Chapter Text
There’s a tilting of the planet and gravity takes hold. She blinks blearily. Her jaw jolts as it collides against stone tile. She hears the crack vibrate within her skull. Something obscures the vision in her left eye. Something warm and liquid. She blinks once, twice, the liquid sticking to her eyelids and gathering in her eyelashes.
Ah, blood. Of course.
Vi moves her jaw from side to side, trying to assess the damage. She could feel a tooth, a molar, resting loose on her tongue. Despite the painful crash, Vi could still move her jaw normally. She collects the gathering blood and phlegm in her mouth and spits, watching the molar rotate in the mixture centimeters from her face. She watches, attention wrapped in the tooth’s slowing rotations. Vi thinks back to a time when the sight of a tooth in front of her would be a celebration. Her parents scooping her up with pride and playfully feigning awe at how old she had gotten. Powder giggling by her side, pulling her face closer so she can see the tip of the newly emerged tooth. Powder had been scared the first time she lost a tooth. She’d ran up to Vi, tears in her eyes. In between hiccups, she’d managed to tell Vi that she couldn’t find the old tooth. Vi tried to comfort the girl, asking why that would make her upset. Powder’s answer was simple.
“I don’t want to lose myself!”
The painful irony of what laid ahead for the blue haired girl isn’t lost on Vi. A smile creeps onto her face as she thinks of Jinx’s little doppelganger. Vi had never imagined Jinx cherishing the idea of another sister, but, then again, she’d never imagined she’d see remnants of her past self surfacing again. Her pondering is interrupted as a pair of boots and a large hand enter her vision once more.
She is pulled, along with the chair, back into an upright position. Before her stands the soldier, Rictus. Her gaze falls to his hands, painted with red and still as a rock. Vi takes a stuttering breath in, letting her head fall against her chest. The dagger once in her leg now rests on the ground, long discarded in favor of more blunt instruments. Vi’s face had been subjected to Rictus’ fists over and over, but, oddly, the rest of her body had been spared so far. This gives Vi pause, but what chills her to her core is that not a single question has been asked yet.
She lifts her head, meeting Rictus’ cold eyes as he stalks forward. He stops as the door opens, a masked Piltovan enforcer entering and speaking softly in the man’s ear. He nods, turning his gaze back to his captive.
“We know you were with the bloodied beast and the terrorist Jinx in that Herald’s village. Tell me, where are they now?” Rictus places a firm hand on a nearby table just outside of her sight, the end of a metal instrument visible. Vi tongues the chasm left by the lost molar, shaking her head slightly in amusement.
“You’re about as dumb as you look if you think I’ll squeal, Bitchbeard,” Vi emphasizes the insult by jolting her whole body forward, the restraints digging into her skin. She snarls, her teeth bared. She knows there is no chance of escape with the large door sealed from the outside, but she can’t let herself seem weak in the face of her enemies. Whether this is fueled by anger or spite, Vi can’t tell, but she’d be damned if she didn’t go out swinging.
For his part, Rictus seems oddly pleased by her reaction. His hand moves out of her sight, returning with a painfully familiar instrument. Vi’s eyes widen and her breath quickens against her will. She can feel her body subconsciously trying to grow smaller and melt into the chair back behind her.
The cane.
His cane.
Vi’s breath moves from her nose to her mouth, shallow hisses escaping her lips.
Come on, Vi. Get your shit together. Get it together!
In her peripheral vision, Vi can see Rictus’ mouth curl into a cruel smile. He strides forward, examining the cane with both hands and watching Vi spiral into pure terror.
“It is always a joy to watch an animal’s fire extinguish,” He stands only a foot away from Vi and lifts the cane. Despite her best efforts, she immediately flinches, turning her head and shutting both eyes. A cold sensation buries itself under her chin. She opens one eye at a time. The can’s butt now rests beneath her chin. “I will ask you once more, tell me where Jinx and the beast are hiding.”
