Work Text:
He watched, the droning shouts and hollers of the crowd faded into the background, violet eyes fixed on the area below. The floor was stained in saliva and blood, the sharp scent of iron cutting through the thick haze of alcohol and sweat. His nose twitched faintly. Obscured by the crowd, gaze locked on his older sister for the last week she’d been here, fighting. He didn’t get it, Ribbit could shatter ribs with one kick—why was it here? She threw her head back with a strained exhale, as she raised her fist in triumph. The crowd roared—some cheering, others cursing lost bets. Dead eyes scanned the blur of faces, then she saw a flash of violet in the dark, watching; gone in an instant. It couldn’t have been him; had she completely lost her mind after their last encounter? Dismissing the thought, she turned and stalked out of the arena.
The hallway outside was stained with dirt and graffiti, a mural of chaos painted in sweat and blood. The night air hit her skin cool and sharp; a shiver stabbed through her spine. She spun instantly, legs coiling and snapping into a bicycle kick—blocked. Clawed fingers dug into her ankle, the stranger removed their hood.
golden incisors gleaming in a grin.
Long ears, tips black.
Before she could react, his elbow slammed into her stomach, “Nice to see you too, sis” The air left her in a harsh croak as she hit the ground.
“Damn!” Jax laughed, his ears flicking lazily. “Those fights really messed you up, your reflexes are usually much better than that!” he smirked
She glared at him, throat tight as she swallowed back the sting, not tonight, especially as she was trying to sort her own mess. Finally getting to her feet, she squared her shoulders. Jax’s eyes softened—just slight—as he crossed his arms, “Where’s your little enforcer doll?”
At the mention of Ragatha, Ribbit exhaled sharply, “She’s doing her own thing…”
“What are you doing here?” She shot back, “And where’s Pomni?”
Jax rolled his eyes again harder this time, as if summoned, a familiar black-haired woman stepped from the shadows, “You’re acting like I killed her.” Jax averted his eyes, foot thumping.
“Excuse me for assuming,” Ribbit snapped, “But you don’t exactly have the best track record in human lives.” Her eyes narrowed.
A low snarl curled in Jax’s throat, shoulders tensing—until Pomni stepped between the brother and sister, “Okay, calm down. The both of you” Her eyes settling onto Ribbit, “Jax wanted to find you.”
That made her pause, eyes flicking between them, “Why,” her eyes shifted to her brother.
“It’s Abel.” His voice low, “He’s alive, mangled—but alive.”
The man who raised them, the man she watched burn, it wasn’t possible, the fire had swallowed him whole that night. The iron, smoke, everything collapsed around her and Jax. Ribbit stared at Jax, he barely met her gaze fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He would do that when he knew he messed up—bracing for one of her or Abel’s lectures. When their eyes finally met for a spilt second, she softened.
“One chance.” Jax looked up, “If this is a lie, I break your teeth.”
A grin slid back like armor, shoving his hands into his pockets, “Like you can touch me,” Spinning on his heel, he started walking, “Let’s not waste time ladies!”
Pomni glanced at Ribbit carefully before following, Ribbit bit the inside of her cheek and a sudden pang of guilt crawled up her spine. From behind a dumpster, a smaller girl darted out after Jax. Ribbit exhaled slowly, then followed them into the maze of Zaun’s underbelly.
The streets grew filthier the deeper they went—stagnant water soaking into boots, merchants shouting over each other, the air thick with rot and metal. Lila led them through alleys and cracked brick corridors until they reached the underground tunnels. Massive boulders blocked the entrance, clearly Jax’s work. As they descended the steps, Ribbit eyes caught on a mural sketching across the wall. Jax painted larger than life, proud, confident, leading a group of those to the new world. Racing ahead like he always does, with a bright smirk on his face, bearing a cracked Zaun insignia.
Pomni passed her, when they shared a look, she gestured to Lila who was struggling with a larger boulder. “Hey, you’ll break an arm kiddo, step back.” He grinned.
