Chapter Text
Powder laid on the ground, cradling Ekko while watching another blimp from her existence. Confused and curious, she couldn’t take her eyes from the space now empty.
She wasn’t dumb by any stretch. She had her suspicions and now they were proven true. Ekko, that Ekko, was from another universe and now she knew for certain one thing.
Vi was alive. Maybe not here, but somewhere she still breathed, still existed in flesh and blood, not just in the shifting sands of memory.
Powder glanced down, not to Ekko, but to her wrist. It near felt like a thrum of excitement, the name relighting with the same pain that had brought it. Buzzing to be acknowledged.
She knew what she had to do.
—
Powder found herself at the tree again. She often ended up here, gazing, memorizing the many paintings of Vi the other Ekko left her. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see them move, see Vi’s scared lips speak, hear her voice, feel the rough touch to her cheek. Just almost.
This ended up the only place where Powder would let her secret out, let her imagined love affair flourish. Her pink band was left unclipped next to her, and Powder stroked the name as she continued to stare.
It was heartbreaking when she first woke to her soulmate's name. She remembered the fluttering excitement when she went to sleep the night before her sixteenth, how she’d dreamt taking on a deep love again. Hoping to feel the type of devotion she’d once felt for Vi. It’d been an addicting feeling, and while her love for her sister couldn’t be challenged, Powder had after four years had been ready to feel something akin to it again. Had accepted it’d be for someone else.
So one could imagine her shame and sadness when she woke to the name Violet.
Her heart was shredded once again. Not only had she killed her sister, the person she admired most, the person who took care of her and always put her first, but also her soulmate. Her one chance at eternal happiness.
It was a killer pill to swallow, and Powder didn’t take to it well.
She’d holed herself up, crying and crying until she had no tears to shed and still then she dry heaved and panicked until she passed out from all the grief. It took a week for her to leave the bed, claiming that her despair had to do with the realization that Vi never got this old, never got to see her sixteenth nor her soulmate, and that it brought on a torrent of sickening sadness. It was believable, mainly because it was damn near the truth. But in reality it wasn’t so cut and dry.
Yes, Powder had felt horrible about losing Vi, that the reminder came like a swing hammer to her gut, but furthermore she felt disgusted with herself. That she’d taken that love and would have abused it into something so twisted. How could any sane person see their sister in that light? How could any good person live with themselves?
Powder denied it for a long long time. She hid the name and convinced herself to love Ekko, but it still gnawed at her, begging her to pay it mind. And she found the strength to ignore it until now.
Vi never got old enough to see her own soulmate. Sometimes Powder wondered should she had, would it be her name blemishing her sister’s wrist? Powder doubted it, Vi would have gotten her happily ever after, would have some pretty girl’s name and would have been able to live with her love proudly.
But even then, as Powder traced Vi’s lips, her eyes, her well muscled frame, Powder’s eyes eventually were drawn to the wraps covering her wrist. Surely a name written underneath.
It was selfish. Powder knew it. But she’s been craving the sight of Vi since she last laid her to rest, and even should they not be a match, should it be Powder that was broken beyond repair, she still needed to seek her out.
Delusional as it might be, Powder convinced herself, if she could get one last conversation, just to feel her warmth one last time then she’d be able to put this all to rest.
—
First thing she did, however difficult, was break up with Ekko. It’d been one thing when her soulmate was dead to find love in another, but this spark of hope made it painfully clear she wasn’t doing any favors to Ekko by dragging him along while she searched for a potential love, however hopeless, elsewhere.
He was distraught to say the least, not only because of the whole time mix up thing, but also for this sudden change of heart, “I thought we both said soulmates don’t matter.”
“I know, it’s just…” Powder sighed, unsure how she could explain this without setting off further alarm. “I just have this feeling. And maybe it’s a dumb feeling, but I feel like I need to meet her, or at least try to. To see if something can come about this.”
“Did you find her?” Ekko suddenly asked, “When I was out, did you-”
“Not exactly, but-”
“Then why-”
“Ekko please, I can’t explain it that well, but I want to, have to try.” Powder nearly begged. Ekko watched her in disbelief. She felt so guilty, but she couldn’t hold herself off any longer, “Please try to understand.”
“Okay.” He sighed, “Okay fine… You know I love you.”
“I know.” A tear sprung, “And I do too, and- and if this doesn’t work-”
“I can’t promise I’ll be waiting Powder.”
