bed and placed a hand next to her, urging Vi to sit next to her. Vi sat on the bed and looked around the room but her eyes kept falling back to the bear.

A smile tugged at the corner of Caitlyns lips as she saw Vi staring at the bear. She picked up the bear and gently placed it on her lap. “When I was younger, probably about 11, I was taught how to use an enforcers sniper at the fair. One of the games you had to use it to shoot and I wasn’t very good though. I got the lowest prize you could get which was this stuffed bear and… yeah it was my introduction into becoming an enforcer…” Caitlyn stared out the window at the night sky as she told her story, reminiscing of good times.

Vi nodded “When I was younger I had a stuffed bunny, I took it everywhere and it made me feel safe. One day I was walking about though and some jerk through it up in the cables. I used to sit on the roof each night, hoping the wind or rain might knock it down.” Vi smiled, her memory wasn’t as happy but it still brought her joy.

“Did you ever get it back?”

Vi thought for a second, wondering what to say. “Yeah, but it’s gone now.”

“Oh, that’s sad.” Caitlyn said looking down and Vi chuckled. The two sat together watching the moon and listening to the sounds of the night. Caitlyn yawned and Vi layed her head on Caitlyn’s shoulder. The two sat together in the night until slowly they drifted to sleep.

. . .

When morning came Caitlyn found herself lying in VI’s lap as she was being little spooned in VI’s arms. Caitlyn’s face immediately went red but she stayed in the comfort of the warmth for a second before slowly getting up. She looked at the sleeping Vi and decided she’d get a shower and change before waking her up.

When Caitlyn finished getting ready for the day she sat down on the bed quietly next to the sleeping Vi. She gently fingers VI’s violet red hair and looked at her. Caitlyn put her hands on her lap and slowly began to wake the sleeping girl.

“Good morning, sleep well?” Caitlyn asked gently.

VI’s eyes slowly opened and she grunted. Her eyes adjusted to the bright light of the morning sun before she blinked them open. “Slept like a rock, Sleeping Beauty.” She said as a smile crept on her lips.

“I woke up before you?!”

Vi chuckled “That doesn’t change your beauty then.”

Caitlyn’s face grew slightly red and she looked away. “Well you should check in with the servers, your clothes should be ready. Meet me in the kitchen after though.”

Vi sat up and nodded. “First I’m gonna check up on my brothers though.”

“No worries, they should be there as well.” Caitlyn reassured her.

Vi nodded again as she grabbed the doorknob.  She turned her head and looked at Caitlyn with a smile “Then I guess I’ll meet you there.”

Vi walked down the endless halls, filled by the orange sunlight. Servers ran up and down the halls, some carrying laurdry or cleaning supplies. Vi slowly opened the door to her room. It was dark with a ray of light peaking past the curtains. She walked into the room closing the door behind her and thew the curtains open allowing herself to be bathed by the sunlight. On the corner of the bed her clothes were folded in a pile; she picked them up and changed into her normal clothes. It felt nice being in her normal clothes, the short tight dress was uncomfortable and too formal for her liking.

She looked around the room once more before leaving and heading to the kitchen. When she entered she saw Mylo, Claggor, and Caitlyn all socializing together at the table while eating some bread or fruit. Caitlyn looked over at Vi when she opened, her eyes brightening up. “Hi Vi! Come take a seat.”

Vi walked over to the table and took a seat next to Caitlyn. The plush chair was comfortable and Vi looked at the table that was scattered with fruits and breads. “Help yourself to anything you’d like.” Caitlyn’s voice was soft from drowsiness as she looked down at her plate.

Vi smirked and grabbed Caitlyn’s face with her hand, forcing her to look towards her. “Can I have a bite of you, Cupcake?”

Caitlyn’s face turned red. “Why do you call me that, that, Cupcake!” Caitlyn stuttered in surprise from the sudden act.

“Because you’re so cute! Like a cupcake!” Vi taunted as she layed her head on Caitlyns shoulder.

The two brothers just watched the two flirt, confused. “So where did you go last night?” Mylo speculated as he looked at the girls.

Caitlyn’s face went red and she cleared her throat. “We just hung out a bit.” She said formally and a bit flustered.

“Mhmm hung out…” Mylo taunted.

“Stop making it weird! We just met the other day and we were getting to know each other.” Vi explained, annoyed by Mylos prying.

Vi reached across the table and grabbed a fruit. When she bit into it she was met by the surprise of the crunchy and juicy fruit. All the fruit in the undercity had been soft and mushy but the fruit on Topside tasted fresh and enjoyable. “So you Pilties get the good fruit too?” She acknowledged as she looked at Cait.

Caitlyn took a piece of bread and some more fruit and put it on her fruit. “Yes, I guess the condition of your air would have an effect on how your crops grow.” She studied the fruit in her hand.

The four enjoyed the fruits and bread of the morning with some chatter, light talk, and VI’s occasional flirt. When they all finished eating there was a moment of silence before Caitlyn spoke up. “So… starting soon you’re all going to go to school with me, but before that you will have private tutors to get you caught up.”

The three were a bit suprised and excited. They didn’t have schools in the undercity so this would be there first time. If a Zaunite wanted to go to school they’d have to be privately taught which most didn’t have the money to do, or they had to get into a Piltover school. The only way they’d be able to learn were through books or notes. The only one who really went through the trouble of finding books and notes though were Claggor and Powder and now Powder was gone…

.  .   .

Over the next month the Zaunite children met with various tutors and teachers so they’d be able to catch up to Caitlyn. They studied day and night until finally the day came; their first day of school. They had to wear the schools uniform of a red button down shirts and white vest with various detailing. They wore a red bow tie and dress shoes as well. The students could choose between a gray skirt with white leggings or gray pants. Everything was so uncomfortable for the Underlings. Despite living with the Kirarmanns for a month everything was still so unusual and formal. They stood on the large doorsteps of the academy building, people were pooling around and socializing with each other.

Caitlyn had a small smile, comforting on her face. “Are you ready to start your new life?”

Vi chuckled “Ready as I’ll ever be, Cupcake.” Caitlyn’s smile grew as she took VI’s arm and ran up the stairs of the building.

The two girls ran into the building while the brothers took their time and watched them from a distance. To Vi’s surprise the  academy was even nicer than the Kirammans home. Hand in hand the two walked down the hall, slowing down a bit so the brothers could catch up and they all walked to the main office where the Underlings picked up their schedules. Caitlyn already had hers because the others were joining halfway through the school year. They all compared their schedules to see what classes they got. They found a couple similarities between them but a lot of them were alone for most of there classes. They checked the clock and met with the shock that the bell would ring soon so they split there ways and made there way to there classes.

VI’s classes all were quite similar following the pattern of the teacher introducing the new student and taking notes of whatever the teacher said. The good thing about this being a school filled with smart people or rich people is that for the most part they all minded their own business besides the occasional mutter or whispering of gossip. Finally the class before lunch she had math where she sat down next Caitlyn.

“Oh, hello there Vi. I forgot you’d be in this class, how have your classes been?” Caitlyn’s voice sounded a bit relieved to see a familiar face.

Vi sighed as she slouched down in her chair. “It was a lot smoother than I had worried but I’m glad I had those tutor lessons or I would’ve been dead meat.”

The class fell silent as the teacher walked into the room and started the lesson. Vi spent the next hour writing notes and having light talks about the lesson with Caitlyn whenever the teacher stopped the lesson to help a student. Eventually the class came to an end and it was time for lunch.

“Finally! I need to eat something .” Vi growled as she stood from her seat. The two made their way down the long halls to the cafeteria where they found Mylo and Claggor standing near the entrance chatting with each other.

The four entered the large cafeteria that was quickly filling with other students. They entered the long lunch line where they were given a tray of food. It had some meat over rice and a bowl of steamed vegetables. They sat down at a table and ate the surprisingly good food. Mylo complained as usual about how classes were boring but seemed to have Claggor enjoyed his classes. Sadly the short reunion of lunch had to come to an end but after Vi had a chemistry class with Claggor.

The two sat next to each other at the barstool counters that were set in rows across the room. This class was pretty interesting, even though Vi wasn’t really into book smart things Claggor seemed very focused on the class. Claggor was a pretty quiet guy but he sure was smart and kind. He turned out to be the only somewhat normal person in the group…

Like other classes notes were taken, questions were asked, and soon the class was dismissed. Vi had two more classes before the end of school, Math and physical education. Vi had the choice of special classes to join, a tech class or music or other things like the but she decided to do physical education because it seemed pretty easy. Turns out there weren’t many kids at the fancy Piltover academy who played sports because of all the sciencey stuff so the people who did play were GOOD. Since Vi took 2 physical Educations she could pick two sports so she picked rugby and volleyball. While there were a lot of… not decent players, there were a surprising amount of good ones. The teacher ended up being impressed with VI’s skills and recommended her to join the academy’s team.