Vi swallows hard, throat pushing against the cane. She closes her eyes once more, forcing the images of Jinx, Isha, Vander and Caitlyn to the front of her mind. She sees Jinx resting beneath a bladed Noxian or armed Enforcer, awaiting execution. She sees Isha being dragged by a strong arm into a factory or mine spewing Gray, her eyes red and bleeding. She sees Vander in chains, his eyes aflame and various chemicals pumping into his abused form. She sees Caitlyn. Caitlyn’s lithe wrists framed in metal cuffs. Her shaking hand clutching a pen as it is guided with ease by a darker, scarred hand. Ambessa’s grin glints almost as brightly as her golden hair ornaments, standing behind Caitlyn and pulling her strings. Vi couldn’t let this happen. She wouldn’t let her loved ones suffer due to her incompetence. Whatever happens, it’s on her.
Vi opens her eyes, morphing her face and gaze to reflect her rising determination. She tilts her head up, looking past the offending object to her captor.
“Fuck. You.”
The cane’s cold touch suddenly disappears. She wheezes as the wind is knocked out of her and a deep throbbing pain is introduced to her ribs. Vi tries to regain her breath, but a hit to her already tender ribs stops any progress. A third hit and she hears a snap accompanied by a sharp pain from her abdomen. This manages to drag a yelp out of her. She knows he must’ve cracked or broken at least a single rib if not multiple. She leans to her right, hoping to take pressure off of the spot, and is met with a blinding blow to her head. She’s not sure how long it is until she can see again, ears ringing and strikes continuing against her battered form. Her unseeing eyes flit from side to side, stopping only once she could see. Her vision is blurred beyond belief, but she can just make out Rictus who pants with exertion and drops the cruel cane to the ground with a resounding ‘clank’. Vi’s body registers the noise before her mind does, flinching and holding a breath in response. She quickly releases the breath, realizing how hard breathing suddenly became.
“Take her to the cell. If she tries to leave us early, use this.”
Vi lifts her head at Rictus’ words, unaware that anyone else entered the room. She sees him hand something small over to an outstretched hand before leaving the room.
“C’mon Pink. Let’s get you back home,”
She hears the sound of unlocking restraints and struggles as hands lock around her arms. She’s pulled upright, her feet limp and dragging. The motion causes something wet to hit her shoulder and she is distantly aware that there is blood covering almost half of her skull. The long, apathetic hall is silent save for the scraping of her boots against the ground. She lifts her head as they board the familiar lift. Through her blurred vision, she just barely manages to catch a glimpse of blue braids rounding a corner. She pulls forward, trying to follow before the door closes. Instead, she is thrown back against the lift’s metal wall, crying out as her back and head hit the solid surface.
She slumps against the wall, forehead creasing as a creeping, numbing sensation begins in her fingers and toes. Hands grab her again as the lift’s counter reaches -20. Her eyes feel unbelievably heavy as the sensation takes hold of her calves and forearms. She opens her eyes, the counter at -40. The Enforcers pull her through the open door, but stumble as her lower legs join her feet in dragging against the ground.
“What in the-? They let you keep your legs, so use them!” The Enforcer’s voice sounds tinny and garbled in Vi’s ear.
Vi blinks slowly. A pair of familiar furred feet appear before her half-lidded eyes.
Vander?
Despite the Enforcers’ protests, they continue dragging her increasingly limp body along.
“I can tell. You’ve got a good heart.” The echoes of the posh accent curl around her face in a soft caress. “You can let go, darling. It will be alright.”
Vi can feel the ghost of her hand cupping her cheek as somewhere a metal door creaks open. The numbness has reached all parts of her body. Even the memory of touch fails to trick her senses.
“Shi-... she’ s cr-... mer now,”
Vi picks up words like a radio being doused with water. She searches the darkness, isolated from the world around her. She opens her mouth to call out in the hopes that someone is there and she isn’t cursed to isolation in oblivion.
“Hello? Please, anyone? I-I can’t do this. Please, I… I don’t want to be alone for this.”
“Wish and you shall receive, dear sis.”
Vi opens her eyes and looks around from where she now laid - how did she get here? - and watches her sister’s familiar mug appear above her. Jinx’s fingers gently curl around her damaged skull, sliding it into her lap. She slowly runs a finger through her greased hair, whispering and cooing.