Powder’s words died, she nodded, “Fairs fair, I wouldn’t ask you to wait. Actually maybe it’d be good for us both, you finding Zeri and me mine.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He stood from the table, the tense air between them hung heavy, with no sign of dissipating. She hated leaving on such a sad note, desperately wanting there to be closure, but now both of them were left to wallow in the uncomfortability.
It was something Powder would have to get used to. Ekko had every right to be upset with her lackluster answer to her change of mind just as she was in her right to leave him high and dry.
Yet still she hated it, not nearly enough to take it back or regret it, but still. Before she stood and took her own leave, she caught sight of Silco giving her a sorry, yet encouraging smile. It at least made her feel a bit better.
—
She’d been working on the teleporter for days and nights and days until everything bleed into one never ending mess of equations, electricity and break throughs briefly broken by the occasional black out. But it was worth it, would be worth it, when she would get to Vi.
And it seemed after everything, even while working alone she cracked it, figured a way to get herself there at the very least. Now getting back was going to be more of an issue. At this point Powder figured she’d need to reconfigure her work there should she come back.
That was a daunting thought, would she come back, or maybe more accurately, would she be able to? That there was the very real possibility that she’d end up stuck, away from her family and loved ones in a strange new world; the possibility that she was risking her whole life for a true shot in the dark was nothing short of terrifying.
Honestly, it did make her stutter for a moment. A new sort of guilt wormed it way in her mind.
But this was for Vi. However selfish that was, she’d always said she give anything, everything just to be by her side once more. Vander’d been right she couldn’t keep herself chained to the Drop, to the boys, to him forever. Call her a monster, but while her love span miles wide for them, she knew in her heart that this parting was long overdue.
Maybe, as she told Ekko, it would all do them some good.
Just maybe.
—
“Hey, Vander, can we have a chat?”
Vander’d been pouring a stout as she asked, almost too quietly over the liquor sloshing in the glass. He hadn’t even looked at her for more than a second before he got serious. With the glass sat down next to the patron, Vander turned back round, shouting, “Hey Mylo, take the front for me.”
“Sure thing, not like I was winning anyways.” Not a minute later Mylo came back from a poker game, a trail of snickering following him. Mylo flipped them before jumping the counter. Vander huffed, shaking his head. “What?”
“We have doors for a reason, son.” Vander said, walking out the back of the bartop, “And I hope you aren’t wasting all that generous allowance I’m giving you on card games.”
“Allowance?” Mylo scoffed, “I work here, it’s my pay.”
“No, you help here.” Silco said coming up from Janna knows where. “Actually work anywhere else and your boss wouldn’t let you slack midshift.”
Mylo huffed, slumping down as Silco joined him round the bend. He always did that, coming from the shadows just in time to catch them doing something dangerous or dumb, always a quip or lecture at his lips, just to rub it in worse. Usually it was towards the boys, something Powder could get a good laugh out of, but Silco was nothing if not an equal opportunist.
“Well since I know my bar’s in capable hands now, I guess I can take a break. Let’s go Powder.”
“Hey I’m capable!” Mylo shouted.
“The only one saying you ain’t is you.” Powder smirked, Vander took her shoulder, pushing them forward.
“Okay now, leave the lad alone. Be back soon, Sil.”
“Take your time, I’m sure we can manage on our own.” Silco said as he knocked Mylo, pointing to a man waving up a storm at the end. He went quick to it, near tripping his way there, and Vander shook his head half way amused.
Soon they were out in the streets, it was still dingy and clouded as Powder remembered from her early years, but the sour air definitely cleared up nice. The Lanes went from somewhere people would try to claw their way out in any way they could, but now it transformed into a place someone could actually think of living, wanting to build a family.
Vander took his pipe and lit it, whipping away the flames from his match. Powder settled up next to him, clicking her toe-tip to the stone. Vander leaned with her, watching out as a cloud of smoke blew, hazing the view for a second, “This private enough?”
“Yeah, it ain’t anything big.” Powder said, then shook her head. “Well it is big, but not bad, how about.”
“Making me nervous with how much you're dancing ‘round it.”
“I’m going to find my soulmate.” Powder spat, then gulped right after. “Or I want to at least.”
Vander hummed, “I thought as such.”
“Silco told you, didn't he?” Powder pouted.