Vi was pretty suprised and ended up liking rugby but decided she wanted to think it over first. Vi was released from her final class and hurried to the front of the school to meet friends. Maybe life as a Piltie wouldn’t be so bad…

Chapter Text

MBM chapter 9

Vi has been going to Piltover academy for about 3 months now and she was having a good time. She was excelling at sports and even started to make a couple friends besides her normal ones. Her grades weren’t superb but they were still average and pretty decent. Though best of all is that she seemed to be getting closer to Caitlyn. Each day after school Vi would teach Caitlyn some close combat or sometimes they’d even just hang out. Who knows, maybe Pilties aren’t that bad after all…

Today was one of the busiest days of the year besides progress day, The festival! There were performances and food stands that lined the streets and people flooded everywhere. Vi and Caitlyn walked down the winding streets together, hand in hand, as they shared some food. Vi was wearing a red button down shirt with the top couple buttons opened up and some casual black jeans with her combat boots. It was much more comfortable and her style than the stuff she had to wear when she met Caits parents. Vi almost had to fight off the servants when they tried to put her those formal clothes again but with some help from Caitlyn she was able to convince them to trust her taste. Caitlyn was wearing a formal white shirt with neck and sleeve ruffles. She also had a brown under bust corset over her short blue layered skirt. She had a velvet blue mini top hat ontop of her long hair which she had let gracefully flow down her back. It looked like a cascading waterfall, gently flowing. The food was less… formal than Caitlyn was used to but Vi seemed to be enjoying it so she went along with it. They laughed at the performance and smiled together, picking food off each other’s face and generally having a good time.

While Cait and Vi had fun Mylo and Claggor worked together to create their own little stand where they set up rigged games and made a decent amount of money scamming rich kids and couples. They had a couple games set up, ring toss, that one where you knock the ball down with a baseball, etc. They didn’t go too far though, usually letting the kids win eventually. The dusky sun began to set above the fair and beautiful night lights floated from the sky like false stars. It was a beautiful sight and Cait and Vi made their way over to a big wheel like machine that brought couples high up into the night sky. Vi was extremely skeptical of the big machine, they didn’t have anything like it in Zaun but Caitlyn explained how it was a normal thing at festivals and eventually convinced Vi to go on it with her. They waited till the line shortened a bit and they got onto the tall ride. Vi balanced herself as she stood in the ride that swung a bit but Caitlyn sat her down and the ride started. Cait rested her head on VI’s shoulder as they started to go higher up in the sky. They looked at the big bright moon that swam with the stars in the endless void of the sky. They looked down below at the people at the ground and in the streets, having fun and enjoying themselves having a good time together. The bright lights of the city lit up the sight of the night creating a valley of colorful lights and sound that stretched across the horizon of the dark sky. Caitlyn and Vi relaxed as the ride slowly and calmly brought them up and soon they reached the peak of the ride. Vi reached her hand up, she felt almost as if she could touch the sky and steal the stars from the night sky.

“This… has been the best night of my life” Vi whispered to Caitlyn in a hushed voice. Vi thought back to her past life, scrapping in Zaun and stealing from Piltover. She smiled lightly as she took a deep breath of the night air. The wind whistled softly in her ears as a small cold breeze passed by.

Caitlyn thinks for a moment about VI’s words and a gentle smile appears on her face. One of VI’s arm wraps around Caitlyn’s waste and they hold each other, hand in hand.  “Thank you so much for inviting me here, I haven’t been in Piltover for long but..  you saved my life and gave me a better one.”

Caitlyn looks at the horizon of the night sky, a twinkle of the lights of life bouncing in her eyes. “My life has been so much more… enjoyable since you joined me. You taught me to stick up for myself and speak what I think is true, even if the outcome isn’t ideal.” Caitlyn’s voice was soft but her words were firm.

The two bonded in silence as the ride started lowering from the top….

• -   -

Jinx had been stuck inside from her injury’s but her room was just as active as usual, filled with the sound of whirls and the scraping of crayons and markers as she planned her revenge. She sighed deeply, it’d been almost 3 weeks since she had committed and crime or chaos and it was starting to get boring. She didn’t have much longer until she was ready to go back out into the world though, she’d prepared bombs, machines, even her own costume! She worked day and night to make sure everything would go perfectly and the work ended up being worth it. Rows of bombs and launchers, and a sick outfit she had sewn. It was mostly a bunch of black fabric she had clumped together and painted over in colorful neon paints. She also had her gas mask and goggles because if she got caught there would probably be some trouble from Silco. She finished her final smoke bomb and slowly stood up. She practiced walking and running around a bit with a leg brace she made to make sure she was good escape if she had to. She threw on the cropped hoodie she made and a pair of baggy matching pants. She attached her bombs to her cloak and belt. She finally lifted her mask and goggles over her face, ready to cause some chaos.

• -   -   -

At the same time Vi and Cait reached the top of there ride Jinx had finished sneaking around her traps and sighed. Vi and Cait were still snuggled up to each other, happy and comfortable. Jinx skipped up to the fountain happily, finally after all these weeks of training she could get her revenge from the bridge. She stood recklessly at the edge of the fountain, button in hand. One press from this and it’d be time for her big suprise. Under her mask and hoodie a maniacal smile grew on her face, hysterical and filled with chaos. Her slender finger, nails painted in pink and blue, hovered over the button and in an instant she slammed her hand into it, eyes wide. For a moment there was silence, the quiet before the storm but soon it began.

Vi and Caitlyn looked out at the city, smiling and wonder in their eyes when suddenly the ride stopped. They let go of each other and looked over the edge in panic before in an instant all the lights in the city turned off. The music stopped blaring from the speakers and the lights stopped shining, leaving the city quiet beside the sound of its panicked residents. Soon the speakers started again but the music was different, it was… carnival music? It sounded distorted and choppy a bit but it was definitely carnival music. Their eyes were quickly blinded by the bright lights that clicked on and shone down the city in neon colors, Pink, Blue, and Green. The whole scenario seemed crazy like a big circus as the music blared and the lights strobed in its flashy colors.

Jinx laughed maniacally as she watched the panic around her unfold. She pulled out two small viles from her pouch, and looked at them closely, humming to the tune of the music as she walked around the edge of the fountain like a balancing beam. She uncapped one of the viles and dumped it into the fountain. The fountain turned a bright pink color, almost glowing in luminous. The happily uncapped the other vile and dumped it into the lake as well. The streets were taken up by a thick fog as the citizens ran in confusion. She quickly ducked into an alleyway and started jumping roof to roof under the night sky, as she dropped smoke and powder bombs to the foggy city below. She heard the sound of citizen screams and a big cloud of powders and paints erupt up the building like a volcano as the bombs detonated. Filled with adrenaline she skipped happily and breathed in the chaos of the night air through her decorated gas mask. It felt so good to be up and running again.

Not after long enforcers started arriving, Jinxes cue to leave as soon as possible as she jumped happily making her way back to Zaun…

• -   -

Eventually the enforcers helped everyone out of the rides and Vi hesitantly accepted their help as she climbed down. They coughed up the dusty air as they got to the bottom, most of the smoke had cleared but the air was dusty and smelled like chemicals. During the fiasco Mylo and Claggor had ducked down under their booth but still got a bit colorful from the explosions. The four reunited with each other and all had to keep as straight of a face as possible because it was a serious situation and attack… but they were all covered in bright paints. They chuckled a bit together, theorizing on who the culprit had been. The Zaunites hadn’t been to their homes in almost a year now so they weren’t up to date on the new down their so there guess was as good as Caitlyn’s. They thought maybe it could have been Silco, gone back to working as usual after killing Powder. They were hit with a pang of guilt as they thought about Powder, they had left her to the knife of Silco’s revenge. Caitlyn looked at the Zaunites, Vi had told her about Powder and what had happened that night. They all looked up at the night sky, hoping that she rested peacefully.

Everyone was still a bit shaken up from the attack of the mysterious person. The streets were covered in colorful paints that sprayed up the building as if mini volcanos had gone off and everyone knew it would take weeks to clean everything up and scrubbing. Everyone was interested in the fountain which the culprit had turned the water into a somewhat luminescent pink. Due to the fog and there clothes enforcers were not able to locate or identify the person but they were certain of one thing. Marcus knew who had done this. After all the was starting to get tired of Silco and his brat. She couldn’t just go around doing these things unpunished. He scoffed in frustration because he knew that if he did report Jinx, Silco would send his goons and He’d be rotting in an alleyway. On the other hand he couldn’t return empty handed again. He was the chief and soon if he didn’t start arresting people he might get demoted and if that happens he’ll be no use to Silco. He found himself in an infinite loop because of his traitorous actions and backed into a corner to choose a side. He knew he had to do something and he’d hold Zaun responsible for it.

Chapter Text

MBM chapter 10

“Dammit Silco! You need to get her under control!” Marcus yelled in frustration as he slammed his hands on the table “She’s getting in the way of my work and if she doesn’t calm the hell down I’m gonna get caught?!”

Silco payed no minds to Marcus’s words, he simple picked up his cigar and lit it. Marcus stared at Silco confused, did he just not care?! Silco took a puff of the cigar and exhaled deeply into the enforcers face. Marcus took a step back and coughed up the smoke that suddenly filled his lungs and vision.

“And if I don’t?” Silco’s words were stern and cold. Like a dagger that had cut down all of Marcus’s confidence and reasoning. “You’re going to do what? Tell Piltover you’re a spy? Treason is very frowned upon up there..” he said as he took another breath into the cigar.

Marcus’s brain paused for a moment, What could he do? He had no power in Zaun. “I…I’ll-“

“You will continue your current work and you will fix your problem.” Silco had no remorse or care for Marcus, just another pawn that could be replaced by another piece at any moment.

Marcus nodded, his breath shook but her stood tall. “I will fix it.” He confirmed and stood in silence.

Silco waves a man at the enforcer and raised is eyebrow “Then what are you doing here?” he hissed and Marcus quickly left the office. Silco sighed deeply and took another smoke. Marcus was right about one thing though, Jinx is becoming out of control…

Suddenly the door burst open as the blue hair child ran happily into the room, sitting in her usual spot of Silco’s work desk. Silco put out his cigar, laying it on the ashtray and looked up at the child in front of him who was beaming happily. He nodded, understanding there routine and handed her a golden syringe with a purple liquid inside. She quickly snatched the syringe and sat on the arm of his chair. She carefully lined the syringes hole with his eye and shot it down, releasing the drop of shimmer into his eye. Still smiling the child placed the syringe down on the table and looked at the man.