“You aren’t alone, Vi. We’re all here with you. We’ll always be with you. Do me a favor, sis, and take a deep breath. Savor it.”
Vi does as Jinx asks, finding the task difficult and only managing to get a small amount of air in. Somewhere there is yelling, but there is only kind silence and her sister’s voice in her ear.
“You’ve fought for so long, Vi. You don’t need to fight anymore,” Jinx twists her fingers around a rather long piece of her sister’s hair as more figures appear just out of her sight, “Just let go and sleep,”
“ -it already!”
A shout breaks through the peaceful silence. Pain spikes through Vi’s raw neck and throbbing skull. She cries out. Her skin is burning, her bones are crushed to dust and the air in her lungs expands until her chest pops.
Then, it’s over.
Vi opens her eyes, head and vision clearer than before. She hears a sigh of relief and watches an Enforcer pull a small needle away from her. They leave wordlessly, allowing her to wallow in her chilling new reality.
They won’t let her die.
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All Caitlyn hears is the lapping of the ocean against the rocks. Her hands grip and twist the rifle as though she were wringing a towel dry. Her eyes burn into the horizon, her promise to Jinx still resting on her lips.
“We will take the island, find Vi and tear those Noxians to shreds.” The venom on her tongue tastes sweet and strong, flooding her senses and driving her pounding heart. She can feel unshed tears burning her eyes and imagines a well-placed Hexbullet taking residence in Ambessa’s forehead.
“You’re an okay shot. You going to help me out, Cupcake?”
Caitlyn gasps, tears slowly winding their way down her cheeks. She can feel Vi’s breath on her ear and arms around her waist. Her lips tingle with her touch. But of course, Caitlyn knows that these are only memories as each sensation is replaced by the cold of the ocean breeze.
She looks down at the rifle in her hands, slowly releasing her white-knuckled grip. She takes a breath in and holds it. She had lost her mother and seen the path unmitigated hatred blazes. The pain and suffering it causes. She couldn’t do that to Vi. She releases her breath, shoulders slumping and posture sagging.
Caitlyn turns around, taking in Jinx’s searching gaze and Vander’s tucked ears.
“You done with the weird, murder-y comments?”
Caitlyn scoffs.
“You’re one to talk…. But yes. I will not risk your sister’s wellbeing in my pursuit of Ambessa. I will not allow myself to slip back into the din of loathsome revenge,” Caitlyn notes the brief look of shock on Jinx’s face, “Her being in Stillwater, however, complicates things. It means we’ll need help from someone Topside. Someone within the Enforcers. It will be a risk even speaking to any potential allies. It isn’t long now until Ambessa declares me either dead or a traitor to the city.”
“Can’t that traumatized, scruffy buddy of yours back at the hideout help? I thought he was a councilor.”
“He could if the council’s power hadn’t been consolidated under my title as Commander. Whichever route she takes, Ambessa stands to inherit both the power and the loyalty of the houses. The only way to compete against her chokehold would be with popular support, but I doubt she’ll allow anything outside of her propaganda to reach the masses.”
“So? Why are you looking for her permission? You said you might have some allies up there? Use em. If I can accidentally become a symbol of resistance, you can purposefully become the symbol of whatever rich people do when they’re unhappy.”
Although seasoned with snark, Caitlyn hears the genuine warmth and hope in the other girl’s voice.
“Will you and the others be alright while I’m gone? I’m not sure just how long it may take,”
“Don’t you worry about us, Cupcake. We’re not the ones entering a minefield… Just-Just keep your eye on the prize, ya?” Jinx’s neon eyes reveal the plea in her words. Caitlyn approaches her and Vander, a small whine escaping the latter. She flits her eyes between the two.
“If I’m not back in three days, do whatever you need to to get her back.”
Jinx’s eyes widen for a moment, before setting into a determined stare, and she gives a curt nod. She pats Vander’s arm and begins the careful walk back to her hideout, Vander following closely.
Caitlyn looks out into the streets in the opposite direction. She’d never imagined she’d feel such apprehension about returning home, but, then again, she’d never imagined any of this would even be possible. She cracks her neck, readjusting her grip around her rifle, and begins the trek to the bridge.