“Guilty, though I’m surprised you told him before me. I thought what we had was special.”
Powder bumped him playfully. “He caught me breaking it off with Ekko.”
“Ah.”
“So, you’re okay with it? With me leaving?”
“You know, after your mother had passed, the only thing I wanted for you was to have a better life Powder, a life where you could make your own however you saw fit. I never thought the Drop would be your end all.” Vander took another huff, slowly letting it leak as he continued, “Though I don’t want them to be your only reason.” He nodded towards her wrist, a faint smile gracing his, “It can be amazing, I know, lucky few that I am, but you’re still your own person, don’t forget that and get whole sail wrapped up in them. And don’t forget you have a place here, for as long or short as you need.”
“I know, and don’t worry, don’t think I’m the type to reshape who I am for just any bozo.” Powder laughed, half joking, just to get Vander to smile, to be on her side. Not that Vi would want her to, but she’d do a million things for her, what was changing a little of this or that compared to bending time and space?
“I know, I raised you after all.” Vander opened an arm, and Powder ran for it, hugging him hard and long. It may be one of her last chances, one of the last times she’d ever get to do it. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Powder sniffled, wiping a slip tear.
Vander pat her on the back, leaning to open the door as he took one last drag, “Let’s save the emotions for the blimp, I think I got a going away party to start planning.”
—
Over the next few days Powder had constructed a fabulous lie about her soulmate and why she thought they’d be found elsewhere… and also about the hundred and one reasons she wanted to go regardless as not to be seen as shallow and silly. And the party and story was a hit! Nothing but dancing, music, and smiles all night, a grand little get together she’d always treasure.
And the next day Powder got to say her goodbyes and gave her hugs, gathering all her farewells and good tidings as she stepped foot on the blimp. She even got in a joke with Mylo about not shooting it down.
She waited just long enough for Vander, Mylo and Clag to get pushed back, for them to be far enough away that she could slip out without being seen. While her family thought they were waving her off as she flew to far away Demacia, really Powder had been high tailing it to her lab hopefully with enough time not to be seen.
Powder got there in a tizzy, barely with any breath left, but just enough juice in her to start powering her machine up. In the matter of minutes she got everything going; wheels spinning, light flashing, magic buzzing abound, the whole shabang.
A tidal wave of excitement kept bubbling up under her skin, and it near gushed out with each step Powder took up to that vibrating platform. She held herself stick straight and rigid, taking in a deep breath, letting this moment soak deep into her bones.
This was it, this was finally it. She was going to see Vi… or die trying.
The jitter bug nerves kept crawling all over her as it reached max power, an addicting mix of excitement and anticipation, Powder just couldn’t help it anymore the second she got the green light go, she pressed the button and everything almost seemed to lose it on start. Her machine spiralling into a frenzied, crazed scream of whistling gears and hell pig squealing in her ear in pitches that should have made her bleed. The lights flickered faster than she thought psychically possible and purer white than anything she’d ever experienced in the dank caverns of the Undercity.
It was a lot, a lot all at once. A cacophony that burned that excitement into liquid pure anxiety as she started to wonder what death trap she got herself on.
Would there be a corpse, would she just be powdered?
With that though she jerked on instinct, almost loosing the nerve, almost forgetting why she was doing this. Then Vi’s fish hook smirk, her dashing gaze, flashed before her like a ghost. Powder, on her knees, was face to face with Vi’s funeral portrait.
No, she couldn’t give up hope now. She was going to see Vi. One way or another.
So through the whirlwind still building up speed, Powder forced herself to stand, to face uncertainty head on. A new sense of determination pumping out any fear of flesh that previously plagued her.
Then the metal doors banged open at the crescendo of the madness.
“What the?” A flash of Ekko came running as Powder’s vision blurred. “Powder? Powde-”
And all sound, sight, feeling bleed into one twisted fright of existence. She wasn’t her, she just was. It was the oddest thing to experience, Powder would have thought being torn and reformed and mutilated in the ways she was would have been beyond disorienting. Instead she almost found it peaceful, just letting space and time do with her as it pleased. It was painful, yes, but that was for as long as she could understand pain, as long as pain was a thing she could feel. And for but a split moment, Powder finally knew what putting her life in fate’s hands meant, what it tangibly felt like.
It was almost… exhilarating in the worst ways.
And then suddenly there was nothing.