Silco smirked. “Now now, what are you so happy about?” He was quite genuine with this curiosity but something in the back of his mind told him it had something to do with Marcus’s problem earlier.

The blue hair child sat down in his lap as he un tangled her long hair with a brush she had decorated for him. “There was a festival in Piltover!” She exclaimed happily.

Silco’s interest had been peaked “Oh really?”

She nodded happily. “Mhm! And I was recovered enough to go!”

“I see, but what’s a future Zaun leader doing at a Piltover party?” He pried as the child smiled happily.

Her smile becomes more mischievous. “They had there Piltover fun so I gave them some… Zaun fun.” She said with a nod, quite proud with her choice of words.

Silco closely listened as she spoke. “Hmm, is that why Marcus was so upset earlier?”

She thought for a moment but smiled again. “Yup! I made some paint bombs and turned the Pilties rainbow!” She flung her hands up in the air and giggled, clearly enjoying herself.

“Did you leave any traces or tracks?”

Jinx shook her head. “Nope! Not a hair!” She popped the p sound when she said nope.

Silco continued braiding the long blue hair, it almost seemed as endless as the sky these days with how long it’s gotten. “Well that’s good.” He nodded, still looking down at her long hair. “Are you sure you don’t want a haircut soon, it could get in the way of fighting?”

“Noooo, short hair was a Powder thing but Jinx is gonna have the longest hair in Zaun!” There was excitement in her voice and her volume raised a bit as she spoke.

Silco listened to the girls reasoning. “Very well then…” The thought of Powder reminded him of Jinx when she was younger, probably about 1 or 2 years old? There had been a couple times when he’d got to meet Violet and Powder when he hung out with Felicia. Powder was so quiet and innocent at the time, unaware of the future she’d behold…

• -   -

13 years ago…

Music blared on the speakers as Silco silently sat down at the bar, studying his notes, eating some porridge, and drinking a bit with Felicia and Vander. The two were chattering about as usual when Silco spotted something. In the corner peaking around the door was a small blue haired girl.

Silco smirked as he looked at the girl. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little spy.” The chattering duo looked at him confused and he nodded to the corner where a door was tucked.

Felicia chuckled and smiled. “C’mere Pow Pow.” Her words were soft and kind, Silco hadn’t really seen her so motherly. The blue haired girl ran up to her mother and Felicia scooped her up into her arms and sat her on her lap as she sat on the barstool. “Pow Pow, these are your uncles, Silco and Vander.”

“What happened to Bozo 1 and 2?” Vander chuckled as he looked at the small child who was nestled into her mother’s side.

Felicia smirked, remembering the comment she had made. “That too but I need her to learn your real names, she does talk much ands quite shy for a child.” The mother pondered and booped the child’s nose.

Silco looked at the child in depleted thought. “Powder… a very nice name, isn’t it?” He nodded to the child who processed none of his words seemingly, continuing to clench to her mother tightly.

An idea popped into Vanders head and he smiled mischievously. He ducked under the counters and rummaged through the bottles and cups of alcohol. “Vander… you can’t give a child alcohol.” Silco discouraged as he watched the man put a small cup on the counter.

“I know, I know. I’m not insane…” He pulled out a bottle and poured it in the cup. It was a bright orange color and smelled quite nice. For the final touch he plopped a straw in. Banded slid the drink over to Felicia. The cup was a bit bigger than the size of a shot glass but the child was quite small.

Felicia nodded, picking up the glass and sitting Powder down on the counter. “Pow Pow, this is a really good drink you should try.” She looked at the straw and tried a sip of the orange liquid. Her eyes seemed to light up and she drank another sip of the juice.

Silco smirked a bit “It seems she had your genes.” He said as the child happily drank the juice.

The three nodded and watched curiously as the child finished her drink. “Ya finished already?”  Vander looked down at Powder. “Guess your uncles right about having ya mom’s genes.”

The three all laughed and had fun with Powder until she eventually fell asleep and Felicia had to return her to her bed…

After a few minutes Felicia returned to the bar, tiredness lingered in her eyes. Vander looks up at her and pours another cup of juice, sliding it over to where Felicia was sitting. “How’s Violet feeling about having a younger sister?”

Felicia smiled lightly. “She’s so protective of her, as if she’s a delicate little flower. She’s being such a good older sister.” She slowly drank the juice in the cup, it’d been a good month or two since she’s just sat and relaxed.

“I don’t want them to stay down here for their lives, we have to stop the enforcers.”Felicia had been protesting at the bridge for the past month at h to e very least, weeks since she’d gotten a proper sleep.

Silco’s ears perked up. “Well then let’s do something, we can collect a bunch of people and riot at the bridge.”

Vander looked at him from across the bar. “The bridge? Isn’t that a bit too close to Piltover?” Worry lingered in his voice.

Silco closed his book, bringing his full attention to the conversation but Felicia spoke up before Silco could respond. “No, the bridge is perfect. Gather anyone who walks into the bridge.” She nodded to herself as she gathered her thoughts together.

Vander looked down at the counter of the bar, his mind told him to try to back them out of it but something lingered in the back of his head. A itch of anger against the enforcers, they walked the streets like they ruled them. Though through his hate he also could not abandon reason, people would get hurt and rioting could just make things worse…

“In 3 days we’ll meet at the bridge, bring as many people as you can. I’ll tell Connel and ask Benzo to watch the kids.” There was something new in her voice, passion and hope. Things she hadn’t felt in years.

The 2 men nodded, accepting the plan Vander more hesitantly thought. He looked up at a pair of gauntlets hanging from the ceiling, it was one of his first weapons, made of scrap metals from back when he worked in the mines. He sighed and gabbing there leather straps and looked into the shiny metals of the gloves, his face reflected back at him. “We will get our freedom.”

• -  -

Silco’s mind had drifted again, he knew he shouldn’t think of them anymore, that Silco had drowned a long time ago, yet he still felt fondness in the memory.

Chapter Text

11

Jinx opened the doors to the dining room, the lights were pitch black and you could hear a pin drop. Her waist length braids crept to her as she curiously walked into the room. Suddenly a match stuck and candles lit up across the table. Sitting in two chairs were Jinx and Sevika. The room was covered in papers saying “Happy birthday!” And other messages. Sevika sat in her chair with her usual grumpy and uptight attitude.

Jinxes face lit up with happiness seeing what the two had set up for her. She tackled Silco into a hug like usual. “Thank you! Thank you!” A smile was beamed onto her face as she hugged the old man tightly in the candle lit room.

Silco nodded approvingly. “Chin up child, it is yet another year you succeed in helping the nation of Zaun grow.” Jinx laided her had on his shoulder, gazing into the warmth of the fire that topped the cupcake. The flame flickered back and forth in seemingly random bursts. Silco had been so busy with Zaun and yet still managed to make time for fun activities and bonding moments.

She reminded herself of the cupcake that sat on the table and her pupils grew like a cats as she crept up to the cupcake. It looked like a simple chocolate cupcake with a nice blue and pink marble frosting. On top dug deep into the dessert was a small spiral striped candle. She picked up the candle and gazed deep into the fire. To think something so small could cause so much trouble. The teenage girl took a small bite of the cupcake and was mostly filled with the sweet sugary frosting. She took another bite and it was perfectly even, a balance of the soft cake and the creamy frosting. She continued nibbling on the cupcake in delight, a bit of frosting landed a spot in her nose. She ate enough and placed the cupcake back on the table to savor for later. She returned to tackle Silco into yet another one of her hugs as she clung tightly to him. Jinx had turned 13, it having been 4 years since the birth of Jinx. She celebrated her new form and the death of Powder, though she feared that the little girl may not be truly dead…

“Now now Jinx, a year of accomplishment has passed but now we must plan. What shall Jinx do now? Who shall she become.” Silco lectured. Each year they planned a big goal for each of them. Usually Silcos was to grow Zaun or the production of shimmer and Jinx’s was to help out.

Jinx kicked her legs back and forth as she sat on the arm of Silco’s chair. She thought deeply about the things she had done and what she could do better. “Can I help out with more missions? Maybe I can gather info about those who’ve started taking down the shimmer ships?” She spoke with excitement and enthusiasm as ideas came to her mind.

Silco drummed his finger on the other arms of the chair, thinking of the girls proposal. “Hmm… perhaps. Though in the beginning I want you doing a smaller job. We do not know much about our attackers so they could be too high skilled for you. Maybe if Sevika joins you..” He mumbled as he put his thoughts into place.

Jinx jumped out of the chair in excitement and ran over across the table to Sevika. “We’re gonna be partners in crime!” She jumped around Sevika smiling as happiness built inside of her.

Sevika sighed, annoyed by the child’s excitement and eagerness. In all seriousness she preferred working alone and not to mention Jinx had enough energy that not even 10 oxen could handle. She rubbed her forehead, knowing she would have a headache later from all the squealing Jinx had been doing…

- - -

Sevika had worked with Silco only about a year longer than Jinx herself had. Vander had grown quiet and weak but Silco gave her the option to fight back. The option to gain power and make the enforcers pay. She or her family never had much growing up, either way the enforcers found a way to tear her apart. Day after day was hell with mines collapsing and people getting killed or too injured to work. She wanted to be more than what her parents were, miners working for ungrateful people. During her adolescence she had spent her time bodyguarding some losers and attending some riots but eventually she was given a new job. Silco. He hired her as a simple bodyguard at first but found her work to be quite amazing. She was hired full time and eventually Vander became boring and lazy stopping his riots. The fact that people were still dying yet he was just chillin in his tavern. Silco told the story of his betrayal and the night on the bridge. The last riot. The pay was pretty good and being a full time employee she lived free of rent of the factory so her life had finally started to go up. Then Jinx came.