Jax stepped forward and hoisted the large boulder over his shoulder and threw it to the side. The sound echoing through the tunnel, he glanced back at them with a lazy smirk, “Look, I know I’m the best leader this city got, but you two coming or not?”
Ribbit held his gaze a moment longer before making her way down the steps, stepping into the cave.
A sharp clap echoed through the cavern, light bursts outward as Lila clapped again, aquamarine crystals flickering to life along the walls. Casting the tunnel in a shimmering glow. Despite herself, she stared in quiet awe before forcing her attention back to Jax, “Why did you want me here?” she questioned.
He shrugged, hands laced behind his head, “Didn’t, PomPom convinced me.”
A faint smile tugged at her mouth, “Always following her lead.”
Heat crept up his neck, “Whatever, besides, thought you should know about Abel.”
“And what if it just another hallucination?”
He rolled his eyes, leaned toward Lila, “Don’t listen to her, she’s just cranky. I kicked her ass so bad, her girlfriend left her!” he grinned, rising up as he said that Pomni elbowed him sharply.
“What, it’s true,” he laughed.
Ribbit’s jaw tightened, rolling her eyes, “Delusional.”
They reached a fork in the tunnel and Jax stopped abruptly, his grin sharpened. “You know what would’ve been great? If my own sister hadn’t sold herself to Piltie hacks who murdered our parents.” Pomni glanced back hearing the argument.
The words landed heavy in the air.
A deep cut.
“At least I did it for a good cause.” Ribbit shot back.
“That ‘cause’ was to hunt me down.”
“To turn you in.”
“Tell that to your perfect little girlfriend” he mocked, lifting his middle bionic finger lazily, “wow, she has you whipped, so obedient.”
Ribbit’s expression hardened, “At least our parents didn’t live to see their son turn into a psychotic murder.”
A humorless laugh escaped him, “Who’s the psycho, sis? Let’s look at the facts—I busted half of Zaun out of Stillwater, You?” he counted on his fingers, “Drunk in the gutters, now keep walking before I beat your ass again.” A wide and mischievous grin spread across his face.
She went still, eyes darkening, he really didn’t grow up—dismissing her saddened feelings on that, “You wouldn’t last in ring with me.” Her voice is low and challenging, “Especially not without all those toys.”
He snorts, “What about those ugly ass hooker boots that you didn’t even build yourself...” he mumbled the last part.
“Enough.” Pomni stepped between them.
“Nah,” Jax said, voice dropping, dangerous now. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Ribbit exhaled and disengaged the mechanism from her legs with a metallic click, “I don’t need these too—”
The crack of skin against skin echoed through the tunnel, Jax lowered his hand slowly, shaking—hard. Like he’d been waiting for ten years to do that, “I only needed a second.” He muttered, rolling his jaw. Pomni stood frozen, Lila blinked, confused by the sudden violence.
In an instant, Ribbit grabbed one of the long blue ribbons woven on his ears and yanked hard. Jax hissed and lunged, tackling her to the ground in a messy entanglement. Fists half-pulled, shoves exaggerated, more of an old sibling scuffle than a blood feud.
“Back down, JJ!”
“Make me, hooker boots!”
They grappled, insults flying, tension wrapped into a juvenile blanket of holes and mud—echoes of childhood buried under years of blood and betrayal. At that Pomni and Lila rushed in to separate the two, the fight just a mess of limbs and grunts. Until Lila bit on Ribbit’s arm she jerked back instinctively, Lila stumbled, nose blooded. Everything stopped, Jax forgot everything pushing the two women aside, dropping to Lila’s level, “Hey kiddo, still got some blood?” voice soft.
Lila gave him a shaky thumbs up, he ruffled her head gently pulling her hood back into place with careful hands. His smile was reassuring though faint. Ribbit slowly stood seeing this, and for the first time since they reunited, she saw it—her little brother was still in there.