It had probably been a couple days since the explosion of the factory when Sevika came into the office like usual to give Silco a report on how Zaun was doing and the progress on Shimmer. This time Sevika had come a bit early and as she opened the door she saw Silco sitting in his chair as usual, cigar in hand. Even though this was the same routine they had followed for months now Sevika could sense something in the atmosphere. A feeling of mourning. Silco stared out the giant window as he smoked his cigar, his mind was thinking about the events that had taken place a couple days ago. He didn’t have the time to process Vanders death at the time but now that he was alone he thought about how the man he spent almost all his life with was dead. Sure it was his plan to kill him but a feeling tugged in his chest, of what? Guilt? He couldn’t tell at this point for he had to pass the feelings on quickly. People died every day and this was no different, he had to let go and be able to set a good example for Powder.

Sevika cleared her voice, making Silco aware of her presence. “Sir, I come with the reports for this week.” Her voice seemed loud in the quiet room as Silcos chair spun menacingly to face her. He leaned closer, taking a puff of his cigar.

His voice was stern and Cole as usual. “You may proceed.” His eyes were filled with boredom as he half attentively listened to the woman give her analysis on the production of shimmer and how the explosion of the factory slowed its progress. When Sevika finished she left to continue her duties, leaving Silco again, thoughts roaming through his head. Yet he knew he’d have to make the girl let go of her past.

- - -

Jinx walked into the office of Silco, as they would anyday for their normal routine. The girl happily skipped to the desk where the old man sat, today was different, he was waiting for her. As Jinx sat on the desk and Silco started undoing her braids he started talking. His voice was different than other days, sterner. “Jinx, I need to talk to you about… the day I found you”

Jin turned her head to face him, confusion puzzled on her face. “What about it.”

He took a deep breath, preparing his words. “I need you to understand, your old family left you, abandoned you, letting you rot not knowing what would become of you. They don’t care about you.” His words were harsh and stung but in it lead a lesson that she needed to learn.

Jinxes face drooped a bit and sadness filled her eyes. “Do you think… they’ll ever come back?”

“No. Think of what they did to you, they yelled at you, called you such ugly words, but now you can be something different, a new person. With your new family.” He spoke with a mixture of lecturing and hard encouragement. His hand wove through the hair of the girl, it wasn’t very long. Barely long enough to house the two braids that now sat on her head as he finished.

Jinx nodded as she listened his words. “No more… last drop, angry sisters, mean brothers. No more mistakes.” She had become filled with determination, fueled by her anger as she spat words of promising.

“You are new, my child… Let Powder die and Jinx may rise above taking her place with a new mindset and more power…”

Chapter Text

As Caitlyn went about her day she noticed on odd pattern with the Underlings. Something was different about the day but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. She thought back throughout her mind, remembering all the story’s the Zaunites had told about their childhood. A birthday? No… A holiday? Nope… Her mind thought of every conclusion it could for the odd behaviors as she paced her bedroom when it suddenly hit her. She ran across the mansion to VI’s room, bursting the door open. The room was dark in the light of the gloomy after noon. She slowed down and calmly walked over to the window nook where Vi sat. She sat down next to Vi and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry darling, I know today is a hard day.” Caitlyn’s voice is soft and affectionate. “Would you like to talk to me about it?”

Vi looks away. “I-I’m fine.” She mumbled and took a breath.

Caitlyn’s eyes furrowed as she looked longingly at Vi. “Violet dear, you don’t need to act so strong right now, please talk to me dear.”

VI’s eyes started tearing up but she pushed them back. Caitlyn softly turned VI’s cheek, making them look eye to eye. VI’s defensive crumbled down and tears started streaming down her face as she pulled Cait into a hug. “I just miss them so much. Vander, Pow-Pow, Little man.” Her voice was broken as she dumped all the thoughts she had been holding in her heart.

Caitlyn’s expression softened as she gently patted her back. “Dear, you don’t need to always take care of everyone, you, Mylo, Claggor, you’re all safe here. You don’t need to fight these feeling alone anymore. We’re all here for each other.”

Vi’s grip tightened on Caitlyn as she listened. “But I left Powder, I wasn’t strong enough to save Vander, and now Little man’s missing too…” Vi pulled out of the hug and looked Cait in the eyes.

Caitlyn rubbed VI’s cheek against her soft, warm hand. “None of those things were your fault though, you shouldn’t have had to deal with all that at such a young age, and we’re still growing.” Caitlyn’s words were soft and comforting.

Vi placed her head on Caits shoulder and the two snuggled together, enjoying the warmth and company of each other. Cait ran her fingers through the girls messy hair. The clouds remained gray, covering the sun from view as time passed…

• -   -

Mylo and Claggor had much healthier habits of mourning than Vi, spending the day with each other and reminiscing in old memories but still making room for new ones. The death and loss of both there father and sister were very regrettable and though there memories wouldn’t be forgotten they now has a new family and were getting some more friends at school. Mylo still did have a lot of problems with regret and guilt though, Powder was young and just trying to help yet he had pushed her away. Now she was probably dead from the hands of Silco…

Even through the darkness of his thoughts Mylo would always be pulled out of his mind by his brother Claggor. Claggor had known his brother well enough to see when he had been thinking in shame and regret but he knew how to help him. The two would spend the death day together, Mylo would open up about his feeling more and Claggor would be there to help and comfort him. They finished the day as they normally would, eating with the rest of the family in the dining room and splitting off to do their own things before they went to sleep. As eyes fluttered to sleep with the rising moon, Claggor finished up some school work for the next day before going to sleep himself.

The sound of a music box played over the city once the moon was centered in the sky. A girl hid in the shadows, waiting to strike…

Chapter Text

The moon hung high over Piltover’s shining city, people sleeping comfortably in their beds and guards patrolling. Past the darkness of the night in the corner is a small light, sparks flying high and waiting to catch fire. A cloaked figure sat at the town’s fountain, fidgeting with a small contraption in her hand, finalizing its effect. Though her face was covered by the cloak her recognizable twin braids ran off her shoulders and down to the just between her knees and hips. Finally the last piece clicked into place and she a smile fell on her face as she stood from her spot next to the fountain and fled back to the shadows.

• -   -

In the distance stood a building, tall, clean, and beautifully designed from an architectural point. The girl stood at the huge gates of the building that stood almost triple her height. She pulled the contraption she had been working on earlier out of her bag and gripped it tightly. A mischievous giggle slipped out of her cracked lips as she couldn’t contain her eagerness any longer. She got to work twisting some of the nobs and getting it into place. The contraption wasn’t very big, it was a bit bigger than her hands. Her small bony fingers worked quickly with great speed and precision. Despite the small size of the object it held great power as she flicked its final switch…

• -   -

The speakers over Piltover buzzed for a moment, a crackling sound of its music box. As the gears inside turned a loud music started up, loud and energetic. The citizens awoke from their sleep and the enforcers were soon sent out to find the cause of the disturbance. As panic rose across the city a timer clocked down, second by second. The blue haired girl swiftly and effortlessly climbed the fence, her braid trailing behind her as she was able to slip by in the panic.

2 minutes, 32 seconds remaining…

The eager girl counted the seconds in her head for when it would finally happen. As she jumped down from the gate she observed the building ahead of her. She ran across the grass in the dark night and clutched against a bush in the wall. All the grass was green and fresh with mildew and the bushes were cut precisely into round spheres and perfect corners. She looked for any form of entry when she finally came across something that seemed like it could fit her. She crawled into the ventilation unit, making her way into the building as she quietly crawled.

1 minutes, 4 seconds remaining…

She crawled through the dusty vents, they certainly weren’t as nice as the rest of the building but it didn’t seem to be the most optimal way of traveling as well…

Her black cloak dragged across the ground as she crawled through. There were a few holes and burns in it from past… annoyances… but it still did a good job of hiding herself. For some reason Silco didn’t want Jinx making a public appearance so she had designed her own costume to wear whenever she went out. She something that was like a gas mask to keep her from inhaling any gases or paints she may use. To finish it off she wore a pair of goggles that snuck tight to her face and hid her manic eyes from view. All of the costume was covered in bright paints and markers or just stains from working which all pulled together into a rather unique disguise. Civilians knew that if you saw her, escape while you have the chance…

0 minutes, 14 seconds remaining…

As she was getting closer to the time of the main surprise as she counted she stopped and looked at one of the vent seals. She lifted it and slowly climbed out into the room. Finally she could see the thing she had been working towards and-

“Trespassing now, are we?”

The words of a man with a thick Slavic accent echoed out into the room. Jinx jumped up a bit and turned to face the direction of the voice. She saw a man sitting at a desk, the only light being from a small blue orb that sat on the desk. Even in the darkness of the room she could still see the papers and tools strewn about the room. The man was pale and hollow with something that looked like a walking stick to the side. He has brown messy hair and wore the uniform that all the people at this academy wore. She watched him for a moment but was reminded of the timer.

0 minutes, 2 seconds remaining…

She quickly turned again and looked out the window. In the distance a large cloud of colorful smoke could be seen emerging from the town square where the water fountain sat. It could be seen far and wide, the distant hum of the music muffled through the walls. A small smirk tugged at the corner of the girls lips as she returned her attention to the man.

“May I ask, does that happen to be something of your doing?” The man study’s the girl in front of her, her long braids and messy outfit. “You have built quite the character for yourself…” he continues a bit quieter, deep in thought.

Jinx felt confident in herself and the work she had done. “Yup! I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks now and the work payed off.”

The man continues to observe the girl, I thick silence hung over the room tightly. “You seem quite young to be raging attacks on such a powerful opponent…” he mumbles as he looks at her. She didn’t seem that old, just a teenager by the slight lack of maturity in her voice and smaller size.

“It doesn’t matter how old I am, I’ll be doing this until the day I die!” The girls smile grew and she flung her arms out energetically.

“Yes but it is quite dangerous work. Your friends and family worry about you, do they not?” The man lightly stroked his chin as he looked at the girl, searching for any clue of her life and who she was.

Her face falls a bit and she becomes a bit annoyed. “Jinx. I’m going to cause as much pain and chaos to Piltover, my name will echo through the streets.” Her voice is determined with a hint of anger. “You Pilties wouldn’t know a thing about the undercity.”

The man nodded slowly as he listened to her. His gaze softened a bit as he listened to her anger and feeling of displacement. “Of course, top student of Piltover and weak cripple would know nothing about the tough undercity. The cold sleepless nights and empty foodless days. The constant fight for a bit of freedom and the last breath of fresh air.”

Jinxes gaze hardened on him. His oddly specific yet familiar words. She looked at him with question. The man could tell she questioned her initial thoughts on who he may be, where he came from. “Well who are you exactly then?” She asked, her guard was up and she looked for any hint of lying.

He extended an arm, a simple hand shake. “Viktor.” The name echoed in Jinxes head as she looked at his hand for a moment. “Not much of a handshaker, are you?”

She looked back to his face, she didn’t trust him. She was confused and a bit frustrated too by his behavior. “Why haven’t you called the guards yet and why are you being so- so- Polite!?”

Victor returned his hand to his sides, thinking of a good way to respond and make sure she didn’t become more angry than she already was. “Well, I too am from the underground. I know you may find that hard to believe but I found my was up here. I worked day and night, passed all the people who saw me as just another thief from the undercity.” His words were calm and Jinx couldn’t see anything that would detect a lie.

She stood there a minute silently. She was hesitant on how to continue and the information she had just received. “How? The people of Piltover don’t respect us yet you’d turn your back to us and work for them?”

“It’s true that not everyone may respect me but if you create something wonderful enough they may just ignore or not see that part of you. If I had stayed in the Undercity I wouldn’t have met the people or found the materials I needed to continue my work.” He looked down at the blue orb that gently glowed on desk, illuminating the dark room with a blue tint.

Jinx looked at him with skepticism and disbelief. “What’s the invention you made if it’s oh so good to get you up here?”

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Viktor’s  lips at her words. The passion and determination she had was visible to him. “I see something in you. You have spirit and courage. That is all you need to get up here, it seems you have the other skills you need.” His gaze drifted to the colorful explosion that had gone off a few minutes ago, powders still drifting from the sky like a soft rain.

His words lingered for a moment but quickly Jinx put them aside before she could have any second thoughts, any sign of hesitation. Viktor saw this but still knew his words had left an impact on her. “You should go now, my partner should be returning soon.”

Jinx looked at him and then back to the vent before nodding and slipping back in. “Viktor used his cane to nudge the vent closed he deeply thought about the event that just happened and the interesting soul he had just met. “Jinx…” he muttered under his breath before returning to his work.

• -  -

Viktor worked at his desk, the sound of the music slowly faded to a stop and the last of the powder falling to the ground outside the building. The girl he met was now long gone and probably back in the underground by now. His thoughts lingered on her as he worked, his fingers wrote his notes swiftly and delicately. As he was deep in thoughts he heard the click of the door as it opened. He looked away from his worked to see who had come in and found his lab partner, Jayce, walking in. “Good morning Viktor.” He said as he saw the man sitting at the desk.

“Morning?” Viktor questioned and looked out the window to see the sun starting to rise into the sky. He’d stayed up all night…

Jayce chuckled lightly at Viktors reaction to his words, knowing the man tended to lose track of time very easily. “I can get started on the work for today, you need to get some sleep.” He saw Viktor went to protest so he spoke up again. “It wouldn’t do us any help if you were sleep deprived and messy with your work. Just a couple hours at least?”

Viktor sighed but he knew Jayce would find a reason or way to get him to sleep even if he disagreed. “Fine, fine… just don’t make any discovery’s without me…” Viktor layed back in the chair he sat in at the desk but his body didn’t protest with sleep for long. After only a few seconds exhaustion took over and he slumped down, fast asleep…

Jayce watched as Viktor soon came to his senses and fell asleep in his chair. He smiled softly at the sight of his strict and stubborn lab partner. It was always once or twice a week that something like this would happen or Jayce would divert his attention from Viktor for a second and he would be asleep, head against the desk. Jayce got to work, writing equations and theory’s with the reaction of the hex core. It was frustrating and tedious work but eventual it would pay out in the end. How long had it been since Viktor joined this quest? 3, 4 years maybe? The two did find ways to get along though and their minds were able to create wonderful inventions and ideas together. Jayce looked again at his partner- lab partner, fast asleep, his eyes dark and heavy. Part of it worries Jayce about Viktor overworking himself but eventually he knew that it would work out in the end…

Chapter Text

Mylo drummed his fingers against his desk as he stared off bored. This class had been going on forever and another bit of information would make his head explode. It was a simple literature class, not much to it besides a bit of reading and writing so he was still able to just pass by without having to study much. His mind for the most part though was elsewhere. Each year Piltover held a contest for small inventors and thinkers to get their ideas out there. The winner gets invested in by the other judges but they also get recognition for winning. There was now less then a month until the competition and he had been helping Claggor out with the invention he was making. Mylo was very interested in participating himself but Claggor saw it as a great opportunity. Maybe too much of a great opportunity though because now her was asleep on his notebook, the teacher giving him some serious glares.

Mylo poked the sleeping Claggor with his pencil, Claggor had been pulling all nighters to get this thing done and Mylo was starting to worry he was overworking himself. Claggors eyes slowly blinked open as he took in his surroundings and focused back on the lesson, scribbling notes in his notebook. Comparing Claggors notes to Mylo you would’ve guessed Mylos notes had been written by a child but Mylo would always argue they were good enough as long as he could read them.

Mylo also returned his focus to the lesson, lazily taking notes while glancing back to make sure Claggor hadn’t fallen asleep again. Finally the bell rang it’s loud sound, waking up any sleeping students and sending everyone off to there next class. Mylo looked down at Claggor who was scuttling to grab his bag and put his classes notes in it. Mylo sighed as he looked at his brother. “Ya’ know you won’t get any work done if you don’t get any sleep?” He mockingly scolded in his usual stuck up tone.

Claggor looked up as he put the lady of his papers in his bag. “I know, I know… I just need to make sure it’s perfect. This will be our only chance to help the underground.” He sighed as he stood and looked out to the emptying classroom.

Mylo smirked a bit. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it done. Now go on to your next class, can’t have the future best inventor of Piltover with a bad attendance record.” Mylo nodded a bit and headed out of the classroom, making his way to his next class. Mylo watched as Claggor left the room, a tint of worry in his eyes but he quickly picked up his stuff and headed to his next class.

+*+*+*+*+

The day slowly ticked on until the final bell of the day rung, releasing everyone to the fresh breezy autumn day. As usual Mylo met up with his brother at the steps of the school like they had been since they got here. Usually they’d meet up with Vi and Caitlyn too but lately they’ve been doing some extra… studying… together. Mylo jogged up to his sleepy brother who gave him a small wave. The two walked over to the public Piltover labs in the science where some other students who also frequently visited took up various stations around the room. Because it was for student use the technology wasn’t the greatest but it was far better than anything they’d had in the Undercity. The two took out their note books and got to work on their invention.

“Okay” Claggor prepared himself as he organized his notes. “We have 2 weeks until the competition to finish our prototype.”

Scattered across the table were some papers with notes and diagrams describing there ideas and in front was a small mess of metal and wires, about two feet tall and a foot wide it was easy to transport and produce.

Mylo looked at the papers he held in his hand and back at the invention they had made. “That’s more than enough time.” Mylo said with a proud smile “We finished building it, all we have to do is just work out a few kinks and it’ll be on its way to victory.”

Compared to Mylo, Claggor was looking at it much more intensely. “We need to make sure it’s perfect though. We can’t hav-“

Mylo sighed as Claggor rambled and interrupted him. “You need to stop working yourself up over this. If you stress too much on this you’ll stay up all night again.” Mylo taunted though his words were more serious than usual.

Claggor looked at his brother. The worry was still there but for the most part he had calmed down. “Yeah yeah…. It’ll be fine.” Claggor said with a small smile.

“We’re gonna purify the air back in the Undercity so nobody will have to suffer anymore.” Mylo looked out the window of the large academy lab. In the distance was a clear sight of the Undercity, rotting away as usual.

+*+*+*+*+

The dim light of a candle flickered under the crack of Claggors door as the moon rid high in the sky. Mylos footsteps lightly echoed in the empty halls of the Kirraman mansion as he made his way to the room of his brother. Just as he predicted he had stayed up one last night. With the competition being tomorrow Claggor had been hyper focused making sure his presentation had been memorized and his invention was flawless.

Mylo picked his brother’s lock with ease and walked into his room. Claggor had been so focused on his work he didn’t realize as his dehydrated onion looking ah of a brother snook in without knocking or announcing his presence in the slightest.

“Well well well, look what we have here.” Claggor jumped startled as he heard the voice of his brother behind him.

Claggor quickly calmed himself with a sigh. “You couldn’t even have knocked?” Claggor grumbled annoyed.

Mylo gave Claggor a friendly slap on the head. “ You’re supposed to be getting sleep tonight so you don’t fall asleep during your presentation.” Mylo quipped as he glared slightly at his brother.

Claggor looked down slightly, avoiding the eye contact of his brother. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just scared something will go wrong during the performance…”

Mylos glare softened a bit as he heard his brother’s words and he let up a bit on his mocking extirior. “Hey. I know you’re worried but staying up late won’t fix anything. Hell, it’ll probably be the reason you make some stupid mistake.” Mylo walked a bit closer, leaning on the desk and looking into his brother’s eyes.

Claggor nodded. “Okay fine… I’ll stop.” Claggor mumbled as he stood and looked at his bed. Mylo gave him a reassuring nod and back to the door.

He stopped in the doorway for a moment before looking at his brother one last time. “Good night.” He huffed before quickly leaving. Little did he know that as soon as Mylo had laid to rest in his bed he had immediately fallen asleep.

+*+*+*+*+

Mylo woke to the bright rays of the sun gleaming into his eyes through the window of his bedroom. He groggily sat up from his bed and got to work preparing himself for the day. He quickly brushed his hair and eyebrows with a combs and washed up a bit in the shower. Today there was no school but since there was the event he still changed into his uniform. He grabbed his notes and headed off to his oaf of a brother’s room to see if he was awake yet.

He approached the door of his brother’s room but this time he decided to have some decency and knocked on the door like a normal person. “Yo Clag! You up yet?” He called through the door. His calls were met with the grumbling sound of his brother waking up.

“I am now.” Claggor muttered back as he rubbed his eyes drowsily.

Mylo smirked a bit, happy with the small annoyance he had caused. “Meet you in the dining room in 10 minutes.” With that he dashed down the halls to where he found his sister Vi and friend Caitlyn already eating in their usual seats. They exchanged brief greeting before the two returned to there conversation.

He ate a small breakfast, nibbling on some toast as he waited for the familiar footsteps of his brother. Finally after more than ten minutes Claggor finally arrived. He also wore his academy uniform and in his hands were some papers and a duffel bag. It was easy enough to tell what was in the bag due to its shape and the was some wires poked out of it.

Claggor sat next to Mylo, a small nervous smile on his face as he grabbed his own breakfast onto his plate. The two went over their plan together as they finished eating until finally the clock rung out. It was 9:00 which meant it was time to get ready. Presenters had to arrive a few hours earlier than guests to get ready so the two grabbed their stuff and stood in front of the doorway of the Kirraman house. Finally, the day had come for change.

Chapter Text

Mylo and Claggor had severely underestimated the size of the contest. There were students from all over Piltover coming to present there projects. The great hall of Piltovers Academy which had once looked huge was now filled to the brink with young scientists, inventors and mathematicians. The brothers pushed through the crowd as they looked at the various inventions. There were models for new transportation, upgrades for security to keep people safe, and toasters that would make sure your toast would cook perfectly every time. Eventually they found an empty table and were able to set up. As they looked at the other tables they all had fancy table clothes and decorations to attract people but Mylo and Claggor didn’t realize that would be important.

Claggor looked down at his machine a bit self consciously. He’d spent all that time perfecting his machine yet nobody came up to his table, asked how it was made, congratulated him like all the other tables had been. No matter where he went he’d just be stuck in the great Piltovers shadow…

Mylo looked up at his brother and a plan formed on his head. All of the sudden he dumped some of the extra pieces and materials onto the table with a clatter that made Claggor jump a bit surprised. Mylo quickly got to work on his plan, fiddling with gears and bending some soft metals. After a few minutes he had finished and smirked as usual.

“Mylo! What exactly have you made?” He whispered quietly to his brother, trying not to make a scene.

Mylo looked up at his brother with a goofy grin. “Let’s find out!” With that he connected his machine to an outlet and it actually worked. The wires he had lined the table with had lit up dimly, creating a radiating effect. The lights had created some attention to the table and now people were beginning to become intrigued.

People came up to the table, asking questions and watching as they presented their own project. The brothers explained the different parts but as they explained what it was for people slowly started drifting off and leaving, uninterested in its intent to purify the underground’s air. This time Mylo was also starting to feel that feeling of defeat but was quickly interrupted by a sound from the loud speaker.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Annual Piltover science fair! This year we have a wonderful selection of our top inventors and scientists from all over the country!” The announcers voice boomed with energy over the speaker and was met with applause and cheer. “Now that everyone has set up the Judges will start to make their way around the tables for you to present your inventions. Best of luck everyone and I will be back later to present the winners.”

With that the loudspeaker clicked and turned off. The fairs noise resumed with the chatter of people but now the feeling of suspense was heavier than before. After about 15 minutes the judges were in view of Claggor and his brother, a chill running down their backs. They made some last minute touches and finally the judges approached there table.

There were 3 judges this year. Of course there was the prestigious Professor Heimerdinger who always participated as a judge. Next to him was another professor who the brothers had heard of a couple of times over there stay at Piltover academy. Lastly was a man that they weren’t familiar with. His skin was sickly pale and he had dark skin bags under his eyes. He walked with a slight limp as he leaned on his cane.

Claggor took one last breath as he faced the judges, building up his confidence. Mylo put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring thumbs up. Claggor knew he was ready. “Good evening Professors. My name is Claggor and this is my brother Mylo. We’ve been at Piltovers Academy for a bit over a year now after transferring from the Undercity.”

Claggor paused for a moment after stating where he was from looking for any reaction of that. Oddly enough the sickly man looked very intrigued as he listened.

“We believe the Undercity can change for the better and just needs some help getting there which is why we have come here. Me and my brother have created a solution to the problem of the air quality in the Undercity. We have created something powered by natural energy that will purify the air in the Undercity.” As Claggor continued to speak he felt more comfortable and certain of what he was saying.

The judges looked and inspected the invention. Claggor continued to explained some of the mechanics of the machine and how the simple design can be cheaply and efficiently produced. After a few more minutes the judges politely left and continued off to judge the other inventions and contestants.

Claggor sighed in relief finally having gotten this done with. He’d been so anxious and nervous before but with the help of his brother he’d pushed those feelings away and learnt to trust himself a bit more.

Mylo looked up at his brother with his usual sneaky smirk “You did good there dude, I think there’s a pretty good chance of you getting this.” Claggor felt calm in his brother’s words but there was still a good amount of time until the results would be released…

The two brothers spent the last bit of time they had before the results going around and observing everyone else’s inventions. That made time pass much faster and soon they heard the buzz of the speakers as the microphone clicked on.

“Welcome back everyone! After going around and seeing everyone’s inventions the judges have made their choice. At this time would all participants please come to the stage.” Mylo gave Claggor one last thumbs up as he climbed up to the stage. Around him were another 30 other participants, each with their own amazing contraptions and inventions. The air was tense as they waited for the winner to be announced.

Once everyone had been gathered to the stage the mic was given to Professor Heimerdinger. “Hello students of Piltover Academy and any other students who may have come to visit. I’m pleased to announce that this was another successful year and it was definitely a hard decision to make. This year I worked with Professor Pellburg and a former student of mine, Viktor, to judge this year’s contestants.”The other judges silently nodded from the edge of the stage where they stood as Professor Heimerdinger introduced them.

Claggor looked around at the other contestants to see that many of them shared his nerves in the suspense of the announcement but Professor Heimerdinger continued to speak anyway. “ This year I am pleased to announce the winner. This contestant showed real persistence and strength, working through challenges they faced and criticism from skeptics. Their invention was not only effective but I believe it could create a real change to the world. I’d like to present our winner… Wesley Primals with his amazing device that will perfectly cook your toast!” The crowd cheered in applause and the winner walked over to the from and stood next to the professors as news reporters took photos.

Claggor looked down disappointed and slowly scattered from the stage with the other contestants to pack up there tables. Mylo stood at the table waiting for Claggor. He walked up to his brother and pat his shoulder “You did good big guy…” Mylo could feel his brother’s dissatisfaction in the results. “This was your first competition and you had the confidence to go up and present yourself which is why I think you’re worthy enough of any prize..” Mylo reached into his pocket and grabbed something, placing it in his brother’s hand.

When Claggor looked down at the object he could help but let out a small smile. In his hand was a shoddy medal with a big #1 on it. Mylo hugged his brother, thankful for his support. “Thanks, even if I didn’t win you still find ways to make me feel special.”

Mylo replied with a fist bump and he mischievously smiled. “Anytime, I’ll always be there.”

With that the two brothers back up the machine feeling closure as they zipped up the dufflebag ready to end the day and return home. Even if they didn’t win they’d worked their best and what they accomplished was enough to be proud of…

… Then they heard a rhythmic noice of a cane clacking on the ground as they headed towards the exit. “Eh, you there.” A voice called out with a heavy accent. The two brothers turned around to see the sickly judge from earlier. “My name is Viktor, I think I can help you with your invention.”

Chapter Text

“My name is Viktor, I think I can help you with your invention.”

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Mylo and Claggor look at the man extremely confused. “Eh, sir, we aren’t the ones who won?” Claggor finally speaks up breaking the silence.

The sick man scoffs amused. “I know that, but I still see potential in your invention. Professor Heimerdinger is always more… reluctant to taking risks.” As the man talks he makes small gestures with the hand that’s not being used to support his cane.

The brothers understand Viktor a bit more with his explanation but are still hesitant and Viktor sees this. “Come walk with me. I can explain to you what I mean.” He says with a sigh. The brothers set down there bag at the table and follow Viktor.

The sickly man leads them through the halls of the Acadmey, clearly knowing them well. “So that invention of yours, you plan on using it to improve the air quality of the Undercity I believe?”

Claggor nods a bit in response but the man’s words increase Claggor curiosity on his identity. “Yes, and I don’t mean this in an offensive way but most people up here don’t care much for the Undercity, is there a reason why you do?”

Viktor listens intently to Claggor question, understanding his skepticism. “Yes, there is. You see, I myself am also from the Undercity. However Professor Heimerdinger saw my potential and took me in as a student.” With each step he took the click of his cane echoed on the floor of the marble halls.

Claggor and Mylo were definitely not expecting that answer but it did make quite a lot of sense. “So, how do you propose you can help us?” Mylo digs deeper seeing there may be potential in what the mysterious man can provide.

“Well, if you are able to prove that your invention works I will work to get you the approval you need to build it in quality.” He said but stopped moving as he reached a door. “First I would like to show you something though.” He reached the keys from his pocket and inserted them into the door and with a few clicks it opened.

The brothers entered behind the man and were surprised to find that they had entered a lab. The tables were scattered with paper, blueprints, and at least 8 empty coffee mugs. Viktor gave a quick glance through the room and with a nod. “It seems my lab partner isn’t here at the moment but he is the one who can help approve your device. Anyway this is where I’ve spent about the past two years working with him.”

Despite the mess that would cause some uncomfortable feelings in most normal Mylo and Claggor felt like they had just entered wonderland. There were magnificent tools that they’d only dreamed of working with and so many wonderful plans that could bring some help to the world they lived on. At the center of it all though was a machine that had a single blue orb that glowed faintly.

Mylo study’s the orb from a distance for a moment feeling familiarity “Wait, I’ve heard of that before! It was presented as an upcoming invention on progress day!”

Viktor smiles a bit at the boys shock. “Yes, yes… me and my partner Jayce have big plans that can change everything at Piltover. Safety, transportation, curing disease… this will be the key to it all.”

Mylo looked at the glowing blue orb in front of him. He wouldn’t deny that as a past thief having a orb worth enough money to buy Piltover right in front of him was quite tempting but he was too interested in Viktor to focus on that at the moment.

The sound of Viktors cane continued to echo on the floor as he moved across the room to a mug of what the brothers could only assume was coffee, and drink it as if it hadn’t been sitting out for hours. Well, nobody’s perfect and at least nothings going to waste here. That can also be seen at the pile of scrap metals in the corner that seemingly been from past projects and contraptions.

For a few moments there was an awkward silence before Claggor cleared his throat. “Well, eh, Sir… thank you for letting us see your laboratory but I think it’s time that me and my brother went home.”

Viktor nods slightly looking at the clock up on the wall. The competition alone had already lasted longer than originally planned but due to this detour midnight was heavily approaching. “Yes, that seems appropriate to do. When you have further constructed your invention come back here and you can present it to me privately.” Viktor drummed his fingers on his cane as he walked back to the door of the laboratory and the boys followed behind him.

The journey across the school back to the auditorium where the competition had taken place was a rather quiet one due to the drowsiness that the night inflected and the deep though everyone had on there current situation. After a few moments they reached the auditoriums doors open but something was off…

Mylo approached the table where he had set up the invention with his brother but when he looked the hairs on his back rose. It’d been a good 20 minutes since the competition had ended so there weren’t many people left in the auditorium but on the table where the invention had been there was nothing… Mylo quickly scattered around the missing area looking for it but it shouldn’t have been that hard to find being bigger than his head.

Claggor raised an eyebrow at his brother’s sudden behavior, tapping his shoulder. “Hey Mylo… is something wrong?” He asked with a slight hint of confusion in his voice.

Mylo’s head quickly snapped up to look at his brother. “Uh, yeah so… the purifier is uh…” he hesitated slightly on his words knowing they’d spent countless hours and sleepless days on this machine but his brother deserved to know the truth. “The purifiers missing…”

Viktor looked over the room confused. “Missing? I remember you placing it on the table before we went over to my laboratory.”

Claggor looked over the area before spotting something on the ground and picking it up. Despite the clatter and noise of people packing their inventions in the room it felt deathly quiet to him. As he opened the not there was a single symbol on it. A small scribble of a monkeys head.

Claggor stood and looked to Mylo and Viktor, not wanting to believe what was happening at the moment. “No… not missing. It was stolen.”

Chapter Text

A girl with long blue braids happily skipped around the back of Piltover with her new invention in her arms. Well, maybe it wasn’t initially her invention but not it was along with the other plans that had been left in the bag. Also what kind of idiot would leave their stuff right out in the open? It’s like they were asking for it to be stolen.

The moon was still high in the sky as she reached Piltovers Bridge. This was always the trickiest part of her plans, the escape. The duffle bag with the invention was quite heavy which slowed down her usual quick escape but she’d be back before Silco could worry about where she was anyway. Today’s patrol on the bridge was light because most guards had been posted at Piltovers Academy to make sure nothing went wrong, not like it made getting in and out much harder anyway. She was able to sneak through the bridge quiet and stealthy as usual and her smile grew as her feet reached the cheap, broken roads of Zaun. She breathed in the usual dusty air of her home that she’d been breathing all her life and kicked some dirt in the air with her boot as a little victory jig. From the bridge, she wasn’t too far away from home, only a short walk and there would be no guards to be weary of so she could pick up the pace a bit.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Viktor had alerted some guards of the current situation but even with his position and closeness it Jayce, many did not trust him and his origins in the undercity. Disappointingly without a proper suspect Viktor had to send Mylo and Claggor home. After midnight guests were no longer allowed in the academy. Viktor went back to his lab feeling a bit sad he wasn’t able to help the boys find their invention. He opened the doors to the lab slowly but found that it was still empty with no sign of Jayce to be found. His cane tapped across the floor until he collapsed into his working chair, exhausted from the past couple of hours. Part of him wanted to just fall asleep right there in his chair but he knew he had work to do.

As Viktor reached out a pale hand to grab his pen he suddenly heard a noise of the lock on the door and quickly spun in his chair to face it. To his relief, the one in the doorway ended up being his trusted business partner, Jayce. The tired Viktor let out an exhausted sigh as he saw Jayce and gave him a tired wave of his hand in greeting. Jayce put on his usual charming smile as he walked over to Viktor but was able to tell the tired look on Viktor’s face and knew not to push his luck. He dragged his chair over next to Viktor and for the first few minutes, they worked in silence scribbling notes down and thinking of potential solutions to the problem of hextech.

Jayce’s face lit up for a moment as he came up with an idea that may just work “Hey
Vik-“ he started but quickly quieted himself as he looked at his partner whose face was slouched against the desk asleep. He suppressed a chuckle as he looked at his sleeping partner but the sight just made him tired. He quietly yawned and scratched his head as he looked out the window. The moon was still high in the sky and stared down at him as if singing a lullaby. “Perhaps a few minutes of shuteye wouldn’t hurt…” he said and rested his head on the desk, right next to his pale partners.

Chapter Text

Hi there! This is a message from the author of MBM and I’m here to announce that I’ve made a tumblr community! Here you can see previews for upcoming chapters and do polls for which characters and ships you’d like to see most in the upcoming chapters. It isn’t necessary to join but it’s just a fun little extra thing. 

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New chapter Friday

Chapter Text

GROAN COUGH COUGH

These were the noises that Caitlyn had been hearing all night. While she could just go to her room, where she was, she wouldn’t be able to hear her sick friends struggle, but she knew Vi wouldn’t rest alone. Earlier, the two tried to have some fun together by doing some cooking, but Cait’s egg wasn’t fully cooked, leaving Vi sick in bed. Caitlyn placed a hand on Vi’s forehead and could feel that a fever was rising.

Caitlyn sighed and looked down at Vi, who was fighting back sleep with all her might. Caitlyn ran her fingers through Vi’s hair as she began to speak. “Vi, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Her words were softer than how she usually spoke to Vi because even if it was just a little food poisoning, she knew Vi was scared. In the Undercity, if you got sick, there was almost no chance of healing. Due to a lack of medicine and proper care, most who got sick died at some point within that week.

Caitlyn slowly shut the door to Vi’s room behind her as she stepped into the halls. The moonlight illuminated the marble floors and silk carpets as it always did during a full moon. Family portrait and other fancy paintings lined the walls of the over-designed house as she made her way to Claggor's room. She knew one of the inventions he’d been working on was a head wrap that stays cold due to the chemicals stored inside it.

His room wasn’t too far from Vi’s, luckily, and she lightly knocked on his door. At first, nothing happened, so she knocked again, and this time she heard the drowsy groan of someone who’d fallen asleep at their desk and now their back hurt. “Hmf, I’m coming…” He called out with a small yawn through the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see Caitlyn standing there. “Oh! Eh, hey there Cait.” He said and rubbed his eye a bit.

Caitlyn smiled a little as she saw tired Mylo in the doorway. “Yeah, hi… Vi happened to catch a bug when I made her some food.” She said and fidgeted with her hand a bit. “She’s got a small fever, so could we borrow the cool wrap that you made?” She was a bit hesitant to ask for this, knowing she didn’t have the closest relationship with Claggor, but still, they shared the bond of being close with Vi.

Claggor nodded a bit as he listened to Cait's request. “Oh, I hope she gets better soon. As for the cooler, though, Mylo had it last. He’s just a couple of rooms down, I’m pretty sure.” After another moment of somewhat awkward silence, they said good night again, and Caitlyn was sent on another quest.

Despite the comfortable carpets and flora that hung around Caitlyn always felt a cold eeriness about her house. Whenever there weren’t guests over the halls echoed, and every little noise sounded close. There was also the repetition of the design. All the halls felt the same, like endless passages that went on forever without end. Mylos' room felt different, though. He’d messily written his name on his door with a marker, and the edges were a bit dented from the way he always slammed it.

Caitlyn gently knocked on the door, this time the response being much quicker as a surprised Mylo tried to jump out of bed but was wrapped up in his sheets and fell to the floor. He struggled for another moment as he untangled himself, but opened the door, leaning in the doorframe as he tried to look cool. Somehow, bed head had the opposite effect, and instead of sleep causing him to have messy hair, it was flat down with a normal person. What products did he use to get it all pointy like he usually did…

After observing Mylo for a second, Cait finally speaks up. “Good, uh, afternoon? Would you happen to have the cold wrap that Claggor made? He said you were the last one to touch it.”

Mylo turns his head around and looks around his room briefly from the door frame. “Yeah, come in. I’ll get that for you.” He said, and he started scraping through his messy room.

Mylo’s room was very cluttered. There was no food or trash so it wasn’t disgusting but it was extremely messy. Cait was pretty sure the maids had probably given up on trying to clean up Mylos' room because the next day it’d just end up cluttered again. Part of him was like a crown, collecting shiny things that he’d found with little trinkets lying across the room. To outsiders, it may just look like a mess of a room, like how does anyone even find anything in there? Contrary to its appearance, though, Mylo knew where everything was. He looked through past some trinkets and other things he may have found in the trash and pulled out the head cooler with a prideful smirk on his face.

He handed it to Caitlyn as his smirk remained. “So, what are you up to that you’d need it for?” He questioned Caitlyn. He was like a slippery snake, always trying to have all the information on everyone.

Caitlyn sighed, tired from the work she’d done tonight. “I accidentally gave Vi food poisoning, and I’m trying to make her life less miserable.” She looked down at the header wrap in her hand. She had no idea how Claggor managed to do it, but no matter what, it was always cold as ice. The chemicals inside it have been able to stay active and keep it cool ever since Claggor had finalized its design. The inside was lined with metal, so whatever was keeping it cold wouldn’t leak out, and to make it more comfortable, it was covered in a material that was soft but would also keep its cooling function.

Mylo suppressed a laugh at Caitlyn’s answer. “Of course you can’t cook, you always have your Mommy and Daddy's staff cooking everything for you.” He snickered teasingly, and Cait just swatted at him.

“Thanks anyway, I hate hurting Vi like this, so I’m going to give everything I’ve got to help her.” Caitlyn dropped the teasing, giving a moment of sincerity.

Mylo ruffled Caitlyn’s hair reassuringly. “Don’t worry about Vi too much. She’s strong, and your bad cooking isn’t going to be the thing that kills her.”

Caitlyn looked at Mylo for a moment. He always seemed to have this chill vibe to him, and despite his silliness, he gave some pretty good advice. She nodded at his words with more confidence in herself. “Yeah… Thanks again and good night.” She says with a small smile as she leaves the room, shutting the door behind her quietly.

Once again, Caitlyn was left in the silent hallways of the night. Now, though, as she walked, there was the cold feeling of the pack in her hands. Every couple of steps, she would swap it between hands as the cold continued to become more uncomfortable. The hair on the back of Cait's neck prickled with each step she took as she felt the elegant carpets against her feet. As the night went on, her hair continued to become a bit messier, bit by bit. It would be quite annoying to get all the knots out when she wakes up in the morning. Oh, the shame that would come if her mother were to see her in such a state…

Cait slowly turned the handle of Vi’s door as she quietly approached the room. She approached the bed, and to her relief, Vi had succumbed to her tiredness and finally fallen asleep. Caitlyn gently placed the cooler on the sick girl's head. Her fever was still there, but after a few moments, Cait could see Vi become less tense as the cooler soothed her. She looked longingly at Vi for a moment, taking in the beauty in front of her. She gently cupped Vi’s sleeping face in her hand. It was dirty and rough, but something about the act made Caitlyn’s heart flutter. Her finger brushed over some of the old cuts and scars on her face. They were small, and Vi had told her they were just from some debris of a warehouse that had been destroyed during an explosion. Cait had tried digging deeper into the accident, but all records were clean of what had once been in the warehouse and what had caused the explosion. But whenever Cait would ask Vi about it, she’d say it just wasn’t the right time.

Caitlyn brushed some of the messy red hair out of Vi’s face as she looked at her sleeping form. Despite her usual strong appearance, she looked somewhat peaceful now that she was asleep. Her features looked softer, and the somewhat menacing aura she always had seemed to fade away. Caitlyn tries the ignore the drowsiness she feels within herself, wishing she could stay like this forever. The last thing she saw as she fell asleep was a girl, and despite her hard exterior, no one can escape the temptation that sleep holds for everyone.

Chapter Text

The pounding of a makeshift punching bag rumbled through Vi’s room. The rhythmic pounds of the punching bag as the bloody and bruised fists drummed against it. Sunset was approaching by the hour, the day had passed, but Vi just couldn’t work up the courage to leave her room, so she just kept working at her punching bag. Caitlyn had always told her she could have all the clothes she wanted, but she just stuck to her white tank top and oversized brown pants. With one hand, she continued punching and with the other, she swatted the hair out of her face. She hadn’t cut it in a while and it was starting to piss her off.

She continued throwing her hair out of the way, but it’d always end up right in her face again. She angrily gave the bag one last punch as she became frustrated by her hair. She rubbed her temple with her hand for a moment before jumping in surprise. “Seems like you’re having some trouble with that mane of yours.” Vi was quick on her feet to see who the person teasing her was, to find a familiar, indigo-haired girl in her doorway.

“And how long have you been standing there, cupcake?” Vi returned the favor to Caitlyn with her tease as she stepped over to the doorway.

Caitlyn repressed a smile as she looked down at Vi. “Long enough to know you’ve been cooped up in your room all day. You need to get some air, and I’ll drag you out if I have to.”

Vi flexed an arm, showing off to Caitlyn. “Sure, I’d like to see you try cupcake.” She taunted with a smirk and stepped closer.

After a moment of silence, Caitlyn sighs, “Guess you can just stay in here being angry until you break another punching bag.” Vi looked at the punching bag and could see that it didn’t have much in it before it broke.

Vi raised an eyebrow before taking a step forward and looked out the door frame. “Where to first, Cupcake?”

+_+_+_+_+_+_+

The breeze blew gently as purple flower petals drifted through the air, illuminated by the golden glow of the sunset. In Piltovers garden, two girls walked hand in hand across the clean white concrete, which was littered with the fallen petals. The low whistle of the wind brushed past the two girls as they smiled in each other’s company. Eventually, as the last of the sun disappeared from the sky, the two sat down on one of the benches that had been placed around the beautiful tree that had been producing all the flowers around them. Now the moon began to show its face to the night, bringing its twinkling stars along with it.

Vi took a breath of the fresh night air as she took in her surroundings. It seemed like things like this were only possible in Piltover. Beautiful flowers, flourishing trees, fresh air… once upon a time, all of these things had seemed so out of reach from Vi. Now she had all she could ever need, but something just felt missing…

Caitlyn looked into Vi’s eyes and could tell that whatever was troubling her had followed her out of her room. She scooted a bit closer to Vi and put a hand on her shoulder. “Vi, do you trust me?”

Vi looked into Caitlyn’s eyes, a bit surprised by the sudden question. “Of course I do, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here with you.” She had her usual chill aura that made talking to her so easy for Caitlyn, even in difficult conversations.

Caitlyn ran a hand through Vi’s messy hair, gently smoothing it with her fingers. “Then talk to me. You’ve been acting oddly all day, and it worries me.” There was a look of pleading in Caitlyn’s eyes. She wanted Vi to open up to her more. She wanted to be someone Vi could turn to when she felt down or needed to talk instead of taking it out on punching bags.

The look in Caitlyn’s eyes made her want to look away, but she knew Cait deserved better than that. She’d supported and helped her for almost 2 years now and never pushed Vi to say anything she wasn’t comfortable with. “I’m sorry, Caitlyn, I should’ve come to you from the start. While I’ve always felt guilty for leaving Powder behind, there’s a nagging part of me that thinks she may still be alive. There are so many loose ends, and every time I try to figure it out, the trail just ends.” Vi put her head on Caitlyn’s shoulder as she began to open up to Caitlyn.

Cait was quiet and gave Vi the time she needed to say what she needed to say. “We… We never found her body. She could be out there somewhere, scared and alone.” The gentle rays of moonlight glistened down and illuminated Vi’s face. She took her head off Caitlyn’s shoulder so she could look at her properly.

The air was quiet as their hands slid closer together. Caitlyn rubbed Vi’s rough hand were her thumb as she spoke carefully. “I believe you and I will do everything I can to help you find her. We can search the scene where it happened again if you’d like and look for clues. Whatever it takes, let me help you feel at least a bit of closure.” Caitlyn could see some of Vi’s tension leave as she felt secure in her words and touch.

The two moved closer and snuggled into each other’s embrace as they sat in a comfortable silence that allowed them to be in the moment. The moon was now high in Piltover's sky with no trace of the sun to be found. Petals swirled around the air as the breeze cooled down the heat of the night. Many stars were visible that night, when all of a sudden, something passed through the sky. They moved over to lie in the grass as they looked up at the sky and counted the stars of the night. They smiled and laughed as they made jokes into the night. If only times like these could last forever…

+_+_+_+_+_+

As the former children of Piltover enjoy their new life, an old white-haired friend is making big plans. Plans to change the Undercity.